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Week 27: Can Money Fight Climate Change

Week 27: Can Money Fight Climate Change

Beslik Sasja
Jul 06, 2025
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ESG on a Sunday
ESG on a Sunday
Week 27: Can Money Fight Climate Change
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Rethinking Growth: Is Degrowth The Answer To A Sustainable Future?

Dear all,

Some time ago, when sustainability and climate-related conferences around the world still attracted attention and had something meaningful to offer their audiences, I met a leading international climate scientist. I’ve met some of these brave and courageous people over the years. Concentrated, focused, unbending. Slides, graphs, and messages that make your blood freeze if you really take in what they convey.

This meeting was a bit different. We were speaking on stage one after the other, and my slot was right after his. Sitting in the speaker’s room, we exchanged the usual courtesies. Then I asked him, as I often do, regardless of who I’m talking to—if he knew what his savings, investments, and pension were doing to help tackle climate change.

He looked at me briefly, leaned forward, and said, “It’s my money.”

It took me a few seconds to get back into question mode and ask what he meant by that. He looked even more determined and said, “I need to think about my pension and maximize returns—academic pensions are not so hefty.”

We parted ways. He did his talk on planetary boundaries, and I did mine on the role of the financial sector in tackling climate change. We haven’t met since. I was thinking then—and I still think about that conversation from time to time.

How come he didn’t know?

How come he didn’t care?

Was it lack of information or lack of financial literacy—which is often one of the key reasons?

Or maybe he did know, but didn’t care?

I told him that his personal climate footprint is probably twenty times higher if his pension and investments are included, since they relate to the underlying companies and the emissions those companies generate. If you own the stock, you also own the equivalent CO₂ emissions generated by that stock.

I couldn’t get my head around this, and I still can’t.

Of all things, money can accelerate change in relation to planetary boundaries faster than any national political pledge. Money is the only true global citizen—it has no nationality, race, or religion. It crosses borders and continents in seconds. It moves mountains and digs trenches. It finances both war and peace. It builds hospitals—and torture centers.

Capital flows, investments, and lending can make or break countries, sectors, and in some cases, entire civilizations. Using money to support the destruction of our world—whether through ignorance, disinterest, or sheer negligence—is tragic, counterproductive, and utterly stupid.

Only money invested in solutions can deliver the scale and depth of impact we need to at least slow the spiral of heat domes, droughts, storms, melting glaciers, and the rising number of hungry people around the world. Knowledge is power. Money is a toolbox.

I don’t think that internationally recognized climate leader ever saw this film. He couldn’t have. Many people couldn’t see it. But now they can.

It has become very popular, and I hope that all 35,000 subscribers of this newsletter will find a few minutes to watch it.

“Sustainable Finance – Can Money Fight Climate Change?”

This documentary shines a spotlight on the crucial role finance plays in addressing climate change. Your money matters. Your savings matter. This thought-provoking film, moderated by Janin Ullmann, reveals how you can leverage your financial choices to make a real difference in the fight against climate change.

🎥 You can see documentary on different languages here:

EN: https://lnkd.in/d-PSMmzf

FR: https://lnkd.in/dyRfmaKK

DE: https://lnkd.in/di-E2wnD

In this film, you’ll discover three simple yet powerful steps to positively impact the climate with your finances:

- Change your bank

- Change your fund manager

- Invest in financial products with high impact potential

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