Speaking Wednesday at the COP26 climate conference, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance Mark Carney revealed that the capital represented by financial sector firms aligned with global net zero goals has surged to $130 trillion, or roughly 40% of global financial assets.

The figure refers to companies who belong to the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), which is co-chaired by Carney and Michael Bloomberg. Launched in April 2021, GFANZ brings together several net zero groups, including the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, the Net Zero Banking Alliance, and the Net Zero Financial Service Providers Alliance.

The alliance has grown rapidly in the runup to COP26, and now includes over 450 firms across 45 countries, according to a GFANZ progress report published today.

According to Carney, with the surge in climate-aligned capital, the financial industry is now well-positioned to deliver the massive amount of financing needed to fund the global transition to net zero, estimated at up to $100 trillion through 2050.

Carney said:

“The architecture of the global financial system has been transformed to deliver net zero. We now have the essential plumbing in place to move climate change from the fringes to the forefront of finance so that every financial decision takes climate change into account. Only this mainstream focus can finance the estimated $100 trillion of investment needed over the next three decades for a clean energy future.

“The rapid, and large-scale, increase in capital commitment to net zero, through GFANZ, makes the transition to a 1.5°C world possible.

The progress report also highlighted several of the initiatives being undertaken under GFANZ, including mobilizing private capital to support net zero transitions in emerging markets and developing countries, defining net zero pathways, particularly for carbon-intensives sectors, and working to clearly define financial sector expectations on real-economy transition strategies and disclosures.

GFANZ co-Chair Michael Bloomberg said:

“GFANZ has grown to include some of the largest financial institutions in the world. We look forward to building on this progress in the next phase of the alliance’s work, by creating the tools and industry wide coordination we need to turn commitments into action and speed up the transition to a net-zero global economy.”

Click here to access the GFANZ progress report.