The new RENEWABLE ENERGY LAW AND POLICY REVIEW announces the launching of a call for papers for its inaugural issue to be published in spring 2010.

The Renewable Energy Law and Policy Review provides a platform for analysis and discussion, both in Europe and internationally, of the legal and policy issues surrounding renewable energy.  The journal reports on the dynamic and quickly changing developments taking place in Europe and around the world in the renewable energy sector, from bio-energy, solar and wind power to emerging technologies like fuel cells and nuclear fusion.

The journal serves a growing international community of renewable energy practitioners, lawyers and policy makers, providing them with timely analysis and reports on the legal and policy implications of recent technology advances, political and regulatory decisions and market trends.  Each issue reports on new developments and critical issues from the European Union and its Member States, cutting-edge experience from North America, Australia and Japan, as well as opportunities and challenges in emerging markets and leading countries of the developing world such as Brazil, China and India.

The inaugural issue of the journal is dedicated to new developments in renewable energy law and policy, with a focus on implications of the climate change negotiation process.  Topics include:

Implications of climate change negotiations for renewable energy development
Evolution of European Union renewable energy policy
Trends in legal and policy frameworks for renewable energy development in selected EU Member States and other leading renewable energy jurisdictions
Legal and policy challenges to commercial scale development of renewable energy technologies in selected developing countries
Prospects for integration of solar, wind and biogas production into national power grids
Emerging role and influence of renewable energy agencies, such as the International Renewable Energy Agency

The deadline for submission of abstracts is January 15.  Authors will be notified by January 22 of article selection.  Papers of publishable quality must be submitted to the publisher by February 15.  Format guidelines and conditions for publication will be provided to authors upon selection.

Please send abstracts, a short biographical sketch and full contact information to:

Richard Paton
Managing Editor, Renewable Energy Law and Policy Review (www.lexxion.eu/relp)
Managing Director, Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility  www.icem-online.org)
Email:   paton at lexxion.eu or  richard.paton at icem-online.org

GTZ Vacancy Announcement Brussels: Project Manager (m/w) EUEI Partnership Dialogue Facility (EUEI PDF)

Wollermann Astrid GTZ 6012 to Energy-list
December 23, 2009

GTZ is pleased to announce the following vacancy for a Project Manager (m/w) EUEI Partnership Dialogue Facility (EUEI PDF). Please go to our website for more details at

 http://www.gtz.de/en/karriere/stellenmar… .

All qualified candidates are strongly encouraged to apply! Please submit applications via our online recruitment site until January 15, 2010.

CORPORATE PROFILE

As an international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations, the federally owned Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH supports the German Government in achieving its development-policy objectives. It provides viable, forward-looking solutions for political, economic, ecological and social development in a globalised world. Working under difficult conditions, GTZ promotes complex reforms and change processes. Its corporate objective is to improve people’s living conditions on a sustainable basis.

GTZ is a federal enterprise based in Eschborn near Frankfurt am Main. It was founded in 1975 as a company under private law. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is its major client. The company also operates on behalf of other German ministries, the governments of other countries and international clients, such as the European Commission, the United Nations and the World Bank, as well as on behalf of private enterprises. GTZ works on a public-benefit basis. All surpluses generated are channeled back into its own international cooperation projects for sustainable development.

Currently, GTZ employs over 14,000 staff in more than 130 countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Eastern European countries in transition and the New Independent States (NIS). Around 11,000 of these staff are national personnel. GTZ maintains its own offices in 87 countries. Some 1,780 people are employed at Head Office in Eschborn near Frankfurt am Main.

www.gtz.de/en

Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
PO Box 5180
65726 Eschborn
Germany

Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH;
Sitz der Gesellschaft/Registered Office Eschborn/Taunus, Germany;
Registergericht/Registered at Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, Germany;
Eintragungs-Nr./Registration no. HRB 12394; USt-IdNr./VAT ID no. DE 113891176;
Vorsitzender des Aufsichtsrates/Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Hans-Juergen Beerfeltz, Staatssekretaer/State Secretary;
Geschaeftsfuehrer/Managing Directors: Dr. Bernd Eisenblaetter, Dr. Hans-Joachim Preuss, Wolfgang Schmitt

Knight Foundation to Support The Huffington Post Investigative Fund

Washington, DC  – December 22, 2009.  As part of its ongoing support for investigative journalism, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation today announces a grant of $200,000 to The Huffington Post Investigative Fund. In making the contribution, the Knight Foundation joins the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy, Atlantic Philanthropies, the Markle Foundation and The Huffington Post as key supporters of the venture.

“The Huffington Post Investigative Fund is experimenting with a new way of providing important journalism, functioning as a non-profit that draws audience from a popular for-profit,” said Eric Newton, vice president of Knight Foundation’s journalism program. “It’s a worthy test of a new idea, and since we really don’t know how investigative reporting is best supported in the future, an interesting experiment.”

Based in Washington, D.C., The Huffington Post Investigative Fund has a full-time staff of 11 and a budget of $2 million. It is headed by executive director Nick Penniman, formerly the publisher of the Washington Monthly, and executive editor Lawrence Roberts, formerly the investigations editor of the Washington Post. Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, chairs the nonprofit’s board. Collectively, its staff members have won more than four dozen major journalism awards, including multiple Pulitzer Prizes.

“We’re thrilled and honored to receive Knight’s backing,” said Penniman. “In these times of great upheaval for the news industry, Knight Foundation is helping us blaze a new trail for how you finance, create and distribute investigative journalism.

Said Arianna Huffington: “Knight’s grant is an important milestone in the young history of The Huffington Post Investigative Fund. We’re incredibly grateful to Alberto Ibargüen and Eric Newton of Knight Foundation for their passion for championing innovative solutions in the face of the crisis facing investigative journalism. Everyone who understands the vital role good journalism plays in our democracy is looking for ways to preserve and strengthen it during this time of great transition for the media, and Knight is playing a lead role in this effort.”

“The Huffington Post is an ideal partner for Knight Foundation. They are entrepreneurial and care passionately about meeting the information needs of communities,” said Alberto Ibargüen, president of Knight Foundation. “As a media leader, few are as innovative as Arianna Huffington. She believes in freedom and practices it. She believes in journalism and has hired outstanding investigative reporters and editors. And she believes in the power of technology to change the world for the better.”

“It’s also extremely important to us to partner with Atlantic Philanthropies in supporting The Huffington Post, as it was to partner with the Houston Endowment on the Texas Tribune or the San Diego Community Foundation in supporting the Voice of San Diego,” added Ibargoen. “These collaborations are essential as we look for the next sustainable model for the delivery of news people need.”

The Fund’s mission is to be an online innovator of investigative reporting by merging the classic watchdog function and traditional values of the press with the best tools of new media. Since its operations began in the early Fall, it has produced more than 50 stories, including 20 videos. Highlights include an investigation of a top subprime lender showing how fraud was at the heart of the housing boom and bust; a three-part expose of how the credit rating companies have fended off regulation from Congress and the SEC; and a project shedding light on inequities in denials of health insurance claims, reported with help from citizen journalists. The Fund has also completed multiple citizen journalism and “distributed research” projects and collaborated with other nonprofits on various stories, including the Center for Public Integrity, ProPublica and the Investigative Reporting Workshop.

Through open-source publishing, any content the Investigative Fund produces is free for anyone to publish at the same time that it’s made available to The Huffington Post. The relationship helps the nonprofit distribute its reporting to a larger audience than it is capable of attracting on its own. In addition to The Huffington Post, more than 40 other outlets have republished the Fund’s pieces.

Knight Foundation’s $15 million Investigative Reporting Initiative was announced this year at the annual convention of the Investigative Reporters and Editors organization, the nation’s leading group of investigative journalists. Grantees under the initiative include News21, the Center for Investigative Reporting, ProPublica, the Center for Public Integrity and the Texas Tribune.

=============

The Greenhouse Gas Management Institute (GHGMI) is inviting GHG experts to participate in the establishment of its Professional Certification Programs. The primary objective of these programs is to establish a comprehensive, thorough and transparent process through which GHG professionals can obtain certification by meeting specific competency requirements for a broad range of functions related to GHG management.

In addition, the programs will aim to achieve the following objectives:

• Career path – a certification scheme will establish a clear step-wise program for advancement and recognition to both established and prospective practitioners;

• Clarity of credentials – certification will be designed to remove ambiguity in the qualification of personnel to perform GHG assessments;

• Governance – professional certification will add a layer of oversight tied to ethical and competency standards at an individualized level.

