US driving climate process - but where?

After the brutal medicine of Copenhagen, no-one was quite sure how much of the UN process would survive through the harsh winter intact and emerge into the warming weather of Bonn in springtime.

Judging by the three-day meeting here, at least one UN climate convention tradition is alive and well: a total incapacity for punctuality.

The agenda for the final session on Sunday afternoon looked simple enough: decide how many meetings to have through the year and roughly when; tell the chair what inputs she should use in drawing up her draft text; recall this agreement and recognise that document - and that's about it, really.

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Oil stirs troubled waters

As anyone who's ever dressed a salad in vinaigrette will testify, oil and water just don't mix.

That's especially true of crude oil and sea water that supports sea lifeforms from fish to birds to plankton to mammals.

So when we discover that 42,000 gallons of oil are leaking daily from a stricken well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, and that it could take months to stem the flow, a little concern is entirely natural.

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Comeback for climate cautions and caveats

There are many ways in which climate science has moved on since the mid-1990s, the period from date which the oldest e-mails stolen from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU) and featured in the so-called "ClimateGate" affair - and there are quite a few in which many both inside and outside the mainstream would argue it needs to change further.

I referred to some of them in a previous post dealing with the first report into the affair, from the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee (STC).

Another of them is flagged up in the second report, from a panel chaired by geologist and former Shell chairman Lord (Professor Ron) Oxburgh.

See full Article.

Shareholders v stakeholders: A new idolatry

The economic crisis has revived the old debate about whether firms should focus most on their shareholders, their customers or their workers

THE era of “Jack Welch capitalism” may be drawing to a close, predicted Richard Lambert, the head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), in a speech last month. When “Neutron Jack” (so nicknamed for his readiness to fire employees) ran GE, he was regarded as the incarnation of the idea that a firm’s sole aim should be maximising returns to its shareholders. This idea has dominated American business for the past 25 years, and was spreading rapidly around the world until the financial crisis hit, calling its wisdom into question. Even Mr Welch has expressed doubts: “On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world,” he said last year.

In an article in a recent issue of the Harvard Business Review, Roger Martin, dean of the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, charts the rise of what he calls the “tragically flawed premise” that firms should focus on maximising shareholder value, and argues that “it is time we abandoned it.” The obsession with shareholder value began in 1976, he says, when Michael Jensen and William Meckling, two economists, published an article, “Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behaviour, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure”, which argued that the owners of companies were getting short shift from professional managers. The most cited academic article about business to this day, it inspired a seemingly irresistible movement to get managers to focus on value for shareholders. Converts to the creed had little time for other “stakeholders”: customers, employees, suppliers, society at large and so forth. American and British value-maximisers reserved particular disdain for the “stakeholder capitalism” practised in continental Europe.

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A slick off America's coast: Trouble on oiled waters

A rig explosion leaves a vast oil slick, threatening America’s gulf coast

THERE was a fire, an explosion and now a dark slick of oil disfigures the Gulf of Mexico like a bruise. The problems on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, 41 miles (66km) off the Louisiana coast, began on Tuesday April 20th. The next morning officials reported that 11 of the 126 workers on the rig were missing. Two days later the rig sank and the Coast Guard called off the search for survivors.

Expert opinion, based on underwater scans, was that the sunken rig had not sprung a leak. But in the murky depths it is hard to get a clear picture. By Sunday it had become apparent that the experts were wrong. Oil is still gushing into the sea at a rate of 42,000 gallons (or 1,000 barrels) a day. And by Monday the slick measured 80 miles across and 42 miles from north to south in some places, with the western part 36 miles from Louisiana's coast.

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Despite Attacks from Critics,Climate Science Will Prevail

Science thrives on debate. Only by challenging scientific findings do we expose weak arguments and substantiate strong ones. But the process relies on the debate being devoid of political taint and grounded in sound scientific knowledge. Sadly, that has not been the case in the recent barrage of criticism leveled against climate science.

