Indonesia identifies first coal plant to retire early

Indonesia has identified the first coal plant it will retire early under the Asian Development Bank’s new Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). The country is the world’s biggest thermal coal exporter and heavily reliant on the fuel for electricity.  The ETM aims to assist the sustainable replacement of coal-fired power with renewables. Low-cost refinancing and early … Read more

Global Returns Project partners with UK wealth firm on climate portfolio

The Global Returns Project (GRP), a UK charity connecting investors with climate philanthropy, has announced a partnership to offer its investments via wealth manager Leading Edge. Leading Edge, based in Manchester, UK, will now be able to offer GRP’s portfolio of climate philanthropy investments to clients, to complement their existing portfolios. GRP’s Global Returns Portfolio … Read more

Animal agriculture sector lags in setting science-based targets

The latest climate science is crystal clear. We have a rapidly closing window to slow global warming or face catastrophic consequences. Companies around the world, across many sectors, are responding to the challenge by setting science-based targets (SBTs) ie ambitious emission reduction objectives that align with what climate scientists say is required to reach the … Read more

China: Human rights no-go or renewables opportunity?

As China reopens, renewable industry prospects are enticing investors, but human rights concerns and geopolitical tensions remain. For Amati Global Investors CEO Paul Jourdan, investing in China as a westerner would seem “very tone deaf to what’s happening around the world”. “You have massive slave labour issues in China, you have huge human rights issues,” … Read more

Abstaining on ESG votes is not ‘fence-sitting’

In a highly competitive industry such as finance, there’s nothing like a league table to focus the mind! That’s why ShareAction’s Voting Matters report gets such a significant amount of attention from both asset managers and their clients. Its report takes a deep dive into asset managers’ voting practices at company annual meetings. This year … Read more

Modern slavery risk audits needed in mining supply chains

Awareness that modern slavery is a social evil and investment risk continues to grow, putting investors in a pivotal position to identify and root out this risk across industries. Global mining is a particular challenge: risks to people in this industry are high and rising, and they’re not well-managed when compared with high-risk consumer-facing industries … Read more

Europe’s five biggest banks face $1trn investor anger for fossil fuel financing

Five of Europe’s biggest banks are under renewed pressure to stop financing the fossil fuel industry in a campaign brought by investors with $1.5trn under their control. Barclays, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale are facing intense criticism for their fossil fuel investments. These banks were the largest European financiers of top … Read more

Columbia Threadneedle launches sustainable equity fund

Columbia Threadneedle Investments has launched an equity income fund investing in global companies that will contribute to a sustainable future. The CT Sustainable Global Equity Income fund will be managed by global equities portfolio manager Nick Henderson. It will seek to identify 30-50 companies that will become “real contributors” to a sustainable world. The fund … Read more