Entries for 'ESG'

Deeper “green” real estate markets are needed to accelerate ESG integration in global financial markets; As the world’s largest asset class, real estate is responsible for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions; Amid growing populations and housing demand, sustainable design practices are crucial for keeping a lid on emissions; Sustainability-linked real estate securities markets are still small, despite significant climate hazards and potential damage.

Using well-established metrics, we review a number of ESG rankings to encompass social factors—health, education etc.; Unsurprisingly, mature markets tend to score better on social performance. Emerging markets have scope to boost social performance, notably on issues related to gender equality.

While climate change is now top of the policy agenda in the U.S., broader environmental issues are also in the global spotlight; Developed markets score higher on environmental protection: France, Germany and Denmark lead the way; Emerging markets tend to fare less well on environmental protection: India, China, and Turkey score lowest. That said…;
…mature markets can “export” environmental threats by importing goods and services that harm the environment elsewhere

How carbon-reliant are emerging markets? More so than developed markets, but with a lot of variation; Brazil, Turkey, and Chile are most carbon-efficient, with less reliance on energy consumption per unit of GDP; In contrast, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, and Russia score low on carbon efficiency.

The IIF Sustainable Finance Monitor covers key developments in the global sustainable finance agenda. In the February 2021 issue, we discuss how climate policy is taking DC by storm, updates on policy and regulatory developments, and the latest news on market initiatives, frameworks, tools, and research insights. Our Market Snapshot this issue focuses on impact measurement and ESG performance, and we conclude with a summary of key SFWG activities and events.

Lack of alignment among ESG disclosure frameworks poses challenges for financial firms on what information to report; Signs of progress: ESG disclosure initiatives propose a common approach to rationalizing differing materiality concepts; Emissions disclosures on the rise; an impact accounting database of 1800+ firms highlights intensity of environmental losses

Global ESG fund assets top $1.3 trillion in 2020—up by more than 50% from 2019 levels; Flows into ESG-dedicated equity ETFs have surged in recent weeks, anticipating a more active climate and ESG agenda in the Biden Administration; Voluntary carbon offset issuance reached record highs in 2020, largely driven by India, China, and the U.S.

Climate transition risk assessment tools cover a growing range of scenarios, sectors and asset classes; However, modeling approaches and climate scenario assumptions are not always transparent—making comparisons difficult; Standardizing the output of these tools and models should help the interpretation of results and comparability; “Temperature alignment” metrics have become common in recent years, though skepticism about their usefulness persists