Extracting Value from Recycling - Apple's e-waste Management (Video)

Apple has mined a small fortune from its own waste in both dollars and social capital. While Apple has only recently become a sustainability leader, they have been focused on recycling for many years dating back to the time when Steve Jobs was still at the helm. The problem of waste is increasingly serious but Apple is ahead of the curve and leading the way forward.

The volume of waste keeps increasing while many landfills are rapidly nearing capacity. Smart businesses need to follow Apple's lead as we anticipate a more stringent regulatory regimes in the form of Extended Provider Responsibility regulations.

Recycling has come a long way and it is destined to undergo a lot more changes, particularly with regard to e-waste in the years to come. In 2013 620 million pounds of consumer electronics were recycled in the US setting a new record. Apple is not alone in its recycling efforts, cell phone manufacturers are working on reducing waste. Verizon has already collected more than 2 million pound of e-waste and the company plans to collect another 2 million pounds of e-waste by 2020. Dating back several years we have seen e-waste recycling efforts from Samsung, Sprint, LG, AT&T, and others. Recycling is now a business imperative and led by Apple, Verizon and others 2016 may stand out as a year in which recycling comes into its own.

As reviewed in a Triple Pundit article, Best Buys e-waste take back is excellent customer service. As explained by Manufacturing.Net:

"Creating a closed loop with consumers is an excellent way to drive business growth, delight customers and make significant progress towards lowering a company’s carbon footprint."

Recycling not only benefits the environment and the economy it can create millions of jobs. It can also create new revenue streams. According to an IBISWorld report, revenue for the cell phone recycling industry is estimated to increase until 2019.

Smart companies are analyzing their waste data and collaborating with stakeholders to assume greater control of the waste management process. Examples of recycling collaboration in the electronic industry are EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management Electronics Challenge and the R2 Responsible Recycling Leader Program. In 2014 EClaim Recovery Specialists created a new revenue sharing program with businesses that generate large amounts of electronic waste from electronics, computers and networking equipment.

Companies are beginning to appreciate that it makes no sense to pay a third party to remove waste that has value. Waste is big business, more than $100 billion are generated each year by the US scrap metal industry alone.

Most electronics devices still end up in landfills at their end of life making e-waste recycling a huge largely untapped opportunity. While there are a wide variety of items that can be recycled, there is no greater or more urgent opportunity than the one afforded by e-waste. The e-waste from up to 1 billion computers will need to be recycled by 2020. In 2014 there were 1.8 billion new cell phones and only 3 percent were recycled. Last year we generated roughly 42 metric tons of e-waste worth about $52 billion. Only one-sixth of e-waste is currently diverted for proper recycling and reuse. According to StEP, by 2017 the volume of e-waste is estimated to reach almost 66 metric tons.

E-waste has value in the form of iron, copper, gold, silver, aluminum and other resources. An average mobile phone contains about 300 mg of silver and 30 mg of gold. When added up across all phones to be sold the two metals alone are worth billions. However the value lies in separating valuable metals, plastic and glass from toxic materials like leaded glass, batteries, mercury, cadmium and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

Apple proves that while sustainability is good for people and the environment, it also benefits their brand and the bottom line. Apple is generating significant revenues from its recycling efforts.

As reported by Environmental Leader, Apple diverts massive amounts of e-waste away from landfills. The company collected about 90 million pounds of e-waste last year or 71 percent of the total weight of the products sold seven years earlier. This is both responsible business and a lucrative source of revenue.

Apple's recycling efforts are paying dividends and benefiting the environment by reducing their demand for resources. They have yielded 2,204 pounds of gold worth $43.6 million from recycled electronic devices last year. Apples recycling efforts also recouped 6,600 pounds of silver, 3 million pounds of copper, 23 million pounds of steel; 13 million pounds of plastic, 12 million pounds of glass and 4.5 million pounds of aluminum. Instead of ending up in a landfill, Apple will reuse 61.4 million pounds of recovered material from last year.

To increase the efficiency of their recycling efforts Apple has developed a robot named Liam designed to dismantle iPhone into useful materials. Liam can disassemble 1.2 million phones a year.

At Apple's March 21 2016 event on Monday, vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives Lisa Jackson took to the stage to discuss the company's environmental initiatives, and debut its robot.


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Mainstream Media's Failed Climate Coverage

The popular media has failed to communicate the science behind climate change. Combating climate change is not a priority issue for most people because because they don't understand anthropogenic global warming and the urgent need for climate action. We can't expect people to support mitigation and adaptation efforts if they do not have access to accurate information.

Shoddy climate reporting has been an issue for a number of years. As reported by Grist, a study by the University of Colorado’s Center for Science & Technology Research indicated that climate reporting declined in 2013 compared to 2012.

They documented mentions of global warming and climate change in five major U.S. newspapers. The New York Times coverage fell by 40 percent, the Washington Post’s coverage dropped by 33 percent. Declining coverage was also documented in the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. According to Robert Brulle of Drexel University, the nightly news programs at ABC, NBC, and CBS aired only 30 climate stories in 2013, compared to 29 in 2012.

Fox and CNN

When climate change is in the news, the information communicated is often inaccurate. According to a Pundit Fact analysis, more than half of all statements made on Fox News are untrue. Not only were more than half the statements on Fox false, less than 10 percent could be considered completely true. A study from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) found that almost three quarters of Fox News climate coverage was misleading. Dishonest reporting at Fox News has also been covered by Mother Jones. Their coverage suggests that the reporting on Fox News breeds distrust for climate scientists.

