The UK's five point climate action plan

The government has today released a new five point plan summarising its climate change strategy

To coincide with the release of its landmark report on the impact of climate change, the government has today released a new five point plan and timetable for action as it seeks to mobilise business and public support ahead of the UN climate conference in Copenhagen this December.

Here in full is the new plan:

1. Protecting the public from immediate risk

Climate change is already happening in the UK - the Government has more than doubled spending on flood protection since 1997, developed a heat wave plan in the NHS and is helping communities affected by coastal erosion.

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Ambivalent attitude angers FSA

It’s not the rules, but poor judgement and a lack of effective oversight that are at fault.

“We can no longer rely on senior management judgements… there are some management decisions that have revealed a degree of incompetence and, at times, a rather cavalier approach regarding risk management.”

So said Hector Sants, chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, in a speech to the Securities & Investment Institute Conference on 7 May. He said that as a result of flawed management thinking, the regulator warned it will take “more action against senior management where there is evidence of culpable misconduct”.

Sants outlined a number of problems that need to be resolved if corporate governance and risk management are to improve. He said there needs to be a more effective challenge in the boardroom, particularly from non-executives. He also said companies need to be more open in their dealings with regulators, shareholders and customers.

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The nexus of climate change and human rights

Climate change and human rights might often be presented as separate CSR issues, but according to Ryan Schuchard and Nicki Weston they increasingly represent two sides of the same coin

Though climate change and human rights are important corporate responsibility issues on their own terms, they are increasingly interrelated.

As our global climate destabilizes, there will be an increase in water stress, food scarcity, the prevalence and intensity of diseases, and the loss of homelands and jobs around the world. In turn, climate change is likely to affect several rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), such as the right to life and security, the right to food, and the right to health.

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More indexes to address sustainable investment

Three index providers this week announced new products focused on companies that address environmental issues or show class-leading efforts on sustainability reporting.

FTSE Group has expanded its Environmental Opportunities (EO) index series with five regional indexes, covering the US, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Asia-Pacific ex-Japan, and two others covering the UK – one including stocks listed on the London Stock Exchange's main market and the other focusing on its small-cap Alternative Investment Market.

The FTSE EO series was launched in June 2008 and in November nine new indexes were added covering the water, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and waste and pollution control sectors. Today's launch means there are now 18 indexes in the EO family, which is based on research by Impax Group, a London-based environmental investment management company.

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Fraud soaring says City police chief

Mike Bowron, Commissioner of City of London Police says fraud prevention must be made a priority as reported frauds rise by 64%

The City of London's most senior policeman has said that fraud must be made a police priority as the number of reported cases has rocketed in the last financial year.

Mike Bowron, the City of London Police Commissioner said the recession was bringing frauds that already existed into sharp relief.

'People as if this is due to the onset of the recession, but we don't think it is,' said Bowron.

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Future of the Big Four: three is the magic number

The landscape of the Big Four could soon change

Twelve months ago the idea of another Big Four accountancy firm disappearing from the map would have perhaps been far-fetched.

The pole-position firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst & Young are, on the face of it, financially sound and with strong regulatory processes to prevent another Andersen from happening.

Together they control just over 70% of a market worth more than £9bn in the UK alone. But factor in the current economic climate, poor strategy and the consequences of ‘The Rule of Three’ (more of that later), and this gloomy proposition becomes all of a sudden very real.

One could argue that the large accountancy firms should, to some extent, be sheltered from the current crisis.

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Michael Jackson has gone

Michael Jackson has gone. Regardless of what you thought of his music, he should be celebrated for the words in "Man in the Mirror".

Onésimo Alvarez-Moro

The Systemic Risk of Venture Capital

The debate is heating up about the impending regulations from the government applied to Private Equity (PE) and its sub-class Venture Capital (VC), fought by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and reluctantly supported by the Private Equity Council (PEC). The latter stating that private equity does not represent a systemic risk. Perhaps not, if the council excludes VC from its membership, but VC as Private Equity poses a systemic risk as the gatekeeper to innovation.

Why the government is forced to step in
The government has decided to step in and we, as participants in the ecosystem should present our government with the facts (good and bad) so it can make informed decisions going forward. If we give the government self-serving information, rather than the facts, we will get punished by regulations that miss their intended target. So, now is the time to separate greed from honesty and shape the regulations that will be bestowed upon us.

