Skip to main content
Commentary General

Glasgow, Greta and GFANZ

Dsodfj resized
image

‘Keep Glasgow cold, wet and grey’ was one of the better placards being waved at the children’s protest during the COP26 summit. It was apposite as well given the unseasonably balmy weather at the end of the first week of negotiations.

WHEB was in Glasgow to speak at a couple of events being organised on the fringes of the official COP26 negotiations. We were hoping to learn more about the fleet of initiatives being launched at the event and to play our own small part in creating the ‘atmosphere of urgency, action and collaboration’ that might help tip the balance in favour of more action.1

Progress so far

While the achievements of the conference have so far been quite mixed, it has catalysed a range of new commitments. WHEB’s investment portfolio is a microcosm that illustrates the pace of change. In December 2019, the portfolio contained just one company that had committed to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.  By the end of October, less than two years later, nearly 50% of the portfolio had issued this commitment. The majority of these commitments have come in 2021.

However, there is room for scepticism in some of these commitments. Mark Carney’s Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), which announced that financiers managing $130 trillion were now committed to net zero, drew particular opprobrium.  In fact, this is an ‘ambition’ with only one third committed to net zero today.2 Still, that equates to nearly $50 trillion.

The same criticism can be levelled at the Net Zero Asset Manager initiative of which WHEB is a part. This initiative has 220 signatories with $57 trillion in assets under management.3 45 managers have now published reports showing that $4.2 trillion is currently managed in line with achieving net zero by 2050. Only a handful of managers, including WHEB, manage 100% of their assets in this way.

People and private sector power

 Nonetheless, John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, and a veteran of COP negotiations, spoke of his optimism at a Confederation of British Industry (CBI) event at the end of the first week. He put this down to the powerful role of the private sector, which he argued, is ahead of governments in their ambition and in their understanding of the climate challenge.

The same could also be said of young people. The persistent buzz of helicopters on the Friday and over the weekend, was a constant reminder of what is at stake. No panel presentation (or monthly update!) was complete without a reference to Greta Thunberg and the stark injustices of climate change for future generations and poorer nations that she underscores. Their presence is unquestionably having an impact on the negotiations, confirmed one panelist with access to the talks.

A race to the top

And there has been progress. The International Energy Agency has totted up all the new pledges made at, and in the run-up to, Glasgow and concluded that these now put the world on track for 1.8°C.4  These pledges include India’s commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2070 and the commitments made as part of the Global Methane Pledge.5

The agenda has also broadened to include wider environmental issues including nature-based solutions and commitments to arrest biodiversity losses. The panel we participated in called for a change in the constitution of finance institutions to embed purpose and incentivise delivery on wider stakeholder needs including carbon emission reductions alongside financial returns.6

A glass half full

 Scepticism is also appropriate about some of these pledges. How many of them will actually deliver real change on the ground is still very much open to debate. Climate Action Tracker, for example, argue that a more sober analysis of country pledges would generate 2.4°C of warming.7

Figure 1: Impact of COP26 on emissions pathways [8]
image

Whether it is 1.8°C or 2.4°C of warming, it is still too much.9 Too many in Government – and notably in the UK Treasury – continue to see action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as carrying an unreasonable cost. But as the CBI’s Chief Economist put it on one panel, the costs are really investments that avoid the immeasurably larger costs resulting from inaction.

So, we have seen progress, but just not enough. The Glasgow talks were presented as ‘the last chance saloon’. This may not be entirely true, but if it isn’t, we are getting very close.

 

1 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/simonheppner_forget-2050-drygate-4th-november-activity-6859182392364552192-csIk

2 https://www.ft.com/content/8f7323c8-3197-4a69-9fcd-1965f3df40a7

3 https://www.netzeroassetmanagers.org/net-zero-asset-managers-initiative-signatories-disclose-interim-targets-with-over-a-third-of-assets-managed-in-line-with-net-zero

4 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-04/top-energy-agency-says-cop26-pledges-signal-1-8-c-of-warming?sref=YEfLHut7

5 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-59137828

6  https://rbs.qumucloud.com/view/hVBK8DBU72YfBNRMXWxt5c#/

7 https://climateactiontracker.org/

8 Ibid

9 https://www.edf.org/blog/2018/10/18/how-can-half-degree-warming-matter-so-much

Foresight Group LLP completed an acquisition of the trade and assets of WHEB Asset Management LLP (WHEB). By way of Novation, Foresight Group LLP now acts as investment manager. Foresight Group LLP uses the trading names WHEB and WHEB Asset Management.

