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Mark Carney Walks Back Brookfield Net-Zero Claim After Criticism

By describing Brookfield’s $600 billion portfolio as carbon neutral, a key climate-finance leader provoked a backlash by questioning what ‘net zero’ really means

Mark Carney, left, is an adviser to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the COP26 climate summit due to take place in November in Glasgow, Scotland 

Mark Carney, left, is an adviser to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the COP26 climate summit due to take place in November in Glasgow, Scotland 

Source: UK COP26

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Mark Carney, a leading figure behind this year’s global climate talks, walked back remarks claiming the half-trillion-dollar asset manager where he works had neutralized pollution across its portfolio. The shift came in the wake of criticism from green advocates over comments by Carney calling Brookfield Asset Management Inc. a net-zero company

Carney is a former Bank of England governor who is currently advising U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the upcoming COP26 climate summit. He’s also a vice chair at Brookfield, and in a Feb. 10 interview with Bloomberg Live he said that Canada’s largest alternative asset manager had zeroed out emissions from its holdings.