Radiative Forcing: Carbon Dioxide and Methane

Radiative forcing is the warming effect on our climate due to carbon dioxide (CO2) and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases (GHGs). In climate science radiative forcing is the change in net irradiance between different layers of the atmosphere. Typically, radiative forcing is quantified at the tropopause...

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NOAA's Annual Greenhouse Gas Index

The US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) contributed to an alarming report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). NOAA provided their own set of data arrived at independently and published in their Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI)."The AGGI...

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World Resources Institute Warning About New Coal Plants

Proposed coal projects around the world will quadruple the current capacity of all coal-fired plants in the US. The World Resources Institute  (WRI) released a report in November titled, Global Coal Risk Assessment. The report found that there are 1,199 new coal power plants in the works, totaling...

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PricewaterhouseCoopers Climate Change Warning

It may already be too late to keep global temperatures within the scientifically agreed upon upper threshold of 2 degrees. This is the conclusion of a report from the global business consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Their report entitled "Too Late for Two Degrees?" suggests that even with...

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International Renewable Energy Institute Climate Warning

In a November 13 Press Release, the Renewable Energy Industry (IWR) indicated that last year greenhouse gases (GHGs) reached a record high. In 2011 there were 800 million more tons of GHGs than the preceding year. In total there were 34 billion tons of GHG emissions. In 1990, the global...

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Warning from the International Energy Agency: The World's Ongoing Reliance on Fossil Fuels Crushes Hopes of Averting Climate Change

At its annual World Energy Outlook, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) suggested that even if we factor the policy commitments already made or contemplated by world governments, energy-related emissions are will keep rising over the next 20 years. The key finding in the International...

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World Meteorological Organization Climate Warning

In November, the World Meteorological Association's (WMO) annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin stated that global CO2 levels are the highest they have ever been in human history, reaching 391 parts per million. Scientists warn that 350 parts per million is the upper limit for a a stable planet.These levels...

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State of Green Business 2012

The fifth annual edition of the State of Green Business report continues efforts to measure the environmental impacts of the emerging green economy. In addition to documenting what progress companies are making -- if any -- in improving their environmental performance, they track larger trends that...

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World Bank Climate Change Warning

The World Bank has issued a report suggesting that the climate could warm a full 4 degrees by the end of the century. What is most troubling about this study is the fact that we may not be able to avert this temperature increase even if countries fulfill their current emissions-reduction pledges....

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UNEP Warning: We are on the Brink of a Climate Catastrophe

The UN Environment Program’s Emissions Gap Report 2012, released Nov. 21, indicates that there is a massive gulf between what governments have pledged in terms of GHG emissions and what they are actually doing. To stave off a temperature increase of more than 2°C, nations have pledged to reduce their...

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Building Sustainable Infrastructure: The New Tools (Webcast)

Infrastructure is back in the news, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy and other severe weather events. Combine that with aging roads, bridges, pipes and other things, and governments around the world are facing a major challenge. Of course, with challenges come opportunities — in this case to design...

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Moving Markets: GISR and the Future of Sustainability Ratings Webinar

The GISR Standard Development Program GISR Webinar will take place on December 13th from 10:00 - 11:00 AM EST. This webinar will deal with the issues shaping the future of and impact for sustainability (ESG) ratings, rankings and indices. The interactive webinar will include experts from the sustainability...

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Top Companies in the 2012 Climate Leadership Awards

A total of twenty companies were named the winners of the inaugural Climate Leadership Awards by the EPA, the Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO), the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) (formerly the Pew Center on Global Climate Change), and The Climate Registry (TCR). The awards...

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