The Equator Principles Association has begun compiling its second major revision to the eponymous guidelines for managing environmental and social risks in project finance.

A banking industry initiative on social and environmental risks in project finance should become more transparent and expand its scope, according to campaigners.

SunEdison has secured $300 million to finance the construction of utility and rooftop solar photovoltaic projects throughout the US and Canada.

NGOs have welcomed updates to the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC’s) guidelines for sustainable investment, which they say increase transparency.

A new version of the voluntary Equator Principles, which set environmental and social standards for project finance, is to be published in March 2012.

The European debt crisis could pose problems for the US renewable energy sector, particularly if US government loan guarantees are allowed to expire, according to financing experts.

Stymied so far at the US federal level, green bank supporters appear close to winning legislative support for the first such state-level institution in Connecticut.

The voluntary standards covering the environmental and social (E&S) impacts of project financing should be toughened and expanded, a key report on the future of the Equator Principles has recommended.

A ‘Green Bank’ would provide more flexibility and financing tools than popular US policies such as the loan guarantee and Treasury grant programmes, financing experts said.

The controversial Kusile coal-fired power station in South Africa is set to receive $805.6 million in loans from the US Export-Import (Ex-Im) bank.

A leaked draft of the World Bank’s energy strategy says renewables and hydropower will receive a bigger proportion of financing from the institution, with further restrictions imposed on coal projects.

The UK’s Green Investment Bank (GIB) will launch in 2012, with £3 billion ($4.9 billion) of public money to support low-carbon development, the UK government announced today, to a mixed reaction from investors and analysts. The bank will be allowed to borrow – but not for five years, the Treasury said.

A suspension on construction and financing of the controversial Belo Monte dam in the Brazilian Amazon has been lifted.

An order blocking construction of Brazil's Belo Monte dam will prove only a temporary victory, campaigners say, as they are expecting the decision to be overturned.

Australian bank Westpac says it will “avoid” transactions that support emissions-intensive projects as part of the bank’s efforts to facilitate a transition to a low-carbon economy.

India’s controversial Sasan coal project would have been developed regardless of backing from the US Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank, said a spokesman for the export credit agency.

A strategic review of the Equator Principles (EPs) – a set of environmental and social criteria for responsible project finance – started this week.

Correction: An earlier version of this news story incorrectly stated that the memorandum of understanding between Reliance and Ex-Im Bank was only signed by Ex-Im; Environmental Finance has since received confirmation the document was signed by both parties.

The UK is facing a £370 billion ($591 billion) shortfall in available capital to transform into a low-carbon economy, according to a report by consultancy Ernst & Young, which sets out how the much-anticipated Green Investment Bank (GIB) could close the gap.

A group of banks has called for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to be more “assertive and innovative” on climate change, in response to proposals to revise the institution’s environmental and social standards.