News

• ABB in $1bn swoop on solar inverter maker

  22 April 2013

  Swiss engineering company ABB has launched a $1 billion bid to buy solar inverter maker Power-One, saying now is the right time to invest in the "most attractive part of the solar power value chain".

• IFC to issue $1bn/year in green bonds

  22 April 2013

  The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is to issue at least $1 billion a year in green bonds, following its successful $1 billion issue earlier this year.

• Phaunos Timber Fund blames tough markets for widening losses

  22 April 2013

  Phaunos Timber Fund – an investment company focusing on sustainable timber – saw its losses widen in 2012 after cutting the valuation of parts of its portfolio amid challenging market conditions.

• Samsung admits sourcing tin from 'devastated' island

  22 April 2013

  Electronics giant Samsung has won NGO plaudits for admitting that tin used in some of its products originates from an area where mining has been accused of destroying tropical forests, killing coral and damaging local communities.

• Senators revive bid for US energy efficiency law

  19 April 2013

  Efforts to legislate an energy efficiency bill in the US have been renewed by two senators, who have launched a watered down version of a proposal introduced last year to attract wider Republican support.

• Stern: Climate action could see oil and gas companies' valuations drop 60%

  19 April 2013

  The valuations of mining and oil and gas companies need to be rethought to account for the threat action on climate change poses to their business models, said Nick Stern yesterday.

• Mandatory ESG reporting to stock exchanges to take 'at least four years'

  18 April 2013

  It is likely to be at least another four years before major stock exchanges make reporting environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues mandatory for companies, an analysis firm has claimed.

• Figueres: Carbon markets will prevail despite backloading slump

  18 April 2013

  The UN's climate chief has denied that the rejection of a quick fix to the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) was a "death blow" to carbon markets, despite prices in the world's largest ETS plunging to a new record low yesterday.

• Finalised PTC rules welcome boost for US wind, geothermal

  17 April 2013

  A key tax incentive for renewable energy in the US has cleared its final hurdle in a move expected to help boost the industry.

• GreenStream inks first energy efficiency contract in China

  17 April 2013

  Asset manager GreenStream Network has signed its first energy efficiency contract in China as part of its ambitious plans to expand in the powerhouse economy.