Stopping climate change is the biggest investment opportunity of our lifetime, and its already driving radical change in how financial markets operate. Sign-up for the latest insights into sustainability, ESG and impact investing, and all the episodes of the Good Future podcast as they're released.
Could 'Deforestation-Free-Beef' be a new ESG investment screen?
Australia is very good at clearing land, but that’s bad news for biodiversity, and it’s making climate change worse.
To go deeper in our exploration of Investing in Natural-Capital we’re shining the spotlight on deforestation, to help investors understand the risks and opportunities, but also, to highlight the work WWF Australia is doing to save Koala habitats by shifting incentives away from land-clearing.
Australia Leads the Way on Deforestation, And That’s a Big Risk for Investors
Australia has one of the worst rates of deforestation in the world, and that’s a growing risk for investors.
Deforestation not only degrades the land, but it also exacerbates climate change through both releasing greenhouse gasses, and reducing carbon sequestration capacity.
While groups like WWF Australia are targeting ‘Deforestation-Free Beef’, regulators around the world are starting to enforce transparency rules about supply-chain impacts.
“One of the key drivers of habitat destruction for the Koala is beef production, but so few Australians know about that. At the moment, in the supermarket, we don’t feel empowered as consumers, because there’s no koala-friendly beef on the market yet. This is where the government can step in.” says Rachel Lowry, Chief Conservation Officer at WWF Australia.
“We need to catalyse progress in this area. And we’re going to need to look at some levers to really move beef into that regenerative-economy pathway before we lose too much more.”
| Read the full article HERE |
I work with investors and their portfolio companies to build trust, drive inflows and create positive impact.
Hit reply if you'd like to discuss how you can unlock the impact of your business, to turbocharge growth.
John Treadgold
The Business of Sustainability
By John Treadgold
Stopping climate change is the biggest investment opportunity of our lifetime, and its already driving radical change in how financial markets operate. Sign-up for the latest insights into sustainability, ESG and impact investing, and all the episodes of the Good Future podcast as they're released.
All over the world governments are rolling-out new climate-risk reporting rules, and that means all investors are now sustainable investors. This represents huge progress in the way capital markets view environmental risks, and while we still have a long way to go in decarbonising our economy… we’ve reached a critical mass of positive change. At this juncture, a set of exciting opportunities have emerged for investors to fund and support the new breed of climate-focussed companies. A new...
It’s been a hot summer, and as we watch global weather conditions become increasingly volatile, it can be hard to stay optimistic about the work we’re doing. It can feel like a seesaw. It's a feeling that sways between optimism about all the progress we’re making in decarbonisation and climate impact investing, and then pivoting back to pessimism, as another glacier sinks into the sea, and another dozen species are lost to rising temperatures and pulped rainforests. It’s a malaise that many...
In just the last month of 2023 we've seen COP28 has kick-off in Dubai, the Australian government will underwrite large-scale renewable energy projects, and, climate-tech startups continue to raise big funding rounds in spite of a global downturn. It’s been a huge year, and in my final note for 2023 I’m looking at the highlights that have pushed climate-impact investing forward! Nature Took Centre Stage - Finally The past decade has seen a huge focus on reducing carbon emissions, but it was...