ESG Currents

"Exiting or reducing financing for palm oil is something we're absolutely not trying to do. Instead we're trying to support sustainable palm oil, without deforestation and planting on peat or exploitation," says Luanne Sieh, group chief sustainability officer at Malaysia's CIMB Group. On this ESG Currents episode, Sieh and Conrad Tan, Bloomberg Intelligence ESG integration analyst for APAC, explore the bank's efforts guided by science to curb destructive practices and bad actors in the palm industry while supporting its key role in providing jobs, food security and dietary access in the developing world. They also discuss the importance of uplifting smallholders at risk of being cut out of global supply chains. This episode was recorded on May 30, 2025.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

California has long led the US in tackling air emissions, but Congress recently voted to block a key tool employed by the state to accomplish its goals. In this episode of ESG Currents, BI senior ESG analysts Gail Glazerman and Rob Du Boff are joined by Mary Nichols, distinguished counsel for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA, who previously served as chair of the California Air Resources Board. They discuss implications of the auto-emissions waiver repeal, ways the state could still push emissions improvements and how companies may respond to the rollback in federal ambitions. This episode was recorded on June 5.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can we prepare tomorrow’s leaders for today’s climate risks? In this episode of the ESG Currents podcast, the University of Maryland’s Dr. Cliff Rossi, academic director and professor, and Tim Canty, associate professor, join Bloomberg Intelligence’s Andy Stevenson, senior ESG analyst, to discuss their interdisciplinary approach to teaching sustainability. Together they explore how science and finance must be used to understand and mitigate climate risk, from mortgage markets to air quality. They also discuss the rising challenges posed by natural hazards, the consequences of rolling back federal data and modeling tools and the critical role students can play in bridging the communication gap between science, policy and business. The episode was recorded on May 9.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Discussions around climate change have become deeply politicized, but global warming’s impacts have no political affiliation, whether it’s hurricanes in deep red Texas or wildfires in deep blue California. On this episode of ESG Currents, BI senior ESG analyst Rob Du Boff is joined by Bob Inglis, executive director of republicEn.org and former US Congressman from South Carolina’s 4th district. They discuss why Republicans have traditionally shied away from the topic, and free-market solutions to addressing the climate crisis. And for more perspectives on tackling the climate crisis, be sure to register for BI’s virtual conference, COP 29.5.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With emissions hitting record highs, carbon dioxide removal is shifting from theoretical climate solution to commercial necessity. In this episode of ESG Currents, Bloomberg Intelligence Director of ESG Research Eric Kane speaks with AirMyne’s co-founder and COO, Mark Cyffka, and its CCO, Jan Huckfeldt, about the startup’s low-cost, scalable approach to direct air capture (DAC). They discuss why simplicity and heat efficiency are critical to scaling DAC, how waste heat from data centers can fuel removals and what sets the company’s liquid-based system apart from legacy approaches. The trio also unpacks why investors should care now despite high prices and the policy frameworks necessary to unlock the emerging market’s full potential. For more insights, click here to register for BI ESG’s June 4 virtual conference, COP 29.5. This episode was recorded on May 8. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Climate risk is financial risk; investors who aren't addressing that risk are at risk themselves," says Rebecca Mikula-Wright, CEO of the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change. Among Asia's biggest institutional investors, a growing number now track or target investments in climate solutions, conduct physical-risk assessments and engage investee companies to reduce portfolio risks, recognizing climate change as a major risk to long-term returns. Mikula-Wright discusses these issues with Conrad Tan, Bloomberg Intelligence ESG integration analyst for APAC, in this edition of ESG Currents. They also examine newer areas of focus including how investors are working to integrate nature and social risk into their capital allocation and engagement strategies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Many UAE banks have seen sustainable finance as a profit center", says Vijay Bains, Group Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of ESG at Emirates NBD. In this episode of ESG Currents, Grace Osborne, BI’s ESG integration analyst for EMEA, speaks with Bains about the rising momentum of sustainable finance in the GCC and its intertwinement with the region's economic diversification plans. With UAE's national banks' pledging to mobilize AED 1 trillion in sustainable finance by 2030, alongside strengthened Nationally Determined Contributions, opportunities for capturing sustainable value creation are mounting. From water scarcity solutions to green building initiatives, the GCC is scaling its sustainability ambitions at a time where other regions in the world appear to be stepping back. This episode was recorded on May 1, 2025.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As climate change accelerates water scarcity, investors are eyeing scalable solutions with environmental integrity. In this episode of ESG Currents, BI’s director of ESG research Eric Kane and senior ESG associate Melanie Rua speak with OceanWell CEO Robert Bergstrom about a subsea desalination product that uses deep-ocean pressure to cut energy use by up to 40% while protecting marine ecosystems. Bergstrom outlines OceanWell’s phased road map, including pilots and global scaling, and makes the investment case for water infrastructure, citing research showing a $7 return for every $1 invested. The episode explores why valuing water appropriately is key to driving innovation, policy and climate resilience. Recorded April 23.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"It’s very important to understand that we need to deliver sustainability, not simply be passionate about it," says Eric Lim, managing director and chief sustainability officer at United Overseas Bank, our first guest from Asia on the ESG Currents podcast. Lim joins Conrad Tan, Bloomberg Intelligence’s ESG integration analyst for Asia-Pacific, to discuss what the ESG backlash means for companies' sustainability efforts, the role of banks in driving sustainable practices in different industries, and the nature-climate nexus and business dependencies on natural capital. They also talk about the importance of aligning with ecosystem partners to enhance impact in a region spanning myriad political structures and development priorities. This episode was recorded on April 2, 2025.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reducing greenhouse-gas emissions remains the top priority in addressing climate change. However, it’s increasingly clear that these efforts must be complemented by greenhouse-gas removal. The extent needed is difficult to pin down, but a recent report, Scaling Technological Greenhouse Gas Removal: A Global Roadmap to 2050, by the Bezos Earth Fund and the Rocky Mountain Institute is anchored around the idea that we need to achieve 10 gigatons in annual technological extraction by 2050. Noel Bakhtian, director of Technology Acceleration and lead of the GHG Removal Initiative at the Bezos Earth Fund, and Rudy Kahsar, principal for Climate-Aligned Industries at the Rocky Mountain Institute, join BI director of ESG research Eric Kane on this episode of ESG Currents. They discuss the road map and many of the steps needed to achieve this massive increase in scale from less than 1 megaton of removals currently. The episode was recorded on March 25.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.