As the first stage in this work, GHGMI is establishing a Committee to support the development and implementation of the Professional Certification Programs. The Committee will take form and commence work in Q1 2010.

The terms of reference for this Committee are available online at:
 http://ghginstitute.org/professional-pro…

If you meet the requirements and have a strong interest in serving on the Professional Programs Committee, please send a copy of your biography or CV and a letter describing your interest to:  professional.programs at ghginstitute.or… referencing Professional Program Committee as soon as possible.

For more information, including FAQs on the Professional Programs please visit:
 http://ghginstitute.org/professional-pro…

From: Tim Stumhofer
Program Associate
Greenhouse Gas Management Institute

Stelios Pesmajoglou, PhD
Director, Professional Programs
Greenhouse Gas Management Institute

ON THIS DAY – On Dec. 21, 1988, a terrorist bomb exploded aboard a Pan Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people; now, 21 years later, remembering what addiction to oil can do to us, the New York Times starts to discern a path to a better future for the planet.

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL OF December 21, 2009
Copenhagen, and Beyond.

The global climate negotiations in Copenhagen produced neither a grand success nor the complete meltdown that seemed almost certain as late as Friday afternoon. Despite two years of advance work, the meeting failed to convert a rare gathering of world leaders into an ambitious, legally binding action plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It produced instead a softer interim accord that, at least in principle, would curb greenhouses gases, provide ways to verify countries’ emissions, save rain forests, shield vulnerable nations from the impacts of climate change, and share the costs.

The hard work has only begun, in Washington and elsewhere. But Copenhagen’s achievements are not trivial, given the complexity of the issue and the differences among rich and poor countries. President Obama deserves much of the credit. He arrived as the talks were collapsing, spent 13 hours in nonstop negotiations and played hardball with the Chinese. With time running out — and with the help of China, India, Brazil and South Africa — he forged an agreement that all but a handful of the 193 nations on hand accepted.

Mr. Obama aside, there were two keys to the deal. One was a dramatic offer of $100 billion in aid from the industrialized nations to poorer countries to help them move to less-polluting sources of energy and to deal with drought and other consequences of warming. The offer had an instant soothing effect on many poorer nations that had been threatening to walk out all week.

The other was China’s willingness to submit to a verification system under which all countries would agree to report on their actions and — assuming details could be worked out — open their books to inspection. Transparency is a huge issue in Congress, and Mr. Obama made clear in his opening remarks on Friday that he would not agree to a deal unless China gave ground.

An enormous amount of work lies ahead, both for the president and for the other signatories to what is now being called the Copenhagen Accord. In order to deliver on his promises to reduce America’s greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent by 2020 and provide a chunk of that $100 billion in aid, Mr. Obama must persuade the Senate to approve a cap-and-trade bill — a huge task.

Meanwhile, there can be no letup by the rest of the world’s negotiators, no matter how tired and beat up they may be. These talks have been so chaotic and contentious that some people believe the United Nations machinery has outlived its usefulness, and real progress will henceforth be made in smaller gatherings of the big players.

There may be some truth to this, but at the moment it is hard to see how many of the arrangements agreed to in principle at Copenhagen — the verification system, for instance — can be made to work without detailed agreements. There must also be some mechanism that holds all countries responsible for doing everything they can to tackle climate change. As it is, the pledges now on the table, from both rich and poor countries, are nowhere near enough to keep atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide from rising above dangerous levels.

But for the moment it is worth savoring the steps forward. China is now a player in the effort to combat climate change in a way it has never been, putting measurable emissions reductions targets on the table and accepting verification. And the United States is very much back in the game too. After eight years of playing the spoiler, it is now a leader with a president who seems to embrace the role.

NEW YORK TIMES RECENT FURTHER ARTICLES ABOUT THE UN FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Mixed Bag for Obama on Climate Change Deal Amid the Recession

By JOHN HARWOOD

A victory for President Obama in Copenhagen will not necessarily help his popularity at home.

December 21, 2009

MORE ON THE UNFCCC AND: FOREIGN AID, GLOBAL WARMING, UNITED STATES ECONOMY, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, PELOSI, NANCY, OBAMA, BARACK, KERRY, JOHN

An Air of Frustration for Europe at Climate Talks

By JAMES KANTER

Caught off guard by the Copenhagen accord, European leaders felt pressure to back it even though they thought it did not go far enough and had a process in which they had little influence.

December 21, 2009

MORE ON THE UNFCCC AND: GLOBAL WARMING, COPENHAGEN (DENMARK),EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Copenhagen’s One Real Accomplishment: Getting Some Money Flowing

By JAMES KANTER

The accord in Copenhagen was “a big step forward” after previous talks offered no financial support mechanisms, Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. secretary general, said.

December 21, 2009

MORE ON THE UNFCCC AND: GLOBAL WARMING, ENERGY AND POWER,COPENHAGEN (DENMARK)

Compromising on 2 Issues, Obama Gets Partial Wins

By PETER BAKER

From Copenhagen to Capitol Hill, the president determined the outer limits of what he could accomplish on climate change and health care and decided that was enough, for now.

December 20, 2009

MORE ON THE UNFCCC AND: GLOBAL WARMING, HEALTH INSURANCE AND MANAGED CARE, REFORM AND REORGANIZATION, OBAMA, BARACK

A Grudging Accord in Climate Talks

By ANDREW C. REVKIN and JOHN M. BRODER

After delays, theatrics and deal-making, climate talks ended with an agreement to “take note” of a pact shaped by five nations.

December 20, 2009

MORE ON THE UNFCCC AND: GLOBAL WARMING, TREATIES

• Science and Politics of Climate Change
• Who’s at the Climate Talks, and What Do They Seek?
• Climate Change Conversations

U.N. Climate Talks ‘Take Note’ of Accord Backed by U.S.

By ANDREW C. REVKIN and JOHN M. BRODER

The agreement left open the question of whether the accord would gain the full support of the countries involved in the talks on limiting the risks of climate change.

December 20, 2009

MORE ON THE UNFCCC AND: COPENHAGEN (DENMARK)

• Science and Politics of Climate Change
• Who’s at the Climate Talks, and What Do They Seek?
• Climate Change Conversations

———————————————————————————————————-

Off to the Races

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

A competitive Earth Race led by America can be a more self-sustaining way to reduce carbon emissions than a festival of nonbinding commitments at a U.N. conference.

December 20, 2009

MORE ON THE UNFCCC AND: GLOBAL WARMING, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, UNITED STATES, UNITED NATIONS

———————————————————————————————————

Updated Dec. 18, 2009

Representatives of 192 nations gathered in Copenhagen to seek a consensus on an international strategy for fighting global warming, in a series of meetings between Dec. 7 and Dec. 18, 2009.

Leaders concluded a climate change deal the Obama administration called “meaningful” but which fell short of even the modest expectations for the summit. The maneuvering that characterized the final week of the talks was a sign of their seriousness; never before have global leaders come so close to a significant agreement to reduce the greenhouse gases linked to warming the planet.

President Obama injected himself into a multilayered negotiation that was far more chaotic and contentious than anticipated – frozen by longstanding divisions between rich and poor nations and a legacy of mistrust of the United States, which has long refused to accept any binding limits on its greenhouse gas emissions.

The accord drops what had been the expected goal of concluding a binding international treaty by the end of 2010, which leaves the implementation of its provisions uncertain. It is likely to undergo many months, perhaps years, of additional negotiation before it emerges in any internationally enforceable form.

Read More…

The following is just in time – please see what President Obama just said in Oslo after receiving the Nobel Prize:

Speaking as U.N.-sponsored climate talks continued in Copenhagen, Obama linked global warming to international security, telling his audience that “the world must come together to confront climate change.”

He said: “There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing, we will face more drought, more famine, more mass displacement — all of which will fuel more conflict for decades.”

Now at the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change will be heard something that the leadership of the UN managed to hide for many years – this until the taboo was broken by the UK at the time they chaired the UN Security Council three years ago. They declared, as part of their prerogative for naming a topic of their choosing, with full voice, that climate change is a security issue. We know what we say because our web was a victim of a UN that by policy of some individuals made the clear decision not to allow the UN DPI to see in its rooms the truth come out via the UN accredited press.

—————–

Sustainable Energy Analyst CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), London
by Beth Cox on 26 November 2009, Reuters

Job Listing for a position with a main real estate company answering to: analyst, energy, analysis, sustainability, data, sustainable buildings, property. The offer is: £ Competitive Salary + excellent benefits & bonus

Due to sustained growth and continued success, CB Richard Ellis has instructed Acre to recruit an outstanding Sustainable Energy Analyst to join their Energy and Sustainability team.

