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EU greening funds insufficient and unspent, NGOs warn
04 March 2010Most EU funding for renewables and energy efficiency in central and eastern Europe has not yet been spent, a report by Friends of the Earth Europe and Bankwatch has revealed.
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Bankers call on EU to back green standards and investment
04 March 2010The EU should lead a global effort to develop green banking standards, said Blaise Desbordes, director of sustainable development at Caisse de Dépôts, a French public investment bank, at a conference in Brussels this week.
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Private equity investors urged to step up on climate change
04 March 2010Private equity investors are the target of a guide on the risks and opportunities posed by climate change, issued this week by the London-based Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC).
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S&P survey reveals credit risks from carbon ignored
04 March 2010Less than half of major European companies are fully integrating carbon exposures into corporate financial decisions, according to a survey by ratings agency Standard & Poors (S&P), despite the imminent impact of a more stringent phase of Europe's emissions trading scheme.
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Deloitte boosts carbon practice with dcarbon8 buy
04 March 2010Professional services firm Deloitte has acquired specialist consultancy dcarbon8 for an undisclosed sum.
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Clean Air 'fix' does little for allowance markets
01 March 2010A legislative fix for the embattled Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) programme has been introduced in the US Senate, but vague language and doubts about the bill's prospects mean uncertainty continues to swirl around the likely value of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) allowances.
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Climate talks inch forward
01 March 2010Efforts are under way to rebuild momentum in the international climate negotiations, after more than 100 countries expressed support for the Copenhagen Accord and with an extra meeting scheduled for next month.
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US biofuels industry applauds RFS rule
01 March 2010The embattled ethanol industry got a major boost from the US government in February with the publication of the final Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) rule, which clarifies biofuels targets, and which is expected to encourage investment in the sector.
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WestLB unveils lending policy on coal-fired power plants
01 March 2010WestLB, one of the largest lenders to the energy sector, has published what is understood to be a first-of-its-kind environmental policy for private sector lending to coal-fired power plants – requiring that they be ready to fit carbon capture and storage equipment and meet high efficiency standards.
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Time for a Green Development Mechanism?
01 March 2010There is an urgent need to mobilise finance behind efforts to tackle biodiversity loss. Could a CDM-like offset mechanism be the answer, ask Julian Metcalfe and Francis Vorhies