Last night Green Angel Syndicate was delighted to win the Green Finance category of the Better Society 2022 Awards, which rewards commercial companies who are helping create a better, more equal, ethical and sustainable world for all.
Founder and President of Green Angel Syndicate Nick Lyth says: “We were very pleased to be recognised as having better climate fighting credentials than banking behemoth Barclays.”
However, as Nick goes on to say: “Philanthropy won’t solve climate change. What we need is basic, sound, commercial viability in order to solve this crisis. That means we need investment in those innovators who are coming up with scalable solutions – the pioneers who are helping us transition away from an economy based on hydrocarbons.”
A new World Meteorological Organization report shows there is now a 50:50 chance that the world will warm past the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming in any of the next five years. This will have a devastating impact around the world, not only on coral reefs and Arctic ice, but on the lives and livelihoods of communities who live in those areas affected by the increasingly frequent extreme weather events caused by climate change.
Lyth again: “Investment in pioneering climate technology is vital. ESG investing is not a tick-box exercise in marketing, nor should it be seen as charitable and philanthropic. Sustainable investing is absolutely key if we are to keep the planet below 1.5 degrees and save millions of lives.”
Delivering the Queen’s Speech yesterday, the Prince of Wales confirmed a series of new bills during the next Parliament to support the UK’s net zero goals, including an Energy Bill, improvements to green transport networks, innovation across the agricultural sector, planning reforms, and a new National Infrastructure Bank. The Prince of Wales said the legislation would “build on the success of the COP26 Summit in Glasgow last year.”
Lyth comments: “This is not a great start, considering that COP26 was considered a failure by many. Yes, the private sector needs to up its game and invest in climate change solutions, but governments also need to put their money where their mouth is. Let’s see how much they are willing to put into scaling up climate change solutions and let’s measure it against how much will be invested into fossil fuels over the next year or so.“