Ex-US climate ambassador Kerry urges more green investing

John Kerry: Energy transition is an opportunity for investors Keystone-SDA

Former United States climate ambassador John Kerry sees energy transition as a great opportunity for the economy and investors.

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“It is the biggest economic transformation since the industrial revolution,” he told the Building Bridges sustainability conference in Geneva.

+ Swiss finance sector told to ‘green’ up its act

The former US Secretary of State is not giving up on the fight against climate change despite recent political developments in his home country. “I’m frustrated and a little angry that politicians are simply allowing us to carry on as before. We have to stop doing that.”

And yet he is cautiously optimistic about the economy. “The CEOs I spoke to last week at Climate Week in New York all talked about major investments in sustainability.”

+ Is sustainable finance wishful thinking?

Kerry sees the financial industry as an important key to the transformation: “We need to show investors that they can make money from the energy transition. If the market wakes up, the money will automatically move in this direction.”

Kerry does not see any alternatives to climate-friendly forms of energy. “Storing CO2 is far too expensive. Clean energy is the simplest solution to combat the climate crisis.”

He advises the economy to consider the true costs of fossil fuels – such as damage to the environment and public health problems. “The cost is so high, it’s ridiculous.”

+ The challenge of greening Swiss banks

Kerry has attended many climate conferences in his career. “We have not kept our promises.” A large part of the economy is still dependent on fossil fuels. “We won’t solve the climate crisis if we don’t solve this problem.”

Building Bridges was launched in 2019 by the Swiss government, the canton and city of Geneva, the financial sector, the United Nations and non-governmental organisations. The conference runs from September 30 to October 2.

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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