ESG

  • Europe ‘at risk’ of failing to close clean-tech investment gap – Allianz

    Europe ‘at risk’ of failing to close clean-tech investment gap – Allianz

    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…

  • European firms announce large funding-raises

    European firms announce large funding-raises

    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…

  • EU’s SDGs have taken hit since 2020, warns Von der Leyen

    EU’s SDGs have taken hit since 2020, warns Von der Leyen

    EU president Ursula von der Leyen has suggested the trading bloc’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) have been set back by the current economic and geopolitical climate. The remarks came during her speech at the 2023 Sustainable Development Goals Summit, which was held over two days in New York. Von der Leyen said that a “cascade…

  • ESG data quality a major concern for investors

    ESG data quality a major concern for investors

    Finding reliable data continues to be a major issue for responsible investors, according to the ESG Global Survey 2023, published by BNP Paribas. In the report, incomplete and inconsistent data and research was cited by almost three-quarters (71%) of investors as the most-significant barrier to ESG investing. The biggest data challenges for those investors, the…

  • European ‘cleantech’ investment outperformed US and Asia in Q2

    European ‘cleantech’ investment outperformed US and Asia in Q2

    Investment in clean technology across Europe outperformed both the US and Asia over the second quarter of 2023, according to data from Cleantech for Europe. The organisation’s EU Cleantech Defies Global Headwinds briefing document highlighted that late-stage investment on the continent in this sector increased by 104% in the last quarter, even as overall trading…

  • German government ramps up on 2045 net zero goal

    German government ramps up on 2045 net zero goal

    The German government has earmarked more than €57bn for green investment over the course of 2024. According to Reuters, the money will be distributed through the Climate and Transformation Fund and includes €18.9bn in subsidies in renovations and new construction. The entire amount is up more than 60% from its 2023 target, noted the German…

  • Largest European IPO takes place in Romania

    Largest European IPO takes place in Romania

    Europe’s largest IPO of 2023 was confirmed this week when Romanian electricity producer Hidroelectrica began trading in Bucharest. The firm’s capitalisation has been pegged at more than €10bn, with its stock rising nearly 11% on the first day of trading. According to Balkan Green Energy News: “After several failed attempts over the past decade, Romania’s…

  • Europe optimistic on net zero by 2050, not 2030

    Europe optimistic on net zero by 2050, not 2030

    In a surprising twist, European investors seem less optimistic than their peers around the world in their businesses meeting net-zero obligations by 2030. ESG Analyst Survey 2023: Mind the Gap, a report from Fidelity International, asked respondents what proportion of their companies they believed were allocating enough capital expenditure to achieve net zero by 2030,…

  • EC floats unpopular changes to sustainable finance framework

    EC floats unpopular changes to sustainable finance framework

    The European Commission (EC) has set out a new package of measures around the EU sustainable finance framework. The Commission said the package was part of an effort to ensure the framework continued to support companies and the financial sector, while encouraging private funding. Among its auspices were a new set of EU Taxonomy criteria…

  • Sustainable fund launches from BlackRock and Mediolanum

    Sustainable fund launches from BlackRock and Mediolanum

    BlackRock and Mediolanum International Funds (MIFL) have both launched sustainable-oriented funds this week. BlackRock has launched its Global Funds Brown to Green Materials portfolio, which will invest at least 80% of its total assets in the equity securities of companies globally that directly contribute to the transitioning materials theme. Olivia Markham, a portfolio manager at…

  • Nordic regions flex their ESG investment muscles

    Nordic regions flex their ESG investment muscles

    A Nordic-centred deal worth €2.3bn to generate onshore wind power in Finland has been struck. Danish firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Finnish company Myrsky Energia have signed a cooperation agreement to build 1,800 MW of wind power in the next decade, according to multiple reports from the region. The construction, it is understood, will take…

  • Europe ‘must invest $32tn’ to meet net-zero by 2050

    Europe ‘must invest $32tn’ to meet net-zero by 2050

    Europe will need to invest more than $32tn (€29.6trn) in energy and related technology if it wants to achieve a net-zero economy by 2050, according to forecasts by BloombergNEF. As reported by MERCOM India, the average yearly investment into clean energy supply, electric vehicles, heat pumps and sustainable materials has to treble in the 2020s…