The nation’s health is priority number one, but we must continue the great work we’ve done to reduce plastics use August 28, 2020 Recent government figures revealed that since the introduction of the 5p carrier bag charge, new carrier bag sales have fallen by 59 per cent in the past year in England’s major supermarkets. This translates to shoppers buying, on average, just four new bags per year compared to 10 the previous year. This is a significant [...]
Build back better? No, let’s build back smarter and take carbon out of construction August 27, 2020 Boris Johnson has set out his plans to “build back better”, and major changes have recently been announced to planning regulations to enable faster decisions on planning applications. It sounds like a developer’s paradise. But construction already accounts for nearly two fifths of UK carbon emissions, so where does that leave the government’s equally vaunted [...]
A CEO’s guide to reaching net zero carbon emissions August 26, 2020 Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned last year that: “companies and industries that are not moving towards zero carbon emissions will be punished by investors and go bankrupt.” I would add customers and employees to that statement: a Net Zero commitment is becoming an expectation for companies they will buy from or work [...]
Scottish Widows becomes first investor in Blackrock climate fund August 5, 2020 Scottish Widows has become the first investor in Blackrock’s newly launched climate fund, which is designed for the transition to a low carbon economy. The pension provider is initially allocating £2bn of its pension portfolios into Blackrock’s Climate Transition World Equity Fund. It marks a shift in strategy for Blackrock, which is using data to [...]
COP26 has been delayed, but the City’s charge against climate change continues July 6, 2020 Businesses and households across the world have been hit hard by Covid-19, but as we move to the next phase of recovery from the pandemic, it is vital that we keep the fight against climate change top of the agenda. That’s why last week, to mark London Climate Action Week, we announced a major summit [...]
Bank of England to review climate impact of corporate bond-buying after crisis July 1, 2020 The Bank of England will look at introducing climate change considerations when deciding which corporate bonds it buys, governor Andrew Bailey said today. The central bank had been targeted by climate change protesters who have been calling and emailing it this week to demand a change in the way it helps companies survive the Covid-19 [...]
Crisis is ‘defining moment’ in climate change battle, government told June 25, 2020 The government must use its recovery from the coronavirus crisis to accelerate the country’s transition to a net zero economy, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has said. In its latest guidance to parliament released today, the CCC urged ministers to seize the opportunity to turn the crisis into a “defining moment” in the fight [...]
What can the Covid-19 crisis teach us about tackling climate change? June 11, 2020 | City Talk We already know how devastating climate change could be for the planet, so let’s ensure we learn the lessons from the current crisis. Covid-19 caught most of the world’s institutions and governments by surprise, leading to a global health and economic crisis unprecedented in modern times. Few people would disagree with the notion that most [...]
Climate change remains key focus at LGIM as it ramps up pressure on boards April 22, 2020 Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) is continuing to pressure corporate boards on climate change and governance, opposing the election of 4,000 company directors last year. The asset manager’s ‘Active Ownership’ report released today reveals it took sanctions against 11 companies named as laggards under LGIM’s climate impact pledge. Among these were Exxon Mobil and [...]
Covid-19 might lead to long-term action on climate change April 1, 2020 As greenhouse gas emissions plummet due to the commercial standstill caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, there remains a glimmer of hope that at least one positive may arise from this terrible situation — we may yet manage to slow the onset of climate change. From reports of air pollution levels dropping between a third and [...]