🧭 European Investment Bank’s €5.3B climate boost & AI's role in sustainability

Hey there! 👋

Last week, we covered a range of exciting developments in sustainability and tech finance, from Deloitte’s insights on increased sustainability investments across organizations to AllianzGI’s significant funding for impact private credit. We also shared updates on the EPA’s proposed ecolabels for sustainable federal purchasing and Upright’s launch of a science-based impact database covering 35,000 funds worldwide.

The BIG Risk Navigator is your trusted resource for navigating sustainability trends, ESG investment insights, and the latest FinTech innovations. Our goal is to keep C-level executives and board members informed and equipped to drive sustainable and profitable business practices.

Check out this week’s newsletter to explore the European Investment Bank’s latest €5.3 billion commitment to climate resilience, how AI is driving substantial financial benefits in decarbonization, and the record-breaking insurtech round led by Alan. Let’s continue to build a sustainable future together!

But first, community updates!

We’re excited to announce the wrap-up of the Emerald Summit, which brought together climate tech innovators and executive women leading the charge in sustainable business. Stay tuned for key takeaways and insights from the summit that will help you leverage climate tech and drive sustainable growth within your business.

Now let’s get into the news.

• EIB approves €5.3 billion for climate resilience and business innovation: This investment will support cities, businesses, and communities in Europe as they aim for climate neutrality and sustainable growth.

• Accenture and UN highlight Gen AI’s role in accelerating SDG progress amid global crises: New report from the UN Global Compact and Accenture gives business leaders the tools to develop and deploy generative AI.

• AI-driven climate leaders achieve significant financial gains, averaging $200M in annual decarbonization benefits: BCG study: Companies using AI to reduce emissions are 4.5 times more likely to see significant benefits.

• Twelve raises over $600 million to turn CO₂ into clean jet fuel: Twelve converts captured CO₂ into valuable chemicals, fuels, and other essential products typically made from fossil fuels.

• Alan bags Europe’s largest insurtech round this year with €173M Series F: French healthtech unicorn Alan has raised a €173m Series F that has seen the company’s valuation jump to €4bn.

🎯 EIB approves €5.3 billion for climate resilience and business innovation

✅ Key Insights

• €3.5 billion invested in urban development and smart city initiatives across Europe.

• €1.4 billion approved to support corporate innovation and business competitiveness.

• €350 million directed towards sustainable transport and water infrastructure projects.

The Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) approved a total of €5.3 billion of new financing to bolster climate resilience of communities across Europe and back business investment that strengthens competitiveness, creates skilled jobs and unlocks innovation and growth.

Read more.

🎯 Accenture and UN highlight Gen AI’s role in accelerating SDG progress amid global crises

✅ Key Insights

• Only 17% of SDGs are on track; the private sector must leverage Gen AI to accelerate progress.

• Gen AI can drive innovation, productivity, and sustainable practices, offering transformative potential.

• Mitigating risks of Gen AI is crucial to ensure it supports, rather than undermines, sustainability goals.

The UN Global Compact, in collaboration with Accenture, has released a pivotal new report—titled "Generative AI for the Global Goals: The Private Sector’s Guide to Accelerating Sustainable Development with Technology”— to guide business leaders on how to leverage generative AI as a transformative force for advancing the SDGs by 2030.

Read more.

🎯 AI-driven climate leaders achieve significant financial gains, averaging $200M in annual decarbonization benefits: BCG study

✅ Key Insights

• Only 9% of companies report comprehensive Scopes 1, 2, and 3 emissions.

• Companies using AI for decarbonization are 4.5x more likely to see significant benefits.

• Brazil, India, and China lead in emissions reporting, target setting, and reductions.

“Too few companies are seizing the financial gains offered from decarbonization,” said Diana Dimitrova, BCG Managing Partner. A new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and CO₂ AI reveals minimal progress by companies in addressing climate issues over the past year.

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🎯 Twelve raises over $600 million to turn CO₂ into clean jet fuel

✅ Key Insights

• Twelve raises one of the largest funding rounds in the e-fuels space.

• The funding will be used to complete AirPlant™ One, Twelve's first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant.

• This funding round includes a mix of project equity, Series C financing, and credit facilities.

Twelve uses its patented technology to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) derived from biogenic CO₂, water, and renewable energy sources which achieves lifecycle emissions up to 90% lower than conventional fossil jet fuel.

Read more.

🎯 Alan bags Europe’s largest insurtech round this year with €173M Series F

✅ Key Insights

• Alan’s Series F has made it into the top 10 list of Europe’s largest insurtech VC deals ever.

• Belgian bank Belfius led the round, which values the startup at €4 billion.

• Alan will offer its services to the bank’s corporate and institutional clients.

Paris-based health insurance platform Alan has raised €173 million for its Series F in the largest European insurtech deal this year. Belgian bank Belfius led the round, which values the startup at €4 billion—a 48% increase from its previous valuation of €2.7 billion following a €183 million Series E in 2022. 

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Personal LLMs: A double-edged sword for data sovereignty, sustainability, and society

Alex Hong is a Director at AEIR (Singapore) examines the consequences of personal Large Language Models (LLMs) on a number of fronts including data sovereignty, sustainability, learning, innovation, teamwork, and economic growth.

✅ Highlights 

• The rise of personal LLMs: A new frontier

• Implications for data sovereignty and sustainability

• Benefits for societies and economies

• The impact on learning, innovation, and collaboration

A paradigm shift has occurred with the introduction of personal LLMs, which enable people to customize these cutting-edge AI models to suit their own unique requirements and interests. But the growth of individual LLMs has drawbacks as well. They raise serious issues with data sovereignty, privacy, and sustainability even while they present enticing opportunities.

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How generative AI is empowering climate tech with NVIDIA Earth-2

✅ Highlights 

• Solving the need for cost-effective, km-scale weather predictions

• Predicting fine-scale weather details with CorrDiff

• Democratizing AI-weather and enabling climate tech

With the AI-driven advancement of NVIDIA Earth-2, the landscape of climate simulation has shifted dramatically, democratizing access to weather and climate information. Earth-2 will catalyze proactive decision-making, guiding companies, organizations, and nations in answering what-if scenarios, and anticipating unprecedented weather to enable actionable outcomes, spanning policy formulation, urban development, and infrastructure planning.

Read more.