Newsletter: Signatories of letter to Kerry began fossil fuel divesting years ago

Playing politics 

Last month, 13 US states that rely heavily on fossil fuel production to support their economies, and also happen to be mostly Republican strongholds, accused the Biden administration of pressuring financial institutions to stop lending or investing in coal, oil and natural gas companies. In a letter to special envoy for climate change John Kerry, the state treasurers said the Biden administration was seeking “extralegal commitments” to support its environmental agenda. 

The major flaw with these states’ assertion is that their own public investment funds have been decreasing their exposure to the energy sector years before Biden took office. A review by New Private Markets found that a number of these states have been divesting and cutting back capital to energy-related assets. Read the full story here.

Seven questions on three climate risks 

Bill Green, a veteran of the infrastructure space and recent founder of the firm Climate Adaptive Infrastructure, answers a series of questions about the two other risks, beyond physical, that many investors forget when it comes to climate change. Green also explains how he hopes to find success with a business model centred completely around avoiding climate risks. Read the full interview here.

How a DFI gathers impact data

Development finance institutions were integrating sustainability into investment processes long before the terms “ESG” or “impact” made it into the investment lexicon. New Private Markets has been given a briefing from Swedfund – which has been investing for 40 years – on what data it gathers and reports; what types of managers it works with; and where it wants to make the biggest impact. Read the full interview here.

Notes from an impact fundraiser

Jeremy Smith has seen impact from a few different angles. He founded emerging markets renewables firm, Berkley Energy, and co-founded CDP, the disclosure system focused on environmental reporting. He now leads a team focused on impact at placement firm Rede Partners. Writing for New Private Markets as part of our Build Back Better series, he argues that the need for harmonised impact data is now urgent.