The secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, is to join a public march calling for action on climate change this weekend. “I will link arms with those marching for climate action,” Ban told a press conference. “We stand with them on the right side of this key issue for our common future.” His unusual step is a measure of how high the stakes are at a summit next week of world leaders to discuss climate change. The UN aims to bring leaders together in a series of private meetings ahead of a crunch meeting in Paris next year at which they are supposed to agree new emissions targets. However, the Chinese and Indian governments have indicated that they will not send high-ranking officials to next week’s summit, with both Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, and Xi Jinping, China’s leader, unlikely to attend. Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, a global coalition of investors concerned about climate change, said the secretary general’s decision to attend the march “sent a very important signal” about the importance of the summit. (Guardian)
Supply Chain
Dunkin’ Donuts and Krispy Kremes to go deforestation-free
US doughnut companies Dunkin’ Brands and Krispy Kremes have both announced targets on sustainable palm oil sourcing. Dunkin’ announced on Tuesday that it would source only deforestation-free palm oil for its US operations by 2016, and would announce a timeline for its international supply chain by March 2015. On Wednesday, Krispy Kremes followed suit, announcing that it would aim to source “a large percentage, if not all” of its palm oil from sustainable sources by the end of 2016. The company said it will use a mixture of directly sustainable certified palm oil and GreenPalm certificates that are designed to incentivise the market to become more responsible. This week’s news was welcomed by the Forest Heroes environmental campaign group, which said deforestation had been “a hole” in the environmental record of the palm oil industry. (BusinessGreen)
Tax
OECD: Global firms need new tax rules
Moves to tackle corporate tax avoidance on a global scale have been unveiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The action plan is aimed at multinational companies that shrink their tax bills by shifting their profits from one country to another. Firms including Starbucks, Amazon and Google have been accused of pursuing such strategies. They have all said they operate within the law. Announcing the proposals, the OECD’s head of tax, Pascal Saint-Amans, told journalists in Paris that they would “change the rules of the game” by making sure companies paid taxes in the country where profits were generated. Under the OECD plan, a country-by-country model would require firms to declare their revenue, profit, staffing and tax paid in each jurisdiction. The measures will go before finance ministers at the next meeting of G20 nations in Australia this weekend. (BBC)
Technology & Innovation
AkzoNobel teams up with Photanol to develop green chemical building blocks
Chemicals and coatings company AkzoNobel and cleantech company Photanol have teamed up to develop a process for harnessing the power of the sun to make chemicals, mimicking the way plants use photosynthesis. The aim is to produce “green” chemical building blocks that will eventually replace raw materials from fossil-based production. The collaboration is focused on Photanol’s existing proprietary technology, which uses light to directly convert CO2 from the air into raw materials such as acetic acid and butanol. “Given the challenges the world is facing in terms of resource scarcity, we are actively looking for bio-based alternatives for our chemicals and Photanol’s existing technology is a potential game-changer,” explained Peter Nieuwenhuizen, AkzoNobel’s Director of Innovation and Partnerships. (AkzoNobel)
Germany charges forward with opening of Europe’s largest grid battery plant
German utility Wemag announced yesterday that it has flicked the switch on Europe’s largest commercial battery energy storage system. It is designed to help Wemag balance supply and demand on the grid and clear the way for it to increase supplies of wind and solar power. The company already operates one of the most wind-reliant grids in Germany; it received 80 per cent of its energy from wind power in 2013 and is aiming to source 100 per cent from wind this year. Energy storage systems are widely regarded as critical to ensuring power grids have access to sufficient backup power on days when renewable energy output is low, but deployment to date been slowed by the relatively high cost of battery technologies. However, costs are falling fast as manufacturers scale up production activities and improve battery technologies, fuelling hopes that energy storage systems could enable 100 per cent renewables-powered grids. (Guardian Sustainable Business)
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