Given their conservative slant, it would be reasonable to expect climate misrepresentation from Fox News. However, other more centrist news outlets also get it wrong. While other major TV news outlets were better than Fox, even mainstream channels like CNN were found to fall short in their climate coverage. The 2014 UCS study found that almost a third of CNN’s climate reporting was misleading.

A recent Grist article reported that CNN airs almost five times more oil industry advertising than climate coverage. Media Matters for America found that over a two week period, CNN aired 23 minutes and 30 seconds of American Petroleum Institute ads, compared to around five minutes of coverage of climate change and temperature records. These results cannot be attributed to an absence of breaking climate news as the data was compiled during a week in January and a week in March, in which major stories broke. In January, it was revealed that 2015 was the warmest year in recorded history. In March, it was announced that February broke a temperature record and it was also the month with the largest temperature deviation.

The same was true for other major television networks in 2015. The Guardian reviewed a Media Matters analysis which found that coverage of climate stories fell in 2015 despite a spate of news worthy climate stories. This included record breaking heat, the Pope’s environmental encyclical, revelations about Exxon’s obfuscation, the start of the Clean Power Plan, the rejection of the Keystone XL, and the climate deal reached at COP 21.

False balance

Media Matters reports that when the press covers global warming, they commonly included interviews with climate deniers. When the media gives air time to climate skeptics (aka deniers), this is known as “false balance.” There has been a chorus of voices calling for an end to this practice.

A group of almost 50 leading scientists, science journalists, and communicators sent a letter to the media, in which they said that it is a misnomer to call climate deniers “skeptics”. As quoted in a 2014 Think Progress article, the word skeptic does not describe those who deny the veracity of climate science.

"Proper skepticism promotes scientific inquiry, critical investigation, and the use of reason in examining controversial and extraordinary claims," the letter reads. "It is foundational to the scientific method. Denial, on the other hand, is the a priori rejection of ideas without objective consideration."

The scientists go on to explain that journalists who perpetuate this confusion are granted "undeserved credibility to those who reject science and scientific inquiry."

In 2014, there was a movement to deny deniers equal time to promote their lies on popular media channels. As reported on EcoWatch, “a number of major outlets [are] refusing to allow deceit and subterfuge [to] masquerade as a counterpoint.”

One such outlet is BBC News. In response to criticisms that they provided too much airtime to unqualified climate commentators, BBC decided to drop deniers from their scientific coverage of climate change, as have Reddit, the Los Angeles Times, the Sydney Morning Herald, and Popular Science.

Explanation and impact

One of the reasons the media fails to accurately report on climate science or efforts to reign in emissions has to do with the extraordinary reach and influence of the fossil fuel industry. To illustrate this point, consider the case of Washington Post writer Ed Rogers. He is a writer who, among other things, called COP21 a “sham”. At the end of last year, it was revealed that as chairman of the lobbying firm BGR Group, he received more than $700,000 from the energy industry in 2015.

The frustration with the media is best exemplified by Russel Honore, a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General, who lambasted oil industry influence and said to the press: "There’s never a time the world needs you more to shed light on environmental problems. Do your damn job!"

Sadly, these calls are falling on deaf ears, as the preoccupation with ratings and advertising dollars trumps fact based reporting. Each year, there are hopes that we will see responsible science based climate journalism. However, each year we are disappointed by ongoing media misrepresentations about climate change.

A January 2013 Business Green article with the title, "Is the media’s stance on climate risk finally shifting?" asked the question:

"Are we at some kind of tipping point where the mainstream media sees the error in years of under-powered or just plain inaccurate climate change reporting?"

While they cite some examples of climate coverage, more than three years later, we are forced to concede that the answer is "no", the hoped for shift from the media has not materialized.

The plethora of misinformation in the media leads people to question the veracity of science driven reporting. According to research from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, people were unreceptive and at times even hostile to science based news stories.

What can be done

For years, the popular media has either under-reported environmental stories or covered them inaccurately. This has to change if we are to make the requisite paradigm shift. We are not seeing more popular support for climate action because the media has failed to alert the public about the causes and the risks associated with climate change.

In the absence of factual climate journalism in the mainstream media, we need to find alternative approaches to inform the public. This is why citizen journalism is so important. Unlike traditional media, citizen journalists are not beholden to anyone or anything. They are free to speak truth to power and they are free to publish information that is being neglected in traditional media.

If you value fact based reporting, support citizen journalism. Tom Schueneman is one such citizen journalist. He is working on a project focused on sustainable development. His initiative offers information and insights you will not find in mainstream media. However this work takes time and requires your support. Click here for more information.

Source: Global Warming is Real

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Apple's Growth Streak Has Ended but its Sustainability Leadership is Still Going Strong

Apple's growth streak may have come to an end but as a mature company its sustainability leadership is going stronger than ever. In fact Apple is poised to double down on sustainability. Every product has a life cycle and Apple's products are no different. Smartphones may have reached market saturation as the global smartphone market has shrunk for the first time. Despite the dropping demand for its premiere product line,  this corporate giant will continue to be a powerful sustainability leader for years to come.

As revealed by Apple's second-quarter earnings, the company's stellar 13 year growth streak has ended. However Apple continues to be the dominant player in the technology sector.

