Projects in ex-colonies should count toward EU climate goal, Portugal says
BRUSSELS — Portugal wants to meet its share of the European Union's climate target with green investments in its former colonies.
The demand comes as the European Commission prepares its proposal for a blocwide 2040 climate goal. Several governments already want the EU executive to let them count international carbon credits — regulated permits that pay for climate-friendly projects abroad — toward the new target.
Lisbon, however, is going one step further.
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Portuguese Environment Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho said the country should also get credit for planet-warming emission cuts that result from Portugal's investments in renewable energy projects in Cabo Verde or São Tomé and Príncipe — the country's former colonies. That should occur, she added, even if those projects are not regulated under the global carbon credit regime.
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Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
In western Ukraine, ethnic Romanians grapple with war, identity, and displacement
While Romania debated its future in its recent presidential election, Romanians in Ukraine's Chernivtsi Oblast just across the border continued to wrestle with war, mobilization, and the loss of their pre-war lives. Romania's tight election race at the end of May kept many in Europe on the edge of their seats as candidates with starkly different visions for the country's future vied to take office in the EU member state. Pro-European liberal Nicusor Dan, who supported aid to Ukraine in fighting off Russia's invasion, defeated his opponent George Simion, a far-right Eurosceptic candidate who opposed supporting Ukraine and was banned from entering the country over his "systematic anti-Ukrainian activities." In the west, Ukraine's historically diverse population includes sizable communities of ethnic Romanians, Poles, and Hungarians. Their ancestors lived with Ukrainians in the areas that became Ukrainian after the borders took their current shape in the First and Second World Wars. 'My grandma is a Romanian, my grandpa is a Romanian, father is a Romanian. I am (also) a Romanian,' said Oleksandr, 58, a resident of Ukraine and one of only 431 people who cast votes for a Romanian election in Ukraine, according to the turnout numbers provided by the Romanian Special Telecommunications Service. He declined to provide his last name. "We were good neighbors to each other and have to remain good neighbors." Chernivtsi Oblast remains the main hub of ethnic Romanians among the three Ukrainian oblasts bordering Romania. It hosts an estimated more than 100,000 ethnic Romanians, some of whom live in almost entirely Romanian villages, study in Romanian-speaking schools, and organize cultural festivals. Before the war, many Ukrainians with Romanian roots from the area routinely went to Romania for work or studies, strengthening cultural diplomacy between the countries and fueling the local economy. 'We were good neighbors to each other and have to remain good neighbors (with Romania),' said Ihor, a silver-haired local man who came to the Romanian voting station in Chernivtsi on May 18 with his wife. Ihor did not want to give his last name. But now in Chernivtsi, far away from most of the Russian attacks on the front and major cities, the war has unsettled the balance that once let the Romanian community move easily between both countries — and cultures. Military-aged men are not allowed to leave the country and can no longer work abroad. Despite many holding dual Romanian-Ukrainian citizenship, Ukrainian law only recognizes them as Ukrainian citizens. With the oblast's economy weakened by the loss of income from abroad, local job opportunities are limited. Many men fear being drafted from the streets. Funerals of Ukrainian fighters in Chernivtsi Oblast took place almost daily in May. A wave of patriotic fervor, which mobilized Ukrainians in response to Russia's invasion, has bolstered the Ukrainian language's role as the state language. But in Chernivtsi, the ethnic Romanian minority hopes that their opportunities to live, study, and pray in the Romanian language in Ukraine won't be affected by Ukraine's pushback against centuries of Russification. Residents and Romanian activists say the majority of dual citizens in Chernivtsi Oblast obtained Romanian citizenship for economic, not identity-based reasons. Romanian law grants the right to citizenship to any Ukrainian who can prove their descent from people who lived in Chernivtsi Oblast during Romanian rule from the late 1910s to the 1940s. 'Mainly, (people got dual citizenship) to have access to European countries.' 'In our Ukraine, there is no job, and nothing to live on,' said ethnic Romanian Vasyl Bota, 74, whose five children left to work abroad before the full-scale invasion. 