As more ESG and climate-related disclosure regulations come online, companies are spending significant time and money to meet reporting expectations. ESG reporting and disclosure presents an entirely new compliance challenge for large companies — and the requirements are only growing. Yet more than half of companies are still managing ESG data, both qualitative and quantitative, […]
Tag: Climate finance
Initiating the Carbon Footprint Assessment of an Investment Portfolio
Role of Financial Institutions in Achieving Net-Zero 2020 was a significant year where commitments around “net-zero targets” gathered momentum. Announcements were made across the board, from national governments to industries and sectors to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by a specific date. The Paris Agreement has established a timeline to 2050 to achieve this, with concrete […]
Takeaways from the NY State Common Fund’s Decarbonization Advisory Panel Work
The New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) the third largest pension plan in the United States, recently published their Climate Action Plan following the recommendations of their first ever Decarbonization Advisory Panel. The panel was charged with recommending how to prepare the $210 billion Fund to identify and manage the risks of a changing climate and […]
Bank of Canada Lists Climate Change as a Risk to Canada’s Economy
On Thursday, the Bank of Canada released its 2019 Financial System Review, and for the first time it listed climate change as one of the main risks to Canada’s economy and financial system. The inclusion of climate change as one of six vulnerabilities listed in the Financial System Review (FSR) comes a few weeks after the Bank […]
Sustainable Classification System (Green Taxonomy)
A Canadian-Specific Standard is Needed Today, the term sustainable finance refers mainly to public and private funds earmarked to support a transition to a low carbon and resilient economy. This consists of funding activities that will help the current economies mitigate climate change and adapt to a new climate reality in the near- and long-term […]
To the Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance
Looking ahead for the long-term The work by the Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance was a welcome initiative by the federal government. Manifest hopes that this initiative will be successful in transitioning Canada’s economy to one that is based on less carbon intensive assets and is more resilient to the impacts of climate change. We […]
Climate Change and the Financial Sector
Awareness and calls to action on climate change in the financial sector have gained significant momentum in the last few years, especially since the 2015 Paris Agreement and related private-sector initiatives. Increasing pressure is being placed on investors, including asset owners, asset managers, and banks due to the influence they have on the companies they own […]
2017 Budget – Creating Canada’s Clean Growth Economy
The 2017 Budget reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to decarbonizing the economy with significant investments planned in green infrastructure and the growth of clean technology sector. This solidified the progress from 2015 and 2016 that started with Canada’s commitment to the Paris Agreement, followed by the Vancouver Declaration on Clean Growth and Climate Change and the […]
Carbon Pricing Developments Across Canada
Carbon pricing was a major topic of discussion in the recent Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, with the federal government requiring provinces and territories to adopt a carbon price by 2018. The Framework gives provinces the choice of carbon tax, cap and trade, or a combination with common scope of emissions coverage. Carbon […]
News Update: Ontario Green Bank Regulations Finalized
O. Reg. 46/17: Ontario Climate Change Solutions Deployment Corporation (OCCSDC) enters into force. On February 17th, the Ontario government released the final regulations that will govern the Ontario Climate Change Solutions Deployment Corporation (OCCSDC), commonly referred to as the “Green Bank”. These regulations—filed under the Development Corporations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. D.10— establish the OCCSDC as a corporation […]