Global investment in reducing greenhouse gases falls 11 per cent as Apple sells £1.72 billion in green bonds in Europe. Meanwhile, ethical investment platform Abundance launches a new green homes investment, HGVs are to be fuelled by ‘carbon-negative’ manure from 2021, and ‘Climate Strike’ is named the official word of 2019 by Collins Dictionary.
Global investment in cutting greenhouse gases down 11%
Investment in reducing greenhouse gas emissions fell by 11 per cent last year despite the growing urgency of the climate crisis.
The benefits of the money that was spent were cancelled out by global investment in fossil fuels and other dirty industries, according to a new report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI).
Global climate finance hit a record high of $612 billion (£476 billion) in 2017, according to CPI advisers, but fell back 11 per cent to $546 billion (£426 billion) in 2018.
Less public money for low-carbon transport and lower private-sector investment in renewable energy were the causes of the drop. However, the average investment for 2017 and 2018 was 25 per cent higher than for the period 2015 and 2016.
The study, Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2019, found that investment would need to be more than three times as high as current levels every year until 2050 to clean up the world’s energy generation systems.
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Apple issues £1.7 billion of green bonds
Apple Inc has joined the booming market for green bonds with one of the biggest-ever corporate issues of environmentally-friendly debt in Europe.
The iPhone maker sold $2.2 billion (£1.72 billion) of six and 12-year bonds on Thursday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It says it will use the proceeds to reduce its carbon footprint, use greener materials in its products and conserve resources.
The market for green bonds is growing fast as companies and governments raise funds to cut fossil fuel use, in line with the principles of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Global sales of the securities have already surpassed last year’s $135 billion (£1.05 billion) record.
Abundance launches green homes investment
Ethical investment platform Abundance has launched a social and affordable housing investment for a new green homes development.
Liverpool Community Homes is aiming to raise £6,850,000 to finance 37 homes in two developments, built for the rental market, on the outskirts of Liverpool.
Developer Octevo Housing Solutions estimates that the combined clean tech measures planned for the project will reduce each home’s energy demand by 80 to 93 per cent compared with the UK’s average home, cutting tenants’ energy bills.
Improvements in glazing and insulation will reduce the heating requirement, solar panels will provide the majority of electricity and ground-source heat pumps will deliver further emission and energy savings. Debentures will pay an annual return of 6 per cent over a 2.5 year term.
Find out more about socially-impactful projects by Abundance
HGVs to be fuelled by ‘carbon-negative’ manure from 2021
Renewable fuel provider CNG Fuels is to become the UK’s first supplier of carbon-neutral fuel for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).
It will offer a range of hydrogen, battery-electric technologies and low-carbon biogas from manure. CNG Fuels, which supplies fuel to high-profile companies including John Lewis Partnership, is consulting on how its network of refuelling stations can accommodate the technologies. It hopes to roll out biomethane from manure as a carbon-negative fuel in the UK by 2021.
The greenhouse gas methane that is given off by manure is 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Using it as an HGV fuel prevents it from going into the atmosphere, therefore reducing emissions.
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‘Climate Strike’ official word of 2019
‘Climate strike’ has been crowned Collins Dictionary’s word of 2019.
The phrase refers to a kind of protest made famous by Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg, whose #FridaysForFuture movement prompted thousands of school children around the world to go on strike to demand more action on climate change.
The phrase ‘climate strike’ was first registered in November 2015 after it was used to describe protests at the time of the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris. Thanks to Thunberg, it has since become a worldwide movement.
New words added to the dictionary this year are ‘bopo’, short for body positivity, and ‘non-binary’ in reference to people who choose not to identify as male or female.
Here’s how to climate strike your cash
