Wal van Lierop, CEO of Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital, writes in his guest post on Forbes; COP21: More Than Just An Environmental Agreement, We Need A Financial Agreement. At the end of the month, Paris will host the 21st annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. That mouthful is better known as COP21. Around the globe, countries and corporations are making and demanding new commitments towards a low carbon society.

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A few examples: The U.S.-China climate agreement. China’s confirmation that it will adopt a national cap-and-trade system in 2017. Sweden’s pledge to become a fossil-free nation (by investing close to $545 million in climate-protection measures in the coming year while dramatically boosting government support for solar, wind, storage, smart grids and electric vehicles). The decision by Total Europe’s second largest oil company, to invest $500 million a year in the fast-growing renewables market. The call from the CEOs of 10 of the world’s largest oil and gas companies (all from outside North America) for an effective climate change agreement from COP21. The announcement by Goldman Sachs that it will triple its target for clean energy financing and investment to $150 billion by 2025 (after reaching its original target of $40 billion in just four years).

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van Lierop, W.  (2015, November 18). COP21: More Than Just An Environmental Agreement, We Need A Financial Agreement. (Forbes.com). Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2015/11/18/cop21-more-than-just-an-environmental-agreement-we-need-a-financial-agreement/