Leading shipping associations have proposed creating a global levy on carbon emissions from ships to help speed up the industry's efforts to go greener. With about 90% of world trade transported by sea, global shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the world's CO2 emissions and the sector is under growing pressure to get cleaner.

A coal-fired power plant owned by Xcel Energy in Hayden, Colorado accounts for more than half the property tax base and is a reliable source of high-paying jobs in a town with rapidly increasing housing prices. The town could soon test a new idea to meet its climate goals without losing the economic benefits of the plant. Rather than raze the building, the project would transform the power plant into a massive battery to bank electricity generated by renewable energy.

Investment firms are buying record amounts of 'solar bonds,' debt issued to help individuals finance rooftop solar panels to power their homes. Sales of solar bonds hit around $2 billion in the first six months of the year, roughly double levels during the same period in 2020 and 2019. The bonds are backed by bundles of loans made to homeowners for panel purchases and are being issued by a handful of financing companies that specialize in residential solar panels.

Power out, high voltage lines on the ground, weeks until electricity is restored in some places: the dismal state of power in Hurricane Ida's wake is a distressingly familiar scenario for Entergy Corp., Louisiana's largest electrical utility. Entergy critic Logan Burke of the Alliance for Affordable Energy, a New Orleans group that seeks lower costs and greener energy, says the company's grid hasn't met expectations.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Administrator Michael S. Regan joined Silicon Valley Clean Water Commission Chair Alicia Aguirre, and other local officials to announce Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loans totaling $168M for water system upgrades in Redwood City and Alameda County, California.

A boutique hotel to be developed in Milwaukee is getting another year to begin payment on a $4 million city loan. The $36 million development is to convert a historic former Sears store into a hotel with a second $5 million loan, an expected $13.5 million via Opportunity Zone funding, $7 million in federal and state historic preservation tax credits, $3 million in PACE financing, a $2 million private loan, and a $1.83 million deferred developer's fee.

Investors today can expect to see a plethora of gardening-related puns when reading about the blossoming green-bond market. Green bonds, fixed-income instruments whose use of proceeds are specifically linked to the undertaking of environmentally sustainable projects, have surged in size over the previous decade.

U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) announced that their bipartisan Carbon Capture Improvement Act has passed the Senate as part of the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act. The Carbon Capture Improvement Act makes it easier for power plants and industrial facilities to finance the purchase and installation of carbon capture, utilization, and storage equipment, as well as direct air capture projects through the use of private activity bonds.

Representatives Mikie Sherill (NJ-11) and Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-09) introduced the Revamping Appropriate Incentives for Solar Energy for (RAISE) the Roof Act, which clarifies and expands the solar investment tax credit (ITC) to include integrated solar roofs. This move would maximize the positive climate and economic impacts of the next generation of solar energy technology.

CDFA Federal Financing Webinar Series: The Federal Role in Financing Broadband
Tuesday, September 14, 2021 - 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Eastern

CDFA-Bricker PACE Webinar Series: Best Practices for Marketing & Selling PACE Across All Market Sectors
Tuesday, September 29, 2021 - 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Eastern

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This Interactive Guide from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) provides an interactive, step-by-step approach for users to filter through more than 90 broadband related programs compiled from 12 federal agencies and the FCC. It highlights general information about each program, including program descriptions, important dates, contact information, and links to program websites.

This Ballard Spahr white paper describes current market standards for ESG bond labeling, verification, and disclosure, with a focus on green bonds and social bonds, best practices for primary and secondary market disclosure and post-issuance reporting, and key considerations to guide municipal issuers and their financing teams when preparing to issue ESG bonds.

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