January 15 - 19 2024
Your Newsletter at a Glance
Commentary by C4C
The French Government and Acelor Mittal invest $1.98 Billion in a low carbon steel manufacturer. Brazil plans to invest $1.3 Billion in extreme weather effect mitigation. France raises $8.71 Billion in Green Bonds. Blue Earth Capital Secures $308 million for climate growth fund. Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund invests $294 million in African sustainable projects. Vidia equity closes $451.7 million first-time climate fund focused on industrial decarbonization. IFAD-DB invests $147.5 million in small holder agriculturalists, and more
Policy and Regulation
- China Revamps Carbon Markets Regulation
- Bills introduced in US Congress to spark domestic CDR industry, prime CDR purchases
- EU bans Carbon Neutral claims based on offsets starting 2026
- Qatar expected to sell first green bond in 2024
- Washington State introduced a bill to merge with California’s carbon market
Climate and NbS Finance
- US State Department, Rockefeller Foundation and Bezos Earth Fund collaborate on plan to decarbonize emerging markets
- John Kerry and Xie Zhenua to step down as U.S and Chinese climate negotiators
Climate & Nature Research
- US DOE study finds solar panel fields can help with pollinator habitat recovery
Research and Knowledge Sharing
Grow your climate finance expertise
Climate
China approves carbon trading regulations [Carbon Herald]
- The Chinese government has announced that it has approved "Interim Regulation of the Management of Carbon Emissions Trading," though it has yet to release the final draft. Experts expect this regulation to serve as a relaunch of China's troubled carbon market, and will include forestry carbon projects as offsets.
Barclays launches new sustainable banking group [ESG Today]
- Barclays has launched a Sustainable Banking Group located within the Capital Markets Division, combining the existing Sustainable Capital Markets and ESG Advisory teams. The new team will be key to meeting Barclay's goal of facilitating $1 trillion in sustainable and transition financing by 2030.
- Hoping to address some of the weaknesses of the current voluntary carbon market, The U.S Government, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Bezos Earth fund have partnered to design the Energy Transition Accelerator, focused on using designated high integrity credits to help with accelerating clean energy adoption in Indonesia, Vietnam and South Africa. John Kerry, a key proponent, hopes that the market could be backed by major investors such as Bank of America and Salesforce, and could spur $41bn in carbon purchases, catalyzing $207 billion in transition investment by 2035 if optimal conditions are met.
John Kerry to leave post as Climate envoy [NPR]
- John Kerry has announced his decision to step down as the United States Special Envoy for Climate Change to focus on the Biden re-election campaign. His resignation coincides with that of his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenua, and has led observers to wonder if climate cooperation will be slowed in the absence of their working relationship.
Network to mobilize clean energy investment for the global south forms at Davos [economictimes]
- At Davos WEF launched an alliance of 20 CEOs and Government ministers from Colombia, Egypt, India, Japan, South Africa and elsewhere. The Alliance to Mobilize Clean Energy Investment for the Global South is a platform for developing countries to share clean energy financing goals and needs in order to help close their financing gaps.
Carbon Dioxide Removal Leadership Act introduced to U.S congress [carbon herald]
- Twin bills aiming to build a domestic carbon capture industry, and have the DOE fund direct air capture, have been introduced in the U.S Congress. The bill sets gradually decreasing maximum prices for Carbon dioxide removal and mandates the DOE to purchase a certain increasing amount of removal every year.
California begins to shape LDES strategy [bnnbreaking.com]
- California expects to promote Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) as a solution to potential blackouts under a 100% clean power regimen. California already has over 8,600 megawatts in energy storage capacity, a 1,000 megawatt increase since 2020. The proposed state budget has a $330 million allocation for LDES, but has received some pushback from communities where storage may be cited
New bill aims to merge U.S west coast and Quebec Carbon Markets [OregonCapitalChronicle]
- Washington State's Senate Bill 6058 would amend the state's 2021 Climate Commitment Act to harmonize the state's carbon market with California and also potentially Quebec's. If the proposal is successful, the markets could be integrated by 2025, provided a ballot initiative does not repeal the 2021 Climate Commitment Act
Brazil and EU to develop emissions reduction plans in concert [Bloomberg]
- Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva has announced that Brazil hopes to present its updated targets ahead of COP30. The country is aiming to develop these plans in concert with the EU in the hopes of increasing ambition and accessing additional climate financing.
