News

• Forestry fund managers apply Sharia for Middle East edge

  26 June 2012

  Two fund managers are marketing Sharia-compliant sustainable forestry funds to tap Middle Eastern investment.

• Sustainability challenges require 'disruptive innovation' – think-tank

  25 June 2012

  Businesses must embrace radical change in order to survive in an economy increasingly driven by sustainability issues, according to a report from Forum for the Future.

• Focus on 'soft costs' could help US solar compete without federal subsidy – developers

  25 June 2012

  The US solar industry needs to focus on reducing projects' 'soft costs', such as the cost of capital, if it is to become profitable without federal subsidies, developers said.

• Uncertainty ahead for US renewables tax equity market

  22 June 2012

  Tax equity financing of wind and solar projects is off to a strong start in 2012, but the future for the market remains unclear amid uncertainty about potential changes to the US tax code, according to a JP Morgan banker.

• European banks retreat from North American renewables

  21 June 2012

  US and Japanese banks are stepping into the North American renewable energy financing void left by their European counterparts – a trend likely to continue amid the never-ending turmoil in the European banking sector.

• Rio+20 headed for 'epic fail'

  21 June 2012

  World leaders have arrived in Rio de Janeiro for the final two days of the Rio+20 sustainable development conference, but observers believe they are unlikely to salvage the latest text that has been slammed by NGOs.

• Latin America lures renewables investors

  21 June 2012

  Investors are rushing to finance renewable energy projects in Latin America, as many countries in the region now have attractive incentives and investment-grade ratings.

• Energy efficiency directive will flick switch on private investment

  21 June 2012

  The recently passed EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), though weaker than originally proposed, should nonetheless kick-start private-sector financing of efficiency improvements in buildings, according to a European Commission official.

• Brazilian emissions-efficiency ETF raises $500m

  21 June 2012

  A Brazilian exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks carbon-efficient companies has attracted BRL1 billion ($502 million) in investment.

• EU emission allowance demand 2.2bn less than expected – Sandbag

  20 June 2012

  More than two billion EU emission allowances (EUAs) must be withheld in order to fix the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), according to a report by NGO Sandbag.