Renewable Energy

UK’s net-zero bill is less painful than it looks

20 Oct 2021

Britain’s pre-COP26 investment pledges augur ill for securing up to 60 bln pounds a year of mostly private capital to cut CO2 emissions. Yet unlike peers, it now has a solid net-zero strategy. If that wins over investors, other states may decide to offer similarly clear roadmaps.

Green transition needs a wider focus than oil cuts

13 Oct 2021

Fossil fuel investment has fallen to levels that would limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the IEA says. Yet measures to hike green energy and curb demand are just as important, and lagging. Unless states act, high energy prices risk becoming an ongoing headache.

Eni’s green listing shows appropriate restraint

12 Oct 2021

The $50 bln Italian oil major’s renewables IPO may value it at 10 bln euros. Recent efforts by rivals don’t inspire confidence, but Eni’s offer blends a nascent green power business with its more established energy retail arm. That should get takers at a more modest valuation.

Capital Calls: Green investors, ASOS, Renren

11 Oct 2021

Concise views on global finance: Al Gore’s asset manager finds listed equities can influence a larger chunk of global emissions; the online retailer parts company with its CEO; the startup investor’s $300 mln settlement with aggrieved investors is likely to be an exception.

Chancellor: Going green is everything except easy

6 Oct 2021

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the United Nations just weeks ago that transitioning to a carbon-neutral economy would be a cinch. Oops. The global energy crisis changes everything. Not least, it makes the cost of jettisoning hydrocarbons a great deal more expensive.

Cox: How Greta can transition from blah blah blah

4 Oct 2021

The young Swedish climate activist grabbed headlines in Milan at the runup to COP26 last week, castigating “so-called leaders” for talking much and acting too little. She’s got a point. But generational resentment won’t halt global warming. She’d be better off going nuclear.

Al Gore makes appropriately hedged bet on UK power

28 Sep 2021

Generation, co-founded by the ex-vice president, is pumping $600 mln into Octopus. That gives the UK energy firm a $4.6 bln valuation and insurance if its swoop on rivals caught out by surging gas prices goes awry. Yet first-mover status should limit Octopus’ downside anyway.

Guest view: Offsets reach moment of maturity

24 Sep 2021

There’s no guarantee the world will keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. As such, emissions cuts to tackle areas that can’t or won’t decarbonise will become key. Paris Agreement overseer Christiana Figueres argues that offsets deserve a chance to overcome their flaws.

The smarter way to avoid energy crises: use less

24 Sep 2021

Soaring power prices have prompted calls to build more wind turbines, hike gas storage, or revive nuclear energy. But a big push to make buildings, industry and transport more efficient could help halve global demand by 2050. It’s something governments can act on straight away.

Capital Calls: Zoom glitches, Pret A Manger pivots

21 Sep 2021

Concise views on global finance: The video-conference company’s $13.6 bln deal with call-center software firm Five9 could slip away, and that’s no bad thing; the sandwich-to-coffee chain’s 100-million-pound post-pandemic overhaul is a punt on an untested formula.

Road to COP: Denmark’s green giant

21 Sep 2021

Orsted is one of the most highly valued players in the global energy transition. Chief Executive Mads Nipper’s main job is to ensure things stay that way as demand for its wind power intensifies. Ahead of Glasgow’s critical COP26 conference in November, he chatted to George Hay.

BP’s hard baptism goes with transition territory

20 Sep 2021

The UK oil major has sold choice assets to control debt since embarking on its green pivot a year ago, and CEO Bernard Looney just replaced the boss of his key renewables arm. If he needs a boost, Danish wind star Orsted looked equally bumpy at a similar stage of its evolution.

Spain’s utility goof is thin end of net-zero wedge

17 Sep 2021

Madrid’s $3 bln raid on the coffers of its power sector is a clear climate-change own-goal. The political sensitivity of energy prices means it won’t be Europe’s last. The bigger risk is Brussels watering down the carbon-trading scheme partly responsible for gas prices soaring.

Norway readies fresh round of green air guitar

14 Sep 2021

The Scandinavian state is on track for a left-wing coalition pledging to do more on climate change after eight years of conservative rule. But rapid cuts to national hydrocarbons output aren’t likely. Given Norway has a $1.4 trln wealth fund, it can afford to go beyond gesturing.

Road to COP: Hydrogen comes faster than you think

14 Sep 2021

At this fall’s United Nations climate summit, world leaders will seek to take concrete steps to fight global warming. Green hydrogen could help, but it’s still too expensive. Snam CEO Marco Alvera tells Lisa Jucca why the hydrogen energy revolution is likely to surprise us all.

Capital Calls: U.S. jobs, $7 bln tax settlement

3 Sep 2021

Concise views on global finance: Slow U.S. job growth signals caution for the Fed; meanwhile, a giant deal between hedge fund executives and the IRS gives legs to President Biden's tax plans.

Viewsroom: Battling the climate emergency

12 Aug 2021

A new U.N. report on global warming gives financiers fresh reasons to take bigger steps to help avert or mitigate the consequences, Breakingviews editors argue. A plan by the UK’s Prudential and the Asian Development Bank to close coal-fired power stations offers a model.

Capital Calls: UK engineer bidding war, Inflation

11 Aug 2021

Concise views on global finance: U.S. aerospace group TransDigm tries to elbow out rival Parker-Hannifin with a $9.7 bln bid for Meggitt; predicting U.S. consumer prices is proving tricky.

Cox: Saudi may have a super-green future after all

5 Aug 2021

At a recent G20 summit, the kingdom didn’t just align with U.S. and European climate crusaders. Its delegates even tried to break an impasse with India on coal. It’s a sign of how confident Saudi has become in its ability to manage, and profit from, the energy transition.

BP’s oil price boon is a mixed blessing

3 Aug 2021

Rising crude values allowed the $84 bln UK group to raise its payout and give CEO Bernard Looney more funds to pivot away from fossil fuels. But the bonanza could focus investor minds on less speedy rivals with scope to pay higher dividends, like Shell. That may hurt BP’s appeal.