SUSTAINABILITY AT WRI: RECOMMITTING TO WALKING THE TALK AND OTHERS

At WRI, we pride ourselves in being a mission-driven organizationthat defines success as bringing about positive outcomes in the world. But what about our own operations? Along with the work we do externally to achieve our mission, we have a responsibility to ensure that our own actions are the best reflection of the changes we want to see in the world.

 

WRI’s History of Sustainability

 

We recognized the need to “walk the talk” back in 1999, when we became the first NGO to complete a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventory and set a net-zero reduction target. At that time we also relocated to a green office, striving to incorporate our values directly into our physical surroundings.

 

In 2010, we took a step back to reflect on the past 11 years. Sure, we had helped similar organizations do their own GHG inventories, partnered with our landlord to install a green roof on our building, achieved LEED gold certification for our interior space, and met our own net-zero GHG target each year through the purchase of carbon offsets. But despite these efforts, our yearly emissions were steadily increasing—in part because we were doubling in size. We knew that the catastrophic effects of climate change are mitigated through absolute emission reductions, not through relative reductions that cut emissions on a per-capita basis but still allow for absolute emission increases due to growth. As other companies and organizations were achieving absolute reductions, the truth was that we were no longer setting an example of leadership, but rather sliding toward “business as usual” by relying solely on the purchase of offsets to meet our target.

 

Then and there, WRI leadership knew it was time to make a change. We ended our net-zero commitment and instead, reinvested the money we were spending on offsets into hiring an internal sustainability manager—me! As someone who was already working with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol team, I was eager to jump into the role and put our own standards and tools into practice. In February 2011, I began devoting half of my time at WRI to reinvigorating our walk-the-talk culture through the Sustainability Initiative.

 

Reducing Our Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Download WRI’s 2010 Organizational Greenhouse Gas Inventory

 

The first thing to do was establish new GHG reduction targets, but what were our largest emissions sources? GHG accounting best practices no longer look only at emission sources within a company’s operations, so we used the GHG Protocol’s newCorporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard to get a complete snapshot of our impact. The Scope 3 Standard provides requirements and guidance on calculating the full value chain of an organization’s emissions, from energy used on-site to the goods and services purchased and sold.

 

Like many organizations that use the Scope 3 Standard, I was surprised by our largest emission contributions. We had been calculating business travel impacts for a while and knew they, along with our electricity use, would be considerable. But what surprised us was the significant impact purchased goods and services had, constituting approximately 60 percent of our total carbon footprint. Most of this included purchased services like information technology support and the work we do with partner organizations. While we calculated most of our Scope 3 inventory using average data and rough estimates, it was an extremely valuable exercise to ensure that we focused our reduction efforts in the right places. Over time, we plan to improve data quality and reduce uncertainty. More information on how we calculated our full corporate inventory is available in our 2010 inventory report, published today.

     A breakdown of WRI’s 2010 GHG inventory.

 

Completing our 2010 GHG inventory allowed us to set three reduction targets from a 2010 baseline: a 20-percent reduction in emissions from business travel; a 50-percent reduction in emissions from purchased electricity; and a 20-percent reduction in Scope 3 emissions, with a focus on purchased goods and services. Our goal is to achieve these reductions by 2020.

 

The Road Ahead

 

Do we know exactly how we’re going to accomplish these goals? Not really, although we do have a few ideas. However, what we absolutely know is that without reducing our value chain’s GHG emissions, we cannot help prevent climate change’s new and unpredictable risks to our ecosystems.

 

WRI isn’t going to shrink, either: By 2020 we plan to grow as an organization in order to achieve even more world-changing outcomes, which makes reaching these targets even more challenging. WRI’s Sustainability Initiative will identify innovative ways to meet our reduction targets while increasing our positive impact on the world. Some of these ideas will come from engagement with other NGOs and like-minded organizations through a group we formed called the Sustainability Mangers’ Round Table. Others will come from projects within WRI, like the Next Practice Collaborative, which challenges companies and organizations to go beyond best practice and pioneer new, innovative approaches to achieving success in a zero-carbon, climate-resilient economy. Even more will come from WRI staff, the real champions of sustainability. Without buy-in, support, and enthusiasm from our president down to our newest intern, we will not achieve our goals. Moving forward, we will expand the initiative beyond reducing greenhouse gases to ensure that our sustainability actions support all of WRI’s programmatic goals.

 

With the public announcement of our GHG reduction targets, we are asking for your help and support. We plan to document our path toward reducing emissions – the strategies that worked and the ones that didn’t – in an effort to help others cut their own emissions. In that spirit, if you have a successful strategy to reduce your organizational (or personal) footprint, we encourage you to tell us about it by leaving a comment below. At the bare minimum, just having you know about our targets will motivate us to achieve them. We look forward to “walking the talk” with you. 

