13 climate & finance stories during #COP23 you might have missed

These 13 stories and articles from last few weeks are worth your time, starting with some news and announcements from COP23:

• Some of Europe’s largest energy companies have accused the EU of lacking ambition in the fight against climate change and urged more aggressive targets for growth in renewable power. … A proposed target for renewables to meet 27 per cent of EU energy consumption by 2030, up from 16.7 per cent in 2015, “lacks ambition and would slow down the current rate of renewables deployment” in Europe, the companies said.’ The companies, that include Iberdrola of Spain, Enel of Italy and SSE of the UK, EnBW of Germany, EDP of Portugal and Orsted, previously known as Dong Energy, ‘called for an EU-wide binding target for 35 per cent renewable energy by 2030.’ (FT, 5 Nov)
• ‘Clean-energy activity slowed in developing countries in 2016, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s Climatescope research project released Monday.’ (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 6 Nov). Axios say the report ‘cautions that “countries on both side of the rich-poor divide are falling short on promises made to address climate change through clean energy investment.” The full report is here and here.
• Paris Agreement Climate Pledges: Where Will The Money Come From? In a research note on financing of NDCs S&P Global find that ‘the total implementation cost for countries that have submitted specific financial figures to meet their NDCs is about $5.3 trillion. By comparison, the total outstanding global climate-aligned bonds issued currently stands at only $895 billion. Financing the transition will likely include not only sovereign green bond issuance but will ‘also likely include private sector funds, potentially through legislative incentives and other efforts, to meet these targets.’ (S&P Global, 6 Nov)
• The seven megatrends that could beat global warming: ‘There is reason for hope’: Damian Carrington interviews Christiana Figueres and looks at seven trends that could help beat climate change: (Guardian, 8 Nov)
• Responsible Investor (free to read): COP23: Our pick of the best investor-specific events (Updated with new events!) (3 Nov)
• Lazard latest Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis show how far unsubsidised renewable electricity costs (green) have fallen compared to conventional fuels (blue) (Lazard, 2 Nov):

News from UK:

• The Church of England and the fossil fuel divest/engage “schism”: ‘Recent events have highlighted two conflicting points of view — if not an outright “schism” — within the Church of England about whether to divest from one of the world’s leading fossil fuel companies, ExxonMobil’ according to Responsible Investor (8 Nov). The article notes that Justin Wlelby’s article ‘Our Moral Opportunity on Climate Change’ (New York Times, 3 Nov) was followed by a letter signed by 5 Bishops which ends “Now is the time for decisive action. We call on Church of England investors to take the lead and immediately divest from ExxonMobil.” (Guardian, 7 Nov)
• The Daily Telegraph report that ‘The Church of England’s investment arm has called for the mining industry to review tailing dams and the governance of joint ventures in the wake of the Samarco mine disaster’ as part of a ‘new ethical framework governing its ­investment in the extractive industries.’ (5 Nov)

News from Europe:

• Macron 12 December Climate Summit: ‘Trump not invited to Paris December climate change summit for now, says France’ (Reuters, 7 Nov). ‘Over a hundred countries, as well as non governmental organizations, have been invited for the Dec.12 summit.’ The summit will be called the One Planet Summit, and according to the website aims to 1. Take tangible and collective action, 2. Innovate, 3. Support one another. The previous day will see the Climate Finance Day hosted by the French Ministry for the Economy & Finance.
• Greenest Dutch schemes ‘falling short of climate target’: ‘Even Dutch pension funds with the best environmental credentials won’t achieve the Paris Climate Treaty targets with their current investment policy’ according to Fossil Free NL (IPE, 2 Nov)

News from around the world:

• CDP Climate A list published: ‘CDP’s second annual analysis in the ‘Tracking corporate action on climate change’ series shows that companies are stepping up their response to climate change, setting more ambitious targets to drive longer-term progress towards their low-carbon future.’ The full report (Picking Up the Pace, CDP)
• US government forced to release report warning climate change is real and ‘extremely likely’ to be caused by human activity (AFP, via Mail Online, 3 Nov). ‘The US government has released a major scientific report that says climate change is real, ‘extremely likely’ to be caused by human activity, and affecting the daily lives of Americans. The findings of the federally mandated report are starkly at odds with the position of US President Donald Trump, who has labeled global warming a Chinese hoax and named fossil fuel ally Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency. The Climate Science Special Report spans more than 600 pages and is part of a larger report known as the Fourth National Climate Assessment.’ See also New York Times, 3 Nov.
• The “Paradise Papers’ published by Guardian, BBC and global news outlets include climate related stories including ‘Coal-fired plant shifted $1bn offshore while pocketing $117m from Australian taxpayers’ (Guardian, 8 Nov), that Oxford and Cambridge Universities invested tens of millions offshore including in ‘a joint venture to develop oil exploration and deep-sea drilling’ (Guardian, 8 Nov), and that Prince Charles’ ‘estate held stake in forestry firm as he campaigned on climate’ (Guardian, 7 Nov)

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