Articles by Tommy Wilkes and Simon Jessop

Investors Call on Proxy Adviser ISS to Overhaul its Net-Zero Proxy Advice

More than 30 investors have called on proxy advisor ISS to improve the guidance it gives to clients wanting companies to decarbonize faster, saying its policies had failed to keep pace with rising climate change risks. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) …

UN Climate Alliance Scraps Emissions Rules for Insurers After Exodus

The Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) has ditched all requirements for members to set or publish greenhouse gas emission-reduction targets, the U.N. said on Wednesday, a major rewrite of its rules after U.S. political pressure led to a member exodus. The …

Insurers Look to Loosen UN Climate Alliance Rules After Member Exodus: Sources

The remaining insurers in a United Nations-backed coalition aimed at tackling climate change are poised to loosen the alliance’s membership requirements, after a recent exodus of members, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The U.N.-convened Net-Zero Insurance Alliance …

‘Climate Washing’ Lawsuits Jump as More Activists Challenge Corporate Claims: Report

“Climate washing” litigation has risen sharply in the last two years as environmental groups and governments grow frustrated with corporate claims about their contribution to tackling climate change, a report published on Thursday showed. The report, compiled by London’s Grantham …

ANALYSIS – Breakup of Insurers’ Climate Coalition Driven by U.S. Regulation Fears

The success of Republicans in triggering the breakup of a coalition of insurance firms aimed at tackling climate change is down to U.S. states being the industry’s primary regulator, interviews with industry executives and former officials show. The U.N.-backed Net-Zero …

Climate Alliance Sounds Alarm on ‘Political Attacks’ on Insurers

“Political attacks” are interfering with insurers’ efforts to price climate risks, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero said on Friday, after a wave of insurers quit an industry climate group following pressure in the United States. “These political attacks …

Lloyd’s of London CEO Neal Calls for Rethink of UN Climate Alliance Rules

A global climate alliance for insurers needs to make its membership rules less prescriptive or risk falling apart, the boss of Lloyd’s of London said after political pressure from some U.S. states prompted some companies to leave. The United Nations …

Financial Services Firms Face Losses of $225B From Variety of Water Risks: Report

Financial institutions face losses of at least $225 billion from risks related to water, with a third of them doing nothing to assess the potential impact, a report by leading environmental disclosure platform CDP and Planet Tracker estimates. The U.N. …

AXA’s Investment Arm to Divest Oil and Gas Climate Laggards After Three Years

GLASGOW – The fund arm of French insurer AXA said on Monday it would take a tougher line with oil and gas companies over their environmental impact, selling out of laggards after three years if their emissions-reduction plans were not …

ESG Industry Booms but Investors Worry Risks Are Piling Up

LONDON— If fund managers are serious about clean investments, they need to get their hands dirty. That’s the view of Sasja Beslik, head of sustainable finance at Swiss bank J. Safra Sarasin, as demand surges for companies that perform well …