Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Success of Climate Plans Hinges on Energy Saving, Carbon Storage, IEA Says

Any plan for halving global greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 will depend on cutting the energy used by buildings and vehicles and on developing technology to capture and store pollution, the International Energy Agency said today.

More energy-efficient buildings and cars could provide 38 percent of the carbon dioxide cuts necessary, and “should be the highest priority in the short-term,” according to an IEA report.

Power plants, factories and refineries could contribute 19 percent of the needed pollution cuts if “carbon capture and storage” technology is commercially proven,... Read more..

Climate monitor says no growth in global carbon emissions last year for first time since 1992

A leading climate change monitor says global carbon dioxide emissions held steady last year, as recession slowed industrial activities in rich countries while growth in China and India made up for the decline.

The Netherlands Environment Assessment Agency says last year was the first since 1992 that registered no growth in carbon emissions from fossil fuels, cement production and the chemical industry, the main sources of greenhouse gases.

It said emissions shrank in the leading industrial countries by 7 percent, or 800 million tons. That was compensated by a 9 percent... Read more..

A simpler path to cutting carbon emissions

If our goal is carbon reduction, a cap-and-trade or carbon-pricing bill, with its likely compromises, would be worse right now than no regulation. Pricing carbon below $40 per ton will not change how industry does business or drive adoption of new technologies. With legislation unlikely to support such prices, uncertainty is better than a low price that disincentivizes the development of technologies that have radically less carbon.

Much as Craig Venter used tools for genome sequencing to outrace the larger, longer and costlier government-sponsored human genome project, it makes... Read more..

Global Clean Technology Venture Investment Increases 65 Percent in 1H 2010 to Match the Record 1H 2008, finds Cleantech Group and Deloitte

The Cleantech Group-, providers of leading global market research, events and advisory services for the cleantech industry, along with Deloitte, which provides audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory services to cleantech companies, today released preliminary 2Q 2010 results for clean technology venture investments in North America, Europe, China and India, totaling $2.02 billion across 140 companies.

Cleantech venture investment was very similar to the previous quarter ($2.04 billion) and was up 43 percent from the same period a year ago. The number of deals recorded in 2Q10... Read more..

Clean energy cess will spur power tariff hike

The ‘clean energy cess' imposed on coal, lignite and peat is likely to translate into an average tariff impact of close to 3 paise a unit (or kilo Watt hour) for electricity end-users. This is less than one per cent of the average consumer tariffs across the States.

With Coal India Ltd (CIL) set to incorporate the cess in its billings from Thursday, the levy will also affect cost of captive production across user industries such as steel and cement. The steel sector is likely to pass on the burden of the cess on the back of robust demand, even as the cement sector players have... Read more..

Carbon Management Spending to Total $3.4 Billion in the Manufacturing Sector by 2017, According to Pike Research

In 2007, global manufacturing industries accounted for about 40% of total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, making manufacturing the single largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As a result, carbon management and reduction have become serious issues for manufacturers in practically every country around the world.
A new report from Pike Research forecasts that this critical priority will drive manufacturers to invest more than $3.4 billion in carbon management software and services during the period from 2010 to 2017. While the carbon management industry is relatively... Read more..

Urgent Action Needed to Help Pastoralists Cope with Impacts of Climate Change

Urgent action is needed to help pastoralists cope with the rising impacts of climate change including strategies by governments to facilitate safe passage across borders in the Horn and East Africa region. This is among the key recommendations of a new report launched today by the United Nations (UN) and partners, members of the Security in Mobility initiative.

CDM inflow withstands economic crisis

The inflow of Clean Development Mechanism ( CDM) projects into the validation pipeline has so far withstood the economic crisis and post-2012 uncertainty, according to analysis by Point Carbon, the leading provider of market intelligence, news, analysis, forecasting and advisory services for the energy and environmental markets. Point Carbon is a Thomson Reuters company. However, whilst the quantity of CDM projects has remained stable over the past two turbulent years, the average size of CDM projects has halved over the same period and the type of CDM project in the pipeline has shifted... Read more..

Indian Government Sets Up $70 Million Fund to Ensure Premium Returns on Solar PV Projects

The Indian government has set up a solar securities fund which would ensure that project developers of large-scale solar photovoltaic projects get paid at premium to the utility tariffs.

India to Raise $535 Million From Carbon Tax on Coal

India expects to raise $535 million from a levy on coal producers starting today, the first step by Asia’s third-largest energy consumer to charge companies for fossil fuel pollution.

“This will give 25 billion rupees ($535 million) this year alone,” Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said in Mumbai, calling it “a carbon tax that will be used for clean energy.”

The European Union, South Korea and Japan are considering taxing carbon-dioxide emissions from burning fuels such as coal and oil to slow climate change. Australia’s new prime minister Julia Gillard said June 24 she... Read more..

Finmin plans action against cos evading tax on carbon credit sale

The finance ministry has mined data of Indian companies that have not been paying tax on the income earned by selling their carbon credits or certified emission reductions (CER). These entities are likely to face penal action once a case of tax evasion is established against them. They are like any other company evading taxes and penalties would be imposed, sources in the income tax department said. Interestingly, some of the entities on the I-T radar which have not paid tax on already redeemed income on carbon credits are listed firms.

India for reintroduction of equity in climate talks

India wants the quantity of carbon the developing world... Read more..