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edie's senior reporter Sarah delivers up a climate finance-themed episode, featuring chats with Insure Our Future UK and UK Sustainable Investment Finance (UKSIF)

COP26 Covered Podcast episode 5: Finance Day special – A make-or-break moment for the climate summit?

After a hugely important and somewhat unpredictable Finance Day at COP26, the edie team delivers up a special episode of COP26 Covered, featuring wide-ranging talks with industry leaders – from making coal uninsurable to securing top-level financial commitments to net-zero carbon.

The healthcare company is also joining the Race to Zero programme with Health Care Without Harm, an official partner to the global initiative

Bupa targets net-zero emissions by 2040

International healthcare company Bupa has joined the UN's Race to Zero programme and has pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2040.

AXA has covered more than 60,000 hectares of forests through certification schemes

AXA unveils €1.5bn biodiversity commitment

Insurance company AXA has unveiled a new €1.5bn commitment to improve biodiversity and combat deforestation across key global hotspots.

The Business Guide to Net-Zero Carbon Buildings

With buildings now accounting for more than half of total city emissions on average, it’s clear that urgent and dramatic action is required to accelerate the decarbonisation of the built environment. In addition, the devastating impacts of the coronavirus pandemic has seen those that are able to work from home, creating a new dynamic for the energy use and management of corporate buildings.

Swiss Re turns to Climeworks' direct air CO2 capture to meet net-zero goal

Swiss Re has signed a ten-year agreement with carbon capture tech firm Climeworks, under which it is purchasing carbon removals from direct air capture (DAC) facilities and the associated carbon storage.

An extra £250m will be spent on flood and coastal defences compared to last year, which the Government claims is the higher ever annual investment

Government outlines £5.2bn flood defence spending plans

The Government has today (29 July) outlined how £5.2bn will be spent over the next six years to improve the nation's resiliency against flooding, following the weather-related events that occurred in places such as London this week.

Lloyds of London has faced pressure to improve its climate approach for several years

Lloyd's outlines plans to increase green investments but stops short of full Paris Agreement alignment

Insurance and investment giant Lloyd's of London has published a new climate action roadmap, detailing plans to increase support for low-carbon transport, energy and industrial technologies.

Insurance giants team up for net-zero alliance, but are urged to stop supporting fossil fuels

AXA, Allianz, Aviva, Generali, Munich Re, SCOR, Swiss Re and Zurich Insurance Group have launched a new 'Net-Zero Insurance Alliance', of which members will be required to deliver net-zero emissions by 2050 across their insurance and reinsurance portfolios.

The CFP is aiming to generate at least $500m

BlackRock secures $250m for climate projects in developing countries

The world's largest investor BlackRock has secured more than $250m from global investors and governments to support clean energy uptake and climate infrastructure across countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

The module is currently focused on the mining and agriculture sectors – two of the most exposed sectors to biodiversity-related risks

ENCORE: UN-backed biodiversity module to help investors factor nature into spending decisions

A new UN-back module has been launched today to enable financial institutions to map their exposure to biodiversity risks based on sectoral activities, in a bid to push the economy towards a nature-positive future.

American and Chinese firms fared worse than their European counterparts, but no firm received one of the top two grades overall

'Concerning for shareholders': World's biggest insurers failing to tackle ESG risks

A new ranking of the world's 70 largest insurance firms has found that none exclude companies driving biodiversity loss and just 13% exclude firms knowingly in breach of human and labour rights requirements.

Lessons from Yozma for UK conservation

In February of 2021 Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta released the final report of a multi-year review of the economics of biodiversity. This report emphasised that biodiversity is an integral component of global economies and that the continued loss of biodiversity would have devastating impacts on human society.

Under the UNFCCC developed nations committed to financing $100bn annually by 2020, however, developed nations have failed to fulfil this commitment

G7 ponders increasing climate finance in build-up to COP26

Chancellor Rishi Sunak met with G7 finance ministers and central bank governors to discuss the role of finance in supporting the net-zero transition and implored developed nations to raise efforts to generate $100bn in annual revenue to support developing nations combat the climate crisis.

Swiss Re's UK headquarters are located within the Gherkin (pictured)

'Systematic climate approach': Swiss Re plots global coal phase-out by 2040

Insurance and reinsurance giant Swiss Re has announced new climate targets for financed emissions and pledged to stop serving the global coal sector by 2040.

Scottish Widows has some six million UK customers

Green pensions: Scottish Widows charts pathway to net-zero financed emissions

Pensions and insurance giant Scottish Widows, which manages funds totalling £170bn, has committed to halving financed emissions by 2030 on the pathway to net-zero.

