April 2022

Environmental, Social and Governance Considerations in Pension Plans
28Apr

Environmental, Social and Governance Considerations in Pension Plans

By Paul Williams & Elizabeth Harker Speaking at the United Nations Climate Change Conference ("COP26") in October 2021, the UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Thérèse Coffey, said that pension schemes can become a "superpower" in fighting climate change and propelling the world to net zero. But to what extent does the legal landscape within which pension schemes operate allow them to perform this role, and indeed to what extent should they be performing this role? Here in the...

April 28, 2022
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15Apr

Swedish regulator to screen funds for ‘green painting’

Sweden's financial regulator said it will start reviewing funds to enforce new sustainable regulations and to prevent "green painting." The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, or Finansinspektionen, said it will review "whether the information provided about the funds that are classified as most sustainable meets the strict requirements" of sustainable finance disclosure regulation rules implemented in March 2021. In a notice on its website Tuesday, FI said that as demand for green and sustainable funds increases rapidly, "this entails the risk of...

April 15, 2022
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11Apr

The Association between Mandated Environmental Liability Recognition and Voluntary ESG Disclosure Quality

By Daniel A. Bens, Cai Chen & Peter R. Joos We examine the association between mandated Asset Retirement Obligations (ARO), i.e., environmental clean-up costs of normal operations estimated on the balance sheet, and the quality of voluntary ESG disclosures. We hypothesize that when firms recognize larger AROs with higher accuracy that this effort will spillover into enhanced voluntary disclosure of a broad range of ESG outcomes. Empirical evidence supports this hypothesis. In a sample of environmentally sensitive industries, we find...

April 11, 2022
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06Apr

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...

April 6, 2022
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04Apr

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...

April 4, 2022
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March 2022

Climate campaigners condemn award to East Sussex Pension Fund
31Mar

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’...

March 31, 2022
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29Mar

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...

March 29, 2022
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US. SEC takes ‘monumental' step on climate disclosure
29Mar

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...

March 29, 2022
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Pensions and the green transition: policy and political issues at stake
25Mar

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...

March 25, 2022
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23Mar

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...

March 23, 2022
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