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AEP coal settlement seen as 'good business'
01 November 2007American Electric Power (AEP) has agreed to spend billions of dollars to settle what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has described as "the single largest environmental enforcement settlement in history". But observers say that AEP – the largest coal-burner in the US – has acted shrewdly in settling the case.
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Exchanges target financials in carbon push
01 November 2007Competition in the exchange-traded carbon market is set to hot up, with two major exchange alliances announcing plans to launch suites of contracts, and target financial institutions. The initiatives – by derivatives giant Eurex in partnership with the European Energy Exchange (EEX), and NYSE Euronext in a tie-up with Powernext carbon – promise to broaden access to the carbon markets dramatically, the exchanges believe.
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Insurance climate initiatives jump, but from low base
01 November 2007The number of climate-change related products or services offered by the insurance sector has doubled in just 14 months, according to the latest report* on the sector from Ceres.
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DTZ, Kenmore planning €750m green property fund
01 November 2007Real estate adviser DTZ and property investor Kenmore are looking to raise around €750 million ($1 billion) into an innovative sustainable property fund. The Sustento fund – developed in partnership with UK think-tank Forum for the Future – will invest in commercial property across Europe. But it will also attempt to align the interests of tenants and owners in sustainable building use.
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FTSE takes over ET50 with plans to expand
01 November 2007The FTSE Group has taken over calculating and managing the Impax Environmental Technology Index (ET50). The move will also see the UK-based index provider partner with Impax Asset Management, which launched the index in 1999, to expand the ET50 series over the coming year.
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World Bank ups renewables funding; but slammed on dams
01 November 2007The World Bank has increased funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency by nearly 70% year on year, to $1.43 billion in 2007. However, an environmental campaign group has slammed the Bank for spending more on big hydropower projects than on all other renewables and efficiency projects combined.
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PRI push by major South African pension fund
01 November 2007South Africa's Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF) has announced it will require its external investment managers and advisers to be signatories to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).
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Pensions failing to consider ESG – studies
01 November 2007The UK pension sector is largely failing to consider the environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues that may affect the performance of its investments, according to reports by FairPensions and the UK Social Investment Forum (UKSIF).
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UNEP FI chief warns on PRI free-riders
01 November 2007A UN scheme to encourage responsible investment must begin planning on how to deal with 'free-riders' that fail to live up to their commitments, according to the head of the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), Paul Clements-Hunt.
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People moves this month
01 November 2007DIANE WITTENBERG is leaving the California Climate Action Registry (CCAR) to head the Climate Registry, an organisation formed this year to develop and manage a common greenhouse gas emissions reporting system for North America.