Please visit our Sustainability Initiative website for a copy of the 2010 inventory report, previous reports, and to learn about updates on our progress.

 

What To Look For In The EPA's Forthcoming Standards On Emissions From Light-Duty Vehicles - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are working to finalize rules for light-duty vehicles that could significantly reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. With America's greenhouse gas emissions still well above the levels needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, comprehensive light-duty vehicle rules could offer significant benefits to the environment, people, and the economy

CDM NOTICES

EUROPE   Counting the carbon costs of EU's wood The woody core of EU climate strategy, biomass, has won its place because the bloc deems it carbon neutral, an assumption that hides fatal flaws in its credentials, critics say. Increasingly, the EU relies on biomass - covering anything from olive stones to old blackcurrant bushes - to generate heat and power. For the purposes of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, biomass used as fuel is counted as carbon neutral. The underlying assumption is its emissions are offset by the planting of a new tree. Felled wood, until burnt, is a carbon store. The reality is much more complicated, say environmentalists, who are concerned creative accounting is belying the true state of the world's forests, while EU climate goals slip from grasp. Reuters

 

LATIN AMERICA   Deforestation Accelerated in Belize Deforestation in Belize has accelerated since late 2010, reports a new satellite-based assessment of the tiny Central American country's forest cover by CATHALAC (the Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean). The analysis used NASA Landsat-7 imagery to compare forest cover between early 2010 and early 2012. It concludes that Belize's forest cover fell from 62.7 percent to 61.6 percent during the period, a decline of 25,264 hectares.  Mongabay

REDD+ opens up new opportunities for forest product management in the Amazon The emergence of subnational REDD+ projects in southwestern Amazonia is showing potential for multiple-use management of non-timber forest products, particularly Brazil nuts, and forest carbon. Multiple-use forestry, which includes NTFPs, timber and environmental services, has gained momentum among researchers, practitioners and policy-makers as a way to promote forest conservation and livelihood development in the tropics. While there have been a multitude of initiatives towards integrated management of NTFPs and timber, there has been less of a focus on environmental services in these multiple use systems. REDD+ has opened up new opportunities for integrated management of NTFPs and environmental services. CIFOR

Reclaiming the forests and the right to feel safe The woman's exhausted eyes reflected the flames dancing in front of her. A 38-year-old grandmother, she is also a leader of the civilian insurgency that has taken over this mountain town in the state of Michoacán, 310 miles west of Mexico City. Sixteen months of cold and sleepless nights at Bonfire No. 17, one of a number of permanent burning barricades set up here, have taken their toll. But like the rest of the residents, she cannot afford to let her guard down. New York Times

 

NORTH AMERICA   Western US wildfire forces evacuations, firefighter killed  Hundreds of firefighters battled a pair of wildfires that burned out of control in Northern California for a second day on Monday, threatening a clothing-optional resort and forcing the evacuation of some 500 homes. Meanwhile, authorities said a U.S. Forest Service firefighter was killed in Idaho while battling a blaze there. In California, the Wye Fire and the Walker Fire had charred a total of 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) by Monday evening in Lake County, a tourist area some two hours north of San Francisco, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Reuters

 

Long Beach to study possibility of selling carbon credits to industry to offset tree costs A proposal to be introduced Tuesday to the City Council asks to determine the feasibility of selling carbon credits potentially produced by Long Beach's 393,000-tree urban forest to help defray the multimillion dollar annual cost of tree trimming. The possible source of revenue - at a time when Long Beach leaders are faced with balancing another deficit in 2013 - would come from businesses such as utility companies and industrial plants buying carbon credits to offset their yearly obligations under AB 32, California's 2006 global warming law. SGV Tribune

 

Science and Technology

Forest Monitoring Breakthrough in Colombia Using new, highly efficient techniques, Carnegie and Colombian scientists have developed accurate high-resolution maps of the carbon stocks locked in tropical vegetation for 40% of the Colombian Amazon (165,000 square kilometers/64,000 square miles), an area about four times the size of Switzerland. Until now, the inability to accurately quantify carbon stocks at high spatial resolution over large areas has hindered the United Nations' Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program, which is aimed at creating financial value for storing carbon in the forests of tropical countries.  Phys.org

 

CDM NOTICES: BELO MONTE DAM SUSPENDED BY BRAZILIAN APPEALS COURT

Project was illegally authorized by Congress without prior consultations
with indigenous tribes, judges say

Altamira, Brazil:

 

A high-level court yesterday suspended construction of the controversial Belo Monte dam project on the Amazon’s Xingu River, citing overwhelming evidence that indigenous people had not been properly consulted prior to government approval of the project.

