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World companies show big interest in climate, US firms lag
New York (AFP) Sept 24, 2007 The world's corporate giants are increasingly focused on climate change and many see it as an opportunity for profit but US firms tend to view it as a risk to their bottom line, a new study has said. The paper, released just ahead of Monday's UN summit on climate change, is the fifth annual report by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a not-for-profit organization that vets corporate response to global warming on behalf of institutional shareholders. Quizzing a sample of members in the Financial Times 500 (FT500) index of the world's biggest corporations, CDP found that 80 percent of respondents saw climate change as presenting risks and opportunities to their business. Of those who considered climate change to represent a commercial risk, 95 percent had implemented a program to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions with a specific target and timeline. Overall, three quarters of respondents said they had implemented a greenhouse-gas reductions initiative of some kind, compared to less than half in the 2006 CDP report. "This trend suggests that a majority of firms recognize the finance and reputational benefits of improved carbon performance," CDP said. Firms where this thinking was prominent were in the food, beverages and tobacco business, which focused on vulnerability to storms and water stress, it said. Banks such as HSBC, Goldman Sachs, and Barclays are exploring lending opportunities in renewable energy projects, while insurance companies such as Munich Re and Prudential are closely monitoring the potential cost to their portfolios from catastrophes driven by climate change. In contrast, though, a sample of US firms, as measured through the Standard and Poor's 500 (S&P 500) index, showed that these "are not as far along" as the more international FT500 group, CDP noted. More of the US respondents saw climate change as presenting commercial risks rather than opportunities. In addition, only 29 percent of US respondents had implemented greenhouse-gas reduction programs with timelines and specific targets. The CDP findings are based on questionnaires sent out to companies, seeking detailed information on the risks and opportunities posed to these firms by climate change. CDP said it represents 315 institutional investors with more than 41 trillion dollars in assets under management. Seventy-seven percent of corporations within the FT500 sample responded to the questionnaire, while the figure for the S&P 500 was only 56 percent. However, the response among the S&P 500 increased in all 10 industry sectors compared with the 2006 report, with nine out of 10 having a response rate greater than 50 percent. This suggests "that American industry has reached a tipping point in addressing this important issue," CDP said. Experts in "green business" say climate change can affect corporate profit directly, for instance through weather extremes, and indirectly through the carbon market, government regulation and pressure from environmentally conscious consumers. Related Links Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
From plate to engine: French city powers buses with food scraps
Lille, France (AFP) Sept 19, 2007The French city of Lille is to power a 100-strong bus fleet using biogas fuel made from organic household waste, thanks to a pioneering recycling plant unveiled on Wednesday. |
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