Green Markets #9

Financial news in environmental markets.

Green Markets is a weekly series dedicated to highlighting events of interest or developing trends within environmental markets. The emphasis is on news that could impact investable opportunities in public stock markets.

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Notable Events

• The Biden administration is introducing 100% border tax tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China. This new policy is estimated to impact $18B worth of imports. In addition, tariffs on solar cells were raised from 25% to 50%, and tariffs on steel/aluminum products went from 7.5% to 25%.

  • China has already stated it would take retaliatory actions.

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• Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian state-owned O&G firm, has signed several MOUs with several U.S based companies to explore low-carbon energy solutions:

  • Aeroseal is an energy efficiency solutions company focused on developing technology to improve gas pipelines, specifically leak mitigation detection.

  • Spiritus is a direct air capture (DAC) company working on new technology that can lower energy requirements for carbon sequestration.

  • Rondo is working on the deployment of battery technology that could reduce operating costs and emissions at Aramco’s facilities.

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• Japan is likely to restart a unit at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power facility in October. This would mark an initial restart of the world’s largest nuclear power plant.

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• Japan recently passed a new law to bolster the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology in the country. New provisions include a fleshed-out permit system for carbon capture, increased liability for emitters, and a new subsidy system.

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• Several technology giants (Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce) have formed the Symbiosis Coalition, a pledge to contract up to 20M tons of nature-based removal carbon credits by 2030.

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• ClearBlue, an analytics firm in the VCMs, and Kita, a pioneer in the carbon insurance industry, have announced a joint partnership in evaluating carbon projects and mitigating their associated risks through insurance solutions.

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New Green Funding Initiatives

• The Green Climate Fund, the largest climate fund in the world, is expected to commit up to $2.3B to 40 different investment opportunities in 2024.

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• Governments, international organizations, and private sector donors recently pledged $2.2B in new financing to expand access to clean cooking across Africa by 2030. Funding sourced from the voluntary carbon markets will be a key contributor.

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• The Ocean 14 Capital Fund, dedicated to investing in sustainable marine startups, just received another €40M, bringing its total commitments to €160M. The fund has increased its goal to raising €200M after already passing its €150M goal. Notable investors include Nestle Purina, HQ Capital, and The Green Earth Impact Fund.

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