NatWest faces AGM showdown over ‘climate backtracking’
NatWest is at risk of an embarrassing showdown at its shareholder meeting this week as investors and scientists call for an urgent reversal of what they describe as “climate backtracking”.Campaigners including ShareAction are calling for protest votes against the bank’s chair, Rick Haythornthwaite, at its annual meeting in Edinburgh on Tuesday.The call is part of efforts to hold the board to account after NatWest watered down restrictions on lending to the oil and gas sector and dropped some decarbonisation targets “without robust explanation”, according to the campaigners.Investors including the Church of England have already thrown their weight behind the campaign, saying they will vote against the reappointment of board members.ShareAction will present letters at the AGM, including a statement signed by investors with $1.
4tn in assets.Signatories include the Church of England Pensions Board, Rathbones Investment Management, EdenTree Investment Management, Nest, and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund.The statement calls for the bank to meet investors within the next three months to discuss its direction on climate strategy.ShareAction will also deliver a letter signed by 70 climate scientists and experts calling on NatWest to “show leadership and reverse the backtracking on climate commitments”.Recent changes to the bank’s climate policy have included dropping a commitment not to lend to any oil and gas companies that either lacked a credible transition plan or failed to report their overall carbon emissions.
The bank has removed a commitment not to finance oil and gas exploration and production companies where most of their assets are outside the UK.It has abandoned targets covering aluminium, cement, iron and steel.“NatWest has undermined public trust and created a clear path for continued financing of a global fossil fuel economy,” the letter signed by climate experts will say.Jeanne Martin, the head of the banking programme at ShareAction, said: “NatWest spent years presenting itself as a climate leader, but quietly rolling back fossil fuel restrictions shows the board is heading in the wrong direction.This kind of backtracking has real consequences, fuelling a climate crisis that is already damaging homes, health and livelihoods, and creating long-term risks for the economy.
”Martin said that at the AGM the board would hear from “concerned investors as well leading climate scientists, underlining why retreating from climate commitments is both dangerous and short‑sighted”,A NatWest group spokesperson said the bank had retained interim targets to at least half its climate impact compared with 2019 while it worked towards longer-term ambitions of net zero emissions from its financing by 2050,“We have refined our approach to ensure it reflects the evolving policy environment, the complex and diverse needs of the transition, and the areas where we can deliver the greatest impact for customers,” a statement said,“Overall, our updated policies are designed to provide clearer, more practical support while keeping our approach to climate clear and accountable,We will continue to engage constructively with stakeholders as we make progress on our commitments.
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Disco hit: Penne alla vodka, popular in New York 80s clubs, is now a menu staple
Despite most traditional Italians considering it sacrilegious, penne alla vodka is quickly becoming one of the most in-demand Italian dishes.Previously popular in suburban Italo-American restaurants during the 80s, the dish is now enjoying a widespread resurgence that is being driven by several factors including nostalgia and social media.Featuring a tomato and cream base with a splash of vodka, the silky smooth sauce sits somewhere between coral and carrot on the colour wheel. The Guardian’s Rome-based food writer Rachel Roddy describes it as “luxurious and a bit racy”.Dara Klein, a chef and founder of Tiella Trattoria in London, says the dish “hits lots of comforting notes”, comparing it to a slightly more grownup take on the Italian childhood favourite pasta al pomodoro which is “eaten from day dot”
Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for orange, grapefruit and bay jelly | The sweet spot
You’re never too old for jelly, and I think we should all be eating more of it. Unmoulding a jelly and immediately giving it a good wobble is by far the best bit, and makes me giggle every time. Infusing the mixture with fresh bay leaves brings a grownup feel and gentle, earthy notes. While jelly and ice-cream is a classic combination, I love this just with some lightly whipped, unsweetened cream.Prep 5 min Cook 20 min Infuse 30 min+ Chill 4 hr+ Serves 6Neutral oil for greasing220ml freshly squeezed red grapefruit juice (from about 2 grapefruit)700ml fresh orange juice (from about 8-10 oranges)4 fresh bay leaves120g caster sugar11 gelatine leaves (I use Dr Oetker platinum grade leaf gelatine) 200ml double creamLightly grease the insides of a 1 litre jelly mould with a little neutral oil – you can skip this step if you’re serving the jelly straight from a dish or bowl
‘As intense as perfume’: which eaux de vie are worth trying?
Nearly every European country has its own fruit brandy. Some are a bit agricultural so here’s a taste of the bestThe Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.“I’ve had people burst into tears tasting these – it takes them straight back to a moment in their past
Folded, whipped or baked into something golden, ricotta is brilliant and adaptable
My record for making ricotta and lemon ring cake is three minutes and 42 seconds. That doesn’t include heating the oven or baking, or finding a recipe, which is in my head. It does include getting out the utensils (bowl, spatula, grater, scale, ring tin) and the ingredients (ricotta, olive oil, flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, lemons), then speed-mixing everything in one bowl, scraping the batter into the tin and getting the tin in the oven via a discus throw. The timer is stopped as the oven door is closed. This is not relaxing cooking, it is entertaining cooking
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for almond and lemon spiced treacle tart | A kitchen in Rome
It wasn’t that dessert trolleys were banned in Italy during Covid, but guidelines from the Instituto Superiore di Sanità (national institute of health) were so (necessarily) rigorous around these “potential vehicles of the virus” that most places banished them to storerooms. Happily, many restaurants have since retrieved them from their long stay, so they glide or rattle between tables once more, or sit parked in an admirable position. This isn’t my first time mentioning the dessert trolley at La Torricella here in Testaccio, having written about its fabulous puff pastry and cream millefoglie in the past. But another dessert that might catch your eye as you enter the restaurant and look right at the cloth-covered trolley parked under the bar is what owner Augusto refers to as torta medievale, because of its spiced almond and dried fruit filling. It’s an unassuming but extremely good thing
I’m welcoming in spring with big Mediterranean flavours
A combination of the warmer weather, dusting off my sunglasses and the impending release of my new book, MEDesque (out on Thursday!), has got me fully focused on sunshine food and Mediterranean flavours. OK, so I’m not quite in rosé-in-the-garden territory just yet, but it’s close. And I am counting down the days. At home, I am leaning heavily on recipes from the queen of all things Med, Claudia Roden, to get my fix. Big hitters such as her bean stew with chorizo and bacon and chicken traybake with olives and boiled lemon deliver on all fronts, and immediately transport me to my favourite region
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