Ahren Lester

Articles by Ahren Lester

  • UK government launches COP26 after sacking president

    04 February 2020

    The UK government's launch of the UN Climate Summit, to be hosted in Glasgow in November, was overshadowed by its dismissal of the president of the negotiations, who hit back with a letter warning the process is "miles off track".

  • Impact investment fund of funds passes 'milestone' assets level

    03 February 2020

    An impact investment fund of funds has passed €100 million ($110 million) in assets under management (AUM), shortly after completing a new investment based around financial inclusion.

  • "Pitfalls" in ESG ratings requires investor caution

    31 January 2020

    Investors should be cautious when using the growing number of environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings and data providers amid several inherent pitfalls, although valuable insights can still be drawn from them.

  • Transition-focused index backed by Church of England pension

    30 January 2020

    The pension board of the Church of England (CofE) has allocated £600 million ($780 million) to a fund tracking a first-of-its-kind, custom-made, climate transition index, and issued a rallying call for other pension funds to follow.

  • Developed European nations dominate climate resilience ranking

    29 January 2020

    Developed European nations were prominent among the most resilient countries to climate change, a report has found.

  • Asset managers launch search for biodiversity tool developer

    29 January 2020

    Four asset managers have opened a search for a partner to develop a tool to measure the impact of investments on biodiversity in order to raise awareness of the threat within the financial community.

  • £30bn pension fund targets 'not fit for purpose' finance sector

    27 January 2020

    A £30 billion ($39 billion) UK government pension partnership has described the finance sector as "not fit for purpose" for addressing climate change, promising to remove firms and investments managers who fail to perform on the issue.

  • HSBC launches 'green' corporate deposit accounts

    24 January 2020

    Major bank HSBC has launched 'green' deposits for its corporate clients, to provide a simple way to support environmentally-beneficial projects using their surplus operating cash.

  • BNP Paribas launches global equity carbon offset fund

    24 January 2020

    BNP Paribas has launched a global version of its climate carbon offset plan fund, targeting a reduced carbon footprint and a material social and environmental impact, following the launch of its European fund.

  • Shipping - the trillion-dollar challenge

    24 January 2020

    The growing support for the Poseidon Principles underlines the crucial role for finance in helping the shipping industry chart a course towards a greener future, says Ahren Lester