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Balancing Energy Needs and Climate Change (WSJ)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fuel-prices-arent-going-down-soon-fossil-energy-independence-natural-gas-pipelines-oil-11654613986

The problem extends well beyond crude oil and its derivatives. The price of natural gas has soared, futures for coal delivered to Europe have risen 137% this year, and cash prices for Appalachian coal have more than doubled since last June.

Yet the long-term outlook is more hopeful. The policies we adopt in response to the current price surge can create a more stable energy sector a decade from now. We need something we haven’t had for a long time: a comprehensive energy strategy built on realistic premises about supply, technology and politics.

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Executive education program prepares business leaders for a career in sustainability management and investing (Marquette)

Environmental Sustainable Corporate Governance

Link to article:

Executive education program prepares business leaders for a career in sustainability management and investing
Marquette has partnered with Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and CFA Institute to offer a comprehensive four-module, non-credit program to prepare business leaders for a career in sustainability management and investing. 

To pre-register for the program:

https://www.marquette.edu/business/executive-education/esg-sustainable-finance.php

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Arizona’s Dry Future Begins as Colorado River Shrinks (WSJ)

A visit to Arizona last year brought this home…When on a pink Jeep tour of the Cococino National Forest near Sedona, I asked our guide whether the area had seen a reversal of fortune on rainfall, and he said that the green we saw was only from a recent reprieve of some precipitation, otherwise the mostly brown vegetation was from the 20-year mega drought, with average annual rainfall 75% below average.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/arizonas-dry-future-begins-as-colorado-river-shrinks-11650718801

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What ESG-Related Disclosures Should the SEC Mandate? (Financial Economist Roundtable)

The Financial Economist Roundtable weighs in on the SEC’s proposed climate-related disclosure rules. Their advice: limit rules to ESG related-cash flows and avoid “proxy legislation” of social and environmental policy.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0015198X.2022.2044718

The Financial Economist Roundtable (FER) is a group of senior financial economists who have made significant contributions to the finance literature and seek to apply their knowledge to current policy debates. FER was founded in 1993 and meets annually. Members attending an FER meeting discuss specific policy issues on which the FER may adopt statements. When the FER issues a statement, it reflects a consensus among at least two-thirds of the attending members, and all the members who sign it support it. The list of signatories for the 2021 statement can be found at http://www.financialeconomistsroundtable.com/.

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2021 in Review

For sustainability, 2021 was a year of strong words, a couple of practical steps forward and some contact with harsh realities. Let’s review.

1) Commitments to net zero increased, but so did carbon emissions.

2) Water scarcity came back into focus.

3) Governments continued to demonstrate unbridled haplessness despite all words and enthusiasm at COP26.

4) The world received its first sustainability accounting body, the most important development of the year..

5) We learned that an energy transition takes years and not months.

6) Greenwashing started to not pay as experienced by Deutsche Bank.

7) China made some noises, and then erected a massive array of coal burning utilities.

8) Germany surrendered its energy policy to Russia.

9) The U.S. came up with a massive climate policy and then failed to pass it.

10) Boards upped their diversity efforts (prompted by SROs/regulators).

Looking forward to seeing what 2022 brings.

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Two significant announcements this past week on ESG standards

  1. IFRS Foundation announces the creation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The Value Reporting Foundation (SASB) and CDSB will be folded into the new organization by June 2022.

https://www.ifrs.org/news-and-events/news/2021/11/ifrs-foundation-announces-issb-consolidation-with-cdsb-vrf-publication-of-prototypes/

2. CFA Institute announces final ESG Investment Product Disclosure Standards

https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/ethics-standards/codes/esg-standards