Online News 11 March
Bureaucracy holding up DOE renewables cash – GAO
11 March: The US Department of Energy is encountering numerous obstacles to releasing funds for clean energy projects from last year’s economic stimulus package, including federally-mandated environmental reviews and monthly reporting requirements. More…
Ex-Im votes on carbon blueprint, slammed by NGOs
11 March: The US Export-Import Bank has developed a more detailed implementation plan for its carbon policy – but environment groups slammed the plan, which was distributed to stakeholders but has not been publicly released. More…
Stern backs $100bn IMF climate fund plan
11 March: A climate fund proposed by the International Monetary Fund to raise $100 billion a year by 2020 has won support from climate change economics guru Nicholas Stern. More…
Wind industry calls for US RES, as first project guaranteed
11 March: The economic stimulus package has provided valuable support for the US wind energy sector, but a national renewable electricity standard is the policy tenet most critical to the industry’s development, project sponsors said. More…
Plans hatched to build renewables ‘super grid’
11 March: Europe will not meet its targets on renewable energy without building a massive ‘super grid’ to connect offshore wind and solar farms, said a lobby group this week. More…
European investors see IPO markets opening
11 March: Most European investors expect to see an increasing number of clean technology companies floated over the next 18 months, according to a survey by investor communications firm Carbon International. More…
Intervention in EU ETS needed to spur investment – MP
11 March: EU governments should intervene in the bloc’s flagship emissions trading scheme to drive prices high enough to spur low-carbon investments, said a UK Member of Parliament. More…
Law firm seeks EU ETS phishing victims for civil case (from Carbon Finance)
11 March: Law firm Hunton & Williams is pursuing a number of companies that bought EU allowances stolen during the recent ‘phishing’ scam, and is looking for other victims to join a civil case. More…
Pension funds to study climate impacts on assets
11 March: Concerned that climate change will impact their long-term returns, 14 institutional investors and consultancy Mercer are to research how different climate scenarios could affect their assets. More…
IBM earns energy efficiency certificates from server upgrade
11 March: Technology giant IBM has become the first company to register energy efficiency certificates on an APX registry, following improvements to a data centre in Canada. More…
March issue of Carbon Finance out now
11 March: The March issue of Carbon Finance is now available, including a look at where next for international climate change negotiations following a disappointing meeting in Copenhagen in December and the resignation of UN climate chief Yvo de Boer. More…