This key position will assist corporate clients as well as investors to manage and reduce their carbon emissions and fuel bills. A pivotal member of the support team, you will analyse information and provide guidance and insight into where client energy costs can be reduced.

Responsibilities of this position will include:

•    Assist in measuring, monitoring and reporting energy consumption and carbon emissions
•    Project research and data/information gathering
•    Supporting the implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures
•    Assisting clients to meet their compliance requirements
•    Project support

A confident self starter, you will have excellent analytical and project management skills. Holding a strong, relevant first degree (or equivalent) you will have a sound understanding of energy and carbon management, good statistical and data analysis skills and a strong desire to learn.

Acre is keen to speak to candidates who have a genuine passion for sustainability, who have the ability to research, analyse and form conclusions on complex issues.  You will need to have exceptional report writing skills and the ability to communicate effectively.

This is a great chance to join a team of specialists, work in a globally renowned business and develop your potential and career.

To apply for this position please email your CV and a cover letter to  apply at acre-resources.com or for more information call Olivia Anderson on 0203 170 8036

The Global Observatory is looking for young scientists from different disciplines and with field work experience from all over the world.

The Need
•       Less than 4 months away from COP15, the prospects for success are far from certain.
•       Many developing countries are looking to industrialized nations to come with both measures to reduce emissions and financing for mitigation and adaptation.
•       Industrialized countries expect developing nations to make concrete emission reduction commitments of their own.
•       Few seem willing to take in the speed at which the impacts of climate change are coming, and others consider addressing climate change as an economic harm.
•       Finally, the vast majority of the public tends to sees climate change as remote and far in the future, removed from their daily lives, feeling they have little to contribute to solving it.

The Solution
•       GO aims to create political space for governments to reach an agreement at COP15 that will mitigate climate change and put the world on a course of greater prosperity and stability.
•       It will act as a “white box” to the negotiations’ “black box”, providing easily understandable analysis and powerful messages communicated by renowned personalities.
•       GO is convening a team of leading experts to follow and evaluate the COP15 negotiations on a real-time basis: scientists, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) contributors, diplomats and economic and business analysts, backed up by a dedicated research staff based in Copenhagen.
•       GO Ambassadors will, at the same time, communicate the findings of the expert team while capturing their own concerns, recommendations and perspectives. Ambassadors already confirmed are Desmond Tutu (South Africa), Maurice Strong (Canada), Juan Rada (Belgium), Ashok Khosla (India), Julia Marton Lefevre ( Hungary) and Jeremy Leggett (UK).
•       GO will also serve as an online hub, partnering with both online and traditional media outlets and civil society groups. Like this, it will act as a catalyst to create awareness and influence the local and national debate surrounding COP15

Communications Strategy
       The communications strategy will be targeted at three different, but closely interlinked, audiences: traditional media, social media, and NGOs.

•       Pre-COP 15: The aim is to create widespread awareness and understanding of the implications of what is likely to be achieved at COP15.
•       During COP15: By December, we will have not only compiled a body of audiovisual content of our ambassadors’ and experts’ opinions and reports on the implications of the negotiation to take place, but we will also have the ambassadors and experts in Copenhagen taking part in interviews, panel discussions at both the GO studio located at the European Environment Agency, or direct from the Bella Center.
•       Post-COP15: The archive of materials produced and published internationally will help the public to understand the implications and necessary actions on both a national and individual level. Social media: this stage will focus on the development of an open strategy, the creation of very creative and viral content and the ‘glocalization’ of GO.
•
•       Online hub: The GO web platform is aimed at becoming central to COP15 online discussions. In order to reach this goal, this platform will constantly be uploaded with the videos and information provided by GO´s ambassadors and experts that will trigger discussions both on the GO website and throughout the Internet.
•
•       GO hub: to concentrate all activities in one place, technical infrastructure and facilities will be set up at a prominent location: the GO hub. It serves as a studio, war room, press office, meeting place and research lab at the same time.
•
•       Public Relations / Public Affairs: conventional press outreach will be conducted, but direct relationships will also be established with the main outlets covering the climate talks, and accessed on an ongoing basis prior to COP15. Outreach is being conducted to global media including CNN and BBC, as well as to national media such as TV Globo in Brazil, and the FT in the UK.

Due Dilligence
The GO team has vetted the concept with potential partners and collaborators, NGOs and traditional and online media, and with experts, ambassadors and negotiators. Each of these discussions reinforced the need for a Global Observatory.

In the two months since its inception, those that the GO team has met with include:
?       350.org (which wishes to collaborate)
?       Climate Central (which wishes to collaborate)
?       EU Environment Agency (which is providing operational support, office and production space and access to experts)
?       Global Campaign for Climate Action (GCCA) (which believes the ambassadors fill a vital role)
?       Google (whose Google Earth flyovers and YouTube COP15 hub will be key resources to GO)
?       Hopenhagen (Ogilvy & Mather) (which sees the GO as a substantive resource for the campaign, and with whom we are coordinating on celebrity recruitment)
?       Project Catalyst (whose analysis will be used by the research team to make the case for feasibility of action)
?       Sustainability Institute (which will be part of the research team, with their C-ROADS models)
?       Takepart.com (which wishes to collaborate)

We are in continuous reach on how to empower current organizations and actions around COP15

Organization
Ambassadors
The “ambassadors” are the core of the Global Observatory, connecting the content and messages of GO with the global audience.
The list of potential ambassadors will include respected world leaders, scientific leaders, business leaders, indigenous leaders, political and cultural leaders, public figures and others, selected by sector and by geography. Those already confirmed are Desmond Tutu (South Africa), Maurice Strong (Canada), Juan Rada (Belgium), Ashok Khosla (India) and Jeremy Leggett (UK).

Experts
We are assembling a leading team of experts, including scientists and economists, to guide the content development of the Global Observatory.
The experts will be drawn from a range of disciplines in the natural and social sciences including climatology, agriculture, economics, oceanography and biology to ensure that GO can address the most important, locally and globally relevant impacts.

Your role as young expert
From now on we will run a series of interviews, blogs and other social media activities. Your role will be to explain, in your native language and in English, what is your work experience of climate change impacts, challenges for local communities, ecosystems, as well as lessons learned and options for adaptation and mitigation.
Up to 5 young experts will join the task force in Copenhagen to work closely with our ambassadors and senior experts to evaluate the progresses of the negotiations and produce communiqués for the policy negotiators, political and business leaders and most importantly the public at large.

If you are interested please do get in touch with Antonella@pik-potsdam.de
Additional information is available at www. http://globalobservatory.net/

WE HOPE THAT THEIR SUGGESTED STUDY WILL POINT OUT THE NEED TO CHANGE ENERGY SYSTEMS IN ORDER TO AVOID THE WEAKNESSES OF THE TRADITIONAL ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WAS DEVISED AT TIMES WE DID NOT YET KNOW ABOUT EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE – THE REASON FOR THE STATED ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE. WE HOPE THOSE DESIGNING THIS WORK WILL TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION ALSO THIS COMMENT.

from:  rcortez at tnc.org
Jul 30, 2009
A new interactive web-based course has been launched that provides an introduction to climate change and REDD.

The course is free and open to the public at: www.conservationtraining.org.

The course is designed for non-specialists who seek a general understanding of REDD and can be started and stopped as needed by the user.  If you are looking to learn about the basics of climate change and REDD issues – take a look at what it includes:

Module 1: Background on Climate Change. This introductory module will walk you through the basics of climate change so that you have a solid understanding of what climate change is, what causes it, what the impacts are predicted to be, and how to mitigate its effects. With that foundation, you will learn about the role of forests in climate change and delve into the drivers of deforestation. Finally, the module wraps up with a discussion on strategies to reduce deforestation and forest degradation. Length: 4 lessons – 2.5 hours

Module 2: International Considerations. The module begins by providing you with a general framework of REDD, including essential elements like carbon accounting, monitoring, financial flows, and policy. Lessons on technical elements, policy context, carbon markets, social considerations, and biodiversity considerations will give you a solid understanding of what REDD is. Length: 6 lessons

Module 3: National Considerations. This module begins with an overview of the various scales (project, sub-national, and national) at which REDD activities can be undertaken. The second lesson then provides an overview of national approaches to REDD.
Length: 2 lessons

Module 4: Project Considerations. In this concluding module, you will learn about REDD project considerations. This module will provide information on standards that have been created for avoided deforestation projects, as well as the steps of REDD project design and implementation. The module ends with a case study for you to read and review, as you reflect on what you have learned throughout the course.

