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Leading companies call for deeper EU carbon cuts
16 June 2011Companies with a combined turnover of more than €1 trillion ($1.4 trillion) – greater than the collective GDP of Poland, Sweden and Austria – have called for the EU to deepen its 2020 emission reduction targets.
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Google invests $280m in solar loans for homes, Suntech promises finance
16 June 2011Google has invested $280 million to set up a residential solar fund with installer SolarCity, which leases systems to households that want to avoid the upfront costs of buying and installing their own solar panels.
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Gas prices dent prospects of US nuclear build
14 June 2011Low natural gas prices have thwarted investment in nuclear generators in the US and federal loan guarantees will not help nuclear power reach parity, experts said.
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Sustainability reporting on rise in China
14 June 2011More Chinese companies are producing sustainability reports, according to standard-setter the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), driven largely by regulation and stock exchange listing requirements.
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Taking the carbon markets to Africa
14 June 2011There is no shortage of demand for African carbon credits – but drumming up supply remains challenging. Mark Nicholls reports on efforts to bring carbon finance to the continent
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Italy's nuclear defeat boosts renewables hope
14 June 2011Italians have voted against rebooting nuclear power generation, thwarting prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's nuclear ambitions and signalling a potential shift toward renewable energy.
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Wind energy to avoid €24bn of fuel costs in 2015, industry says
14 June 2011Wind power will save €23.7 billion ($34.2 billion) that would otherwise be spent on coal, gas and oil in 2015, according to figures from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).
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M&S sustainability plan saves retailer £70m
14 June 2011Marks & Spencer (M&S), a bastion of the British highstreet, saved £70 million ($115 million) through its 'Plan A' initiative this year, up on the £50 million net benefit it reported in 2009-10.
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Dump biofuels subsidies to stabilise food prices – report
13 June 2011Government subsidies for biofuels should be scrapped to help ease pressure on global food prices, says a report by the UN, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
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Carbon trading – but not as you know it
10 June 2011With climate negotiations moving at glacial speed in Bonn, HSBC's Zoe Knight, Nick Robins and D. Saravanan look at how the evolution of the global economy is making traditional ways of regulating carbon increasingly anachronistic, requiring new thinking from policymakers to strike a global deal.