Net Zero Investor 9/11 - 9/17

Individual Deals and Market Watch

Singapore’s NEA issues $1.23bn green bonds for sustainable projects [Pinsent Masons]

• The bonds were issued in two tranches: S$350 million (US$261m) 10-year fixed rate notes with a coupon rate of 1.67% each year; and S$1.3bn (US$968m) 30-year fixed rate notes with a coupon rate of 2.5% each year. The final order book exceeded S$2bn (US$1.5bn), and was over 21% oversubscribed. DBS Bank was the sole arranger.

Battery gigafactory group Britishvolt valued at more than $1bn [FT]

• The company building the UK’s first battery gigafactory has been valued at more than $1bn in its latest funding round, tapping into rising demand for energy transition investments.
• Britishvolt raised about $70m in so-called series B financing from investors including mining company Glencore, Carbon Transition, a Euronext-listed fund that backs green businesses and technology, and UK engineer NG Bailey, said people with knowledge of the deals.

Voluntary carbon markets rocket in 2021, on track to break $1bn for first time [Ecosystem Marketplace]

• New report from Ecosystem Marketplace on voluntary carbon markets finds 2021 is on track for annual market value record of $1 Billion+ for the first time, as all-time market value hits $6.7 Billion. Based on growing global network of 172 EM Respondents (13% increase from 2020 of 152), with traded credits from projects located in 80 countries.

Foresight closes energy transition infrastructure fund at EUR 850m [Renewables Now]

• UK investment manager Foresight Group Holdings Ltd (LON:FSG) announced the final close of its Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners (FEIP) fund at EUR 851.4 million (USD 1bn), well above the initial target of EUR 500 million.

China Merchants Bank’s US$600 million sustainability and green bonds offer [Global Legal Chronicle]

• China Merchants Bank, through its Luxembourg branch, issued a landmark dual-tranche sustainability and carbon neutrality bonds totalling US$600 million. This is the first-ever dual-tranche sustainability and green bond from a Chinese issuer to be listed on the Luxembourg stock exchange.

TVA announces $500 million green bond offering [PV Magazine]

• The Tennessee Valley Authority announced and priced a $500 million offering of 10-year maturity green bonds, its first offering of what it called a sustainability-focused financial instrument.
• The bonds carry a coupon interest rate of 1.500%, which is the lowest rate achieved to date by TVA on a 10-year financing. The rate is expected to save TVA more than $15 million in annual interest expense compared to bonds that matured earlier in 2021.

ACEN boosts capital to $1bn after raising new $400mn green bonds [Manila Bulletin]

• The company said it will use the proceeds of its latest capital raising activity to finance its new renewable energy (RE) ventures; as well as to refinance loan portfolios spent on ongoing and completed projects.
• The US$400 million raised by the Ayala energy firm had been via its senior guaranteed undated, non-callable 3.5-year fixed-for-life green bonds; that was undertaken by its subsidiary ACEN Finance Limited.

Solugen raises $357 million to decarbonize chemicals [Impact Alpha]

• At its Houston-based “bioforge,” the company grows enzymes that convert sugars, air and carbon dioxide into chemicals. The financing round, led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC, and Baillie Gifford, values Solugen above $1.8 billion.

Japanese plant-based fibre company raises $312 million [Business of Fashion]

• Global private equity firm Carlyle said on Wednesday it led a $312 million funding round for Japanese biotech company Spiber Inc, joining other global investors in betting on a growing number of late-stage Japanese startup firms.
• Carlyle’s 10 billion yen ($91 million) stake in Spiber represents the group’s first non-buyout, minority investment in an unlisted startup in Japan, where startup funding is soaring.
• Spiber makes plant-based protein polymers through microbial fermentation, which can be spun into animal- and plastic-free fibres for clothing, auto parts and other uses.

Aqua-Spark releases Sub-Saharan aquaculture report prior to new $300mn fund [Global Ag Investing]

• Sustainable aquaculture and related tech investor Aqua-Spark has released an in-depth, 92-page report exploring current geography and the potential for Tilapia farming in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Noting in AquaInsights, An Introduction to Tilapia in Sub-Saharan Africa, “We don’t doubt that farmed tilapia production in sub-Saharan Africa will grow,”Aqua-Spark has committed to a Q4 2021 launch of the $300 million Aqua-Spark Africa Fund. With an initial close on capital commitments of $50 million, intentions are for the fund to reach its funding goal within six to eight years.

Enfinity Global secures USD-300m loan facility from CarVal Investors [Renewables Now]

• The new facility will allow Enfinity to finance the development of its portfolio of renewable energy projects totalling 3 GW.

ARM-Harith launches $250m climate investment fund in West Africa [Afrik21]

• Through its new fund, ARM-Harith Infrastructure Investments wants to become a player in climate finance in West Africa. Its new project, The ACT Fund, aims to finance the development of sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure. The Mauritius-registered infrastructure fund manager is embarking on its new challenge at a time when the effects of climate change are worsening in West Africa, exacerbating drought in the Sahel countries and causing erratic rainfall and severe flooding in others.

Arcadia raises $100mn Series D to democratize access to clean energy [Business Wire]

• Arcadia, the climate-crisis-fighting technology company unlocking nationwide access to energy data and renewables, today announced a $100 million Series D funding round led by Tiger Global Management and the Drawdown Fund with participation from new investors Wellington Management, Reimagined Ventures (the family office of Alec Litowitz, founder of Magnetar Capital), Camber Creek, MCJ Collective, and existing investors Energy Impact Partners, G2 Venture Partners, Inclusive Capital, and BoxGroup. Combined with the Company’s previously undisclosed $21 million Series C-1 in December 2020, Arcadia has now raised $180 million in total funding.

Move over SPACs. Here come NACs to turn ecosystem services into tradable assets [Impact Alpha]

• The New York Stock Exchange is seeking approval for a new kind of publicly traded asset based on the valuable services provided by nature.

The Nature Conservancy and Timberland Investment Group team up to scale forest conservation [Impact Alpha]

• TIG’s Gerrity Lansing said the partnership aims to unlock conservation and climate action on $850 million of TIG’s $4 billion global timberland portfolio. The goal: to help TIG improve the sustainability of its forests by attracting institutional capital.

Macro Commitments

BMW invests $24 billion in batteries [Car Buzz]

• With more and more car manufacturers committing to an all-electric future, the race for materials and supplies are heating up, and to make matters worse, the automotive industry is currently facing a serious semiconductor chip shortage. BMW, which recently launched a new range of all-electric vehicles, including the BMW iX and i4 plans to cut production costs by as much as 25 percent in the coming years to combat losses caused by supply issues, and has now announced a massive $24 billion investment in batteries to keep up with demand. BMW's EV sales have made major strides in the past two years, and now accounts for more than 11 percent of deliveries during the first half of 2021.

EU pledges $4.7 billion in climate finance ahead of COP26 [Forbes]

• As natural disasters are becoming permanent features of our climate also beyond the European borders, the Commission wants to guarantee that sufficient fundings are allocated to combat future climate outbreaks.
• In November, world leaders will try to agree on global climate commitments at the United Nations’ COP26 summit. Currently, the European Union is the only key player with legally binding targets to reaching climate neutrality in 2050.

Smurfit Kappa to launch debut €1bn green bond [The Irish Times]

• Smurfit Kappa, the cardboard box-maker riding the wave of sustainable packaging, is venturing into the area of green funding with plans to raise €1 billion.
• The Dublin-based multinational said that its planned debt offering is under its new green finance framework, where money raised will be targeted at products using certified sustainable raw materials and production methods, as well as environmentally sustainable management of natural resources and land.

Africa Finance Corporation plans $500 million infrastructure climate resilient fund under newly created asset management division, AFC Capital Partners [Valdosta Daily Times]

• As part of its drive to address Africa’s vulnerability to climate risk, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has created an independent asset management arm, AFC Capital Partners, with a debut offering: the Infrastructure Climate Resilient Fund (ICRF).
• AFC Capital Partners plans to raise US$500m in the next twelve months and US$2 billion over the next three years. The ICRF will act as a direct investor and a co-investment fund to enhance the quality of African ports, roads, bridges, rail, telecommunications, clean energy, and logistics in the face of rising temperatures and sea levels due to climate change.

UK to offer £265m in subsidies for renewable energy developers [The Guardian]

• Renewable energy developers will compete for a share in a £265m subsidy pot as the government aims to support a record number of projects in the sector through a milestone subsidy scheme later this year.
• Under the scheme, offshore wind developers will compete for contracts worth up to £200m a year, and onshore wind and solar farms will be in line for their first subsidies in more than five years.

Amundi and Quintet partner to accelerate sustainable investments in emerging markets with €200 million in client commitments [Amundi]

• Amundi, the leading European asset manager, and Quintet Private Bank, the Luxembourg-headquartered European wealth manager, have entered into a partnership to accelerate sustainable investments in emerging markets, home to 85% of the global population.
• To that end, Quintet has made €200 million in client commitments to Amundi Funds Emerging Markets Green Bond, which will be deployed as part of Quintet’s flagship discretionary offering. The Amundi fund was launched in 2020 and invests primarily in hard-currency corporate as well as sovereign green bonds in emerging markets such as Brazil, China, India and Indonesia. Quintet’s investment, which will be allocated in the third quarter, will nearly double fund assets from €250 million (as of end June) to €450 million. This follows recent seed investments by Quintet in other green-bond funds and reflects the €85 billion wealth manager’s focus on generating positive real-world impact through its investment activities.

Ontario Teachers’ targets 45% cut in carbon emissions by 2025 [Bloomberg Green]

• The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is aiming for a 45% reduction in the amount of carbon its investment holdings release into the atmosphere by 2025 as part of an effort to reach net-zero emissions within three decades.
• The pension fund also plans to cut carbon emissions intensity 67% by 2030, compared with its 2019 baseline. These emission reduction targets cover all the fund’s real assets, private natural resources, equity and corporate credit holdings across public and private markets, including external managers, it said in a statement

Pathways, Frameworks, Case Studies, Research, Climate Science

Plant-based meat now worth $1.4bn in US as interest surges 1320% in restaurants [Vegconomist]

• A new report by AI-powered food intelligence solution Tastewise, examining alt-meat trends in the US, finds that alt-meat is now mentioned 1320% more frequently on restaurant menus than before the pandemic and that plant-based meat is now valued at $1.4 billion.

Alt-seafood sales surge by 23% as companies raise $116m in six months [Vegconomist]

• A new report by GFI has found that alt-seafood sales in the US grew by 23% in 2020 compared to the previous year. The figure rose from $10 million in 2019 to $12 million in 2020.
• The State of the Industry report also found that alt-seafood companies globally raised $116 million in the first six months of 2021. This has already surpassed the figure for the entire year of 2020.

UN calls for reform of $540bn farming subsidies to help climate [FT]

• The UN is calling for reform of the world’s $540bn in farming subsidies to help the climate and promote better nutrition. Livestock and food production are among the biggest emitters of carbon but also enjoy the most state support, it says in a new report.

Biodiversity reporting and investment gather pace with TNFD update and plans for new asset class [Responsible Investor]

• The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) - which is a member of one of the TNFD working groups - has launched a consultation on its proposed guidance for biodiversity-related disclosures.  
• The aim of the CDSB Biodiversity Guidance is to support organisations in making disclosures and enable users of mainstream annual financial reports to assess material biodiversity-related financial information. It will serve as a supplementary guidance document to the CDSB Framework for reporting environmental and climate change information.