Economic Conditions Snapshot, February 2009: McKinsey Global Survey Results

Battered but resilient economies

Three-quarters of all respondents, and more than 90 percent of those in the eurozone, expect their nations’ GDP to fall in 2009. This is an increase from November, when 59 percent of all respondents expected GDP to fall. Given that opinion, it’s not surprising that executives indicate that their nations’ economies are bad and that they have low expectations for the near term. Notably, however, those views have remained fairly stable between December and January, after falling markedly between November and December (Exhibit 1).

This may indicate a belief that the economy has hit bottom and that even tens of thousands of layoffs and continued steep losses in shareholder value aren’t worsening the situation. Some 40 percent of respondents expect an upturn to begin by the end of this year. Many executives are betting on the United States to lead that upturn, whenever it comes; more than a third say the upturn will start in North America, followed by 26 percent who expect it to start in several regions at once.

See full Survey, registration required.

"En todas partes del mundo las mujeres sufren discriminación, tanto en Oriente como Occidente"

A pesar de ello, Shirin Ebadi, abogada y Premio Nobel de la Paz, afirma que ser mujer y abogada en Irán es totalmente compatible

La trayectoria vital de la iraní Shirin Ebadi es el perfecto ejemplo del David contra Goliat. Desde que la Revolución Islámica en 1979 la retiró de la judicatura, esta jurista se puso en pie de guerra contra la interpretación “injusta” del Islam que desdeña los derechos humanos en países como el suyo. Abogada y defensora de los derechos civiles y ganadora del Premio Nobel de la Paz en 2003, Ebadi afirma sin ambages que hombres y mujeres ejercen la abogacía sin desigualdades en Irán. Los obstáculos comienzan, matiza, cuando su lucha se centra en combatir los crímenes de lesa humanidad.

¿Es compatible ser mujer y abogada a la vez en su país?

Es perfectamente compatible. La primera mujer que ejerció en Irán lo hizo hace 70 años. Como mujer, no existe ningún desafío, excepto la imposición del velo. Pero como abogada que trabaja en el tema de los derechos humanos, tengo muchos problemas.

See full Article.

Ethanol plants could produce “green chemicals”

Talk about recycling: “Green chemicals” startup Genomatica on Wednesday said it has bioengineered a petroleum-free version of a widely used industrial solvent that can be produced in shuttered ethanol plants.

You’ve most likely never heard of the chemical, methyl ethyl ketone, or MEK, but it is used as a solvent in paint and other coatings. Genomatic says it has bioengineered a microbe that ingests sugar and water and produces MEK without the toxic byproducts and environmental risks that come from making petroleum-based industrial chemicals.

The San Diego company - backed by Silicon Valley venture capital firms Mohr Davidow Ventures and Draper Fisher Jurvetson - last year produced its first green chemical in the lab, 1,4‐butanediol, or BDO, which is a raw material found in everything from skateboard wheels to spandex. Genomatica plans to license its bio-chemicals to industrial producers.

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Green stimulus: Who wins

In the green stimulus sweepstakes, big potential winners are companies like Silicon Valley startup OptiSolar.

The solar-cell maker came out of nowhere last year to score a deal with utility PG&E to build the world’s largest photovolaic power plant, a 550-megawatt monster that would cover some 9 1/2 square miles on California’s central coast. OptiSolar subsequently began construction of a factory in Sacramento to produce the thousands of thin-film solar panels needed for the project. Then the economy tanked and as financing dried up, OptiSolar laid off half its workforce - some 300 employees - and halted construction of the Sacramento facility.

With a Colorado solar company executive joining President Barack Obama as he signed the $787 billion stimulus legislation into law Tuesday at a solar-powered museum in Denver, OptiSolar and other renewable energy companies stalled by the financial crisis may see their fortunes revive. The package allows builders of big renewable energy projects to apply for a government cash grant to cover 30% of construction costs in lieu of claiming a 30% investment tax credit.

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Pasarelas ecológicas en Londres

Al evento de la Semana de la Moda de Londres no sólo asisten diseñadores de fama internacional, casas de costura líderes y modelos glamorosas, sino un grupo de modistas que se autoproclaman ecológicos y éticos.

Un vestido reciclado, una chaqueta de fibra de plátano, una cartera que "habla por los animales" y un collar de marfil vegetal podrían estar entre las piezas que forman parte del último grito de la moda.

London Fashion Week (Semana de la Moda de Londres), que se celebra entre el 20 y el 25 de febrero, es uno de los eventos más esperados por quienes siguen las pasarelas.

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Canadian environmental policy | The greening of Canada?

DESPITE being two of the most profligate energy users on the planet, the United States and Canada have spent little time over the last eight years discussing what they might do together to combat climate change and protect the environment. That changed on February 19th, when President Barack Obama made his first post-inauguration trip abroad to meet Stephen Harper, Canada’s prime minister. The environment was one of just three topics on their official agenda.