The readers of Yale Environment 360 are by now familiar with recent questioning by some of the validity of the widely accepted science of climate change. The release of emails stolen from the University of East Anglia was used just prior to the Copenhagen Climate Summit to project an unflattering portrayal of climate scientists in general and to voice allegations that climate science was deeply flawed.

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Creating Wealth - Carbon War Room Conference

Earth Week saw many events and many statements by corporations large and small on the importance of protecting the earth's environment. One of the most insightful events was the 'Creating Climate Wealth' Conference hosted by the Carbon War Room, an entity created by British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson.

The event, which took place in Washington, D.C., brought together respected entrepreneurs, and leaders from Government, non-profits and the private sector to provide insights and expertise on how to clear barriers to emission reductions and how to promote the creation of 'green' jobs.

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Top 31 excelentes viñetas sobre ecología

La defensa de la naturaleza, la lucha contra el calentamiento global y el cambio climático o la apuesta por un desarrollo sostenible tiene múltiples vertientes, desde el activismo off y online hasta la labor de concienciación, pasando por la denuncia, el compromiso personal o la investigación. En todo ese abanico de posibilidades, los medios de información juegan un papel fundamental y, en ellos, el humor gráfico se configura como uno de los canales más eficaces para ejercer la crítica e invitar a la reflexión. Hoy he recogido aquí una selección personal de 30 de las viñetas sobre ecología que más me han llamado la atención.

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Embracing Clean Energy - Pew Report on the U.S. Department of Defense

The U.S.Department of Defense has initiated ambitious clean energy programs in service of economic, security and enviro nmental goals according to "Reenergizing America's Defense," a report released by the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate.

The report describes efforts by the U.S. military - whose usage accounts for nearly 80 percent of the U.S. government's energy consumption - to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and cut global warming pollution by enhancing energy efficiency and harnessing clean energy technologies.

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The rewards of virtue

Does good corporate governance pay? Studies give contradictory answers

ONCE again, corporate-governance reform is back on the legislative agenda, not least in the United States. In 2002, after the scandalous collapses of Enron and WorldCom, Congress voted in the Sarbanes-Oxley act, which was intended among other things to beef up corporate risk-management. Now, the financial reforms being considered in Washington include several proposals intended to correct flaws in the oversight of firms that were revealed in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The reforms likeliest to become law include an advisory “say on pay” vote for shareholders on the remuneration of top executives, and measures to make it easier for shareholders to nominate candidates for election to company boards.

As always, these efforts to improve corporate governance have plenty of opponents. They argue that, contrary to the claims of the reformers, the changes would harm corporate performance by wrapping managers up in red tape.

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Ten Technologies That Will Change the World

The editors of Technology Review, MIT's magazine of innovation, have announced their annual list of the 10 emerging technologies that will soon have a profound impact on how we live and work.

These innovations - each represented by a researcher whose vision and work is driving the field - promise fundamental shifts in areas from energy to health care, computing to communications. Each TR10 winner is drawn from the editors' coverage of key fields, and is based on a simple question: is the technology likely to change the world?

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Oil spills: Crude mistakes

The world's largest oil spills

ON APRIL 22nd Deepwater Horizon, an oil rig 130 miles (209 km) south-east of New Orleans sank into 1,500m (5,000 feet) of water, following an explosion two days earlier. Eleven of the 126 workers who were onboard remain unaccounted for. Around 1,000 barrels (42,000 US gallons) of crude have been leaking from the submersed rig each day since it sank last week. This spill however, pails in comparison to large disasters, both accidental and man-made.

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1,000 Barrels A Day Of Crude Hemorrhaging Into The Gulf Of Mexico

The U.S. Coast Guard is warning that the Gulf of Mexico's ecosystem is threatened by the recent Transocean/BP rig disaster.

1,000 barrels a day of oil are leaking into the water, and the the spill is covering 400 square miles of ocean.

