Climate change impacts will have disastrous effects on the world’s water supplies, according to water experts at the United Nations.  In a recent interview with Reuters, Zafar Adeel, the chair of UN-Water, a group which coordinates water-related activities among 26 other U.N. agencies,  warned “the main manifestations of rising temperatures… are about water.”

Because water is so essential for every aspect of human and animal life, there are “potential for conflicts” as water resources grow scarce.  As temperatures rise, it is likely that up to 250 million people could suffer additional water stress by 2020.  Central Asia and Africa are some of the regions most likely to be affected by this stress, and could face increased desertification, flash floods, heat waves as well as increased occurances of water-borne diseases as a result of poor sanitation.  Right now, Adeel said, about 2.8 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation.

Adeel is urging for a stronger focus on water issues in the global dialog of climate change, food security and economic recover.  ”Water is central to each of these debates, but typically isn’t seen as such.”

Read the full article…

The need to address climate change while facilitating continued economic growth and social progress is a key challenge facing world leaders today. Investing in a Low-Carbon Energy Future in the Developing World ( 1 MB) explores how governments and business can work together to solve these challenges by aligning policies, mechanisms and tools with the commercial conditions under which a business typically invests, in order to scale up private investment.

Future demand for energy is rising substantially, particularly in rapidly emerging economies and in many developing countries that lack even the most basic of energy services. The investments required to address future energy demand as well as climate change are substantial. Significant scaling up of investment flows into the development and deployment of low-carbon energy technologies is urgently required in both developed and developing countries to bridge the “so-called” emerging investment gap. Additional finance is also needed for adaptation, particularly in the world’s poorest countries. Private investment will be essential.

The ability of a technology or infrastructure project to attract investment depends heavily on commercial returns. The report provides a clear commercial business perspective by addressing how and why business invests, investment risk profiles, and the incentives needed in order to scale up investment in new technology research, development, demonstration and deployment.

Most stakeholders agree that it will take a combination of public and private financial sources, a broad range of mechanisms and instruments, carbon markets, and official development assistance to guarantee the energy demands of the future in a way that mitigates climate impacts. Policies are urgently needed that integrate development, energy and climate priorities.

Creating demand for new technologies, giving clear and strong expectations of a carbon price, building capacity through stable and transparent regulatory regimes, and providing incentives during crucial technology demonstration phases and fast-track approval processes are also likely to help green the investment flow and reduce the overall “energy bill” of developing countries.

Download

Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, will say the coming crisis could be even more serious than the credit crunch

Sir Richard Branson and fellow leading businessmen will warn ministers this week that the world is running out of oil and faces an oil crunch within five years.

The founder of the Virgin group, whose rail, airline and travel companies are sensitive to energy prices, will say that the coming crisis could be even more serious than the credit crunch.

“The next five years will see us face another crunch – the oil crunch. This time, we do have the chance to prepare. The challenge is to use that time well,” Branson will say.

“Our message to government and businesses is clear: act,” he says in a foreword to a new report on the crisis. “Don’t let the oil crunch catch us out in the way that the credit crunch did.”

….. more

Global Fund Exchange founders, Lauralouise Duffy and Anric Blatt first met WBCSD President
Björn Stigson in Sharjah, UAE  at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce in 2009 and have been keen supporters of his organization since. The World Council for Sustainable Development produces some excellent reports like the one below and we would like to encourage you to visit their website at http://www.wbcsd.org/

New downloadable report

Copenhagen, 9 December 2009 – The relationship between land use and climate change is highlighted in corporate case studies included in a new report, entitled Tackling climate change on the ground ( 4.3 MB), released by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Land-use activities are a major source and sink of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Curbing deforestation and applying sustainable land-use management practices can reduce GHG emissions, while planting trees and managing forests can help remove GHGs (mainly CO2) from the atmosphere by sequestering them in plants and vegetation.

