News

• Prince Charles backs £1bn sustainable property fund

  01 July 2008

  Prince Charles is launching a £1 billion ($2 billion) fund, Tellesma, to invest in sustainable developments in the UK. It will focus on brownfield sites and commercial properties, developing a mix of offices and residences to build 'sustainable communities'.

• RMS software to simplify cat trading

  01 July 2008

  Risk Management Solutions has launched software it hopes will simplify the trading of catastrophe insurance risk. The Miu platform allows users to quickly quantify a portfolio of cat risk positions, using RMS's analysis. The US-based risk modelling firm believes the platform will help increase the size of the insurance-linked security (ILS) market.

• Spectron claims REC first

  01 July 2008

  Spectron Environmental has brokered a 'national' option deal for voluntary, Green-E, wind renewable energy certificates (RECs) in the US.

• EDP Renováveis raises €1.8 billion at IPO

  01 July 2008

  Portuguese utility EDP listed its renewable power arm on Euronext Lisbon last month, raising €1.8 billion ($2.9 billion) including greenshoe options.

• FTSE launches enviro-tech index

  01 July 2008

  FTSE has launched an index tracking companies with a burgeoning exposure to environmental industries.

• UK, Europe rethink commitment to biofuels expansion

  01 July 2008

  The UK government looks set to take its foot off the biofuels accelerator following a review that questioned their sustainability and said that biofuel growth was raising food prices.

• Rapporteur calls for EU biofuels target to be scrapped

  01 June 2008

  A key figure in the European Parliament is calling for the proposed 10% biofuels target to be scrapped, and alterations to plans for member states to meet challenging renewable energy targets through a trading scheme.

• China quake shakes carbon credit supply

  01 June 2008

  The impact of the 12 May earthquake in China's Sichuan province on scores of hydropower projects in the area, as well as the extent of damage to the country's largest manufacturer of power generation equipment, remains unclear.

• Biofuel-friendly US Farm Bill voted through with huge majority

  01 June 2008

  The US Congress has voted overwhelmingly to pass legislation that shifts tax breaks towards cellulosic ethanol production and renews support for biodiesel production. Lawmakers are also debating revisions to the tax code that would stop 'splash and dash' trades, which has led to the EU being flooded with cheap biodiesel routed via the US.

• McCain's plan opens door to offsets

  01 June 2008

  Presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain unveiled his climate change plan on 12 May, calling for a cap-and-trade scheme that would initially allow the use of offset credits for 100% of compliance. He also pledged to engage in UN-led negotiations on a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.