'Mainly, (people got dual citizenship) to have access to European countries,' said Vasyl Byku, an ethnic Romanian activist and the head of the Romanian Culture Society named after Mihai Eminescu, a Romanian romantic poet and novelist. 'The situation was different before, there was a visa regime (with the European Union),' Byku told the Kyiv Independent. 'Visas were very expensive. People went to Europe, were caught there, returned, and deported. (With a Romanian passport), they got an opportunity to go and do some work.' People from Chernivtsi and other western oblasts would direct their earnings from abroad to renovating their family houses in Ukraine, said Lavrentii, a driver with dual Ukrainian-Romanian citizenship who often transports people across the Romanian border. 'It also gave work in construction to people living here. The chain has been interrupted. It affects everything,' Lavrentii added. Locals say it's widely known in Chernivtsi that a routine document check done by draft office patrols can result in being drafted right off the streets. In Chernivtsi, Oleksii Rusetskyi was drafted on New Year's Eve at the train station as he was arriving from Kyiv, his sister, Olena Mishakova, told the Kyiv Independent on May 18 at a rally in the city's downtown area for missing and captured soldiers. Mishakova held up a large Ukrainian flag with her brother's picture, along with another hundred silent women, children, and men lined up with flags and pictures of their family members. 'We were born here as Romanians, but this does not mean that we are not citizens of Ukraine. We are citizens of Ukraine in the first place.' Her brother went missing in Donetsk Oblast on Dec. 25, a year into his service. The fear of being drafted has also changed daily life for men in Chernivtsi. Ivan, a taxi driver who declined to give his last name, regularly checked a chat on Viber with over 33,000 members where people shared updates on the draft office patrols around the city. He told the Kyiv Independent that he avoided trips outside Chernivtsi, afraid he could be conscripted at any one of the checkpoints encircling it. 'All the young people took their families and left to Romania, to Europe, because they don't see a future here,' said Yurii Levchyk, a Chernivtsi district council member and the director of the Bukovyna art center for revival and promotion of Romanian culture. 'For one, this is no longer a state here, it's a police system,' Levchyk told the Kyiv Independent as he walked from the voting station to his art center on May 18. 'People are being grabbed on the streets. There are still plenty of (ethnic Romanian) people here, but they are hiding,' he added. Many ethnic Romanians in Chernivtsi Oblast have also volunteered to fight for their homeland, Ukraine, Byku said. 'In every (ethnic Romanian) village, our national flags for fallen soldiers stand in the cemeteries,' Byku said. 'We were born here as Romanians, but this does not mean that we are not citizens of Ukraine. We are citizens of Ukraine first and foremost.' Simion's position on the Russian war in Ukraine fueled old tensions between Romania and Ukraine concerning Romanian minority rights. 'Maybe the war deepened all our problems,' Levchyk said, referring to government corruption, the lack of accountability for the authorities, and cases of potentially unlawful mobilization. 'We didn't feel any major problems (before the full-scale war). Sometimes we thought that we were being wronged, but we would bring it up and discuss, and put things right,' Levchyk said, describing his frustration with the problems in the country that were not specific to Romanians. "The war deepened all the problems." Beyond the frustrations many Ukrainians share about the government, Byku said that ethnic Romanians in Ukraine do not experience ethnic conflict or discrimination. Earlier, Byku opposed a 2017 law that would have switched about a hundred Romanian-speaking schools around the country to studies in the Ukrainian language. But according to Byku, the schools continue to operate in Romanian as the law was 'put on hold." 'We just want to be citizens of Ukraine. But we don't want to lose our identity. This is very important to us,' Byku added. Despite this, Russian propaganda actively uses narratives of alleged abuses of minority groups in Ukraine to raise anti-Ukrainian sentiments in Romania. According to Roman Hryshchuk, a Ukrainian Orthodox priest from the ethnic Romanian village of Hlyboke, the rumors about persecution of the faith and Orthodoxy by Ukrainian authorities are spread in Romania by Romanian-speaking priests from Russian-linked churches, which still dominate Chernivtsi Oblast. As Ukrainian communities and activists vote to switch their own parishes to the Ukrainian church and leave behind the persistent religious domination of Moscow, Hryshchuk said the priests of Russian-linked churches 'lie to their parish' that the Ukrainian church will force them to hold services exclusively in Ukrainian. However, in 2019, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church founded its Romanian vicariate to accommodate Romanian speakers who wish to hold services in the Romanian language. 