Filed under: climate change, corporate transparency | Tags: climate change, International Energy Agency, oil lobbyists, peak oil, transparency
The International Energy Agency, one of the last few credible resources for reliable global energy statistics, revealed Monday that it has been inflating oil statistics under pressure from US oil lobby groups. Global oil reserves are disappearing at a much faster pace than recorded, and the threat of over-reliance on fossil-fuel energy sources is much more dangerous than represented by IEA officials.
The IEA and its annual ‘World Energy Outlook’ is a compass for many country’s energy policies, depending on numbers from IEA to make decisions on future energy sourcing and security. Many national governments use IEA statistics in lieu of their own experts.
Filed under: climate change | Tags: climate change, Copenhagen, economic policy, failure to lead, international trade
In a stunning failure to lead in a time when we need it most, world leaders met at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and agreed to postpone the challenging issues of climate change and use Copenhagen to set non-binding agreements. With Congress unable to pass any binding climate change legislation, Obama couldn’t take a strong stance, and without US leadership, other nations followed suit. The delegation also failed to move forward on any decisions regarding international trade and economic policy.
It’s always encouraging to know that our global leaders, when faced with a challenge, can be relied upon to do absolutely nothing.
Filed under: climate change, sustainable products, technology | Tags: smart grid, solar
Early October, Obama signed an executive order mandating a sustainability officer for each federal agency. Last week, he visited the country’s largest solar power installation in Florida, and declared that 3.4 billion would be invested in updating our national electricity grid. All I can say is it’s about time.
Filed under: climate change, innovation, policy, social entrepreneurship, strategy | Tags: climate change policy, social innovation
The US Executive office just added two innovative new branches: The Office for Energy and Climate Change Policy and the Office for Social Innovation and Citizen Participation.
The climate policy office will support climate science institutions nationally, oversee the EPA’s plan to launch a national cap-and-trade, and provide public education and communications around basic climate science. This office will manage the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, an ongoing dialogue between key developed and developing countries regarding sustainable energy and emissions reductions. Leaders of 16 major economies as well as the Secretary General of the UN have been invited to participate. Their website, globalchange.gov, also hosts a 13-agency report on the latest climate science, a ‘game-changer’ aimed at shedding light on climate research that has been conducted and suppressed over the past eight years.
The social innovation office will be directed by Sonal Shah, Google.org’s former strategic director, and former head of environmental strategy at Goldman Sachs. Her first task is managing a 50-million social innovation fund written into Obama’s 2010 budget. Investments and partnerships will focus on innovation around healthcare, education, poverty alleviation, and local environmental initiatives.
Filed under: climate change, corporate leadership, sustainable business | Tags: climate change, insurance, legislation, linkedin, transparency
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) today approved a groundbreaking mandatory requirement that insurance companies disclose to regulators and investors the financial risks they face from climate change, as well as actions the companies are taking to respond to those risks.
Citing concerns about “the potential impact of climate change on insurer solvency and insurance availability and affordability across all major categories of insurance,” the NAIC, comprised of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, approved the requirement at its national meeting today in San Diego. It is the first mandatory climate risk disclosure requirement in the world.
Filed under: climate change, consulting, corporate leadership, strategy | Tags: climate change strategy, management consulting, sustainability consulting
Verdantix reports on how large consulting companies are measuring up with regards to climate change strategy in their latest publication, “Green Quadrant: Climate Change Business Consulting”. Corporate sustainability consulting is still considered risky by quite a few management consulting companies operating here in the US’s dwindling economy, but is taking off elsewhere in leaps & bounds.
“The corporate market is gradually moving into a period where action on climate change is a necessity. As a result, demand for climate change business consulting services is growing. Today’s buying trends focus on understanding the scope of the problem. To assist climate change leaders in their selection of an external adviser this Green Quadrant compares 15 consulting firms against 74 criteria grouped into three dimensions: service completeness, market momentum and global presence. The report includes an analysis of market demand, detailed comparison of consulting firms and profiles to guide selection decisions.”
Filed under: climate change, corporate transparency | Tags: climate change, corporate accountability
A small Alaskan village and the City of San Francisco are suing Exxon Mobile for separate accounts of pollution and contribution to global warming. The suit filed in San Francisco Superior Court says Exxon Mobil’s neglect has contaminated the soil, groundwater, tidal water and sediment of San Francisco Bay, caused by Exxon operations in the Bay dating back to the 1930s.
Lawyers for the Alaska Native coastal village of Kivalina, which is being forced to relocate because of flooding caused by the changing Arctic climate, filed suit in federal court arguing that 5 oil companies, 14 electric utilities and the country’s largest coal company are held responsible for the climate change-induced damages.
Filed under: climate change | Tags: climate change, ICLEI, strategy, urban sustainability
Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) is a program created by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), an association of over than 700 local governments, representing over 300 million people worldwide.
Cities for Climate Protection is ICLEI’s flagship campaign. The program is designed to educate and empower local governments around the globe to take action on climate change. CCP is a performance-oriented campaign that offers a framework for local governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve livability within their municipalities.
ICLEI uses the performance-oriented framework and methodology of the CCP Campaign’s 5 Milestones to assist local governments in developing and implementing local approaches for reducing global warming and air pollution emissions, with the additional benefit of improving community livability.
