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Time Magazine
2 days ago
- Business
- Time Magazine
The Rise of Green Wall Street
The Great Hall in the City of London's Guildhall might seem like an odd place to anchor a climate summit. At a time when leading climate thinkers are increasingly calling for systemic change, it screams tradition. Built in 1411, the medieval auditorium is a homage to age-old British institutions and customs with stained glass windows honoring lord mayors and monarchs. The dissonance is only amplified by its surroundings: a square mile housing the world's leading financial institutions, gleaming towers of banks and investment firms with proprietors historically far more focused on adding up their financial returns than on calculating progress toward net-zero emissions. And yet Guildhall—and the City, as the financial district is known—were the center of the action in June when 45,000 climate advocates from around the world descended on London for its annual 'Climate Action Week.' To participate, attendees hopped between meetings at Guildhall, the London Stock Exchange, and the myriad banks, insurers, and other financial institutions found in the area. The location was no coincidence. To tackle climate change will require moving immense sums of money—and the institutions located in the City of London have money to lend and invest. But the decision wasn't entirely, or even primarily, altruistic. Positioning London as the key node in the world of sustainable finance could pay off big as the sector continues to grow. A boom in jobs and wealth will be bestowed wherever banks and financial institutions focused on this issue set up shop. Estimates on the size of the opportunity vary depending on methodology, but most research suggests that by the 2030s the value of sustainable finance will reach double-digit trillions. 'What we've got here is an economic growth story of the 21st century,' says Alok Sharma, the former British Cabinet minister who served as president of the 2021 U.N. climate conference in Glasgow. 'This isn't just about climate.' Sharma, whose soft-spoken disposition belies his convening power in the climate space, is now charged with the important task of wrangling the financial sector, government, and industry to chart a path forward for the country as the chair of the Transition Finance Council. The council, launched by the British government and the City of London, is working through how to leverage the city's deep capital markets and history of financial innovation to make the city—and the country—the world's green-finance leader. 'We have a financial ecosystem in London which very few markets can actually rival,' he notes. London has succeeded in taking pole position, but it's far from the only place that's caught on. Across the globe, financial hubs—largely in Europe and Asia—have launched efforts to attract the growing sustainable-finance industry. Leaning into their global connections and deep capital markets, Abu Dhabi and Singapore have emerged as leading contenders giving London a run for its money. In many ways, the effort in these three cities—and around the world—is collaborative. Growth in the sector will lift all boats. But it's also fiercely competitive. The city—or cities—that win will not only bring jobs and wealth but also give victors outsize influence shaping the future of both the global financial system and the fight against climate change. Walking through the City of London today can feel a bit like tracing the history of global finance. The modern Bank of England, a cornerstone of the country's financial might, sits only a short stroll from its original 1694 location. The age-old cemeteries sprinkled between today's glass office buildings serve as the final resting place for some of London's original financiers. And, in some cases, even the odd-sounding street names tie back to the city's financial roots: Lombard Street, named for the Italian region known for its bankers and merchants, or Ironmonger Lane, which once housed the metal-trading houses. At its core, London's sustainable-finance opportunity is part and parcel with this history. In today's parlance, innovation tends to refer to technological innovation, but many of the biggest breakthroughs to emerge from London over the centuries were financial—from the launch of the world's first joint-stock companies in the 16th century, which pioneered risk sharing among investors and created some of the world's first tradable securities, to pioneering of the modern insurance market in the 17th century by Lloyd's of London. In short, over some 500 years, British financiers built the foundations of today's global financial system. Now, these foundations need some climate-minded reinvention—and at lightning speed. The International Energy Agency estimates that investment in clean energy must reach $4.5 trillion annually in the 2030s to meet climate goals. To get that money to the Global South, where it is most needed, will require new financial structures that make investing less risky. In some corners of the globe, most importantly the U.S., the push to tweak the rules of the road has been met with soft denial. The federal government has halted efforts to think through the financial disclosure of climate risk and exited cooperative efforts with other countries aimed at greening the financial system. In London, leaders in both government and in the private sector are jumping on the opportunity. 'Britain is open for business,' says Sharma. 