Global businesses set
a shining example to governments at the
Cancun climate talks this week when the
Consumer Goods Forum, a consortium of over
400 companies, pledged to implement climate-friendly
refrigeration using natural refrigerants.
Greenpeace, which has
led a 20-year campaign on the refrigerants
issue, expects companies like Unilever,
Coca-Cola, Carrefour, Ahold, Nestle, Pepsico,
Procter & Gamble, Kraft, General Mills,
L’Oreal, Walmart and others to put forward
a timeline for the phase out of hydrofluorocarbons,
or HFCs, by 2015. HFCs have very high global
warming potentials (100-3000 times that
of carbon dioxide.)
Governments must now
match the voluntary progress of the Consumer
Goods Forum with a binding ban on HFCs.
This corporate initiative signals a need
for policy actions to create further incentives
for a shift to cheap and available climate-friendly
alternatives. When corporations step out
ahead of legal obligation and demonstrate
climate leadership, they show policy makers
that climate change is an opportunity for
economic transformation, setting the stage
for stronger policy frameworks.
And participants in
the climate negotiations need just such
a reminder. While some companies are already
leading, governments need to continue to
raise the bar and demonstrate climate leadership
in Cancun and beyond.
Greenpeace, usually
known as an aggressive opponent to corporate
polluters, also works collaboratively with
big businesses that demonstrate bold leadership
on pressing global environmental issues.
Our Cool IT Campaign works with the Information
Technology (IT) sector to drive the progress
of IT companies and IT technologies toward
inducing an economy-wide shift to clean
energy and energy efficiency.
IT companies have an
economic interest to ensure widespread adoption
of their carbon-cutting technologies and
climate solutions, such as smart grid and
energy management systems. Many of the top
global IT brands – Google, Ericsson, Microsoft,
Cisco, and others – are at this week’s climate
talks in Cancun to do just that. These companies
have great potential to drive low-carbon
innovation and use their political prominence
to advocate for policies that catalyze a
clean energy transformation.
But how IT companies
currently measure up to that potential will
be revealed next week when the Cool IT Campaign
launches its 4th IT Leaderboard, a ranking
of the top IT brands on climate leadership.
Last year, Cisco topped the ranking for
best performance overall across the Leaderboard’s
three main criteria: climate solutions development,
mitigation of a company’s own energy footprint,
and political advocacy. Google earned top
marks for political advocacy in the past,
but many of the IT companies are still sitting
on the sidelines, waiting for governments
to act first.
But increasingly, consumers
are demanding that companies walk the walk,
and consumer brands are pouring more money
than ever into measuring their supply chain
impacts and mitigating their carbon footprint.
So while there are good examples of companies,
in the IT sector and beyond, beginning to
take action on climate change, the business
community needs to dramatically increase
its efforts by pushing policy makers to
follow suit.
Paul Dickinson from
the Carbon Disclosure Project calculates
that only 35 percent of the world's 500
largest companies are engaging with policy
agencies and governments to drive climate
change mitigation and adaptation.
Companies need to engage
with policy makers to hasten a shift to
clean energy and spur green economic growth.
Strong climate policy offers a real opportunity,
both for business and the planet.
+ More
The Brazilian Revolution!
In just 40 years, Brazil
has the potential to reach 93% renewable
energy and not long after that, could even
reach 100% renewable, IF they have the political
will. The country has enough wind, sun,
biomass and hydropower to fill its energy
needs, triple consumption while increasing
GDP by four times and decrease its carbon
emission until 2050. Sound impressive? It’s
all outlined in the new version of the Brazilian
Energy [R]evolution launched this week!
Launched in Cancún,
during the UN Climate Conference (COP16),
the report shows that by combining the right
investments with the countries immense potential
to provide natural renewable resources,
Brazil could be a world leader in clean
and sustainable energy.
This future is good
for the environment, even better for the
economy. The scenarios projected by the
report prove that investing in renewable
creates green jobs and saves money – up
to hundreds of billions of dollars in the
period.
“In 2050, Brazil can
emit far less CO2 in the atmosphere – 23
million tons – than if the government insist
on investing in fossil fuels – approximately
147 million tons”, says Ricardo Baitelo,
Brazil´s Energy Campaigner and coordinator
of the report.
Inspiring news at a
moment when the worlds eyes are turned towards
all countries’ initiatives on reducing their
carbon emissions in order to stop climate
change.
+ More
Solar Generation youth
delegates fight for solutions in Cancun
The Solar Generation
crew is at the UN climate talks once again
this year, bringing voices from around the
world to Cancun to be heard at the negotiations.
Many of them arrived in Mexico earlier in
the month to attend the Conference of Youth
(COY) in Mexico City. The COY was started
in 2004 to bring together young people to
discuss cliamte change ahead of the UN Conference
and Solar generation has been able to attend
every year including this one.
The CYO conference is
a place for youth to help empower a global
climate movement, and to prepare their strategies
for bringing this movement to the UN climate
negotiations. By actively lobbying, staging
public activities and taking direct action,
the youth aim to bring fresh energy into
a process which can be seen as an old fashioned
and out of touch with younger generations.
They aim to put pressure on the delegates
to hear them out on their concerns for the
future and their proposals for a solutions
based approach to combating climate change.
Gathered as one unique global movement;
from poor to rich, developed to developing
countries they actively testify of their
will for change, their will for a fair and
better world.
While the youth can
often be seen having a bit of fun while
bringing their message to the talks, the
weight of their message is unavoidable.
The depth of knowledge on climate change
and inspiring vision with these youth is
amazing! No doubt: they are ready to rule
the world and to actively participate in
building a better future. A future without
tons of excess of CO2 released in the atmosphere,
a planet where everyone has a safe place
under the sun without the deadly threats
of droughts, flood and malaria.
They might be ready,
but will they have time enough? If countries
here in Cancun fail to to agree on the building
blocks of a global deal to tackle climate
change in the coming decades, the youth
are left wondering what kind of planet will
they inherit.
Watch this space for
news on what Solar Generation is doing to
make their voices heard in Cancun!
Frederic Amirl is the Coordinator for Greenpeace's
youth program - Solar Generation