Length: 2 lessons and 1 case study

This course was prepared by a consortium of non-profits that includes The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance, GTZ, the Rainforest Alliance and the World Wildlife Fund. In addition to the online course, the consortium has published detailed manuals for the instructors and participants of in-person training events on REDD. These documents are available in English, French and Spanish at

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VeruTEK® Technologies Forms a Partnership with the Yale University Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering to Create New Green Chemistry Solutions

Bloomfield, Conn. – July 17, 2009 – VeruTEK® Technologies, Inc. (VTKT.PK) and Yale University’s Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering announced today that they have formed a partnership to promote adoption of green solutions in industry.  Under this agreement of the parties, the Center and VeruTEK® will jointly develop greener chemical syntheses and processes especially centered around plant-based materials and surfactants.

Dr. Julie Zimmerman, Acting Director of the Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering, said “We look forward to mutually advancing green chemistry solutions to environmental problems with VeruTEK®’s generous support of our sustainable innovation activities.”

John Collins, Ph.D., CEO of VeruTEK®, said “VeruTEK® is excited to support the Center’s efforts to put green chemistry and green engineering theory into practice.  By focusing on practical, environmentally benign technologies, the Center will help catalyze adoption and implementation of green principles throughout our society and our economy for a more sustainable world.”

About VeruTEK® Technologies, Inc.
VeruTEK® (VTKT.PK) provides proprietary, patent-pending, green technology solutions for cleaning up the environment and other applications.  For more information, please visit www.verutek.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

The statements contained herein, which are not historical, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, certain delays beyond the Company’s control with respect to market acceptance of new technologies, products and services, delays in testing and evaluation of products and services, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:
Shaaron Syrene
860-242-9800 x306
VeruTEK® Technologies is a green technology company that develops sustainable and safe solutions for cleaning up toxic waste in the environment.  VeruTEK® has developed unique solutions for such soil and groundwater contaminants such as coal tar, creosote, PCBs, dioxins, fuels, MTBE, chlorinated solvents and metals.

John Collins, Ph.D. is  CEO of VeruTEK®.

Dr. John Collins received his doctorate from the University of California at Riverside in Soil Physical Chemistry. His doctoral research was completed at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory on sorption kinetics of transition metals in the natural environment at the DOE site in Aiken, South Carolina. Dr. Collins served two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer and Agricultural Extension Agent in a remote area of Nepal.

After development of the Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund, he was one of first scientists trained by EPA as a risk assessor. Subsequently, he worked on remediation and risk assessment at contaminated sites for DOD, DOE, EPA and Fortune 500 companies.

In 2006, he and Dr. George Hoag founded VeruTEK® Technologies, the first green technology company for the development of environmental solutions.

This e-mail was sent by VeruTEK Technologies, Inc., located at 65 West Dudley Town Rd, Suite 100, Bloomfield, CT

Self-selection process for private sector observers to the Climate Investment Funds
from Barbara Black to Climate

SELF-SELECTION PROCESS FOR PRIVATE SECTOR OBSERVERS TO THE CLIMATE INVESTMENT FUNDS.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is designing and facilitating the self selection process for private sector observers to two Climate Investment Fund (CIF) committees : Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and Strategic Climate Fund (SCF); and one subcommittee of the SCF, the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR).

The self-selection process is directed to business associations to ensure that the business community is represented and participates in the meetings based on the   guidelines for inviting representatives of civil society to observe meetings. Five business associations attended the last CIF meetings in May, following an interim selection process for temporary observer seats. They provided a detailed summary of the meetings and useful feedback for the self selection process.

Self-selection process for private sector observers to the Climate Investment Funds

To ensure transparency in the design and implementation of the self-selection process, an Advisory Board has been created. The Advisory Board   is comprised of five recognized energy and climate change experts, who have been selected through consultations with the private sector, a broad range of stakeholders, the CIF Administrative Unit and the accredited UNFCCC business and industry NGOs. The Advisory Board has prepared the attached terms of reference and guidelines for the selection of observers for the CTF, SCF and PPCR.

If your organization wishes to participate in this selection process and believes it complies with the criteria outlined in the terms of reference of one of the fund committees/subcommittee, please complete and return the application form to  climate at wbcsd.org before 25 July 2009.

Self-selection process timeline
•     April – May 2009: The WBCSD launched the self-selection process. Temporary representatives were selected to attend the May meetings on behalf of the private sector.
•     1-12 June 2009: The WBCSD identified and invited a small group of recognized experts to join the Advisory Board
•     12-30 June 2009: Advisory Board prepares the guidelines and criteria for the self-selection process of two seats for the CTF, SCF and PPCR.
•     1-25 July 2009: Call for Application window
•     26-30 July: The WBCSD assists the Advisory Board by providing a candidate matrix using the defined criteria.
•     30 July – 10 August 2009: The Advisory Board selects the two Observer seats.
•     11 August 2009: The WBCSD communicates the decision of the Board to the CIF Administrative Unit and the applicants.
•     End October 2009 – Next CIF meetings

The design and facilitation of the self-selection process for the Permanent Observer Seats has been done in consultation with those undertaking the Civil Society self-selection process and the CIF Administrative Unit to ensure a transparent and fair process and continuity of criteria, timelines and processes.

WBCSD will post the relevant documents for the self selection process on www.wbcsd.org so please check for updates. Please contact WBCSD ( climate at wbcsd.org) with any questions or comments.

María Mendiluce
Energy Manager, Energy & Climate

World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
4, chemin de Conches   l   1231 Conches – Geneva   l   Switzerland
T: +41 (0)22 839 31 36   l   F: +41 (0)22 839 31 31 l   M: +41(0)78 713 04 42

E:  mendiluce at wbcsd.org   l   W: www.wbcsd.org

Subject:       Climate Sector Consolidated Job Listing #72-30 June 2009
Date:       June 30, 2009

No. 72 of the job listings consolidation for 30 June 2009 is ready for your
perusal.

All announcements are listed with a link to a detailed job description, and
the attached files refer only to those announcements for which no link is
available for further information.

NEW ENTRIES:

IUCN - www.iucn.org
Climate Change Intern -
 http://hrms.iucn.org/iresy/index.cfm?eve…

Duty Station: Gland, Switzerland
Deadline for Applications: 3rd July 2009
Contact Person: n/a; +41 22 999 0000
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Rockefeller Foundation – www.oxfordhr.co.uk
Associate director, Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network -
 http://www.oxfordhr.co.uk/index.php?pg=4…

Duty Station: Bangkok, Thailand
Deadline for Applications: 6 July 2009
Contact Person: Hazel Douglas,  hdouglas at oxfordhr.co.uk
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Point Carbon - www.pointcarbon.com
Managing Director Advisory Services -
 http://www.pointcarbon.com/aboutus/jobsa…

Duty Station: Oslo-Norway London-UK or Washington DC-US
Deadline for Applications: 17 June 2009
Contact Person: CEO, Per-Otto Wold, tel +47 22 58 90 22 or +47 90 75 98 51
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
UNDP - http://jobs.undp.org/
Regional Technical Advisor -
 http://www.unops.org/_layouts/scripts/Ge…

Duty Station: Panama City, Panama
Deadline for Applications: 11 July 2009
Contact Person:  dgvas at unops.org
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
UNDP - http://jobs.undp.org/
UN-REDD Secretariat Programme Officer -
 http://www.unops.org/_layouts/scripts/Ge…

Duty Station: Geneva, Switzerland
Deadline for Applications: 12 July 2009
Contact Person:  dgvas at unops.org
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - www.undp.org
Technical Advisor on Methodologies for Adaptation -
 http://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?job…

Duty Station:   New York, USA
Deadline for Applications: 15 July 2009
Contact Person: Bo Lim –  bo.lim at undp.org
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
EcoSecurities - http://www.ecosecurities.com/
Project Analyst -
 http://www.ecosecurities.com/Home/Career…

Duty Station:   Oxford, UK
Deadline for Applications: 23 July 2009
Contact Person: Shynee Fernandes,Global HR Co-ordinator,
 shynee.fernandes at ecosecurities.com
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Winrock International – American Carbon Registry - www.winrock.org
 mgrady at winrock.org (respond via email only)
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) - http://www.feem.it
EC FP7 PEOPLE – Marie Curie Individual Fellowships at FEEM – Call 2009 -
 http://webfeem.it/cv/

