Deep Dive

18 Nov Common Ground Taxonomy: Consolidation of China and EU Green Definitions

Posted at 15:00 by Helena Zhu

The Common Ground Taxonomy (CGT), a comparative study of the green taxonomies of China and the EU, was published by the International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF) on November 4 at the COP26. The CGT’s mission was to comprehensively assess existing taxonomies and identify commonalities...

11 Nov New SBTi Standard: Action Guidance for Corporates to Net-Zero

Posted at 16:19 by Tina Zhang

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) launched its Net-Zero Standard for Corporates on October 28, right ahead of the UN COP26 climate conference commencing in Glasgow, the UK. The SBTi Standard is the first global certificate for corporates with net-zero targets and ambitions to establish...

04 Nov China’s 1+N Climate Policy System: The Path to Carbon Neutrality

Posted at 16:16 by Haiyan Luo

During the week before the UN COP26, China published five key documents to address climate change issues, including two documents submitted to the UN. October 24: a guiding document on the country’s climate action and an action plan on peaking emissionsOctober 26: an action plan to...

28 Oct From Paris Agreement to COP26: A Finance Perspective

Posted at 15:46 by Helena Zhu

For almost three decades, the United Nations has brought together nearly every country on the planet for an annual global climate summit, called the Conference of the Parties (COP). This November, the world will intently watch the COP26 summit, which runs from October 31 to...

21 Oct Carbon Accounting, A Tool for Low-Carbon Transition: [Part.2] Partnership for Carbon Accounting for Financials

Posted at 17:14 by Tina Zhang

Part 1 mainly discussed the background of carbon accounting and the calculation approaches of physical carbon accounting. In this part, the article will continue the topic of carbon accounting from the disclosure and financed emission perspective. Carbon accounting information disclosure methods can be divided into disclosures...

14 Oct Carbon Accounting, A Tool for Low-Carbon Transition: [Part.1] General Introduction

Posted at 14:57 by Tina Zhang

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), coming into force in 1994, set the first steps towards a greener economy transition. A decade after the UNFCCC’s establishment, the Kyoto Protocol became valid, attracting 192 UNFCCC signatories until now, which officially recognized six types...

30 Sep How Companies Can Build Business Climate Resilience

Posted at 14:53 by Haiyan Luo

Climate change has displaced over 22.5 million people, more than 800 million people lack sufficient food, and over one million animal species are facing extinction. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations (UN) body for assessing the science related to climate change,...

23 Sep Global Fossil Fuel Divestment against Climate Change [Part.2]: Impact

Posted at 10:14 by Helena Zhu

Part 1 of this article introduced the origin and participants in the divestment movement. The decision to divest from fossil fuels may be driven by pressure from shareholders for environmental responsibility as well as considerations to dampen climate-related risks. With the pandemic starting in 2020, many...

16 Sep Global Fossil Fuel Divestment against Climate Change [Part.1]: Participants

Posted at 15:42 by Helena Zhu

The years of 2020 and 2021 saw a wave of financial institutions and funds announcing plans to divest from coal and other fossil fuel investments. From global asset managers to university endowments to pensions and sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions are taking a more serious...

09 Sep Greenwashing: A Problematic By-Product of Sustainable Development

Posted at 16:03 by Tina Zhang

The operation and activities led by companies have an enormous impact on the environment, society, and legislation. In return, companies should take more responsibilities to protect the environment and step towards sustainable development goals. On June 17, environmental activists from South Korea, Australia, and other...

02 Sep Three Facts an Investor Needs to Know about ESG Controversy

Posted at 17:13 by Haiyan Luo

As more and more investors start to integrate ESG considerations in their investment decisions, ESG integration is expected to become mainstream in the coming years. ESG analytics provide valuable and useful information to investors on how to choose opportunities in their investment universes and help...

26 Aug How ESG Controversies Impact a Company [Part.2]

Posted at 10:43 by Haiyan Luo

Ranging from monopolistic behaviors and accounting frauds to workplace harassment and environmental incidents, ESG controversies could have significant adverse effects on companies. ESG data vendors like MSCI, Refinitiv, Sustainalytics, ISS, all have scores or ratings to help analyze the impact of ESG controversies on corporates....

19 Aug How ESG Controversies Impact a Company [Part.1]

Posted at 14:58 by Haiyan Luo

From monopolistic behaviors and accounting frauds to workplace harassment and environmental incidents, these scandals could have significant adverse effects on companies, ranging from consumer boycotts to legal penalties. Not to mention, the scandals would damage the reputation of both the companies themselves and their shareholders. ESG-related...

04 Aug Pricing Carbon: Emissions Trading Schemes [Part.2]

Posted at 11:58 by Helena Zhu

Part 1 of this article introduced the concept of Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS), the difference between carbon tax and carbon market, and the development of ETS in China. Other ETS around the World According to the World Bank, by May 2021, carbon prices applied to over 20%...

29 Jul Pricing Carbon: Emissions Trading Schemes [Part.1]

Posted at 16:25 by Helena Zhu

Emissions trading scheme (ETS), also commonly called carbon market, is regarded as an effective policy measure to incentivize reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Generally, governments or other designated authorities determine a limit on GHG emissions for participants in the carbon markets and allocate emissions...