Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Statement by Mary Robinson on her Appointment as United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Change
There was a degree of urgency in the appointment because of the 2014 Climate Summit which the Secretary-General will host in September with Heads of State and Government, business, civil society amongst those invited to attend. Therefore the Secretary-General asked Mary Robinson to accept the post, with immediate effect, which will continue to the climate talks to be held in Paris in December 2015.
See full Press Release: http://www.mrfcj.org/news/statement-mary-robinson-appointment-special-envoy-climate-change.html
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Green growth and sustainable development - Investing in a sustainable future
Investment strategies almost never consider external costs to the environment when calculating potential returns. But incorporating environmental risk and sustainability into investor mindsets is possible– and urgent.
Every day we hear more about the threats to our planet: catastrophic climate change, vanishing species, growing mountains of waste, and worsening divides between rich and poor. There is growing awareness that our global economy is environmentally unsustainable. Our prosperity depends on a wide range of resources and services supplied by our planet: land to feed ourselves, water to drink, minerals for our industries, and the humble bee to pollinate our crops.
Most of these resources and environmental services are overexploited and underpriced. Often, they are not valued at all in today’s economies.
See full Press Release: http://www.oecd.org/greengrowth/investing-in-a-sustainable-future.htm
Financing the unfinished business of gender equality beyond 2015
See full Press Release: http://www.oecd.org/gender/data/financingtheunfinishedbusinessofgenderequalitybeyond2015.htm
Price the carbon
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a long-lived gas. Almost half of the CO2 emitted in 2013 will still be in the atmosphere a century from now. This means that its concentration, and warming potential, increases over time, unless the rate of accumulation can be cut to zero. This is the goal that the OECD is urging all countries to achieve: zero net emissions by mid-century. To accomplish this, the explicit price of carbon dioxide emissions should be aligned more closely with their true cost, while avoiding expensive policy options that could be replaced by more cost-effective ones.
Today, explicit carbon prices are far too low, and there is insufficient incentive to reduce emissions as a result. In most countries, low taxes on petrol and diesel fail to fully capture the true cost that running a vehicle has on human health and the environment. Where attempts to put an explicit price on carbon emissions have been made, it is often distorted by a number of conflicting policies. For example, the same governments that are trying to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are providing subsidies to fossil-fuel industries and consumers that are currently estimated at over US$500 billion per year globally. What can governments do to correct this?
First, they need to adopt policies that put an explicit price on carbon. Taxes on carbon emissions or fossil fuels can generate a carbon price, as can emissions trading schemes whereby a “capped” amount of carbon emission allowances are traded in an open market, much like a stock exchange.
See full Article: http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/4260/Price_the_carbon.html
Monday, July 28, 2014
Cleaner Dutch energy: A tax success?
Since 1997 the Netherlands has had a tax allowance scheme aimed at promoting investments in energy-saving technologies and sustainable energy production. This so-called Energy Investment Tax Allowance, or EIA to the Dutch, reduces up-front investment costs for firms investing in the newest energy-saving and sustainable energy technologies. The basic design of the EIA has remained the same over the past 15 years: firms investing in technologies listed in an annually updated “energy list” may deduct some of the investment costs from their taxable profits.
Does the scheme work? An OECD working paper, “Lessons from 15 Years of Experience with the Dutch Tax Allowance for Energy Investments for Firms”, draws four valuable lessons. First, it finds that the use of tax revenues to subsidise investment in energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy is not very different from using straight subsidies, as long as budgetary rules impose enough accountability on such tax expenditures. A second finding concerns the risk of “free riding” by firms that would have made the investments even without the tax incentive. This is found to be the policy’s main weakness, but the problem seems to be manageable. A third lesson is that the use of an annually updated energy list makes the regulation flexible, allowing policy to refocus and apply tighter standards if necessary. The list also helps match supply and demand for new technologies.
See full Article: http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/4163/Cleaner_Dutch_energy:_A_tax_success_.html
Corporate Social Responsibility: Emerging good practice for a new era
Are global companies improving their environmental, social and governance performance? There is good reason to be optimistic, though there is much work to be done.
Some 93% of the world’s largest 250 companies now publish annual corporate responsibility reports, almost 60% of which are independently audited. That means companies from sectors as diverse as financial services, information technology and consumer goods to oil, gas and mining making billions of dollars of public commitments to help solve societal challenges.
