Will Australia ever implement a carbon price? The debate on the Australian emissions trading scheme continued to rage, following the release of ‘The Garnaut Review 2011’on 31 May. Ross Garnaut, the Australian Government's top climate change adviser, proposed a starting price of A$26 per tonne of carbon for the carbon pricing system starting in July 2012....
Verdantix Blog
Blog posts for the Carbon Strategy category are listed below.
Garnaut vs Basic Resources: Australia's Carbon Price Battle Enters A New Phase
- Tagged in :
- Environmental Policy & Regulation,
- Carbon Strategy
Why Energy Management Takes Centre Stage With Technology Innovators
Since the failure of the UN Copenhagen negotiations in December 2009 the prospects for pure-play carbon management software have tanked. Technology providers like EnerNOC, Enviance and Infosys have responded through innovation meeting the needs of firms in specific market segments that do face mandatory GHG regimes and the bulk of firms that now focus their attention on slashing energy consumption....
- Tagged in :
- Energy Management,
- Carbon Strategy
Energy Market Shake-Up Creates New Low Carbon Investment Opportunities
The UK government has just proposed the biggest shake up in the electricity market in two decades in the Electricity Market Reform White Paper published on July 12, 2011. Regulatory changes will come into effect in 2013. These include the replacement of the Renewable Obligation with a contracts for difference (CfD) feed-in tariff for low-carbon generation, an emissions performance target for new fossil fuel power stations and a capacity mechanism to improve energy supply security. ...
Multinationals Need To Wise Up To Europe’s Carbon Regulations
According to the June 2011 World Bank report ‘State And Trends Of The Carbon Market’, between 2005 and 2010 the value of trade in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) grew from $7.9 bn to $119.8 bn; a CAGR of 72%. By contrast the primary CDM market, representing trade in Certified Emission Reductions from Kyoto projects, has fallen from $2.6bn in 2005 to $1.5bn in 2010; a CAGR of -10%. Back in December 2008 our analysis of the CDM project developers flagged up the risks of a market meltdown. And it happened. Between 2008 and 2010 the primary CDM market fell from $6.5bn to $1.5bn; a 77% fall in traded value....
- Tagged in :
- Environmental Policy & Regulation,
- Carbon Strategy
Delay, Delay, Delay. California Puts The Brakes On Carbon Policy
The decision by California's Air Resources Board (ARB) to delay the implementation of California's cap-and-trade programme by a year is symptomatic of carbon policy delays around the world. Even the flagship EU Emissions Trading System has seen constant delays and dilutions since its launch in 2005. What does California's delay mean for US carbon policy?...
- Tagged in :
- Environmental Policy & Regulation,
- Carbon Strategy
The Missing Wedge: Energy Consumption Up, CO2 Emissions Down
The media is awash with pledges from blue-chip firms to cut their CO2 emissions. Despite the backwards slide in carbon regulations around the world, even US firms continue to make voluntary commitments without any prospect of mandatory reduction targets. The fact that global CO2 emissions increased to 30.6 gigatonnes (Gt) in 2010 compared to 29.3 Gt in 2008 adds fuel to the fire. ...
- Tagged in :
- Carbon Strategy,
- Sustainability Marketing
Cloud Computing Adoption Will Deliver Billions In Energy Cost Savings
Cloud computing – the virtualization of computing power – is being advanced by IT suppliers such as AT&T, Microsoft and Salesforce.com as a computing service which saves costs and reduces CO2 emissions compared to dedicated computing equipment. Our recent report, conducted on behalf of the Carbon Disclosure Project, reveals that widespread adoption of cloud computing will deliver significant business and environmental benefits over the next ten years....
- Tagged in :
- Energy Management,
- Carbon Strategy
Oracle Targets The Energy And Environment Business Apps Market
A new front has opened up in the long-running battle between arch-rivals Oracle and SAP in the enterprise application market. Oracle has entered into the sustainable business software market with two new applications developed from its acquisition of Ndevr’s IP in February. These early forays into the fast expanding market are Oracle Environmental Accounting & Reporting and JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Environmental Accounting and Reporting. Can Oracle catch up with SAP?...
ISO 50001 Strikes An Early Chord With Strategic Energy Managers
When the International Organization for Standards (ISO) launched its energy management framework, ISO 50001, in June 2011, Verdantix identified several barriers to adoption that needed to be overcome if it was to succeed. But even within the first three months there are signs that certification under ISO 50001 is resonating....
New European Funds Available To Encourage Energy Efficient Cities
EU member states are committed to reducing their GHG emissions by 20% compared to 1990 levels, and ensuring 20% of electricity consumption is from renewable energy by 2020. With cities concentrating large amounts of energy consuming assets and transport links, the European Commission launched the Smart Cities and Communities Initiative and the European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEEF) which aim to assist EU member countries in meeting these targets....
- Tagged in :
- Smart Cities,
- Smart Grid,
- Energy Management,
- Carbon Strategy
Partnerships Forming To Unlock The UK Green Retrofit Market
The real estate industry in the UK, hindered by woefully limited data, continues to discuss sustainability from the side lines. For instance of the 1204 properties in the Investment Property Databank’s UK Commercial Office Sustainability Index sample, only 61 had sufficient data to be considered sustainable (based on 21 questions only). Without a significant data set with which to justify investment in sustainability, the market has, by and large, remained circumspect....