Mr Obama seems the more committed environmentalist; clean energy and energy reduction figure prominently in his stimulus package. Mr Harper is a more recent convert to the green cause and it is not yet clear he has been fully won over. He is torn between his allegiance to his adopted province of Alberta, where Canada’s tar sands are located, and the need to align Canada’s policies with those of America, which buys most of Canada’s energy exports. As long as George Bush remained in office, Mr Harper did not have to choose between the two, but a new president with decidedly greener views will force his hand.

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Job Losses Carry High 'Stress Tag'

Battered economy exacts emotional toll on unemployed, families, even those still working

As each day brings more bad news on the U.S. economic crisis, the monetary cost of the mounting job losses might be far easier to measure than the mental toll on the thousands of people who suddenly find themselves out of work.

"When you lose a job, the losses are multiple," explained Michael McKee, a psychologist at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. "There's the possible loss of the financial ability to support yourself and your family if you don't have savings. There may be the loss of self-respect, and the respect of others. For some people, there's a loss of identity. There's a loss of security and daily structure. At the extreme end, there are people who lose meaning and hope."

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A proxy season to remember

With Corporate America on the ropes, shareholder activists are hoping for big victories this proxy season, particularly on measures tied to executive

In the coming weeks, investors will find themselves steeped in the annual ritual known as proxy season, a time where corporations give stockholders a rundown on their operations and discuss other issues near and dear to investors' hearts.

This year, shareholders, particularly those at major banks and other financial institutions, have a litany of grievances related to the current economic crisis: inadequate risk management practices, insufficient oversight by board members and oversized pay packages doled out to some bankers.

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Advice for Outgoing CEOs

How can you avoid being a lame duck? You can't. So make the best of it

Leaders who are getting ready to slow down and pass the baton often have a common fear: that they will become lame ducks if they announce their successors in advance. No one wants that to happen.

Almost every leader goes through this inner dialogue as part of the challenge of "slowing down." This fear, which often results in postponing the announcement about succession until the last minute, inhibits what could have been a much smoother transition.

Face it: When you are nearing the time to exit, you will become a lame duck! That is O.K. Eyes will immediately turn to your successor as his or her vision for the company will mean more than yours. Executive team members who have encountered your disapproval for their pet ideas will just "wait it out" and resell their ideas to your successor. People will start sucking up to him or her—just the way they used to suck up to you.

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Climate change chief rejects ETS job fears

The head of the Federal Government's Climate Change Department has defended the planned emissions trading scheme against claims it will lead to massive jobs cuts.

Opposition's emissions trading spokesman, Andrew Robb, says the Government's plan will hurt the economy, saying it will "cost jobs and kill investment."

But Dr Martin Parkinson from the Department of Climate Change has told a Senate estimates hearing that because some businesses will be given compensation, the prospect of job losses is small.

"At the margin, there may well be," he said.

Greens Leader Bob Brown has told Lateline his party is still negotiating with the Coalition about the terms of reference for a full Senate inquiry into the emissions trading scheme, which the Government wants up and running by next year.

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Valuing corporate social responsibility

Environmental, social, and governance programs create shareholder value, most executives believe, but neither CFOs nor professional investors fully include that when evaluating business projects or companies.

The perceived importance of corporate environmental, social, and governance programs has soared in recent years, as executives, investors, and regulators have grown increasingly aware that such programs can mitigate corporate crises and build reputations. But no consensus has emerged to define whether and how such programs create shareholder value, how to measure that value, or how to benchmark financial performance from company to company.

This McKinsey survey asked CFOs, investment professionals, institutional investors, and corporate social responsibility professionals2 from around the world to identify whether and how environmental, social, and governance programs create value and how much value they create. The survey also examines which metrics are the best indicators of value and how they can be communicated most effectively.

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Regulators to reform remuneration schemes

With pay packages and bonuses in the financial sector under scrutiny, regulators are seeking to reform remuneration schemes and tackle the culture of taking huge risks

Risk and reward – such lovely alliteration makes this pairing feel so logical. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned in the past year, it’s that markets, economies, companies, investors and individuals rarely work in ways the average Vulcan would approve of. Much less so in a bull run such as the one that is currently crashing around our ears.

That could go some way towards explaining the hideously inflated remuneration packages director-level executives have been enjoying, while gold-plated capitalism has been filling in for an absent common sense. And the latter’s return from the dead amid what many believe is a global recession – created on the back of a philosophy of taking on huge risks and not bothering to mitigate them properly – explains why time is now being called on those inflated pay packets that, in not reflecting risks undertaken, exacerbated the disastrous consequences of those risks that we’re seeing now.

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How executives put centered leadership into action

Executives who frequently think about and act on all the elements of the centered leadership model are also more likely than others to be satisfied with their jobs.

