Inspired by activist Greta Thunberg, schoolchildren are set to march from the Grammar School to the Royal Court to urge the island’s politicians to ramp up the fight against climate change.
Meanwhile, decades of experience built up in the finance sector have been increasingly directed to the cause over the past 12 months. That expertise has seen the launch of Guernsey Green Finance, an umbrella network set up to help turbo-drive the island’s sustainable finance sector.
The island has also joined the top tier of finance centres on a special UN network established to tackle climate change. Meanwhile, a green segment on The International Stock Exchange – which is headquartered in Guernsey – has been established.
Critically, the world’s first regulated green investment fund product has also been launched. It offers a green ‘kitemark’ for Guernsey funds which invest 75% of assets in projects and companies which will have a positive environmental impact monitored against internationally-recognised criteria.
And it is now been revealed that there are already billions of pounds of assets under management in five Guernsey Green Funds, with plans to increase that amount as the battle against climate change intensifies.
‘In that year we have gone from developing product – world-leading product, in the form of the Guernsey Green Fund and TISE Green – to developing strong foundations of a supportive institutional framework and market structure to deliver on our goal of being a leading global centre of sustainable finance,’ said Dr Andy Sloan, chairman of Guernsey Green Finance.
‘We are shortly publishing a self-assessment against the four-pillar framework set out by the United Nations’ FC4S network of which we are a member. This outlines the progress we have achieved.
‘We have around $4bn AUM [assets under management] in five Guernsey Green Funds – our regulated regime – and our estimate is that well over $150bn AUM managed by firms committed to the UN’s SRI principles are administered in Guernsey.’
Dr Sloan reflected on how the issue of climate change had ramped up the agenda since a key summit in Paris four years ago. Agreed at the Paris conference in 2015, there is a requirement that 2.5% of global GDP be invested over 30 years in climate mitigation to limit climate temperature change to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
‘The scale or urgency of the issue explains why finally we are justifiably seeing such an intensity of public opinion on the issue. The UN’s Climate Summit in New York this year, I believe, demonstrated how climate action is front and centre of global public opinion in a way unimagined just four years ago in Paris,’ said Dr Sloan.
Looking at Guernsey’s progress in green finance, he issued a rallying cry for support. ‘It has been an incredible 12 months for those committed to the cause of sustainable finance and climate change mitigation.
‘Our journey has been one of passion, drive and commitment. The cause of climate finance has no upper bound to support and I hope you will join us on our mission,’ said Dr Sloan.
Organisers of today’s student march have predicted hundreds of schoolchildren will take part. They said the march had the support of the schools and would be campaigning for action from the States to combat the climate crisis.
The march is scheduled to leave the Grammar School at around 12:20pm and arrive at the Royal Court at around 12.45pm. Students will stay there for 30 minutes before heading back to the school. Other schools have also been invited and are making plans to participate, said organisers.
A strike has also been organised by members of Extinction Rebellion Guernsey on Friday, with the aims for both events being the same. These are a fixed decarbonisation target date with conversion to renewable energy being a big step towards that, plus delivery of the climate change action plan sooner than May 2020.
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