Yet, the negative headlines persist, fuelled by reports of sweat-shops in low-income countries producing cheap goods for OECD markets, fatal tragedies such as the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh in 2013 and the Turkish mining disaster in 2014, and catastrophic environmental accidents. Moreover, the legacy of the global financial crisis, concerns about corporate tax practices and challenges such as youth unemployment and climate change have forced corporations to lift their sights further above the bottom line and to judge their performance against wider social goals. Economic growth must now be more inclusive and more sustainable. The onus is on firms to produce more jobs, products, services and infrastructure for more people, while putting more emphasis on decent work and fairness, and less strain on natural resources. .
See full Article: http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/4369/Corporate_Social_Responsibility:_Emerging_good_practice_for_a_new_era.html
Closing the gender gap can boost the economy
Reconciling work and family commitments is a challenge in every country, but particularly for Japanese men and women. Much more so than in most other OECD countries, men and women have to choose between babies and bosses: men choose bosses, women less so, but on the whole there are very few babies and there is too little female employment. These shortcomings are increasingly coming to the fore and will have to be addressed.
Japan is ageing and its working-age population is declining. In fact, the Japanese labour force will decline by about 10 million people to around 50 million workers in 2030 (Chart), and the ratio of working-age people to the elderly will fall from 2.8 nowadays to 1.3 in 2050. Japan needs to make more efficient use of everyone’s skills to address the looming labour shortages: greater gender equality is key to sustaining economic growth. To illustrate the potential gains: if female labour force participation rates of some 63% today were to catch up with male employment rates of 84% over the next 20 years, then the fall in labour supply would be limited. Not only that, the economy would expand by almost 20% over two decades.
See full Article: http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/4336/Closing_the_gender_gap_can_boost_the_economy.html
The Pressures of Resource Scarcity
Resource security is now a priority for governments the world over. Government interventions in resource markets, such as biofuel mandates and export controls, often make things worse. In the medium term, climate change will create local scarcities in vital resources such as food and water, increase market instability by disrupting production and trade, and by fuelling conflict.
Resource security is now a priority for governments the world over. Markets for many resources are likely to remain tight and unstable as demand growth outstrips production and stocks struggle to recover. Government interventions in resource markets, such as biofuel mandates and export controls, often make things worse. In the medium term, climate change will create local scarcities in vital resources such as food and water, increase market instability by disrupting production and trade, and by fuelling conflict.
Development models must adapt to this new reality. Five priorities for doing so are outlined in this chapter: Improve governance and transparency; Get the resource prices right; Unlock financing for clean development; Manage risk and reduce vulnerability; and, Global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This chapter is taken from the United Nations Association-UK report, Global Development Goals: Leaving No One Behind, which focuses on the MDGs and the post-2015 development agenda.
See full Press Release and Report: http://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/papers/view/194969
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Responsible business conduct: Which way forward?
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is no longer just a marketing buzzword but has become a mainstream part of business operations in companies the world over. From so-called triple bottom line accounting through legal frameworks to stock market indices that reward responsible business conduct on social and environmental fronts, company values increasingly reflect CSR values too. But what of their global supply chains, do they hold the same high values? How can multinational companies in particular be sure that the myriad firms they source from in poorer countries do not cut corners with people’s lives or the environment? The death toll from the collapse of the brand-driven Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh in 2013 was another tragic reminder that for CSR to have real value, much more needs to be done.
In this OECD Observer roundtable, we asked a range of stakeholders, from government, business, labour and civil society, for their views:
“What actions are you taking to encourage responsible business conduct and what new steps do you think are needed to strengthen corporate social responsibility worldwide?”
See full Article: http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/4365/Responsible_business_conduct:_Which_way_forward__nbsp;.html
Ending Global Deforestation: Policy Options for Consumer Countries
The report considers the feasibility of applying the same kind of consumer-country measures that have been used with effect to exclude illegal timber to agricultural commodity supply chains.
Efforts to tackle illegal logging and improve forest governance over the past ten years have included measures aimed at excluding illegal timber from consumer-country markets, including public procurement policy, bilateral agreements introducing licensing systems, and legal and company due diligence requirements.
Clearance for agriculture is a far more significant global driver of deforestation, and consumer countries similarly provide markets for exports of illegal and unsustainable agricultural commodities; the main EU imports of commodities associated with deforestation are palm oil, soy, beef and leather, and cocoa.
The report considers the feasibility of applying the same kind of consumer-country measures that have been used with effect to exclude illegal timber to agricultural commodity supply chains.
