ESG investment funds unlikely to comply with sustainable investing rules
The analysis explored compliance with the EU's naming laws
Analysis of more than 18,000 investment funds across Europe has found that less than 4% would be able to comply with naming laws for ESG funds across key markets.
The research, from technology platform Clarity AI, found that many would have to rename their ESG funds if they wanted to sell across the UK, US and Europe, all of which have different definitions and naming laws for non-financial disclosures and sustainability funds.
“When looking at funds with all three investment fund regimes – the US’, UK’s, and EU’s – we found that over 95% of funds with the word ‘sustainable’, or similar term, would require renaming or restructuring in order to be sold across all three markets,” Clarity AI’s head of product research and innovation Patricia Pina.
“This is not only an added cost in terms of compliance, but also underscores how different actors – in this case regulators – are interpreting the meaning of core concepts like ESG and sustainability.”
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Shell bids farewell to large carbon capture plan in Northern England
Shell will reportedly withdraw from the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP), one of the largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the UK.
The project aimed to decarbonise industrial clusters in Northern England, but after a review of its strategy and portfolio, Shell has decided to refocus its efforts on the Acorn CCS project in Scotland, for which it is the technical developer.
ELN understands that the company aims to exit the project smoothly to prevent or minimise any potential impact on project timelines, believing that its withdrawal will bring greater simplicity and clarity to the initiative.
A few days ago, it was reported that National Grid Ventures (NGV), a subsidiary of National Grid, would withdraw from the NEP.
NGV is currently in talks with potential partners to sell the onshore pipeline project, having already stepped back from an earlier stage of the initiative.
ELN has reached out to Shell for comment.
£20bn over 20 years: UK Government confirms unprecedented carbon capture investment
Pictured: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. Image: HM Treasury, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. https://www.flickr.com/photos/hmtreasury/52709204360/
The Budget speech is not due until Wednesday (15 March) but, this evening (10 March), the Treasury has confirmed some of the key inclusions on finance for the energy sector – including a globally unprecedented commitment of public funding to man-made carbon capture technologies.
Hunt will lay out plans for a two-decade investment plan in the carbon capture space and pledge to ensure that “shovels are in the ground” on the first tranche of projects by the end of 2024. The Government is notably aiming for at least one low-carbon industrial cluster with carbon capture to come online this decade and is also assessing opportunities for smaller, dispersed carbon capture sites.
The Government is claiming that, with the investment set to be outlined by Hunt, the UK can expect to capture between 20 million and 30 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030.
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Industry warns UK to strengthen carbon capture commitments or see lead fade away
Nation has made much of the potential advantages of being a first mover on big carbon capture and storage projects, but this status is waning
Industrial operators active in carbon capture and storage (CCS) have urged the UK government to take bolder action in support of such projects, warning that rival destinations for CCS investment look increasingly attractive.
Delegates at the recent International Energy Week conference in London spoke of frustratingly slow progress with CCS cluster projects in the UK and warned of the risk of being left behind in the quest to decarbonise heavy industry.
“We don’t want [developers] moving from one jurisdiction to another. Government has to lead, has to respond swiftly and with bold action,” Ruth Herbert, chief executive of Britain’s Carbon Capture and Storage Association trade group, said in a panel discussion on Wednesday.
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Mega carbon capture project in Canada gains new momentum
Sub-surface studies start on CCS project with potential 22 million tonnes per annum capacity
An alliance of Canada’s dominant oil sands producers has struck a deal to begin evaluating one of the world’s biggest proposed carbon capture and storage projects in Alberta, targeting initial capacity of 22 million tonnes per annum.
Launched in 2021, the Pathways Alliance brings together Canadian Natural, Cenovus Energy, ConocoPhillips, Imperial, MEG Energy and Suncor Energy, which together operate some 95% of Canada’s oil sands production.
This CCS project proposed for Alberta’s Cold Lake region is critical to meet the alliance’s objective of cutting carbon dioxide emissions from its member companies’ oil sands operations by 22 million tpa by 2030 and enabling the goal of net zero by 2050, equivalent to about 30 million tpa.
If approved, the storage complex could begin injecting CO2 into a saline aquifer from a number of oil sands facilities by late 2026.
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Scotland’s net-zero transition ‘hangs in the balance’, CCC warns
Pictured: Glasgow City Chambers and George Square
Through a new progress report, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has condemned the Scottish Government for failing to offer a “coherent explanation” for how its policies will achieve the country’s bold emissions reduction targets.
In recent years, the Scottish parliament has committed to “extraordinary ambition” to decarbonise its economy, with a welcome focus on a fair and just transition, the report states. It said the ambition “should be applauded”, but “only if targets are achieved”.
CCC chair Lord Deben said: “In 2019, the Scottish parliament committed the country to some of the most stretching climate goals in the world, but they are increasingly at risk without real progress towards the milestones that Scottish ministers have previously laid out.
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UK government sets out carbon capture framework
The UK government has announced a regulation framework to support the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the country, in a move that was long awaited by operators with projects in the works.
The Dispatchable Power Agreement (DPA), published on Tuesday, sets out the official business model and contract structures that will shape the nascent CCS sector in the country.
The framework sets out parameters on CO2 capture rates and testing requirements – what the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy described as “solid policy framework” for operators and investors.
The DPA is based on the contractual structure of the Contracts for Difference that was originally put in place to support the renewable energy sector, and expands on the requirements for CCS projects.
“Businesses need to know that the UK is the best place for carbon capture investment... we are giving one of our biggest signals to date and showing that the UK's CCUS industry is open for business,” Climate and Energy Minister Graham Stuart said.
Stuart added that the CCUS framework will provide the industry with “the clarity required to deploy CCUS at scale” and “move into the next phase” of development.
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Sources in the industry had previously voiced their concerns over the confusion reigning in UK politics, following the resignation of former prime minister Boris Johnson and the collapse of successor Liz Truss’ government, and its potential consequences for CCS.
The UK government has been in the process of shortlisting a group of projects that will be granted public support, as it targets the setup of two CCS clusters by 2025 and two more by 2030.
HyNet cluster in North West England and North Wales, and the East Coast Cluster in the Teesside and Humber areas are the two hubs that are due for development by the 2025 deadline.
BP is involved in the East Coast Cluster and Italy’s Eni in HyNet.
A selection of projects was shortlisted in August as part of the sequencing process, and are currently undergoing due diligence.
European Union to provide €3 billion in funding to help CCS projects
Some 300 million to 640 million tonnes per annum of carbon dioxide needs to be captured to meet emission targets
The European Union is set to launch a new €3 billion ($2.98 billion) package of incentives for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects after Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson called for an increased sense of urgency in a field identified as fundamental for meeting climate targets.
Simson spoke about the new support, to be made available from the EU’s Innovation Fund, at the Carbon Capture, Utilisation & Storage Forum, held in Oslo last week.
New funds to help bring large-scale innovative clean-energy projects to the market will be made available for CCS projects under a third call for applications under the EU’s Innovation Fund.
Under the earlier second call, the EU selected 17 large-scale innovative clean-tech projects located in Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden, but the available grant for the selected projects was a total of €1.8 billion, according to a European Commission statement in July.
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Carbon capture needs over 100-fold scaling to hit net-zero targets, says McKinsey
As much as $130 billion will have to be deployed on a yearly basis to achieve the kind of scaling up that is needed
Deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies will have to increase over 100-fold to reach the kind of scale required to hit 2050 net-zero targets, according to consultancy McKinsey.
In its latest research looking at the CCS sector, McKinsey states CCUS technologies are being adopted “far too slowly” to provide a meaningful contribution in emission-mitigation efforts.
The consultancy estimated that CCS at scale could decarbonise as much as 45% of emissions from hard-to-abate industries including steel, cement, fertilisers and chemicals.
To achieve that target, and align with net-zero objectives, deployment of carbon capture infrastructure will need to increase 120-fold, the research stated, capturing at least 4.2 gigatonnes per annum of carbon dioxide by 2050.