Pompey Mag June July

ADVERTISING FEATURE
INVESTING FOR
CHANGE
How the investment
community can help
advance the
environmental gains that
have come out of COVID-19
The consequences of the coronavirus
pandemic will clearly be profound,
wide-ranging and long-lasting.
So, it’s no surprise that any sources of
optimism to be found as the crisis unfolds
are quickly seized upon. Perhaps the most
significant so far has come in the form of
the immediate effects on the environment.
Greenhouse gas emissions have fallen, while
data from NASA suggests that air quality has
improved dramatically as countries around
the world have taken steps to restrict activity
and travel.
Indeed, this could be an opportunity for
organisations to rethink how they do
business
Our
Financial
Planning
Expert,
Andrew
Leppard
is here to
help with
any
questions.
17
– and question whether they need to return
to a form of normality in which, for example,
employees are flown to meetings that could
otherwise be held using video conferencing
facilities.
A more realistic rate of change
Unfortunately, however, the environmental
positives are likely to be temporary.
Indeed, there is now a risk of efforts to
address climate change becoming a lesser
priority as governments focus on dealing with
the economic implications of the crisis.
This is why the investment industry has an
important role to play in maintaining the
momentum that has gathered in recent weeks
and months.
The biggest crisis now is clearly COVID-19,
but the biggest crisis of the 2020’s is still
climate change, and we need to ensure
that once we’re on the other side of the
coronavirus pandemic that governments
keep focusing on that.
The environmental gains from the pandemic
have clearly been made alongside painful
social, economic and health consequences.
In other words, the current rate of
improvement is unsustainable.
If we’re taking climate change seriously, we
would rather see a smooth transition at a
rate less dramatic than we’re seeing at the