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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on November 3rd, 2008 Investing in doing good can be good risk management.
*** Insight Investment, in partnership with world poverty action group Oxfam, is about to launch a year-long programme to promote discussion and research about the role of institutional investors in poverty alleviation and development. “Responsible investors benefit from better risk management, greater transparency, and an active engagement with companies to promote better management,” says Helena Vines Fiestas, a policy analyst for Oxfam. “Social, environmental and governance issues are also key features of their investment analysis. In this climate, responsible investors offer a real way forward.” Although Oxfam clearly has an agenda, it is making an effort to engage with investors who are concerned that their fiduciary duty to maximise returns overrides any interest in doing good. The first question to be asked, according to Ms Vines Fiestas, is what role, if any, investors have to play in poverty alleviation, but the second is how to measure their performance in this field. This is at least a sop to those critics of sustainable investing who claim it is too woolly to be meaningful. Proponents of the concept naturally reject this criticism. “If you invest in ways that don’t undermine the financial system [ie by having regard to the long term impact of your investment behaviour], that’s economically rational,” says Colin Melvin, chief executive of Hermes Equity Ownership Services, the corporate governance arm of the institutional fund manager owned by BT Pension Scheme. “That economic rationality has been absent for some time.” James Gifford, executive director of the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investing, says he is also seeing a surge in interest in these issues, and not just for woolly reasons. “As things become tougher, it’s the commercial fund managers who need to demonstrate to their clients that they have these things under control,” says Mr Gifford. *** “People don’t want any surprises these days,” says Mr Cronin. “The issues are not new, but an ESG framework helps you manage an aspect of risk.” Whether it is about better risk management, a clear conscience, better returns or good PR, more and more asset managers are jumping on the bandwagon.
Robeco itself has already demonstrated its commitment to responsible investment by signing up to the UNPRI and the Carbon Disclosure Project, as well as buying an 85 per cent share in Sustainable Asset Management, a Swiss based fund manager specialising in sustainable investment. Christian Werner, Sam’s chief investment officer, explains the thinking behind his investment philosophy as being driven by concerns around climate change and the environment. “If we don’t invest in these companies fast, we won’t get anywhere near the solution.” This is the argument that growth will have to come from these sectors if the future of humanity is to be secure, and therefore they provide an excellent investment opportunity. “It’s all about investment and asset allocation,” says Mr Werner. The asset allocation certainly seems to be running his way, as Sam has just picked up two new mandates from US institutional investors. *** Not to be outdone, HSBC has instituted a Climate Change Centre of Excellence, whose head, Nick Robins, has co-authored a book, Sustainable Investing: The Art of Long-Term Performance, with Cary Crosinski, vice president of Trucost, an environmental research organisation.
This is because much of it is about saving energy, which in turn saves costs. However, that is not the only way for property investment to be sustainable. Oxford Group has recently launched a closed ended fund investing in renewable energy sustainable property projects in Eastern Europe and Near Asia. Aiming to raise €50m (£39m, $64m), the fund promises to deliver a minimum of 25 per cent per annum over the three and a half year life of the fund. By investing in areas designated by local governments as regeneration targets, ensuring the planning process integrates developments into local infrastructure with a view to sustainable community building and ensuring the supply chain is also sustainable, Hadley Barrett, Oxford Group’s chief exeuctive, is confident he can meet this goal. Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on November 2nd, 2008 Google got onto a Green Business Information Spree With Its GREEN CHIP sending out Green Chip Review International Companies are Dominating the Cleantech Space: Many of the world’s new energy technologies are being developed in countries outside the United States. Germany, for example, is mother to the modern solar industry. The Danes have all but cornered the wind industry with the now-famous Vestas Wind Systems. Green Chip International is taking full advantage of this phenomenon. Its latest German solar recommendation is up about 11% in under two weeks. Everyday, international renewables companies are delivering monster gains. Further: Google’s Green Imperative The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy research center at the University of California, says data center energy costs can be 100-times higher than those for typical buildings. Or, as the techies put it: RE < C Intel and Google are both pushing hard into power reduction and production. Intel has paved the way in energy-efficient microchips, and Google’s constant advances in streamlining daily life make telecommuting more possible than ever. But with well over 200,000 buzzing servers used to run the world’s top search engine, it appears that Google’s massive data processing facilities may have started something of an IT arms race. The quest for cheap power today is already pushing American tech heavyweights from Silicon Valley overseas, to downstream solutions for energy optimization… According to Strand’s piece in Harper’s, “Microsoft has announced plans for a data center in Siberia, AT&T has built two in Shanghai, and Dublin has attracted Google and Microsoft. In all three locations, as in the United States, the burning of fossil fuels accounts for a majority of the electricity.” But keep in mind that the same low-cost draw of Chinese energy is also attracting foreign direct investment that goes further in China than it would in U.S. startups. Intel announced in the last week of October that it will invest $20 million in a Chinese solar power company through its investment arm, Intel Capital. Moves like that earned Intel the EPA Green Power Partner of the Year designation, awarded to companies that voluntarily move to minimize their carbon footprint and ramp up efficiency.
