Chapter 3 pt 3 laws and conventions

Question 1

How many laws were there found to be globally in 2017 and 2023 related to climate change?

Answer 1

1. 2017: 1,400 laws related to climate change globally
2. a 20-fold increase over 20 years
3. 2023: 2092

Question 2

What is the Ramsar Convention and outcome?

Answer 2

1. 1971
   2.Pioneered international cooperation for wetland conservation and sustainable use, vital for biodiversity and water management

Question 3

What is the Vienna convention and outcome?

Answer 3

1. 1985
2. Established a framework for protecting the ozone layer, leading to the development of the Montreal Protocol

Question 4

What was the Montreal Protocol and outcome?

Answer 4

1. 1987
2. Significantly reduced substances that deplete the ozone layer; considered one of the most successful environmental agreements

Question 5

What was the Basel Convention and outcome?

Answer 5

1. 1989
2. Addressed hazardous waste management and disposal, reducing environmental pollution and protecting human health

Question 6

What was the convention on Biological Diversity?

Answer 6

1. 1992
2. A comprehensive agreement for the conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components, and equitable benefit sharing

Question 7

What was the convention for UN Framework Convention on Climate Change?

Answer 7

1. 1992
2. The UNFCCC set the foundation for global climate change efforts, leading to subsequent protocols and agreements

Question 8

What was the Rio Summit?

Answer 8

1. 1992
2. Marked a significant step in global environmental diplomacy, leading to key treaties and sustainable development principles

Question 9

What was the Kyoto Protocol?

Answer 9

1. 1997
2. Introduced binding greenhouse gas emission targets for developed countries, a milestone in climate change mitigation

Question 10

What was the Stockholm Convention

Answer 10

1. 2001
2. Aimed at eliminating persistent organic pollutants, protecting ecosystems and human health from dangerous chemicals

Question 11

What was UN-REDD?

Answer 11

1. 2008
2. Promoted forest conservation in developing countries, contributing to climate change mitigation and biodiversity preservation

Question 12

What was COP 15?

Answer 12

Despite not producing a binding agreement, it raised global awareness and commitment to emission reductions.

Question 13

What was Nagoya Protocol?

Answer 13

1. 2010
2. Enhanced the CBD’s goals by addressing access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing

Question 14

What was COP21?

Answer 14

1. Achieved a landmark agreement to limit global warming, with widespread international commitment

Question 15

What were the UN Sustainable Development goals?

Answer 15

1. 2015
2. Set 17 goals for global sustainable development, addressing a broad range of environmental and social issues
3. regularly cited by corporate and investment actors as material to their business planning and operations.

Question 16

Which UN sustainable Development goals are most relevant to the environmental debate?

Answer 16

1. SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy)
2. SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities)
3. SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production)
4. SDG 13 (climate action)
5. SDG 14 (life below water)
6. SDG 15 (life on land)

Question 17

What was the Kigali Amendment?

Answer 17

1. 2016
2. Strengthened the Montreal Protocol by adding provisions to phase down hydrofluorocarbons
3. These gases were used in an attempt to replace ozone-depleting chemicals but have the downside of causing a potent warming effect on the plan

Question 18

What was the COP 24?

Answer 18

Advanced the implementation of the Paris agreement by adopting a detailed rulebook

Question 18

What was the IMO 2020

Answer 18

1. Imposed stricter sulfur limits on ship fuel, reducing marine pollution and protecting air quality
   
   2. Limiting sulphur oxide emissions, which contribute to air pollution and acid rain, is estimated to have a very positive impact on human health and the environment
   3. International Maritime Organisation

Question 19

What was COP 26?

Answer 19

1. Built upon the Paris Agreement, enhancing commitments and actions towards climate change mitigation

Question 20

What was COP 15???

Answer 20

1. Focused on biodiversity, setting targets for conservation and sustainable use of biological resources and protection of indigenous rights
   
   2. Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework adopted in 2022
   3. putting 30 percent of the planet and 30 percent of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030
   4. It also contains proposals to increase finance to developing countries—a major sticking point during talks

Question 21

What was COP 27?

Answer 21

1. Expected to address ongoing climate change challenges and progress towards global goals

Question 22

What was CORSIA?

Answer 22

1. Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation
2. UN mechanism
3. Aims to stabilize CO2 emissions from international aviation at 2020 levels through carbon offsetting and reduction strategies; adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization in 2016, became operational in 2024
4. Important as domestic aviation emissions are covered by the Paris Agreement, but international flights—which are responsible for around two-thirds of the CO2 emissions from aviation—are governed by ICAO

Question 23

Which agreements are considered particularly impactful?

Answer 23

1. Paris Agreement: ambitious goals and universal participation
   
   2. Montreal Protocol: effectiveness of ozone layer protection
   3. UNFCCC: groundwork for international climate action
   4. Kyoto: first to set binding emission reduction targets

Question 24

What were some of the key initiatives of the European Green Deal?

