FinTech Goes Green

There is a growing acceptance that business has a role to play in combatting climate change. The desire to accelerate a transition to a low-carbon economy is real and is shaping transformation across many sectors. Just last week, Ryanair pledged to power 12.5% of the carriers flights with green fuel — currently two to four times more costly than the standard fuel — by 2030 in a bid to cut carbon emissions. As Peggy Hollinger pointed out when “Michael O'Leary is ready to pay a premium for sustainable jet fuel to help save the planet, you know the business world has changed.”¹  Digitisation and sustainability are also firmly at the centre of change in the financial services sector. The global value of assets where investment decisions are driven by environmental, social and governance data reached $40 trillion (€33.3 trillion) in 2020, having almost doubled over four years.² Up until now, companies focussed on whether climate change was going to impact on the business,