Daily Update: Sustainability Trends for 2024
Today is?Tuesday, January 23, 2024, and here’s your?curated selection of essential intelligence on financial markets and the global economy?from?S&P Global.?Subscribe?to be notified of each new?Daily?Update.?
Rancorous political debates are rarely reflective of market priorities. This is notably the case with discussions of sustainability. Sustainability remains a topic of importance to financial markets, despite a glut of partisan disputation. Markets may be responsive to political currents, but they are ultimately dependent on financial returns. Recently, S&P Global Sustainable1 looked at key sustainability trends for 2024. These forecasts focus on climate, regulations and market developments —? areas in which sustainability will affect a company’s bottom line.
For climate-related financial impacts, the first key trend is a heightened focus on adaptation and resilience plans — or the lack thereof. Research by S&P Global indicates that 4.4% of the world’s GDP may be lost annually without measures to adapt to climate change. While these impacts will disproportionately hit developing economies, rising oceans and unpredictable weather events could also affect the supply chains and insurance costs of companies in developed economies.?
A second sustainability trend is the impact of climate change on human health. As the planet warms, infectious and vector-borne diseases expand to new areas and access to high-quality water and food degrades, particularly close to the equator. Unpredictable weather events also directly affect human health as flooding and the destruction of property frequently lead to disease outbreaks.
Regulation, particularly in Europe, is driving several sustainability trends that will shape markets in 2024. The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the release of the first standards from the International Sustainability Standards Board and the recent approval of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive will impact companies in 2024. The practical requirements of meeting these standards will influence how companies look at their supply chains in 2024 as the need to report on impacts expands.
Other regulation-driven trends for 2024 include a renewed focus on enacting a global plastics ban to reduce plastic pollution, and the pressure for better AI governance.
Finally, two market-related sustainability trends are the growth of the global sustainable bond market and the future of the voluntary carbon market. The voluntary carbon market is heading into a decisive year as criticisms about the quality of some carbon credits grow acute, even as the overall quality of credits available improves. The sustainable bond market has a better story to tell. The year 2024 looks to be another year of growth for green, social, sustainable and sustainability-linked bonds. Despite tighter financing conditions driven by higher interest rates and economic weakness, S&P Global forecasts that the market may end the year at a valuation close to $1 trillion.
Today is Tuesday, January 23, 2024, and here is today's essential intelligence.
Written by Nathan Hunt.
Economy
Using GDP And Business Surveys To Assess Economic Growth Momentum
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) serves as a key indicator of an economy's health, reflecting the total value of goods and services produced. However, challenges exist in relying solely on GDP for economic analysis. These include delays in the publication of data, early estimates being subject to revision and the employment of varying methodologies to calculate GDP by different countries. These challenges can lead to data and international comparisons that may be misleading, making it crucial for decision-makers to approach GDP data with caution.
—Read the article from S&P Global Market Intelligence
Capital Markets
Private Equity's Annual Exit Total Flat In 2023
The number of global private equity exits remained muted for the second consecutive year in 2023 despite signs of improving conditions for sales to corporate strategics and IPOs. Global exit totals were nearly unchanged year over year, with Preqin recording 1,962 private equity exits in 2023 compared with 1,959 in 2022, when inflation and interest rate hikes slammed shut the IPO window and an uncertain economic outlook dampened M&A activity.
—Read the article from S&P Global Market Intelligence
领英推荐
Global Trade
Commodities 2024: Market Participants See Geopolitical Issues Driving Uranium Spot Market
Recent surges in uranium spot prices have market participants looking to new production to help mitigate the growing supply-demand imbalance against the backdrop of heightened geopolitical tension. Supply chain issues, growing international political risks and a sense that demand will continue to outpace supply are just a few of the drivers that Paul Goranson, CEO of US-based uranium producer enCore Energy, said impacted the uranium spot market in 2023. He said he believes these impediments, and the mismatch between supply and demand, are likely to continue, "If anything, I see 2024 getting tighter," he said Jan. 8.
—Read the article from S&P Global Commodity Insights
Sustainability
Listen: A 'Real Chance' Of Tripling Renewable Energy By 2030, IEA Says
The International Energy Agency, a Paris-based intergovernmental organization that analyzes the global energy sector and offers policy recommendations, has announced that renewable energy is expanding faster than at any time in the last three decades, with 507 GW of renewables installed in 2023 alone, almost 50% more than the previous year. Our correspondent Camilla Naschert speaks with Commodity Insights reporter Alex Blackburne about what the report means. Meanwhile, co-host Taylor Kuykendall brings the show a chat with Martin Pochtaruk, the president of North American solar manufacturer Heliene, about the findings of the report and what it is going to take to meet ambitious renewable deployment goals.
—Listen and subscribe to Energy Evolution, a podcast from S&P Global Commodity Insights
Energy & Commodities
Libya Lifts Force Majeure On Sharara Oil Field As Production Restarts
Libya's National Oil Corp. is lifting force majeure on Sharara, its largest oil field, and restarting production after a two-week shutdown caused by protests NOC said Jan. 21 on X, formerly Twitter. A source told S&P Global Commodity Insights that the field has started producing again. Force majeure was declared on Jan 7 after protesters from the South Western Ubari region closed the field in protest at rising fuel prices, poor economic opportunity and unemployment. Sharara is operated by a joint venture between Libya's National Oil Corp, Equinor, OMV, Repsol and TotalEnergies.
—Read the article from S&P Global Commodity Insights
Technology & Media
Listen: How AI Became The Buzzword At Davos
This week the ESG Insider podcast is bringing you on-the-ground coverage from Davos, Switzerland, where the annual World Economic Forum meeting just ended. This gathering convenes leaders from business, government and civil society to discuss solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing the world. And there is growing overlap between the Davos agenda and sustainability topics. This episode focuses on artificial intelligence (AI), which became the buzzword at Davos this year. With the explosion of interest around AI, there was also a heavy focus on governance of the technology.
—Listen and subscribe to ESG Insider, a podcast from S&P Global Sustainable1