COP 30 was held in Belém, Brazil amid trepidation from climate change activists in the face of a boycott from the US and other major polluting nations. The increasing agitation on the part of indigenous and third world country participants who increasingly clamour for much increased reparations and mitigation payments from the developed world, also featured as a flashpoint in the discussions.

The EU and other middle income countries clashed with major oil producing countries over fossil fuels and national climate action plans, while China also held out against more radical action. India and African countries argued for more funding for developing nations. France meanwhile criticised Saudi Arabia and Russia for working in tandem to obstruct climate action, and the COP presidency’s attempts to mediate in a transparent way failed to bridge the divide. But the fact that a deal could be struck at all during a time of US retrenchment on climate action can be seen as a success, as many had feared that this year could mark the end of the COP process altogether.

One participant called it “a deal without ambition but not a bad deal.” The agreement included plans for a “global implementation accelerator”, a voluntary initiative aimed at driving efforts to keep within reach the Paris 2015 Accord temperature goal to limit the rise to 1.5C above pre-industrial times. The EU and other countries urged that this must build on the deal made two years ago at COP28 in Dubai, aimed at achieving a complete end to reliance on fossil fuels by 2050, and a tripling of renewable energy and double energy efficiency by 2030.

COP 30, the UN’s annual Climate Change Conference closed last month with a modest success for the parties seeking continued progress towards a fossil fuel free future. However cracks are appearing between major participating factions, intent on promoting their own countries' interests

Emissions, Sustainability, Economy

Colin Waugh gave a timely presentation at Bayes Business School in London. His talk covered: “From Emissions Markets to the Zero Carbon Economy.”

Waugh presented to students in the current year, 2024-2025, cohort of the MSc in Sustainable Management and Finance programme. In particular, he presented to Bayes Professor Ana-Maria Fuertes’ class.

To access Colin Waugh’s full presentation deck, click ahead:

December 3, 2024
City of London University

Over the past decades, the hottest trend in trading techniques has evolved from technical analysis to the Elliot Wave, from Quant Trading to algo analysis, to today’s AI traders who can manage portfolios blind, and while not without their glitches, rarely crash into a wall.

Whatever the merits and drawbacks of each approach, portfolio managers and professional investors have had to keep pace with the new knowledge required to interact with market movements profitably while satisfying their clients’ needs for superior returns.

As well as keeping apace of the key individual markets and the investor flows driving the prices money managers new and old have a continuous need for education and training to not fall behind the curve of their competition.

Learning to anticipate and anticipating what to learn, these are the twin challenges for the successful portfolio manager. In this, C. Macdonald (Europe) participates alongside its peers in the marketplace as well as well as with business academia, sharing knowledge and ideas and debating the trends that matter in the marketplace

Interview by Commodity Thursdays

CONTINUING TRADER EDUCATION

Colin Waugh’s latest article for the CID is available here