“If you don’t pay attention to climate-related risks in your portfolio, you may not actually see an exposure that you have in terms of a physical asset,” Keyes told WP. “If you’re invested in a coastal hotel chain, for example, rising sea level and coastal erosion and more extreme weather events raise the risk of flooding those assets. You could take an impairment or see an increase in operating costs just to try and keep these assets safe from these growing physical risks.
“If you have not factored that in, you may be taking on a risk within your investment portfolio that you’re not getting paid for.”
Keyes sees ESG investing as a means to protect yourself and your portfolio from the risks of climate change. Her view of ESG investing, though, is not about excluding firms that might contribute to climate change. Rather, she looks at ESG as a way of assessing how firms are preparing for the looming risks of climate change. She flips the old exclusionary formula of “impact investing” and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) towards and inclusionary formula, taking on companies that are minimizing their exposure to climate-related risks.
Keyes wants more investors to take this view of ESG investing and push the companies they’re buying to get ready for climate change-related risks. She’s seeing a push for enhanced disclosure, companies fully explaining their own exposure to climate-related risks. She looks for signs from company governance around these risks, and whether the board has identified them and made someone responsible for managing them. Investors can use disclosure calls as a “lever” to push companies to better prepare for climate change.
If companies aren’t disclosing enough, Keyes thinks investors should push them and engage with high-level leaders at the company. That can even take the form of proxy voting and shareholder proposals, like the climate-change driven shareholder proposal Suncor faced. In that case Suncor worked with its advisors and turned a confrontation into a “win-win”, that saw the company begin to minimize its climate change-risk exposure.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was little changed in late-morning trading as the financial sector fell, but energy and base metal stocks moved higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.05 of a point at 24,224.95.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 94.31 points at 42,417.69. The S&P 500 index was down 10.91 points at 5,781.13, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.59 points at 18,262.03.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.71 cents US compared with 73.05 cents US on Wednesday.
The November crude oil contract was up US$1.69 at US$74.93 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up a penny at US$2.67 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$14.70 at US$2,640.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up two cents at US$4.42 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
