(Friday 28th October) Today the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero, led by the former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, dropped the group's requirement for members to align with the UN-backed Race to Zero emissions reduction campaign.

Jeanne Martin, Head of Banking Programme at ShareAction said: "We are extremely concerned by the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero’s decision to drop the UN-backed Race to Zero’s science-based guidelines.

This comes at a crunch point for the planet – the IEA and UN agencies are calling for an immediate, rapid decline in fossil fuel supply and consumption to have any chance of preventing the worst impacts of climate change.

Financial institutions have a vital role to play in powering our transition to a low carbon world, and we urge the sub-alliances and members to live up to their responsibilities to support the phasing out of fossil fuels in line with a 1.5C aligned pathway.

It’s clearer than ever that voluntary initiatives alone aren’t enough to drive the urgent action needed to secure a liveable future. Governments should step up with tougher regulation of financial institutions that continue to fund fossil fuel expansion.”