Measures considered include public procurement policy, differential tariffs, other government regulations (such as biofuels), bilateral agreements, requirements on companies, due diligence in finance and investment, and working with the private sector.
See full Press Release: http://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/papers/view/194247
Global growth to slow as wage inequality rises over coming decades, says OECD
Ageing populations in many OECD countries and the gradual deceleration from current high rates of growth in the large emerging economies will bring global rises in GDP down from an annual average 3.6% in the 2010-2020 period to an estimated 2.4% in 2050-2060. Innovation and investment in skills will be the predominant drivers of growth.
Policy Challenges for the Next 50 Years says unless CO2 emissions are reduced, climate change could curb global GDP by 1.5% by 2060 and by nearly 6% in South and South-East Asia. Technical advances will raise demand for high-skilled workers. Without a change in policy, OECD countries would face a further large increase in earnings inequality by 2060, bringing them close to the level seen in the United States today. Rising inequalities threaten growth, most notably by blocking economic opportunities.
See full Press Release: http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/global-growth-to-slow-as-wage-inequality-rises-over-coming-decades.htm
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Climate Change: Raising Ambition, Delivering Results
When: 3 Nov 2014 - 09:30 to 4 Nov 2014 - 13:00
Where: Chatham House, London, UK
Climate change is climbing the political agenda. Extreme weather events have refocused discussion on the role of anthropogenic warming and the global economic slowdown has heightened debate about the impact of climate policies on energy bills and competitiveness. Against this backdrop, governments are gearing up for a crucial series of agreements in 2015 with climate change at their core.
The 18th Annual Chatham House Conference on Climate Change will take stock of recent developments, including the latest science, the findings of high-level commissions, initiatives from the business community and the UN Secretary General’s Climate Summit. Looking forward to 2015, this conference will examine opportunities to raise ambition and convert this into results.
See full Article: http://www.chathamhouse.org/ClimateChange14
Where Next for EU Climate and Energy Policy?
The European Commission is expected to deliver a report on energy security in June, but divisions within Europe could see climate strategy take a back seat.
In response to the Ukraine crisis, Europe's leaders have recently called for an in-depth study of EU energy security, urging the European Commission to produce a comprehensive plan for reducing energy dependency by June this year.
At a meeting of the European Council in March, member states also agreed to 'show solidarity' in case of sudden supply disruptions in one or several EU countries, and called for an acceleration of existing measures aimed at bolstering the union’s energy integration.
The renewed focus on energy security is hardly a surprise. Russia supplies about 30 per cent of the EU’s gas, of which about half is piped through Ukraine. The current crisis raises important energy questions about the likelihood of a supply disruption or price spikes should Russia decide to turn off the taps supplying Ukraine. (Putin has already warned of this possibility in a letter to 18 European leaders.)
See full Press Release: https://www.chathamhouse.org/media/comment/view/199181
Friday, July 25, 2014
Informe sobre Desarrollo Humano para 2014
Acaba de salir el último Informe sobre Desarrollo Humano para 2014, este año con el subtítulo de 'Sostener el progreso: reduciendo las vulnerabilidades y la construcción de la resistencia' y nos resume que la mayoría de la gente en la mayoría de los países han estado mejorando cada vez más en su desarrollo humano.
Resaltan que los avances en la tecnología, la educación y los ingresos tienen cada vez mayor promesa para el más largo plazo, vidas más saludables y seguras y se han visto importantes logros en aspectos críticos del desarrollo humano, como son la salud y la nutrición.
Ver Artículo completo: http://www.elblogsalmon.com/entorno/informe-sobre-desarrollo-humano-para-2014
Transparency, a Rising Trend in Listed Companies
The Age of Activism
Good corporate governance cannot guarantee that good decisions will always be made: running a business is fraught with risk and managers can -- and often do -- make mistakes. What good governance does do is ensure there is accountability and that decisions are taken in an appropriate manner. The recent experience of publicly traded companies has shown that good governance requires both transparency and fluid communication between the major interest groups -- that is, between top management and the board of directors; between the board and shareholders; and between shareholders and society at large.
See full Article: http://www.ieseinsight.com/review/articulo.aspx?doc=114440&seccion=4
A Global Response to HFCs through Fair and Effective Ozone and Climate Policies
Rising HFC use poses a significant threat to intergovernmental efforts to combat climate change. At present, there is a glaring regulatory gap in this area. Although challenging, there is no reason why the international community cannot come together to address this new problem of coordination and ensure that legal regimes support each other.