 

A group of judges from Brazil's Regional Federal Tribunal (TRF1) upheld an earlier decision that declared the Brazilian Congress’s authorization of the project in 2005 to be illegal. The decision concludes that the Brazilian Constitution and ILO Convention 169, to which Brazil is party, require that Congress can only authorize the use of water resources for hydroelectric projects after an independent assessment of environmental impacts and subsequent consultations with affected indigenous peoples.

 

The ruling means that Brazilian Congress will have to correct its previous error by organizing consultations on the project’s impacts with affected indigenous peoples of the Xingu River, especially the Juruna, Arara and Xikrin tribes. Their opinions should be considered in a Congressional decision on whether to authorize Belo Monte, and in the meantime the project consortium has been ordered to suspend construction. Project consortium Norte Energia, S.A, led by the parastatal energy company Eletrobras, faces a daily fine of R$500,000, or about US$250,000, if it does not comply with the suspension. The dam consortium is expected to appeal the decision in the Brazilian Supreme Court.

 

“The court’s decision highlights the urgent need for the Brazilian government and Congress to respect the federal constitution and international agreements on prior consultations with indigenous peoples regarding projects that put their livelihoods and territories at risk. Human rights and environmental protection cannot be subordinated to narrow business interests” stated Federal Judge Souza Prudente, who authored the ruling.

“This latest court ruling vindicates what indigenous people, human rights activists and the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office have been demanding all along. We hope that President Dilma’s Attorney General and the head judge of the federal court (TRF1) will not try to subvert this important decision, as they have done in similar situations in the past,” said Brent Millikan of International Rivers, based in Brasilia.

“This decision reinforces the request made by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in April 2011 to suspend the project due to lack of consultations with indigenous communities. We hope that Norte Energia and the government comply with this decision and respect the rights of indigenous communities,” said Joelson Cavalcante of the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA), an organization giving legal support to affected communities.

 

The Brazilian Congress authorized construction of Belo Monte seven years ago without an environmental impact assessment (EIA). A subsequent study - produced by state-owned energy company Eletrobras and three of Brazil’s largest construction companies (Camargo Correa, Andrade Gutierrez, and Odebrecht) - was widely criticized for underestimating socio-environmental impacts, especially on indigenous peoples and other traditional communities living downstream from the huge dam that would divert 80% of the Xingu’s natural flow. The EIA was approved by Brazil’s federal environmental agency (IBAMA) in February 2010 under intense political pressure and over the objections of the agency's own technical staff.

 

With dam construction racing ahead since June 2011, many of Belo Monte’s forewarned social and environmental consequences are proving real.  As a result, indigenous people have become more vocal in their opposition to Belo Monte.

 

During the United Nations' Rio+20 conference in June, indigenous leaders launched a 21- day occupation of the dam site, protesting against the growing impacts of the project and broken promises by dam-builders. Two weeks later, indigenous communities detained three Norte Energia engineers on tribal lands. Both protests demanded suspension of the project due to non-compliance of mitigation requirementes. Last month, the Federal Public Prosecutors’ Office filed a lawsuit calling for suspension of the Belo Monte’s installation license, given widespread non-compliance with conditions of the project’s environmental licenses. Given this contentious and convoluted history, the long overdue process of consultations with indigenous peoples on Belo Monte is not likely to produce a positive verdict on Belo Monte, from the point of view of indigenous peoples.

 

Similar conflicts over violations of indigenous rights by dam projects are emerging elsewhere in the Brazilian Amazon. Last week, in another landmark decision led by judge Souza Prudente, a group of judges from the TRF1 , the same court ordered the immediate suspension of one of five large dams planned for the Teles Pires river, a major tributary of the Tapajos river, noting a lack of prior and informed consultations with the Kayabi, Apiakás and Munduruku indigenous peoples affected by the project.

 

According to Souza Prudente, "the aggression against indigenous peoples in the case of the Teles Pires dam has been even more violent than in Belo Monte. A political decision to proceed with the construction of five large dams along the Teles Pires river was made by the Ministry of Mines and Energy with no effective analysis of impacts on the livelihoods and territories of indigenous peoples. The Sete Quedas rapids on the Teles Pires river are considered sacred by indigenous peoples and are vital for the reproduction of fish that are a staple of their diets. Yet none of this was taken into account in the basin inventory and environmental impact studies.  Moreover, the government and Congress simply ignored their obligations to ensure prior and informed consultations with indigenous peoples, as determined by the Federal Constitution and ILO Convention 169".  

