Getting common standards on sustainability reporting adopted around the world is seen as critical to harnessing the power of the investment industry to combat climate change. Yet that would not be easy at the best of times. With political resistance to green finance efforts spreading from the US into Europe, it now looks really tough.

Just consider the European Commission’s new rules for how companies should report the impact of their operations on environmental, social and governance factors. The new regime, unveiled on 31 July, marks “the dawn of a new age of environmental responsibility in business and financial planning”, according to CDP, which runs a voluntary disclosure system.