80 U.S. CEOs urge President Obama to push climate legislation

In a letter to President Obama and members of Congress, the chief executives of about 80 U.S. companies urged members of the government to pass comprehensive climate change legislation before the U.S. falls further behind the rest of the world in the race to develop clean technologies.

"We need strong policies and clear market signals that support the transition to a low-carbon economy and reward companies that innovate," the letter said. "It is time for the administration and Congress to embrace this policy as the promising economic opportunity that will empower American workers to compete and American entrepreneurship to lead the way."

The CEOs, which include the chief executives at Ebay and Virgin America, argue in the letter that climate legislation will drive innovation, improve unemployment rates, and increase U.S. companies' competitiveness against foreign competition.

For more information and to read the letter, check out this story from Business Green.

World's first ethanol power plant opens

A Brazilian utility company has opened the world's first power plant that has the ability to run off bio-ethanol.

The plant was designed using a twin turbine system that allows the plant to instantly switch between running off of natural gas or ethanol.

Brazil is the world's second largest producer of ethanol and is exploring back-up sources of energy to hydro-electric power, which is the country's primary source of power.

The bio-ethanol plant will undergo five months of tests and trials to make sure it is running properly and that it meets emissions requirements. After that, the plant will be commercially operated.

For more information on the world's first ethanol power plant, check out this story from Business Green.

The most fuel efficient 2010 cars and SUVs

The Daily Green has compiled a slide show of 2010 cars and SUVs that get over 30 miles per gallon. As we have pointed out before, going green doesn't necessarily have to cost you a bundle, and you will see that most of the vehicles cost about as much as other, less-efficient models.

Each slide contains a description of the car as well as a neat section that will highlight the fuel efficiency, the cost to drive 25 miles, and the annual emissions of each vehicle. Whether you are in the market for a compact, a family sedan, or a SUV, this list likely has something for everyone. Check it out here when you get a chance.

Cap-and-trade, emissions regulation debate continues in Congress

Much debate is going on in the Senate this week over the proposed Boxer-Kerry Climate Bill as well as the EPA's decision to regulate emissions.

Several moderate Democratic senators are trying to get the cap-and-trade language taken out of the climate bill, arguing that it is important for the focus to be on energy reforms that will dramatically reduce U.S. carbon emissions.

Also, a group of Republican senators is trying to get the Senate to vote on whether the EPA has the authority to regular emissions under the Clean Air Act. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is also working on a law suit against the EPA, saying that the agency does not have the authority to regulate emissions.

For more information on the climate change legislation debate, check out this story from The Daily Green.

U.S. government introduces funding to increase fuel efficiency of large trucks

The U.S. government announced funding this week for nine projects aimed at increasing the fuel efficiency of large trucks and passenger vehicles.

Government officials said the funding will create 500 jobs immediately and has the possibility of creating as many as 5,000 jobs in the future.

The Department of Energy said the projects could reduce carbon emissions from road transport vehicles in North America by 30 percent by 2030.

For more information, check out this story from The Daily Green.

Number of cars in U.S. shrunk for first time in 2009

In either a sign that U.S. citizens are switching to more sustainable means of transit or a reflection of the economic recession, more cars were taken off the road in 2009 than new cars were sold for the first time in history.

A report from the Earth Policy Institute argues that increasing population growth in urban areas as well as rising oil prices means that this trend is likely to continue until at least 2020. In 2009, the total automobile population in the U.S. decreased by 2 percent. By 2020, there could be as many as 20 percent fewer cars on the road.

Hopefully, these numbers are a sign that Americans are realizing and taking advantage of the benefits of sustainable transportation methods. For more on this story, click here.

Five radical (maybe crazy) ways to stop global warming

As politicians continue to debate what role governments should play in fighting global warming, some people are promoting scientific fixes to the problem.

Some of these ideas may be feasible, while others are just plain crazy. But, I guess it is important for us to realize that while the best solution to global warming may lay in changing current behaviors, this may not be enough to reverse some of the damage our past actions have caused. Looking at scientific ways to slow down warming may be helpful as well.

If you're curious (and you should be), check out this story from The Daily Green.

U.S. Agriculture Department and dairy industry partner to cut emissions

The news is admittedly slow during this time of year, but there is a fairly interesting article from Business Green about the recent partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the dairy industry, aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The dairy industry has set a goal to cut emissions by 25 percent in the next 10 years. As part of the agreement, the USDA will help support (i.e. fund) research into advanced nutrient management for livestock as well as support technological advances that could lead to increased energy efficiency and an increase in the use of renewable energy.