The most rational explanation as to why the government is tightening our private equity belts came from Bob Grady, Managing Partner at The Carlyle Group (who worked for the government for a while) at the recent IBF conference. He suspects that the government simply wants to reduce the size of the financial services industry as a percentage of GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

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Managers embrace sustainability principles

The campaign to persuade investors and the companies they invest in to take a longer term perspective and pursue sustainable policies has been boosted by the financial crisis.

“You can't imagine the number of phone calls I get asking for help in understanding sustainability,” says Matt Christensen, director of Eurosif, the European Sustainable Investment Forum. Although Mr Christensen has been banging the sustainability drum for some time, he says the crisis has raised investors' awareness of the issue. “In the face of crisis, it's better to have an understanding of all risks,” he says.

That sustainability is no longer a niche concept, sitting in the corner with the church groups and green evangelists, can be demonstrated by figures from the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.

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Round-the-world solar plane debut

Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard has unveiled a prototype of the solar-powered plane he hopes eventually to fly around the world.

The initial version, spanning 61m but weighing just 1,500kg, will undergo trials to prove it can fly at night.

Dr Piccard, who made history in 1999 by circling the globe non-stop in a balloon, says he wants to demonstrate the potential of renewable energies.

He hopes to fly a later version of the plane across the Atlantic in 2012.

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PwC launches green reporting model

PwC creates what is thought to be an industry first, a reporting example based on a hypothetical IT company called Typico that shows businesses the nuts and bolts of how to construct a carbon emissions disclosure

Want to go green, but have no idea how to demonstrate to stakeholders that its worth it?

Then you are in good company. The multitude of green accounting standards and advice is confusing and not entirely aimed at creating universal practice.
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But attitudes have changed and it is now a case of whether a company should compile carbon reports, but how. Until now, there has been little or no help on this front, but advice from the Climate Disclosure Standards Board, a body of the World Economic Forum, has offered a framework outlining what companies should be including in their carbon emissions report.

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Growth of global carbon emissions halved in 2008, say Dutch researchers

Recession and oil price main drivers behind fall in consumption as developing world emissions rise above 50 per cent for first time

The growth of global carbon dioxide emissions fell by half in 2008, according to data released today. The global recession and high oil prices played a major role in reducing the rate of emissions. But measures to tackle global warming by cutting emissions such as renewable energy were only partly responsible. The data from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (NEAA) also show that, for the first time, CO2 emissions from the developing world account for more than half of the global total.

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ACCA wants water to be taken seriously

Water footprinting should be taken more seriously by businesses

Businesses should account for their water use in the same way they account for their carbon output, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants says, as it believes government control of water supplies could become a business issue in the future.

Compiled in association with the World Wildlife Fund with comments from SABMiller's head of sustainability, Andy Wales, ACCA's paper, 'Water: The next carbon?' argues that water will join the regulatory burden on UK business. It believes the number of water extraction licences issues internationally may decrease, pushing supply prices up, impacting both the cost of business and businesses' impact on the environment.

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Brown proposes £60bn climate fund

Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants to set up a £60bn annual fund to help poor countries deal with climate change.

He hopes it will break the deadlock over who will pay developing nations to adapt to the changing climate and who will help them obtain clean technology.

Countries must reach a binding global agreement on carbon emission cuts at December's Copenhagen summit, he said.

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Disputes rage over US cap-and-trade cost

Estimates of the cost of the scheme vary greatly

As the US government prepares to vote on a groundbreaking cap-and-trade bill, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has drastically undercut Republican estimates of how much it would cost the average American household.

In an analysis of the cost of a cap-and-trade programme, the CBO said the price of such a scheme in 2020 would be $22bn (£13bn), which equates to about $175 per household.

"That figure includes the cost of restructuring the production and use of energy, and of payments made to foreign entities under the programme, but it does not include the economic benefits and other advantages of the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and the associated slowing of climate change," the Office said in its analysis.

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McCreevy fails to back global SME standards

European commissioner Charlie McCreevy is reluctant to endorse new global accounting standards for Europe’s 19 million SMEs

European commissioner Charlie McCreevy has revealed he is reluctant to endorse new global accounting standards for Europe’s 19 million SMEs, placing the EU in danger of falling behind the rest of the world in adopting the rules.

The standards, due for release in early July, are aimed at harmonising accounting standards for SMEs across the globe and have received support from emerging countries and the United States. The European Union however is treating the standards’ release with caution.

Citing ‘negative’ and ‘mixed’ reactions by EU stakeholders, a spokesman said McCreevy had come to no formal position and that it was too early to say how stakeholders would react. ‘Commissioner McCreevy was concerned about the negative reactions by EU stakeholders to the [2007] exposure draft,’ the spokesman said.