Answer 24

1. A Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (to be applied by 2026), which will serve as the EU’s tool to put a fair price on carbon emitted in the production of carbon-intensive goods entering the EU and which should also encourage cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries 2. A circular economy action plan to encourage the development of a sustainable, resource efficient, low carbon economy 3. A revision of the energy taxation directive (with a focus on existing fossil fuel subsidies) 4. An afforestation plan targeting forest preservation and restoration

Question 25

What were the goals of the Green Deal?

Answer 25

1. intended to make the EU climate neutral (no net emissions of greenhouse gases) by 2050. 2. An additional goal is promotion of economic growth of EU nations without increased use of natural resources

Question 26

What are supporting laws and pacts of the Green Deal

Answer 26

1. The European Climate Pact is an initiative of the European Commission supporting implementation of the Green Deal. 2. The European Climate Law, passed in 2021, was built upon the Green Deal, targeting a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Question 27

What is InvestEU?

Answer 27

1. a program launched by the EU to promote investment, innovation and job creation from 2021 to 2027. 2. Its goals include mobilizing $372 billion across the EU, of which 30% will contribute to climate objectives. 3. A primary policy focus is supporting sustainable infrastructure development.

Question 28

What is the SFDR?

Answer 28

1. Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation 2. Under SFDR, investors are required to provide more transparency around - how the impacts of sustainability risks on their financial products are being systematically assessed (e.g., integrated into due diligence and research processes), -how asset managers consider—and seek to address—the potentially negative implications of investment activities on sustainability factors, and -products labeled with an explicit ESG focus

Question 29

Describe the categorisation the SFDR introduced:

Answer 29

1. Article 6 products (which are not promoted as incorporating any ESG factors or objectives), 2. Article 8 products (products claimed to promote environmental and social characteristics), and 3. Article 9 products (products that have sustainable investment as an objective).

Question 30

What is an eary challenge for asset managers in meeting their SFDR obligations?

Answer 30

1. The requirement for Article 8 and 9 funds to report the proportion of investments contributing to the first two objectives of the EU taxonomy. 2. Climate change mitigation (reduce emisssions) 3. Climate change adaptation (preparing for climate impacts)

Question 31

What is the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive?

Answer 31

1. EU sustainability reporting standards 2, . have the resulting information audited and made available in a digital format to be incorporable into a “European Single Access Point” 3. that aims to serve as a “one-stop shop” for sustainability-related information regarding EU companies and investment products

Question 32

For equities what are benchmarks primarily based on?

Answer 32

1. Company size 2. Don't directly reflect low-carbon considerations 3. implies that a significant share of assets managed under index-matching or index-tracking strategies are not explicitly considering sustainability factors.

Question 33

For fixed incomes, what benchmarks are commonly used?

Answer 33

1. market value 2. Maturity 3. credit ratings

Question 34

What is the aim of the EU climate benchmarks?

Answer 34

1. aim to start with lower associated carbon emission intensity relative to their investable universe 2. then continually cut emission thresholds each year by at least 7% (year over year), in line with IPCC estimates for annual reductions necessary for a 1.5°C (2.7°F) temperature scenario.

Question 35

What are the two main categories of climate EU benchmarks?

Answer 35

1. EU Paris-Aligned Benchmarks (EU PABs) 2.EU Climate Transition Benchmarks (EU CTBs),

Question 36

What must the EU PABs do?

Answer 36

1. reduce carbon emission intensity by at least 50% in their starting year, 2. have a four-to-one ratio of “green” to “brown” investments relative to the investable universe, and 3. not invest in fossil fuels

Question 37

What must the EU CTBs do?

Answer 37

1. require a 30% intensity reduction in the starting year and at least an equal green-to-brown ratio 2. permit fossil fuel investments as part of a transition process

Question 38

Describe French's Energy Transition for Green Growth Law

Answer 38

1. Requires mandatory disclosures from major institutional investors around their exposure to climate risks and efforts to mitigate climate change. 2. Because the law explicitly targets institutional investors but not banks, it provided a control group for a kind of natural experiment

Question 39

What are the aims of the 10 point plan of the UK green industrial revolution?

Answer 39

1. scale up low-carbon technologies and infrastructure, 2. increase protections for biodiversity, and 3, further the green finance agenda

Question 40

What was said in the Uks 10-point plan about climate-related disclosures?

Answer 40

1. mandatory climate-related disclosures 2. following the recommendations originally made by the TCFD 3. starting with large financial institutions and premium listed companies and then gradually widening the scope to other UK-registered companies and financial actors

Question 41

What is the precautionary Principle?

Answer 41

1. The Precautionary Principle states that if an action poses a potential severe risk to public health or the environment, it should be avoided unless proven safe with near certainty.

Question 42

What did the Federal reserve in US do in 2021?

Answer 42

1. launched the Financial Stability Climate Committee and the Supervision Climate Committee 2. to investigate the micro- and macro-prudential implications of climate change, respectively, including the possibility of “climate stress testing.”

