Fossil fuel-free funds outperformed conventional ones, analysis shows

13.04.15

News

Fossil fuel-free funds outperformed conventional
ones, analysis shows

Investors who have sold off holdings in fossil fuel
companies have outperformed those that remain invested in coal, oil
and gas over the past five years, according to analysis by the
world’s leading stock market index company. Investors who divested
from fossil fuel companies would have earned an average return of
13% a year since 2010, compared to the 11.8%-a-year return earned
by conventional investors, reports The Guardian. BusinessGreenalso has the story.

Climate and energy news

Clean energy investment hits lowest level for two
years in first quarter

Reuters

Global clean energy investment in the first quarter of this
year fell to its lowest quarterly level for two years, as large
deals slowed in China, Europe and Brazil, new research shows.
Investment in renewable energy fell to $50.5 billion in January to
March compared with $59.3 billion in same quarter last year. The
first quarter tends to be the weakest in terms of clean energy
investment after a busy end to the financial year, the report
notes. Bloomberg New Energy Financealso
has the story.

Politics, red tape ‘turning EU clean energy into
zombie industry’

The Financial Times

The EU’s dysfunctional political system is turning clean
energy companies into a “zombie industry”, the head of one of the
bloc’s biggest green power groups has warned. Manuel Sánchez
Ortega, chief executive of Spain’s Abengoa, said the EU are taking
so long to decide what energy mix they want, especially in the
biofuels sector, that companies do not know whether to keep
struggling on or shut down completely. “It is better to be alive or
to be dead, but the other state no one likes,” he says.

Investing in fossil fuels goes against health
charities’ aims, says Jonathon
Porritt

The Guardian

Charities that work on solving problems connected to climate
change should not invest in fossil fuel companies that are “out of
kilter” with their charitable aims, according to environmentalist
Jonathon Porritt. He spent years working on green energy projects
with BP and Shell but now believes that engagement with fossil fuel
companies is pointless, reports The Guardian. Porritt says they
have passed on “limitless opportunities to put their houses in
order” and move to a more sustainable economy.

Energy and climate change minister accepts £18,000
from climate sceptic

The
Guardian

The Conservative energy and climate change minister, Matthew
Hancock, has taken £18,000 from a key backer of the UK’s leading
climate sceptic lobby group, reports the Guardian. According to
official records, Hancock has accepted five donations from City
currency manager Neil Record, who has given money to the Global
Warming Policy Foundation and is on the board of its campaigning
arm.

US carbon pollution set for 2015 drop as coal
plants close

Responding to Climate
Change

US carbon pollution from the power sector is set to fall to
its lowest level since 1994, reports RTCC. Record numbers of US
coal-fired power plants are set to close this year, and analysts
say this will likely see power sector emissions drop 15.4% below
2005 levels. New research indicates 7% of US coal capacity will
come offline due to a combination of low gas prices, new mercury
emission standards and the age of closing power plants.

Mystery ‘blob’ in the Pacific Ocean could be
causing California’s
mega-drought

Mail Online

A mysterious ‘warm blob’ of water off the West coast of the
US could explain why states like California are experiencing their
worst ever drought, while the East is battered by freezing weather.
The blob in the ocean was discovered last year, with temperatures
1-4C above surrounding ‘normal’ water. As air passes over warmer
water and reaches the coast it brings more heat and less snow,
which the scientists say helped cause current drought conditions in
California, Oregon and Washington.

Leaders trip up over their election trail carbon
footprints

The Sunday
Times

Few of Scotland’s mainstream parties are monitoring their
carbon impact of their election campaigning, reports the Sunday
Times. While the SNP says they will offset the carbon impact of
Nicola Sturgeon’s campaign, the Scottish Conservatives, Scottish
Lib Dems, Scottish Labour either admitted to having no idea of
their campaigning carbon footprint or didn’t provide any details.

Climate and energy comment

The EU is quietly shaping its energy
union

Nick Butler, The Financial Times

The EU is asserting its role in the energy market, unnoticed
by those outside Brussels, says Nick Butler. The Energy Union
policy was passed in March, and the paper it was based on was “a
good piece of work,” says Butler. But there was an absence of any
serious contribution to the debate from the UK, and by the time
Britain has decided whether to stay in the EU, “we will find that
Europe has moved on and that new policies are in place,” he says.
For more on the EU’s Energy Union, see Carbon Brief’s
explainer.

How Does Hillary Match Up With Other Dems On
Climate Change?

Ryan Koronowski,
Climate Progress

As Hillary Clinton formally enters the 2016 race for the
White House, Climate Progress takes a look at how she compares
against other Democratic candidates on climate policy. While she
has supported boosting renewables and been critical of fossil fuel
subsidies, she has also been supportive of fracking and has refused
to comment on the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, the article says.

New climate science

A microbial platform for renewable propane
synthesis based on a fermentative butanol
pathway

Biotechnology for
Biofuels

Researchers have made a significant breakthrough in the
development of renewable propane gas, according to a new paper. The
research has found a new ‘pathway’ for getting microbes to produce
a synthetic, renewable form of propane. The work brings scientists
one step closer to commercial production, the researchers say.

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