Unilever sets goal to source its palm oil and reveals climate change costs
Unilever, the world’s biggest buyer of palm oil, has pledged to buy all its palm oil from traceable sources by 2020. This replaces an earlier 2015 sustainability target that came under attack from producers and non-governmental organisations for relying almost exclusively on offsetting certificates. Unilever said it would meet its original target of 100% sustainable palm oil covered by certificates three years ahead of schedule. Unilever has also revealed plans to better promote its green projects to investors, after chief executive Paul Polman claimed that climate change impacts were already costing the company €200 million a year.
Business Green http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2169950/unilever-boss-climate-change-cost-company-eur200m
Transparency
Glencore insists EU plans are too taxing
Glencore has dismissed as unworkable EU plans to force mining and oil companies to disclose all tax payments to developing countries. Tim Scott, the global head of tax for Glencore, which recently reported full-year profits of $4 billion, told MPs that publishing accounts on a country-by- country basis would be very expensive. Executives from Glencore, its Zambian mining subsidiary and SABMiller, the global brewing group, appeared before the International Development Committee of MPs. The committee is investigating whether multinationals are paying enough tax in the developing countries where they operate and if the payments are transparent.
Nigeria lost $6.8 billion because of corruption and mismanagement of its controversial fuel subsidy programme from 2009 to 2011, according to a report presented to parliament yesterday. Though high-level graft has been rampant for decades in Nigeria, the scale and details of alleged malpractices revealed in recent days have created uproar. The report comes just three months after a failed attempt to remove fuel subsidies and vindicates government critics who had argued that unchecked corruption, not rising demand for fuel, had caused the costs of the fuel subsidy programme to spiral.
Road map for a green economy being drawn up in Mozambique
Mozambique’s Environment Minister, Alcinda Abreu, announced in Maputo that the country is currently drawing up its “road map for the green economy” and its national report for the forthcoming Earth Summit (Rio +20), to be held in June in Rio de Janeiro. Speaking at the opening of a Sub-Regional Conference on the Green Economy in Mozambique, Abreu said the road map is being drawn up with specific attention to agriculture, energy and cities. The meeting, supported by the WWF, includes a seminar on Strategic Environmental Assessment, an initiative which is part of the preparation for Rio+20.
Brazil Congress delays forest vote law amid wrangling
The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies has delayed voting on controversial legislation that stipulates how much land farmers must preserve as forest. After tense discussions, legislators decided to put back attempts to hold a final vote. Farmers’ groups say the bill will promote sustainable food production. But environmentalists say the new forest code will be a disaster and lead to further destruction of the Amazon. The revamp of the forest code has been discussed for months, with the bill undergoing numerous changes.
BBC News http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17831407
China to Give Stimulus for Development of Electric Vehicles
China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, said it will provide financial support and individual subsidies to promote the use and development of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The government will broaden pilot programmes, build recharging facilities and develop a plan to recycle batteries. General Motors Co. (GM) and Volkswagen AG (VOW) have announced plans to introduce so-called new-energy vehicles in China, which is seeking to cut smog and its reliance on imported oil.
Governments failing to avert catastrophic climate change, IEA urges
Ministers attending a clean energy summit in London are to be gravely warned about the continuing global addiction to fossil fuels. Governments are falling badly behind on low-carbon energy, putting carbon reduction targets out of reach and pushing the world to the brink of catastrophic climate change, the world’s leading independent energy authority will warn. The stark judgment is being given at a key meeting of energy ministers from the world’s biggest economies and emitters taking place in London today.
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