Emissions trading reforms raise price of pollution permits
Critical reforms to Europe's flagship scheme for cutting carbon emissions were passed for the first time on Wednesday in the European parliament. The move immediately caused the price of pollution permits, currently near rock bottom, to rise. The EU emissions trading scheme is the largest in the world, and is now being replicated in China. However, a huge oversupply of permits has caused the price paid to emit a tonne of carbon to crash in recent years. The short-term fix approved on Wednesday will delay the release of permits for 900 million tonnes of carbon, cutting the oversupply. Analysts believe the fix could raise carbon prices to €15, but say prices above €20 are needed to give utilities sufficient incentive to make serious switches to lower carbon energy generation. (Guardian; Business Green)
Policy & Research
Investing in working conditions in China good for business
Manufacturers that invest in working conditions can improve their profit margins and increase their competitive advantage, according to recent research for the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH). Using data gathered from over 70 factories, interviews with factory management teams and 99 published academic studies on the subject of working conditions, researchers found that investing in working conditions can provide a return on investment in as little as four months for electronics manufacturers in China. “Efforts like creating a better working environment or investing in training can result in an improvement in manufacturers’ bottom line as worker productivity goes up and worker turnover goes down”, said Ted van der Put, IDH Director. (Sustainable Brands)
Daily showers account for biggest water use in UK homes
Showering now represents the biggest single use of water in UK homes – one quarter of the massive 9 billion litres of water used by UK households every day – according to the biggest ever study of how Britons use water. The study of 86,000 households was commissioned by the Energy Saving Trust, with partners including consumer goods company Procter & Gamble. It finds that households would save £215m on energy bills each year by showering for just one minute less. The study also reveals that the average household washes dishes by hand ten times a week – despite the fact that larger households can actually make greater energy and water savings by using an efficient, modern dishwasher. (Guardian)
Reporting
Facebook reports rising emissions intensity
Facebook's 1.1 billion users each emitted 3.5kg of CO2 by sharing photos, sending messages, and watching videos last year – an impact equivalent to the energy it takes to make 12 latte coffees or 36 glasses of wine. In its latest environmental update, the social networking site announced that its emissions per user grew 18 per cent between 2011 and 2012. Facebook attributed the increase in emissions to its growing global user base, which has now topped one billion. The figures also show that Facebook's use of clean and renewable energy fell in 2012. However, Facebook said it expected this trend to reverse in 2013, thanks to the recently opened Lulea data centre in Sweden, which is powered by hydroelectricity and uses natural air cooling. (Business Green)
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