Aligning financial market activity with policy and regulation interventions is necessary to foster an orderly transition to a carbon-free economy. For instance, within the European Green Deal strategy, the European Union Taxonomy provides firms, investors, and policymakers with detailed criteria to assess the environmental sustainability of economic activities concerning climate change mitigation and adaptation, among… Read More »
Green bonds are fixed-income securities issued by private corporations or public bodies (such as central banks or governments) to finance environmentally beneficial (“green”) projects. They are a relatively novel creation of international finance (what is considered the first ever green bond, the European Investment Bank’s “Climate Awareness Bond”, was created in 2007), but one that… Read More »
The importance of public policy has increased for investors since 2015, when governments committed to shifting trillions of dollars to be consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement and to increase investments in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Further, investors have accepted the influence of ESG factors on delivering financial returns, recognizing the need… Read More »
Demand for infrastructure investment continues to ramp up amid growing commitments to a low-carbon future and rapid economic growth in developing countries. The nature of this “scaling up” challenge requires capital that governments cannot provide alone, necessitating the utilization of private capital. Institutional investors collectively possess the financial resources ($16 trillion in “direct” investment capacity)… Read More »
On June 1, 2023, the European Parliament substantially amended the European Commission’s proposal for the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Since my first comment on the Commission’s proposal, I have focused on Art. 22, establishing civil liability for failure to carry out due diligence. Functionally, this liability aims to counter multinational corporations’ strategic use… Read More »
There is a consensus that compliance is a critical issue in corporate governance. Yet there remains a gaping hole in our understanding of what determines the effectiveness of compliance programs. Specifically, we know relatively little about the role of third-party compliance advisors. Nowadays, virtually every large law firm or accounting firm sells various “compliance… Read More »
While Bitcoin is still the largest cryptocurrency in the world by market capitalization, the Ethereum blockchain maintains the unique ability to tokenize assets and execute smart contracts. These benefits for businesses and investors also come with additional opportunities for cybercriminals, such as when a company simply runs away with the money after tokenizing its assets. … Read More »
Australia’s corporate and securities regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has extensive enforcement powers that it can use to ensure compliance with the law. One of these is the power to issue infringement notices. An infringement notice is an administrative mechanism that ASIC can use as a response to misconduct. It is issued… Read More »
In recent years, the financial industry has been increasingly pressured to actively contribute to addressing critical societal challenges, such as climate change. Now, many investors expect their money to be managed in a way that promotes positive environmental and social change. Given these expectations, there is a growing interest in understanding the real impact of… Read More »
In the U.S., the rise in healthcare costs has been the subject of intense public and regulatory scrutiny. Average health insurance premiums have risen steadily over the past few years, outpacing inflation. However, the negative consequences of this economic rise are not fully understood. In particular, a significant portion of the rise in healthcare costs… Read More »
