Good Business
Bloomberg

Inside: EIB drops fossil fuel project financing. Public support for the SEC's proxy adviser overhaul looks fishy. PG&E doubts wildfire claimed a 500-pound emerald. Another reason to save the whales. Climate change is awful for everyone but dam builders. A windier world will be good for wind farms. — Emily Chasan 

Sustainable Finance

The European Investment Bank took a quantum leap in ending fossil-fuel project financing. The unprecedented strategy is expected to support Europe’s plans to become the first climate-neutral continent and allow the bank to prioritize energy efficiency and renewable targets. The natural gas industry isn't too worried about it just yet. But they might s investors turn their back on fossil fuels, halting debt financing is likely to make a bigger impact than equity divestment, writes Bloomberg Opinion's David Fickling

U.S. SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said "long-term Main Street investors" backed his proposed policy change on proxy advisers and shareholder proposals, but a close look at the letters submitted to the regulator by supposedly regular people turned out fishy, with some "writers" saying they never wrote the letters. It's lobbyists that are pushing the SEC to rein in companies like ISS and Glass Lewis that help big investors decide when to oppose or support management. The proposal could also silence small investors, like religious nuns, who have pushed companies for decades to improve their policies on issues such as guns, tobacco and fracking. 

NN Investment Partners said three of its emerging-market fund managers quit after the company tightened its rules on responsible investing and the managers had "diverging views" on the future direction of its ESG integration strategy. Two of the managers joined Chicago-based William Blair Investment Management. 

Investors looking for responsible funds can get lost in a forest of broad terms. The industry group for U.K. asset managers is trying to clear things up about what's ethical, green, impact, integration and sustainable

In Brief

Environment

Global warming is bad for everyone, except dam builders who could harness the power of glacier melt and the value of water itself. 

New Jersey is doubling down on its offshore wind power goal as the state competes with New York and elsewhere to jump start an industry expected to create thousands of jobs. The world is getting windier due to shifts in oceans and the atmosphere, which could boost electricity generated from breezes at the same time developers are installing more turbines. Early gambles on wind power are already paying off: The world's only $100 billion utility owes its rise to wind. 

California is reviewing its fracking policies as the state's Governor Gavin Newsom says it needs to start taking steps to phase out fossil fuels. Here's what human-made earthquakes mean for fracking. 

One whale is worth thousands of trees
in the climate fight

As extreme storms wreck electrical grids, Japan's government is encouraging homeowners to invest in battery storage systems.  

Easyjet is becoming the first airline to fully offset all of its carbon emissions from flights, saying the move is an interim step ahead of new technologies. Global travelers are increasingly weighing their conscience when booking air travel. Carbon offsets work sometimes, but often they don't. The world is still waiting for scalable electric aircraft. For now, this prototype zero-emission seaplane is preparing for takeoff.

Sweden is the first market where Coca-Cola will sell all of its products in fully-recycled plastic bottles

African countries need to speed up their response to climate change, a UN official said, but the task is "particularly challenging" given the role of coal in the continent's energy mix.

The biggest coal plant in the U.S. West powered down for good, but in a threat to global climate goals, China has about the same amount of coal-fired power plants under construction or in its pipeline as the EU's entire existing capacity. Elsewhere, Tesla is planning to bulk up the world's largest lithium-ion battery in Australia and hydrogen might be the best way to generate green heat for factory furnaces.

Social

California is facing another lawsuit over its first-in-the nation requirement for women on corporate boards

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has dropped U.K. security firm G4S  from its portfolio, citing concerns about abuses of migrant-worker rights in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Women in finance are deserting trading floors as bias continues to block their path to management roles. Bank of America said in a 23-page report on Wednesday that it has added more women and people of color to senior management, amid shareholder pressure for banks to disclose more about their workforce makeup.

Governance

BlackRock, Vanguard and Fidelity were rebuked by U.S. SEC Commissioner Robert Jackson Jr. for failing to push companies to disclose their political campaign contributions.

This shareholder detective helps firms find the true owners of company shares to fight activists in Japan

Note: Please send tips, suggestions and feedback to Emily Chasan at echasan1@bloomberg.net.

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