This White Paper focuses on ESG developments through the Asia-Pacific (“APAC”) region since the start of 2024. For businesses present in the APAC region, as well as doing business there, it is imperative to be vigilant of...more
In this edition we discuss several updates aimed at the financial sector, including transition planning reports published by the Network for Greening the Financial System, prudential guidance from the Bank of England on how...more
Greenwashing Beef Production - On February 28, New York State Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James filed a lawsuit with the New York Supreme Court against meat processing company JBS USA for misleading the public about its...more
Australia continues to be a highly active jurisdiction for climate-related lawsuits. Since our last update in August 2023, we have seen a steady stream of suits commenced against corporations and government bodies in relation...more
Financing the transition to Net Zero will necessitate fundamental changes to the businesses are managed. Here we take a look at practical steps senior leaders can take to address the challenges they face....more
An Austrian regional court found Austrian Airlines AG (AUA), a subsidiary of German airline Lufthansa, liable for greenwashing for advertisements offering carbon-neutral flights that used 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF),...more
There is a growing awareness and demand in the UAE for sustainable investment opportunities. To meet this demand, Jodi Norman and Will Tunstall-Prince explain how recent reforms are now putting sustainable finance at the...more
On September 7, 2023, Allianz SE unveiled its first net-zero transition plan for its core business segments, featuring 2030 intermediate targets to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The Munich-based insurance firm’s...more
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
In August 2023, the UK government announced that it would publish guidance on emissions monitoring and reporting for public sector organizations in order to help achieve its aim to reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions from...more
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has introduced the Recognition and Accountability Framework to recognize voluntary climate change pledges by non-state actors and ensure greater transparency...more
On July 5, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released a statement on the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance’s (NZIA) progress towards net-zero targets. The NZIA is convened by the UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) and...more
In June 2023, Climate Action 100+, a climate-focused investor initiative, launched the second phase of its benchmarking program to help investors assess and engage with public companies on climate-related issues. Phase 2...more
What Is Carbon Offsetting and Why Is It Used? Carbon offsets are used by sustainability managers to make progress toward a company's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets. Carbon offsetting allows companies to...more
On May 15, 2023, twenty-three Republican state attorneys general (AGs) sent a letter to members of the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) expressing “serious concerns” about whether the NZIA’s requirements comply with federal...more
On March 30, 2023, 21 Republican Attorneys General (AGs) wrote a letter addressed to over 50 U.S. asset managers citing “concerns about the ongoing agreements between asset managers to use Americans’ savings to push political...more
The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), a European membership body for investor collaboration on climate change, announced the launch of its Net Zero Engagement Initiative (NZEI). A primary goal of the...more
A new report by professional services firm EY has found that only 5% of FTSE 100 companies have disclosed “credible” and sufficiently detailed transition plans to become net zero by 2050....more
The Net Zero transition will not be smooth. The scale of the investment required and the appetite and ability of countries to implement new policy – both now and in the years to come – will cause unprecedented disruption and...more
Last month, Singapore’s Green Finance Industry Taskforce (GFIT) launched the final consultation period to finalize its Green and Transition Taxonomy (the “Taxonomy”). This is Singapore’s third public consultation on the...more
The Net-Zero Banking Alliance (“NZBA”), the UN-led coalition of global banks “committed to aligning their lending investment portfolios with net-zero emissions by 2050,” is facing backlash from certain sustainability-focused...more
The 2023 Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor (CCRM), produced in partnership by Carbon Market Watch and the New Climate Institute, contend that of the 24 multinational corporations assessed in the review – “the largest...more
On January 17, the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) announced that its Asset Manager and Asset Owner Task Force (AMAO Task Force) has released a Transition Categorization Framework. The AMAO Task Force is comprised of 34...more
In a recent speech to the Scottish Competition Forum, Sarah Cardell, newly installed Chief Executive of the UK’s Competition Markets Authority (CMA), laid out her vision for analyzing agreements among competitors that foster...more
On January 10, 2023, Goldman Sachs Asset Management announced that it had closed over $1.6 billion in funding for Horizon Environment & Climate Solutions I (Horizon Climate), the first in an expected series of funds through...more