Green bonds were flourishing and there was innovation in financial markets when it came to green investment, but the dominant role of the public sector was still in play. Many green projects were too large and of too long duration to be financed in the local bond market, resulting in foreign exchange risk for private funders. Even for long-term players such as pension funds, the market for green projects was not liquid enough. The theory that there is a natural marriage between long-term assets and certain funds does not stand up. Pension funds also need liquidity. A common taxonomy for sustainable investing was proving hard to pin down in Europe alone. Differences of opinion on whether, for instance, nuclear or natural gas should be included in green finance taxonomies would be swept away, however, by the scale of the overall challenge. A comprehensive carbon price embraced by the G20 would be the single biggest driver of positive change.
Walmart had a target to reach zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2040 without offsets, focusing on energy consumption, its delivery fleet, refrigerants and on-site fuels. It also aimed to reduce its Scope 3 emissions by one billion metric tons by 2030, working with supply chain partners on energy, waste, packaging, agriculture, forestry and product use. Investigating farmland and forestry carbon sequestration projects, but noted that more studies were required in these areas to understand and quantify their impact. Legitimate questions around what’s real and what’s smoke and mirrors in some carbon sequestration schemes that had to be addressed.