BUSINESSES PLEDGE CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION AT NEW YORK SUMMIT

A new investment fund for green businesses and a tool to measure emissions were among the pledges to help governments curb global warming at a summit on climate financing convened by the French President on Wednesday. Emmanuel Macron called on government and business leaders to invest more in slowing down climate change as he opened the second annual “One Planet” summit in New York.

“We have to shift one third of the global financing to financing of climate change and new climate action,” he said.

“So governments, the World Bank, all the development banks, business leaders and investors, it is our job. Everybody is waiting for us and everybody today wants us just to accelerate.” BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, said it would help structure a climate fund for investment in green sectors such as renewable energy and low-carbon transportation across Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

The French and German governments and large philanthropic organisations including The Hewlett Foundation have pledged initial funds to the Climate Finance Partnership, which organisers said would be set up next year.

The one-day gathering in New York, where world leaders were gathered for the United Nations General Assembly, drew the leaders of global companies as well as more than two dozen heads of state and government.

The World Bank, which lends to developing countries, announced a platform to pledge US$1 billion (FJ$2.1bn) toward developing batterystorage technology. >Al Arabiya English