environmental risks

Published by Responsible Alpha: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large class of synthetic chemicals characterized by strong carbon-fluorine bonds. Given their unique ability to resist water, oil, heat, and stains, they have been used for over 70 years in a wide range of consumer and industrial products. PFAS have become indispensable to industries such as aerospace, textiles, packaging, and electronics. Yet the same characteristics supporting widespread use also make it nearly impossible to break down in nature. As a result, PFAS accumulate in soil, water, animals, and human bodies, where they can remain for decades (J.P. Morgan, 2025).

Juris Dobrick, Christian Klein, Bernhard Zwergel - University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany

World Economic Forum - 20th Edition - Insight Report

Severe weather events, physical risks, supply chains, financial channels and monetary policy.

Published by Responsible Alpha: In 2022 Duke Energy Corporation had $84 billion in market capitalization, $62 billion in fixed income securities, and 27,000 employees, as an energy company located primarily in the Americas that owned an integrated network of energy assets and it is one of the largest U.S. utilities. ​ In 2020, Duke reported Scope 1 emissions of 75 million mtCO2e, 24.5 thousand metric tons SO2, 39 thousand metric tons NOx, and 142.4 thousand metric tons methane emissions with coal generating 20.9% total electricity. ​ For years, Duke has stored coal ash in landfills and ponds that often leak toxins into waterways. A leak in 2014 at a Duke North Carolina coal ash pond site left coal ash coating 70 miles of the Dan River. In 2015, Duke pled guilty and agreed to $102 million in fines and restitution due to federal environmental crimes because the company acknowledged it coal ash dumps at five power plants to leak toxic waste into water supplies.