Finding green finance won’t cost the Earth
Finance is to the economy what a river is to the land. Harnessing its power is critical during times of industrial change. The problem we face is urgent: we have just 26 years to become a net zero economy and reverse the humanmade impact of climate change. To achieve this goal, we will need to turn the rivers of finance green.
Green finance is regarded as a way of meeting the needs of environmentalism and for-profit business simultaneously while also promising more socially inclusive growth.
At the Net Zero Technology Centre, our vision is for a net zero world powered by technology innovation. Scotland’s great tradition of innovation is alive in the familiar names of Scots whose inventions changed the world: James Watt and Alexander Graham Bell, Alexander Fleming and John Logie Baird. “Scotland invented the modern world!" is our claim to greatness built on generations past: we must now make sure we also invent the future world we want to live in.
When combined with leadership in finance as well as distinctive strengths in ESG Asset Management, fintech, energy, pioneering universities and the legacy of hosting COP26 in Glasgow, there is a real opportunity for Scotland to become internationally renowned as a global hub for green finance. However, we need not only pioneers to create green technologies but also the right support structure to propel them to commercial success. Net zero investment needs to be urgently catalysed to support green economic growth, which will only be achieved if the government works with the private sector.
A further necessary conditionofsuccess is understanding that developing new technology takes time. Nascent technology struggles to secure funding and, even when it does, development to commercial readiness can take time. Patient capital is required.
Scotland could once again be known as one of the most innovative countries in the world, providing solutions to global problems and punching above its weight in leading the transition to net zero. The investment needed is huge, the challenge daunting, but the opportunity is rich. Our ability to exploit the new Green Industrial Revolution will depend on our readiness to finance it. By rising to the challenge, we can inspire people with positive change – a core value of ours at the Net Zero Technology Centre. Whether we can live up to our ambition remains to be seen: what we now know is that the costs of inaction are significantly higher.
Myrtle Dawes, CEO of the Net Zero Technology Centre