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Companies National Indigenous Australians Agency FollowSYDNEY, May 11 (Reuters) - Two key Australian Indigenous leaders opposed to a proposal to constitutionally recognise the country's Aboriginal and Torres Island people joined forces on Thursday in an effort to strengthen their campaign ahead of a referendum later this year. A YouGov poll out last month showed 83% of Indigenous Australians support the referendum, while a wider poll by the Guardian said 60% of Australians will vote for it. Any constitutional alterations in Australia require a national referendum. To succeed, a referendum requires a national majority of votes as well as a majority of votes in at least four of the six states. The conservative Liberal-National opposition coalition will oppose the national vote.

The timeline shows the challenges of quickly finding and implementing replacements for Packers Sanitation Services Inc (PSSI), which provides cleaning services at slaughterhouses. "We made the decision to terminate the agreements with PSSI," Hans Kabat, who leads Cargill's protein business in North America, told Reuters. Cargill said it notified PSSI in March that it was terminating services at a beef plant in Dodge City, Kansas, and then followed with all PSSI's sanitation contracts. One of the largest penalties stemmed from PSSI's contracts at Cargill's plant in Dodge City. Cargill, the world's largest ground beef producer, is reviewing options for cleaning plants, Kabat said.

WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - Chrysler-parent Stellantis NV (STLAM.MI) wants to cut approximately 3,500 hourly U.S. jobs and is offering voluntary exit packages, according to a United Auto Workers union letter made public Tuesday. A person briefed on the matter said the figure might be lower than the figure cited in the UAW letter. The action impacted about 1,350 workers at the Belvidere, Illinois, plant that built the Jeep Cherokee SUV and resulted in indefinite layoffs. The UAW letter said openings created by workers leaving would be filled by workers on indefinite layoff. Stellantis said in February that about 40,000 U.S. hourly workers were eligible for profit sharing.

Companies European Central Bank FollowLONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - France's central bank governor François Villeroy de Galhau has pushed back against criticism of central banks' increasing involvement in the fight against climate change, calling the issue a "must have" focus. "Central banks' core mandate worldwide is price stability, and climate change already affects the level of prices and activity," Villeroy stressed. The debate about how much influence central banks can have in tackling climate issues has become increasingly divisive this year. Villeroy, however, who has long been a firm advocate of doing more, urged central banks and others to come up with better models of how climate change is likely to alter economies. It is also aiming to release short-term climate change scenarios by the end of 2024, which should show more adverse developments, incorporate tougher "shocks" and directly explore the potential impacts of climate change on inflation.

LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - Issuing "catastrophe bonds" and setting up public-private partnerships could help plug the "insurance gap" to better cover damage from climate change, a discussion paper from the European Central Bank and European Union insurance regulators said on Monday. Only a quarter of EU climate-related catastrophe losses are insured, creating risks to the economy and financial stability from uninsured households and businesses not being able to recover quickly from extreme events like fire or flood, the paper from the ECB and EU insurance watchdog EIOPA said. Without action, the insurance gap could widen as more frequent and intense events lead to higher premiums, and impact credit supply from banks in high risk areas. Direct aggregate catastrophe losses in the EU totaled 487 billion euros ($535 billion) between 1980 and 2020, and insurer Swiss Re has estimated there were $120 billion of catastrophe losses globally last year. Actions could include incentivising people and businesses to mitigate against climate-related disasters by offering discounts on policies, the paper said.

OTTAWA, April 22 (Reuters) - A union representing some 155,000 striking Canadian public workers called on Saturday for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to speed up negotiations over a deal for higher wages and work-from-home guarantees. "I need to see the prime minister getting involved in these negotiations and helping and assisting to move these negotiations along," Aylward said. "There is no time, nor tolerance for stalling and misinformation," the office of Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said in a statement. Tax agency workers want a pay bump of 22.5% over three years, while the Treasury Board workers are seeking a 13.5% pay rise over three years. Apart from wages, PSAC also wants the new agreement to recognize the right to work remotely.

