SUSTAINABILITY DESK

Week of March 9

The global picture of sustainability is complex but strong: net-zero has never been cheaper, research continues despite US divestment, ISSB expands dominance in reporting and renewable energy expands to meet an increasingly dire climate-change driven existential threat.

Table of Contents

ECOSYSTEM HEALTH

Scientists release the 868-page nature report Trump killed

A first-of-its-kind federal assessment of U.S. ecosystem health was canceled by the Trump administration. Nearly 200 researchers released it independently as an 868-page draft for public comment.

  • Freshwater ecosystems in crisis: “overdrawn, polluted, fragmented and invaded”.
  • 34% of U.S. plant species and 40% of animal species at risk of extinction.
  • The report, renamed the “Nature Record,” documents how human pressures are eroding clean water, food systems, health, and natural storm and fire protection.
  • Director Phillip Levin: “The future is not fixed. Conservation, restoration, and renewed connections between people and nature can improve ecosystem health.”
ENERGY MARKETS

Black rain, $120 oil, and the strongest case for renewables in years

The conflict with Iran, now in its third week, is an ecological disaster on top of a human one. Missile strikes on four Tehran oil depots turned day to night, oily “black rain” coated neighborhoods, and five confirmed tanker attacks in the Persian Gulf triggered oil and chemical spills. Strikes on desalination plants threaten freshwater access in an already water-stressed region.

  • With nearly a fifth of global oil transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the blockage has spiked prices to $120 per barrel—up from approximately $70—and forced the IEA to release a record 400 million barrels of strategic reserves.
  • The Global Renewables Alliance issued a five-step policy plan to avoid future price shocks. Bill McKibben’s line of the week: “Sunlight travels 93 million miles to reach Earth. None of them through the Strait of Hormuz.”
  • The UK’s Climate Change Committee found reaching net zero would cost approximately £4 billion per year—equivalent to the energy shock from Russia’s Ukraine invasion and far cheaper than fossil fuel dependence; Carbon Brief analysis found that ramping up domestic UK production would do almost nothing for energy security.
  • European EVP Teresa Ribera: “The answer is not new dependencies, but faster electrification, renewables, and efficiency.”
GLOBAL FRAMEWORKS

ISSB reporting keeps spreading whether governments like it or not

Mandatory ISSB-aligned sustainability reporting continues gaining ground regardless of political headwinds.

  • South Korea released its mandatory ISSB-aligned reporting roadmap, phasing in from 2028—weeks after the UK published its own standards.
  • 90% of European companies removed from CSRD scope under the EU Omnibus still plan to continue or expand sustainability reporting (Osapiens survey).
  • The ISSB released a new webinar walking through the IFRS S2 requirements on climate resilience and scenario analysis, including proportionality mechanisms that let companies scale the approach to their circumstances.
CHINA POLICY

China’s new five-year plan: more solar, more coal, more hedging

For China, oil price shocks are exactly why they’ve pursued domestic clean energy. But they’re also why coal isn’t going anywhere.

  • The 14th five-year plan projects continued coal production growth in “hard-to-abate” industries while setting a “cautious” 17%. emissions-intensity reduction target—one percentage point below last cycle’s goal, which China missed by 6%.
  • Previous pledges to cut coal consumption were walked back; climate advocates are hoping for the classic underpromise-overdeliver outcome.
  • Premier Li Qiang says the plan still keeps China on track for carbon neutrality by 2060 and peak emissions before 2030.
STATE POLITICS

California’s next governor will be picked on climate

Early heat waves near 100°F and last year’s LA wildfires have made climate a central flashpoint in California’s gubernatorial race.

  • Eight candidates competing over wildfire adaptation funding, utility liability rules driving up energy prices, and the state’s outsized role in national environmental policy.
  • Frontrunner Tom Steyer is running on the premise that “climate polluters and shareholders, not taxpayers and consumers, should pay to address the effects of climate pollution”.
  • Primary: June 2.
SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS

Big Oil would rather move states than answer shareholders

From Texas redomiciling to Dutch lawsuits, fossil fuel companies are fighting their investors harder than their emissions.

