News

• Failure to address fracking impacts would stifle industry's growth – BG

  13 July 2012

  The direct environmental impacts of fracking are relatively cheap to address – but a failure to do so would "severely limit" the industry's growth, even in the US, according to the chairman of BG Group.

• EU's energy efficiency policy lacking, say investors

  12 July 2012

  Financing energy efficiency improvements in Europe's building stock will be difficult under the current EU regulatory framework, according to a group of institutional investors.

• Incentives, not morality, needed to drive sustainable investment

  12 July 2012

  Better economic incentives, rather than ethical considerations, are needed to encourage investment in a more sustainable economy, according to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.

• Sustainable investment produces 15% outperformance – study

  12 July 2012

  Putting money into sustainable companies between 2005 and 2011 would have yielded a return on investment 15% higher than investing in a benchmark index, according to a study by Oekom Research.

• Subsidy reform, not carbon prices, first step to decarbonisation

  12 July 2012

  Slashing subsidies on fossil fuels is likely to be the best first step to encourage the switch to low-carbon energy systems, given the problems in imposing carbon pricing, according to experts.

• Solar PV fund reaches $282m close

  12 July 2012

  Swiss asset manager Capital Dynamics has raised $282 million into its US solar energy project fund.

• Project finance drives 24% quarterly rise in clean energy investments

  12 July 2012

  Clean energy asset financing rebounded strongly in the second quarter of 2012, while equity financing remained subdued, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

• Insurers target US mid-size solar developments

  12 July 2012

  Specialty insurer Assurant and GCube Insurance Services are hoping to spur more solar energy development in the US by offering developers of mid-size projects a new insurance product to help them address challenging risks.

• Commission confirms CO2 limits for cars, vans in 2020

  12 July 2012

  The European Commission on Wednesday ended months of speculation over carbon dioxide (CO2) emission limits for cars and vans in 2020 by confirming targets already floated in existing legislation.

• Water trading helped Australian economic recovery

  11 July 2012

  Water trading has yielded significant economic benefits in Australia and helped speed the recovery of the agricultural sector after the 'Millennium Drought' of 1997 – 2009, according to the head of the country's water authority.