News

• Putting shareholders first

  01 February 2007

  In early February, just after this issue of Environmental Finance went to press, the world's leading climate scientists were due to meet in Paris to put the finishing touches to the 4th Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

• Coal powers on

  01 February 2007

  Janet Gellici reviews the myriad of environmental and market pressures faced by the US coal industry, and its electric utility customers

• Carbon without compulsion

  01 February 2007

  Interest in using the carbon market to offset greenhouse gas emissions has soared. But the market's dramatic growth raises questions of credibility and transparency. Christopher Cundy reports

• Setting the stage for Phase II

  01 February 2007

  The European Commission has stuck to its guns in tightening up emissions targets for Phase II of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. The onus is now on the member states, says Alyssa Gilbert

• Corporate climate action accelerates

  01 February 2007

  A Slew of corporate initiatives to tackle climate change have been announced in recent weeks – with environmentalists even claiming a shift in position by climate change bête noire ExxonMobil – in response to growing public concern around the issue.

• UK stirs up carbon offset market

  01 February 2007

  Leading carbon offset providers have blasted UK government proposals for a voluntary carbon offset standard that would exclude verified emission reductions (VERs) generated by non-Kyoto projects and have criticised the inclusion of allowances (EUAs) from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in the plans.

• 2006: breakthrough year for environmental sector?

  01 February 2007

  Investment in clean technology companies soared in 2006, along with the stock market valuation of the environmental sector, in a stellar year for the environmental industry worldwide.

• M&S, Tesco go green

  01 February 2007

  Marks & Spencer (M&S) plans to spend £200 million ($390 million) over the next five years on a wide-ranging environmental plan, as British retailers race to prove which high street giant is greener.

• Website offers weather risk for the masses

  01 February 2007

  Anew online weather risk management service has been launched in the US, aiming to offer small and medium-sized enterprises access to weather hedges. WeatherBill, launched by a San Francisco-based start-up, offers tools to help companies estimate their weather sensitivity, and customisable contracts based on any combination of minimum, maximum or average daily temperatures, and daily precipitation levels, at 200 US weather stations.

• EBRD bows out of Sakhalin

  01 February 2007

  The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has ended its five-year investigation into whether to fund the controversial Sakhalin II oil and gas project, because Gazprom's deal to secure a stake in it invalidates the proposal.