Can the global financial hub engineer a climate-resilient economy?

Building Back Better - The City’s Role in a Green-Led Economic Recovery · 54:55 · Video: Gresham College · Watch at the source

In short: The post-pandemic recovery faces a dual mandate: healing economic scars while dismantling the drivers of climate change. The City of London is positioning itself as the primary engine for this transition, leveraging green finance to prove that environmental sustainability and economic growth are not mutually exclusive goals.

The transition to a sustainable future is framed not as an immediate fix, but as a protracted journey complicated by the lingering economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic. To succeed, the recovery must be 'green-led,' requiring every industry to play a specific role in aligning economic health with environmental resilience. This shift moves beyond simple conservation toward a structural overhaul of how wealth is generated and distributed. This long-term process is inherently difficult because it must navigate current fiscal instability. Every single industry must contribute to this dual objective. The objective is to ensure that the recovery is not just fast, but also fundamentally sustainable.

The City of London is identified as a global leader in 'Green Finance,' placing it at the heart of this strategy. By developing specialized green financial products and supporting sustainable infrastructure, the UK's financial and professional services aim to provide the necessary capital for a systemic transition. The goal is to create a 'build back better' framework where the mechanisms of investment actively fight climate change rather than accelerating it. The City serves as a primary driver for the country and the wider world. It seeks to create a resilient future for everyone. These efforts are designed to fight climate change while simultaneously fostering growth.

This initiative involves high-level collaboration between public leadership and private sector expertise. Key figures involved in these discussions include Mark Carney, who served as the COP26 Finance Adviser, and representatives from Severn Trent and the Green Finance Institute. Their collective focus is on how the City can facilitate a transition that is resilient for all, ensuring that the move toward a green economy supports broad economic growth rather than hindering it. The Lord Mayor William Russell joined this panel of experts. Loyd Grossman chaired the discussion on behalf of the Gresham College Council. The institution has provided free public lectures since 1597. More than 2,000 such lectures are currently available online.

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