The EC has proposed an ‘Action Plan’ to help accelerate the roll-out of electricity grids across the continent, calculating €584bn in investment will be needed. The proposal from the European Commission said electricity consumption was expected to rise 60% by 2030, precipitating the need for investment. The €584bn figure had been calculated, it said, based…
The European Commission (EC) is preparing a €50-€60bn package to help support Ukraine’s National Plan to rebuild the country. Addressing the Kyiv Investment Forum, EC president Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine had the people and the determination to make the country a “hub of green industry and digital innovation”. “The city of Kyiv is…
VBDO benchmark finds 34% lacked ‘proper ESG integration in tax matters’, writes Natasha Turner European companies are becoming ever-more responsible taxpayers, but a third still lack proper ESG integration on tax matters, this year’s Tax Transparency Benchmark has found. The benchmark, which has been published by the Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO) and PwC, this…
Robeco has launched an equities strategy with the intent to invest in, and engage with, companies across the fashion value chain, writes Michael Nelson. The Fashion Engagement Equities Strategy will invest in 30 to 40 publicly listed companies across the entire fashion value chain, including sourcing, production, consumption and end-of-life. The firm will particularly be…
The European Environment Agency (EEA) has called for more private investment to help underpin a smoother sustainability transition. According to the organisation, the continent needs a “solid socio-economic and fiscal policy framework” to ensure that the European Green Deal is implemented smoothly. First presented by the Commission in 2019, the European Green Deal aims to…
Asset manager DWS has joined with Munich Re’s and ERGO’s asset manager firm MEAG to buy the biogas and biomethane firm Weltec. DWS confirmed it had entered into the joint acquisition as part of its third institutional Pan-European Infrastructure Fund (PEIF III). Financial details, said the group, were confidential. “We are pleased to be working…
French car giant Renault has confirmed it has held “friendly discussions” with China International Capital Corporation (CICC). Confirmation of the talks with the investment bank came during a briefing to Reuters in which a spokesperson for the automobile manufacturer said the talks were around China’s market. It is understood from earlier reporting in the Chinese…
The European Council (EC) continues to beat the drum for sustainable finance, even as the sector continues to sputter. Earlier this week, the EC announced it had adopted new regulation to promote sustainable finance The new regulation, it said, would create a new European green bond standard, laying down uniform requirements for issuers that wanted…
Green bonds are propelling the worldwide ESG debt market, according to analysis by Bloomberg Intelligence, writes Laura Miller. The resilience of the green bond market in the first nine months of the year saw issuance exceed $505bn – or 48% of total sustainable issuance – up 8% on the same period last year. Social bond…
A framework for classifying organisations, funds and indices as sustainable investments – by Laura Miller Clarity AI has launched a sustainable investment index and ETF methodology, which aligns with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). According to the sustainability technology platform, the methodology will help index and ETF providers build, define and market products falling…
Europe is in danger of falling behind the US and China in the field of climate-related technology, a report from Allianz has warned. According to Climate tech – the missing piece in the net-zero puzzle, public investment will not be enough to meet a growing gap, with “significant private investment” necessary alongside a common EU…
Finnish firm Valmet has signed a €175m loan agreement with the EIB to support its efforts to finance technologies that replace fossil fuels with renewables. According to the company, the financing aims to enhance the resource and energy efficiency as well as the performance of Valmet’s technology, promote the use of recyclable raw materials and…
