Finance sector to get net-zero scorecard, says central banker-turned-climate activist

[LONDON] Mark Carney, the former central banker turned climate campaigner, said he is planning to use the COP26 summit to present a scorecard showing how well members of the financial community are meeting goals enshrined in the net-zero emissions alliance to which he has staked his reputation.

He said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday: "We're going to reveal on Wednesday who's doing the best. So the question is who's stepping up for the solution?"

Carney said the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, which he chairs, will "relentlessly, ruthlessly" focus on ensuring the financial industry achieves its stated goal. But he also said there should still be room for fossil finance in the transition from old energy to new, renewable sources.

"There needs to be some - only some - limited financing for a transition." Carney, who is now the vice-chair and head of transition investing at Brookfield Asset Management, spoke amid growing anxiety that the COP26 climate summit in Scotland may not deliver the kind of agreement needed to avoid a catastrophic pace of global warming, given that leaders of the world's 20 biggest economies failed to strike a meaningful accord during weekend talks in Rome.

Carney will be among key speakers on Nov 3, when COP26 turns its attention to the financial industry.

The former central banker, who has been advising UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson ahead of the COP26 summit, stepped down from the Bank of England in March 2020. In his work for the United Nations, he led the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero in an effort to get banks, asset managers and investors to commit to having no emissions by 2050. In that capacity, he has managed to bring on financial behemoths including BlackRock, Citigroup Inc and Allianz SE, with signatories representing a total of over US$90 trillion.

BLOOMBERG