Environment

Viewsroom: Soccer, steel and the COP; Andrea Orcel

28 Oct 2021

As world leaders and corporate chieftains converge on Glasgow for the UN climate powwow, Rob Cox and George Hay talk about one European steel town's struggle to transition from hydrocarbons to a green new era. And Lisa Jucca discusses the latest on UniCredit’s M&A options.

Capital Calls: Aussie climate plan stumbles

28 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: The federal government won’t sign a pledge to reduce methane emissions.

Moving carbon goalposts will be a wrenching burden

27 Oct 2021

The work required to make a net-zero transition is far harder than regularly announced political targets suggest. A soccer team in Taranto, Italy, home to Europe’s largest and most notorious steel mill, offers a glimpse into the economic struggles facing cities the world over.

Xi’s green reticence is partly trade-war ploy

27 Oct 2021

China’s president seems unlikely to attend the UN climate summit in Glasgow, and the country’s updated plans to cap emissions look unimpressive. Beijing may want to extract Western concessions for more ambitious carbon targets. Its environmental cleanup will proceed regardless.

Australia’s climate plans amount to giant COP-out

26 Oct 2021

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has abrogated responsibility to states for an underwhelming 2030 emissions target. His 2050 net-zero goal also sees a long future for fossil fuels and relies on untested technology. It’s reasonable to expect more from a country on the front lines.

India Insight: Climate fight goes way beyond coal

26 Oct 2021

A green agenda supports Narendra Modi’s goal to boost the nation’s self-sufficiency. India’s tycoons aim to develop and export the cheapest, solar-generated hydrogen. Private capital will help renewables power economic growth, but coal and net zero are the elephants in the room.

Viewsroom: Oz goes green-ish; “Squid Game”

21 Oct 2021

Australian climate policy is a work in progress, and Antony Currie fears the country’s net-zero plans may yet prove to be a damp squib. On the other hand, the South Korean drama is anything but: Jennifer Saba explains why the show is a major victory for Netflix and its investors.

Road to COP: Making companies do better

19 Oct 2021

Anne Simpson is one of the key figures in U.S. climate finance. As head of Board Responsibility at U.S. pension fund CalPERS, it’s her job to give companies a hard time if they shirk on decarbonisation. Ahead of November’s critical COP26 conference, she chatted to George Hay.

Green clouds blow forcefully into Canberra

15 Oct 2021

Miner South32 is the latest Aussie company to bow to climate-conscious shareholders. Its carbon-friendly deal coincides with central banker Guy Debelle warning that overseas investors may dump assets over the country’s net-zero dithering. Financiers may cast the deciding vote.

Green transition needs a wider focus than oil cuts

13 Oct 2021

Fossil fuel investment has fallen to levels that would limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the IEA says. Yet measures to hike green energy and curb demand are just as important, and lagging. Unless states act, high energy prices risk becoming an ongoing headache.

Road to COP: Mark Carney on finance’s climate role

12 Oct 2021

The UN climate envoy is enlisting banks, asset managers, insurers and others in wide efforts to keep global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees. He tells Rob Cox what to expect from the industry at Glasgow, how multilateral development banks need to “up their ambition” and more.

Chevron tiptoes around the climate bonfire

11 Oct 2021

The U.S. oil giant hopes to cut operational greenhouse emissions to net zero by 2050. Its plan lags that of peer Occidental and European rivals. Boss Michael Wirth may be trying to stay realistic, but timidity isn’t a virtue when others are being much more ambitious.

Tesla’s move to Texas further mars ESG credentials

8 Oct 2021

Elon Musk is relocating the electric-vehicle champion’s home base after a Covid-19 spat with California. It will put it in a state building a weak record on green energy and women’s rights. A company already hit by bad governance is giving investors more reasons to think twice.

Mining magnate is Greta’s unlikely kindred spirit

6 Oct 2021

Fortescue boss Andrew Forrest goes beyond the climate activist’s “blah blah blah” net-zero dismissal by calling such targets “a lie”. He’s basically right, but his own company clings to the carbon trope. The ambition on green hydrogen and Scope 3 targets, however, is welcome.

Road to COP: How can banks stop planetary frying?

5 Oct 2021

In the first instance, financial institutions can reduce travel budgets and replace radiators in office buildings and branches. The real leverage comes in how they manage customer assets and deploy balance sheets, UBS Chief Executive Ralph Hamers says in a chat with Rob Cox.

Rivian risks reckless run onto public markets

4 Oct 2021

The electric-vehicle maker backed by Amazon and BlackRock only just started selling its first model. It’s also burning cash fast and Jeff Bezos’s e-commerce empire has the upper hand as a big customer for delivery vans. A mooted $80 bln valuation sounds like a runaway IPO.

Road to COP: Italy’s ecological transition chief

28 Sep 2021

Prime Minister Mario Draghi picked Roberto Cingolani, a trained physicist, from the private sector to lead the country’s mega-ministry combining environment and energy. As Milan hosts the warmup to the COP26, Cingolani discusses Italy’s role in the global decarbonization fight.

Breakdown: Beware Aussie net-zero greenwashing

27 Sep 2021

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government may soon unveil a long-overdue carbon-reduction plan. Early signals play loose with statistics and flag a “gas-fired” pandemic recovery. Absent a detailed path to slash emissions across the economy, it could just be a giant PR stunt.

Capital Calls: Wall Street B-team arrives in D.C.

23 Sep 2021

Concise views on global finance: U.S. senators sent SPAC managers letters questioning incentives in blank-check vehicles.

Road to COP: Hydrogen comes faster than you think

14 Sep 2021

At this fall’s United Nations climate summit, world leaders will seek to take concrete steps to fight global warming. Green hydrogen could help, but it’s still too expensive. Snam CEO Marco Alvera tells Lisa Jucca why the hydrogen energy revolution is likely to surprise us all.