'We are a very established market, but you can't sort of sit there and rest on your laurels.' Even for a close watcher of the climate-finance space, it can be difficult to keep track of everything coming out of London. Under both of the country's major parties in recent years, the British government has launched a flurry of efforts to help its financial-services industry lead the global sustainable-finance movement. The Financial Conduct Authority has worked on greenwashing regulations and the standards for applying a sustainable label to products. The Green Finance Institute was created in 2019 to coordinate public-private efforts. In 2021, the Treasury launched green-bonds sales to demonstrate government commitment to the sector. And, last year, the current government created a national wealth fund to invest in a range of low-carbon technologies—attracting private finance in the process. Since launching earlier this year, Sharma's Transition Finance Council has quickly become an essential node. The group focuses specifically on transition finance, the branch of sustainable finance where money is invested not only to build clean technologies but also to decarbonize big sources of emissions. Think of lending to an oil company to fix leaks in its pipes to stop methane from seeping out, or putting up the money for a steel producer to convert to a less emissions-intensive process. In other mainstream approaches, green technology or ESG-related investing that tries to identify and protect against environmental risks is prioritized. In -transition finance, you can run to the problem and spend money trying to fix it—even if that means financing a dirty industry for a short while. In some jurisdictions, transition finance is a thorny subject because it means dealing with polluting industries. But it's a big opportunity—both for the financial sector and the planet. The World Economic Forum estimates that transition finance for carbon-heavy sectors including aviation, shipping, and steel production represents a $13.5 trillion opportunity in the coming decades. These so-called hard-to-abate sectors make up 40% of global emissions today. The Transition Finance Council sounds wonky—and it is. The body of government officials, investors, and top executives in industry and finance was formed to work through the technicalities of key issues hand in hand with the private sector. One subcommittee tackles 'credibility and integrity,' another works on 'pathways, policies, and governance.' The Transition Finance Market Review report released last year ahead of the group's launch explores how firms navigate 'credible third-party standards' and 'carbon budget delivery plans.' Splashy public-facing marketing campaign this is not. And yet, this is the sort of work needed to give firms the confidence to set up their transition-finance shop in London. Vanessa Havard-Williams, who founded the ESG practice at global law firm Linklaters, led the report and described the work as an aggressive consultation effort across the public and private sectors and in countries around the world. The council is currently crafting 'credibility guidelines' at a firm level for transition finance with an eye to launching a global consultation process just ahead of this year's U.N. climate conference in Brazil, she says. Illustration by Kathleen Fu for TIME Despite all of this, many climate advocates have complained that much of the British regulatory regime is moving more slowly than across the Channel in the E.U. But that's part of the plan. Over the past decade, the E.U. laid out a suite of regulations that the financial industry has complained is too onerous. The U.K., which has the freedom to chart its own rules after officially leaving the E.U. in 2020, has tried to take advantage of that dynamic with less complex rule-making. 'I'm not a Brexiteer, but I do think Europe constrained our abilities,' says Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London. 'On green finance, I think we're free to flex our wings.' The complicated history of colonialism offers another advantage. No matter the dark legacies, Britain walked away with relationships with emerging markets and developing countries. The London Stock Exchange hosts more international companies than any other major bourse, with a strong roster of listed firms from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Commonwealth countries, the network of former colonies that still maintain a loose alliance, still use London as a primary listing venue for their largest companies, and British banks and asset managers have extensive operations across these markets. Not too long ago, London promoters might have said 'the sun doesn't set on the British Empire' to indicate the scope of British influence. Today, as Sharma puts it more delicately, 'we're in a very good time zone.' More than 3,000 miles away, Abu Dhabi has its own global network, forged through its position selling vast quantities of oil to the rest of the world. For that very reason, a cynical climate advocate might look at the city's push into sustainable finance with deep skepticism. Drive across the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and you'll see nonstop reminders that this is oil-and-gas country—from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company logo affixed on prominent skyscrapers to the network of fossil-fuel infrastructure just off the coastline. But also prominently fixed in the city's skyline are the sleek buildings that host the money managers overseeing more than $1 trillion in capital. The funds may have come from selling oil to the world, but leaders in the Emirates know that sooner or later they will need to diversify—and attracting sustainable finance is a key part of their agenda. From a corner office at Al Maryah Tower, in the heart of Abu Dhabi's posh international business district, Majid Al Suwaidi runs a $30 billion climate fund known as Alterra. Financed with money from the Emirati government, the fund is designed to make return-oriented investments that will have meaningful climate impact. Opportunities in the Global South receive particular attention. When it was announced in 2023, experts working at the intersection of finance and climate hailed its approach as unique. Alterra describes itself as a 'fund of funds,' meaning that it takes a broad strategic view while relying on other fund managers to do the on-the-ground investing. And, with its size and influential backing, Alterra works with other co-investors to scale up the impact. The goal is to use the UAE's contribution to mobilize a total of $250 billion. 'In a way, we achieved what we set out to do, which is to prove that there was an appetite and interest for people to invest in the Global South,' says Al Suwaidi. The UAE plans to earn a healthy return on its $30 billion investment, but the opportunity is really much bigger. Alterra is the center of an emerging business cluster, much like venture capital in Silicon Valley or the entertainment industry in Hollywood. By tapping into the business of financing climate infrastructure in the Global South early, the country is placing a down payment for capturing a much bigger opportunity. Emerging markets represent the largest source of emissions reduction or prevention. And that means, sooner or later, significant capital must flow to make it happen. 