News:

International News

Majority of firms will spend more on climate change

(Reuters) - Seventy percent of firms with revenue of $1 billion or more say they plan to increase spending on climate change initiatives in the next two years, a global survey reported on Tuesday.

Nearly half of the 300 corporate executives who responded to a survey conducted for the accounting and consulting giant Ernst & Young said their climate change investments will range from 0.5 percent to more than 5 percent of revenues by 2012.

UNITED KINGDOM: Lib-Con coalition vows to put "green economy" at heart of government

David Cameron and Nick Clegg today vowed to make the formation of a low-carbon economy one of the centrepieces of their coalition government, pledging to deliver a "full programme of measures" designed to deliver deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

Speaking this afternoon in their first joint press conference, Lib Dem leader and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said the formation of the coalition marked the moment when "fine words on the environment are finally translated into real action".

Last decade was the warmest ever, says NASA

WASHINGTON—The past decade was the warmest ever, according to a new analysis of global surface temperatures released by NASA.

The U.S. space agency also found that 2009 was the second-warmest year on record since modern temperature measurements began in 1880. Last year was only a small fraction of a degree cooler than 2005, the warmest yet, putting 2009 in a virtual tie with the other hottest years, which have all occurred since 1998.

According to James Hansen, who heads NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, global temperatures change due to variations in ocean heating and cooling. “When we average temperature over five or 10 years to minimize that variability, we find global warming is continuing unabated,” Hansen said in a statement.

India, China resist calls to back climate pact

By Krittivas Mukherjee

NEW DELHI, Feb 12 (Reuters) - India and China are resisting requests to sign up for the Copenhagen Accord for fighting global warming that risks unravelling without clear support from major emitters.

The two have not publicly spelt out if they want to be listed among "associates" of the Accord, announced after a meeting of leaders of emerging economies and the United States during a U.N. summit in Copenhagen in December.

"This point is still under consideration," an Indian official said on Friday. Indian officials said the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat wrote a letter to New Delhi asking for a clarification of its views, "preferably" by Feb. 10.

Green dollars pour into africa on the back of pioneering carbon offset deal

Nedbank announced today that its partnership with Wildlife Works Inc. to make available to the international market African carbon credits has proved extremely successful. The demand for carbon credits from the international business community is extremely strong.

In November 2009, Wildlife Works Inc. and Nedbank entered into a business arrangement whereby Nedbank acquired carbon credits from Wildlife Works Inc. for on-sale to the international and South African business community. More than 2,5 million tonnes of carbon was made available through the avoided deforestation of the Kasigau Corridor guaranteed until 2026.

Obama aims to win climate bill with nuclear, oil

WRAPUP 1- WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, trying to save a stalled bill to fight climate change, said on Wednesday clean energy investment could power jobs growth and made no mention of creating a market in planet-warming emissions.

The bill aims to cut carbon pollution by putting a price on the emissions from utilities, refineries and factories and creating a market for pollution permits. It also commits the United States to carbon reduction targets for the next 40 years.

Where things stand on the Copenhagen Accord and international climate politics

After the Copenhagen Accord was “noted” by the UN in December, there was a great deal of insta-analysis. In truth, there was no real way to evaluate the Accord because the meat of it—the emission-reduction commitments from participating countries—was blank. Literally:
The deadline for participating countries to submit their commitments was Jan. 31—yesterday. So, how do things look now that the cards are on the table? Where do we stand on international efforts to address climate change?
Here’s the bad news:
[Climate consultancy] Ecofys reckons that the promised curbs will set the world towards a [disastrous] 3.5 degrees Celsius rise in temperatures, not 2.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said that on current projections the world would exceed an estimated “carbon emissions budget” for the first half of this century by 2034, 16 years ahead of schedule.
The question is, how bad is the bad news? We’re-doomed bad, or we’re-maybe-doomed bad?

'Basic' country bloc agrees to 2010 climate timetable

The environmental Ministers of the so-called Basic group of countries, comprising Brazil, South Africa, India and China, have reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring an agreed outcome at the global climate change conference scheduled for Mexico toward the end of 2010.

The Basic countries also agreed to coordinate their positions closely as part of climate change discussions in other forums, and emphasised the importance of working with other members of Group of 77 and China, in order to ensure an ambitious and equitable outcome in Mexico through a transparent process.

