G&A's Sustainability Highlights ( 11.1.2024 )
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / December 5, 2024 / Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc.
The month of September is always busy in New York City, with gridlock spreading across Manhattan when the General Assembly of the United Nations brings leaders of close to 200 sovereign entities to UN headquarters for plenary sessions and many side sessions. In addition, since 2009 the international nonprofit Climate Group has organized Climate Week NYC alongside the General Assembly to hold events that drive climate action and speed up progress.
This year's Climate Week NYC had over 900 events held around the city, including a workshop held by G&A Institute and GRI on September 26, "Reporting on the SDGs with Double Materiality." These events brought together thousands of government representatives, business leaders, and political change makers from all over the world.
What concepts and concrete actions came out of these gatherings? In our Top Story, S&P Global took a close look and shares the "Big 5" ideas coming out of Climate Week NYC that they expect to be at the top of agendas at COP 16 (UN Biodiversity Conference) held recently in Colombia and the upcoming COP 29 (UN Climate Change Conference) starting November 11 in Azerbaijan.
The five big ideas selected by S&P Global are:
Climate and clean energy financing needs to rapidly scale and accelerate. How to scale financing was a major focus at Climate Week, with discussions on using "blended" finance to pool public sector or philanthropic funds with private sector capital. This approach could help steer investments to bridge the growing gap in climate-related financing in developing countries. Public and private finance will be important discussions at COP 29, expected to be "the finance COP".
Strategies to combat climate change and nature loss go hand-in-hand. Nature loss was a theme of numerous Climate Week gatherings. Physical climate risk and the impacts on developing sustainable food systems were a bigger focus than in previous years, according to S&P. Companies are beginning to recognize the value of ecosystems and how much they depend on nature in their operations and supply chains.
Policy and collaboration are needed to support an equitable transition. The diverse needs of stakeholders can be addressed with more global cooperation, sustainable development, and the reform of international financial systems to support climate initiatives - a central theme of Climate Week discussions. A commitment to watch at the coming COP 29 is how much progress (or not) is made toward establishing a new collective financing goal for developing nations.
Technology and AI will help to drive solutions to climate change and sustainable growth. The buzz at many meetings was about AI as an "enabler" of sustainable outcomes. AI requires energy, which is resulting in "energy poverty" in the developing world as demand rises to record levels. New, clean generating capacity is needed, along with making sure there is the infrastructure needed to support it. Nuclear power may be part of the solution, along with renewable sources.
Disclosure is evolving with more focus on consistency and a rising role for nature. ISSB and TCFD were hot topics of conversation during Climate Week gatherings, in terms of changes in the disclosure landscape for companies. Around the globe, jurisdictions are adopting the ISSB standards or aligning existing frameworks with them (the EU's CSRD is example). Stakeholders, including key investors, are calling for more climate-related disclosure on issues such as biodiversity and deforestation.
More details of the "Big 5" ideas are in our Top Story, with an abundance of useful information for corporations and providers of capital. The COP 29 and COP 16 gatherings are sure to advance commitment and action on climate change issues, which will create opportunities for the private sector. The G&A team is focused on these big ideas and many more climate-related concepts. Let us know how we can help your company enhance climate disclosure through our guidance and support. Email us at info@ga-institute.com.
This is just the introduction of G&A's Sustainability Highlights newsletter this week. Click here to view the full issue.
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. on 3blmedia.com.
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SOURCE: Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc.
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