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HSBC Acquires Stake in EV Charging Operator SP Mobility

HSBC Acquires Stake in EV Charging Operator SP Mobility

HSBC Asset Management (HSBC AM) announced an investment by its Energy Transition Infrastructure (ETI) team in Singapore-based EV charging company SP Mobility. Terms of the investment were not disclosed. Founded in 2018, SP Mobility operates Singapore’s largest and fastest public EV charging network, with more than 1,900 charging points in retail, commercial, industrial, residential and other public locations. The company…

Saudi’s NEOM, DataVolt to Build $5 Billion Net Zero AI Data Center

Saudi’s NEOM, DataVolt to Build $5 Billion Net Zero AI Data Center

Saudi Arabia’s development megaproject NEOM and Riyadh-based sustainable data center developer DataVolt announced that they have signed a new agreement, aimed at establishing a “net-zero AI factory campus in NEOM’s Oxagon region. The agreement includes plans for $5 billion of investment in its first phase, establishing a 1.5 GW factory integrating a wide range of computing densities and energy efficient…

New Acting SEC Chair Questions Need for Climate Disclosure Rule

New Acting SEC Chair Questions Need for Climate Disclosure Rule

Acting U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Mark Uyeda announced today that he would request that legal proceedings against the SEC’s new climate disclosure rule be postponed pending “next steps” regarding the rule, which he called “deeply flawed” and said “could inflict significant harm on the capital markets and our economy.” Uyeda was appointed Acting Chair after the resignation…

Safe Water Investing

Safe Water Investing

USAID, the U.S. Agency for International Development, provides humanitarian assistance around the globe. Established by then-President Kennedy in 1961 as a way to support American security, USAID’s goals include the promotion of resilient democracies and eradication of extreme poverty. This includes “WASH” a program expanding access to safe water supplies, sanitation and hygiene. The dismantling of USAID will have a…

22 States Sue to Block New York Law Charging Oil Companies $75 Billion to Pay for Climate Adaptation

22 States Sue to Block New York Law Charging Oil Companies $75 Billion to Pay for Climate Adaptation

A coalition of 22 U.S. State Attorneys General, led by West Virginia AG JB McCuskey, announced the launch of a lawsuit filed in a Federal court challenging New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act, which would require fossil fuel companies to pay a share of the investments in infrastructure needed to adapt to climate change in New York State, proportionate to…

California Climate Reporting Law Survives Challenge Claiming that “Shaming” Companies Through Emissions Disclosure Violates Constitution

California Climate Reporting Law Survives Challenge Claiming that “Shaming” Companies Through Emissions Disclosure Violates Constitution

New California laws that will require most large U.S. companies to disclose their value chain emissions and report on climate risks and strategies survived a major legal challenge brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, with a federal judge rejecting claims that the new regulations violate the constitution and extraterritoriality rules. While the judge, U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II,…

SFDR and SDR: Two paths diverging on sustainable finance?

Sustainable finance regulation is on the cusp of significant change. As the UK’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) continue to roll out, the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) faces mounting criticism, with commissioner-designate Maria Luís Albuquerque openly questioning whether it remains fit for purpose.  Financial institutions operating across both regions must now contend with two parallel regulatory regimes that share…

Heat Pump Software Startup Nido Raises €5 Million

Heat Pump Software Startup Nido Raises €5 Million

Spain-based heat pump technology platform Nido announced today that it has raised €5 million in a Seed funding round, with proceeds aimed at advancing its platform to streamline heat pump installation and transition to clean heating and cooling in the residential sector. Heat pumps are rapidly emerging as an energy efficient and climate-friendly alternative to furnaces and air conditioners, producing…

Majority of US Pensions Disappoint on Climate

Sierra Club has emphasised the importance of proxy voting tools to demonstrate climate-related ambition across states.  Most US state pensions are failing to take adequate steps to address climate-related financial risks through their proxy voting guidelines and practices, according to a new report.  For a second year, US NGO Sierra Club has partnered with grassroots environmental organisation Stand.earth to assess…

Salesforce, Partners Launch Energy Ratings for AI Models

Salesforce, Partners Launch Energy Ratings for AI Models

CRM solutions provider Salesforce, alongside AI community platform Hugging Face, AI developer Cohere, and Carnegie Mellon University, announced today the launch of the AI Energy Score, a new benchmarking tool aimed at enabling AI developers and users to evaluate, identify, and compare the energy consumption of AI models. The new tool comes as the rapid growth of AI by companies…