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1.02 billion people hungry

World hunger is projected to reach a historic high in 2009 with 1 020 million people going hungry every day, according to new estimates published by FAO today.

The most recent increase in hunger is not the consequence of poor global harvests but is caused by the world economic crisis that has resulted in lower incomes and increased unemployment. This has reduced access to food by the poor, the UN agency said.

"A dangerous mix of the global economic slowdown combined with stubbornly high food prices in many countries has pushed some 100 million more people than last year into chronic hunger and poverty," said FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf. "The silent hunger crisis — affecting one sixth of all of humanity — poses a serious risk for world peace and security. We urgently need to forge a broad consensus on the total and rapid eradication of hunger in the world and to take the necessary actions."

See full Press Release.

Traditional Dutch fishermen turn to innovation for sustainability

Sixth generation Dutch fisherman Louwe de Boer is part of a small group of pioneers abandoning traditional, wasteful methods and embracing innovation as a means of protecting their livelihoods.

"It is the only way to survive", says the 42-year-old entrepreneur.

He spent two million euros (about 2.8 million dollars) three years ago on new nets that slashed his bycatch -- animals caught unintentionally and discarded -- "to just a few percent".

Bycatch comprises more than half the yield of traditional trawler fishing, while De Boer's new, twin rig nets are also more gentle on the ecologically sensitive North Sea bed.

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Analysis Finds Elevated Risk From Soot Particles in the Air

A new appraisal of existing studies documenting the links between tiny soot particles and premature death from cardiovascular ailments shows that mortality rates among people exposed to the particles are twice as high as previously thought.

Dan Greenbaum, the president of the nonprofit Health Effects Institute, which is releasing the analysis on Wednesday, said that the areas covered in the study included 116 American cities, with the highest levels of soot particles found in areas including the eastern suburbs of Los Angeles and the Central Valley of California; Birmingham, Ala.; Atlanta; the Ohio River Valley; and Pittsburgh.

The review found that the risk of having a condition that is a precursor to deadly heart attacks for people living in soot-laden areas goes up by 24 percent rather than 12 percent, as particle concentrations increase.

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A Quixotic Pursuit: Green Energy Jobs

The Spanish professor is puzzled. Why, Gabriel Calzada wonders, is the U.S. president recommending that America emulate the Spanish model for creating "green jobs" in "alternative energy" even though Spain's unemployment rate is 18.1 percent -- more than double the European Union average -- partly because of spending on such jobs?

Calzada, 36, an economics professor at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, has produced a report that, if true, is inconvenient for the Obama administration's green agenda, and for some budget assumptions that are dependent upon it.

Calzada says Spain's torrential spending -- no other nation has so aggressively supported production of electricity from renewable sources -- on wind farms and other forms of alternative energy has indeed created jobs. But Calzada's report concludes that they often are temporary and have received $752,000 to $800,000 each in subsidies -- wind industry jobs cost even more, $1.4 million each.

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Accountancy Age Awards 2009

Business is facing the toughest environment in decades making their advisers, accountants inside and outside their businesses, more important than ever.

That’s why the Accountancy Age Awards are as important as ever. The awards mark outstanding work in business, practice and technology, and celebrate the very work that provides the bedrock for UK business.

Some of the most respected people in the profession will form the judging panel for this year’s event. Past panels have included Sir Digby Jones, Sir Mike Rake, chairman of BT, Sam DiPiazza, outgoing CEO of PwC International and Ian Dyson, FD at Marks & Spencer.

The awards schedule works towards a spectacular gala dinner on 18 November attended by 1,300 guests and proving the perfect opportunity to network with key industry figures.

Gavin Hinks
Editor, Accountancy Age

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Bringing Back Best Practices in Risk Management

Banks' Three Lines of Defense

Executive Summary

Many financial institutions have had horrific losses over the past 18 months. A variety of largely exogenous factors have been blamed for the losses, such as ownership structures and incentives, rating agencies, and the absence of effective market pricing for some products. However, we contend that at a small number of banks, a focus on basics actually prevented many losses. Iin particular, they benefited from a strong risk culture combined with a sharp focus on three effective lines of defense: top management and the front office, the risk management function, and audit. These lines of defense, staffed with capable individuals imbued with a strong sense of risk awareness, are at the heart of effective risk management.

