Sustainability Now

Flat prices, steady volumes — carbon markets in 2025 might seem uneventful. But dig a little deeper, and a clearer picture emerges: buyers are paying more for quality. We explore how media scrutiny, new rating systems, and evolving buyer expectations are reshaping how carbon credits are valued.

Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI Research & Development
Guests: Nicholas Baldwin & Utkarsh Akhouri, MSCI Research & Development

For years, institutional investors treated human rights as a checkbox exercise, something to monitor after the fact. But a new wave of regulation and stakeholder pressure is forcing a fundamental shift from passive oversight to active due diligence. In this episode, we explore how forward-thinking investors are moving beyond retroactive screening to implement proactive human rights risk management across their portfolios. 
Episode Reading: Human-Rights Risks in Portfolios: From Oversight to Due Diligence
Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI Sustainability & Climate
Gust: Aura Dron, MSCI Sustainability & Climate

When policy and markets move in different directions, the results can be surprising. In this episode, we explore five sustainability and climate trends we'll be watching in 2026. From AI-boosted clean tech and central banks enforcing climate risk rules, to investors reckoning with physical hazards in private equity and the rise of state ownership in strategic sectors. We unpack how materiality is maturing, policy is pivoting, and capital is flowing into what works.
To register for the 2026 Trends to Watch webinar, click here.
To review all our trend research we have put out to date, click here.
Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI Sustainability & Climate
Guest: Liz Houston, MSCI Sustainability & Climate

When policy and markets move in different directions, the results can be surprising. In this episode, we explore five sustainability and climate trends we'll be watching in 2026. From AI-boosted clean tech and central banks enforcing climate risk rules, to investors reckoning with physical hazards in private equity and the rise of state ownership in strategic sectors. We unpack how materiality is maturing, policy is pivoting, and capital is flowing into what works.

Host: Bentley Kaplan, MSCI Sustainability & Climate
Guest: Liz Houston, MSCI Sustainability & Climate

The EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) is a corner stone of the EU’s plan to cut carbon emissions and achieve its climate goals. But it has undergone numerous changes, with the most recently announced on Nov. 20. Our question was whether these revisions preserved the SFDR’s stated purpose: promoting transparency and ensuring comparability in how sustainable a financial product truly is. 
We explored that question and more in this episode, which covers the changes the EU Commission made to the SFDR.
Host: Mike Disabato, MSCI Solutions & Climate
Guest: Simone Ruiz-Vergote, MSCI Solutions & Climate