News in Brief

ENVIRONMENTAL GOODS and services, not including the building materials and the construction sector, contribute €3

ENVIRONMENTAL GOODSand services, not including the building materials and the construction sector, contribute €3.6 billion to the economies of Northern Ireland and the Republic, and support over 6,500 jobs here, according to a report by Forfás.

NINE ENVIRONMENTALindices tracking the performance of investments in water technology firms, waste and pollution management companies, firms specialising in energy efficiency and renewable energy developers, have launched on London's FTSE.

UK INSURANCEgiant Aviva, which owns Hibernian here, has launched a €500 million clean technology investment fund.

FRENCH PRESIDENTNicolas Sarkozy has guaranteed €400 million in state backing for a joint partnership by power giant EDF and car maker Renault, who will build a nationwide electric car recharging network by 2011.

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US ENGINEERINGgiant General Electric says revenue from sales of its "ecomagination" clean technology products will reach €13 billion this year.

Event Diary- December

1st-2nd:UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Poznan, Poland; poznan2008.com

Energy Efficiency Finance and Investment Forum, London; euromoneyenergy.com

2nd-3rd: Annual European Carbon Capture and Storage Summit, London; cityandfinancial.com

Solar Innovation and Investment USA, New York; greenpowerconferences.com

4th:Green Investing 2008, London; efinancialnewsevents.com

11th:Cap and Share, Poznan, Poland; feasta.org

innovation@irish-times.ie