For more information, check out the story at Business Green.

Copenhagen climate talks result in no binding agreement

Editor's Note: It's been a busy month here at TransAction, so we haven't been able to update the blog as often as we would like. However, regular updates should begin again in the near future.

As was expected by most, the U.N. Climate Summit last week in Copenhagen did not result in a binding agreement on emissions reductions. While accusations from both emerging and developed nations point the blame at each other for hindering the negotiations, the important thing to take out of the discussions is that while most nations involved agreed that climate change is a serious problem and that action should be taken, no emission reduction targets were agreed upon.

What came out of the negotiations is a two-page document called the Copenhagen Accord. It serves as a political (not legal) agreement between nations, and the accord gives very little details on how the nations that sign it actually plan to fight climate change.

Reaction to the accord has varied depending on who you ask. Instead of telling you what people are saying about it, you can read the reaction of several climate leaders in their own words, courtesy of Business Green. Click here to check it out.

World leaders set to attend Copenhagen talks

With the U.N. Climate Change summit set to begin two weeks from today in Copenhagen, over 60 world leaders have confirmed they will be at the summit, including the heads of state of the UK, France, Germany, Japan, and Australia. President Obama has said he may attend but has not confirmed that he will definitely be attending.

Leaders from over 192 countries have been invited in hopes that their presence will help increase the chances that a politically- and legally-binding agreement is made. In addition to Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have not confirmed that they will be attending the summit.

So, what do organizers of the conference hope to accomplish? The short answer is a legally-binding agreement on emissions reductions. The problem is that each country has its own agenda and own ideas on what should and should not be in such an agreement. This Daily Green story has more details on what the organizers are hoping to accomplish and the politics behind a potential agreement.

Treasury Department releases green energy bonds

The U.S. Treasury Department released about $2.2 billion in bonds earlier this month aimed at jump starting the renewable energy sector.

The bonds will basically serve as low-interest loans to people who want to start renewable energy projects, giving them an opportunity to begin projects despite the fact that other sources of funding have dried up because of the current recession.

Government officials hope that the bonds will get several projects, such as wind or solar farms, quickly into the construction phase of development. To read more, check out this story from Business Green.

Study finds climate bill could add over $100 billion to U.S. economy

A study conducted by researchers from the University of California at Berkley, Yale University, and the University of Illinois has concluded that the proposed climate legislation being debated in the United States Senate could boost the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the U.S. by as much as $111 billion by 2020.

The study found that the roll out of a cap-and-trade system for emissions would speed up the development and adoption of clean technologies and create between 900 million and 1.9 million jobs. The study even concluded that the average household income in the U.S. could grow by about $500 to $1,000 as a result of the bill over the same time frame.

The report;s findings are in conflict with the arguments from many industry groups as well as many Republican lawmakers, who argue that the legislation will cost the U.S. billions and also cost Americans job.

For more on the study, check out this story from Business Green.

Senator Kerry pushes climate bill ahead

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry said today that he hopes to release a new, compromise draft of the Senate climate bill before the U.N. climate change talks in Copenhagen next month.

Such a move could slightly increase the chances of a binding agreement coming out of the conference. It is believed that the likelihood of a legally-binding agreement coming out of the talks hinges largely on the United States' willingness and ability to commit to emissions reduction targets.

The current bill would require the U.S. to cut emissions by 20 percent by 2020, but the bill has been met by opposition from both Republicans and moderate Democrats. Senator Kerry is holding bi-partisan meetings in hopes of working out a compromise that enough lawmakers will agree to vote for.

For more information on the U.S. climate bill and the Copenhagen climate change talks, check out this story from Business Green.

Study finds that workers are more productive in green buildings

A San Diego University study has concluded that workers in green buildings are more productive than workers in more carbon-intensive environments.

The research team examined 154 buildings with over 2,000 businesses to make their findings. The researchers found that tenants in buildings that had either Energy Star or LEED certification reported that their workers were five percent more productive in terms of workload and sick days. In addition, businesses in the greener buildings reported higher employee morale, lower employee turnover, and greater ease in recruiting new employees.

For more information on the study, check out this story from Business Green.

Which countries are the world's biggest polluters?

Some of the answers may surprise you. China has overtaken the United States as far as most total emissions go, as the Asian country has seen its emissions double in the last 10 years.