In recent years Apple has transitioned from a sustainability laggard into a sustainability leader. Their initiatives include renewable energy, recycling, sustainable forest management, sourcing and manufacturing. Apple has been serious about sustainability for more than a few years. In 2013 Apple was already getting all of the power for its data centers from renewable energy.

As reported by UNEP's Climate Action, in February Apple issued $1.5 billion in green bonds to finance low-carbon projects across its global operations. This includes renewable energy, storage, efficiency, green buildings and resource conservation. This is the largest issuance of its kind by an American company.

Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives said Apple’s new green bond “will allow investors to show they will put their money where their hearts and concerns are."

Apple has also embarked on what it has called "Project Titan" which is an electric car project with a shipping date of 2019.

Apple is also among the companies that supported the US Clean Power Plan and they responded to a White House initiative to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and increase their supply of renewable energy.

Apple's green efforts have contributed to their bottom line valuation and there is no reason to believe that this will not continue.

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The Promise of Electric Buses for Low Carbon Mass Transit

A new generation of fully electric buses is on the way making low carbon transport a reality. If we are to keep temperatures from rising more than 2C above preindustrial times we must find efficient, emissions-free solutions to mass transportation. The new generation of electric buses are a critical piece of the zero emissions puzzle. Electric buses will also reduce the air pollution that is plaguing urban environments.

Electric buses are not new, the Chinese automaker BYD introduced an electric bus in 2010. It is called the K9 and it is powered with an Iron-phosphate battery, that has a range of 155 miles or 250 kilometers on one single charge. Newer e-buses have quadrupled that range.

However a new generation of electric buses have much better ranges and are capable of traveling an entire day without recharging. In 2015 an Australian all-electric bus broke a record by driving 1,018km on a single charge. The bus was built by Brighsun in Melbourne and employs a high performance lithium ion battery with proprietary eMotor, battery management and a regenerative braking system.

As reported by One Step Off the Grid, Brighsun communications director, Gladys Liu, said:

"We believe it will bring a whole new concept of public transport with no pollution to Australia and to the world."

The company is planning on opening manufacturing facilities across Australia.

Another electric bus called the EV350 is GreenPower’s flagship product. This bus has the latest electric drive, battery technologies, and battery management system combined with a lightweight chassis and low floor body. The EV350 has a range of 185 miles or 300 kilometers. Another GreenPower product the 550 has an even better range of 240 miles or 385 kilometers.

The Proterra is an electric bus that has recently been analyzed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It received high marks and as reviewed in EV Obsession, a recent analysis of the Proterra e-bus, "possess an average fuel economy roughly 4 times higher than that of baseline CNG [compressed natural gas] buses."

According to the NREL analysis, the Proterra is also highly reliable. This Proterra is touted as being "exceptional for an advanced technology bus in the early stage of commercialization."

However, the Green Car Congress reports that the average runtime per day is 13.2 hours with an average of 13 charges per day. Each charge averages 20 kWh energy delivered.

Here is an excerpt from the analysis:

"One major challenge is addressing demand charges and time of use charges that affect electricity cost. This will be a major challenge for any fleet looking to deploy electric buses that charge during peak times."

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Business and the Paris Climate Agreement

The politicians have secured a climate deal and now it is up to the business community to do the heavy lifting. Less than five months after the conclusion of COP21 we have seen nations sign the Paris Climate Accord at a signing ceremony at UN headquarters in New York. Now we must pivot from diplomacy to implementation. A whole new economy is being born and the opportunities are endless. Fortunes await those who can secure emissions free growth.

It is often said that innovation is the key that will unlock the full potential of the green economy. The vast size of the opportunity is sure to attract innovation. Powerful incentives will provoke a deluge of solutions and some of those ideas will likely be good enough to disrupt our traditional way of doing things. Solutions will come from all directions. Newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that he plans to crowdsource climate solutions online.
Many good ideas are already in the pipeline and some others have already gone to market. The green revolution did not start in Paris last December, it has been ongoing for some time. However the Paris Climate Agreement has accelerated the timing.

Corporations are embracing sustainability as never before. Even before COP21 started, businesses were staking out sustainable ground. Businesses are already setting their own science based emissions targets. This includes companies like Coca-Cola Enterprises, Dell, Ikea, Kellogg and Walmart. They know that climate policy is coming.

Even power companies are calling for a transition to a low carbon energy economy but they also want "secure, stable, clear, consistent and long-term policies". This was the message in an October 2015 letter to government from the CEOs and chairmen of the companies in the Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership (GSEP).

Companies are pledging to invest fortunes in climate action and clean energy. Ikea alone has promised to invest more than a billion dollars and many others are also planning huge spends. US companies have also made a number of major climate pledges.

Fears about the costs of climate impacts and the risks associated with stranded assets are changing the calculus. Businesses and investors are altering the configuration of their analysis and changing the variables being assessed.

Businesses are not only being swayed by their aversion to risk they are being attracted by the market opportunities. The bigger the change the bigger the opportunity and transitioning to a low carbon economy offers enormous promise.

There are also tremendous rewards when a brand is shown to be on the right side of history and tremendous costs when they are not.

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Investor Warning: Fossil Fuels and the Risk of Stranded Assets

It is becoming increasingly apparent that fossil fuels represent a substantial risk that should make investors wary. Fossil fuel reserves, including oil, gas and coal will be rendered obsolete in the coming decades, leaving investors holding valueless investments. A plethora of peer reviewed science tells us the curbing fossil fuel use is key to climate mitigation.

