World on track to use up entire 21st century carbon budget by 2034
According to new research by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the planet is currently on a trajectory to exceed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s carbon budget of 270 gigatonnes for the rest of the century within the next 21 years. The fifth annual Low Carbon Economy Index 2013 calculates that to maintain economic growth without exceeding this threshold, the G20 countries need to reduce their carbon use by 6 percent per year. However, PwC’s previous annual reports show that G20 decarbonisation has averaged just 0.7 percent per year. The report suggests that there needs to be greater investment in energy efficiency, renewable energy, carbon capture and storage, and that consumers will need to demand low carbon products. The report comes days after the former US vice-president Al Gore warned that the world is on the brink of a “carbon bubble,” and urged investors to “do their fiduciary duty” by divesting from carbon. (Edie; Blue & Green Tomorrow)
Consumers
Payday lender launches film to defend UK business practices
The UK payday lender Wonga has launched a 30 minute film to counter UK Government and public criticism that the firm exploits vulnerable consumers through interest rates of up to 5,853 percent. The film, 12 Portraits, shows the “real stories” of 12 Wonga customers who are trying to bounce back from low ebbs, including a woman who borrowed £200 to pay for flowers at two family funerals in the same week. The debut of the film has come as the leader of the UK Labour Party, Ed Miliband, launched an attack on the UK’s “Wonga Economy,” singling out payday lenders as “the worst symbols of this cost of living crisis.” The UK Business Minister Jo Swinson, said that there was concern “about vulnerable customers being lured by adverts into taking out payday loans that aren't right for them.” (The Guardian; BBC)
Responsible Investment
Morgan Stanley sets up sustainable investment body
The US financial firm Morgan Stanley has launched a new institute which is designed to encourage private investors towards sustainable investment. The Institute for Sustainable Investing will focus on providing sustainable investment financial products to clients and will also work with NGOs, private and public sector organisations to develop best practices for sustainable investment. Morgan Stanley has also announced that it will launch a fellowship at Columbia Business School in New York to train graduates in sustainable investment. The institute has committed to create $10 billion in total client assets over the next five years and to invest $1 billion in sustainable community initiatives to provide affordable housing and education. The launch of the institute follows a series of regulatory and practice controversies and lawsuits at Morgan Stanley, and the firm’s launch last year of the Investing with Impact Platform that allows customers to incorporate ethics and sustainability considerations into their investment portfolios. (Blue & Green Tomorrow)
Waste
Carbon Trust launches global waste reduction standard
The UK Carbon Trust, which helps organisations to become more resource efficient, has launched the first global standard for organisational waste reduction. Whitbread, PwC and AkzoNobel Decorative Paints UK have become the first companies to achieve the triple crown of Carbon Trust certifications for reductions in carbon, water and waste. The new waste standard is awarded to organisations that are able to show that they are measuring, managing and reducing solid and hazardous waste each year or that waste is being used more effectively through recycling. The Carbon Trust also conducts a qualitative assessment to ensure that organisations are managing their waste responsibly, with focus on procurement and the downstream waste impact through products and packaging. Tom Delay, the chief executive of the Carbon Trust, said that "reducing waste and resource use, along with carbon emissions and water, is a crucial part of the transformation that all businesses will need to make in the next decade." (Edie)
Ghana accuses UK recycling firm of illegal used fridge imports
The UK recycling firm Environcom has been accused of importing nearly 4,000 second hand fridges into Ghana by the country’s energy commission, which banned the imports in January 2013 on environmental grounds. A study by Greenpeace found that in Ghana, goods that had been dumped were releasing hazardous substances into the environment, including toxic chemicals which are known to cause cancer. Environcom said that it had “stopped exporting fridges to Ghana some months ago in line with the introduction of the ban, however some containers that left us on time got delayed in transit." However, the firm reportedly shipped fridges from the UK to Ghana in August this year, almost two months after the ban came into force, and allegedly threatened to withdraw plans to invest in a recycling plant in Ghana if it was not allowed to import parts from second hand fridges. Victor Owusu, from the Ghana Energy Commission, said the country plans to file a complaint to the EU and to the British High Commission. (The Guardian)
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