Tag Archives: climate-change
New EU Climate Policy Unlikely Before 2015: Poland
May 23, 2013 Poland’s Minister of the Environment Marcin Korolec is pictured in Rio de Janeiro, on June 22, 2012. The European Union is unlikely to hammer out its new policy on global warming ahead of a global climate deal that could be clinched in 2015, … more The European Union is unlikely to hammer out its new policy on global warming ahead of a global climate deal that could be clinched in 2015, Poland’s environment minister said Wednesday. “A long discussion on climate change is getting underway. There’s no chance that new measures will be adopted during the current terms of the European Parliament and the European Commission,” minister Marcin Korolec told Poland’s PAP news agency. In its efforts to reduce global warming, the international community is to draw up new, universal climate pact by 2015, which should come into effect by 2020. Korolec’s comments come after UN climate chief Christiana Figueres warned last week that the world had entered a “new danger zone”, with record levels of Earth-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Korolec believes Brussels could soon propose cutting EU fossil fuel imports by 30 percent by 2030, and back production of electric cars. The 27-member EU—struggling to overcome recession sparked by the eurozone’s lumbering debt crisis—should also ban costly and inefficient energy subsidies as a means of forcing the development of new, economically viable, power solutions, he said. Korolec also slammed a European Commission proposal to freeze a portion of carbon emission quotas under the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) in order to drive up the price of those on the market. “It raises doubts when the European Commission itself proposes to intervene in a market system which it set up in the first place,” he said. “Poland has opposed this from the start and I’m confident that the European Parliament will reject it again,” he added. The parliament refused to raise the price on greenhouse gas emission quotas in April to avoid further burdening heavy industries in Europe already feeling the effects of the eurozone crisis. The European Commission revealed last week that the EU’s emissions were down 2.0 percent in 2012, reflecting the economic slowdown . The ETS covers more than 12,000 power plants and manufacturing installations across the EU plus Norway and Liechtenstein, according to the Commission. It is a key part of EU efforts to reduce its CO2 emissions by some 20 percent by 2020, compared with 2005 levels. Read more at: http://phys.org/news…poland.html#jCp Continue reading
Climate Change, Carbon Bubble and New York’s Green Bank
ESG Environmental, Social and Governance investment industry shines the spotlight on New York TBLI Conference B.V. May 22, 2013 – 03:00 PM AMSTERDAM, May 22 /CSRwire/ – The 1st edition of the TBLI CONFERENCE™ USA 2013 in New York, USA from June 17-18 at UFT, 52 Broadway, supported by UN Global Compact and in cooperation with research partner The Sasakawa Foundation, targets urgent ESG and impact investment needs. In 2010, governments confirmed in the Cancún Agreement that emissions should be reduced to avoid a rise in global average temperature of more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with the possibility of revising this down to 1.5°C. Modelling used in previous analyses by Carbon Tracker and the IEA showed that the carbon budget for a 2°C scenario would be around 565 – 886 billion tonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide (CO2) to 2050. This outcome assumes that non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. methane and nitrous oxide) remain high. This is only a fraction of the carbon embedded in the world’s indicated fossil fuel reserves, which amount to 2,860GtCO2. A precautionary approach means only 20% of total fossil fuel reserves can be burnt to 2050. As a result the global economy already faces the prospect of assets becoming stranded and the problem will get worse if current investment trends continue – in effect, a carbon bubble. Using all fossil fuels will breach the global carbon dioxide budget. In January of this year, Richard L. Kauffman joined Governor Cuomo’s Cabinet as the Chairman of a newly formed Energy & Finance Sub-Cabinet. Mr Kauffman’s role will be instrumental in shaping New York’s new $1 billion Green Bank, which Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in his State of the State address. Mr Kauffman underlines the need for radical change in regulatory rules in order to provide financing for small projects. He is a strong advocate of green banks working where they can mobilize the private sector, creating linkages with market intermediaries, and using private capital in wholesale markets. During his keynote address, Mr Kauffman will explain how New York Government’s future policies will expand the marketplace for clean energy generation, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, and low-carbon development by animating market forces and encouraging private sector participation. TBLI CONFERENCE™ USA 2013, organized by TBLI GROUP™, is the prime catalyst of ESG and impact investing and convenes important investors and asset owners, as well as thought leaders in sustainable finance. Who is involved? The TBLI network consists of influential asset owners, asset managers, sustainability professionals and other in the ESG and impact investing space. Players include: ABN AMRO, Bank Sarasin, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, ING, UBS, Rabobank to the Carbon Disclosure Project, GATE Impact and Liquidnet to name a few. What is ESG? According to the Financial Times lexicon “ESG” (environmental, social and governance) is a generic term used in capital markets and used by investors to evaluate corporate behavior and to determine the future financial performance of companies. ESG factors include sustainable, ethical and corporate governance issues such as managing a company’s carbon footprint and safeguarding systems in place to ensure full accountability. Fund managers and financial analysts who can interpret and relate ESG factors to a company’s future prospects may potentially develop a competitive advantage should others fail to recognize the same risks or opportunities related to those factors. TBLI GROUP™ introduced the idea that a truly sound investment is one that provides both financial rewards and offers social and environmental benefits: Triple Bottom Line Investing (TBLI). Based in Amsterdam, TBLI GROUP™ raises awareness in the financial sector of the benefits of impact investment. It advises both companies and individuals who wish to institutionalize sustainability and acts as a global educator, providing a network for parties who share in this goal. The subsidiary TBLI CONFERENCE™ draws attention to the benefits of TBLI by organizing two annual events in which the world’s thought leaders on sustainability network, exchange information and ideas on the latest developments in screening, auditing, reporting, ESG, SRI analysis, corporate citizenship, impact investing, indexes, and research. The subsidiary TBLI CONSULTING™ offers result-oriented advisory and networking services, which, among other projects, assists in mobilizing capital and locating strategic partners for leading impact investment private equity funds, micro-finance bonds, and green mortgages. Continue reading
Farmers Land Carbon Credits
Changes to how land sector emissions are reported under the Kyoto Protocol are expected to benefit farmers and rural landholders who will gain greater access to Australia’s carbon markets. The changes announced in the 2013-14 Budget will see the Government formally account for cropland management, grazing land management and revegetation in its national greenhouse gas inventory. Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change, Industry and Innovation, Yvette D’Ath said the decision meant when a landholder stored carbon in soils or vegetation, their efforts would count towards Australia meeting its national greenhouse gas reduction target. Ms D’Ath said the changes would mean methodologies developed under the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) which covered those activities would be able to generate Kyoto-compliant CFI credits. She said since businesses with obligations under the carbon pricing mechanism could buy and surrender those as offsets against their liabilities, participating farmers now had new buyers for abatement projects on their land. “This is a win for everyone,” Ms D’Ath said. “Liable firms will have more flexibility in how they meet their obligations and farmers can now benefit from new buyers and greater access to Australia’s carbon markets.” She said accounting for those land sector emissions would broaden the base of the CFI, and, by extension, Australia’s carbon pricing mechanism. “A broad base will reduce the overall cost of Australia meeting its international emissions reduction commitments,” she said. Edition 361f, 17 May 2013 Continue reading