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Climate: How we got here

"When you think back to Rio," the delegate asked rhetorically, "would you ever have imagined it would end up like this?"

This is a delegate with much greater experience than me in this arena - someone who saw the UN climate convention come into being in 1992, and has been at all the important gatherings since. I am a gadfly compared to his elephant.

But no: thinking back to the Rio Earth Summit - no, I wouldn't have imagined it would end up like this.

The idea of the UN climate convention is very simple.

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Earth spirits' twin visions on climate

Good news: I've had my sins absolved.

Well, not all of my sins, obviously - that would take more Hail Marys than there are days in the year - but my carbon sins, at least.

Tucked in my back pocket is a piece of paper saying I am "hereby forgiven" for sins such as flying where I choose, using a washing machine, and eating meat.

The "Earth Goddess" who gave it to me marks the most colourful display in "NGO alley", the corridor along which every delegate to the UN climate convention (UNFCCC) meeting here must walk to and from the conference rooms.

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Japan Challenges International Whaling Legalization Because It Doesn't Let Them Kill Enough Whales

Japan immediately challenged a compromise on the whaling ban offered today by the International Whaling Commission.

Although the plan would legalize commercial whaling for the first time in 25 years, it would impose a 200 whales-per-year limit on the Land of the Rising Sun.

Japan would rather continue killing 900 yearly, using the scientific research loophole.

See full Article.

11 Simple Ways To Go Green At Your Office (And Save Money, Too)

"Going green" is becoming a way of life in many places. Your office doesn't need to be an exception.

Fortunately, it's easy to integrate some simple routines into your workday that will help lessen your impact on the Earth.

Bonus: most of them will end up saving you money, too.

From switching to non-disposable kitchen supplies (no more buying paper cups in bulk), to turning off lights whenever possible (lower electricity bills), these new routines will help you cut down on waste and your office costs.

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Australia shelves key emissions trading scheme

The Australian government has shelved plans for an emissions trading scheme (ETS), the centrepiece of its environmental strategy.

It has made repeated attempts to get the measure through parliament, but has been blocked in the Senate, where the government does not enjoy a majority.

The government will now not start the scheme until 2013 at the very earliest.

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World Day for Safety and Health at Work

Since 2003, the International Labour Organization (ILO) observes World Day stressing the prevention of accidents and illnesses at work, capitalizing on its traditional strengths of tripartism and social dialogue. This celebration is an integral part of the Global Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health of the ILO, as documented in the Conclusions of the International Labour Conference in June 2003. One of the main pillars of the Global Strategy is advocacy, and World Day for Safety and Health at Work is a significant tool to raise awareness about how to make work safe and healthy and the need to raise the political profile of occupational safety and health. 28 of April is also a day which the world's trade union movement has long associated with commemorating victims of occupational accidents and diseases.

See full Press Release.

Día Mundial de la Seguridad y la Salud en el Trabajo [World Day for Safety and Health at Work]

Desde el año 2003, la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT) observa el Día Mundial haciendo hincapié en la prevención de los accidentes y las enfermedades en el lugar de trabajo, apoyándose en las características tradicionales que fortalecen su acción: el tripartismo y el diálogo social. El Día Mundial forma parte integral de la estrategia global de la OIT en materia de seguridad y salud en el trabajo, tal y como se establece en las Conclusiones de la Conferencia Internacional del Trabajo de junio de 2003. Uno de los pilares de dicha estrategia son las actividades de movilización; el Día Mundial es una herramienta importante para sensibilizar a la población sobre cómo hacer que el trabajo sea seguro y saludable y sobre la necesidad de darle un mayor peso político a la seguridad y la salud en el trabajo. El 28 de abril es asimismo la fecha elegida por el movimiento sindical mundial para rendir homenaje a las víctimas de los accidentes de trabajo y las enfermedades profesionales.

