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☆ Banks say they’re meeting climate pledges. A new report says they’re ineffective
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Why gold prices are at record highsFrom central banks to Costco customers, it seems everyone is buying gold these days, reports CNN’s John Towfighi. Central banks see gold as a long-term store of value and a safe haven during times of economic and international turmoil. When interest rates fall, gold prices tend to rise, as bullion becomes more appealing than income-paying assets like bonds. The People’s Bank of China bought gold for the 17th straight month in March, adding 160,000 ounces to bring reserves to 72.74 million troy ounces of gold, according to Reuters. The Honest Company posted a strong fourth quarter in March.

Persons: –, ” Mark Carney, ”, GFANZ, Jamie Dimon, ” Dimon, JPMorgan, CNN’s John Towfighi, China —, Read, Jessica Alba, Ramishah Maruf, Alba’s, Chuck Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, European Central Bank, Glasgow Financial Alliance, UN, Bank of England, ECB, MIT, Columbia Business School, Zero Banking Alliance, United Nations, decarbonization, CNN, JPMorgan Chase, State, JPMorgan, Investors, Federal Reserve, China, People’s Bank of China, Reuters, UBS, The Honest, The Honest Company, Honest, Nasdaq Locations: New York, Glasgow, China, India, Turkey

☆ Banks Made Big Climate Promises. A New Study Doubts They Work.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Eshe Nelson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two and half years ago, bankers and investors attended the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, an annual event normally dominated by activists and policymakers. It was considered a milestone as the financial sector agreed to put its might into tackling climate change. But a recent study, published by the European Central Bank, disputed the effectiveness of those promises. The researchers found that since 2018 the banks had reduced lending 20 percent to sectors they had targeted in their climate goals, such as oil and gas and transport. That seems like progress, but the researchers argued it was not sufficient because the decline was the same for banks that had not made the same commitment.

Persons: ” Organizations: United, Glasgow Financial Alliance, European Central Bank, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia Business School, Zero Banking Alliance Locations: United Nations, Glasgow

☆ Transition Plans Are The Latest Climate Action Trend
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

The Transition Plan Taskforce published a framework for companies looking to create transition plans. Photo: London Stock Exchange GroupCompanies have a new climate-action tool: transition plans. Some companies, such as Mars and Allianz , have recently published transition plans. The U.K.’s Transition Plan Task Force published its framework Monday, offering a template for companies looking to create transition plans. Even though disclosure requirements are currently voluntary, transition plans are a live issue for many businesses that can help them shift the conversation to how they can achieve their net-zero goals.

Persons: ”, Mary Schapiro, Amanda Blanc, David Schwimmer, ’ ”, Sue Lloyd, Rochelle Toplensky Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, Mars, Allianz, London Stock Exchange, Glasgow Financial Alliance, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Force, Business, Aviva Group, ’, Rochelle, rochelle.toplensky@wsj.com Locations: United Nations, Dubai

☆ US Treasury: Financiers' 'net zero' pledges must align with temperature limits
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during an interview in New York City, U.S., September 18, 2023. The Treasury released the new, voluntary principles as world leaders, celebrities and business moguls, converged on Manhattan to focus attention on the climate crisis during the U.N. General Assembly week. The nine principles aim to promote consistency, credibility and transparency across net-zero pledges by financial institutions. Among them, the Treasury prescribed that financial institutions should practice "transition finance" that can support decarbonization in high-emitting sectors that are difficult to abate. DATA RESEARCH FUNDINGThe Treasury also announced that several philanthropic groups have pledged $340 million to help develop research, data and technical resources intended to help financial institutions develop and execute "robust, voluntary net-zero commitments."

Persons: Janet Yellen, Shannon Stapleton, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Larry Fink, HSBC's, Noel Quinn, Yellen, Mark Carney, Carney, David Lawder, Chizu Nomiyama, Sharon Singleton, Nick Zieminski Organizations: . Treasury, REUTERS, U.S . Treasury, Treasury, Fund, Bloomberg, Hewlett Foundation, Sequoia Climate Foundation, U.S, Glasgow Financial Alliance, Net, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Manhattan

☆ Insurers’ net-zero club looks easy to shun
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Global insurers are looking to re-write the rules to salvage their net-zero club. The once 30-strong U.N.-backed Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) unveiled ambitious decarbonisation targets in January, but now has only 12 companies left, including Italy’s Generali (GASI.MI) and Britain’s Aviva (AV.L). As a result, the club may effectively allow insurers to postpone that deadline. But the move may simply raise more questions around NZIA’s raison d’être: insurers may be better off simply publishing their own path to decarbonisation. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Italy’s, Pamela Barbaglia, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Global, Zero Insurance, Britain’s Aviva, Allianz, AXA, Tokio, Republican, Glasgow Financial Alliance, Twitter, KKR, Thomson Locations: May, Ukraine, China