'The ecosystem is building here,' Al Suwaidi told me from his office, explaining that the Alterra fund has helped attract smaller climate-focused fund managers. Today, ADGM, short for Abu Dhabi Global Market, the city's financial free zone where regulation is based on English common law, counts more than 180 local funds and other institutions that say they are focused on sustainability. Indeed, ADGM, Abu Dhabi's Wall Street, has created an entire system to put wind in the sails of these efforts. The organization has crafted a comprehensive sustainable-finance regulatory framework that includes environmental standards for funds, portfolios, bonds, stocks, and other financial instruments linked to the environment. ESG disclosure standards are clear and simple. 'We've been busy,' says Lawrence Paramasivam, who oversees the sustainability work at the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at ADGM. Paramasivam describes the regulatory approach as 'part of a broader diversification strategy' for ADGM. The global reach and sway of the government in the UAE has helped open doors. The country is a bridge between north and south, east and west, with friendly relations with virtually every country. It follows that it can help navigate those financial flows too. It's hard to find an economic-growth story as revered as Singapore's. The country transformed from a low-income nation into a financial powerhouse in just a few generations, driven in large part by deliberate investments and a thoughtful approach to economic policymaking. Today, Singapore is placing a long-term bet on climate—and hoping that it can own the future of sustainable finance in Asia. 'The timeline is not set by business cycles. It is not set by the electoral cycles,' said Ravi Menon, Singapore's climate ambassador, at a June event in London. 'The planet's timeline will eventually impose its will on us.' And, when it does, Singapore wants to be prepared. To fully understand Singapore's approach would require unpacking a dizzying array of programs, international partnerships, and regulatory structures. Through the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance, the country created a framework to rate investments on their sustainability characteristics. Critically, the program was developed with all of Asia in mind, helping advance the country's position at the middle of the region's flow of sustainable finance. And the government ponied up $500 million as the public-sector contribution to a finance initiative that combines public and private money to invest in climate projects in the region. That effort has attracted other funds, including from the private sector, says Menon. A key asset for Singapore is Temasek, the country's $300 billion state-owned investment fund. The fund's charter includes a mandate to protect the planet, but just as important is the fund's goal of providing long-term returns for generations to come. 'If I'm going to hold assets for the long term, then I've got to think about what it means to be in a climate-challenged position,' said Dilhan Pillay-Sandrasegara, the CEO of Temasek, at a World Economic Forum event in January. 'And so that's what motivates us to invest in things like sustainability-focused sectors or sustainable solutions.' One essential area of interest for Temasek has been carbon-credit companies. Today, carbon credits remain complicated and controversial. And yet most experts deep in the weeds of climate policy and finance see their growth as an inevitability because they provide one of the most effective ways to finance emissions reduction and can easily channel money from the Global North to the Global South. Temasek's investments in carbon-credit companies, combined with government policy to facilitate it, have proved critical in turning Singapore into a carbon-credit hub—certainly the most important in the region and perhaps the world. Today, the country is home to more than 100 carbon-trading firms and a robust regulatory framework for how companies can use credits. In the spring of 2023, as the UAE was in the midst of developing Alterra and Singapore was crafting its taxonomy for Asia, the U.S. was immersed in a fight over whether fund managers can legally take climate change into account in their decisionmaking. Then and now, the mainstream U.S. conversation at the intersection of climate and finance is vastly different from the same conversations happening around the world. As other countries innovate, the U.S. government is at best caught in a defensive posture and at worst pulling back. During the Biden years, the Federal Reserve dipped its toes into the Network for Greening the Financial System before promptly pulling out after Donald Trump's election, and the U.S. federal government has abandoned any efforts to craft financial-disclosure rules around climate. To be clear, big U.S. financial firms with operations outside the U.S. will need to comply with this growing segment of climate regulation; the rules will just be drafted somewhere else. It may not worry Wall Street just yet. While cities like London and Singapore have developed global finance hubs, today there's no question that the U.S. is the epicenter. The country has the deepest capital markets and the world's reserve currency. It houses the biggest and most influential global financial firms. And, yet, as sustainable finance grows, its influence has the potential to eat away at the U.S. position. That road will be long and windy as every place faces its own unique challenges. In the U.K., politicians need to explain to voters why the government is spending so much time on sustainable finance in the midst of other challenges. Indeed, some efforts to bolster sustainable finance have stalled or been dropped entirely, presumably with those political questions in mind. In Abu Dhabi, leaders must confront the skepticism in many corners about the ability of a big oil-producing country to deliver on climate. And Singapore faces the consistent challenge that comes from existing in the shadow of China—which also has designs on developing a sustainable-finance sector. Those questions will eventually be resolved, and a new paradigm will emerge. The winners won't just capture economic opportunity; they will help determine whether the world has the financial infrastructure to avoid the worst effects of climate change. This story is supported by a partnership with Outrider Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners. TIME is solely responsible for the content .
