In the latest edition of the S&P Global Sustainability Quarterly, we explore how investor demand for climate disclosures and efforts to decarbonize sectors entwine.
Published: April 2, 2024
In this edition of the S&P Global Sustainability Quarterly, we take stock of two entwined trends shaping the sustainability conversation in 2024: investor demand for more consistent, comparable and reliable climate-related information and the challenges of decarbonization in hard-to-abate industries.
In early March 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission finalized its long-anticipated climate disclosure rule, joining a growing trend of global regulations and standards seeking to improve disclosure of climate-related risks and risk management. We assess the US climate disclosure landscape in research from S&P Global Sustianable1.
As the regulatory landscape has evolved, we have seen asset owners around the world increasing their allocations to investment strategies that incorporate sustainability considerations. This increase, in turn, reflects the importance of sustainability factors for many asset managers in their investment decisions. In research from S&P Dow Jones Indices, we explore how investors are approaching the integration of sustainability factors into their funds with an eye to both their sustainability profile and financial performance.
We also unpack the outlook for the global sustainable bond market in research from S&P Global Ratings, which forecasts that issuance of green, social, sustainable and sustainability-linked bonds will rise modestly in 2024, with green bonds continuing to dominate the market thanks to increased demand for environmental projects across all geographies.
Even as sustainability considerations grow and the global economy moves toward decarbonization, S&P Global data shows that hundreds of unabated coal-fired power plants and new coal mines are being developed, and financing for these coal operations is still widely available from the private sector. This research from S&P Global Sustainable1, S&P Global Commodity Insights and S&P Global Market Intelligence explores how the continued growth of coal could hinder goals to achieve net-zero emissions.
We also explore potential solutions on the horizon that could play a role in the energy transition by helping to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation and shipping, in research from S&P Global Commodity Insights on biofuels and research from S&P Global Ratings on e-fuels.
Investing in nature is another way to help achieve net-zero goals, though research from S&P Global Sustainable1 suggests that nature-based solutions remain an untapped area of investment for many companies. We will be watching this space closely as the intersection of nature and climate comes more into focus in the second half of 2024 with the United Nations’ COP16 biodiversity conference in Colombia in October followed by its COP29 climate change conference in Azerbaijan in November.
Lindsey Hall
Global Head of Thought Leadership
S&P Global Sustainable1
Lai Ly
Global Head of Sustainability Research
S&P Global Ratings
Thank you to all our colleagues across S&P Global who contributed to the design, production and publication of the S&P Global Sustainability Quarterly: Rameez Ali, Lauren Capolupo, Carla Donaghey, Ila Negi, Stephanie Oxford, Cat VanVliet.
In this special edition, we take stock of how climate risks are impacting companies and countries around the world, and how they are responding to this challenge.
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