Participants heard from senior political leaders, industry executives and though leaders including Neil Gray MSP, cabinet secretary for fair work, wellbeing economy and energy, Amanda Young, chief sustainability officer of abrdn and former UN Assistant Secretary-General Satya Tripathi.

The Ethical Finance Global 2023 summit, organised by the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) saw delegates and speakers from mainland Europe, Africa, North America, Asia and the GCC gathered together to debate the future direction of the sustainable finance sector, around themes including social finance, nature and climate.

WWF launched a ground-breaking AI tool at the summit. Maud Abdelli showcased the new project, developed in partnership with the University of Oxford and University of Zurich, which seeks to identify instances of greenwashing by the finance sector, where the claims around sustainability fall short of reality.

On a panel about this topic, Amanda Young of abrdn told attendees that the investment management “industry are here to manage people’s long term savings”, warning that “if we don’t have a world to retire to in 30 years, our industry is pointless. People need a world to live in and an income to live off”.

The summit reinforces Scotland’s place as the natural home for green and sustainable finance, with its long history and leading current practice in the sector, as Scotland’s sustainable finance community welcomed the world to Edinburgh.

Omar Shaikh, managing director of the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) said: “We were delighted to hear voices from around the world on sustainable finance.

“As we look ahead to COP28 and build on the legacy of COP26, green finance will be a key driver of the world’s push towards net zero, and our Path to COP28 campaign is working with the global financial sector to ensure that COP28 is a success”.

Ethical Finance Global 2024 will return to Edinburgh for next year, taking place on Wednesday 25th September 2024. The summit themes will be announced in due course.