TBLI Weekly - December 17th, 2024

Your weekly guide to Sustainable Investment

Meet the Changemakers: Join the TBLI Mixer

🗓 Date: Dec. 27th

⏰ Time: 16:00 CET

  Join Us for an Extraordinary Networking Experience: TBLI Virtual Mixer.   Free to attend - no charge.   Imagine a networking event where you don’t have to sell anything – just be yourself. Through our TBLI virtual mixers, we’ve reimagined how professionals can connect. This is where people who care deeply about sustainability, impact, and creating real change come together. Meet non-extractive, authentic eccentrics – people from diverse industries who think beyond the ordinary and act for a better world. The conversation flows, the connections are meaningful, and every participant brings something unique to the table.  

Why Share This Event? Whether you’re looking to build partnerships, share your ideas with new minds, or simply want to meet people who get it – this is where you want to be. TBLI Mixers don’t just create connections, they spark movements. So share this with your network, and help create a world where real connections lead to real impact. Let’s redefine networking – together!  

Ukraine calls for sanctions against Russia oil tankers over Black Sea spill

Top adviser says vessels that sank and ran aground are part of aged fleet that will continue to cause large-scale damage

Ukraine has called on the international community to take action against Russia’s sanctions-busting oil fleet, after an ageing tanker sank in the Black Sea, causing a major environmental disaster.

The Russian cargo ship, Volgoneft-212, broke in half during a heavy storm off the coast of occupied Crimea on Sunday. A second tanker, Volgoneft-239, got into difficulties in the same area. It eventually ran aground near the port of Taman at the south end of the Kerch strait.

The two boats were carrying more than 9,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. According to satellite data, about 3,000 tonnes had leaked out. “Unfortunately some tanks were damaged. The remaining ones are sealed,” a marine scientist, Sergei Stanichny, told the Russian news agency Tass, confirming the spill.

A rescue operation involving tug boats and two helicopters was launched on Sunday. Video footage showed the bow of the snapped boat sticking vertically out of the water. Crew members stood on the bridge wearing lifejackets. One sailor died and 11 were taken to hospital with hypothermia.

Ukraine accused the Kremlin of recklessness and of violating basic operating rules. On Monday, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on social media that the pollution was the worst this century in the Black Sea region, and the second worst ever.

“It is now obvious that any sanctions against the Russian tanker fleet are always useful, but they are all too late,” he posted.

“The accidents on two rusty vessels in the #Kerch Strait resulted in another large-scale environmental disaster of our war. Thousands of tons of fuel oil spilled ... causing tragic damage to the natural systems of the #Azov and Black Seas.”

Podolyak said the tankers were built more than 50 years ago and should never have been used in winter storms. He added that they belonged to a 1,000-strong shadow fleet used by Russia to export oil and to dodge western sanctions since its full-scale invasion in 2022.

Most boats were “hopelessly outdated”, Podalyak said, alleging that they had “fictitious insurance policies”, hid their real owners and “overloaded” oil at sea. Further large-scale accidents were “statistically inevitable”, and the cost of clean-up operations would fall on affected neighbouring countries.

The adviser called for “the most stringent sanctions” against the vessels and people associated with them. He said states should prohibit their entry into territorial and international waters and outlaw “the transhipment of Russian oil”. Tankers should be required to have proper protection and indemnity insurance, he said.

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India’s green investments outpace China's by 4x, $2.4 bn deals executed in Q3

By: ET Now Digital India vs China renewable energy investments: In the third quarter alone, India saw clean tech deals worth $2.4 billion, more than four times the value of deals in China. This made India the second-largest market for clean tech funding globally, after the US.

India vs China renewable energy investments : India has overtaken China in attracting green investments , fueled by efforts to boost local green manufacturing, according to a Bloomberg report. In the third quarter alone, India saw clean tech deals worth $2.4 billion, more than four times the value of deals in China. This made India the second-largest market for clean tech funding globally, after the US, as per BloombergNEF data. The growth is driven by India’s push to build its own clean energy capacity, reduce reliance on China, and position itself as a future exporter of these technologies, Raj Pai, founding partner of GEF Capital Partners, a climate-focused private equity fund told Bloomberg. "The attractiveness of the climate sector for both public and private capital is very high," he said.

A range of policy measures from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is driving growth in India’s clean energy sector. The International Energy Agency predicts that India is likely to experience the fastest growth in renewable energy among major economies for the rest of the decade. This year, over a dozen renewable energy and electric vehicle companies have gone public, including solar panel maker Waaree Energies Ltd. and scooter maker Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. Shares of NTPC Green Energy Ltd., a clean power company, have risen by more than 30% since they started trading last month.

"Climate is the hottest topic for venture capital right now” in India, said Abhinav Sinha, head of technology and telecoms at British International Investment Plc, the UK government’s development-finance arm. BII, which has invested more in India than in any other country, has committed to deploy at least $1 billion in the nation on climate-related projects by 2026. About a quarter of all seed stage investments in India by venture capital groups are currently being made into climate-related startups, Sinha said. While India surpassed China in green technology funding during the third quarter, it has managed to raise $3.6 billion this year, still behind China’s $5.6 billion, according to BNEF data. To reach its net-zero target 20 years earlier than the 2070 goal, India would need to invest up to $12.4 trillion, BNEF says.

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Another transformative year for Sustainable Investing

by UBS Editorial Team

In our 2024 year-end review, we reflect many significant developments in the realm of sustainable investing (SI).

This year has been transformative for Sustainable Investing (SI), marked by crucial advancements in the performance and flow of SI strategies, progress in the energy transition, and notable shifts in climate and social change. Because of the important milestones and progress that occurred in 2024, we have broken down the year’s key events and topics by month.

January: China Relaunches Carbon Market China’s carbon market activity surged with the relaunch of its domestic voluntary carbon market, bolstered by a new governance system. These developments underscore China’s commitment to enhancing the standardization and credibility of its carbon markets.

February: US Labor Force Participation Gender Gap Reaches All-Time Low The gender gap in labor force participation fell to 10.1%, marking a significant milestone in gender equality. This progress reflects increased workforce participation among women and the positive impact of policies promoting gender equality in employment.

April: Record EU and US Renewables Generation Renewables accounted for 54% of the EU’s and 31% of the US’s electricity generation, setting new records. This shift highlights the growing commitment to renewable energy and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

May: Microsoft and Brookfield Sign USD 10bn Deal for Renewable Energy Microsoft and Brookfield’s landmark deal for 10.5GW of clean energy underscores the tech industry’s commitment to sustainability. This agreement reflects the increasing importance of sustainability in corporate strategies and the role of major corporations in advancing clean energy.

June: Swiss Electricity Law Adopted Switzerland’s plan to increase renewable electricity generation sixfold by 2035 demonstrates its commitment to decarbonization. This ambitious plan requires significant investment in renewable infrastructure, underscoring the importance of policy support in achieving decarbonization targets.

July and August: Record Hot Summer 2024 is on track to be the hottest year on record, with rising global temperatures posing significant risks to sectors like agriculture and health. The record heat highlights the urgent need for action to mitigate global warming effects.

September: UK Switches Off Last Coal-Fired Power Plant The UK’s closure of its last coal power plant marks a significant step toward its net-zero emissions goal by 2050. This move reduces reliance on fossil fuels, emphasizing the shift toward cleaner energy sources and the UK’s commitment to a low-carbon economy.

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US supreme court to hear fuel firms’ challenge to California’s emission limits

By: The Guardian

State has exemptions under Clean Air Act to set vehicle emissions standards higher than federal limits.

The US supreme court agreed on Friday to hear a bid by fuel producers to challenge California’s standards for vehicle emissions and electric cars under a federal air-pollution law in a major case testing the Democrat-governed state’s power to fight greenhouse gases.

The justices took up an appeal by a Valero Energy subsidiary and fuel industry groups over a lower court’s rejection of their challenge to a decision by Joe Biden’s administration to allow California to set its own regulations.

The dispute centers on an exception granted to California in 2022 by the US Environmental Protection Agency to national vehicle emission standards set by the agency under the landmark Clean Air Act anti-pollution law.

The case won’t be argued until the spring, when the Trump administration is certain to take a more industry-friendly approach to the issue. The president-elect, Donald Trump, has vowed to boost production of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal and repeal key parts of a landmark 2022 climate law.

The high court will not be reviewing the waiver itself, but instead will look at a preliminary issue: whether fuel producers have legal standing to challenge the EPA waiver.

The federal appeals court in Washington ruled that the companies lacked the right to sue because they produced no evidence that they would be affected by the waiver, which directly affects vehicle manufacturers.

Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and other major automakers already are meeting the California emission standards, the administration noted in court papers.

But the fuel producers told the high court that the appellate decision, if left in place, would “imperil future challenges to administrative action”.

They said they met the legal test for getting into court. As a “matter of common sense”, lawyers for the companies wrote, automakers would produce fewer electric vehicles and more gas-powered cars if the waiver were set aside, directly affecting how much fuel would be sold.

The EPA waiver was part of the Biden administration’s efforts to reverse environmental rollbacks from Trump’s first White House term and restore California’s authority to set tighter emissions rules.

California has unique authority under the federal Clean Air Act to set tougher standards for cars sold in the nation’s largest state, which has prompted automakers to produce more fuel-efficient passenger vehicles that emit less climate-damaging tailpipe exhaust.

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