Question 43

What did the Securities and Exchange Commissions (2022) proposals require companies to report on?

Answer 43

1. the governance and impacts of climate-related risks, 2. GHG emissions (Scope 1, Scope 2, and, where material, Scope 3 emissions) and other climate-related financial statement metrics, some of which would need to be subject to audit/assurance, and 3. climate-related targets and goals and transition plans, if any.

Question 44

What was the impact of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill in 2021 US?

Answer 44

1. increased funding for public and electrified transit and charging 2. over US$65 billion in clean energy transmission and grids 3. around US$8 billion in funding for clean hydrogen research via local regional hydrogen hubs

Question 45

What did the Inflation reduction act do?

Answer 45

unveiled a series of investments in clean energy and climate measures, including tax credits, production subsidies and other incentives, estimated around US$370 billion

Question 46

What type of energy received the highest amount of funding in the IRA?

Answer 46

1. Batteries and renewables 2. Clean electricity Carbon

Question 47

What type of energy received the highest amount of funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law?

Answer 47

1. Clean electricity 2. Carbon Grid and resiliency

Question 48

What is China the world's largest manufacturer of?

Answer 48

1. solar cells 2. lithium-ion batteries, 3. electric vehicles

Question 49

Describe China's investment in renewables

Answer 49

1. In 2020 doubled its construction of new wind and solar power plants 2. remains the country with both the highest levels of investment in the low-carbon energy transition and the highest absolute GHG emission

Question 50

hat have China done/commited to to reduce emissions?

Answer 50

1. To have the country’s CO2 emissions peak before the year 2030 2. China published its roadmap to net-zero carbon by 2060. 3. This was followed by an action plan for peak emissions. 4. rollout of a national carbon market 5. China’s seven ministerial agencies, including the central bank, support institutional investors to perform environmental stress tests and for mandatory environmental disclosures for issuers of public debt and equity 6. green bond market is now the world’s largest

Question 51

What have India done to combat environmental risks?

Answer 51

1. the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) strengthened and extended disclosure requirements, now covering the 1,000 largest listed companies, which are to report on certain social and sustainability aspects of their businesses 2. India’s central bank published a study in 2020 arguing that climate change can exacerbate food price inflation, 3. The country is host to one of the largest green bond markets among emerging market 4. At COP26. India committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070. 5. In 2023, the federal government approved India’s Updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which translates this commitment into enhanced climate targets.

Question 52

What have Japan done?

Answer 52

1. Tokyo Stock Exchange required prime market-listed firms to provide disclosures based on TCFD recommendations. 2. Companies also report on sustainability initiatives on a “comply-or-explain” basis. 3. The Sustainability Standards Board of Japan launched in 2022 after the formation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). 4. The Financial Services Agency in 2023 established new rules - required disclosures cover governance, risk management, strategy, indicators, and targets.

Question 53

What did the Japan Exchange Group find in a survey of 400 firms representing 76% of total market capitalization of all listed firms on the TSE?

Answer 53

1. Over 65% of the firms are now disclosing information on governance, risks, opportunities, and Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions 2. 48% are disclosing Scope 3 emissions. 3. Notably, only 47% of respondents indicated that they are integrating climate into their overall risk management practices or are assessing the resilience of their strategies using scenario analysis

Question 54

What are Australia doing?

Answer 54

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is consulting on proposals to develop mandatory climate reporting rules and will investigate potential “greenwashing” with regard to ESG- or green-labeled financial product

Question 55

What were the 4 thematic areas of the TCFDs final recommendations?

Answer 55

1. Governance: Orgs governances around climate-related risks and opportunities 2. Strategy: Actual and potential impacts of climate-related risks and opportunities on orgs business, strategy and financial planning 3. risk management: Processes used by the org to identify, assess and manage climate-related risks 4. metrics and targets: Metrics and targets use to assess and manage relevant climate-related risks and opps

Question 56

What are transition risks?

Answer 56

1. Policy and legal 2. Tech 3. Market 4,. Reputation

Question 57

What is the NGFS?

Answer 57

1. Network for Greening the Financial System 2. comprising over 70 central banks and financial supervisors. 3. It was set up to strengthen the global response required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and to enhance the role of the financial system to manage risks and to mobilize capital for green and low-carbon investments in the broader context of environmentally sustainable development.

Question 58

What has the NGFS done?

Answer 58

1. The NGFS has developed technical guidance—including publishing a set of climate scenarios—for the regulatory supervision of climate risks. 2. Elements of NGFS guidance for supervisors are increasingly being transposed into national or supranational regulation 3. most notably, the introduction of “climate stress tests” for banks and other financial institutions by the likes of the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the French Treasury, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Brazilian central bank, and other regulators

Question 59

What are the Helsinki Principles?

Answer 59

1. signed by a number of finance ministers around the world 2. encourage signatories to “take climate change into account in macroeconomic policy, fiscal planning, budgeting, public investment management, and procurement practices