Sustainability

Virus makes water shortages everyone’s problem

26 Mar 2020

The quest to protect clean water supplies has lacked the snappy targets and big corporate backers of the climate-change movement. A global obsession with handwashing amid the Covid-19 pandemic may change that. When one region can’t take simple steps to sanitize, all are at risk.

U.S. bailout needs fewer diversions, more speed

24 Mar 2020

Lawmakers are wedging non-Covid-19 concerns into the stimulus bill. Some are worthy causes, like getting airlines to cut emissions. But the $2 trln-odd rescue package’s goal should be to get aid where it’s needed fast. As the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act showed, broader issues can wait.

Climate fight will survive dual oil and virus blow

18 Mar 2020

The Covid-19 outbreak could distract politicians from agreeing cuts to global emissions. The resulting slump in crude prices also removes pressure to ramp up renewables. But behavioural and societal changes to halt the pandemic may prove more potent in tackling global warming.

Big banks’ oil slick looks mostly fireproof

11 Mar 2020

Shares in lenders from JPMorgan to ING fell after Monday’s Brent crude selloff. Yet big U.S. banks weathered the last oil-price storm, while Europeans are nowadays probably lending to safer majors. More worrying is a general economic slowdown and continued lower rates.

Exxon positions as the climate-doubter’s choice

5 Mar 2020

Boss Darren Woods has reaffirmed he is actively pursuing fossil-fuel projects as rivals cut back. Success would bolster Exxon’s dismal returns. But Woods’ faith in Big Oil’s longevity makes the U.S. oil giant something of an outlier. At least investors have options.

Cox: Plague would be one way to meet ESG targets

5 Mar 2020

Pestilence scares come along every so often. Sometimes they’re full-blown levellers of humanity. Think Europe after 1347, or the world post-1918. Perhaps the best outcome from Covid-19 is that it becomes the near-miss society and business need to change course in a hurry.

EU green deal is a 1 trln euro diversion

4 Mar 2020

The European Union’s big investment plan to cut emissions, due on Wednesday to be backed by legally binding targets, has been getting a kicking. Fair enough: it’s a typical Brussels fudge. Its main role is to keep the EU busy until political cover exists to properly price carbon.

Heathrow ruling reflates sagging UK green stature

27 Feb 2020

Judges have grounded plans for a third runway at Europe’s busiest airport, saying the government ignored obligations to cut CO2 output. As host of a major climate change summit in November, it’s critical Britain has the credibility to push for emissions curbs. This should help.

Jamie Dimon plays it too cool on global warming

25 Feb 2020

It’s encouraging that JPMorgan’s boss wants to finance more green projects. But he’s only turning the fossil-fuel lending spigot off where it or the sector is a bit-part player. And JPMorgan is now the only big U.S. bank that has yet to commit to measuring its carbon footprint.

The Exchange: Jeffrey Ubben

24 Feb 2020

ValueAct Capital has shaken up some of the biggest companies, from Microsoft to Rolls-Royce. But its founder, who sat down for a Predictions event in New York, is focused on a new form of activism with the Spring Fund. Firms that neglect the E and S of ESG should take heed.

Viewsroom: BP, Delta shift out of climate neutral

20 Feb 2020

The British fossil-fuel giant and the largest U.S. airline have each pledged to effectively stop emitting carbon over time. The ambition is encouraging and puts them ahead of most rivals. But both fall short on all-important details. There’s plenty of runway to do better.

JPMorgan’s days as governance bugbear are numbered

19 Feb 2020

Lead director Lee Raymond is a bete noire for investors worried about climate change. Yet shareholders consistently re-elect him, favoring the bank’s strong performance over its weak oversight. When CEO Jamie Dimon retires, JPMorgan’s exceptionalism ought to depart with him.

Jeff Bezos climate pledge has more flash than cash

18 Feb 2020

The Amazon boss can without a doubt help with the $10 billion global-warming fund he’s seeding. Microsoft founder Bill Gates could be a role model. But the scale of the climate crisis means even this amount of cash from the world’s richest person has whiffs of do-gooder-ism.

Delta’s climate journey needs better flight plan

14 Feb 2020

The airline is committing $1 bln over 10 years to be carbon neutral. CEO Ed Bastian makes the right noises from planting trees to working with stakeholders. But these grand pledges lack detail and accountability. That needs to change for such goals to be taken seriously.

Mark Carney’s green push needs disclosure stick

14 Feb 2020

The outgoing Bank of England boss wants firms to say how they’ll cut carbon emissions. Ideally, he would use his new role as U.N. climate finance envoy to make such disclosure mandatory after November’s UK climate summit. But there’s only so much political capital to go round.

Schneider puts hefty price tag on green M&A

13 Feb 2020

The French industrial company has offered $1.5 bln for Germany's RIB Software, which tracks builders' power usage. The deal taps into the growing value of energy efficiency. But without cost savings, CEO Jean-Pascal Tricoire needs punchy sales growth to justify a high premium.

BP leaves investors in a better sort of limbo

12 Feb 2020

New boss Bernard Looney has unveiled ambitions to largely eliminate the oil giant’s net carbon emissions by 2050. That’s more enlightened than most peers, and better than previous goals. But without a clear road map, shareholders can’t work out what the company will be worth.

Fashion’s climate Frankenstein has no off-switch

7 Feb 2020

Retailers like H&M are promising to slash their carbon footprint by using more recycled products. That’s good, but quick fixes like using sustainable cotton simply move the problem to landfills. Real change would come from tackling the throwaway culture that they represent.

Ryanair’s budget can stretch to truer green boasts

5 Feb 2020

The low-cost carrier has been ticked off for promoting itself as a low-carbon emitter. True, its planes are getting more efficient, but it’s still a huge polluter. Ryanair’s profitability means boss Michael O’Leary can afford to match rival easyJet in paying to offset its CO2.

UK has scope to stop green halo becoming red face

4 Feb 2020

Boris Johnson sacked the president of a global climate summit due to be held in Glasgow this year. To make COP26 a success, the prime minister requires a new big-hitter to cudgel nations into emissions cuts. He’ll also have to spell out how Britain can hit its own ambitious goal.