Planet Tracker proposes new blue recovery bond
In a new report, Planet Tracker has proposed a new blue recovery bond that will exchange capital investment in return for fisheries committing to catch less and restore fishstock populations for a certain period. This investment will then be paid back via a levy on future catches.
It is hoped that finance measures like these will help ‘turn the tide’ on overfishing, a persistent and growing problem that could threaten the livelihoods of billions. The demand for seafood is projected to rise to 267.5 million tonnes by 2050, up from 157.4 million in 2020, which is likely to push many fish stocks to unsustainable levels.
As part of the report Planet Tracker has developed an analytical framework to assess whether a fishery would benefit from a blue recovery bond, making it accessible to the public via a new interactive tool.
IEA chief says “staggering” renewable energy growth gives hope for net zero
Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) spoke to the Guardian and suggested that the recent growth of the renewable energy sector places the world in an increasingly better position to reach net zero.
He said that “despite the scale of the challenges, I feel more optimistic than I felt two years ago” saying that the deployment of solar panels and EVs are “perfectly in line” with IEA recommendations, and are only set to accelerate.
He pointed to the fact that clean energy investments had increased 40% in the last two years, in what he called a “staggering” increase that could be decisive in slowing further climate change. While he cautioned that there is still much to be done, he said there was reason to be optimistic.
SEC moves to ban “materially deceptive” fund names, including bogus ESG funds
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted a new rule regarding the names of sustainable investment funds, building on the Investment Company Act’s ‘Names rule’, creating additional requirements for how these funds market and brand themselves.
These list of names covered by the rule include “ESG”, arguing that if a fund does not have at least of 80% of the value of its assets in the investment focus the name suggests, it would be materially deceptive and illegal under the new rules.
According to ESG Investor this rule is aimed to reduce the prevalence of greenwashing, and to increase trust in the industry overall. Many jurisdictions have implemented similar frameworks to prevent misleading branding, including the EU’s SFDR.
First UK TCFD disclosure fine issued by pensions regulator
Source: The Surge in Climate Risk Reporting (visualcapitalist.com)
For the first time since the UK’s implementation of the TCFD, the UK pension’s regulator (TPR) has fined the ExxonMobil Pension Plan for failing to disclose its sustainability report in time.
The TCFD has been an increasingly popular framework that has been embraced widely by corporates and sustainable finance.
The fine, which amounted to a rather insignificant £5000, signals the government’s commitment to enforcing these disclosure regulations.
Speaking to Net Zero Investor, Nicola Parish, TPR’s executive director for Frontline Regulation said “in our role to protect savers, we take climate change requirements extremely seriously. Our case against the ExxonMobil Pension Plan shows we will and must act by using the mandatory fining regime set out in law.”