At a UNEPFI-CMIA forum in another of Doha's swish hotels, discussing mobilizing private sector finance of mitigation and adaptation projects. Rosemary Bissett of National Australia Bank, posits:
Climate Bonds Blog
Posted: Dec 5, 2012
Doha snapshots: Bissett & Steer: adaptation affects Everything / At least Tajikistan is adaptation planning / Astounding fact of the day / Korean Minister pokes negotiators
Posted: Dec 4, 2012
- I’m in Qatar, a place slightly smaller than Connecticut, prosaically described in my travel guide app as “mainly flat and barren desert, covered with loose sand and gravel”. There’s not a lot of desert left in its capital, Doha, just a vast sea of choked-up highways (serious SUV traffic!) and low-rise buildings punctuated by monumentalist skyscrapers, all thanks to huge natural gas resources. Pity we're going to have to leave a large part of that gas in the ground if we're going to avoid catastrophic climate change.
Doha snapshots: Negotiations? pffft / IEA+WB+UNEP+PwC+WMO: big gun reports fire away / meanwhile, in Uganda ....
Posted: Nov 27, 2012
As you may recollect, we're keen on the idea of Green Sukuk (Sukuk are Shari'ah-compliant bonds), designed for Islamic investors and sovereign wealth funds. Environmental protection is important in Islamic teaching.
Earlier this year we established a Green Sukuk Working Group with the Clean Energy Business Council of the Middle East and North Africa and the Gulf Bond & Sukuk Association to promote the model.
Innovative Australians use $100m Green Sukuk to fund 50MW of Indonesian PV plants
Posted: Nov 23, 2012
The £6 bn Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has bought up as a private placement the first ever UK publicly-listed solar bond, a £40m ($64m), 24 year bond linked to two 5 MW solar plants in Somerset owned by Solar Power Generation. Private placement may be ubiquitous in the US, but it's not so common in the UK - so full marks to deal arranger Independent Debt Capital Markets.
$64m 24 yr solar bond private placement with UK Pensions Insurance Corp
Posted: Nov 21, 2012
Covered bonds are one the quiet heroes of financial instruments. With some $3.2 trillion outstanding, this is a huge market - and it's one that has performed well over the past few years of financial turmoil. Covered bonds are highly regulated financial instruments designed by governments to channel capital into areas of policy priority, notably housing. They can also be used to channel much-needed bank lending into renewable energy.
On Friday 14 December 2012, in Central London, we're holding an afternoon Roundtable on:
Invitation to a Roundtable on Renewable Energy Covered Bonds - London, 14 Dec, 1-4pm
Posted: Nov 19, 2012
The European Investment Bank (EIB) this week issued a 11 year Swedish Krona 750 million ($111 million) 'Climate Awareness Bond', with an interest rate of 2.75%.
Scandinavian investors took 51% of the bond, other European investors 22% and Asian 27%. Fund managers took 54%, bank treasuries 41%. Bookrunners were Danske Bank and HSBC.
New $111m EIB climate bond / $100m Argentina solar bond coming soon / great Grantham blast in 'Nature'
Posted: Nov 12, 2012
In April we reported that South Africa's state-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) was issuing 5.2 billion rand ($595m) of green bonds to fund new renewable energy projects. The South African Government Employees’ Pension Fund had announced they were buying 1 billion rand's worth ($115m).
Sth Africa's PIC buys $115m of IDC's $580m green bond
Posted: Nov 7, 2012
Canada’s Next Era Energy recently issued an asset-backed $175m, 19 year solar bond. Rating BBB, interest rate 4.80%. As Bloomberg pointed out, this was a higher rating than Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings' Topaz solar bond - because there was no construction risk. Sole Bookrunner was Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).
RBC issues Canada’s first solar bond - $175m, 19yr BBB
Posted: Nov 5, 2012
In Barcelona recently I had a chance to listen to Torben Möger Pedersen, mild-mannered CEO of the €16.4bn PensionDanmark fund. PensionDanmark have been investing in wind farms - in a big way - showing the worth of mature wind farms as solid, long-term investments to meet long-term pension liabilities.
Pension fund investments in wind farms laying the ground for Wind ABS
Posted: Nov 5, 2012
> Canada's Brookfield Renewable issued a $176m bond to fund a new 45 MW hydroelectric project in British Columbia. Interest rate is 4.45%, fully amortizing over a term of, yes you read it right, 41 years. The bonds are rated A (low) with a stable trend by DBRS. Scotia Capital was the private placement agent.
Canada's Brookfield Renewable places 41yr (!) $176m Hydro bond / Another $146m WB Green Bonds into Uridashi market