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,…
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…
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…
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 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…
The European Investment Fund (EIF) and UniCredit have signed a deal that looks to channel €1bn to 2,500 small-to-medium enterprises across central and eastern Europe. Announced yesterday, the deal will see the EIF provide two guarantees worth around €370m to UniCredit Group to finance approximately €1bn of investment made by small businesses in Bulgaria, Croatia,…
The EC and the EIB are to supply €18bn of financing under Global Gateway, Europe’s investment strategy for partner countries. A statement from the two organisations, released alongside the Global CITIZEN Now Summit in New York, said the investment would be concentrated on climate action, clean energy and connectivity in the continent’s partner countries around…
The number of sustainable fund launches fell sharply in the first three months of 2023, Morningstar data has revealed. According to the firm’s latest quarterly report, there were 113 new sustainable funds launched in the quarter around the world – the lowest number since the start of 2020. Previously, Reuters wrote, new launches had exceeded…
Two lawsuits have this week been filed in Luxembourg against the European Union over its decision to include gas and nuclear in its guide to ESG investing. One of the suits has been filed by Greenpeace; the other by a coalition including Client Earth and the World Wildlife Fund. In the former, the argument being…
The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have issued a joint consultation paper on the Delegated Regulation of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The 158-page report – co-written by the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) – contains a raft of proposed…
The European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif) has said it will exclude from its next tally of the continent’s sustainable investing market those asset managers offering hard-to-define strategies around ESG. Speaking to Bloomberg earlier this week, Eurosif said it was revising its methodology, given the size of the market, which previous estimates from the forum have…
A slew of new projects from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have received the go-ahead from the InvestEU Investment Committee. Under the auspices of the various projects, investments totalling €1.1bn will be used to boost green and sustainable projects in the municipal, transport and energy sectors. According to the EBRD: “The InvestEU…
