Business action on climate change is a topic which since 2000 includes a range of activities relating to climate change, and to influencing political decisions on climate change-related regulation, such as the Kyoto Protocol. Major multinationals have played and to some extent continue to play a significant role in the politics of climate change, especially in the United States, through lobbying of government and funding of climate change deniers. Business also plays a key role in the mitigation of climate change, through decisions to invest in researching and implementing new energy technologies and energy efficiency measures.
Clean technology, also called cleantech or climatetech, is any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental protection activities. Clean technology includes a broad range of technology related to recycling, renewable energy, information technology, green transportation, electric motors, green chemistry, lighting, grey water, and more. Environmental finance is a method by which new clean technology projects can obtain financing through the generation of carbon credits. A project that is developed with concern for climate change mitigation is also known as a carbon project.
Statkraft AS is a hydropower company, fully owned by the Norwegian state. The Statkraft Group is Europe's largest generator of renewable energy, as well as Norway’s largest and the Nordic region's third largest energy producer. Statkraft develops and generates hydropower, wind power, gas power, district heating and solar power. It is also a player in the international energy markets. The company has 5,300 employees in 21 countries with their headquarters located in Oslo, Norway.
The energy policy of the European Union focuses on energy security, sustainability, and integrating the energy markets of member states. An increasingly important part of it is climate policy. A key energy policy adopted in 2009 is the 20/20/20 objectives, binding for all EU Member States. The target involved increasing the share of renewable energy in its final energy use to 20%, reduce greenhouse gases by 20% and increase energy efficiency by 20%. After this target was met, new targets for 2030 were set at a 55% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 as part of the European Green Deal. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU's energy policy turned more towards energy security in their REPowerEU policy package, which boosts both renewable deployment and fossil fuel infrastructure for alternative suppliers.
Norway is a large energy producer, and one of the world's largest exporters of oil. Most of the electricity in the country is produced by hydroelectricity. Norway is one of the leading countries in the electrification of its transport sector, with the largest fleet of electric vehicles per capita in the world.
China is both the world's largest energy consumer and the largest industrial country, and ensuring adequate energy supply to sustain economic growth has been a core concern of the Chinese Government since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Since the country's industrialization in the 1960s, China is currently the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and coal in China is a major cause of global warming. China is also the world's largest renewable energy producer, and the largest producer of hydroelectricity, solar power and wind power in the world. The energy policy of China is connected to its industrial policy, where the goals of China's industrial production dictate its energy demand managements.
SN Power is a defunct company that invests in clean, renewable energy on a commercial basis in emerging markets. SN Power was acquired by Scatec on 29 January 2021.
Renewable energy in developing countries is an increasingly used alternative to fossil fuel energy, as these countries scale up their energy supplies and address energy poverty. Renewable energy technology was once seen as unaffordable for developing countries. However, since 2015, investment in non-hydro renewable energy has been higher in developing countries than in developed countries, and comprised 54% of global renewable energy investment in 2019. The International Energy Agency forecasts that renewable energy will provide the majority of energy supply growth through 2030 in Africa and Central and South America, and 42% of supply growth in China.
Energy in Switzerland is transitioning towards sustainability, targeting net zero emissions by 2050 and a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
A green bond is a fixed-income financial instruments (bond) which is used to fund projects that have positive environmental benefits. When referring to climate change mitigation projects they are also known as climate bonds. Green bonds follow the Green Bond Principles stated by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), and the proceeds from the issuance of which are to be used for the pre-specified types of projects. The categories of eligible green projects include for example: Renewable energy, energy efficiency, pollution prevention and control, environmentally sustainable management of living natural resources and land use, terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity, clean transportation, climate change adaptation.
In 2019, the total energy production in Indonesia is 450.79 million tonnes of oil equivalent, with a total primary energy supply of 231.14 million tonnes of oil equivalent and electricity final consumption of 263.32 terawatt-hours. From 2000 to 2021, Indonesia's total energy supply increased by nearly 60%.
Agua Imara AS, formerly SN Power AfriCA, is a subsidiary of Norfund (Norfund). It is a Norwegian renewable energy company with focus on emerging markets. The core markets for Agua Imara are Africa and Central America, where the objective is to act as a long-term industrial investor, developer and operator of hydro- and wind-power projects.
Aquila Capital is an investment management company with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded in 2001 by Roman Rosslenbroich and Dieter Rentsch. Aquila Capital focuses on real assets and sustainable investments. The company manages more than €14.7 billion for institutional investors and is among Europe’s leading investment companies in climate change mitigation.
Climate finance is an umbrella term for financial resources such as loans, grants, or domestic budget allocations for climate change mitigation, adaptation or resiliency. Finance can come from private and public sources. It can be channeled by various intermediaries such as multilateral development banks or other development agencies. Those agencies are particularly important for the transfer of public resources from developed to developing countries in light of UN Climate Convention obligations that developed countries have.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is an Australian Government-owned green bank that invests in clean energy, to help achieve Australia's national goal of net zero emissions by 2050. The CEFC invests billions of dollars on behalf of the Australian Government in economy-wide decarbonisation opportunities. It aims to help transform the Australian energy grid, as well as supporting sustainable housing initiatives, and climate tech innovators. It was established by and operates under the Clean Energy Finance Corporation Act 2012, along with other subsidiary legislation. As of March 2024 Steven Skala is CEFC chair and Ian Learmonth is CEFC Chief Executive Officer.
ReNew Energy Global plc is a decarbonisation solutions company based in India. It is the first Indian renewable energy company to be listed on NASDAQ. ReNew operates more than 140 projects spread across nine states in India. The company provides decarbonisation solutions through a mix of green hydrogen, data-driven solutions, storage, manufacturing, and carbon markets.
Breakthrough Energy is the umbrella name of several organizations, founded by Bill Gates in 2015, that aim to accelerate innovation in sustainable energy and in other technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It invests in a variety of startup companies that are attempting to commercialize new concepts such as nuclear fusion, large-capacity batteries to store renewable energy, and microbe-generated biofuels.
The Rumuruti Solar Power Station is a 40 MW (54,000 hp) solar power plant under development in Kenya.
Green recovery packages are proposed environmental, regulatory, and fiscal reforms to rebuild prosperity in the wake of an economic crisis, such as the COVID-19 recession or the 2007–2008 financial crisis. They pertain to fiscal measures that intend to recover economic growth while also positively benefitting the environment, including measures for renewable energy, efficient energy use, nature-based solutions, sustainable transport, green innovation and green jobs, amongst others.
CrossBoundary Energy Limited is an investment company that invests in renewable energy projects in Africa. It focuses on the supply of electricity to commercial and industrial consumers. The firm is a subsidiary of the CrossBoundary Group.
