Nearly 200 nations agreed on a climate deal during the UN COP26 conference that ended on Monday, and they had a crystal clear message to companies and investors that the march to net zero is accelerating. Nick Molho, executive director of Aldersgate Group, which represents firms worth $740 billion pushing for sustainability, said companies would go in that direction whether governments support their pledges with policies or not.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday said that the pact sounded the “death knell” for coal. However, last-minute lobbying by China and India, among others, resulted in a watered-down clause of “phasing down” unabated coal power plants instead of “phasing out” them. This weaker wording leaves investment opportunities open in coal plants equipped with carbon capture and storage (CSS) technology.
However, companies are already preparing for a greener future. Even oil giants like Shell and BP were eager to show their support to the climate deal. US special climate envoy John Kerry said the business world had been ahead of governments since the Paris Accord in 2015. According to an estimate by BloombergNEF, companies poured more than $2 trillion in green energy and technologies during the six years.
