The climate crisis – the 130 trillion-dollar question

It’s estimated the world must invest trillions of dollars to tackle climate change by 2050. We look at the opportunities this could bring.

“It’s now or never, if we want to limit global warming to 1.5C. Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible.”

These are the words of Professor Jim Skea[1], co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), upon the release of its Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change report. Here, we take a look at the IPCC’s key findings and discuss the implications for investors.

A sizeable task

The IPCC report outlines the world’s climate-mitigation progress so far. This includes the pathways required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, as well as the role different sectors can play to get us there. The findings are clear: to avoid catastrophic climate change, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must peak before 2025 and then nearly halve (43%) from 2019 levels by 2030[2].

Yet today’s trajectory is simply not compatible with that message. GHG emissions – which have risen by over 54% since 1990 – are now at their highest levels in human history. Scientific consensus projects warming in the region of 3C, even if countries achieve their Nationally Determined Contributions[3]. The case for immediate and deep emissions reductions is painfully clear. The cost of no climate action far outweighs the cost of taking action.

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