Investors can change the narrative on climate transition | AFR
Whatever pressure ultimately comes from investors, politicians must still set the policies that discourage pollution and enable rival energy technologies to emerge.
Hayne rebukes directors on climate risk failure | AFR
Former High Court judge and royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne has warned directors they have a legal duty to act on climate change risk, include it in corporate strategies and report on it to shareholders, raising the real prospect that boards failing to act could end up in court.
Tackling climate crisis is what we should be doing, says new IMF boss | The Guardian
The climate crisis and financial stability are linked, she says, because if left unattended, global heating will threaten financial stability. “When people say we should be sticking to our mandate, I fully agree,” she says. “That’s exactly what we are doing.”
UNEP: 1.5C climate target ‘slipping out of reach’ | Carbon Brief
The annual report, now in its 10th year, provides a “bleak” assessment of the ever-growing gap between actual emission reduction commitments by countries and those necessary to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement: to limit warming to “well-below 2C above preindustrial levels” and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5C.
How Climate Finance Flows Around The World | Carbon Brief
This diagram shows the average yearly amount of climate finance given by each OECD country on average in 2015 and 2016, and where that money went.
Donor countries are listed down the left-hand side of the diagram. The right-hand side shows the amounts which flowed to recipient countries or regions.
Will a 1.5 degrees target trigger a death spiral for oil and gas companies? | Renew Economy
“It is therefore important to think realistically about how such transitions occur and how society and the market will manage this one. Separately – and it is a quite separate issue – we also need to ask if there is a realistic likelihood of today’s oil and gas companies transitioning as corporate entities. Do they have a future? Or will they just fail – as incumbents most often do when faced with such dramatic market change?”
Climate Alliance Newsletter December 2018
Tackle climate or face financial crash, say world's biggest investors | The Guardian
Global investors managing $32tn issued a stark warning to governments at the UN climate summit on Monday, demanding urgent cuts in carbon emissions and the phasing out of all coal burning. Without these, the world faces a financial crash several times worse than the 2008 crisis, they said.
Sustainable finance: central banks test water on climate risks | Financial Times
Paul Fisher was recently interviewed by the Financial Times as part of an article on sustainable finance. The article provides a good summery of the activities in this area as well as some useful links.
The Climate Apocalypse Is Now, and It’s Happening to You | Wired
“Multiple cities will be uninhabitable and migration patterns will be far beyond those levels already creating pressure worldwide.”
GFG Chairman Sanjeev Gupta awarded Climate Alliance Business Leader of the Year
Congratulations to Sanjeev Gupta!
More Than 100 Years of Climate Change in 20 Seconds | ScienceAF
The data in the video above goes back to 1880, when we began collecting temperature records - culminating at today's 6,300 weather stations, ship- and buoy-based observations, and Antarctic research stations.
Until around the 1970s, you can see that the temperature fluctuates much like you'd expect, with the oranges and reds reflecting warmer temperatures, and the blues showing cooler years.
But from the 1980s onwards, there's very little blue left on the globe, and it's slowly covered in orange, yellow, and red, taking us right through to 2016.
The reference thermometer you can see in the top left-hand corner reflects the temperature difference (in degrees Celsius) between each year, and the mid-20th century mean - the '0' on the scale. More
BHP releases Industry association review
BHP today published a report relating to its membership of industry associations which hold an active position on climate and energy policy. The report, which BHP committed to produce on 18 September 2017, sets out:
- a list of the material differences between the positions BHP holds on climate and energy policy and the advocacy positions on climate and energy policy taken by industry associations to which BHP belongs; and
- the outcomes of BHP’s current review of those industry associations.
Twenty-one industry associations were assessed as holding an active position on climate and energy policy, and were included within the scope of the review. The review focused on 10 climate and energy policies identified as being of key importance to BHP, with seven material differences in position identified across three associations:
- The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA)
- The United States Chamber of Commerce;
- The World Coal Association (WCA).
The report sets out the principles which guide the Company’s membership of, and participation in, industry associations, and the methodology employed to identify material differences. It also describes considerations and possible courses of action for BHP where a material difference is identified. Considerations include the likely impact of the material difference on policy debate and the benefits BHP derives from the broader activities of the association, including in areas such as health, safety and environment.
Cashing Out From the Climate Casino | New York Times
After years of effort from activists, there are signs that the world’s financial community is finally rousing itself in the fight against global warming. A foretaste came last month when Norway’s sovereign wealth fund — the world’s biggest — said that it is considering divestment from holdings in fossil fuel companies. Read more
The World Bank Will Stop Fossil Fuel Financing After 2019 | Science Alert
Climate change and human rights on ACSI’s radar | Governance Institute
The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) recently released Governance Guidelines providing insights for the first time on how large investors expect climate change and human rights issues to be managed.
ACSI’s Governance Guidelines are updated every two years and outline its members’ expectations of the governance practices of the companies they invest in.
This year, a new chapter on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues has been added, which covers climate change, labour and human rights, corporate culture and tax disclosure.
When it comes to climate change, ACSI expects to understand whether a company can:
- successfully identify and manage the climate change risks and opportunities it faces
- demonstrate future viability and resilience by testing business strategies against a range of plausible but divergent climate futures, including a 2°C scenario
- achieve cost savings through efficiencies and identify low carbon opportunities.
Where companies identify climate change risks as material, ACSI says disclosures should extend to discussing the strategy, as well as metrics and targets, used to manage the risk.
Download the press release or read the full article.
AGL announces plans for Liddell Power Station
AGL has outlined plans for Liddell Power Station beyond its announced retirement in 2022.
The NSW Generation Plan proposes a mix of high-efficiency gas peakers, renewables, battery storage and demand response, coupled with an efficiency upgrade at Bayswater Power Station and conversion of generators at Liddell into synchronous condensers. The feasibility of a pumped hydro project in the Hunter region is being explored with the NSW Government. Details of the plan, which was developed to align with the National Energy Guarantee, are attached.