A Defining Moment
Investing in emerging markets amid today’s complex global landscape presents both opportunities and risks. Can investors identify markets with a strong potential for risk-adjusted returns? Can they avoid the worst of the pitfalls? In a webinar on March 19, 2025, three experts in the field presented a round-table discussion titled “Capital Flows, Tariffs & Trade: A Defining Moment for Emerging Markets Investors.” They touched on issues as wide-ranging as exchange rates, geopolitical risk, and trade barriers that will be discussed more fully at the upcoming conference, CFA Institute LIVE 2025 to be held in Chicago, 4-7 May, 2025. The panel […]
The Rise of Blue Bonds
“Oceans absorb one-third of carbon dioxide emissions. Yet projects connected to oceans are underfunded as per the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG),” said Tom Counsell, Assistant Vice President at T. Rowe Price, a global investment management firm. “What is meant by the blue economy, and how can it help save the oceans?” On December 10, 2024, Counsell welcomed an audience to a webinar, “The Rise of Blue Bonds and the Blue Economy,” featuring two panelists from the Chartered Financial Analysts Institute (CFA Institute) and T. Rowe Price. Blue bonds are fixed-income financial instruments (bonds) issued specifically to finance ocean conservation and sustainable […]
Dirty Deals
“The global plastic waste trade is an environmental disaster hiding in plain sight, fuelling organised crime, working conditions that amount to human rights violations and devastation to human health and the environment.” This is according to a report released on November 5, 2024, by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) in Britain. ♠️ Click here to access “Dirty Deals Part 2″ from the EIA website.
Resilience and Development
For developing countries, how will climate change affect the progress of their economic development? Will these countries be able to use available opportunities through institutions such as the World Bank to adapt to changing conditions and improve people’s lives? “Development and resilience are mutually reinforcing,” said Stéphane Hallegatte, Senior Climate Change Adviser at the World Bank. “Development contributes to resilience, and resilience is crucial for safeguarding gains from increasingly frequent crises.” He was speaking at a webinar on September 5, 2024, on economic development in a changing climate. This was part of the series of talks sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank […]
Decarb Economics 101
To mitigate the consequences of climate change, the world requires international coordination. In 2015, the Paris Agreement was signed by 195 nations. Its long-term temperature goal is to keep the rise in mean global temperature to well below 2°C (3.6 °F) above pre-industrial levels, and preferably limit the increase to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F), which would reduce the worst effects of climate change. Many countries are developing policies to get themselves on a path toward achieving the agreed-upon 1.5 °C goal. Although present progress may seem piecemeal, in the words of a Chinese proverb, “A great journey begins with a single step.” The figure below […]
World Energy Outlook
On October 24, 2023, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released its annual report, World Energy Outlook (WEO), to an international audience. The agency states that the energy world “remains fragile but has effective ways to improve energy security and tackle emissions.” Agency analysts looked at how close the countries of the world are to meeting the objectives of the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE) Scenario, which limits global warming to 1.5 °C, a goal signed by many countries and often referred to as the Paris Agreement. [As of March 2021, 194 states and the European Union have signed the […]
Managing Water Risk
Flooding, drought, and the polluted quality of water pose a business risk to the agricultural sector, which affects everything from geopolitical risk to inflation. What is the cause of water risk, and how can it be mitigated? On October 3, 2023, Catherine David, Director of Collaboration and Change at Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and a specialist in water risk, spoke about water management designed for sustainability. The webinar was sponsored by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) and was moderated by Jo Paisley, President, GARP Risk Institute. “According to the FAO,” David said, “by 2030, global demand for […]
The Meerkat Way
Given that climate change is the biggest economic upheaval of our age, what can risk professionals do? What, exactly, is meant by a “net-zero transition,” and why does each organization need a transition plan to reach it? How should risk professionals get started? On May 23, 2023, the membership of the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) was invited to a one-hour webinar titled “Net-Zero Transition Plans” that promised to answer these questions and more. Tony Rooke, Executive Director and Head of Transition Finance at the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), delivered the webinar. GFANZ is a global […]
Heated Exchange
Climate-related natural disasters are increasing in frequency and severity and costs. Since climate change is not equal across countries, how does a country’s exchange rate respond to such shocks? Furthermore, is it possible to build an economic model to predict future changes? On April 6, 2023, Galina Hale, professor of economics at the University of California at Santa Cruz, delivered a webinar about the effect of climate change on exchange rates. This was part of the series of talks sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (FRBSF), titled the Virtual Seminar on Climate Economics. She reported results from […]
Climate Risk in Africa
Are European governments turning to African energy producers? What is the effect of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine on other parts of the world? Will this threaten Africa’s transition to renewable energy? Is there any way to put the brakes on climate risk? On December 12, 2022, the Climate Action Tracker group held a virtual event, where three experts on climate risk discussed how to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and enhance climate action in Africa, with a focus on climate governance. Fossil gas is not the answer To meet the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement, “the global […]