EDITORIAL

COP 26 comes at a moment in time that makes it at once critical… and outdated.

It is critical in that climate is quite simply a global cause. The desperate cry of the Prime Minister of Barbados "2 degrees of warming is a death sentence" reminds us that the climate issue is also to be seen in the perspective of human rights.

But the flurry of announcements made during the first week should not make us forget the essential. The bottom line is wrong. Without a credible mechanism to apply and reinforce the 2030 objectives of every G20 country at the end of this COP 26, we are at best heading towards a trajectory of around 3 degrees by the end of the century. Even worse: various - valid - proposals remain very close to what was already circulating at Copenhagen COP 15. Proof that things have not changed that much in a decade. Many attractive announcements are added to previous commitments that have not been fulfilled since COP 21.

And yet this COP is so crucial! The COP 26 comes at a time when our societies need an international and collective momentum to move forward together... and offer our youth a livable future on a planet inhabited by 8 to 10 billion people. That and an environment where climate risks are effectively controlled despite the ongoing Covid-19 crisis or growing geopolitical tensions.

COP 26 also comes at a time when the world no longer relies on a global diplomatic event to advance the climate issue. For companies and investors alike, climate constraints are already at their doorstep. A positive impulse from COP 26 would obviously be welcome, but it is no longer the be-all and end-all of climate action:

• For companies, the cost of energy is set against a backdrop of historic inflation rates driven by the increase in the price of various raw materials and other carbon-based and congested supply chains. Together they make an unassailable case for decarbonization. The private sector will therefore not wait on governments to (finally) align their ambitions to back a 1.5°C global warming trajectory
• For investors, less than 1% of assets under management are currently compatible with the Paris Accord. As ESG regulatory pressure from the EU and soon also from the US SEC increases, a catch-up phenomenon is bound to occur.

Ksapa will keep on working alongside its clients, partners and extended network. Together, we streamline climate action. This will require assuming a fair transition lens; anything less being increasingly deemed unacceptable.

• Our Briefing Paper on Net Zero pledges, for instance, offers clear guidelines for businesses and investors to design credible climate strategies that live up to their challenges;
• Our recent webinar on Resilient Raw Materials Sourcing exemplifies our mobilization around delivering concrete solutions. Our SUTTI program indeed aims to improve the lives of vulnerable farmers and workers while providing practical answers to key environmental issues. Namely, reducing deforestation risks and cutting back on Scope 3 emissions;
• Our programs combine different sets of technical expertise and financing solutions to help companies and their suppliers accelerate their socio-environmental transitions at scale. In so doing, they translate corporate pledges into actual decarbonized and inclusive asset transformations.

We look forward to discussing these topics,

Farid Baddache, CEO