 

Late yesterday, the President of the TRF1 announced his intention to overturn the decision of Souza Prudente and other federal judges regarding the Teles Pires hydroproject, marking a growing crisis within Brazil’s judiciary system over the Dilma Rousseff administration’s ambitious dam-building plans in the Amazon.

More information:

Office of the Ministerio Público Federal do Pará

Movimento Xingu Vivo para Sempre

International Rivers is an environmental and human rights organization with staff in four continents. For over two decades, we have been at the heart of the global struggle to protect rivers and the rights of communities that depend on them.

2150 Allston Way, Suite 300, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA  - +1 510 848 1155 | info@internationalrivers.org

CDM NOTICES: REGIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS INITIATIVE, INC. AND OTHERS

The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states participating in the second RGGI control period (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont) have implemented the first mandatory market-based regulatory program in the U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Power sector CO₂ emissions are capped at 165 million short tons per year through 2014. The cap will then be reduced by 2.5 percent in each of the four years 2015 through 2018, for a total reduction of 10 percent.

 

GGI is composed of individual CO₂ budget trading programs in each state, based on each state’s independent legal authority. A CO₂ allowance represents a limited authorization to emit one short ton of CO₂, as issued by a respective state. A regulated power plant must hold CO₂ allowances equal to its emissions to demonstrate compliance at the end of each three-year control program. RGGI’s second control period began on January 1, 2012 and extends through December 31, 2014. CO₂ allowances issued by any state are usable across all state programs, so that the individual state CO₂ budget trading programs, in aggregate, form one regional compliance market for CO₂ emissions. (www.rggi.org)

 

 

Background:

- Reality Check: The state of climate progress in Canada — Report by the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy, released June 2012

- Meeting Canada’s 2020 Climate Change Commitments — Chapter 2 in the 2012 Spring Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, released May 2012

- “Federal budget strips accountability and transparency from climate change policy” — Pembina Institute blog

-              2010 saw BASF achieve the first reduction witnessed from the chemicals business with 28.9% reduction per metric ton of product compared to 2002 levels. BASF focus on producing products sustainably are aiding global emissions reductions. View BASF's Ecodesk Profile>> <http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=77076949&msgid=234031&act=5YMG&c=1126622&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecodesk.com%2Fsustainability%2Fbasf-se>

 

-           AXA reduced CO2 emissions by 6% in 2010 compared with 2009 levels. Energy consumption dropped by 3% within the same time frame. Reduced consumption of office paper and commercial paper by 12% and 9% was also achieved. <http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=77076949&msgid=234031&act=5YMG&c=1126622&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecodesk.com%2Fsustainability%2Faxa>

 

More fresh information’s about Carbon Market  ?  subscribe on BLOG – CDM NOTICES =>

CDM NOTICES? CARBONN CITIES CLIMATE REGISTRY LEADS RIO+20 VOLUNTARY COMMITMENTS AND MORE...

CARBONN CITIES CLIMATE REGISTRY LEADS RIO+20 VOLUNTARY COMMITMENTS

The carbonn Cities Climate Registry (cCCR) was upheld as an excellent example of Rio+20 voluntary commitments and presented alongside the Mexico City Pact by Marcelo Ebrard, Mayor of Mexico City and Chair of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change.  “Cities are committed to measurable, reportable, verifiable climate action that the world can count on,” said Mayor Ebrard as he showcased the gains made by the Mexico City Pact and cCCR. More.

 

COPENHAGEN WINS EUROPEAN GREEN CAPITAL 2014 

ICLEI Member City Copenhagen Denmark has won the European Green Capital for 2014. The Danish capital was awarded the prestigious title by EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik at a ceremony held in current Green Capital Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain). The award jury praised the city for its achievements in the fields of eco-innovation and sustainable mobility, its commitment to act as a role model for the green economy in Europe and beyond, and for its exceptional communication strategy. More 

 

ICLEI LAUNCHES GREENCLIMATECITIES INITIATIVE AS FRAMEWORK FOR LOW-CARBON CITY DEVELOPMENT

 

The GreenClimateCities Initiative was launched on 18 June by ICLEI in response to the Appeal for Urgent  Action on Climate Change by a taskforce of experts convened by Green Cross International President Mikhail S. Gorbachev. Under the initiative, cities receive guidance and technical support from ICLEI to help advance the transformation of local building stock and urban infrastructure to become energy-efficient, low-carbon and resilient and to reap the economic benefits of decisive climate action. More

 

FINANCING GREEN CITIES: CITIES VS. FINANCIERS

Urban Games, an event sponsored by the ADB in association with ICLEI, were a friendly competition between two teams – cities and financiers – to come up with innovative approaches to financing urban environmental infrastructure.  The games were opened by ADB’s President Haruhiko Kuroda who argued that Asia needs to learn and share new financing approaches with others. The result was a satisfying draw and an agreement that continued collaboration is central to financing green cities.

