News, Insights, Thought Leadership articles, and blog posts from our Partners and Sponsors.

KPMG

AR6: The IPCC’s final call to action on climate inaction

On 20 March, the IPCC concluded its Sixth Assessment Reporting cycle (AR6), which kicked off after the Paris Agreement, by publishing its final Synthesis Report. AR6 will very likely be the last comprehensive IPCC report before 2030, after which time limiting warming to 1.5°C may be impossible. It is therefore imperative that all stakeholders take action based on the content of this report.

KPMG

In December, representatives from many governments around the world gathered in Montreal to agree a new Global Biodiversity Framework. This landmark agreement sets out the actions that all countries now need to take to reverse the loss of biodiversity, and was remarkable not only for its ambition, but also for the level of engagement from businesses—the largest in the Convention’s history.

KPMG

ESG data and ratings provider may face increasing regulation in the near future, with regulatory initiatives proposed in the UK, EU and elsewhere in the world.

KPMG

Under the headline of 'Mobilising Green Investment', the UK Government has published a revised Green Finance Strategy (PDF 26.9 MB), aimed at supporting the delivery of the transition to net zero. The strategy has been developed by HM Treasury (HMT), the new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It refreshes the original (PDF 12.2 MB) strategy, set out in 2019, and moves forward some of the initiatives announced in the 2021 Roadmap to Sustainable Investing (PDF 2.03 MB) (see our article here).

FinanceMalta

FinanceMalta is always proud to support City Week, but it was particularly enthusiastic about the three main themes chosen for the 13th edition.

The first theme – climate change, green finance and sustainability is certainly no newcomer to the agenda: last year it was also discussed, and yet the theme keeps re-appearing. In spite of all that is being done at a global level, dire statistics indicate that all the initiatives actually in force are not yet considered to be enough to stabilise climate change. Maltese financial service entities have been very active, from organising webinars and courses, to introducing legislation and products to pave the way for those who wish to invest in a more sustainable way.

FinanceMalta

In a recent speaking engagement, the Maltese Minister for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise, the Honourable Dr. Miriam Dalli, discussed the crucial role of the financial services sector in Malta’s ongoing transition to a ‘green economy’. Dr. Dalli focused on a staggering EUR 24 billion reportedly laying idle in the form of local bank deposits and stressed that Maltese investors should be encouraged to direct this capital towards sustainable business ventures – such as, for instance, renewable energy projects.  

Shearman & Sterling

Digitisation is changing the way we own, trade and think about traditional financial assets. Resolving the legal and regulatory concerns that digital assets raise for financial services will open up tremendous commercial and economic opportunities. While international coordination of regulation and supervision might be desirable, this is, at best, likely to be slow and not comprehensive. Fortunately, a single legal and regulatory system, serving as a “home” jurisdiction for core businesses, can provide the solution to most, if not all, of the problems. The U.K. system, which looks to combine proper regulation and supervision in a business sensitive environment, makes an attractive proposition.

Shearman & Sterling

Shearman & Sterling

Presently, cryptoassets are treated as an unregulated product class, and a cryptoasset product will only be regulated to the extent it can be characterised as an existing regulated product class (e.g., a share or bond). However, certain regulated firms, when acting in, or from,
the U.K., are prohibited from marketing, selling or distributing to retail clients derivatives and exchange-traded notes referencing certain types of unregulated, transferable cryptoassets. The only targeted regulatory requirement for operators in this sector is a limited purposes AML registration requirement with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), similar to the AML registration regimes in place for non-financial firms in some other sectors, such as estate agents and law firms.

Empowering Businesses to Mitigate Environmental Risks and invest sustainably

ADGM

Sustainable finance has been well and truly gaining momentum in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Despite the challenging global economic environment, countries in the MENA region are making significant strides in sustainable finance initiatives, such as the growth in green bond issuance in the region surpassing the global trend. So, as the MENA region forges ahead in its green transition, there are clear indications of the increasing dedication of governments, regulators, investors, and businesses in the region to take substantive action to invest in this transition to make net zero a reality.