FIRST-QUARTER 2024 EDITION: DISCLOSURE AND DECARBONIZATION
Sustainability Quarterly
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 Energy 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 Energy 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.
S&P Global Sustainable1
Lindsey Hall
Global Head of Thought Leadership
Co-Lead, S&P Global Sustainability Quarterly
Lindsey Hall is Head of Thought Leadership at S&P Global Horizons, where she co-hosts the ESG Insider podcast and is a steering member of S&P Global's Diversity Research Lab.
She got her start in financial journalism writing for various Financial Times publications in London before joining SNL Financial in 2010, where she spent a decade covering financial news and regulation as a reporter and editor.
Lindsey holds a Masters from the London School of Economics.
S&P Global Ratings
Lai Ly
Global Head of Sustainability Research
Contributors
S&P Global Sustainable1
Lindsey Hall
Global Head of Thought Leadership
Co-Lead, S&P Global Sustainability Quarterly
Lindsey Hall is Head of Thought Leadership at S&P Global Horizons, where she co-hosts the ESG Insider podcast and is a steering member of S&P Global's Diversity Research Lab.
She got her start in financial journalism writing for various Financial Times publications in London before joining SNL Financial in 2010, where she spent a decade covering financial news and regulation as a reporter and editor.
Lindsey holds a Masters from the London School of Economics.
S&P Global Ratings
Lai Ly
Global Head of Sustainability Research
S&P Global Sustainable1
Matt Macfarland
Senior Editor, Thought Leadership Editorial Manager, S&P Global Sustainability Quarterly
Matt MacFarland is the industry editor for nonbank financial services news at S&P Global Market Intelligence. His coverage includes investment banking, asset management, financial technology and capital markets. A particular focus is equity market structure, which he covered as a reporter for SNL Financial.
Matt holds a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s degree in English from Hampden-Sydney College.
Tim Axtmann
Senior Analyst, Sustainable Finance
S&P Global Ratings
Pierre Georges
Managing Director, Credit Ratings
S&P Global Energy
Janet McGurty
Senior Writer, Oil
S&P Global Energy
Alessandro Badinotti
Sustainability Analyst
Alessandro Badinotti works as Sustainability Analyst within Horizons, S&P Global's centralized source for sustainability intelligence. Together with a global team of analysts, he’s responsible for maintaining and developing the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), an annual evaluation of companies’ sustainability practices that are both industry-specific and financially material. His cross-industry focus areas are greenhouse gas emissions and transparency in sustainability reporting.
S&P Global Ratings
Rachel Gerrish
Managing Director - Sector Lead, EMEA Transportation,
S&P Global Ratings
Gaetan Michel
Associate Director
S&P Dow Jones Indices
Maya Beyhan
Senior Director, Index Investment Strategy
Maya Beyhan is Senior Director, ESG Specialist, Index Investment Strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI). The index investment strategy team provides research and commentary on the entire S&P DJI product set, including U.S. and global equities, commodities, fixed income and economic indices. Maya’s role has a specific focus on ESG and climate-based indices within this product set globally. Before joining S&P DJI, Maya was the lead equity index portfolio strategist at State Street Global Advisors in EMEA. In this role, she served clients with sophisticated ESG/climate portfolios. She previously worked as an investment strategist at Kempen Capital Management, covering institutional clients in the U.K. and the Netherlands. Maya holds a PhD in Quantum Chemistry from Vrije University in Amsterdam and a master’s degree in Theoretical Physics from Groningen University in the Netherlands.
S&P Global Sustainable1
Francesca Jaworska
Associate Research Analyst
S&P Global Energy
Robert Perkins
News Managing Editor, Downstream Oil
S&P Global Energy
Simone Burgin
Associate Editor
S&P Global Energy
Sophie Byron
Global Head of Biofuels
S&P Global Energy
Roman Kramarchuk
Head of Climate Markets and Policy Analytics
Roman Kramarchuk leads efforts at Platts to analyze the impacts of the energy transition – driven by policy changes and technology advancements – on the energy sector and energy market outlooks, with a special focus on clean energy (i.e. carbon markets, hydrogen, stationary storage, electric vehicles/alternative transport, renewables, etc.). He oversees the Platts Analytics Future Energy Outlooks – advising clients on energy transition and long term energy market views (including 2 degree scenarios) – and has led the GHG and North American Environmental Markets Services – offering insights into environmental markets & policies.
Prior to joining PIRA, now part of S&P Global Platts, he was at the U.S. EPA, developing key power plant and industrial emissions regulations at the Clean Air Markets Division. With both PG&E NEG and PA Consulting / PHB Hagler Bailly, he evaluated strategies regarding fuel choice, capital investments and trading. Roman also worked on international projects to develop power markets and regulatory capacity in the former Soviet Union and India. At the Federal Reserve Board, Roman analyzed trends in industrial production.
He has an M.P.P. from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.A. in economics and B.S.E. in systems engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
S&P Global Ratings
Bryan Popoola
Associate Director, Sustainable Finance
S&P Global Energy
Ina Chirita
Principal Analyst, Europe Refining & Marketing, Oil Markets, Midstream and Downstream
Her areas of expertise include refining, fuel marketing, downstream policy and competitive environment, market entry studies, and strategic analysis. Ina also works on consulting engagements in Europe and Africa, focusing on market entry and strategy analysis. She joined IHS Markit(now part of S&P Global) in 2014 and is based in the Paris office. Prior to joining S&P Global, Ina coordinated the Energy & Sustainability Program of the Aspen Institute Romania and worked for the Council of Europe and the British Embassy in Bucharest, Romania.
