By Paul Davies and Michael Green A new pensions directive was passed by the European Parliament on 24 November securing 512 votes (only 77 votes against and 40 abstentions), requiring EU workplace pension funds to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. This is considered a ‘landmark’ moment for responsible investment. The new pensions directive … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Michael Green The Autumn Statement (the Statement) highlighted sustainability of public finance as key to securing a strong and stable economy for the UK. The need to prioritise longer-term sustainability schemes over short-term economic gain was also referred to by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) in a recent report. The Statement, which … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Gary Gengel and Andrew Westgate In April 2015, the Final Report of the People’s Bank of China’s Green Finance Task Force made 14 recommendations to facilitate the establishment of China’s green finance system. Recommendation 13 proposed the imposition of lender liability on banks to force financial institutions “to take environmental impact into … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Michael Green Prior to the G20 Leaders’ Summit on 4 September, China and the US ratified the Paris Climate Agreement during a ceremony in Hangzhou, China. This commitment from the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitters is expected to prompt developed nations in Europe to follow suit. The adoption of the Paris Agreement … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Andrew Westgate Now in its eleventh year, The G20 Summit heads to the city of Hangzhou, China – the first time a G20 summit has been held for heads of state in China. As this years’ destination, China is maximising its role as the host nation to not only highlight its … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Andrew Westgate. According to a recent report released by Clean Energy Pipeline, global clean energy backing in the first half of 2016 totalled US$116.4 billion. China was the largest investor, financing US$15.3 billion worth of solar and wind projects and accounting for nearly 30% of the world’s total solar and wind … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Aaron Franklin China has become the world’s largest green bond market, with green bonds issued in the first half of 2016 reaching 75 billion yuan (US$11 billion), 33% of the world total. This figure is approximately two percent of the total assets of China’s commercial banks, and demand for green bonds … Continue Reading
By Aaron Franklin Green Bonds have led a tremendous growth in environmental finance over the past five years, but that growth has been heavily-weighted towards investment grade credits with their accompanying risk/return. The predominance of investment-grade credits partially results from the all-or-nothing approach of Green Bonds – the bond is either 100% green or 0% … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies, Michael Green and Alice Gunn Powerday plc was issued a record fine in April this year for offences relating to operations involving over 17,000 tonnes of waste deposited and stored illegally. Powerday – one of the biggest waste-management companies in the South-East of England – pleaded guilty and was subsequently fined £1 … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Andrew Westgate Green bonds, which tie the proceeds of the issuance to investments that have positive environmental and/or climate benefits, are a rapidly growing asset class. Recent figures have corroborated the narrative of growth predicted by industry experts. In the first quarter of 2016, green bonds totalling US$17 billion were issued … Continue Reading
By Marc Campopiano, Jennifer Roy, and Francesca Bochner California energy agencies and key stakeholders have finished the first step of a statewide planning process to evaluate transmission needs in the state and the region. This process, called the Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative 2.0 (RETI 2.0), will culminate in recommendations to the legislature on where to … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Andrew Westgate China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) have ordered local authorities to stop construction of coal-fired power plants in 13 provinces where capacity already outstrips demand. A further 15 provinces will be required to delay construction of previously approved coal-fired power plants. These provinces … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Alice Gunn The Paris Agreement, adopted by 195 countries following the 21st session of the Conference of Parties (COP 21), is the first multilateral agreement on climate change that covers almost all of the world’s emissions. The Paris Agreement will be open for signature from 22 April 2016 and will enter … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies China’s 13th Five-Year Plan – Planning for a Greener Economy Last month China’s thirteenth “Five-Year Plan” (FYP13) was approved, setting out a social and economic development blueprint for the country for the next five years. The plan lays out specific economic targets such as GDP growth rates and social development goals in … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Andrew Westgate China has launched a green bond pilot initiative via the Shanghai Stock Exchange, encouraging further foreign investment in a rapidly growing asset class and paving the way for issuances by non-financial institutions. This initiative closely follows the publication of green bond guidelines in December 2015 by the National Association … Continue Reading
By Paul Davies and Alice Gunn The European Commission is currently consulting on how large public-interest entities should disclose environmental and other non-financial information, as required by Directive 2014/95/EU Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Directive. The obligation to disclose a non-financial statement applies to large undertakings which are public-interest entities and have over 500 employees. Public-interest entities means listed … Continue Reading
By Cesare Milani and Alice Gunn With US$100 billion of issuances anticipated by year end, the green bonds market is increasingly attracting the attention of corporations, supranational entities, multilateral banks, cities and municipalities seeking to raise capital for projects or investments with a positive environmental impact. There was a threefold increase in green bond issuances in … Continue Reading
By Michael Green HM Treasury recently launched a consultation to seek views on its proposals to reform the business energy efficiency tax landscape, following the announcement by the Chancellor in the Summer Budget that energy policies and regulations would be subject to review. The government is seeking feedback on what data should be collected and … Continue Reading
