The world’s fastest road car has been unveiled – and it’s all-electric, the Chancellor is set to unveil a host of green measures in this week’s ‘mini-budget,’ andglobal green banks commit to aligning their carbon footprint with Paris Agreement. Meanwhile, UK charities face scrutiny over the ethics of their investment policies and a new renewable energy manager is launched for UK communities and small companies. Lori Campbell rounds up the top sustainable stories of the week.
The fastest road car in the world is revealed – and it’s electric
The fastest road car in the world has been unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show – and it’s all-electric.
The Pininfarina Battista can do 0-62mph in less than two seconds, 186mph in less than 12 seconds and has a top speed of more than 250mph. The ‘hyper-car’, made by Italian car manufacturer Automobili Pininfarina, can also do 280 miles on one charge.
With a price tag of £2 million, it has the brake horse power (bhp) equivalent to 1,900 – twice that of a Formula 1 racing car and around 19 times that of a Ford Fiesta. Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, said he wants to prove that electric cars can be luxurious, exclusive and collectable.
Chancellor to unveil green measures in Spring Statement
Chancellor Philip Hammond will use his Spring Statement on Wednesday to unveil a series of green measures.
He will say he has listened to calls from young people to act on climate change and will pledge in this week’s mini-budget to ‘preserve the environment for future generations’. It comes after last month’s ‘climate strike’, in which thousands of pupils across the country skipped lessons and joined mass events calling for more action to preserve the planet.
Among Mr Hammond’s proposals to tackle carbon emissions is future-proofing new homes by making sure they are energy efficient, have lower bills and are better for the environment. He will also bring in rules to force all new-build homes to have low-carbon heating, having vowed to at least halve the energy use of new-build properties by 2030.
Green banks commit to align their carbon footprint with Paris Agreement
A global group of more than 50 green banks has launched a new ‘Climate Change Commitment’ to align their carbon footprint with Paris Agreement goals.
Following the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) Summit in Vancouver earlier this month, the banks have committed to tracking and monitoring the carbon impact of their portfolios of loans and investments over a period of three years. The Climate Change Commitment, otherwise known as the ‘3C initiative’, is in response to the urgent need to keep global temperature increases this century well below 2C.
The initiative is part of the GABV’s larger commitment to spearhead positive change in the financial industry on pressing social and environmental issues. The participating institutions, with combined assets of $153 billion (£117.8 billion), hope to encourage the wider banking sector to assess and report on their greenhouse gas emissions.
UK charities face scrutiny over ethics of investment policies
Charities that invest in ‘unethical’ assets are facing scrutiny after a request for a legal ruling on what trustees can do with the billions of pounds they oversee.
A group of 20 charities is seeking a legal judgement on whether investing in fossil fuels, junk food and payday loans should be excluded. The coalition includes three Sainsbury family trusts, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations – which has 14,000 member organisations – the Quakers, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.
Together they have asked the attorney-general and the Charity Commission for England and Wales to seek a ruling on whether the public benefit of charities means they should be required to align their investment policies with their own objectives and commitments to wider society.
New renewable energy manager launched for communities
A new renewable energy asset manager has been launched to serve communities and commercial clients across the UK.
Bright Renewables will distribute profits to community owners, so the money will be invested into local communities, rather than going to private investors. The company was created by seven community-owned energy companies to support further growth in the community energy market.
Bright Renewables has acquired asset manager Mongoose Energy in the process, to create a new renewable asset manager. It currently has 52MW of assets. The acquisition was supported by a loan from Core LLP, a £40 million investment partnership between Power to Change Trust, an independent trust for community businesses, and Big Society Capital, an investor in ground mounted solar energy assets.
