S.E.C Adds Climate Risk to Disclosure List

Guest post by Verna Hale

The Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) is proposing to add climate risks to the current list of disclosures public companies should report.

Properties along the coastline may be affected by hurricanes and banks or insurance companies that invest in coastal property could be affected by storms or rising seas and would therefore be a good example of a climate risk disclosure. Investors have a fundamental right to know which companies are well destined for the future and which are not and they should essentially get information on climate-related impacts, including regulatory and physical impacts.

Although S.E.C. Chairperson, Mary Schapiro, stated the S.E.C. was not taking any particular political side by adding climate risk to the disclosure list, investors and environmental groups did petition the agency to have this item added to what companies need to disclose and hence stay warned.

The Petition for Interpretive Guidance on Climate Risk Disclosure can be read here.

See Which Companies Are Taking Climate Change Seriously

For years, Climate Counts has been tracking and scoring companies' climate impact performance.  Using 22 criteria, Climate Counts determines if a company has measured and reduced its impact, supported progressive climate legislation, and has been transparent about its climate actions.  Companies are scored on a 100-point scale and the more points, the better.  For example, in the Media sector, GE has the highest score (74) while Viacom has the lowest score (3).

The goal is to make this information available to consumers so they know they have the power to support companies that take climate change seriously and avoid supporting companies that don't.  Climate Counts even offers a pocket guide that you can take with you when you go shopping, so you'll know which companies are climate responsible and deserve your support. 

Now Climate Counts has a new iPhone app.  The cool app gives you accesss to the same information so you can make responsible choices on the go.  Don't have an iPhone?  Then you can text GREEN[company or brand name] to 66937 and you'll receive the company's score.  Or you can still get your pocket guide!

Business & Climate Change: A Blog Action Day Message

Nearly 10 years ago, Harvard Business Review published What Every Executive Needs to Know About Global Warming (Packard & Reinhardt, 2000).  The article continues to be relevant today and should be read by all managers and executives.

The authors encouraged businesses to look at climate change in terms of risks and opportunities.  Companies whose assets are affected by weather, such as insurance, real estate, agriculture, and tourism, were warned to plan for the consequences of climate change.  And all businesses, regardless of industry, were encouraged to prepare for anticipated regulations to curtail practices believed to be contributing factors to climate change; new opportunities may arise for a variety of companies and industries as a result of these changes.  The authors also advised companies to be honest and transparent with stakeholders and to be public about their intiatives toward climate change mitigation.  Lastly, they stated that there are "no excuses for inaction" in managing the business risks and opportunities associated with climate change.  The authors concluded by stating that thinking through the complexities of how climate change will impact the business is a test of management acumen; some executives are meeting this challenge head-on while others are not--and shareholders should ask why.

If your business is ready to plan for climate change, then I recommend A Three-Pronged Approach to Corporate Climate Strategy (Business for Social Responsibility, 2006).  In order for the world to decrease global emissions by the recommended 70%, companies need to think in terms of zero emissions as they plan their climate change strategies.  In a nutshell, it is recommended that companies analyze their value chains to identify opportunities to become more energy efficient, to invest in carbon emission offsets, and to invest in renewable energy.

Don't forget to participate in your local 350 Climate Action Rally on Saturday, October 24.  The Little Rock, AR event will be held at MacArthur Park from 2-5pm.  Hosted by Audubon Arkansas, 1 Sky, Sierra Club, and Village Commons, the event will feature local musicians, speakers and educational booths with presentations by State Representative Kathy Webb, Sierra Club, and Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church.

"The Age of Stupid" Movie Global Premier on Sept. 21

The docu-drama, The Age of Stupid, is coming to a theater near you. The Age of Stupid is about "a man living alone in the devastated future world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?"

The movie will be broadcast live to over 700 locations in 40 countries from a solar-powered cinema tent in New York City on Monday, September 21.  Visit the movie website to find a location near you.




The Age of Stupid USA Trailer from Age of Stupid on Vimeo.

100 Months to Act on Climate Change

Prince Charles warned businesses that we only have 100 months to act on climate change before the damage becomes irreversible. Prince Charles' speech to business leaders is intended to spur businesses to action in addressing climate change and in implementing climate mitagation strategies. Furthermore, the Prince argued that "green" is good for business. The speech comes in anticipation of the G20 summit to be held in London next month and is an effort to put the environment at the top of the political agenda.

Earth Hour 2009: March 28

Saturday, March 28 at 8:30pm local time, individuals, businesses, and cities across the world will honor Earth Hour 2009. Earth Hour simply asks you to switch off lights (where feasible) for one hour beginning at 8:30pm in your local time zone. Earth Hour seeks to raise awareness about climate change and is a "call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet."