The McKinsey Leadership Project—an initiative to help professional women at McKinsey and elsewhere—has distilled a leadership model comprising five broad and interrelated dimensions: meaning, managing energy, positive framing, connecting, and engaging. Our September 2008 article “Centered leadership: How talented women thrive” describes the model. This new article reports results of a survey we undertook to learn how executives act on these dimensions.

To further explore the centered leadership model, McKinsey recently asked senior and midlevel executives of both genders from around the world to respond to a series of questions that ask how they think about—and how they act on—each of the five dimensions.

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British Fight Climate Change With Fish and Chips

As he has done frequently over the last 18 months, Andy Roost drove his blue diesel Peugeot 205 onto a farm, where signs pointed one way for “eggs” and another for “oil.”

Used cooking oil currently costs 10 percent less than diesel fuel in Britain.

He unscrewed the gas cap and chatted nonchalantly as Colin Friedlos, the proprietor, poured three large jugs of used cooking oil — tinted green to indicate environmental benefit — into the Peugeot’s gas tank.

Mr. Friedlos operates one of hundreds of small plants in Britain that are processing, and often selling to private motorists, used cooking oil, which can be poured directly into unmodified diesel cars, from Fords to Mercedes.

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Elisabeth Murdoch declines News Corp. board seat

Following is a letter sent to the Editor of the Financial Times:

Sir,

It is incredible to see a grown company ("A generation gap for the Murdochs" Financial Times February 25 2009), a major international corporation, listed in major international stock exchanges with many shareholders, professional and otherwise, in a debate about which brother or sister is going to take over from daddy!

Onésimo Alvarez-Moro

See article:
Sources say Rupert's TV producer daughter declined spot on News Corp.'s board

In the weeks that Rupert Murdoch was locked in unsuccessful negotiations to keep his longtime No. 2 at News Corp., the media baron also had to accept his daughter Elisabeth's decision to turn down a spot on the company's board, sources told Fortune.

Murdoch's interest in having Elisabeth rejoin the family business adds to the palace intrigue surrounding president Peter Chernin's pending departure and the question of who will eventually run the globe-spanning media conglomerate Murdoch assembled and controls through a 37% voting interest.

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The Human Factor: Understanding the Sources of Rising Carbon Dioxide

Every time we get into our car, turn the key and drive somewhere, we burn gasoline, a fossil fuel derived from crude oil. The burning of the organic materials in fossil fuels produces energy and releases carbon dioxide and other compounds into Earth's atmosphere. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide trap heat in our atmosphere, warming it and disturbing Earth's climate.

Scientists agree that human activities have been the primary source for the observed rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide since the beginning of the fossil fuel era in the 1860s. Eighty-five percent of all human-produced carbon dioxide emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil, including gasoline. The remainder results from the clearing of forests and other land use, as well as some industrial processes such as cement manufacturing. The use of fossil fuels has grown rapidly, especially since the end of World War II and continues to increase exponentially. In fact, more than half of all fossil fuels ever used by humans have been consumed in just the last 20 years.

Human activities add a worldwide average of almost 1.4 metric tons of carbon per person per year to the atmosphere. Before industrialization, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was about 280 parts per million. By 1958, the concentration of carbon dioxide had increased to around 315 parts per million, and by 2007, it had risen to about 383 parts per million. These increases were due almost entirely to human activity.

See full Press Release.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory and the Mystery of the Missing Sinks

Picture a tree in the forest. The tree "inhales" carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, transforming that greenhouse gas into the building materials and energy it needs to grow its branches and leaves.

By removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the tree serves as an indispensable "sink," or warehouse, for carbon that, in tandem with Earth's other trees, plants and the ocean, helps reduce rising levels of carbon dioxide in the air that contribute to global warming.

Each year, humans release more than 30-billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels for powering vehicles, generating electricity and manufacturing products. Up to five-and-a-half additional gigatons of carbon dioxide are released each year by biomass burning, forest fires and land-use practices such as slash-and-burn agriculture. Between 40 and 50 percent of that amount remains in the atmosphere, according to measurements by about 100 ground-based carbon dioxide monitoring stations scattered across the globe. Another estimated 30 percent is dissolved into the ocean, the world's largest sink.

See full Press Release.

Ford chief takes 30% pay cut in 2009 and 2010

We have criticised executives for not noticing, when it comes time to fix their own compensation, that there are problems out there and that their companies are not doing so well.

A 30% cut in salary recognizes that and Mr. Mulally should be congratulated.

Although, don´t worry, he will still take home a seven figure salary.

Onésimo Alvarez-Moro

See article:
CEO Alan Mulally agrees to take 2009 and 2010 salary cuts after union allows stock contributions to healthcare fund.

Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Alan Mulally has agreed to take a 30% salary cut for this year and next, the executive chairman Bill Ford said in a memo to employees Tuesday.

