Sustainability

Jay Powell’s oil price bet counts on green inertia

3 Jun 2021

The Fed boss and his peers expect rebounding energy costs will only temporarily lift inflation. But if Western oil majors cut capex to please investors, crude could grow more expensive in coming years. Rate-setters are implicitly banking on a more gradual eco-friendly shift.

BlackRock’s green activism fires on some cylinders

2 Jun 2021

The $9 trln asset manager voted with a hedge fund against Exxon Mobil and for tougher emissions targets at Chevron. That’s progress. Still, its voting record with other oil majors like Royal Dutch Shell suggests it sometimes gives polluters a pat rather than the required shove.

The Exchange: Steering Europe’s green transition

1 Jun 2021

Frans Timmermans has a key leadership role in the European Union’s quest to reduce its 2030 emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels. Ahead of a major set of green policy updates next month, he talks to George Hay about both these and November’s COP26 conference.

Review: A theory of everything green

28 May 2021

Carbon taxes, ESG investing, colonizing Mars – they’re all pieces of the puzzle. In “The Spirit of Green,” Nobel laureate William Nordhaus gives a sweeping account of how they fit together, and what economists can offer to counter climate change, if only humans would listen.

Pandora adds green polish to its lab-diamond bet

28 May 2021

The $13 bln Danish trinket maker is switching to all synthetic stones, a move driven more by profit than sustainability. Man-made rocks can be 90% cheaper than natural ones, putting them in Pandora’s mass-market ambit. The reduced carbon footprint adds some millennial sparkle.

Oil giants’ setbacks turn BP from tortoise to hare

27 May 2021

Investors were initially sceptical about the UK major cutting fossil fuels, preferring the fuzzier plans of its U.S. and European rivals. Shell’s legal defeat and an investor revolt at Exxon Mobil change the game. Clarity on cutting emissions will increasingly support valuations.

Dutch court hands Shell chairman shakeup stick

26 May 2021

A Hague judge has told the oil giant to toughen up its targets for cutting carbon emissions. Besides appealing, Shell could try to dodge the ruling by moving its headquarters. Alternatively, new chair Andrew Mackenzie could shunt the group in the direction of rivals BP and Total.

Rusal’s upside from clean break only goes so far

19 May 2021

The $6 bln aluminium maker’s plan to demerge carbon-heavy assets could unlock value if ESG-focused investors value the other parts more highly. But the greener entity will still have 28% of polluter Norilsk Nickel and the risk of U.S. sanctions snapback. That might cap any gains.

Oil majors get unsettling glimpse of Kodak moment

18 May 2021

The photo group hit the skids after failing to embrace change. In sketching a future with way less oil, a landmark report by the International Energy Agency points to a similar outcome for polluters like Royal Dutch Shell. Investors now have a stronger hand to push for change.

Three Gorges renewables IPO tests policy headwinds

17 May 2021

The green-energy giant’s $3.5 bln Shanghai listing ought to benefit from President Xi Jinping's climate push. But regulators are cutting wind and solar subsidies, and late government payments are piling up. Controlling costs is key to Three Gorges keeping its premium to rivals.

Breakdown: Net zero goals demand zero tolerance

10 May 2021

Only a fifth of the world’s top public companies have promised to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Among those that have, promises are tricky to compare and rely on ambitious offset schemes. Breakingviews helps investors find the substance behind the hot air.

Review: A better way of valuing the world

6 May 2021

The pandemic is one of three crises that Mark Carney dissects to show how market prices can fail, to society’s detriment. He suggests solutions in “Value(s)”. Better still, the former central banker is trying to practice what he preaches with his work on climate change.

Winner-takes-most electric car bet risks collision

7 May 2021

Tesla and Volkswagen shares have leapt as they steal a lead in the booming market for battery vehicles. Yet meeting supercharged expectations implies they will need to hold a market share of nearly 40% by 2025. Rivals’ zero-emission goals will make such dominance unlikely.

Green shoots’ salad days have come and gone

6 May 2021

Toppy valuations for wind and solar sparked Italy’s Eni, Spain’s Acciona and others to hire investment bankers for spinoffs and IPOs of renewables assets. Rising oil prices and fears of a green bubble mean firms now need size and a track record to play. That’s a good thing.

Capital Calls: Peloton, Honest Co, Office Depot

5 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: Treadmill recall leaves investors in the workout app stranded; shares in Jessica Alba’s consumer packaged goods company opened more than 30% above their IPO price; the office-supply company paper-shuffles its way to a higher valuation.

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.

Guest view: Getting finance in shape for COP26

21 Apr 2021

The $100 trillion required to decarbonise the world economy by 2050 won’t materialise without the financial sector. But banks, insurers and asset managers need a single set of standards to assess their net-zero ambitions. That’s now happening, write Mark Carney and Nigel Topping.

New Zealand blends specially bright shade of green

21 Apr 2021

The United States and China are vowing to work together on decarbonisation. JPMorgan and Citi raised their sustainable-finance goals. Investors are pushing harder, too. A Kiwi plan to force banks and money managers to come clean about climate risks neatly ties it all together.

Oatly’s IPO health depends heavily on China

20 Apr 2021

A partnership with Starbucks in the People’s Republic boosted the Swedish oat milk maker’s sales and profile. Major investor China Resources should help with future growth. But the state-backed group’s involvement is also a risk for buyers of its mooted $10 bln U.S. listing.