Sustainability as a Profit Center

A new Aberdeen report serves as a roadmap for those attempting to match environmental and social stewardship to clear, actionable, and measurable improvements to their bottom lines – thus ensuring the sustainability of their business ecosystem.

In the face of increasing public eco awareness and widespread media coverage businesses can no longer ignore the opportunities, concerns and risks posed by not having a sustainable business strategy. Business sustainability is now both a top-line and bottom-line company focus. Companies are implementing business sustainability plans that target revenue as well as cost reduction.

Copenhagen climate talks checklist released

By: Creamer Media Reporter

The international Climate Action Network has released a report outlining what would be needed for a successful climate deal, and covers mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology, and the legal architecture aspects of a potential agreement.
The check list is titled 'Fair, Ambitious and Binding - Essentials for a Successful Deal in Copenhagen', and served as a scorecard for observers tracking the progress of the Copenhagen climate negotiations and evaluating the outcomes.
"This check list defines the actions required to avoid catastrophic climate change, while sustaining the global economy and adapting to the climate change we can't avoid," said Climate Action Network International director David Turnbull.

China announces CO2 intensity target for 2020

2UPDATE 4- BEIJING, Nov 26 (Reuters) - China unveiled its first firm target to curb greenhouse gas emissions on Thursday, a carbon intensity goal that Premier Wen Jiabao will take to a summit in Copenhagen next month hoping to aid a global climate deal.

The announcement came a day after the United States, the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases behind China, unveiled a plan to cut emissions by 2020 and said President Barack Obama would attend the U.N.-led talks in Copenhagen.

Soros proposes $100-bln fund to unlock climate talks

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Billionaire financier George Soros told Reuters on Thursday he had found a $100 billion route to unlock climate talks in Copenhagen, while one business group complained the talks were "tone deaf" to the private sector.

U.N. talks in the Danish capital meant to agree the outline of a new climate treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol are stuck on splitting the bill to cut carbon emissions and prepare for more droughts, floods and rising seas.

Companies push for 'very low-energy buildings'

EurActiv.com, 18 February 2009 - Governments need to communicate more clearly their objectives on improving the energy consumption of buildings, to give construction companies more certainty about future demand, according to a survey to be published later today. EuroACE, the federation of companies producing energy-saving goods and services, will publish the results of its new survey on very low-energy buildings today (18 February). The study argues that the EU could reduce CO2 emissions by at least 36 Mt per year in 2020 while saving 568 PJ of energy if all new buildings were to be constructed as very low-energy buildings from 2012

United States to make up for lost time on climate fight

April 27 - The United States gathered China, India and the world's other top greenhouse gas polluters in Washington on Monday to "make up for lost time" and lay the groundwork for a U.N. deal to fight climate change. The meeting, which U.S. President Barack Obama called last month, groups countries that produce about 75 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions to find ways to help seal a global warming pact this year.

Deutsche Bank cuts 2009 EU emissions forecast, sees EUA price rise

The deepening European recession prompted Deutsche Bank to cut its 2009 carbon emissions estimates on Tuesday, but emissions permit prices should rise over the next year, the German bank said in a note. Deutsche Bank analyst Mark C. Lewis revised his 2009 European Union industrial emissions forecast to 1.97 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, down 50 million from a previous estimate of 2.02 billion and 150 million below 2008 estimates of 2.12 billion. "We think that the steel and cement sectors will suffer an especially difficult year in 2009, and their emissions ... will fall significantly," Lewis said.

JPAGE_CURRENT_OF_TOTAL

Start

Next

End

How to Offset your Carbon Footprint - Terms you should know

Carbon

Carbon Footprint
Carbon Emissions
Carbon Footprint Assessment
Carbon Footprint Audit
Product Carbon Footprint

Adaptation
Adaptation Assessment
Climate Change Risk Assessment
Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment
Carbon Disclosure Project

Energy

Energy Reduction
Electricity Reduction
Electricity Efficiency

Training

Carbon Analyst Courses
Carbon Footprint Analyst Course
Energy Auditor Courses
Carbon Footprint Training
Carbon Footprint Courses

Energy Efficiency Auditor Training
Energy Efficiency Auditor Training
Climate Change Education
Global Warming Education
Environmental Training Courses

Carbon Credits

Carbon Project Development
Carbon Credits
Carbon Trading
Feasibility Studies
Carbon Financing

Biogas
Waste to Energy
Wind Farms
Solar Farms