Climate Investment Newsletter 4/3 - 4/9

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Individual Deals and Market Watch

BlackRock real assets achieves a US$4.8 billion final close for Global Renewable Power Fund III [business wire]

• GRP III is the third vintage of BlackRock’s Global Renewable Power fund series and the fifth Fund overall, which invests in global climate infrastructure assets, primarily in renewable power generation, across Americas, Europe and Asia. GRP III seeks to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns with positive and measurable environmental and social impact by investing across the spectrum of renewable power and supporting infrastructure globally, including energy storage and distribution and electrified transport.

Aviation startup Lilium to float in US via $3.3 billion SPAC deal [Reuters]

• German air shuttle startup Lilium said on March 30th it would float on the U.S. stock market via a reverse merger with Qell Acquisition Corp, a blank-cheque acquisition company, in a deal valuing the combined business at $3.3 billion.

Neoen secures first approval for hybrid wind-solar-storage project in Australia [PV Magazine]

• Neoen has secured planning approval for the first stage of its gigantic $2.3 billion Goyder South project in Australia. The French renewables company has also revealed plans to exceed 10 GW of global capacity by 2025.

Norges Bank Investment Management has made its first investment in renewable energy infrastructure in a €1.4bn deal with Ørsted [Responsible Investor]

Energy Capital Partners raises $1.2 billion fund to extend Terra-Gen ownership [Reuters]

• Energy Capital Partners (ECP) raised a $1.2 billion fund that it used to buy a 50% stake in U.S. renewable power and storage developer Terra-Gen from another of its funds, the private equity firm told Reuters.

Alecta makes first direct infra investment with SEK1.6bn wind firm deal [IPE]

• Alecta has signed its first direct infrastructure investment deal, paying SEK1.6bn (€156m) for a 20% equity stake in Swedish onshore wind plant operator Stena Renewable.
• The SEK1trn Swedish occupational pension fund said it has bought the shares in the renewable energy company partly from another Swedish pension fund, AMF, as well as from Stena Adactum - an investment company that is part of Swedish family-owned company Stena.

Dutch development bank FMO to invest $137 mn in India’s Green Growth Equity Fund [The Hindu BusinessLine]

• Dutch development bank FMO will invest $137 million in India’s Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF), managed by EverSource Capital, while the fund aims to raise a total of $940 million.

CDPQ and Energize Ventures announce partnership to invest in clean energy technologies [Cision]

• Energize Ventures, a leading global alternative investment manager, and Caisse de dépot et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a global investment group, announced today the beginning of a new co-investment partnership under which CDPQ will invest up to US$125 million over the next three years in ventures that aim to accelerate the digital transformation of energy and sustainable industry sectors.

Macro Commitments

Bank of America increases environmental business initiative target to $1 trillion by 2030 [OA Online]

• Bank of America today announced a goal of deploying and mobilizing $1 trillion by 2030 in its Environmental Business Initiative in order to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economy. This commitment will anchor a broader $1.5 trillion sustainable finance goal by both environmental transition and social inclusive development purposes, spanning business activities across the globe.

Goldman-Backed ReNew to invest $9 billion in India’s green push [Bloomberg Green]

• The company, backed by investors such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, aims to more than triple its renewable power capacity to 18.5 gigawatts by 2025, Chairman Sumant Sinha said in an interview. The Gurugram, India-based company will look at building its own projects as well as acquisitions for growth.

$1.5bn plans unveiled to integrate hydrogen into the northwest German coastline [H2 View]

• Several of North Germany’s largest industrial companies have partnered together in a $1.5bn project which aims to integrate hydrogen into the northwest German coastline.
• Dubbed Clean Hydrogen Coastline, the partners want to integrate a capacity of up to 400MW for electrolysis with corresponding storage for hydrogen to be added to the energy network by 2026.

World Bank confirms key elements of new climate action plan [KFGO]

• The World Bank on Friday announced a new Climate Change Action Plan aimed at helping developing countries achieve measurable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and pledging to mobilize large-scale resources to aid the transition out of coal.
• World Bank President David Malpass said the bank had provided $83 billion in climate finance over the past five years, peaking at $21.4 billion in 2020, but the new plan would see those levels increase.

Pathways, Frameworks, Case Studies, Research

UK launches world’s largest ocean monitoring system to protect wildlife and biodiversity [Climate Action]

• The UK is to become the first country to pioneer a major network of underwater camera rigs, funding the world’s largest ocean wildlife monitoring system to help protect life below water.
• The network is being set up as part of the UK Government Blue Belt programme, which covers more than 4 million square kilometres of ocean.

U.S. plant-based retail sales top US$7 billion as mainstream consumers shift, new data shows [Green Queen]

• Plant-based food retail sales in the U.S. grew double-digits to reach US$7 billion in 2020, outpacing sales of its animal counterparts for the third year in a row, according to new data. The statistics, released by the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) and the Good Food Institute (GFI), also showed that much of the increase was driven by surging demand from mainstream consumers, with nearly 6 in 10 households now swapping out animal-based products for plant-based alternatives.

European food techs raised €2.7 billion in 2020, propelled by alternative protein funding [Green Queen]

• A new report, released on Wednesday (April 7) by Paris-based food tech insight consultancy DigitalFoodLab, detailing the European food tech landscape has revealed that despite the pandemic, the industry raised a whopping €2.7 billion (US$3.2 billion) in 2020. Much of the investment was driven by the alternative protein sector, with funding recording triple-digit growth. Novel foodservice technologies and experiences also saw a major step up in capital inflows.

Riskthinking.AI: Climate Risk Classification Standard [Climate Action]

• The lack of scientifically-based standards for codifying climate risk causation has hindered the development of methods for measuring and managing climate related financial risk. For this reason, Riskthinking.AI have developed a Climate Risk Classification Standard (CRCS™).

Sustainable investing strategies account for 30% of all SPACs [Impact Alpha]

• According to research conducted by Sustainable Research and Analysis LLC, as of mid-March, 31% of outstanding SPACs (163 SPACs) based on deal value, pursue business strategies that are aligned either partially or entirely with sustainable investing strategies that fall into three broad categories that include social and environmental themes.

CPP Investments launches Sustainable Energy Group [Environment and Energy Leader]

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) is creating the Sustainable Energy Group (SEG), a new investment group that combines the organization’s experience in renewables, conventional energy, and new technology and service solutions.

Climate change will hit ‘endemic’ plants and animals the hardest, study warns [Carbon Brief]

• The synthesis study, published in Biological Conservation, finds that more than 90% of endemic species will face negative consequences – such as reduced populations – if global warming reaches 3C above pre-industrial levels. However, it adds that invasive species are expected to see overall neutral or positive impacts from the warming climate.

Sixfold leap in firms planning to tie executive pay to climate, says survey [Responsible Investor]

• Of the 450 firms surveyed for Now or never: A new bar for sustainability, more than 60% said they are considering tying compensation packages with green goals in 2021. Currently, less than 10% of companies have such rules.

Carbon dioxide levels in atmosphere reach record high [The Guardian]

• The data released by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, shows atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas in March averaged 417.14 parts per million (ppm), a new record high.

Natural capital: Carbon sink value of UK waters estimated at £57bn [Business Green]

• Carbon sequestration in and around UK waters trumps value of potential fossil fuel extraction in these areas, Office for National Statistics estimates

World Bank, IMF eye ways to link debt relief to climate change spending [Yahoo Finance]

• The initiative reflects growing recognition that the economic turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated budget constraints and debt challenges that hamper the ability of some countries to transition to clean energy, protect wildlife or make infrastructural changes to prepare for climate impacts.