Schroders Climate Progress Dashboard: Even though COP26 made promises, progress is slow

Schroders Climate Progress Dashboard shows that as a result of pledges made at COP26 in Glasgow last year, the long-term increase in temperature the world is currently headed towards has decreased again, albeit at a modest pace.

Following the commitments made at last year's COP26 conference in Glasgow, the world's long-term temperature increase has fallen again, albeit slowly, according to Schroders Climate Progress Dashboard.

Current activity indicates a global temperature rise of 3.3°C by 31 December 2021, down from 3.4°C at the end of June 2020 and the lowest reading since Schroders launched the dashboard. Indeed, the dashboard was tracking a 4.2°C temperature rise above pre-industrial levels in Q1 2017.

The volume of climate commitments made in the run-up to and during COP 26 aided the positive momentum since the last update. Furthermore, and more importantly, the oil and gas sectors around the world have continued to reduce their investment in new capacity, while carbon prices in Europe continue to set new highs.

Andy Howard, Schroders Global Head of Sustainable Investments, commented:

“The 26th Conference of the Parties – the annual global climate event bringing together pollical leaders to set a roadmap for global climate action – provided neither the step forward we had hoped for, nor the setback we’d feared. India in particular has established a net zero target, albeit its pace is contingent on developed economies providing capital to emerging counterparts to ease and facilitate that transition. 

“Overall, political targets and aspirations are relatively aggressive but policies to deliver those targets are less developed and less audacious.

“Most encouragingly however, industry-wide investment in new oil and gas capacity has continued to slide. Fossil fuel producers are in the cross hairs of climate campaigners and policymakers, as are the financial services companies that provide capital to them. That constraint has been the major driver of the lower long-run temperature rise implied by climate action since our last update.

“All in all, there is much further to go to align the actions we see across all of the stakeholders, industries and social groups that will play key roles in driving decarbonisation. Progress toward the goals agreed in Paris in 2015 continues, albeit slowly.” 

Launched in 2017, the Climate Progress Dashboard provides Schroders analysts, fund managers and clients with an insight into the progress governments and industries across the world are making towards meeting the 2°C temperature rise limit set by the Paris Agreement.

Source: Schroders news