AIQ: Cleaning Up Capitalism

To align with net-zero emissions targets, the financial system needs a radical transformation. Can it get there and, if it does, what should it look like in 2050?

If the world is to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, the international financial architecture needs far stronger coordination under a re-tooled OECD, writes Steve Waygood.

For too long, issues of justice and equality have been left out of the climate conversation. But policymakers, companies and investors are slowly beginning to acknowledge the social dimensions of climate action.

With the noise and interest in ESG investing reaching levels that would have been unthinkable a few short years ago, much of the analysis surrounding it is becoming polarised. A more sophisticated conversation and debate is required, argues Mark Versey.

Nearly three decades after it first agreed to tackle climate change, the world has failed miserably to curb the growth in CO₂ emissions. To succeed, it urgently needs to establish an effective price for carbon.

Internalise the climate externality. That is the major task facing policymakers and corporate executives. However, this requires accurate measurement and incorporation into financial accounts and neither are straightforward.

Energy majors, cement producers, utilities and financial services providers are among the latest targets of legal action designed to make them move faster towards a lower carbon world. Could this be an inflection point, as the conversation turns to specific responsibilities rather than vague commitments to change?

Some of the world’s biggest companies are setting ambitious net-zero targets, with significant implications for their supply chains. How impactful could the ripple effect be in helping to meet the goals set out in the Paris Agreement?

Heavy industry and heavy transport are hard to decarbonise, but this must be done to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Can companies, policymakers and investors join forces to make it happen? The race is on…

Renewable energy has a vital role to play if the world is to combat climate change. But its widespread adoption comes with a price. As older installations come to the end of their useful life, countries urgently need to work out what to do with the waste.

The latest assessments from climate scientists suggest some geographical zones that have been lived in for thousands of years are becoming uncomfortably hot and fire-prone or wet and vulnerable to flooding. How will humanity adapt to new extremes? Rick Stathers assesses the evidence.

Will a world beset with challenges spin into catastrophic breakdown or spur humanity to change and reach new heights? John Elkington, widely regarded as the ‘godfather of sustainability’, contemplates the future with AIQ.

Interest in ESG investing is expanding at a seemingly exponential rate – and with it the risks of greenwashing only grow. However, Alex Edmans explains why he believes it is possible for companies and investors to create win-win situations for all stakeholders.