Volvo has agreed to lower carbon dioxide emissions from its construction equipment, buses, and trucks by 30 million tons by 2015, the company said Feb. 17. The commitment builds on a previous pledge to lower Volvo truck emissions by 13 million tons by 2015.
The 30 million ton emission reduction goal is equal to the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by Sweden over the course of seven months, the company said.
Volvo set the target as part of its commitment under the World Wildlife Fund Climate Savers program. Companies in the program pledge to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions and to work with other companies, suppliers, and partners to promote greenhouse gas emission reductions.
Posted on Friday, February 17, 2012 by
Avery Fellow
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Two international events concerning airlines and raw materials with implications for climate change and energy are on the agenda in the week ahead as the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives recess for state and district work periods.
Posted on Friday, February 17, 2012 by
Regina Cline
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It's Valentine's Day and lots and lots of chocolate will be devoured by lovers of this ubiquitous delicacy.
Up to 58 million pounds of it, according to Nielsen, and that was back in 2009.
But cocoa production is being threatened by climate change, according to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture.
West Africa grows 70 percent of the World's cocoa beans, with Ghana and the Ivory Coast making up more than half of the total, according to the World Cocoa Foundation.
ICTA found that if temperatures in the region rise more than 1 degrees Celsius by 2030, the growing area for the cacao tree likely will shrink, making those chocolate treats more expensive and less available. Another 1 degree rise by 2050 could leave many parts of the region too hot and arid to produce cocoa at all.
Part of the problem is that the tree is somewhat fragile and needs plenty of water during the growing season. Furthermore, it takes five years for a tree to produce its first beans, and the peak growing period for the average tree is only 10 years.
The research, commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is intended to help producers face the threat now, for example, by developing a hardier cocoa crop to tolerate warmer drier conditions and increasing the use of shade trees to help keep trees cool.
The migration of crops to wetter, cooler regions to the North will not help, the report found, because it would likely lead to increased deforestation and the relatively flat land is not conducive growing the cocoa tree as a crop.
Coffee Lovers Beware
And cocoa is not the only indulgence at risk. Another favorite–coffee–is succumbing to the effects of climate change.
Coffee is is grown in more places than cocoa, but even a half degree rise in temperature can make a big difference in yields, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Posted on Monday, February 13, 2012 by
Regina Cline
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New York Feb. 10 began registering benefit corporations, a new class of companies required to create positive impacts for the environment and society as well as shareholders.
Incorporating as a benefit corporation provides company directors a legal defense for safeguarding workers’ rights and protecting the environment in addition to promoting shareholder value. Benefit corporations, called B Corps, also enable shareholders to hold directors accountable for a company's failure to create a material positive impact on society or to consider the impact of decisions on employees, community, and the environment. Benefit corporations are also required to prepare an annual benefit report for shareholders detailing their social, environmental, and performance.
Benefit corporations in New York were authorized under a state bill (S. 79) that was signed into law Dec. 12 by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and went into effect Feb. 10.
Six other states have benefit corporation laws. California, Maryland, New Jersey, Vermont, Virginia, and Hawaii have passed B Corp laws, and legislation is pending in Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Washington, D.C.
Posted on Friday, February 10, 2012 by
Avery Fellow
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Budget Process to Begin
Obama is scheduled to release his 2013 budget request Feb. 13.
Late in December 2011, President Obama signed into law the roughly $1 trillion omnibus spending package, a move that closed the wrenching fiscal year 2012 appropriations process, which was wrought with short-term stopgap funding measures and threats of government shutdowns.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu will host a media briefing Feb. 13, outlining the department's fiscal 2013 budget request, with proposed investment in an "all-of-the-above" energy strategy.
The Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources will hold its first hearing on the budget for the Department of Energy Feb. 16.
EPA to Hold Sustainability Meeting
The Environmental Protection Agency will hold a meeting Feb. 13-14 in Arlington, Va., of the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology to begin developing recommendations on actions EPA can take in response to a National Academy of Sciences Report on Incorporating Sustainability in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
As detailed in an Aug. 2, 2011, article, the report recommends a shift at the agency from making decisions rooted in risk assessment to including a policy's potential social and economic impacts as well.
Posted on Friday, February 10, 2012 by
Regina Cline
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Some economists say the shale gas boom, which has resulted in cheaper natural gas, has the potential to delay the market for renewable energy by up to 20 years without regulatory policies like a renewable portfolio standard for utilities.
