German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on Friday for the European Commission to eliminate the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) requiring companies to address their negative impacts on human rights and the environment across their value chains, as part of a broad move to reduce compliance and regulatory burdens on companies. The statement, made by Merz during a press conference…
The European Central Bank (ECB) released a new opinion on the European Commission’s proposals to simplify and reduce sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements for companies. While welcoming the goal of simplifying requirements for companies, the ECB warned that some of the Commission’s plans could significantly increase risks for investors, the economy and the EU’s sustainability goals. Among the key…
This week in ESG news: State Street launches dedicated sustainability stewardship service for investors; Morgan Stanley survey finds growing interest in sustainable investing – especially by younger investors; Microsoft signs another record-breaking carbon removal deal; Google backs series of new advanced nuclear projects; India launches climate finance taxonomy; EU consults on changes to sustainable finance disclosure rules; Trump, Republican AGs…
Battery management software provider Breathe Battery Technologies announced that it has raised $21 million in a Series B financing round, as the company launches a suite of battery simulation software, embedded software and battery services. Spun out of Imperial College in 2019, London-based Breathe provides tools aimed at enabling the design, validation and optimization of better batteries, including physics-based simulation…
Google announced two new partnerships aimed at eliminating “superpollutants,” or gases that are dozens of times more potent than CO2 in terms of their global warming impact, from the atmosphere. The new partnerships, with solution providers Recoolit and Cool Effect, include long-term credit purchases by Google equivalent to removing 1 million tons of CO2. According to the IPCC, superpollutants, which…