Climate Investment Newsletter 11/14 - 11/20

Individual Deals and Market Watch

New climate fund targets equity stakes

• M&G Investments has launched a fund targeting equity investments in companies that aim to provide solutions to the challenge of climate change, including renewables.

Wielding $9 Trillion, IIGCC Investors Warn European Firms from BP to BMW to Disclose Climate Risk

• Investors controlling more than $9 trillion in assets today called on 36 major European firms to clean up their act on climate change—specifically when it comes to their accounts.

Bezos Climate Fund Discloses First Grants Totaling $791 Million

• The first 16 groups receiving donations from the Amazon.com Inc. founder’s Bezos Earth Fund include nonprofit stalwarts such as the Environmental Defense Fund and the World Wildlife Fund. The announcement came Monday in an Instagram post, where Bezos also revealed the fund’s existence in February. At the time, he said it would begin issuing grants in the summer.

Plant-based bonanza: Unilever sets €1bn sales target for meat and dairy alternatives

• Unilever has announced plans to dramatically increase sales of plant-based meat and dairy alternatives over the next seven years, as part of a new sustainability programme designed to shrink the environmental footprint of its food brands.

U.N.-Convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance Adds Members Managing Combined $200 Billion Assets

• The United Nations-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance has added three new members with combined assets under management (AUM) of $200 billion, committing to transition their investment portfolios to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Green Climate Fund approves 256.5 mln USD for Bangladesh

• The Green Climate Fund (GCF), the world's largest dedicated fund helping developing countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and enhance their ability to respond to climate change, has approved an amount of 256.5 million U.S. dollars for Bangladesh.
• The GCF was set up under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2010.

Lilium, a German startup developing electric air taxis, topped off a Series C round with more than $275 million from backers

• The company aiming to follow Walt Disney's footsteps in Orlando is Lilium, a German startup developing electric air taxis—what some people might describe as flying cars—a demo of which you can see here. On Wednesday, Lilium unveiled plans to launch its first US regional hub in Orlando, with plans to open for business by 2025. The hub will be part of Lake Nona, a vaguely Epcot-esque futuristic community currently in development in Orlando.

GRESB sold by GBCI as investors push for benchmark’s independence

• Real assets sustainability benchmark GRESB has been sold by its US parent, Green Business Certification Inc (GBCI), as leading institutional investors move to make it more independent.

Willis Towers Watson acquires Acclimatise in move that further strengthens climate resilience leadership

• Willis Towers Watson’s Climate and Resilience Hub (CRH) has expanded its scope to help clients address the challenges of climate and related Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues across physical, transition and legal liability risks.

Manulife buys stake in China-focused infra manager

• Manulife Investment Management, the asset management arm of Canada’s largest insurer, has bought a minority stake in a new infrastructure fund manager with the option of acquiring majority stake in the future.

Macro Commitments

South Africa’s Biggest Polluter Aims for 2050 Net Zero Emissions

• Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. “has an aspirational vision” of reaching the goal, which includes the creation of jobs, the utility said in a reply to questions. “We are currently developing a roadmap to define this pathway which includes the activities and enablers required along the way.”

Korean Banking Group Shinhan strives to achieve net-zero emission by 2050

• South Korea’s top-tier banking group Shinhan Financial Group announced on Nov. 15 that the outfit would achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 to join the global efforts of tackling climate change.

Canadian banks, insurers to take part in climate project, central bank says

• Some of Canada’s largest banks and insurers are set to participate in a pilot project to better understand the risks to the financial system from the transition to a low-carbon economy, Canada’s central bank and financial regulator said on Monday.

Australian pension funds make net zero pledge

• Australia’s biggest superannuation fund, AustralianSuper, has committed to having a net-zero carbon emissions portfolio by 2050. The announcement follows the disposition of its shares in mining company, Whitehaven Coal, earlier this month.

GCF Board Approves USD 1 Billion for Low-emission, Climate-resilient Development

• The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board approved USD 1.01 billion in climate finance for 16 projects that seek to promote low-emission, climate-resilient development. This brings the value of the GCF’s total portfolio to USD 7.2 billion.

Frameworks and Case Studies

The plan, linked to the United Nations, shows the US course to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

• An initiative linked to the United Nations offers what it proposes as a possible roadmap for the US to combat climate change under a possible new administration.

New report outlines steps to decarbonise the UK’s heating industry in the next decade

• The Heat Pump Association has released a ground-breaking report outlining the steps that the UK Government must take to shape future policy and decarbonise the heating industry.

UK investment gap: £400bn required to deliver net-zero transition, report finds

• On the day that the Government unveiled a new Ten Point Plan to drive investment to assist with the net-zero transition, a new report from PwC has warned that up to £400bn needs to be unlocked and funnelled into green infrastructure to meet the 2050 national target.

EU forms five crack teams to steer sustainable finance taxonomy

• The European Commission (EC) has formed five working groups to advise it on the next phase of its sustainable finance taxonomy, including how it should address social aspects and economic activities identified as significantly harmful to sustainability objectives.