Time Magazine
05-08-2025
- Business
- Time Magazine
The Rise of Green Wall St.
The Great Hall in the City of London's Guildhall might seem like an odd place to anchor a climate summit. At a time when leading climate thinkers are increasingly calling for systemic change, it screams tradition. Built in 1411, the medieval auditorium is a homage to age-old British institutions and customs with stained glass windows honoring lord mayors and monarchs. The dissonance is only amplified by its surroundings: a square mile housing the world's leading financial institutions, gleaming towers of banks and investment firms with proprietors historically far more focused on adding up their financial returns than on calculating progress toward net-zero emissions. And yet Guildhall—and the City, as the financial district is known—were the center of the action in June when 45,000 climate advocates from around the world descended on London for its annual 'Climate Action Week.' To participate, attendees hopped between meetings at Guildhall, the London Stock Exchange, and the myriad banks, insurers, and other financial institutions found in the area. The location was no coincidence. To tackle climate change will require moving immense sums of money—and the institutions located in the City of London have money to lend and invest. But the decision wasn't entirely, or even primarily, altruistic. Positioning London as the key node in the world of sustainable finance could pay off big as the sector continues to grow. A boom in jobs and wealth will be bestowed wherever banks and financial institutions focused on this issue set up shop. Estimates on the size of the opportunity vary depending on methodology, but most research suggests that by the 2030s the value of sustainable finance will reach double-digit trillions. 'What we've got here is an economic growth story of the 21st century,' says Alok Sharma, the former British Cabinet minister who served as president of the 2021 U.N. climate conference in Glasgow. 'This isn't just about climate.' Sharma, whose soft-spoken disposition belies his convening power in the climate space, is now charged with the important task of wrangling the financial sector, government, and industry to chart a path forward for the country as the chair of the Transition Finance Council. The council, launched by the British government and the City of London, is working through how to leverage the city's deep capital markets and history of financial innovation to make the city—and the country—the world's green-finance leader. 'We have a financial ecosystem in London which very few markets can actually rival,' he notes. London has succeeded in taking pole position, but it's far from the only place that's caught on. Across the globe, financial hubs—largely in Europe and Asia—have launched efforts to attract the growing sustainable-finance industry. Leaning into their global connections and deep capital markets, Abu Dhabi and Singapore have emerged as leading contenders giving London a run for its money. In many ways, the effort in these three cities—and around the world—is collaborative. Growth in the sector will lift all boats. But it's also fiercely competitive. The city—or cities—that win will not only bring jobs and wealth but also give victors outsize influence shaping the future of both the global financial system and the fight against climate change. Walking through the City of London today can feel a bit like tracing the history of global finance. The modern Bank of England, a cornerstone of the country's financial might, sits only a short stroll from its original 1694 location. The age-old cemeteries sprinkled between today's glass office buildings serve as the final resting place for some of London's original financiers. And, in some cases, even the odd-sounding street names tie back to the city's financial roots: Lombard Street, named for the Italian region known for its bankers and merchants, or Ironmonger Lane, which once housed the metal-trading houses. At its core, London's sustainable-finance opportunity is part and parcel with this history. In today's parlance, innovation tends to refer to technological innovation, but many of the biggest breakthroughs to emerge from London over the centuries were financial—from the launch of the world's first joint-stock companies in the 16th century, which pioneered risk sharing among investors and created some of the world's first tradable securities, to pioneering of the modern insurance market in the 17th century by Lloyd's of London. In short, over some 500 years, British financiers built the foundations of today's global financial system. Now, these foundations need some climate-minded reinvention—and at lightning speed. The International Energy Agency estimates that investment in clean energy must reach $4.5 trillion annually in the 2030s to meet climate goals. To get that money to the Global South, where it is most needed, will require new financial structures that make investing less risky. In some corners of the globe, most importantly the U.S., the push to tweak the rules of the road has been met with soft denial. The federal government has halted efforts to think through the financial disclosure of climate risk and exited cooperative efforts with other countries aimed at greening the financial system. In London, leaders in both government and in the private sector are jumping on the opportunity. 'Britain is open for business,' says Sharma. 'We are a very established market, but you can't sort of sit there and rest on your laurels.' Even for a close watcher of the climate-finance space, it can be difficult to keep track of everything coming out of London. Under both of the country's major parties in recent years, the British government has launched a flurry of efforts to help its financial-services industry lead the global sustainable-finance movement. The Financial Conduct Authority has worked on greenwashing regulations and the standards for applying a sustainable label to products. The Green Finance Institute was created in 2019 to coordinate public-private efforts. In 2021, the Treasury launched green-bonds sales to demonstrate government commitment to the sector. And, last year, the current government created a national wealth fund to invest in a range of low-carbon technologies—attracting private finance in the process. Since launching earlier this year, Sharma's Transition Finance Council has quickly become an essential