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are replacements for many of the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) currently being phased out under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Unlike those ozone-depleting substances (ODS), HFCs do not destroy the ozone layer, but they are very powerful greenhouse gases (GHGs) – up to thousands of times more damaging to the climate than carbon dioxide – and their use is currently growing faster than any other category of GHGs. Projections show HFC use increasing as much as 30-fold by 2050, adding up to 0.1°C of global average temperature rise by mid-century, and increasing up to five-fold, to 0.5°C, by 2100. This clearly makes it more difficult to limit the rise in global temperature to the internationally agreed ceiling of 2°C – and thereby avoid dangerous climate change – by the end of the 21st century.
See full Article: http://www.chathamhouse.org/publication/global-response-hfcs
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Las vulnerabilidades que vienen con el cambio climático
El Wilson Center estadounidense nos trae un interesante análisis sobre las vulnerabilidades que vienen con el cambio climático que muchos de nosotros pensamos que se está viendo, aunque todavía hay muchos, incluso dentro de nuestros lectores, que no piensan que el cambio climático sea algo de qué preocuparse y, aún más, muchos todavía niegan que la actividad humana ha sido el principal causante de este cambio climático.
Las vulnerabilidades que evalúa dependen de la exposición que se tiene a los impactos que llegarán. Exposiciones como, por ejemplo, la proximidad a zonas bajas costeras o a áreas de probable sequía. No obstante, también es importante la capacidad de los Estados para responder a estos cambios.
Ver Artículo completo: Las vulnerabilidades que vienen con el cambio climático
Waging a war to save biodiversity: the rise of militarized conservation
This article examines the rise in militarized approaches towards conservation, as part of a new ‘war for biodiversity’. This is a defining moment in the international politics of conservation and needs further examination. The claims that rhinos and elephants are under threat from highly organized criminal gangs of poachers shapes and determines conservation practice on the ground. Indeed, a central focus of the 2014 London Declaration on the Illegal Wildlife Trade is the strengthening of law enforcement, and recent policy statements by the US government and the Clinton Global Initiative also draw the link between poaching, global security and the need for greater levels of enforcement. Such statements and initiatives contribute substantially to the growing sense of a war for biodiversity. This article offers a critique of that argument, essentially by asking how we define poachers, and if militarized approaches mean conservationists are becoming more willing to engage in coercive, repressive policies that are ultimately counterproductive. Further, this article examines how the new war for biodiversity is justified and promoted by referring to wider debates about intervention in a post-Cold War era; notably that the international community has a responsibility towards wildlife, especially endangered species, and that military forms of intervention may be required to save them. - See more at:
See full Article: http://www.chathamhouse.org/publication/waging-war-save-biodiversity-rise-militarized-conservation
OECD and FAO see lower farm prices; livestock and biofuels outpacing crop production
Demand for agricultural products is expected to remain firm while expanding at lower rates than in the past decade. Cereals are still at the core of what people eat, but diets are becoming higher in protein, fats and sugar in many parts of the world, as incomes rise and urbanisation increases.
The OECD–FAO Agricultural Outlook 2014-2023 says such changes, combined with a growing global population, will require substantial expansion of production over the coming decade. Led by Asia and Latin America, developing regions will account for more than 75% of additional agricultural output over the next decade.
See full Press Release: http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/oecd-and-fao-see-lower-farm-prices-livestock-and-biofuels-outpacing-crop-production.htm
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Time for an Ethical Rewiring of Banking and Finance
Academics discuss how to instil integrity beyond regulation
Much has been written about the ethical causes of the latest financial crisis. Now it’s time to learn from it and build the ethical foundations for banking and the financial system to avoid tripping over the same stone.
This was one of the topics raised over two days at IESE´s biennial, 18th International Symposium on Ethics, Business and Society. With a major focus on the need for an ethical rearmament of banking, the symposium also gave centre stage to the areas of transparency in accounting and responsible investment.
Ethics beyond regulation
The banking system was the first topic to be tackled by Domènec Melé, Chairperson of the Symposium and professor in the Department of Business Ethics as well as Chair of Business Ethics at IESE. "Was the collapse of Lehman Brothers really a mere technical fault with no ethical content?" he asked. It would be absurd to think so. There is always an ethical dimension to any human activity, he said. Ethics, as many speakers were to agree, is the "softer" side to the technical collapse of the banking system.
