Ottobre 2013 - Futuro Sostenibile

Home » Posts made in Ottobre, 2013

Climate Change Risks Are Hiding in Investment Portfolios, Gore Says

The United States has no national tax or price on carbon dioxide pollution. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t cost investors anything there or elsewhere, says former Vice President Al Gore. He and David Blood, co-founders of Generation Investment Management, this morning published a new paper explaining the evolution of their thinking on “sustainable capitalism,” and how investors can lessen their financial risks from climate change. Gore and I spoke on Oct. 17.

CNN Report: Climate change may pose threat to economic growth

Hong Kong (CNN) — Nearly a third of the world’s economic output will come from countries facing “high” to “extreme” risks from the impacts of climate change within 12 years, according to a new report. The Climate Change Vulnerability Index, an annual report produced by UK-based risk analysis firm Maplecroft, found that climate change “may pose a serious obstacle to sustainable economic growth in the world’s most commercially important cities.”

China’s Clean-Air Drive Likely to Take a Long Time

Every so often, an extraordinary image makes the rounds on the Internet that shows an ominous gray cloud over the Beijing area, as seen from a satellite. Rather than a rain cloud, it is a shroud of pollution, the type that has caused fear and anger in China’s worst-hit cities. But China’s pollution, while extremely severe, is not unique, and efforts by other countries, like Britain and the United States, to conquer dirty air may hold lessons for China’s future.

Fracking Rules Set in Spain to Boost Shale Gas, Oil Work

Spain completed ground rules for oil and gas drillers to use hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, spurring shale-exploration projects by endorsing the contested technology that they need. The main oil-exploration law was modified to specifically allow the water-intensive drilling technique in legislation published today that becomes effective tomorrow. In the same law, fracking projects across Spain will now be required to meet environmental-impact rules. That means the use of pressurized water and chemicals to break up rocks to unlock fuel may be scrutinized for potential impacts on aquifers to air quality.

Shale Gas Revolution Not Coming To China Anytime Soon

Shale gas has upended U.S. energy markets, cutting oil imports to their lowest level in two decades. Can China pull off the same feat? It has already passed the U.S. as the biggest buyer of oil cargoes and by far the largest burner of coal, which explains the noxious air pollution that cloaks its northern cities. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, of underground reserves offers a way to cut emissions while feeding heating systems and power plants. It now accounts for around 40% of U.S. natural gas production. The topic was certainly on the agenda of visiting U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, who met with Chinese government officials and oil-industry executives during a three-day visit that ended Wednesday. At a media briefing on Wednesday, Moniz said there was a strong interest in both countries in collaborating on unconventional oil and gas. “We have a lot of practices to share,” he said.