node. The group focuses specifically on transition finance, the branch of sustainable finance where money is invested not only to build clean technologies but also to decarbonize big sources of emissions. Think of lending to an oil company to fix leaks in its pipes to stop methane from seeping out, or putting up the money for a steel producer to convert to a less emissions-intensive process. In other mainstream approaches, green technology or ESG-related investing that tries to identify and protect against environmental risks is prioritized. In -transition finance, you can run to the problem and spend money trying to fix it—even if that means financing a dirty industry for a short while. In some jurisdictions, transition finance is a thorny subject because it means dealing with polluting industries. But it's a big opportunity—both for the financial sector and the planet. The World Economic Forum estimates that transition finance for carbon-heavy sectors including aviation, shipping, and steel production represents a $13.5 trillion opportunity in the coming decades. These so-called hard-to-abate sectors make up 40% of global emissions today. The Transition Finance Council sounds wonky—and it is. The body of government officials, investors, and top executives in industry and finance was formed to work through the technicalities of key issues hand in hand with the private sector. One subcommittee tackles 'credibility and integrity,' another works on 'pathways, policies, and governance.' The Transition Finance Market Review report released last year ahead of the group's launch explores how firms navigate 'credible third-party standards' and 'carbon budget delivery plans.' Splashy public-facing marketing campaign this is not. And yet, this is the sort of work needed to give firms the confidence to set up their transition-finance shop in London. Vanessa Havard-Williams, who founded the ESG practice at global law firm Linklaters, led the report and described the work as an aggressive consultation effort across the public and private sectors and in countries around the world. The council is currently crafting 'credibility guidelines' at a firm level for transition finance with an eye to launching a global consultation process just ahead of this year's U.N. climate conference in Brazil, she says. Illustration by Kathleen Fu for TIME Despite all of this, many climate advocates have complained that much of the British regulatory regime is moving more slowly than across the Channel in the E.U. But that's part of the plan. Over the past decade, the E.U. laid out a suite of regulations that the financial industry has complained is too onerous. The U.K., which has the freedom to chart its own rules after officially leaving the E.U. in 2020, has tried to take advantage of that dynamic with less complex rule-making. 'I'm not a Brexiteer, but I do think Europe constrained our abilities,' says Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London. 'On green finance, I think we're free to flex our wings.' The complicated history of colonialism offers another advantage. No matter the dark legacies, Britain walked away with relationships with emerging markets and developing countries. The London Stock Exchange hosts more international companies than any other major bourse, with a strong roster of listed firms from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Commonwealth countries, the network of former colonies that still maintain a loose alliance, still use London as a primary listing venue for their largest companies, and British banks and asset managers have extensive operations across these markets. Not too long ago, London promoters might have said 'the sun doesn't set on the British Empire' to indicate the scope of British influence. Today, as Sharma puts it more delicately, 'we're in a very good time zone.' More than 3,000 miles away, Abu Dhabi has its own global network, forged through its position selling vast quantities of oil to the rest of the world. For that very reason, a cynical climate advocate might look at the city's push into sustainable finance with deep skepticism. Drive across the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and you'll see nonstop reminders that this is oil-and-gas country—from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company logo affixed on prominent skyscrapers to the network of fossil-fuel infrastructure just off the coastline. But also prominently fixed in the city's skyline are the sleek buildings that host the money managers overseeing more than $1 trillion in capital. The funds may have come from selling oil to the world, but leaders in the Emirates know that sooner or later they will need to diversify—and attracting sustainable finance is a key part of their agenda. From a corner office at Al Maryah Tower, in the heart of Abu Dhabi's posh international business district, Majid Al Suwaidi runs a $30 billion climate fund known as Alterra. Financed with money from the Emirati government, the fund is designed to make return-oriented investments that will have meaningful climate impact. Opportunities in the Global South receive particular attention. When it was announced in 2023, experts working at the intersection of finance and climate hailed its approach as unique. Alterra describes itself as a 'fund of funds,' meaning that it takes a broad strategic view while relying on other fund managers to do the on-the-ground investing. And, with its size and influential backing, Alterra works with other co-investors to scale up the impact. The goal is to use the UAE's contribution to mobilize a total of $250 billion. 'In a way, we achieved what we set out to do, which is to prove that there was an appetite and interest for people to invest in the Global South,' says Al Suwaidi. The UAE plans to earn a healthy return on its $30 billion investment, but the opportunity is really much bigger. Alterra is the center of an emerging business cluster, much like venture capital in Silicon Valley or the entertainment industry in Hollywood. By tapping into the business of financing climate infrastructure in the Global South early, the country is placing a down payment for capturing a much bigger opportunity. Emerging markets represent the largest source of emissions reduction or prevention. And that means, sooner or later, significant capital must flow to make it happen. 