Looking to the future – challenges, changes and opportunities

2020 was, without a doubt, not the year that we hoped it to be.  But members of the McGill community have taken these tumultuous times in stride, passing over and around obstacles to continue the push — virtual or otherwise — for a more sustainable campus.  The Catalyst Awards for Sustainability, celebrated each spring for the past decade, honour those achievements.

The sale of green bonds — a form of debt that funds renewable-energy projects like wind or solar farms, for example — entered another stratosphere in 2021.  Globally, green bonds raised a record $479 billion in proceeds last year, well ahead of the $245 billion sold in 2020, according to Refinitiv data. And bankers expect the asset class to continue smashing records as companies seek to lower their emissions.  “They are here to stay,” said Anne van Riel, BNP Paribas’ head of sustainable finance capital markets for the Americas. “In the last two years we’ve seen a lot of interest in the S in ESG, but now the E is the focus of discussion.”  Countries such as India and Qatar are weighing their first-ever green bonds, while big companies like Apple have made them a part of annual capital-raising plans.  Investors, too, are demanding more green, as they want exposure to companies charting a path toward a zero-carbon economy.

– The electric bus will use a flash-charging system that quickly charges the battery while passengers get on and off the bus.

– IIT Madras will host the infrastructure required to operate the flash-charging system for the e-bus.