Institutional investors have committed $382 million into a pioneering fund to invest in technology that extracts methane gas from coal mines in China and uses it to generate electricity.

The money was subscribed in the second stage of asset-raising for the China Methane Recovery Fund (CMRF), the fund’s sponsor Man Investments announced.

Man Investments, one of the world’s largest providers of hedge fund investments, said the fund could benefit the environment while earning returns for investors from sales of electricity and carbon credits.

Methane gas is a potent greenhouse gas which arises normally from mining. The investment projects are organised with Chinese partners under the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement which encourages investment to cut greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries.

MTM Capital Partners, an asset management business specialising in environmental projects, will manage the fund. Man Investments has a majority stake in MTM.

The final stage of asset-raising for the CMRF will close before the end of the year, with a maximum of a further $164 million sought from institutional investors.

The CMRF is the first in a range of new environmentally-related investment funds that Man Investments intends to take to market.

Antoine Massad, chief executive officer of Man Investments Middle East Limited, described the venture as an exciting mix of environmental, social and commercial considerations.

“We are backing this fund because MTM’s strategy shows very good return potential,” Massad said.  “But equally important is its capacity to significantly benefit the environment by reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and to contribute to China’s economic growth through installing much-needed additional electricity generating capacity.” – TradeArabia News Service

Gulf countries are dangerously unprepared for natural disasters and risk catastrophic destruction on land and at sea, according to a regional crisis centre.

It would cost billions of dollars to replace ageing infrastructure that would be destroyed in the event of such a catastrophe, says the Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Centre (Memac).

Billions should be spent now to strengthen structures on land - including highways - and at sea, such as oil rigs, against the increasing danger climate change is bringing, says Memac's Bahrain-based director Captain Abdul Munem Al Janahi.

He was at the heart of dramatic efforts to brace Oman for the devastating cyclone Gonu, which struck in June.

Capt Janahi worked through the night for three days in succession at Memac's Bahraini headquarters to co-ordinate with Omani counterparts at the height of the crisis.

The ferocious storm caused havoc when it eventually made landfall, and Capt Janahi warned that none of the eight Gulf countries under Memac's responsibility - the GCC nations and Iraq and Iran - are prepared for a natural disaster of similar magnitude.

A proposal to recycle Bahrain's municipal waste is one of four options being considered by the government.

The bid for the $200 million (BD75.6 million) recycling project has been put forward by Canada-based Zero Waste, which aims to recycle all of the country's waste, as well as launch nationwide waste reduction and recycling awareness programmes.

If the project is approved, it will create 785 jobs, mainly for Bahrainis, Zero Waste research and development director Dr Omar Al Halabi said.

The 270sqm recycling plant, to be located in Askar, would take about 18 to 20 months to be completed in four phases.

The project would cover an area of 500,000sqm to allow for expansion and an area for afforestation.

The plant will be able to sort 36 types of waste, including plastic, glass, metal, paper and so on. After sorting, the items will then go through various stages of recycling, such as grinding and cleaning.

'Bahrain produces 5,000 tonnes of waste every day - 3,700 tonnes is domestic waste and the rest is industrial - and zero waste is our target,' said Dr Al Halabi.