Overall Demand for October Running Lower Than Expected, & GRESB Reporting Results Released

Energy Market Update

Prompt-month NYMEX natural gas was trading up at $3.03/MMbtu. Working gas in storage was 3,700 Bcf as of Friday, October 20, 2023, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 74 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 9.2% more than the same period last year and 5.2% more than the 5-year average.

From a fundamentals standpoint, production continues to stay around 102 Bcf/d, with demand down around 1.0 Bcf/d day-over-day. Overall demand for October is running lower month-to-date compared to October 2022. Weather forecasts through the weekend show above-normal temperatures for this time of year throughout the East Coast and temperatures in the West are expected to be cooler than normal.

Read Full Report and View Graphs Here >>

Sustainability

?? Blog Recap ??

~ SB253 and SB261: What you need to know about new groundbreaking climate disclosure laws in California ~

California has taken the lead in pushing for corporate climate responsibility through passing groundbreaking legislation which requires large companies that do business in California to report on scope 1,2, and 3 emissions and to disclosure climate-related financial risk. Governor Newsom signed both the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253) and the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act (SB 261) into law on October 7, 2023.

~GRESB Results Roundup: Reflections and Roadmap~

Earlier this month, GRESB made their 2023 Global Real Estate Benchmarking results public. In this article we summarize 5 key points you should know about how participants did this year, as well as changes to GRESB reporting next year.??

Notable News

Articles on Climate & the Environment

• Sea-level rise: West Antarctic ice shelf melt 'unavoidable', BBC.

Articles on Corporate Sustainability, Regulation, & Global Events

• New House Speaker Champions Fossil Fuels and Dismisses Climate Concerns, New York Times.
• EU Commission to Delay Adoption of Sustainability Reporting Standards by 2 Years, ESG Today.
• IEA Releases World Energy Outlook Report for 2023
• US SEC chair makes pitch for climate rule to corporate group, Reuters.
• CDP to Align with ISSB Climate Disclosure Standard in 2024, ESG Today.
• Getting ESG Reporting Ready and Uninsurable Risks: Takeaways From the WSJ Pro Sustainable Business Forum, WSJ.
• Green Technology and Sustainability Market worth $63.94 Billion by 2030 - Exclusive Report by The Insight Partners
• Biden Administration Announces $3.5 Billion Electricity Grid Investment, ESG Today.
• Clean Energy’s Powerful Momentum, New York Times. "the world may have reached “a global irreversible solar tipping point,” with ever-cheaper solar dominating electricity markets purely because of market forces, without any additional climate policies."
• Analysis: Companies fear lawsuits from California's climate disclosure rules, Reuters.
• Australia Releases Proposed IFRS-based Climate-related Reporting Standards, ESG Today.
• World shift to clean energy is unstoppable, IEA report says, BBC
• Gavin Newsom Wants to Export California’s Climate Laws to the World, New York Times.

Updates to Sustainability Reporting?Regulations?and Moves for?Consolidation?of Standards:

SEC Climate Related Disclosures

• Testimony Before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, SEC. Gary Gensler, Chair of the SEC testifies in the House, clarifying the purpose and defending the importance of the upcoming Climate Disclosure Bill amidst growing criticism and a clear risk of litigation once the rule passes.
• SEC chief says new California law could 'change baseline' for coming SEC climate rule, Reuters. "If it were signed into law, as I understand it, that would require companies a certain size to report their climate risk," Gensler said in testimony before the House of Representatives."That may change the baseline. If those companies were reporting to California, then it would be in essence less costly because they'd already be producing that information."
• The week of June 19-23, the Securities & Exchange Commission indicated--through an update to a?GSA website?--that the proposed climate change disclosure rule would likely be finalized and released in October 2023
• SEC climate disclosure rule?delayed until fall 2023, former commissioner says,?S&P Global.?The SEC initially suggested the rule would be published in December 2022 and then again pushed that date back to April 2023.
• Given the new time frame, financial statements and disclosures under the rule would not be due until 2024

European Commission: ESRS under the CSRD

• The European Commission officially adopted the?first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)?requiring companies to provide comprehensive and robust information about social and environmental impacts, risks and opportunities to a broad group of stakeholders on July 31, 2023.

