IW's Kathleen Gallagher: Reflections from a week at COP26

A view of sceptical optimism

A week at COP26, a week of more events, speeches, debates and discussions than I can count. There was everything from high-profile politicians and experts speaking about big geopolitical issues around the globe, to nitty gritty technical debates for the investment industry.

There were also protesters of varying numbers throughout the week, culminating in over 100,000 of them taking to the streets to demand change on Saturday. And so after all that, what do I think about the asset management industry and its role in the fight against climate change? Simply put, I think there are reasons to be optimistic, but also I think we need to have a healthy level of scepticism and challenge so that the industry can really deliver. The sheer level of presence of the asset management industry at COP26 and in Glasgow in general is reason enough to be hopeful. The op...