Often the most exciting and promising elements of a festival or conference take place in the fringes. Take jokes (Edinburgh), couture (fashion week), or policies (annual party conferences); the best ones are frequently dreamed up and demonstr-ated in obscure backrooms while the goings-on in the highly polished main conference hall appear unsurprising, unambitious and, frankly, a bit of a let-down. Such was the case at the Copenhagen Summit, where ministers and officials met to discuss ways to cut carbon emission and renew the Kyoto Protocol, which runs out in 2012.

When a new EU directive for alternative asset managers was proposed this summer, it made London’s blood boil. Mayor Boris Johnson went over to Brussels in an attempt to quell the fear instilled in the City, which sees its future in danger with the strict regulations that are being proposed.

A group of UK pension funds are about to make a commingled £200m investment in US forestry. Roger Adams, investment director and fund manager at forestry investment firm FIM Services, would not divulge the names of the schemes, but did say that the money is due to be invested in 2010 as the schemes see it as an ideal time to enter the market.

Global revenue from climate change-related products and services increased by 75% to £324bn last year, according to HSBC’s recently published annual review of climate change indices.

Even though Michael Jackson may not have reached retirement himself, his recent passing has contributed to others realising their pension.

This month marks the 25th anniversary of the launch of the UK’s first ethical investment fund. Over the years, companies have increasingly discovered that this approach to investing can not only yield concrete economic rewards in terms of increased profits and reduced costs; but that factors such as public opinion and the threat – and costs – of possible legal action also play a not insignificant part.

Change must be swift but not without support europeans are living longer and, as pensions systems creak under the weight of the downturn, one method of alleviating the situation is to extend working life. In the UK, the state pension age will rise from 65 to 68 by 2044.