  • Exxon filed to redomicile from New Jersey to Texas for friendlier corporate governance rules as it faces an investor lawsuit over its automated proxy voting system; the SEC, short-staffed from the government shutdown, has stopped reviewing shareholder proposals.
  • In Europe, Dutch shareholder group Follow This—backed by 16 institutional investors—threatened BP with a lawsuit after BP refused to include a resolution on protecting value if oil and gas demand falls.
  • CEO Mark van Baal: “BP is trying to silence its own shareholders rather than answering them.”
RENEWABLE ENERGY

Wind power hit a global record in 2025

  • Global wind capacity surged 38% over 2024, driven mainly by Asia
  • U.S. solar installations fell 14% year over year due to Trump. administration policies and the One Big Beautiful Bill, but still accounted for more than half of all new U.S. capacity.
  • European Commission President von der Leyen released a new policy to boost nuclear development, admitting Europe’s reversal on nuclear was a mistake.
CLIMATE DATA

The climate numbers keep getting worse

  • February 2026 was the 5th-warmest February on record globally; oceans had their 2nd-warmest February.
  • NOAA issued an El Niño Watch on March 12: one-in-three chance of a strong event this year.
  • Potsdam Institute: global warming has accelerated over the past decade even after removing natural variability.
  • Colorado River drought worsening; Nevada snowpack at 56% of median, down from 94% last year.
  • Gulf Stream shifting northward off Cape Hatteras, matching pre-collapse patterns in circulation models.
  • Arctic sea ice in February: 3rd lowest on record.
U.S. REGULATORY ROLLBACK

The U.S. regulatory bonfire, continued

  • Utilities lobbying state lawmakers across the country to delay bills letting consumers buy plug-in solar panels.
  • Interior Department revoked environmental regulations protecting public lands.
  • EPA moving to shut down its greenhouse gas reporting program.
  • NOAA proposed gutting vessel speed rules for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales (200 to 250 mature individuals remaining).
  • Climate science chapter removed from the Federal Judicial Center’s Reference Manual after 27 Republican AGs claimed bias.
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is ISSB reporting, and why does it keep expanding?

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) publishes IFRS S1 and S2—the emerging global baseline for sustainability and climate-related financial disclosures. Countries adopt ISSB-aligned standards because they provide a consistent, investor-grade framework that works across jurisdictions. South Korea’s 2028 roadmap and the UK’s newly published standards both follow this pattern. Even as some governments pull back on climate policy, capital markets are driving adoption independently—making ISSB alignment increasingly relevant for companies with international investors, customers, or operations.

The EU’s Omnibus I simplification package significantly narrowed CSRD’s scope. For U.S. companies, CSRD now applies only if your parent company has over €450 million in annual EU revenue and an EU subsidiary or branch generating over €200 million in EU revenue. First required reporting would cover FY2028 data, due in 2029. Notably, 90% of European companies removed from scope still plan to continue sustainability reporting—suggesting the business case for disclosure has taken hold independent of the mandate.

Yes—the GHG Protocol is mid-overhaul across several workstreams. The Land Sector and Removals Standard launched recently, Scope 2 guidance revisions are in their second consultation period, and Scope 3 updates are in process. Final guidance is expected in 2026 to 2027. EFRAG has raised concerns about complexity and cost, calling for a principles-based approach and longer consultation windows. Companies currently building or maintaining GHG inventories should monitor these updates, as methodology changes may require recalculations or disclosure of restatements.

The EPA’s rollback of the greenhouse gas reporting program and rescission of the Endangerment Finding create real uncertainty for compliance planning. But the business case for sustainability reporting remains intact. Major U.S. companies are telling investors they’re planning beyond the current administration. State-level requirements—California’s SB 253, New Jersey’s S-679, and others—are filling the federal vacuum. And as Angeli Patel of UC Berkeley noted, what isn’t material today could become extremely material in three years. Companies that maintain strong emissions data and reporting infrastructure now are better positioned regardless of what changes at the federal level.

The conflict-driven spike to $120 per barrel is functioning as a real-time argument for energy independence through renewables. The UK’s Climate Change Committee calculated that reaching net zero costs approximately £4 billion per year—far less than the economic shock from fossil fuel dependency on volatile global markets. Global wind capacity surged 38% in 2025. Even as U.S. solar installations declined due to policy headwinds, they still represented more than half of all new U.S. capacity. The structural economics of clean energy continue to improve regardless of short-term political cycles.

Corinne Hanson headshot

Corinne Hanson is VP of ESG Strategy at Greenplaces, the all-in-one sustainability platform helping businesses turn climate goals into results. She brings over a decade of experience in corporate sustainability, including leadership roles at SH Hotels & Resorts, Global Footprint Network, and the NRDC. A George Washington University grad with degrees in International Relations and Philosophy, Corinne spends her time outside the office the same way she spends it inside: trying to keep the planet in good shape.

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