{"id":52186,"date":"2024-07-24T11:01:06","date_gmt":"2024-07-24T10:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/?p=52186"},"modified":"2024-07-24T12:41:03","modified_gmt":"2024-07-24T11:41:03","slug":"uaes-alterra-invests-in-fund-backing-fossil-gas-despite-climate-solutions-pledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.climatechangenews.com\/2024\/07\/24\/uaes-alterra-invests-in-fund-backing-fossil-gas-despite-climate-solutions-pledge\/","title":{"rendered":"UAE’s ALT\u00c9RRA invests in fund backing fossil gas despite “climate solutions” pledge"},"content":{"rendered":"

As world leaders gathered in Dubai at the start of COP28 last December, the United Arab Emirates dropped a surprise headline-grabbing announcement. The host nation of the UN talks promised<\/a> to put $30 billion into a new climate fund aimed at speeding up the energy transition and building climate resilience, especially in the Global South.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

ALT\u00c9RRA was billed<\/a> as the world\u2019s largest private investment vehicle to \u201cfocus entirely on climate solutions\u201d. COP28 President Sultan Al-Jaber hailed<\/a> its launch as \u201ca defining moment\u201d for creating a new era of international climate finance.<\/p>\r\n

Yet four months later, one of the initial funds ALT\u00c9RRA backed with a $300-million commitment agreed to buy a major fossil gas pipeline in North America, Climate Home has discovered<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

In March, BlackRock’s \u201cGlobal Infrastructure Fund IV\u201d acquired half of the 475 km-long Portland Natural Gas Transmission System, with Morgan Stanley taking the rest in a deal worth $1.14 billion overall.<\/p>\r\n

That acquisition would not have come as a surprise to the fund’s investors.<\/p>\r\n

When US-based BlackRock pitched it to the State of Connecticut’s Investment Advisory Council back in 2022, the world’s biggest asset manager gave a flavour of where their money would likely end up. Its presentation <\/a>– seen by Climate Home – featured a list of \u201cindicative investments\u201d including highly-polluting sectors such as gas power plants and transportation networks, liquefied natural gas (LNG), airports, terminals and shipping.<\/p>\r\n

Climate Home does not know whether ALT\u00c9RRA saw the same presentation, nor did the UAE firm respond directly to a question asking if it was aware before the COP28 announcement that the BlackRock fund might invest in those sectors.<\/p>\r\n

An ALT\u00c9RRA spokesperson told Climate Home its “investments seek to build the energy systems of tomorrow, while supporting the transition of existing energy infrastructure towards a just and managed clean energy ecosystem”.<\/p>\r\n