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22 States Sue to Block New York Law Charging Oil Companies $75 Billion to Pay for Climate Adaptation

22 States Sue to Block New York Law Charging Oil Companies $75 Billion to Pay for Climate Adaptation

A coalition of 22 U.S. State Attorneys General, led by West Virginia AG JB McCuskey, announced the launch of a lawsuit filed in a Federal court challenging New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act, which would require fossil fuel companies to pay a share of the investments in infrastructure needed to adapt to climate change in New York State, proportionate to…

California Climate Reporting Law Survives Challenge Claiming that “Shaming” Companies Through Emissions Disclosure Violates Constitution

California Climate Reporting Law Survives Challenge Claiming that “Shaming” Companies Through Emissions Disclosure Violates Constitution

New California laws that will require most large U.S. companies to disclose their value chain emissions and report on climate risks and strategies survived a major legal challenge brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, with a federal judge rejecting claims that the new regulations violate the constitution and extraterritoriality rules. While the judge, U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II,…

SFDR and SDR: Two paths diverging on sustainable finance?

Sustainable finance regulation is on the cusp of significant change. As the UK’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) continue to roll out, the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) faces mounting criticism, with commissioner-designate Maria Luís Albuquerque openly questioning whether it remains fit for purpose.  Financial institutions operating across both regions must now contend with two parallel regulatory regimes that share…

Heat Pump Software Startup Nido Raises €5 Million

Heat Pump Software Startup Nido Raises €5 Million

Spain-based heat pump technology platform Nido announced today that it has raised €5 million in a Seed funding round, with proceeds aimed at advancing its platform to streamline heat pump installation and transition to clean heating and cooling in the residential sector. Heat pumps are rapidly emerging as an energy efficient and climate-friendly alternative to furnaces and air conditioners, producing…

Majority of US Pensions Disappoint on Climate

Sierra Club has emphasised the importance of proxy voting tools to demonstrate climate-related ambition across states.  Most US state pensions are failing to take adequate steps to address climate-related financial risks through their proxy voting guidelines and practices, according to a new report.  For a second year, US NGO Sierra Club has partnered with grassroots environmental organisation Stand.earth to assess…

Salesforce, Partners Launch Energy Ratings for AI Models

Salesforce, Partners Launch Energy Ratings for AI Models

CRM solutions provider Salesforce, alongside AI community platform Hugging Face, AI developer Cohere, and Carnegie Mellon University, announced today the launch of the AI Energy Score, a new benchmarking tool aimed at enabling AI developers and users to evaluate, identify, and compare the energy consumption of AI models. The new tool comes as the rapid growth of AI by companies…

Equinor Slashes Energy Transition Investment Plans

Equinor Slashes Energy Transition Investment Plans

Norway-based energy company Equinor announced a substantial reduction in its renewable energy and low carbon solutions investment and development plans, citing a need to “adapt to market conditions and further strengthen value creation for shareholders.” As part of the adjustment, announced with the release of its FY 2024 results, the company said that it will slash its planned investment in…

HSBC Appoints Julian Wentzel as New Chief Sustainability Officer

HSBC Appoints Julian Wentzel as New Chief Sustainability Officer

HSBC announced the appointment of Julian Wentzel as its new Group Chief Sustainability Officer, according to an internal memo seen by ESG Today. Wentzel takes on the role after serving as interim Group Chief Sustainability Officer at HSBC following the departure in late 2024 of the bank’s prior CSO Celine Herweijer. Herweijer left the bank shortly after a restructuring decision…

Achilles Launches New Supply Chain Sustainability Reporting Solution

Achilles Launches New Supply Chain Sustainability Reporting Solution

Supply chain risk and performance management solutions provider Achilles announced the launch of Achilles Analytics, a new tool aimed at enabling companies to meet increasing supply chain sustainability regulatory reporting and compliance requirements. According to Achilles, the new solution simplifies management and reporting of validated supplier data collected through the Achilles supply chain due diligence process, allowing companies to track…

ESG Today: Week in Review

ESG Today: Week in Review

This week in ESG news: Google joins growing list of companies to abandon DEI goals; €6 trillion investor coalition warns against watering down EU sustainability reporting rules; IKEA accelerates program to help suppliers switch to 100% clean energy; LEGO to ramp up use of solar to power operations; Google invests over $100 million in carbon removal; EU sustainable finance advisors…