June 15, 2021 (Energy Central) -A new analysis released today by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) finds that confidence among both renewable energy investors and developers is at an all-time high. The report, Expectations for Renewable Energy Finance in 2021-2024, presents the results of a new survey of prominent financial institutions and renewable energy development companies on their confidence in the sector in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new report also tracks progress on the $1T 2030: American Renewable Investment Goal, an initiative ACORE launched in 2018 to help secure $1 trillion in private sector investment in renewable energy and enabling grid technologies by 2030.

(NY Times Climate Forward), May 29, 2021 - A nun, an environmental lawyer, pension fund executives, and the world’s largest asset manager. These were among the unusual collection of rebels who claimed a series of startling victories this week against some of the world’s biggest and most influential fossil fuel companies.

From Houston to The Hague, they fought their battles in shareholder meetings and courtrooms, opening surprising fronts in an accelerating effort to force the world’s coal, oil and gas companies to address their central role in the climate crisis.

(CleanTechnica), May 29, 2021 -Several top lenders to the steel sector — Citi, Goldman Sachs, ING, Societe Generale, Standard Chartered, and UniCredit — have come together to define common standards of action for steel sector decarbonization through a collective climate-aligned finance agreement.

A climate-aligned finance agreement establishes a framework for assessing and disclosing the degree to which the greenhouse gas emissions associated with a financial institution’s portfolio are in line with 1.5°C climate targets.

May 26, 2021 (THE CONVERSATION)-One of the most expensive Wall Street shareholder battles on record could signal a big shift in how hedge funds and other investors view sustainability.

Exxon Mobil Corp. has been fending off a so-called proxy fight from a hedge fund known as Engine No. 1, which blames the energy giant’s poor performance in recent years on its failure to transition to a “decarbonizing world.” In a May 26, 2021 vote, Exxon shareholders approved at least two of the four board members Engine No. 1 nominated, dealing a major blow to the oil company. The vote is ongoing, and more of the hedge fund’s nominees may also soon be appointed.

(ZME Science), May 21, 2021- It’s the “greatest challenge humankind has ever faced” but we can still tackle climate change if we act quickly, the International Energy Agency (EIA) said. According to the agency’s landmark report, all countries have to stop all investment in new fossil fuel plants — right now.

Never before has the EIA made such a strong warning to drastically scale back fossil fuels.

May 3, 2021 (NY Times)-Executives across corporate America, from Silicon Valley to Wall Street, have begun to heed calls from investors to disclose more about their companies’ actions on climate change and work force diversity. Warren E. Buffett isn’t among them.

Berkshire Hathaway, the $630 billion conglomerate he runs, is opposing two shareholder proposals that ask its board to publish annual reports on how it is tackling environmental and diversity issues.

Mar. 24, 2021 (The Guardian) -Despite the Covid-19 pandemic cutting energy use, overall funding remains on an upward trend and the finance provided in 2020 was higher than in 2016 or 2017, a fact the report’s authors and others described as “shocking”.

Oil, gas and coal will need to be burned for some years to come. But it has been known since at least 2015 that a significant proportion of existing reserves must remain in the ground if global heating is to remain below 2C, the main Paris target.

Jan. 26, 2021 (NY Times Climate Forward)- A year ago this month, the BlackRock chief Laurence D. Fink wrote a letter to the world’s C.E.O.s with an urgent message: Climate change will be “a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects.” Underscoring his point, he added, “We are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance.”

Jan. 11, 2021(POWERGRID International)-Investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Energy Partners (MSEP), part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, announced today that they have completed an investment in Alpharetta, Georgia-based SolMicroGrid to help support the growth of SolMicroGrid’s business, which offers innovative microgrid solutions through an Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) business model.

(CleanTechnica), Jan 1, 2021, -The global transition from fossil fuels to clean energy isn’t going to happen because it’s the best choice for human health and the environment. Observing the way humans have responded to the current pandemic should put to rest any delusions about our propensity to “do the right thing.” No, companies and investors will abandon polluting energy sources when they become convinced that it’s the profitable thing to do. Fortunately, we’re seeing strong signs that this is beginning to happen.

Alex Kimani, writing in the oil industry trade magazine OilPrice.com, explains how an increasing number of large institutional investors are shifting their assets from the oil patch to what are called “ESG” (Environmental, Social and Governance) investments — a category that includes renewable energy and e-mobility.

(AltEnergyStocks), Dec. 29, 2020, by Tom Konrad, Ph.D., An annual tradition, here is my Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2021, which is also the new model portfolio for the year, with equal dollar values of each stock using closing prices on 12/29/2020.

Returning Stocks:
• Mix Telematics (MIXT), Green Plains Partners (GPP), • Covanta Holding (CVA), • Red Electrica (REE.MC, RDEIF, RDEIY), • Valeo, SA (FR.PA, VLEEF, VLEEY), • Veolia (VIE.PA, VEOEF, VEOEY

New Stocks:
• Scorpio Bulkers, Inc. (SALT) – Dry bulk shipper converting to offshore wind construction, • Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners (BEP) – A leading clean energy Yieldco with significant hydropower assets., • Umicore, SA (UMI.BR, UMICF, UMICY) – Leading recycler of batteries and specialty metals.,• Avangrid (AGR) – Owner of renewable generation and utilities.

(POWERGRID International), Dec. 10, 2020 - Connecticut Green Bank and its partners are proud to announce a collaboration that is the first joinable, grouped carbon offset credit project registered under the new methodology for electric vehicle (EV) charging systems. The project design has been successfully validated under Verra’s internationally recognized Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program by third-party verification firm, SCS Global Services.

CT Green Bank’s expanding roster of project partners, which currently includes EV pioneers Volta, U-Go Stations which was recently acquired by Blink Charging, Proterra, and the Ev Structure Company – with Dominion Energy joining – already have 725 EV charging stations across the United States enrolled with the project. With registered carbon credits, this validated project, once verified in mid-2021, is expected to bring in new funding from the carbon capital markets, which will increase the value proposition and accelerate the deployment of EV charging infrastructure in communities across the U.S.

(Renewable Energy World), Nov. 11, 2020 -Speaking last month about JP Morgan Chase’s decision to align its lending protocols with emissions targets set by U.N. climate scientists, Tom Steyer expressed enthusiasm that a bank with a long history of investing in fossil fuel extraction has changed their tune.

“Let’s look at who they are,” Steyer said by phone. “They’re the bank that financed frontier drilling across the riskiest places in the world and which was, until recently, headed up by the ex-CEO of Exxon Mobil,” Steyer said. “They lent hundreds of millions to billions of dollars and now they want to run their loan book according to the Paris Accord!”

Steyer’s passion for a rapid transition to a clean, affordable and socially conscious renewable energy economy is contagious. And his vision for a future powered by renewables is not unrealistic.

(REUTERS)), Nov. 9, 2020 -Toronto-Dominion Bank on Monday said it will not provide project-specific financial services for oil and gas-related activities in the Arctic Circle as part of its plan to get to net-zero emissions by 2050.

The Arctic Circle “is warming significantly faster than the rest of our planet, which poses the risk of increased green-house gas releases and further warming, the bank said in a statement.

(REUTERS)), Nov. 9, 2020 -Investors should push companies to slash their greenhouse gas emissions faster by “systematically” supporting shareholder resolutions on climate change, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday.

“Use your voting powers in companies to accelerate their decarbonization by systematically supporting climate resolutions,” Guterres told a conference in London.

(Environment America), Oct. 13, 2020 -At Procter & Gamble’s annual general meeting, which was held virtually on Tuesday, shareholders bucked the recommendation of the company’s Board and voted for a proposal asking P&G to report on its efforts to reduce deforestation and forest degradation in its supply chains. The proposal received the support of 67% of the votes cast.

This vote comes at a time when the company is under scrutiny for its tissue sourcing from the Canadian boreal forest. Historically, the corporation’s high-profile brands, Charmin, Bounty and Puffs brands, have relied on virgin wood fibers in their product, which leads to unnecessary logging in the Canadian boreal forest, an important carbon sink and home to caribou, lynx and more.

(Renewable Energy World), Oct. 6, 2020 - According to research company BloombergNEF (BNEF), green bonds have passed their biggest milestone yet, with more than $1 trillion issued since these securities first emerged in 2007.

BNEF says that green bonds are the longest standing and most heavily used instrument in the sustainable debt market, which covers a range of fixed-income products offering environmental and social benefits.

Green bonds are used to finance sustainable infrastructure, from wind farms to wastewater management. More than $200B worth of green bonds have been issued in 2020 alone, according to the research firm. This represents a 12% increase compared with the first nine months of 2019. Together, corporate, government, municipal and mortgage green bond issuance in 2020 trailed 2019’s volumes through August. This all changed in September, when green bonds saw more than $50 billion brought to market in that month alone.

(ZME SCIENCE), -Sept. 15, 2020, A leading group of investors has sent a letter to the boards of the world’s largest corporate emitters of greenhouse gases, asking them to produce a strategy to move their business to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner. The investors will now follow the progress of such strategies based on a group of 30 indicators.

The Climate Action 100+ initiative was launched in 2017 and includes more than 500 global investors that collectively manage over $47 trillion in assets. They targeted 161 companies in their letter, which are collectively responsible for up to 80% of global industrial greenhouse gas emissions.

(NY Times Climate Forward)-Sept. 8, 2020 A report commissioned by federal regulators overseeing the nation’s commodities markets has concluded that climate change threatens U.S. financial markets, as the costs of wildfires, storms, droughts and floods spread through insurance and mortgage markets, pension funds and other financial institutions.

“A world wracked by frequent and devastating shocks from climate change cannot sustain the fundamental conditions supporting our financial system,” concluded the report, “Managing Climate Risk in the Financial System,” which was requested last year by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and set for release on Wednesday morning.

(Renewable Energy World), -Sept. 2, 2020, The 2020s will be crucial for all the participants in the power industry as the transition toward renewables is expected to increase, while coal takes a downturn in most developed markets. This is according to Frost & Sullivan’s (F&S) recent analysis, Growth Opportunities from Decarbonization in the Global Power Market, 2019-2030.

Falling costs and renewable-friendly energy policies adopted by several countries in the six major geographies—North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, China, and India—are prominent reasons why solar PV and wind capacity additions are expected to soar this decade, F&S.states.

(Bloomberg News), Aug. 30, 2020 -There will be just one oil company in the Dow Jones Industrial Average — Chevron Corp. The removal of Exxon Mobil Corp. from the index after an uninterrupted presence since 1928 shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s not the end of Big Oil, but it may signal the start of the beginning of the end.

It may seem odd to remove one of only two oil companies in the index at a time when the shale boom has transformed America's role in the global market. After all, the U.S. now produces more oil and more natural gas than any other country. Last year’s domestic oil production was up by 125% from levels in 2010, while gas output has increased by 60%.

But those figures only tell part of the story, and not the most important part.

NY Times Climate Forward, Aug. 21, 2020 -Bucking tradition, a group of climate activists has won three seats in an election to an important governing body at Harvard University, the Board of Overseers, the university announced Friday.

The slate of candidates ran on a platform that included calls for the university to drop fossil fuel investments from its portfolio, part of a divestment movement that has swept college campuses for the better part of a decade.

July 9, 2020,(Renewable Energy World) -The Connecticut Green Bank is offering residents a new way to personally invest in projects that confront climate change: mini green bonds.

This month the bank will bring to market about $16 million in what it is calling Green Liberty Bonds. The bonds will have a $1,000 face value, an uncommonly low denomination that is intended to make them broadly accessible.

Proceeds from the bond sales will help fund the green bank’s clean energy efforts, which are otherwise supported through a utility bill surcharge, proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and some federal funds.