News

• US DOE guarantees first loan to solar energy firm

  26 March 2009

  The US Department of Energy (DOE) has kick started its loan guarantee programme for renewable energy projects and provided a welcome boost to the solar industry, which is facing weak first-quarter sales.

• UK renewables held up by government policy – Aldersgate Group

  26 March 2009

  The UK needs to rethink its support systems for renewable power, because business is disincentivised from investing in onsite renewable generation, according to a coalition of businesses and NGOs.

• HSBC makes 'green' insurance push

  26 March 2009

  HSBC plans to integrate sustainability into its insurance business, launching 'green' insurance products across its global operations this year.

• Carbon capture policy inadequate in most US states – RAP

  26 March 2009

  Significant policy changes will be needed before carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects can be developed in most US states, according to Richard Cowart, director of the Regulator Assistance Project (RAP), a non-profit that advises electricity sector regulators.

• US Senators try to cut ethanol import tariffs

  25 March 2009

  A bipartisan group of US Senators has introduced a bill to lower tariffs on imported ethanol, a proposal that US ethanol supporters have fiercely resisted in the past.

• Shell to focus on biofuels, ditches wind and solar

  19 March 2009

  Shell is backing away from investments in wind and solar power, as they don't fit with the oil giant's main business and the returns are unfavourable, executives said in a strategy meeting on Tuesday.

• Insurers push back on climate risk disclosure

  19 March 2009

  Insurers operating in the US will be required to disclose the financial risks associated with climate change and the actions they are taking to mitigate those risks, following a ruling by insurance regulators.

• Electricity sector commits to 'carbon neutrality' by 2050

  19 March 2009

  European electricity companies have pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050, by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions as far as possible and offsetting any unavoidable emissions.

• Obama rejects Lula's call for end to ethanol import tariff

  18 March 2009

  US ethanol supporters have praised President Barack Obama for resisting pressure from Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to eliminate the tariff on Brazilian ethanol imports.

• S&P, Trucost launch 'carbon efficient' stock index

  12 March 2009

  Standard & Poor's has launched a 'carbon efficient' version of its benchmark US equity index, the S&P 500. The S&P US Carbon Efficient Index excludes the 100 most carbon-intensive components of the S&P 500, as calculated by environmental researchers Trucost, to come up with an index that has an average annual carbon footprint 48% lower than the S&P 500.