The event started in 2007 with an estimated 2.2 million homes and businesses participating. In 2008, an estimated 50 million individuals participated. In 2009, organizers hope to reach 1 billion individuals. Will you participate?

Some Earth Hour 2008 results:

• Chicago saved an estimated 420 tons of carbon emissions



• Toronto's electricity usage dropped 8.7%



• British Colombia saved 125 megawatts of electricity

Arkansas' First Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report Released

The Center for Climate Strategies has released the first report on greenhouse gas emissions in the State of Arkansas. The study was commissioned by the Arkansas Governor's Commission on Global Warming and is based upon 2005 data. Among the findings of the report:

• 58% of emissions come from two sources: (1) electricity consumption from coal-fired power plants and (2) everyday transportation using cars and trucks.


• Arkansas forests act as a carbon sink, absorbing more greenhouse gases than they emit.


• the state accounts for 1.2% of national emissions.


• emissions increased 30% from 1990-2005 compared with a 16% increase nationwide during the same time period.


• residents emit about 31 metric tons compared to 24 metric tons per-capita nationwide; or 29% more.

The Arkansas Governor's Commission on Global Warming has developed the following recommendations:

• a statewide reduction of 20 percent below 2000 levels by the year 2020, 35 percent by 2025, and 50 percent by 2035.


• an investment of about $3.7 billion over 17 years to put these measures in place.


• establish an Arkansas Climate Change Center.


• adopt nuclear power as a cleaner alternative to coal-fired power plants.


• ban new coal-fired power plants until "sequestration" technology is available.


• require electric companies to supply a percentage of their electricity from renewable energy sources.


• reduce current demand for electricity use through adoption of energy-efficiency practices.


• a sales tax exemption for purchase of energy-efficient products.


• expand biomass conversions.


• forestry management to preserve as many trees as possible.


• tax incentives and financing for renewable energy systems and net metering.


• energy audits, weatherization, and other energy-efficiency programs for low-income residents.


• rebates for purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles.

Michigan Buckeyes?

Football season is here and so is a creative new campaign to raise awareness of the effects of climate change. In Ohio, the Save the Buckeye campaign warns the state that global warming could push the growing region of buckeye trees north to Michigan.

Ohio's state tree is the buckeye tree. Ohio is also home of the revered Ohio State Buckeyes whose nemisis is Michigan. Billboards read, "Michigan Buckeyes? Global Warming is Sending Ohio's Buckeyes North." To capture attention, billboards have been placed near the Ohio State University campus and campaigns are held during tailgate parties.

Nature Is Calling

Nature is calling. And researchers are listening. Here is a summary of recent conversations.

On Honeybees. Bees are decreasing at an alarming rate. Referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), the cause remains unknown, although many suspect pesticides are the culprit. Bees are critical to pollinating crops and producing food supplies.

On Trees. Researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have found that walnut trees release an aspirin compound during times of stress. The scientists were measuring the chemical emissions of plants (which affect pollution and local climate) when they made the discovery. The researchers believe the trees release the aspirin compound to begin something similar to an immune response system in order to help the tree resist and recover from the stress. The researchers also believe the release is a mechanism by which to communicate and alert other plants of the danger.

On Birds. Birdlife International has released a report stating that sharp declines in common birds worldwide are a sign of a biodiversity crisis. The report states that the declining bird population is a sign of our deteriorating global environment and that human-induced climate change may pose the greatest stress. As many as 1-in-8 of all the world's birds are threatened.

On Arctic Ice Caps. Ice caps in Greenland and elsewhere are melting faster than predicted. The Greenland 2007 rate was a new record and corresponded to 50% of the ice's total surface. NASA images show that the entire summer polar ice cap has decreased by more than 20% since 1979.

On Fireflies. Experts around the world agree that fireflies, once a common site, are on the decline. While difficult to count and track, evidence remains anecdotal.

In addition, animals worldwide are changing their feeding and migration habits. Combined, these stories from nature tell us that something is amiss. Are you listening?

Which Companies Are Taking Climate Change Seriously?

Are you interested in which companies are taking climate change seriously? If so, then you'll be interested in ClimateCounts.org.

Climate Counts tracks companies that are addressing climate change as well as those that are ignoring it. They tally this all up into a scorecard, which you'll want to check out. Companies are categorized as stuck, starting, or striding in their response to climate change. Of course, Climate Counts encourages you to patronize companies tackling climate change and don't patronize companies ignoring the issue.

Climate Counts is a nonprofit organization funded by Stonyfield Farm, Inc. and launched in collaboration with Clean Air-Cool Planet.

A note of caution: As the name implies, these scores are related only to climate change and do not reflect the company's social or other environmental practices.