The announcement to employees in a memorandum obtained by Reuters came the day after the United Auto Workers agreed to allow Ford to make up to half its contribution to a union-aligned trust for retiree healthcare in company stock.

See full Article.

The crisis: Mobilizing boards for change

To meet the challenges of the economic crisis, corporate boards must change the way they work.

This short essay is a Conversation Starter, one in a series of invited opinions on topical issues. Read what the authors have to say, then let us know what you think.

As companies grapple with uncertainty of a magnitude that few have experienced before, their boards should begin by questioning fundamental strategic assumptions: Is our view of the market realistic? Does our financing strategy take into account the new conditions? Should we reset the incentive scheme or abandon any approach based on share prices? Can we exploit the current glut of talent? How can we take advantage of the pain our competitors are experiencing?

Unfortunately, most corporate directors are likely to assume that radical change is unnecessary and that “normal service” will soon resume. Their experiences during less severe crises—such as those in 1990, 1997, or 2001—will lull them into a false sense of complacency; few will adjust their strategies and policies sufficiently.

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ICAS: tax ‘simplification’ would complicate small company tax

Institute urges government to rethink tax reform proposals

Government proposals aimed at simplifying corporation tax calculations and returns for smaller companies are likely to cause confusion and make accounts more opaque, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland has warned.

A Treasury discussion document published in the pre-Budget Report last November, which closed for responses last week, suggested that small companies might base their statutory accounts on tax rules rather than generally accepted accounting principles, or might be taxed by reference to cash flows rather than profits.

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Europe faces off against US over audit inspections

Commission suspends work on inspection co-operation plans over concerns that the US lacks commitment to the process

A row between Europe and the US over audit inspections looms after the EC suspended its work on co-operation with non-EU audit oversight bodies over fears that the US is not ready to make the same leap.

Internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy said last week that discussions with the EU’s 27 member states had been halted as more time was needed to ensure that the US was ready to rely on the work of oversight bodies in other countries, according to the Financial Times.

‘While some of our trading partners, notably Canada and Japan seem to be open towards such an agenda, the same is not true for the US,’ said McCreevy.

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US 'CO2 hunter' set for lift-off

Nasa is all set to launch its first mission dedicated to measuring carbon dioxide (CO2) from space.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) will help pinpoint the key locations on our planet's surface where the gas is being emitted and absorbed.

CO2's increased concentration in the atmosphere will lead to global climate change, say the major institutions and agencies that study Earth sciences.

The OCO data is intended to help forecast that change more accurately.

See full Article.

Outrage over Outsized Executive Compensation: Who Should Fix It and How?

The contrast is jarring. As thousands of Americans lose their jobs, headlines are focused on excessive executive compensation and lavish perks -- John Thain's $1.2 million redo of his executive suite at Merrill Lynch (since repaid), Citigroup's plan to buy a new corporate jet (since scrapped), and recent subpoenas to claw back bonuses handed out at Merrill Lynch.

"It is shameful," President Obama said in the end of January in reaction to a report that New York financial executives took in $18.4 billion in bonuses while the banking system was receiving billions in a taxpayer-funded bailout. The people on Wall Street "who are asking for help [need] to show some restraint, discipline and ... sense of responsibility," Obama stated. Separately, vice president Joseph Biden offered his take: "I'd like to throw these guys in the brig."

No one has been locked up, but on February 4, the president announced a set of executive compensation limits aimed mainly at firms that are the recipients of federal aid under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The rules place a $500,000 cap on salaries. Any additional compensation will have to be in the form of restricted stock grants that will not vest until after taxpayers are repaid.

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What's Behind the Drive for Clean Tech?

Twenty years from now, will Americans light their homes with solar power or wind? Plug their cars into an electric grid? Replace oil-based petroleum from the Middle East with bio-fuels made from algae?

Betting on which of those technologies will take hold in the marketplace -- and which of them will wither -- would be a tough call in even the best economic environment. But in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, many bets are off -- and it's not yet known if the $50 billion in clean tech initiatives included in the U.S. government's economic stimulus package will bring more private capital to the game.

Still, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists at the recent Wharton Entrepreneurship Conference agreed that changes in the energy marketplace are inevitable, although there was some disagreement about the pace. For example, in a session titled, "What's Driving Clean Tech?" one panelist envisioned fleets of zero-emission electric cars in the next 10 years, while another believed gasoline and diesel would continue to dominate.

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S.E.C. Faces Fresh Scrutiny Over Trading Inquiry at Lehman

The Securities and Exchange Commission, under fire for failing to heed warnings about the Ponzi scheme that was apparently run by Bernard L. Madoff and lasted for decades, is now under scrutiny for its handling of insider-trading accusations involving former executives at Lehman Brothers.

