EU's Green Deal, Jigar Shah, Gut Feel, Gulf Exchanges, and Singapore's Solar Panels

1. EU's Green Deal-

Europe beefs up Green Deal in response to Biden’s climate subsidies.
While there was praise for the U.S. effort to close the yawning gap on the Paris Agreement, there’s no doubt the bill has thrown down a gauntlet to Europe. EU leaders have shuttled back and forth for discussions with President Biden, and a joint taskforce is surveying the opportunities to finesse a bill that incentivises U.S.-based clean tech. But it’s clear that Europe has to find an answer to the challenge, which is already drawing investment decisions away from the continent.
This week the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, set out more details of a Green Deal industrial plan to sharpen Europe’s competitiveness. The proposals aim to create a simpler regulatory framework, speed up access to finance, develop the skills needed for a green transition and promote global cooperation. They will be discussed by heads of government next week.
Link to Source: https://www.insightsesg.com/post/eu-s-green-deal

2. The Man in Charge of How the US Spends $400bn to Shift Away from Fossil Fuels-

The Department of Energy’s loan programs office was ‘essentially dormant’, says Jigar Shah, its head – but now it’s ready to bankroll clean energy projects.
The department’s loan programs office (LPO) was “essentially dormant” under Donald Trump, according to its head, Jigar Shah, but has now come roaring back with a huge war chest to bankroll emerging clean energy projects and technology.
“We’ve called every one of those companies that have been labeled climate tech, whether it’s green chemicals, green cement, green steel,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who it is, we’ve called them and said, ‘Hey, let me introduce you to the loan programs office, so now we can help.’”
Link to Source: https://www.insightsesg.com/post/the-man-in-charge-of-how-the-us-spends-400bn-to-shift-away-from-fossil-fuels

3. Alex Edmans' New Paper: Applying Economics – Not Gut Feel – To ESG-

The urgency of ESG leads us to apply gut feel to some of the world's most pressing issues, since we can't wait for academic research to be peer reviewed and published.
This paper highlights how the insights of mainstream economics can be applied to ESG, once we realize that ESG is no different to other investments that create long-term financial and social value. A large literature on corporate finance studies how to value investments; asset pricing explores how the stock market prices risks; welfare economics investigates externalities; private benefits analyze manager and investor preferences beyond shareholder value; optimal contracting considers how to achieve multiple objectives; and agency theory examines how to ensure that managers pursue shareholder preferences, including non-financial preferences.
I identify how conventional thinking on ten key ESG issues is overturned when applying the insights of mainstream economics.
Link to Source: https://www.insightsesg.com/post/alex-edmans-new-paper-applying-economics-not-gut-feel-to-esg

4. Gulf Exchanges Announce Unified ESG Metrics for GCC Listed Companies-

The metrics include 29 standards that are aligned with the World Federation of Exchanges and Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative.
The committee includes Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Bahrain Bourse, Boursa Kuwait, Qatar Stock Exchange, Muscat Stock Exchange, Saudi Exchange and Dubai Financial Market.
The ESG metrics include 29 standards that are aligned with the World Federation of Exchanges and Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, and comprise categories across GHG emissions, energy usage, water usage, gender pay, employee turnover, gender diversity, data privacy, ethics and more.
Link to Source: https://www.insightsesg.com/post/gulf-exchanges-announce-unified-esg-metrics-for-gcc-listed-companies

5. Solar City: The Surprising Places You Will Find Solar Panels in Singapore-

Singapore is now one of the most solar-dense cities in the world. Where are all these panels? They are on schools, petrol stations and even Supertrees.
Singapore’s solar capacity has grown from around 60 megawatt-peak (MWp) to over 630 MWp today. Under the Singapore Green Plan, the aim is to increase the solar energy deployment here to at least two gigawatt-peak by 2030, equivalent to powering around 350,000 households a year.
In the Central Business District, the Ocean Financial Centre* has one of the largest solar PV system for a high-rise commercial building in the area. This covers more than 400 sq m of roof space.

* This happens to be the building where our sponsor Invartis Consulting is headquartered!

Link to Source: https://www.insightsesg.com/post/solar-city-the-surprising-places-you-will-find-solar-panels-in-singapore

One more thing: Visualizing the Scale of Global Fossil Fuel Production.

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