Big business is under pressure more than ever to channel money into curbing climate change — and yet the chances of U.N. talks providing the necessary spur have slimmed as the Ukraine war, high energy prices and geopolitical tensions take precedence.
In interviews, more than a dozen U.S. and European finance leaders were pessimistic the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt starting Nov. 6 can make clear progress.
What they want are signals on the pace of regulation that would allow company boards to plan their climate policy. But as governments have rarely been more distracted by world events, they fear countries will fail to provide any major new commitments.