A selection of the major stories impacting ESG investors, in five easy pieces.  Shifting dynamics in North America could offer an opportunity to keep climate on the global political agenda. Green credentials – Mark Carney’s elevation, last Sunday, to the role of Canadian Prime Minister has been largely characterised as a challenge to his southern neighbour, US President Donald Trump,…

Institutional investors need to grasp its E, S and G risks quickly to use and invest in AI effectively, says Lorenzo Saa, Chief Sustainability Officer of Clarity AI. The potential rewards of AI are enormous, but they do not come risk-free. Just as smoke alarms safeguard our homes, the modern economy needs to install early warning systems and guardrails that…

Despite concerns, Richard Howitt, one of the architects of the EU’s non-financial disclosure rules, sees opportunities as the package moves into co-decision. From whichever angle one views things, attempts by the European Commission (EC) to streamline its sustainable finance disclosure rules look like bad news for investors.  The proposal significantly reduces the scope of companies caught by the Corporate Sustainability…

Taxonomy-aligned capital expenditures (capex) from large listed European companies grew 34% in 2023, reaching €250 billion (US$271 billion) by year end, according to a new report from the Platform on Sustainable Finance (PSF). Half of this was directed toward enabling activities, while transitional activities accounted for 11% of the total (double the previous year). According to the report, debt financing…

INTERNATIONAL    SBTi postpones revision of Corporate Net Zero Standard   The SBTi has postponed the release of the Corporate Net Zero Standard and will first hold a public consultation on its revised version. Expert Working Groups are developing the standard, focusing on key areas such as Beyond Value Chain Mitigation (BVCM), Scope 2 and 3 emissions, Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR),…

As Charlotte Yonge sorted through boxes of her grandmother’s things this year, she found a pile of handwritten share records from the 1970s. It triggered a memory: when she was young, Yonge had always seen women as the ones who invested, as her grandmother had throughout her life. But as she grew older, Yonge realised she was relatively alone in…