Environment

Ida’s effects will linger, but not in GDP figures

31 Aug 2021

Rebuilding from the hurricane should mean economic growth recovers quickly, based on past storms. But disasters hit personal wealth, and in this environment could pressure wages and materials prices. The opportunity cost of disaster spending, too, cannot be measured.

Guest view: Climate’s lessons for the water crisis

27 Aug 2021

Tackling carbon emissions is at last mainstream thanks to data, science, a clear message and plenty of capital. Martijn Wilder, co-founder of climate advisory and investment firm Pollination, argues that drawing on those can help alleviate worsening floods and water scarcity.

Capital Calls: Delta Air Lines’ vaccine stick

25 Aug 2021

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. carrier will charge unvaccinated stateside employees $200 per month towards healthcare. Adding some push to the pull of incentives makes sense.

Intel offers pointers to ease U.S. water crises

17 Aug 2021

A federal agency is for the first time slashing how much the Colorado River supplies to some states. Climate change means the problem may in time affect California. The chip giant’s efforts to save water in Arizona show how business can help mitigate problems caused by aridity.

UN climate warning is a gauntlet for green finance

9 Aug 2021

Carbon emissions from human activity are “unequivocally” to blame for global warming, a new report says. Financial markets are belatedly coming up with solutions, like a Prudential-inspired plan to close coal plants. All their creativity is needed to tackle the planet’s crisis.

Big “transition” funds reflect climate realism

27 Jul 2021

Brookfield has kicked off a new investment vehicle with $7 bln from backers like Ontario Teachers and Temasek. Like another fund from TPG targeted partly at helping traditionally dirty industries change, it’s a recognition that most decarbonization efforts can’t be pure green.

Greener anti-flood investments will be win-win

26 Jul 2021

Germany’s worst natural disaster in decades and deluges in China have sparked calls to build more dams and reservoirs. There are better ways to protect people, land and buildings from both too much and too little water. These alternatives will also appeal to investors.

Carbon market faces slow burn to success in China

19 Jul 2021

The world’s largest emissions-trading system is hampered by data concerns, dirt-cheap prices and feeble fines. It also currently exempts most big polluters and lacks a mechanism to reduce emissions. It’s a start, but the scheme needs an overhaul to match Beijing’s climate goals.

EU carbon border levy limbers up for a soft launch

13 Jul 2021

The European Commission will this week set out plans for making companies that export goods to the bloc incorporate the rising cost of carbon. It’s likely to pull its punches. That’s not ideal, but even a watered-down levy would still set an important precedent.

Bretton Woods could use a green transition reboot

11 Jul 2021

Larry Fink wants the World Bank and IMF repurposed to tackle the climate crisis. The BlackRock boss has a point. To prevent further harmful warming, shock absorbers for private capital will be needed to help poorer nations decarbonise. These multilateral lenders fit the bill.

Capital Calls: Didi IPO, Space SPAC, Travel SPAC

30 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The Chinese ride-hailing outfit snags an $80 billion valuation early in its New York debut; a blank-check deal for satellite-transport group Momentus cuts its valuation in half; high-end vacation club Inspirato takes subscriptions to a new level.

The Exchange: Niall Ferguson on human error

29 Jun 2021

The historian joins Pete Sweeney to discuss his latest book on disasters, natural and man-made, and why so many governments got Covid-19 so wrong. They debate which political model looked best after the pandemic and whether historians can make a difference at times like these.

Guest view: A debt relief plan for green recovery

28 Jun 2021

Bond markets are buoyant but poorer economies’ fiscal problems are unresolved. Economists Shamshad Akhtar and Ulrich Volz suggest a way of offering more comprehensive debt relief while promoting an environmentally-friendly and inclusive rebound in economic activity.

Amazon’s lax policy on waste belongs in the bin

24 Jun 2021

The $1.8 trln retailer has been destroying millions of unsold items in the UK alone, ITV says. For now Amazon is benefitting from a lack of net zero emissions-style global standards on waste, and a grey area over unsold stock liability. It should be prepared for that to change.

Bank climate stress tests scarier than they look

11 Jun 2021

UK and European lenders that flunk green exercises will not face higher capital charges. But past evidence suggests investors will use the new disclosure to penalise funders of pollution. That will either throttle carbon financing – or shift it to the non-bank sector.

Exxon’s necessary transition starts with the board

25 May 2021

Investors are being asked to vote on a welter of measures to fix the oil giant. Dissident shareholders and proxy advisory services disagree on what and how much needs to be done. Having more independent board voices with experience in energy firms undergoing big shifts is key.

Guest view: How companies can cut deforestation

20 May 2021

Yet more destruction of the Amazon last year raises climate-change fears. Former Brazil Finance Minister Joaquim Levy argues the key to ending this economically unsound treatment of rainforests lies in a mix of animal-tracing tech, integrated farming and better use of pastures.

The Exchange: The green transition’s financing gap

5 May 2021

Plenty of capital is focused on creating the next Tesla. Less is directed towards medium-sized players doing vital but less flashy stuff like insulating buildings. Tikehau Capital co-founder Mathieu Chabran tells George Hay how some asset managers are stepping into the breach.

Review: Planting the seeds of fresh crises

30 Apr 2021

Niall Ferguson’s “Doom” aspires to a political theory of disaster, epidemiological or otherwise. The historian doesn’t really deliver but hints at a catastrophe to come. Disagreements over whether democracy or authority defeated Covid-19 could ferment a terrible conflict.

Biden’s biggest climate threat is U.S. politics

22 Apr 2021

An environmental confab of 40 world leaders returns America to the global stage. Rivals like Xi will attend, though some pledges may be vague. Given Joe Biden’s predecessor showed how easily U.S. vows can be undone, his task is to make promises stick before power shifts again.