See full Details: http://www.iese.edu/en/about-iese/news-media/news/2014/july/time-for-an-ethical-rewiring-of-banking-and-finance/
Monday, July 21, 2014
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Why young people are key to tackling climate change
“Inheritance” is a word often used when it comes to our responsibility to take care of the planet, but I don’t think it’s the right one. After all, when you inherit something, it’s yours to do as you like with. I prefer to say that we are “borrowing” the earth, from future generations; when you borrow something, you have to hand it back in good condition.
After all, it is today’s young generations who will pay the price if we neglect our duty to minimize the effects of climate change – and we will not go far in fulfilling that responsibility unless we engage young people in a meaningful way. Fortunately there is evidence that, around the world, young people are taking the lead.
See full Article: http://forumblog.org/2014/07/young-people-tackling-climate-change/
Friday, July 18, 2014
La IPCC reitera que los humanos perjudicamos el medio ambiente
La Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE) comenta el nuevo Informe (PDF) del Panel Intergubernamental sobre Cambio Climático de las Naciones Unidas (IPCC) que concluye que está claro que el deterioro medioambiental que se está viendo en el mundo tiene clara intervención humana. Esta declaración se tiene que continuar repitiendo ya que todavía existen tantos, demasiados, que cuestionan que los humanos están impactando el medio ambiente.
El informe identifica ocho grandes riesgos que ven de este deterioro medioambiental. Estos riesgos son los siguentes:
Ver Artículo completo: http://www.elblogsalmon.com/entorno/la-ipcc-reitera-que-los-humanos-perjudicamos-el-medio-ambiente
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Reducción de emisiones contaminantes en Perú generaría inversiones por S/. 7,300 millones - Economía | Gestión
Según estudio del proyecto Planificación ante el Cambio Climático (PlanCC), las dos terceras partes de esa inversión podrían ser generadas por el sector privado.
El proyecto Planificación ante el Cambio Climático (PlanCC), impulsado por el gobierno del Perú, presentó un estudio en el que se revela que reducir las emisiones contaminantes en el país podría generar la ejecución de inversiones por S/. 7,300 millones, de los cuales las dos terceras partes podrían ser movilizadas por el sector privado.
El PlanCC está presidido por un Comité Directivo conformado por el Ministerio del Ambiente (Minam), el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (MRE), el Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas (MEF) y el Centro Nacional de Planeamiento Estratégico (Ceplan).
Ver Artículo completo: Reducción de emisiones contaminantes en Perú generaría inversiones por S/. 7,300 millones - Economía | Gestión
4 Ways World Leaders Can Win at the Climate Leaders Summit
Leaders from the world’s top 17 developed and developing economies will gather on July 11 for the Major Economies Forum, or MEF, in Paris, knowing they must return to this city in 2015 to finalize a global climate agreement. World leaders must dig deep now to set in motion near-term actions that support low-carbon economic growth and deliver a climate deal strong enough to prevent catastrophic climate change.
The science has never been clearer. Countries must take action now to reduce heat-trapping pollution over the next decades; only then can they avoid the crushing costs of more severe floods, droughts, sea-level rise, and other extreme weather events driven by steadily rising global temperatures. A new report from the Risky Business Project estimates that the costs of climate change could rise to hundreds of billions of dollars by 2100. The study reveals the wide-ranging financial risks of climate inaction, including the more than $50 billion worth of coastal assets likely to be underwater by 2050 as sea levels continue to rise, and the expected 50 percent to 70 percent drop in crop yields over the next decade alone. The latter will cost corn and wheat farmers in the American Southeast, Great Plains, and Midwest tens of billions of dollars.
See full Article: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2014/07/08/93383/4-ways-world-leaders-can-win-at-the-climate-leaders-summit/
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
How can we feed a world of 9 billion?
How can we produce enough food for the world’s burgeoning population without destroying the environment?
In this World Economic Forum video, Professor Charles Godfray, a population biologist at the University of Oxford, asks how we can create a sustainable food system that can feed a future population of 9 billion people.
See full Press Release: http://forumblog.org/2014/07/video-can-feed-world-9-billion/
England 'exposed' to climate risks
England is still not doing enough to tackle the risks from climate change, government advisers say.
The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) says three-quarters of existing flood defences are inadequately maintained because of a cash shortage.
Rules to avoid floods affecting new developments have also been delayed.
The government says it has offered an extra £270m to repair storm-damaged defences and is committed to adapting infrastructure to extreme weather.
See full Article: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28214685
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
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