ENERGY

UK carmakers have three years to source local electric car batteries 

UK carmakers face a three-year scramble to source electric car batteries locally or from the EU to avoid tariffs on exports following the Brexit free trade deal, according to industry analysts. The deal means that all UK-EU trade in cars and parts will continue to be free of tariffs or quotas after the Brexit transition period ended, if they contain enough content from either UK or EU factories. Batteries will at first be allowed to contain up to 70% of materials from countries outside the EU or the UK. However, from 1 January 2024 that requirement will tighten to 50%. The vast majority of batteries used in UK and EU electric cars are currently sourced from east Asian companies such as China’s CATL, Korea’s LG Chem or Japan’s Panasonic.  (The Guardian) 

SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT

Macquarie confirms over £3 billion financing of UK green projects 

Australian infrastructure investor, Macquarie, has confirmed an investment of £6.9 billion into environmentally friendly projects globally, including £3.1 billion in the UK. This is part of an agreement in its £1.6 Billion acquisition of the Green Investment Group (previously known as the Green Investment Bank) from the UK government in 2017. The bank was originally set up under the coalition government in 2012 to draw private capital into offshore wind farms, waste-to-energy plants and energy-saving projects. Since taking over the bank Mark Dooley, global head of the Green Investment Group, states that Macquarie has, “more than delivered — triggering private capital markets to support renewable energy markets”. Macquarie is increasingly looking to invest earlier in the development and construction process, including in renewable energy storage. (Financial Times*) 

SUSTAINBLE INVESTMENT

Sustainable investments to accelerate in 2021 as ESG focus intensifies, says BlackRock  

The global health and economic challenges of 2020 have not slowed investor demand for sustainable investing, a new BlackRock survey has found. According to the survey, investors plan to double their allocations to sustainable products over the next five years, and 20% said that the pandemic would actually accelerate their sustainable investing allocations. The survey gathered insights from 425 investors in 27 countries with nearly $25 trillion in assets under management, including funds, asset managers and wealth managers. While 75% now use or would consider using an integrated approach to account for environmental, social and governance risks in their portfolios, over half of respondents cited concerns about “poor quality or availability of ESG data and analytics” as their biggest barrier to adopting sustainable investing. (City A.M.) 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Australia records fourth-warmest year in 2020, despite La Niña 

Last year was the fourth warmest on record for Australia, continuing a run of record warm years over the past decade, according to provisional data released by the Bureau of Meteorology. Across the country, temperatures in 2020 were 1.15◦C higher than average, putting the year behind 2005, 2013 and 2019, which remain the hottest on record. Eight of the 10 hottest years on record for Australia have occurred since 2013, the data shows. Climate scientists said the heat was driven by human-caused climate change. The World Meteorological Society said the warmth of 2020 would mean the past six years were likely to be the six warmest years on record globally. (The Guardian) 

CLIMATE CHANGE

South Asia could see 40 million climate migrants by 2030 

Over 62.9 million people in South Asian nations could be forced to migrate from their homes due to climate disasters by 2050, according to research by ActionAid and Climate Action Network South Asia. The report increases projections of nearly 40 million South Asian climate migrants by 2050 made by the World Bank in 2018. Environmentally sensitive livelihoods and population growth, combined with urban centres located in vulnerable coastal areas, will make South Asia one of the most active regions for climate-induced migration. The report urges developed countries to cut emissions and provide support to developing countries to adapt to climate change and recover from climate disasters. The number of migrants could be reduced to 34.4 million by 2050 if countries meet targets to limit temperature increase to 2.2◦C. (Eco-Business) 

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