The biggest surprise, however, may be that Australia has passed the United States as far as highest emissions per capita. It is very surprising to see them higher on the list than countries such as the United States and Canada, which are colder and use much more fossil fuels for heating homes and businesses.

Both the United States and China pledged to address global warming and work on reducing their emissions at a recent U.N. meeting in New York. Both of these countries, as well as many other countries from around the world, will be meeting in Copenhagen next month for the U.N.'s Climate Change Conference. Representatives from countries around the world will work on negotiating a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which is set to expire.

For more information on which countries are the biggest polluters, check out this post from The New Ecologist.

Senate puts climate bill on hold

Democratic leaders in the Senate decided today to put off more debate on the proposed climate change legislation for at least five weeks so the EPA can do an analysis of what the bill would cost to implement.

The delay will mean that any vote on the bill will almost certainly not occur until next year. This also means that no bill will be passed before the U.N. climate change summit in Copenhagen on December 7 despite pleas from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for the U.S. to set the tone for the discussion by passing its own binding legislation.

With a lack of legislation before the summit, the U.S. team of negotiators will not have any mandate from Congress on what they should negotiate for. This could limit the team's willingness to agree to binding carbon emission reduction targets, something that U.S. negotiators have been hesitant to agree to in the past.

For more information, check out this story from Business Green.

White House optimistic about climate change bill's chances

After meetings between key Democratic and Republican lawmakers, White House officials are much more confident that a compromise can be reached on a climate change bill than they were just a month ago.

Republican senators who were previously opposed to any kind of climate change legislation have been hinting that they may support a bill so long as it included provisions to fund nuclear energy and domestic oil exploration. White House officials have said that both items are at least somewhat negotiable, meaning that whatever compromise is agreed upon will likely have at least some Republican support.

The talks between lawmakers are important as the UN's Copenhagen climate change summit in December quickly approaches. Progress on the bill will give U.S. officials a better idea of how to go about negotiating the provisions of a potential successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

For more on U.S. climate change talks, check out this story from Business Green.

UK national weather services releases climate change map

The Met Office, the UK's national weather service, released an interactive map today that details the catastrophic impact of a four-degree rise (in Centigrade) in global temperatures.

The map is based on a report that the office released last month, where researchers concluded that the world could see a four-degree rise (equivalent to seven degrees Fahrenheit) in temperature over pre-industrial averages by 2060. Temperatures would likely rise more closer to the poles and less in areas around the equator.

The map details scientists' conclusions on the impact of rising temperatures on water supply, forest fires, agriculture, and sea levels. Scientists have also concluded that increased health risks associated with malaria and other airborne diseases would likely occur.

"Climate change is a truly global problem that needs a global solution and it is a solution we have within our grasp," UK's Foreign Minister David Miliband said. "But to tackle the problem of climate change, all of us – foreign ministries, environment ministries, treasuries, departments of defense and all parts of government and societies – must work together to keep global temperatures to two degrees. It is only by doing this that we can minimize the huge security risks presented by a future four-degree world."

For more information and to see the map, check out this story from Business Green.

Electric vehicles shine at Tokyo auto show

Electric vehicles are the talk of the show at the Tokyo motor show, which is taking place this week.

All of the leading Asian automakers are jostling for position in the expanding electric car market, as each looks for the new big thing to ignite a spark in an industry-wide slump in sales. Both Nissan and Toyota announced at the show that they plan to have all-electric cars ready to ship in the United States by 2012. Toyota officials also said they company remains on track to deliver a plug-in version of the popular Prius to consumers by the end of this year.

For more info on the electric cars being displayed at the show, check out this story from Business Green.

Kyoto's expiration could spell doom for some green projects

So far, international negotiations for a successor to the Kyoto Protocol have been stagnant at best, even after leaders from 177 countries met in Bangkok last week to discuss a new climate change agreement.

The problem is that the interests of developed countries (such as the United States and most of Europe) and less developed nations (such as China, India, and Brazil) are conflicting. The developed nations want the less developed nations to commit to cutting a percentage of their emissions, but those countries say that the developed nations are the ones responsible for climate change and also have the money to make the cuts, so they should have to do most of the work. In a way, both groups have a good point and are right in a lot of respects.

However, debate over how the new agreement should be structured and what it should contain aside, if leaders fails to agree on a new climate change treaty, many green projects around the world are in danger of being shut down after 2012. Obviously, this would be a travesty, as much of the progress those projects have made would be lost. For more info on what is at stake during the global climate change discussions, check out this story from The Washington Post.