A $5 trillion investor coalition wants to change how markets assess government bonds to help unlock climate finance to emerging markets.
The Assessing Sovereign Climate-related Opportunities and Risk (ASCOR) project, spearheaded by BT Pension Scheme Management and the Church of England Pensions Board, has proposed a framework it says focuses on fairness between richer and poorer countries.
It comes amid concern that simplistic ESG analysis might penalise the nations most exposed to — and least responsible for — climate change.
Low and middle-income countries are exempt from several indicators, such as the setting of a nation’s net-zero target by 2050 and the phasing out of combustion-engine vehicles by 2035.
Rich states, meanwhile, will be assessed on factors that include whether they are living up to their collective commitment of $100 billion of annual climate finance for poor nations.
“This is an opportunity for countries to communicate what they’re doing and engage with interested investors who have a lot of capital,” said Victoria Barron, head of sustainable investment at BT Pension Scheme, in an interview.
“What we don’t want is countries who aren’t as advanced on climate action and most vulnerable to climate-change impacts to feel like they don’t have a voice at the table.”
Sustainable finance is less advanced in sovereign debt than in the corporate world, where funds apply an array of strategies under the rubric of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. But metrics and models designed for corporations don’t easily translate to governments. ESG scores for countries have been criticised for being too correlated to a nation’s wealth.
ASCOR wants to create a free voluntary tool that assesses countries on climate change and serves as an “industry standard for net zero-aligned sovereign investing".
It says its proposals, developed with the Transition Pathway Initiative and under public consultation until March 31, will benefit both issuers and investors by making it easier for countries to demonstrate their climate progress over time.
Pensions funds such as those behind ASCOR are among the most important bond buyers in the world, and the Church of England was an early proponent of socially-responsible investing. The project’s advisory committee includes Europe’s largest asset manager, Amundi SA, and Franklin Templeton.
The aim is for every sovereign-debt-issuing country to be assessed against a framework that will analyse emission pathways, climate-policy action and opportunities to finance the transition.
The latter is critical given that many countries facing the greatest climate risks currently have insufficient access to financing, ASCOR said.
Still, there are places where indicators that might better reflect poorer nations’ climate track record aren’t yet ready, according to ASCOR. Its framework uses so-called production emissions — meaning those emitted within a country’s territory — due to a lack of data on consumption emissions, which include the emissions embedded in imported goods.
Ms Barron said production emissions alone can favour richer countries that don’t produce much but consume a lot. She said the ASCOR tool is designed to incentivise the calculation and disclosure of consumption emissions.
“We are very mindful of the north-south divide in terms of the need for capital, and in terms of responsibilities for historic and for future emissions,” she said.
“We want to ensure issues of justice and fairness are fairly reflected.”
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures and results:
Monday, UAE won by three wickets
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Virtual banks explained
What is a virtual bank?
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority defines it as a bank that delivers services through the internet or other electronic channels instead of physical branches. That means not only facilitating payments but accepting deposits and making loans, just like traditional ones. Other terms used interchangeably include digital or digital-only banks or neobanks. By contrast, so-called digital wallets or e-wallets such as Apple Pay, PayPal or Google Pay usually serve as intermediaries between a consumer’s traditional account or credit card and a merchant, usually via a smartphone or computer.
What’s the draw in Asia?
Hundreds of millions of people under-served by traditional institutions, for one thing. In China, India and elsewhere, digital wallets such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and Paytm have already become ubiquitous, offering millions of people an easy way to store and spend their money via mobile phone. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are also among the world’s biggest under-banked countries; together they have almost half a billion people.
Is Hong Kong short of banks?
No, but the city is among the most cash-reliant major economies, leaving room for newcomers to disrupt the entrenched industry. Ant Financial, an Alibaba Group Holding affiliate that runs Alipay and MYBank, and Tencent Holdings, the company behind WeBank and WeChat Pay, are among the owners of the eight ventures licensed to create virtual banks in Hong Kong, with operations expected to start as early as the end of the year.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The view from The National
Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie
Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)
Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Twin-turbocharged%204-litre%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E542bhp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E770Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEight-speed%20automatic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh1%2C450%2C000%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Uefa Nations League
League A, Group 4
Spain v England, 10.45pm (UAE)
