11th November 2025

Climate Policy Signals “Too Fragmented”

https://sustainableinvestor.online/live/climate-policy-signals-too-fragmented

Governments must intensify support for private-sector decarbonisation, according to a report marking ten years since the Paris Climate Agreement, which warns of increased lobbying and slowing policy action in Europe and the US.

‘Policy Matters: From Pledges to Delivery’, released at COP30 by the UN-backed Taskforce on Net Zero Policy (TNZP), said climate policy signals to corporates and financial institutions were “too fragmented” to prompt action.

The global update of net zero policy progress also found that the centre of gravity was shifting southward towards Asia Pacific, “amid US rollback and EU recalibration”.

Separate research into sovereigns’ climate change performance by the TPI Global Climate Transition Centre at the London School of Economics revealed that China and Brazil had the largest pipeline of renewable energy capacity among 85 high-, middle- and low-income countries.

According to the TNZP, the number of targeted net zero regulations in G20 countries has tripled since 2020, the report acknowledged. Jurisdictions covering more than 60% of global GDP are adopting or progressing towards disclosure standards aligned with the International Sustainability Standards Board.

While conceding temporary overshoot was almost inevitable, the report said limiting climate change to 1.5ºC remains within long-term reach – albeit dependent on “accelerated and better coordinated action” by governments to enable companies and financial institutions to deliver on the transition.

The taskforce called for integrated, granular policy frameworks that enable transition planning in line with transparent, economy-wide net-zero goals and interim climate targets.

Other recommendations included adoption of resilience-focused policies, support for high-integrity carbon credit markets, and enhanced accountability and transparency, including mandatory disclosures.

The TNZP also called for greater transparency and disclosure of lobbying practices, particularly through trade associations, aligning with investor expectations for responsible corporate engagement.

Its recommendations echoed groups representing institutional investors in the ‘Global Sustainable Investment Review 2024’, released this week, which said fractured political consensus was “reducing the investment rationale for the movement of capital towards sustainable projects and assets”.

The TNZP report underlined the need for governments to set and implement targets through for instance nationally determined contributions (NDCs), national adaptation plans and national biodiversity strategies and action plans.

Earlier this week, the UN Climate Change Secretariat released an updated NDC synthesis report, based on 86 NDCs – which outline climate action strategies – submitted by 113 countries.

It projected that global greenhouse gas emissions would be around 12% below 2019 levels by 2035, compared with a projected emissions increase of 20-48% before the adoption of the agreement.

10th November 2025

ISSB to Lead on Nature Reporting, Plans COP17 Release

https://sustainableinvestor.online/live/issb-to-lead-on-nature-reporting-plans-cop17-release

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) is preparing to assume responsibility for establishing standards for disclosures on nature-related risks and opportunities, utilising the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework.

The ISSB will introduce incremental disclosure requirements on nature-related risks and opportunities that are not already covered by explicit requirements in IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, its standards for general sustainability and climate disclosures respectively.

The ISSB’s work will draw on the TNFD framework, including its recommendations, metrics, guidance, and the Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare (LEAP) approach.

The move, welcomed by the TNFD, will continue coordinated efforts to provide investors with consistent information on nature-related risks, opportunities, dependencies and impacts on a voluntary basis. Adoption is expected by major jurisdictions many of which are in the process of aligning with IFRS S1 and S2.

The ISSB is targeting the release of an exposure draft for the incremental disclosure requirements by the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP17 in October 2026.

“The ISSB recognises that there is a clear investor need for information about nature-related risks and opportunities. Drawing on the TNFD framework enables us to meet this need efficiently, reducing fragmentation and building on leading practice,” said ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber.

The TNFD will conclude its technical guidance work by the third quarter of 2026 and then pause, focusing additional technical efforts on supporting the ISSB’s work program.

Market participants are encouraged to continue using the TNFD framework when working on IFRS S1 disclosures and prepare for future incremental ISSB disclosure requirements.

The TNFD also recently released new guidance on nature in transition planning, aimed at helping organisations to align with goals and targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

Furthermore, the TNFD has issued recommendations for upgrading the nature data value chain for market participants. These recommendations include a blueprint for a Nature Data Public Facility (NDPF) to provide open access to state-of-nature data and generate new funding for its collection.

Voluntary market adoption of TNFD recommendations has now increased to 733 organisations, representing more than US$9 trillion in market capitalisation and more than US$22 trillion AUM.

6th November 2025

Investors Warn of Policy Gaps Ahead of COP30

https://sustainableinvestor.online/live/investors-warn-of-policy-gaps-ahead-of-cop30

Two new reports show institutional investors are increasingly embedding climate risk into their decision-making, but also need greater support from policymakers to decarbonise their portfolios.

At COP30 next week, countries are expected to deliver their next round of five-year climate plans, outlining how they intend to cut emissions through 2035. Investors say the credibility and ambition of these plans will be crucial to providing the policy certainty needed to accelerate capital flows into low-carbon and climate-resilient sectors.

The ’Global State of Investor Climate Action’ report, which analysed data from more than 220 asset owners and managers worldwide, found that 75% assess the financial risks and opportunities that climate change poses to their portfolios.

Nature and the just transition are also gaining traction, with 60% of investors incorporating nature-related disclosures into their transition plans. While 70% have invested in climate solutions, fewer than one in three have committed to scaling those investments.

Rebecca Mikula-Wright, CEO of the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change, said COP30 negotiators have “a unique and critical opportunity” to send a clear market signal on fossil-fuel phase-down and adaptation finance. “Investors are acting on climate risks because they’re real and they’re already material to financial returns,” she said.

Nearly three-quarters of investors are engaging portfolio companies on climate issues, with 43% also lobbying governments for stronger policy frameworks. However, the report warned that regional disparities in action and transparency risk undermining global alignment.

A separate report from the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA), ’Addressing Climate Impacts’, emphasises why managing climate risk must remain central to asset owner decision-making.

It notes that climate change poses “system-level risks” that cannot be diversified away and urges asset owners to integrate climate capabilities, align mandates with asset managers, and engage policymakers to deliver consistent net zero pathways. The report also points out that governments’ policy uncertainty remains a key barrier to capital allocation.

Asset managers failing to incorporate climate considerations “risk seeing their mandates in jeopardy”, the paper added.

Sustainable Investor