Key takeaways from London Climate Action Week on the road to COP30

London Climate Action Week (LCAW) is an annual series of events that helps us understand the direction of travel in the run-up to COP30, the UN Climate Conference in Brazil this November. LCAW was founded in 2019 by climate change think tank E3G in partnership with the Mayor of London, and in 2025, the mood was positive. Despite some recent market deceleration on sustainability, the week gained momentum this year, with Reuters reporting that the event more than doubled in size from 2024, drawing more than 45,000 attendees across more than 700 events.

Multiple stakeholders convened during the week to discuss finance, corporate action, policy, innovation, carbon markets, nature, and other key sustainability topics. While there is always a strong emphasis on climate finance, this year the themes of climate resilience and transition finance gained prominence.

At the heart of the action was the Guildhall Climate Innovation Forum, which champions the role of the real economy in delivering the transition, serving as a platform for sharing examples of leadership, innovation and collaboration — and S&P Global was again proud to be a strategic partner. 

Taken together, the week’s events help shape the global discourse on climate action and the role of finance. Below we outline four key takeaways that we expect to carry forward to a busy fall season of climate-focused events.

1.   Climate resilience and insurance are a growing focus

Insurers have emerged as both key stakeholders and drivers of change in a rapidly changing world. Some estimates put the global insurance protection gap at $1.8 trillion, and higher costs of insurance against extreme weather events and chronic climate impacts are bringing this issue into sharper focus.

Building resilience can help address this challenge. For example, digital infrastructure can support smarter cities in responding to extreme events. Nature also has an important role to play. For example, wetlands can regulate floods, green roofs can reduce extreme heat, and cover crops can improve soil quality and moisture retention.

During the week, there were several key discussions to help advance these topics. 

For example, the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) launched a public consultation on the draft Physical Climate Risk Appraisal Methodology 2.0, which S&P Global Sustainable 1 has been pleased to support. This is a practical and standardized methodology for assessing and managing physical climate risks, in line with investors’ financial materiality considerations and risk-return profiles.

During a roundtable organized by the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA), Resilient Cities Network (RCN) and global insurance group Howden, leaders from the public and private sectors met to explore how to unlock and scale urban climate finance. Participants agreed on the need to develop more capacity and expertise within municipalities to define and access finance for adaptation and resilience.

2. Standard-setters are turning their attention to transition finance

Transition finance was another topic at the heart of LCAW discussions.

According to David Kennedy, the recently appointed CEO of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), corporate commitments have grown by 30% in the most recent year, following a 50% increase the previous year. SBTi is nonprofit that develops standards, tools and guidance to allow companies to set greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets in line with what is needed to reach net-zero by 2050 at latest.

In a keynote address during LCAW, Kennedy explained how the organization’s new Corporate Net-Zero Standard (version 2, currently available for consultation) addresses value-chain emissions, financing solutions in hard-to-abate sectors, supporting market-based approaches, and encouraging investment in permanent carbon removals.

These topics will gain more attention with the launch of the SBTi’s Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard, which the organization dubs the world’s first standard for science-based net-zero target setting in the financial sector. The S&P Global Sustainable1 Paris Alignment dataset that measures direct and indirect emissions, including upstream and downstream supplier emissions, is also now available. This means that both the standards and data to demonstrate progress across the full value chain and across all major asset classes, are now available in a more complete way than ever before.

3. Regulators expect more high-quality analysis

At our London offices, S&P Global Sustainable 1 convened a series of roundtables on topics ranging from agricultural sustainability to the energy transition. We hear consistently from clients about the challenge of understanding evolving regulatory expectations, and a roundtable I moderated on scenario analysis, stress testing and financial decision-making focused on exactly this topic.

We explored how banks and insurers can measure credit risks and sector transition pathways, incorporate short-term scenario analysis, and analyze asset exposures to climate physical risk within portfolios. This was a timely discussion, given that earlier in June the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published its voluntary framework for the disclosure of climate-related financial risks, which includes both qualitative and quantitative information.

Participants from the Institute for International Finance shared feedback on new guidance from the Bank of England and the European Banking Authority, both of which are requiring more detailed analysis and evidence of a strategic response with a plan for action.  

4. It’s a short, busy road to COP30

LCAW marks the mid-point between COP29 and COP30. The UK Climate Change Committee used the occasion to release a report confirming that emissions more than halved from 1990 levels by 2025. The UK’s new nationally determined contribution (NDC), already submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels.

In the coming weeks, S&P Global Energy will be tracking commitments made by other countries as part of its “Road to COP” series. Africa Climate Week in July followed by New York Climate Week in September will be more key milestones on the road to Brazil.