Asset managers’ net zero targets depend on governments living up to their commitments, says Rebecca Mikula-Wright, CEO of AIGCC and IGCC and NZAM Chair. As we approach COP29, which (roughly) coincides with the fourth anniversary of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative (NZAM), it’s an excellent moment to reflect on progress and reaffirm the individual commitments of NZAM signatories to accelerating the transition to a net zero global…
Australia Regulator Pledges “Pragmatic” Approach to Enforcing New Sustainability Reporting Requirements
Corporate, markets, and financial services regulator the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) announced the release of “Regulatory Guide 000 Sustainability Reporting,” a new draft guide on Australia’s new sustainability reporting regime and on how ASIC will administer the new reporting requirements. In a media release alongside the new proposed guidance, ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke pledged that the regulator would…
Private Sector, Public Good
Josh Zinner, CEO of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, considers the priorities for responsible investors under a second Trump Presidency. Since its founding in 1971, members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) have come together to do the important work of holding corporations accountable for their impacts on people and the planet. For those who come to…
The Value of Investing in Resilience
The Environmental Change Institute’s Dr Nicola Ranger reports a sea change in financial institutions’ attitude towards adaptation, which is helping to mobilise investment. Financial institutions’ understanding of climate adaptation has accelerated over the past three years, according to Dr Nicola Ranger, Director of the Global Finance and Economy Group and the Resilient Planet Finance Lab at the Environmental Change Institute…
Nature’s Inconvenient Truth
Bosco Lliso, Nature Research Lead at the World Benchmarking Alliance, reflects on the good, the bad and the unresolved from COP16. The United Nations’ Conference of the Parties or ‘COP16’ summit in Cali, Colombia, has come to a bittersweet end, leaving us with small wins, big gaps and a US$700 billion question. Some small breakthroughs were made: Indigenous communities were formally incorporated…
Saint-Gobain, Boralex Sign 20-Year PPA Enabling Development of Three New Renewable Energy Projects in France
Construction materials and services company Saint-Gobain announced today that it has signed a 20-year renewable Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Quebec-based clean energy company Boralex, to provide wind and solar-based energy for Saint-Gobain’s industrial operations in France from three new renewable energy projects. According to the company’s the new agreement will enable two solar power plants and one wind farm…
NatureFinance Launches Tool Enabling Investors, Banks to Assess Portfolio Nature Impact
Green finance-focused not-for-profit organization NatureFinance announced today the launch of NatureAlign, a new tool designed to help financial institutions assess and progress on their alignment with nature-positive outcomes through the lens of the Biodiversity Plan (formerly the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)). The first module of NatureAlign will help private financial institutions, from asset managers to banks, assess their baseline…
FREYR Acquires 5GW Solar Module Plant from Trina Solar for $340 Million
Norway-based FREYR Battery announced an agreement to acquire the U.S. solar manufacturing assets of China-based Trina Solar, and with it Trina’s new 5 GW, 1.35 million square foot solar module manufacturing plant in Texas, for total consideration of $340 million. FREYR, which manufactures batteries for green energy storage, said that it was seeking, through the acquisition, to establish a vertically…
EU Insurance Regulator Calls for Higher Capital Requirements for Fossil Fuel Assets Due to Transition Risk
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), the EU’s insurance and pension-focused financial regulator, announced the release of a new report, recommending to the European Commission to implement additional capital requirements for fossil fuel assets on European insurers’ balance sheets, to address the asset’s high exposure to transition risks. The release of the new report follows a mandate given…
California Climate Disclosure Regulation Passes Major Legal Hurdle
A new California law that will effectively require most large U.S. companies to disclose their value chain emissions and report on climate-related financial risks survived a major legal challenge brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, with a California judge refusing a request to immediately disallow the law on constitutional grounds. While ruling that the court did not have sufficient…