Baku, January 28, AZERTAC

On the heels of the historic international climate agreement in Paris, more than 500 global investors gathered today at the United Nations to begin mobilizing the trillions of dollars needed to catalyze the global clean energy transition, the UN News Center said.

Speaking just days after scientists confirmed that 2015 was the hottest year on record, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on investors to help achieve a doubling in global clean energy investments by 2020. While those investments hit a record high of $329 billion in 2015, significant gaps remain in growing clean energy at the levels necessary to meet the Paris climate accord’s goal of limiting global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius.

“Today, I call on the investor community to build on the strong momentum from Paris and seize the opportunities for clean energy growth. I challenge investors to double – at a minimum – their clean energy investments by 2020,” Ban told the crowd of financial leaders, who collectively represented more than $22 trillion in assets. “Sustainable, clean energy is growing, but not nearly fast enough to prevent excessive global warming that would trigger profound economic disruption and human suffering. The investor community is of critical importance if we are to move from aspirations to action.”

A key focus of the Summit was exploring the types of capital flows necessary and increasingly available to actualize the carbon-reducing commitments made in Paris by 187 countries – commitments that the International Energy Agency estimates would require investments of $16.5 trillion by 2030. Last week, Standard & Poor’s predicted the global market for renewables and green finance – especially in countries like India and China – will accelerate dramatically in the next 15 years as investors respond to the dual incentives of a renewed focus on climate polices from national governments and the rapidly falling price of clean technologies.

Held biennially at the United Nations since 2003, the Investor Summit on Climate Risk is the preeminent forum for institutional investors to discuss the implications of climate change for capital markets and their portfolios. The 2016 event convenes investors, business leaders and others seeking to accelerate the shift to a clean energy future, and tackle the risks posed by climate change. Ceres, the United Nations Foundation, and the United Nations Office for Partnerships are co-hosting the Summit.