Corporate Knights

From an upswell of opposition to the construction of new data centres to a profound suspicion of how AI governs what we see, hear and read on the internet, the backlash against the artificial intelligence industry has been mounting. This is a big problem for the sustainable- and responsible-investment sector, that piled into Big Tech before the AI boom. Amid this week's initial public offering for Anthropic, a reckoning is underway. With so much money at stake and with the public increasingly questioning the very basis of AI, should the responsible-investment industry be invested in AI at all? asks Eugene Ellmen. And if so, which companies? #AI #anthropic #sustainableinvesting #openai https://lnkd.in/dp6hBXeT

Environmentalists exhaled with relief Sunday night after Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva clinched his fourth term as president in Brazil after a shocking come-from-behind win against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Da Silva’s victory cements him as one of the most iconic leaders of Latin America’s left. His welfare, housing and education policies have been instrumental in lifting millions of people out of poverty in Brazil. More recently, he made environmental programs a cornerstone of his administration, driving down deforestation of the Amazon rainforest that had skyrocketed under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro and playing host to COP30 in 2025. Indeed, environmental groups such as Observatório do Clima had campaigned hard against Bolsonaro, warning that a victory for him would be disastrous. In his victory speech Sunday, Lula promised more action. “We’re going to show the world how climate policy is done in this country,” he said. #brazil #lula #environment #amazon #climate https://lnkd.in/d9VbF9H6

Audits have revealed deep flaws in many carbon credit systems. But in British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest, an Indigenous-led carbon-offsetting project stands out as a success story. An alliance of nine Coastal First Nations generates about one million carbon credits annually, writes Ayesha Habib. Those credits are bought by companies, both voluntarily and through a compliance market set by the provincial government, to offset carbon emissions. The funding that comes from the carbon market – which reached $85 million as of 2026 – goes toward the stewardship of that preserved forest, along with a host of community initiatives within the Nations, such as funding the Indigenous Guardians program, which acts as the "eyes and ears on the landscape." #carboncredit #Canada #forestry #oldgrowth #emissions https://lnkd.in/gGSpv_em

Today, about 80% of Canada’s electricity comes from emissions-free sources. Wind and solar remain, by far, the cheapest new sources of electricity to add to the grid. But to build a grid that emits less carbon, we need much more capacity: as Canada’s roads, homes, buildings and industries reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, demand for electricity will grow Community bonds can bring more ordinary Canadians into the funding part of the equation, writes Tristan Bronca. For a relatively small investment – a minimum of $1,000 in many cases – community bonds allow retail investors to become stakeholders in renewable energy projects. #financing #greenfinancing #renewables #canada https://lnkd.in/d3tRssYA

Yes, China is the world’s undisputed leader in the energy transition. Yes, China is massively building out its coal industry. Yes, people are confused. “I think a lot of people are puzzling and really trying to understand what is happening in China,” says Heffa Schücking, founder of the German-based climate and bank-watch group Urgewald. Chinese banks are in the midst of a coal-industry financing boom, Eugene Ellmen reports. This financing amounted to about 60% of the bank flows to the world coal industry last year, according to Urgewald data released last week. Chinese banks increased coal financing to US$75 billion in 2025, an 8% increase from 2022 when they started ramping up their support to the industry. Carbon Brief estimates that China’s carbon dioxide emissions grew 2% in the first three months of 2026. What gives? Interestingly, the same strategy guiding its EV and renewables investments is also guiding its coal buildout. "For China, energy security means more than just the capability of meeting peak demand needs. It’s also a national security issue grounded in a goal of reducing reliance on imported oil," Ellmen writes. Read the story here: https://lnkd.in/gf9xbWwk #CoalFinance #ChinaEnergy #CoalExpansion

Canada wants to strengthen ties with the European Union to diversify trade and build economic resilience in the face of rapidly shifting geopolitics. But this isn't just about about diversifying away from the United States. It’s also about coordinating strategies with economic partners that are squarely focused on the future, not the past, writes Rick Smith in this new column for the Canadian Climate Institute / Institut climatique du Canada. There's opportunity here for Canada, but the government needs to act quickly to turn it into reality. #Canada #EU #markcarney https://lnkd.in/ec4AZV7y