Hello! We're one week away from the Christmas holiday season – a time when we take stock of the year behind us and look forward to the year ahead. I am sincerely grateful for all of you that have been on this Sustainable Switch journey with me, and I can only hope that you stick around for more, as there are some exciting changes coming up next year. I know this may be tough news for some of you, but we'll be saying goodbye to ESG Movers and Shakers and hello to ESG Spotlight. The new segment will showcase solution-based stories from up-and-coming climate technology to the weird and wonderful ways people around the world are tackling climate change. There'll also be some new climate-focused and ESG investor-led newsletters in the first quarter of the new year. We'll be back with all the latest developments in sustainability on Jan 5. Well, all this talk of the future is making me a little sentimental for the past. And yes, this is like one of those sitcom Christmas review episodes. Feel free to listen to Sara Bareilles' 'Gravity' to get you in that wistful mood while you scroll: Here are my highlights from the newsletter this year and predictions for 2023: Top story Australia pushing its mining industry to set up a register of sexual harassment perpetrators to help rein in abuse after a state government report detailed cases of "horrifying" and "appalling" behavior against women. This also led to Chevron reviewing its business after the state of Western Australia, where Chevron's local operations are based, ran an investigation into sexual harassment of women in the mining industry. Top newsletter A 'summer of discontent' – June 21 Linking the frustration and malaise that has prompted workers around the world to protest against poor working conditions, pay cuts and surging living costs to American pop star Beyoncé's song 'Break My Soul' was a reach, but apt, nonetheless. Beyoncé sings: "I'm gonna find new drive / damn, they work me so damn hard / Work by nine, then off past five / And they work my nerves, that's why I cannot sleep at night." Top quote For sheer sassiness, John Willis, director of research at Planet Tracker, a UK-based non-profit financial think tank, has won this year's 'quote of the year': "For an organization called the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), a minimum aspiration should be to remove the plastic waste it produces itself. Instead, many members are choosing to invest heavily in the expansion of plastic production, while failing to fund even meager recovery and recycling targets through the coalition." Predictions for 2023 - Climate financial risk and exposure to liability will be high on the agenda for governments and companies around the world in a year marked by yet more climate-linked floods, hurricanes and droughts.
- Globally, people are experiencing inflation at levels not seen for decades as prices surge for essentials like food, heating, transport and accommodation. And though a peak could be in sight, the effects may yet get worse.
- For much of the world, 2022 marked the beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the most acute threat of COVID has receded in many places, it continues to loom large in everyday life.
- Allocating funding towards preserving nature and biodiversity will continue to be a central sticking point for environmental policy advocates.
- Financial institutions will raise their targets for investment in sustainability and energy transition. This week, British bank Barclays increased its sustainable and transition finance target to $1 trillion by 2030, while HSBC said in 2020 that it aims to contribute up to $1 trillion to companies to help them transition, and JPMorgan set a $2.5 trillion of sustainable funding target by 2030.
|
|
|
Etihad is committed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. How is Etihad leading the way towards a sustainable future for commercial aviation? |
|
|
Charred trunks are seen on a tract of Amazon jungle that was recently burned by loggers and farmers in Porto Velho, Brazil August 23, 2019. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File Photo |
|
|
- From the lush Amazon rainforest to the frigid Arctic Ocean, the world's landscapes — and all the wildlife they contain — are under threat, and the world needs to set aside a third of all land and sea territories to save them, U.N. experts say.
- The Biden administration could change the nation's biofuel blending law next year to offer lucrative credits to electric vehicle manufacturers like Tesla, a major rewrite that the oil industry criticizes as subsidizing the EV industry.
- All new houses in Tokyo built by large-scale homebuilders after April 2025 must install solar power panels to cut household carbon emissions, according to a new regulation passed by the Japanese capital's local assembly.
- HSBC will stop funding new oil and gas fields and expect more information from energy clients over their plans to cut carbon emissions, the banking giant said, as part of a wider update of its sector policy.
- Breakingviews: A fusion breakthrough unveiled by the U.S. Department of Energy is a scientific tour de force, and a commercial irrelevancy. It's a notable feat that researchers produced more energy from fusing atoms together than they used to start the process. One gram of hydrogen theoretically contains as much energy as burning about 10 tons of coal.
|
|
|
Lauren Densham, head of ESG and impact at U.S.-based investment manager Energize Ventures shares her predictions on regulation and increasing sustainability scrutiny in 2023: "As we continue to see increasing regulatory scrutiny around environment, social and governance (ESG) claims, companies can no longer hide behind bold commitments alone. 2023 will be a year where we see separation between the leaders and the laggards, with companies either backing up their claims with concrete plans or backing down. "For the venture capital ecosystem in particular, 2023 will be the year that the rubber hits the road, with more firms meaningfully integrating ESG and impact into their investment process while simultaneously guiding co-investors, startups and other partners through the maze. "The biggest silver lining is that progress on ESG can help fight the bear market by driving value creation in a recessionary environment. A strong ESG strategy can help companies insulate their bottom line by mitigating risk, creating new opportunities and driving cross-industry collaboration." |
|
|
North Carolina's state treasurer called for BlackRock Chief Executive Laurence Fink to resign or be removed from the top asset management firm, citing its focus on sustainable investing, but said public assets will stay with the firm. The statements from Dale Folwell are the latest from a U.S. Republican politician criticizing BlackRock and other top U.S. corporations embracing environmental, social or governance (ESG) factors to guide investment decisions. |
|
| The African Development Bank (ADB) has appointed Senegal's former Economy, Planning and Cooperation Minister, Amadou Hott, as a special envoy and global champion for the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA). Before his time in government, Hott was the ADB vice president for power, energy, green growth and climate change. U.S. infrastructure investment firm JLL has hired Kristy David as a senior vice-president for its clean energy and infrastructure advisory team in Washington. David was previously a vice-president at project and infrastructure advisory firm Greengate. David's appointment follows Jennifer Hara last month joining as a vice-president for JLL's clean energy and infrastructure advisory team. Canada's Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board has appointed Anna Murray as senior managing director and global head of sustainable investing. Murray was previously global head of ESG for Canadian portfolio manager Sun Life Capital. British property insurer Chubb has appointed Maggie Peloso as its new global climate officer and executive director of the Chubb Charitable Foundation. Peloso comes to Chubb from international law firm Vinson & Elkins, where she served as its lead sustainability partner. |
|
|
"Despite difficult market and economic conditions, ESG's importance in investments and corporate management has continued to grow. In 2023 we see ESG maturing as it is used to approach topics such as physical risk, energy security, natural capital, economic development, and social impact." Nneka Chike-Obi, senior director, head of APAC ESG ratings and research at U.S.-based financial institution Fitch Ratings/Sustainable Fitch |
|
|
- Russian artist Andrei Molodkin's 'The FIFA World Cup filled with Qatar crude oil' goes on display on Dec. 16. The artwork aims to highlight alleged corruption in football's governing body FIFA and human rights abuses in Qatar - accusations that both have denied.
- Thousands are expected to protest against the rising cost of living in Brussels during a summit of EU leaders on Dec. 16.
- The U.N. Biodiversity Conference (COP-15) High Level Segment holds a news conference to wrap up discussions on Dec. 17.
- Check out our Reuters report on Dec. 19 about Britons turning to warm spaces for heat and comfort as energy and food costs soar in the cost of living crisis as temperatures plunge.
|
|
|
We think you may like this: |
Reuters Daily Briefing All the news you need to start your weekdays. | Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. |
Sustainable Switch is sent twice weekly. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here.
To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here.
Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. |
Follow Reuters on social media |
|
|
|
