Citi Perspectives Spring 2020

The growing importance of environmental and social issues has significant implications for the private sector. Citi’s commitment to integrate sustainability across its businesses makes us well positioned to support clients on their own sustainability journeys. In the past year, the dialogue on sustainability and climate change has gathered momentum. Extreme weather such as storms and wildfires has seen the public and companies engage with climate change in a more substantive way, while issues such as plastic pollution have also captured people’s attention. Younger generations, such as Millennials and Gen Z, are demanding progress and using their power to influence companies and countries. It is incumbent on policymakers, corporates and investors to follow through with action. The growing profile of sustainability, especially among corporates, owes much to the publication of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 and the Paris Agreement to combat climate change. The SDGs provide the global community with a common language for sustainable development, and create a framework with clearly defined targets. The Paris Agreement establishes a shared ambition around the world for action to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius. More recently, in 2018 the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on the impact of a 1.5 degrees Celsius rise in global temperatures above preindustrial levels and the US National Climate Assessment (describing the impact of climate change on the economy and communities) have illustrated the risks and galvanized action. Perhaps, most importantly, the IPCC report and the National Climate Assessment have helped to shift the climate dialogue from a debate on whether to do something, to a debate on what to do, from policy proposals to technology solutions. Val Smith Chief Sustainability Officer, Citi