In a letter sent to the commission last Thursday, Charles E. Grassley, the Iowa Republican who is the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, asked Mary L. Schapiro, the chairwoman of the S.E.C., whether it had followed up on allegations that were brought to its attention last spring involving a unit at Lehman Brothers. Employees in the unit, known as the Product Management Group, appear to have tipped off clients and traders about the content of the firm’s research reports before they were released, a former Lehman analyst said.

The letter does not disclose who might have received the tips, if they were made.

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Accenture, Citi, Repsol Y Unió de Pagesos, Premios Empresa Y Sociedad 2009

• El objetivo es distinguir las mejores social de personas desfavorecidas.
• Se han concedido en las modalidades y Participación de empleados.

El jurado, presidido por Claudio Boada (Presidente del Círculo de Empresarios) en su octava edición, ha decidido que los galardonados de los Premios Empresa y Sociedad 2009 son Accenture, Citi, Repsol y Unió de Pagesos.

Con estos premios, la Fundación Empresa y Sociedad reconoce las mejores actuaciones empresariales en el ámbito de la integración en la sociedad de personas desfavorecidas, considerando simultáneamente su doble ángulo empresarial y social. Este año contó con 27 candidaturas, un número similar al de años anteriores.

Ver Nota de Prensa completa, en formato pdf.

Promoting energy efficiency in the developing world

Developing economies have a huge opportunity to strengthen their economic prospects by boosting their energy productivity.

Big gains await developing countries if they raise their energy productivity, research by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) has found: they could slow the growth of their energy demand by more than half over the next 12 years—to 1.4 percent a year, from 3.4—which would leave demand some 25 percent lower in 2020 than it would otherwise have been (Exhibit 1). That is a reduction larger than total energy consumption in China today.

Policy makers and businesses in developing regions must not be deterred from boosting energy productivity (the output they achieve from the energy they consume) because of the present weakening economic environment and falling oil prices; these do not affect the long-term projections in the study.

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Climate Fears Are Driving 'Ecomigration' Across Globe

Adam Fier recently sold his home, got rid of his car and pulled his twin 6-year-old girls out of elementary school in Montgomery County. He and his wife packed the family's belongings and moved to New Zealand -- a place they had never visited or seen before, and where they have no family or professional connections. Among the top reasons: global warming.

Halfway around the world, the president of Kiribati, a Pacific nation of low-lying islands, said last week that his country is exploring ways to move all its 100,000 citizens to a new homeland because of fears that a steadily rising ocean will make the islands uninhabitable.

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Can an Employer’s Past Follow Its Workers?

JOB hunting in this market is hard enough. Pity the candidate coming from Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, the Stanford Group or another company tainted by bad news of one sort or another.

Many recruiters and hiring managers do not hold the employee responsible for the possible sins of the employer. But others may. With unemployment at a 17-year high and the job market flooded with flawless C.V.’s, candidates in question may have to work especially hard to convince managers that they are not damaged goods.

“As a recruiter, you are automatically going to jump to conclusions because of the company they worked for,” said Shawn Desgrosellier, managing partner at Kaye/Bassman International, an executive search firm in Dallas. “Your wish is that H.R. will want to evaluate them based on their competencies, skill sets and qualifications. However, by working for an Enron or one of those types of companies we all know, it’s probably going to hurt you — to what extent, no one knows.”

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KPMG audit chief: no compromise on going concern warnings

KPMG will not compromise on 'going concern' warnings, says head of audit, despite auditors facing 'unprecedented' economic conditions

The new head of KPMG’s audit division, Oliver Tant, has said that the Big Four firm will not compromise its stance on ‘going concern’ warnings, despite auditors facing ‘unprecedented’ economic conditions.

In November, the Financial Reporting Council urged auditors to only refer to going concern ‘when appropriate’.

Going concerns refer to a ‘material uncertainty’ in the company’s accounts, highlighting a possibility that the company may not be trading in a year’s time.

However, Tant said KPMG would not water down standards on such warnings. ‘We are going to be just as rigorous on going concerns as before,’ he said, supporting the FRC guidance.

See full Article.

USGS CoreCast: How Abrupt Can Climate Change Be?

The United States faces the potential for abrupt climate change in the 21st century that could pose clear risks to society in terms of our ability to adapt.

USGS Associate Program Coordinator for the Office of Global Change John McGeehin discusses a new report on the potential for abrupt climate changes from global warming during this century.

See full Press Release.

Schapiro Seeks to Restore S.E.C.’s Credibility

Less than a month after becoming the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary L. Schapiro is moving swiftly to reverse major decisions by her predecessor and to strengthen an enforcement program that missed several major frauds that cost investors billions of dollars.

Ms. Schapiro and her aides have begun consulting officials at intelligence and law enforcement agencies about the technology they use to sort through mounds of information.

Her hope is to borrow techniques that could help the commission sift through hundreds of thousands of tips it receives annually from informants. Last year, the agency received more than 700,000 such tips.

