The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Hong Kong’s central banking institution, announced the release of the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance Phase 2A, expanding its classification system for identifying environmentally sustainable economic activities to include transition activities, climate adaptation, and a significantly broader range of sectors and economic activities. The release of the new update follows the launch by…
Agricultural technology company Syngenta, and state-owned Norwegian hydropower and renewable energy production company Statkraft, the largest producer of renewable energy in Europe, announced today a new virtual power purchase agreement (vPPA), providing wind energy to help decarbonize Syngenta’s plants in Europe. The new agreement will cover Syngenta’s CP & Seeds operations for a period of five years and will provide…
Exowatt, the renewable energy developer, announced the launch of ExoRise, a new business arm which delivers powered land and energy infrastructure for hyperscale data centers. According to Exowatt, the new business comes as U.S. electricity demand has accelerated faster than any time in two decades, driven largely by compute-intensive AI clusters reshaping grid-planning priorities across multiple states. ExoRise combines powered…
Venture capital investment firm 2150 announced today that it has raised €210 million (USD$249 million) at the final close of its second fund, aimed at investing in sustainability and climate tech startup targeting solutions for how cities are designed, constructed and powered. London-based 2150 was founded in 2019 to back technology companies enabling sustainable urban prosperity growth and the industries…
This week in ESG news: SBTi passes milestone 10,000 companies with science-based climate goals; ECB to intensify monitoring banks’ climate risk, transition planning; U.S.’ Hegseth to “sledgehammer” small business assistance program over DEI; EY appoints Chief Global Sustainability Strategist to integrate sustainability across firm’s services; TotalEnergies to reduce clean fuels investments over regulatory uncertainty in EU; AllianzGI launches $1 billion…
Climate solutions provider Charm Industrial announced a new carbon offtake removal deal with TD Bank, with the Canada-based financial services firm purchasing 44,000 tonnes of carbon removal over 10 years, starting in 2029. California-based Charm began operations in 2021, and has focused primarily on bio-oil production and sequestration, using plants to capture CO2 from the atmosphere, collecting agricultural residue from…
Impact venture capital firm Ananda announced that it has raised €73 million at the first close of its fifth core impact fund, significantly surpassing the firm’s initial €50 million. Founded in 2009, Munich-based Ananda invests in early-stage tech-driven startups across Europe that provide solutions to address societal and environmental problems. According to Ananda, the firm’s largest first close to date…
Power company Engie announced that it has made a final decision to proceed with a new UK-based biomethane plant, with an estimated investment of up to £70 million (USD$95 million), following a 10-year purchase deal with food and beverage company PepsiCo UK. Biomethane, or renewable natural gas (RNG), is expected to play a critical role in the transition to cleaner…