The European Commission has published the new 2030 Climate Target Plan, proposing to raise to 55% the cut in GHG emissions by 2030. This more ambitious target for the next decade will put the EU on the right path to reach its goal of climate neutrality by...
Automobiles and Parts, Climate change, Infrastructure, Mining, Oil and Gas, Positive impact cases / 17.09.2020
Reviving the legacy of UK’s lithium industry
While the benefit of lithium batteries are well-known (batteries are light, charge fast and are able to store a lot of energy) and used in wide-spread technologies (from electric cars to smartphones), the extracting process is far from being environmental friendly as well as it...
Automobiles and Parts, Oil and Gas, Positive impact cases, Renewables / 08.09.2020
Hydrogen-powered driving company Nikola makes green solutions look sexy
Pros and cons of hydrogen-powered vehicles, the "latest" solution to greening the transportation sector. When it comes to transportation and other industries heavily dependent on fossil fuels, what does create a stronger emotional commitment than the image of a Huracán 5.2 V10? Perhaps nothing, as far...
"A relevant question we all need to ask ourselves as citizens, consumers, workers, savers, investors, in our daily life as well as when we are on holiday. Everything is tightly interconnected, the environmental disaster at the Mauritius and our personal habits at home", states Daniela...
Climate change, Financial Institutions / 18.08.2020
Morgan Stanley, Citi and Bank of America join PCAF and commit to measuring greenhouse emission of loans and investments
MorganStanley, Citi and Bank of America have joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials, a global group composed of 70 financial institutions representing more than $10 trillion in assets, which aims to provide financial institutions with a common methodology to assess and measure greenhouse gas emissions. Morgan Stanley,...
Climate change, Companies, Deforestation, Oil and Gas / 15.08.2020
Investors demand corporate financial statements to incorporate climate change risks
Investors fear that firms’ financial statements do not represent the real long-term outlook for many businesses as only a minority of them accurately incorporate climate change risks. The oil and gas company BP has cut $17.5 billion off the value of its assets, reflecting the material...
Climate change, Deforestation, Financial Institutions, Senza categoria / 12.08.2020
Local and international investors and authorities are pressuring Bolsonaro to fight deforestation
Bolsonaro has imposed a ban on forest fires during the dry season and arranged military operations against deforestation practices. This decree comes after pressure from financial investors, international companies and foreign governments on the need to improve Brazil’s environmental commitment and to stop deforestation, a practice that is...
Australia’s Snowy Hydro 2.0, a pumped hydro storage project in the Snowy Mountains, has recently been approved by the federal government as an economic savior to bushfire-ravaged region and the COVID19 recession. However, several concerns arise from its economic and environmental costs. Australia has recently approved Snowy Hydro 2.0...
Biodiversity, Deforestation / 10.08.2020
Deforestation and the Covid-19 pandemic: a two-fold connection
COVID19 has reaccelerated deforestation, with forest loss alerts increasing up to 77% compared to 2017-2019. As deforestation itself heightens the risk of future disease outbreaks, rural frontiers should be approached more holistically by taking into consideration the health of humans, animals and the planet. Despite a positive historical trend...
Companies, ESG, Green bond, Tech / 04.08.2020
Alphabet launches largest sustainable bond offering ever, but this new frontier is not without risks
Alphabet has launched one of the largest sustainable bond offerings to be ever recorded, devoted to funding ongoing and new green and social justice-oriented projects. Sustainable bonds are not without risk of social washing and investor monitoring is much needed. The Covid-19 pandemic has boosted the offering of socially-related bonds,...
ESG, Green bond / 03.08.2020
The EU TAXONOMY for SUSTAINABLE FINANCE
According to the OECD, globally, EUR 6.35 trillion a year will be required to meet the Paris Agreement goals by 2030. The EU Taxonomy will help investors and companies in choosing green opportunities that are in line with a low carbon economy and resource-efficient economy. Finance enables transformative improvements in industries all over Europe and globally. According to the...
ESG, Oil and Gas, Renewables / 01.08.2020
Big oil: demand shocks and investors’ led change
The recent oil price shock has deeply affected corporations such as Chevron and Exxon Mobil, but also the long-term trend in oil demand seems to pose risks. As the sector is evolving, activist investors are becoming increasingly vocal with respect to environmental matters and are leading change in...
Climate change, Coronavirus, Disinvestment, Mining, Renewables / 31.07.2020
Covid-19 has accelerated the waning of the coal industry
The coal industry is likely to never recover from the heavy blow caused by COVID19, experts said. The modern society’s dependence on coal has been cut loose due to the slash in costs of its greener alternatives and heightened climate activism. Pandemic has accelerated the shift...
Biodiversity, ESG / 28.07.2020
Why we need global Biodiversity Finance
Biodiversity depletion is an environmental disaster deteriorating faster than climate change. Environmental risks will adversely affect the macroeconomic performance of various sectors and financial markets. Moving sustainable finance into mainstream practices is key. Evidence shows that nature-based solutions can be readily turned into cash flows and in the...