Top Stories
U.S. EPA moves on emissions as Congress
stalls.—reliability high.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formally declared that
greenhouse gases endanger human health Monday, allowing President
Barack Obama to show his commitment to act as a major climate change
summit opened in Copenhagen. The ruling by the EPA, widely expected
after it issued a preliminary finding earlier this year, will allow the
agency to regulate planet-warming gases even without legislation in the
U.S. Congress." From
Reuters.
Economist debate: China and the U.S.—reliability
high.
In the recent on-line debate at The Economist the resolution "This
house believes that China is showing more leadership than America in
the fight against climate change" was carried 70% to 30%. See The
Economist.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Longyuan Said to Raise $2.3 Billion in Wind
Power IPO.—reliability high.
"China Longyuan Power Group Corp., the nation’s largest wind-power
producer, raised HK$17.5 billion ($2.26 billion) in the world’s
third-biggest initial public offering by an alternative energy
company." Discusses share movements and valuations of other leading
renewable energy firms. See
Bloomberg.
Big break for Fairtrade as Kit Kat receives
certification.—reliability high.
"After lengthy talks between the UK arm of the Swiss food giant Nestlé
and the Fairtrade Foundation, the familiar blue and green logo will
appear on the wrappers of Kit Kats in the UK and Ireland from January.
Initially the certification will only apply to the larger four-finger
Kit Kats but it will be extended to the smaller bars." This represents
a significant expansion for the Fairtrade Foundation, and is part of
Nestlé's long-term program to help cocoa farmers. From
The Guardian.
New Eco-label Disclosure Project To Examine
"Green" Claims.—reliability high.
"with over 350 eco-labels promising to monitor everything from
fisheries to dishwashers, and with little to no oversight, it can be
difficult to know what, if anything, these stamps of approval really
mean. The World Resources Institute, as part of its Green Supply Chain
project, has partnered with Big Room Inc.’s ecolabelling.org to survey
eco-labels’ practices and promises." See
WRI site.
Chinese Energy Plans Could Trim World Oil
Demand, Goldman Says.—reliability high.
"In a research note Friday, Goldman Sachs says China’s new energy plans
could conceivably cut the country’s oil consumption by 15 million
barrels a day over the next 40 years—if China makes significant
improvements in energy efficiency and boosts its use of alternative
energy." More highlights of report. See
Wall Street Journal Environmental Capital blog.
Government and
Regulation
BICEP Companies, Major U.S. Utilities Call on
Senate for Leadership and Swift Action on Climate & Energy.—reliability
high.
Statement from business group urges passage of climate change bill.
"member companies of Business for Innovative Climate & Energy
Policy (BICEP), along with seven major power companies, expressed
concern today about the delay in passing U.S. climate and energy
legislation and applauded ongoing efforts by Senators Kerry, Graham and
Lieberman to create a new bipartisan bill." From
CSRwire.
LG Sues DOE Over Energy Star Treatment.—reliability
high.
LG Electronics believes it is being unfairly singled out after the
Department of Energy required LG to remove the Energy Star label from
some of its refrigerator-freezers starting Jan. 2. As a result, LG
filed a complaint against the department" See
Environmental Leader. LG press release here.
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2009 HaraBara, Inc.]
