Orla Shields’ Post

Financial institutions play a pivotal role in financed emissions by funding projects and industries that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, thus influencing the environmental impact of their investments. Our latest whitepaper, "The Urgent Path to Net Zero for Financial Services Organizations," is now available for download!   Dive into this to uncover:  ✅ How financial service organisations contribute to carbon footprints.  ✅ Understanding the concept of "Financed Emissions."  ✅ Why achieving Net Zero is paramount for banks.  ✅ The transformative role of #SalesforceNetZeroCloud in tracking ESG footprints. 📌 Please click here to download the whitepaper: https://lnkd.in/ezz5Mjqg #SalesforceNetZeroCloud #ClimateChange #financialservices #coforge 🔊 John Speight Edward Davies Manish Verma Ashraf Hossain Jay Jayadev Sandeep Gupta Sarma Kalamchety Gowtham Yeramanasetti Meghan Sullivan Grace Sanford Sreeni Garimella - PMP®, PSM I™ Seshadri Rayaprolu Shubham Chauhan Mohd Saqib

Banks are feeling the pressure to reduce emissions generated by their financed activities. The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFanz) is working on a framework to help banks report potential emissions reductions in their portfolios. This is essential for transitioning to a net-zero emissions world. GFanz's approach includes supporting climate-friendly projects and helping companies with transition plans. However, there's a significant funding gap for these initiatives, and banks may be reluctant to finance high-emitting sectors, as it could temporarily increase their emissions portfolios. To tackle this, GFanz is proposing a new metric called "expected emission reduction" (EER), which measures a bank's contribution to real-world decarbonisation. EER encourages banks to fund entities with ambitious transition plans and those replacing high-emitting sources with cleaner alternatives. This new metric has the potential to increase funding for transition finance and allows banks to assess the effectiveness of entities' decarbonisation efforts. It also offers a way to compare banks' climate actions based on their EER-to-portfolio size ratios. #ESG #sustainability #emissionreduction #netzero #transitionfinance #decarbonisation

𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐌𝐄𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐠𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐭 🧰 A recent study by NatWest showed that SMEs could contribute to up to half of the UK’s 2030 emissions targets if given the proper support. However, two-thirds of SMEs have concerns about their ability to address the climate crisis! So NatWest and Cogo have collaborated on a new toolkit to provide accessible guidance and resources. This includes covering various aspects of carbon management, including the benefits for SMEs, creating emissions inventories, setting targets, and disclosing progress. This is a great step in making the journey to net zero seem more achievable for SMEs, but what else could be done to support them? ⬇ #carboncapture #carbonreporting #carbonaccounting #climatetechnology #netzerocarbon

Fighting the climate emergency requires the deployment of every tool available. Emissions’ reduction is key and goes first in the mitigation hierarchy, but there are some emissions that are impossible to avoid. This is where carbon markets come in. They facilitate the purchase of ‘carbon offsets’ to compensate for residual emissions which, in turn, will accelerate the transition to net zero globally and help allay climate change.  At Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, we strive to support our clients in their transition to more sustainable business models. Find out more about “The role of voluntary carbon markets in the global net zero ambition” on https://lnkd.in/e_kmT_zP #BancoSantander #NetZero #CarbonMarkets  

World Bank pioneers Carbon Credits, propelling global carbon markets to new heights. A sustainable future beckons as nations unite in emissions reduction efforts. Harnessing innovation, the initiative accelerates green projects worldwide. Carbon Credits become the currency of environmental progress, fostering economic growth with a conscience. As the world turns towards renewable energy, the marketplace thrives on carbon neutrality. The World Bank catalyzes a paradigm shift, incentivizing businesses to embrace eco-friendly practices. Together, we reshape the future, one carbon credit at a time. #ABetterWorld #carboncredit #sustainable #renewableenergy #greenprojects #carbonmarkets Harshit Agrawal

Recent doubts about the quality of #CarbonCredits have arisen due to worries about the efficiency, trustworthiness, and honesty of offset projects. So, in this month’s edition of #CFTalks, we’re asking our Senior Project Manager, Mary Arulappan to answer the following question: Based on your experience, what measures can be implemented to guarantee the credibility of carbon credits? Mary Arulappan: “Ensuring carbon credits' credibility is crucial for the effectiveness of carbon offset programs and the fight against climate change. To address recent concerns about the quality of carbon credits, we must take a series of assertive measures to enhance their credibility: - Commit to long-term projects to maintain carbon reductions or removals for the entire life of the credit. - Regularly review and update baseline emission levels to reflect changing circumstances and technological advancements. - Encourage regular feedback and review processes to identify and address weaknesses in the carbon credit system. - Educate consumers and businesses about the limitations and benefits of carbon credits to foster informed decision-making and encourage responsible carbon offset purchases. - Foster international cooperation and collaboration to create consistent global standards and ensure that carbon credits are accepted across jurisdictions. By implementing these measures, we can significantly enhance carbon credit programs' credibility, transparency, and effectiveness in combating climate change while addressing concerns about the quality of carbon credits.” #ClimateActionNow #CarbonOffset #ClimateChange #GHGemissions #UNSDGs

Ahead of the group exercise that follows this session, Orestis Velentzas, Climate Mitigation & Banking Lead at the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) set the scene with an overview of the significant challenges faced by banks in their transition journeys and ways to strategise their approach to net zero. Introducing the Climate Mitigation Journey, developed with the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), he illustrated how this climate strategy asset can be used by banks to develop their long-term plans and decarbonisation strategies, identify gaps and opportunities towards achieving net zero, build organisational capacity for sustainability, and identify regional components required in the transition journey. Delegates were also guided on the key capabilities that banks are required to build in their path to net zero, which include building strong foundational capabilities, identifying commitments and targets, and developing and delivering transformation initiatives. #AICB #UNEPFI #sustainability #climatechange #climateaction #ESG #sustainablebanking #responsiblebanking #nature

Businesses are rallying around the high-integrity use of carbon credits. A roundtable session with senior representation from businesses, financial institutions and standard setters at #ClimateWeekNYC revealed that there is a high demand from corporate leaders for carbon credits that go above and beyond decarbonisation. The #VoluntaryCarbonMarket (VCM) can play a key role in scaling climate finance. Understanding the crucial part the VCM can play in enabling the net-zero transition, the COP28 UAE Presidency and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) have put support behind ICVCM's and VCMI's work. Find out more ⤵ https://lnkd.in/evTYQkrR

Mark your calendar for our webinar "Staying ahead with the lastest ESG trends" tomorrow on 31Oct. We will highlight the latest developments in ESG, focusing on key areas like the green bond market, renewable energy, and climate advancements. We will also examine ESG ratings. Register now: https://ow.ly/u1o950PPK2O #ESG #credit #banking #greenbondmarket #renewableenergy #climaterisk

👀 Read why investment in high-integrity carbon credits is an essential component of corporate leadership on #ClimateAction. While carbon markets experience some growing pains as they mature, we must not let perfection be the enemy of the good. 💡 It's clear that a failure of carbon markets now would slow our path to #netzero emissions and derail financial innovation in other ecosystem services. My latest op-ed in Euronews 👇 #WMBC