WWF - Smarter Energy News

Black carbon initiative should not block real carbon action

2012-02-16

Gland, Switzerland: WWF has welcomed a "black carbon" initiative announced today by the US, Canada, Mexico, Ghana, Sweden and Bangladesh – but warned that the primary effort in reducing dangerous climate changing emissions has to remain on achieving rapid and deep cuts to carbon dioxide emissions.

The substances highlighted in the initiative – black carbon or soot, methane and hydrofluorocarbons – are known as short-lived climate forcers since they do not stay in the atmosphere as long as CO2. Major sources of black carbon include burning of biomass in traditional cookstoves and fires in some developing countries, as well as diesel exhaust.
.
'The fact is that the big emitters like the US and Canada that are advancing this initiative have done very little to reduce CO2 emissions, the primary cause of global warming' said Samantha Smith, Leader of the WWF Climate and Energy Initiative.

"'Now they have developed a plan that shifts the focus to others - developing countries in particular. While support for poorer countries is important, their primary responsibility should be to cut their own emissions and address the global challenges posed by climate change."'

"Cutting black carbon emissions by ensuring adequate access to energy and cleaner cookstoves is in principle good, but we should not assume that this new initiative will deliver quick results", said Smith.
"There are many practical challenges to this and the other measures in the initiative, including the very large number of sources of pollution, financing, and cultural barriers to adoption of new cooking methods. Success will depend on good mechanisms for finance, accounting and delivery."

In short, while short-lived forcers provide a window of opportunity it should not distract us from addressing the biggest cause of climate change: CO2 emissions.

Insurance sector key to China meeting renewable energy targets

2011-12-14

Beijing, China – A report published today by WWF and RSA states that China may not be able to tap fully into its renewable energy potential due to lack of an insurance system for the sector.

The aim to reduce CO₂ emissions by 45% and generate 15% of energy from non-fossil sources by 2020 has positioned China as the fastest growing renewable market in the world. However, the development of China's wind energy industry has grown so rapidly that local insurers have not been able to keep up the pace. Insurance is needed to cover risks related, for example, to natural disasters, mechanical failures or operational activities.

Opportunities and Challenges

The report Wind Energy Insurance in China: Opportunities & Challenges has found that more than 80% domestic insurers and wind energy companies are not developing insurance products to meet the demand of nearly 40,000 turbines and a predicted increase of 10,000 per annum.

In other regions, such as North America and Europe, insurers have been working with wind energy companies for over three decades, offering products that cover all elements of their operations.

By establishing an effective insurance system and involving international insurers on complex risks, China's wind energy industry could increase capacity and benefit from know-how exchange.

Use all financial tools that can boost renewable energy

"Wind energy has high potential for low carbon development but it's not risk free. As technology continues to develop and we see bigger wind turbines, experienced insurers are needed to understand, manage and reduce the potential risks", said Elton Chang, CEO of RSA China. "The technical support of insurers is paramount for the growth of the sector, especially as further growth is expected in offshore wind energy."

"WWF envisions a future in which 100% of energy will be from renewable sources by 2050. To support this goal, it is important that we use all financial tools that can boost renewable energy. Insurers play a significant role to mitigate risk, reduce financial costs and increase investments in this crucial sector", said Dr. Li Lin, Deputy Country Representative at WWF China.

WWF brings major low carbon technology programme to China

2011-12-05

Beijing, China - WWF has announced the China launch of Climate Solver, the organization's primary programme to strengthen the development and widespread use of technologies that can dramatically reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

WWF is expanding the Climate Solver programme from Europe to China because of the country's unique position as both the world's largest carbon emitter, and the nation with the most ambitious low carbon development targets—as well as a robust low carbon technology startup sector.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, which included researchers from the National Climate Change Center and Institute for Policy and Management, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hou Yanli, director, Climate and Energy Programme, WWF-China, said: "China is a major emitter with the will to change, precisely the type of situation where a programme such as Climate Solver can have the greatest impact."

"China will require greater development and adoption of low carbon technologies if it is to meet the Twelfth Five-Year Plan targets of non-fossil fuel energy comprising 11.4% of primary energy mix by 2015 and 15% by 2020, from less than 9% now. Climate Solver can help, and helping China meet its targets will be good for the country and the world."

How Climate Solver works

WWF will work with government agencies, research institutions, science and technology parks, and others to identify small- and medium-sized enterprises in China with innovative low carbon technologies, but low market share.

