Wednesday 17 November 2021

‘This will go down in history as the finance COP’

“This is a very special COP when it comes to unlocking finance, this will go down in history as the finance COP.”

That’s the statement from Catherine McGuinness, Board member of TheCityUK and Chair of the Policy and Resources Committee, who spoke with futureNetZero.com on the importance of finance in this year’s climate summit, as well as its impacts in the future.

She spoke on her determination to help make the climate summit “an action COP and not just talk.”

“We’re seeing a real commitment from the sector to mobilise. Yes, there are barriers; there are challenges, when it comes to unlocking finance and getting it to where it’s needed – and we’re asking some of the big questions ourselves here.

“How do we finance transition and growth? How do we mobilise finance into emerging and developing markets? How do we develop a consistent set of rules? - the global playbook we’re calling it – and how do we price both carbon and nature?”

These were some of the pressing financial questions she gave that need to be tackled and understood to make the hopes surrounding COP26 a reality.

She touched upon the fact the City has been responsible in the past for financing fossil fuels and polluting endeavours – but spoke optimistically about the future surrounding the City’s next steps and its role in the green transition.

“The City has been at the forefront of developing green financing solutions for some time – we’ve seen some of the earliest green bonds issued through London.

“What we need to do now is take that and supercharge the delivery into the real economy – that has to be the next step. Unlock those fantastic products and mechanisms that the City is expert in and use them on the transition to net zero,” she said.

Watch the full interview to learn more.