See full Article.

Is Change in the Air?

Environmental Policies under an Obama Administration

As the Democratic candidate for President, Illinois Senator Barack Obama laid out his key strategies for energy and the environment. As detailed in campaign speeches and on his official Web site (www.barackobama.com), Obama promised a comprehensive New Energy for America plan...

On the environmental side, the Obama ticket vowed to make combating global warming a top priority, reinvigorate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), protect America’s children from toxins like lead, and be a responsible steward of the nation’s natural resources. The campaign said the United States has a moral, environmental, economic, and security imperative to tackle climate change in a serious, sustainable manner.

See full Article, en format pdf.

Novelties - Bringing Wind Turbines to Ordinary Rooftops

WIND turbines typically spin from tall towers on hills and plains. But in these green times, some companies hope smaller turbines will soon rise above a more domestic spot: homes and garages.

The rooftop turbines send the electricity they generate straight on to the home’s circuit box. Then owners in a suitably wind-swept location can watch the needle on their electricity meter turn backward instead of forward, reducing their utility bills while using a renewable resource.

One new model, the Swift Wind Turbine, is designed to do its job quietly, said Dave Anderson, co-director of Renewable Devices in Edinburgh, which has partnered with Cascade Engineering in Grand Rapids, Mich., to offer the turbine in the United States.

“The noisiest it gets is 35 decibels,” roughly the sound of a quiet conversation, he said of the whir of the blades. The turbine, which looks like a large wagon wheel, has a ring around its blades designed to diffuse noise and limit vibration. “The air is steered toward the diffuser ring and dispersed, rather than leaving the blades with a ripping noise,” Dr. Anderson said.

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G.E.’s Immelt Declines His 2008 Bonus

Many have been criticised for not having done so, so we should congratulate Mr. Immelt for standing up and doing the right thing.

Onésimo Alvarez-Moro

See article:
The conglomerate, the General Electric Company, said Wednesday that its chief executive Jeffrey R. Immelt had declined his 2008 bonus as the company’s share price has dropped amid deteriorating economic conditions.

G.E., which is based in Fairfield, Conn., and makes everything from locomotives to household appliances, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Mr. Immelt would also forgo his $11.7 million long-term performance award.

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México, el dilema de la pobreza en crisis

En plena crisis financiera global, el gobierno de México se ha propuesto mitigar la pobreza y luchar contra la desigualdad. Pero ¿cuán realista es la misión del Ejecutivo mexicano cuando el panorama de su economía es tan sombrío? BBC Mundo habló con el Secretario de Desarrollo Social de México, Ernesto Cordero.

Pese a ser la segunda economía de América Latina, la dependencia de México de su principal socio comercial, Estados Unidos, la hace muy vulnerable.

Por eso, el optimismo no acompaña a quienes se atreven a hacer proyecciones.

El empresario Carlos Slim pronosticó que el desempleo en México aumentará a niveles nunca antes vistos en el país desde los años 30.

Ver Artículo completo.

Reid: Senate to take up climate change this year

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he wants to take up a bill to tackle global warming by the end of the summer.

The Democrat told The Associated Press in an interview late Thursday that the Senate in the next few weeks will move to pass an energy bill focusing on several of President Barack Obama's priorities, but then " hopefully late this summer do the global warming part of it."

There is widespread agreement that the climate change issue must be addressed. But there remains sharp disagreement on just how to do it.

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Microfinance and Climate Change Adaptation

In 2006, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Mohammed Yunus and the Grameen Bank for their
roles in developing microfinance as an ‘ever more important instrument in the fight against poverty’ (Norwegian Nobel Committee 2006). The following year, the award was given to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), for their roles in educating the world about the unprecedented global challenge of climate change. In making these unusual and even controversial awards, the Nobel Committee recognised the remarkable fact that, in the space of just three decades, microfinance and climate change science have generated broad social movements grounded in the belief that these processes have the capacity to radically transform life around the world.

Ironically, while in their most optimistic expressions, the proponents of microfinance imagine cutting global poverty in half within a few years, scientists have identified the same population of desperately poor as among the first people who will confront the negative impacts of climate change. Specifically, the IPCC has identified developing countries as more vulnerable to climate change damages and argues that ‘this condition is most extreme among the poorest people’ (IPCC 2001: 227). Development assistance agencies have warned that climate change may stall or reverse development efforts, making it more difficult to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (ADB et al. 2003). If climate change is indeed a threat to which the poor are acutely vulnerable and if microfinance is in fact a tool that can reduce the vulnerability of the poor, then the possibility of linking this tool to climate change adaptation is of considerable importance.

See full Article, in pdf format.

Stimulus Plan Will Create Sustainable Jobs That Will Protect Public Health

The economic recovery plan signed by President Obama will create 3 to 4 million quality, sustainable jobs with many protecting our country’s public health and our environment.

