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Investors take charge of climate policy

Nature Climate Change volume 4, pages 241–242 (2014)Cite this article

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When it comes to investments, the smart bet may be on clean energy and low-carbon infrastructure. Sonja van Renssen looks at the causes and implications of divestment from fossil fuels.

The Carbon Tracker initiative has put the whole notion of a carbon bubble — quite simply that 60–80% of the fossil fuel reserves that give oil, gas and coal companies their value must be left untouched to avoid dangerous climate change — on the map. According to the initiative's Chairman, Jeremy Leggett: “you actually don't need policymakers to do anything — you just need recognition of the risk that they might.” “If the divestment movement continues... [at UN climate talks] in Paris [in 2015] there may actually be a sense of policymakers playing catch up”1,2.

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Figure 1: Green bond issuance has exploded in the past year.

© CLIMATE BONDS INITIATIVE

References

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  1. Sonja van Renssen is a freelance climate, energy and environment journalist based in Brussels,

    Sonja van Renssen

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  1. Sonja van Renssen
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Correspondence to Sonja van Renssen.

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van Renssen, S. Investors take charge of climate policy. Nature Clim Change 4, 241–242 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2175

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