Exactly three years on from the historic pledges made at COP26 in Glasgow, the goals risk being undermined and the summit’s legacy becoming a tarnished one, it has been warned.

Leading businesswoman Dr Marie Macklin is expected to issue the warning as part of her keynote speech at the Women in Property UK People – Places – Innovation Summit today (Thursday November 14^th) at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh.

The COP26 summit, hosted in Scotland in 2021, saw significant pledges made concerning leading financial institutions’ role in accelerating the path to Net Zero.

However, Dr Macklin, an entrepreneur who is passionately committed to urban and community regeneration, will use her speech today to highlight that more needs to be done, by governments and private sector organisations, to live up to the pledges made in Glasgow in 2021.

Speaking at the conference, Dr Marie Macklin is expected to say:

“The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) was the big headline at COP26 in Glasgow when 550 of the world’s leading financial institutions committed to reduce their financial emissions in line with the 1.5C benchmark.

“With $150 trillion of combined balance sheets, it seemed that the GFANZ had the scale of financial resources to address the world’s most pressing problems. However, three years later I do not see much evidence of these fine words trickling through to our most deprived communities.

“Granted, the GFANZ has now produced a comprehensive framework for the net-zero transition plans of financial institutions and companies. This transition means financing climate solutions and the growth of companies already aligned with net zero.

“But it also means going to where the emissions are and backing companies with credible transition plans to get emissions down. A Just Transition requires financial institutions to support the managed phase-out of stranded assets.”

She added:

“GFANZ also expects more than 250 transition plans to be published by major financial institutions this year. These transition plans will be most useful to decision-makers when reported in a consistent and comparable way across markets.

“However, as COP29 meets in Baku, Azerbaijan this week – and as the UN now reports that this year is set to be the first to breach the 1.5C global warming limit – we need to recommit to the pledges made at COP26.

“Exactly three years ago today, world leaders were leaving Scotland after attending the Glasgow summit.

“COP26 was Scotland’s chance to help drive solutions to the global climate emergency.

“It was a historic event for our nation – and a historic opportunity.

“But three years on, the legacy of COP26 risks becoming a tarnished one.

“Without the action needed – from governments and from the private sector – the pledges made in Glasgow three years ago will turn to dust.

“And so, the G20 should now mandate transition plans for large companies and financial institutions to help turn commitments into action and unlock the capital needed to decarbonise the economy.

“The groundwork on the international stage is evident but based upon my real, localised experience, governments need to do much more. They require to align financial regulation with our Net Zero ambitions by making transition plans mandatory with an emphasis on support for deprived localised communities.”

You can read Marie’s full speech from the People – Innovation – Place –  Summit, hosted by Women in Property at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh on Thursday 14th November 2024 here.