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Washington DC, January 14, 2014 - The GEF CEO Naoko Ishii today was one of the panelists invited at the White House Women Leaders in Climate Change Finance and Investment event.
The event aims at increasing awareness of and coordination on efforts to mainstream climate change into finance and investment decisions. It showcased success stories and perspectives of women finance leaders working to mainstream climate change into finance, and identify opportunities for partnerships and actions that can promote the scale up and dissemination of climate-related finance and investment.
Background: Meeting the challenge of climate change will require significant action and investment by both the public and private sectors. The financial services sector in particular has high potential for boosting both climate preparedness and carbon pollution mitigation by opening new avenues for investment in sustainable solutions and low-carbon alternatives and improving the management of climate risks. Globally the climate finance conversation is also addressing how to divest from “dirty” investments, for example creating disincentives fossil fuel investing.
Key and relevant economic entities are led by women, and a survey conducted by Deutsche Bank Asset Management, Rockefeller Foundation, et al. found that more women financial advisors report themselves as strongly interested in recommending sustainable investments to their clients than their male peers – 59 percent vs. 34 percent (Gateways to Impact, 2012). Such an event would serve to mentor and strengthen interest in deploying capital toward climate-smart, low-carbon efforts among participants. It is expected that this event will help inform action the U.S. government can take to advance this scale-up.