Climate Investment Newsletter 10/12 - 10/16

Macro Commitments

EU plans binding energy standards in green buildings drive

The European Commission will propose mandatory minimum energy performance standards for buildings across Europe in a drive to cut emissions and create jobs in the renovation sector, according to a draft policy document seen by Reuters.

Thirty of the world’s largest investors managing a combined $5 trillion (3.8 trillion pounds) said on Tuesday they plan to set targets to lower their portfolio carbon emissions by as much as 29% over the next five years.

The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy unveiled a ‘Net Zero Initiative’ today hopes to drive the industry to achieve carbon neutrality, optimized water usage and improved water quality by 2050.

Thirty of the world’s largest investors with $5 trillion assets under management have agreed on five year decarbonisation targets including a focus on supporting renewable energy in emerging markets.

A city in Australia’s tropical north aims to be the first in the country to go carbon-neutral within 20 years, with the help of a plan worth $3.1 billion ($2.2 billion) designed by French utility company Engie SA.

Individual Deals and Market Watch

OPC Energy Ltd, a unit of Kenon Holdings Ltd, and three institutional investors have agreed to pay USD 630 million (EUR 533.3m) in cash to acquire US gas and renewables developer and builder Competitive Power Ventures (CPV).

Based in Boulder, Colorado and Oakland, rePlant will deploy $250 million to farmers transitioning to regenerative or organic practices, with about $200 million of that going towards loans based on soil health metrics. The balance will fund equity investments in farms that are maxed out on debt. Most of the fund’s investors are women.

Proterra, a leading innovator in heavy-duty electric transportation, today announced a $200 million investment led by Cowen Sustainable Advisors LLC ("CSI") along with supporting investments from Soros Fund Management, Generation Investment Management, and Broadscale Group. The new investment is comprised of $150 million from CSI and investments totaling $50 million from Soros Fund Management, Generation Investment Management, and Broadscale Group.

Ynsect, a French company that raises mealworms for farm feed and crop fertilizer, has secured $125 million in a Series C funding round. The round was led by European impact investment firm Astanor Ventures.

Arkema announced that it placed its first-ever Green Bond that will finance its new world-scale plant in Singapore.

Arrival, the U.K.-based electric van and bus company, said Wednesday that BlackRock-managed funds are investing $118 million to help fuel its expansion, including plans to build a factory in South Carolina, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

New Zealand Super’s low-carbon reference portfolio has outperformed the original reference portfolio, adding NZ$800 million to the fund and providing evidence of ESG alpha.

High net worth individuals, families, family offices, and foundations plan to increase their allocation to impact investing from 20 per cent of their portfolios in 2019 to 35 per cent by 2025. A quarter (27 per cent) of all investors expect to move to more than 50 per cent invested for impact within five years.

Frameworks and Case Studies

More than $60 billion in new investment opportunities would be created over the next five years if Australia strengthened its climate targets and policies in line with reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, according to fresh economic modeling.

By allocating just 0.25% of their savings and investments to fund not-for-profit projects aiding climate adaptation and mitigation, individual investors could collectively funnel $10bn per year into this space by 2030, a pair of ex-financiers have claimed.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has issued guidance on ways for private equity funds can contribute to the SDGs. The SDG Impact Standards for Private Equity Funds will be supplemented with a voluntary assurance framework that will include an ‘SDG Impact Seal’ in recognition of best practice.

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) will invest up to $125 million in a co-investment vehicle it created with S2G Ventures, according to a press release.

Crane was instrumental in leading NRG into renewables and other clean energy sectors and was ousted in late 2015 after its stock tanked. (Disclosure: Crane is a former GreenBiz editor at large, and you can read his body of work here.) As of Monday, his new company, Climate Real Impact Solutions (CRIS), had raised more than $230 million for the purpose of merging with a company focused on solving the climate crisis.

BlackRock Real Assets has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Taiwanese solar energy firm New Green Power (NGP), in a deal which supports BlackRock’s commitment to investing across Asia Pacific.

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