Carbon Dioxide as a Risky Asset

We develop a financial-economic model for carbon pricing with an explicit representation of decision making under risk and uncertainty that is consistent with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report. We find that this approach provides economic support for the warming targets in the Paris Agreement across a variety of specifications. We show that risk associated with high damages in the long term leads to stringent mitigation of carbon dioxide emissions in the near term. Our results provide insight into how a systematic incorporation of climate-related risk influences `optimal’ emissions abatement pathways.…

2023 Deloitte Automotive Supplier Study

Suppliers have endured a state of triage over the past three years, all while maintaining the business, meeting customer demand, and finding opportunities to grow. At the same time, the global mobility sector continues to transform, as governments and consumers around the world spark a shift to electric vehicles (EV). Meanwhile, the challenges of operational transformation and uncertainty continue to place pressure on suppliers to innovate and develop new technologies.

In our sixth Automotive Supplier Study, we look at automotive supply chain trends and the road ahead by analyzing shareholder value performance data from nearly 300 of the top global …

Urban Land Use Reform

For over a century, discriminatory land use and housing policies in the United States have segregated neighborhoods and engineered entire cities around single-family homes and personally owned automobiles. These policies have led to a chronic housing shortage, numerous harms for disadvantaged communities, and sprawling development patterns that exacerbate climate change and ecological harm.

These policies have also led to more and more driving as we live farther away from one another and our workplaces, grocery stores, schools, and green spaces. This has caused transportation to become the single largest carbon-emitting sector in the United States. To meet our global climate …

Closing the Gap: Delivering on the U.S. Nationally Determined Contribution

Swift U.S. action to reduce the U.S. contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is critical to keep global climate goals on track, advance domestic energy security, air quality, and economic competitiveness, and show leadership that can motivate other countries to take their own decisive climate actions. A fundamental aspect of this leadership requires the U.S. to stay on track to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030. Despite the projected greenhouse gas reductions from the landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Princeton University …

Towards Hydrogen Definitions Based on Their Emissions Intensity

This report assesses the greenhouse gas emissions intensity of the different hydrogen production routes and reviews ways to use the emissions intensity of hydrogen production in the development of regulation and certification schemes. An internationally agreed emissions accounting framework is a way to move away from the use of terminologies based on colours or other terms that have proved impractical for the contracts that underpin investment. The adoption of such a framework can bring much-needed transparency, as well as facilitating interoperability and limiting market fragmentation, thus becoming a useful enabler of investments for the development of international hydrogen supply chains.…

Government Intervention in Support of Quality Carbon Credits

The voluntary carbon market (VCM) enables companies to purchase carbon credits to address their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Designed effectively, these credits have the potential to drive trillions of dollars toward vital climate projects. Numerous protocols have been established to ensure that these credits are of high quality and deliver meaningful carbon emission reductions or removals as designed. Despite these efforts, low-quality credits persist in the VCM. These low-quality credits are either not additional (i.e., the credited activity would have occurred without the credit payment) or fail other basic quality tests. As more corporations declare their intention to meet net-zero …

Charting Fuel Choices as the Shipping Industry Sails Toward Net-Zero

Shipping companies—encouraged by regulation, customer demand, investor pressure, and internal goals—are searching for ways to decarbonize their fleets. Greener-fuel possibilities abound in the maritime world, and the industry is in a period of experimentation and exploration to understand the implications of adopting such fuels. To find out how industry leaders are thinking about future fuels, the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, the Global Maritime Forum, and the Mærsk Mc Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping recently conducted a survey (with analytical support provided by McKinsey) of shipping companies. Collectively, these companies own and operate fleets—including container ships, tankers, dry …

Complex Data, Increasing Regulations, and Cutting-Edge Solutions

Your EHS and ESG obligations are becoming more numerous and more complex every day. From increased market expectations and regulatory responsibilities to managing overwhelming amounts of data, organizations are under pressure to deliver effective EHS and ESG programs while still providing value to customers and stakeholders. Unfortunately, many organizations don’t know where to start as they struggle to meet these challenges. Knowing how to succeed in this environment requires understanding how other organizations are managing these same challenges. 

The Global Research Report is built on research findings from Vanson Bourne. It examines the state of EHS and ESG in Europe …

Low-Carbon Hydrogen: A Path to a Greener Future

Underpinned by a global shift towards decarbonization, hydrogen is gaining significance as an energy vector, especially for high-emission sectors that do not use electricity directly. Most organizations in our research believe that low-carbon hydrogen will be a long-term contributor to achieving emissions and sustainability goals.

With government support, declining renewable-energy costs, rapid technological advances, and a growing focus on decarbonization and sustainable energy solutions, the demand for low-carbon hydrogen is expected to increase multifold. Sectors with traditional hydrogen applications, particularly in petroleum refining, chemicals and fertilizers, and steel, have high potential for adoption of low-carbon hydrogen. Demand for hydrogen in …

Looking Forward: A Guide to Climate Risk Scenario Analysis Design for California’s Insurance Regulator

California’s insurance industry faces significant risks from climate change, including both the transition risks facing all financial institutions as the global economy shifts toward decarbonization and the singular combination of physical risks—wildfire, drought, coastal hazards, extreme heat—that threaten California’s communities and businesses. Accurately assessing and mitigating these risks will be vital to ensuring the long-term viability of the insurance market in California, the availability and affordability of insurance for California residents and businesses, and the state’s physical and financial resilience in a changing climate.

This report explores the field of climate risk scenario analysis—a key instrument to assess financial risk …