The Root of the Problem
The current downturn originated largely in the U.S. financial markets. Cheap credit from the Federal Reserve fueled an extraordinary leveraging of the U.S. economy—with a particular focus on consumer debt, especially mortgage debt. The original sin was not in the lack of regulation but in the expansion of credit to the non-creditworthy on outrageous terms—as in the case of 105 percent loan-to-value loans being given without credit checks. Underwriting banks, large and small, packaged and resold this debt to investors, including other banks, as collateralized debt obligations and mortgage- or asset-backed securities; this freed up their balance sheets and allowed them to go at it again. The latter step was predicated on the notion that the purchase of the debt would bring a perpetual stream of repayment income against “secure” collateral—and, of course, this notion depended on the idea that the real estate market would keep rising. Globally, many institutions, assured by ratings, believed this to be the case.

Cheap debt also contributed to the explosive growth in banks’ balance sheets. These purchases of assets resulted in irresponsible leverage, rising at some banks to debt-equity ratios of 30:1, 40:1, and even 100:1.

See full Report, in pdf format.

Companies: Come Clean on Climate Change

ExxonMobil, Massey Coal, and DTE Energy are among corporations giving investors little info on environmental risks and opportunities

This week's filing by General Motors (GM) is a painful lesson for shareholders who failed to grasp the profound risks of the company's failed business strategy. It's a lesson all shareholders should consider in scouring their portfolios for risks.

As the impact of climate change on business takes hold, a growing number of investors are paying more attention to the risks and opportunities from global warming that are embedded in their portfolios.

GM failed to respond to climate risks by continuing to produce high-polluting gas-guzzlers that few consumers wanted—a key factor in its downfall. What other companies might falter? And which are measuring their carbon footprint, setting pollution reduction targets and seeking new clean energy opportunities?

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Climate Change, Part I: A Contested Point You Need to Understand

Climate change is happening. Or is it? It is caused by human action. Or is it? The arguments are bantered back and forth in a crossfire of disagreement over an issue that holds political, social, and emotional significance around the world. For every position there are sympathetic experts willing to present supporting evidence, which, in turn, is inevitably skewered by those holding a contrary view.

In danger of being lost in the heat of this postulation, however, is a critical issue that could significantly affect the (re)insurance industry. Carriers need not take a side to consider climate change from a risk-assessment perspective, free from political baggage. Indeed, they should not wait for a resolution to form before they take action.

The presence of the probability of loss is incontestable, even if the underlying issue of climate change is debatable. The chance of both expensive and expansive losses resulting from climate change can be factored into the calculation of risk. That potential ought to be understood by the prudent (re)insurer.

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Personalising risk management

Why is it that very smart executives can sometimes make extraordinarily poor risk decisions? This question has bothered observers of the business world for generations, but in the past 18 months it has gained extra importance as we try to make sense of the implosion of the financial services industry.

Of course, the problem of poor risk management is not confined to banking: sectors as different as oil and gas, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications have all experienced their share of poorly judged risks. But the banking industry, and the credit crisis in particular, provides a rich context for understanding where risk management goes wrong and how it can be improved.

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Kroll Global Fraud Report

Government stimulus funding totaling $5 trillion has unintentionally introduced new opportunities for fraud and corruption worldwide, according to the latest edition of the Kroll Global Fraud Report. The report reinforces the global risk consultancy’s consistent call for greater transparency and compliance among organizations worldwide, and coincides with FBI Director Robert Mueller’s recent announcement that corruption and fraud tied to stimulus spending may be the “next wave” in financial fraud cases.

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Reforming the Ratings Agencies: Will the U.S. Follow Europe's Tougher Rules?

The financial crisis has provided an unexpected crash course on credit rating agencies, such as Moody's, Fitch and Standard & Poor's, which stamped triple-A ratings on a broad spectrum of subprime mortgage securities -- implying that they were nearly risk free -- then back-pedaled when the debt collapsed, taking with it the global economy.

In the United States, the resulting clamor for ratings agency reform led to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposal that sought to mitigate conflicts of interest and enhance disclosures, require ratings firms to differentiate ratings for structured products, and nearly eliminate the role of ratings in SEC regulations. But the final rules the SEC adopted last December were far less stringent than the ones it had proposed six months earlier, in June.

Europe, on the other hand, became the world's most stringent regulator of ratings agencies when the European Union and the European parliament approved a package of ratings agency rules on April 23. The question now is whether the U.S. will follow Europe's lead and build on the new regulations, or go a different route.

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What next? Ten questions for CFOs

As companies shift their attention from fighting the crisis to getting the most from the recovery, CFOs must keep them focused.

