Net Zero Investor 5/15 - 5/21

We’re Hiring: Join the C4C Team!

Head of Climate Funds Research and Evaluation

• Build and maintain the definitive digital resource on funds, vehicles, large projects, prizes and incubators that are investing (or driving investment) in climate solutions aligned to science-based roadmaps to net zero.
• With a $2tn annual capital gap, and financial institutions with over $70Tr AUM making commitments to climate, this is the moment to assure capital flows with strategic focus and speed to the climate solutions that will drive net zero outcomes. C4C’s Head of Climate Funds position is an exceptional leadership opportunity to help guide and mobilize billions toward actionable and impactful climate solutions.

Individual Deals and Market Watch

European Commission clears EUR-22.5bn Polish offshore wind state aid scheme

• Poland plans to grant aid for 25 years in the form of a two-way contract-for-difference (CfD) premium, but only up to 100,000 full load hours per megawatt of installed capacity. As part of the two-phase scheme, beneficiaries will get payments equal to the difference between the reference price and the market price for electricity, when the latter is lower. When the market price is higher, though, they will be the ones to pay the difference to the state.

Adani Green to buy SoftBank’s $3.5 billion Indian renewables unit [Bloomberg Green]

• The firm, controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani, signed pacts for the acquisition of a 100% interest in SB Energy India from SoftBank and partner Bharti Group, according to a statement. Adani didn’t give details of the transaction, but said the deal gives SB Energy an enterprise valuation of $3.5 billion.

Scotland to the fore as hydrogen fuel firm rolls out £1 billion refuelling network [The Scotsman]

• Private equity-backed Element 2 has a ten-year plan to roll out a refuelling network, involving the installation of 2,000 hydrogen pumps across the UK by 2030.

Green investment bank receives $300 million capital injection [Scoop]

• New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF) has received an additional $300 million in investment capital, increasing its total pool of investment capital to $400 million.
• As one of a global network of green banks, NZGIF is focused on identifying investment opportunities that help drive the decarbonisation of New Zealand’s economy.

UK pension giant invests £200m into PV player [ReNews.Biz]

• The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the largest private pension fund in the UK by assets, has taken a 50% stake in Iberian renewables investor Bruc Energy for £200m.

Ilmatar gets EUR-200m cash boost to back Finnish wind ambitions [Renewables Now]

• Finnish renewables developer Ilmatar Energy has secured EUR 200 million (USD 244.7m) from its majority shareholder Omnes Capital and other investors, backing its ambitions to deploy 1 GW of wind capacity at home.

Energy transition SPAC Freestone Acquisition files for a $200 million IPO [Renaissance Capital]

• The Dallas, TX-based company plans to raise $200 million by offering 20 million units at $10. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one-third of a warrant, exercisable at $11.50. At the proposed deal size, Freestone Acquisition would have a market value of $250 million.

Connecticut C-PACE program spurs $200m in investments [Smart Energy Decisions]

• The Connecticut Green Bank surpassed $200 million in clean energy investment in local businesses through the state’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program.
• Since its inception, the Connecticut Green Bank and its private investment partners have deployed over $1.9 billion in capital for clean energy projects across the state. [Connecticut Green Bank]

GOOD Meat: Eat Just’s cultivated meat division raises US$170m [Green Queen]

• In another record-breaking turn, Eat Just, has closed a US$170 million round for its newly separate GOOD Meat subsidiary from funds managed by UBS O’Connor, K3 Ventures and Graphene Ventures, among others. The San Francisco-based food tech company’s plant-based mung bean alternative has sold 100 million vegan eggs across the globe, including in mainland China, where it just debuted a JUST egg version of jianbing pancakes.

KKR takes majority stake in sustainability consulting firm ERM [Responsible Investor]

• Enhancing KKR’s impact division’s expertise portfolio, ERM advises on sustainability, implementing ESG strategies, and best practices. Since the investment by Omers and AIMco, two leading Canadian pensions, its growth has been fueled by 14 M&A transactions. In recent months, ERM has acquired two sustainability-focused businesses - Dutch consultancy firm Sustainalize, in April, and Arcus Consultancy Services, a renewable energy consultancy. ERM also owns London-based think-tank SustainAbility.

Macro Commitments

EU lawmakers give final approval to bloc’s green transition fund [Euractiv]

• The European Parliament formally approved the European Union’s multi-billion euro fund on Tuesday (18 May) to support countries as they wind down fossil fuel industries as part of Europe’s push against climate change.

EU Parliament approves $21 billion fund for green transition [Bloomberg Green]

• The European Parliament gave its final approval to a 17.5 billion euro fund that will help the most coal-dependent European Union regions shift to a climate-neutral economy.

Netherlands pledges $2.6 billion subsidy to bury CO₂ under the sea [Bloomberg Green]

• The project at the Port of Rotterdam could sequester about 2.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually by storing it in depleted gas fields in the seabed. The four companies involved—Shell, Exxon, Air Liquide SA, and Air Products and Chemicals Inc.—will receive state backing for the project.
• Quick math, $1000 per ton of CO2 storage capacity.

Brazil asset manager Perfin to invest $1 bln in renewables, mainly solar [Reuters]

Roughly USD 912m earmarked for clean energy in California budget revision [Renewables Now]

• California governor Gavin Newsom has presented a revision plan for the state’s 2021-2022 budget that earmarks $912 million (EUR 749.6m) for energy investments, including offshore wind, storage and green hydrogen.
• Days before: CEOs call for $500 million dedicated to hydrogen infrastructure [Smart Energy Decisions]
• Executives from 25 multinational companies signed a joint letter to Governor Newsom on May 14, calling for a $500 million investment in hydrogen infrastructure. The companies urge the Governor to allocate funding through the state’s Clean Transportation Program specifically to serve the light-duty, transit, and heavy-duty vehicle markets.

Historic Washington State climate legislation signed into law [Yahoo Finance]

• Governor Jay Inslee signed the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), SB 5126, into law—positioning Washington State as a national leader -- the first state to pave the way to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
• The CCA will be the state's largest investment in climate protection.  As a “cap and invest” bill it provides funding for new infrastructure, transit, agriculture, forestry, shipbuilding projects and an Environmental Justice Council to ensure health disparities reduce over time.

HSBC announces $100m partnership with WRI and WWF to scale next generation solutions to climate change [Climate Action]

• The partnership’s three workstreams focus on start-up firms developing carbon-cutting technologies, projects that protect and restore biodiversity, and initiatives to help transition energy growth to renewables in Asia.

Pathways, Frameworks, Case Studies, Research

Major shareholder groups announce new Paris-aligned framework for investors [Responsible Investor]

• The world’s major responsible investment bodies represented by Investor Agenda have unveiled a framework to help investors steer their portfolios to Net Zero by 2050.
• The ‘Investor Climate Action Plans Expectations Ladder and Guidance’ (ICAPs) identifies key investor actions needed across investment, corporate engagement, policy advocacy and investor disclosure.
• [Investor Agenda] The ICAPs Expectations Ladder summarizes the key climate actions investors can take right now in the four interlocking areas of the Investor Agenda: Governance is a cross-cutting theme across all four areas. The areas include:
• Investment: Manage climate risks in investor portfolios and shift capital to value-creating businesses set to succeed in a net-zero future.
• Corporate Engagement: Engage companies to drive climate action and demonstrate real progress in line with a 1.5°C future.
• Policy Advocacy: Advocate for policies aligned with delivering a just transition to a net zero economy by 2050 or sooner.
• Investor Disclosure: Enhance investor disclosure to help stakeholders track investor climate action in line with a 1.5°C pathway.

IEA: Renewables should overtake coal ‘within five years’ to secure 1.5C goal [Carbon Brief Daily]

• A historic change of tune from IEA.  Just in time.
• In a 227-page report titled “Net-zero by 2050: A roadmap for the global energy sector,” the IEA calls for “a total transformation of the energy systems that underpin our economies.”

Report finds a quarter of Brits have cut down on animal products since lockdown began [Vegconomist]

• A new report by The Vegan Society has found that a huge number of British people are eating fewer animal products than when the pandemic began. This includes 1 in 4 people reducing their meat consumption.

6.5m households in UK plan to buy an electric car by 2030 [The Guardian]

• More than 6.5m households plan to buy an electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid, research by the energy watchdog Ofgem has found. This equates to 24%, or nearly one in four, of all energy households.  
• BNEF is forecasting that by 2030 ~30% of new car sales globally will be electric.

More than 500 companies to be ranked on nature impacts by WBA [Responsible Investor]

• The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) is working on developing a benchmark tool covering companies with the biggest impact on nature.
• Gerbrand Haverkamp, Executive Director of the WBA, explained that the Nature Benchmark will help companies understand what is expected of them in terms of managing their impact and in turn adapt their strategies.

China CO2 emissions 9% higher than pre-pandemic levels in Q1 [Reuters]

• In the 12 months since China began relaxing COVID-19 lockdowns, total CO2 emissions exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 7%, setting the fastest rate of growth since 2012, said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst with the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

Climate Science -- Greenland ice sheet on brink of major tipping point [The Guardian/PNAS]

• The new analysis, published in PNAS, detected the warning signals of a tipping point in a 140-year record of ice-sheet height and melting rates in the Jakobshavn basin, one of the five biggest basins in Greenland and the fastest-melting. The prime suspect for a surge in melting is a negative feedback loop in which melting reduces the height of the ice sheet, exposing it to the warmer air found at lower altitudes, which accelerates further melting.

Nearly half of cities lack plans to keep populations safe from climate threats [Climate Action]

• New analysis released by the CDP shows that 43% of global cities do not have adaptation plans to keep people and critical infrastructure safe from climate threats, despite the fact that awareness of climate risks has never been higher. (93% of the 812 disclosing cities report that they are at risk from climate change.)