Top Stories
"The Hottest Jobs in Cleantech and Where to
Find Them"—reliability high.
Clean Edge has a new report "Clean Tech Job Trends 2010" that says
"solar power, biofuels and biomaterials continue to hold the best
cleantech job opportunities in the U.S. with the San Francisco Bay Area
and Silicon Valley again topping the list of 15 metro areas in the
country with the greatest job activity", according to this GreenBiz
article. More highlights of the report. See GreenBiz.
Summary and access to report (free, but registration required) at Clean
Edge site.
"U.S. sustainability spending seen doubled by
2014"—reliability high.
A commercial report from Verdantix says U.S. "spending on sustainable
business will double to $60 billion by 2014 from the current $28
billion". The analysis assumes federal climate legislation could be
passed by then. "The U.S. sustainable business market will exceed $32
billion in 2011, growing to $40 billion in 2012 and $49 billion in
2013, the report said." More highlights of report. From Reuters.
Executive summary here.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
"Luxury EV to lead Infiniti sales"—reliability
high.
Nissan luxury marque Infiniti will be rolling out more and more
electric and hybrid vehicles, according to this story. "The new EV
model is part of a 'CO2 strategy' that will see the majority of
Infiniti sales made up of either hybrids or pure electric vehicles by
the end of the decade. Although the company won’t be specific, it’s
estimated that around 70 per cent Infinitis will be powered by hybrid
transmissions, around 15-20 per cent will be pure electric vehicles and
just 10-15 per cent powered by internal combustion engines." See Autocar.
[Nearly whole line
to be EV or hybrid within 10 years? Biggest change in the auto industry
since the switch to the fully-enclosed all-metal body in the 1930s?]
"Grameenphone to use solar to cut costs,
emissions"—reliability high.
"Bangladesh's top mobile phone carrier Grameenphone signed deals with
three solar power companies to run its base stations using the
alternative energy, ... The deal will save ... up to 1.15 million
litres of diesel a year, the company said." All off-grid stations
currently use diesel generators and many more have backup generators.
See Reuters
story. [Grameenphone
is saying solar is cheaper and more reliable than diesel in rural
Bangladesh. Diesel does have its own reliability problems, plus
maintenance costs and of course constant fuel deliveries.]
"Investors reveal appetite for riskier
low-carbon projects"—reliability high.
A new commercial report from Standard & Poors, "Can Capital
Markets Bridge the Climate Change Financing Gap?", suggests that
lenders can provide some of the "$80bn to $200bn that the World Bank
forecasts will be needed by developing countries each year to address
climate change", if offered adequate returns. Michael Wilkins, head of
carbon markets at S&P, "said the current green bond offerings from
financial giants such as AXA, Morgan Stanley and the IMF demonstrated
how private capital flows could be harnessed to drive investment in
low-carbon projects in developing countries. But he warned that the
return on investment offered by such bonds needed to be raised to
attract the level of investment economists believe is necessary." One
of the risks mentioned is regulatory uncertainty. From BusinessGreen.
A Reuters
story on the same report says, "Risk transfer instruments,
especially insurance, can play a huge role in offsetting the barriers
faced by capital market investors".
"GE Tops Climate Innovation Index, Berkshire
Hathaway Ranks Last"—reliability high.
"General Electric has edged out Ford and Intel to take the top spot in
Maplecroft’s Climate Innovation Index U.S. 100, while Warren Buffett’s
Berkshire Hathaway comes in last, reports Bloomberg. Ranked on their
efforts to manage carbon emissions and global warming as well as their
profit on climate opportunities, GE topped the list of the 100 largest
public companies in the U.S. for the second year in a row." More
highlights. See Environmental
Leader.
Government and
Regulation
"U.S. says climate talks fail to make headway"—reliability
high.
Jonathan Pershing, the United States Deputy Special Envoy for Climate
Change, said at Tianjin: "There is less agreement than one might have
hoped to find at this stage," suggesting that without progress at
Tianjin an agreement at Cancun might be beyond reach. He suggested that
some other approach beyond the continuing UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change negotiations: "The consequences of not having an
agreement coming out of Cancun are things that we have to worry about.
It doesn't mean that things may not happen; it may mean that we don't
use this process exclusively as the way to move forward." See Reuters
story. [It
doesn't matter what "process" you use, Mr. Pershing. If China doesn't
want an agreement you won't have an agreement. If the U.S. doesn't want
an agreement you might have an agreement you won't have an agreement.
And it sounds like China and the USA are a long way from agreeing.]
And . . .
"Is 'Dangerous Interference' Inevitable?"—reliability
medium.
Recent technical studies, China and India's booming economies, and a
speech by the UK's environment minister all suggest that the idea we
could avoid warming beyond 2°C above pre-industrial levels is now but a
fading dream. And the 2°C target was probably too high anyway. From A
Very Different Earth. [More from the
Docosphere.]
