On October 31, 2023, the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) announced that it would be forming a working group to develop a voluntary code of conduct for Hong Kong-based ESG ratings and data providers. ICMA will...more
12/14/2023
/ Capital Markets ,
Code of Conduct ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HKSFC) ,
International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) ,
Investment ,
IOSCO ,
Securities Regulation ,
Working Groups
Ahead of September 2023’s G20 summit in Delhi, the Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return (FAIRR) Initiative called on G20 Finance Ministers to reform agricultural subsidies to enable countries to meet their net zero greenhouse...more
10/11/2023
/ Agribusiness ,
Biodiversity ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
COP ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
G20 ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investment ,
Net Zero ,
Subsidies
In a civil suit filed in Oregon state court in June 2023, an Oregon county is suing more than a dozen large oil, gas and coal companies, seeking more than $50 million in damages, in connection with a 2021 “heat dome” and...more
9/5/2023
/ Chevron ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
ConocoPhillips ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Fraud ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Investment ,
Negligence ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oregon ,
Public Nuisance ,
Severe Weather ,
Shell Oil
Consumers’ Research, a nonprofit organization claiming to challenge “companies that have chosen to put woke politics above consumer interests,” announced in June 2023 that it was launching a publicity campaign against a...more
In April 2023, the Centre for Climate Finance & Investment and the International Energy Agency issued a report identifying and addressing the investment gap in renewable and clean energy in the Association of Southeast Asian...more
Senior finance officials from 18 states, as well as hundreds of investors, public and private companies and climate-focused nonprofits, joined together to urge policymakers to reject efforts by certain, primarily Republican...more
On March 16, 2023 the Republican governors of 19 states announced an alliance led by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, to “push back against President Biden’s environmental, social, corporate governance (ESG) agenda that is...more
3/22/2023
/ Asset Management ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda
President Biden will likely issue the first veto of his presidency after Congress passed a measure that would repeal a Department of Labor rule that allows retirement plan fiduciaries to consider ESG-related factors in...more
3/14/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Presidential Veto ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retirement Plan
On February 13, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) announced his support for what his office described as “comprehensive legislation to protect Floridians from the woke environmental, social, and corporate governance...more
3/2/2023
/ Business Strategies ,
Capital Investments ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Florida ,
Investment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State Legislatures ,
Sustainability
Attacks on “ESG investing” in the U.S. continues to intensify as additional Republican lawmakers take aim at financial institutions’ alleged “ESG agenda.” Citing an effort to “promote the depoliticization of our capital...more
On January 10, Isabel Schnabel, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), gave a speech at an international symposium on central bank independence on monetary policy tightening and the green...more
2/17/2023
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
European Central Bank ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Lending ,
Paris Agreement
On January 25, Representatives Sean Casten and Juan Vargas announced the launch of the Congressional Sustainable Investment Caucus (CSIC). According to the press releases, the “CSIC will bring together Members of Congress...more
It is hardly news that ESG investing is a significant aspect of the asset management industry. According to Barron’s, $400 billion was invested in U.S. mutual funds and assets that have an ESG orientation in 2021. However,...more