Green Cows: Flatulence Inoculation Developed

While most of us are focused on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, the fact is that methane emissions are more than twenty times more harmful in climate change. Methane emissions come from multiple sources, such as landfills and livestock. Livestock, such as cattle, sheep, and goats, emit methane through belching and flatulence. Depending upon the size of the agricultural sector of a country's economy, the amount of methane emissions varies.

In New Zealand, sheep and cattle are responsible for about 90% of the methane and methane accounts for more than half the country's total greenhouse gas emissions. New Zealand farmers already successfully fought a flatulence tax on their livestock. So it should come as no surprise that researchers in New Zealand claim to have developed a "flatulence inoculation" for sheep and cattle. The inoculation could help the country reduce its emissions.

It is estimated that livestock account for approximately 25% of methane emissions in Britain, 2% of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., and about 15% of worldwide emissions of methane.

Read the full story in The Telegraph.

Corrected June 17, 2008.

Under Pressure, White House Issues Climate Change Report

From the New York Times, May 30, 2008:

The Bush administration, bowing to a court order, has released a fresh summary of federal and independent research pointing to large, and mainly harmful, impact of human-caused global warming in the United States.

The report, released Thursday, is online at climatescience.gov, along with a new report updating the administration’s priorities for climate research.

Most of the findings, like the spread of warmth-loving pests and the inevitable loss of low-lying lands to rising seas, are not new. But the report included new projections of how the poor, elderly and communities with lagging public-health and public-works systems will face outsize health risks from warming.

Among the report’s new conclusions on health: “An increased frequency and severity of heat waves is expected, leading to more illness and death, particularly among the young, elderly, frail and poor.” It added that deaths from cold would decline, but said uncertainties on both projections made it impossible to characterize the overall risk.

It gave high odds (essentially a two out of three chance) that Lyme disease and West Nile virus would have expanded ranges because of warming. The report gave the same odds that some food- and water-borne diseases would also increase among susceptible populations, but said “major human epidemics” were unlikely as long as public-health systems remained effective.

Under a 1990 law, presidents must submit a report to Congress every four years summarizing what is known about impacts of climate change and other global environmental problems on the United States.

The last such assessment, undertaken in the Clinton administration and published in 2000 in the early days of the Bush presidency, was attacked by groups and industries opposing restrictions on greenhouse gases. References to it were deleted from some government reports by political appointees in the White House.

Environmental groups sued to force the completion of a new study. In court, the White House contended that a series of more than 20 studies requested by President Bush in 2003 satisfied the 1990 law, but Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong of Federal District Court for the Northern District of California rejected that assertion last August and ordered a comprehensive assessment to be published by the end of May.

“This assessment is an example of what federal scientists can and should be doing when they are freed from political interference and allowed to actually do their jobs,” said Kassie Siegel, climate program director for the Center for Biological Diversity, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Senator John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who was the lead author of the 1990 law, strongly criticized the White House.

“The three-year delay of this report is sadly fitting for an administration that has wasted seven years denying the real threat of global climate change,” Mr. Kerry said in a statement. “In these lost years, we could have slowed global warming and advanced clean energy solutions, but instead America’s climate change strategy has been at best rhetorical, not real.”

By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: May 30, 2008

The War Against Climate Change

Richard Branson is being branded the modern day Churchill in the "war on climate change." In a February address to the United Nations General Assembly, Branson said climate change is “The first war that truly threatens almost all human life - a war that to win we must all fight together - one world, one people”. He suggested we must create a "powerful partnership that helps to scale up the best innovations by bringing together business leaders, economists, scientists, environmental groups and other expert organisations to tackle the war against global warming."

"...Like all wars this one may have to be fought on many ‘fronts’. How to extract carbon represents only one ‘front’. It’s a battle that may never be won. We need an overall battle plan. We need a War Room." The War Room should encourage "innovative technological ideas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or adapt to climate change."

Branson quoted Churchill throughout his speech and challenged governments to take action in the war against climate change. “One ought never to turn ones back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!”

If Richard Branson is being compared to Churchill in the "war against climate change," does that make Al Gore our modern day Eisenhower?

McCain Pledges to Combat Climate Change

PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - Republican John McCain pledged to take the lead in combating global climate change if elected president in a speech that set him apart from the policies of President George W. Bush.

In remarks he prepared to give at a wind technology firm in Portland, Oregon, on Monday, the Arizona senator said he would seek international accords to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and would offer an incentive system to make businesses in the United States cleaner.

He planned to present a so-called cap and trade system to Congress that sets clear limits on all greenhouse gas emissions for U.S. businesses, while also allowing the sale of rights to excess emissions, so as to "change the dynamic" of the U.S. energy economy.

Read the full story here.

