Today’s ESG Updates
- Global Science-Based Climate Targets Grow 40% in 2025: The SBTi Trend Tracker reports nearly 10,000 companies have validated targets, with Asia leading growth at 53%.
- EC Backs Windfall Tax on Energy Firms: Economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis approved member state taxes on energy profits to lower prices spiked by the Middle East conflict.
- New EU Transparency Rules to Combat Energy Market Abuse: Two new regulations taking effect April 29, 2026, will tighten supervision of data platforms and modernize reporting to prevent manipulation.
- India’s Steel Sector Pledges 25% Carbon Emissions Cut: Indian steel mills aim to reduce emissions by 0.65 tons of CO2 per ton of steel over the next decade.
Net-zero and science-based targets see growth in 2025
On Thursday, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) published its Trend Tracker 2025. The report detailed a 40% increase in companies committing to validated science-based targets and a 61% increase in validated net-zero targets. According to SBTi, 9,764 companies had validated science-based targets at the end of last year. Asia saw the biggest growth, with a 53% increase in science-based targets in 2025. Asia’s increased commitment can now be compared to Europe’s, with both regions seeing around 1,200 companies adopt validated targets.
Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean also saw sustained growth, with corporate targets increasing by 48% and 42%, respectively. David Kennedy, the CEO of the Science-Based Targets initiative, said, “The data in this report shows that despite political headwinds, increasing numbers of companies in every region are setting science-based targets. In doing so, they are part of a market transformation that is good for business while contributing to achieving global climate objectives.”
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Further reading: Corporate climate target-setting up 40% in 2025, with Asia emerging as a centre of gravity
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EU member states consider windfall tax to ease energy prices
The European Commission’s economy chief, Valdis Dombrovskis, gave member countries permission to introduce a windfall tax on energy firms. Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Austria all issued a letter to the Commission, asking Brussels to tax those benefiting from the war. Ideally, this tax will ease energy prices, which have skyrocketed due to the closing of the Strait of Hormuz. The EU introduced a similar windfall tax after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Referring to the windfall tax at a European Parliament hearing, Dombrovskis said, “There is nothing preventing member states from applying this. We are looking into whether we can come up with some kind of more coordinated approach at the European level. It’s currently being assessed.” The Commission has prepared several initiatives to help ease the crisis, including amendments to the EU’s flagship cap-and-trade system and a lower tax on electricity than on fossil fuels.
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Further reading: Brussels backs windfall tax on big firms to ease pain from energy crisis
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European Commission releases new energy transparency rules
The European Commission has published two new energy transparency rules, due to take effect on April 29, 2026. Adopted under Regulation (EU) 1227/2011 on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT), these new rules aim to prevent market manipulation and ensure transparency within the energy market.
The first rule, a Delegated Regulation, sets stricter standards for those who collect information and report to the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER). The goal of this rule is to ensure that these data-collection organizations are easy to monitor and maintain fair and honest practices. The second rule repeals the Implementing Regulation and intends to ease reporting burdens. The rule would refine how data is reported to ACER through a balanced framework, aiming to limit market abuse within the sector.
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Further reading: New energy market integrity and transparency rules
India’s steel sector to cut carbon emissions by 25%
The steel production sector in India exceeds the global average for carbon emissions by 32%, producing around 2.65 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of finished steel. Over the next ten years, India’s steel mills hope to cut carbon emissions by 25%. According to the “National Steel Policy 2025,” the country’s steel sector aims to remove 0.65 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of steel by 2036, meeting the global average. This commitment to emissions reductions comes as the country has been affected by the EU’s new carbon border tariff. The tax, which charges high-carbon emitters, especially cement and steel producers, a fee on imports, has led the Indian government to look elsewhere for export opportunities while attempting to reduce emissions in high-carbon sectors. The country also aims to expand crude steel capacity to 400 million tons and double exports to 20 million tons within the next decade.
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Further reading: India aiming to cut steel emissions by 25%, double capacity, document shows
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — In the Cover Photo: Bosco Verticale in Milan, Italy. Cover Photo Credit: Gábor Molnár
