News

• Alstom acquires tidal turbine maker

  25 September 2012

  Power engineering giant Alstom has bought a UK firm specialising in tidal power turbines.

• Soft commodities investors face 'quagmire' of environmental risks – WWF

  25 September 2012

  Investors face "a quagmire of material, reputational, and systemic risks" when investing in soft commodities, according to conservation group WWF, which has released a guide to investing in 10 major soft commodities sectors.

• Impax makes North America push with NYC office

  24 September 2012

  Impax Asset Management has opened a New York office and appointed David Richardson in the newly-created role of head of institutional sales and client service for North America.

• UK Green Investment Bank may struggle to invest initial £3bn – UKGI

  24 September 2012

  The £3 billion ($5 billion) allocated to the UK's Green Investment Bank (GIB) by government is likely to be adequate for its first few years of operation, according to one of the officials running its precursor.

• Insurers' climate losses predicted to climb – Ceres

  21 September 2012

  Climate change-related losses will likely continue to mount for the insurance sector, but many insurers remain unprepared to mitigate the risks of unpredictable and extreme weather events, according to a new report.

• Nord-Pas de Calais issues €80m municipal SRI bond

  21 September 2012

  France's Nord-Pas de Calais region has issued an €80 million ($104 million) bond whose proceeds will be ring-fenced for socially responsible investment (SRI), in the third such deal arranged by Crédit Agricole this year.

• California launches largest PACE bond programme

  20 September 2012

  California will be home to the largest municipal bond programme in the US to finance renewable energy and efficiency projects in commercial buildings, with the new programme authorised to issue up to $14 billion in bonds.

• Ambienta marketing second private equity fund

  20 September 2012

  Italian asset manager Ambienta is pre-marketing a potentially €300 million ($388 million) private equity fund to invest in European environmental technology companies.

• Guangdong steps closer to carbon trading launch

  20 September 2012

  Guangdong, China's largest emitting province, has taken two significant steps towards the launch of its pilot greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme (ETS), with the drafting of framework regulations and the launch of an emissions trading platform in the capital, Guangzhou.

• Water-tech outperforms other climate themes in HSBC index

  20 September 2012

  The water waste and pollution control sector has edged ahead of the other sub-sectors in HSBC's Climate Change Index, but still underperformed its benchmark.