At a Glance:
- Britain has unveiled a new task force to write rules forcing financial firms and listed companies to publish plans for mitigating climate risk.
- The goals are to be met between 2023 and 2050, and this initiative will make the country the world’s first net-zero-aligned financial center.
- The banks are also facing pressure from campaigners to scrap funding for fossil fuel companies.
Recently, Britain has unveiled a new task force to write rules forcing financial firms and listed companies to publish plans from the next year for a transition to a net-zero economy by 2050.
The COP26 UN Climate Summit announced last November, that the companies would have to issue plans that meet the mitigating climate risk by 2023. The goals are to be met between 2023 and 2050. This initiative will make the country the world’s first net-zero-aligned financial center.
Britain’s efforts toward tackling greenwashing
The task force will be developing ‘rigorous and robust’ measures to tackle greenwashing—inflating green credentials— and assisting the companies to establish ‘investable and accountable’ transition plans.
The CEO of insurer Aviva and co-chair of the new Transition Plan Taskforce, Amanda Blanc said, “Preventing the worst impacts of climate change will take all businesses developing ambitious, consistent transition plans to get us to a low carbon future.”
The minister of British financial services, John Glen said that the investors would judge if the firm’s plans were adequate and credible. The banks are also facing pressure from campaigners to scrap funding for fossil fuel companies.
Bill Winters, the CEO of Standard Chartered bank said, “The idea that we can turn off the taps in fossil fuels tomorrow is obviously ridiculous and naïve. First of all, it’s not going to happen, and secondly, it would be very destructive. Good for climate change, but I am afraid it would be bad for wars, revolutions, and human rights because you would have havoc.”
