[Geneva, 12 December 2024]

At Building Bridges 2024, TrustWorks CEO and founder, Josie Lianna Kaye, was invited to be part of the panel for the ‘Planning for a Future Beyond 1.5°C’ event’, organised by NatureFinance. The session examined the impacts of climate change and its profound implications for ecosystems, economies and people. Josie was invited as speaker to share some insights into how the rise in conflicts globally is intricately linked to the agenda towards green transition pushed forward by the financing space.

In a world experiencing widespread global and local violent conflict and instability and the negative impacts of climate change, investors are faced with a multitude of climate-related and conflict-related risks. This is not only due to increases in conflict and the negative impacts of climate change, but also because many of the critical minerals and metals required for the green transition, and many of the most sought-after consumer commodities, are all found predominantly in fragile and conflict-affected settings (FCS). While many investors are increasingly exposed to conflict risks, either directly through their investments or diversity of their portfolios, many still underestimate the impact of conflict and instability.

A company that is insensitive to fragility and conflict dynamics may ultimately generate, sustain or drive conflict, either directly and indirectly. To manage these risks, investors are expected to use their leverage to ensure that companies are effectively managing conflict risks, to use active stewardship of their portfolios in FCS, and to undertake and/or request evidence of heightened Human Right Due Diligence (hHRDD) conducted by investees. There are potentially severe financial, reputational and legal implications for companies and investors that fail to manage human rights and conflict-related risks sufficiently, or worse not at all.

The opening and closing remarks were given by Nicholas C. Niggli, Associate Principal of NatureFinance, while Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, set the stage for the panel discussion. The engaging and thought-provoking panel was moderated by Director of Reos Partners, Mille Bøjer, and Josie was joined by Secretary General of the Club of Rome, Carlos Alvarez Pereira, and Co-director of the Climate Majority Project, Rupert Read.

Check out our blog “Critical minerals, geopolitics and violence in the 21st century” as part of our beyond responsible business series to read more about critical minerals has become the new frontier in geopolitical competition, violent conflict and business risk.