Climate Finance: Unlocking capital markets to finance the low-carbon transition | Shawn McCarthy

Event Description

Banks, pension funds and other asset managers are increasingly promoting their commitment to a low-carbon future, while facing warnings about climate-related risks to traditional business models and operations. However, the lack of a clear understanding of risks and opportunities, and a narrow interpretation of fiduciary obligations, can reinforce the inertia that favours the fossil-fuel sector.

Former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and Michael Bloomberg led the work of the international Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) that urged investors as well as corporate borrowers and share issuers to adopt comprehensive and comparable systems for evaluating risk and opportunity so that capital markets provide appropriate price signals for capital allocation. At the same time, the financial sector is deploying a wide-range of climate-friendly financing options, from green bonds to ethically-screened mutual funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs.)

Mr. McCarthy will speak on Canada’s response to these international developments, including the recommendations of the federal Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance and the Liberal government’s response to it.

Speaker: Shawn McCarthy

Shawn McCarthy is a Freelance Writer and senior counsel for Sussex Strategy Group, focusing on its energy & environment practice.

Until September 2019, Shawn was a national business correspondent with The Globe and Mail, covering a global energy beat from the paper’s parliamentary bureau in Ottawa. In that role, he covered a wide range of energy issues, including Canada’s pipeline battles, the rapidly changing electricity sector and the risks and opportunities posed by climate change and the transition to a low-carbon future. Prior to working the energy beat, Shawn served as The Globe’s New York correspondent for three years, was the paper’s parliamentary bureau chief from 2000 to 2003, and covered finance and economic policy. Before joining The Globe, he was a business writer for The Toronto Star in Toronto and Ottawa; was a writer/editor for The Canadian Press, and reporter/editor with Alberta Report Magazine.

Shawn has taught journalism courses at Carleton University, and serves as volunteer president for the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom, an Ottawa-based advocacy group. He completed his master in journalism at Carleton and has a BA in English from University of Alberta. He was born and raised in Philadelphia and remains an ardent fan of the Phillies and Eagles.

Format

6:00 - 6:20 Presentation by Shawn McCarthy

6:20 - 6:40 'Fireside Chat' Interview

6:40 - 7:00 Q&A

7:00 - 8:00 Networking

Sponsors

This event is sponsored by Circle Environmental Solutions

https://www.circleenv.com/