Progress. That’s what 2021 brought to climate action.  

During the past year, the U.S. returned to the Paris Agreement reaffirming our commitment to reach ambitious targets that will reduce planet warming emissions this decade. Companies and investors across the economy stepped up with bold commitments to put us on the path to a net zero future. Investors, in particular, achieved historic shareholder votes and we saw critical wins on climate and clean energy policies. In a signal that the climate movement is growing, the world’s 3 largest asset managers (all based in the U.S.) and the 6 largest U.S. banks are now among those committed to net zero.  

But, we know, it isn’t nearly enough. The U.S. is woefully behind in responding to the escalating climate threats we face, and we aren’t even close to meeting the goal of limiting warming to the 1.5°C needed to further avoid the catastrophic impacts of the climate crisis.  

The bottom line is, we must move at an accelerated pace and scale to cut emis­sions in half by 2030. Every capital market player within the economy—companies, investors, policy makers, and regulators—must raise their ambitions and match that ambition with action. In 2022, the challenge is to continue turning words into deeds in ways that decarbonize companies and entire sectors and drive the adoption of climate policies and regulations that ensure the U.S. makes the transition to a more equitable economy.  

I've laid out a few of the ways we can achieve more progress in 2022 in my latest Forbes blog. I hope you’ll give it a quick read.

John, we have a lot of work to do this year if we are going to meet our aggressive emissions reduction goals and drive greater ambition, transparency, and accountability across the capital markets.