Duty Station: Milan, Venice – Italy
Deadline for Applications: 18 August 2009
Contact Person: Ms. Martina Marian,  martina.marian at feem.it, phone:
+39-041-2711474 and fax: +39-041-2711461
Special Requirements: 1) doctoral degree or at least 4 years of research
experience; 2) nationals of a State other than Italy and must not have
resided or carried out their main activity in Italy for more than 12 months
in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference deadline for submission.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
EcoSecurities Limited - www.ecosecurities.com
Senior Client Manager, Forestry & Land Use – (attached)
Duty Station: New York, NY USA
Deadline for Applications: ASAP
Contact Person: Lisa Cohen:  lisa.cohen at ecosecurities.com
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
UNCCD – United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification – www.unccd.int
Interns – Civil Society Organizations Office
Duty Station: Bonn, Germany
Contact Person:  CSO at unccd.int
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————

JOB LISTINGS ALREADY POSTED (not yet expired):

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC) -
 http://www.cmcc.it/

Marie Curie Individual Fellowship at CMCC -
 http://www.cmcc.it/about-cmcc/job-opport…

Duty Station: Bologna, Milano, Venezia, Lecce, Capua, Sassari-Italy
Deadline for Applications: 30 June 2009
Contact Person: Ms Giulia Galluccio,  job at cmcc.it, phone: +390252036945 and
fax: +390252036946
- Special Requirements: doctoral degree – nationals of a State other than
Italy and must not have resided or carried out their main activity in Italy
for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the reference
deadline for submission
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC) -
 http://www.cmcc.it/

Two post-doc fellowships at CMCC financed by the AXA Research Fund -
 http://www.cmcc.it/about-cmcc/job-opport…

Duty Station: Bologna, Milano, Venezia, Lecce, Capua, Sassari-Italy
Deadline for Applications: 30th of June
Contact Person: Ms Giulia Galluccio,  job at cmcc.it, phone: +390252036945 and
fax: +390252036946
- Special Requirements: completed Ph.D or close to its completion
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) -
 http://ictsd.net/about/jobs/
Duty Station: Geneva, Switzerland
Deadline for Applications: 1 July 2009
Contact Person: Applications should be sent to  jobs at ictsd.ch. Please send a
letter of motivation, an updated CV and a brief sample of writing.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change -
 http://unfccc.int/2860.php

Programme Officer (P2), Financial Technical and Support Programme -
 https://unfccc.int/secretariat/employmen…

Duty Station: Bonn, Germany
Deadline: 1 July 2009 – applications to be submitted on-line
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
WHO Regional Office for Europe - http://www.euro.who.int/globalchange
Technical Officer Climate change and health (P4 Rome) -
 https://erecruit.who.int/public/hrd-cl-v…;

for Applications
Deadline for Applications: 4 July 2009
Contact Person: Dr Bettina Menne ( bme at ecr.euro.who.int; +39 06 4877540)
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
WHO Regional Office for Europe - http://www.euro.who.int/globalchange
Technical Officer Climate change and health (P2 Rome) -
 https://erecruit.who.int/public/hrd-cl-v…

Deadline for Applications: 4 July 2009
Contact Person: Dr Bettina Menne ( bme at ecr.euro.who.int; +39 06 4877540)
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Rockefeller Foundation – www.oxfordhr.co.uk
Associate director, Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network -
 http://www.oxfordhr.co.uk/index.php?pg=4…

Duty Station: Bangkok, Thailand
Deadline for Applications: 6 July 2009
Contact Person: Hazel Douglas,  hdouglas at oxfordhr.co.uk
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change -
 http://unfccc.int/2860.php

Programme Officer (P3), Financial and Technical Support Programme -
 https://unfccc.int/secretariat/employmen…

Duty Station: Bonn, Germany
Deadline: 8 July 2009 – applications to be submitted on-line
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change -
 http://unfccc.int/2860.php

Administrative Management Officer (P3), Administrative Services Programme -
 https://unfccc.int/secretariat/employmen…

Duty Station: Bonn, Germany
Deadline: 11 July 2009 – applications to be submitted on-line
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
UNEP - www.unep.org
D-1 –   file attached
Duty Station: Geneva, Switzerland
Deadline for Applications: 21 July 2009
Contact: UN Human Resources
Special Requirements: Fluent in English or French
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) – www.feem.it
Research position - http://webfeem.it/cv/job_ad_2009.06.pdf
Location: Milan or Venice, Italy
Deadline for Applications: Until the position is filled, with first
interviews in June 2009.
Contact Person: Monica Eberle, Programme Officer, Sustainable Development
Research Programme –  monica.eberle at feem.it
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
CAF Comunidad Andina de Fomento - www.caf.com
Consultants with experience in PDD and cycle project with standards as VCS,
VER+, Gold Standard,   and/or CCX.
Duty Station:LatinAmerica.
Contact Person: Camilo Rojas –  crojas at caf.com
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Carbon Conservation Pte Ltd - www.carbonconservation.com
Forest Carbon Specialist
Duty Station: Singapore and Indonesia
Deadline for Applications: Applications evaluated until position filled
Contact Person: Derek Trau, Tel: +65 83495127   e-mail:
 derek at carbonconservation.com
Special Requirements: Fluent in English and Bahasa Indonesian
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
IPCC | Working Group III | Technical Support Unit (TSU)
Climate Change Economist -
 http://www.ipcc-wg3.de/stellenausschreib…

Duty Station: Potsdam, Germany
Deadline: applications are accepted until the position is filled
Contact Person:  patrick.matschoss at ipcc-wg3.de
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Climate Action Reserve - www.climateactionreserve.org
Senior Policy Manager -
 http://www.climateactionreserve.org/wp-c…

Duty Station: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Deadline for Applications: Position available immediately, open until filled
Contact Person:  jobs at climateactionreserve.org Fax: (213) 623-6716
Special Requirements: must be able to work legally in the US
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
South Pole Carbon Asset Management Ltd - www.southpolecarbon.com
Post Title/Position:   Senior CDM Expert -
 http://southpolecarbon.com/team_career.h…

Duty Station:     Beijing, China
Contact Person:   Vivien Pennycate
Contact Details:    v.pennycate at southpolecarbon.com
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
South Pole Carbon Asset Management Ltd - www.southpolecarbon.com
Head of Global Operations - http://southpolecarbon.com/team_career.h…
Duty Station:     Zurich, Switzerland
Contact Person:     Vivien Pennycate
Contact Details:      v.pennycate at southpolecarbon.com
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
South Pole Carbon Asset Management Ltd - www.southpolecarbon.com
Senior Implementation Manager - http://southpolecarbon.com/team_career.h…
Duty Station:     Taichung, Taiwan
Contact Person:     Jules Chuang
Contact Details:      j.chuang at southpolecarbon.com
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Numark Associates - www.numarkassoc.com
Business Manager, U.S. Carbon Market – see attached file
Duty Station: USA, preferably Washington DC
Contact Person:  jobs at numarkassoc.com
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Research Domain III
Sustainable Solutions -
www.pik-potsdam.de/research/research-domains/sustainable-solutions
Macro-economic research on endogenous technological change and climate
change mitigation policies in the context of globalization (Post-doctoral
position, 3 years, subject to final authorization of project funding) -
www.pik-potsdam.de/~mmalte/primap/PRIMAP_2%20Open%20Positions_v1.pdf
Duty Station: Potsdam, Germany
Deadline for applications: Applications evaluated until positions are
filled. Preferred starting date of the successful candidate is 1 June 2009.
Contact person: Dr. Marian Leimbach (Email:  leimbach at pik-potsdam.de, Tel:
+49 (0)331 288 2556). Submit applications to Jutta Neuhaus, Email:
mailto:neuhaus@pik-potsdam.de, Postal address: Potsdam Institute for Climate
Impact Research, P.O.Box 601203, 14412 Potsdam
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Organisation’s Name: Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Research
Domain III Sustainable Solutions -
www.pik-potsdam.de/research/research-domains/sustainable-solutions
Development of an energy system model for Germany for assessing climate
change mitigation policies (Post-doctoral position, 2 years, subject to
final authorization of project funding) – www.pik-potsdam.de/news/jobs
Duty Station: Potsdam, Germany
Deadline for applications: Applications evaluated until positions are
filled. Preferred starting date of the successful candidate is 1 June 2009.
Contact person: Dr. Gunnar Luderer (Email:  luderer at pik-potsdam.de, Tel: +49
(0)331 288 2671). Submit applications to Jutta Neuhaus, Email:
 neuhaus at pik-potsdam.de, Postal address: Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact
Research, P.O.Box 601203, 14412 Potsdam
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Organisation’s Name: Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Research
Domain II Sustainable Solutions -
www.pik-potsdam.de/research/research-domains/sustainable-solutions
Ph.D. student working on the implementation of mitigation potentials for
non-CO2 greenhouse gases in a coupled energy-economy-climate model (Doctoral
student position, 3 years, subject to final authorization of project
funding) – www.pik-potsdam.de/news/jobs
Duty Station: Potsdam, Germany
Deadline for applications: Applications evaluated until positions are
filled. Preferred starting date of the successful candidate is 1 June 2009.
Contact person: Dr. Gunnar Luderer (Email:  luderer at pik-potsdam.de, Tel: +49
(0)331 288 2671). Submit applications to Jutta Neuhaus, Email:
 neuhaus at pik-potsdam.de, Postal address: Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact
Research, P.O.Box 601203, 14412 Potsdam
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Lawrence Berkeley Lab - www.lbl.gov
Staff Research Associate -
 http://cjo.lbl.gov/LBNLCareers/details.a…

