Resources for Business Leaders for Climate Solutions
Climate Solutions collaborates to create and disseminate a great deal of research on the emerging clean economy.
New Resources
From Clean Edge News: Clean-Tech Small Businesses Reaping Rewards from Recovery Act, $5.4 Billion So Far
The Department of Energy recently released a report highlighting the benefits of the Recovery Act to small businesses throughout the clean, renewable energy industry and environmental management sector. The report found that as of early March 2010, small businesses have been selected to receive nearly $5.4 billion in funding across a number of Recovery Act and related programs, including loans, loan guarantees, grants, contracts and tax incentives, in partnership with the Department of Treasury. The report highlights 26 small businesses in a range of clean energy technologies, such as wind, solar, biofuels, along with critical new infrastructure, like Smart Grid, advanced batteries, energy storage, and energy efficiency tools.
Following one of the worst years in economic history, signs of hope have begun to emerge for the clean-tech sector, with clean energy becoming a driving force for global economic recovery from Beijing to Seoul, and Washington D.C. to Brussels. CleanEdge's Clean Energy Trends 2010 report includes growth projections for the major clean-energy sectors (solar PV, wind, and biofuels), as well as global clean-tech investment and jobs data.
The Center for American Progress demonstrates that China, Germany, and Spain are early winners in the next great technological and industrial revolution. The United States, which has yet to fully embrace a truly sustainable growth strategy for the low-carbon future, is not.
The first annual report from Clean Edge focusing on the clean-tech industry. The report highlights five major trends seen by Clean Edge as reshaping the clean-tech jobs landscape. These include how conservation and efficiency are creating tens of thousands of new jobs and leading the clean-tech pack; how utilities facing an aging workforce are turning to a new stable of workers trained in clean tech and the smart grid; and how new educational programs are opening up clean-tech career paths. It then looks at a number of emerging public financing models, such as Victory Bonds and the Green Bank, that could help fuel the next wave of innovation and job growth in clean tech. The end of the report provides an online resource guide for clean-tech job seekers and employers alike – with references to clean-tech books, reports, web sites, jobs boards, job fairs, networking organizations, educational programs from trade schools to MBAs, and more.
Although there is overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is underway and governments are imposing regulations to curb greenhouse gases, the vast majority of the world's largest investment managers are not factoring climate-related trends into their short- and long-term investment decision-making, the result being significant 'hidden risks' in the trillions of dollars of investment portfolios they are managing. This is the key conclusion of a new Ceres report released January 6th that surveyed leading assets managers in 2009 on their responses to the increasing business risks and investment opportunities associated with climate change.
The World Resources Institute provides an assessment of net reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to total U.S. emissions that could be achieved by pollution reduction proposals currently under consideration in the 111th Congress. This assessment is an update to a previous analysis WRI released on October 28, 2009, and includes an analysis of S. 2877, the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal Act (CLEARA), introduced on December 11, 2009 by Senators Cantwell and Collins.
The Union of Concerned Scientists and The Brattle Group have teamed up to study the greatest possible impacts to small businesses from AB 32. "The Bottom Line," they write, is
- Even if California’s small businesses do nothing to decrease their energy use through energy efficiency or other means over the next 10 years, they will likely experience only a small and manageable impact from the state’s policies to reduce global warming pollution. These policies would also enable California to benefit from the new technologies and jobs that characterize a low-carbon economy.
- On the other hand, if global warming is allowed to continue unchecked, it is expected to cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century. California’s recreation, tourism, agriculture, real estate, and forestry businesses could suffer severe damage.
CarbonRational has published a new White Paper on managing businesses with the whole-systems thinking inspired the challenges of solving of climate change.
Generally considered to dawdle on solving global warming, the United States – the individual states themselves, that is – is actually achieving large cut in carbon pollution thanks to clean energy policies adopted over the past decade by state governments, according to this new report by Environment America Research & Policy Center.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory evaluates clean-energy policy measures to determine their effectiveness, guide future efforts, and efficiently allocate resources. It provides a detailed picture of the status of renewable energy development in each of the U.S. states using a variety of metrics and discusses the policies being used to encourage this development.
Climate change stands to pose tremendous challenges to businesses, especially to the ones that cannot adapt fast enough. However, for businesses that can, climate change can actually provide tremendous opportunities and financial rewards. This report by AccountAbility highlights businesses that are already on their way in adapting to climate change.
Opponents of clean energy legislation may be loud, and they may be angry – but they are not a majority. Poll after poll shows the majority of Americans favor a clean energy bill. Take a look at the Environmental Defense Fund's excellent meta-analysis of the research.
This report by Deutsche Bank highlights how the German government helped lead the transition to cleaner energy supply through a comprehensive policy framework. As the United States develop its climate change policy, the example of Germany can serve as a great reference. This study contains good financial data and graphs as proofs of Germany's green success.
The global research firm Point Carbon has just released a very comprehensive and accessible study on the likely winners and losers under a US carbon market as proposed in Congressional legislation now under debate. The study includes excellent graphics and to-the-point overviews.
This study by the Pew Charitable Trusts defines the green economy and provides a clear overview of state action to develop local economies through clean investment.
This new primer by our friends at Sightline Institute brings clarity and explanation to the topic, provides real-world examples, and gives guidance on policy and programs that will help grow a green-collar workforce.
Co-authored by Climate Solutions and clean-tech research firm CleanEdge, this report concludes that five emerging clean-tech industry sectors offer the Pacific Northwest one of the best opportunities for sustained economic vitality and job growth. It also charts the course for private and public investment and leadership to capitalize on the opportunity. The study provides a grounded and realistic view of the region’s potential role in an increasingly competitive global clean-tech industry.
This new blog by Climate Solutions explores the convergence of smart power grids, green intelligent buildings and plug-in electric vehicles.
Is a resource for finding numbers on clean-energy job potential in each state.
Ongoing Resources
- Sightline: This Northwest-based think tank produces major new pieces each month.
- Climate 411: The Environmental Defense Fund is mapping the green economy.
- McKinsey Climate Change Special Initiative: Resource from internationally-renowned consultancy on how climate change can and will impact institutions and how they can act in response.
- Center for American Progress – Energy and Environment: Supplies information on current policy issues and proposals and the effects on the American economy.
- Pew Center on Global Climate Change – Economics: Some more technical papers that model impacts of climate change and climate policies.
- The Economist – Special Reports in Science and Technology: Includes reports on “The future of energy,” “Business and climate change,” and “Climate change”:
- Climate Change Economics Library: Comprehensive resource for papers on every facet of climate change, sorted by category.
- University of Oregon – Climate Leadership Initiative: Northwest-related studies on the potential costs of inaction on climate change.
- Stern Review: The groundbreaking 2006 report that brought international attention to the costs of unmitigated climate change.
- Climate Progress – Economics: Blog posts from noted climate advocate Joseph Romm related to economic issues:
- Washington Dept of Ecology – Green Economy: Washington specific discussion on the green economy and how our state benefits.
For more information on Business Leaders for Climate Solutions, contact:
Bonnie Frye Hemphill
Business Partnerships Fellow | Climate Solutions
bonnie@climatesolutions.org
206-443-9570 x 31
