auctusESG

  The Paris Agreement seeks to limit the negative impacts of global warming. Its goal is to keep the increase in global average temperature well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, along with pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). The signatories committed to eliminating global net carbon dioxide emissions in the second half of the 21st century. The Antarctic ice sheet is much less likely to become unstable and cause dramatic sea-level rise in upcoming centuries if the world follows policies that keep global warming below the set targets. Implementation of the Paris Agreement requires economic and social transformation, based on the best available science.  "Putting sectors on net-zero pathways requires not only investing in new green technologies but also proactively phasing out carbon-intensive assets, and addressing the impacts of that transition on workers and communities." Businesses remain at risk due to...

Growing concerns around sustainability and climate change amongst all stakeholders, coupled with stakeholder demand for material information to appropriately identify, understand and mitigate ESG risks have led to the proliferation of ESG disclosures and reporting frameworks. International regulations including the Task Force on Climate-related Finance Disclosures (TCFD), or the International Integrated Reporting (IR) and global initiatives such as the EU Taxonomy, have emerged in the past few years. Increasing pressure on companies and investors to adopt these frameworks has accelerated non-financial reporting and disclosures globally, with reportedly 90% of S&P 500’s companies reporting on ESG or climate. These developments represent a global ESG ecosystem with, not only non-financial reporting and disclosure best practices and voluntary reporting frameworks, but also competition on ESG performance and metrics leading to ESG ratings and rankings on global indices, such as the on...

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the interconnectedness of global economies and the importance of digital connectivity, dependent on electricity. Energy access has catalytic potential for facilitating learning and education, job creation, healthcare and peace and stability so that fragile states are not left behind. Yet 800 million people around the world lack access to electricity. The plummeting of renewable energy prices is a strong appeal to the developed world, aid organisations, DFIs, and the private sector to break the cycle of poverty and provide the 800 million residents of fragile states with affordable electricity.  In Sierra Leone, for example, 75% of the population lacks access to electricity and only 2% of the rural population receives intermittent electricity. This said, investments in electricity expansion and investments in cost-effective solutions are lagging. A 2014 UNCTAD report showed that out of the US $5-7 trillion needed to finance the SDG, there ex...