Corporate America has increasingly leaned in on ESG issues, but not everyone thinks business should get involved, including several prominent presidential candidates and our guest this week, Scott Shepard, director of the National Center for Public Policy Research’s Free Enterprise Project, which bills itself as the “original and premier opponent of the woke takeover of America.” Shepard joins BI analyst Rob Du Boff on this ESG Currents podcast episode to discuss his concerns over ESG, the risk of political bias at the SEC, and how he's is taking his fight to other shareholders. This episode was recorded on Aug. 16. 

Corporate America has increasingly leaned in on ESG issues, but not everyone thinks business should get involved, including several prominent presidential candidates and our guest this week, Scott Shepard, director of the National Center for Public Policy Research’s Free Enterprise Project, which bills itself as the “original and premier opponent of the woke takeover of America.” Shepard joins BI analyst Rob Du Boff on this ESG Currents podcast episode to discuss his concerns over ESG, the risk of political bias at the SEC, and how he's is taking his fight to other shareholders. This episode was recorded on Aug. 16.

ESG has become established as a key business theme as companies and investors seek to navigate the climate crisis, energy transition, social megatrends, mounting regulatory attention and pressure from other stakeholders. The rapidly evolving landscape has become inundated with acronyms, buzz words, and lingo and we aim to break these down with industry experts.

ESG has become established as a key business theme as companies and investors seek to navigate the climate crisis, energy transition, social megatrends, mounting regulatory attention and pressure from other stakeholders. The rapidly evolving landscape has become inundated with acronyms, buzz words, and lingo and we aim to break these down with industry experts.

ESG Currents

The War on Woke

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Insurance is essential for the carbon-credit market to unlock capital, manage risk and build trust. On this week’s episode of the ESG Currents podcast, Natalia Dorfman, CEO and co-founder of Kita, joins Eric Kane, director of ESG research at Bloomberg Intelligence, to discuss how her company provides insurance products that aim to unlock institutional investment for high-integrity carbon removal and natural-capital projects. They discuss some of Kita’s key offerings and dive into how they account for the nuances and challenges of these projects, including duration, value and monitoring. They also explore policy developments in the EU, the ramp-up of Article 6 projects and why Dorfman thinks 2026 is the year insurance will come in to handle the complex challenge of carbon-credit permanence.

This episode was recorded on Feb. 9.

Insurance is essential for the carbon-credit market to unlock capital, manage risk and build trust. On this week&rsquo;s episode of the ESG Currents podcast, Natalia Dorfman, CEO and co-founder of Kita, joins Eric Kane, director of ESG research at Bloomberg Intelligence, to discuss how her company provides insurance products that aim to unlock institutional investment for high-integrity carbon removal and natural-capital projects. They discuss some of Kita&rsquo;s key offerings and dive into how they account for the nuances and challenges of these projects, including duration, value and monitoring. They also explore policy developments in the EU, the ramp-up of Article 6 projects and why Dorfman thinks 2026 is the year insurance will come in to handle the complex challenge of carbon-credit permanence.
This episode was recorded on Feb. 9.

Kita on How Insurers Enable CO2-Removal Financing

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/dab3174c-4e4e-4d5e-a9fc-b40a00c4b2a1/transcript

Mangroves are one of the most powerful natural tools for climate adaptation and resilience, protecting coastlines, stabilizing economies and strengthening ecosystems. On this episode of the ESG Currents podcast, Ignace Beguin Billecocq, executive director of the Mangrove Breakthrough, joins BI senior ESG credit analyst Chris Ratti. The Mangrove Breakthrough is a global initiative aiming to secure the future of 15 million hectares of mangroves by 2030 through a $4 billion investment to foster resilience, biodiversity and coastal protection. They discuss the materiality of mangroves and the importance of funding for expansion across a coalition of beneficiaries including governments, multilateral development banks, insurance companies and climate investors.

Mangroves are one of the most powerful natural tools for climate adaptation and resilience, protecting coastlines, stabilizing economies and strengthening ecosystems. On this episode of the ESG Currents podcast, Ignace Beguin Billecocq, executive director of the Mangrove Breakthrough, joins BI senior ESG credit analyst Chris Ratti. The Mangrove Breakthrough is a global initiative aiming to secure the future of 15 million hectares of mangroves by 2030 through a $4 billion investment to foster resilience, biodiversity and coastal protection. They discuss the materiality of mangroves and the importance of funding for expansion across a coalition of beneficiaries including governments, multilateral development banks, insurance companies and climate investors.

Mangroves Are Triple Threat for Climate Resilience

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/fdfc9e60-8ad0-40b7-a522-b40300d97df7/transcript

Can cutting methane leaks help fuel the rising energy demand from AI data centers? On this episode of the ESG Currents podcast, Carl Pope, former Sierra Club executive director, and Last Mile Production CEO Zach Wagner join BI climate analyst Andrew Stevenson to discuss how leaking and vented methane has the potential to help meet Texas’ surging power demand. Methane leaks are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, and capturing that lost gas could help ease rising US natural gas costs.

Can cutting methane leaks help fuel the rising energy demand from AI data centers? On this episode of the ESG Currents podcast, Carl Pope, former Sierra Club executive director, and Last Mile Production CEO Zach Wagner join BI climate analyst Andrew Stevenson to discuss how leaking and vented methane has the potential to help meet Texas&rsquo; surging power demand. Methane leaks are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, and capturing that lost gas could help ease rising US natural gas costs.

Plugging Methane Leaks to Power AI Data Centers

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/33e8230f-21d4-404f-b7e6-b3fc00ff3fab/transcript

The War on Woke

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