'This, in fact, caused a wave of anti-Ukrainian outrage in Romania. And Simion built his (presidential candidate's) work around this wave,' Hryshchuk added. Hello, this is Natalia Yermak. I reported this story for you. In a far western Chernivtsi Oblast, removed from the front and the Kyiv Independent's headquarters in Kyiv, Russian propaganda around alleged ethnic and religious persecution in Ukraine could grow unnoticed until it threatens the long-standing relationship between allies. If you wish to help us shed light on it, please consider supporting our field reports from all over Ukraine by becoming a member. Thank you! Read also: Romania's new president faces daunting challenges after surprise victory over far-right upstart We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump tariffs live updates: Trump pushes for trade deals with steel, aluminum duties set to double
President Trump is pushing for trade deals while he is set to sign an order doubling tariffs on steel and aluminum. Meanwhile, his trade war is causing the global economy to slow, with growth now heading for its weakest pace since the COVID-19 pandemic, the OECD warned on Tuesday. The OECD cut its forecasts for most G20 economies and warned that easing trade tensions is key to boosting investment and keeping prices stable. Álvaro Pereira, the OECD's chief economist, said countries need to lower trade barriers. 'Otherwise, the growth impact is going to be quite significant,' he said. 'This has massive repercussions for everyone.' The warning comes as the US is pushing countries to speed up trade talks. The White House confirmed Tuesday that the US had sent a letter to partners as a "friendly reminder" that Trump's self-imposed 90-day pause on sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs is set to expire in early July. White House advisers have for weeks promised trade deals in the "not-too-distant future," with the only announced agreement so far coming with the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, US tensions with two key trade partners amped up on Monday after Trump promised last weekend to double tariffs on steel and aluminum. The White House said he will sign an order to do so on Tuesday. China responded to Trump's claim on Friday that it has "totally violated its agreement" with the US, in turn accusing the US of breaching the agreement and vowing to protect its interests. The US-China detente — reached earlier this month, when each country eased sky-high tariffs on the other — looks more fragile amid both trade-related and other tensions. US trade talks with the EU have also come back into focus as an early-July deadline also looms for Trump's 50% tariffs on imports from the bloc. The EU on Monday said it "strongly" regrets Trump's hike on steel and aluminum imports, saying it undermines planned trade talks. Meanwhile, Trump's most sweeping tariffs face legal uncertainty after a federal appeals court allowed the tariffs to temporarily stay in effect, a day after the US Court of International Trade blocked their implementation, deeming the method used to enact them "unlawful." Administration officials also hinted that court rulings would not be the final say. Yahoo Finance's Ben Werschkul has an overview of the other maneuvers Trump could pursue. Here are the latest updates as the policy reverberates around the world. The White House on Tuesday confirmed that the US has sent a letter to trade partners seeking to speed up talks ahead of a self-imposed July deadline. Though Reuters reported earlier this week that the administration asked for countries' best offers by Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday framed the letter, which she said was sent by the US Trade Representative, as a "friendly reminder." "I can confirm the merits in the content of the letter," she said, per Bloomberg. She sadded: "USTR sent this letter to all of our trading partners, just to give them a friendly reminder that the deadline is coming up, and they are in talks. The president expects good deals, and we are on track for that." Bloomberg cited a "recipient of the letter" who said it was "framed as a way to steer ongoing talks rather than an ultimatum. President Trump will sign an executive order doubling duties on steel and aluminum imports to 50%, the White House said Tuesday. Trump first announced plans to up the duties last Friday during an event with steelworkers in Pennsylvania. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt didn't confirm the exact timing of the escalation Tuesday. Trump's most sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs are locked in legal limbo. But duties on specific sectors or commodities, like those on steel and aluminum, are so far unaffected because Trump has imposed them under a different legal authority. President Trump and his team have touted for weeks that deals are right around the corner. But progress has been less forthcoming. Yahoo Finance Washington Correspondent Ben Werschkul reports: Read more here. The aerospace industry is urging the Trump administration to hold off on adding new tariffs, as they could risk air safety and further disrupt the supply chain. Reuters reports: A group representing major U.S. and global aeropsace companies on Tuesday warned new tariffs on imported commercial aircraft, jet engines and parts could put air safety and the supply chain at risk or have unintended consequences. The Commerce Department last month opened a "Section 232" investigation that could be used as a basis for even higher tariffs on imported planes, engines and parts. The Aerospace Industries Association, which represents Boeing, Airbus, RTX, GE Aerospace and hundreds of other companies, urged the Commerce Department to extend public comments by 90 days and impose no new tariffs for at least 180 days. They urged further consultation with industry on "any Section 232 tariffs to ensure they accurately reflect national security concerns and do not put the supply chain and aviation safety at risk." Read more here. A new survey out Tuesday by insurance brokerage Gallagher showed that a majority of US business owners see tariffs as a top risk to be worried about. Reuters reports that President Trump's trade wars have already cost companies more than $34 billion in lost sales and higher costs, according to an analysis of corporate disclosures. "Our survey showed supply chain disruptions were a concern to business owners, with 90% reporting they are concerned about the impact of tariffs on their businesses," Gallagher CEO J. Patrick Gallagher told Reuters. "Global supply chains, strained by geopolitical conflicts and extreme weather events, remain vulnerable to disruptions." The findings come as tensions with China and other key trading partners ratcheted up again after President Trump threatened to double steel and aluminum tariffs. Also on Tuesday, the OECD warned of slowing growth due to trade disputes. Read more here. Taiwan's government said on Tuesday that it is continuing to "communicate closely" with the US in order to reach a trade deal, but cannot give any more information at this point on the negotiations. Reuters reports: Read more here. Consumer-facing multinationals are moving their China supply chains as trade wars continue to add uncertainty for businesses. Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi broke down what he heard from three major companies: Read more here. President Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are set to double starting Wednesday. That could present a problem for the only deal the US has so far agreed to during its 90-day "reciprocal" tariff pause. From Bloomberg: Under that "economic prosperity agreement," US tariffs on UK metal imports are set to be slashed to zero. But Starmer's spokesman said he doesn't know whether the looming doubling of steel levies will apply to UK imports while the two sides work on implementing the deal. Read more here. Yahoo Finance's senior reporter Hamza Shaban looks at how the American-made company Boeing has become a tool in the US government's trade negotiations: Read more here. A survey conducted by Reuters has revealed that Trump's tariffs will likely cause a slowdown in US home construction. Reuters reports: Read more here Yahoo Finance's senior legal reporter Alexis Keenan looks at what could make or break President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs. Read more here. Traders are taking advantage of Trump's trade war and looking at how to ride tariff-driven sell-offs and rallies. Bloomberg News reports: Read more here. Reuters reports in an exclusive: Read more here. The Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said that the country's economy can take the hit from US tariffs and sustain a cycle of rising inflation accompanied by wage growth, indicating the banks readiness to raise interest rates further. Reuters reports: Read more here. President Donald Trump is eager to land more trade deals, but talks with China and the EU are stalling amid communication breakdowns and renewed tariff threats. Bloomberg News reports: Read more here. Reuters reports: Read more here. Global economic growth is weakening faster than expected, the the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Tuesday, as Trump's trade war starts to take a toll on the US economy. The OECD cut its outlook for global output for the US and most of the G20 leading economies and warned that agreements to ease trade barriers are key to reviving investment and avoid higher prices. Global growth is expected to be 2.9% in 2025 and 2026, the OECD said in its latest full outlook. The figure has exceeded 3% every