ISSB?The?International Sustainability Standards Board

• International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)?will take over the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures’ (TCFD)?role in monitoring companies’ progress on climate-related disclosures. ISSB Chair?Emmanuel Faber?said, “The ISSB welcomes the FSB's request to transfer the TCFD’s monitoring responsibilities to the ISSB… This announcement provides yet further clarification of the so-called ‘alphabet soup’ of ESG initiatives for companies and investors.”
• ISSB Standards?launched week?26-30 June?2023

General?Corporate Reporting

GRESB

• View our 2023 GRESB Public Results
• As a reminder, the deadline to complete the GRESB Assessments is?July 1
• Subscribe to the GRESB Linkedin Newsletter?here >>

CDP

• CDP to Align with ISSB Climate Disclosure Standard in 2024
• CDP's deadline for companies to submit their questionnaires for scoring is?in July.
• There is an extensive resource repository -?https://lnkd.in/ek5NsqpD?that helps you with details on its scoring methodology, sector-specific best practices, and more
• Subscribe to the CDP Bulletin Newsletter here >>

Insightful Reports

IEA publishes 2023 updates to its landmark report Net Zero Roadmap: A Global Pathway to Keep the 1.5 °C Goal in Reach.

The UN’s global report card as part of the “The Global Stocktake” assessed progress since the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Investing in American Energy report by the US Department of Energy (DOE). Significant Impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law on the U.S. Energy Economy and Emissions Reductions

Struggling with the details of?ISSB?/?IFRS,?ESRS?/?CSRD?or just overall?ESG?or?sustainability?frameworks? Check out the detailed analysis, tips and guidelines from?WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

This year’s edition of the?World Energy Investment?provides a full update on the investment picture in 2022 and an initial reading of the emerging picture for 2023.

IBM's recent ESG global survey?covered more than 20,000 consumers and +2,500 executives with a focus on their sustainability preferences when making employment and purchase decisions.

Ember's Global Electricity Review 2023. The report analyzed electricity data from countries representing 93% of global power demand and found that electricity produced in 2022 was the cleanest ever. Solar and wind represented 12% of global electricity production, up from 10% in 2021, and all clean energy, including hydro and nuclear, made up a record 39%.

After years of work, involving hundreds of researchers from around the world, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has published a synthesis report on the latest?Climate Change?science this week.?Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC)?Sixth Assessment Report (AR6)

The 2023 Climate Risk Landscape Report, by the UN Environment Program. It highlights the latest developments in the rapidly evolving climate tool marketplace, featuring over 3 dozen tools for physical and transition risk as well as climate alignment

The information contained herein has been obtained from sources which WatchWire Inc. believes to be reliable. WatchWire does not represent or warrant as to its accuracy or completeness. All representations and estimates included herein constitute WatchWire’s judgment as of the date of the presentation and may be subject to change without notice. This material has been prepared solely for informational purposes relating to our business as a sustainability and energy management company. We are not providing advice regarding the value or advisability of trading in “commodity interests” as defined in the Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. §§ 1-25, et seq., as amended (the “CEA”), including futures contracts, swaps or any other activity which would cause us or any of our affiliates to be considered a commodity trading advisor under the CEA. WatchWire does not make and expressly disclaims, any express or implied guarantee, representation, or warranty regarding any opinions or statements set forth herein. WatchWire shall not be responsible for any reliance upon any information, opinions, or statements contained herein or for any omission or error of fact. All prices referenced herein are indicative and informational. This material shall not be reproduced (in whole or in part) to any other person without the prior written approval of WatchWire. Brand names and product names are trademarks or service marks of their respective holders. All rights reserved.