*** Carbon neutrality is a primary goal, and the next step is fostering new power generation techniques for server farms and other juice-guzzling technologies. In September, before the stock market collapse got Washington talking about large-scale investment projects and job creation schemes, Google CEO Eric Schmidt spoke passionately about political will and competitive reality to a roomful of his peers at the Corporate EcoForum: “Why not retool the infrastructure in the U.S.?” he added rhetorically. Well, there’s no good reason why not, other than putting off until tomorrow what could be done today. Google and Intel see energy efficiency as an industrial imperative. To increase shareholder value and minimize costs, smart power is a must. Same goes for the country and the world. Taxpayers will reap the rewards of energy investments with jobs and GDP growth. Schmidt sees a pathway to the kind of sustainable competition that can move us forward, rather than engaging in a race-to-the-bottom mentality of outsourcing and cost-cutting that has dominated in recent decades. It’s no wonder, then, that Schmidt is rumored to be on the short list for a national chief technology officer position that Barack Obama has promised to create, in the event he wins office next Tuesday. Google has set the standard for IT excellence since the turn of the millennium. Out of the thousands of companies that rose and fell during dot-com mania, Google survived to change the way information flows and the way many industries work.
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 31st, 2008 Subject: 2009 POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS - IIASA The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) invites applications for two Postdoctoral Research Fellow positions. IIASA is an international research organization located in Laxenburg, 16 km south of Vienna, Austria. Some 200 mathematicians, social scientists, natural scientists, economists and engineers from over 35 countries conduct inter-disciplinary research on environmental, economic, technological, and social issues in the context of human dimensions of global change, in particular climate change. Candidates should have a doctoral degree for less than five years at the application deadline, with a proven record of research accomplishments. Scholars will conduct their own research within one of IIASA’s research programs or special projects on topics closely related to IIASA’s agenda. The IIASA programs of past, research projects have included studies of: global climate changes, world agricultural potential, energy resource requirements and implications, regional patterns of acid emission and deposition, risk analysis and management, social and economic impacts of demographic changes, and the theory and methods of systems analysis. Following the strategic and research goals set by its governing Council, since 2000, IIASA’s research is being carried out under three core themes: Environment and Natural Resources Closing date for applications is February 1, 2009. Full details about the Program, including an on-line application form can be found at http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Admin/YSP/pdoc/te… Contact details Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 30th, 2008 ENVIRONMENT-CHINA: Coal Far Costlier Than Thought - Study BEIJING, Oct 29 (IPS) - Often criticised for its massive coal-based industries that jeopardise international efforts to combat global warming, China is undoubtedly the biggest victim of its voracious coal consumption. Last year, the country’s overwhelming reliance on polluting coal carried a price tag of 250 billion US dollars, according to a green lobby of environmentalists and economists. Even more significantly, they calculate the hidden cost of environmental and social damage caused by China’s coal mining industry to be seven percent of the country’s 2007 gross domestic product. ***
If the so-called external, or hidden costs, were added to current coal tariffs, prices would rise by 23 percent, ‘The True Cost of Coal’ predicted.