Duty Station: Berkeley, CA USA and China
Deadline for Applications: Open until Filled
Contact Person: Susan McAllister, 510-486-5683
Special Requirements: Must speak Mandarin
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Dartmouth College - www.dartmouth.edu
Ford Foundation Climate Justice Research Project Postdoc
-http://www.box.net/shared/y3ga7ubmm8
Duty Station: Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
Deadline for Applications: Until positions are filled
Contact Person: Dr. Michael K. Dorsey – 113 Steele Hall, Environmental
Studies Program, HB6182 Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755
 Michael.Dorsey at dartmouth.edu
Special Requirements: Completed Doctorate or equivalent degree; English
fluency
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
South Pole Carbon Asset Management Ltd - www.southpolecarbon.com
Business Development Manager, sub-Saharan Africa -
 http://southpolecarbon.com/team_career.h…

Duty Station: Johannesburg, South Africa
Contact Person: Jon Kornik –  j.kornik at southpolecarbon.com
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Community based Impact Assessment Network for Eastern Africa (CIANEA) -
 recruit at entecuk.co.uk
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
South Pole Carbon Asset Management Ltd - www.southpolecarbon.com
Forestry Project Implementation Manager -
 http://southpolecarbon.com/team_career.h…

Duty Station: Jakarta, Indonesia
Contact Person: Paul Butarbutar –  p.butarbutar at southpolecarbon.com
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Green Resources – www.greenresources.no
Carbon Certification Officer, Forestry – please see attached PDF
Duty Station: The position is based in London, UK, or Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania
Deadline: asap
Contact Person: ( info at greenresources.no quoting job reference number : CCO)
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Green Resources – www.greenresources.no
Carbon Certification Manager, Forestry and REDD – please see attached PDF
Duty Station: The position is based in Entebbe (Uganda), London (UK), Maputo
(Mozambique) or Oslo (Norway)
Deadline: asap
Contact Person: ( info at greenresources.no quoting job reference number CCMF)
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Green Resources – www.greenresources.no
Carbon Certification Manager, Biofuel – please see attached PDF
Duty Station: The position is based in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), London (UK)
or Oslo (Norway)
Deadline: asap
Contact Person: ( info at greenresources.no quoting job reference number CCMB)
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Center for Clean Air Policy - www.ccap.org
Director, Europeon Office -
 http://www.ccap.org/index.php?component=…

Duty Station: Brussels, Belgium
Deadline for Applications: open until filled
Contact Person:  recruitment at ccap.org <mailto:recruitment@ccap.org>
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Center for Clean Air Policy - www.ccap.org
International Policy Analyst -
 http://www.ccap.org/index.php?component=…

Duty Station: Washington DC, USA
Deadline for Applications: open until filled
Contact Person:  recruitment at ccap.org <mailto:recruitment@ccap.org>
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Center for Clean Air Policy - www.ccap.org
Government Relations Manager-
 http://www.ccap.org/index.php?component=…

Duty Station: Washington DC, USA
Deadline for Applications: open until filled
Contact Person:  recruitment at ccap.org <mailto:recruitment@ccap.org>
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Center for Clean Air Policy - www.ccap.org
Government Relations Manager -
 http://www.ccap.org/index.php?component=…

Duty Station: Washington DC
Deadline for Applications: open until filled
Contact Person:  recruitment at ccap.org <mailto:recruitment@ccap.org>
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) – www.zew.de
Researchers in the field of energy and climate economics -
 http://www.zew.de/en/stellen/stellen.php…

Duty Station: Mannheim/Germany
Deadline for Applications: none
Contact Person: Doris Brettar, ++496211235250
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
National Renewable Energy Laboratory - www.nrel.gov
Strategic Clean Energy Analyst -
 http://www.nrel.gov/employment/job_openi…; click on “Search Openings”
and search on “Strategic Clean Energy Analyst” in the keyword section
Duty Station: Washington, D.C.- USA
Deadline for Applications: none
Contact Person: Robert Margolis,  robert_margolis at nrel.gov
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) - http://www.ifw-kiel.de/
Post-doctoral position in the research area “The Environment and Natural
Resources” -
 http://www.ifw-kiel.de/ifw_e/jobs_e/rese…

Duty Station: Kiel, Germany
Contact Person:     Angela Husfeld, Institut für Weltwirtschaft an der
Universität Kiel, 24100 Kiel, Germany ( angela.husfeld at ifw-kiel.de) -
 http://www.ifw-kiel.de/research/the-envi…

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Climate Lab - http://www.climatelab.org
Outreach Intern - http://climatelab.org/Job_Openings/Outre…
Duty Station: Washington, DC, USA (remote work is possible)
Deadline for Applications: Open
Contact Person: Tom Adkins, p) 202.518.5720, f) 202.518.5507 e)
 tadkins at climatelab.org
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Climate Lab - http://www.climatelab.org
Research Intern - http://climatelab.org/Job_Openings/Resea…
Duty Station: Washington, DC, USA (remote work is possible)
Deadline for Applications: Open
Contact Person: Tom Adkins, p) 202.518.5720, f) 202.518.5507 e)
 tadkins at climatelab.org
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
World Resources Institute (WRI) - www.wri.org
Senior Associate/Economist – Trade and Industry Specialist -
 http://www.wri.org/job/10064

Duty Station: Washington, DC USA
Contact Person: Natalie Bushell ( Nbushell at wri.org)
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
World Resources Institute (WRI) - www.wri.org
Senior Associate: US Foreign Policy Specialist - http://www.wri.org/job/9530
Duty Station: Washington, DC USA
Contact Person: Natalie Bushell ( Nbushell at wri.org)
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
World Resources Institute (WRI) - www.wri.org
Associate/Senior Associate-Greenhouse Gas Offsets -
 http://www.wri.org/job/10210

Duty Station: Washington, DC USA
Contact Person: Seth Ort ( sort at wri.org)
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
International Research Institute for Climate and Society -
 http://iri.columbia.edu

Staff Associate, Climate Program -
 http://portal.iri.columbia.edu/portal/se…

Duty Station: Palisades, NY, USA
Deadline for Applications: until filled
Contact Person: Ann Binder,  ann at iri.columbia.edu
————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
International Resources Group - http://www.irgltd.com
Energy System Planning Modeler and Analyst (MARKAL/TIMES) -
 http://www.irgltd.com/Contacts/Recruitme…

Duty Station: home base flexible, Washington, DC, US headquarters
Deadline for Applications: applications reviewed as received
Contact Person: Gary Goldstein ( ggoldstein at irgltd.com)
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Conservation International - www.conservation.org
Director, Climate Policy -
 http://www.conservation.org/discover/abo…

Duty Station: Arlington, VA, USA
Deadline for Applications:   applications reviewed as received
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Public Companies in All Sectors: Now’s a Good Time to Look at Climate Change-Related Disclosures (and D&O Coverage)
June 2009
by     Mia Mazza of Morrison and Foerster.

Recent and upcoming developments underscore the need for public companies, and their directors and officers, to consider whether they may have exposure to a newly emerging source of disclosure-related litigation.

There is a growing, organized effort on various fronts to get every public company to voluntarily disclose information about its “carbon footprint” and about the other ways in which climate change may affect its business in the future.   As discussed below, not only are significant investor groups demanding this information, but the peer pressure to make voluntary climate change-related disclosures is also becoming strong enough to get the attention of public companies across all sectors.   If your company is beginning to discuss the possibility of making voluntary disclosures, or is already making them, there are potential liabilities — and directors’ and officers’ liability insurance coverage issues — to consider.

