BNP Paribas urges investors to pressure politicians on climate rules May 10, 2021 Bank BNP Paribas has begun urging investors to press politicians to commit to the Paris Agreement with policy and make rules for net-zero targets. Investors are failing to chase strong climate policies, global head of sustainability at BNP Paribas Asset Management, Jane Ambachtsheer, told Bloomberg. Instead of chasing policies, however, investors should start chasing politicians [...]
Government raised £40.8bn in green taxes in 2020, just six per cent of total May 10, 2021 The government raised £40.8bn through ‘green taxes’ last year, just six per cent of the £633bn raised through taxes overall, according to law firm Pinsent Masons. Over the last decade, the money raked in by green taxes has only risen 19 per cent which has clashed with the 53 per cent surge in taxes as [...]
Standard Chartered to face shareholder action over climate change policies May 10, 2021 Shareholders are set to eye Standard Chartered bank’s climate policies, according to environmental organisation Market Forces, revealing it has pumped $31.4bn into fossil fuels since the Paris Agreement. The scrutiny comes as the bank confirmed its participation in a $400m five year loan for global coal giant Adaro Indonesia, as part of a syndicate of [...]
Global climate change stimulus could fuel a green investment bubble May 6, 2021 Hundreds of years of history shows us that investment bubbles are a regular feature of the financial markets. For as long as humans have been trading investments, there have been periods of time when the prices of assets have become disconnected from their underlying value. Although bubbles typically are identified after they have popped, there [...]
Exclusive: Chartered IIA calls on government to extend mandatory climate reporting to smaller businesses May 5, 2021 The Chartered IIA is calling on the government to further its demands on climate reporting, including widening out mandatory climate reporting to include small and medium-sized organisations. In March the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched a consultation to require mandatory climate disclosures from large companies. Companies that would be affected by [...]
Barclays to offer climate vote to investors next year May 5, 2021 Barclays will offer investors a vote on its climate policy at next year’s investor meeting after pressure from activists and shareholders to become greener. The bank will devise extra climate targets in consultation with shareholders, its chairman Nigel Higgins told a webcast investor meeting today. Barclays set itself a target in March 2020 to reach [...]
EU urged to bring in tougher climate finance rules May 5, 2021 European Union policymakers today faced a call to break a ‘climate-finance doom loop’ by making banks hold up to three times more capital to cover risks from fossil fuel activities. Finance Watch, which campaigns to improve how finance works for society, has written to EU President Ursula von der Leyen, urging the union to toughen [...]
BlackRock bears down on environmental concerns as investor goes green May 5, 2021 Asset management giant BlackRock have increased their green engagements by more than 50 per cent in the past year, the firm said this morning. BlackRock Investment Stewardship’s (BIS) quarterly update suggests the trend towards more of a green push from major shareholders will continue. The giant’s stewardship team held almost 1,000 “engagements” with firms it [...]
UK banks provided over $50bn in financing for coal-exposed firms from 2018 to 2020 May 4, 2021 The UK’s biggest banks provided $56bn worth of financing for firms involved in the coal industry between 2018 and 2020, new research today has found. Of the top five banks exposed to the sector, Barclays provided by far the most financing to firms on the Global Coal Exit list, with $27bn. HSBC and Standard Chartered [...]
COP26: What are the UK’s goals for the landmark summit? May 1, 2021 It’s six months until the UN’s flagship climate conference, COP26, kicks off in Glasgow. As the host of this year’s conference, the UK has a unique job: to corral the world’s biggest economies into updating their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) – formal targets to reduce emissions – in line with the demands of the 2015 [...]