New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, on behalf of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System, and Board of Education Retirement System (the NYC Retirement Systems), submitted shareholder proposals to six major North American Banks — Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and Royal Bank of Canada — requesting that they disclose annually their Clean Energy Supply Financing Ratio (the Clean Energy Ratio).
Read moreSteel Industry Net Zero Targets Key for Decarbonization
Reducing GHG emissions from steel, one of the most widely used industrial materials, is a critical part of the global challenge of maintaining global temperatures to 1.5˚C. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the iron and steel sector accounts for 7 percent of global CO2 emissions due to its significant use of fossil fuels, heavy industrial process emissions, and power use. By 2050, demand for steel is expected to increase by more than one-third, posing the significant challenge of decoupling emissions from the sector’s growth.
Read moreBoards Face "NO" Votes Due to Lack of Climate Governance Practices
Investors increasingly are ready to hold board members of U.S. public companies accountable for failing to appropriately oversee their companies’ climate-related risks and opportunities.
Read moreScope 3 Climate Impacts Missing from Utility Net Zero Targets
Most utility companies are not including Scope 3 emissions from the corporate value chain in their net zero climate targets. Yet, emissions from customers’ use of natural gas for heat and other applications, purchased power emissions, and methane leakage from the production and distribution of natural gas can amount to as much as half of a utility’s total emissions.
Read moreSay on Climate Global Shareholder Coalition
The Say on Climate global shareholder initiative aims to move companies to develop net zero transition plans, adopt annual 5 percent GHG emissions reduction targets (aligned with Climate Action 100+ benchmarks), provide annual emissions disclosure, and give shareholders an annual vote. The annual advisory vote would be similar to votes on executive compensation, but it would be about implementation of a company’s climate transition plan.
Read moreCarbon Offsets Are Not Emissions Reductions
As more companies announce net zero emissions by 2050 commitments, many are relying on carbon offsets to achieve these targets, rather than decarbonizing their own operations and value chain. This business-as-usual approach risks continuation of unabated carbon pollution from the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels.
Read moreNet Zero Asset Managers Initiative: Transparency and Accountability on Climate
In July 2021, ClearBridge Investments announced it had joined the industry-leading Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM), an international group of asset managers committed to supporting the goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions globally by 2050. We are proud to be part of a community of over 200 asset management peers, representing over $50 trillion, in this commitment.
Read moreInsuring Net-Zero Progress
Climate change is referred to by leading economists as the greatest market failure in human history, with potentially disruptive implications on the social well-being, economic development, and financial stability of current and future generations: conservative estimates see unabated climate change leading to global costs equivalent to losing in-between 5 to 20% of global gross domestic product (GDP) each year, now and forever.
Read moreClimate Targets - The Latest Trend in Corporate Greenwashing
Each year, investors express more interest in company action to combat climate change. In response, companies make highly publicized statements that they are aligned with the Paris Accord or have a net zero commitment to persuade investors, the SEC, and customers that their corporate practices are in line with keeping global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Read moreHow Big Banks Put Climate and Investors at Risk
To avoid impending climate catastrophe, vast investment must be diverted from fossil fuel-based power generation, industrial processes, transport, and land use to carbon-free alternatives.
Read moreDirectors And Auditors Fail To Account For Climate Risks
We need to get real on climate change. The world is now awash in grand promises and ambitions to deliver net zero carbon emissions by 2050, in line with a 1.5C global warming cap; but these promises are not being backed by hard capital commitments. Turning the spotlight on the hidden world of accounting can help.
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