Con el fin de brindar apoyo a los organismos e instituciones interesados, la OIT pone a su disposición en Internet el material de la campaña de promoción. Le animamos a divulgar nuestros productos y organizar alguna actividad relacionada con el tema.

See full Nota de Prensa.

Ozone's joined-up climate

Remember the unseemly rush to biofuels? The sudden impetus from all kinds of bodies including UN institutions, the EU, and governments such as the UK that began about four years ago to ramp up the growing of fuel crops and to adopt liquids made from them as the low-carbon transport panacea?

While the enthusiasm was understandable given the absence at the time of other low-carbon transport "solutions", the thinking was also full of holes.

Some biofuel systems would actually increase emissions, peoples' rights (particularly in rural areas of developing countries) were potentially compromised, and the impacts on biodiversity of coating the surface of the planet in monocrop plantations were also potentially horrible.

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Food sustainability

Predator-prey relationships, host species and parasites, and more mutually rewarding interactions like those between plant and pollinator all illuminate patterns by which species have learned to co-evolve over time. Less familiar, but equally intriguing, is the symbiotic relationship between nance and sectors of the economy, and food is no exception. From agricultural derivatives in Ancient Greece, to forward contracts used by medieval French merchants, to today's commodity index funds ­ nancial tools have underpinned the development of our global food markets throughout the ages.

Global food demand is set to rise sharply in the coming decades. Population growth, changing diets and environmental constraints will combine with declining global agricultural productivity to further pressurise the food system. It is likely that there will be an investment boom in agriculture and agribusiness infrastructure to meet this forecast demand.

See full Article, in pdf format.

Kroll Global Fraud Report 2011

In this edition, we take a closer look at the issues that Kroll is most frequently asked to investigate, and the variations in the nature of the threat across different regions. Four important themes emerge:

• Theft of information and electronic data overtakes physical theft for the first time as the most frequently reported fraud.
  
• Fear of fraud is dissuading 48% of companies from operating in other countries. China and Africa are the geographies most affected, with corruption identified as the greatest concern.
  
• Companies appear unprepared for heightened Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement and the impact of the UK Bribery Act. For example, only one third of respondents with a presence in the United States or United Kingdom felt the laws applied to them.
  
• Fraud is largely an inside job across all geographies and industries. Some 44% of respondents attributed fraud to employees and a further 11% identified agents or intermediaries as the key perpetrators.

See full Press Release.

Companies falling behind on IT access governance, survey finds

As enterprises turn to Web-based applications for various uses -- from payroll, expense reporting and other employee services -- many are finding it more difficult to control access governance, according to a new survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute LLC. Outsourcing services and relying on contractors to do work is also making access a difficult problem to solve.

The survey of 728 IT professionals found many enterprises are having trouble keeping pace with access changes resulting in many employees having more access to systems than necessary. Eighty-seven percent of those surveyed said individuals had too much access to resources that are not pertinent to their job description. The figure has risen 9% from the 2008 access governance survey.

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PCI security compliance experts share ways to get compliance 'done right'

PCI security compliance experts share ways to get compliance 'done right'

Far too many merchants try to achieve compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) by finding ways to implement compensating controls with part of the standard and end up spending way too much money in the process.

"If you don't agree with a particular PCI provision and you think you can do things better, that's fine, but you have to build a case for a compensating control," said Anton Chuvakin, co-author of "PCI Compliance: Understand and Implement Effective PCI Data Security Standard Compliance."

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Water Water Everywhere, Nor Any Drop to Drink

In an interview with Sea Change Radio, Jeff Erikson talks about findings from the TSS water survey, including the growing sense that water is a basic human right and that companies should adopt, as many are already doing, more and more sophisticated strategies to ensure water sustainability.

See full Interview.

The 3rd Annual Global Anti-corruption Summit USA 2010

How to protect your business and yourself - Your blueprint to eliminating corporate ethics & compliance risks.