From widespread calamitous coastal flooding to devastating extreme weather events the need to urgently act on climate change has finally been accepted by every nation on earth. The economics of climate action is sound. A cost benefit analysis reveals the overwhelming logic. We must the eradication of fossil fuels as soon as possible. The impetus to act on climate change, once dismissed by some, is now a fact of life for all thinking people.

There is already downward pressure on the fossil fuel industry and this will only intensify in 2016 as we begin to see policy shifts and new regulatory regimes. The Paris Climate Agreement formally signals the end of fossil fuels. 

We are already seeing trillions of dollars being divested from the fossil fuel industry. Much of the money divested is being reallocated to renewable energy, the primary competition for the fossil fuel industry. Investments in fossil fuels need time to mature, however post Paris time is the one thing that fossil fuel investors do not have.

The IPCC Synthesis Report indicates that the burning of fossil fuels must be completely ended by 2100. We must work quickly to radically reduce our use of fossil fuels because the longer we wait the more it will cost. We also risk surpassing dangerous tipping points from which we will not be able to recover.  Simply put we cannot continue to burn fossil fuels if we hope to stay within the 2C upper threshold limit. 

The concerns about fossil fuels and stranded assets were reviewed in an April 8, 2016, CBC Business article by Don Pittis in which he warned investors about the dangers of fossil fuels. As he explained, the issue of stranded assets is not merely the concern of environmentalists, it is central to shrewd analyses of the investment community. Concerns about stranded assets are coming from all quarters including mainstream, credible sources, like Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England.

Research from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has already announced a $50 billion drop in Canadian oil and gas investment in electrical power plant generation from fossil fuels. However, there are implications for the oil sands and pipelines.

As explained in the CBC article, a Oxford University study indicates that after 2017, fossil fuel powered electricity generation may "not be able to run long enough to pay off their capital costs, turning them into stranded assets." This study expands the stranded-assets concept to include what economists call capital.

"Investors putting money into new carbon-emitting infrastructure need to ask hard questions about how long those assets will operate for, and assess the risk of future shutdowns and writeoffs," says Cameron Hepburn, one of the academics involved in Oxford study.

"If the 2 C target is to be taken seriously, then current and future assets will have to be written off before the end of their economically useful life (become stranded assets) or we will have to rely on large-scale investments down the line in carbon capture and storage technologies that are as yet unproven and expensive," says the report.

While the Oxford study is focused on electricity generation the implications extend to the fossil fuel industry as a whole. According to Duetsche Bank at least half of all known fossil fuel reserves will need to be kept in the ground to stay within our carbon budget. 

"For their own financial benefit, what investors must consider is whether the climate risk has been properly calculated into the future income stream." Pittis wrote. "If investors in power plants, pipelines and new oil development go ahead without proper regard to climate risk and find those assets stranded, they will be worth less than advertised."

The Financial Times covered the same study and reported:

"Virtually all new fossil fuel-burning power-generation capacity will end up stranded... A similar logic can be applied to parts of the capital stock."

Carbon dioxide remain in the atmosphere for centuries so we must appreciate not just annual emissions but their cumulative totals or the global carbon budget.

The Oxford paper states that capital stock created after 2017 would break the global carbon budget. However the Financial Times article suggests that the Oxford study is premised on some optimistic assumptions and therefore it may be more difficult to keep temperatures from rising beyond the 2C upper threshold limit. This assessment suggests that the risks are even greater than those presented in the Oxford research.

Why would any sane investor put his or her money into a source of energy that is doomed to be shut down?

As explained in the FT article:

"[G]iven the longevity of a large part of the capital stock, the time for decisive change is right now, not decades in future."

As reported in the Green Market Oracle, just ahead of the Paris Climate Agreement two reports corroborated concerns about stranded assets.  One of these reports come from the Think Tank, Carbon Tracker and another comes from Critical Resource, a firm that advises fossil fuel companies.

The Carbon Tracker report indicated that more than 2.2 trillion worth of fossil fuel projects are at risk of being stranded. Anthony Hobley, chief executive at Carbon Tracker said:

"Our report offers these companies a warning [about] avoiding significant value destruction,"

The top four countries at risk from stranded fossil fuel assets are the US at $412 billion, Canada at $220 billion, China at $179 billion and Australia at $103bn. The companies with the greatest exposure are Shell, ExxonMobil and Pemex.

Despite these risks, $1.3 trillion is being spent on new oil projects and $124 billion is being spent on existing projects. We need to start with a moratorium on new fossil fuel development.

Daniel Litvin, MD of Critical Resources said.

"The critical mass point could be as soon as a couple of years down the road, which is pretty soon for an industry that has been around for 100 years."

How can the oil industry fail to see the writing on the wall? The fossil fuel industry would not be the first that failed to see clear signs of its demise. Hobley pointed to the demise of Kodak and Blockbuster as illustrations.

In the past decade, the emissions implied by the investment in power generation have been rising at 4 percent a year. The math behind this investment growth when partnered with the need for climate action make investing in fossil fuels a fool's errand.

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The Fossil Fuel Industry has Reason to be Nervous
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Event - Renewable Energy Workshop

This workshop will take place on Saturday, April 30, 2016 in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. It is a widely held dream of many people to live a life powered by renewable energy. But it can be difficult to know how best to proceed with making this dream a reality.

