Severe summer droughts, extreme storms and much more have shown how new weather patterns threaten us.
However, the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine has made energy security even more of an issue than sustainability, and the poor outcomes from the COP27 summit suggest steps to reduce global warming are getting more challenging and even maybe faltering. Indeed, many commentators are ending the year despondent and in need of new optimism.
Despite all of this bad news, the reality is the business community knows it cannot be complacent about planning for net-zero as decarbonisation targets remain for 2030. Perhaps even more so than governments, the banks and other financial institutions will play an increasingly important role in how businesses achieve these and other ambitious goals around sustainability.