* Far Reaching Anti-Corruption Legislation...
* Increased Individual Prosecutions...
* Sophisticated Transatlantic Investigations...
* The Hits Keep Coming

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Electric vehicles and the transition to sustainable transportation

So COP15 was an abject failure. We arrived in Copenhagen to witness the conclusion of the Bali Roadmap, i.e. to get a Post-2012 Climate Deal that would kick in when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires. Instead, we watched aghast while the UNFCCC process spectacularly unravelled amid chaotic scenes, as more than one hundred heads of state and government (commonly abbreviated to “HOGS”…) descended on the Danish capital for the concluding hours of the conference. All we ended up with was the so-called Copenhagen Accord, a non-legally binding political agreement cooked up by a privileged inner-circle of HOGS that included President Obama and his Chinese, Indian, South African, and Brazilian counterparts.

But was it really that bad? A closer look at the text of the Accord reveals something that had never before been articulated at a Conference of the Parties. It effectively interprets for the first time the UNFCCC’s ultimate objective, specifically that preventing “dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” means holding the rise in global temperatures to below 2°C [note: the European Union already adopted the 2°C threshold as its official policy target back in 1996].

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The Biodiversity Challenge for Business

2010 is International Year on Biodiversity, but what might it mean for business?

Biodiversity has been the Cinderella among environmental issues, with the CEOs of even some of the world's biggest corporations comfortably confident that it has little—if anything—to do with their day-to-day preoccupations. Except, of course, where their operations directly impact rainforests, temperate wetlands or coral reefs, as in the case of a food company using palm oil whose production has involved the clearance of virgin forest. Most business leaders assume that the protection of species and genetic diversity is a matter for governments. And they are not wrong in making that assumption. But as the evidence of biodiversity erosion mounts and the sense of government failure in many parts of the world begin to press in, the risk grows that business will be back in the spotlight.

Attention will focus both on corporations and their supply chains as agents in biodiversity destruction but also, perhaps more importantly long term, as one of the few agents of change with the capacity to come up with innovative new solutions to a challenge that has undermined so many past civilizations.

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The Cleanest Countries In The World

Europeans getting a shower of ash might disagree, but researchers rate Iceland tops in environmental performance.

Iceland is the cleanest country in the world. This may be hard to believe right now, what with the clouds of volcanic ash grounding flights across northern Europe, but according to researchers at Yale and Columbia universities, the Nordic island ranks first out of 163 countries on their Environmental Performance Index.

Researchers ranked countries based on 25 indicators, including water and air quality, greenhouse gas emissions and the impact of the environment on the health of the population.

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Regulator risks its reputation, insolvency profession warns

Insolvency Service should concentrate on regulating recognised professional bodies, not interfering with individual IPs

Insolvency has become a dirty word as far as commerce and even the general public are concerned. The profession has found itself the target of public uproar as the industry makes money for its rescue or recovery services.

Business minister Ian Lucas has called for pre-pack administrations to be revised because of unfavourable public perception, while there has also been numerous claims that fees charged by insolvency practitioners (IPs) are too high.

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Environmental investment hampered by tax system

Brewery FD hits out at tax system which he believes is holding back green industrial investment

The UK's tax system does not support environmental industrial investment, claims Stephen Pugh, finance director of Adnams brewery.

Pugh wrote in a letter to the Financial Times: "Those who pay extra to construct buildings that use less energy will receive no allowances."

He added tax authorities told Adnams they would not receive a tax relief for buildings which needed no artificial cooling systems - even though they use less energy.

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Profession creates manifesto

Accountancy Age readers reveal their manifesto ideas

The merger of income tax and national insurance, supply of free XBRL software and legal protection for the term accountant are among the proposals for a manifesto from the profession.

Accountancy Age readers have reacted enthusiastically to our invitation to create a manifesto from accountants for the new government to implement.