Examples of cases in the report include: developing new crop varieties that have less environmental impacts and can adapt to climate change, or products that help reduce emissions; using techniques like direct seeding and drip irrigation to reduce water use in dry regions, or keeping soils healthy so they store more carbon; and developing models and tools to find practical ways to reduce impact and prepare for the future.

The various cases demonstrate that t here is no single, globally applicable sustainable management solution for land use. Business is only part of the solution and must work with governments, civil society and others to develop a range of land-use approaches that tackle climate change.

Download

• Tackling climate change on the ground – Corporate case studies on land use and climate change ( 4.3 MB)

New Delhi, 4 February 2010 – The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) today launched the Vision 2050 report ( 2.6 MB), a study that lays out a pathway leading to a global population of some 9 billion people living well, within the resource limits of the planet by 2050. The report, released at the World CEO Forum in New Delhi, India, was compiled by 29 leading global companies representing 14 industries.

This work results from an 18-month combined effort with CEOs and experts, and dialogues with over 200 companies and external stakeholders in some 20 countries.

The report presents new opportunities for business in a broad range of business segments with the foresight to lead their societies on a sustainable business development agenda. Entitled Vision 2050: The new agenda for business, the report “lays out the challenges, pathway and options that business can use to create an opportunity-rich strategy, both regionally and globally, that will lead to a sustainable world,” said Dr. Mohammad A. Zaidi, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Alcoa, who led the project as one of four co-chairs.

“The world already has the knowledge, science, technologies, skills and financial resources needed to achieve Vision 2050. However, concerted global action in the next decade will be required to bring these capabilities and resources together, putting the world on the path to sustainability,” explained WBCSD President Bjorn Stigson.

The publication outlines a future in which 9 billion people live well, enjoying health, food, shelter, energy, mobility, education and other basics of life. Syngenta CEO, Michael Mack added that “humanity has largely had an exploitative relationship with our planet; we can, and should, aim to make this a symbiotic one.” In the Vision 2050scenario, global society attains this standard of living at a sustainable rate, without further harm to biodiversity, climate and ecosystem services.

The report states that the world already has the resources to achieve Vision 2050,but there is a catch: “The radical changes highlighted in Vision 2050 demand a different perspective from business leaders, requiring them to rethink how they operate to stay on-track for a sustainable future,” added Samuel A. DiPiazza Jr., former CEO and Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers. This includes a radical transformation of global markets, governance and infrastructure, and a re-thinking of our ideas of growth and progress.

Vision 2050 spells out the “must haves” – the things that must happen over the coming decade to make a sustainable planetary society possible. These include incorporating the costs of externalities, starting with carbon, ecosystem services and water, into the structure of the marketplace; doubling agricultural output without increasing the amount of land or water used; halting deforestation and increasing yields from planted forests: halving carbon emissions worldwide (based on 2005 levels) by 2050 through a shift to low-carbon energy systems and improved demand-side energy efficiency, and providing universal access to low-carbon mobility.

As part of this transformation, Vision 2050 calls for a new agenda for business: to work with government and society worldwide to transform markets and competition. “Sustainability will become a key driver for all our investment decisions,” added Idar Kreutzer, CEO of Storebrand and another project co-chair. New rules for markets will reframe environmental challenges as economic challenges, driving innovation and competition in the direction of sustainability and away from resource- and energy-intensive production. Rationalizing prices to include such externalities as climate and biodiversity impacts will make corporate environmental efficiency a true competitive advantage across all industries and regions.

Business will lead market change by doing what business does best: forming partnerships, creating efficiencies and competitive advantage, seizing opportunities and meeting customer needs. At the same time, a shift toward sustainability will trigger trillions of dollars in new investments in infrastructure, technology and human services, creating new opportunities for business to thrive and grow. A recent study commissioned for this project with PricewaterhouseCoopers and released today indicates that this investment could reach US$ 3-10 trillion per annum in 2050.

Vision 2050, with its best-case scenario for sustainability and pathways for reaching it, is a tool for thought leadership, a platform for beginning the dialogue that must take place to navigate the challenging years to come. “It is hoped that the Vision 2050 work will be used for many years to come. It is designed to be a platform for companies when deliberating strategies and for dialogue with governments and society about how to realize the sustainable future,” concluded Per Sandberg, Project Director for Vision 2050.

Download

• Vision 2050: The new agenda for business – full report ( 2.6 MB)
• Vision 2050: The new agenda for business – summary report ( 2.4 MB)

In a landmark ruling, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) for the first time will hold companies accountable for disclosing any risk that climate change might represent to their business bottom line.

Although the S.E.C. has previously required disclosure of a wide variety of other environmental risks, it has never made specific mention of climate change. The S.E.C. does not support any singular scientific or political viewpoint on climate change, but says it was a “logical step” to include climate change among the other disclosures it requires.

The S.E.C.’s decision was met with praise from a number of prominent investors and environmental groups who have strongly advocated for climate risk disclosure, saying it is a business issue of primary importance.  “We’re glad the S.E.C. is stepping up to the plate to protect investors,” remarked Anne Stausboll, CEO of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CALPERS), the influential pension fund that is the largest in the United States.

“Ensuring that investors are getting timely, material information on climate-related impacts… is essential.  Investors have a fundamental right to know which companies are well positioned for the future and which are not.”  The S.E.C. has released “interpretive guidance” in order to help companies decide what risks are worth disclosing and how to best communicate them to investors.

Read more…

Affluent countries are making good on their Copenhagen promises to provide monetary aid to poor nations grappling with the effects of climate change. Thus far, funding pledges for 2010-2012 are nearly $30 billion, including $15 billion from Japan and €7 billion from the European Union.

However, the “Copenhagen Green Climate Fund” planned in last month’s conference has not yet been implemented, making it likely that the donor countries will each determine how their aid packages are distributed and to whom.  Delegates from China, India, Brazil and South Africa have welcomed the pledge, calling the $10 billion expected to be released in 2010 an important symbol of rich countries’ willingness to help.

The Copenhagen Accord set forth a January 31^st deadline for nations to submit quantitative details on their voluntary emissions reductions targets and achievement strategies.  The United States has formally submitted its approval, and informed the United Nations of its intent to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions 17% from 2005 levels by 2020.  Todd Stern, the chief U.S. climate change negotiator, said final emissions targets will be submitted following Congress’ passage of energy legislation requiring carbon cuts.

2000-2009 was the warmest decade in historical record, according to NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt says it is “completely unambiguous” that the last ten years have trumped all other others since NASA’s record-keeping began in 1880.

Over the past 30 years, surfaces temperatures have risen on average 0.36°F each decade, but the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s National Climatic Data Center confirms that between 2000 and 2009, average global surface temperatures rose 0.96°F over the 20^th century average.

NOAA data shows that global ocean temperatures are rising as well.  This past December, ocean temperatures were the second warmest on record, trailing the year 1997.  NOAA scientists warn this trend could detrimentally impact marine food chains, and may reduce the ability of oceans to store oxygen, resulting in oxygen-deprived areas known as “dead zones.”

These dead zones lack the ability to support marine life, and currently make up less than 2% of the ocean’s volume.  However, if global warming continues unchecked, the amount of dead zones in the earth’s oceans could increase ten-fold over the next century.

Read more…

The United States wind industry enjoyed substantial growth in 2009, in spite of the recession and tight credit markets.

Latest estimates from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) say the United States increased its wind capacity with a capacity increase of 9,900 MW last year, the largest increase on record and a full 18% higher than new capacity installations in 2008.  Since 2002, wind capacity in the U.S. has increased seven times over.

Likewise, China is reporting strong sector activity as well.  The nation plans to double its wind capacity with $14.6 billion in new industry investment by the end of 2010.  Read more…

Although carbon markets have struggled to find their footing in the aftermath of the Copenhagen climate talks, Reuters is reporting an uptick in demand for voluntary carbon credits.