☆ Exclusive: Insurers look to ease UN climate alliance rules after member exodus - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Tommy Wilkes | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The U.N.-convened Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) is set to remove a six-month deadline for members to publish greenhouse gas emissions targets alongside other changes to make membership less prescriptive, the sources said. The hope is to "steady the ship" and create space for ex-members to consider returning later, they said. The changes under discussion have not been finalised, the sources said, and it's not clear how the alliance would deal with insurers that drag their feet in publishing targets. Remaining members believe the NZIA still has a valuable role, and point to methodologies it developed for assessing and reporting on underwriting-linked emissions. France's AXA, which chaired the NZIA before quitting in May, last week published its first emissions goals for its insurance portfolio.

Persons: Italy's, Peter Bosshard, Bosshard, Canada's Beneva, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Greg Roumeliotis, Simon Jessop, Emelia, David Evans Organizations: Zero Insurance Alliance, United, Zero Insurance, AXA, Tokio, Republican, Glasgow Financial Alliance, Aviva, Alliance, Insurance Australia Group, France's AXA, Thomson Locations: United Nations, London, United States, U.S

☆ Green alliance crisis is more than just a US drama
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Pamela Barbaglia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Back in March the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) boasted 30 members, representing about 15% of global premium volume. Now the NZIA, a key financial forum for insurers to set decarbonisation targets and a part of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), has shrunk to just 13 companies. Even those who choose to stay in the NZIA risk losing business due to state politicians pursuing a “war on woke”. NZIA, part of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero set up by U.N. climate envoy Mark Carney, requires members to commit to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. In rapid succession Japanese insurers Sompo Holdings, MS&AD and Tokio Marine as well as Australia’s QBE Insurance quit the net-zero alliance in late May.

Persons: Beneva, Mark Carney, French reinsurer Scor, Lloyd’s, John Neal, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Global, United Nations, Zero Insurance, Glasgow Financial Alliance, Zero Banking Alliance, Alliance, European Union, Reuters Graphics Reuters, ”, Zurich Insurance, Munich Re, Hannover Re, Allianz, Axa, French, Sompo Holdings, Tokio Marine, QBE Insurance, Thomson Locations: United, United States, Germany, NZIA, Munich, Tokio, London

☆ VC firms create $60 billion-plus climate tech alliance with backing from the UN
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A group of venture capital firms including Tiger Global and Union Square Ventures on Tuesday set up an alliance aimed at making private tech investing more climate-friendly. Called the Venture Climate Alliance (VCA), the coalition of more than 20 climate tech and generalist funds seeks to get the VC industry to increase its commitments to climate tech, a branch of technology devoted to finding solutions to the climate crisis. Generalist VC firms will need to make routine assessments of their carbon footprint, align their early-stage startup bets with net-zero goals. It is not the first initiative to bring climate's role in startup investing to the forefront. The alliance will fall under the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), a group formed during the COP26 climate conference.

☆ Guest view: “1% for 1.5C” can power green finance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Mahmoud Mohieldin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Developing countries excluding China require approximately $2 trillion annually by 2030, as per the Finance for Climate Action report. But current arrangements to get climate finance from developed to developing states are inefficient, insufficient and unfair. The difference could be subsidized in part through the as-yet unpaid portion of the promised $100 billion climate finance pledge, estimated conservatively at $20 billion annually. And it helps minimize developing countries’ indebtedness, in comparison to the current practice. The scheme would also unlock concessional funds for adaptation and resilience projects, which relative to the mitigation of emissions remains the Cinderella of climate finance, attracting less than 10% of global climate finance.

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - A member of a United Nations-backed coalition of insurance firms and pension funds seeking to tackle climate change told Reuters it was considering quitting after disagreements about curbing investment in the oil and gas sector split the group. The row is the latest in a string of policy splits among major climate coalitions of financial firms. AkademikerPension wanted the position paper to state that NZAOA members should only invest in public equities or corporate bonds when the companies involved are no longer investing in exploration for new oil and gas. German insurer Munich Re (MUVGn.DE) said earlier on Friday it was withdrawing from another alliance of insurers focused on reducing carbon emissions to avoid antitrust risks. "I think it's going to be extremely difficult for a plaintiff, even a government enforcer, to prevail on an antitrust theory of harm," said Mitnick.

