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By Sharon Kimathi, Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital

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It’s a grim outlook for the future as “humanity has opened the gates to hell”, according to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ opening remarks at the U.N. Climate Ambition Summit this week.

With the annual U.N. climate summit, COP28, due to take place in November and December in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Guterres implored national policymakers to step up efforts to phase out the use of climate-warming fossil fuels.

“The move from fossil fuels to renewables is happening – but we are decades behind,” Guterres said at the start of the one-day summit. “We must make up for time lost to foot-dragging, arm-twisting and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels.”

Thirty-four countries recognized for taking strong action on climate change were due to speak, including Canada, the European Union, Pakistan, South Africa and the island nation of Tuvalu.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, U.S., September 19, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Segar

“Many of the poorest nations have every right to be angry – angry that they are suffering most from a climate crisis they did nothing to create, angry that promised finance has not materialized, and angry that their borrowing costs are sky-high,” Guterres said.

Kenyan President William Ruto urged a universal tax on fossil fuel trade, levies on aviation and maritime emissions and on financial transactions to raise trillions of dollars. “Neither Africa nor the developing world stands in need of charity from developed countries,” Ruto said.

Guterres said he hoped the one-day U.N. mini-summit would inspire more investment and action by countries and companies to bring their climate plans in line with a global target of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

The climate summit was also set to hear from several international financial institutions, including the global travel insurer Allianz, multilateral lending agencies including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as the U.S. state of California.

The U.N.’s Green Climate Fund for disbursing climate finance to developing countries also said it planned to launch a new initiative during the event.

Lloyd’s of London is teaming up with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) to try and improve access to insurance for climate vulnerable countries, with an initial focus on Fiji and Pacific island countries.

Climate change is happening faster and causing more damage than scientists had predicted, accelerating the need for countries and communities to get help that can cushion the financial blow. But far too little money is being spent on protecting populations and many have limited access to support.

Elsewhere, a new U.N. treaty to protect the world’s oceans is expected to be signed by dozens of countries – another step in the efforts to reverse the damage done to fragile marine environments by overfishing and other human activities.

The global pact to conserve biodiversity on the high seas was finally agreed in March and formally adopted by the U.N. in June. It is seen as a crucial tool to meet a target agreed last year to protect 30% of the earth’s land and sea by 2030, known as “30 by 30“.

The agreement will create ocean sanctuaries where fishing will be prohibited, and also ensure human activity on the high seas is subject to environmental impact assessments.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature estimates that $500 million in funding will be required to kickstart the treaty, and a special implementation and capacity-building fund could require another $100 million per year.

SAG-AFTRA actors and Writers Guild of America (WGA) writers rally during their ongoing strike, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. September 13, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Stephanie Jamison, global sustainability services lead at Irish-American professional services company, Accenture, shares her thoughts on this week’s U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) and sustainability:

“This UNGA week marks the midpoint to 2030, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are slipping out of reach. But even with just half of business leaders believing the world will achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) by the deadline set by the UN General Assembly in 2015, there is room for hope.

“Nearly all of the over 2,800 global business leaders we surveyed with the U.N. Global Compact still view the SDGs as a unifying global vision. Many of these companies are moving forward on sustainable development.

“Simultaneously, they are transforming their businesses while looking for new opportunities and more customer and regulatory alignment, increased investment and upskilling across industries to help achieve more meaningful results.

“The private sector is rising to the occasion with leading companies embedding sustainability and the SDGs into their business strategy. But they need clear guidance on where to concentrate their efforts and clear data for measurement criteria to report progress and make informed decisions. 

“Recent advances in technology and data analytics mean we can now use multiple large data sets to help measure private-sector impact more accurately and consistently than before. It’s time to scale these advances into a reality where results match ambitions.”

When the CEO gets a 40% raise, what do the workers deserve?

That question is at the heart of the United Auto Workers union’s strikes at assembly plants owned by Ford, General Motors and Chrysler parent Stellantis.

UAW President Shawn Fain initially asked for a 40% increase in worker’s pay over the next four years – a figure based on an approximately 40% increase in CEO pay at the companies over the last four years at a time of stable profits for two of the three automakers.

A logo of HSBC is seen on its headquarters at the financial Central district in Hong Kong, China August 4, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Funding for green innovation takes today’s spotlight as HSBC sets up $1 billion to fund climate technology around the world, whilst TotalEnergies launches a green hydrogen tender call.

HSBC Holdings said it plans to allocate $1 billion in financing to support emerging climate-tech companies around the world, in a push to help reduce carbon emissions.

The financing is expected to support start-ups in EV charging, battery storage, sustainable food and agriculture and carbon removal technologies, HSBC said.

“Access to finance is critical for early-stage climate tech companies to create and scale real-world solutions,” said Barry O’Byrne, CEO of global commercial banking at HSBC.

TotalEnergies logo, the company’s headquarters skyscraper in the financial and business district of La Defense, near Paris, France September 14, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

TotalEnergies announced a call for tenders for the annual production of 500,000 tonnes of “green” hydrogen as part of the French oil major’s plans to decarbonise its European refineries.

Its emissions reduction plan is to use green hydrogen, which is produced using renewable energy, to completely replace “gray” hydrogen in its carbon intensive industrial activities.

TotalEnergies said the transition to green hydrogen would reduce emissions by around five million metric tons of CO2 per year from its refineries in Europe, including its three oil refineries and two biorefineries in France.

“We will only get the SDGs back on track through drastic changes in policy direction. Our economic and financial systems are broken, and we are reaching dangerous levels of inequality while the climate crisis worsens.” 

Sandrine Dixson-Declève, co-president of the non-profit, The Club of Rome, and co-author of Earth for All

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