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H2 of 2018 was widely regarded as a difficult period for green finance, but the market is showing signs of resurgence

Reports: Sustainable finance 'growing rapidly' in Europe

Europe's sustainable finance market experienced "rapid" growth during the first half of 2019, despite a challenging end to 2018, new analyses have concluded this week.

Eight reasons why green finance is becoming mainstream

Halfway through London Climate Action Week and it seems that sustainable finance is the hot topic. Here, edie explores the key drivers behind why green finance is growing from a niche interest to a business-critical concern.

Barclays pledges to source 100% renewable electricity by 2030

Transatlantic banking giant Barclays has pledged to source 100% renewable electricity by 2030, with an interim goal of 90% by 2025.

<p>Chubb is headquartered in the US and has operations in 53 other countries</p>

Chubb sets global science-based emissions targets

The world's largest publicly listed property and casualty insurance firm has set new carbon emission reduction targets, in line with the 2C trajectory outlined in the Paris Agreement.

The report also provides an update on the company’s resource efficiency efforts, including reductions on food waste goals

Co-op to halve emissions by 2025

The Co-op has announced new goals to reduce its direct emissions by 50% and product-related emissions by 11%, after reaching a previous carbon goal three years ahead of schedule.

In action: The environmental legacy of the Thames Tideway Tunnel

The Thames Tideway Tunnel is a new major piece of infrastructure for London, capturing an average of 39 million tonnes of untreated sewage which currently enters the tidal River Thames every year. If no action is taken, this is anticipated to reach 70 million tonnes by 2020.

CISL's findings indicate that in some developing nations, 100% of losses caused by natural disasters were not covered by insurance

Reports: Policy support for climate adaptation investments 'insufficient'

Insufficient policy support has left investors and lenders across the world struggling to identify, measure and adapt to climate challenges relevant to their portfolios, a pair of new reports have found.

Banking giants pledge to align investment portfolios with Paris Agreement

BBVA, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered and Société Générale have pledged to measure the climate-related impacts of their lending portfolios and assist companies they invest in with aligning their respective sustainability strategies with the Paris Agreement goals.

The new moves by Shell have been welcomed by investor body Climate Action 100+

Shell to pay executives in line with decarbonisation achievements

Oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell has today (3 December) pledged to link progress made towards its carbon reduction aims to the amount of pay awarded to members of its executive board, in a move to engage senior stakeholders with sustainability.

Research by the Asset Owners Disclosure Project found that only one in ten of the world's largest pension funds has pledged to align their portfolios with the Paris Agreement's 2C trajectory

World's pension funds vulnerable to climate risks, study reveals

87% of assets managed by the world's 100 largest public pension funds are yet to undergo a formal climate risk assessment, according to research published on Tuesday (23 October), with only 15% of them adopting a coal exclusion policy.

The Investor Agenda is designed to support asset managers as they scale up investments critical to tackling climate change

Hundreds of global investors commit to bolster climate strategies

A coalition of almost 400 investors with $23trn in collective assets has pledged to step up its climate action plans in a bid to help the global finance sector meet the aims of the Paris Agreement.

The Unfriend Coal briefing has been published during a global reinsurance conference in Monte Carlo, in a bid to drive coal divestment image: Marion Esnault

Fresh warnings over lack of climate action across finance sector

The reinsurance and pension fund sectors are failing to progress the finance sector towards key climate goals by continuing to invest in coal projects over low-carbon alternatives, two reports have claimed.

World Water Week: Valuing our natural environment

We all 'appreciate' a babbling brook and beautiful rivers and oceans, but what is the value of our natural environment? World Water Week provides us all with the perfect opportunity to reflect on the importance of water stewardship, which is not only about doing the right thing, it's also about generating real business benefits as a result.

Legal and General divests from climate change 'laggards'

Insurance giant Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM) has committed to divest from a host of companies it believes are showing "persistent inaction" on addressing climate risks, removing the firms from its Future World Fund.

The EAC does not believe that a voluntary approach will be effective in the medium-term

MPs urge UK Government to make climate risk reporting mandatory

Ministers have urged the UK Government to make it mandatory for companies and asset owners to report on climate-related risks by 2022 in order to "fix" the short-term mindset of the current financial system.

The Unfriend Coal report accuses 25 of the world’s largest insurers of continuing to invest in ‘dirty’ tar sands and coal energy projects

Top pension funds and insurers failing to engage with climate risks

Some of the UK's biggest pension funds are failing to address climate-related impacts, while 25 of the world's largest insurance brokers continue to invest in coal or tar sands projects, two damning reports have claimed this week.

UK insurers Aviva and Legal & General claimed second and fourth place respectively

UK insurers lead the ranks for climate action

UK insurance companies Aviva and Legal & General have taken two of the top four spots in a ranking of global insurers on their climate strategies, but globally the sector is struggling to set climate targets in line with the Paris Agreement.

Sector insight: The state of sustainability 2018

This exclusive insight report explores the key drivers, challenges and opportunities facing sustainable business in the UK.

So far, 16 insurers have divested an estimated €22bn from coal companies

Allianz pledges to stop insuring coal plants as pressure mounts on insurance industry

Financial services firm Allianz has set a target to eliminate its insurance coverage for coal, amid heightened pressure on the industry to end its support for the fossil fuel.

The Commission will also present in May a draft law to clarify the investors’ duties in regards to their advice and responsibilities on sustainable products

European Union unveils green investment action plan

The European Commission unveiled on Thursday (8 March) its highly expected action plan on sustainable finance, aiming to clarify what can be labelled as "green" investment and potentially lowering capital requirements on asset holders.