☆ Vanguard’s CEO Bucks the ESG Orthodoxy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Terrence Keeley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Vanguard’s Tim Buckley is having a Copernican moment. Like the famous Renaissance polymath who challenged conventional wisdom about celestial movement, the 54-year-old CEO is challenging the asset-management industry’s environmental, social and governance orthodoxy. “Our research indicates that ESG investing does not have any advantage over broad-based investing,” Mr. Buckley said in a recent interview with the Financial Times. Matching word to deed, his comments came after he had withdrawn his firm from the $59 trillion Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, an organization that is part of the $150 trillion United Nations-affiliated Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. Mr. Buckley claims the financial world, swept up in climate-change fervor, can’t make such commitments without reneging on its fiduciary duties.

☆ UN chief slams fossil fuel industry expansion in Davos speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Guterres pointed blame squarely at the fossil fuel industry when addressing the Davos crowd, composed of billionaires, politicians and business leaders, including dozes of high level executives from the world’s biggest oil and gas companies. And like the tobacco industry, those responsible must be held to account,” Guterres told the conference. A new report published on Tuesday by the campaign group Reclaim Finance revealed that dozens of banks and financial institutions with net zero pledges are still pouring money into fossil fuels. Since signing, however, it found members have invested hundreds of billions into fossil fuels. Guterres called on companies to “put forward credible and transparent transition plans on how to achieve net zero,” by the end of 2023.

Companies are increasingly working together to cut greenhouse-gas emissions but such collaboration faces the threat of antitrust action demanded by politicians who say it violates competition rules. There are now more than 150 business climate collaborations, according to research by Harvard Business Review. “There are a lot of ways to stay on the right side of antitrust laws,” says Justin Stewart-Teitelbaum, antitrust partner at Freshfields. Traditionally, in most jurisdictions, antitrust officials weigh whether the benefits of cooperation outweigh any economic harm caused by it. The anti-ESG movement in the U.S. bases its antitrust threats partly on an assertion that climate action provides little societal benefit to outweigh any economic harm of cooperation.

☆ Indonesia’s green step not yet a leap for mankind
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

That’s where the private sector comes in, and why Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) are a potential game changer. More significantly, seven international banks, including HSBC (HSBA.L), (0005.HK), Citigroup and Bank of America (BAC.N), have promised to match that amount. International Finance Corporation figures show that “concessional” finance extended by public bodies at below-market rates can often attract 10 times its own level in private finance. The GFANZ working group will need to ensure Jakarta is sticking to its side of the decarbonisation bargain. The GFANZ group includes Bank of America, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Macquarie, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Standard Chartered.

Jennifer Schulp, a director at the libertarian think tank Cato Institute, said the Republicans' unexpectedly tight margin of control in the House will not prompt them to tone down their rhetoric. 'REGULATORY EXUBERANCE'Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican in line to lead the House Financial Services Committee in the new Congress, said in an emailed statement to Reuters before the election that Biden's administration "is pushing its agenda through financial regulators because they don’t have the votes to pass it in Congress." "Committee Republicans will work together to conduct appropriate oversight of activist regulators and market participants who have an outsized impact," McHenry said. "The appropriations process in the House will be a messaging exercise, and it's less worrisome since the Democrats will have the Senate," McGannon said. While those Senators will not be in the majority, House Republicans have also criticized companies on ESG-related matters.

At the COP27 climate conference in Egypt, companies and country delegates are discussing ways of enhancing the market for green bonds, or bonds that are linked to projects deemed environmentally beneficial. POPULAR DESPITE THE 'GREENIUMS'Also known as "use of proceeds bonds," green bonds involve a company or government raising money for projects considered environmentally beneficial. SUSTAINABILITY-LINKED BONDSSustainability-linked bonds, or SLBs, comprise a newer and smaller market than green bonds. SOCIAL BONDS, SDG BONDS, AND MOREBeyond bonds focused on environmental outcomes, lie pools of money for related goals around social equity or fair living standards. Social impact bonds, or impact bonds, differ from social bonds in linking financial returns to the desired outcome.

