Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment11
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Stranding Equitably in the Current Market and Geopolitical Context
The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment’s conference of early November will consider, notably, how world production of oil and gas could be significantly reduced in manners protecting the interests of lower-income producing countries, given that staying on carbon budget will require leaving two thirds of our fossil fuel reserves unburnt.
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Shareholders Turn Up the Heat on Climate Change
2016 was a hot year for climate change shareholder resolutions hitting the boardrooms of oil and gas companies. Although more familiar climate news headlines have carried calls to “keep it in the ground” and divest investment portfolios from fossil fuels, a patient strategy has been quietly gaining momentum: shareholder engagement on climate change.
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Tunisia Says Yes to Resource Contract Transparency
Tunisia’s commitment to disclose extractive industry contracts was a critical step in promoting improved governance in Tunisia’s natural resources sector, as well as an important move toward improving trust between the government, investors and extractive project-affected communities.
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Protecting Indigenous Land Rights Makes Good Economic Sense
Indigenous peoples and other communities hold and manage 50 to 65 percent of the world’s land, yet governments recognize only 10 percent as legally belonging to these groups, with another 8 percent designated by governments for communities. That’s bad economic policy.
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Trade Deals and the Paris Climate Agreement
With the approval of the Paris Climate Agreement comes a key question: Do our trade and investment agreements—current and proposed—create the space, send the right signals, and clear the path for the U.S. and other countries to meet their Paris commitments?
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Pressure Mounts for Developing Countries to Leave Fossil Fuels in the Ground
Calls are intensifying to phase out fossil fuels, and that is now beginning to occur in many developed countries. This shift will have profound implications for the developing world, which has vast untapped fossil fuel resources, but may be unable to realize their value.
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Land, Resource Investments and Climate Change: 3 Key Takeaways
Any discussion on climate change and sustainable investment in natural resources must grapple with land—a complicated yet crucial component of the search for equitable climate change solutions.
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Opening Up Land Contracts and Land Data … With Caution
Transparency isn’t an end goal, but greater transparency over certain types of land-related information can lead to better outcomes: for example, more informed decision-making and improved accountability.
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Flaring Gas: How Not to Waste a Valuable Resource
Every year, oil fields around the globe burn, or “flare,” an estimated 3.5 percent of the world’s natural gas supply. The gas is produced alongside oil and must be disposed of during the production process. Eliminating flaring would reduce CO2 emissions by as much as removing 77 million cars from the road. Moreover, the flaring…
