The year 2020 may very well be remembered as the year the financial market seriously awakened to the need for money to flow away from climate-destroying investments. In January, the World’s largest asset manager, Blackrock, made sweeping changes to its investment and engagement approach. Their CEO, Larry Fink, “expressed a clear conviction that climate change is driving a fundamental reshaping of finance—and therefore, BlackRock’s own strategy.” Then in September, there was this trifecta: The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission released a report that explicitly stated,”Without targeted, explicit price carbon emissions, “financial markets will operate sub-optimally,” with capital exacerbating risk & cost while failing to invest in more efficient solutions.” September 14, 2020, BP Plc said the relentless growth of oil demand is over, becoming the first supermajor to call the end of an era many thought would last another decade or more. Finally, European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel said, “Climate change is a bigger economic risk than pandemic.” Even cynics amongst us should be able to see glimmers of hope in these profound shake-ups in the financial world. Climate-Motivated Financial Shake-ups in 2020
