Search Climate Insights Directory
23 results
Making finance consistent with climate goals
This report by the NewClimate Institute examines the role of asset managers and owners in aligning financial flows with climate goals. It argues that while net zero portfolio targets are becoming common, they are insufficient for achieving a 1.5°C pathway. The document highlights the underutilised leverage of 'universal owners'—the largest asset managers and owners—who can influence the real economy through exclusion, divestment, and engagement, but currently fail to pressure high-emitting companies to decarbonise.
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Document type: Report
Private Financial Institutions’ Paris Alignment Commitments 2022 Update
This report update by the Climate Policy Initiative tracks the growth and evolution of climate commitments by private financial institutions to align with the Paris Agreement and achieve net zero emissions by 2050, specifically analyzing trends following COP26.
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Document type: Report
Assessing the Climate Action Investment Practices of Canadian Community Foundations
This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes the endowment management practices of 191 Canadian community foundations (CCFs), focusing on the integration of climate action and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. The author finds that while CCFs are active in grantmaking, they have been "laggards" in using their combined estimated CAD 7 billion in endowments to address climate change, often treating ESG as a risk mitigation tool rather than an opportunity for climate-positive investment. The report provides recommendations to increase transparency, diversify investment committees, and adopt positive screening strategies to align financial assets with climate goals.
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Document type: Report
Private Financial Institutions Commitments to Paris Alignment
The Climate Policy Initiative analyzed public climate commitments from over 350 private financial institutions across four sectors. While assets committed to net zero have grown to over USD 93 trillion, the report finds a significant lack of interim targets, detailed transition plans, and comprehensive fossil fuel phase-out strategies.
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Document type: Report
Six insights on investing for net zero
This briefing from the Stockholm Environment Institute outlines six insights for investors aiming to align their portfolios with the Paris Agreement's net-zero goals. It argues that while divestment is a common strategy, investors may achieve greater impact by using their financial power to coordinate the decarbonization of four high-emitting sectors: oil and gas, agricultural commodities, steel, and cement.
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Document type: Briefing
Unpacking the finance sector's climate-related investment commitments
The NewClimate Institute report analyzes the scale and ambition of climate-related investment targets set by financial institutions and international cooperative initiatives (ICIs), examining how these targets correlate with greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions in the real economy.
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Document type: Report
Debt-Driven Dividends & Asset Fire Sales
This executive summary from the Center for International Environmental Law argues that the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries are in a state of systemic decline, characterized by financial instability, asset fire sales, and unsustainable debt used to maintain shareholder dividends.
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Document type: Executive summary
LETTER OF SUPPORT, FOSSIL FREE CALIFORNIA AND ENVIRONMENT CALIFORNIA, SB 964
The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) issued a letter of support for recommendations by Fossil Free California and Environment California regarding climate risk disclosure under SB 964. CIEL urges the boards of CalPERS and CalSTRS to implement robust, detailed financial disclosures to demonstrate that their investment decisions regarding climate-vulnerable assets are consistent with their fiduciary duties to beneficiaries.
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Document type: Statement
RELEVANT INFORMATION IN RELATION TO ABSA GROUP LTD’S ROLE IN FINANCING PROPOSED NEW COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), writing on behalf of groundWork, urges Absa Group Ltd to cease financing for proposed coal-fired power plants, specifically the Thabametsi and Khanyisa independent power producers (IPPs). The letter argues that continuing to fund coal projects poses significant financial, reputational, and environmental risks, noting that other major South African banks like Nedbank have already withdrawn support.
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Document type: Statement
El Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica debe conducirnos a un mundo que viva dentro de los límites planetarios
A statement by Friends of the Earth International and partner organizations outlining requirements for the post-2020 biodiversity goals succeeding the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, emphasizing planetary boundaries, participatory processes, and the rejection of market-based mechanisms.
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Document type: Statement
La convention sur la diversité biologique doit nous guider vers un monde qui tienne compte des limites de la planète
A joint statement by Friends of the Earth International and partner organizations outlining requirements for the post-2020 biodiversity framework following the failure of the Aichi targets.
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Document type: Statement
Biodiversity convention must lead to a world that lives within planetary boundaries
A statement by Friends of the Earth International and partner organizations outlining requirements for the Convention on Biological Diversity's post-2020 targets, emphasizing planetary boundaries, participatory processes, and the rejection of corporate influence and biodiversity metrics.
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Document type: Statement
STANDARD BANK’S ROLE IN FINANCING PROPOSED NEW COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS
A letter from the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), on behalf of the Life After Coal Campaign, urging Standard Bank to withdraw financial support for the proposed Thabametsi and Khanyisa coal-fired power plants in South Africa.
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Document type: Statement
Learning by Doing: Lessons from WRI’s Sustainable Investing Journey
This case study details the World Resources Institute's (WRI) transition from a traditional financial-return-focused investment strategy to a sustainable investing approach for its $40 million endowment. Starting in 2014, WRI integrated environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria into its portfolio management, moving from a model of internal board oversight to a partnership with an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO). The document outlines the challenges of ESG data interpretation, the decision to prioritize holistic ESG integration over simple fossil fuel divestment, and the financial results of this shift.
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Document type: Case study
Green Groups Stand Together to Protect Climate Risk Carbon Initiative
Fourteen environmental organizations are opposing amendments to California Senate Bill 488, which seek to limit the Insurance Commissioner's authority to issue data calls and collect financial information regarding climate risk. This opposition aims to protect the Climate Risk Carbon Initiative, a program designed to evaluate the financial risks of climate change for insurance companies operating in California.
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Document type: Statement
OPEN LETTER - ANGLO AMERICAN’S PLANS TO SHED COAL ASSETS IN SOUTH AFRICA
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) issued an open letter to Anglo American plc on February 29, 2016, urging transparency and public participation regarding the company's plans to divest its coal and iron ore assets in South Africa to prevent the creation of further derelict and ownerless mines.
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Document type: Statement
A lesson in practical divestment
This case study describes the process used by the Oregon Environmental Council (OEC) to divest its $700,000 endowment fund from fossil fuels and other industries conflicting with its mission, utilizing a hybrid strategy of negative screening and shareholder activism.
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Document type: Case study
Open letter to DFA: I divested from forest destruction and so should you
An open letter from Friends of the Earth member Janet Thew to Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) CEO David Booth, detailing her decision to divest $100,000 from the firm due to its investments in companies linked to deforestation and human rights abuses.
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Document type: Statement
DivestInvest for Health
The "DivestInvest for Health" guide, published by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, provides a strategic framework for health associations and advocacy groups to divest from fossil fuels and reinvest in climate solutions. It argues that continued investment in fossil fuels creates an "ethical contradiction" for health professionals committed to doing no harm, given the public health threats posed by climate change.
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Document type: Guide
Factsheet: Engaging in Climate Change Solutions as Health Professionals
This factsheet from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) outlines how health professionals can leverage their credibility as trusted messengers to influence public behavior and policy-making regarding climate change, focusing on GHG emission reduction and adaptation programs.
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Document type: Fact sheet