COP26 & The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ)

GFANZ: Net zero financial alliance launches: https://racetozero.unfccc.int/net-zer... #NetZeroFinance

Mark Carney, UN RaceToZero campaign and #COP26 Presidency launch net zero financial alliance with world's biggest banks, asset owners, asset managers and insurers.

Speakers included:

Mark Carney - Finance Advisor to Prime Minister for COP26
John Kerry - US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate
Thomas Buberl, CEO, Axa
Inger Andersen, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme
Alison Rose, CEO, NatWest
Noel Quinn, CEO, HSBC
Thomas Nides, MD and Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley
Ana Botín, Group Executive Chairman, Banco Santander
Nigel Topping, COP26 High Level Climate Action Champion
Amanda Blanc, CEO, Aviva
Oliver Bate, Chairman of the Board of Management of Allianz SE (CEO)
Nili Gilbert, Investment Committee Chair, David Rockefeller Fund
Michelle Scrimgeour, CEO, Legal & General Investment Management
David Blood, Senior Partner, Generation Investment Management
Gonzalo Muñoz, COP25 High Level Climate Action Champion

Industry-led and UN-convened Net Zero Banking Alliance also announced today, co-launched by the UNEP Finance Initiative and the Financial Services Taskforce of the Sustainable Markets Initiative.

The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (#GFANZ), chaired by Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance, unites over 160 firms (together responsible for assets in excess of US$70 trillion) from the leading net zero initiatives across the financial system to accelerate the transition to net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.

All GFANZ member alliances must be accredited by the UN Race to Zero campaign. They must use science-based guidelines to reach net zero emissions, cover all emission scopes, include 2030 interim target setting, and commit to transparent reporting and accounting in line with the UN Race to Zero criteria.

43 banks from 23 countries (with assets of US$28.5 trillion) form the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) today – which joins GFANZ – with its members committing to align operational and attributable emissions from their portfolios with pathways to net-zero by 2050 or sooner.
The Net-Zero Banking Alliance is convened by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative and co-launched by the Prince of Wales’ Sustainable Markets Initiative Financial Services Taskforce (FSTF).

On the eve of President Biden’s Head of State Climate Summit, Mark Carney (the UK Prime Minister’s Finance Advisor for COP26 and UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance) – in partnership with the UNFCCC Climate Action Champions and the UN Race to Zero campaign, and the COP26 Presidency – join the Honorable John Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and the Honorable Janet Yellen, US Treasury Secretary to launch a global alliance that brings together existing and new net zero finance initiatives into one sector-wide strategic forum: The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ).

GFANZ will work to mobilise the trillions of dollars necessary to build a global zero emissions economy and deliver the goals of the Paris Agreement. GFANZ will provide a forum for strategic coordination among the leadership of finance institutions from across the finance sector to accelerate the transition to a net zero economy. All initiatives in GFANZ require signatories to set science-aligned interim and long-term goals to reach net zero no later than 2050 in line with Race to Zero’s criteria. These goals are supplemented by member-determined short-term targets and action plans.

The industry-led Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and co-launched by the Financial Services Taskforce (FSTF) of the Prince of Wales’ Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI), is the newest net zero alliance. NZBA brings together an initial cohort of 43 of the world’s leading banks with a focus on delivering the banking sector’s ambition to align its climate commitments with the Paris Agreement goals with collaboration, rigour, and transparency.

The NZBA joins existing initiatives: the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative and the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance.

By bringing together leading existing and new net zero finance initiatives in the Race to Zero together in one sector-wide strategic forum, GFANZ will catalyse strategic and technical coordination on the steps firms need to take to align with a net zero future.

- UN-convened Net-Zero Banking Alliance - http://www.unepfi.org/net-zero-banking
- UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance - https://www.unepfi.org/net-zero-allia...
- UN-convened Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (coming soon) - http://www.unepfi.org/net-zero-insurance
- Net Zero Asset Manager Initiative - https://www.netzeroassetmanagers.org/