Will banks only go green when governments force their hand?

Welcome to Money for Change, the podcast made by Triodos Bank! In this podcast, we will share insights and challenges related to our core question: how can we accelerate the change to a more balanced and just world? Each episode, we will dive into a specific topic that is relevant for answering this question. Hans Stegeman, Triodos Bank’s Chief Economist, is a recurring guest in the show. Within the financial sector, various mechanisms can be used to help accelerate the transition to a sustainable future. These vary from mandatory regulations to voluntary pledges. However, geopolitical influences are weakening these initiatives to move the financial sector towards sustainable activities. This raises the question: Without mandatory governmental actions will the financial sector take meaningful voluntary action? We discuss these important questions with Bevis Watts, former CEO of Triodos Bank UK, to figure out what should be done to fundamentally change the financial sector. Emma and Hans also brought some interesting news items to the table. This time covering the extreme climate related events in Switzerland and India, structural underestimation of the world population and its implications and Texas’ removal of Blackrock from their investment blacklist. If you have any comments or questions about this episode, feel free to contact us using the form on our webpage: https://www.triodos.com/en/podcasts/money-for-change Enjoy listening and don’t forget to rate & follow us! Host: Emma de Leeuw Fixed guest: Hans Stegeman Guest: Bevis Watts