Fewer than 25% reference the impact that the climate crisis will have on future and current business models

Business giants' climate disclosure 'clearly inadequate', lawyers warn

Lawyers have warned that the majority of FTSE 100 and the largest companies on the FTSE 250 are failing to disclose adequate climate-related data as part of annual corporate reporting frameworks, with some potentially breaching UK law.

A host of green finance experts met virtually on day one of the Sustainability Leaders Forum

Finance and policy: The external drivers forcing businesses to take climate action

Sustainability professionals have often found frustration when trying to embed CSR across an entire organisation, but the mainstreaming of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing looks set to create new momentum behind the green recovery.

The EU NFRD reporting mechanism was created to ensure that the impacts of sustainability are considered more broadly throughout the whole business

NGOs call for heightened standards on corporate sustainability reporting

An alliance of NGOs has called for the European Union's Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) to be reformed to ensure that more corporates are disclosing relevant climate-related information.

Six ideas to achieve your flexible energy future on the road to net-zero

This report showcases the output of edie's SPARK! event, where expert energy professionals from a range of sectors discussed the role that smart and flexible energy technologies and systems will play in the net-zero transition.

Lloyds of London's members have previously supported projects like the Adani thermal coal mine in Australia

Lloyds of London finally agrees to divest from coal

Insurance giant Lloyds of London has promised to end investment in coal, oil sands and fossil fuel exploration in the Arctic, following years a pressure from climate campaigners.

Legal & General to halve emissions of £81bn pension portfolio by 2030

Legal & General's Retirement arm has pledged to halve the carbon emission intensity of its annuity book, which totals almost £81bn, within a decade.

edie Explains: Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage

What is carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS)? What are the different types of CCUS technology? How can businesses benefit from CCUS? And what are the costs associated with CCUS? This new edie Explains guide answers all of these key questions and more.

Hollie has been with Aldi for around four years and plays a core role in delivering against its plastics reduction targets

Meet edie's 30 Under 30 Class of 2020: Hollie Clark, Aldi UK

This new series profiles the members of edie's 30 Under 30 - a nomination-based community of 30 hugely talented young sustainability and energy professionals who have already achieved great things or are showing fantastic promise. Up next: Hollie Clark, Aldi UK's corporate responsibility manager.

The Alliance members state that they do not wish to engage in divestment exercises

Global investors kickstart 1.5C decarbonisation process for portfolios

Some of the world's largest investors accounting for $5trn in assets under management have agreed to set time-bound decarbonisation targets that will see the organisations work with companies in their portfolios to align to climate action.

The BT Pension Scheme has joined the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance

BT's £55bn pension scheme commits to net-zero emissions by 2035

The UK's largest corporate pensions investment fund, BT Pension Scheme, has signalled its intention to reach net-zero emissions by 2035 on behalf of its £55bn portfolio.

The IPCC predicts that energy systems investments must increase by between $1.6trn and $3.8trn annually between now and mid-century to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Science-based targets for financial sector unveiled

Banks, investors and insurance firms will now be able to verify that their climate targets are Paris-Agreement-aligned through the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

Differentiating from sustainable to transitional finance could impact society across the globe

Inclusive recovery: Can a post-pandemic economy shift society and sectors to greener pastures?

The world is still reeling from the continued impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, but the financial decisions that are made now will determine whether all sectors and parts of society are brought along the green recovery.

C&S is calling for more standardised reporting requirements to streamline the process for corporates

ESG disclosure 'firmly in the mainstream' for corporate reporting

New analysis of global reporting frameworks and requirements for corporate sustainability has found that environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure is becoming a crucial aspect of corporate transparency.

Pictured: Refinitiv's head office in Canary Wharf. Image: Kontors Bygnadd, CC BY 0.0 https://www.piqsels.com/sv/search?q=%23kontorsbyggnad

Refinitiv unveils new SDG-aligned sustainability strategy, including 1.5C science-based targets

After meeting its 2020 ambition of becoming carbon-neutral, Refinitiv has launched a new strategy through to 2030, centred around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and headlined by 1.5C-aligned emissions reduction targets.

Investors are becoming increasingly vocal on the need for a green recovery from the pandemic that does not lock in fossil fuels to the future economy

Investors worth €11trn call for European green recovery from Covid-19 pandemic

More than 100 investors have written to European business and finance leaders, calling on them to ensure the delivering of the bloc-wide Green Deal and deliver a green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

REGIO will access both public and private capital to fund climate mitigation projects in markets where access to capital is limited

HSBC raises £386m fund for climate mitigation in developing countries

HSBC, in partnership with the World Banks's sister organisation the IFC, has raised £386m ($474m) to support investments into climate mitigation across developing countries and markets.

