Top Stories
Blue chip firms warn against green skills
crisis.—reliability high.
"The research from the Business in the Community (BITC) group polled
700 business leaders and found that 70 per cent thought a shortage of
sustainable business leadership skills will represent one of the most
pressing challenges facing UK firms over the next five years as they
attempt to develop new low carbon business models. ... As a result of
the findings, BITC is today teaming up with a number of its members,
including EDF Energy, Marks & Spencer and LloydsTSB, to launch a
new taskforce that will work to develop a best practice guide in
sustainable leadership for a wide range of employees including senior
managers, middle managers, customer-facing staff and general
workforce." See BusinessGreen.
Air pollution leads to premature deaths of
more than 4,000 Londoners a year.—reliability high.
"An estimated 4,267 Londoners are dying prematurely each year because
of long-term exposure to airborne pollution, it was revealed today. ...
The study of the health impact of high levels of fine particulate
matter of a concentration level known as PM2.5 on mortality rates in
the capital prompted calls for Johnson to introduce "urgent targeted
measures" to address the city's poor air quality, which is the worst in
the UK and among the worst in European cities." More about the politics
of London air pollution. Story at The
Guardian. [Think
what the premature mortality toll is in a city like Mumbai or Beijing,
with many more people, and many more unmitigated diesels and
two-cycles.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Why All Companies Should Track
Sustainability Metrics.—reliability medium.
"At the recent Global Conference on Sustainability and Transparency
sponsored by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), participants
bemoaned the inconsistency of information provided in corporate
sustainability reports. ... Readers of sustainability reports seem to
agree that more hard data is needed for reports to be truly
transparent. In a KPMG survey of readers of sustainability reports,
respondents said reporting companies are most likely to omit failures,
leading to questions about the credibility of their sustainability
reports." More about problems with the reports. See GreenBiz
blog.
SK Group reveals clean tech investment
masterplan.—reliability high.
"South Korea's SK Group has revealed it plans to invest 17.5 trillion
won ($14.3bn) in alternative energy and new technologies by 2020, as it
seeks to diversify its sprawling engineering and manufacturing
business. According to a Bloomberg report, SK will spend 4.5 trillion
won ($3.54bn) on new energy technologies including solar cells and
biofuels, 4.2 trillion won ($3.4bn) on environmental infrastructure
such as smart grids and water treatment plants, and 8.8 trillion won
($7.1bn) on other new technologies. ... SK Group, which accounts for
almost 10 per cent of South Korea's total output, hopes the investment
plan will create 42,000 jobs by 2020." See BusinessGreen
story.
Government and
Regulation
Loan Giants Threaten Energy-Efficiency
Programs.—reliability high.
How a new policy at Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, who make a market in
home mortgages, has shut down home solar installations financed by
Property Assessed Clean Energy assessments. The government loan giants
have said they will not treat PACE liens like other liens, but like
loans or unpaid property tax obligations that must be paid off before
mortgages become eligible for resale. "“The letters have had a
devastating impact on PACE programs in California, placing at risk
hundreds of millions of dollars of federal stimulus funding, hundreds
of millions of dollars of state, local and private funding, and
impacting California’s efforts to promote green jobs and greenhouse gas
emissions reductions,” Ken Alex, a senior assistant attorney general in
California, wrote in a June 22 letter to the housing agency." See The
New York Times. [Conflicting
government policies.]
EPA Finalizes GHG Reporting Rules for Four
Emissions Sources.—reliability high.
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing rules
that require underground coal mines, industrial wastewater treatment
systems, industrial waste landfills and magnesium production facilities
to report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under its national GHG
reporting program." These are all big sources of methane. "the data
from these emissions sources will help the agency and businesses
develop policies and programs to reduce them, says EPA. These sectors
will begin collecting emissions data on January 1, 2011, with the first
annual reports submitted to EPA on March 31, 2012." From Environmental
Leader. [Slow
but inexorable march of greenhouse gas emission regulation.]
Clean Air Act Proving Effective in CO2
Regulation, Lawyers Tell Their Corporate Clients.—reliability
medium.
Summary of client letter from Ballard Spahr. "Although legislation
would remove certain uncertainties, speed the course of regulation and
reduce the likelihood of successful challenges in court, it appears
increasingly clear that comprehensive regulation of greenhouse gas
emissions will occur regardless of whether Congress acts or not. EPA
regulatory actions, actions by states and potential liabilities will
all put a price on carbon emissions and create business risks and
opportunities that should play a part in corporate planning." More
discussion of EPA actions. From Solveclimate
blog.
