Quarterly catch-up

A few additions have been posted to the Library of note. First is an article entitled “Got the Message” on systems-level thinking on markets and sustainability. The short version is that we believe it is more capital-efficient to address the root causes of climate change than to discount the capital destruction caused by it. The free market is capable of pricing climate change risk if it is permitted to do so. Failing to recognize the true cost of capital by ignoring the system in which it exists is short-sighted and destined for ruin.

Next up, a fresh look at the investability of emerging markets through an ESG lens in “ESG and EM”. The transparency of emerging markets has improved significantly, making it easier for fundamental managers to examine environmental, social and governance criteria with the same intensity as in developed markets. Some of this improvement is a credit to the governments and home markets that are driven to attract stable, long-term investment capital from the developed world, and some is thanks to data providers and investment firms working harder to capture and catalog the same material information available to developed market investors.

Lastly, a copy of HR 109 of the 116th Congress, aka the Green New Deal, and an accompanying article, “Small Steps & Giant Leaps” where we make the market case for the Deal. The GND is a statement of direction and purpose to pull the country back from the brink in societal and environmental terms, but is not in itself legislation destined for law. If it never finds its way out of the starting gate, it is still an effective roadmap for communities and markets to mitigate risk and create the next several decades of economic opportunity while improving health and wealth for all. And, the greed motive is entirely in line with the objectives of the Green New Deal. There is a great deal of money to be made by investors that recognize the decadal opportunities it describes.