1. The EU’s chief climate negotiator says the world is on track for around 4°C of global warming under current carbon emissions trends, a trajectory that some scientists say risks a planetary mass extinction event. Read the EurActiv story - http://goo.gl/yo8sn.
Climate Bonds Blog
Posted: Mar 21, 2012
4 snippets: IEA’s Birol says we need new Churchills (i.e. ain’t any around at the moment) / EU raises 4°C warming / corporate leaders have light bulb moments / Kidney@BloombergNEFSummit
Posted: Mar 21, 2012
The OECD's new Environmental Outlook to 2050 – the equivalent of a planetary health check - is, frankly, deeply disturbing. It has special implications for institutional investors like pension funds, for whom sustainability of value creation is central to their fiduciary duty.
Just released in NYC: OECD global enviro health check - wake up call for investors
Posted: Mar 11, 2012
Warren Buffet is a famous proponent of value investing and he surely received a sign of the value in solar investments over fossil fuels last week. The MidAmerican Energy $850m Topaz solar project bond we mentioned a couple of weeks ago was so successful that a second tranche is expected to cover the remaining debt of the project. The offer was oversubscribed by $400m which would have mopped up the total $1.2bn of debt in the project; Buffet is a shareholder in MidAmerican.
In contrast, Buffet's investment in $2bn of bonds from gas company Energy Future Holdings is taking a hit due to low gas prices in US. The market value of the investment is already at $878m with further write downs expected.
Buffet hedge bet comes out in favour of solar
Posted: Mar 5, 2012
DUBAI, 5 March 2012 – The Climate Bonds Initiative, the Clean Energy Business Council of the Middle East and North Africa and The Gulf Bond & Sukuk Association today announced they have launched a Green Sukuk Working Group. The group aims to channel market expertise to develop best practices and promote the issuance of sukuks for the financing of climate change investments and projects, such as renewable energy projects.
Green sukuks are Shari’ah compliant investment securities that finance projects meeting eligibility criteria developed by the International Climate Bond Standards scheme. The first meeting of the Green Sukuk Working Group was held last week in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Green Sukuk Working Group launched to support finance for climate change investment projects
Posted: Feb 13, 2012
Israel Electric Corporation has issued a $500 million bond in the US to buy solar energy capacity to replace gas from Egypt. http://goo.gl/KrCRP
Warren Buffet-owned MidAmerican Energy has issued a $700m senior secured 27 year project bond (BBB-) to fund its Topaz solar project. Barclays, Citi and are underwriting. http://goo.gl/eOKXD
Solar bonds: Israel Electric $500m + MidAmerican $700m 27 yr / US PACE Court win / Irish tax support for forest bonds / Env Bonds Conf on Wed London / Kiernan joins CB Adv Panel
Posted: Feb 9, 2012
By guest blogger “Corporate Bonder”The global bond market is huge. Data from the Bank for International Settlements shows that the total size of the global debt securities market (domestic and international securities) was $99.5 trillion as at June 2011, of which $89.9 trillion were notes and bonds. Governments accounted for $43.7 trillion of outstanding debt securities, financial organizations $43.8 trillion, corporations $11.0 trillion and international organizations $1.0 trillion.
Developments in the green corporate bond market / REC case study
Posted: Jan 26, 2012
This was the handout to go with a talk I've just given in Davos (thank you to the Corporate Knights/Inflection Point Capital Management "Global 100 Dinner" for inviting me). Let me know what you think - what sounds right, what needs more work?
The Context
Davos speech: An 8 point plan for Mobilizing Bond Markets for the Low Carbon Transition
Posted: Jan 23, 2012
> The European Investment Bank is a hero bank - it's the world's largest clean energy lender - but they have a dark side that uses cheap public money to build new coal-fired power stations. It's policy lunacy because it means the EU's bank is undercutting EU emissions reduction targets (let alone the world's).
$3bn of 20yr wind bonds / Japan preferencing RE bonds (go Tokyo!) / Dark side of heroic EIB / Special 25% off Enviro Bonds Conf 15 Feb / US PACE bonds lifeline / Hear Kiernan raging / and more
Posted: Jan 12, 2012
According to Bloomberg, China’s second-biggest wind turbine maker, Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology, plans to sell $63 million (4 billion yuan) of three and five bonds in February. China International Capital Corp is the lead underwriter.
China wind bonds
Posted: Jan 11, 2012
1. Did you hear that China raised its 2015 solar energy target from 10 to 15 GWp just before Christmas? They have around 3 GWp now, and they'd already raised their target to 10GWp after the Japanese nuclear disaster. In contrast, Germany has 25 GWp of installed solar. China is likely to direct banks to offer cheap finance, although there have been indications of a debt market beginning.
The true story of US CREBs and QECBs / China ups solar target 50% / Singapore+climate+insurance