Summary of UN Summits Week 2023

Last week, the UN Headquarters was busy with the General Debate of the 78th session of the General Assembly together with summits on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and on climate change. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) does an incredible job … Continue reading Summary of UN Summits Week 2023 →

New publication on review of renewable energy support schemes in Europe for 2020 and 2021

This week the Council of European Energy Regulators, CEER, published its Status Review of Renewable Support Schemes in Europe for 2020 and 2021. This report constitutes the latest update to the regular CEER Status Reviews on Renewable Energy Sources (RES) support and builds on the previous CEER reports. The publication collects comparable data on support … Continue reading New publication on review of renewable energy support schemes in Europe for 2020 and 2021 →

Europe needs a green industrial policy

As the European elections draw near, Paris and Berlin should move towards a common European approach to industrial policy – with three key elements: vision, funding, and governance, argue Sabine Nallinger and Thomas Pellerin-Carlin in an article on the EURACTIV website. Sabine Nallinger is managing director of Stiftung KlimaWirtschaft, a German CEO alliance of more … Continue reading Europe needs a green industrial policy →

The world’s poorest countries, mostly in Africa, are effectively priced out of the clean energy action by a global lending system that considers them too risky for investment

Max Bearak writes on the New York Times website about the lack of access to needed financing. A big obstacle is the lack of loans, a subject of intense disagreement between richer and poorer countries. But in Congo, where Mr. Bearak is writing from, a hard-fought solar investment shows a possible path forward. Clean … Continue reading The world’s poorest countries, mostly in Africa, are effectively priced out of the clean energy action by a global lending system that considers them too risky for investment →

No banks disclosed the share of total finance directed towards climate solutions in the last year, according to analysis by the TPI Centre

Only 6 of 26 banks have disclosed a commitment to end all on- and off-balance sheet activities that finance new coal capacity immediately. Only one of the banks’ net zero emissions commitments covers on and off-balance sheets activities. Five banks have publicly disclosed the quantitative results of climate scenario analysis to their shareholders and clients. … Continue reading No banks disclosed the share of total finance directed towards climate solutions in the last year, according to analysis by the TPI Centre →

One of the issues with ESG is how difficult it is for investors, consumers and the public to assess how effectively companies have implemented it

In an article on the Conversation website, Daniel Tsai, Lecturer in Business and Law at the University of Toronto and Peer Zumbansen, Professor of Business Law at McGill University discuss the need for changes to how ESG is implemented. The lack of government leadership and the fragmentation of the ESG landscape has created uncertainty about … Continue reading One of the issues with ESG is how difficult it is for investors, consumers and the public to assess how effectively companies have implemented it →

Africa climate summit adopts ‘Nairobi declaration’

The first ever Africa Climate Summit ended on Wednesday with a call for world leaders to back global taxes to fund climate action. The "Nairobi declaration" also calls for financial reforms to help African countries. The text is intended to define the shared position of the 54 countries of the African continent ahead of the … Continue reading Africa climate summit adopts ‘Nairobi declaration’ →

Africa’s climate security needs to be prioritised at COP28

Climate change has been exacerbating tensions across Africa. Maurizio Geri, a former NATO analyst on the Middle East and North Africa, writes on the EURACTIV website that the continent’s climate security ought to be prioritised at COP28 so that the rise of militarism can be countered. West must use COP28 to reverse climate neglect … Continue reading Africa’s climate security needs to be prioritised at COP28 →

“Bangladesh has been quite well in adapting to climate change, but there is still a long way to go with not much time to waste”

Dr Saleemul Huq, director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development and a professor at Independent University in Bangladesh and one of the most vocal and effective experts on adaptation, writes on the Daily Star website of the need to scale up as soon as possible. This is a message not only for … Continue reading “Bangladesh has been quite well in adapting to climate change, but there is still a long way to go with not much time to waste” →

New report from Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment finds that financial institutions’ climate strategies are far off track from what’s needed for climate action

A new report published by the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (“Finance for Zero: Redefining Financial-Sector Action to Achieve Global Climate Goals”) finds that financial institutions’ climate strategies are far off track from what’s needed for climate action, and even from their own commitments. The financial sector’s climate commitments “often overstate or misrepresent the extent to which they support … Continue reading New report from Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment finds that financial institutions’ climate strategies are far off track from what’s needed for climate action →