Mission Possible: The 2020 report

This exclusive edie report explores how a green recovery from Covid-19 can be achieved across six of the UK's biggest industries: Utilities, Manufacturing, Construction, Retail, Hospitality & Leisure, and the Public Sector.

Both internally and externally the tools are being developed and a movement is emerging to kickstart a new era of sustainable business.

Chief value officers and ESG investors: What could green finance look like in the new normal?

Whatever the new normal looks like once nations have battled their way through the coronavirus, the recent rhetoric around green finance suggests that both internally externally, the value of sustainability to a business is set to grow.

BNP Paribas will no longer accept new customers whose share of coal-derived revenue accounts for more than 25%

BNP Paribas accelerates coal phase-out as BlackRock predicts clean energy future

Corporate bank BNP Paribas is speeding up its phase-out of support for coal projects, while BlackRock has claimed that renewables are still the course of action for the global energy mix. However, other investors that have made low-carbon commitments have been accused of supporting a tar sands oil project in Canada.

Signatories of the alliance say they are committed to supporting post-pandemic “stimulus transformation plans” through climate action

Financiers join EU 'green recovery alliance'

More than 50 CEOs from the banking and insurance sector - including household names such as BNP Paribas, AXA, Allianz, and Santander - have joined the "green recovery alliance" in the European Parliament.

The total number of ESG bonds has increased modestly from 43 in March to 51 in April

ESG bonds rise by 270% year-on-year as finance community assists Covid-19 response

The issuance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) bonds has increased by 272% year-on-year, as investors and insurance firms take proactive steps to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

The NGOs expressed concern that no insurer has a commitment to only support projects which are consistent with the needs of a 1.5C transition

NGOs call on investors to respond to coronavirus pandemic through net-zero transition packages

A collection of NGOs have written to some of the world's largest insurers, calling on them to address economic responses to the coronavirus outbreak in ways that are aligned with the urgent need to combat the climate crisis and steer the global economy towards a net-zero future.

Damage caused by the River Don in Sheffield, Yorkshire, which burst its banks in November due to flooding

Are businesses ignoring climate resilience on the net-zero journey?

From the flooding caused by Storm Dennis in the UK to the wildfires that have plagued Australia, the damage caused by climate change is becoming more tangible and frightfully frequent. But is the business response of pledging to deliver net-zero emissions enough?

The TCFD formed in 2015 and launched its recommendations in June 2017

'Climate risk is financial risk': TCFD surpasses 1,000 global supporters

The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) has revealed that more than 1,000 organisations are supporting its recommendations, including corporates with a combined market cap of $12trn and investors with $138.8trn of assets under management collectively.

The announcement was made at Davos, where the Alliance is engaging with more than 50 C-suite representatives of portfolio firms

Church of England and Generali join UN's Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance

The Church of England and insurance firm Generali are the latest organisation to sign up to the UN's Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, a coalition with more than $4.3trn in assets under management attempting to engage with corporates to reach net-zero emissions.

Single-use Plastics: The Business Leadership Inspiration Sessions (16 January 2020)

The Business Leadership Inspiration Sessions: an afternoon of three live, interactive webinar presentations and discussions – all dedicated to helping businesses collaborate, innovate and actuate to eliminate single-use plastics, is available to watch on-demand.

Pictured: The Shotton surface coal mine in Northumberland

Report: Coal 'becoming uninsurable' as cover withdrawal doubles

The number of insurance firms withdrawing cover for coal companies and assets has more than doubled between 2018 and 2019, a new report has revealed.

Published last week, the WEO predicts further growth of coal in China, among other nations. Image: Kleineolive/ CC-BY-3.0

Dozens of investors slam IEA over fossil fuels and renewables projections

Allianz, Zurich Insurance Group and Orsted's pension fund are among 65 finance bodies to have written to the International Energy Agency (IEA), urging to body to hep global energy firms align with the Paris Agreement.

The standard also sets out how organisations can prioritise measures that will increase resilience against future climate shocks

BSI launches new ISO standard for climate change adaptation

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has published its first standard on climate change adaptation, creating a framework for how businesses can develop measures and report and assess strategy and plans which increase resilience against climate impacts.

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.

Targeted Charging Review - what you need to know from

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.

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.