Antitrust regulator softens in the name of EU green deal

Antitrust regulator softens in the name of EU green deal

Greetings from New York, where it feels like spring in every sense: the sun is shining and as more people get vaccinated (including myself “” hooray) a sentiment shift is under way. Could we be about to see a similar mood shift in the global battle to control climate change?

Next week will deliver one key clue when the Biden administration hosts its climate summit. Before this, however, there is plenty of action flying under the radar in the corporate and policy weeds in the EU (around antitrust), US (over pension investing and political rights) and Japan (about human rights). Read on.

Do antitrust laws impede climate change innovation?

EU competition regulator Margrethe Vestager (pictured above) strikes fear in boardrooms from Europe to Silicon Valley. She has shown "legendary toughness“ (as the FT remarked in 2017) assessing billions of dollars in fines on Apple, Google and other global companies,

But when it comes to combating global warming, Vestager might be willing to soften a bit. Earlier this year, Vestager's office began studying how competition rules could be changed to work with the EU's green deal. In some ways competition rules have fostered green business development, but as she acknowledged in February: "We need to