Why Every Public Company Is Potentially Affected.

Investors are becoming increasingly interested in understanding the “carbon footprint” of each of their investments, sometimes for altruistic reasons and always for financial ones.   A company’s “carbon footprint” typically includes the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused directly and indirectly by its operations.   Investors are concerned that future developments in the government regulation of greenhouse gas emissions will have a significant financial impact not only on companies that emit large amounts of greenhouse gases, but also on those who do business with large emitters.

For example, if new government regulation causes the price of coal-based electricity to increase substantially, that regulation might have a substantial financial effect on a company that has traditionally relied on the low price of coal-based electricity to run its operations profitably.   By comparison, a company that has become more energy efficient, or that has moved to renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind, may be in a better position.   Moreover, the future physical effects of global warming, such as an increased scarcity of water resources, could bring substantial financial risk to companies that neither emit nor do business with emitters.

In light of the Obama administration’s June 16, 2009, release of a scientific report on climate change that argues for fast action against global warming,[1] and the upcoming December 2009 United Nations summit on climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark, it seems likely that some kind of new regulation is on the way.

An Increasing Demand for Voluntary Disclosure.

On June 12, 2009, 41 leading global investors sent a letter to President Barack Obama’s new Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary L. Schapiro, urging the SEC to take steps to improve public companies’ disclosure of climate change-related risks in securities filings.[2]   The letter’s signatories, representing approximately $1.4 trillion in assets under management, include treasurers, comptrollers, controllers, asset managers, and institutional investors such as the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the New York City Employee Retirement System (NYCERS).

This June 2009 letter is the latest development in an accelerating effort, by interest groups like those signing on to the letter and others, to promote an increase in climate change-related disclosure.   On May 26, 2009, a working group that includes the International Federation of Accountants and all of the “big four” global accounting firms released an Exposure Draft of a Global Reporting Framework for climate change-related disclosure.[3]   This framework, proposed by the recently-formed Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) (a non-governmental organization), is intended for “voluntary” use by all companies in compiling their “mainstream financial reports.”[4] The CDSB Exposure Draft, and proposals from these other interest groups,[5] suggest that every public company provide information on a wide variety of topics, for example:

Direct and indirect energy consumption, and energy saved due to conservation and efficiency improvements;
The company’s actual direct and certain indirect emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, expected future increases in emissions, strategies the company is taking to reduce and/or offset emissions, results of those strategies to date, and the expected effect of those strategies on future emissions;
The company’s stance on whether climate change is a company priority and whether the company has a responsibility to address the issue;
Corporate governance actions taken to address climate change;
Financial risks the company faces because of the physicalimpacts associated with climate change; and

Significant actions the company is taking to maximize opportunities associated with climate change.
To Voluntarily Disclose or Not?   No “Right” Answer.

Today, U.S. public companies are not necessarily required to make these disclosures in their regular financial reports.[6]   As a result, many companies may decide to say nothing about climate change in their financial reports or otherwise; after all, “silence, absent a duty to disclose, is not misleading” under the federal securities laws.[7] A company that makes a voluntary disclosure on a climate-related topic could be opening itself up to a future claim that the disclosure was somehow misleading.[8]   Non-disclosure is a particularly appealing strategy in light of the lack of unified standards for disclosure, or even for the measurement of carbon footprints.

But the pressure for public companies to make “voluntary” climate change-related disclosures is increasing, and will continue to do so over time.   Companies that make no disclosure at all may find that their investors believe them to have insufficient awareness of climate-related risks or even to be hiding something.   This is particularly the case for companies whose competitors do elect to make some disclosure.   The likelihood of a poor comparison is increased by the fact that many companies voluntarily report certain information about their respective carbon footprints in venues other than their periodic securities filings, such as a separate “Corporate Social Responsibility” report, or in the annals of various non-governmental organizations such as the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).[9]   Indeed, on June 15, 2009, NASDAQ introduced a “Global Sustainability 50 Index” (Nasdaq:QCRD), which tracks the performance of “companies that are taking a leadership role in voluntarily disclosing sustainability performance information,” including carbon footprint and energy usage.[10]

Of course, with disclosure — especially disclosure in the absence of a commonly-used framework — comes the specter of future litigation against a company and its directors and officers for material misrepresentation.   Shareholder plaintiffs will be all too eager to sue if a company’s stock price happens to drop at the same time that the company increases or recalculates its reported carbon footprint, reports an increase in regulatory exposure related to climate change, or even makes a first-time disclosure that is significantly higher than what the market would have guessed.   Even the most frivolous case will inevitably give rise to significant legal fees and pressure to settle the case to avoid costly discovery.

D&O Insurance Ramifications.

Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance is the safety net that companies rely upon to protect them in the case of disclosure-related shareholder litigation.   Unfortunately, many existing D&O insurance policies will not respond if the subject of the disclosure at issue is climate-related risk.

The normal concerns about a D&O policy — such as the accuracy of the application and whether misstatements in it may give a carrier cause to rescind a policy — exist for climate-related disclosure suits too.   It is typically the case that a company’s periodic securities law disclosure is part of the application for D&O insurance.   As a result, a serious concern would be whether evolving standards of disclosure in publicly-filed documents could lead to the situation of earlier-filed documents later seeming to be misleading in light of new standards and norms.

In addition, D&O insurers have long included what they would refer to as a standard “pollution exclusion” in their policies.   To be sure, a D&O insurance policy is not intended to respond directly to an actual pollution claim.   However, all too often a D&O policy’s pollution exclusion is drafted so broadly that there may be a dispute as to coverage for typical disclosure-related securities class action suits if the subject of the disclosure relates to climate risk.   Indeed, a typical pollution exclusion begins to look particularly ominous, vis-à-vis potential climate-related disclosure suits, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling, in Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007), that greenhouse gases are “air pollutants” covered by the Clean Air Act.

A skilled insurance broker will help a company negotiate language that provides coverage for disclosure-related claims concerning climate risk.   A prudent insurance buyer will ensure that the company’s broker has done just this.   In addition, it is worth discussing program structures that might provide coverage for climate disclosure-related litigation where a company’s primary D&O insurance carrier refuses to do so.   For example, this may be a reason to purchase Side A Difference in Condition D&O policy.   Finally, care should be taken to ensure that whatever gains in coverage are negotiated for a company will apply to suits brought outside the United States, including through locally-admitted D&O policies.

Other Actions to Consider.

Here are some additional proactive steps that you can take, if you haven’t already done so, in starting to consider whether and to what extent your company should make voluntary disclosures on climate change-related issues:

Determine what disclosures your company is already making about climate change.   You may find that you are disclosing more today than you would have anticipated.   Of course, you may want to review the company’s SEC filings, website, and official Corporate Social Responsibility reports.   But beyond those venues, you may find disclosures elsewhere, such as the CDP website, which contains a number of different reports in which hundreds of public companies have made disclosures regarding their respective carbon footprints.   If the company has an internal group in charge of “sustainability” or “corporate responsibility,” be sure to find out what kinds of disclosures they have been making, and to whom.

Understand what kinds of voluntary climate-related disclosures might be appropriate for your company.   There may be simple, non-controversial disclosures you can make comfortably to avoid giving a false impression that your company is hiding something or out of touch.   Reviewing the disclosures of your competitors and companies listed in CDP reports or the NASDAQ QCRD index, and looking at suggestions made by organizations in which your company’s largest institutional shareholders are members, can be helpful in this regard.

Initiate a discussion with your board of directors regarding what level of commitment, if any, the board thinks is appropriate for the company with respect to climate change and environmental issues.   Discussions of this sort may fall within a board’s fiduciary duty obligations.   In addition, good documentation of these discussions may be helpful to a board’s defense if the board is later accused of breaching its fiduciary duties in this regard.

Think about starting to measure.   Even if your company doesn’t plan on disclosing anything at this time, it may still be wise to start the process of measuring the company’s “carbon footprint.”   Keep in mind, however, that you may become obligated to disclose the results.   If you don’t have a group in charge of taking a look at these issues, consider starting one.   Or, a consultant may be useful in helping you to scope out a plan for a future measuring effort.   If you do start measuring your carbon footprint, keep an eye out for near-term financial benefits that can be gained — for example, you may find pockets of energy inefficiency that can be addressed quickly and easily to reduce costs.

