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Green Central Banking: The administration of US president Donald Trump has announced that it plans to overturn a rule that allows pension funds to consider ESG factors when making investment decisions and exercising shareholder voting rights.
Investing.com: TPG Rise Climate, the climate investing platform of global alternative asset management firm TPG Inc, is set to acquire a majority stake in Aurora Energy Research.
MSN/Reuters: Texas removed BlackRock from a list of companies seen as boycotting the energy industry, a step the New York asset manager won only with steep cuts to its climate ambitions.
ESG Today: A public-private coalition of major financial institutions and governments has revealed its plans to launch a dedicated company aimed at accelerating private investment in sustainable development projects across emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs).
MSN/Reuters: Citigroup said it was rolling back a 2018 policy that placed restrictions on providing banking services to retail clients selling firearms, citing recent regulatory developments.
Yahoo Finance: The venture capital model honed and perfected in Silicon Valley is proving a bad fit for the clean tech industry, and investors should instead accept that they’ll need to commit much bigger sums of money for longer periods of time.
ESG Dive: Vanguard first launched its proxy voting choice pilot in February 2023 with three eligible equity funds, before including two additional index funds for the 2024 proxy season and adding three more in November to bring the total to eight eligible funds.
Funds Europe: London-based sustainability analytics platform GaiaLens has launched a solution designed to cut ESG reporting times for financial institutions by “up to 6000 hours annually”.
ESG News: 80% of companies are reworking ESG strategies amid changing political and regulatory landscapes. Over half are shifting language, with many dropping the term “ESG” entirely. 90% foresee continued or increasing resistance—especially toward climate commitments.
ESG News: Previously focused on use-of-proceeds financing such as green bonds and sustainability-linked loans, the bank will now include comprehensive entity-level assessments as the basis for financing.
Climate Action: The fifth edition of BNP Paribas’ biennial ESG study, “Industry Survey: Institutional Investors Leading the Way”, captures the views of 420 asset owners, asset managers and private capital firms, representing an estimated USD 33.8 trillion assets under management across 29 countries.
ESG Dive: The Biden administration’s Labor Department finalized the rule, “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights,” in 2022, and it has been in effect since January 2023. At the time, the agency said the rule overturned guidance from the first Trump administration which had a “chilling effect” on fiduciaries.
PR Newswire: Significant policy changes are reshaping how many companies approach sustainability, according to a new survey by The Conference Board. 80% of surveyed sustainability executives say their companies are adjusting their ESG strategies in response to the new administration.
ESG Dive: Texas Attorney General Paxton initially filed the lawsuit against the nation’s three largest asset managers in November, supported by 10 other Republican-led states. The lawsuit alleges BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street acquired “substantial” holdings in public coal companies and then pushed those companies to reduce their output.
ESG News: The European Union’s Ombudswoman has opened an inquiry into the European Commission’s recent proposal to relax corporate sustainability rules—following accusations that the process lacked transparency and excluded public consultation.
ESG Today: EU banking supervisor The European Banking Authority (EBA) announced the release of new proposed amendments to Pillar 3 disclosure requirements for banks, including simplifications and clarifications around ESG risk-related reporting, particularly for small and medium-sized banks.
Funds Europe: In the world of ESG investing, the “E” – environmental – has long dominated the conversation. From climate change to biodiversity loss, environmental concerns are tangible, measurable, and urgent. The “G” – governance – has also found firm ground, thanks to clear regulatory expectations and investor scrutiny.
ESG Today: Italian energy company Eni announced that it has signed an exclusivity agreement with BlackRock’s infrastructure-focused unit Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for the potential sale of a co-control stake of 49.99% of Eni’s Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) business, Eni CCUS Holding.
