??Did someone say it’s the “year of elections”?
Labour returned to power in the UK with a sweeping majority after 14 years in the opposition. Across the Channel, the European Parliament held its first session since the June elections where right-wing parties saw significant gains, with Ursula von der Leyen re-elected as President of the European Commission.
Here's a glimpse into key updates from the last month:
Labour’s landslide victory in UK Elections raises investor expectations for climate action
- The Labour Party’s landslide victory in the British elections could be pivotal for climate action, as the party has previously signalled a strong commitment to strengthening the UK’s climate leadership.
- The new government aims to make Britain a clean energy superpower, a global hub for green finance and make better use of its untapped resources.? ?
- We compared the Labour Party’s manifesto with the five key pillars from our UK Call to Action
to see how well the party aligns with the policy recommendations investors are eager to see from this government.
IIGCC writes to UK PM urging for a renewed policy focus to aid net zero transition
- The CEOs from IIGCC, PRI and UKSIF have written to the new Prime Minister Keir Starmer, urging him to capitalise on the net zero transition.
- Their letter outlines the substantial opportunities presented by the transition to net zero by 2050 and stresses the need for a supportive policy environment to encourage businesses and investors to make long-term investments.
- They also emphasised that private capital could play a crucial role, potentially providing a majority of the estimated ￡50-60 billion a year needed for the UK to meet its climate target.
EU to continue its climate action strategy with Ursula von der Leyen’s re-election
- Re-elected President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, laid out her priorities for the next five years, including the future of the Green Deal
.
- She signalled a desire for continued climate action while positioning competitiveness as the EU’s “top priority” over the next five years.
- We compared Leyen’s ‘Political Guidelines’ with our EU Call to Action’s
key recommendations to see if the guidelines match up with what investors need for Europe’s green transition.
European electric utilities: A decade to decarbonise
- The International Energy Agency’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario targets net zero emissions for the power sector in advanced [CP1]?economies by 2035, a goal now set in policy for 60% of nations in the EU alongside the UK, USA and more.
- Many European utilities meet the global net zero benchmarks but fall short when analysed using regional targets and a cumulative approach, highlighting the importance of using both to inform analysis of companies.
- Our Cumulative Benchmark Divergence (CBD) metric identifies transition risk by evaluating a company’s alignment with regional and global pathways, helping to inform investor engagement strategies with assets.
Understanding scope 3 emissions
- The largest source of emissions in an investment portfolio are scope 3 emissions of assets – ‘category 15’ of scope 3 emissions in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
- Data constraints and complexity have led investors to focus primarily on scope 1 and 2 emissions to date, but evolving disclosure regulations and potentially increased transition risk means they can no longer be overlooked.
- This insight explains the main challenges and how investors can begin to take action. Look out for our supplementary guidance on scope 3, released to the public in September.
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