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Masdar Acquires Renewables Developer Saeta from Brookfield for $1.4 Billion

Masdar Acquires Renewables Developer Saeta from Brookfield for $1.4 Billion

UAE-based clean energy-focused developer Masdar announced plans to acquire renewable power company Saeta Yield from Brookfield Renewable together with its institutional partners, for an implied enterprise value of US$1.4 billion. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary approvals, and is expected to occur around the end of 2024. Based in Madrid, Spain, Saeta is an independent developer, owner…

More than Two Thirds of Asset Owners Say ESG Factors Have Become More Material: Morningstar Survey

More than Two Thirds of Asset Owners Say ESG Factors Have Become More Material: Morningstar Survey

Over two thirds of asset owners report that ESG has become more material to their investment process, as a greater share of assets is being invested in strategies that take ESG factors into account and asset owners increasingly set up dedicated ESG teams, according to a new survey released by investment research firm Morningstar. For the report, Voice of the…

Cleantech Startup Ayrton Energy Raises $7 Million to Tackle Hydrogen Transport and Delivery Challenges

Cleantech Startup Ayrton Energy Raises $7 Million to Tackle Hydrogen Transport and Delivery Challenges

Ayrton Energy, which is developing advanced methods for the transport of liquid hydrogen, has secured a $6.8 million seed round investment to advance its liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) technology. The company said that it will leverage the financing to scale its proprietary technology, double the size of its team, and expand operations into energy hubs in the US. Hydrogen…

IFRS Foundation Launches Guide to Help Companies Voluntarily Apply ISSB Sustainability Reporting Standards

IFRS Foundation Launches Guide to Help Companies Voluntarily Apply ISSB Sustainability Reporting Standards

The IFRS Foundation announced today the publication of a new guide aimed at helping companies to voluntarily apply the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) recently issued climate and sustainability-related disclosure standards and communicate their progress to investors. The IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board was launched in November 2021, with the goal to develop IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards to provide investors…

National Service Versus Fiduciary Duty

Concerns raised over proposed National Wealth Fund as UK government struggles to fill seats at investment summit. Less than a week after winning July’s UK general election, Keir Starmer’s Labour government unveiled plans for its National Wealth Fund (NWF), looking to combine public and private investment focused around five preliminary sectors. The sectors – green steel, green hydrogen, industrial decarbonisation, gigafactories…

Australia Court Fines Vanguard Record $12.9 Million Over Misleading Sustainable Investing Claims

Australia Court Fines Vanguard Record $12.9 Million Over Misleading Sustainable Investing Claims

A federal court in Australia assigned a record A$12.9 million (USD$8.9 million) penalty to Vanguard Investments Australia for misleading claims made by the investment management firm about one of its ESG funds, including failing to apply exclusionary screens to avoid investments in companies with fossil fuel activities, as claimed in its communication materials and disclosures. The fund, the Vanguard Ethically Conscious…

Great British Energy Bill

Great British Energy Bill

On 3 September 2024, the UK Government published its factsheet on the Great British Energy Bill which received its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 5 September. The purpose of the Bill is to establish a publicly-owned energy company designed to drive clean energy deployment and support the UK Government’s aim of decarbonising the UK’s electricity system by…

Brazil’s Attorney General Files Climate Lawsuit to Protect Conservation Unit

Brazil’s Attorney General Files Climate Lawsuit to Protect Conservation Unit

On September 16, 2024, Brazil’s Attorney General filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for climate damage resulting from environmental infractions allegedly perpetrated by livestock farmers inside a Conservation Unit, more specifically the Jamanxim National Park, located in the Amazon Rainforest. In Brazil, a Conservation Unit is a type of specially protected area, legally established by public authorities, to which a special…

CRH, Holcim Invest $75 Million in Low Carbon Cement Developer Sublime

CRH, Holcim Invest $75 Million in Low Carbon Cement Developer Sublime

Sublime Systems, which specializes in producing low-carbon cement, announced today a new partnership with building materials giants CRH and Holcim, including a $75 million equity investment and a binding offtake reservation, aimed at supporting the near-term development and operations of Sublime’s first commercial manufacturing facility in Holyoke, Mass. Cement production is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, and…

Rules Bolster Asset Owners’ Sustainability Efforts

Investors admit that challenges with ESG data remain, but quality is rapidly improving as regulation advances.   Regulation is helping asset owners achieve their sustainable investment goals by driving corporate disclosures and honing ESG data quality, according to research from global index provider FTSE Russell.  Ninety percent of respondents to FTSE Russell’s eighth global asset owner survey said that sustainable…