A Reuters review of testimony, previously unreported public documents and interviews with elected leaders, lobbyists and attorneys detail mounting challenges to many pending anti-ESG bills. The tussles have financial implications for some of the largest investment firms that manage billions of dollars for state pension plans. Lauren Doroghazi, senior vice president at government relations consultant MultiState Associates, said the debates show lawmakers coming to terms with the anti-ESG bills' practical impact. Several public pension systems raised concerns about it, including the largest, the $182 billion Texas Teacher Retirement System (TRS). For instance, if federally-regulated local banks faced new national rules on an issue like climate change disclosures, banks would need special permissions from local officials to keep public business in Utah he said.

Companies Bp Plc FollowOSLO, April 22 (Reuters) - Norway's $1.4 trillion sovereign wealth fund, one of the world's largest investors, said on Saturday it will vote against a resolution calling on British oil major BP (BP.L) to adopt tougher greenhouse gas targets. The Norwegian fund, itself built on oil and gas revenue, owned 2.73% of BP's shares worth some $2.8 billion at the end of 2022. BP's board has recommended that shareholders vote against the resolution saying it was "unclear" what it wanted the company to do. Investor advisers ISS and Glass Lewis also recommended BP shareholders oppose the resolution, while Britain's Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) asked investors to back it. In February BP rowed back on plans to slash its 2019 oil and gas output levels by 40% by 2030, and now it envisages a 25% cut, angering climate activists.

Steel producers are estimated to produce 7-9% of all harmful emissions, according to the World Steel Association. Boston Metal makes parts for cells in which electricity splits iron ore, creating liquid iron and no byproducts or emissions apart from oxygen. "What is the point of having an electric car running on a battery and carrying dirty steel?" ArcelorMittal's investment marks a shift in steel companies' willingness to invest in the technology since Boston Metal first went out looking for funding in 2018, Carneiro said. Now all the steelmaking companies are very interested in following what we are doing because they need a solution."

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Shareholder resolutions filed by New York City's top pension official will ask top Wall Street banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N) to set stricter 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for portfolio companies. The new resolutions ask banks including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs Group (GS.N) and JPMorgan to commit to reducing emissions in their energy lending and underwriting. Lander cited plans outlined last year by Citigroup (C.N) for emissions across its energy loan portfolio to drop 29% by 2030 from 2020. Currently the other three banks have goals to reduce the "emissions intensity" of their financing, a measure of emissions relative to output that climate activists say does not go far enough. Representatives for JPMorgan, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the resolutions.

Rather surprisingly, research firm Corporate Knights says the answer is Schnitzer Steel Industries (SCHN.O), a U.S. scrap steel recycler, which has knocked wind turbine maker Vestas Wind off the top spot. "Schnitzer Steel is the first steel company to top the Global 100," said Corporate Knights CEO Toby Heaps. "If one of the world's dirtiest sectors can produce the most sustainable company in the world, then there is no excuse for any company in any sector not to step up." In 2022, the Global 100 beat the ACWI on an annual returns basis by 2.8% though both were significantly down on 2021 at -15.6% and -18.4% respectively. Between 2013 and 2022, the Global 100 returned 145.1% compared to 115.4% for the MSCI ACWI.

But this could present an opportunity to address shortages of homes, property bosses said. "Office buildings need to be converted to residential," said Howard Lutnick, chairman and CEO of New York-based investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, during a panel discussion. Offices are emptier than official data suggests as most buildings are still generating income for landlords. However, as these rental contracts expire, cities like New York will have a significant number of obsolete buildings, said Christian Ulbrich, CEO of global property consultancy JLL Inc. (JLL.N). Millions of workers were forced to work from home during lockdowns aimed at stalling the spread of COVID-19 in 2020.

