British pension funds may soon need to explain how they are fighting climate change under a global framework as the United Kingdom aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. British pension funds managed some $2.8 trillion in assets in 2018, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Sustainable investing is one of the fastest-growing areas in money management as pension plans and other large investors plow money into the strategy. About $30.7 trillion was held in sustainable or green investments in 2018. 63% of money managers cited a lack of quality and consistent sustainability data as the biggest challenge in making such decisions.

The global rush for safer assets has fuelled a huge jump in the world’s stockpile of negative-yielding bonds. Last week brought the worldwide total to $12.4 trillion – the highest level in two months. The resurgence is a potent reminder that the market distortions synonymous with loose monetary policies have not gone away.

The policy used to fight sudden pressure on the Danish krone has now shaped a whole decade, with most economists predicting years more of the regime in Denmark. Bankers’ association says negative rates pose a serious threat. It estimates that life below zero cost the industry around 2.5 billion kroner ($371 million) last year alone.

Swiss private bankers say that clients have asked to withdraw large amounts of cash. The moves follow five years of negative interest rates. The policy, intended to keep the Swiss franc from appreciating, requires banks to pay to park money with the Swiss National Bank. Banks have passed a portion of the extra costs on to their most affluent customers.

The ECB will only start raising its key interest rate, currently set at minus 0.5%, once the eurozone inflation “robustly” meets the central bank’s target of just below 2%, Ms. Lagarde said. That is unlikely to happen for several years. The ECB has left open the option of cutting interest rates even further below zero if the economic outlook worsens.

The federal government wants to put more pressure on bituminous coal power plants than previously planned. Power stations could be switched off without compensation as early as 2024. The exit from sub-bituminous coal had been clarified in separate negotiations with the operators. Both are to be brought together in one act of law.

Turkey joined negative rates club after the central bank decision. The central bank’s fifth straight round of easing under governor Murat Uysal pushed its real rate below zero, only months after Turkey boasted one of the highest inflation-adjusted yields in the world. The move brought the benchmark rate to 11.25%. Inflation capped last year at 11.8%.

The German government plans to compensate utility RWE with around 2.6 billion euros for costs related to the country’s planned coal exit. Mining company Mibrag, owned by Czech energy group EPH, is likely to get 1.75 billion euros of compensation. The payments will begin when coal-fired plants are turned off until the broad final coal exit date.

Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan is finding it is hard to revert to normal monetary policy without risking an unwanted appreciation of the franc. Five years since Jordan jolted markets by introducing negative interest rates, the currency’s strength means there’s little chance he’ll be able to end the controversial policy any time soon.

Only 276 new wind turbines with an output of 940 MW were put into operation in 2019. Compared to the average expansion in the past 5 years, it is a decrease of 77%. The reasons are long approval procedures, insufficiently designated areas and many lawsuits. Many local initiatives against the construction of wind turbines have been formed.

Green bonds are red hot. Issuance smashed through projections in 2019 and will continue expanding this year as sustainability minded investors snap up almost every deal that hits the market. Moody’s had to revise its projection for the year 2019 from $200 billion to $250 billion. The average offering is more than three times oversubscribed.