By Susanna Rust2021-02-18T15:20:00+00:00
A more joined-up approach across stakeholders is needed to improve UK pension scheme engagement with climate change, according to a new report from the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI), a think tank.
The report triggered a call from the report sponsor, Phoenix Group, for the ESG “ecosystem” to be simplified.
The PPI’s report delves into the attitudes and behaviours affecting consideration of climate change in pension scheme investment. It said pension schemes would need to take direct action, but also flagged the need for a more coherent approach across government and industry.
According to the PPI report, the latter includes establishing a consensus across all stakeholders – government, schemes, asset managers and platform providers – on goals, and the practical steps needed to achieve them.
My word is my bond: Linking sovereign debt with national sustainability commitments
Photo: MiniStocker/Shutterstock At the same time, unprecedented levels of investment will be needed to fund COVID-19 stimulus and relief packages, as well as to address the challenges posed by climate change and the degradation of ecosystems that regulate the air, water and soil on which we all depend.
In this context, policy makers, the private sector, and investors are asking whether the solutions to these challenges can be linked. These connections are, in fact, already being made in the financial markets. In 2019, sustainability-linked loans (SSL) tying the interest rate to a company’s performance reducing its impact on climate and the environment, increased by over 168% from a year earlier, with major agricultural firms including Bunge, Louis Dreyfus and Wilmer among the issuers. The growth in these loans is expected to continue. The market for sovereign bonds that finance sustainable devel
February 2, 2021
Despite turbulent second quarter, global green bond market grows for ninth straight year.
Green bond issuance grew for the ninth straight year, climbing to a record high of $269.5 billion at the end of last year, up from $266.5 billion in 2019, according to not-for-profit organization Climate Bonds Initiative, which said 2021 could be another record year, with issuance rising to as high as $450 billion.
The $3 billion increase in issuance from 2019 was rather modest compared with the previous year, when issuance ballooned by more than $95 billion between 2018 and 2019. The sharp deceleration in growth was due the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the green bond market during the second quarter. However, record-breaking issuance during the third quarter helped prevent the end of the market’s nearly decadelong winning streak.
Katimbo-Mugwanya eyes first UK green gilt issuance for EdenTree bond funds
Following Government issuance vow
EdenTree s David Katimbo- Mugwanya has urged HM Treasury to pull the trigger on issuing the UK s first green gilts, with the manager readying himself to participate in the issuance of long-dated bonds of this kind for inclusion in the EdenTree Responsible and Sustainable Sterling and Short Dated bond funds.
In November 2020, Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the UK would move ahead with the country s first sovereign green bond in 2021, entering a market with issuances currently dominated by the European Union..
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Record Growth for Green Bonds in 2020
As Covid-19 racked the capital markets in 2020, a move to safe haven assets like government and investment-grade debt helped to fuel niche-based green bonds. Per a Reuters article, “global green bond issuance reached a record high of $269.5 billion by the end of last year and could reach $400-$450 billion this year, a report by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI)” said.