What's Happening in Sustainability & ESG (Week Recap 13.02 - 19.02) 🌎

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This week’s read time: 8 minutes

Welcome to this edition of Green Digest, where you will get updated about everything happening in the sustainability & ESG space in less than 10 minutes. 🌎We go through tons of articles and data from the most reliable sources, filter & simplify them, and serve them to you in bite-sized chunks every week. 🍀

🌍 In this edition, we’ll cover:

• IEA's 50-year journey: from a fossil fuel industry proponent to a renewable energy advocate ⚡️

• EU approves €6.9 billion in state aid for infrastructure projects to boost the supply of renewable hydrogen 🇪🇺

• JPMorgan Chase, State Street, and Blackrock quit the global investor coalition Climate Action 100+ 🔴

• S&P Global Ratings forecasts that issuance volumes of GSSSB bonds will reach around $1 trillion in 2024 📈

• Singapore will require all departing flights to use SAF starting from 2026 🇸🇬

• and other news 🌍

⭐️ The week’s top news:

⚡️ The International Energy Agency, a respected authority on energy markets and a reliable source of guidance during times of oil market volatility has its 50th anniversary this year. Since its formation during the Arab oil embargo to help Western governments anticipate energy trends, the IEA has undergone significant changes. For many years, the IEA consistently supported the fossil fuel industry, providing trustworthy forecasts of future demand that companies could use to justify increased drilling. However, in recent years, the organization's stance has shifted. Its 2021 report concluded that any additional investment in drilling beyond what was already planned is inconsistent with the climate goals outlined in the Paris Agreement. This change has upset some members of the fossil fuel industry, with some of them claiming that the IEA now resembles a climate-focused non-governmental organization and that its forecasting has been influenced by progressive politics. Despite the recent criticism, the organization's data continues to serve as a fundamental resource for global policymakers.

🇪🇺 The EU Commission has approved €6.9 billion ($7.4 billion) in state aid for infrastructure projects to boost the supply of renewable hydrogen. The projects will support the deployment of electrolyzers, pipelines, storage facilities, handling terminals, and port infrastructure for renewable hydrogen, establishing regional infrastructure clusters and preparing for future interconnections across Europe. The EU Commission also approved €4.6 billion in German government funding for 24 hydrogen projects. These projects aim to produce green hydrogen, develop transport and storage infrastructure, and support the decarbonization of energy-intensive sectors.

• JPMorgan Chase and State Street's investment arms have quit the global investor coalition Climate Action 100+ (CA100+), while BlackRock has transferred its membership to its international arm. These decisions remove nearly $14 trillion of total assets from efforts to coordinate Wall Street action on climate change. The departures came after CA100+ asked signatories to take stronger action against corporate laggards. The firms cited concerns over independence and their ability to act independently. They stated that the changes in priorities set by CA100+ were not consistent with their approach to proxy voting and engagement. 🔴

• Singapore will require all departing flights to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) starting from 2026, with an initial target of 1% and a goal to increase to 3-5% by 2030. The blueprint also includes initiatives to reduce domestic aviation emissions, achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and build an SAF ecosystem. 🇸🇬

• The US Department of Energy (DOE) is providing up to $100 million in funding to support carbon removal projects, aiming to develop a commercially viable carbon dioxide removal industry. The focus areas include biomass carbon removal, mineralization pilots, and testbed facilities for evaluating multiple carbon dioxide removal pathways. 🇺🇸

• S&P Global Ratings forecasts that issuance volumes of green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked bonds (GSSSB) will reach around $1 trillion in 2024. The report predicts modest growth in GSSSB volumes, with an expansion in bond types, including transition and blue bonds. Europe is expected to maintain its leading position in GSSSB issuance, with emerging markets issuers also gaining prominence. 📈

🧐 What are companies doing?

• Microsoft has signed a multi-year offtake agreement with Neustark, a CO2 removal solutions provider, to capture and store carbon in recycled concrete. Under the agreement, Neustark will deliver 27,600 tons of carbon removal credits to Microsoft over 6 years. Microsoft has also added new data and AI solutions to its sustainability platform, Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability. These tools aim to improve ESG data analytics, sustainability data management, and data collection and analysis across the value chain. 🟢

• IBM has added a new Supply Chain Intelligence module to its ESG data platform, IBM Envizi ESG Suite, allowing companies to collect and analyze supply chain emissions for Scope 3 reporting. The module enables users to capture and aggregate supplier and product-level data, improving data quality and identifying emissions reduction opportunities. 📊

• AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) has updated its corporate governance and voting policy to target high-emissions companies lobbying against the goals of the Paris Agreement. The new policy includes asking for disclosure of climate lobbying activities and voting against companies that fail to report appropriately. 📄

• Goldman Sachs Asset Management has launched the Goldman Sachs Global Green Bond UCITS ETF, which tracks a bespoke index developed with Solactive. The ETF provides exposure to investment-grade green bonds denominated in G10 currencies and aims to enable investors to replace a portion of their fixed-income portfolios with sustainable bonds. 📈

💸 Recent funding rounds, sustainable finance, acquisitions, and private equity:

🔋 European battery cell manufacturer ACC has raised €4.4 billion in debt financing to build three gigafactories for lithium-ion battery cell production in France, Germany, and Italy. The company aims to become a European battery champion for electric vehicles, focusing on safety, performance, and low carbon footprint. ACC's goal is to reach at least 120 gigawatt hours of cell capacity by 2030.

🛩️ United Airlines has announced new corporate partners, including Google and Embraer, joining its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) investment fund, bringing the total capital committed to over $200 million. The fund supports startups focused on SAF research, technology, and production.

⚡️ Camus Energy, a power grid orchestration software provider, has raised $25 million in total funding to support the growth of its solutions for grid operators. The California-based startup offers software that helps utilities manage grid constraints, make informed infrastructure investments, and accelerate the adoption of renewable energy.

🟢 Cleantech startup Rimere has raised $10 million in a strategic investment from Clean Energy Fuels to advance its solutions for converting methane and natural gas into sustainable materials, such as clean hydrogen and graphene. Rimere's technology aims to reduce GHG emissions and utilize the existing natural gas infrastructure for delivering clean hydrogen and graphene.

🟢 Hydrogen technology startup Celadyne has raised $4.5 million in seed capital to accelerate the production and use of hydrogen for industrial and transport decarbonization. The company's solutions aim to make hydrogen more efficient and cost-effective, enabling its use as an alternative to diesel engines.

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