Alternative asset and private equity investor KKR and Spanish bank BBVA announced the formation of a new strategic partnership, targeting climate solutions and climate infrastructure-related investments aimed at supporting the decarbonization of the real economy. As part of the new partnership, BBVA announced that it has committed $200 million to KKR’s Global Climate strategy, which invests in solutions at scale…

By: John McCalla-Leacy, Global Head of ESG at KPMG The world is in flux. The climate crisis is now daily news and we’re witnesses to the damage inaction can cause to our planet. For business leaders, there is a growing in-tray – of risks and daily challenges. Conflict continues unabated, and geopolitical and economic uncertainties are impacting the ability of businesses…

Deutsche Bank announced a series of finance and due diligence commitments aimed at strengthening its ocean protection policies, including the implementation of a freeze on direct financing of deep-sea mining projects. According to the bank, the new announcement forms part of its commitment to the #BackBlue initiative. Backed by the UN, and led by blue economy-focused organization the Ocean Risk…

The European Commission announced that it has sent letters to 17 EU member states, opening infringement procedures with the states over their failure to communicate that they have fully transposed the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) into their national laws. The CSRD is a major update to the EU’s Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), the previous EU sustainability reporting framework,…

This week in ESG news: U.S. boards lose focus on ESG, say it’s not the same as sustainability; Microsoft to restart Three-Mile Island nuclear plant to decarbonize data centers; IFRS launches guide for voluntary application of ISSB sustainability reporting standards; Brookfield raises $2.4 billion for emerging markets climate transition fund; LEGO Group increases use of sustainable materials in bricks; Schneider…

Clean fuel startup Utility Global announced that it has raised $53 million as part of a growth equity Series C funding round, with proceeds aimed at supporting the commercialization of its technology to process industrial gases into clean fuels to help decarbonize hard-to-abate industries, such as steel, without the use of electricity. Founded in 2018, Houston, Texas-based Utility Global provides…

Northern Lights, a joint venture between energy giants TotalEnergies, Shell and Equinor, announced the completion of the world’s first commercial CO2 transportation and storage project in Norway, which is now ready to receive and store captured CO2 from hard-to-abate European industries. The Northern Lights project was launched in late 2020, as the transport and storage component of Longship, the Norwegian…