Big Business Flexes Muscle for Climate Action (Politico)
Two coalitions of top U.S. corporations are pouring into Washington this week and launching more than $1 million in advertising to prod the Senate and White House to accelerate work on an energy and climate bill.
Apple Leaves Chamber of Commerce Over Climate Stance (Washington Post)
Apple is pulling out of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce immediately because of the organization’s strident criticism of plans to reduce U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions, the computer giant says.
Major Developing Nations Must Peak CO2 by 2020, IEA Warns (Reuters)
Carbon emissions from a group of richer developing nations including Russia, China, Brazil and the Middle East must stop growing by 2020 to control global warming, the International Energy Agency said today.
Rudd Government Has Big Lead as CO2 Vote Nears (Reuters)
Australia’s government has opened a near record 16-point gap over opposition conservatives, who are in disarray over an emissions trading scheme to be voted on by parliament within weeks, a survey shows.
Cattle Companies Step Up for Amazon Protection (Guardian)
Four of the biggest companies involved in Brazilian cattle farming signed a formal moratorium in which they pledge to stop the purchase of cattle from newly deforested areas of the Amazon. The move follows a Greenpeace investigation.
Economists Estimate Cost of Cutting Emissions at 1-3% Global GDP (Washington Post)
With enough technological advances, the world could get to a dramatically lower level of greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of between 1 and 3percent of global GDP per year, according to a report issued today by a group of economists.
IEA: Global CO2 Emissions Could Fall 3% Due to Recession (AFP)
Carbon dioxide emissions, the main driver of global warming, could fall three percent worldwide this year due to the global economic crisis, the International Energy Agency said today. It would be the steepest drop in CO2 emissions in 40 years.
Red Cross: India Floods Show Climate Change Danger (IANS)
“What do you prepare for when after extreme drought, you have extreme floods?” asked the director of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center. “Climate change is telling us we have to prepare for both … We’re not geared to do it.”
Fleet Buyers Warm to Alternative Vehicle Tech (CNet)
Although they may have a reputation for stodginess, operators of corporate and municipal fleets are pushing the limits of alternative fuels in both passenger cars and trucks. The projects are driven both by environmental programs and fuel savings.
UN’s REDD at Risk from Organized Crime (Guardian)
International police, politicians and conservationists warn that the UN’s program to cut carbon emissions by paying poor countries to preserve their forests is “open to wide abuse.”
Burning Coal Underground? (Reuters)
Burning coal underground could be one of the next breakthroughs to increase the world’s energy supply, similar to establishment of Canadian oil sands, executives and academics told a conference in London.
Turning Trash Into Fuel (New York Times)
Will today’s municipal landfills become tomorrow’s clean energy reserves? Scientists say in a new report that there’s enough such trash to generate almost 22 billion gallons of ethanol a year – “replacing 5.36 percent of gasoline consumption, with accompanying greenhouse gas emissions savings of between 29.2 percent and 86.1 percent.”
