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On her second day at COP26, the island's Head of Sustainability and Foresight reflects on the role financial services will have to play in tackling climate change.
Thousands of political leaders, civil servants, businesses, NGOs and campaigners are in Glasgow this week for the climate change summit - billed as the last chance to steer the planet away from catastrophic and irreversible global warming.
Jersey has sent a small delegation to the conference, including External Relations Minister Senator Ian Gorst and Dr Louise Magris, the Government's Head of Sustainability and Foresight, who is the leading civil servant on the island's plans to decarbonise.
Express asked Dr Magris to write a blog on her experiences in Glasgow this week.
Here's her second update...
It’s Finance Day today, which started promptly for me and the Minister for External Relations and Financial Services so we could be sure to get seats in the plenary session led by the UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
This is the crunchy stuff: international financial leaders discussing how to mobilise the $100bn climate finance commitment and further private financing at a scale to where it’s needed in order to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees.
Pictured: UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak addresses COP26 on ‘Finance Day’.
For me, it is so evident that the sector is resetting and it was heartening to hear from world leaders about the tangible outcomes on mitigation and adaptation across the globe being funded.
Rishi Sunak announced that the UK would become the “first ever net-zero-aligned financial centre” and given Jersey’s expertise and progress in this sector already, it’s clear there is a real space for us at the table.
As Jersey considers the challenges of funding our local accelerated decarbonisation journey, it is good to know globally markets and leaders are tackling this problem as well as there being an opportunity for us potentially to be part of the solution through the services our finance sector provides.
The Green Zone was a draw today, with the opportunity to cross the Clyde in the Scottish sunshine and head to the exhibition spaces at the architecturally amazing Glasgow Science Centre.
Pictured: External Relations and Financial Services Minister Ian Gorst at the conference.
There were so many inspirational stands showing genuine innovation and action from organisations and communities and I’d encourage you to enjoy them for yourselves by attending virtually at COP26.org.
COP is an amazing experience and I am very privileged to help represent Jersey. There is such a blend of passionate people united for a common outcome and that, combined with the urgency of the task at hand, has an energy that carries you through the day, making time fly.
Pictured: A NHS prototype hydrogen-powered ambulance on display in Glasgow.
There’s just not quite enough time to see everything or have all of the formal or informal conversations that you’d like to but there’s always something unexpected.
My favourite find so far is stepping outside to take a call and finding myself confronted by a protype hydrogen-powered NHS ambulance in a little courtyard surrounded by the undesignated smokers’ area that seemed to have grown up around it !!
Tomorrow is energy day … it will be another busy one, I think!
COP26 BLOG #1: How green is your lunch?