The credit crisis and its shocks to the real economy have put chief financial officers on the front lines, as they implement emergency measures to help companies survive the recession. Now, as an eventual recovery begins to seem more likely, the CFO’s task may become still more complex. Even for those whose companies avoided the most severe effects of the crisis, uncertainty about the future is abundant, and credit remains tight. Capital and management time are available for only a few relatively big moves, and a new appreciation of risk accompanies each opportunity.

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BRICs, emerging markets and the world economy: Not just straw men

Not just straw men

The biggest emerging economies are rebounding, even without recovery in the West

THE inaugural summit of the BRICs—Brazil, Russia, India, China—came and went in Yekaterinburg this week with more rhetoric than substance. Although Russia’s president, Dmitry Medvedev, called it “the epicentre of world politics”, this disparate quartet signally failed to rival the Group of Eight industrial countries as a forum for economic discussion.

But that should be no surprise: to realise how disparate they are, consider that Russia and Brazil are big commodity exporters, whereas China is a big commodity importer; China is a proponent of the Doha trade round, India a sceptic; India and China vie for influence in the Indian Ocean, Russia and China compete in Central Asia.

Instead, the really striking thing is that four countries first lumped together as a group by the chief economist of Goldman Sachs chose to convene at all, and in such a high-profile way. And that when they met, they discussed topics such as reforming the IMF; their demand for more say in global policy-making; and, in the case of China, Brazil and Russia, a plan to switch some of their foreign-currency reserves out of dollars and into IMF bonds.

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World Economic Forum on Africa opens with call for global governance reforms

• African leaders will be watching closely to see if the major industrialized countries follow through on the commitments made at the London G20 Summit
• Long-stalled governance reforms at the IMF and the World Bank are a key priority
• Reforms should not benefit only the larger, wealthier developing countries represented on the G20 at the expense of the world’s poorest countries

Cape Town, South Africa 10 June 2009 – While the London G20 Summit represented a step towards a more inclusive global governance system, further institutional reforms are badly needed to ensure the interests of low-income countries are adequately represented, according to national leaders and other participants gathered at this year’s World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town. In particular, they urged the major industrialized countries to accept long-stalled changes in the governing structures of the IMF and the World Bank.

“A critical lesson from the current crisis is the need for a transformed global financial system,” Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa, said in his opening address. Reform of the so-called Bretton Woods institutions, he added, would “reflect changing economic realities and provide a voice for emerging and developing countries.” The G20, Zuma noted, endorsed such reforms – which would increase the voting power of the lesser developed countries – in its communiqué following the London Summit.

See full Press Release.

U.S. Corporations Size Up Their Carbon Footprints

Coca-Cola, Cisco, Intuit, and others use ever more sophisticated tools to measure their environmental impact and meet emissions goals

Like many companies, Coca-Cola (KO) wants to cut its carbon footprint. The soft-drink maker has pledged to eliminate 2 million tons of CO2 emissions from its manufacturing operations by 2015. To do that, Coca-Cola has become adept at using spreadsheets and databases to measure how much carbon it produces and energy it consumes. It's even able to track less tangible causes, such as greenhouse gases emitted by vending machines. But when it comes to tracking and managing the projects that will help it reduce carbon emissions and make better use of resources, Coca-Cola is having a harder time.

The company needed a more sophisticated set of carbon accounting and management tools, says Bryan Jacob, director of energy management and climate protection at Coca-Cola. "I'm looking for something to take us to the next level," he says. "I'm going to either enhance what I've got or move to a different platform that's much more robust." To that end, the company is testing a product from software company Hara that goes beyond simply measuring carbon footprints. The Web-delivered tools, formally introduced June 1, help companies manage efforts to actually reduce carbon and more efficiently use natural resources such as water, waste, and paper.

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Filling the Down Time, With No Downsizing

FROM November 2008 to last January, Paige Arnof-Fenn did not close a single deal at her strategic marketing firm in Cambridge, Mass. Nevertheless, she did not lay off any of her 45 contractors or institute a furlough policy.

Instead, she started a “listening tour,” filling her schedule with coffee, lunch, dinner and drinks with clients. She brought some of the contractors with her, while others worked on existing projects.

“I turned the tables and started asking people what they were worried about in this economy,” said Ms. Arnof-Fenn, founder and chief executive of the firm, called Mavens and Moguls.

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Greening the Herds - Trying to Limit Cows' 'Emissions'

Chewing her cud on a recent sunny morning, Libby, a 1,400-pound Holstein, paused to do her part in the battle against global warming, emitting a fragrant burp.