This workshop is the perfect introduction to the world of renewable energy, designed to help you figure out the best path to finding yourself living a renewable energy lifestyle. Instructor Sean Flanagan has been designing and installing renewable energy systems for over a decade, and unlike many renewable energy teachers he lives off-grid himself, giving him an intimate knowledge of what works and what doesn’t.

The workshop covers all aspects of renewable energy:

• Off grid and grid tied systems – Which is right for you?
• Photovoltaics (PV, or “solar electricity”) – How it works and what components go into a system?
• Wind energy – How it works and what components go into a system?
• Micro hydro – How it works and what components go into s system?
• Micro-FIT and Net Metering – How do utility companies deal with renewable systems?
• Doing an energy audit – How much power do you need and what size system is required?
• Living with renewable energy – Lifestyle, maintenance and monitoring and much more!

As part of the workshop, participants will be involved in the hands-on assembly of a small off-grid system to help become familiar with all the components and how they work.

If you’ve ever imagined yourself generating your own power from renewable sources, then this workshop is the perfect first step toward this goal.

Entry Requirements • Open to all

Fee
• Early Bird $125
• Regular $150
• Includes healthy lunch (vegetarian and vegan options available)

For more information:
Contact Name: Chris Magwood
Website: http://endeavourcentre.org/programs/workshops-studios/
Phone: 7059573282
E-mail: chris (at) endeavourcentre.org

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Event - AWEA Windpower Conference

This event will take place on May 23 - 26 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The American Wind Energy Association's annual Windpower Conference & Exhibition is recognized as one of the world's premier wind energy trade shows, bringing together attendees and exhibitors from every aspect of the industry. Exhibitors at Windpwoer display the latest industry products and services from manufacturing leaders, component suppliers, and other wind energy organizations. Windpwoer combines education, exhibition, and networking creating a perfect venue for business development.

US wind energy had a busy 2015, especially in the fourth quarter when 8,500 megawatts (MW) came online, 77 percent more than all of 2014 combined. It’s the right time to be in wind and it’s only going to get better. We have an incredible opportunity to take our industry to the next level. WINDPOWER 2016 is where people, technology, and vision come together to shape the wind energy industry of tomorrow.

To support our advancing industry, WINDPOWER will be doing things differently. Attendees will find a shared experience, a simple process, an enlivened and enhanced exhibition experience, and a plan for the next generation.

To register click here.

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Event - Solar 2016: ASES National Solar Conference

This ASES Solar Conference event will take place on July 10 - 14, 2016 at the Intercontinental Hotel, in San Francisco. At Solar 2016 you will find out about cutting-edge research & trends that are driving us towards the shift to 100 percent renewables.

PRE-PUBLICATION SESSIONS

Sessions for discussing pre-publication research at the forefront of renewable energy and related fields.

Expanded Network & Influence

ASES EMERGING PROFESSIONALS MEETING

Meeting for emerging solar professionals and other informal networking opportunities to broaden personal and professional communities working on the 100% renewable energy world goal.

Business Insights & Global Progress

PLENARY SESSIONS

Plenary talks and forums on the advancement of renewable energy in the US, and what is happening worldwide as a result of the United Nations Conference of Parties in December 2015

Click here for the program.
Click here to register.

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The Earth Day Signing Ceremony for the Paris Climate Agreement

On Earth Day Friday April 22, world leaders from 175 countries formally signed the Paris Agreement. The leaders gathered at a signing ceremony that took place at the UN General Assembly hall in New York. This was the largest number of nations to ever sign a formal agreement at a signing ceremony. The event in New York follows the historic agreement achieved at COP21 in Paris last December. This made Earth Day 2016 the most hopeful such event in its 45 year history.

The world's top emitters China, the US, Europe, India and Russia signed the agreement. A total of.175 of the 195 countries that agreed to the Paris deal were present at the signing ceremony. The other 20 leaders that did not sign are expected to do so between now and April 21, 2017.

The signing must be followed up by each nation's the issuance of formal "instruments of ratification" for "acceptance and approval.” For most nations that involves ratification by parliament or the Senate. In the US President Obama outmaneuvered Republican opposition in the Senate by entering into what is called an "executive agreement" which does not need congressional approval.

A number of small island nations, the worst hit by rising seas from climate change, were among the first to formally ratify the agreement. This includes the Maldives, Palau, Fiji and 11 Caribbean states. Somalia is also on-board.

To make the agreement legally binding at least 55 countries representing 55 percent of global emissions need to ratify the agreement.

"When all is said and done, today will be the largest one-day signing event in the history of the U.N.," US President Barack Obama said in a statement on Friday afternoon.

Former US Vice President Al Gore said: The "historic journey" to ending climate change begins today.

In the video below US Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks at the signing ceremony. He described the signing as a being met with "joy", he went on to say that the agreement sends an important message to markets and it will unleash the power of the private sector to tackle the climate crisis. It will transform our energy mix by moving us away from fossil fuels and towards renewable sources of energy.



To follow the ongoing ratification process click here.

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Planting 8 Billion Trees: An Earth Day 2016 Initiative

Forests are important for a multitude of reasons not the least of which is their capacity to combat climate change. The theme behind Earth Day celebrations in 2016 is "Trees for the Earth." The organizers at the Earth Day Network are asking for help to achieve their ambitious goal of planting 7.8 billion trees. Over the next five years each successive Earth Day will focus on a different action theme counting down to the 50th anniversary of the iconic event. The purpose is to foster interest around actions that, "have a significant and measurable impact on the Earth."

We have known for some time that trees are important to life on the planet. Tees help combat climate change by absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. Two acres of mature trees can absorb the same amount of CO2 as the average car produces every year.

Trees not only provide clean air to breathe, they contribute to our psychological and societal well being. Trees provide jobs and contribute to the economy.  The relationship between forests and weather is also increasingly well understood and it has been shown that deforestation in the tropics causing diminished rainfall.

While trees combat climate change they are also the victims of both a warmer world and human activities. The importance of trees came into sharper focus last year with the dramatic destruction of massive swaths of forests in Indonesia.

Forests are being decimated all around the world but there are some novel approaches to large scale tree planting that suggest our forests can be reborn.

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What The Business Community Can Do To Protect Forests

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Earth Day 2016 is the Most Hopeful Ever

This is an Earth Day unlike any that have preceded it. After almost five decades of grass roots activism, the festivities in 2016 finally have something to celebrate. This year we are driving a stake into the heart of climate pessimism. We are challenging those that doubt our resolve and we are breathing hope into a new climate narrative. 

We are seeing tremendous momentum in renewable energy and corporate sustainability. There is clear evidence that the fossil fuel industry is in decline. The Paris Climate Agreement offers the strongest reason yet to be optimistic this Earth Day. For the first time in history the human race has come together to collectively resolve to take on the greatest threat modern humans have ever known.

Last year was the most important year ever for climate action and 2016 promises to be even better. Although 2015 will be remembered as the year the world woke up and began to address the problem of climate change, the good news is mixed with bad. There were a number of very serious climate and environmental disasters in 2015. For a review of the best and the worst climate stories of 2015 click here.

In 2016 there was more bad news contributing to the urgency of climate action. We have witnessed the death of vast swaths of the Great Barrier Reef drawing attention to the death of coral in oceans all around the world.

We have also seen research suggesting that heat and sea level rise are not the only serious threats to human civilization. In addition to air pollution, we may actually see decreases of atmospheric oxygen attributable to climate change.

Despite these terrifying threats, there are good reasons to be hopeful. Led by US President Barack Obama and Pope Francis, we are seeing climate leadership from some of the most powerful people on the planet.

In Canada a new Liberal government released its budget that has delivered on its green promises. Canada has also partnered with the US on climate action and Arctic protections.

A clear trend is emerging as the economics of climate action are becoming clear. The COP21 climate deal will inevitably result in major policy and regulatory changes. However, it is now up to the business community to realize the ambitious goals set in Paris. The business of sustainability has reached a turning point. There are a number of reasons why corporations are embracing sustainability as never before. In 2016 we are also seeing that green finance has gone mainstream

The best news from 2015 was the successful outcome of COP21. It delivered the Paris Climate Agreement that is being formally signed today at a UN ceremony in New York. Around 150 nations including the world's top two emitters, China and the US will be present to formally sign the deal. 

The agreement is a turning point that has augured a number of optimistic predictions. Perhaps most importantly the agreement augurs a radical shift in energy production which is critical step in addressing the climate crisis. Last year was a transformational year for energy and in 2016 it looks as though it will continue in earnest.

The COP21 deal specifically signals the end of fossil fuels and the dawn of unprecedented growth for renewable energy.  The fossil fuel industry has been exposed. We are already seeing that investments in renewables are eclipsing fossil fuels and we are also seeing how we can address climate change by riding fossil fuels into the ground.

We have reason to be hopeful about renewable energy. We have seen the prodigious growth of renewables in 2015 and there are even higher expectations going forward is 

It is heartening to see that a new understanding is permeating the powerful pressure exerted by market forces supporting the transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable sources of energy.  We are also seeing ancillary trends that like a new wave of more affordable electric vehicles.

Although the real work is just beginning, the world is coming to the realization the green economy is the right solution for our troubled times.

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President Obama Outmaneuvers Deniers to Protect the Paris Climate Deal

US President Barack Obama will sign the Paris Climate Agreement on April 22nd in an Earth Day ceremony at UN headquarters in New York City. However he has to contend with some serious opposition including a powerful fossil fuel industry and their climate denying Republican minions.

President Obama played a major role closing the deal at last year's COP21 negotiations in Paris. He has taken steps to ensure that Republicans won't be able to easily scuttle the agreement. He knows that Republicans will fight against efforts to reign-in climate change.
Outmaneuvers
To get around the need for formal ratification by the Senate he successfully pushed to change the Paris deal from a treaty to an agreement. maneuvers

He has also accelerated the timelines so that it will be even more difficult to withdraw from the deal, even if a Republican were to win the 2016 presidential election.

By signing the agreement and accelerating the timeline, it will be that much more difficult for a the next president to withdraw. As quoted in the Washington Post, Daniel Bodansky, a scholar of international environmental law at Arizona State University and a former attorney at the State Department focused on climate change said:

"(T)he next president could not withdraw until sometime in 2019, and the withdrawal would not be effective until sometime in 2020."

It will be difficult for the US to withdraw even if one of the current slate of three remaining Republican nominees becomes president. Considerable international pressure would be brought to bear making such a withdrawal no easy diplomatic feat.

There is also a provision in Article 28 of the agreement that states that any nation wishing to withdraw must wait four years after the deal enters into force.

