Food and agriculture systems have both positive and negative impacts on planetary health and human well-being. Their outputs are significant and sustain each one of us, providing us with food, fibre, and raw materials.
A review of the10 largest UK food retailers’ disclosure on nutrition, diets and health
After decades of decline, global hunger has increased for the third year in a row. There are now over 820 million chronically hungry people in the world. At the same time, the diets of almost half of the world’s population do not meet even the most basic nutritional needs. This means that progress on Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) — to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture — is actually going in reverse. This challenge is made both more urgent and more difficult by climate change. Agriculture is both a major contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (up to 25 percent) and is highly susceptible to its effects, with smallholder farmers being hit first and hardest as extreme weather events increase.
One of the biggest challenges facing society today is meeting the needs of present and future generations, while sustaining the natural resources and ecosystem on which our economy and society depend. We all have a role to play in facing up to this challenge. The financial services industry in particular has an enormous collective responsibility, not least because of its role at the heart of our economy in the allocation of capital.
Download the paper with the perspectives from the UpsideDown series on Responsible Investing. This has brought together some of the world’s most eminent academics, business leaders and senior figures from NN IP, providing a rounded view of what the Covid-19 crisis will mean for the investment industry, the economy and society.Click here to download the report
In 2018 the IPCC presented the world with a stark warning: greenhouse gas emissions must be halved within the next decade to avert major climate disruption. Climate action failure is now seen as the biggest threat facing humanity. Fossil fuels account for more than 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet governments around the world plan to produce 50 percent more fossil fuels than consistent with a 2ºC pathway and 120 percent more than consistent with keeping warming within 1.5ºC over this timeframe.
This paper illustrates the processes that Qontigo followed in constructing the STOXX Paris-Aligned Benchmark Indices, with specific focus on the STOXX® Europe 600 Paris-Aligned Benchmark Index, and the additional steps taken to reinforce the objectives of the EU PABs.The Technical Expert Group on sustainable finance (TEG) was established to assist the European Commission in defining, among others, climate benchmark methodologies. The TEG set out minimum standards for the EU Climate Transition Benchmark (EU CTB) and EU Paris-Aligned Benchmark (EU PAB) methodologies. The Commission is using these TEG recommendations as a basis for drafting the final delegated acts that will provide a framework of minimum requirements for the EU CTB and EU PAB Benchmarks.
CBRE Global Investors has launched a white paper exploring the role of real asset impact investing in an era of Covid-19 recovery. Led by Andrew Angeli, Head of European Real Assets Research and Paul Oremus, residential Fund Manager for Europe, ‘Impact Investing in a Pandemic’ dispels the age-old investor perception that in order to do good you have to sacrifice returns while asserting that for aligned long-term capital, ESG-oriented investments and specifically those linked to attainable and affordable housing tenures offer predictable, steady returns.
On Sept 1, The German Bundesnetzagentur will auction compensation for decommissioning of up to 4GW of hard coal power plant capacity as a step in the country’s exit from coal.
How can the financial sector contribute to the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy? Some say: via engagement with the fossil fuel sector. This produces splendid public statements, but it does not lead to the transition. On the contrary: engagement keeps the status quo intact instead of kick-starting the farreaching and radical changes we so urgently need. Divesting from fossil fuels and investing in renewables is the only solution.