Foresight Group LLP and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with Firm Reference Number 198020 and has its registered office at The Shard, 32 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9SG. FundRock Partners Limited (formerly Fund Partners Limited) remains the Authorised Corporate Director of the Funds and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with Firm Reference Number 469278 and has its registered office at Hamilton Centre, Rodney Way, Chelmsford, England, CM1 3BY.

Important Notices:

The price of shares (“Shares”) in FP WHEB Sustainability Impact Fund, WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund or WHEB Environmental Impact Fund may increase or decrease and you may not get back the amount originally invested, for reasons including adverse market and foreign exchange rate movements. Past performance does not predict future returns. Any performance shown does not take account of any commissions and costs charged when subscribing to and redeeming shares. The Fund invests in equities and is exposed to price fluctuations in the equity markets and focuses on investments in mid-sized companies in certain sectors so its performance may not correlate closely with the MSCI World Index (the benchmark). For full risks, please see fund prospectus on www.whebgroup.com. This information is issued by Foresight Group LLP. We have exercised reasonable care in preparing this information including using reliable sources. However, we make no representation or warranty relating to its accuracy, reliability or completeness or whether any future event may or may not occur. The information (including the MSCI information) is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to buy or sell any security. Any opinions constitute our judgment as of the date published and are subject to change without notice. We do not offer legal, tax, financial or investment advice. The information should not be relied upon to make an investment decision. Any such investment decision should be made only on the basis of the Fund scheme documents and appropriate professional advice.

WHEB Environmental Impact Fund

The Manager of the Fund is FundRock Management Company S.A., authorised and regulated by the Luxembourg regulator to act as UCITS management company and has its registered office at 33, rue de Gasperich, L-5826 Hesperange, Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. The Fund is registered for distribution to professional investors in the United Kingdom. It is not available to investors domiciled in the United States.

FP WHEB Sustainability Impact Fund

FundRock Partners Limited is the Authorised Corporate Director of the Fund and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with Firm Reference Number 469278 and has its registered office at 6th Floor Bastion House, 140 London Wall, London, EC2Y 5DN. The state of the origin of the Fund is England and Wales.

WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund

The Manager of the Fund is FundRock Management Company S.A., authorised and regulated by the Luxembourg regulator to act as UCITS management company and has its registered office at 33, rue de Gasperich, L-5826 Hesperange, Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. The state of the origin of the Fund is Ireland. The Fund is registered for distribution to professional investors in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Singapore, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and is registered for offering to retail investors in Switzerland, Denmark and the Netherlands. The Fund is also available for professional investors in Belgium and Hong Kong. It is not available to investors domiciled in the United States.

For FP WHEB Sustainability Impact Fund and WHEB Sustainable Impact Fund, the Representative in Switzerland is ACOLIN Fund Services AG, Leutschenbachstrasse 50, CH-8050 Zurich, whilst the Paying Agent is NPB Neue Privat Bank AG, Limmatquai 1/am Bellevue, P.O. Box, 8024 Zurich.  The relevant documents such as the prospectus, the key investor information document (KIIDs), the Articles of Association as well as the annual and semi-annual reports may be obtained free of charge from the representative in Switzerland.

The MSCI information may be used for your internal use, may not be reproduced or re-dissseminated in any form and may not be used as a basis for or a component of any financial instruments or products or indices. Historical data and analysis should not be taken as an indication or guarantee of any future performance analysis, forecast or prediction. The MSCI information is provided on an “as is” basis and the user of this information assumes the entire risk of any use made of this information. MSCI, each of its affiliates and each other person involved in or related to compiling, computing or creating any MSCI information (collectively, the “MSCI Parties”) expressly disclaims all warranties (including, without limitation, any warranties of originality, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, non-infringement, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose) with respect to this information. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall any MSCI Party have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, punitive, consequential (including, without limitation, lost profits) or any other damages (www.msci.com).

Join our mailing list

Sign up below for regular email updates about our funds, our impact, our events.
{{ errors[0] }}
{{ errors[0] }}
{{ errors[0] }}
{{ errors[0] }}
{{ errors[0] }}
{{ errors[0] }}
WHEB is now a part of Foresight Group.
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Copyright 2025© WHEB. All rights reserved Made by Thursday