In March, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted rules to enhance and standardise climate-related disclosures. But, despite watering the rules down from the original proposal – including dropping a clause that required registrants to report their Scope 3 emissions – the Commission now faces multiple lawsuits, both from conservatives who see the rules … Read more
The rise of green taxonomies, particularly the ambitious framework laid out by the European Union, has been a watershed moment in the fight against climate change, writes Eleanor Fraser-Smith (pictured), head of sustainability, Victory Hill Capital Partners. These classifications aim to establish clear and robust criteria for what constitutes a “green” investment, helping to combat … Read more
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has published the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy (ISSB Taxonomy), enabling investors and other capital providers to analyse sustainability-related financial disclosures efficiently. The Taxonomy has been developed to help support dialogue between companies and investors. Informed by market feedback, the Taxonomy enables companies to consistently tag information prepared using ISSB Standards. But, crucially, … Read more
Sustainable funds attracted $900m (£718.6m) globally in net inflows in the first three months of 2024, following restated outflows of $88m in the last quarter of 2023, according to Morningstar’s Global Sustainable Fund Flows report. While overall flows for sustainable funds were positive, in the US, flows retracted by $8.8bn, which Morningstar reported was its ‘worst-ever’ … Read more
Excluding China, Asia ex-Japan recorded net inflows of roughly $622m in the first quarter of 2024, down from $1.7bn registered in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to report by Morningstar. However, China-domiciled sustainable funds experienced their third consecutive quarter of outflows, totalling $367m. As in the previous quarter, the withdrawals were dominated mostly by … Read more
Asia Pacific’s (APAC) economies are vulnerable to nature-related risks, including biodiversity loss, pollution and fresh water availability, according to the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC) and PwC. Research carried out by the organisations revealed 53% – around $18trn (£14.5trn) – of APAC’s Gross Value Add (GVA) is in sectors that are moderately or highly directly … Read more
Forming a new climate finance goal, setting National Adaptation Plans by 2025 and supporting the next generation of Nationally Determined Contributions are among the aims for COP29, according to the conference president-designate, Mukhtar Babayev. During a speech at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin, Babayev outlined his vision for COP29, set to take place in … Read more
Stewardship in China is improving even as regulators have not followed suit with other jurisdictions in Asia by introducing a formal code, according to Chris Liu, stewardship analyst at Allianz Global Investors. Liu cites a number of top-down reforms from regulators including the change introduced last year that reduces the number of independent directorships an … Read more
Some 93% of global food giants have been given the lowest ratings (‘E’ or ‘F’) based on their performance impact in the latest Business Benchmark on Animal Welfare (BBAW) report, with investors such as Aviva, Candriam and Robeco set to engage food companies over the findings. A ‘Performance Impact’ assessment analyses the tangible impact on … Read more
Investors are calling on governments to require companies to assess and disclose their nature-related risks and impacts, and also offer incentives to maximise mobilisation, in a bid to align financial flows with the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The latest paper from the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation (FfB Foundation) – Aligning Financial Flows with the Global Biodiversity … Read more