Greencoat buys 24 per cent Texan wind farm stake from RWE January 19, 2021 UK renewables fund Greencoat has bought a 24 per cent stake in four wind farms in Texas from energy giant RWE. The investment manager will pay $160m for the stake, giving the 207 megawatt project an enterprise value of around $300m. As a result of the sale, RWE will own just 25 per cent of [...]
Corona Impact Series: How a Chiswick energy startup grew up fast during the pandemic January 6, 2021 In this series, City A.M. looks at the financial and economic impact of the ongoing pandemic on a range of small and medium-sized businesses across London. This week: how a small West London-based supplier of green energy thrived during last year’s lockdowns. The pandemic story of So Energy in Chiswick certainly bucked the national trend last year. Only [...]
BlackRock: Sustainable investments to accelerate in 2021 as ESG focus intensifies January 2, 2021 The global health and economic challenges of 2020 have not slowed investor demand for sustainable investing, a new BlackRock survey has found. In fact, investors plan to double their allocations to sustainable products over the next five years, and 20 per cent said that the pandemic would actually accelerate their sustainable investing allocations, according to [...]
UK to stop backing overseas oil and gas projects December 12, 2020 Boris Johnson will pledge to end direct government support for overseas fossil fuel projects at a U.N. summit on Saturday, aiming to spur similar moves by other countries to help tackle climate change, his office said. Britain, which is co-hosting the virtual summit ahead of climate negotiations in Glasgow next year, has faced accusations of [...]
EU confirms Brexit-adjusted carbon market permit removals for 2021 December 12, 2020 The European Commission confirmed late on Friday how many pollution permits will be removed from the European Union carbon market in 2021 due to the UK’s departure from the scheme at the end of this year. The carbon market is the EU’s flagship climate policy, forcing power plants, industry and airlines running intra-EU flights to [...]
UK must cut emissions 78 per cent by 2035 to hit 2050 net zero target December 9, 2020 The UK must cut emissions by 78 per cent by 2035 in order to hit its target of being net zero by 2050, a new report by the government’s climate advisers has found. Such a cut effectively brings forward the country’s former target of reaching an 80 per cent reduction in emissions by 2050 by [...]
Government calls on banks to advise on first green gilt December 8, 2020 The UK government has asked banks to bid for contracts to advise on the launch of the country’s first green gilt. Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled plans last month to issue climate-focused securities for the first time. He said the bonds would contribute to a “new chapter for financial services” in the UK. Green government bonds [...]
Italy’s Eni joins North Sea wind power grab with Dogger deal December 4, 2020 By Nerijus Adomaitis and Stephen Jewkes OSLO/MILAN (Reuters) – Italy’s Eni is buying a 20% stake in the Dogger Bank Wind Farm project from Norway’s Equinor and Britain’s SSE as it seeks to gain expertise in the sector and cut its greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050. The project off the northeast coast of England [...]
Japan, South Korea and industry groups oppose EU plan to cut shipping emissions November 27, 2020 Japan, South Korea and a fleet of international shipping groups have warned the European Union against its plan to add greenhouse gas emissions from the maritime sector to Europe’s carbon market. As the 27-country EU seeks to steer its economy towards “net zero” emissions by 2050, the executive European Commission wants to expand its carbon [...]
Can the government hit the targets in its 10 point climate plan? November 18, 2020 Last night Boris Johnson unveiled his much-touted 10 point plan to drive a “green industrial revolution” in the UK, creating 250,000 jobs in the process. Featuring commitments in sectors such as heating, wind power, nuclear energy, hydrogen and electric vehicles, it has been largely positively received by industry. However, some are concerned that some areas [...]