News

• Clean energy investment too low – analysts

  05 March 2009

  Investment in clean energy is currently far short of levels necessary to avert dangerous climate change, and the economic downturn is likely to exacerbate the problem, according to analysis company New Energy Finance (NEF).

• Thriving pellet sector faces competition as it seeks feedstock

  04 March 2009

  The growing wood pellet industry will compete increasingly with pulp and paper firms for woodchips and pulp logs as its raw material, as supplies of its traditional sawdust and sawmill shavings prove inadequate, forecast a new report.

• Co-op Bank rejects £1BN on ethical grounds

  01 March 2009

  The Co-operative Bank has turned down more than £1 billion ($1.5 billion) of "unethical" business since 1992, it announced last month.

• Private equity industry steps up on responsible investing

  01 March 2009

  Institutional investors have welcomed an initiative by leading private equity firms that will see them adopt investment guidelines modelled on the UN's Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The move coincides with the results of a pilot project to improve the environmental performance of leading private equity firm Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts (KKR) portfolio of companies.

• $250m PE fund targets undervalued assets

  01 March 2009

  Unigestion is to launch an environmental private equity fund-of-funds that aims to take advantage of "the significant fall in the price of sustainability assets to levels not seen since 2004".

• CDP to poll 3,700 firms on climate risks

  01 March 2009

  The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has called on 3,700 companies to submit data on their climate change risks, as a survey claims that three-quarters of the investment managers behind the project now factor such information into their investment decisions.

• US renewables lobby looks to federal mandate

  01 March 2009

  Momentum is building towards the adoption of a US federal renewable electricity standard (RES), which experts say will help underpin growth in the US renewable energy sector.

• Renewables cash survives US stimulus horse-trading

  01 March 2009

  US solar project developers and renewable energy equipment manufacturers are set to profit from the $787 billion US economic stimulus package, following the survival of provisions aimed at blunting the impact of the financial crisis on the sector.

• Irena launched

  01 March 2009

  An international body to promote renewable power was founded in Berlin at the end of January, with 75 countries joining the International Renewable Energy Agency.

• CCC raising £20m for UK renewables

  01 March 2009

  Climate Change Capital is hoping to raise up to £20 million ($29 million) into its Ventus and Ventus 2 funds, which develop renewable energy projects in the UK with a typical capacity of between 2MW and 12MW.