[Top News] from [REUTERS]
[Green Business]
Clean tech investments soar worldwide: report
Tue Sep 29, 2009 4:35am EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Global investment in clean technology roared back in the third quarter, driven by solar power and a public offering that underscores growing enthusiasm for the sector, Greentech Media reported on Monday.
Clean tech investments -- which include solar power, an electric grid controlled by computers for efficiency, electric cars, biofuels and green building materials -- rose to $1.9 billion in 112 deals, Greentech said.
That represents another big jump, after clean tech went from $836 million in the first quarter to $1.2 billion of second quarter.
"There is a lot of momentum and there are a lot of deals in the pipeline," said Eric Wesoff, who wrote the report. "People are energized by the A123 Systems Inc IPO. I'd say it's reasonable to look for moderate growth in the fourth quarter."
Shares of battery maker A123 soared more than 50 percent on Thursday, marking it as the most attractive of last week's public offerings.
Wesoff said venture capitalists will take note of that, but that their pockets are not deep enough to support continued growth at the rate of the past two quarters.
More than half the clean tech investment in the third quarter went into two areas -- solar and a combined category of biofuels, gasification and cleaner coal.
Solar accounted for $575 million in 29 deals, and biofuels, gasification and coal for $513 million in 17 deals.
One company alone, high-efficiency solar electric panel maker Solyndra, accounted for a $198 million, in a round led by Argonaut Private Equity.
Exxon Mobile Corp made a multi-year commitment to invest $300 million in Synthetic Genomics for the development of algae-based fuels.
Smart grid and associated technologies accounted for $160 million in 14 deals, and auto and transport in five deals for $158 million.
Green buildings at $105 million and green materials at $100 million were the other two major areas.
Still the deals failed to hit the record highs of 2008, when the third quarter saw $2.9 billion and the entire year $7.6 billion. Wesoff said the year -- and the quarter -- were driven by unusual capital investment to build out solar manufacturing plants.
(Reporting by David Lawsky; Editing by Richard Chang)
[Green Business]
Investors eye forest CO2 market, climate pact key: poll
Tue Sep 29, 2009 6:22am EDT
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Investors such as UBS, Citigroup and Blackrock back a potentially multi-billion dollar carbon credit market centered on saving forests but regulations and cash were needed to build a market first, a survey has found.
The survey of investors with $7 trillion of assets under management by the Brunswick Group for global conservation group WWF said banks and fund managers were waiting for the forest carbon scheme to be included in a broader U.N. climate pact.
They also said rich nations needed to include the U.N.-backed scheme, called reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), into laws that allow forest carbon offsets to be included as part of steps to meet national emissions targets.
The tougher the targets the likely greater the demand for the offsets. The survey was released on Tuesday.
"REDD is critical to a climate solution and financing is critical to make REDD work," said Donald Kanak, chairman of WWF's Forest Carbon Initiative, which commissioned the survey of 25 senior institutional money managers, analysts and sustainability investors globally.
"In the long term private capital could play a major role if certain conditions are satisfied. We need the public sector to support sufficient financing in the near term to help forest countries become REDD ready," he told reporters in Bangkok.
Delegates from about 180 countries are trying to narrow differences on emissions reduction targets, climate finance and transfer of clean-energy technology before a December deadline to try to seal a tougher pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
REDD is seen as a crucial part of a new climate pact because deforestation is responsible for about 20 percent of mankind's greenhouse gas emissions, so saving forests is a key part of the climate puzzle.
Developing countries could potentially earn billions of dollars in annual funds from selling carbon offsets from projects that protect or rehabilitate forests for decades, thereby locking away large amounts of carbon dioxide.
PRECONDITIONS But Kanak said a number of preconditions needed to be met before a global forest carbon market could take off.
"Agreement on a climate treaty at Copenhagen, with support from major economies such as China and India, and legislation in the U.S. are key pre-requisites," he said. Negotiators will try to agree on a broad outline of a post-Kyoto pact in Copenhagen in December.
"Public sector funding will be vital before a market-based approach can take effect," he said, adding that problems on ensuring REDD projects are permanent and lead to significant long-term CO2 reductions could be addressed if there was a strong political framework in place.
"National governments must also put in place robust and durable legal frameworks to create certainty for investors," he said.
The survey also found more than a third of investors expected a forest CO2 market would evolve from the existing voluntary carbon market to a "compliance" market backed by national emissions trading schemes in five to 15 years if the preconditions were met.
(Reporting by David Fogarty; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
[Green Business]
Indonesia CO2 pledge to help climate talks: greens
Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:10am EDT
By David Fogarty, Climate Change Correspondent, Asia
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Environmentalists on Tuesday welcomed Indonesia's pledge to substantially cut the growth of its greenhouse gas emissions, saying the promise could help talks on crafting a broader global pact to fight climate change.
Indonesia is the world's third largest greenhouse emitter and steps by big developing nations to curb their emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases are a key focus of U.N.-led climate talks under way in the Thai capital until Oct 9.
