Green Top 10 – December 2022

1. Key takeaways from the COP27 climate summit in Egypt

COP27 has been criticized heavily for greenwashing, and for setting inadequate targets. On the positive side, nations for the first time agreed to set up a fund to provide payouts to developing countries that suffer “loss and damage” from climate-driven storms, floods, droughts and wildfires.

Source: Reuters

2. EU Lawmakers Adopt Corporate Sustainability Reporting Rules

The European Parliament adopted the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), setting the stage for a dramatic overhaul and expansion of corporate sustainability reporting to be implemented by the beginning of 2024. The new rules will significantly expand the number of companies required to provide sustainability disclosures to over 50,000 from around 12,000 currently, and introduce more detailed reporting requirements on company impacts on the environment, human rights and social standards and sustainability-related risk.

Source: ESG Today

The EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action, the LIFE Programme, will support 168 projects across Europe, targeting key themes including nature and biodiversity, circular economy and quality of life, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the clean energy transition. Investments will include €127 million for nature and biodiversity projects, €96 million clean energy transition projects, €86 million for environment and resource efficiency projects supporting the EU’s Circular economy action plan, and around €67 million for climate action-focused projects, including climate adaptation and mitigation initiatives.

Source: ESG Today

4. Amundi Cuts EU Sustainability Grade of 100 Funds

Europe’s largest fund manager Amundi has downgraded 100 funds with 45 billion euros ($46.28 billion) in assets to a lower level of sustainability under European Union rules ahead of new reporting requirements going live in January. The move comes as regulators take a tougher line on funds’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials amid concerns that investors could be misled.

Sourece: Reuters

5. Bankers Bet Billions On New Wave of Debt-for-Nature Deals

In a big push to get nature into sovereign debt markets, governments turn to debt-for-nature swaps and other types of climate-focused finance. Advocates say that current debt problems, combined with the growing political will and the recent successful swap deals in the Seychelles, Belize and Barbados, mean a swathe of other nature-rich countries are now exploring the model.

Source: Reuters

6. Switzerland Adopts Law Requiring Mandatory Climate Reporting for Public Companies, Banks

Large Swiss companies and financial institutions will be required to publicly disclose information on their climate-related risks, impacts and plans, according to new legislation passed by the government’s Federal Council. Under the newly adopted “Ordinance on Climate Disclosures,” public companies, banks and insurance companies will be required to provide reporting based on the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The rules will apply to companies with 500 or more employees, at least CHF 20 million (USD$21 million) in total assets or more than CHF 40 million in revenue.

Source: ESG Today

7. Goldman Sachs to Pay $4mn Penalty Over ESG Fund Claims

Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay a $4mn penalty over US regulatory charges that the bank’s asset management division misled customers about environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments. The settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission highlights a widening clampdown on potentially unsupported claims made by financial groups when it comes to socially-conscious investment products. The SEC’s settlement involved two mutual funds and one separately managed account strategy.

Source: FINANCIAL TIMES

8. Labor Department Clears Path for 401(k) Plans to Offer ESG Funds

More retirement savers could soon have the option to invest in funds based on environmental, social and governance principles. The new rule reverses a move by the Trump administration in 2020 that made it harder for 401(k) plans to put ESG investments on the menu. That regulation went into effect shortly before President Biden took office, but the administration moved to replace it.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

9. German State May Sell to 20% of Assets Under Sustainable Investing Law

The German state of Baden-Württemberg may have to sell up to a fifth of assets in its top-up pension funds and would be banned from buying US treasuries and sovereign bonds from six EU countries under a proposed new law. The law includes wide-ranging exclusions and alignment targets for state investments, including bans on investment in fossil fuels and controversial weapons, and aligning emissions with the levels set out in the EU’s Paris-aligned benchmark regulation via an immediate reduction of 50 percent and a 7 percent year-on-year reduction.

Source:  responsible investor

10. European Investors Get Behind Tax Transparency Proposals at US Energy Giants