Libby, age 6, and the 74 other dairy cows on Guy Choiniere’s farm here are at the heart of an experiment to determine whether a change in diet will help them belch less methane, a potent heat-trapping gas that has been linked to climate change.

Since January, cows at 15 farms across Vermont have had their grain feed adjusted to include more plants like alfalfa and flaxseed — substances that, unlike corn or soy, mimic the spring grasses that the animals evolved long ago to eat.

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Asia relies on green initiatives for future growth

• South Korea drafting five-year development plan to create green industries and nearly one million jobs
• China allocates 40% of stimulus package to environment-related projects
• South Korea, China and Japan in trilateral partnership to lead low-carbon green growth
• More information on the meeting is available at: http://www.weforum.org/eastasia2009

“We believe that a strong economy and a clean environment are not mutually exclusive, and that Korea has to take an active part in tackling climate change,” Han Seung-Soo, Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, told 350 participants from 35 countries at the 18th World Economic Forum on East Asia today. “Korea recognizes the symbiotic relationship between economic growth and environmental sustainability.” The country has proclaimed low-carbon green growth as its new national vision. “In a nutshell, low-carbon green growth aims to shift the current development paradigm from the fossil-fuel dependent, quantity-oriented growth to a new paradigm of qualitative growth which uses less energy and is more compatible with environmental sustainability.”

See full Press Release.

Leaders Say Crisis Represents Opportunity as Well as Challenge for Africa

• Compared to other emerging markets, the sub-Saharan African economies have weathered the global economic crisis in relatively good shape
• There is wide agreement on the policies that will best reduce poverty and boost growth. Governments now must move more aggressively to implement those policies, and listen more closely to the needs of business
• The role of women and youth in African and global decision-making should be expanded

While sub-Saharan Africa has been less impacted by the global recession than most other emerging regions, the economic crisis still represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the continent and its people, political and business leaders told participants at the closing plenary session of this year’s World Economic Forum on Africa.

Summing up two days of intensive discussions and workshops that addressed the short-term economic outlook, as well as Africa’s longer-term development needs, key leaders took a relatively optimistic view. They said the continent’s resources – both human and physical – leave it well positioned to return to a rapid growth path, as long as governments move aggressively to deliver on their commitments to market reforms, political accountability and investment in infrastructure and education.

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Economics of Climate Change Mitigation

The OECD has been working on climate change economics and policy since the late 1980s. We are using economic models and quantitative assessments to inform policy makers of the costs, benefits and potential tradeoffs of climate change mitigation scenarios. OECD’s modelling work supports governments in identifying least-cost policies or policy mixes to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and assesses the cost and impacts of possible post-2012 international frameworks. Bookmark this page: www.oecd.org/env/cc/econ

The report "Climate Change Mitigation: What to We Do?" [en français: "Atténuation du changement climatique : Que faire ?"] summarises some of the recent OECD analyses, including on the role of technological innovation and the impacts of policies to address carbon leakage. It provides arguments to help policy-makers explain why postponing decisions, using the current economic circumstances as an excuse, would be a short-sighted policy.

See full Press Release.

Africa Social Entrepreneurs of 2009 honoured

Richard Elliott, Senior Media Manager, Tel.: +27 82 858 2298 E-mail: Richard.elliott@weforum.org
Francois Bonnici, Head, Africa and Middle East, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Tel.: +27 82 899 7890 E-mail: Francois.bonnici@schwabfound.org

* Schwab Foundation announces the winners of the Africa Regional Social Entrepreneurs 2009 Award ahead of the World Economic Forum on Africa, Cape Town, South Africa, 10-12 June 2009
* Kenyan and South African winners among leading group of social entrepreneurs participating in meeting
* Award to be given during the Opening Plenary in the presence of President Jacob Zuma of South Africa
* For more information on the Schwab Foundation click here : http://www.schwabfound.org
* For more information on the meeting click here: www.weforum.org/africa2009

See full Press Release.

Chairman to Step Down From an Auditing Board

Mark W. Olson said Monday he would step down as chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board this summer, giving the new chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission the ability to name a majority of the board.

The board, which regulates the auditing profession in the United States, was created by Congress when it passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002. The new chairman will have to deal both with the possibility that the Supreme Court will rule the board is unconstitutional and with a growing argument with the European Commission over the ability of the board to inspect auditing firms based in Europe.

Mr. Olson, 66, will leave the board on July 31, just over three years after he was appointed chairman by Christopher Cox, then chairman of the S.E.C. Mr. Cox juggled terms to give Mr. Olson, a former governor of the Federal Reserve, a longer tenure.

