When foundations and wealthy individuals launched their Rapid Response-Able Fund (RRAF) in spring 2020, commentators sneered at the “save the world” motivation while others said it would distract attention from the political changes that were needed. But at $10bn (€9bn), with plans to scale quickly to $100bn, interest in corporate boardrooms snowballed. RRAF would target…
Category: climate change
Breakingviews – Fiddling with bank capital can help the planet – Reuters
Climate change could give fiddling with bank capital a good name. Regulators have spent much of the last decade trying to stop lenders massaging their solvency to boost returns. Yet that same sleight of hand could make a big difference in the fight against global warming. The main job of prudential regulators is to stop…
Findings of the ISS Global Survey 2019
The findings of the annual ISS survey on investor priorities: Board Gender Diversity: Majorities of both investors (61 percent) and non-investors (55 percent) agreed with the view that board gender diversity is an essential attribute of effective board governance regardless of the company or its market. Approximately 27 percent of investors tended to favor a market-by-market…
Nordea co-founder of ground-breaking UNEP FI and banking sector sustainability initiative | nordea.com
Nordea, as the only Nordic bank, is one of 30 founding banks of the Principles for Responsible Banking developed together with United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). Today, during a formal ceremony at the UN General Assembly in New York, 130 banks signed the Principles. By signing these, banks worldwide, representing over USD…
Converging on climate lobbying: aligning corporate practice with investor expectations | Reports/Guides | PRI
PRI’s new guidance for engagement on corporate climate denial and lobbying: nvestors are increasingly scrutinising corporate engagement on climate policy as it plays a critical role in helping governments create practical climate policy solutions. However, corporate engagement on climate policy is a double-edged sword. Negative and resistant corporate interest, often represented by third-party organisations, can…
Majority Action’s Asset Manager Report 2019 — BlackRock and Vanguard Flunk Again
Majority Action’s latest report on asset manager votes on climate change show little progress: BlackRock and Vanguard voted for 99% of U.S. large capitalization energy and utility company-proposed directors and 100% of their say on pay proposals. BlackRock and Vanguard not only voted with management more often than most of their asset manager peers; they…
Investors turn up the heat on governments over climate change – CNN
Investors managing assets worth $35 trillion are sending a message to governments and companies: Do more to fight climate change. A group of 515 investors on Wednesday urged policymakers to act with the “utmost urgency” to comply with the goals of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which seeks to limit global warming. “Much more needs…
UC to dump fossil fuels holdings in pension and endowment funds worth $83 billion – The San Diego Union-Tribune
Generally, we support engagement over divestment. But we believe that the trustees can justify this decision in terms of financial risk and return. Top financial officials with the University of California announced Tuesday morning in an opinion article in the Los Angeles Times that the school system plans to undertake a major divestment from fossil…
Investment Giants BlackRock and Vanguard Fail to Live Up to Climate Commitments by Voting Against Shareholder Resolutions — As You Sow
Corporate governance nonprofit Majority Action released today its report analyzing asset managers’ 2019 voting records on climate-related shareholder proposals and CEO pay at energy and utility companies. The report finds that influential firms like BlackRock and Vanguard repeatedly voted with corporate management in opposing climate risk mitigation proposals. In fact, BlackRock and Vanguard voted against…
So who in sustainable finance is going on climate strike this Friday? RI looks at who is downing tools for the environment. – Responsible Investor
Starting this week from September 20-27 students around the world are taking to the streets to demand more effective climate action – and they want the adults to join them. Unions and NGOs are pledging to bolster the numbers. But there’s one sector that’s notably absent: finance….What’s behind the reluctance? Preventable Surprises’ Raj Thamotheram says…
