April 2022

How climate investors are getting ready for the carbon removal boom

The world is hurtling towards irreversible and catastrophic warming. The goals of the Paris climate accord are fast slipping out of reach. At least we know what to do. In the face of the gathering climate threat, the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report strikes a decidedly ‘can-do’ attitude. Global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 as fossil fuels are rapidly scaled down. And carbon removal technologies, as well as natural solutions, will be necessary to make up for hard-to-abate...

Impact investing has the power to create social change, but we need to measure it

As our world faces a myriad of environmental, social and geo-political challenges, there can be little doubt that radical changes must be made to ensure a sustainable and equitable future for generations to come. The UN’s latest report on climate change sends a stark warning: we have passed the point of no return. We must move quickly to find alternative sources of energy and new forms of technology. The terrible situation in Ukraine has further highlighted this need, not only for...

March 2022

Climate campaigners condemn award to East Sussex Pension Fund

Climate campaigners condemn award to East Sussex Pension Fund

Climate campaigners have condemned the decision to give an award for ‘LGPS [Local Government Pension Scheme] Fund of the Year’ to the East Sussex Pension Fund, saying that the Fund has failed one of the most basic litmus tests for such an award: namely, a public commitment to fully divest from the giant fossil fuel (oil, coal and gas) companies that are driving the climate crisis. The award was bestowed at the ‘LAPF [Local Authority Pension Fund] Investments Awards’...

A human-centered approach for impact investing in climate action

Climate finance is booming, now reaching over $600 billion in 2020. Yet, as the newest IPCC report makes clear, unequal climate impacts are escalating, making a justice-oriented approach to climate finance more important than ever. The question is: how can funders most effectively and meaningfully implement an intersectional lens to their climate investments? Read also US. SEC takes ‘monumental’ step on climate disclosure Climate justice recognizes that the communities least responsible for creating the climate crisis will be hardest hit by...

US. SEC takes ‘monumental' step on climate disclosure

US. SEC takes ‘monumental’ step on climate disclosure

More than a year in the works, the Securities and Exchange Commission unveiled its much-anticipated climate disclosure rule proposal this month, with major implications for the investor and business communities. "It's a monumental rule-making initiative," said Erin E. Martin, a Washington-based partner with law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP who previously worked in the SEC's division of corporation finance. "This has been a long time coming, it's been highly anticipated by the public, it's an area that's of interest...

Pensions and the green transition: policy and political issues at stake

Pensions and the green transition: policy and political issues at stake

By David Natali, Michele Raitano & Giulia Valenti Pension policy has gone through an intense period of reform over the past few decades. However, further changes are likely to take place in the near future. Major global trends, not only population ageing but also globalisation, technological innovation and climate change, are going to shape socioeconomic and labour organisation and influence macroeconomic trends and will thus have an impact on the adequacy and long-term sustainability of pension policy. This paper focuses...

How society aging threatens climate action

People 60 and older are responsible for a large and increasing share of greenhouse gas emissions in wealthy countries, according to a new study. This is due not just to the increasing numbers of people in this age group but to their lifestyles as well, hinting that aging populations may pose a challenge to climate action. Longer lifespans and declining birth rates in wealthy countries mean their populations are getting older. The share of the population aged 65 and older...

SEC proposes climate-related disclosures for public companies

US. SEC proposes climate-related disclosures for public companies

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday proposed rule amendments to require public companies to disclose climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions. The commission approved the rule amendments in a 3-1 vote, with its lone Republican, Hester M. Peirce, dissenting. Under the proposal, public companies would be required to disclose a host of climate-related information in their registration statements and periodic reports, including: The oversight and governance of climate-related risks by the registrant's board and management. How any climate-related risks identified...

UK. Pension schemes to tackle deforestation in climate push

UK. Pension schemes to tackle deforestation in climate push

Pension schemes in the UK will be expected to do more to tackle deforestation as part of the government’s climate policies, pensions minister Guy Opperman has warned. Writing in Responsible Investor with Lord Goldsmith, minister for the Pacific and the international environment, Opperman said that because “forests and land use are a significant source of carbon emissions”, any action on climate change “will need to take deforestation into account”. “During our COP26 presidency, we are putting forests front and centre of...

Engagement essential for schemes to turn the tide on plastic waste

Engagement essential for schemes to turn the tide on plastic waste

The role pension schemes play in overcoming plastic pollution is multifaceted, and communicating it with members only adds another layer of complexity, experts warn. Read also Global Pension Asset Values Grow to Record $56 Trillion in 2021 The transition to net zero requires a multifaceted approach over how we use non-renewable materials. Up to 12.7mn tonnes of plastic enter the oceans each year causing damage to marine life and ecosystems, according to the journal Science, and while the scale of the...