19 October 2021

Lord Mayor calls on City of London to lead global charge to net zero

The Lord Mayor of the City of London William Russell has called on firms across the Square Mile to play their role in helping countries across the world mitigate climate change.

Speaking at a Guildhall event on Monday [18 October 2021] attended by HM Chancellor and senior Government and business figures ahead of the Global Investment Summit, the Lord Mayor told attendees that the City of London can ensure the net zero transition is 'financed, implemented and sustained'.

His comments followed an announcement by the City of London Corporation that it has set a 2040 net zero target for its combined £3bn investment portfolios.

The remarks also come in advance of next month’s UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow, where the City of London Corporation alongside the Green Finance Institute is holding the Green Horizon Summit. The event will bring together senior figures from the financial and professional services sector across the world to discuss how best to mobilise finance in the transition to net zero.

Lord Mayor of the City of London William Russell said:

"We do not just want to reach net zero here in the City, we want the City to help you achieve net zero across the world.

"Not only is this one of the few global centres with a workforce of people who have been working on green finance for years, but the UK is also securing its future green talent pipeline.

"This is the place where scientific innovation meets financial innovation, where financial capital is linked with engineering projects, and where both new technology and new financial products are pioneered.

"We have seen this in offshore wind, where the policy frameworks and financing models were designed, deployed and scaled up from the UK, with results that have been transformational.

"Soon we are going to see technological transitions on that scale in other sectors – in aviation, road transport, buildings.

"In the UK, not only do we see the new technologies developed, we also see the answers to the difficult questions of how the transition is financed, implemented and sustained.

"We will be working with others to find the answers that lead to action in Glasgow next month.

"Greening finance and financing green – this is where the opportunity lies."

The City Corporation aims to reach net zero carbon emissions for its own operations by 2027 and across its investments and supply chain by 2040 - and to support the achievement of net zero for the whole Square Mile by 2040. The organisation has also signed up to Race to Zero, a UN-backed global campaign rallying non-state actors to take rigorous and immediate action to halve global emissions by 2030 and UK100, a network of UK locally elected leaders who have pledged to play their part in addressing climate change.

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