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The Greening of the Hybrid Crossover

I HAVE been hard on Lexus hybrids. Unlike the honestly frugal Toyota Prius, the gas-electric Lexii often struck me as costly impostors, green on the surface but rarely delivering on their performance of high performance and exceptional economy.

Each Lexus hybrid I’ve driven, from the RX 400h crossover to the LS 600h L sedan, struggled to go 25 miles on a gallon of gas. Such middling economy hardly justified prices $5,000 to $20,000 above the conventional versions.

Hybrid fans can breathe easier around the new RX 450h, and for more than its lowest-in-class emissions, including 20 percent less carbon dioxide output than a 4-cylinder Honda Accord.

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Filling the Down Time, With No Downsizing

FROM November 2008 to last January, Paige Arnof-Fenn did not close a single deal at her strategic marketing firm in Cambridge, Mass. Nevertheless, she did not lay off any of her 45 contractors or institute a furlough policy.

Instead, she started a “listening tour,” filling her schedule with coffee, lunch, dinner and drinks with clients. She brought some of the contractors with her, while others worked on existing projects.

“I turned the tables and started asking people what they were worried about in this economy,” said Ms. Arnof-Fenn, founder and chief executive of the firm, called Mavens and Moguls.

Out of the listening tour, a new business strategy emerged: Offer clients more bite-sized products and services.

See full Article.

Google to roll out free tool to help save energy

Google Inc is soon to roll out free software which allows consumers to track their home electricity use and improve energy efficiency in a bid to help mitigate global warming.

Dan Reicher, Director for Climate Change and Energy Initiatives Google, told Reuters it was in talks with utilities companies in the United Sates, Europe and Asia to make the product available shortly to general consumers.

As part of its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Google said in February it would use its software skills for the program that will show home energy consumption in real time on a user's computer or a telephone.

See full Article.

Billion-dollar errors: lawyers shape-up to audit firms

Who audits the auditors?

Onésimo Alvarez-Moro

See article:
AUDITORS are back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, with two new lawsuits that will send further shivers through the halls of Australia's largest accounting firms.

Last week it was reported that a $746 million class action on behalf of investors in MFS's Premium Income Fund was being launched against the fund's compliance auditor, KPMG. The action involves KPMG's alleged failure to detect unsecured loans made to a foreign company which did not have sufficient funds to repay the sum.

Only days earlier, the shopping centre group Centro launched a cross-claim in the Federal Court, alleging that its long-time auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, should be held partly liable for the company's failure to adequately disclose its debt levels in 2007.

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China alone could bring world to brink of climate calamity, says US official

Business as usual in China would lead to 2.7C rise by 2050 even if all other countries slash emissions, says energy assistant

A worker at a Chinese cement factory. Cement is in demand in China, but produces 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Photograph: /Reuters

China must be far more ambitious in tackling climate change if the international community wants to prevent calamitous levels of global warming, a senior US official told counterparts in Beijing today.

David Sandalow, assistant secretary of state for energy, said the continuation of business as usual in China would result in a 2.7C rise in global temperatures by 2050 even if every other country slashed greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.

"China can and will need to do much more if the world is going to have any hope of containing climate change," said Sandalow, who is in Beijing as part of a high-level negotiating team that aims to find common ground ahead of the crucial Copenhagen summit at the end of this year.

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Renewable Energy Finance Forum New York

When: 23-24 June, 2009
Where: New York City, New York, USA

The Global Energy Outlook - The Key Rle of Renewables

Speaking at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum in New York City, IEA Executive Director, Mr. Nobuo Tanaka, said that renewable energy sources have a key role to play with respect to both energy security and climate change, but that both challenges are being overshadowed by the current economic crisis. He added that governments must provide positive signals to investors by combining short-term recovery measures with a long-term policy perspective.

See the IEA's Mr. Tanaka's Presentation, in pdf format.

Investors Demand Carbon-Risk Disclosure

Shareholders in Avis Budget, Home Depot, Chevron, and other companies want more information on the corporate risks of climate change

As Avis Budget Group (CAR) stockholders prepare for the company's annual meeting in Wilmington, Del., on June 12, they're facing unfamiliar terrain. For the first time since the formation of the company three years ago, shareholders are being asked to vote on a shareholder proposal on greenhouse gas emissions. At issue: Should Avis Budget prepare a report on whether it makes sense to cut emissions from the company's rental cars?

