Ahren Lester

French central bank tightens fossil fuel exclusions for €22bn portfolio

The Banque de France (BdF) has tightened the fossil fuel company exclusions applied to its own investment portfolio worth €22 billion ($27 billion), but campaigners called on the bank to "apply the same level of ambition to the immediate decarbonization of the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary policy".

Final EU Taxonomy criteria delayed after draft proposals response

The publication of the final technical screening criteria (TSC) for the EU Taxonomy for sustainable activities have been delayed as the European Commission wades through the more than 46,000 responses to the consultation on the draft criteria.

US regulator banking rule seeks to 'prop up' fossil fuel financing

The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has been accused of staging a "last ditch" attempt to prop up financing for fossil fuel through its "fair access" rule for banks, amid a rising tide of lenders announcing plans to phase-out such funding.

Asteria launches €9m climate bonds fund

Asset manager Asteria Investment Managers has launched a €8.7 million ($10.6 million) climate bond fund focused on what it says are the most impactful sustainability bonds, expecting growth in assets to around $900 million by the end of 2021.

News Round Up: Canada backs land fund, Alquity secures investment, TRIG buys into Beatrice ... and more

UN's 'Race to Zero' campaign launches finance sector expert group

The Race to Zero campaign launched by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has formed a finance sector expert group (FSEG) to develop "consistent, fair, and rigorous" guidelines for assessing which financial firms should be eligible to join the initiative..

Green and sustainability-linked loan round-up: Volvo, Link REIT, Ascott ... and more

Mandatory climate disclosure in France drove down fossil fuel holdings

The introduction of mandatory climate-related disclosures in France resulted in a "sharp relative decrease" in holdings of fossil fuels securities by institutional investors, according to a report by the Banque de France, indicating such requirements have a critical role to play in redirecting capital sustainably.

Bond round-up: Spain, IBRD, EIB, TIM, Bank of China ... and more

Bank of China transition bond a 'missed opportunity'

The Bank of China transition bond was ground-breaking in its claims to align with the newly launched transition finance recommendations, reports Ahren Lester, but experts judged the transaction as failing to live up to its promise and ambition