PARIS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - France's hardline CGT union has threatened to cut off electricity supplies to lawmakers and billionaires before a nationwide strike on Thursday, in an increasingly acrimonious showdown over the government's plan to raise the retirement age. "I suggest they also go see the nice properties, the nice castles of billionaires," Philippe Martinez, leader of the CGT, France's second-largest trade union, told France 2 television on Wednesday. In recent days, Sebastien Menesplier, of the hardline CGT's energy and mine branch, has also threatened electricity cuts targeting the offices of MPs, local media quoted him as saying. Government spokesman Olivier Veran said threats to cut electricity were "unacceptable." Seven out of 10 primary school teachers will walk off their job, as will many refinery workers, unions and transport operators said.

SINGAPORE, Jan 18 (Reuters) - General Electric's (GE.N) turbine manufacturing unit said on Wednesday it had agreed with Japan's IHI Corp (7013.T) to develop gas turbines operating on ammonia to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. GE and IHI would work to develop technology that would allow some of GE's existing gas turbine products to safely burn 100% ammonia by 2030, the companies each said in separate, almost identical statements on Wednesday. "We will focus our efforts on satisfying domestic and overseas demand for large-scale ammonia gas turbines, stimulating further demand for fuel ammonia and expanding the fuel ammonia value chain," Hiroshi Ide, president of IHI Corp said. Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Bradley PerrettOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The EU is concerned that European companies will move to the United States, which has a $369 billion scheme to subsidise green production. The EU will therefore provide money for its industry as well, von der Leyen said. "To keep European industry attractive, there is a need to be competitive with the offers and incentives that are currently available outside the EU," she said. For the medium term, we will prepare a European Sovereignty Fund as part of the mid-term review of our budget later this year," von der Leyen said. She said the Commission was now working on what the needs of the green industry were.

CAIRO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The United States and United Arab Emirates announced on Sunday that the first $20 billion of their $100 billion clean energy partnership would be allocated to fund 15 new gigawatts of renewable energy projects before 2035, state news agency WAM said. The investments would be led by UAE's Masdar and a consortium of US private investors, and financed through $7 billion in private sector cash equity and $13 billion in US debt financing and other instruments, WAM said. Reporting by Nayera Abdallah and Nafisa EltahirOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson attend the inauguration of Esrange's new satellite launch ramp, Spaceport Esrange outside Kiruna, Sweden, January 13, 2023. The Commission is planning to loosen state aid rules, but some EU countries can spend more than others. Von der Leyen said the bloc needed "credible and ambitious" financing tools to preserve the single market. She said the Commission was working on an assessment of what the EU clean tech sector needed to compete with U.S. rivals. Yet Scholz's own Social Democrats published a paper on Thursday saying that new EU joint borrowing should be "constructively examined".

Issuance of bonds tied to environmental, social and governance (ESG) themes grossed $142 billion in Asia Pacific last year, barely below the record $144 billion of 2021, according to data from Refinitiv. Major EM ESG issuance Asia, Europe and USParticipants say the 2022 issuance in Asia was fuelled on the supply side by the gargantuan task of greening Asia's energy grid and by low yuan interest rates in top issuer China, where investment from domestic institutions supported prices. Chinese entities issued 59.3% of the ESG bonds in the Asia-Pacific region in 2022, with total proceeds totaling $84 billion, up about 6% from $80 billion in 2021. "Domestic capital markets in Asia have been developing over many years, and are quite deep today," he said. Major EM ESG issuance Major EM ESG issuanceGlobally, ESG issuance fell last year as debt markets became turbulent, while investors pulled cash from funds devoted to sustainable investment for the first time in more than a decade as soaring prices for fossil fuel stocks, which they exclude, hurt their relative performance.

It said 80% of its close to $8 trillion in assets are in its index funds, which primarily attract retail investors. Vanguard's biggest competitors, BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) and State Street Corp's (STT.N) asset-management arm, rely more on institutional investors including pension funds and foundations. Many retail investors are also interested in matters like climate change, but prioritize them less in building retirement portfolios, said Rosenbluth and other industry analysts. A FINRA Investor Education Foundation study of retail investors last March found only 9% of respondents held ESG investments. A big factor behind this gap is retail investors' lack of familiarity or knowledge about ESG products, the study found.

