German financial sector ignorant of warmer global climate

Top managers in German banks, insurers and saving banks have so far failed to grasp the international trend to take climate risks into account and adjust their business models accordingly, Henry Schäfer, professor for business administration and finance at Stuttgart University, writes in an op-ed for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Governments across the globe are pushing the sector to look into carbon exposure in order to avoid carbon-intensive investments turning into stranded assets if regulators tighten the reigns on harmful emissions. “The climate agreement and the sustainable development goals develop in passing into a Trojan horse: Green finance as the catalyst for the competitiveness and ability to innovate in the financial sector,” Schäfer argues.

See the CLEW dossier The energy transition and climate change for more information.