HSBC announced the appointment of sustainable finance veteran Denise Odaro as its new Head of Sustainable Finance and Transition, Europe and Americas. Odaro joins HSBC after serving as Head of ESG & Sustainability at private equity firm PAI Partners, where she led PAI’s firm-wide ESG strategy with direct accountability for ESG Value Creation Plans, due diligence, and sustainability integration across…
This week in ESG news: EU approves target to reduce emissions 90% by 2040; Korea plans mandatory sustainability reporting for companies from starting 2028; China unveils cautious 2030 climate and clean energy goals; Standard Chartered earns more than $1 billion from sustainable finance; L’Oréal to make packaging out of captured CO2; California sets August 2026 deadline for first corporate climate…
China has unveiled a series of new climate and energy transition-related goals, including targets to reduce CO2 emissions intensity per unit of GDP by 3.8% in 2026, and by 17% by 2030. The new goals were released as part of China’s new 5-year plan, which includes a GDP growth target of 4.5% to 5% for 2026, a pace that would…
Global investment manager Schroders’ renewable infrastructure investment unit Schroders Greencoat announced the launch of a new green digital infrastructure platform, aimed at investing in green energy data centres and energy parks supporting growing AI needs. Formed as a 50:50 joint venture between Schroders Greencoat’s evergreen vehicle, Schroders Capital Semi-Liquid Global Energy Infrastructure (SCSL GEI), and Dublin-based Greencoat Renewables, the new…
Carbon capture and removal technology provider Svante announced the acquisition of carbon dioxide removal project developer Carbon Alpha, with the transaction aimed at strengthening the company’s position as a fully integrated carbon management provider. Launched in 2021, Calgary-based Carbon Alpha develops carbon removal and industrial CCS projects and is a supplier of high-quality carbon credits, with a focus on bioenergy with…
A group of companies including Amazon, Autodesk, Figma, Google, JPMorganChase, Salesforce, and Workday announced the launch of the Superpollutant Action Initiative, aimed at channeling $100 million to solutions to accelerate the reduction of superpollutants, or gases that are many times more potent than CO2 in terms of their global warming impact. According to the IPCC, superpollutants, which can include gases…
Cleantech startup Dioxycle announced that it has signed a multi-year offtake partnership with global beauty company L’Oréal to transform captured carbon emissions into sustainable packaging materials. Founded in 2021, French-American Dioxycle specializes in technology that uses a low-temperature electrolyzer to produce sustainable ethylene from recycled carbon emissions, water, and renewable electricity. Ethylene is the world’s most widely consumed organic chemical…
Climate-focused investment firm Galvanize announced today the final close of Galvanize Real Estate Fund I (GRE), raising $370 million in commitments for the investment strategy aimed at unlocking value in real estate through profitable decarbonization strategies. Galvanize was launched in 2022 by hedge fund billionaire and former presidential candidate Tom Steyer and Hall Capital Partners founder Katie Hall, as a…
Netherlands-based cleantech startup RIFT announced that it has raised €113.8 million (USD$132 million) in combined funding through a Series B round and a European Union grant, aimed at scaling its technology to decarbonize industrial heat. Industrial heating uses high amounts of energy, often from fossil fuel-based sources, to transform materials into products such as metals and plastics. While solutions to…