Despite a growing consensus among financial regulators that climate change poses significant risks to the insurance sector, industry associations representing the largest US insurance companies have been actively engaged in efforts to weaken and delay emerging climate-related insurance regulation at...
The industry group is at odds with investors and its finance sector members on emerging US disclosure requirements
Despite the CA100+ initiative having clear expectations on Paris-aligned lobbying, only 2 of the 31 CA100+ target companies found to be engaging on the taxonomy appear to be supportive of its science-based guidance with 4 companies advocating mixed or unclear positions, leaving more than 80% pushing...
European companies backing robust, science-based regulation on CO2 emissions under the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy are also performing better on stock markets when compared with their peers that are opposing the same policy, according to analysis of InfluenceMap's policy position scores and fina...
In the final year of the Trump Administration, authorities finalized three rules which have the effect of limiting the opportunities for ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) investing.
New analysis from InfluenceMap has tracked significant lobbying on the EU Ecolabel since late 2018, as part of a wider ongoing research process covering the EUs Sustainable Finance Action Plan and how the corporate sector is influencing the process.
The following briefing focuses on how Japanese industry associations lobbied the Taxonomy and considers how these lobbying positions contrast with those of some leading European financial institutions.
An analysis of how business has sought to influence this key EU policy
According to a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) memo, on May 17 SEC Chair Gensler and SEC staff met with representatives of financial institutions, including several executives, to discuss the SEC’s proposed climate disclosure rule. Meeting participants included members of the Bank Policy Institute: Bank of Montreal, BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Charles Schwab, Citigroup, Citizens Financial, JPMorgan, Northern Trust, PNC Financial, Santander, TD Bank, Truist, US Bancorp, UBS
In oral evidence presented at the Environmental Audit Committee on the financial sector and the UK's net zero transition in March 2023, financial companies offered strong support for ambitious sustainable finance policies, such as mandatory transition plans and the upcoming taxonomy. Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM) and Aviva advocated for a mandatory implementation of transition plans, while HSBC offered broad support. LGIM also supported a science-based and independent approach to the taxonomy, and AXA also offered broad support while cautioning against the compliance burden.
In an 18th April testimony to the House Financial Services Committee, the American Bankers Association asserted that the US SEC’s climate disclosure rulemaking went beyond the Commission’s mandate, advocating for the rule to be withdrawn and reproposed with a more limited scope.
According to a 15th March floor analysis from the California Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has registered in opposition to SB 261, a bill that would mandate corporate disclosure of climate-related financial risk.
Following the release of the SEC’s proposed rule-making on climate change disclosures on March 21st, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) released a statement from CEO Kenneth Bentsen that expressed concerns with some aspects of the proposal including Scope 3 disclosures, “limited” safe harbor provisions, and “hastened” implementation timelines.
In a 26th April Wall Street Journal article, a representative from the US Chamber of Commerce outlined opposition to the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), asserting that the Chamber was trying to “ward off or avoid the inevitability of those rules taking effect.”
