Fossil fuel companies under fire as Shanghai pollution soars
Record high levels of air pollution in Shanghai late last week have been credited for forcing down share prices for coal companies amongst analyst predictions that Shanghai’s off the scale air pollution would deter fossil fuel investment. In contrast, pollution control equipment manufacturers saw share prices rise. Shanghai’s government yesterday continued to warn children and the elderly to remain indoors for the seventh day this month after the city experienced some of the highest pollution levels ever recorded in China. The government ordered factories to cut pollution, took vehicles off the roads and cancelled flights but with fears rising that the smog will deter foreign investment, the government is also looking for fresh ways to improve air quality. (BusinessGreen)
Employment
Call for companies to offer higher pay before calling on immigrants
The UK immigration minister, Mark Harper has criticised the head of the fast food company Domino’s, Lance Batchelor, after he called for border controls to be relaxed to help fill vacancies in his company. Batchelor, whose chain creates 2,500 jobs annually in the UK, claimed earlier this week that he was struggling to fill 1,000 vacancies since migration rules were tightened. He said that, “there are a huger number of jobs at the bottom of end of the service industry and not enough people in the UK who want to work for them.” Harper argued that before calling for more immigration Batchelor should review his company’s rates of pay to encourage more applicants, adding that, “if you are having trouble filling jobs I don’t think we should import unskilled labour from outside the EU just so he can keep wages low.” (Daily Telegraph, BBC)
General Motors chooses first female CEO of any global automaker
The American car manufacturer, General Motors (GM) has named its first female CEO, Mary Barra, after more than a century of global auto making. In 2013 women accounted for 4 percent of CEO’s in Fortune 500 companies and only 3.3 percent of those at durable goods manufacturers, with Barra being the first female CEO of any global auto maker. Barra has worked at GM since 1980, when she joined as a plant engineer. Current CEO, Dan Ackerson, who Barra will replace, said that Barra, “was chosen for her talent, not gender.” (Huffington Post, Bloomberg)
Climate Change
Cost savings fear if greenhouse gas targets are scaled back
Climate change advisors from the UK government have said that reducing the UK’s efforts to tackle global warming would risk wiping out at least £100 billion in cost savings even if shale gas production takes off. Critics argue that cost of supporting clean energy and other green measures, due to rise to £7.6bn a year by the end of this decade, makes the UK less competitive than rival economies. However the Committee on Climate Change said that there was no evidence of significant industry relocation as a result of low carbon policies and that reducing emissions in the 2020s offered significant cost savings compared with delaying reductions until the 2030s. The report said that savings could be as high as £200 billion by 2050, and that planned emission reductions would only prove very costly if the world backed off efforts to tackle global warming, and if fossil fuel prices fell considerably, which is counter to expectations. (FT*)
Technology & Innovation
Leonardo DiCaprio forms racing team to speed up sales of electric cars
Hollywood star and environmental activist, Leonardo DiCaprio is to enter a team co-founded with electric car maker Venturi Automobiles, in the world’s first electric motor racing championship, Formula E. The championship is intending to showcase electric car technology and speed up development and innovation amongst manufacturers and claims that it will help contribute to additional sales of 77 million electric vehicles worldwide over the next 25 years. Formula E starts next year and has investment from companies such as Renault, McLaren, Michelin and Virgin. DiCaprio said that, “the future of our planet depends on our ability to embrace fuel-efficient, clean energy vehicles.” Alejandro Agag, chief executive of Formula E said that “very few environmental leaders have helped more than DiCaprio to spread the message of sustainability around the world.” (BBC, Edie)
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