. While skeptics grumbled that some were recycled commitments, by Friday the International Energy Agency said that, if delivered, the updated pledges would likely limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius—the first time it has fallen below that benchmark. New national commitments from China and India were central to the new IEA analysis, even if they disappointed some.
Exhibit A is the $130 trillion in private capital promised for the energy transition by the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, a group of 450 financial institutions from 45 countries. However, the associated plan to reform the financial system warns that governments need to provide the “commitment, clarity, and coordination required to accelerate progress.”
“If there is a framework and pathway that shows how the pieces fit together, that is what will really mobilize investment,” says Lucy Heintz of Actis, a veteran energy-transition investor in high-growth markets.
Carney’s efforts, while perhaps with good intentions, are misleading, and I would go so far as saying the $130 trillion figure is a lie. It’s more than the market capitalization on all stock markets combined.