En+ Group confirms Net Zero commitment

En+ Group has confirmed its commitment to achieving Net Zero at the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. The two-week climate conference has been attended by the heads of state and business representatives from more than 120 countries. It is expected to end on 12 November.

One of the key COP26 initiatives has been the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). It has grown 25-fold since April to include 450 firms from 45 countries. Participants include commercial banks, insurance and audit companies, pension funds, rating agencies and stock exchanges that control a total of $130 trillion (£95 trillion) in assets. This accounts for around 40% of global assets. In addition, more than 40 countries, including the United Kingdom, Poland, South Korea and Vietnam, have committed through the Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement to phasing out coal power in the 2030s, for major economies, or 2040s globally, and to stopping public funding for new coal-fired power plants.

Another key topic of the summit was the conservation of forests. According to the UN, 420 million hectares of forest have been lost over the past 30 years. This represents an area larger than India. Currently 1.6 million hectares of forest is being lost globally every year. More than 100 world leaders, including Russia, Brazil, the USA and Indonesia, have promised to end and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, committing nearly $20 billion of public and private funds to protect and restore forests. This agreement is part of efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C.