The scene is set for a year of evolution in the way companies approach sustainability risks and opportunities.
Published: Dec. 19, 2024
A handful of significant global events that occurred in the waning months of 2024 will shape sustainability discussions in the year ahead. Research in this final 2024 edition of the S&P Global Sustainability Quarterly uses data to understand the direction of travel for 2025.
Dubbed “the year of elections,” 2024 witnessed citizens in more than 60 countries heading to the polls. November’s Republican sweep of the US presidency and both chambers of Congress ushers in a new period for US energy, and research from S&P Global Commodity Insights explores what is on the horizon for cleantech.
On the global stage, from late October through mid-December, the UN convened its three sister conventions focused on the intertwined challenges of biodiversity loss, climate change and desertification. These events — biodiversity COP16 in Cali, Colombia, climate COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, and desertification COP16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — put this trio of challenges squarely in the global spotlight, revealing risks and opportunities for the corporate world.
The stakes are high as we head into 2025. Research from S&P Global Ratings finds that many parts of the world face rising exposure to climate hazards, including hotter, drier conditions and more extreme flooding by 2050. Compound climate hazards may further exacerbate economic impacts, making adaptation and resilience measures more urgent.
Financing is a big part of finding solutions to nature loss and climate change, as highlighted at COP29, widely known as the “finance COP.” Trillions of dollars in financing are needed to mitigate global warming and adapt to climate risks, yet research from S&P Global Sustainable1 finds that only one-fifth of financial institutions have identified specific business opportunities related to climate change.
Research from S&P Global Ratings explores how the sustainable financing landscape is evolving to include more issuance of blue bonds and loans — specialized financing instruments dedicated to funding projects focused on ocean- or water-related initiatives in the sustainable debt market.
Even as events such as biodiversity COP16 put more focus on the business risks of nature degradation and biodiversity loss, S&P Global Sustainable1 research shows that public commitments to protect biodiversity and ecosystems, halt deforestation and assess biodiversity impacts remain rare across the corporate world.
From cleantech to climate change, AI is a common thread running through all of these discussions. Research from S&P Global Sustainable1 explores how the business world is weighing the costs and benefits for climate change and the energy transition.
Lindsey Hall
Global Head of Thought Leadership
S&P Global Sustainable1
Co-Head, S&P Global Sustainability Research Lab
Harald Francke Lund
Global Head of Sustainability Methodology and Research
S&P Global Ratings
Co-Head, S&P Global Sustainability Research Lab
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Thank you to all our colleagues across S&P Global who contributed to the design, production and publication of the S&P Global Sustainability Quarterly: Rameez Ali, Lauren Capolupo, Ila Negi, Stephanie Oxford, Priya Suvarna, Cat VanVliet.
