Climate Investment Newsletter 10/2 - 10/8

Individual Deals and Market Watch

Adani Green wraps up USD-3.5bn acquisition of SB Energy India [Renewables Now]

• Indian renewables developer Adani Green Energy Ltd has closed the acquisition of SB Energy Holdings Ltd, which owns a roughly 5-GW renewables portfolio in India.
• The all-cash deal makes SB Energy Holdings, also known as SB Energy India, a 100% subsidiary of the Indian solar developer. The acquired entity was previously jointly owned by Japan’s SoftBank Group, which held an 80% stake, and Bharti Group of India with 20%.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile’s $700 million green bond offering [Global Legal Chronicle]

Spain's Ignis secures EUR 625m backing from Egypt's EFG Hermes [Renewables Now]

• Spanish renewables developer and energy trader Ignis Energy Holdings has agreed to sell an unspecified stake to Egyptian financial services company EFG Hermes Holding SAE in exchange for a total investment of over EUR 625 million (USD 727.3m), which will further the development of its 20-GW-plus platform.

Perfect Day secures $350m bringing total raise to $750m, enters vegan cheese category [Vegconomist]

• Perfect Day, Inc., the California producer of animal-free dairy protein and the most-funded company in fermentation, this week secured $350 million in a Series D round led by Temasek and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), bringing its total funding to $750 million.

Blank check co Enphys raises USD 300m for green energy deals [Renewables Now]

• Enphys Acquisition Corp, a blank check company co-sponsored by i(x) investments and LAIG Investments, is raising USD 300 million (EUR 258.6m) from an upsized initial public offering (IPO) in the US so as to pursue potential deals with renewable energy businesses in Ibero-America.

USDA announces more than $146m investment in sustainable agricultural research [USDA]

• This investment is made under the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Sustainable Agricultural Systems program. This innovative program focuses on a broad base of needed research solutions from addressing labor challenges and promoting land stewardship to correcting climate change impacts in agriculture and critical needs in food and nutrition.

Developers unveil progress on USD-130m renewables hub on Melbourne landfill [Renewables Now]

• An Aussie developer has recently secured planning approval for a roughly AUD-180-million (USD 131m/EUR 113m) project to transform a former landfill site in south-east Melbourne into a renewable energy hub.

Macro Commitments

Insurer Phoenix sets carbon targets for $339 bln of investments [Reuters]

• Phoenix Group (PHNX.L) laid out new carbon reduction targets which it said will cut the emission intensity of 250 billion pounds ($338.75 billion) of investments by at least half in less than a decade.
• The blue-chip life insurer, which invested over 700 million pounds in sustainable assets in the first half of 2021, double the amount from a year earlier, said the interim targets were part of its goal to achieve net zero carbon for investments by 2050.

UAE seeks to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 with $163B plan [Daily Sabah]

• The United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of the biggest oil exporters in the world, announced an ambitious plan to achieve zero carbon emissions that would see the Gulf nation spending 600 billion dirhams ($163 billion) in renewable energy sources and projects over the next three decades.
• The plan, expected to be completed by 2050, makes the UAE the first country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to launch a concrete initiative to achieve that climate commitment.

Tikehau Capital to exceed €5 billion in climate-dedicated AUM by 2025 and launch Climate Action Centre [Business Wire]

• Tikehau Capital (Paris:TKO), the global alternative asset management group, today announces its ambition to manage at least €5 billion of AUM dedicated exclusively to the fight against climate change by 2025. This will provide Tikehau Capital with sizable means to invest in companies and projects driving the decarbonisation of the economy to a more sustainable future. This significant commitment demonstrates the continued ambition of the Group to invest global savings towards a more resilient and inclusive economy, creating sustainable value for all.

Japan's telecoms giant, NTT, to issue green bonds worth about $2.7 bln [Reuters]

GCF Board accelerates climate finance ahead of COP26 meeting, approving USD 1.2 billion for new adaptation and mitigation action [ReliefWeb]

• The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board has approved 13 new projects for mitigation and adaptation action, allocating USD 1.2 billion in GCF resources for climate action – a record amount for a single Board meeting. The new projects bring the total size of the GCF portfolio to USD 10 billion, representing USD 37.2 billion in assets, including co-financing.

Germany to back intl green hydrogen projects with EUR 350m [Renewables Now]

• The German government will provide a total of EUR 350 million (USD 406.07m) by the end of 2024 to finance projects for the production, transport, storage and use of green hydrogen in countries outside the European Union as part of the National Hydrogen Strategy.

German govt making $115m renewables investment in Africa [Power Engineering]

• The German government has announced that it will direct €100 million ($115.7 million) in investment to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy across Africa.
• The capital will be invested through the African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) to unlock private sector participation in funding the region’s transition to low-carbon energy resources.

Pathways, Frameworks, Case Studies, Research, Climate Science

$10trn investor coalition call for government action on biodiversity ahead of COP15 [Responsible Investor]

• An investor coalition managing more than $10trn in assets has called on governments to establish a regulatory environment that enables financial institutions to address biodiversity-related risks and opportunities.
• With a host of heavyweight signatories, including Aviva, Axa IM, BNP Paribas AM, Church Commissioners for England, Storebrand AM, and Robeco, the statement says it represents “the largest share of AUM to publicly support action from global governments to address biodiversity loss.”

2021 declared year of cultivated meat by FAIRR report with $506m invested so far [Vegconomist]

• Analysis by the FAIRR Initiative shows that 2021 is “the year of cultivated meat,” with $506 million invested so far this year into cultivated meat firms, already far surpassing previous years.
• The report has also found consumer demand for alt protein products in North America is exploding, with 39% of US households now buying plant-based milk and plant-based food sales rising to nearly twice as much as overall US retail food sales last year.

UK Government must embrace cultured meat or miss out on £2.1billion and 16,500 jobs [Vegconomist]

• A study, commissioned by cell-cultured meat company Ivy Farm Technologies and conducted by researchers from Oxford Economics, has found that cell-cultured meat could add £2.1bn to the UK economy by 2030, along with creating 16,500 jobs. Based on this projection, cultured meat would make up 13% of the UK’s agriculture sector, raise £523 million in taxes, and account for 12% of consumer demand for meat, all less than a decade from now.

Alt-Protein market projected to be worth $155 billion by 2027 [Vegconomist]

• A market report by Global Market Insights has projected a 17% CAGR for the alt-protein market between 2021 and 2027. By the end of this growth period, it is predicted that the market will be worth $155 billion.

Australia could reap $650 billion from stricter climate goals [Bloomberg Green]

• Australia can unlock A$890 billion ($650 billion) in economic gains over the next half century if it adopts stronger climate targets, according to the country’s business lobby.
• A report by the Business Council of Australia, which outlines a plan to manage the country’s clean energy transition, also said a reduction in carbon pollution of up to 50% by 2030 from 2005 levels was achievable -- well above the 26-28% reduction Australia has committed to under the Paris Agreement.