She holds a master's degree in international public policy from the University College London, United Kingdom, and bachelor's degrees in engineering and political science. Ina is fluent in English, French, German, and Romanian.
S&P Global Sustainable1
Jennifer Laidlaw
Senior Writer
Jennifer Laidlaw is a Senior Writer on the S&P Global Horizons Thought Leadership Team and a frequent contributor to the S&P Global podcast ESG Insider. Her career as a globe-trotting business and finance reporter included roles as a reporter in London and Warsaw for Dow Jones, in New York as a technology and advertising reporter for Reuters and a banking and retail correspondent for the same newswire in Brussels. She moved to Paris where she worked as an international news stringer for Radio France Internationale before joining S&P Global Market Intelligence in the French capital as a European banking correspondent.
S&P Global Sustainable1
Joerg Rueedi
Principal ESG Analyst
S&P Global Ratings
Patrice Cochelin
Head of Analytical Governance, Sustainable Finance
S&P Global Sustainable1
Christine Lee
Director, Climate and Nature Risk Product Development and Management
Christine Lee leads the development and management of S&P Global’s nature and climate risk solutions, enabling companies, investors, and entities as they seek to understand, manage, and mitigate exposure of corporates and portfolios to nature and climate-related risks. Prior to her current role, Christine was Director of Strategic Initiatives at Ratings. Prior to joining S&P Global, Christine led various product and transformation initiatives in semiconductor, technology, life science, and market research industries. Christine holds an MBA from Warwick Business School in the UK and an Honors Bachelor of Computer Science degree from University of Waterloo in Canada.
S&P Global Sustainable1
Gautier Desme
Head of Nature Research and Methodology
Gautier Desme is Head of Nature Research and Methodology at Horizons, leading the development of new datasets on environmental and climate issues, such as the development of analytics that allow investors and businesses to quantify the nature-related risks in their portfolios and operations. Prior to that, Gautier served in other leadership roles, leading on sovereign carbon risk, green bonds analytics and positive impact.
Gautier started his career at Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank in London, first as a credit structurer, then in commodities derivatives structuring, where he designed investment strategies and products across energy, metals and agriculture markets. He developed and issued the first EUTS carbon note in 2010, allowing investors to benefit from arbitrage opportunities in the EU Carbon Allowance market.
Gautier holds a master’s degree in Financial Markets from University Paris Dauphine, and a master’s degree in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London.
S&P Global Sustainable1
So Lefebvre
Associate ESG Analyst
S&P Global Ratings
Terry Ellis
Global Climate Transition Specialist
S&P Global Sustainable1
Cornis van der Lugt
Senior Manager, ESG Research
S&P Global Ratings
Emmanuel Volland
Global Sector Lead, Financial Institutions
S&P Global Ratings
Vittoria Ferraris
Managing Director & Sector Lead Autos EMEA
S&P Global Energy
Paul McConnell
Head, Outlooks and Scenarios Analysis
Paul is an Executive Director with the Energy and Climate Scenarios team at S&P Global Energy. His work covers energy and carbon markets, long-term decarbonisation trends, climate policy, and strategic responses to climate change and the energy transition. He is highly experienced in both development of energy and climate scenarios, as well as their application in assessing climate-related risk and opportunity for organisations across the oil & gas, power, industry and financial sectors. Prior to S&P Global Energy, Paul led the climate transition risk team for a leading global sustainability consultancy. He also has many years' experience working in research roles across the energy industry.
Paul holds an MSc in Global Environmental Change and International Policy from Imperial College, London.
S&P Global Sustainable1
Esther Whieldon
Thought Leadership Senior Writer
Esther Whieldon is a Senior Writer on the S&P Global Horizons Thought Leadership Team and co-host of the S&P Global podcast ESG Insider. Esther has worked at S&P Global for 14 years and was previously a Senior Reporter in the S&P Global Market Intelligence newsroom where she wrote about climate change, ESG and energy issues. Prior, Esther worked two years as a reporter at Politico and spent several years before that in the S&P Global Platts energy newsroom in Washington, D.C. Esther earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, Maryland.
S&P Global Sustainable1
Dr. Warrick Fuchsloch
ESG Client Engagement Specialist
Dr. Warrick Fuchsloch is a senior client engagement specialist at S&P Global Sustinable1. Acting as a subject matter expert, Warrick specialises in assisting clients in implementing sustainability initiatives, themes, and data within their workflows and benchmarking to mitigate ESG risks, address regulations, and enhance their sustainability strategies. Previously, Warrick was an ESG analyst with a materials and mining sector focus where he specialised in methodology development, analysis, and evaluation of financially material sustainability themes within the Corporate Sustainability Assessment. Prior to joining S&P, Warrick spent several years with LSE-based AfriTin Mining Ltd, over which time they built a world-class Lithium-Tin-Tantalum mine in Namibia, where Warrick was attributed to exploration, process engineering, social and environmental management and oversaw most of the company’s future project development goals throughout Africa. Warrick holds a PhD in Economic Geology from the University of the Witwatersrand where he researched and published articles on the orogenesis of transition metals and commodities and their value toward a climate-focused future.
Salome Balderrama
ESG Analyst
S&P Dow Jones Indices
Davide Di Gioia
Director, Index Investment Strategy
S&P Global Energy
Akman Ozel
Biofuels Analyst
Alex Jones
Environmental Research & ESG Modeling Analyst
Emily Podshadley
ESG Specialist
Jamie Salo
Head of Environmental Research
S&P Dow Jones Indices
Grace Stoddart
Quantitative Associate, Index Investment Strategy