 Ships docked at the Yangshan Deepwater Port in Shanghai. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg BloombergNEF’s annual Pioneers competition is open to startups developing game-changing technologies to reduce emissions. This year’s themes include building sustainable data centers, flattening the so-called duck curve, and decarbonizing shipping and heavy-duty transport. If you work at a startup trying to solve these problems, the deadline to register your interest in applying to be one of BNEF’s 2026 Pioneers is Friday, October 17. Working on a different problem? Fear not, there’s a wildcard category as well. Learn more about the competition, and read our coverage of this year’s winners. By Mark Chediak The International Energy Agency cut its forecast for global renewable capacity growth by 5% based on policy changes in the US and China. The IEA halved its outlook for US renewable energy growth by 2030. The reduction compared to last year’s analysis is due to several moves by President Donald Trump’s administration including the early phaseout of federal tax credits for clean energy installations, import restrictions and permit restrictions for solar and wind projects on federal land. In China, the forecast was cut due to a shift from fixed tariffs to auctions, which is impacting project economics across the Chinese market. Still, the country will account for nearly 60% of global renewable capacity growth and is on track to reach its recently announced 2035 wind and solar target five years ahead of schedule. Global renewable power is expected to reach 2.6 times its 2022 levels and will increase by 4,600 gigawatts by 2030. Solar will account for almost 80% of that, followed by wind, hydro, bioenergy and geothermal. While the amount is equivalent to adding the current generation capacity of China, the European Union and Japan, it’s still not enough to triple global renewable capacity by the end of the decade. That means nearly 200 countries will fall short of the pledge they signed at COP28 in Dubai in 2023 to triple global renewable capacity by 2030. Still, the target is within reach, the IEA said. Subscribe to Green Daily for more news and analysis on renewable power. PME, a Dutch pension fund with $68 billion in assets, is the latest to exit investments in a number of companies exposed to the Palestinian territories after identifying them as potentially tied to human rights violations. The decision follows “an extensive due diligence process and engagement that took several months,” a PME spokesperson said. The companies include US-based online travel company Booking Holdings, cement maker Cemex, and Motorola Solutions, a communications equipment provider. The spokesperson added peace talks due to take place in Egypt “will not” alter PME’s position. The total holding, which comprises shares and bonds of the excluded companies, was valued at €151 million ($177 million) at the end of June, PME said. The divestments reflect growing unease among some asset owners and managers that their investments may be contributing to the continual establishment and maintenance of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and to the war in Gaza.  Palestinians wait to collect free food from a charity kitchen in Gaza City Photographer: Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg Read the full story on Bloomberg.com Danish wind power company Orsted raised $9.4 billion to shore up its balance sheet after the Trump administration’s moves against offshore wind upended the firm’s business model. The green debt market is going through its busiest spell in nearly 18 months, with borrowers from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF to French energy firm Engie turning to Europe for green funding. There’s an ESG fight brewing in Ontario. Entrepreneur Som Seif and his firm Purpose Investments Inc. are at the center of an unprecedented showdown with the country’s top markets watchdog over alleged false or misleading statements.  The “Berlin Bear” holds up a gas turbine at the entrance of Siemens Energy’s plant Photographer: Nicolo Lanfranchi Rising power demand from data centers for artificial intelligence has led to a shortage of the gas turbines needed to generate electricity. This shortage might not seem the most obvious climate story, but it's having impacts across the entire energy sector. This week on Zero, Bloomberg’s Stephen Stapczynski joins Akshat Rathi to look at what’s causing the bottleneck in gas turbines, if the shortage will make companies look to renewables or coal, and whether natural gas is really a “bridge” fuel. Listen now, and subscribe on Apple, Spotify or YouTube to get new episodes of Zero every Thursday. | 