That's according to The Influence of Shale Gas on U.S. Energy and Environmental Policy, prepared by the International Association of Energy Economics. The report is summarized in a Jan. 19 World Climate Change Report article.
But there is more discouraging news for renewables.
The International Energy Agency report, Deploying Renewables 2011, found that the United States lacks a long-term federal policy for deploying renewable energy technologies. Current tax credits make the markets skittish because of the way the incentives are renewed—or not—by Congress.
For example, the 2.2-cent-per-kilowatt-hour production tax credit for wind power expires at the end of this year, while tax credits for geothermal, hydropower, and biomass will expire at the end of 2013. It's hard to make investment choices without certainty. A summary of the IEA report, along with agency comments appears in a Nov. 23, 2011 article.
Posted on Thursday, February 09, 2012 by
Regina Cline
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U.K. Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne has stepped down amid allegations of wrongdoing and has been replaced by Ed Davey, a former business minister.
Huhne is being investigated for allegedly letting his wife take the blame for speeding tickets he racked up in 2003, according to the BBC and other news outlets.
Huhne, a Liberal Democrat, said he is innocent but would step down during the investigation. Davey took over Feb. 3.
Posted on Monday, February 06, 2012 by
Regina Cline
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Members of a sustainability initiative launched by IBM, Coca-Cola, and other corporations will hold their first meeting Feb. 7-8 in Orlando Fla.
As detailed in a World Climate Change Report article, the Innovations in Environmental Sustainability Council will address sustainability challenges related to materials, energy, water, infrastructure, and logistics at their companies.
The group will begin by focusing on the supply chain to find ways technology can be used to better track the existence of materials as they move from manufacturing, to consumer, and on to disposal.
Fuel, Vehicle Program on California Energy Commission Agenda
On Feb. 10, the California Energy Commission will hold an advisory committee meeting and a public workshop on the state's alternative and renewable fuel and vehicle technology program.
The seven-year program, which began in 2008, has an annual budget of about $100 million to help the state meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals, reduce dependence on oil, and cut air pollution.
A presentation by the commission released last December highlights the program's progress to date and estimated benefits through 2020.
Posted on Friday, February 03, 2012 by
Regina Cline
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The Coca-Cola Co. released its sustainability report (http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/sustainabilityreport/) for 2010 and 2011 on Monday, revealing that it is on track to be water-neutral in its direct operations by 2020.
According to the report, the company has increased its water use efficiency, or reduced the average amount of water required to produce each beverage serving, each year over the past eight years.
Posted on Monday, January 30, 2012 by
Avery Fellow
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The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing Jan. 31 on the “U.S. and Global Energy Outlook for 2012.”
As detailed in a Jan. 24 World Climate Change Report article, the U.S. Energy Information Administration issued an early release overview of its Annual Energy Outlook 2012, which is closely watched by lawmakers and interest groups. EIA predicted that world oil prices will rise to $146 per barrel by 2035 and that the share of renewable energy will grow.
EPA Regulatory Reform Hearing
On Feb. 3, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Energy and Environment will hold a second hearing on regulatory reform efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency.
President Obama in January 2011 issued Executive Order 13563 directing federal agencies to review all of their existing and pending regulations for possible reform or elimination. The first hearing on regulatory reform was held by the subcommittee Nov. 30, 2011.
A 2012 outlook article published Jan. 11 details how Republicans are expected to make an early and aggressive target of EPA in an effort to curtail the agency's authority under the Clean Air Act to control greenhouse gas emissions, among other things.
Congressional aides say legislation to restrict EPA could pass in the House with relative ease, while the fate of such action in the Senate is less certain, given that Democrats still control that chamber.
CARB to Hold Hearing on Linking to WCI
The California Air Resources Board will hold a public workshop Feb. 3 to discuss how to link its cap-and-trade program with Quebec's.
As detailed in a Jan. 13 article, while both programs are only in the test mode for 2012, both plan on holding two emissions allowance auctions in the last half of the year, and plans are to link the two programs before the first auction.
Other Canadian provinces that are partners have yet to launch cap-and-trade programs, but remain committed to doing so, while U.S. states that were participating in the WCI process have backed out, claiming cap-and-trade would harm their economies and would cost jobs.
Posted on Friday, January 27, 2012 by
Regina Cline
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