M 28j News Today

South African state power utility Eskom sees an opportunity to emerge from years of crisis by shifting from coal-fired power generation towards natural gas and renewables, its chief executive told Reuters.

Switzerland has launched a new public-private partnership to raise up to 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.09 billion) for social and environmental projects in developing countries.

Egypt is expected to finalise a $3 billion loan to be used in part to finance sustainable projects, three sources said, as the nation attempts to recover from a drop in tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Japan must encourage climate-transition financing by investors as many small and medium-sized companies must reshape their business operations before becoming completely green, former Bank of Japan deputy governor Hiroshi Nakaso said on Monday.

UN climate envoy Mark Carney called on Wednesday for more blended finance facilities to mobilise private finance to help the developing world access climate finance, saying the money was there.

Cautious optimism has emerged that COP26 in Glasgow can clinch a global carbon market deal unlocking trillions of dollars of green investment, with even hold-out nation Brazil signalling a desire for compromise.

India, Indonesia and the Philippines will join South Africa as the first recipients of a multibillion dollar pilot programme aimed at accelerating their transition from coal power to clean energy, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) said on Thursday.

By William Schomberg and David Milliken

EU countries will be allowed to pump more money into green projects in climate, energy and the environment under new state aid rules to be announced shortly, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said on Thursday.

British finance minister Rishi Sunak pledged on Wednesday to "rewire" the global financial system for net zero, saying London will also commit 100 million pounds ($136.19 million) to make climate finance more accessible to developing countries.