Carney, Kerry's finance plan to boost climate action

If the planet is going to shift to a low carbon future, someone’s got to fund it - and fund it well.

Enter UN climate envoy Mark Carney … and his U.S. peer John Kerry.

The duo announced a new plan aimed at the world’s financial system, helping it move the global economy to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

[U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, saying:] "This is the critical fight for all of us. And I know that sounds a little highfaluting to some people. But the evidence, the science, is coming back at us stronger, harder, bigger, faster. And it's telling us that we are running out of time, which is what scientists say."

Kerry and Carney's new group - Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) - will bring existing net zero initiatives together under one umbrella, ensuring all sub-sector efforts are consistent and ambitious.

So far, more than 160 firms with assets of at least $70 trillion have signed up.

That includes 43 banks - such as Barclays, Morgan Stanley, HSBC and Citi.

Carney said that "this is the breakthrough in mainstreaming climate finance the world needs".

Net zero initiatives aren't new.

Many banks, insurers and asset managers have already started to commit to some form of climate action.

But their efforts are often disjointed.

Frameworks used can differ, some aren’t rooted in climate science or aren’t backed up by targets.

Kerry and Carney’s plan aims to fix the issue.

All members will need to have their climate plans in line with the UN’s “Race to Zero” campaign.

It’ll ensure efforts are science-based, cover all emission types, have 2030 interim targets, and commit to transparent reporting and accounting.