 

ICLEI and partners announces Global Initiative on Urban Resilience

ICLEI and partners announce the Global Initiative on Urban Resilience (GIUR), an effort designed to spur building and infrastructure development, create new investment opportunities and foster community action around the world. More

 

WORLD MAYORS COUNCIL HOLDS GENERAL ASSEMBLY; ELECTS MAYOR PARK WON SOON AS CHAIR

Members of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change unanimously elected Park Won Soon, Mayor of Seoul Metropolitan Government as the next Chair of the Council during their General Assembly on 17 June in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Mayor Park becomes the 3^rd Chair of the World Mayors Council and will assume the role from current Chair Marcelo Ebrard (Mexico City) in October at a special meeting in Seoul. Mayor Park also showed his commitment to local action by signing the Mexico City Pact.  More

 

NEW BIODIVERSITY NETWORK LAUNCHES AT URBAN NATURE

The third Urban Nature Forum, hosted by the ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center with the City of Belo Horizonte, SEBRAE and the Secretariat of Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) provided an innovative science-policy -implementation interface on urban biodiversity and ecosystem management. The Urban Biosphere Initiative (URBIS) was launched, which will serve as an open network fostering knowledge exchange and promoting implementation of CBD Aichi Targets, specifically Decision X/22 and the Plan of Action for engagement of local governments. View presentations here.

MPS RAISE PROSPECT OF BUSINESSES PAYING FOR "ECOSYSTEM SERVICES"

Ministers who have given a "false impression" of the effect of environmental legislation have undermined the "laudable aim" of including the value of natural capital in government decision-making, a committee of MPs will say today. More than a year on from the publication of the Natural Environment White Paper, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) accuses Defra of failing to set out how it plans to deliver its commitment to ensure the services nature provides are incorporated into policy decision-making. Business Green

 

A Clear and Consistent Policy to Manage Forest Fires

The size and number of forest fires have changed in recent years because of inconsistent forest management strategies, the costs associated with thinning out high-density forests and confusion over federal compliance laws. New York Times

 

 

Sustainability of rice landscapes in Southeast Asia threatened

During a meeting in Banaue, The Philippines, scientists from 21 research institutions from Germany, Vietnam, The Philippines, Thailand, UK, Bulgaria and Spain raised several concerns on the future of the rice ecosystems in South East Asia. The meeting was organized within the framework of the international project LEGATO that deals with the multiple risks for rice ecosystems arising from various aspects of global change. "Threats to sustainable rice production are diverse and come from different directions. Global change is a very important threat, but certainly not the only one. Human mistakes and political neglect can be even more dangerous."Science Daily

SOLUTIONS TO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF CONCRETE WITH NEW ISO STANDARD | ISO

SOLUTIONS TO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF CONCRETE WITH NEW ISO STANDARD | ISO ( Sandrine Tranchard)

A new ISO standard will help the construction industry better manage the environmental impacts of concrete.

Concrete is widely used for constructing infrastructures such as buildings, bridges, dams and tunnels, and its consumption as a resource is the second largest on the planet after water, with potential strong negative impacts on the environment.

ISO 13315-1:2012, Environmental management for concrete and concrete structures – Part 1: General Principle, aims to provide the basic rules on environmental management for concrete and concrete structures. It will help owners, designers, manufacturers, constructors, users, certification bodies, and environmental standard developers. [+]

 

Prêmio Nobel diz que é preciso “esperar alguns anos” para colher resultados da Rio+20 | Plurale ( Clarissa Vasconcellos, do Jornal da Ciência )

Conselheiro para temas de Ciência e Tecnologia do presidente Barack Obama, o cientista mexicano Mario Molina critica o físico Ivar Giaever, conhecido por negar que as mudanças climáticas possam ser causadas por ações humanas.

"A Rio+20 não foi exatamente um bom exemplo de progresso nas discussões. Acho que poderemos fazer alguns acordos internacionais, mas não agora, temos que esperar uns anos mais". Assim o cientista mexicano Mario Molina, Prêmio Nobel de Química em 1995, resumiu a Conferência das Nações Unidas sobre Desenvolvimento Sustentável - Rio+20, que ocorreu no mês passado, no Rio de Janeiro. Ele participou de diversas discussões relacionadas a temas de meio ambiente durante o 62º Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, evento que reuniu 27 ganhadores do Prêmio Nobel e 592 jovens cientistas em Lindau, no sul da Alemanha, de 1º a 6 de julho. [+]

 

Join to BLOG CDM NOTICES

THIRD PETERSBERG CLIMATE DIALOGUE TOOK PLACE IN BERLIN

Representatives from 30 governments representing the different groupings in international climate negotiations met in Berlin recently in order to discuss various topics related to international climate negotiations.