“Since this year started we have seen a huge amount of interest – mostly from the U.S. – in carbon credits and it won’t be long before the voluntary market begins really to gain some momentum,” said Matthew Sullivan, CEO of carbon offset retailer the Carbon Advice Group.

The unregulated voluntary market is a mechanism for businesses to buy and sell credits – known as Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) or Gold Standards – for self-imposed and self-regulated emission reductions schemes.  It operates separately from the United Nation’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which together comprise the vast majority of the global carbon market.

Interest in both the CDM and the ETS has wavered since Copenhagen, as analysts and traders try to make sense of how the Copenhagen Accord, the non-binding agreement produced at the conference, will affect future demand and prices across the market.

In his first State of the Union address, President Obama spoke in no uncertain terms of the important role clean energy and energy efficiency must play in the United States economy now, and in the years to come.

The President emphasized the connection between investing in clean energy and job creation in the United States, which has been struggling with high unemployment.  Upgrading aging and inefficient infrastructure and expanding the reach of renewable energy and smart grid systems will be crucial to reviving the U.S. economy.  “We should put more Americans to work building clean energy facilities and give rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy-efficient,” he said.

Obama spoke favorably of the impact the Recovery Act has had on new energy technologies.  Under the sweeping legislation, the Department of Energy (DOE) has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into research and development initiatives for advanced biofuels, wind, solar, geothermal, advanced batteries, and smart grid systems.  These investments are paying off, Obama said, as new factories, manufacturing plants and power installations enter project pipelines all around the country, putting more Americans to work.  Obama also expressed support for construction of new, safe nuclear energy plants and for exploration of sites for offshore oil and natural gas drilling.

President Obama offered praise to the House of Representatives for passing the Waxman-Markey climate bill, and urged the Senate to break its inertia and move quickly on the legislation in its chambers.  “Washington has been telling us to wait for decades, even as the problem has grown worse,” he warned.  We need to pass a “comprehensive energy and climate with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.”   Acknowledging critics who say the timing is not right for such complex energy and climate legislation, Obama reiterated the urgency of the issue, forcefully saying “the nation which leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy.  And America must be that nation.”

China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, is often blamed for its role in world pollution, but the giant nation has a strong appetite for alternative energy. Click thumbnail below to view short video

JAKARTA, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Indonesia plans a $1 billion green investment fund this year to drive infrastructure developments that aid growth and help cut greenhouse gas emissions, a finance ministry official said on Tuesday.

Indonesia has promised to slash its emissions by at least 26 percent from business as usual levels by 2020 but recently re-elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has also vowed to boost economic growth to 7 percent or more by 2014.

At global climate talks in Copenhagen last month, Yudhoyono announced a plan to develop the Indonesia Green Investment Fund, which will catalyse infrastructure development that could speed economic growth, boost food and clean water production and also help cut emissions blamed for global warming.

Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund the Government Investment Unit will put $100 million into the fund and a further $900 million will come from foreign governments including Norway and Australia, plus institutional investors, said Edward Gustely

Read the full article

Reuters, 14 January 2010 – Green technologies posed the investment opportunity of our lifetime said Deutsche Bank’s global head of asset management, in a study published on Thursday.

A Deutsche Bank report found that companies specialising in energy efficiency and renewable energy such as wind and solar power outperformed peers across the wider global economy last year and expected more to come in 2010.

Clear proof of the threat posed by climate change meant that governments will only ramp up steps to curb carbon emissions and favour clean technologies, it said.

“The shift to a low-carbon economy to mitigate global warming will require the creation of new technologies, industries and jobs on a massive scale,” said Kevin Parker. Deutsche Asset Management had $695 billion in assets under management as of September 2009.

“The absolute imperative to prevent climate change is therefore also, I believe, the economic and investment opportunity of our lifetime,” he commented in the report.

