Climate Investment Newsletter 10/24 - 10/30

Macro Commitments

New conditions for membership to the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, whose members include Chevron, APRIL, Syngenta, Dupont, Philip Morris, DBS Bank, and PepsiCo, demand action on climate, nature loss and inequality. Companies have two years to comply.

Japan's new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, committed his country on Monday to reaching a target of zero emissions of greenhouse gases and achieving a carbon-neutral society by 2050, with a "fundamental shift" in policy on coal use.

Starwood Property Trust announced the release of its first sustainability bond to the sum of $300 million.

South Korea has become the third big Asian economy to pledge carbon neutrality, marking a big victory for environmentalists after intensifying pressure on one of the world’s biggest polluters.

The bank has successfully closed its second green bond as it continues its strategy to deliver net zero financed emissions by 2050

Individual Deals and Market Watch

Indoor ag startups are the belle of the ball when it comes to funding these days, and BrightFarms is the latest debutante.

The Engine, the venture firm spun out of MIT that invests in early-stage Tough Tech companies focused on climate change, human health and advanced systems, announced its Fund II with $230 million in commitments. MIT provided anchor funding for Fund I and Fund II, bringing the total amount across the fundings to $435 million. Harvard University joins MIT in Fund II as a limited partner.

Frameworks and Case Studies

Three University of Cape Town (UCT) climate change experts have carried out a case study to understand what a just transition of South Africa’s energy landscape into a low-carbon environment could look like. This Just Transition Transaction (JTT) aims to simultaneously solve the electricity supply crisis in South Africa while moving the country towards renewable energy, its emissions commitments and job creation in terms of the Paris Agreement.

Interactive Brokers Group (Nasdaq: IBKR), a global brokerage firm, today unveiled an innovative, interactive Impact Dashboard designed to help clients evaluate and invest in companies that align with their values. The dashboard, which is free for all clients to use, sets a new standard for tools that can be used for sustainable, socially responsible, and values-based investing. The launch comes as interest in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing is soaring. ESG assets are expected to top $53 trillion by 2022, according to research released in September by Celent.

MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, today announced the launch of the MSCI Climate Paris Aligned Index Suite.

Active engagement and stewardship are increasingly important ways for money managers to approach the issue of sustainability, institutional investors say.

Corporate demand for forest-related carbon removal could generate $800bn in annual revenues by 2050, worth a market capitalisation of $1.2 trillion today, surpassing the current market capitalisation of oil & gas majors - new study commissioned by UN-supported investor body finds

What’s new in climate investment?