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The report was released by the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The other main cause was policy uncertainty in many countries, an issue that also reduced investment in fossil fuel generation in 2013. Last years investment was $214 billion which was the lowest since 2009. Investments dropped by 14% from $249.5 billion in 2012 to $214 in 2013.

As per Fiinovation, the key highlights from the report to be noted include:

Descended cost of the total investment by 14%

Improved cost-effectiveness of solar photovoltaic systems

Reduced solar PV outlays by 20%

Increased investment in renewable energy from China and Japan

Fiinovation is in favour of this being a good trend that is intended to improve over the years. Since non-renewable energy resources are being continuously depleted, the demand for investment in renewable energy is increasing. An interesting trajectory has been the significant investment by China in renewable energy which has been more than the contribution from Europe. However efforts need to be directed towards enhancing investments from developing nations and under developed nations.

Despite the decline in total investment due to specific reasons, it was not at all disappointing for the industry or people who wish to see the investors and financiers increasing their investments to decarbonisation of the energy system. The report highlighted the role of Japan which has increased investment to $29 billion which excludes research and development. It is believed that there is a need to recycle finance in this sector and mergers and acquisitions can be one method to do so.

Fiinovation is aware of the fact that policy support was not futuristic for renewables in countries such as US, Germany, India, the UK, France, Sweden, Romania and Poland which delayed the investment decisions. While in countries like Spain and Bulgaria, retroactive subsidy cuts for existing projects almost killed off investment entirely. Investments by India in renewable energy dropped by 15% from $7.2 billion in 2012 to $6.1 billion in 2013 due to policy paralysis. It is expected that the challenges will be tackled and investments in renewable energy will increase significantly in the years to come.

Rahul Choudhury

NFIB and WIA to Provide Better Protection for Wine Investors

Millions of Britons enjoy drinking it and many now see it as a long-term investment. Unfortunately, fine wine has also become a focus for fraudsters who trick investors into buying wines or vineyards that bear little resemblance to what they see in the prospectus, or may not even exist. The increasing number of such rorts in Britain has led to calls for action to be taken to protect investors and to increase consumer confidence in fine wines. In the upshot, the UKs National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) is joining forces with the newly-formed Wine Investment Association (WIA) to tackle the problem.

On 14 February 2013, the NFIB and the WIA jointly announced the launch of the new self-regulatory body which will aim to transform the growing wine investment industry by providing better protection for investors in the UK. The WIA has been formed by leading figures from the fine wine investment industry and seeks to support the sector’s growth through voluntary regulation, establishing best practices and setting up processes to identify fraudulent activity.

Director of the NFIB, Det. Supt. Dave Clark, said: “Fraudsters will always follow the money, wine investment is just the latest in a long line of investment opportunities that are being exploited and corrupted to the detriment of the industry as a whole. He added that the NFIB sees the creation of an auditable framework of self-regulation as a step towards maintaining and increasing consumer confidence, while also identifying investment companies which do not operate in accordance with the required high standards.

New Code to Tackle Wine Investment Frauds

Following an extensive consultation period, the WIA has set out the standards and procedures with which its members must comply to remain in good standing. Under the new code of conduct to be drawn up, wine investment firms will undergo stringent audits by accountancy firm Mazars. These will include checks on systems such as stock rotation and to make sure that purchase orders and invoices tally. The director of the WIA, Peter Shakeshaft, revealed that companies which successfully complete the independent audit process commissioned by the newly-formed regulatory body will bear a WIA logo offering consumers a trustworthy safety kitemark. Shakeshaft added: Our industry has been held back far too long by unscrupulous practitioners and issues around fraud. The WIA will really hold the industry to account.