Library | ESG issues
Law, Regulation & Compliance
The evolving legal and regulatory landscape financial organisations regarding Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations comprises both voluntary frameworks and mandatory regulations. Voluntary initiatives, such as the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), provide guidelines for companies to disclose climate-related financial risks and opportunities. In contrast, mandatory regulations like the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) require financial market participants to disclose how they integrate ESG factors into their investment decisions.
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AI data centers and electricity demand: Taming the energy guzzlers
This paper examines AI data centre electricity demand and its costs for ratepayers and the environment. It finds that Big Tech market capitalisations have risen far above predicted levels since ChatGPT's 2022 launch, while data centres drive up electricity prices and fossil fuel use. Regulatory reforms and innovations are recommended.
Carbon tariffs, emissions leakage, and production relocation
This paper examines whether carbon tariffs prevent emissions leakage from firm relocation in a North-South duopoly model. It finds that carbon tariffs combined with export rebates form the optimal carbon tax regime, preventing leakage when the northern firm's emissions intensity exceeds fifty percent of the southern firm's, and can benefit both countries.
From climate crisis to insurance crisis: Designing solidarity-based natural disaster insurance
This report examines rising climate-related insurance losses and Germany's lack of comprehensive natural disaster coverage, with only 57% of residential buildings insured against such risks. It analyses international public-private insurance models — particularly France's CatNat system — and recommends a solidarity-based approach alongside measures to hold the fossil fuel industry financially accountable.
Shareholder proposals and corporate governance in a season of regulatory uncertainty
This report analyses the 2025–2026 proxy season following the SEC's suspension of its no-action review process. Shareholders filed approximately 20% fewer proposals; companies filed over 100 fewer exclusion notices. Exclusions disproportionately affected novel and revised proposals, with proponents increasingly turning to litigation and alternative strategies to preserve shareholder rights.
Widening the lens: Scaling climate adaptation and resilience through sustainable finance
This report examines climate adaptation and resilience in sustainable finance, highlighting a significant financing gap in emerging markets and limited formal allocation in labelled debt markets. It argues for a broader lens that recognises resilience outcomes already embedded in policy-driven investments, using Ecuador's sovereign housing framework as a case study.
Navigating towards water resilience: An introductory guide for central bankers, financial supervisors and regulators
This WWF Greening Financial Regulation Initiative guide introduces central banks, financial supervisors and regulators to the financial risks posed by the global water crisis. It covers physical, transition and systemic risks, emerging responses from the financial sector, available assessment tools, and policy recommendations for integrating water risks into supervisory frameworks.
Interest rate caps, competition, and strategic borrowing: Evidence from Kenya
This paper examines Kenya's 2016 interest rate regulation, which capped bank lending rates but exempted the digital platform M-Shwari. Using borrower-level administrative data and a structural model, the authors find that the M-Shwari carve-out preserved credit access for high-risk borrowers, while a uniform cap would have eliminated it entirely.
The ICJ's advisory opinion on climate change
This edited volume analyses the ICJ's July 2025 advisory opinion on climate change obligations, examining its legal framework, due diligence standards, human rights implications, and statehood findings. Contributing authors also assess the opinion's notable silences on historical responsibility, military emissions, and differentiated obligations.
Stuck on you: How to make social media good again
This IPPR paper examines how social media platforms have shifted from user-led spaces to algorithm-driven, influencer-dominated environments through 'sticky gatekeeping'. A UK survey found only 18 per cent of feed posts were personal content. The report recommends regulatory reform, algorithmic transparency, and development of a public social media platform.
How a surge in defence and dual-use technology investment could reconfigure the global AI race
This Chatham House paper examines four trends — rising defence and dual-use investment, the growth of 'patriotic tech', the push for sovereign AI, and concerns over an AI valuation bubble — that could multipolarise the global AI race, and offers recommendations for private sector preparedness.
Final report on the amending guidelines on product oversight and governance arrangements for retail banking products to take into account products with ESG features and greenwashing risks
The EBA's final report amends the 2016 Product Oversight and Governance (POG) Guidelines to incorporate ESG features and greenwashing risks for retail banking products. Key changes include requirements for manufacturers and distributors to prevent greenwashing, extended scope to non-bank consumer credit providers, and an application date of 11 January 2027.
Business breakthrough barometer 2026: The annual pulse check from business on the pace of the climate transition
The Business Breakthrough Barometer 2026 surveys over 500 companies on the climate transition, finding 92% expect sustainability to deliver competitive advantage. While investment momentum holds, 68% of leaders see rising risks of a disorderly transition, urging predictable policy strengthening from governments to unlock private capital.
Weapons, dual use tech and financial institutions
This Shift briefing examines how financial institutions should approach human rights due diligence in relation to weapons and dual-use technologies. It identifies four key challenges, six anchors grounded in international humanitarian law, and six practical approaches to support responsible defence-related lending and investment decisions.
Ranking digital rights: The 2025 big tech edition
The 2025 RDR Index Big Tech Edition ranks 14 major technology companies on governance, freedom of expression, and privacy. Microsoft leads overall with 50%, followed by Alphabet at 49% and Meta at 47%. Scores are also assessed across eight thematic lenses, including algorithmic transparency, security, and targeted advertising.
Where cultivated meat can be sold
An interactive tracker by The Good Food Institute mapping global regulatory approvals and market pathways for cultivated meat products.
Financial secrets of the forests: How secrecy fuels deforestation in Brazil and Cameroon
This report examines illicit financial flows linked to deforestation in Brazil and Cameroon, estimating trade mispricing losses at US$289 million per year in Cameroon and US$214 million in Brazil. It finds that financial and land ownership secrecy enables illicit deforestation and recommends public beneficial ownership registries and supply chain transparency measures.
