Sustainable funds exposed, Sustainability bonds not up to scratch and a container of 140kW
In this issue:
Sustainability bonds not delivering
A total US$279bn (NZ$465bn) of sustainability linked bonds have been issued (as at last November) according to the Climate Bonds Initiative. There have been 768 bonds issued across 469 issuers. Yet only 14% of those bonds issued (17% by value) are aligned with the Climate Bonds’ SLBDB (sustainability linked bond database) Methodology requirements, although that proportion is increasing. Non-financial corporates dominate the market (84% by value) and Italy hosts the largest share of issues (by value), followed by France and Germany.
Is your fund sustainable or greenwashing?
It seems many investment fund managers are misrepresenting the sustainability credentials of their funds. Reclaim Finance has just published the results of an analysis of 430 “sustainable” passive funds across Europe and the US and found 70% were exposed to companies developing new fossil fuel projects. Named and shamed in the report are Amundi, BlackRock, DWS, Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) and UBS.
Shipping to guinea pig global emissions tax
The International Maritime Organisation has just concluded its Maritime Environment Protection Committee meeting in London and firmly on its agenda were international fuel standards and a global pricing mechanism for greenhouse gas emissions from ships, which would be a world first.
The solar concertina
Portable solar generators aren’t new and their application as transportable, emergency power providers is on the watch list of many emergency services around the world, hopefully including NZ. The latest iteration from SolarCont of Austria manages to pack 240 modules that stretch out 120 metres, cover 720sq m of ground and generate 140kW into a container 6mx2.4mx2.9m weighing less than 20 tons. The unit takes only 5 hours to unfold and activate. There’s a time lapse video at the bottom of the linked page.