NEW YORK, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Anew Climate LLC, a TPG Inc-owned (TPG.O) provider of carbon emission reduction products to businesses, has agreed to invest as much as $640 million in carbon offset developer Terra Global Capital, the companies told Reuters on Wednesday. This demand gave Anew the confidence to make an investment of this scale, said Randy Lack, Anew's head of portfolio management. "We have been looking for a platform partner to do NBS (nature-based solutions) and Terra Global has a fantastic track record," Lack said in an interview. Lack said Anew would work "hand-in-glove" with Terra Global to ensure all projects meet tight criteria on environmental and social impacts. "The equity investment by Anew is catalytic to the growth of Terra Global," Leslie Durschinger, founder of Terra Global, said in an interview.

REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/File PhotoJan 11 (Reuters) - Failure to tackle climate change and environmental degradation dominate the ranking of top risks facing the planet in the next decade, a World Economic Forum (WEF) survey of global risk specialists found. Failure to mitigate and adapt to climate change; natural disasters; biodiversity loss; natural resource loss and large-scale environmental damage dominate the top-10 ranking of global risks deemed most severe over a 10-year period. The WEF report raised the prospect of risks interacting with each other to form a "polycrisis", which it defines as a cluster of related risks with compounding impacts and unpredictable consequences. It cited big-power resource rivalry as having the potential to generate one such cluster of related risks. (For daily Davos updates in your inbox sign up for the Reuters Daily Briefing here.)

"There are plenty of other people who can take measures to combat climate change and I worry that people, in their great enthusiasm for doing good, are actually putting at risk central bank independence," King said. They were in a minority in a conference packed with central bankers who had long accepted they had some duty towards the environment and, in many cases, were already taking some steps. "It would be misleading to use tighter financing conditions as a scapegoat for further delays in the green transition," Schnabel said. "By saying we have a role to play in helping to finance the green transition... we are increasing this misunderstanding of what our role is," said Wunsch, Belgium's central bank governor. Singapore's Ravi Menon, meanwhile, said central bankers should do much more to help the economy reduce its emissions than just focussing on the risks.

LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Asset Management, the fund arm of Goldman Sachs (GS.N), said on Tuesday it had raised $1.6 billion for its first private equity fund focused on investing in companies providing climate and environmental solutions. The final close of GSAM's Horizon Environment & Climate Solutions I comes as investors increasingly turn their attention to companies that can help in the world's fight against global warming. The fund, launched in 2021, provides so-called "growth capital" to companies further along in developing solutions in clean energy, sustainable transport, waste and materials, sustainable food and agriculture and ecosystem services. While investors have long invested in real assets such as wind and solar, or in early stage venture capital, the demand for the fund showed they were increasingly willing to back bigger companies, Pontarelli said. In December private equity firm General Atlantic launched a $3.5 billion climate fund while a month earlier Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched a $1 billion private equity strategy to invest in companies that will help reduce 1 gigatonne of carbon dioxide emissions.

In recent years, U.S. tech majors have stepped up hiring and made diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) a priority. But as the industry grapples with over-hiring since mid-2020, rising interest rates and changes in business and consumer behavior, tech companies have announced deep cuts, risking their diversity efforts. The rare shakeup in big tech companies risks further disrupting diversity pledges that have already grown stagnant as companies de-emphasize DEI efforts. Equal Employment Opportunity data for 2008-2016, found that about 7% of tech firms are actively trying to diversify their workforce. This will disrupt diversity efforts even further, said Benjamin Juarez, a recruiting consultant and co-founder of Latinos in Tech.

WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Albert Gore III, a former Tesla public policy employee, has been named executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA), the Washington-based group said on Wednesday. Congress in 2021 approved $5 billion for EV charging stations and in August passed new electric vehicle tax credits. "Lots of work ahead, starting with implementation of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program and new industrial policies in the Inflation Reduction Act," said Gore in a LinkedIn post. Gore worked for Tesla for nearly seven years in public policy and business development. The IRA lifts the 200,000-vehicle per manufacturer cap that had made Tesla and General Motors (GM.N) ineligible for EV tax credits.

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