Tag: climate change

 Three weeks ahead of COP21, the UN climate change conference, when national leaders meet to agree a global deal to reduce carbon emissions and limit global temperature warming, disclosures from the world's largest listed companies reveal the extent to which corporations have shifted their strategies over the past five years to become part of the solution to the climate challenge.The international not-for-profit CDP - which holds the most comprehensive set of global corporate environmental data - has  issued its annual Climate Change Report on behalf of 822 investors representing US$95 trillion.  The new publication includes the 2015 Climate A List, which comprises those companies identified as A grade for their actions to mitigate climate change. Nearly 2,000 companies submitted information to be independently assessed against CDP's scoring methodology; 113 have made the list, which features brands from around the world such as, Apple, Microsoft and Google, the three largest by market capitalization.CDP's executive chairman and co-founder Paul Dickinson says:"The influence of the corporation is mighty.  The momentum of business action on climate change suggests we have reached a tipping point, where companies are poised to achieve their full potential.  They need ambitious policy at both a national and international level ...

 MOL announced that it has been recognized as a leader for the depth and quality of carbon emissions and energy data it has disclosed to investors and the global marketplace through CDP global environmental disclosure system for independent assessment. MOL achieved a position in CDP's Japan 500 Climate Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI). MOL has been recognized two consecutive years and total three times for CDLI.Given the increasing demand for global environmental protection, MOL Group has been aware of the environmental impact of its business activities and regards the high level of transparency in the disclosure of climate change-related information as an important management issue.MOL has set an environmental activities policy to actively disclose environmental data in the midterm management plan "STEER FOR 2020".MOL confirmed its commitment to continue its aggressive stance in terms of protecting the global environment.CDP, formerly Carbon Disclosure Project, is an international, not-for-profit organization providing the only global system for companies and cities to measure, disclose, manage and share vital environmental information. CDP works with market forces, including 822 institutional investors with assets of US$95 trillion, to motivate companies to disclose their impacts on the environment and natural resources and take action to reduce them. CDLI highlights ...

 EU  has launched the new phase of the Global Climate Change Alliance partnership between the EU and the most vulnerable developing countries to fight climate change.The EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, has launched a new phase of the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA), called Global Climate Change Alliance plus (GCCA+), which will run until 2020. The GCCA+ is set to become one of Europe’s key tools to assist the world’s most vulnerable developing countries in addressing global climate change.Around €350 million of EU funds will be made available until 2020 for the GCCA+, in addition to the private and national public investments that this financial support is expected to leverage.Commissioner Neven Mimica said: "It is a top priority for the EU to assist the most vulnerable countries in their efforts to adapt to climate change and at the same time to transit to green and sustainable economies. There are encouraging success stories which we will replicate and take further over the next years."Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete said: "This is a great initiative which shows that EU is scaling up climate finance to help the most vulnerable countries take action against climate change. ...

 The reinsertion of international aviation and shipping emissions into the draft Paris agreement has been welcomed by sustainable transport group Transport & Environment after it was dropped from text issued by the talks’ co-chairs on 5 October.However, the draft’s language needs to be considerably strengthened if it is to help curb the two sectors’ growing climate impact, T&E said.The shipping and aviation sectors were initially exempted from targeted CO2 emissions cuts in the December Paris climate agreementBill Hemmings, clean shipping and aviation manager at T&E, said:“International aviation and shipping emissions are the elephants in the room for the UNFCCC. The Paris Agreement must send a clear signal – not a passing reference – to the UN bodies regulating these emissions, ICAO and IMO, that time is up and action is now due. The 2 degree global warming limit becomes next to impossible if Paris gives these sectors a free pass.”Bill Hemmings concluded: “The latest text is the result of developed and developing countries cooperating on this issue for the first time. There is real hope now that Paris will close these gaping loopholes.”Source: Transport & EnvironmentIn the start, I was straightforward with you propecia before and after has changed my ...

European shipowners note Wednesday’s European Parliament resolution, which constitutes the mandate for the EP delegation to the Paris COP 21 meeting in December, and issue a warning call.MEPs call for all Parties to work through the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to develop a global policy framework to enable an effective response, and to take measures to set adequate targets before the end of 2016 for achieving the necessary reductions in the light of the 2 °C target.Commenting on the resolution, Patrick Verhoeven, ECSA Secretary General said:“We are happy to see that the European Parliament recognises the importance of a global solution for international shipping and gives a vote of confidence to the IMO, which should be allowed to pursue its efforts.””We are however also concerned by the deadline adopted by MEPs on Wednesday. 2016 is right around the corner and as such it is rather unrealistic to expect the IMO to come up with a solution in a matter of months. A unilateral European push for a hard deadline may be counterproductive.” continued Patrick Verhoeven, referring to the need for global rules for the shipping, an industry as international as few others.The IMO’s track record in developing technical CO2 energy ...