The "We" Campaign: We Can Solve the Climate Crisis

This week, Al Gore has launched the "we" campaign, a project of the nonprofit he founded, The Alliance for Climate Protection. The goal of the "we" campaign is to educate the U.S. and the world about the need for action on climate change and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The campaign also urges elected officials to take action toward solutions, provides suggestions and solutions for individuals, corporations, and governments, urges the media to ask elected officials more questions on climate change, and asks lenders to consider climate impact when funding new coal plants.

The campaign will reach people through advertising, online organizing, and partnerships with grass-roots groups. You can watch the first television advertisement and other videos on their website. At their site, you can sign up for action alerts, read success stories of individuals and businesses, watch for the opening of the "we" carbon neutral store, and learn more about the campaign.

You can visit the "we" campaign website at http://www.wecansolveit.org/.

Are Genetically Modified Foods Part of the Solution?

In a recent Ethical Corporation Editorial, it is suggested that we should reconsider "often vilified" genetically modified (GM) crops for the role they can play in addressing climate change-related food crises. They argue that climate change will cause a decrease in food production while the world's population will increase.

The Editorial states, "Biotechnology companies can help answer the climate-related food crisis in three ways: reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with farming; developing crops better able to withstand extreme weather brought about by global warming; and making biofuels production more efficient."

The article concludes, "GM alone cannot solve the world’s emerging food crisis. But there could be areas where GM crops can step in where conventional breeding techniques have so far failed....The potential benefits of GM in combating global warming, if verified, could mark the start of its rehabilitation in the eyes of the general public."

Read the full Editorial in Ethical Corporation magazine.

Colorado Carbon Fund Established

The State of Colorado has just announced the creation of the Colorado Carbon Fund. This is a voluntary carbon offset fund aimed at investing in Colorado community-based projects for clean energy and climate mitigation. The Colorado Carbon Fund is being created by the Governor's Energy Office and expects to be operational by spring 2008.

The Colorado Carbon Fund follows a recent trend of investing in local carbon offset projects rather than investing in carbon offset projects in other parts of the world. The city of San Francisco started their own San Francisco Carbon Fund in 2007.

"Carbon Fast" for Lent

Today is the first day of Lent. The Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Rev James Jones and the Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, are joing with Tearfund to encourage Christians to reduce carbon usage for the forty days of Lent by following a Carbon Fast.

According to an article in The Telegraph, "Lent is the time when Christians traditionally give up such things as sweets, chocolate or alcohol in recognition of the 40 days Christ spent fasting in the desert to prepare for his ministry. This year they will be asked to think about their own carbon footprint and follow a few simple steps designed to help cut CO2 emissions."

"Those taking part in the Carbon Fast will be asked to remove one lightbulb from a prominent place in the home and live without it for 40 days. On the final days of the Fast they will be asked to replace it with a low-energy bulb which over its lifetime will save 60kg of carbon dioxide per year and up to £60," states The Telegraph.

The Carbon Fast outlines 40 actions you can take, one for each day of Lent. Other suggested actions throughout Lent include recycling, unplug your phone charger when it's not charging, turn off electronics instead of using the standby mode, and turning off lights when you leave the room.

According to Tearfund, "climate change is already hitting places like Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Niger hard. Climate change shows us that our energy-hungry lifestyles are harming our poorer neighbours across the world, now. The moral imperative for us to act is unquestionable and inescapable."

Tearfund also has a website section with resources to help you and your church get involved with the Carbon Fast. The resources include a PowerPoint presentation, sermon notes, and other materials.

You can visit the following websites to find out more: Tearfund, Carbon Fast website, Carbon Fast plan, the press release, article in The Telegraph.

Breathing Earth: Real-time Counter of CO2 Emissions

Breathing Earth "displays the carbon dioxide emission levels of every country in the world, as well as their birth and death rates, all in real-time." You can move your cursor over any country, read their current statistics, and watch the counter increase, showing the worldwide number of births, deaths, and tons of CO2 emissions since you started viewing. "The presentation shows the impact different countries have on climate change." Breathing Earth is the creation of David Bleja.

World Bank Pledges to Save Trees... Then Helps Cut Down Amazon Forest

According to a story in The Independent, "The World Bank has emerged as one of the key backers behind an explosion of cattle ranching in the Amazon, which new research has identified as the greatest threat to the survival of the rainforest."

"Ranching has grown by half in the last three years, driven by new industrial slaughterhouses which are being constructed in the Amazon basin with the help of the World Bank. The revelation flies in the face of claims from the bank that it is funding efforts to halt deforestation and reduce the massive greenhouse gas emissions it causes."

"Roberto Smeraldi, head of Friends of the Earth Brazil and lead author of the new report, obtained exclusively by The Independent on Sunday, said the bank's contradictory policy on forests was now clear: "On the one hand you try and save the forest, on the other you give incentives for its conversion."

Read the full story here.