AUSTRALIAN UPDATE - ESG-Related Policy in Australia Under the Newly Re-Elected Labor Government - On 3 May 2025, the incumbent Labor government, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, won re-election to a second consecutive...more
We review 2024 developments and thought leadership in transition planning and transition finance. We reflect on the progress made in 2024 following the Transition Plan Taskforce’s publication of its Disclosure Framework in...more
In early 2023, the FCA released a discussion paper seeking to encourage industry-wide dialogue on financial services firms’ sustainability-related governance, incentives, and competence. This was part of the FCA's broad...more
Over the past several weeks, each of the major US banks have announced their withdrawal from the Net Zero Banking Alliance (presumably in response to the policy priorities of the second Trump Administration). Although...more
HM Treasury has published remits and recommendations for the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority, set out in a letter sent from Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to Nikhil Rathi, FCA...more
The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero has published a consultation paper on nature in net-zero transition plans, which supplements the guidance provided in its November 2022 financial institution net-zero transition...more
The drive to achieve a carbon-neutral future is accelerating. Through the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, nations committed to curbing climate change by limiting global temperature increases to no more than 2°C above...more
In this edition we discuss several updates aimed at the financial sector, including transition planning reports published by the Network for Greening the Financial System, prudential guidance from the Bank of England on how...more
How to accelerate the transition to a sustainable economy is a hot regulatory topic for most major economies around the world – and is set to continue ascending the agenda in the years to come. As sustainability-related...more
Creating an effective regulatory framework will be critical to deliver Net Zero. But does that mean more – or less – regulation? From trade agreements to taxonomies, carbon adjustment mechanisms to corporate sustainability...more
The September 2023 publication by the U.S. Treasury Department of its Principles for Net-Zero Financing and Investment ("Principles") marks the first time a major U.S. government agency has provided guidance to the financial...more
The aims of ESG investing and Islamic Finance structures are already closely – though not perfectly – aligned. Middle Eastern governments are looking to diversify away from oil and gas. This, Samer Eido and Afsha Karim...more
Welcome to the Corporate Briefing, where we review the latest developments in UK corporate law that you need to know about. In this month’s issue, we discuss...more
On September 19, 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department introduced nine guiding principles for private sector financial institutions that have made net-zero commitments. The principles are intended to highlight and encourage the...more
The Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI), in partnership with the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, conducted a study “[t]racking progress with the TPI Net Zero Banking Assessment Framework.”...more
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Hong Kong’s de facto central banking institution, issued a directive for banks setting out high-level principles on planning for a transition to a net-zero economy. In a “Dear CEO”...more
On September 19, Secretary of the Treasury, Janet L. Yellen, discussed Treasury’s efforts to facilitate the net-zero transition, support the momentum of private-sector financial institutions that are already taking into...more
In June 2023, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) published a draft of its Financial Institutions Net Zero (FINZ) Standard to enable financial institutions to establish targets consistent with achieving net-zero...more
Consumers’ Research, a nonprofit organization claiming to challenge “companies that have chosen to put woke politics above consumer interests,” announced in June 2023 that it was launching a publicity campaign against a...more
The government published a new document outlining its existing and proposed objectives to develop the UK’s sustainable economy. On 30 March 2023, the UK government published an updated version of its Green Finance...more
The Net Zero transition will not be smooth. The scale of the investment required and the appetite and ability of countries to implement new policy – both now and in the years to come – will cause unprecedented disruption and...more
The Bank of England released a report titled Climate-Related Risks and the Regulatory Capital Framework (Report) on March 13, 2023. The Report expands on the Bank’s 2021 Climate Change Adaptation Report (CCAR), in which it...more
Last month, Singapore’s Green Finance Industry Taskforce (GFIT) launched the final consultation period to finalize its Green and Transition Taxonomy (the “Taxonomy”). This is Singapore’s third public consultation on the...more
On January 10, 2023, Goldman Sachs Asset Management announced that it had closed over $1.6 billion in funding for Horizon Environment & Climate Solutions I (Horizon Climate), the first in an expected series of funds through...more
On January 17, the Federal Reserve Board provided additional details regarding its upcoming pilot climate scenario analysis exercise and the information on risk management practices that will be gathered from the program. ...more