The Consequences of Greenwashing

 The chair of the Environment Agency, Emma Howard Boyd, addressing the UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment Annual Forum, warns businesses are embedding liability and storing up risk for their investors by giving the false impression they are addressing the climate crisis. The danger is, she says, that people “won’t realise this deception until it is too late”.

Emma Howard Boyd, explains, “If we fail to identify and address greenwashing, we allow ourselves false confidence that we are already addressing the causes and treating the symptoms of the climate crisis.” Howard Boyd says there is underinvestment in climate adaptation. Action was needed. “Around the world, just 5% of climate finance goes towards resilience and virtually none of that comes from the private sector.” 

Lord Deben, chair of the the climate change committee and a former Conservative environment secretary, said the government had set strong targets on cutting emissions but policy to achieve them was lacking. “The government has willed the ends, but not the means,” he said.

Environment Agency chief hits out at greenwashing by businesses | Climate crisis | The Guardian