The Peak
In her own words, the founder of Impact Investment Exchange tells us why climate change and feminism come hand in hand.
I stared at the painting. I squinted my eyes, and tilted my head, but could not figure out why the painting did not look right. I like to think of myself as a painter, but when I try to take flavours from my favorite feminist painter, Frida, I struggle.
Frida could effortlessly blend with oil, her political views, agony, and love as spirited attempts to express her own reality. I chewed on the end of my paintbrush, wondering how she did so time and again. The answer stared back at me from in between the interplay of green and blue textures.
Aha, it was Orange! The painting needed a pop of exuberance to make the green and blue more appreciable. I threw that canvas and began anew.
My painting experience is no different from what we are experiencing in the world today. If we could, we would just throw away all that hasn’t worked and start afresh, but fixing the world is slightly more challenging than fixing a painting.
The planet has begun to face noticeable effects of climate change. As erratic weather events, first-of-their-kind epidemics, and struggling economies become more commonplace, those in the global south are pushed deeper into poverty and face resultant losses to basic amenities, livelihoods, and life itself.
To add to this, Covid-19 has further exacerbated income inequalities and set back the progress we made towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Now, with the herculean task of limiting the average global temperature rise to 1.5 deg C above pre-industrial levels at hand, we’re seeing fanatic strokes to fill the climate finance canvas. It is not surprising then that sustainable or “green” investing reached an AUM of $35.3 trillion in 2020, more than a third of total assets under management.
However, just like my painting, the underlying currents of blues and greens need a bold splash of Orange to make finance truly work for those who need it the most. Women are that missing Orange.