'The ecosystem is building here,' Al Suwaidi told me from his office, explaining that the Alterra fund has helped attract smaller climate-focused fund managers. Today, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the city's financial free zone where regulation is based on English common law, counts more than 170 local funds and other institutions that say they are focused on sustainability. Indeed, ADGM, Abu Dhabi's Wall Street, has created an entire system to put wind in the sails of these efforts. The organization has crafted a comprehensive sustainable-finance regulatory framework that includes environmental standards for funds, portfolios, bonds, stocks, and other financial instruments linked to the environment. ESG disclosure standards are clear and simple. 'We've been busy,' says Lawrence Paramasivam, who oversees the sustainability work at the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at ADGM. Paramasivam describes the regulatory approach as 'part of a broader diversification strategy' for ADGM. The global reach and sway of the government in the UAE has helped open doors. The country is a bridge between north and south, east and west, with friendly relations with virtually every country. It follows that it can help navigate those financial flows too. It's hard to find an economic-growth story as revered as Singapore's. The country transformed from a low-income nation into a financial powerhouse in just a few generations, driven in large part by deliberate investments and a thoughtful approach to economic policymaking. Today, Singapore is placing a long-term bet on climate—and hoping that it can own the future of sustainable finance in Asia. 'The timeline is not set by business cycles. It is not set by the electoral cycles,' said Ravi Menon, Singapore's climate ambassador, at a June event in London. 'The planet's timeline will eventually impose its will on us.' And, when it does, Singapore wants to be prepared. To fully understand Singapore's approach would require unpacking a dizzying array of programs, international partnerships, and regulatory structures. Through the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance, the country created a framework to rate investments on their sustainability characteristics. Critically, the program was developed with all of Asia in mind, helping advance the country's position at the middle of the region's flow of sustainable finance. And the government ponied up $500 million as the public-sector contribution to a finance initiative that combines public and private money to invest in climate projects in the region. That effort has attracted other funds, including from the private sector, says Menon. A key asset for Singapore is Temasek, the country's $300 billion state-owned investment fund. The fund's charter includes a mandate to protect the planet, but just as important is the fund's goal of providing long-term returns for generations to come. 'If I'm going to hold assets for the long term, then I've got to think about what it means to be in a climate-challenged position,' said Dilhan Pillay-Sandrasegara, the CEO of Temasek, at a World Economic Forum event in January. 'And so that's what motivates us to invest in things like sustainability-focused sectors or sustainable solutions.' One essential area of interest for Temasek has been carbon-credit companies. Today, carbon credits remain complicated and controversial. And yet most experts deep in the weeds of climate policy and finance see their growth as an inevitability because they provide one of the most effective ways to finance emissions reduction and can easily channel money from the Global North to the Global South. Temasek's investments in carbon-credit companies, combined with government policy to facilitate it, have proved critical in turning Singapore into a carbon-credit hub—certainly the most important in the region and perhaps the world. Today, the country is home to more than 100 carbon-trading firms and a robust regulatory framework for how companies can use credits. In the spring of 2023, as the UAE was in the midst of developing Alterra and Singapore was crafting its taxonomy for Asia, the U.S. was immersed in a fight over whether fund managers can legally take climate change into account in their decisionmaking. Then and now, the mainstream U.S. conversation at the intersection of climate and finance is vastly different from the same conversations happening around the world. As other countries innovate, the U.S. government is at best caught in a defensive posture and at worst pulling back. During the Biden years, the Federal Reserve dipped its toes into the Network for Greening the Financial System before promptly pulling out after Donald Trump's election, and the U.S. federal government has abandoned any efforts to craft financial-disclosure rules around climate. To be clear, big U.S. financial firms with operations outside the U.S. will need to comply with this growing segment of climate regulation; the rules will just be drafted somewhere else. It may not worry Wall Street just yet. While cities like London and Singapore have developed global finance hubs, today there's no question that the U.S. is the epicenter. The country has the deepest capital markets and the world's reserve currency. It houses the biggest and most influential global financial firms. And, yet, as sustainable finance grows, its influence has the potential to eat away at the U.S. position. That road will be long and windy as every place faces its own unique challenges. In the U.K., politicians need to explain to voters why the government is spending so much time on sustainable finance in the midst of other challenges. Indeed, some efforts to bolster sustainable finance have stalled or been dropped entirely, presumably with those political questions in mind. In Abu Dhabi, leaders must confront the skepticism in many corners about the ability of a big oil-producing country to deliver on climate. And Singapore faces the consistent challenge that comes from existing in the shadow of China—which also has designs on developing a sustainable-finance sector. Those questions will eventually be resolved, and a new paradigm will emerge. The winners won't just capture economic opportunity; they will help determine whether the world has the financial infrastructure to avoid the worst effects of climate change. This story is supported by a partnership with Outrider Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners. TIME is solely responsible for the content .
