Division between the country’s main political parties has reopened, with a new fight emerging over 2030 emissions targets. Investors have condemned an announcement by Australia’s opposition leader, Peter Dutton, that he would abandon the nation’s legally-binding 2030 emissions targets if he forms its next government. The surprise move, which critics say would force Australia out of the Paris Agreement and…
BlackRock Launches New Suite of ETFs Investing in Companies Leading Low Carbon Transition
Investment giant BlackRock announced today the launch of iShares MSCI Climate Transition Aware UCITS ETFs, a new suite of 5 exchange traded funds aimed at offering investors with exposure to companies leading in the transition to a low carbon economy. According to BlackRock, the new funds are being launched following a survey of global institutional clients conducted by the firm…
Less Than 30% of Companies are Ready for Upcoming ESG Assurance Requirements: KPMG Survey
A significant majority of large companies are not yet at advanced stages of readiness to meet upcoming assurance requirements on their reported ESG data, improving only slightly since last year, with a growing gap between the most and least prepared, even as virtually all companies acknowledge that they will be required to provide disclosures under at least one new sustainability…
Guidance Seeks to Mitigate Nature Risks of Energy Transition
UBS AM and Planet Tracker highlight problems faced by investors with the longevity of solar and wind assets, and potential impacts on habitats. UBS Asset Management (AM) and Planet Tracker have joined their efforts to support investors providing finance for renewable energy solutions and mitigate harms to nature. In a new report, they provided a guide for industry practitioners on…
UBS AM, Planet Tracker Seek to Mitigate Nature Risks
New report highlights problems faced by investors with the longevity of solar and wind assets, and potential impacts on habitats. UBS Asset Management (AM) and Planet Tracker have joined their efforts to support investors providing finance for renewable energy solutions and mitigate harms to nature. In a new report, they provided a guide for industry practitioners on how best to…
Innovative Firms Core to ABN AMRO Emerging Markets Strategy
New fund will offer exposure to European investors amid growing interest for opportunities in developing economies. Companies driving technological innovation in emerging markets (EMs) will play a central role in ABN AMRO Investment Solutions’ (IS) and Boston Common Asset Management’s (AM) new ESG equities fund, aiming to help investors diversify their portfolios. The ABN AMRO Boston Common Emerging Markets ESG…
What Europe’s Rightward Shift Means for Investors
The EU has engaged in a flurry of sustainable lawmaking in the past five years, but right-wing groups’ growing influence in parliament may imperil the achievements of its Green Deal. As the European parliamentary election results trickled in on Sunday evening, it quickly became clear that the polls were correct: Europe had lurched to the right. Greens and liberals lost…
Microsoft Purchases Nearly 1 Million Tons of Nature-based Carbon Removal Credits from Anew
Microsoft and climate solutions provider Anew Climate announced today a new nature-based carbon removal purchase agreement, with Anew delivering more than 970,000 tons of carbon removal credits generated from improved forest management projects across the U.S. Founded in 2001, and majority-owned by alternative asset manager TPG’s impact investing platform TPG Rise, Texas-based Anew provides climate solutions aimed at helping companies…
Fixing Capital Flows Crucial to Augment Nature Finance
The impact of disclosure requirements will be limited without the right economic incentives to stimulate private sector support ahead of COP16 this October. The repurposing of existing finance flows and the creation of an enabling environment for private investment are essential to boost efforts to protect biodiversity and address nature-related risks, attendees at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity have…
Engie Pre-Orders 5 Million Tons of Nature-based Carbon Credits from Catona Climate
Power company Engie announced that it has pre-ordered 5 million tons of nature-based carbon removals from climate finance company Catona Climate. According to the landmark 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate change mitigation study, scenarios that limit warming to 1.5°C include carbon dioxide removal methods scaling to billions of tons of removal annually over the coming decades. The…