News

• Foreign developers shut out of China's offshore wind boom

  01 March 2010

  China has opened the door to domestic wind power companies to begin developing the country's offshore resources – but has effectively shut it on international operators – with the release of regulations governing approval and ownership of offshore wind projects.

• Companies not satisfying thirst for water reporting

  01 March 2010

  One hundred water-dependent firms have been chastised by investors for weak disclosure of their exposure to water risks.

• CDP sends out carbon questionnaires to 4,500 firms

  01 March 2010

  More than 4,500 companies have been sent questionnaires about their greenhouse gas emissions and climate strategies this year by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). This is up from 3,700 companies questioned last year.

• Sustainability toolkit launched for forest financing

  01 March 2010

  The World Business Council for Sustainable Development and PricewaterhouseCoopers have developed a free toolkit to help financiers in forestry projects to ensure their money is invested in operations that are sustainable and legal.

• UK introduces small-scale feed-in tariff

  01 March 2010

  UK householders, businesses and communities which install small-scale renewables will, from April, earn a feed-in tariff. Under the Clean Energy Cashback package, small-scale generators – with capacity under 5MW – will be paid the tariff, both for electricity they use themselves and electricity exported to the grid.

• EIB to raise climate lending to €20 billion

  01 March 2010

  The European Investment Bank hopes to lend at least €20 billion ($27 billion) to climate change initiatives this year, up from almost €17 billion in 2009.

• ADB to issue first-of-its-kind water bond

  01 March 2010

  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is marketing a novel bond to finance investments in the water sector in its countries of operations. Its inaugural water bond – to be sold by Daiwa Securities to Japanese retail and institutional investors – will mark the first time that the ADB has issued a bond targeted at a specific sector, and is understood to be the first bond offering fixed income investors exposure to the water sector in the region.

• Shell bets big on biofuels

  01 March 2010

  Shell has announced a planned $12 billion joint venture (JV) with Brazilian ethanol giant Cosan, to combine some of their existing Brazilian assets.

• Funds digest

  01 March 2010

  Fortis eyeing new investors for $1.2bn China green fund; Hermes makes first close on UK clean-tech fund; CCC closes sustainable property fund at £69m

• People moves

  01 March 2010

  Two months after the disappointing UN climate talks in Copenhagen, YVO DE BOER is to leave his post as executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. De Boer will quit in July, two months ahead of his contract expiring, to join accountants KPMG as an advisor on climate and sustainability.