News in the spotlight: ICE backs Isometric in USD 50m carbon removal funding round
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the operator of the New York Stock Exchange and a major provider of environmental and energy-market infrastructure, has invested in Isometric’s Series A funding round. The financing now totals USD 50 million, bringing Isometric’s combined seed and Series A funding to USD 75 million.
Products and Services
ICE backs Isometric in USD 50m carbon removal funding round
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the operator of the New York Stock Exchange and a major provider of environmental and energy-market infrastructure, has invested in Isometric’s Series A funding round. The financing now totals USD 50 million, bringing Isometric’s combined seed and Series A funding to USD 75 million. Isometric develops certification infrastructure for carbon removal and other industrial climate claims. Its AI-powered Certify platform works with independent verifiers to examine the data behind claims, reducing verification times from months to hours. The company says it has been contracted to certify more than 16 million tonnes of carbon removal—the largest volume claimed by any certifier—and now covers industrial emissions, energy, fuels and materials. Isometric says more than 200 projects use its certification system, with customers including Microsoft, Anglo American, Boeing and JPMorgan Chase. The partnership with ICE is intended to combine Isometric’s automated verification technology with ICE’s financial-market infrastructure and data expertise.
LOIM launches New U.S. and Japan Net Zero Equity Funds
Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM) has expanded its TargetNetZero franchise with new equity strategies focused on the United States and Japan. The launch comes as the platform reaches more than USD 6.8 billion in assets under management across 11 pooled funds and bespoke solutions spanning equities, fixed income and cash strategies. The strategies use LOIM’s proprietary Implied Temperature Rise methodology to identify companies considered credible transition leaders, including businesses in hard-to-abate sectors. Portfolios are designed to remain aligned with a temperature pathway below 2°C while reducing greenhouse-gas emissions relative to their benchmarks. The approach aims to maintain diversification, low tracking error and conventional risk-return characteristics rather than relying primarily on exclusions. The new TargetNetZero US Equity strategy tracks the MSCI USA Index and is expected to hold 300 to 350 companies. The Japan strategy tracks the MSCI Japan Index and is expected to hold 100 to 150 companies. Both are intended as regional building blocks for investors seeking climate-aligned exposure within mainstream equity portfolios.
BlueOrchard raises USD 250m for Emerging Markets Climate Debt Fund
BlueOrchard has secured USD 250 million at the first close of its Climate Action Mobilisation Fund, a blended-finance private debt vehicle targeting emerging and frontier markets. The fund brings together private institutional investors and development-finance providers, with senior financing supplied through investment-grade notes from Aviva Investors and Daido Life Insurance Company. Commitments also came from Schroders, British International Investment and FinDev Canada. The fund is designed to attract insurance capital by combining investment-grade senior notes with senior and junior equity tranches. British International Investment and FinDev Canada anchor the equity structure, helping absorb risk and improve the credit profile of the senior notes. BOCAMF will primarily provide senior loans to banks, microfinance institutions and other financial intermediaries. These lenders will channel capital to small and medium-sized enterprises investing in climate mitigation and adaptation. The strategy also includes direct corporate lending.
Regulations, Law and Frameworks
SEC proposes update of shareholder rights in terms of proxy voting
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed rescinding Rule 14a-8, the federal rule that requires public companies to include qualifying shareholder proposals in their proxy materials. The SEC argues that shareholder proposal rights belong primarily under state corporate law and companies’ governing documents, rather than federal proxy regulation. The proposal would therefore shift decisions about whether investors can place issues—including climate, biodiversity and other environmental matters—before shareholders away from a uniform federal process. Access could vary according to a company’s state of incorporation and internal rules, potentially making coordinated stewardship campaigns more complex. The SEC also proposes expanding Rule 14a-4(c), giving companies greater discretion to vote proxies on proposals not included in their proxy materials. Shareholders would receive an individual opt-out mechanism, allowing them to prevent the company from exercising that authority for their shares.
NZAOA issues call for action to private market asset managers
The UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA) has issued an updated call for private-market asset managers to integrate climate considerations into routine investment decisions. The guidance targets general partners managing private equity, private debt, infrastructure and real estate—asset classes that now represent a significant share of institutional portfolios. NZAOA’s recommendations go beyond emissions reporting. Managers are urged to establish credible transition strategies, improve financed-emissions data, assess physical climate risks, manage exposure to high-emitting assets and identify credible transition-finance opportunities. They should also use ownership rights, board influence, value-creation plans, loan covenants and borrower engagement to reduce risk and support decarbonisation. The alliance stresses that implementation should reflect each strategy and mandate, but flexibility should not lower expectations. Climate analysis should be integrated into due diligence, investment decisions, monitoring and portfolio management rather than treated as a separate reporting exercise.
ESG- and Green Bond Issuances
DiNapoli launches New York’s first ESG General Obligation Sustainability Bonds
New York State has sold USD 318.9 million of its first general-obligation bonds carrying an environmental, social and governance designation. The issuance comprises USD 259.4 million of tax-exempt Series 2026A bonds and USD 59.5 million of taxable Series 2026B bonds, both classified as sustainability bonds. The proceeds will finance voter-approved projects across transportation, education, clean water, clean air and environmental infrastructure. The eligible spending is governed by several state bond acts, including the 2022 Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs program and the Rebuild and Renew New York Transportation Act. BofA Securities won the tax-exempt issue with a true interest cost of 4.283207%, while Wells Fargo won the taxable bonds at 4.888999%. The state received seven bids for the larger tax-exempt tranche and ten for the taxable issue, indicating strong demand for New York’s highly rated credit rather than proving a standalone pricing benefit from the ESG label. The tax-exempt bonds mature between 2032 and 2046; the taxable bonds mature from 2027 to 2032.
ESG Data and Analytics
Verra launches Scope 3 standard for value chain climate projects
Verra has launched the Scope 3 Standard (S3S) Program, a framework for quantifying, verifying and certifying emissions reductions and removals generated within corporate value chains. The initiative targets Scope 3 emissions, which typically account for more than 75% of a company’s total carbon footprint but remain difficult to measure and link to credible climate action. Under the program, projects can generate Scope 3 Units (S3Us), with each unit representing one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent reduced or removed. The units are intended to help companies account for value-chain climate investments and support related reporting and claims. Version 1 initially covers improved agricultural land management and low-carbon concrete production. Verra plans to add methodologies for forestry, industrial fuels, super-pollutants and refrigeration. The program will operate alongside Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard, allowing eligible projects to pursue either S3Us or conventional carbon credits and potentially access a broader pool of finance.
Net Zero Commitments
New Climate Pledge Report becomes available
The Climate Pledge’s 2026 report shows that corporate climate commitments are expanding—and producing measurable results. More than 700 signatories across 49 countries and 62 industries now represent combined revenues of USD 3.8 trillion. In 2025, the initiative added 107 companies, including 51 fashion and beauty brands, while membership grew strongly in Latin America and Asia-Pacific. The report says signatories reduced operational emissions by an average of 11%, outperforming comparable companies outside the initiative, which achieved a 7% reduction. The median reduction was higher, at 21%, and three in four companies cut emissions from their operations and purchased energy. Progress was strongest in Scope 2 emissions, which fell 35% on average, largely through renewable-energy procurement. Direct operational emissions declined by only 4%, highlighting the greater difficulty of decarbonizing industrial processes, fleets and physical infrastructure. The report also emphasizes collaboration. Thirty-three joint-action projects involving 122 signatories are tackling challenges in freight, buildings, heat pumps and concrete.