“Through the President’s stimulus package, green initiatives will play a significant role in powering economic recovery,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “EPA’s portion of the plan will create good, sustainable jobs that help produce cleaner drinking water, purer air, environmentally friendly urban and rural re-development, and reduced greenhouse gases. This is a perfect example of economic growth and environmental protection working hand in hand to the benefit of all Americans.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 specifically includes $7.22 billion for projects and programs administered by EPA. These programs will protect and promote both green jobs and a healthier environment. These environmental areas include:

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Full Cost Accounting for Agriculture: Final report

Agricultural Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) are science-based on-farm activities that can reduce negative environmental impacts or increase positive environmental impacts. Agricultural BMPs can therefore produce ecosystem goods and services, which can increase human well-being and, according to recent international research in environmental economics, have demonstrable public benefits which deserve support through public policy.

The policy implications of EGS production from agriculture are significant; if the public receives significant benefits from particular agricultural BMPs, the rationale for government support for these practices is clear. Estimating public EGS benefits from agricultural BMPs is however methodologically complex in that EGS are produced at multiple scales simultaneously. For example, the global public benefit of reduced greenhouse gas emissions and the local benefit of improved water quality can result from the same BMP.

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Sustainable Markets and Responsible Trade (SMART)

Over the past two and half decades, there has been a rapid expansion of standards-based and voluntary markets for sustainable products. The rise of "fair trade," "organic" and a wide variety of other social and environmental labels is testament to growing consumer and industry awareness of the importance of individual decision-making power and responsibility in achieving sustainable development.

With the growing awareness, mainstream markets are also increasingly tapping into voluntary initiatives as a basis for reducing the production and consumption impacts global of economic activity. As the presence and multitude of such initiatives grows, policy-makers and supply chain stakeholders alike are faced with an increasing array of opportunities, but also a growing number of questions as to which actions, initiatives or policies are the most appropriate means for addressing core sustainable development issues. Some key questions arising from the increased use of voluntary supply chain initiatives include:

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E.P.A. Expected to Regulate Carbon Dioxide and Other Heat-Trapping Gases

The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to act for the first time to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that scientists blame for the warming of the planet, according to top Obama administration officials.

The decision, which most likely would play out in stages over a period of months, would have a profound impact on transportation, manufacturing costs and how utilities generate power. It could accelerate the progress of energy and climate change legislation in Congress and form a basis for the United States’ negotiating position at United Nations climate talks set for December in Copenhagen.

The environmental agency is under order from the Supreme Court to make a determination whether carbon dioxide is a pollutant that endangers public health and welfare, an order that the Bush administration essentially ignored despite near-unanimous belief among agency experts that research points inexorably to such a finding.

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Coalición Clima insta a Zapatero a defender en la Unión Europea un compromiso firme y justo frente al cambio climático

Un total de 24 organizaciones sociales piden que España defienda unos acuerdos equitativos dentro de la UE de cara a la Cumbre sobre clima de Copenhague

Un afectado por las inundaciones en Ecuador (Foto: Ricardo Landetta-IO)
Las 24 organizaciones sociales que integran Coalición Clima -entre las que se encuentra Intermón Oxfam- han remitido esta semana una carta al presidente del Gobierno, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, instándole a defender en el seno de la UE medidas urgentes y eficaces para lograr un acuerdo justo contra el Cambio Climático.

Según estas organizaciones, España debe jugar un papel importante en las negociaciones que el próximo mes de marzo fijará la posición de los países europeos de cara a la Cumbre sobre clima que se celebrará en Copenhague en diciembre. Coalición Clima considera esta reunión crucial ya que en ella debe surgir un nuevo protocolo que sustituya al de Kyoto y que marcará las directrices mundiales a seguir para hacer frente al cambio climático.

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SEC names Robert Khuzami new enforcement chief

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday named a former federal prosecutor as its new enforcement chief to lead the embattled agency's drive to strengthen its pursuit of financial fraud.

Robert Khuzami has been a top legal official on Wall Street at investment firm Deutsche Bank since 2004. Before that he worked for 11 years in the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan and prosecuted insider trading cases, Ponzi schemes and other financial crimes.

Khuzami, 52, replaces Linda Thomsen, the SEC enforcement director since May 2005. Her departure was announced last week.

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Bulgaria and Romania must produce concrete and irreversible anti-corruption results

Transparency International (TI) continues to be deeply concerned about high-level corruption, organised crime and mismanagement of EU funds in Bulgaria and Romania. TI strongly recommends continued anti-corruption progress monitoring for both countries. EU sanctions imposed on Bulgaria since 2008 should continue until its poor performance in delivering tangible results to prevent and fight corruption, is significantly improved. The European Commission today issued reports assessing both countries’ advances in fighting corruption and reforming the judiciary.

