admin Assessing progress towards the Paris Agreement, last year’s State of Climate Action report found “global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C are failing across the board”. Its assessments were stark: 41 of 42 indicators –including power, buildings, industry, transport, forests and land, food, and agriculture – are completely off track and six are heading in the wrong … Read more
Responsible investment funds almost tripled in size between 2012 and 2022, with assets under management (AUM) increasing from $2.2trn to nearly $6trn, according to analysis released by CFA Institute. Based on the Lipper definition of responsible investment, the report – Responsible Investment Funds Build Consistent Market Presence – shows the market share of responsible investment … Read more
In 2023, our ongoing relationship with higher inflation defined the economic landscape. Between September 2022 and March 2023, the UK faced seven months of double-digit inflation, which peaked at 11.1% in October 2022. Notably, food prices increased by 17.3% in June 2023, while housing and energy rose by 12%. The last time overall inflation rose … Read more
Steady growth in the green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked bond (GSSSB) market could see assets surpass the $1trn mark in 2024, however levels of avoided carbon from the products were down in 2023 compared to the previous year. According to the S&P Global Ratings report Sustainability Insights | Research: Sustainable Bond Issuance To Approach $1 … Read more
Investors are being urged to consider conduct practices as part of their investment due diligence in order to avoid the risks of ‘tax washing’ and ‘tax cloaking’, the Fair Tax Foundation has said. In the report Key Performance Indicators of Responsible Corporate Tax Conduct – and their Green and Red Flags an increasing number of … Read more
In this series, ESG Clarity takes a deep dive into an investment firm’s stewardship activities, discovering their key focuses and processes, and what’s in their engagement toolkit. Here, Rachael Monteiro, stewardship and climate analyst at Wheb Asset Management, discusses the less well-known stewardship trends and how the group is focused on helping clients understand how issues are selected … Read more
It has taken a lot of effort from many parties to deliver the Sustainable Disclosure Requirements (SDR) and investment labels, but the hard work is just beginning. Using an athletics analogy, SDR has set out the race track and told the athletes to choose their lanes. The anti-greenwashing rule has been added to check for … Read more
Redwheel has partnered with Turquoise to create the Climate Tech Growth Capital fund, a venture fund for UK companies tackling environmental issues through tech and services. Investment activities in the fund will be managed by Turquoise, which has specialised in climate tech since 2002 in private markets. Redwheel will be the fund manager, focusing on … Read more
Two major academic institutions have partnered to launch the Just Transition Finance Lab, which aims to push the net-zero transition and nature-positive economy through a people-centred approach. The London School of Economics and Political Science and Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment said the collaborative venture will highlight the opportunities from financing … Read more
Investors can’t afford to sit still and wait for companies to be mandated to disclose on social issues – although that is coming – warned Aviva Investors’ Richard Saldanha. The global equity portfolio manager and lead manager on the Social Transition Global Equity fund said while we wait for mandatory disclosure requirements to be put … Read more