This week in ESG news: 24 states sue Trump administration over repeal of landmark climate ruling; world’s largest sovereign wealth fund NBIM unveils nature risk expectations for portfolio companies; ING’s sustainable finance activity jumps more than 25%; von der Leyen says EU Commission to revise ETS for “a more realistic trajectory”; Whirlpool commits to net zero across the value chain;…
EU’s von der Leyen Pledges to Revise Carbon Pricing System, Introduce €30 Billion Cleantech Fund
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a series of commitments aimed at addressing rapidly rising energy costs and driving investment enabling the development of clean, domestic energy sources, including plans to introduce revisions to the EU Emissions Trading System within the next few days, and to launch a €30 billion decarbonization and cleantech fund, funded by the ETS….
TotalEnergies Launches France’s First Advanced Plastics Recycling Plant
France-based energy giant TotalEnergies announced today the launch of France’s first advanced plastics recycling plant, designed to convert hard-to-recycle household plastic waste into synthetic oil. The plant, located at the company’s Grandpuits site near Paris, has an annual processing capacity of 15,000 tons, and marks a key step in the transformation of the site into a zero-crude platform, according to…
24-State Coalition Sues Trump Administration Over Repeal of Landmark Climate Ruling
A coalition of 24 U.S. states, alongside 15 cities and regions*, announced that they have filed a lawsuit in federal court, challenging the Trump administration’s repeal of the landmark 2009 Endangerment Finding underlying the U.S. government’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the automotive sector and underpinning GHG regulations across other carbon-intensive sectors. The challenge, led by the…
Standard Chartered, COFCO Sign $435 Million Loan with Terms Tied to Supply Chain Sustainability Targets
International banking group Standard Chartered announced the closing of a $435 million sustainability-linked loan with agri-business company COFCO International, with terms on the loan tied to the company’s performance towards climate adaptation and social goals in its agricultural supply chain. According to Standard Chartered, the new transaction marks the bank’s first social resilience themed sustainability linked loan, and one of…
Fervo Secures $421 Million to Build U.S. Geothermal Energy Project
Geothermal energy project developer Fervo Energy announced today that it has secured $421 million in financing to fund the construction costs of the first phase of its large-scale geothermal project in Utah. Founded in 2017, Houston, Texas-based Fervo Energy focuses on the development of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) projects to deliver carbon-free energy. The company uses techniques such as horizontal…