However, there is only so much President Obama can do to protect the agreement. While a Republican administration may not be able to kill the deal outright, they would almost certainly fail to comply.

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Earth Day and the Call for Action Post Paris

As many as 155 countries have sent representatives and dozens of world leaders are assembling on Earth Day to sign the Paris Climate Agreement at a ceremony taking place at UN headquarters in New York City.

World leaders must act now to address climate change. This includes President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and all world leaders who approved the COP21 Agreement.

This signing is only the start, we urgently need to see policies that will deliver on the promises made in Paris at the end of last year. We also need to ramp up targets if we are to succeed in keeping temperatures below the internationally agreed upon upper threshold limit of 2C.

We must focus on what Earth Day is really about, and that is climate action. At this stage of the game anything less is mere window dressing.

The Climate Reality Project has published a petition demanding that world leaders protect our only planet this Earth Day. Click here to sign the Climate Reality Project Petition

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US China and Others to Sign the Paris Climate Agreement on Earth Day Suggesting an Early Start to Implementation

The US and China, the world's leading carbon emitters have agreed to sign the historic Paris Climate Agreement at a signing ceremony on Earth Day. The signing of the agreement on Friday April 22nd at UN headquarters is more than just a symbolic gesture.

Of the 196 countries on-board at COP21 in Paris last December, as many as 155 other nations, including India, are expected to sign the agreement on Earth Day.

The signing by the US and China is crucial as they account for 38 percent of global emissions. This sends a powerful message that will be heard around the world. This is but the latest cooperative climate statement by these two nations.  In November, 2014 the US and China launched their joint efforts to limit carbon emissions and then they followed this up with more climate cooperation in September, 2015.

To make the agreement operational 55 percent or 55 countries will need to sign the agreement.This would mean that the agreement would come into effect far sooner than the 2020 target date floated prior to COP21. The final Paris agreement does not make mention of the 2020 implementation date. Early implementation will increase the political pressure to increase carbon reduction targets in 2018.

More ambitious targets are necessary given that current INDCs will increase global temperatures to 2.7C (the upper threshold limit set in the Paris agreement is between 1.5C and 2C). We need to see emissions peak by 2020 if we are to be able to keep temperatures from breaching 2C of warming above pre-industrial times.

As reported by the Guardian, Eliza Northrop, an analyst at the World Resources Institute, said there was growing momentum behind an early approval of the agreement.

"It’s likely it could come into effect in 2017. It could even happen this year," she said.

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Why Corporations are Embracing Sustainability

Never before has there been more interest in corporate sustainability. While this trend is already huge we are only at the beginning of what is sure to be one of the largest economic opportunities the world has ever seen.

There was a time in the recent past when sustainability was a great way to reduce costs and stand out from the competition with distinctive branding. Now sustainability is a matter of keeping up with the competition and preventing your brand from falling behind.

Almost every corporation on earth has embraced sustainability. They are flocking to sustainability to reap the savings from efficiencies, preserve reputations, best the competition and get ahead of forthcoming regulation. They realize that sustainability is a megatrend that is here to stay.

The economics of climate action make a strong case in support of sustainability. Self-interest is driving corporations to mitigate against risks like extreme weather. It is also enticing them to capitalize on the vast return potential.

Sustainability in now an imperative for businesses and investors alike. In addition to the incentives afforded by the opportunity there are also risks associated with being a sustainability laggard.

What was once the domain of forward looking visionaries is becoming the new normal. As explained in the CDP Global Climate Change Report 2015:

"The case for corporate action on climate change has never been stronger and better understood. With the scientific evidence of manmade climate change becoming ever more incontrovertible, leading companies and their investors increasingly recognize the strategic opportunity presented by the transition to a low-carbon global economy."

The growing importance of sustainability can be measured in a number of ways. CPS’s 2015 Climate Change Report found that 90 percent of the almost two thousand companies surveyed are working to decrease their carbon emissions and 94 percent of these companies had a member of their board of directors or senior management dedicated to working on climate change. Three quarters of these companies offer incentives for improving climate performance. Over the last five years cuts to the intensity of the GHGs of the companies surveyed have more than doubled.

Sustainability is proving to be an increasingly important issue for consumer as well. It has been shown that almost 6 in 10 consumers consider a company's impact on the environment to help them make their buying decision.

Research also bears out other advantages that are provided by sustainability. This includes benefits to the brand image, cost reduction and increased productivity. Benefits also include attracting and retaining employees, diminished footprints and a host of competitive advantages. These companies are also well positioned to survive inevitable regulatory changes and mitigate against risk. All of these factors make sustainability very attractive.

In the US corporations that have invested in renewable energy are welcoming the Clean Power Plan this includes companies like Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft, Ikea and Mars. The Clean Power Plan will actually reduce electricity costs. This is the argument filed in court briefs on April 1.

The growing invovement of governments in the wake of the Paris Climate Ageement will propel sustainability to new heights. The word"s two largest carbon emitters, the US and China, have announced plans to ratify the Paris Climate Agreement on Earth Day, April 22.

“This is really an example of how climate change is a mainstream thing businesses need to pay attention to,” MIT professor Noelle Selin said in an interview with Environmental Leader. “Of course, Paris is agreed to by countries but businesses have to go home and implement it.”

“If you’re planning strategically, you need to take climate change into account because it will affect you,” Selin says. “It’s a management of risk. Businesses that are out in front of this will see benefits because they will be able to compete better.”

