Editorial: Financial institutions should combat climate change by "aligning their business to environmental sustainability"
"On climate change, we’re now living on borrowed time"
The global climate change agenda is at a crossroads, following the recent announcement by the United States that it will pull out of the Paris Climate Accord. This has brought into scrutiny the future of the commitments made by governments...Population pressures, urbanisation, industrialisation and our carefree attitude have contributed to environmental degradation. If we push the ecosystem to the brink, nature will stop providing the raw materials and support to run our businesses.
Nature is generous but can be unforgiving. We are now witnessing nature’s ugly side with climate change and extreme weather patterns becoming regular — exposing our collective failure to protect the environment. The time has come for us to shift to renewable sources. Sound businesses continually take stock of their assets to know where they stand. Businesses and individuals must take stock of the positive and negative impact on nature and the environment. Globally, financial institutions are leading the way in aligning their business to environmental sustainability.
At KCB Group, for example, we seek to be a sustainable bank. We know that this is the only way to ensure business success while contributing towards economic and social development, a healthy environment and a stable society. KCB was recently nominated by the National Treasury to be accredited for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to a tune of US$50 million. Given the urgency and seriousness of climate change, GCF is meant to make a significant and ambitious contribution to the global efforts towards attaining the goals set to combat climate change...