“There remains a yawning gap between long-term climate goals and near-term action plans” at both the corporate and government levels, the former U.S.
At the same time, sustainable investing has “entered the mainstream,” providing even more openings for potential green-washing, said Gore, 73, currently chairman of Generation Investment Management.
Generation Investment has just published its fifth annual assessment about the transition to a sustainable economy.
Sustainability-related fund flows from the financial industry tripled over the past five years, with more than 6% of global market capitalization volumes now projected to come from the green economy, up from 2% in 2015. Since 2015, the market has seen a tenfold gain in new investments in environmental, social and governance funds.
There’s growing unease about the low quality of some net zero commitments because of the gap between goals and actions, and the absence of guardrails for those using natural solutions such as offsets to meet climate pledges.
To be sure, the past year has presented huge opportunities for sustainable investing, as the enormous flows of capital to green bonds and renewable energy attest.
Large increases in “the deployment of sustainability solutions” are needed to limit global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures, Gore said.