Top Stories
1st World Ranking of Clean Energy Technology
(CET) Sales — CET to Become 3rd Largest Global Sales Sector by 2020.—reliability
medium.
"The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) just released a comprehensive global
report, and the first country by country ranking, of clean energy
technology sales." "Clean energy technology sales were about $921
billion in 2007 (€630 billion), but are expected to become about $2339
billion per year (€1600 billion) in 2020. At that volume, the sector is
expected to only be behind automobiles and electronics in global sales.
This is even without a strong, binding deal in Copenhagen." See
CleanTechnica. PDF of report here.
Cap & Trade Cut Emissions 50% in 20
years.—reliability medium.
The U.S. cap and trade program to reduce acid rain caused by sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants has reached its
2010 target, having cut emissions in half from 1990 levels. The 2008
Highlights report from the EPA gives details. Article lists benefits of
cap and trade system. See
CleanTechnica. EPA report here.
Review: E-mails show pettiness, not fraud.—reliability
high.
Extensive feature: "E-mails stolen from climate scientists show they
stonewalled skeptics and discussed hiding data — but the messages don't
support claims that the science of global warming was faked, according
to an exhaustive review by The Associated Press. The 1,073 e-mails
examined by the AP show that scientists harbored private doubts,
however slight and fleeting, even as they told the world they were
certain about climate change. However, the exchanges don't undercut the
vast body of evidence showing the world is warming because of man-made
greenhouse gas emissions." A team of AP reporters studied all the
emails and sent many of the problematic ones to experts for comment. At
MSNBC from AP.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Unilever cuts palm oil supplier ties after
report.—reliability high.
"Unilever, which uses palm oil in such products as Dove soap, Ben
& Jerry ice cream, and margarines like Stork, cancelled its annual
20 million pound ($32.6 million) contract with Sinar Mas after a
critical report by environmental group Greenpeace." "Unilever said an
independent audit of palm oil suppliers in early 2009 had highlighted
areas of concern which were being addressed on an individual basis, but
the Greenpeace report had prompted the group into immediate action." From
Reuters. [What
this says is that Unilever knew of the problems with its supply chain
but still wanted to buy palm oil cheap, until someone blew the whistle.
What about the other suppliers with dubious practices that it has
identified but that Greenpeace didn't happen to expose?]
Exxon
Mobil moves into natural gas with XTO Energy buyout.—reliability
high.
"America's largest oil company, Exxon Mobil, is vastly expanding its
position in natural gas by paying $41bn (£25bn) for a Texas-based
production company, XTO Energy, in one of the largest corporate
takeovers of 2009." See
The Guardian. [As
coal and petrol wane, natural gas gains.]
Toyota to Sell Plug-In Hybrid in 2011.—reliability
high.
"Toyota Motor said Monday that it planned a widespread release of its
plug-in hybrid car in 2011 as the company scrambled to gain the upper
hand in an increasingly crowded battle over next-generation 'green'
technology." "Toyota’s rivals are surging ahead. General Motors plans
to build as many as 60,000 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrids a year,
starting in late 2010. Other automakers, including Ford and Volkswagen,
have announced their own plug-in models, and Nissan plans to
mass-produce a fully electric car in 2010. Toyota is now increasing its
pace. “Several tens of thousands” of the plug-in version of its Prius
hybrid will go on sale in 2011". See
The New York Times.
US energy group joins hunt for Shanks.—reliability
high.
British waste management group Shanks is attracting interest from a
range of potential buyers. "The economics of waste management in the UK
will be transformed in coming years with levies on companies and local
authorities that send rubbish to landfills dramatically rising. The UK
is also in line to face harsh fines from Brussels if it does not
sharply reduce the 56% of all rubbish it currently sends to landfill. .
. . New recycling technologies to convert waste into energy will be
increasingly seen in the UK, giving waste management firms a renewed
lease of life. The UK is seen as the most attractive market for waste
management firms as it has made such little progress with recycling
compared with other European countries." See
The Guardian.
Not so fair trade.—reliability
medium.
Commentary piece says "Fairtrade effectively ensures that people 'get
charity as long as they stay producing the crops that have locked them
into poverty'. Fairtrade reduces the incentive to diversify crop
production and encourages the utilisation of resources on marginal land
that could be better employed for other produce. . . . Farm units must
remain small and family run, while modern farming techniques
(mechanisation, economies of scale, pesticides, genetic modification
etc) are sidelined or even actively discouraged." Details many other
criticisms of Fairrade system. From The Guardian.
Government and
Regulation
Government spends nearly £3m on UK flights
for civil servants.—reliability high.
"The government spent nearly £3m flying civil servants to meetings and
events within the UK last year, according to ministerial answers
revealed to parliament." "Sixteen of 21 government departments
responded to Hughes's parliamentary questions. Between them they spent
£2,947,437 on domestic flights. Those that answered said their civil
servants made a total of 6,503 return flights." From
The Guardian. [Agencies
take into account cost and value of civil servants' time, but not cost
of carbon emissions.]
UN's CDM Executive Board Mulling New Panel
To Reduce Delays.—reliability high.
"The executive board of the United Nations' Clean Development
Mechanism is looking at a proposal to set up a new independent panel to
speed up the project approval process, which currently can take up to
two years, the head of the CDM executive board said Friday." This could
speed up the approval process. See
NASDAQ.com from Dow Jones newswire. [This could be
revolutionary.]
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2009 HaraBara, Inc.]
