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Goldman Sachs launches first 'sustainability' fund
01 February 2009Goldman Sachs is marketing its first equity fund that explicitly integrates environmental, social and governance (ESG) research into its investment approach. GS Sustain, which is being marketed to retail and institutional customers in the UK and continental Europe, is designed to invest in companies set to profit from climate change, population growth and natural resource constraints.
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Ex-Citi SRI analysts start new firm
01 February 2009Mike Tyrrell and Natalie Davis, both former members of Citi's socially responsible investment (SRI) research team, have set up an independent research firm named Sustainable Investor.
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Dreyfus to use DJSI index for mutual fund
01 February 2009Dreyfus, part of BNY Mellon Asset Management, has launched its Global Sustainability Fund, claiming it is the first US mutual fund invested in stocks picked from the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World).
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Wall Street cautious on Obama's green new deal
01 February 2009President Barack Obama's pledges to ramp up clean energy generation in the US and stimulus packages proposed by the House of Representatives and Senate have provided encouragement to the renewable energy lobby – but investors remain to be convinced that renewable energy stocks will see much short-term benefit.
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GE and Epuron launch $250m Asia renewables fund
01 February 2009Epuron and GE Energy Financial Services have launched a renewable energy fund focused on the Asia-Pacific region.
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USDA office to promote ecosystem markets
01 February 2009The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has set up an office to streamline information about ecosystems services and foster the growth of these markets.
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Stimulus packages to direct $432bn to environment
01 February 2009Governments have earmarked $432 billion to boost environmental infrastructure and technologies as they attempt to ward off economic meltdown, according to research from HSBC.
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California car emissions waiver back in play
01 February 2009In the first days of his presidency, Barack Obama instructed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revisit its decision to refuse California a waiver to the Clean Air Act, which would have allowed it to set greenhouse gas emissions standards for new vehicles.
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Mixed outlook for clean-tech VC in '09 Mixed outlook for clean-tech VC in '09 Mixed outlook for clean-tech VC in '09 Mixed outlook for clean-tech VC in '09
01 February 2009Clean-tech companies are set to escape a predicted slow-down in venture capital funding in 2009, according to a survey by the US National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). But the Cleantech Group – a US-based analysis company – is predicting a drop in investments from a record $8.4 billion in 2008 to $7 billion in 2009 as a result of the economic downturn.
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Catastrophes hit hard in 2008
01 February 2009Natural and man-made catastrophes killed at least 220,000 people in 2008, and caused more than $200 billion in damages, making it one of the worst years on record in economic terms.