California lawmakers have voted to extend a cap-and-trade program until 2030, ending a legislative deadlock that had threatened a critical component of the state’s pioneering efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The program imposes a state-wide cap on carbon dioxide emissions. Companies are permitted to buy and sell pollution credits, allowing them to exceed the cap. Although the business community was supportive of the bill, some environmentalists — a critical constituency in the state — opposed it, arguing that the bill was not tough enough on industry. The cap-and-trade bill extends a program that otherwise would have ended in 2020. The vote was a major victory for Democrat Governor Jerry Brown, who has become a global advocate for efforts to battle climate change since the election of President Trump. (New York Times)
A week after a group of 11 major banks announced their intention to implement the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) climate risk reporting guidelines, the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) coalition of businesses and green NGOs has launched a new platform to encourage companies to report climate data on a “common and comparable basis to their investors”. The CDSB said the initiative would support forward-thinking businesses looking to use the CDSB’s existing Climate Change Reporting Framework and align their disclosures with their investors’ needs. The initiative highlights private sector support for the guidelines and provides information on how companies are practically adopting the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures’ recommendations. Companies signing up to the initiative will commit to reporting on their climate-related financial information by 2020. Businesses are encouraged to sign up to the CDSB commitment online ahead of a formal launch of the initiative “in the next few months”. (Business Green)
Schroders: World accelerating towards a climate impact ‘cliff edge’
The investment giant Schroders, which manages $520bn of assets globally, has launched a new “dashboard” designed to help investors better understand complex climate-related investment risks and track the transition of industries to lower carbon business models. The Climate Progress Dashboard is designed to help assess decarbonisation progress across 12 key metrics, including political action, public concern, climate finance, corporate planning, renewables deployment, and fossil fuel production. Its launch was accompanied by a briefing paper which contains a series of stark warnings over the growing impact of climate change on investment returns and the tremendous threat to globally economic stability. On average between 15 and 20% of company cash flows are at risk from climate impacts, according to the report. The firm warned that these “disruptive impacts” will become a bigger influence on corporate valuations over the coming decades. (Business Green)
Brexit
Brexit: ‘Real risk’ on UK food security after EU exit, new research warns
New research claims Brexit poses “real risks” to the cost, availability and quality of the UK’s food supplies, which has received little attention from the Government. The authors – three food policy professors from City University, the University of Sussex and Cardiff University – are urging ministers to establish a clear plan on how a new food system will operate. Currently, the EU provides 31% of Britain’s food supply. Recent research by the British Retail Consortium showed that the absence of a trade deal could push the prices EU imported food by 22%. Stability and security in both the price and supply of food is partly product of EU-wide safety standards, the authors warn. They add that even a “soft” departure from Europe, in which the UK will remain in the single market or customs union, could have negative impacts on the food and farming industries. (Independent)
Cybersecurity
Lloyd’s says cyber-attack could cost $120bn
Lloyd’s of London has warned that a serious cyber-attack could cost the global economy more than $120bn (£92bn) – as much as catastrophic natural disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Published two months after a ransomware cyber-attack that hit nearly 100 countries, a 56-page report from the world’s oldest insurance market says the threat poses a huge risk to business and governments over the next decade. The most likely scenario is a malicious hack that takes down a cloud service provider with estimated losses of $53bn, according to Lloyd’s. Because of the uncertainty around calculating cyber losses, the figure could be as high as $121bn or as low as $15bn. The second-most likely threat stems from attacks on computer operating systems run by a large number of businesses, which could cause losses of up to $28.7bn. The majority of these losses are not insured. Cyber cover is a relatively new type of insurance that is harder to model than natural catastrophe cover. (Guardian)
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