History has a way of repeating itself, particularly in finance. In the last financial crisis a dozen years ago, banks received taxpayer-backed bailouts and paid hefty bonuses to their executives. The uproar was loud and lasting. Now Wall Street seems poised for a repeat, after a massive federal coronavirus stimulus and a liquidity jolt from […]
Making progress on corporate climate risk disclosure is slow work. Partly it’s because the topic is complex, but it’s also because institutions are slow to change, even those that set themselves at the forefront. Last week brought two examples. First, investment giant BlackRock released its sustainability report, in which it said it identified 244 companies […]
In this charged environment, company actions that ordinarily would be routine can draw intense interest.
More US companies are preparing to disclose their climate-related financial risks, but they face challenges to measure these risks and integrate them in their financial reporting. These were among the findings of a new report that explores the extent to which US companies have adopted the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures […]
Investors who follow climate risk have had a dizzying few weeks. Beyond the reports about record-setting floods in the Midwest and predictions of a climate apocalypse, there were climate-related shareholder votes at two big oil companies and a progress report on corporate climate disclosures. Important as they were, these events held little good news for […]
What US regulators think about the risks of climate change is a lingering puzzle. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell recently offered his perspective in a brief letter, his first public comments on the matter. It was a gem of misdirection and avoidance. The first thing that is notable about Mr. Powell’s letter is how it strains […]
These days it seems a U.S. official can mention climate change only when they’re outside the country. A case in point is William Hinman, who heads the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance and addressed climate risk at a conference in London. Mr. Hinman spoke about the disclosure of complex risks, and he mentioned climate risk […]
Warren Buffett made headlines – and a handsome profit for charity – by betting that a stock index could outperform hedge funds. Could he make a similar bet on climate change?
Shares in Pacific Gas & Electric took a beating this week as investors reacted to its potential financial exposure to wildfires in California. It is risk the company has openly identified, but investors seemed caught by surprise. The episode could mark the end of investor complacency about climate risk. Earlier this week, the big […]
Bloom Energy reports earnings tomorrow, its first since completing an IPO in late July. Besides the financial results, investors will be watching to see how the CEO copes with the spotlight. His debut wasn’t encouraging. In an interview after the IPO, CEO KR Sridhar said the company was profitable on a GAAP basis as of […]