News

Santander criticised for investments in Polish coal expansion

Spanish banking giant Santander has faced criticism for its investment in Polish state-run energy group PGE and Energa Group.

UN's GISD aim 'to free up trillions of dollars' for SDGs

The UN's Global Investors for Sustainable Development (GISD) Alliance held its first meeting as it looks to 'free up trillions of dollars' from the private sector to finance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Axis Capital limits coal underwriting and investment

Lloyd’s re/insurer Axis Capital has announced a new thermal coal and oil sands underwriting and investments policy after weeks of speculation on the issue.

Sustainalytics report shows ESG risks for Australian equity investors

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) research provider Sustainalytics has assessed areas in the Australian sector including energy and climate policy, and human rights in the supply chain.

UK regulator prepares ‘comply or explain’ TCFD rules

The UK’s financial conduct watchdog will consult on new rules to encourage disclosure of climate-related risks by financial firms in early 2020.

ESG adoption declines amid concerns of its merits, RBC survey

The rate of investors adopting environmental, social and governance (ESG) into their strategies has declined over the last year, according to a survey by Royal Bank of Canada General Asset Management (RBC GAM). RBC GAM also found investors who were unsure of the ability of ESG adoption to manage risk rose as did the percentage of those who believed an ESG strategy would perform worse than a non-ESG one.

CBI says 2019 saw largest green bond spread compression

The first half of 2019 saw the largest average spread compression and oversubscription of green bonds for two-and-a-half years, according to the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI).

Bonds round-up: Enel, Ireland, EBRD, IADB ... and more

Enel's sustainability-linked bonds to be first of many, says Moody's

Moody's believes Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)-linked bonds, such as Enel's recent €2.5 billion ($2.8 billion) issue, will become more common as investors are increasingly interested in issuers' overall sustainability credentials.

Renewables projects can contain widespread human rights concerns, say analysts

British risk analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft has identified a range of labour rights issues in solar and biofuel energy supply chains 'flying under the radar'.