Daily Mirror
30-06-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mirror
Flash flood warning for 50,000 homes as residents to be given emergency advice
London's City Hall has reached out to thousands of households warning them they are now at increased risk and given them advice on preparing for flash floods At least 50,000 basement flats are in danger if flooding in the capital, due to the climate change, London's Mayor Sadiq Khan has warned. City Hall has reached out to thousands of London households warning them they are now at increased risk and given them advice on preparing for flash floods. The initiative is part of Climate Action Week. Sir Sadiq said: "The climate emergency is no longer a distant problem, but one that is increasingly reaching our doorsteps, which we saw up-close with the disastrous floods in summer 2021. As Mayor, I'm determined to build a better London for everyone – ensuring we are taking action to make our city resilient to the impacts of climate change, but also reducing our carbon emissions to ultimately tackle the crisis. 'While the likelihood of flooding remains low for most basement properties, I'm doing all I can to ensure that the people most at risk know what to do in the event of a flash flood, which could help to save lives.' The risk assessment has shown that nearly half of London's hospitals, a quarter of rail stations and one in five schools, are at risk of flooding, and more than 50,000 homes. The latest Environment Agency data shows more than half a million London homes and businesses at high or medium risk, with flash flooding believed to be the biggest risks facing the capital. Flash floodings are life-threatening emergencies, with heavy rainfall landing on hard surfaces and overwhelming sewers, drains and nearby rivers. London Fire Brigade's Assistant Commissioner, Pat Goulbourne, told the Evening Standard: "Climate change is evolving the challenges fire and rescue services face, and it is important to have the plans in place to ensure that London is more resilient to the extreme weather we are experiencing on an increasingly regular basis. 'Heavy rain and urban flooding can cause significant damage to property and infrastructure, being prepared will help minimise this threat and is vital to the wellbeing of this city and all Londoners."
Time Magazine
27-06-2025
- Business
- Time Magazine
Climate Action Isn't Dead. It's Just Not Focused on the U.S.
Greetings from London. A week of interviews, events, and meetings—both on the record and behind closed-doors—at the city's Climate Action Week has left me with many reflections, but one stands out: the climate work goes on, but the U.S. is no longer at the center of the universe. That reality is evident almost just from the scale. The organizers tout 700 events and 45,000 participants spread across the sprawling London metropolis. This was the biggest London climate week yet, and the first time for many (myself included). But it was also evident in the meat of the conversations. Investors talked about opportunities outside the U.S., particularly in Asia and Europe. Climate focused executives waffled about how much of a presence they wanted to have at this year's iteration of New York Climate Week, usually an important moment on the climate calendar each September. And British officials emphasized their ability to serve as a global hub for sustainable finance. 'As investors look around the world and they look for places to put capital, I think we sit in a very good position because of what's happening geopolitically,' says Chris Hayward, policy chairman of City of London, the historic center of London, now best known as a financial hub. To get from event to event in London required dashing around the city in the quickest fashion: typically the tube subway system, consistently overheated given the unseasonably hot London temperatures. But the geographic center of the week was undeniably the City of London, the one square mile that hosts the country's premier banking and financial institutions. There's a reason for that: organizers in London see an economic opportunity in supporting the energy transition. And that's at the core of the global shift visible here in London. The companies that gathered this week have, for the most part, doubled down on efforts to make or save money with climate and sustainability initiatives—whether that's an industrial company cutting bills with energy efficiency or a financial firm creating new products to allow companies to invest in renewable power. The reality of this profit-oriented approach means the U.S. will fall behind given the policy uncertainty. The observation was underscored by data released throughout the week. A survey of business executives globally, released by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and Bain & Company to coincide with the event, found that large global companies are continuing to invest in green solutions—but are shifting those investments away from the U.S. toward Europe and Asia. Three quarters of surveyed companies said they were increasingly interested in focusing on those regions. Even still, that's not to say that climate work in the U.S. is dead. The report from WBCSD found that 50% of companies now have less interest in investing in climate work in the U.S. That's a striking figure when contrasted with the global picture. At the same time, it means a significant fraction of global companies continue to see potential. In background chats I had, many American business and financial sector leaders were quick to share that they continue to find opportunities to cut emissions in a way that saves them money—though several expressed fear that talking about it publicly could prompt scrutiny from the administration. 