Deutsche bankers looked on the bright side of a Copenhagen climate summit last December which failed in its main objective to drive global consensus on action to fight climate change.

Their report instead pointed to proliferating national green policies, regardless of a multilateral deal to fight climate change. Copenhagen failed to agree a mandate to agree a legally binding successor to the existing Kyoto Protocol.

“What matters far more is that national and local governments all over the world are not waiting for a supra-national framework,” said Parker.

“They are already pushing ahead with their own policies that will do far more than international regulation in the short to medium term to stimulate private investment.”

The report called for clearer, more transparent policies such as feed-in tariffs which typically guarantee particular prices for electricity generated from renewable sources over several decades, giving investors comfort to fund projects.

Since the 2009 low in global stocks, indices showed that energy efficiency stocks had risen 126 percent and clean energy and technology by 88 percent compared with wider global stocks’ 70 percent, Thursday’s report showed.

“Climate change is not merely an investment sector that may hold future promise; it is a sector that has already delivered and is continuing to deliver,” said Parker.

“That is why we believe institutional investors should be shifting their asset allocation towards climate change.”

(Reporting by Gerard Wynn, Editing by William Hardy)

Sourced from the Thomson Reuters Carbon Markets Community – a free, gated online network for carbon market and climate policy professionals.

Word from the 3rd World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi

A monumental shift is taking place in the debates over energy and climate change. Nowadays nobody is asking whether clean energy should be adopted or whether climate change is really happening. Every country in every region is enthusiastically searching and adopting renewable energy as they are convinced of the impact of indiscriminate fossil fuel burning on the environment and climate,’’ Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of Iceland said in his keynote address at the concluding  session of the Summit.

“The humanity is facing a financial crisis, a humanitarian crisis emerging out of the lack of means for subsistence for vast sections of people and an ecological crisis. Renewables have an important contribution to make in addressing all these forms of crises,’’ Prince Albert Alexander, Louis Pierre of Monaco, Marquis of Baux said in his keynote address.”

Global Fund Exchange hosted an information booth at the 2009 World Future Energy Summit, presented by Anric Blatt, Lauralouise Duffy and Sachin Hirani

Day 1 Newsletter Handed out to delegates

Day 2 Newsletter Handed out to delegates

Day 3 Newsletter Handed out to delegates

PEOPLE – PLANET – PROFIT

Click on the thumbnail picture to view this video

Advances in Technology will make conventional energy generation cleaner & more efficient whilst making alternative energy more money efficient. A Paradigm shift is occurring, but it will be an evolutionary process converting the planet to renewable resources. This Bridge period presents the best opportunity that our generation has ever seen.

Presented by

Lauralouise Duffy, CEO -

Global Fund Exchange

Please select the categories of interest from the selection in the left column

Nations around the Northern Hemisphere have been experiencing unusually cold-snaps this winter, and therefore demand for oil has taken off with a flurry in the beginning of 2010.

That fact, combined with gradual economic recovery from developed economies and ever-increasing consumption from growing Asian nations, has led the International Energy Agency (IEA) to predict a rise in  global oil demand levels not seen since 2007, before the economic downturn led to two years of decreased demand around the world.

The IEA now expects oil demand to rise by 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2010, with outright demand reaching 86.3 bpd – 10,000 bpd higher than previously predicted.

Read the full article…

According to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), the offshore wind power market in Europe doubled in size last year, reaching a total power generation capacity of 577MW.  This represents a 54% growth rate over the 373MW installed in 2008.

Eight new wind farms were connected to the European grid last year, and the EWEA expects another ten will be completed during 2010.  Currently 17 offshore projects are being constructed in European waters.

Europe is the world’s offshore wind energy leader, with 828 turbines spread over 38 offshore farms across nine countries.  The UK and Denmark lead the pack, representing 44% and 30% of total installed capacity, respectively.

Read the full article…