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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MIT AI Risk Repository
The MIT AI Risk Repository is a comprehensive database of over 1,600 AI risks and real-world incidents. It provides frameworks and data to help finance professionals and organisations identify, prioritise, and manage technical, social, and regulatory risks associated with artificial intelligence.
Who Controls the Defence Industry?
A leximetric dataset and index assessing state control versus ownership in 107 global defence firms, featuring the novel State Influence Index.
Net Zero Glossary
The Net Zero Glossary, developed by The Chancery Lane Project, provides standardised definitions for climate-aligned legal drafting. It helps finance and legal professionals ensure that contractual language accurately reflects decarbonisation commitments and net zero targets across international jurisdictions.
Finance for Biodiversity Foundation feedback on the draft Global Report of Collective Progress: Recommendations for guiding financial system transformation under the Global Biodiversity Framework
The Finance for Biodiversity Foundation provides feedback on the draft Global Report of Collective Progress. It highlights implementation gaps across finance-related targets and proposes recommendations to accelerate financial system transformation. Key areas include mandatory nature disclosures, subsidy reform, and the integration of nature-related risks into financial supervision.
The impact of sustainability reporting on directors' ESG duties: The disclosure-duty feedback loop
This research explores the "disclosure-duty feedback loop", where mandatory sustainability reporting reshapes corporate directors' legal duties. Analysing regimes in the United Kingdom, Singapore, the European Union, and the United States, the paper examines how reporting standards influence board oversight. It proposes reforms to clarify oversight obligations and liability protections.
Beyond the score - Investor views on ESG ratings
This benchmark series examines investor perceptions of ESG ratings and data. It evaluates provider quality and usefulness, exploring how investment professionals integrate sustainability information into decision-making processes. The research analyses shifting trends in the ESG ratings landscape, considering the impact of regulation and artificial intelligence on the industry.
Investing in a climate resilient Australia: The role of the Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy
This report explores expanding the Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy to include climate adaptation and resilience. It outlines the economic necessity of strategic investment to mitigate rising climate costs and provides detailed use cases for financial institutions, corporates, and government to mobilise private capital and enhance Australia's economic stability.
Thematic notes on clear, fair & not misleading sustainability-related claims: Addressing greenwashing risks in support of sustainable investments: Third note: impact claims
This ESMA report provides guidance on avoiding greenwashing in sustainability impact claims. It outlines four key principles—accuracy, accessibility, substantiation, and timeliness—while defining theoretical concepts like intentionality and additionality. Practical do’s and don’ts for funds and bonds help market participants ensure communications are clear, fair, and not misleading.
CEAOB technical advice standard for limited assurance on sustainability reporting
The CEAOB provides technical advice on EU-specific modifications to ISSA 5000 for limited assurance on sustainability reporting. It integrates requirements for ESRS, Taxonomy Regulation, and ESEF, effective from December 2027. Key focus areas include joint assurance, statutory auditor communication, and digital marking up procedures.
Industrial policy via the IPO market
This research examines how China uses initial public offering regulations as an industrial policy tool. Between 2002 and 2022, favoured industries saw significantly higher listing activity and proceeds. These firms command a persistent valuation premium, as investors treat government support as a durable fundamental rather than temporary sentiment.
National development banks: Policy integration for climate
This research analyses the integration of national development banks (NDBs) into climate policies across 103 economies. It highlights that only 17.5% of countries explicitly reference NDBs in climate commitments. The report provides recommendations for governments and NDB leadership to strengthen institutional alignment and improve climate finance effectiveness.
Climate governance under pressure: The Anti-ESG movement’s impact on Canadian institutional investors
This report analyses the impact of the US anti-ESG movement on Canadian institutional investors. It examines governance challenges in integrated markets, shifts in proxy voting, and regulatory changes. Despite political spillover, the analysis highlights the resilience of Canadian legal frameworks and the ongoing commitment to climate-risk oversight.
Public procurement and AI governance: Developing a strategic framework for middle powers
This report evaluates how 'AI middle powers' can use public procurement as a strategic governance tool to mitigate risks from foreign-led frontier AI. It proposes a framework of contractual guarantees and recommends international coordination to increase bargaining leverage, enhance visibility, and secure data sovereignty against technological dependencies.
Who pays for growth? Evidence from data centers and the grid
This research examines the impact of data centre expansion on US electricity prices. Findings indicate that entry between 2010 and 2024 increased average retail rates by 2.7%. These costs are concentrated among investor-owned utilities and pronounced in deregulated markets or regions with limited spare capacity.
Governing global externalities: Investor voice amid fragmented policy
This research examines how corporate stewardship and policy advocacy address global externalities. Stewardship is more effective when foreign regulation is absent and leakage is high. However, if foreign regulation is feasible, stewardship can crowd out policy, while advocacy can encourage international regulatory coordination through strategic complementarity.
Crosswalking SBTN freshwater requirements with CSRD water disclosures
This report compares the SBTN freshwater framework with EU CSRD and ESRS requirements. It identifies areas of alignment, such as materiality assessments and basin-level analysis, while highlighting differences in scope. SBTN provides the scientific foundation for setting targets that support mandatory reporting obligations under European standards.
