Citi plans to deploy $100 billion for cities, renewables and climate change
Today, Citi, the global banking giant, is announcing its sustainability strategy which includes $100 billion over 10 years for “lending, investing and facilitating” activities focused on mitigating climate change and other sustainability solutions. Citi’s financial commitment is part of a larger five-year plan the bank is launching. It outlines three “strategic priorities” for the bank: combating climate change, championing sustainable cities, and promoting social progress, including universal human rights. The bank has partnered with the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities and the C40 Sustainable Infrastructure Finance Network to think about new ways to build and finance infrastructure in cities. In early 2014 Citi was one of four banks that helped draft the Green Bond Principles, a set of voluntary guidelines on the development and issuance of green bonds. The guidelines encourage transparency, disclosure and integrity in the development of the green bond market. (GreenBiz)
Environment
Asda, Mars and Nestlé plant commercial case for protecting nature
Even small investments in water conservation or soil restoration make good commercial sense for large companies, according to business leaders and academics. The argument for preserving natural capital and the services it provides to the economy goes beyond reputation gains and takes in considerations of the bottom line, eight companies including Mars, Nestlé and Asda have argued in a new report. Corporate profitability is threatened by diminishing natural capital reserves, including water, biodiversity and soil, the University ofCambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), report argues. The food and beverage, fuel, feed and fibre sectors are set to see cash flows and business stability directly affected by natural capital impacts and dependencies in the coming years. For example, Asda said that climate change is likely to affect 95 per cent of its fresh produce, putting as much as £37 million of value at risk from vulnerabilities linked to sourcing, processing and logistics. (BusinessGreen)
Energy
Alevo announces America’s ‘largest ever’ energy storage system
Energy storage specialist Alevo Group has announced plans to deliver the largest US energy storage deployment to date, after signing a deal to provide 200MW of capacity. The company, which has raised around $ 1billion to support the development of its advanced battery technology, revealed this week that it has signed a deal with energy services firm Customized Energy Solutions (CES). Alevo said that the deal will allow CES to provide energy storage-based frequency regulation services to its customer base in the US and Canada, and “represents the largest ever energy storage deployment in the US.” Alevo predicts that a combination of falling battery costs, new US regulations governing grid management, utilities’ desire to reduce peak energy demands, and the need to capture power from renewables for use at optimum times, means that demand for energy storage technologies will expand rapidly. (BusinessGreen)
Fossil fuel industry protests over ‘risky’ assets warning from energy secretary
The fossil fuel industry was deeply “unsettled” by comments from energy secretary Ed Davey that their assets could be rendered worthless by global action on climate change. Malcolm Webb, chief executive of Oil and Gas UK, which represents the industry, wrote to Davey saying he was “perplexed” by the “conflicting and confusing messages” and accused him of making investment in the North Sea less attractive. The issue was also raised by Erik Bonino, chairman of Shell UK, at a meeting with Davey in January, at which Bonino said if Shell “knew there were to be no more fossil fuels, [it] could cash out and give shareholders their money back in four years”. Fossil fuel companies, which spent $650 billion in 2013 searching for more reserves, are also under attack from a fast-growing divestment campaign, which has persuaded over 180 groups to dump their fossil fuel stocks. (The Guardian)
Responsible Investment
MPs’ pension fund at risk from fossil fuel investments, Caroline Lucas warns
The £487 million UK MPs’ pension pot is in danger of taking a financial hit due to the failure of its trustees to acknowledge the economic risk posed by fossil fuel investments, a group of 11 MPs and two Lords have warned. “Climate change has significant financial implications for pension funds. It is not merely a matter of morals or ethics… we remain concerned that a failure to acknowledge the risks of continued investment in fossil fuel industries would in fact be to the financial detriment of the scheme,” they write. However, the chair of the MPs’ pension fund board of trustees, Labour MP Brian Donohoe, rejected the idea, saying the trustees’ lawyers had advised that for the trustees to exclude a sector would be incompatible with their “legal and fiduciary duties of investment.” (The Guardian)
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