In both Bulgaria and Romania, hardly any concrete, irreversible measures to prevent and combat corruption have been implemented. Their judicial systems remain non-transparent and often ineffective. It is essential that both nations pursue proper investigations and apply suitable sentences to those found guilty of corruption and organised crime.

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Carbon: Europe's Lessons for the U.S.

The economic downturn is undermining Europe's effort to cut CO2 emissions—and particularly its four-year-old carbon-trading system

This is supposed to be the year of the green economy. U.S. President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus package has earmarked billions of dollars for renewable energy and efficiency projects. Pundits expect America to reverse its hostility to the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change and lead this year's negotiations for its successor. And some form of federally mandated U.S. carbon dioxide credit-trading scheme is expected by the end of 2010.

Yet before investors get carried away over clean tech, they should heed a few sobering lessons from Europe's almost decade-long experiment to create a more climate-friendly economy. Sure, the region's eco-innovation has won global plaudits, but the economic downturn is quickly taking the shine off Europe's effort to cut CO2 emissions. Widespread government subsidies, for instance, made countries such as Denmark, Germany, and Spain into global leaders in renewable energy.

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The 4th EITI Global Conference | Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

Start Date: 16 Feb 2009
End Date: 18 Feb 2009
Organiser: Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)
Where: The Ritz-Carlton, Doha, Qatar

The fourth EITI Global Conference will take place in Doha on 16-18 February 2009. As the highest governing body of the EITI, the conference is the premier event in the EITI calendar.

In a world of volatile commodity prices, the EITI is more relevant today than ever before in ensuring that populations benefit from their countries' resources. The Oslo Conference in 2006 provided the EITI with the tools to move from design to implementation. Two years down the line, 23 countries are implementing the initiative while the number of actors supporting the EITI is growing constantly.

The Doha Conference will be an opportunity for all our stakeholders and supporters - governments, civil society organizations, companies, investors and development organisations - to take stock of the benefits and progress of the EITI, find common solutions for challenges, and chart the next steps for advancing this growing global initiative.

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Bilbao es la ciudad que más recursos naturales ajenos consume de todo el país

Gasta cien veces másdel agua y el suelo queque le corresponde,según un estudio de sostenibilidad

Bilbao es la ciudad que más recursos medioambientales ajenos consume de todo el país. La capital vizcaína gasta cien veces más de la 'biocapacidad' de su término municipal, que extrae del resto del territorio histórico. Así lo recoge el nuevo informe del Observatorio de la Sostenibilidad en España, de la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares.

El caso de la villa es el más extremo, pero capitales como Cádiz, Pamplona, Barcelona, Santander y La Coruña no andan lejos. Las cinco necesitan para atender a sus poblaciones entre 90 y 80 veces más del suelo o el agua propios de que disponen, según destaca el estudio, donde ninguna capital de provincia sale bien parada: todas ellas son ciudades insostenibles, según destaca el dossier, ya que gastan más recursos naturales y generan más residuos y contaminación de los que corresponden estrictamente a su término municipal.

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Changes - Successful Partnerships for Africa's Growth Challenges

Start Date: 10 Mar 2009
End Date: 11 Mar 2009
Organiser: International Monetary Fund ; United Republic of Tanzania
Where: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

For the first time in decades, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have enjoyed high rates of economic growth and rising income levels.

The global financial turmoil and the food and fuel price shock pose serious challenges. But the continent's long-term growth outlook remains positive, holding out the prospect of making decisive headway in reducing poverty. This changing landscape has prompted President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn to convene a major international conference in March 2009 to discuss how Africa can sustain and build on its recent economic success. The conference, which will be held on March 10-11, 2009 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, will be built around the theme "Changes: Successful Partnerships for Africa's Growth Challenge."

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Intermón Oxfam pide en Doha reglas obligatorias que garanticen la transparencia de las industrias extractivas

En el marco de la IV conferencia de la ITIE, la organización lamenta la prácticamente nula representación política y empresarial de España en el encuentro

Las iniciativas voluntarias para potenciar una gestión transparente y responsable de los recursos naturales están teniendo progresos demasiado lentos, por lo que son necesarias disposiciones legales de obligado cumplimiento con las que alcanzar un verdadero modelo mundial de transparencia para el sector del petróleo, del gas y minero en todos los países y empresas. Esta es una de las llamadas de atención de Oxfam Internacional (Intermón Oxfam en España) en la Cuarta Conferencia global de la Iniciativa para la Transparencia de la Industria Extractiva (ITIE), que culmina hoy en Doha (Qatar).

“Lamentamos que la participación de España, que es país firmante de la ITIE haya sido tan escasa y de bajo perfil político, así como la ausencia de Repsol YPF, única empresa española firmante de la iniciativa y que ha decidido no enviar representantes”, afirma María Dolores López, responsable del programa de extractivas en Intermón Oxfam presente en la cumbre.

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