year since 2020, when output plunged because of the pandemic. The OECD said that US growth will slow sharply, falling from 2.8% in 2024 to 1.6% in 2025 and 1.5% next year. The OECD said that the Federal Reserve likely won't cut rates this year because inflation will remain too high. The latest assessment represents a downgrade to its March interim forecasts, which preceded Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcements on April 2. Even then, the OECD warned of a 'significant toll' stemming from the levies and associated uncertainty over policy. The OECD also cut 2025 forecast for G20 countries, which include China, France, Japan, India, UK, and South Africa. Álvaro Pereira, the OECD's chief economist, said countries need to strike deals that would lower trade barriers. 'Otherwise, the growth impact is going to be quite significant,' he said. 'This has massive repercussions for everyone.' Compared with the OECD's last full outlook in December, growth prospects for almost all countries have been downgraded, said Pereira. 'Weakened economic prospects will be felt around the world, with almost no exception,' the OECD said. While the Trump administration appeals a court's decision to block many wide-ranging tariffs, the small businesses that brought the case are seeking to keep the tariffs from going back into effect as the legal battle plays out. From Bloomberg Read more here. From Reuters: Read more here. Federal Reserve policymakers are debating whether they should "look through" Trump tariff effects, paving the way for lower rates, or remain cautious should tariffs prove to be more long-lasting and bump inflation higher. Yahoo Finance's Jennifer Schonberger reports: Read more here. The White House on Tuesday confirmed that the US has sent a letter to trade partners seeking to speed up talks ahead of a self-imposed July deadline. Though Reuters reported earlier this week that the administration asked for countries' best offers by Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday framed the letter, which she said was sent by the US Trade Representative, as a "friendly reminder." "I can confirm the merits in the content of the letter," she said, per Bloomberg. She sadded: "USTR sent this letter to all of our trading partners, just to give them a friendly reminder that the deadline is coming up, and they are in talks. The president expects good deals, and we are on track for that." Bloomberg cited a "recipient of the letter" who said it was "framed as a way to steer ongoing talks rather than an ultimatum. President Trump will sign an executive order doubling duties on steel and aluminum imports to 50%, the White House said Tuesday. Trump first announced plans to up the duties last Friday during an event with steelworkers in Pennsylvania. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt didn't confirm the exact timing of the escalation Tuesday. Trump's most sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs are locked in legal limbo. But duties on specific sectors or commodities, like those on steel and aluminum, are so far unaffected because Trump has imposed them under a different legal authority. President Trump and his team have touted for weeks that deals are right around the corner. But progress has been less forthcoming. Yahoo Finance Washington Correspondent Ben Werschkul reports: Read more here. The aerospace industry is urging the Trump administration to hold off on adding new tariffs, as they could risk air safety and further disrupt the supply chain. Reuters reports: A group representing major U.S. and global aeropsace companies on Tuesday warned new tariffs on imported commercial aircraft, jet engines and parts could put air safety and the supply chain at risk or have unintended consequences. The Commerce Department last month opened a "Section 232" investigation that could be used as a basis for even higher tariffs on imported planes, engines and parts. The Aerospace Industries Association, which represents Boeing, Airbus, RTX, GE Aerospace and hundreds of other companies, urged the Commerce Department to extend public comments by 90 days and impose no new tariffs for at least 180 days. They urged further consultation with industry on "any Section 232 tariffs to ensure they accurately reflect national security concerns and do not put the supply chain and aviation safety at risk." Read more here. A new survey out Tuesday by insurance brokerage Gallagher showed that a majority of US business owners see tariffs as a top risk to be worried about. Reuters reports that President Trump's trade wars have already cost companies more than $34 billion in lost sales and higher costs, according to an analysis of corporate disclosures. "Our survey showed supply chain disruptions were a concern to business owners, with 90% reporting they are concerned about the impact of tariffs on their businesses," Gallagher CEO J. Patrick Gallagher told Reuters. "Global supply chains, strained by geopolitical conflicts and extreme weather events, remain vulnerable to disruptions." The findings come as tensions with China and other key trading partners ratcheted up again after President Trump threatened to double steel and aluminum tariffs. Also on Tuesday, the OECD warned of slowing growth due to trade disputes. Read more here. Taiwan's government said on Tuesday that it is continuing to "communicate closely" with the US in order to reach a trade deal, but cannot give any more information at this point on the negotiations. Reuters reports: Read more here. Consumer-facing multinationals are moving their China supply chains as trade wars continue to add uncertainty for businesses. Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi broke down what he heard from three major companies: Read more here. President Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are set to double starting Wednesday. That could present a problem for the only deal the US has so far agreed to during its 90-day "reciprocal" tariff pause. From Bloomberg: Under that "economic prosperity agreement," US tariffs on UK metal imports are set to be slashed to zero. But Starmer's spokesman said he doesn't know whether the looming doubling of steel levies will apply to UK imports while the two sides work on implementing the deal. Read more here. Yahoo Finance's senior reporter Hamza Shaban looks at how the American-made company Boeing has become a tool in the US government's trade negotiations: Read more here. A survey conducted by Reuters has revealed that Trump's tariffs will likely cause a slowdown in US home construction. Reuters reports: Read more here Yahoo Finance's senior legal reporter Alexis Keenan looks at what could make or break President Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs. Read more here. Traders are taking advantage of Trump's trade war and looking at how to ride tariff-driven sell-offs and rallies. Bloomberg News reports: Read more here. Reuters reports in an exclusive: Read more here. The Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said that the country's economy can take the hit from US tariffs and sustain a cycle of rising inflation accompanied by wage growth, indicating the banks readiness to raise interest rates further. Reuters reports: Read more here. President Donald Trump is eager to land more trade deals, but talks with China and the EU are stalling amid communication breakdowns and renewed tariff threats. Bloomberg News reports: Read more here. Reuters reports: Read more here. Global economic growth is weakening faster than expected, the the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Tuesday, as Trump's trade war starts to take a toll on the US economy. The OECD cut its outlook for global output for the US and most of the G20 leading economies and warned that agreements to ease trade barriers are key to reviving investment and avoid higher prices. Global growth is expected to be 2.9% in 2025 and 2026, the OECD said in its latest full outlook. The figure has exceeded 3% every year since 2020, when output plunged because of the pandemic. The OECD said that US growth will slow sharply, falling from 2.8% in 2024 to 1.6% in 2025 and 1.5% next year. The OECD said that the Federal Reserve likely won't cut rates this year because inflation will remain too high. The latest assessment represents a downgrade to its March interim forecasts, which preceded Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcements on April 2. Even then, the OECD warned of a 'significant toll' stemming from the levies and associated uncertainty over policy. The OECD also cut 2025 forecast for G20 countries, which include China, France, Japan, India, UK, and South Africa. Álvaro Pereira, the OECD's chief economist, said countries need to strike deals that would lower trade barriers. 'Otherwise, the growth impact is going to be quite significant,' he said. 'This has massive repercussions for everyone.' Compared with the OECD's last full outlook in December, growth prospects for almost all countries have been downgraded, said Pereira. 'Weakened economic prospects will be felt around the world, with almost no exception,' the OECD said. While the Trump administration appeals a court's decision to block many wide-ranging tariffs, the small businesses that brought the case are seeking to keep the tariffs from going back into effect as the legal battle plays out. From Bloomberg Read more here. From Reuters: Read more here. Federal Reserve policymakers are debating whether they should "look through" Trump tariff effects, paving the way for lower rates, or remain cautious should tariffs prove to be more long-lasting and bump inflation higher. Yahoo Finance's Jennifer Schonberger reports: Read more here. 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Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
How Should Businesses Be Approaching Sustainability Now?
