Join us as we cover the sustainability and climate trends that our team thinks will shape the year head. We talk about the energy transition opportunities that are emerging in private markets, rising social risks and the tech giants, falling data access for AI models and much more. Here’s to a big, intriguing 2025!

Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research
Guests: Liz Houston, Namita Nair & Jonathan Ponder, MSCI ESG Research

We put out the world’s first price forecast for Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA)! In it we analyzed the potential demand, supply and prices for credits under CORSIA, and how much the scheme could cost the airline industry in terms of higher ticket prices or lower profits. In this episode we explore the reports findings from one of its main authors, Faris Pleho. Enjoy!

Report: CORSIA: Costs and Implications for the Airline Industry

Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research

Guest: Faris Pleho, MSCI Carbon Markets

What do market participants actually think is going to happen to their assets due to climate change? And when do they expect it? And do they think we will ever abandon fossil fuels? Well to answer those questions (and any others!), you need a survey. Luckily, we've got one! We've linked it below, and created a podcast episode about it. Enjoy!

Link to the survey: https://www.msci-institute.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/MSI-Survey-Report-061124_2.pdf

Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Russ Bowdrey, MSCI ESG Research

Energy-hungry data centers are the backbone of AI. And as big tech companies look to meet rising demand for AI capabilities, their emissions are ticking up. So, are net zero ambitions at risk? Or can they be saved by a decades-old energy source in a new guise?

Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research
Guests: Yoon Young Chung & Mathew Lee, MSCI ESG Research

VW announced it would shut at least three of its German plants, axe tens of thousands of jobs and slash pay by 10%. This is notable because VW is the powerhouse of Germany which typically has been the EU’s industrial engine – meaning jobs, meaning unions, meaning political might. But this is more than a VW story. It is a story of how the energy transition – the transition from pollutive to non-pollutive forms of economic operations – is upending the global order of established industries. It is the story of the hard tradeoffs we have to make in our effort to cut carbon emissions.

In this episode we explore that new world and what it means for the auto industry; an industry many countries and states rely on for their economic driver.

Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Yu Ishihara, MSCI ESG Research

Well not yet. But on October 11, a UN expert group reached a compromise on key elements of a global carbon trading system. If it passes (we go into this, don’t worry), it will resolve nearly a decade of talks on a what is seen as a fundamental tool for the Paris Agreement to be achieved. So, in this episode, we discuss why this global carbon market agreement is so important, and what it will do to the already up and running voluntary carbon markets.

Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Juana Hernandez, MSCI Carbon Markets

Heat waves are getting longer and more intense. And although mitigating climate change will remain a long-term priority, investors will also be thinking about adaptation technologies. The humble air conditioner is an off-the-shelf solution, but does it have any downsides?

Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI ESG Research
Guest: Mathew Lee, MSCI ESG Research

Today is the last part of a three part series we've done for ESG now: we examine whether investors should care about incorporating environmental data into equity analysis. In previous episodes we discussed the social pillar and the governance pillar, now its on to the environmental pillar of our ESG ratings model. We look at the environmental pillar as a whole and the themes that build it and tell you whether companies that scored well on each theme performed better than their lower scoring peers.

If you want to read the blog that is associated with this podcast, here is the link: https://www.msci.com/www/blog-posts/managing-climate-change-risks/04992064034

Guest: Xinxin Wang, MSCI Research; Elchin Mammadov, MSCI ESG Research
Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI ESG Research