 The EU and its member states must call for a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and scale up climate finance commitments at the COP21 UN climate talks in Paris, Parliament said on Wednesday. MEPs also say a share of revenues from the EU's carbon market allowances should be earmarked for climate finance, and the aviation and shipping sectors should initiate measures to curb their emissions by the end of 2016.'We are facing the fight of the century. If we do not succeed in preventing global warming from exceeding 2 degrees C by the end of the century we will see many more droughts, floods, melting glaciers and the disappearance of more and more farm land. Climate change will also be a factor in increasing the migration problem,' said Gilles Pargneaux (S&D, FR), who drew up the resolution, which was adopted by 434 votes to 96, with 52 abstentions.'The financial issue is and will be the cornerstone of an agreement in Paris. This is why we are calling for a clear roadmap from the member states so that we know how to finance the green fund from 2020. Fixing a carbon price at global level would also help ...

 Maritime transport is at a critical juncture as the global community commits to the new Sustainable Development Goals and gears up for a new international climate policy agreement. The UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport 2015 highlights the role of freight transport, including maritime transport, in addressing the global sustainability and resilience agenda.With more than 80 per cent of world merchandise trade by volume being carried by sea, maritime transport remains the backbone of international trade and globalization, the report says. Equally, the sector is a key enabling factor for other sectors and economic activities. The sector has a new opportunity both to assert its strategic importance as an economic activity – one that creates jobs and revenue, enables trade, supports supply chains and links communities – and to underscore its potential to generate value in terms of social equity, conserving resources and protecting the environment. For the sector to take up this role effectively, however, sustainability and resilience criteria need to be integrated into transport development plans at the early stages of planning, decision-making and investment. Removal of the physical and non-physical barriers that drive up costs and undermine trade is essential to the sustainability of freight transport systems including maritime transport. Developing countries ...

 ICS comments on   International Transport Forum's proposals  (ITF, a think tank affiliated to the OECD)  which suggest a carbon charge for shipping and says that shipping should not be treated like an OECD economy.ICS questions why international shipping should accept a carbon price of $US25 per tonne of CO2, as proposed by the International Transport Forum (ITF). This would be almost three times higher than the carbon price paid by shore based industries in developed nations.  About 70% of the world merchant fleet is registered in UNFCCC ‘non-Annex I’ developing countries, and maritime trade is of vital benefit to rich and emerging economies alike.  ICS emphasises that shipping is committed to reducing CO2 and has a responsibility to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations ‘2 degree’ climate change goal.  But the UNFCCC recognises that developed and developing nations should accept differing commitments, and shipping is no different, especially in view of its vital role in the movement of about 90% of global trade. While China and India, for example, have already made positive CO2 reduction commitments to COP 21, these will not deliver absolute CO2 reductions for several years.  Some richer nations, however, consistent with the UNFCCC CBDR principle, have made more ambitious commitments. Shipping ...

 The  International Transport Forum (ITF) has issued a policy brief to argue that IMO should impose a carbon tax for shipping and to call for immediate action to halve shipping emissions by 2050.At a glanceCurrent measures will mitigate ship emissions to some extent, mainly through better energy efficiency of ships.Lower speeds, higher utilisation, better ship designs and alternative energy sources can further reduce ship emissions.Sectoral and institutional complexities must be overcome to create impact.A target for shipping emissions, an action plan for implementation and a carbon tax for shipping, the receipts of which could feed into the Green Climate Fund are needed.The facts International shipping contributed to around 0.8 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions globally in 2012. This represented 2.2% of worldwide carbon emissions. Of these, 62% came from three sorts of ships: container ships, bulk carriers and tankers (2012 figures).Since 1990, shipping emissions have doubled, despite a 10% decrease during the economic downturn between 2007 and 2012. The CO2 emissions from maritime transport in 2050 are projected to be between 50% and 250% higher than current levels, depending on how global trade increases in different scenarios. This would mean that shipping emissions in 2050 could represent up to 14% of ...