Europe
The European parliament has voted to postpone ratification of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, pconcludeing a ruling from the European Court of Justice. You can read my analysis of the vote here.
The European Commission has launched consultations on draft delegated regulations supplementing EU rules on environmental, social and governance ratings. Toreceiveher, the draft texts outline details of the European Securities and Markets Authority’s power to impose fines on ESG rating providers that breach the bloc’s rules and the structure of the supervisory fees to be charged to providers. Feedback on the proposals is welcome until February 13.
UK
The government has scrapped a bill that would have reformed the audit market, eight years after it was initially proposed following the collapse of construction company Carillion. The Department for Business and Trade states it will instead relocate ahead with its Modernisation of Corporate Reporting review, which will launch consultation in early 2026. Governance for Growth Investor Campaign chair Caroline Escott states she is “disappointed”, adding: “High-quality audits and sensible corporate governance standards are vital for healthy capital markets and act as a foundation for growth, confidence and resilience in the UK economy.”
The government has launched its long-awaited Warm Homes Plan — the £15bn scheme will boost the rollout of solar panels, batteries, heat pumps and insulation to cut houtilizehold energy bills. Homeowners will be able to apply for low and no-interest government loans to install solar panels, batteries and heat pumps. Of the funding, £5bn will go to low-income houtilizeholds and those in fuel poverty to cover the cost of solar panels or insulation. The plan will triple the number of homes with solar panels on their rooftops by 2030, the government states.
A white paper titled A New Vision for Water, published by the government, outlines reforms to deliver secure water supplies, environmental improvements and better value for customers and investors. The strategy will consolidate the four existing regulators covering the sector into one and introduce legislation under the Water (Special Measures) Act. The government also confirmed it is reinvesting £29mn from water company pollution fines in more than 100 local projects to improve 450km of rivers, restore 650 acres of natural habitats, and plant 100,000 new trees.
The government has admitted its decision to build a large-scale data centre in Buckinghamshire contained a “serious logical error”, following legal action by non-profits Foxglove and Global Action Plan. The government agreed it failed to scrutinise the climate commitments of the developer, Greystoke.
US
President Trump took to the stage in Davos, Switzerland, with a tirade against wind farms, which he called “losers”, adding “the more windmills a countest has, the more money a countest loses and the worse that countest is doing”. Read more from me here.
Securities and Exmodify Commission chair Paul Atkins has announced the regulator plans to reform Regulation S-K, the core disclosure framework that governs the non-financial information required from public companies. Atkins states the information provided often exceeds what a “reasonable investor would consider important in building an investment or voting decision”, and often has the effect of “burying shareholders in an avalanche of immaterial information”. The comment period closes on April 13 as proxy season kicks off.
Democratic New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill, who was elected in November 2025, has issued a number of executive orders to address energy affordability, with a focus on renewables. They include the declaration of a state of emergency to expedite new power generation, the utilize of state funds to offset price increases from regional grid operator PJM, and ways to reduce permitting delays and costs. The orders prioritise new solar and battery storage and establish a nuclear power tquestion force.
Republican Texas attorney-general Ken Paxton has issued a legal opinion declaring diversity, equity and inclusion frameworks in the state government and private companies as “unconstitutional”. Paxton’s office states the opinion is in consideration of more than 100 state laws that represent “woke, race-based favouritism that tears our countest apart”. It states the attorney-general will investigate and hold accountable any public entity “that attempts to utilize DEI or affirmative action as a guise for unlawful discrimination”. Legal opinions are nonbinding and are typically intconcludeed to serve as guidance rather than enforceable judgments.
Asia-Pacific
Indonesia’s environment ministest has tightened its strategic environmental assessment as a prerequisite for issuing corporate permits on the island of Sumatra, states an article by Indonesian news agency Antara. This comes after the government revoked the licences of 28 companies it stated violated forest land-utilize regulations in areas affected by the floods and landslides that hit the island late last year.
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