Ahren Lester

Articles by Ahren Lester

  • Assets managed by LuxFLAG labelled products cross €100bn

    03 April 2020

    The Luxembourg Finance Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG) has seen assets managed by the 200 investment products recognised by the label cross the €100 billion ($109 billion) milestone.

  • Growing evidence of greenium for green bonds, says CBI

    03 April 2020

    There is growing evidence that green bonds are attracting a 'greenium' amid strong investor demand, a report by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) has found.

  • Central banks prepare for "decisive" 2020 for climate change action

    02 April 2020

    The Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) said 2020 will be a "decisive year", as the group of central banks warned the coronavirus crisis should not overshadow the pressure building for climate action in the financial system.

  • Sustainable equity funds becoming all-weather investments

    02 April 2020

    The relative outperformance of ESG equity funds during the market correction caused by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic proves they can be all-weather investments that will appeal to long-term investors, Morningstar's sustainability research head tells Ahren Lester.

  • Carney: Prudential regulation should avoid climate policy by 'back door'

    31 March 2020

    Former Bank of England (BoE) governor Mark Carney has warned against using prudential regulation to implement climate policy "by the back door".

  • Barclays tightens climate policy amid shareholder pressure

    30 March 2020

    Barclays has announced an ambition to be net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 across its lending activities, but campaigners are pushing for commitments to faster progress.

  • Rio Tinto warns industry lobby on thermal coal advocacy

    27 March 2020

    Mining giant Rio Tinto has delivered a dusting down to a significant Australian industry lobby for its support for thermal coal, as part of its review of the industry associations it wants to belong to.

  • Carney: EU Taxonomy 'still too narrow'

    25 March 2020

    Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has reiterated that the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities remains "quite proscriptive" despite recent revisions, while he is optimistic it will become richer through the addition of transition activities in the future.

  • Stimulus packages could give 'green lining' to coronavirus cloud

    23 March 2020

    Governments have an opportunity to use their significant fiscal responses to the coronavirus pandemic to help rather than hinder long-term progress on climate action. Ahren Lester explains.

  • HSBC launches green loan programme for smaller businesses in Singapore

    20 March 2020

    The Singapore arm of FTSE 100-listed banking giant HSBC has launched green loan programme for smaller businesses in the city state.