'Businesses are not giving up on the decarbonization journey,' says Peter Bakker, president and CEO of WBCSD, 'depending on where businesses are stationed, they are more or less willing to talk about it.' And I was surprised by the response to my informal, totally anecdotal poll about this year's New York Climate Week. In conversations, I asked sustainability executives how they planned to approach the gathering this year. While many said they had considered pulling out, the vast majority said that they have ultimately decided they still plan to show up—perhaps with a smaller footprint than in years past. The calibration of the message in New York this fall will be interesting, to say the least. In more than a decade on this beat, I have never felt more of a reluctance from business leaders to speak on the record. Many long standing sources preferred to talk without attribution, wary of the political consequences of speaking truthfully even while they eagerly highlighted their work to me. While that makes it more challenging to clearly tell the full story of what's happening, I suppose it's somewhat good news if your biggest concern is whether companies are still focused on capping emissions. To get this story in your inbox, subscribe to the TIME CO2 Leadership Report newsletter here.
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE What a bloomin' liberty! Sadiq Khan is ridiculed for handing out 12,000 wildflower seeds to commuters - after saying London's Green Belt should be built on
Sir Sadiq Khan has been ridiculed for handing out wildflower seeds to commuters just weeks after announcing that London 's Green Belt should be built on. Part of his plans for Climate Action Week he launched a new Green Roots Fund to invest £12million into neighbourhoods so make them 'greener, healthier and more climate resilient'. In the video posted to X Sir Sadiq can be seen chatting to commuters and helping hand out 12,000 free seed packets, as he says: 'The benefits of nature should be for everyone and we are committed to making this a reality for everyone.' However, his comments have now been slammed by the deputy leader of the City Hall Conservatives Emma Best who labeled the move 'astonishingly hypocritical' as just weeks ago he was 'sending in the bulldozers' to London's green belt. Speaking to MailOnline, Ms Best said: 'This is astonishing hypocrisy from the Mayor and greenwashing of the highest order. 'With one hand he is commanding bulldozers to demolish a country park and with the other he is handing out flower seeds as though that balances his actions. 'Sadiq Khan says the 'benefits of nature should be for all Londoners' but clearly that excludes those whose parks and green spaces he intends to build on.' In May the Mayor used a speech to argue that brownfield site alone cannot meet the capital's needs. He suggested 'low-quality' green belt should be released to developers with conditions such as providing affordable homes and transport links. Up to now Sir Sadiq has argued against permitting the use of such land before previously-developed brownfield options have been exhausted. However, the Labour government has set a tough wider goal of building 1.5million homes over this Parliament. London has a new target of adding 88,000 new homes a year, but the city's current plan is delivering only around 40,000 a year. Meanwhile, rents in the capital rose 11.5 per cent last year and councils are spending £4million a day on temporary accommodation amid increasing homelessness. Sir Sadiq has now launched a consultation on the next version of the London Plan, which will set out his vision for development in the capital over the next two decades. City Hall has already begun a review of green belt land in line with the Government's policy of building more on low-quality parts of the green belt, so-called 'grey belt' land. However, other possibilities will now be explored for securing enough land to meet London's housing needs. Sir Sadiq speaking at the event in May said 'the truth is we're still far from fixing housing'. 'The green belt can often be low-quality land, poorly maintained and not really enjoyed by Londoners. Only around 13 per cent is made up of parks and areas that the public can access,' he said. 'So given the quality of parts of London's green belt and the extent of the housing crisis, I believe the current position is wrong, out-of-date and simply unsustainable. 'Development on carefully chosen parts of the green belt – done in the right way – would allow us to unlock hundreds of thousands of new homes. This would not only go a long way to ending the housing crisis but provide a huge boost to our economy.'
