ECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE: With infrastructure reform, US can build world’s biggest, greenest carbon sink
In the middle of last month, US Senator (and New Green Deal co-sponsor) Ed Markey (D-Mass) said his party would make sure that any overhaul of the country’s infrastructure was done with clean energy. These “green infrastructure” projects don’t just keep greenhouse gas emissions down though; they generate environmental benefits. Some of them can even become carbon negative, meaning they can absorb more GHGs than they emit.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Canadian carbon reduction and energy efficiency options
As corporates across Canada adjust to new federal and provincial carbon regulations, energy efficiency providers are fine-tuning their products and to serve the low-carbon economy. From low-hanging fruit to futuristic devices, there is no shortage of options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Read MoreECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE: Former UNFCCC boss Yvo de Boer still working the climate puzzle, but from a different angle
Yvo de Boer values his solitude and his garden – both of which he neglected while serving as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from mid-2006 to mid-2010.
Read MoreECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE: Davos and the salad sauce of sustainable supply chains
Something is happening in the “Zero-Deforestation Supply Chain Movement,” which is a key component of the global effort to end climate change, and this week’s Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) could provide the impetus for moving beyond lateral drift into fervent activity.
Read MoreECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE: In Katowice, indigenous leaders call for wider uptake of REDD+
“RIA lives!” said Peruvian indigenous leader FermĂn Chimatani Tayori, referring to a private-public partnership called “Amazon Indigenous REDD+”, an eight-year effort to develop protocols and projects that use carbon finance to support indigenous development plans called “Life Plans” (Planes de Vida).
Read MoreECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE: Corruption, poor enforcement hamper global efforts to end deforestation
Zanzibar’s Masingini Natural Forest Reserve provides drinking water for much of the island and habitat for dozens of rare and endangered species, but its forests are being illegally clear-cut. Meanwhile, in the Brazilian Amazon, the “lungs of the planet”, recent satellite images show 7900 square km of illegal deforestation in just the last year. Isolated transgressions? Hardly.
Read MoreECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE: Oil palm, the prodigal plant, is coming home to Africa – What does that mean for forests?
Western and Central Africa have been cultivating oil palm for millennia, though the big money is flowing into Indonesia and Malaysia, which produce more than 80% of the world’s palm oil supply. Now Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil companies are expanding into African regions, and environmentalists are worried that could accelerate deforestation.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Paris goals can only be achieved in time with robust bottom-up action
Despite the scientific evidence, there are still nations that are either not convinced of the need to reduce emissions, or are unwilling to do so. But real demand for change is growing at ground level. Consumers around the world are paying greater attention to the environment and the climate, and making changes to their own lifestyles. They are also starting to ask uncomfortable questions of the businesses that supply them.
Read MoreBOOK – Designing Climate Solutions: A Policy Guide for Low-Carbon Energy
Designing Climate Solutions: A Policy Guide for Low-Carbon Energy combines the latest research and analysis on low-carbon energy solutions from electric vehicles to renewable energy. It is the first book to identify which specific policies, applied to the top 20 most-emitting countries, can have the largest potential impact to reduce emissions enough for a 50% chance of keeping global warming to a safe level.
Read MoreFOREST TRENDS: How blockchain can make carbon markets more accessible
As more companies and individuals are looking for tools to mitigate their impact on climate change, the idea of utilizing blockchain technology has been on the forefront of many conversations. It is one of the building blocks behind cryptocurrency and companies are looking to utilize blockchain technology as a means to streamline the development and sale of carbon credits.
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