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This week in ESG
Planetary perils, new carbon credit ratings and Microsoft goes nuclear.
Key highlights
🌏 The Earth is pushing planetary boundaries – a new Lancet Planetary Health report reveals that we’ve entered a ‘danger zone’ in many areas crucial to support human life, including freshwater systems, biodiversity and soil nutrients. However, the report also outlines transformations that could reduce harm for people and the planet.
🛡️ 94% think defence stocks are ESG-friendly – a recent HANetf study reveals a surprising 94% of wealth managers now consider defence stocks to be suitable for ESG portfolios, reflecting a significant shift in attitudes since the start of the Ukraine/Russia war.
⚛️ Microsoft bets on nuclear - In a bold move, Microsoft has signed a 20-year deal with the owner of the Three Mile Island plant to help power its AI operations.
💳 MSCI launches new carbon credit ratings – MSCI will start assigning ratings to projects in order to help buyers and investors of carbon credits assess the true impact of their purchases.
👗 Regulator cautions fashion retailers over greenwashing – the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) threatened 17 brands with fines over misleading environmental claims and use of the word ‘eco’.
Chart spotlight - Global energy investment
Source: Bloomberg, International Energy Agency.
The chart above highlights the amount of investment, in trillions of US Dollars, in clean energy compared to fossil fuels over the last four years.
Why this matters?
While it’s encouraging to see clean energy investment rise - a crucial step towards the goals set at COP28, including tripling capacity and reaching Net Zero – the continued rise in fossil fuel financing, exceeding over a trillion dollars in 2023, is alarming. This obviously runs counter to the above goals and undermines sustainable progress to date. As we approach COP29, being held in Azerbaijan in November, we’ll be keeping a close eye on how countries are progressing with their commitments to reduce emissions and how far collectively we still have to go to achieve Net Zero.
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