Delegates from about 180 countries are trying to narrow differences on emissions reduction targets, climate finance and transfer of clean-energy technology before a December deadline to try to seal a tougher pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
In a speech to G20 leaders on September 25, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the government was crafting a policy that would cut emissions by 26 percent by 2020 from "business as usual" (BAU) levels.
The policy would be a mix of stepping up investment in renewable energy, such as geothermal power, and curbing emissions from deforestation and changes in land use.
With international support, he said he was confident Indonesia could cut emissions by as much as 41 percent.
"This target is entirely achievable because most of our emissions come from forest-related issues, such as forest fires and deforestation," he said during a working lunch in the U.S. city of Pittsburgh. Reuters obtained a copy of his speech on Tuesday.
"We are also looking into the distinct possibility to commit a billion ton of CO2 reduction by 2050 from BAU. We will change the status of our forest from that of a net emitter sector to a net sink sector by 2030."
In the jargon of international climate talks, "business as usual" levels refers to what would happen if emissions grew at the same rate as has accompanied economic growth in the past.
DESTRUCTION OF RAINFOREST
Indonesia is the world's third largest greenhouse gas emitter, the country's National Climate Change Council says, mainly through loss of rainforests and forest fires. Slowing the pace of destruction is a key focus of climate negotiators trying to firm up ways to curb the pace of global warming.
Deforestation is responsible for about 20 percent of mankind's greenhouse gas emissions, so saving forests is a key part of the climate puzzle.
"This is extremely positive, that developing countries can commit to the world that this is the ambition level we are at, we can do," Kim Carstensen, head of conservation group WWF's global climate initiative, told Reuters in Bangkok.
"What's even more interesting and something that's been lacking in the negotiations is that they are willing to provide an additional 15 percent if they get financial support."
Greenpeace said Yudhoyono's comments would put pressure on rich nations to act faster on fighting climate change.
"This puts the focus firmly back on the developed world, most especially the countries who have been bleating that they won't move without the big southern emitters," said Paul Winn, Greenpeace international forest climate campaigner, in Bangkok.
"It also highlights the urgent need for financing to help developing countries take further action on climate."
Rich nations say developing nations need to include any emissions reduction steps into a post-Kyoto pact to ensure such measures can be monitored and verified. Developing countries would also need to make regular progress reports on such steps.
Developing nations are resisting this demand and say rich nations should pay substantial sums to help them adapt to the impacts of climate change and to pay for clean-energy technology.
(Editing by Alex Richardson)
[Green Business]
Clean tech investments soar worldwide: report
Tue Sep 29, 2009 4:35am EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Global investment in clean technology roared back in the third quarter, driven by solar power and a public offering that underscores growing enthusiasm for the sector, Greentech Media reported on Monday.
Clean tech investments -- which include solar power, an electric grid controlled by computers for efficiency, electric cars, biofuels and green building materials -- rose to $1.9 billion in 112 deals, Greentech said.
That represents another big jump, after clean tech went from $836 million in the first quarter to $1.2 billion of second quarter.
"There is a lot of momentum and there are a lot of deals in the pipeline," said Eric Wesoff, who wrote the report. "People are energized by the A123 Systems Inc IPO. I'd say it's reasonable to look for moderate growth in the fourth quarter."
Shares of battery maker A123 soared more than 50 percent on Thursday, marking it as the most attractive of last week's public offerings.
Wesoff said venture capitalists will take note of that, but that their pockets are not deep enough to support continued growth at the rate of the past two quarters.
More than half the clean tech investment in the third quarter went into two areas -- solar and a combined category of biofuels, gasification and cleaner coal.
Solar accounted for $575 million in 29 deals, and biofuels, gasification and coal for $513 million in 17 deals.
One company alone, high-efficiency solar electric panel maker Solyndra, accounted for a $198 million, in a round led by Argonaut Private Equity.
Exxon Mobile Corp made a multi-year commitment to invest $300 million in Synthetic Genomics for the development of algae-based fuels.
Smart grid and associated technologies accounted for $160 million in 14 deals, and auto and transport in five deals for $158 million.
Green buildings at $105 million and green materials at $100 million were the other two major areas.
Still the deals failed to hit the record highs of 2008, when the third quarter saw $2.9 billion and the entire year $7.6 billion. Wesoff said the year -- and the quarter -- were driven by unusual capital investment to build out solar manufacturing plants.
(Reporting by David Lawsky; Editing by Richard Chang)
[Green Business]
Investors eye forest CO2 market, climate pact key: poll
Tue Sep 29, 2009 6:22am EDT
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Investors such as UBS, Citigroup and Blackrock back a potentially multi-billion dollar carbon credit market centered on saving forests but regulations and cash were needed to build a market first, a survey has found.
The survey of investors with $7 trillion of assets under management by the Brunswick Group for global conservation group WWF said banks and fund managers were waiting for the forest carbon scheme to be included in a broader U.N. climate pact.