The proposals have been wide and varied.They have ranged from transformation of the tax system and the way government does business, to increased powers for the National Audit Office and reform of fair value accounting.

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Firms win in early stages of Japan’s IFRS move

Japanese companies face short-term hit to balance sheets but IFRS adoption will make overseas investment easier

As Japan continues its shift over to international financial reporting standards, it is creating a host of challenges and opportunities for firms and their clients at the start of the new fiscal year.

Although Japan’s Financial Services Agency decided in December 2009 that full adoption of IFRS was voluntary, this year, the asset retirement obligations are compulsory from 1 April, 2010, explained Kana Chiba from the IFRS desk at the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (JICPA).

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Convergence talks accused of over-ambitious targets

IASB and FASB give "no guarantee" they will resolve all differences over international standards convergence

A progress report on international accounting convergence caused rumblings in the accounting world last week, with fears the world’s two chief standard setters were being overambitious in their quest to unite their two accounting codes by June next year.

Some even suggested the quality of international account­ing rules may suffer as the international and US standard setters move towards a June 2011 deadline.

Jeremy Newman, chief executive officer of BDO International, was worried that too much was being compromised by the International Account­ing Standards Board (IASB), headed by Sir David Tweedie, as it attempts to converge its standards with US rules. He fears a rush job may hurt the standards though a lack of thoroughness. “My fear at the moment is that in order for the IASB to say ‘we got there’ it will drop so much stuff that getting there just doesn’t mean a whole lot,” he said.

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Regulatory Reform--Without The Unintended Consequences

Bipartisan reform will bring certainty to our capital and credit markets, fuel our economy and create jobs. But only if done right.

In New York Thursday President Obama called for the enactment of much-needed financial regulatory reform and modernization. The Financial Services Forum, a nonpartisan financial and economic policy organization comprising the CEOs of 19 of the largest financial institutions operating in the U.S., strongly agrees with the president on the need for sensible, thoughtful reform that preserves our position as a global financial leader.

To maintain a position of financial and economic leadership, the United States needs a 21st-century framework of financial supervision that protects the interests of depositors, investors, consumers and policy holders; ensures the safety and soundness of financial institutions; ensures financial stability; and ensures an effective and competitive financial marketplace.

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'Green' Goods Get Red Flags

Rash of Earth-Friendly Claims Spurs Rising Number of Lawsuits and FTC Actions

Wayne Koh likes products that are environmentally friendly and was willing to pay a little more for a household cleaner that had earned a "green" certification. Or so he thought.

When Mr. Koh learned the "Greenlist" label on SC Johnson's Shout and Windex products was created by the company itself, not awarded by an independent third party, he was angry enough to demand his money back—in court.

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Merkel calls for better financial regulation

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is stressing the need for a better regulation of international financial markets, saying there is still "too much speculation going on" as exemplified by the financial crisis in Greece.

Merkel said in her weekly video podcast Saturday that Germany had "asked the European Commission to make suggestions to prohibit such speculation."

The chancellor also highlighted the importance of international financial institutions like the IMF and the World Bank in creating more efficient rulings and called on them to help create a "ecologically and socially compatible" growth in times of globalism.

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America's Most Reputable Companies

Warm-and-fuzzy household names are most loved in tough times. Consumers are still critical of financial service giants.

With big names like Tiger Woods and Toyota Motor stepping into the spotlight of public scrutiny this year, reputation is a hot topic in the media and in corporate boardrooms. No company wants its public image to be the reason it has a hard time rebounding from the recession.

So what factors shape the public's image of American businesses? Which companies do consumers trust and admire? Reputation Institute, a private consulting firm, conducted 24,977 online interviews, asking people about their perceptions of the nation's largest (by annual revenue) 150 companies' products and services, innovation, workplace, governance, citizenship, financial performance and leadership. It assigned each company a score--0 to 100--based on responses and then ranked them.

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Are We Getting Closer to 'Clean' Ethanol?

