Environmental Finance: COP28: First Global Stocktake draft ‘not particularly groundbreaking’, investors say

Following the release of the draft Global Stocktake text at COP28, Actis Partner and Head of Sustainability, Shami Nissan, provided her reaction in comments to Environmental Finance. Click here to read the full article or read on below for Shami’s commentary.

Shami Nissan, Partner and Head of Sustainability at Actis, commented:

“The Global Stocktake draft that has emerged does not provide anything particularly groundbreaking at this stage, though there is still time for the text to be finalised.

“The draft acknowledges that there has been near-universal climate action following the Paris Agreement but that emissions are still not aligned with what is needed to keep to 1.5C of temperature increases. This is a significant concern and time is running out for the world to keep to the limits agreed at COP21.

“Perhaps the most interesting thing about this Global Stocktake draft is what is missing from it. It does not provide a consensus position on fossil fuel phase outs or on nature-focused solutions like combatting deforestation or protecting biodiversity.

“This is what negotiators will need to thrash out and come to an agreement on. The world is off-track and the work must continue to align countries on a common position on these issues.

“As a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure, at Actis we know the crucial difference government backing and ambition can make in fast-forwarding the transition to renewable energy and climate solutions. Let’s hope there’s more to come!”