CORPORATE REPUTATION

ExxonMobil: oil giant predicted climate change the in 1970s

Oil giant ExxonMobil accurately forecasted how climate change would cause global temperature to rise as long ago as the 1970s, researchers claim. ExxonMobil’s private research predicted how burning fossil fuels would warm the planet, but the company publicly denied the link, they suggest. The academics analysed data in the company’s internal documents. The findings suggest that ExxonMobil’s predictions were often more accurate than even world-leading Nasa scientists. Researchers have said the findings show that ExxonMobil “knowingly misled” the public and governments by systematically telling an alternative narrative to the information they had “at their disposal”. Researchers plotted scientific data in more than 100 publications from ExxonMobil between 1977 and 2014 to calculate their predictions of global temperature rise. (BBC News)

CLIMATE CHANGE

Private jet emissions quadrupled during Davos WEF 2022

Private jet emissions quadrupled as 1,040 planes flew in and out of airports serving Davos during the 2022 World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting. Climate campaigners accused the rich and powerful of hypocrisy in flying in on private jets to a conference discussing climate breakdown. Consultancy CE Delft calculated that during the meeting in 2022, CO₂ emissions from private jet were four times greater than in an average week. The number of private jet flights to and from airports serving the conference emitted as much CO₂ as 350,000 average cars over that period. Of the flights to airports near Davos in 2022, 53% were short-haul flights of less than 750km, which could have been done by rail or car, while 38% were over distances of less than 500km. (The Guardian)

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

TPG launches fund to invest in underrepresented asset managers

Global alternative asset firm TPG announced the launch of ‘TPG Next’, a fund aimed at investing in underrepresented alternative asset managers. The fund is being launched with a $500 million commitment from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). TPG said that it will continue to raise third-party capital for the fund, citing a “significant pipeline”. TPG said the new fund aims to increase the number of diverse-led firms in alternative assets, bringing the industry into closer alignment with broader demographic trends. The fund will seed new managers from groups underrepresented in the industry, help strengthen their access to capital, and offer business-building expertise and strategic advisory support. CalPERS will also partner with TPG to create additional insights, resources, and networking opportunities for investor entrepreneurs. (ESG Today)

POLICY & RESEARCH

UK facing £675bn market crash from stranded fossil fuel assets

The UK economy is “particularly at risk” from an oncoming fossil-fuel-led financial crisis that could create almost 14 million job losses globally and see banks requiring a £4 trillion bailout. The warning comes from a report from the One for One campaign, which outlines that the global economy could suffer from a market crash driven by the overvaluation of fossil fuel companies, projects and assets as early as 2030. The report warns of the “growing risk of a fossil fuel stranded asset bubble” that could see the value of oil, gas and coal projects wiped out as demand drops. One for One cites climate mitigation policies, changing consumer preferences and technological developments as reasons that the value of fossil fuel assets could plummet by 2030 as nations strive to start delivering on net-zero policies. (edie)

STRATEGY

Kingspan launches insulation panels slashing embodied carbon

Building materials and design giant Kingspan has unveiled new insulation panels for buildings that have delivered a 41% reduction in embodied carbon emissions across the production stage. Kingspan’s ‘QuadCore’ insulated panels have been tested using comparative Lifecycle Assessment Data (LCA). The 41$ reduction is achieved through raw material changes, but Kingspan notes that the overall reduction in embodied emissions is 17% when accounting for product, construction, use and end-of-life stages. The company hopes to achieve further reductions in embodied carbon up to 2030. It has targets to reduce absolute operational emissions by 90% by 2030 to offset the remainder to reach net-zero. It is also committed to reduce its Scope 3 emissions by 42% within the same timeframe. (edie)

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