ESG

Oil price cap will harm, not help, Asia

15 Sep 2022

The U.S. says countries ignoring a G7-led price cap against Russia can leverage it to negotiate discounts. But even if the policy works and lowers short-term prices, India and China’s massive long-term oil needs make it risky to mess with price signals that spur fresh supply.

Capital Calls: Oil vs. ESG

13 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: The price of a barrel of Brent crude has fallen 30% since mid-summer, and over 10% in two weeks. If it stays below $100 a barrel, oil companies will start to become worse investments. That could help solve backlash to ESG investing.

Pension funds are going too long on U.S. politics

1 Sep 2022

A new Texas investment blacklist that includes BlackRock is more symbolic than a real threat. But the anti-ESG push by states is putting pressure on retirement outfits as they grapple with falling markets. Politicians’ short-term whims are a bad match for long-term funds.

Water crisis investing is glass not even half-full

1 Sep 2022

Companies like Danone, Ecolab and Coke paraded some smart, profitable ways to adapt to flood and scarcity at an annual Stockholm confab. But those are often just pilot projects. And funding from VCs to governments is scarce. Preparing for global warming requires opening the taps.

Climate both dries and drowns case for hydropower

31 Aug 2022

The IEA and others reckon hitting net zero requires doubling the energy source’s output. But aridity from China to the Americas highlights a big vulnerability. Flood risk is even more widespread. Add environmental degradation and hydropower is often more trouble than it’s worth.

Investors add $10 trln activist wrench to H2O risk

22 Aug 2022

Water has long played second fiddle to emissions in battling climate change. Now Fidelity, DWS and 62 other money managers want big users from McDonalds to Microsoft to better manage and protect the resource. With droughts and floods set to inundate earnings, it’s past time.

U.S. climate win may distort global net-zero race

18 Aug 2022

The $430 bln legislation signed by President Joe Biden should spark faster uptake of solar, wind and hydrogen in the country. Over time, it could cut green power costs worldwide. But the U.S. plan’s reliance on subsidies risks thwacking Asian renewable energy supply chains first.

Capital Calls: Chevron rewards investors

29 Jul 2022

Concise views on global finance: The oil firm’s disciplined spending means it has been able to dramatically ramp up its buyback plan.

Climate fight can take heart from an old oil maxim

20 Jul 2022

Sages say high crude prices are their own cure. Similarly, hot weather now may avoid worse warming in future, if baking conditions at home make the West honour its pledge to finance developing states’ climate change struggle. That might get stalled net-zero plans back on track.

Australia green fail is global net-zero liability

20 Jul 2022

Canberra is pledging action after a grim report detailing Down Under’s deteriorating environment. But coal and gas exports help fuel disasters at home and abroad, like Europe’s wildfires. Refusing to tackle it sends a gloomy signal about countries’ willingness to cut emissions.

ESG is more of a muddle than a fiddle

19 Jul 2022

Environmental, social and governance investing is under the spotlight. In this episode of The Exchange podcast, Bridgewater’s sustainable finance gurus Karen Karniol-Tambour and Carsten Stendevad explain how ESG’s main problem is a lack of clarity over its goals.

Insurers can boost carbon credits, and themselves

19 Jul 2022

The market for planting trees to offset carbon could be worth $50 bln by 2030. But the unregulated space means large corporate buyers could face heavy losses and even fraud. Insurance could help tame the market, and give companies like Allianz and Zurich a sales boost.

Guest view: A platform for climate collaboration

14 Jul 2022

Finance ministers and central bankers face inflation and stagnating growth. The climate crisis could dwarf these hardships. If structured well, G20 Country Platforms can help to unlock private capital to meet the challenge, writes United Nations climate envoy Mark Carney.

Health adds new letter to ESG for food groups

12 Jul 2022

Government crackdowns on junk food marketing will hurt sales for companies like Frosties maker Kellogg. And investors are increasingly pushing consumer groups to use independent criteria to show how healthy their grub is. Tougher scrutiny will mean a valuation slap for laggards.

Unilever ice cream mess is only partly cleaned up

30 Jun 2022

The $116 bln group has sold its Israeli Ben & Jerry’s business after the ice cream maker halted sales in the occupied Palestinian territories. Unilever gets to extricate itself from a no-win situation. Yet the hipster dessert’s ongoing autonomy means the two may clash elsewhere.

Canada’s climate pledges are too light on detail

22 Jun 2022

Justin Trudeau’s government has laid out how the world’s fourth-largest oil producer intends to get to net zero. But the details outlining how Canada’s prime minister plans to get there are pretty flimsy. Unless they materialize, Ottawa’s climate credibility will stay low.

Green investors need to get their hands dirty

22 Jun 2022

Most money managers fight climate change by shunning stocks of polluting companies. By contrast, so-called transition funds target dirtier assets to clean them up. Though the approach brings risks, it could also deploy trillions of dollars of green capital in a smarter way.

Power providers tempt Wall Street-style backlash

17 Jun 2022

Australia halted electricity trading because generators were “gaming” the system, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says. Such behaviour risks inviting widespread uproar as banks did during the financial crisis. It’s a bad spot to be in as a new government upgrades climate goals.

Expensive capital will slow the green transition

17 Jun 2022

Strategic investors with low-cost, long-term funding have put polluter India on course to hit 2030 goals. TotalEnergies’ plan to help Adani spend $50 bln on green hydrogen hints at ongoing support. But such sponsors may have to step it up as rising rates and risk aversion bite.

BlackRock in charge beats nobody in charge

13 Jun 2022

The $10 trln asset manager has invited some investors to vote at annual meetings of companies held by its index funds, but only a few have taken up the offer. It’s in boss Larry Fink’s interest to get the number up. The trouble is many shareholders don’t vote even when they can.