“Currently the hidden price of coal is paid by the people in China suffering from the damage,” said Mao Yushi, lead author of the report and founder of the privately funded Unirule Institute of Economics. “China must count these external costs and make the coal price reflect its true costs”. The study pointed a finger at “price distortions” caused by government regulations such as land-ownership polices and price caps on electricity that have made coal such an attractive fuel choice for China’s utilities. According to the International Energy Association (IEA), in 2006 alone China added more than 105 Gw of new power-generation capacity, of which 90 percent was coal-fired. On top of this record, China added another 90 gigawatts of capacity in 2007. According to IEA projections, by 2030 it will have built 1,000 Gw more. The sheer scale of China’s recent and planned power-plant construction has prompted environmentalists to question the viability of any future international framework to combat climate change if China is not part of it. China relies on coal for 72 percent of its primary energy consumption, compared with a global average of around 30 percent. Coal is the biggest single source of air pollution across the country, responsible for 80 percent of its carbon dioxide emissions. Scientists agree that CO2 is a major catalyst for global climate change. Its enormous emissions in China are blamed for making the country the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Experts estimated that if all of China’s planned coal-fired power capacity comes on line, the resulting increase in carbon dioxide emissions could exceed the Kyoto Protocol’s CO2 reduction targets by a factor of five. But the latest coal study does not attempt to calculate the economic costs of climate change. “It is far too complicated to calculate those costs accurately,” said Mao, adding that if the costs of the impact of climate change resulting from coal combustion were factored in, China’s coal bill would be significantly higher. *** China maintains that richer, developed nations should take the lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions while helping poor nations with money and technology to fight climate change. This week, a senior Chinese climate official specifically suggested that richer countries should set aside one percent of their gross domestic product to help poorer nations fight global warming. The remarks by Gao Guangsheng, who heads the climate change office at the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planning body, were the first to propose specific demands on developed countries. A key policy document released in Beijing, Wednesday, backed China’s long-standing stance on climate change. “Developed countries should be responsible for their accumulative emissions and current high per capita emissions, and take the lead in reducing emissions, in addition to providing financial support and transferring technologies to developing countries,” said the 44-page document. But even if China wants the developed world to shoulder the historic burden of reducing carbon dioxide emissions responsible for climate change, the uncomfortable truth remains that its people are most exposed to the effects of what Mao termed an “excessive use of coal”. *** A World Bank study which found that some 750,000 Chinese people prematurely died annually from air and water pollution was reportedly suppressed by the government last year. And the pollution caused by burning coal is hardly confined to China. Chemical by-products of coal combustion, in particular sulphur dioxide and various nitrogen oxides, can cause acid rain in countries as distant as South Korea, Japan, and even Canada and the U.S. Nevertheless, coal is now priced at a discount against competing fuels in China, making it ever a more popular choice of power developers rushing to satisfy the country’s voracious appetite for energy. “Coal production is subsidised by the government which is one reason why the hidden costs are so high,” said Mao. Energy expert Yang Fuqiang, chief China representative of the Energy Foundation and co-author of the report, called on policy makers to impose energy and environmental taxes. “It makes economic sense for the government to adjust the coal pricing system to reflect its true costs,” he said at the launch of the study. The report suggests the introduction of coal tax by 2009, which is expected to raise prices by nearly a quarter but reduce consumption only by seven percent. This means that coal would continue to dominate the country’s energy mix. “Recognising the true cost of coal would create incentives to develop cleaner and more sustainable energy sources,” she said. “This would reduce China’s environmental pollution and show its leadership in fighting climate change.” Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 28th, 2008 The best recipe for avoiding a global recession. Published: The Financial Times, October 27 2008 Before our political leaders get too fancy remaking capitalism next month at the Bretton Woods II summit in Washington, they should attend to urgent business. Since the closure of Lehman Brothers triggered a global banking panic, political leaders in the US and Europe have successfully thrown a cordon round their banks to prevent financial meltdown. What they have not done yet is to co-ordinate macroeconomic policies to stop a steep global downturn. This is the urgent agenda. A US downturn will not be avoided. US households cannot continue to spend more than their income as they have in recent years, even if the credit crunch eases. Household consumption is bound to fall steeply. The writedowns in US household wealth from the reversals in housing and equities will probably reach $15,000bn (€12,000bn, £9,700bn) and the resulting steep decline in private consumption and investment could reach about one-tenth of that amount. Some other economies will also suffer home-grown recessions because they too allowed a housing bubble to develop, which has now burst. This appears to be the case in Australia, the UK, Ireland and perhaps Spain. This drop in spending outside the US because of capital losses and reversals in housing may add another $300bn-$500bn to first-round decline in global demand. Yet even a steep recession in the US and in a few other countries need not throw the world into recession. The world economy is about $60,000bn, so a first-round demand decline of as much as $1,800bn would be about 3 per cent of world output. If there were no offsetting macroeconomic policy changes, the demand decline could be multiplied further to as much as 6 per cent, relative to 4 per cent trend growth, meaning a global decline of about 2 per cent. On the other hand, even a 3 per cent global demand decline can be substantially offset by expansionary policies, undertaken by the surplus economies of Asia and the Middle East. Ironically, until recently China had been pursuing monetary and fiscal tightening to fight inflation. Now China must make a policy U-turn, to boost its internal demand and support a co-ordinated expansion throughout east Asia. Any co-ordinated expansion should include the following actions. First, the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan should extend