Shell investors file resolution demanding tighter climate targets [Reuters]
- 27 investors holding 5% of Shell's shares have filed an independent resolution urging the company to align its medium term emissions targets with the Paris agreement, and include scope 3 emissions in its reduction targets.
Qatar expect to sell first green bond soon [Bloomberg]
- Qatar intends to release a green bond in 2024 under its recently finalized green-finance framework. It is unclear for what the bond will be earmarked.
- 4/5ths of projects seeking to transfer from the CDM to a new article 64 system are renewable energy investments, considered junk by many market experts due to changes in the global market for renewables. Particularly controversial projects like the Jirau Hydro Power Plant in Brazil are expected to be major beneficiaries of any transfer.
Carbon credit insurance company Oka launches [PRnewswire]
- Oka has launched a new set of carbon credit market insurance products which will be included with Cloverly carbon credits. Oka wants to de-risk carbon project investment, and Cloverly hopes the investment will be helpful in restoring confidence in the VCM.
Nature-based Solutions
TNFD unveils 320 early adopters from 46 countries [TNFD]
- The TNFD has announced that 320 organizations from over 46 countries, including companies representing $4t trillion in market capitalization and asset managers with over $14 trillion AUM, have adopted the organization’s reporting recommendations. The organizations intend to begin publishing TNFD aligned disclosures within their 2023, 24, and 25 corporate reporting statements.
- Terra Natural Capital – a venture founded by Stephen Gill and Erica Vertefeuille backed by Bain Capital Partnership Strategies and Pala Investments – launched in Switzerland with the mission of investing in long term nature based carbon removal projects. The company hopes to focus on jurisdictions with existing carbon market infrastructure.
- Bfinance has found that investor appetite for Natural Capital funds increased in 2023 as investors became interested in diversifying their portfolios with carbon credit and timberland based investments. Bfinance found that pooled funds were offered by more than 50 asset managers, and that there were 32 current strategies for Carbon Credits, which collectively aimed to raise $19 billion in equity commitments.
UBS says nature investments sit uncomfortably with investor needs [Environmental Finance]
- UBS's new Boom or Bust report notes that major investments are needed to close an estimated $130 billion global biodiversity investment gap, but that institutional investors are cautious in moving into the natural capital space due to concerns about stability and the measurement of biodiversity investment success.
Department of energy find that solar installations can have positive effects for insects [earth.com]
- The U.S DOE has released a Solar Futures Study, indicating a need for 10 million acres of land for solar field development, and recommending a focus on disturbed sites where solar fields can be accompanied by pollinator habitat restoration. The study found that solar fields planted with native plants could significantly contribute to pollinator population rebounds.
Climate Finance ≥ $100M
Commitments and deals
Commitments
ArcelorMittal and France to invest €1.8 billion ($1.98billion) to cut steel emissions [Reuters]
- France and ArcelorMittal aim to invest €1.8billion ($1.98 billion) to help the company transition to low carbon steel. France expects to provide up to € 850 million ($923.27 million) worth of subsidies to support the process
CEC lists $200 million Green Bond on Lusaka securities exchange [Bnnbreaking]
- The Copperbelt Energy Corporation has listed a $200 million green bond on Zambia's Lusaka stock exchange, a significant step for sustainable investment in the country. CEC will use the bond to fund renewable energy projects throughout the country.
Brazil to Invest $1.3 billion on extreme weather mitigation [Bnamericas]
- The Brazilian federal government will invest 6.4 billion Reais ($1.3 billion) in projects aiming to mitigate the effects of extreme weather events. The government hopes to create a less reactive system for responding to extreme weather events and build resilient infrastructure for preventing extreme weather damage.