There is a palpable air of uncertainty among many multinational corporate sustainability, ESG and risk management teams these days as everyone tries to anticipate the future of sustainability regulation. I've written quite a bit about the mixed messages companies are receiving from regulators in Europe as the EU Member States continue to debate the details of the Omnibus Simplification Package, and in the U.S., where it's still unclear exactly how this historic period of environmental deregulation will affect companies. The fact is that many businesses have invested significant time and resources into sustainability compliance and reporting initiatives while operating under the impression that major reforms like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) would be hitting their stride right now. Instead, they're living through a period of regulatory limbo in which it's not clear what exactly their future sustainability compliance obligations entail. So, what should they be doing in the meantime? The short answer is: now is the time to be reviewing the steps they have made so far, and the most obvious place to start is with is their materiality assessments. In the world of financial reporting, materiality is defined as information that can influence and ultimately inform the financial decision making of an entity. When applied to sustainability reporting, a materiality assessment is a company's foundational definition of the core sustainability issues that matter most to their businesses and their stakeholders. These guide the way they will report and integrate them into overall business strategy and investment. In short, these materiality assessments shine a light on the foundational truths that define a company's values and goals and determine whether or not they are aligned with their strategic objectives. The identification of these material matters is also the starting point to determine the information that should be disclosed in the sustainability statement, which identifies the impacts, risks and opportunities confronting a company and its upstream and downstream value chain. At a time when the rules of the game keep changing and where corporate positions on sustainability can easily become politicized, a well-thought-out and delivered materiality assessment is an important way for a company to assert the business case for its sustainability strategy. Importantly, it is a way for companies to take the emotion out of sustainability and instead focus on the facts and the financial rationale behind their actions, while ensuring their sustainability strategy is dynamic and meets the changing needs of their businesses. Even during this period of regulatory flux, the market drivers behind sustainability have not changed , and in some cases they have even increased in significance. Now is the time for businesses to really look at what other companies in their space are doing when it comes to sustainability reporting. This peer comparison will soon become a key benchmark against which other companies will measure themselves and will also be measured. While sustainability disclosure reporting regulators have been debating the best path forward, many leading companies have already started reporting in compliance with the CSRD. In fact, some 500 companies have already published sustainability reports under the CSRD. The full library of reports can be found here, courtesy of ESG data management software company KEY ESG, which has been cataloging them all. One of the first things that stands out when reviewing these reports is that many of them come from companies in jurisdictions where the CSRD has yet to be fully implemented. In fact, according to a detailed PwC analysis of 100 CSRD reports, about 90% of them came from five European countries, three of which (Germany, Spain and the Netherlands) have not yet transposed the CSRD into national law. Another key finding of the analysis was that these reports are not very standardized. Some are 30 pages; others are 300 and they each focus on different aspects of sustainability-related risks. However, the important takeaway for business leaders who are still refining their approaches to sustainability reporting is that hundreds of manufacturers, technology companies, financial services firms, retailers, utilities and others are already out there walking the walk on sustainability reporting. These early standard bearers will not only have a jump on the intricacies of the reporting process once the mandate is finalized; they will also help establish industry best practices and position themselves as leaders to investors, customers and other stakeholders who increasingly want to know about business risks linked to sustainability. It's easy for business leaders to become distracted in a news cycle like the one we find ourselves in today that seems to be consumed with the idea of delayed implementation and political infighting. The big picture is that, delayed or not, sustainability reporting mandates of some type are coming, whether directly from regulators, or as is currently the case, from other stakeholders such as investors and customers. The sooner companies get themselves aligned with those standards, the better off they will be when the time comes to comply with the law. Moreover, with so many companies already reporting in line with the CSRD, and the informed view is that more and more will do so voluntarily, the prevailing market forces are creating some pressure on businesses that have not yet shared their sustainability reports. Now is not the time to delay. It is the time to refine and hone sustainability practices to focus on what matters most to the business and its stakeholders.