Like an unstoppable freight train climate change policy is coming. Sustainability is now synonymous with good governance and good business practices.

Companies are already reducing their emissions consistent with the science based targets in the COP21 climate deal. This includes companies like Coca-Cola Enterprises, Dell, Enel, General Mills, Kellogg, NRG Energy, Procter & Gamble, Sony, Thalys, Pfizer, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company AG and International Post Corporation.

Sustainability has reached a tipping point. However a new report by Trucost on behalf of the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) program sponsored by United Nations Environmental Program, suggests that business, investors and governments will have to do considerably more to tackle climate change.

The gap between where we are and where we need to be is huge. This also implies that the size of the opportunity is equally massive.

Rather than asking why corporations are embracing sustainability, it is more prescient to ask how there can still be a few who are not yet on-board.

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Green Finance Goes Mainstream in 2016

The world is embracing green finance as never before and all expectations are that this will increase as we move towards a low carbon economy. Financial systems should play an important role in the green economic transition said, Zhou Xiaochuan, the Governor of the People's Bank of China. Zhou was speaking at the Green Finance Symposium which took place on Saturday, April 15th in Washington.
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After years of volatility, green finance is emerging as a central part of our efforts to address climate change and transform our energy infrastructure. Green finance is preoccupied with adapting to the impacts of climate change and/or reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is the means by which we can stream tremendous amounts of needed capital into emissions free sources of power.

Although a precise definition of green finance (GF) is somewhat elusive, generally speaking it can be understood as sustainable investment and banking, where investment and lending decisions are taken on the basis of environmental considerations. This applies to both the public and the private sector and it specifically entails environmental screening and sustainability focused risk assessment.

For years, GF was dismissed as being too risky. Now in the wake of the signing of the Paris climate accord, lenders cannot ignore the economics of climate action that make clean energy an attractive opportunity. Governments began seriously investing in clean technologies in 2005. However, the early years were fraught with challenges, not the least of which was the economic crisis of 2007 – 2008. Nonetheless, between 2005 and 2010, there was a 200 percent increase in the growth of GF.

There is well warranted optimism that 2016 will be the year in which green finance comes of age. Governments, businesses and global organizations are all getting on-board to make this a landmark year for GF.

In an article published in the Huffington Post, Nick Robins, the Co-Director of the UNEP Inquiry into a Sustainable Financial System, said:

"From a strategic perspective, 2015 built a new set of policy foundations for the global economy, signaling new directions for the financial system…So, if 2015 designed the foundations, the task for the financial community in 2016 is to take the practical steps to deliver the reallocation in capital that’s required, and doing this in ways that result in an orderly transition in global markets."

At a G7 meeting last summer, the world’s leading economies agreed to phase out fossil fuels. At this meeting, Angela Merkel said the leading industrialized countries were committed to raising $100 billion in annual climate financing by 2020 from public and private sources.

According to a new report, green finance has what it takes to deliver decisive climate action. The report says that GF is capable of keeping temperatures from rising beyond the upper threshold limits of 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius set in the Paris climate accord. The report was produced by a partnership between Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Ceres and Ken Locklin of Impax Asset Management. The report, titled Mapping the Gap: The Road From Paris, finds that there is enough money in the global economy to finance the transition to clean sources of energy.

We have gleaned valuable insights about the feasibility of GF from a number of pilot projects. A report from the Climate Investment Fund (CIF) shows that green finance works. The report titled, "Learning by Doing: The CIF’s Contribution to Climate Finance," studied GF in 48 countries. CIF oversees more than $8 billion, which it uses to support projects in cleantech, forests, climate resilience and renewable energy.

This year, the Green Climate Fund has come of age and there are now a wide range of initiatives that support the growth of GF, including the SDGs and a rapidly growing green bond market.  The IMF is now focusing on climate change and the World Bank along with the IBD are contributing to the funding of clean energy in the developing world.

The G20 has indicated that it is committed to green finance. Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England and Chairman of the Financial Stability Board, has said that GF has grown up and it is no longer a “niche”. In March, Carney said that in a bid to mainstream climate friendly funds, the G20 will make green finance a "priority". The G20 has explored the concept through its Green Finance Study Group and the subject will receive special attention at September's G20 meeting in Hangzhou.

Many governments are gearing up to get involved with GF and some nations have already implemented policies. As reported by Bloomberg, Indonesia plans to limit the ability of banks to lend money to projects that are deemed environmentally destructive. While this is a move will curb slash and burn agricultural practices in the country, it can be applied to any set of environmental parameters. A May 2015 WWF report stated that there are four major banks in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore that have embedded environmental factors as part of their credit-decision process. Last fall, the Association of Banks in Singapore introduced guidelines on responsible financing.

A 2016 UNEP report titled, "The Financial System We Need," declares that the UK is a global hub for GF. London’s financial community is positioning themselves to lead green finance, while Hong Kong and Singapore are already leaders in GF.

As explained by Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment, "2016 is set to be the year of green finance. Across the world, we are seeing a growing number of countries aligning their financial systems with the sustainability imperative."

Governments, financial institutions, investors and businesses have been pouring capital into clean energy at ever increasing rates. After a protracted period of intense volatility, green finance has finally arrived. It is now an unstoppable global force that is helping to build a clean power infrastructure.

Source: Global Warming is Real

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