Investors in U.S. and Canadian companies have filed 67 global warming-related resolutions during the 2009 proxy season, up from 57 last year, according to Ceres, a national network of investors, environmental organizations, and public interest groups. The increase reflects growing concern among shareholders over the corporate risks of climate change. Some investors fret that if companies don't police themselves, the government will do it for them. Others are concerned over the possible impact of natural disasters or global warming on operations. Many are motivated by a combination of such concerns.

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No Climate Change Fix Without New Land Use, Farming Policies

The world cannot effectively address climate change without altering our relationship with soil, the world's third largest carbon pool, according to a new report.

Changing the way we manage land and produce food can offset 25 percent of worldwide fossil fuel emissions, putting agriculture and land use near the center of the climate change fight, a report from Worldwatch Institute and Ecoagriculture Partners concluded.

“Mitigating Climate Change Through Food and Land Use” estimates the two sectors are responsible for about a third of greenhouse gas emissions, yet the international science and policy communities have lagged in embracing efforts in these areas. That's despite the fact that existing practices and innovations can sequester greenhouse gases now present in the atmosphere, while other remedies, such as energy efficiency and renewable energy, may only reduce future emissions.

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China and U.S. Seek a Truce on Greenhouse Gases

For months the United States and China, by far the world’s two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, have been warily circling each other in hopes of breaking a long impasse on global warming policy.

They are, as President Obama’s chief climate negotiator puts it, “the two gorillas in the room,” and if they do not reach some sort of truce, there is no chance of forging a meaningful international treaty in Copenhagen later this year to restrict emissions.

As a senior American team arrived in Beijing on Sunday for climate talks, the standoff was taking on the trappings of cold-war arms control negotiations, with gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions replacing megatons of nuclear might as a looming risk for people across the globe.

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Developing a Greener Third World

If the United States and every wealthy country in the world were to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to zero tomorrow and there were no change in the developing world, “the crisis would still overtake us,” said Al Gore, the former vice president of the United States, at a forum in New York City last week.

Whether or not that is precisely true, the implication almost certainly is.

Little progress can be made in addressing the global climate crisis, after all, unless common cause is found between rich countries, who created the problem in becoming so, and poorer countries, which understandably resent the idea that they ought not pursue a similar, CO2-belching path to vitality.

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How Much Should Poor Countries Be Paid To Fight Climate Change?

What will it take to get developing nations to sign up to a global climate agreement?

A critical part of the answer, it seems, is cold, hard cash.

Countries in poorer parts of the world like China and India are demanding that wealthier regions like the European Union and North America fund their efforts at developing clean energy technologies and help them adapt to the effects of climate change caused largely by accumulated emissions from the industrialized West.

Money to fund these efforts is seen as a precondition for reaching an agreement at United Nations climate talks in Copenhagen in December, when nations gather to hammer out a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol.

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Climate Change and the World of Work

Green Jobs have become an emblem of a more sustainable economy and society that preserves the environment for present and future generations and is more equitable and inclusive of all people and all countries.

Green jobs reduce the environmental impact of enterprises and economic sectors, ultimately to levels that are sustainable. Specifically, but not exclusively, this includes jobs that help to protect ecosystems and biodiversity; reduce energy, materials, and water consumption through high-efficiency strategies; de-carbonize the economy; and minimize or altogether avoid generation of all forms of waste and pollution.

Green jobs in emerging economies and developing countries include opportunities for managers, scientists and technicians, but the bulk can benefit a broad cross-section of the population which needs them most: youth, women, farmers, rural populations and slum dwellers.

However, many jobs which are green in principle are not green in practice because of the environmental damage caused by inappropriate practices. The notion of a green job is thus not absolute, but there are ‘shades’ of green and the notion will evolve over time. Moreover, the evidence shows that green jobs do not automatically constitute decent work. Many of these jobs are “dirty, dangerous and difficult”.

See full Press Release.

Levy on international air travel could fund climate change fight

• Idea put forward by 50 least developed countries
• Move could be matched by shipping fuel surcharge

Britain and other rich countries will be asked to accept a compulsory levy on international flight tickets and shipping fuel to raise billions of dollars to help the world's poorest countries adapt to combat climate change.

The suggestions come at the start of the second week in the latest round of UN climate talks in Bonn, where 192 countries are starting to negotiate a global agreement to limit and then reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The issue of funding for adaptation is critical to success but the hardest to agree.

The aviation levy, which is expected to increase the price of long-haul fares by less than 1%, would raise $10bn (£6.25bn) a year, it is said.

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