Knowledge and Insight

Deputy head of Greenbank Nicola Day summarises the key points and actions from COP28, held in December 2023 in Dubai, UAE.

The end of the year brought welcome gains for global equity markets as inflation concerns receded. In Dubai the final COP28 text resulted in the first explicit demand to "transition away" from fossil fuels, and a UK carbon pricing levy is set to support the drive towards decarbonisation.

Inflation fell in the US and the UK, but against a backdrop of pessimistic growth forecasts, declining living standards and rising energy costs, the Bank of England is holding firm on monetary policy. In the face of rising gas and electricity prices, the energy price cap will go up in January.

Another win for Greenbank founder member

Two Greenbank colleagues shortlisted in finals

With the annual Durrell Lecture returning to London’s Royal Institution for the first time since the pandemic, it seemed fitting that the evening’s theme – “Tortoise Tales” – should highlight the trials facing such an extraordinary and vital animal but also celebrate the return of some of the most endangered species to their native habitats.

Greenbank’s stewardship and engagement lead Sophie Lawrence features in this interesting CNBC video with Tim Spector of King’s College London and co-founder of the Zoe personalised nutrition program, Dr Kiara Chang of Imperial College and Rebecca Tobi of The Food Foundation.

UK inflation held at 6.7% in October, remaining the highest rate in the G7. However, while petrol and diesel costs continued to keep the rate high, food and non-alcoholic drinks prices fell for the first time in over two years. The Bank of England held the base rate at 5.25% but remained cautious on the wider economy, downgrading their 2024 growth forecasts.

Greenbank’s head of ethical, sustainable and impact research, Kate Elliot and assistant ESI researcher Katherine Farr hosted our live lunchtime webinar ‘AI, human rights and investment’ on Tuesday 28 November. They were joined by guest speakers Daniel Leufer, senior policy analyst at Access Now, and Zak Rogoff, research manager at Ranking Digital Rights.

Headline UK inflation fell to 6.7% but there were mounting challenges to the UK government's net zero rollback. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) published recommendations to help businesses and financial institutions identify and take action to manage nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities.

Greenbank’s stewardship and engagement lead, Sophie Lawrence is speaking on the topic of health at two party conference events this year organised by Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good. Nesta has a programme called A Healthy Life with a mission for more people to live a healthier life for longer.

In this issue of the Greenbank Review, we report on our Investor Day held in June. The discussion focused on the theme of technological solutions that will help drive the transition towards net zero.