UN calls for clean energy investments to be doubled to $660bn
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has called on the private sector to double clean energy investments to $660bn by 2020.
The United Nations’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on the private sector to double clean energy investments to $660 billion by 2020.
Mr Ban was addressing more than 500 global investors at the UN Headquarters in New York on Wednesday to mobilise the investment needed to transition to a low-carbon green economy.
The UN chief said: “Markets now have the clear signal they need to unleash the full force of human ingenuity and scale up investments that can generate low-emissions resilient growth.”
Mr Ban added: “The world now counts on you to act at the speed and scale needed to transform the global economy. To keep global temperature rise well below 2 degrees, and even 1.5 degrees, we must begin the shift away from fossil fuels immediately. We need a massive scaling up of investments in clean energy and energy efficiency.”
The meeting was organised by Ceres, the UN Foundation and the UN Office for Partnerships, with the aim of catalysing a global shift towards cleaner energy to meet the long-term targets of the Paris climate agreement reached in December to curb greenhouse gas emissions and avoid dangerous global warming.
Mr Ban continued: “In 2015, clean energy investments stood at around $330 billion dollars, more than six times higher than in 2004. This is a good down-payment, but far less than the “clean trillion” needed annually throughout the coming decades to keep temperature rise to acceptable levels and limit the risks from climate change.”
“Investors and businesses that redirect resources to low-carbon, climate-resilient growth will be the economic powerhouses of the 21st century,” Mr. Ban concluded. “Those that fail to do so will be on the losing side of history. Every decision on investment and resource allocation must be part of the solution. Every dollar must be invested in low-carbon goods and services.
“The private sector is the engine that will drive the climate solutions we need to reduce climate risks, end energy poverty and create a safer, more prosperous future for this and future generations. Each of you has a major role to play,” said the UN chief.
Michael R. Bloomberg, three-term Mayor of New York City, and the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change said: ”Cities and businesses recognize the economic benefits that come with fighting climate change, and they're setting a great example by establishing clear goals and measuring the impact of their work.”
Bloomberg, who is also founder of Bloomber LLP and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Network, added: ”The more reliable information investors have about climate change, the easier it is for them to make informed decisions, and that will help drive more financing to projects that reduce carbon pollution and promote sustainable economic growth.”
At a press conference after the meeting, Christiana Figueres, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said that the solutions to climate change are within reach and are much more cost effective and affordable.
Ms Figueres said: “There are more opportunities to do well, to do good, and to have a just transition that [ensures] the wellbeing of everyone,” she said, adding that she had also seen a remarkable shift in the financial community about fiduciary responsibility. “We have shifted to an understanding […] that it is not about quarterly results. It is about the long term stability of the economy and of industry as a whole,”
