News

• Obama rejects Lula's call for end to ethanol import tariff

  18 March 2009

  US ethanol supporters have praised President Barack Obama for resisting pressure from Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to eliminate the tariff on Brazilian ethanol imports.

• S&P, Trucost launch 'carbon efficient' stock index

  12 March 2009

  Standard & Poor's has launched a 'carbon efficient' version of its benchmark US equity index, the S&P 500. The S&P US Carbon Efficient Index excludes the 100 most carbon-intensive components of the S&P 500, as calculated by environmental researchers Trucost, to come up with an index that has an average annual carbon footprint 48% lower than the S&P 500.

• Low-carbon economy worth £3 trillion – UK government

  12 March 2009

  The global low-carbon and environmental sector was worth £3 trillion ($4.1 trillion) last year, according to research commissioned by the UK government.

• HSBC gets gloomier on wind turbine makers – for now

  12 March 2009

  Investment bank HSBC has slashed its growth forecasts for the wind turbine sector for the second time in six months, and is now forecasting a 20% decline in the sector this year. However, it expects to see growth among wind farm developers and is forecasting a healthy recovery across the industry in 2010.

• Element closes $486 million clean-tech growth equity fund

  12 March 2009

  Element Partners this week closed a $486 million clean technology (clean-tech) growth equity fund, bucking a tough fund-raising market.

• US agriculture secretary backs increase in ethanol blending limit

  11 March 2009

  US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack this week advocated increasing the ethanol content of the country's petroleum fuel from the current 10% maximum, adding to the momentum for an increase to avoid ethanol production outstripping demand.

• Investors urge better disclosure of water risk

  05 March 2009

  Companies are largely unaware of water-related risks, or how climate change will likely exacerbate them, says a report from investor and environmentalist coalition Ceres, which urges businesses to report their 'water footprint'.

• SAM, Dow Jones, launch Asian sustainability indexes

  05 March 2009

  Sustainable Asset Management (SAM) and Dow Jones have extended their sustainable investment index family to the Asia-Pacific region, with the launch of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) Asia Pacific and Asia Pacific 40 equity indexes.

• Renewables trading could save EU €17 billion a year – Eurelectric

  05 March 2009

  Allowing EU member states full flexibility to meet their renewable energy targets by trading certificates could save €17 billion ($21 billion) a year by 2020, according to a study commissioned by electricity industry association Eurelectric. But, without any trading, at least six member states will struggle to meet their targets.

• First Solar expands solar project pipeline

  05 March 2009

  First Solar is to acquire the 1,850MW solar project pipeline of developer OptiSolar for approximately $400 million.