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
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
Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” was one of the highest grossing music tours of all time with approximate proceeds exceeding US$1 billion. While this is a monumental feat, Taylor Swift also gained negative attention during the tour...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 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
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 13, Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti sent a letter to members of the Net Zero Financial Service Providers Alliance (NZFSPA) warning that their commitment to support “global net zero greenhouse...more
By now, followers of the debate over use of ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria in investing and business operations are well used to the “E” taking center stage. As we discussed two months ago in this space,...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
In a recently published white paper, JPMorgan outlined its approach to improving and strengthening voluntary carbon markets to promote scalable decarbonization efforts. JPMorgan focused its analysis on voluntary carbon...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
The Net-Zero Banking Alliance (“NZBA”), the UN-led coalition of global banks “committed to aligning their lending investment portfolios with net-zero emissions by 2050,” is facing backlash from certain sustainability-focused...more
On February 10, the UK’s advertising regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), announced the publication of updated guidance for advertisers making environmental sustainability-related claims to consumers,...more
On December 16, the Amsterdam headquartered bank ABN AMRO announced the publication of a climate strategy and its decision to join the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). ABN AMRO stated that it is “committed to making a...more
The Final Report recommends five themes that financial institutions should incorporate into their net zero transition strategies. On 1 November 2022, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) issued its Final...more
Congress- U.S. Senate- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs- Brown Presses FSOC to Protect Consumer Data-...more
On April 25, 2022, the UK Transition Plan Taskforce (the “Taskforce”) was formally launched by HM Treasury. The goal of the independent Taskforce is to develop a “gold standard” for climate transition plans. With a two-year...more
Introduction - The asset management industry has been sounding the alarm for some time about the risks and opportunities posed by climate change. While private equity giant, Carlyle, is the most recent financial institution...more
The U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has announced the U.K. Government's plans to make the U.K. the world's first net zero financial centre. Under the plans, U.K. financial institutions will need to have robust...more
Taking ESG matters seriously improves business performance; ESG best practice must become integral to the business and should be a "given" in any mining project. In November, world leaders, policy makers and climate...more
Global momentum behind the fight against climate change has never being stronger, as governments and energy companies around the world make ambitious pledges to reduce carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050. The US, under the...more