☆ Guest view: Climate finance club hands over baton
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Huw Van Steenis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

A year after financial institutions joined forces to lower carbon emissions as part of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, the initiative faces criticism from all sides. But the initiative is starting to hit the limits of what financial institutions can achieve through voluntary cooperation. Chief executives of financial institutions worry that participating in GFANZ opens them up to accusations of anti-competitive behaviour and litigation risk. It’s for politicians to set the legislative framework and financial institutions to abide by it. This could double or treble by increasing development banks’ capital, by changing their capital frameworks and mandates, or through smarter public-private partnerships.

What they want are signals on the pace of regulation that would allow company boards to plan their climate policy. The reality is that not enough has been done in the last 12 months – some would argue we have moved backwards," said Hortense Bioy, Global Director of Sustainability Research at Morningstar. Thomas Hohne-Sparborth, Head of Sustainability Research at asset manager Lombard Odier, said only a small portion of potential investments were credibly aligned towards net-zero. The biggest disruption since last year's Glasgow climate talks has been the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a major oil and gas exporter. It can be less obvious for some shareholders, however, as this year's high oil and gas prices have rewarded those producing fossil fuels.

☆ Factbox: COP26 a year later: Where do last year's climate pledges stand?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Nov 1 (Reuters) - A year ago at the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, countries, banks and business leaders announced a slew of climate plans and pledges. METHANE PLEDGETo date, 119 countries and blocs including the United States and the European Union have joined the COP26 pledge to slash methane emissions 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. And China could also give an update on its plan to begin monitoring methane emissions - a promise made under the U.S.-China agreement announced in Glasgow. The group now counts more than 550 members, including most of the world's leading banks, insurers and asset managers, with collective assets of more than $150 trillion. read more And last week, climate activists criticized GFANZ for dropping a requirement that its members sign onto a U.N. emissions reduction campaign.

☆ Brazil gives flagging climate fight a timely boost
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

As such, the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as Brazil’s president counts as a tangible boost. Tree planting and restoration could then absorb the annual emissions caused by the so-called Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector by 2040. Curbs on environmental enforcement and illegal mining declined, and LULUCF emissions jumped. As such, Lula’s victory has international importance. That makes political developments like Lula’s victory all the more vital.

Race to Zero members agree to "phase out development, financing and facilitation of new unabated fossil fuel assets, including coal," in line with science-based scenarios. Environmental advocates are concerned that GFANZ members won't be held to that standard or others without their commitment to Race to Zero. The change comes amid tensions between GFANZ and Wall Street firms over how far they should go in their climate commitments. GFANZ said its affiliation with the United Nations will continue. United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell will join a group responsible for setting its strategy and priorities, and monitoring progress, GFANZ added.

☆ BlackRock tells UK 'no' to halting investment in coal, oil and gas
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - BlackRock (BLK.N), the world's biggest asset manager, told a British parliamentary committee that it will not stop investing in coal, oil and gas, and that its role was not to "engineer a specific decarbonization outcome in the real economy." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWhen asked by the committee whether it would support a net-zero scenario that called for "no new investment is needed in coal, oil, and gas," BlackRock said: "No." Another responder HSBC (HSBA.L), which has also been attacked by climate activists, said continued investment in existing sources of oil production was needed. It said an abrupt shift away from coal would hurt many Asian and developing economies where more people depend on coal. Vanguard, another major investment manager, told the committee it does not have an overall approach nor any firm-wide policies related to fossil fuel exclusion, and does not have an "enterprise view" on the scenario that called for no new investment in coal, oil and gas.

☆ Major U.S. banks threaten to leave Mark Carney's climate alliance - FT
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kenya's Finance Minister Ukur Yatani and former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney attend the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 3, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File PhotoSept 21 (Reuters) - Major Wall Street banks have threatened to leave United Nations climate envoy Mark Carney's financial alliance over legal risks, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing several people involved in internal talks. Some members of the alliance have recently said that they "feel blindsided by tougher UN climate criteria and are worried about the legal risks of participation", the report said. The banks' legal departments are particularly anxious about U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules around climate-risk disclosures, the report added. The SEC will soon require formal disclosures in annual reports about governance, risk-management and strategy with respect to climate change.

☆ Sustainable finance is poised to fund the future of the planet, addressing climate change, equity, and governance
▼ + stars: | 2022-03-03 | by ( Julia Hood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

This article is part of the "Financing a Sustainable Future" series exploring how companies take steps to set and fund sustainable goals. Metrics include diversity reporting, wage gaps, and health and safety. Metrics include employment and wealth generation, taxes paid, and research and development expenses. Metrics include employment and wealth generation, taxes paid, and research and development expenses. Sustainable finance is bigger than just ESG, though the terms are often conflated.

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