For most of the past fortnight I've been in Warsaw, more talking 'private sector climate finance' than UN climate agreement, despite the negotiations being the ostensible reason for the gathering of very many nations. From my perspective there are so many key people around that you can do a year's worth of meetings in one burst; very efficient. Of course negotiations were underway all over the place, if you can call arguing for days about a sentence a "negotiation" - all a damp squib really. Memories:
- Japan bowed it's head and said "without nuclear - and renewables not scaling up as quickly as we had hoped - we have to rely on gas ... so our emissions targets are wrecked". Awkward.
- You can smell the lignite on a foggy night in Warsaw's Old Town (rebuilt lovingly after being flattened in WW2). The Polish Government wants to keep that lignite flavour to the economy and was determined to shout it from the rooftops. Unfortunate.
- Australian and Canadian government reps trying to torpedo things. This is really embarrassing for the majority of Aussies and Canucks who fully understand climate change is real and has to be addressed. (Disclosure: I'm Australian; errrk.)
Jeffrey Sachs argues we've wasted 20 years on negotiations; emissions continue to rise faster than ever. A global carbon scheme remains a great theory in search of practical application; it may still be the long game, but it's not the short game we now need. See our Capital Steerage and 10 Tweaks blogs for some suggestions.
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HSBC's Nick Robins (also Climate Bonds Advisory Panel member) at the OECD High-Level Breakfast on Wednesday: "We need to integrate climate into financial policy frameworks, making sure that the routine ‘rules of the game’ for banking (such as Basel 3), insurance and investment are aligned with low-carbon, resilient development." Absolutely right.
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The Global Green Growth Institute, owned by a consortium of governments and headquartered in Korea, develops bottom-up green growth plans for developing country cities, regions and countries.
Their CEO, Howard Bamsey, said in Warsaw he was optimistic about change, but warned investors about the sting if they don't prepare: “When it comes, the change will happen with a rush. If investors get the future wrong, many of their assets will be stranded. If you’re one of the leaders in your economy, you must be hedging your bets.”
He added: “Responding vigorously to climate change can be a pathway to prosperity .... if (countries) choose investment strategies wisely, sustainable development can be an accelerator in lifting people out of poverty.”
We're with you, Howard.
