Research by ShareAction, which campaigns for responsible investment, shows several of the world’s largest real estate investment managers are failing to take even basic steps to tackle climate change, leaving investors exposed to financial risks and emissions unchecked in a key sector for the transition to net zero.
Category: Finance
The SBTi has released the Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard
Financial institutions will, for the first time, be able to set science-based targets aligned with net-zero, following the release of the Science Based Targets initiative's (SBTi) Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard.
Chestnut Carbon: financing for US afforestation in the voluntary carbon market
Chestnut Carbon, a nature-based carbon removal developer, has announced the successful closing of a landmark non-recourse project finance credit facility of up to $210m – a first-of-its-kind bank financing for a US voluntary carbon removal afforestation project.
$2.5m for blue carbon project in Sierra Leone
FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi) is investing $2.5m in West Africa Blue’s blue carbon project in Sierra Leone’s Sherbro River Estuary. FSDAi’s investment will contribute to the conservation and restoration of approximately 94,000 hectares of mangrove ecosystems across 11 chiefdoms.
ISEP surveys the state of the sustainability profession for 2025
More than 40% of respondents to the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals’ (ISEP) 'State of the Sustainability Profession 2025 Report' have experienced a change in responsibilities in the past year, reflecting the rapidly evolving nature of the sustainability profession. There is now a wide and varied spread of topics within the remits of sustainability professionals, yet more than 70% of all respondents have a focus on waste management, climate change mitigation and energy efficiency.
CPI: moving public climate finance along the transformation curve
The Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) has identified 10 key elements for public climate finance to deliver transformational change. It says that this means moving beyond the project level toward transformational change at the market and system levels, which is both an imperative and an opportunity for public climate finance providers.
UK’s OBR: cost of climate uncertain but cost of inaction higher
The costs of climate change are highly uncertain, but represent a significant risk to the public finances in all the scenarios explored by the UK’s Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR). These costs come from both transitioning the economy to net zero emissions, and from damage to the economy caused by climate change. However, the latter is the more significant fiscal cost in the scenarios the OBR presents.
Communications are central to climate action
Even the accountancy profession is talking about communications. Time and again it proclaims that financial and non-financial reporting (especially in relation to climate and nature impacts) should be integrated; but increasingly it says that this integration – and the outcomes of business strategy underpinned by green credentials – should be communicated. But it rarely is.
Report maps biodiversity risk management by insurers
A report from the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) maps current practices and challenges in the identification, measurement and management of biodiversity risks by insurers and reinsurers as part of the existing Solvency II risk management framework.
The UN Sec-Gen sees three ways to fix the world
UN Chief, António Guterres, has issued a warning that sustainable development underpinned by international cooperation is in trouble. Addressing the opening session of the 4th Financing for Development Conference, he noted that multilateralism is struggling, as is trust between the major actors. He said he saw three areas of action:
The Climate Finance Vulnerability Index shows how hot the world is
The Climate Finance Vulnerability Index (CliF-VI) provides a comprehensive understanding of nations' climate vulnerability to help improve the targeting and provision of climate change adaptation financing. It shows a country’s climate and financial vulnerability as well as governance considerations that may impact lending.
UK to become sustainable finance capital of the world
The UK Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, has outlined plans to support banks and large companies in developing climate transition plans. To date, about 70% of FTSE 100 companies have voluntarily developed many of the key elements of a transition plan. The UK Government says that widespread transition planning will help provide long-term certainty and clarity to help scale the sustainable finance industry.
Wilful blindness: turning a blind eye to planetary insolvency
The global economy could face a 50% loss in GDP between 2070 and 2090 unless immediate policy action on risks posed by the climate crisis is taken. This is the stark warning set out in ‘Planetary Solvency – finding our balance with nature’ by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) in collaboration with climate scientists.
£86bn boost to science and tech to turbocharge UK economy
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce a transformative £86bn in the Spending Review to turbo-charge the country's fastest growing sectors, from tech and life sciences, to advanced manufacturing and defence, as part of the the UK Government’s plan to invest in Britain’s renewal through its Modern Industrial Strategy.
Rules agreed for credible climate project crediting
The UN body responsible for setting up a carbon market under the Paris Agreement has adopted important new standards to guide how emission-reducing projects measure their impact. Known as the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM), it enables countries and other actors to work together on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by generating high-integrity carbon credits that support global efforts to fight climate change.

