Category: ECO_INVEST_MN Inflation_Act_2022_Economics Inflation_Act_2022_Green_Energy Legislations_MN PATA_Inflation_Reduction_Act_2022_Related TRANSPORTATION_CARS_MN

Despite its name, the Inflation Reduction Act is largely a climate spending bill. The bill, signed by President Joe Biden on Aug. 16, represents the largest climate investment in U.S. history, allocating about $370 billion to programs to mitigate the effects of climate change over the next 10 years.

Climate First Bank financed 2,578.48 kW of renewable energy, which is more than 36,000 tons of CO2 emissions avoided over 25 years, according to Climate First Bank’s first Annual Impact Report
The report highlights the bank’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives and their measured impact on the climate, community and economy.

Investors are increasingly voting against the election of corporate directors to get companies they see as laggards on climate change to raise their ambitions.
So far this year, investors have cited climate change as a reason for opposing the election of a management-backed director at 225 U.S. companies, up from 157 in 2021 and 83 in 2020, according to shareholder disclosures. The preliminary 2022 data, which includes figures through July 7, was analyzed by Hannah Orowitz, U.S. head of environmental, social and governance at Georgeson LLC, which provides strategic shareholder services to corporations

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink wrote in 2020 that “sustainable investing is the strongest foundation for client portfolios.” Al Gore said in 2021 that “you don’t have to trade values for value. Green can enhance returns.” These claims haven’t aged well: ESG (environmental, social and governance) funds have trailed the market since the beginning of the year and are badly underperforming the sectors they shun, including oil, gas and coal.

The global packaging company Amcor has joined forces with the Minderoo Foundation for the Sea the Future project, which plans to build a worldwide network of sorting and recycling plants.

The Presbyterian Church made a huge announcement this week: it will divest $4-$7 million from fossil fuels entirely. That includes removing its money from five oil companies: Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Marathon Petroleum, Phillips 66 and Valero Energy. The announcement came on the heels of another announcement from three dozen other religious groups that have also divested from fossil fuel. It’s a big deal, not just as a win for divestment and less money for Big Oil, but also because of the longstanding relationship between western Christianity and oil.

By a 340-41 margin on Wednesday, commissioners to the 225th General Assembly voted to place five energy companies — Chevron, ExxonMobil, Marathon Petroleum, Phillips 66 and Valero Energy — on the General Assembly Divestment/Proscription List “until their actions comply with the General Assembly’s established criteria.”

Tesla Inc. is among a group of companies that’s been criticized by investors with over $31 trillion in assets for failing to disclose their environmental footprints through global reporting standards.
Amundi SA, Aviva Plc and Nuveen are some of the institutional investors calling on Tesla, Saudi Aramco, Exxon Mobil Corp., Glencore Plc, Volvo Group and others to report climate, water and

The current gut check comes at a point in the evolution of the investing industry when assets in so-called E.S.G. funds have risen 38 percent in the past year, to $2.7 trillion by the end of March, according to Morningstar Direct. Professionals overlay all manner of rules and screens for the investments they pick, using climate, diversity or other data to construct what are now over 6,000 funds worldwide.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will not require all publicly traded companies to disclose the carbon emissions from their vendors, suppliers and other third parties across their supply chains, but will limit the mandate to businesses that have already set goals for curbing such “scope 3” emissions, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said.