Blue & Green Daily: Thursday 22 May headlines

Blue & Green Daily finds and summarises the top sustainability stories around the web every morning. We start with our own picks from Blue & Green Tomorrow.

Sustainable thinking: how do we make democracy sustainable?

Carbon capture and storage must be fast-tracked to UK power plants, MPs urge

Companies becoming more sensitive to sustainable investment concerns – survey

Shell forced to answer tough questions on environment, ethics and governance at AGM

S&P: corporate green bond market to double reaching $20bn

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22 May headlines

Far left predicted to overtake Greens for first time in new European parliament

The far left is expected to overtake the Greens for the first time in the next European parliament, according to final opinion polls ahead of voting across 28 countries today. Depending on the complicated manoeuvring to form electoral blocs following the elections, the Greens could slide from the fourth largest caucus to the sixth. Guardian.

Pfizer tested as shareholder opposition to AstraZeneca trickles out

Pfizer’s hopes of keeping its £69 billion offer for AstraZeneca alive were tested on Wednesday, as shareholders remained intensely divided over the issue. The US drug giant is relying on AstraZeneca’s disgruntled shareholders to unite in opposition to the board’s rejection of Pfizer’s final £55-per-share offer. Telegraph.

PetroChina, utilities stand to gain from Russia gas deal

PetroChina, the country’s biggest oil and gas producer, stands to win from Russia’s $400 billion deal to supply natural gas to China as it will provide gas at a price lower than had been expected. The deal will see Russia’s Gazprom supply 38 billion cubic meters of gas annually over 30 years. Bloomberg.

Glencore Xstrata top management faces investors’ anger at AGM

Bosses at the mining and commodities giant Glencore Xstrata today faces a barrage of criticism about its ethical behaviour in the poor countries in which it operates at its annual general meeting. The board has also been harshly condemned for having no women on its board, it is currently the only FTSE 100 board not to have any women. Independent.

World Bank and aid donors accused of enabling land grabs

Aid donors and international institutions, including the World Bank and World Economic Forum, have been accused of promoting an environment that fuels land grabs through policies and initiatives that pave the way for large scale private investment. NGO ActionAid has published a report saying incentives such as tax breaks and cut-price loans are facilitating land grabs. Guardian.

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Interesting picks

Well-run companies tend to perform better in environmental terms – Financial Times

Will carbon capture and storage ever make fossil fuels safe? – Guardian

A new fossil fuel divestment strategy: turn off the lights – Forbes

UN joins missions to balance investment goals – Financial Times

Photo: Sanja gjenero via Freeimages