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How investors can fight climate change

In our previous two newsletters we have written about our Positive Impact Investment Service and how your money could make a difference to the world.

While I do not want to ‘green wash’ you all by continuing to talk about this area, it is clearly an issue which is extremely important as we, as a society, become more aware of the damage being done to our planet. Just recently you will probably have seen the mass ‘Extinction Rebellion’ protests held in major cities across the globe, all led by the very inspiring Greta Thunberg. 

This level of public concern about climate change has culminated in the release of a special report by the official advisory group to the UK government on climate matters – the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) – proposing a revision to the UK’s climate change mitigation commitments. 

The CCC report proposes a ‘net-zero’ emissions target for Scotland by 2045 and 2050 for the rest of the UK. While UK MPs approved a motion declaring a state of ‘climate change emergency’ on 01st May, we are now waiting for a legal framework to follow this and provide more concrete drivers for a green economy transition.

With all this pressure, there are reasons to be hopeful. We should not forget that we already have a good idea of what needs to change; we know the ‘blockers’ and ‘enablers’ to a net-zero UK.

As the 16-year-old climate activist Thunberg said recently: “The climate crisis has already been solved. We already have all the facts and solutions. All we have to do is to wake up and change.” This change needs to be made through all of us – aligning our buying, investing and voting with a sustainable future.

So how can investors play their part in helping to solve the climate change emergency?

At CL4Women we are firm believers that the financial sector can be a real catalyst in creating a net-zero-emissions society. 

Through impact investing  - i.e. investing to maximise positive social/environmental impact and financial returns - companies that provide low-carbon solutions can gain access to cheaper cost of capital and be helped to scale. With more money being diverted to sustainable firms, the ‘snowball effect’ also encourages their peers to improve.

Via our Impact Investing Service, together we can support the development of solutions to the climate change challenge. You would avoid any exposure to ‘blockers’ of a low-carbon economy, but intentionally invest in renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency, electric vehicle infrastructure or innovations for waste reduction.

We are excited about the developments in the impact investing space as we continue to see an increasing demand for this service across our clients. We believe it can play an important role in transitioning to a carbon-neutral economy and it can help us all sleep a little easier at night knowing that we are doing our bit for the planet.

To learn more about our impact investing service please visit our website: www.cockburnlucas.co.uk/impact-investing

Alternatively, please feel free to get in touch with me directly if you want to know more.

**The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may get back less than the amount invested**