If you do decide to make voluntary climate change-related disclosures, be sure to work with your attorneys, accountants, and environmental experts to make sure those disclosures are accompanied by appropriate caveats and specific information about methodology.   For example, you may decide to tell investors the precise basis for any statements the company makes, and about the many uncertainties affecting the company’s ability to make any accurate measurements or predictions at this time.

Even if you don’t decide to make climate change-related disclosures, consider incorporating climate-related information into your risk factors.   This will increase the likelihood that, if sued, your company will fall within the safe harbor that applies to forward-looking statements that are accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements.[11]

This legal update was co-authored by Priya Cherian Huskins, Esq., a partner at Woodruff-Sawyer & Co., a full-service insurance brokerage. Priya specializes in D&O liability and insurance issues and can be reached at  phuskins at wsandco.com or (415) 402-6527.

Footnotes

[1]   Mooney, Alexander, “White House Report Warns of Climate Change Effects” (June 16, 2009).
[2]   CERES press release, “Investors with $1.4 Trillion in Assets Call on the SEC to Improve Disclosure of Climate Change and Other Risks” (June 12, 2009).
[3]   The Climate Disclosure Standards Board Reporting Framework, Exposure Draft (May 2009).
[4]   “Mainstream financial reports” is defined as including a company’s “collective primary financial statements, along with notes,” as well as the “management discussion and analysis or MD&A” that typically accompanies those statements.   Id. at 15.
[5]   See, e.g., Global Reporting Initiative, Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (2006); CalPERS Global Principles of Accountable Corporate Governance (2008); American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), Financial Disclosures Attributed to Climate Change (2008); see also In the Matter of Xcel Energy Inc.,Attorney General of the State of New York, Assurance of Discontinuance Pursuant to Executive Law § 63(15) (Aug. 26, 2008).
[6]   Current SEC rules and accounting standards, such as Reg S-K and FASB Statement No. 5, may already require some companies to make certain climate change-related disclosures in their SEC filings.   The question whether and when those existing standards require you to make climate change-related disclosures should be discussed with your accountants and attorneys and is outside the scope of this article.   Also outside the scope of this article is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed mandatory greenhouse gas reporting rule for major sources of emissions (74 Fed. Reg. 16,606, published April 10, 2009).
[7]   Basic v. Levinson, 485 U.S. 224, 239 n.17 (1988).
[8]   See Securities Exchange Act of 1934, section 10(b) (15 U.S.C. § 78j(b)); SEC rule 10b-5 (17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5).
[9]   http://www.cdproject.net/.   CDP’s Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index includes companies in both “carbon-intensive” and “non-carbon-intensive” sectors.
[10]   NASDAQ press release, “NASDAQ OMX and CRD Analytics Launch New Index Tracking Corporate Sustainability Performance” (June 15, 2009).
[11]   See 15 U.S.C. § 78u-5.

Call for Papers: Climate change and simulation/gaming

A special edition of Simulation & Gaming, an international journal of theory, practice and research (Sage Publications), will focus on the numerous pedagogical and investigative methods employed to examine climate change – methods that cross disciplines, from the natural and geo sciences, through the social sciences, to education. Climate change is a quintessential issue requiring rigorous analysis and careful understanding by scientists, educators, policy makes and global citizens. We seek submissions from multiple disciplines and perspectives, employing a variety of methods to understand and teach a broad variety of climate change dimensions – process, causes, consequences and responses – social, economic and geopolitical impacts such as international migration, reconfiguration of states, poverty, trade wars, etc. We encourage articles related to climate change utilizing such methods as games, role-plays, simulations, experiential learning exercises, case studies; internet-based and digital games; modeling, game theory, computer simulation, etc.; virtual reality, augmented reality, virtual environments.

Proposals may submitted now through the end of 2009. Proposal will be reviewed within one month. Manuscripts will be published on line as articles are accepted. A printed symposium will be available after all articles are printed online.

Proposals of one to two pages may be submitted electronically (.doc, not .docx). Proposals should contain your name, email, phone, fax, address, etc.; working title for proposed paper; and a set of objectives, an abstract and/or working plan.

Proposals may be submitted to the Guest editors: Klaus Eisenack, University of Oldenburg, Germany,  klaus.eisenack at uni-oldenburg.de, Mary Pettenger, Western Oregon University, USA,  pettengm at wou.edu, Diana Reckien, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany,  reckien at pik-potsdam.de, Richard Warrick, International Climate Change Exchange, New Zealand,  cearsr at waikato.ac.nz,   Niki Young, Western Oregon University, USA,  youngn at wou.edu.

Editor of Simulation and Gaming: A Sage Journal: David Crookall,  simulation.gaming at gmail.com.

As per Earthjustice e.Brief   - to my horror, four months into the Obama Administration – we just found out that:

After years of delay and denial from past administrations, the Environmental Protection Agency is finally taking steps to declare that greenhouse gas emissions threaten the public’s health and welfare – which means they have not done it yet!The time has come for this action, and we need to encourage the EPA to move swiftly on it.

The EPA is proposing two historic findings under the Clean Air Act: that greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, endanger public health, and that emissions from motor vehicles contribute to climate change. This is a critical first step for the EPA to take in order to tackle climate change pollution.

The findings follow a decision by the Supreme Court which said the EPA has authority to regulate pollutants responsible for global warming under the Clean Air Act. Earthjustice argued the case at the appellate level in 2005.

While the EPA’s current proposal is a necessary first step, there are additional steps the EPA can take, such as setting actual standards to regulate greenhouse gases, particularly from motor vehicles in the U.S., which contribute 4 percent of climate change emissions, and from other mobile sources such as ships and airplanes, which contribute another 4 percent.

We know that the EPA is hearing from polluters in the fossil fuel industry who want to keep the status quo, stop the EPA from moving forward, and protect their record-breaking profits. We can’t let them go unchallenged.

Please join with people across the nation and tell EPA to formally embrace these findings, and then act without delay to regulate greenhouse gas polluters.

Voluntary Carbon Standard Association - www.v-c-s.org
AFOLU Program Coordinator -
 http://www.v-c-s.org/docs/VCS%20AFOLU%20…

Duty Station: Washington, DC, USA
Deadline for Applications: 10 June 2009
Contact Person:  secretariat at v-c-s.org – Jerry Seager
——————————————————————————————————————————–
Voluntary Carbon Standard Association - www.v-c-s.org
Program Officer -
 http://www.v-c-s.org/docs/VCS%20Program%…

Duty Station: Washington, DC, USA
Deadline for Applications: 10 June 2009
Contact Person:  secretariat at v-c-s.org – Jerry Seager

From: Mieke van der Wansem, Associate Director, CIERP, The Fletcher School at Tufts University (Center for International Environment and Resource Policy).

2009-2010 Fletcher-Lauder Post–Doctoral Fellowship Announcement.

Carbon Biosequestration Strategies.

The Fletcher School at Tufts University (Center for International Environment and Resource Policy) and the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at The Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC, Israel) are accepting applications for the Fletcher-Lauder Fellowship for 2009-2010 to support a post-doctoral fellow, to conduct independent research on Carbon Biosequestration Strategies.

The analysis of the Fletcher-Lauder Fellow will be based on data from a National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and Arizona Public Service (APS) pilot project demonstrating bio-sequestration of carbon dioxide from carbon-rich sources, e.g., power plants, through algae production.  

Specifically, the Fellow will analyze the national and international potential of carbon bio-sequestration via algae, compare it with other alternatives for industrial and power plant CO2 mitigation, and explore costs and policy options to support the implementation of carbon biosequestration on a large scale.   Additional research will focus on the benefits of algae in other fields, including but not limited to biofuels and feed production.

The analysis may utilize systems dynamics modeling, econometric analysis and other methodologies that will improve understanding of the economic and policy implications scalability, and the rate at which capture systems may be introduced to prevent carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere from a variety of industrial and power sources.

Application process:   Students should submit, by e-mail, an application that contains:
1) A letter outlining their relevant research in the engineering, technical or biology fields.   The application should address the following:
a) Details of previous research
b) How this research is relevant to the NETL-APS project
c) Experience with national and international energy policy
2) A curriculum vita
3) Two letters of reference

Selection process: A committee of Fletcher School and Lauder School faculty will select the 2009-2010 Fellow. The faculty will assess the quality of the applicant’s previous research and the intellectual rigor and policy relevance of the student’s previous work.

Application deadline:   June 1, 2009
Award will be announced on June 15, 2009
Award date:   July 1, 2009 (exact start date can be negotiated)

Please address applications to: Mieke van der Wansem, Associate Director, CIERP
 mieke.wansem at tufts.eduPost–Doc… Fellowship Announcement.