 

The Petersberg Climate Dialogue first took place in 2010 following a disappointing outcome from the 2009 Climate summit in Copenhagen with the aim of sup-porting official negotiations and create a forum through which political challenges can be accompanied with practical experiences in implementing climate protec-tion policies. This year’s main theme is the so called ambition gap displayed in the discrepancies between climate goals to date and a 2º Celsius compatible emis-sions path.

 

Other important topics include the transformation to a low emission economy and the new global agreement that shall be negotiated until 2015 and is meant to come in effect in 2020.

 

German Chancellor Merkel made it clear that there is no room for discrepancies between goals and actions as in the long-term, doing nothing will be far more ex-pensive than enacting timely measures. On the whole, Merkel’s speech can be taken as a sign that she re-mains committed to pushing the international climate protection policies forward. Critics of the German gov-ernment point to hypocrisy as attempts at the European level to hinder strict environmental criteria for the auto-mobile industry and watering down of energy efficiency guidelines is not in keeping with the self-proclaimed vanguard role in climate protection matters.

 

Polish power plants receive free emissions rights allocations

As already reported last week, six EU member states had already received European Commission approval for free-of-charge EUAs for their power plants. Now the Commission has also approved Poland’s request. This increases the overall volume of free-of-charge EUAs for power plants by 404.7 million to 72.9 million.

However, there are some conditions to the approval. Poland must undertake some adjustments in terms of technical aspects and tackles some irregularities re-garding some plants included in their application. Po-land has one year to deal with these matters

This means that Hungary is the only country whose application has not yet bee approved by the Commis-sion. This is expected to take place in coming days.

 

CDM NOTICES : HAS SOUTH AMERICA'S MOST SUSTAINABLE CITY LOST ITS EDGE?

OP-ED: Expanding Oil Production Poses Environmental Risks Shakuntala Makhijani With oil prices on the rise again and geopolitical upheaval in some major oil producing regions, many countries are turning to new and often environmentally damaging sources of oil, including oil sands, deepwater offshore oil, and heavy oil. Poor communities are hit hardest by extreme weather ... MORE > >

Micro Hydels Power Indonesia's Green Energy Plans Kafil Yamin The nighttime glitter of Indonesia's cities and urban centres contrasts sharply with darkness of the hinterland where some 90 million people live without the benefit of electricity. With an electrification rate of 65 percent - about 35 percent of its 250 million people have no access to ... MORE > >

Cuba Develops Crops Adapted to Climate Change Ivet González Cabbage, broccoli, carrots, onions and other resistant vegetables are being grown by researchers in Cuba, who for decades have been working to design plants adapted to the tropical conditions in the Caribbean region. Resistance to drought is one of the main aims of crop improvement ... MORE > >

Haiti's "Gold Rush" Promises El Dorado - But for Whom? Correspondents Twenty billion dollars worth of gold, copper and silver hidden in the hills of the hemisphere's poorest country. Investors in North America so convinced of the buried treasure, they have already spent 30 million dollars collecting samples, digging, building mining roads and doing aerial ... MORE > >

No Strategy for Civilisation in Crisis Mario Osava The Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul in 1996 was one of the international meetings most open to civil society participation. Its conclusions, published as a voluminous Plan of Action, collected thousands of proposals and recommendations from ... MORE > >

Cuba Seeks to Guarantee Food Supplies in Changing Climate Ivet González In the face of the challenge of producing more food in a changing climate, farmers in Cuba are coming up with alternatives like planting drought-resistant crops and digging ponds to guarantee water supplies, in order to keep food on the table during times of drought, heavy rains or ... MORE > >

Asia Sees Red Over 'Green Economy'  Marwaan Macan-Markar The just-ended United Nations sustainable development summit in Rio de Janeiro has exposed the discomfort that many developing Asian countries have over buzz words like 'green economy' and 'green growth' in development diplomacy. With the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific ... MORE > >

Native Protest March Approaches La Paz - Franz Chávez Snow-capped mountains shrouded in clouds tower over the ninth gruelling march of indigenous people from Bolivia's eastern lowlands to the seat of government, to challenge the government's environment policy and protest the construction of a road through a protected area of rainforest and water ... MORE > >

