Today’s ESG Updates
- EU Delays Deforestation Law: Europe postpones the EUDR by one year and loosens compliance rules, raising concerns for companies that already invested in traceability systems.
- Climate Risks Hit U.S. Housing: Rapidly rising insurance premiums driven by hurricanes and wildfires are eroding home values and forcing difficult financial choices for homeowners.
- IFC Invests $100M in Clean Energy: The IFC’s new commitment to Brookfield’s transition fund aims to expand low-carbon infrastructure and sustainable technologies across underserved emerging markets.
- ABN AMRO Appoints New CSO: Sandra Phlippen steps into the role to strengthen the bank’s environmental strategy and embed responsible practices across its core operations.
EU Countries Vote to Delay Supply Chain Deforestation Law by One Year
The European Council has decided to postpone the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) for another year and plans to make compliance easier for companies. This position will shape talks with the European Parliament about possible changes to the law, which is meant to keep products linked to deforestation out of the EU. If approved, this would be the second delay, announced only weeks before the current start date.
Some large companies have warned that ongoing delays and looser rules could cause uncertainty and put firms that already invested in compliance at a disadvantage. The EUDR requires companies to trace key products like beef, coffee, palm oil, cocoa, and timber back to where they were grown to show they were not produced on deforested land after 2020. According to the Council’s proposal, large companies would need to comply by the end of 2026. Smaller firms would follow in mid-2027, with new, simpler reporting rules introduced at the same time.
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Further reading: EU Countries Vote to Delay Supply Chain Deforestation Law for Another Year
Climate Risk Hits the Housing Market
Homeowners in the United States are feeling more financial strain as insurance premiums rise quickly in places hit hardest by climate disasters. In coastal Louisiana, for example, 69-year-old Sandra Rojas has watched her annual premiums more than double while her home’s value drops. The same pattern is happening in Florida, California, Colorado, and parts of the Midwest, where insurers are either raising rates or leaving high-risk areas.
New research finds that fast-rising insurance costs, partly because of higher reinsurance prices, have cut home values by tens of thousands of dollars in ZIP codes most at risk from hurricanes and wildfires. In some areas, insurance premiums now make up almost a third of monthly housing payments. Analysts say these changes are already putting pressure on real estate markets across the country. Many homeowners now face tough decisions: pay much higher premiums, sell their homes at a loss, or go without insurance.
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Further reading: A Climate ‘Shock’ Is Eroding Some Home Values. New Data Shows How Much.
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IFC Injects $100M to Turbocharge Clean Energy in Emerging Markets
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is part of the World Bank Group, has invested $100 million in Brookfield Asset Management’s Catalytic Transition Fund (CTF). The fund helps clean energy projects in emerging markets that usually do not get enough investment. It was launched at COP28 in 2023 with a $1 billion anchor commitment from the UAE-backed ALTÉRRA platform. The fund aims to expand low-carbon infrastructure in South and Central America, South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.
The CTF has three main goals. It helps carbon-intensive businesses become more sustainable, supports modern energy systems, and funds solutions such as energy efficiency, and new aviation fuels. IFC’s investment aims to boost climate financing in areas that need more support.
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Further reading: IFC Invests $100 Million in Brookfield’s Emerging Markets Climate Solutions Fund
ABN AMRO Names Sandra Phlippen Chief Sustainability Officer
ABN AMRO has appointed Sandra Phlippen as its next Chief Sustainability Officer, starting January 1.
Phlippen joined the Dutch bank in 2018 and has been Chief Economist since 2020. She also advises the Council of State on national and EU budget matters and serves on the supervisory board of the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis. Before working in banking, she was an economics editor at the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper.
As CSO, Phlippen will lead Group Sustainability and help shape the bank’s wider environmental and social strategy. She will focus on strengthening ABN AMRO’s sustainability goals and making sure responsible practices are part of the bank’s main business.
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Further reading: ABN AMRO Appoints Sandra Phlippen as Chief Sustainability Officer
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — In the cover photo: Deforestation Cover Photo Credit: Wiki Commons
