The UK economy is disproportionately exposed to stranded fossil fuel assets, with potential losses for UK pension savers reaching tens of billions of pounds by 2040, according to the latest report from the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF), in collaboration with Transition Risk Exeter (TREX). The analysis – Stranding: Modelling the UK’s Exposure to At-Risk Fossil Fuel Assets…
SDI AOP Launches Solution Enabling Investors to Assess Sustainability Outcomes of Companies, Portfolios
Asset owner-led sustainability data platform the Sustainable Development Investments Asset Owner Platform (SDI AOP) announced the launch of SDI Outcomes, a new solution aimed at providing investors with consistent and comparable sustainability outcome data to assess the real-world outcomes of sustainable investments. Launched in 2020 by pension asset managers APG, AustralianSuper, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) and PGGM, SDI AOP…
Spiritus Raises $30 Million to Slash Cost of DAC Carbon Removal
Climate-tech startup Spiritus announced that it has raised $30 million in a Series A funding round, with proceeds aimed at enabling the company to advance its scalable, low-cost direct air capture (DAC) carbon removal technology. DAC technology, listed by the IEA as a key carbon removal option in the transition to a net-zero energy system, extracts CO2 directly from the…
UK Plans Levy on Jet Fuel Producers to Fund Sustainable Aviation Fuel “Revenue Certainty Mechanism”
The UK Government’s Department for Transport announced the launch of a new consultation on an initiative aimed at supporting producers of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through the establishment of a “revenue certainty mechanism” (RCM) to be funded by jet-fuel suppliers. Fuel accounts for the vast majority of the aviation sector’s emissions. Generally produced from sustainable resources, like waste oils and…
Renaissance Fusion Raises $33 Million to Advance Low Cost, Low Carbon Fusion Energy
Nuclear technology startup Renaissance Fusion announced that it has raised €32 million (USD$33.2 million) in a series A funding round, with proceeds aimed at scaling and commercializing its fusion technology to produce low-cost, low-carbon energy. Founded in 2020 by Francesco Volpe and Martin Kupp, Grenoble, France-based Renaissance Fusion is developing technology aimed at making nuclear fusion simpler and cheaper. The…
ESG Today: Week in Review
This week in ESG news: Wells Fargo drops net zero goals; Japan releases first sustainability reporting standards; Microsoft signs 30-year carbon removal deal; EU gives automakers more flexibility on emissions rules; Standard Chartered to engage with high-emission clients; SMBC exits net zero banking group; Mars introduces new sustainable packaging; U.S. rejects UN Sustainable Development Goals; Watershed seeks 1 million tons…
Liverpool FC to Offset Climate Footprint of Products Through Carbon Removal Credits
Liverpool Football Club (LFC) and 1PointFive, the Direct Air Capture (DAC)-focused subsidiary of energy giant Occidental (Oxy) announced a new collaboration to launch products for the team’s fans that have had their carbon footprint addresses through the purchase of DAC-based carbon credits. According to LFC, the new collaboration marks a significant step towards its efforts to reduce its environmental impact…
AI and ESG – Part One: Opportunities
Lorenzo Saa, Chief Sustainability Officer of Clarity AI, considers the possibilities when the power of long-term capital meets the power of technology. AI is already revolutionising how we live, work, and play, and it’s set to radically transform global progress on sustainability. It is no surprise therefore that business leaders such as Google CEO Sundar Pichai predict that its impact…