swap lines to all main emerging markets, including Brazil, Hungary, Poland and Turkey, to prevent a drain of reserves. Second, the International Monetary Fund should extend low-conditionality loans to all countries that request it, starting with Pakistan. Third, the US and European central banks and bank regulators should work with their big banks to discourage them from abruptly withdrawing credit lines from overseas operations. Spain has a role to play with its banks in Latin America. Fifth, the Middle East, flush with cash, should fund investment projects in emerging markets and low-income countries. Moreover, it should keep up domestic spending despite a fall in oil prices. Indeed, the faster a global macroeconomic expansion is in place the sooner oil prices will recover. ——————– What we learn from the above is that Prof. Jeffrey Sachs recommends that the US and the Europeans, can pursue their self interest best by helping the poorer regions with their development projects rather then fighting directly their own recessions. It is in making sure that the developing economies do not fall farther behind, that this will help the developed economies rise again. The funds rich countries of China and the oil exporters of the Middle East are best advised to develop further their own internal markets. China has a huge internal market, and the Middle East countries are involved in large infrastructure projects. But in addition to this, by investing in the poorer countries, these funds-rich states also bolster their own future - above is of special interest to the oil-rich exporters that want to see demand for oil rise again, so that their income from oil does not fizzle out. So, what about investment in alternate energy sources in order to decrease the global economy losses from climate change? We notice the missing reference here, but we would like to think that by introducing this angle also, the ideas put forward by Prof. Sachs are not negated but expanded. Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 25th, 2008 http://cmsprod.bgu.ac.il/Eng/Units/bidr/… The Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies. M.Sc./M.A. Program in Desert Studies Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research are acknowledged leaders in desert studies, widely respected in the international scientific community for the quality and creativity of their research and training programs. In light of this global reputation and the worldwide need for expertise in the study of drylands, BGU and the Blaustein Institutes have established the Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies, which offers a two-year program leading to a Master’s degree in Desert Studies and a Ph.D Program. The faculty includes scientists from the Blaustein Institutes, Ben-Gurion University and leading scholars from the international community. The innovative, multidisciplinary program is structured to provide an integrated approach, offering students exceptional opportunities to pursue a combination of basic and applied research. Students are exposed to a wide range of disciplines complementary to their major areas of specialization. Graduates are qualified to carry our research, take responsible positions in the management of drylands and lead the battle to combat desertification. Until recently, “Desert Studies” did not exist as an academic discipline. This multi-disciplinary research area has emerged in response to the lack of science-based responses to the urgent needs of humanity. Desert Studies, as a discipline, is likely to follow the footsteps of oceanography, which began as a sub-discipline of geography but has rapidly grown into a distinct scientific activity in its own right. Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 24th, 2008 `We blew it’ on global food, says Bill Clinton. UNITED NATIONS Headquarters, New York City — Former President Clinton told a U.N. gathering Thursday that the global food crisis shows “we all blew it, including me,” by treating food crops “like color TVs” instead of as a vital commodity for the world’s poor. Addressing a high-level event marking Oct. 16’s World Food Day, Clinton also saluted President Bush — “one thing he got right” — for pushing to change U.S. food aid policy. He scolded the bipartisan coalition in Congress that killed the idea of making some aid donations in cash rather than in food. Now skyrocketing prices in the international grain trade — on average more than doubling between 2006 and early 2008 — have pushed many in poor countries deeper into poverty. *** U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the gathering that prices on some food items are “500 percent higher than normal” in Haiti and Ethiopia, for example. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the number of undernourished people worldwide rose to 923 million last year. *** “Food is not a commodity like others,” Clinton said. “We should go back to a policy of maximum food self-sufficiency. It is crazy for us to think we can develop countries around the world without increasing their ability to feed themselves.” He noted that food aid from wealthy nations could itself be a tool for bolstering agriculture in poor countries. Canada, for example, requires that 50 percent of its aid go as cash — not as Canadian grain — to buy crops grown locally in Africa and other recipient countries. U.S. law, however, requires that almost all U.S. aid be American-grown food, which benefits U.S. farmers but undercuts local food crops. Bush proposed earlier this year that 25 percent of future U.S. aid be given in cash.
Clinton also criticized the heavy U.S. reliance on corn to produce ethanol, which increased demand for the crop and helped drive up grain prices worldwide.
*** In opening the meeting, Ban expressed dismay at the potential impact of the global financial crisis on world hunger. Permalink | ### |
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Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on October 24th, 2008 On 9 and 10 October 2008, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan, organised a policy forum on Asia’s Post-2012 Climate Regime, with the theme “Towards the Copenhagen Agreement - Challenges and Perspectives”. The event was held in Kyoto, in collaboration with the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). IGES has held this forum since 2005 to deepen the debate in Asia on the international post-Kyoto climate change regime, and works to reflect the Asian viewpoint in the shaping of future regimes. The consultation focused on 8 controversial themes in the Bali Action Plan (sectoral approaches, co-benefits, adaptation, REDD etc.) and there was a frank and lively exchange of opinions on current issues and possible options. In particular, there were discussions on incentives for a sectoral approach, support for co-benefits, appropriate national reductions for developing countries, climate change commitments, and definitions of measuring, reporting, and certification of activities. The results of this consultation will be presented at a side event at the 14th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP14/COP MOP4) scheduled for December 2008 in Poznan, Poland. For the summary of discussions, please visit: Best regards, |