Climate Change: Waiting for a Catastrophic Wake-Up Call * - Mario Osava Disasters are the new midwives of history. But in order to play this role, they need to be catastrophic, like the accidents in Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011 that led governments to suspend and even abolish their nuclear energy programs. Awareness of environmental deterioration is ... MORE > >

Biofuels and Hunger, Two Sides of the Same Coin - Daan Bauwens Despite growing evidence that biofuel production is causing food insecurity around the world, the new European Union policy blueprint on renewable energy ignores the social effects of biofuels. Last week, Guatemalan victims of the food crisis came to Brussels to make European policy makers aware of ... MORE > >

Climate-Smart Agriculture to Reduce Vulnerability* - Fabiola Ortiz Agroforestry is gaining ground as a tool for climate change adaptation and mitigation in Central America, a region where global warming could generate losses equivalent to 19 percent of gross domestic product. Agroforestry contributes to the recovery of water sources. Credit: Courtesy of ... MORE > >

Weak Rio+20 Agreement Anticipates New Noah's Ark  - Fabiana Frayssinet The downpour that fell Friday in this Brazilian city was nature's warning to the heads of state meeting at the Rio+20 summit. The generation of Noe (Noah), an environmentalist's son who will be born a month from now, will have to save biodiversity that is more complex than that of his Biblical ... MORE > >

 

HAS SOUTH AMERICA'S MOST SUSTAINABLE CITY LOST ITS EDGE? | The Atlantic Cities - Flavie Halais

The southern Brazil metropolis of Curitiba built its reputation as an urban planning model thanks, in large part, to its innovative transportation system. But in recent years, the system has become overcrowded and expensive, pushing people into their cars.

Curitiba is now the Brazilian state capital with the highest ratio of automobiles per inhabitant, and its bike paths remain largely underused. In early June,news reports revealed that usage of its famous Bus Rapid Transit system has decreased by 14 million rides in the past four years, or 4.3 percent. This followed a series of road accidents involving speeding buses, and complaints about ever-increasing fare prices. [+]

What is the Social Cost of Carbon?

