Climate change and stricter regulation are pushing tuna and squid fishing vessels into unregulated waters, posing new risks, says Planet Tracker. In the Pacific Ocean south-east of Indonesia, fishing boats painted with Chinese characters are a common sight as they trawl the tropical waters in search of the world’s most-consumed fish: tuna. The fisheries between Papua New Guinea and Tokenau…
Renewables Developer Avantus Secures $522 Million to Accelerate Solar and Storage Projects
Alternative asset and private equity investor KKR announced the completion of the acquisition of a majority stake in U.S. solar and storage developer Avantus that was announced in March. Concurrently, Avantus announced it has closed on a $522 million development facility arranged by KKR Capital Markets and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). Founded in 2009, California-based Avantus develops and sells…
ISS ESG Launches Tool to Help Banks Estimate Portfolio Emissions to Meet Sustainability Reporting Requirements
ISS ESG, the sustainable investment arm of ISS STOXX, announced today the introduction of a new Industry Average Emission Intensity Data Set as part of the evolution of its suite of Climate Solutions, aimed at helping banks and insurance companies to comply with new mandatory climate reporting requirements, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and European Banking…
Cleantech Startup Graphyte Raises $30 Million to Scale Carbon Removal Solution
Cleantech startup Graphyte announced that it has raised $30 million in a Series A funding round, with proceeds aimed at accelerating the company’s carbon dioxide removal technology and scaling up its carbon removal operations. Founded in 2023, Graphyte provides durable and low-cost carbon removal technology utilizing natural processes such as photosynthesis. The company’s Carbon Casting approach to carbon removal dries…
Deutsche Bank, BASF Launch Finance Program Tying Rates for Suppliers to Sustainability Performance
Deutsche Bank announced today that it has launched a new sustainability-linked payables finance program for chemicals and materials company BASF in Asia, aimed at motivating the company’s suppliers to adopt sustainable practices. The program will focus on BASF’s operations in China. Under the new program, the sustainability performance of BASF’s suppliers will be measured by supplier sustainability rating platform EcoVadis,…
IASB Publishes Proposed Guidance to Help Companies Report on Climate Risk
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the accounting standards-setting body of the IFRS Foundation, announced today the publication of a consultation document, with a series of new proposed illustrative examples aimed at enabling companies to provide investors with better information about climate-related risks and other uncertainties. The IASB provides illustrative examples as non-mandatory guidance accompanying IFRS Accounting Standards, with the…
UK Sets Largest-Ever £1.5 Billion Budget for Renewable Energy Auction, Largely Targeting Offshore Wind
The UK government announced today that its budget for its renewable energy auction would be the largest in the country’s history, £1.5 billion (USD$1.93 billion), including £1.1 billion for offshore wind. The government said that this is an increase of £500 million, 50% more than the budget set in March and larger than all previous energy auctions combined. Ed Miliband,…
SBTi Appears to Backtrack on Use of Carbon Credits in Corporate Net Zero Targets
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), one of the key organizations focused on aligning corporate environmental sustainability action with the global goals of limiting climate change, announced the release of a series of research publications aimed at informing its new standard for corporate climate target-setting, with findings indicating that the new standard is unlikely to allow companies to use carbon…