Regulatory Winds Of Change Won’t Swipe Biomass Out Of The UK Market
On September 29, 2011, the UK government recalled the launch of its Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme for non-domestic generators, which was due the following day. Announced in March 2011, the £860 million subsidy scheme’s aim is to incentivize the installation of renewable heat technologies, including biomass, solar thermal, and ground source heating, to cut a tentative ten of the 38% of the UK emissions that the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) ascribes to heat . The RHI was delayed as the European Commission expressed concerns about the tariff for biomass being too high, which is currently placed at 2.6 pence per kilowatt-hour for the next twenty years....
Software Visionaries Combine Organizational Energy Overview With Asset Level Control
For many firms today, even consolidating their energy consumption and spend data is enough of a headache, let alone actively managing their energy at the organisational level. Avaya uses Hara’s EEM software application, implemented as part of HP’s Energy and Sustainability Management solution, to deliver this organizational view. With the launch of C3 in August 2011 competition in the enterprise energy management software market has reached fever pitch....
Eye On Earth Sets Its Sights On Citizen Empowerment By Sharing Environmental Data
Cities rely to varying degrees on their citizens’ efforts when implementing sustainability initiatives. Motivating mass behavioural changes can be a smart way of achieving sustainability targets at low cost, but a lack of individual accountability can lead to communal inertia and result in low project outcomes. To bypass this issue, several organizations are using IT to bring to life the mass of scientific data available today and reach out to wider stakeholder segments....
The Midlife Crisis Of Carbon Labels
Large procurers such as BT, McDonalds and Wal-Mart are increasingly requiring evidence of suppliers’ environmental credentials while multinationals such as Apple and Unilever are shifting from a narrow ‘enterprise sustainability’ view to focus on product level sustainability. Both of these developments lead back to thinking about the best use of voluntary environmental product labels....
China’s Mixed Messages On Carbon Are A Precursor To Legislation
The Chinese government continues to send mixed messages over plans for a carbon tax on energy-intensive industries by 2015. The past six months have seen a series of state-backed news agencies suggesting China will introduce a carbon tax....
North American State Governments Take The Lead On GHG Reductions In The Midst Of Central Governments’ Inertia
The central governments of Canada and the US have up to now failed to introduce meaningful greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction legislation, stalling sustainable business spending because of regulatory uncertainty. With Canada officially withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol in December 2011, the renegade continent could seem a hopeless case, unable to provide the necessary legislative incentives for heavy polluters to decrease their GHG emissions. But in the shadows of federal inertia, a pocket of state-level authorities have stepped up to take leadership over GHG reductions....
No More Hiding: US EPA Lifts Lid On GHG Emissions
On January 11, 2012 the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publically revealed the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of over 6,700 US emission-intensive facilities and fossil fuel suppliers. This is the first time the US EPA has released comprehensive GHG data accounting for over 80% of the country’s total emissions. Under the US EPA’s GHG Mandatory Report Rule (MRR) facilities emitting more than 25,000 tCO2 per year (as well as entities supplying fossil fuels) have been mandated to monitor and report emissions since January 2010....
SCIenergy Acquires Transcend To Provide Clients With Fully Funded Sustainable Retrofit Services
The energy efficiency market consistently reports that the greatest barriers to enabling retrofits of the existing built stock are the split incentive between landlord and tenant, the inability to make a business case because of flawed data and financing. SCIenergy is now tackling two of these, continuing the trend for acquisitions of specialist energy management assets. SCIenergy, the energy management software and services firm, announced on March 13th 2012 the acquisition of retrofit financing specialist Transcend Equity for an undisclosed sum. Transcend Equity’s 7 employees have joined the SCIenergy team where post integration Transcend founder Stephen Gossett Jr. will lead SCIenergy’s new financing team....
Where does it come from? Traceability issues inspire sustainable supply chain progress
Traceability in the supply chain is rapidly becoming a hot sustainability topic as global brands realise that tackling their most significant environmental impacts requires digging down several tiers into their supplier base. Puma’s Environmental Profit & Loss account reveals that 57% of the value of its impacts lies with Tier 4, raw material suppliers. ...
- Tagged in :
- Energy Management,
- Carbon Strategy,
- Sustainability Marketing,
- Product LCA
South Korea’s Government Sells Carbon Cap-And-Trade As De-Risking The Economy
South Korea’s introduction of a carbon cap-and-trade scheme was derailed at the last minute when, on February 16, 2012, the South Korean Parliament delayed their vote on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that proposed to cap emissions of South Korea's largest polluters from early 2015. This vote was the final hurdle for the ETS which has been in the pipeline since 2009, having been passed by South Korea’s National Assembly on climate change on February 8, 2012. ...
FirstCarbon Strengthens Its Environmental Management Capabilities by Acquiring Michael Brandman Associates
FirstCarbon Solutions, a publisher of sustainability and GHG management software, recently announced the acquisition of California-based environmental services firm Michael Brandman Associates (MBA). The move may look like it runs counter to a typical environmental software firm’s usual development of sales channels by aligning with third party consulting firms to help sell products to clients (see Verdantix IHS Launches Ecosystem for Sustainability Transformation). But FirstCarbon has a history of bringing such consulting expertise in-house. Faced with a maturing market for its core data aggregation software technologies, FirstCarbon’s move signals its desire to expand its client services by integrating environmental consulting with software services....
