Obama launches scorecard to track carbon emissions of Federal suppliers
President Barack Obama has issued an executive order that will cut the US Federal Government’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40% over the next decade from 2008 levels. As the single largest consumer of energy across the US, the move will save up to $18 billion in avoided energy costs and increase the share of electricity the Federal Government consumes from renewable sources to 30%. In addition, the Administration is engaging with major Federal suppliers to encourage them to adopt similar practices. Companies including IBM, GE and Honeywell will join a roundtable to discuss the benefits of disclosing GHG emissions and setting reduction targets. To encourage continued progress across the Federal supply chain, the Administration is releasing a new scorecard to publicly track self-reported emissions disclosure and progress for all major Federal suppliers, who together represent more than $187 billion in Federal spending. (2degrees; Whitehouse.gov)
Climate-sceptic US senator given funds by BP political action committee
One of America’s most powerful and outspoken opponents of climate change regulation, Jim Inhofe, has received election campaign contributions that can be traced back to senior BP staff, according to a Guardian report. The Republican senator received $10,000 from BP’s Political Action Committee (PAC), which is funded by senior US executives and company staffers. Last week, President Obama said it was “disturbing” that Inhofe had been made chair of the senate environment committee. In broader criticism of unnamed political opponents, he then went on to say: “In some cases you have elected officials who are shills for the oil companies or the fossil fuel industry. And there is a lot of money involved.” In a statement, BP declined to comment on chief executive Bob Dudley’s donations, but added: “BP’s position on climate change is well known and is long-established. We believe that climate change is an important long-term issue that justifies global action.” (The Guardian)
Industry Collaboration
BASF assembles consortium to tighten up renewable biotech production processes
A consortium of companies in the European process industry including biotechnology, renewable resources, chemistry, process engineering, equipment and research organisations has launched project PRODIAS (PROcessing Diluted Aqueous Systems). The project aims to improve energy- and resource-efficiency in the processes used to produce renewable chemical products. Led by BASF, the world’s largest chemical producer, the project brings together companies including Cargill Haubourdin, Alfa Laval, GEA Messo and Enviplan with University of Kaiserslautern and Imperial College London. The total project budget is about €14 million with the European Union contributing €10 million, through its budget for investing in innovative technologies for sustainable processes. (Sustainable Brands)
International Development
ActionAid spreading ‘groundless fears’ over GM in Africa
Donors to one of Britain’s largest humanitarian aid charities have been unwittingly funding an aggressive anti-GM food campaign in Africa that misleadingly warns farmers that eating the crops could give them cancer, according to a report in the Independent. A senior official working for ActionAid in Uganda told the paper that the charity shows farmers pictures of rats with tumours as part of its campaign to prevent GM technology from being made legal in the country. Scientists say the campaign spreads fears that have no basis in fact. ActionAid has also commissioned radio commercials warning of the dangers of eating GM foods despite a ruling by the World Health Organisation that they have “no effects on human health”. The campaign is particularly controversial because the GM projects being developed in Uganda are philanthropic and supported by NGOs such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (The Independent)
Environment
National Trust aims to ‘nurse British countryside back to health’
The British countryside will be “nursed back to health” by the National Trust conservation charity, under a new £1 billion, 10-year plan. Decades of poor land management, intensive farming and the loss of habitat have sent wildlife numbers tumbling, with 60% of species declining in the UK over the last 50 years. The National Trust has pledged to try to reverse this decline, through its own actions and working with partners. As one of the biggest land managers in the UK the charity plans to develop new ways of managing land on a large scale, which it said would benefit farmers, the economy and the environment. These could include providing more habitats for birds, animals and insects to improve their numbers, protecting public green spaces used by local communities that are under threat from budget cuts, and measures to protect fragile soils that are under threat from erosion. (The Guardian)
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