WHAT IS THE SOCIAL COST OF CARBON? WRI Launches Platform for Environmental Insights . WRI provides independent, unbiased research, expert analysis and recommendations on the most important environmental issues facing the world today. But in today's rapid-fire, fragmented information culture, understanding can be increasingly hard to come by. WRI Insights provides a measure of clarity to pressing sustainability issues that are often complex but can be made more accessible through conversation and exchange - in plain language.   The "Social Cost of Carbon" and Climate Change Policy . Economist Frank Ackerman has called the "social cost of carbon" the most important number you never heard of. The Obama Administration (and the Bush Administration before it) uses the social cost of carbon to assess the benefits of regulations that would limit emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). What is the social cost of carbon, where do the numbers come from, and why should policymakers take care when using them? Full story >>> Related report: More than Meets the Eye: The Social Cost of Carbon in U.S. Climate Policy, in Plain English Six Things Companies Need to Know About Climate Change Adaptation . Businesses worldwide are beginning to see the risks and economic impacts of more frequent and intense storms, water scarcity, declining agricultural productivity and poor health. In a survey of global businesses, 86% described responding to climate risks or investing in adaptation as a business opportunity. A new study - by the UN Global Compact, UNEP, Oxfam and WRI - makes the business case for private sector adaptation to climate change in ways that build the resilience of vulnerable communities in developing countries. Full story >>> Related report: Adapting for a Green Economy: Companies, Communities and Climate Change   Improved Internet Access Brings Better Mapping and Spatial Data to Kenya. Spatial information - including where different populations live and where natural resources are located - is essential for sound development planning and decision-making. A new website, Virtual Kenya, opens up a wealth of maps and spatial data about the country for citizens and students to use. Member of Parliament Hon. Dr. Wilbur Ottichilo explains, "You can't talk of planning without information. This country has failed for the last forty years in our endeavor to develop because planning has not been based on information, but on political whims. I want planning to be objective, and to be able to do that, you need information."           Full story >>>   San Francisco Launches Solar@Work . The City of San Francisco launched Solar@Work, a new program that offers solar energy systems to businesses in the Bay Area through an innovative group purchase model. The new program makes it possible, for the first time, for small- and mid-sized businesses and commercial property owners to pay less for solar power than they pay for electricity from the grid, without local rebates. As the first major commercial group purchase of solar power in the United States, Solar@Work will bring together interested participants to buy more than 2MW of solar power over the next 6 months.           Full story >>>   Should America Follow Europe's Lead On Energy? . Should the U.S. follow other nations' lead in prohibiting certain types of energies and technologies because of their environmental and health risks? Jennifer Morgan responds, "As the United States sorts out its next moves on energy policies to enhance long-term security and strengthen its economy, policymakers will need to weigh both benefits and risks of various energy sources. Looking at what other countries are doing is a good place to start. European countries' recent moves have one thing in common: each is moving to cleaner energy sources and greater energy efficiency."           Full story >>>   Are Governments Ready For Rio 2012? In late spring 2011, The Access Initiative (TAI) submitted 5 questions to governments focusing on how states were progressing in their preparations for Rio+20 and implementing this principle nationally. The "5 Questions Campaign" asked 24 governments questions related to Rio+20; governments were given 60 days to respond. Fifteen of the 24 governments responded with information directly related to the questions; most provided indefinite progress reports and were non-committal in their preparation efforts.           Full story >>>   EMBARQ Report Presents Transportation Strategies to Reduce U.S. Oil Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. A new EMBARQ report - The Role of Driving in Reducing GHG Emissions and Oil Consumption: Recommendations for Federal Transportation Policy - explores future U.S. transportation scenarios to evaluate how the U.S. can reduce oil consumption and cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through improvements in transportation technology and reductions in the amount Americans drive. The report analyzes driving reductions necessary to meet target levels for GHG emissions and oil consumption suggested in recent legislation.           Full story >>>   The Right Mix: The Philippines Achieving Its Renewable Energy Goals . The global energy system is undergoing a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. There are clear signs that the pace of change is accelerating. 2009 was the second year in a row that more money was invested worldwide in renewable electricity generation projects than in fossil fuel-powered plants, according to data published by the United Nations. Many people are under the impression that the transition to renewable energy is being led by developed countries, while developing countries follow. To the contrary, preliminary analysis finds that developing countries are at the forefront of renewable energy policies.           Full story >>> Related working paper: Grounding Green Power: Bottom-Up Perspectives on Smart Renewable Energy Policy in Developing Countries   "Looking for the Radical:" Clean Energy Game-Changers in Asia . Jennifer Morgan delivered the following speech at the closing plenary of the 6th Annual Asian Clean Energy Forum in Manila, Philippines. Morgan explained, "Asia is particularly vulnerable to climate change, and for some countries in this region, how the world responds to the climate crisis is an issue of survival. It is therefore essential that Asia is moving towards a clean energy economy, faster than many other regions in the world. This week, we've learned that countries are already making this shift. However, we all know that it is not yet at the scale or speed necessary to avoid the very dangerous impacts."           Full story >>>   "Shocking" New Report Confirms Threats to World's Oceans and Reefs . A IPSO/IUCN report on the state of the world's oceans gained considerable attention last month. The report warns that combined threats to oceans are creating conditions where there is "a high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history." Dr. Alex Rogers, scientific director of the IPSO, calls the new findings "shocking." While to some this language may seem extreme, the reality is that an unprecedented range of threats - most caused by caused by human activity - are coming together to challenge the health of oceans and underwater life.           Full story >>>   New Fact Sheet Helps Chesapeake Bay States Design Nutrient Trading Programs . Last December, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) that establish the amount of nutrient and sediment pollution that the Bay and its tidal tributaries can safely receive each year. The TMDLs divide the pollution loads among sources, such as urban areas regulated for stormwater runoff, wastewater treatment plants, and agricultural lands. Now, responsibility for implementing the TMDLs falls to states in the Bay watershed that have been delegated authority from EPA to run water quality programs.           Full story >>>     Find out more about WRI's ongoing work - visit WRI in the News. Invest in Results. Give Today. Today's environmental challenges are complex and global in nature. They call for visionary and ambitious action grounded in sound science and objective analysis - the kind of action that has distinguished WRI's record of effectiveness for over 25 years. Through donations from individuals and organizations, WRI achieves results like those accomplished through our Project POTICO efforts in Indonesia. Deforestation in Indonesia is caused in part by the expansion of oil palm plantations. But what if Indonesia used "degraded" land - areas that were already cleared of forests and now have low levels of biodiversity and low carbon stocks - instead of forested land? WRI's Project POTICO and local partner Sekala articulated this new approach, developed a methodology for identifying acceptable degraded lands, mapped them, initiated an on-the-ground pilot, and built support for the strategy among local groups, businesses, and decision-makers. In May 2010, the President of Indonesia declared a new national strategy to develop oil palm plantations on degraded land, instead of on forests or peatlands. Furthermore, Norway and the U.K. committed significant funding to support this strategy. Your gift to WRI will help us to continue to achieve results through our activities and partnerships. We value each dollar invested in WRI and hold ourselves accountable for delivering a positive change in the world. Become a partner in our work -- make a tax-deductible donation online or mail your gift to: