ESG Insider: A podcast from S&P Global

In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we’re covering key takeaways from COP16, the UN’s major biodiversity conference that just wrapped up in Cali, Colombia.   The conference convened countries from around the world, and we hear about key outcomes of government negotiations in an interview with Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.   We also hear about the large private sector presence at COP16, which reflects companies’ growing understanding of the links between nature loss and climate change. We also hear about rising private sector recognition of the importance of including Indigenous peoples and local communities in decisions about nature. To learn more, we discuss the outlook for nature disclosure and standards with Andrea Pradilla, who is Latin America Director of the sustainability standards organization Global Reporting Initiative, or GRI. We learn about the landscape for financing for nature — including through biodiversity credits — in a conversation with Sébastien Soleille, Global Head of Energy Transition and Environment at big French bank BNP Paribas. To understand the data challenges companies face when measuring and managing their nature risks and dependencies, we talk to Divya Mankikar, Global Head of Strategy for the Corporate Ecosystem at S&P Global Sustainable1. And we look ahead to another big UN gathering taking place in Latin America — the climate-focused COP30 that Brazil will host in 2025. We talk to Eron Bloomgarden, Founder and CEO of Emergent, a nonprofit involved in a recently announced $180 million deal the Brazilian state of Pará signed to support its efforts to combat deforestation.  Read research from S&P Global Sustainable1, Corporate nature commitments remain rare, here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/ahead-of-cop16-corporate-nature-commitments-remain-rare   Listen to our previous podcast episode, ISSB Vice Chair Sue Lloyd talks aligning sustainability standards across jurisdictions, here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/issb-vice-chair-sue-lloyd-talks-aligning-sustainability-standards-across-jurisdictions   Listen to our previous podcast episode, CDP CEO talks climate, nature and the future of sustainability disclosure, here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/cdp-ceo-talks-climate-nature-and-the-future-of-sustainability-disclosure   This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.      Copyright ©2024 by S&P Global    DISCLAIMER    By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.   S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST. 

In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we explore the role artificial intelligence can play in advancing sustainability outcomes — and how the energy demands from generative AI programs could change over time.  We talk with Hussein Shel, Chief Technologist and Head of Upstream Digital Transformation, Energy and Utility at Amazon Web Services (AWS), a cloud-computing and technology services company and a subsidiary of Amazon.  AI has been a major focus at sustainability events throughout 2024 and will be a topic at the UN’s COP29 climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, which begins Nov. 11.   In the interview, Hussein explains how AWS is leveraging AI, machine learning and more efficient computing hardware to address sustainability challenges, particularly in optimizing energy usage and integrating renewables onto the grid.   "Most of these models are getting more and more optimized,” Hussein says. “They're becoming more and more intelligent ... reducing potentially the consumption of energy needed to retrain."  This interview took place on the sidelines of The Nest Climate Campus, where ESG Insider was an official podcast during Climate Week NYC.  Listen to our interview with the head of the Electric Power Research Institute on how AI is driving up electricity demand: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/ceraweek-how-energy-transition-discussions-are-shifting   This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.      Copyright ©2024 by S&P Global     DISCLAIMER     By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.     S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST.

Today marks the end of COP16, the UN’s biodiversity-focused Conference of the Parties in Cali, Colombia. The UN’s climate change conference, COP29, is slated to begin Nov. 11 in Baku, Azerbaijan.  One common thread in these events is the challenge of addressing the big financing gaps for a range of sustainability issues — including climate, nature, and social equity.  In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we explore how the fixed income market is evolving to help fill in some of those sustainable finance gaps. We talk with Stephen Liberatore, Head of ESG and Impact for Global Fixed Income at Nuveen. Nuveen is a global asset manager with about $1.2 dollars trillion in total assets under management.  “One of the things that is really important to our investors is that we look for issuers and issues that have environmental benefit or environmental stewardship," Stephen says. "The issues that they're trying to identify and invest in are longer-term issues. They're not things that are going to be resolved overnight." We talked with Stephen on the sidelines of The Nest Climate Campus, where ESG Insider was an official podcast during Climate Week NYC.  This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.      Copyright ©2024 by S&P Global     DISCLAIMER    By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.    S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST. 

The UN's big climate change conference, COP29, starts Nov. 11 in Baku, Azerbaijan. In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we're exploring technology solutions for the low-carbon transition, including in developing countries.  We talk with Vaishali Sinha, Co-founder and Chairperson of Sustainability at ReNew, a decarbonization solutions company deploying renewables and other low-carbon technologies in India.   "A global mindset is what is required in some of these very new and emerging technologies — and we must work together to be able to solve for it," Vaishali tells us.  We also talk with Holly Paeper, President of the Commercial HVAC Americas business at Trane Technologies, a building technology and energy solutions company. Holly says tackling Scope 3 indirect supply chain emissions is the "next frontier" for Trane Technologies and other companies working in the built environment.   "The challenge is huge in the built environment," she says. "The good news is there's technology that exists today to change that, and we're really starting to see more and more customer demand for those solutions."  We also sit down with Garrett Quinn, Chief Sustainability Officer at Smurfit Westrock, a sustainable paper and packaging company with operations in dozens of countries. Garrett describes some of the ways the company is looking to lower its emissions.  We talked with today’s guests on the sidelines of The Nest Climate Campus, where ESG Insider was an official podcast during Climate Week NYC.  Listen to last week's episode "Talking climate finance ahead of COP29" here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/talking-climate-finance-ahead-of-cop29   This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.     Copyright ©2024 by S&P Global    DISCLAIMER    By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.    S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST.