Climate Week NYC is in full swing and the meetings, events and announcements are coming in, well, hot. See our cheat sheet and follow all of ImpactAlpha’s Climate Week coverage. What are you seeing, hearing and doing? Let us know and we’ll try to work it into the mix. – David Bank
- Green bonds. The nonprofit Climate Bonds Initiative, or CBI, unveiled an expanded taxonomy for investors, financial institutions and companies to identify climate-friendly bonds. The classification groups green bonds around seven “resilient” themes: agri-food systems, health, infrastructure, cities, communities, industry & commerce, and nature & biodiversity. “Green bonds are a key tool for financing climate action,” Ujala Qadir, CBI’s director of strategy and programs, said at the unveiling on Wednesday. “There is strong investor demand for green and other labelled bonds, and now we have a clear framework to expand the range of projects that can be included, bringing adaptation and resilience into the fold.” — Louie Woodall
- Carbon offsets. Mike Fisher, the legal division director at the US EPA’s Office of Criminal Enforcement, told the “Building a sustainable economy” panel on legal frameworks that while the agency was not currently conducting any investigations of carbon offset markets, such probes would emerge “before too long.” — Lynnley Browning
- Water works. No magic technology bullet is going to solve the challenge of providing a safe and available water supply, nor the challenges of investing in it. “The key is to find a company that makes money and solves a problem,” says John Rigas, CEO of Sciens Capital Management, which has invested more than $600 million in water companies since 2018 through its Water Opportunities Fund. “There is no Google solution, there is no network solution.” Sciens hosted Rethinking Water at Columbia Climate School as part of Climate Week NYC. Sciens portfolio includes Central States Water Resources, which purchases small water utilities and brings them into compliance with environmental and regulatory standards. In all, Sciens has acquired some 200 local utilities. “We tiptoed in fear that it would be seen as Wall Street abusing Main Street,” Sciens’ Tom Rooney acknowledged in one session. White House climate advisor Ali Zaidi said that private operators have to be just as accountable to communities as publicly-owned utilities, but welcomed the investment capital as demonstration of the upside potential in water. Venture capital investment in water totaled only $1.2 billion last year, down from $1.8 billion the year before. Zaidi said many smart people were working to bridge the gap in innovation and investment. “I just don’t think they’ve jumped into the deep end.” — David Bank
- GGRF challenges. Community organizations, community development finance institutions, nonprofits, banks, credit unions, consultants, urban planning academics and other stakeholders involved in implementing the $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund are increasingly worried about a lack of coordination with local communities required to maximize the historic legislation’s potential. In a background briefing at NYU, participants emphasized that building trust and acceptance of the law to bring clean energy to underserved communities can take years. Said one participant: “The timelines of the GGRF do not match with an ethically responsible community engagement strategy.” — Lynnley Browning
- Solve for X. MIT Solve and its partners awarded $1.3 million to “solvers” from more than a dozen countries. SOS Biotech is moving “from seaweed to solution” with fertilizer and other products made from sargassum, the kelp that is exploding in the Caribbean and other seas (as is Mérida, Mexico-based Bioplastic). SXD provides design software that can help clothing manufacturers reduce waste by more than 50%, and in its own products, passes much of that savings to workers in the form of higher wages. OX Delivers, based in London and Kigali, is providing “transport as service” with its purpose-built electric delivery trucks to help farmers get their goods to market and sellers procure produce at one-tenth the cost. “We’ve built a self-reinforcing mechanism, co-founder Natalie Dowsett told ImpactAlpha. Cheaper transport drives up income and revenues – and increases the demand for transport. — David Bank
- Startup pipeline. Founders pitched recycled textiles (Tereform), nanotechnology for cheaper carbon capture (Freshean) and low-carbon concrete for buildings that plants can actually grow on (Plantaer), among dozens of other climate tech solutions at ForClimateTech’s innovation showcase at Newlab in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, hosted by Second Muse and other partners. — David Bank
- Nuke revival. Fourteen of the world’s largest banks and financial institutions, including Citigroup, Bank of America and Barclays, pledged to provide financing to help triple global nuclear energy output by 2050. The United Nations approved a blueprint Monday, The Pact for the Future, to tackle the interrelated challenges of global warming, artificial intelligence, geopolitical conflicts, and inequality and poverty. — Lynnley Browning
- Green banks. US green banks announced a partnership Monday to speed lending for low-carbon projects under the Inflation Reduction Act’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The US Green Bank 50 will build and share best practices and leverage resources. — Roodgally Senatus
- Nightcap for nature. Australia’s Ethical Invest Group, UNICEF and others hosted an invitation-only “Nightcap by Nature” event Sunday night for roughly 200 venture capitalists, impact investors and family offices at Gold’s House in Central Park. Attendees included Overlay Capital, investment advisor Align Impact, Regeneration VC and singer Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers, a co-founder of Sound Futures, a nonprofit focused on making touring musical events green. One talking point: “People are getting disillusioned with venture capital,” Align Impact’s Ali Motroni told ImpactAlpha. She said many investors are eyeing “other levers to push,” including debt, catalytic capital and public-private partnerships. — Lynnley Browning