Using the miracles of nature, the bioscience firm Novozymes will make your lips fuller, your gasoline less polluting and your beer better tasting.

It goes by the name GH-61. It turbocharges an enzyme, a protein that itself speeds up chemical reactions, but exactly how, or how it is made, is known only to its manufacturers at the Danish firm Novozymes. Starting next fall it will be employed at a biofuels plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa. If all goes well, the enzyme cocktail that contains this special GH-61 will help transform corncobs into ethanol for autos, likely marking the first production of cellulosic ethanol at a reasonable price.

Cellulosic ethanol represents a huge potential market for Novozymes, whose enzymes play a role in everything from detergents to beer to gasohol.

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Ernst & Young LLP seeks high-potential women entrepreneurs for 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women competition

Ernst & Young LLP is calling for applications for its third annual Entrepreneurial Winning Women competition, a program designed to accelerate the growth of high-potential businesses founded by women entrepreneurs.

To obtain an application form, or to nominate a deserving woman entrepreneur, visit: www.ey.com/us/entrepreneurialwinningwomen. The application deadline is June 30, 2010.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women program identifies and connects a select group of women entrepreneurs with the advisors, resources and insights they need to accelerate the growth of their businesses. The program is conducted in collaboration with the Women Presidents’ Organization, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, the Committee of 200 and Babson College.

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Renewable Energy Attractiveness Indices

Since 2003, the Ernst & Young Energy and Environmental Infrastructure Advisory team has been releasing quarterly data that ranks national renewable energy markets, and their suitability for individual technologies.

Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices
To find out more about the renewable markets, download the latest Ernst & Young Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices (pdf, 504.1kb) which tracks and scores investment in renewable energy, all renewables, long-term on or off-shore solar PV, solar CSP, biomass, geothermal and infrastructure.

See full Press Release.

A great way for businesses to shed excess CO2? The humble diet diary

A great way for businesses to shed excess carbon? The humble diet diary.

Girl writing in her diary. Click image to expand.A diary could help businesses shed excess CO2.I've been known to indulge in a few potato chips now and then—and by a few, I mean the whole bag. But it wasn't until my doctor asked me to keep a diary of my dietary habits that I began to realize I might have a fried-potato problem. It's one thing to mindlessly munch on Kettle Chips while watching the cast of Glee bust out a racy rendition of Salt-n-Pepa's "Push It." It's another to document every single indulgence for the inspection of your disapproving doc. As it turns out, the diet diary is a tried-and-true weight-loss technique, as a 2008 study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine discovered. It worked for me: After two weeks of guiltily recording every time I popped a Pringle, I started eating a lot more carefully.

See full Article.

How a warmer climate could roil the political landscape

Mass migrations, water wars, and insect plagues. How will climate change reshape the electoral map?

Corn field. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration isn't known for its political forecasts, but last spring, the agency quietly released a 40-page study that should give a jolt to any campaign strategist who hopes to work in the next dozen election cycles. Simply called "Scenarios for 2035," the report never once mentions voting trends or red-blue divides, but it does explain how changes in climate could quickly and radically reshape American politics—upending the power balance in Congress, scuttling traditional paths to the White House, and igniting new fights over natural and financial resources.
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The NOAA report joins a variety of other studies, from the government and from environmental groups, that suggest politicians, as a species, may need to adapt to climate change as fast as polar bears.

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The 9th annual Responsible Business Summit - Your one stop shop for expert advice on every CSR issue you're facing and using responsible business practice

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Should geoengineering tests be governed by the principles of medical ethics?

Should geoengineering tests be governed by the principles of medical ethics?

