Climate Investment Newsletter 12/11 - 12/17

Individual Deals and Market Watch

Gresham House tips £6bn AUM by year end on forestry mandate [Portfolio Advisor]

• In a trading update for the year to the end of December, published last week, the group said assets were set to jump 50% from the year before following strong demand from institutional investors and the completion of an Australian forestry transaction.
• In July, Gresham House was appointed as asset manager for the 24,800-hectare Australian forestry investment, Green Triangle Forest Products, by Axa Investment Managers Alts.

Ares raises $2.2 billion for climate infrastructure investment [Reuters]

• Los Angeles-based private equity firm Ares Management Corp (ARES.N) said it has raised $2.2 billion to invest in infrastructure businesses operating in the renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage sectors.

Shell, EnKing to launch $1.6 bln joint carbon credit venture in India -media [Carbon Pulse]

Stem to buy solar software co AlsoEnergy for USD 695m [Renewables Now]

• Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven energy storage company Stem Inc (NYSE:STEM) will take over solar asset management software developer Also Energy Holdings Inc for about USD 695 million (EUR 617m) on a cash-free, debt-free basis.

TD Bank Group engages diversity firms to actively lead a US$500 million green bond offering - a first among Canadian issuers [Yahoo]

• Today, The Toronto-Dominion Bank ("TD" or the "Bank") closed a three-year US$500 million green bond offering through a syndicate of underwriters that includes minority-, women- and veteran-owned business enterprises (MWVBEs). This is the first time that a Canadian bank bond offering has been led by a syndicate group that included MWVBEs as Active Joint Bookrunners, reflecting TD's strong commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Future Meat raises a huge $320M, plans cultivated meat facility in the US [Vegconomist]

• Israeli company Future Meat Technologies is in the process of raising $320 million in a funding round that will bring the company’s total worth to $600 million. Some of the funding will be used to build a cultivated meat facility in the US.

New renewables SPAC prices USD-150m IPO in New York [Renewables Now]

• A new special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) with an affinity for decarbonisation and renewable energy will be looking to raise about USD 150 million (EUR 133.2m) in an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Foresight sustainable forestry company plc’s £130 million Initial Public Offering [Global Legal Chronicle]

• Foresight Sustainable Forestry Company Plc, an investment fund investing predominantly in UK forestry assets, made a £130 million initial public offering and its listing on the premium listing segment of the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market.

Nigeria’s Green Bond Market value hits N55bn (~$134mn) [Leadership]

• Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) said, the value of Nigeria’s green bonds market has grown to N55.52 billion in four years.
• The CEO, NGX, Temi Popoola disclosed this during the Sustainable Finance Training 2021 hosted by NGX in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Orange launches €50 million Orange Nature carbon fund [Data Center Dynamics]

• French telco Orange has launched a €50 million ($56.3m) carbon fund to finance reforestation and ecological restoration projects. Launched in partnership with sustainable finance firm Mirova (Natixis Investment Managers), the Orange Nature fund will directly or indirectly invest in carbon sequestration projects around the world: afforestation, reforestation, and restoration of natural ecosystems (mangroves or agroforestry projects).

Macro Commitments

Saudi Arabia plans $100 bln renewables investment, says minister [Reuters]

Germany boosts its climate fund with 60 bln euro injection [Reuters]

• Germany's new government passed a supplementary budget to supercharge its climate and transformation fund with a debt-financed injection of 60 billion euros ($68 billion) to allow more investments in the shift towards a green economy.

Hive, Linde plan USD-4.6bn green ammonia plant in S Africa [Renewables Now]

• Hive Hydrogen and industrial gases major Linde Plc (NYSE:LIN), through its fully-owned unit African Oxygen, or Afrox, announced their plan to build a USD-4.6-billion (EUR 4.08bn) green ammonia plant in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa.

EU's Modernisation Fund invests close to EUR 900m in green transition [Renewables Now]

• The European Union’s Modernisation Fund, a funding programme set to support ten lower-income member states as they work to achieve climate neutrality goals, said that it made available EUR 898.43 million (USD 1.02bn) to eight beneficiary countries in the first year of operations.

£285m funding up for grabs for renewable energy companies [itv]

• Aspiring green energy projects in Britain can now bid for a share of £285 million a year given in a Government scheme to support renewable energy.
• Renewable energy projects can bid for funding in the latest round of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, which aims to secure 12GW of electricity capacity – the biggest amount in the scheme’s history which, from the funding alone, could generate enough electricity to power around eight million homes.

Pathways, Frameworks, Case Studies, Research, Climate Science

EU ready with framework for gas market decarbonisation [Renewables Now]

• The European Commission proposed a new framework for the EU to decarbonise its gas market through increased adoption of renewable and low-carbon options like biomethane and hydrogen.

Investment in climate technology has increased by 210% since last year [The Daily Wire]

• According to research from PwC investors have poured $87.5 billion into solutions meant to battle the climate crisis in the year leading up to June 30 — a significant increase over the $24.8 billion invested in the same period one year beforehand.

Hong Kong’s green finance credentials can help plug Asia’s US$25 billion gap in funding for climate change resilience, says Fitch [South China Morning Post]

• Hong Kong, a major player in the Asian green bond market, can help plug a financing gap of some US$25 billion a year in Asia for projects that enhance the resilience of cities to climate change, according to Fitch Ratings.
• “Hong Kong plays a key role in the Asian green bond market,” said Nneka Chike-Obi, director of Sustainable Fitch, the sustainable finance research unit of the credit ratings agency, in written comments to the Post.

61% of consumers worldwide describe plants as a preferred protein source [Vegconomist]

• A report by leading taste and nutrition company Kerry has examined consumer attitudes towards protein across the globe.
• Worldwide, 61% of consumers considered plants to be a preferred protein source, compared to 50% for animal protein — an 11% difference. Those in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region had particularly positive opinions about plant protein, preferring it by 16% and 21% respectively.

Climate tech VC funds to hit record US$21 billion this year [Shine]

• Venture Capital (VC) fundraising for climate tech-focused funds will hit a record US$21 billion this year, a study by Silicon Valley Bank & SPD Silicon Valley Bank forecasts.
• Similar to the overall VC landscape, climate tech venture investment is on track for yet another record year with California, New York and Massachusetts representing the major climate tech hubs.

Deadly U.S. tornadoes to cost insurers up to $5 bln [Reuters]

• Insured losses from the swarm of tornadoes and severe convective storms that caused destruction in parts of the United States this month could amount up to $5 billion, industry experts said.

Global warming of 3C could cost $1.6 trillion a year in lost labour [Reuters]

• A study published in Nature Communications found that the global economy already loses up to $311 billion per year as workers struggle in hot, humid weather.
• Global warming of 3 degrees Celsius could cost as much as $1.6 trillion each year in lost labour productivity as even the coolest hours of the day start posing major health risks to workers around the world.

Nature-based carbon market - a $1.3bn opportunity for insurance [Asia Insurance Review]