Reuters: COP28 deal welcomed by businesses seeking climate clarity

Following the agreement reached among national delegations at COP28, Actis Senior Partner, Torbjorn Caesar, provided reactive comments to Reuters analysing the agreement and reflecting on COP28. Click here to read the full article and read on below for the entirety of Torbjorn’s reaction.

Torbjorn Caesar, Senior Partner at Actis, commented:

“The news that national delegations at COP28 have reached an agreement will come as a relief to many. The investment community, and indeed the world, needed countries to come to an agreement that represents genuine progress on climate change – and it looks like this agreement goes in the right direction. Like most international agreements it is imperfect and has required compromise but it does call on all countries to move away from fossil fuels for the first time. It’s a good step and gives the world something to build on further but it’s too soon to claim victory.

“A strong agreement at UN level trickles down to better government policies to accelerate the transition and therefore more investments into the climate solutions that deliver it. This is particularly true in the growth markets Actis operates in, where 85% of the world’s population lives, where the sun shines and wind blows most, and where the transition can have the greatest impact on future emissions. Actis is playing its part and will continue to do so. Let’s hope the world’s governments do likewise now the agreement is reached.”

“The energy around COP28 has been fantastic. Never has a COP summit been so well attended and the fact that the business community has turned out in such numbers is hugely positive.

“Since Glasgow, we’ve seen the private sector increasingly show-up for COP, with real intent to get business done. Investors globally now recognise what Actis has been saying for years – that the climate transition represents an incredible investment opportunity. The transition is the predominant investment theme of our time and COP28 offered the opportunity to accelerate private and public capital investments into the businesses driving the transition and decarbonising the global economy.

“At COP28, business meant business and came to get deals done. And this is critical, because we need to unlock climate finance, particularly in the growth markets Actis operates in – this is what we work to do every minute of every day. In this regard, and from the conversations I’ve been having on the ground in Dubai, this has been a COP of real substance.”