Policing of Net-Zero Claims to Take Shape in 2022, UN Chief Says
Policing of Net-Zero Claims to Take Shape in 2022, UN Chief Says
(Bloomberg) -- The head of the United Nation says a group he’s convening to police net-zero commitments will submit recommendations to him over the course of next year.
“We need to hold each other accountable -- governments, non-state actors and civil society,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said to the Global Climate Action event on Thursday, where he gave details on the High-Level Expert Group that he’s established to give more consistency around net zero targets.
The COP26 climate summit has seen a deluge of pledges to fight global warming. The most eye-popping came last week, when the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero announced that more than 450 firms representing $130 trillion of assets had signed up.
But the headline number was met with skepticism as climate activists and nonprofits questioned whether big finance is capable of rapidly weaning itself off fossil fuels. Signatories, meanwhile, continue to chase deals that look set to increase their carbon footprint.
Guterres said GFANZ should apply stricter membership criteria by adopting the tougher targets and transparency of the Net-Zero Asset Owners Alliance, a sub-sector initiative of the $130 trillion grouping.
“The Net-Zero Asset Owners Alliance –- the gold standard for credible commitments and transparent targets -- is managing $10 trillion in assets and catalyzing change across industries,” Guterres said. “I encourage the much larger Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero to follow the same path.”
Michael R. Bloomberg, the owner and founder of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, is co-chair of GFANZ.
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