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EIB warns Africa may suffer as Chinese banks move in
01 March 2007Philippe Maystadt, president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), has warned that the bank is losing out on projects in Africa to Chinese lenders that do not apply environmental, social or corporate governance conditions on borrowers.
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IFC, State Street to launch emerging markets SRI fund
01 March 2007The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has approved a long-awaited socially responsible investment fund to invest in companies in emerging markets. The IFC claims that the Emerging Markets Sustainability Fund will be the first of its kind, and "is expected to convince private fund managers investing in emerging markets that sustainability policies stand to improve their competitiveness".
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Flurry of deals seen in solar sector
01 March 2007In a month that saw a flurry of financings in the solar sector, Q-Cells, Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) and Good Energies have completed a complex multi-billion-euro deal. It sees Switzerland-based Good Energies – an investment company with more than $3 billion in renewable energy assets – selling out of its holding in Norwegian solar company Renewable Energy Corporation, reaping more than $2 billion in cash and shares.
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Germany backs down on EU ETS
01 March 2007Germany has decided to accept the European Commission's ruling that it should lower its cap on carbon dioxide emissions for Phase II of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
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Carbon fever grips Climate Exchange stock
01 March 2007Climate Exchange, the AIM-listed company behind the European Climate Exchange (ECX) and the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), was briefly valued at more than £510 million ($1 billion) in February, as its share price hit £12 – up from a listing price of £1.02 in 2003.
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Hurricane trading to hit US exchanges
01 March 2007Reinsurance companies have a new way of transferring catastrophe (cat) risk to the capital markets, with the listing this month of futures and options contracts linked to hurricane intensity and property damage.
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New climate risk reporting initiative launched
01 March 2007Some of the leading organisations promoting climate change-related corporate disclosure have come together in a new initiative that aims, ultimately, to see carbon firmly embedded within company report and accounts.
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People moves this month
01 March 2007Fund – a fund-of-funds vehicle that will make sustainable investments in the global timber sector. The fund is aimed at institutional investors in the UK and northern Europe.
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1.25 billion of "sustainability" VC raised – Eurosif
01 March 2007Around €1.25 billion of "venture capital for sustainability" has been raised by European venture capitalists (VCs) as of September 2006, according to a report from the European Social Investment Forum.
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Global roundtable calls for mid-century carbon targets
01 March 2007The Global Roundtable on Climate Change (GROCC), involving 80 companies and institutions, has called on governments to put a price on carbon and set mid-century reduction targets.