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Strikes over pay and the worsening cost-of-living crisis continued in France’s oil refineries as a standoff between TotalEnergies and the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) union entered its 16th day. The industrial unrest spread to other energy companies this week as France's National Federation of Mines and Energy (FNME) union said some workers at EDF's nuclear plants had resumed their strike over salaries. Elsewhere, freight rail and port workers at South Africa's Transnet continued their week-old walkout demanding salaries keep up with annual inflation, which was 7.6% there in August. Outside the energy and logistics sectors, workers at ComTS, a subsidiary of Germany’s Commerzbank, were also taking industrial action over wages.
The French government told TotalEnergies to raise wages to try to resolve the dispute. The strikes there have reduced France's petrol output by more than 60% and left one in three petrol stations struggling for supplies. "If one knows the profits which they made ... companies which have the capacity have a duty to raise wages and Total is one of them," Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told RTL radio, adding that the company had been late to start talks with the CGT trade union.
French President Emmanuel Macron said it was up to oil companies and the unions to reach a deal. First talks between TotalEnergies and CGT leaders on Wednesday failed to end the stalemate. A union representative told Reuters on Thursday the strikes affecting four refineries and a storage site in Dunkirk would continue. France's FNME trade union said that some workers at EDF's nuclear plants resumed their strike over salaries, delaying maintenance work on eight reactors. Three of the Cruas nuclear plant's reactors are affected by the strike, while two reactors at the Cattenom and Tricastin plants and one Bugey reactor have had their maintenance delayed, FNME said.
In South Africa, Transnet said it had raised its wage offer to 4.5% from 3%-4% previously, with additional 5.3% annual increases over the next two years. The United National Transport Union (UNTU) and the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU), which together represent most Transnet workers, said they had rejected the offer.
And last, but certainly not least, the Verdi labor union is calling for a second round of strikes at a subsidiary of Germany's Commerzbank in an escalation of a wage dispute, according to a flier seen by Reuters. The union is calling for an increase in the minimum wage to 14 euros ($13.59) an hour and a 1,500-euro energy bonus to be paid this year and next. Commerzbank said the strike would not have "any significant impact on operations". | | | | | |  | | | | General view of New Brighton beach with the Burbo Bank windfarm behind during sunset, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), New Brighton, Britain, May 5, 2020. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ranajoy Basu, partner, and Fausto Giacomet, associate, at law firm McDermott Will & Emery in London | | | | “Establishing a gold standard for financing environmentally sustainable objectives through the bond markets is no easy feat.
“If the rules are too relaxed, then effectively no gold standard is created. If the rules are too strict, then it may hinder the very market it is seeking to develop, which may be where the European green bond standard (EUGBS) is headed following some of the recent proposals made by the European Parliament.
“Widely used voluntary standards for green bonds already exist, such as the standards administered by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI).
“Whilst the negotiations on the EUGBS continue, the market standards keep improving: ICMA recently released its latest version of ‘The Principles’ where it not only updated guidance and templates relating to the existing green bond principles, but also made progress on a securitization framework by introducing new definitions relevant to ESG securitization.
“As for the EUGBS, whether negotiations can strike a good balance to establish a robust standard that market participants are not overly burdened by may determine its successor or failure as a gold. There is a great opportunity here to get it right.” | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ashleigh Antflick has joined Deloitte as a director based in Sydney, moving over from renewables developer Maoneng. He started this week in Deloitte’s climate and sustainability team. Antflick has been director of the finance and risk group at the renewable energy investment and development company Maoneng since 2020. He also took up senior positions at various renewable development companies such as Clean Energy Derivatives, Elementus Energy and Century Asset Management.
Brookfield Renewable, has named Yuriy Davidov as a director, based in Sydney. He was previously a partner at boutique renewable energy firm Elgar Middleton Infrastructure & Energy Finance. Initially, he joined the boutique's London office in 2015 and in 2017 relocated to lead the Australian desk. Previously, Davidov had worked for German bank NordLB from 2010 to 2015 in Germany and Britain, latterly as an associate director for energy origination in London. | | | | Capstone Green Energy Corporation, a U.S.-based gas turbine manufacturer, has appointed Celia Fanning as its chief accounting officer. Before joining the company, Fanning served as vice president of finance and accounting at Groundwork Coffee Holdings from 2018 to 2022. She also served as vice president finance at textile manufacturer Spencer N. Enterprises, software firm Sentry Control Systems and toymaker JAKKS Pacific.
GoGuardian, a U.S.-based education technology company has hired Dionna Smith as the company's first chief diversity officer. Smith brings more than 15 years of experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion leadership, inclusive product design, and multicultural marketing. Before joining GoGuardian, Smith served as the global head of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at U.S.-based home services platform Thumbtack. Smith also previously led diverse talent strategies at Delta Airlines and held multicultural branding, talent and DEI roles at technology companies including LexisNexis, Cisco Systems and Fiserv. | | | | | | | | “Many of the problems in the news – heat waves, our reliance on fossil fuels, the cost-of-living crisis – come down to the failings of investment activity. Investment no longer serves society, but there is a better way. We are holding our own feet to the fire, and we invite other asset managers to step-up and do the same.” | | | | Alexander Hoare, chair at UK investment firm Snowball | | | | | | | • | An inaugural leaders' forum of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) gathers to discuss halting the loss of biodiversity globally on the South Korean island of Jeju on Oct. 14. | | | | | • | Countries from the East Mediterranean and Gas Forum, a country-based alliance of eastern Mediterranean nations, meet to discuss the role of the region in EU energy security, and decarbonisation of the east Mediterranean on Oct. 14. | | | | | • | Public development banks including the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, and the French Development Agency hold a summit in Abidjan, Ivory Coast to discuss the role development banks can play in supporting the transformation of economies and financial systems towards sustainability on Oct. 18. | | | | | • | Standard Bank Group and the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) host Climate Summit: Africa’s Transition to Net-Zero, bringing together industry, investors, government, civil society and leading policymakers from around Africa on Oct. 18. | | | | | | | | | We think you may like these: | | |
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