MPs are concerned that fiduciary duties are often misinterpreted as efforts to maximise short-term returns

£555bn pension funds questioned over climate risk 'misunderstandings'

Government ministers are concerned about "outright misunderstandings" amongst the UK's top 25 pension funds, with assets under management worth £555bn, relating to failures to account for climate-related risk.

The bank worked with ESG research providers Sustainalytics to create the framework

Barclays updates green bonds to capture 'compelling' economic opportunity

Barclays has signified its shift towards a low-carbon economy, by announcing a set of green finance products that will help promote sustainability in the UK and across the globe.

Developed countries had pledged to raise $100 billion each year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020. However, as of September 2017, governments had pledged $10.3 billion

Climate finance, the sticking point in COP23

Rich countries had pledged to raise $100 billion each year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020. As of September 2017, they had pledged just $10.3 billion. And the question of who should pay remains unanswered.

Autarco insists that end users will no longer have to settle for an expected guarantee without sufficient protection of their bottom-line investment

Lloyd's of London first insurer to back kWh guarantee for solar installations

Businesses can now receive a kWh performance guarantee for solar fittings after PV manufacturer Autarco launched a new assurance for its PV systems.

Deep breath: change the conversation

Air quality in our towns and cities is a critical issue but action and progress will be sorely limited unless we grasp the challenge of awareness, behaviour and pro-active communications.

edie Explains: Energy data optimisation

The latest in our ‘edie Explains’ series is dedicated to understanding energy data optimisation. This can be a complex issue, but our step-by-step guide takes you through the process and provides top tips for success.

Can we get over our fear of second hand?

Everyone enjoys having something new to play with. For many adults, the thrill of opening the packaging on a new mobile phone is almost as great as unwrapping presents on Christmas morning when they were a child. But apart from the novelty of a box fresh product, is there any sound reason why new should be considered superior to a refurbished second-hand product?

Around 70% of economic losses linked to infrastructure damage from natural disasters are uninsured

New data hub offers financial oasis against climate-related hazards

A new global data community aimed at expanding the climate risk adaption strategies for the insurance and investment markets has launched this week (5 June), to protect economic losses incurred through damages to infrastructure during natural disasters.

Election 2017 manifesto matrix: What the parties have said on energy and the environment

It's decision time. Tension is mounting among the green business community ahead of the UK election - but which party offers the most promising green policy approach? Here, edie has rounded up the most important inclusions (and exclusions) from each of the main parties' manifestos into a single, easy-to- read document.

BS 8001: a new standard to help organisations square the circle

There is no shortage of publications and online resources covering particular aspects of the circular economy. Yet despite all this - and a few high-profile forward-thinking examples - it seems many businesses are still struggling to get started on employing circular thinking.

Autonomous systems for environmental monitoring

Autonomous systems are a key priority in governmental agendas. In 2013, David Willetts included them as one of the Eight Great Technologies that will propel the UK to future growth. In 2017, the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund was created that prioritised "robotics systems...that can be deployed in extreme environments."

Mark Wilson's company Aviva was the first global insurance group to go carbon-neutral

Aviva chief: It's time to make sustainability a competitive sport

Sustainability should be treated as a competitive sport, driven by public league tables on corporate climate performance to incentivise businesses to strive towards industry climate leadership, Aviva's chief executive has said.

World Water Day: Why tackling flooding remains a sustainability priority

Water-based crises are once again being thrust into the international spotlight on World Water Day. Yet, after decades of attempts - and billions wasted - flooding remains widely unaddressed by business and governments alike.

Stairway to success: Further education and support to articulate the benefits of the circular economy is required to encourage widespread adoption

Thinking circular: applying an effective closed-loop model

Ahead of her appearance at edie Live 2017 in May, circular economy expert Catherine Joce explores what it takes to deliver a successful closed-loop product or service, drawing on real-life examples of businesses that are driving the resource revolution.

Barclays delivered £21bn for sustainability projects in 2016

Multinational bank Barclays raised £21.1bn in finance for environmental and societal schemes in 2016 as part of a fresh strategy that focuses on enhancing the sustainability of its business model.

The report found that 80% of the banks are failing to integrate the results of environmental stress tests into decision making processes, despite 70% introducing new stress tests

Major banks failing to align climate strategies to Paris Agreement targets

Despite more than 70% of banks introducing environmental and carbon footprint stress, many are failing to align business and investment strategies in keeping with the 2C pathway scenario established through the Paris Agreement.

Allianz found that 30% of respondents are concerned about new digital hazards, with cyber security ranking as the 2nd highest business concern in the UK and the US

Cyber threats and climate change ranked as key business concerns by Allianz

Climate change and cyber security have been highlighted as two of the major concerns for companies that will be subjected to an increasingly "unpredictable business environment" in 2017, new research from financial giant Allianz has found.

Munich Re’s NatCatService recorded 750 medium and large scale loss events from natural causes in 2016 – significantly above the ten-year average of 590

Less than a third of $175bn natural catastrophe losses covered by insurance

Deadly storms and earthquakes across the globe led to the costliest twelve months for natural catastrophe losses since 2012, with insurers paying out around $50bn to cover just 30% of global losses.

Dalmia Cement joined Swiss Re in becoming the first companies to become members of both the RE100 and EP100 campaigns. Photo: UNClimateChange/flickr

COP22: Major firms lead low-carbon energy drive

The first week of COP22 in Marrakech rounded-off on energy day, with a range of companies demonstrating their commitment to a low-carbon future with pledges to source 100% renewable energy.