Today’s ESG Updates
- South Korea moves to block record Samsung strike: Government considers emergency arbitration as more than 45,000 workers threaten an 18-day walkout.
- Carney announces new Alberta carbon pricing deal: The deal will raise Alberta’s effective industrial carbon price, boosting the likelihood of securing federal approval for a major Pacific oil pipeline.
- Health panel urges highest WHO alert level for climate crisis: Commission warns that climate change is already driving mass mortality, demanding urgent global mobilisation.
- Ukraine’s privatisation programme secures EBRD backing: The government aims to raise $295 million in 2026 in an effort to fund reconstruction and attract investment.
Samsung faces largest-ever strike threat amid bonus dispute
South Korea said on Sunday it would pursue all options, including emergency arbitration, to prevent a strike at Samsung Electronics, as more than 45,000 workers threaten an 18-day walkout from May 21. The action would be the largest labour strike in the conglomerate’s history and could disrupt production of memory chips used in AI data centres, smartphones and laptops.
The dispute reflects growing divisions inside Samsung over bonuses. After benefiting from a global memory chip shortage, the company proposed bonuses of 607% of annual salaries for 27,000 memory-chip employees, but only 50%-100% for 23,000 workers in its struggling logic chip business. The union argues that staff producing AI chips for Tesla and Nvidia, often working in the same facilities, should not be left behind.
The government has framed the dispute as a national economic risk. Samsung accounts for 22.8% of South Korea’s exports and 26% of its stock market, employs more than 120,000 people and works with 1,700 suppliers. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said a one-day factory shutdown could cost 1 trillion won, while warning production stoppages could lead to “months of inactivity”.
The union is seeking the removal of a 50% bonus cap and wants 15% of annual operating profit allocated to a worker bonus pool, while Samsung says payouts should reflect performance. Samsung and union representatives resume government-mediated talks on Monday.
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Further reading: South Korea says it will pursue all options to avoid Samsung strike
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Carney strikes Alberta carbon pricing deal, clearing the way for new oil pipeline
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed a new industrial carbon pricing agreement on Friday. The move is designed to pave the way for the construction of a major crude oil pipeline to Canada’s Pacific coast, to begin by September 2027.
The deal will increase the “effective carbon price”, meaning the total cost firms face per tonne of CO₂ once carbon taxes, compliance costs and penalties are combined. The price will climb in stages toward C$130 per tonne by 2040, with increases starting next year.
The agreement is a key condition for federal consideration of a new export pipeline that would carry up to one million barrels per day of Alberta crude to the Pacific coast for shipment to Asian markets. The project is designed to reduce reliance on U.S. export routes and expand westbound capacity. It remains at the planning stage, with approval dependent on emissions reductions and private-sector investment.
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Further reading: Carney announces Alberta carbon pricing deal that may pave path for new oil pipeline
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Experts urge the World Health Organisation to declare the climate crisis a global public health emergency
An international panel of health experts has urged the World Health Organization to declare the climate crisis a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC), its highest alert level.
The WHO-convened commission warned that climate change is already increasing mortality through heatwaves, air pollution, food insecurity and the spread of infectious disease. It said current global responses remain fragmented and too slow given the scale and speed of impacts, warning that failure to act could result in millions of avoidable deaths.
The report, to be presented to European ministers ahead of the WHO’s World Health Assembly, argues that only an emergency designation would trigger a coordinated international response of sufficient scale. It said such a move would accelerate policy action, unlock funding and strengthen accountability across health systems.
The WHO has previously declared emergencies for outbreaks, including Covid-19 and Mpox, but has not applied the same designation to climate change despite repeated scientific warnings.
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Further reading: Declare climate crisis a global public health emergency, experts tell WHO
EBRD could help finance Ukraine’s privatisation push
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has endorsed Ukraine’s renewed privatisation programme and said it could help finance future asset sales, according to its president Odile Renaud-Basso.
The bank is already assisting Kyiv in structuring transactions and infrastructure concessions, including a tender launched in December to operate two terminals at Chornomorsk port in the Odesa region. Renaud-Basso said: “Depending on who the buyers are, we could provide some financing for future privatisations.”
Ukraine plans to raise about 13 billion hryvnia ($295 million) in 2026 by selling state stakes in banks and other nationalised assets. Planned sales include two major profitable banks, Sense Bank and Ukrgasbank.
The scheme aims to ease fiscal pressure and fund reconstruction after more than four years of war with Russia. By reducing state dominance in capital markets, Kyiv also hopes to attract foreign investment, working in tandem with broader reforms currently being supported by the EBRD.
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Further reading: EBRD backs privatisation efforts in Ukraine, could provide funding
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — In the Cover Photo: Protestors in Seoul, South Korea. Cover Photo Credit: Mathew Schwartz.