General Atlantic to buy Actis for undisclosed amount [Reuters]
- General Atlantic has announced it intends to purchase the UK based infrastructure firm Actis for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to add about $12.5 billion to General Atlantic's AUM, which will total around $96 billion. This commitment represents a continued consolidation of the infrastructure space, following BlackRock’s purchase of Global Infrastructure Partners. General Atlantic expects to make major investments through Actis in renewable energy infrastructure with a focus on emerging markets.
Deals
Vidia equity wraps €415 ($452.48) million for debut climate fund [Altassets]
- Vidia equity announced that it has closed an oversubscribed € 415 million ($450 million) fund aiming to identify and scale industrial decarbonization solutions. The fund will focus on serving the mid-market with sustainable materials, electrification, and circular economy solutions.
POSCO raises $500 million in 3 year green bond [Ked-Global]
- South Korean Steelmaker Posco has raised $500 million in a 3 year dollar denominated green bond. The company has pledged to use the proceeds to build new electric furnaces.
I squared Closes $1.2 billion dedicated climate fund with US DFC [Businesswire]
- I Squared closed a dedicated Climate Fund on January 18th, set up in cooperation with the US International Finance Development Corporation. DFC provided $300 million while I squared led funds provided $900 million. The fund plans to invest in green infrastructure sectors in emerging economies, with a focus on mitigating regulatory and political risks through the DFC partnership.
India to Issue 50 billion Rupee ($602 million) green bond [Bloomberg]
- India Issued a 50 Billion Rupee ($602 million) Green bond on Friday January 19th. The Country is aiming to continue to issue longer maturity bonds and take advantage of the current "greenium" enjoyed by green bond issuances
EAIF raises $294 million for sustainable projects in Africa [Business Post]
- The Emerging Africa Infrastructure fund has raised $294 million in debt to invest in sustainable projects throughout Africa. The Financing round was led by Allianz Global Investors, which committed $132 million in a combination of Euros and dollars. Standard bank provided $100 million and KfW provided $66 million. The EAIF expects to invest in infrastructure projects focused on the energy transition, and has committed $1.3 billion since 2001.
France raises €8 billion ($8.71 billion) in green bonds [Reuters]
- France raised $8.71 billion from an oversubscribed green bond on Tuesday, which saw $106.61 billion in total orders.
Blue Earth Capital raises $378 million for private equity climate impact strategy [Esgtoday]
- Blue Earth Capital has secured $308 million for its Blue Earth Climate Growth fund, and $70 million from LPS for tailored mandate co-investments. The firm will invest in growth stage companies focused on accelerating the net zero transition.
Aspen power secures $241 million in financing to advance growth initiatives [Businesswire]
- Aspen Power completed three financing rounds totaling $241 million with J.P Morgan, Lombard Odier and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Aspen aims to use this financing to construct additional solar energy projects.
Nature-based Solutions ≥ $1M
Commitments and deals
Deals
World Monuments Fund announces $15M climate initiative [Observer]
- The World Monument Fund has announced $15 million in investments in its climate heritage solutions, aiming to help heritage sites adapt and respond to climate change through traditional ecological management solutions.
- Earthshot labs has partnered with Tree Aid to provide a $25 million investment in assisting the Burkina Faso segment of the Sahel Great Green Wall. Tree Aid hopes that this will be a pivotal investment in the green wall project, and avoid recent controversies around avoidance related carbon credits.
IFAD-DB to support Small Scale agriculturalists in Piaui with $147.5 million in loans and grants
- The UN International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Inter American Development Bank have announced a joint initiative to increase small scale farmer income and improve food security in Brazil's semi-arid Piaui state. IFAD is providing $18 million in loans, the IDP $100 million, and PIaui an additional $29.5 million. The funds are expected to help 210,000 small scale agriculturalists achieve or maintain food security and fight environmental degradation.
Hanoi Invests $81 Million to restore lake [bnnbreaking]
- The City of Hanoi and the Vietnamese Government have announced a VND1.6 Trillion ($81 million) investment in the ecological restoration of the city's west lake, hoping to restore the ecology and scenic value of the heavily polluted water body
What’s new in climate investment?
More News
.png)
