Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy

12/09/2021

Interested in learning more about ESG sustainable accounting framework? Values at Work, chapter 2, is by Satyajit Bose:

In response to increasing investor demand for non-financial information from companies, a number of sustainability accounting frameworks have evolved to improve standardized disclosure of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. These frameworks have created more consistent, readily available, and easily interpreted information for investors to assess the sustainability impact of capital allocation choices. The data that is easy to collect and disclose is, however, far less valuable than information that must be gleaned through complicated processes, extensive due diligence, collaborations with subject-matter experts, and serendipitous insights. ESG frameworks thus face a difficult trade-off between standardized information that is widely demanded and cheaply supplied versus nuanced and esoteric information required to form the basis of strategies capable of delivering market outperformance. Investors seeking ESG-derived alpha must thus look beyond these standardized data sources and frameworks for their deeper and more idiosyncratic analyses.

Values at Work was edited by Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy Director Daniel Esty. Read more below:

In response to increasing investor demand for non-financial information from companies, a number of sustainability accounting frameworks have evolved to improve standardized disclosure of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. These frameworks have created more consistent, readily....

11/11/2021

YCELP is celebrating the one-year anniversary of 'Values at Work' edited by Center Director Daniel Esty. Check out this highlight of Chapter 1, and learn more by clicking the link below:

"Sustainable investing has expanded from a niche interest to a mainstay of investment strategies around the world. With a growing number of investors focused not just on the financial promise of the companies in their portfolios but also the environmental, social, and governance performance of these enterprises, the demand for better ESG metrics and reporting has skyrocketed. This book explains the critical concepts, trends, risk frameworks, and investment tools that investors of all kinds—including those in stocks, bonds, private equity, infrastructure projects, and impact investing—need to know. With informative essays from a range of scholars, policy experts, and investment practitioners, it explores the state of play in sustainable finance with particular focus on the data, guidelines, legal standards, and principles required to make ESG reporting more trustworthy and thus sustainable investing more mainstream."

Sustainable investing is a rapidly growing and evolving field. With investors expressing ever greater interest in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics and reporting, companies face a sustainability imperative and the need to remake their business models to respond to an array of press...

11/10/2021

Update! Center Director Dan Esty spoke on a panel of experts last week in Glasgow at a Global Alliance of Universities on Climate event, co-hosted by Yale University and The London School of Economics and Political Science - LSE. The event brought leaders together from Yale, Columbia University in the City of New York, and Tsinghua University to answer critical questions such as, "What are universities currently doing well and what more can they do to prepare the next generation of climate leaders and deliver evidence-based climate solutions?" More information: https://www.gauc.net/news/news-209.html

11/04/2021

Listen as Center Director Dan Esty joins the Mother Earth podcast and discusses 21st Century solutions to the climate crisis.

What will it take to harness the power of business to solve a climate crisis that is deeply interconnected with a host of environmental and social issues? How can 20th century environmental policy evolve to meet 21st century needs?

Join us on this week’s episode of The Mother Earth Podcast to hear Professor Dan Esty, director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, discuss these critical questions with host Matt Pawa.

Dan outlines his vision of a “zero harm” world using the polluter pays principle combined with incentives for businesses to operate sustainably. And he provides a blueprint for updating our environmental laws and policies to meet the climate crisis and other pressing environmental problems.

“A sustainability imperative is a foundational principle for life on the planet earth in the 21st century.”

Listen now on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

10/13/2021

We were so happy to have Denmark's Climate Minister Dan Jørgensen join us last month, where we discussed climate change policy, renewable energy, and a just transition.

Read more: https://environment.yale.edu/news/article/why-denmark-wants-to-be-a-frontrunner-in-fight-against-climate-change

09/30/2021

Join the Yale School of the Environment for a climate policy conference next Friday, October 8, on "Public Investment for Decarbonization: Principles for Good Policy.”

With Congress currently relying on infrastructure spending to reduce carbon pollution, this timely event will examine the technical barriers and political considerations of this spending-focused approach.

Featuring panelists from the public and private sectors, non-governmental organizations, and academia, the conference will explore the links, barriers, and opportunities at the nexus of public investment, climate change, and decarbonization.

Register here: https://yaleconnect.yale.edu/CC/public-investment-for-decarbonization--principles-for-good-policy/

09/16/2021

Join us on Tuesday, September 21, for a Climate Week conversation about the role of universities in taking action on climate change!

👩‍🏫 What can universities do to help to solve the climate crisis?
☑️ What are universities currently doing well?
❓What more can be done?

To answer the questions, Columbia University in the City of New York, Yale University, and Tsinghua University, are going to co-host a special panel discussion during the this year. Bringing together students and faculty from the GAUC member universities, the event is going to discuss the critical role of universities in addressing the climate crisis from the perspectives of both the faculty and student.

📣Join us to explore the Role of Universities in Solving Our Climate Crisis!!
⌚Date: Tuesday, September 21, 2021
⌚Time: 9:00-10:30 am ET
💻Register 👇
https://events.columbia.edu/cal/event/showEventMore.rdo

Columbia Climate School Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy The Climate Group

06/28/2021

Tomorrow, 6/29, we will join London Climate Action Week to talk net zero and carbon neutrality in the United States and China. Thank you to Global Alliance of Universities on Climate for hosting this exciting event. Please join us at 8:00 am EST. Register here:

This virtual event is organised by the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC).

06/09/2021

Sustainable investing is increasing - and this trend has led to more vigorous corporate action on sustainability in general and on climate change in particular. There is a growing consensus on the need for a clean energy transition, and the debate over what must be done to achieve deep decarboni ...

05/17/2021

Center Director Daniel Esty recently joined the Swedish Embassy for a virtual symposium discussing how enterprise and innovation can be used to transition towards a low-carbon circular economy. Watch the full event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6UhHfF5j1Q

05/05/2021

What has the Biden administration already accomplished for and climate change policy, and what are a few likely next steps? Read more in our latest blog: https://envirocenter.yale.edu/news/environmental-policy-bidens-first-hundred-days

May 5, 2021Robin Happel As we pass the new administration’s hundred-day mark, advocates across civil society have witnessed a paradigm shift in environmental policy at the federal level. Within just its first few days, the new administration set the stage for sweeping changes to how climate change...

05/05/2021

On National Day of Awareness for , we honor and remember Indigenous people who have lost their lives to violence, including violence from extractive industries. In addition to President Biden's proclamation, legal reforms like Savanna's Act, the Not Invisible Act, and the creation of a new Missing & Murdered Unit by Secretary of the Interior Haaland in recent years are important steps forward.

Today, thousands of unsolved cases of missing and murdered Native Americans continue to cry out for justice and healing.  On Missing and Murdered