They also said rich nations needed to include the U.N.-backed scheme, called reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), into laws that allow forest carbon offsets to be included as part of steps to meet national emissions targets.
The tougher the targets the likely greater the demand for the offsets. The survey was released on Tuesday.
"REDD is critical to a climate solution and financing is critical to make REDD work," said Donald Kanak, chairman of WWF's Forest Carbon Initiative, which commissioned the survey of 25 senior institutional money managers, analysts and sustainability investors globally.
"In the long term private capital could play a major role if certain conditions are satisfied. We need the public sector to support sufficient financing in the near term to help forest countries become REDD ready," he told reporters in Bangkok.
Delegates from about 180 countries are trying to narrow differences on emissions reduction targets, climate finance and transfer of clean-energy technology before a December deadline to try to seal a tougher pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
REDD is seen as a crucial part of a new climate pact because deforestation is responsible for about 20 percent of mankind's greenhouse gas emissions, so saving forests is a key part of the climate puzzle.
Developing countries could potentially earn billions of dollars in annual funds from selling carbon offsets from projects that protect or rehabilitate forests for decades, thereby locking away large amounts of carbon dioxide.
PRECONDITIONS But Kanak said a number of preconditions needed to be met before a global forest carbon market could take off.
"Agreement on a climate treaty at Copenhagen, with support from major economies such as China and India, and legislation in the U.S. are key pre-requisites," he said. Negotiators will try to agree on a broad outline of a post-Kyoto pact in Copenhagen in December.
"Public sector funding will be vital before a market-based approach can take effect," he said, adding that problems on ensuring REDD projects are permanent and lead to significant long-term CO2 reductions could be addressed if there was a strong political framework in place.
"National governments must also put in place robust and durable legal frameworks to create certainty for investors," he said.
The survey also found more than a third of investors expected a forest CO2 market would evolve from the existing voluntary carbon market to a "compliance" market backed by national emissions trading schemes in five to 15 years if the preconditions were met.
(Reporting by David Fogarty; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
[Green Business]
Indonesia CO2 pledge to help climate talks: greens
Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:10am EDT
By David Fogarty, Climate Change Correspondent, Asia
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Environmentalists on Tuesday welcomed Indonesia's pledge to substantially cut the growth of its greenhouse gas emissions, saying the promise could help talks on crafting a broader global pact to fight climate change.
Indonesia is the world's third largest greenhouse emitter and steps by big developing nations to curb their emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases are a key focus of U.N.-led climate talks under way in the Thai capital until Oct 9.
Delegates from about 180 countries are trying to narrow differences on emissions reduction targets, climate finance and transfer of clean-energy technology before a December deadline to try to seal a tougher pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
In a speech to G20 leaders on September 25, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the government was crafting a policy that would cut emissions by 26 percent by 2020 from "business as usual" (BAU) levels.
The policy would be a mix of stepping up investment in renewable energy, such as geothermal power, and curbing emissions from deforestation and changes in land use.
With international support, he said he was confident Indonesia could cut emissions by as much as 41 percent.
"This target is entirely achievable because most of our emissions come from forest-related issues, such as forest fires and deforestation," he said during a working lunch in the U.S. city of Pittsburgh. Reuters obtained a copy of his speech on Tuesday.
"We are also looking into the distinct possibility to commit a billion ton of CO2 reduction by 2050 from BAU. We will change the status of our forest from that of a net emitter sector to a net sink sector by 2030."
In the jargon of international climate talks, "business as usual" levels refers to what would happen if emissions grew at the same rate as has accompanied economic growth in the past.
DESTRUCTION OF RAINFOREST
Indonesia is the world's third largest greenhouse gas emitter, the country's National Climate Change Council says, mainly through loss of rainforests and forest fires. Slowing the pace of destruction is a key focus of climate negotiators trying to firm up ways to curb the pace of global warming.
Deforestation is responsible for about 20 percent of mankind's greenhouse gas emissions, so saving forests is a key part of the climate puzzle.
"This is extremely positive, that developing countries can commit to the world that this is the ambition level we are at, we can do," Kim Carstensen, head of conservation group WWF's global climate initiative, told Reuters in Bangkok.
"What's even more interesting and something that's been lacking in the negotiations is that they are willing to provide an additional 15 percent if they get financial support."
Greenpeace said Yudhoyono's comments would put pressure on rich nations to act faster on fighting climate change.
"This puts the focus firmly back on the developed world, most especially the countries who have been bleating that they won't move without the big southern emitters," said Paul Winn, Greenpeace international forest climate campaigner, in Bangkok.
"It also highlights the urgent need for financing to help developing countries take further action on climate."
Rich nations say developing nations need to include any emissions reduction steps into a post-Kyoto pact to ensure such measures can be monitored and verified. Developing countries would also need to make regular progress reports on such steps.
Developing nations are resisting this demand and say rich nations should pay substantial sums to help them adapt to the impacts of climate change and to pay for clean-energy technology.
(Editing by Alex Richardson)
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