Volcano. Click image to expand.A volcanoNearly 200 scientists from 14 countries met last month at the famed Asilomar retreat center outside Monterey, Calif., in a very deliberate bid to make history. Their five-day meeting focused on setting up voluntary ground rules for research into cloud-brightening, giant algae blooms, and other massive-scale interventions to cool the planet. It's unclear how significant the meeting will turn out to be, but the intent of its organizers was unmistakable: By choosing Asilomar, they hoped to summon the spirit of a groundbreaking meeting of biologists that took place on the same site in 1975. Back then, scientists with bushy sideburns and split collars—the forefathers of the molecular revolution, it turned out—established principles for the safe and ethical study of deadly pathogens.

See full Article-

As Volcano Ebbs, Europe Seeks New Safety Rules - WSJ.com

As European airspace returned to near-normal conditions Friday, the region's air-safety regulators shifted their attention to assessing potential medium and long-term damage to planes flying through low levels of volcanic ash.

The focus is partly intended to formalize some of the interim safeguards put in place earlier this week, when regulators worked on short-term action to quickly get commercial planes back in the air.

For the first time since Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH'-tlah-yer-kuh-duhl) volcano erupted, throwing European air traffic into turmoil and causing more than 95,000 flights to be canceled, regulators asked aircraft and engine manufacturers to develop specific inspection procedures that look beyond immediate safety questions.

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El cambio climático: análisis y política económica. Una introducción

El primer objetivo de este nuevo volumen de la Colección Estudios Económicos, que edita el Servicio de Estudios de “la Caixa” es exponer los principales problemas que es preciso afrontar para tratar las cuestiones fundamentales asociadas con el análisis y la política económica del cambio climático. Un segundo objetivo consiste en facilitar los instrumentos conceptuales necesarios. El tercer objetivo del libro es explicar las aportaciones del análisis económico en relación al cambio climático; está centrado en el análisis económico convencional, neoclásico. ¿Qué enfoques del análisis económico son los más relevantes para entender los diferentes aspectos que relacionan la economía y el cambio climático? ¿Cuál es su nivel de adaptación a los problemas y cuáles son las insuficiencias?

El trabajo no tiene la pretensión de hacer un panorama exhaustivo de las contribuciones del análisis económico a los diferentes aspectos del cambio climático. Por su parte, la política económica está reflejada en términos del análisis de los instrumentos existentes, sin entrar –pero- en un relato sistemático de las políticas concretas vigentes en las diversas instituciones.

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Master in Global Environmental Change

Global environmental change is charac¬terized by complex interactions between processes with different impacts between geographical areas. This complexity calls for professionals with a broad outlook and strong analytical skills, trained to translate data into understanding, and communicate with decision makers.

The Master in Global Environmental Change provides solid skills building based on our unique, case-based methodology. One of the strengths of the program is its intensive training in decision analysis and geographical information systems (GIS) applied to global environmental change. Using these tools, students will discover the reality of global environmental change from the raw data and analyze future scenarios. Another strength of the program lies in its emphasis on communication skills, training students and stimulating their creativity to translate scientific evidence into understandable information for diverse audiences and to support environmental decision-making.

By the end of the programs, students may pursue roles as a policy adviser, risk analyst, or researcher, be it in government, international organizations, NGO, research organization or consulting company, or continue to pursue a PHD.

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Accounting Rules Change, Wall Street Makes Money

The big banks and trading houses are reporting apparently excellent earnings this quarter. Current results are taking place though because of accounting rule changes and not because of economic recovery.

If you can't win under the existing rules of the game, simply change the rules. Wall Street firms were losing big money during the Credit Crisis, but not only did the federal government come to their rescue with truckloads of taxpayer money, but accounting rule changes were also instituted to make their financial position look much stronger. The much improved earnings for the banks (NYSEArca: KBE) and investment houses (NYSEArca: IAI) showing up today are the result of both and not an improved economy.

After a record earnings year in 2007, built on a highly leveraged sub-prime mortgage pyramid, things started to go terribly wrong on Wall Street. Mark to market accounting was forcing firms to value their sub-prime paper at fire sale prices. This caused massive losses.

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