Climate change is a significant risk and all Pension Scheme Trustees now need to give it specific attention, according to The Pensions Regulator. At Minerva’s Autumn ESG Education Event in London, Melanie Jarman, Policy Analyst – ESG Issues at TPR, updated attendees on recent legislative changes in the UK that affect pension schemes. These changes […]
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Major investors demand change at Barclays A group of investors has filed a landmark shareholder resolution with banking giant Barclays over its financing of fossil fuel intensive companies. Eleven major institutional investors, including Brunel Pension Partnership and LGPS Central, together with more than 100 shareholders, have urged Barclays to phase out its financing of fossil […]
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Since the global economic meltdown in 2007, the debate over shareholder primacy and who ‘owns’ a company has raged on. But at no time has the debate been as contentious as today with more stakeholders and industry commentators challenging the view that a corporation should exist principally to maximise shareholder wealth – a notion that was re-popularised by economist Milton Friedman in the 1970s. Just as climate change is no longer a topic taken seriously solely by […]
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Stewardship moves beyond box ticking The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a new UK Stewardship Code which is due to come into effect on 1 January 2020. The revised Code has set a higher standard for how money is invested on behalf of UK savers and pensioners that the FRC said reflects “the changing […]
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Environmental groups take aim at US corporates Eleven of the world’s leading environmental groups have written an impassioned open letter imploring America’s big corporates to step up their climate change efforts. The letter, published in the New York Times, urged CEOs of US corporations to adopt science-based climate policies to help achieve net-zero emissions by […]
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Environmental factors top list of investor priorities Environmental and corporate governance issues topped the list of biggest priorities for the UK’s largest investors – but stewardship engagement remains an area of concern, a report reveals. EY’s inaugural report into investor stewardship and engagement found that while investors and asset managers were most focused on environment […]
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Canada issues climate disclosure guidance The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has become the latest securities regulator to step forward with guidance for quoted companies on climate change risk disclosures. CSA Staff Notice 51-358 Reporting of Climate Change-related Risks is intended to assist companies in identifying and improving their disclosure of material climate change risks. The notice […]
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The warnings have been coming thick and fast. From the world’s central banks, to leading academics and regulators – many believe the global financial system faces a serious and potentially catastrophic fallout from climate change risks.
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Prosecutors allege Exxon pressured witnesses in climate case US prosecutors have accused Exxon Mobil of harassing investors and intermediaries in the lead up to a forthcoming court battle over whether the energy giant deliberately misled people on the cost of climate change to its business. A lawyer for the New York Attorney General has called […]
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Corporate climate ignorance poses threat to pensions Nearly half of major companies in the highest polluting sectors worldwide are failing to weigh up how climate change will affect their businesses. The findings come from the State of the Transition report compiled by the Transition Pathway Initiative, an organisation backed by asset owners and fund managers, […]
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