ESG

Europe’s oil major sweet spot could yet turn sour

4 May 2023

Shell, BP and Total are still making fat profits, and investors seem fine with a slower route out of oil. Rising rates also make wind projects look even less enticing than fossil fuel ones. But longer term, Europe’s oil titans may lose their head start in the shift to net zero.

Oil AGMs presage awkward investor decoupling

28 Apr 2023

BP sailed through its annual shareholder meeting without much blowback on how it had backtracked on climate goals. That will embolden competitors to dismiss pro-green investors’ concerns, and give more to the opposite camp. It is becoming harder to please both sides.

Guest view: “1% for 1.5C” can power green finance

11 Apr 2023

Poorer nations pay the highest human and financial cost of climate change. Multilateral development banks should offer to lend to them at 1% to help mitigate and adapt to global warming, argues UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP27 Mahmoud Mohieldin.

Water finance pipe is full of recycled pledges

28 Mar 2023

Attendees left the UN’s first H2O confab in 46 years pledging to invest $300 bln. To hit that target, governments and companies like Veolia and Xylem mostly repackaged old commitments or dressed up ordinary outlays as new spending. Global water policy needs more pressure.

Bayer pumps H2O to top of climate agenda

21 Mar 2023

The UN is hosting its first confab on water security in almost 50 years as floods and droughts worsen with rising temperatures. In this Exchange podcast, Bayer executive and former member of Germany’s Green Party Matthias Berninger lays out the drugs-to-seeds maker’s remedies.

Water’s big moment risks getting lost in the weeds

20 Mar 2023

New York is hosting the first UN confab on the scarce resource since 1977. Securing supplies requires $1 trln a year. There’s no climate COP-like demand for national commitments but there is a decent investment case. Banks can get a lot of bragging rights bang for their buck too.

EU and US green arms race misses bigger picture

16 Mar 2023

The European Union’s response to Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act gives member states leeway to push back with their own green subsidies. Yet plans for production targets are misguided. To decarbonise while managing China risks, it’s better to seek common ground with the US.

India socialises some very easy ESG wins

15 Mar 2023

SBI’s recent $1 bln social loan, following a similar deal by HDFC, made the pair the world’s top issuers of such credit. They bolster the case for breaking up the responsible investing initialism. India’s next trick is appealing to a growing pool of fussier capital.

Republicans swim against tide of ESG money

2 Mar 2023

Conservative lawmakers voted to block U.S. retirement fund managers from basing investments on factors like climate change. It’s an uphill battle. ESG strategies suffered fewer outflows last year despite delivering worse returns. And Republican voters oppose political meddling.

Search for new World Bank boss flows from Barbados

20 Feb 2023

The multilateral lender needs a new president now that David Malpass is quitting early. Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s green finance strategy offers a way to channel more lending to developing countries. Though the U.S. will have the final say, a shift is overdue.

Ukraine yet to make defence a safe investor haven

20 Feb 2023

Kyiv’s pressing call for weapons to defeat Russia dominated a top security forum in Munich. With defence budgets rising, some investors and banks are tempted to engage more with military hardware firms. For most, however, lethal weapons will remain a no-go investment zone.

Glencore’s coal fudge risks satisfying no one

15 Feb 2023

The dirty fuel is booming, and made up half of the $80 bln commodity giant’s 2022 EBITDA. Green investors may want CEO Gary Nagle to phase it out faster, while financially motivated ones would favour more mining. He’s doing neither, and paying the price with a middling valuation.

The plastic waste fight is just beginning

7 Feb 2023

Where does packaging waste go? Ellen MacArthur Foundation expert Sander Defruyt tells The Exchange podcast about the challenges companies like Coca-Cola and Danone face cutting the 140 mln tonnes of plastic discarded each year. With progress stalling, global rules are afoot.

Tycoon-burned Sun Cable would shine with new owner

1 Feb 2023

Top backers Andrew Forrest and Mike Cannon-Brookes may compete to buy the insolvent solar power export firm. They are pursuing risky plans. Keeping the energy in Australia should allow rival mooted bidders like Macquarie and Iberdrola to pay more and generate better returns.

California floods underscore rising climate costs

24 Jan 2023

Catastrophic storms have devastated the Golden State’s economy and left more than $1 bln in damages. In this Exchange podcast, climatologist Adam Smith explains how global warming has made weather events more expensive, and what governments can do to protect against them.

Creative green finance can go a long way in 2023

23 Jan 2023

Rich democracies are keen to help the Global South fight climate change, in part for geopolitical reasons. Though they will struggle to write big cheques, there are ways to make a little cash go a long way, says Hugo Dixon. 2023 is a key year to drive these ideas over the line.

AGL’s new boss has a $14 bln target on his back

19 Jan 2023

That’s how much Damien Nicks needs to turn Australia’s top carbon emitter into a renewables giant. Unlike predecessors, he has a proactive board, improving earnings and a half-placated billionaire agitator. He’ll still get hauled over the coals if he can’t find funds quickly.

How to navigate a bewildering market landscape

17 Jan 2023

The pandemic boom lured in new and younger investors. Now interest rates are up, asset prices are down, and ESG investing faces a backlash. In this Exchange podcast, Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor talks about personalising investment, the value of data, and taking the long view.

Investors sit on a plastic waste ticking bomb

13 Jan 2023

Four years after vowing to curb packaging, giants like PepsiCo and Mars are far from meeting their goals. Just 9% of global plastic actually gets recycled. If governments decide to firmly turn against corporate polluters, these may face an annual $100 bln cleanup bill.

Banks will pump H2O to top of climate agenda

4 Jan 2023

Recent floods and aridity show global warming is undermining water security. Yet the resource gets a trickle of the dollars and attention Barclays, Citi and rivals devote to sustainability. The first COP-like water confab in decades is an apt time to divert more of that flow.