A U.S. federal court has issued a ruling blocking new regulations in Missouri aimed at limiting the ability of financial professionals to integrate ESG considerations into their investment advice, finding that the regulation was vague and unconstitutional. The regulation, initiated by Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, and passed in 2023, required securities firms and…

Governor Kathy Hochul announced a significant $200 million increase in funding for zero-emission school buses, the second wave from New York’s historic $4.2 billion Environmental Bond Act. This new funding, available through the New York School Bus Incentive Program (NYSBIP), supports school districts and bus operators in purchasing electric buses, installing charging infrastructure, and planning…

The World Bank has priced its largest-ever outcome bond, a $225 million Amazon Reforestation-Linked Bond, designed to tie financial returns directly to the success of reforestation projects in the Amazon. Unlike traditional carbon credit bonds, this innovative bond links returns to the generation of Carbon Removal Units (CRUs) from the reforestation of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest,…

Standard Chartered has unveiled an innovative ESG-linked Cash Account, designed to reward corporate banking clients who achieve significant environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. This new offering ties credit balance interest rates and fee pricing directly to a client’s ESG performance, encouraging businesses to set and meet ambitious targets. The key performance indicators (KPIs) chosen…

In their respective reports the ESAs reiterate the common high-level understanding of greenwashing as a practice whereby sustainability-related statements, declarations, actions, or communications do not clearly and fairly reflect the underlying sustainability profile of an entity, a financial product, or financial services. This practice may be misleading to consumers, investors, or other market participants. The…

In line with GRI’s commitment to provide the global common language for sustainability reporting, seven translations of GRI 14: Mining Sector 2024 have been published. In addition to English, the Mining Standard can be freely downloaded in Simplified Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish. Further translations – in Italian, Arabic and Traditional Chinese…

Over two thirds of large companies in the U.S. have put in place dedicated budgets for sustainability reporting, and nearly all plan to increase spending on sustainability and compliance reporting, and would advance their sustainability efforts even in the absence of climate and sustainability regulations, viewing sustainability as a company value driver, according to a…

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rose in July, breaking a 15-month streak of falling destruction under President Luiz Inacio da Silva, preliminary government data showed on Wednesday, amid a strike by environmental workers. Roughly 666 sq km (257 sq miles) of jungle were cleared in July, 33% higher than the 500 square km for the same…

Temperatures in Britain hit their highest this year on Monday, reaching 34.8 degrees Celsius (94.64 Fahrenheit) in Cambridge, the Met Office said. Temperatures rose above the year's previous high of 32 C reach on July 30, but remain well below Britain's highest recorded temperature of 40.3 C in 2022. Monday's temperature is the highest recorded…

More than 47,000 people died in Europe due to scorching temperatures in 2023, with countries in the region's south hit the hardest, according to a report by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) published on Monday. Last year was the world's hottest on record. As climate change continues to increase temperatures, Europeans live in…

The management of natural resources is crucial for reducing carbon emissions. This study investigates how economic, financial, and political risks influence the relationship between natural resources rents and carbon emissions, using data from 66 countries and employing methods like quantile regression and dynamic threshold regression. Findings Consistent Emissions Increase: Natural resources rents tend to increase carbon…

Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the investment arm of the Norwegian Central Bank, has submitted a letter to the Sustainability Standards Board of Japan (SSBJ) advocating for enhanced alignment between Japan’s sustainability disclosure standards and the global framework established by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The letter, dated July 31, 2024, emphasizes the critical…