WWF will work with third parties to evaluate these enterprises and their technologies based on potential to reduce carbon emissions. Those with the greatest potential will be named Climate Solver companies, and WWF will provide these enterprises with two valuable items: credibility and exposure.

The experience of Climate Solver companies in Sweden is that enhanced credibility from passing through WWF's evaluation process and being named a Climate Solver company increases support from investors and customers. Further, Climate Solver companies receive opportunities to meet and build relationships with the organizations WWF has relationships with, including government agencies, research institutions, science and technology parks, and the media.

Svante Bengtsson, CEO of Swedish energy-efficiency startup and Climate Solver company Rehact, has said of the Climate Solver experience: "Absolutely, a door opener. Most people know of WWF and find it interesting that we are one out of a few chosen companies. It creates credibility. It has been of high significance for us."

David Andersson, CEO of Swedish carbon capture startup and Climate Solver company Ecoera, has said: "The nomination to Climate Solvers is a very valuable acknowledgement for us; we have greatly benefited from it. Very positive and good PR from it. We have, for example, participated during the Almedalen Week and the Copenhagen conference, which have been very useful."

Chinese low carbon technology startups seeking the benefits of Climate Solver status can contact WWF.

For further information:
Zhuang Shiguan: tel: +86 10 6511 6286, email: shgzhuang@wwfchina.org

Durban talks - an opportunity to move beyond political posturing

2011-11-26

Durban, South Africa: The United Nations climate change talks starting this week present a unique opportunity for leaders of the world to move beyond political posturing and lay the foundations for an ambitious global climate deal.

The climate talks are at a crossroads, and governments have a lot of work to do in Durban if they want the world to know they are serious about addressing dangerous climate change, WWF said today.

Samantha Smith, leader of WWF's Global Climate and Energy Initiative:

" Climate change is a global threat that makes borders and politics irrelevant – and it needs a united response from the world's governments. Right now, the story of worsening natural disasters caused by climate change will fill the pages of history books with a narrative of failed ambitions, shortsightedness, and a lack of courage from world leaders to deal with this threat.

Governments need to rewrite that story, and they need to start doing it in Durban.

Already, global greenhouse gas emissions increased to record levels in 2010. The world currently is on track for global temperature increases exceeding the dangerous threshold of 2º C degrees, with catastrophic consequences. In line with the soundest science, WWF is advocating a peak and decline of emissions by 2015, which is critical to have a chance of staying below 2º C degrees of global warming.

That means in Durban leaders have a choice. They can build on the progress achieved at last year's UN climate change negotiations in Cancun and act to prevent runaway climate change. Or they can allow short-term national interests to set us on a dangerous path.

The costs of climate change are high; socially, environmentally and economically. They will increase with every single delay to act. But solving the climate change crisis isn't just about reducing emissions. We can shift the world to a new, more secure development path. This path includes clean, renewable energy and green jobs, less poverty, and a more sustainable use of our natural resources. It's within our grasp - a more secure future in which people live in harmony with nature and have ample food, clean water, and reliable sources of energy. "

Tasneem Essop, WWF's head of climate advocacy:

" Here in Africa, the impacts of climate change for people are all too real. We need leaders to realise that they will be making decisions on African soil. They need to understand that we are at a critical turning point – the world is looking to them to provide certainty about the future of the Kyoto Protocol and a future global climate regime. "

What WWF wants out of Durban:

Lock in the progress that has already been made in the negotiations up to now. The Cancun agreements must be implemented.

Commit to a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol. The first commitment period ends in 2012.

Lay the foundation for negotiating a legally binding global agreement that includes all countries by 2015.

Identify the sources for long-term finance needed to cut emissions and to pay for urgently-needed adaptation to climate impacts.

Use the opportunity of COP 17 to increase ambition to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Rivers for Life: The Case for Conservation Priorities in the Face of Water Infrastructure Development

2011-11-17

WWF's "Rivers for Life: The Case for Conservation Priorities in the Face of Water Infrastructure Development" addresses the need for approaches and methodologies that help identify and prioritize freshwater areas of conservation value. It showcases some of WWF's freshwater prioritization assessments in the Amazon, Austria, China, India, the Mekong, and Mexico, each having been implemented in different contexts and under diverse conditions.

WWF's case studies show that identification and prioritization processes are powerful tools in the realm of river basin planning, water management, and water infrastructure development. WWF and partners are applying prioritization approaches around the world.

In "Rivers for Life: The Case for Conservation Priorities in the Face of Water Infrastructure Development," WWF provides freshwater management decision-makers and stakeholders, including infrastructure developers and local communities, a guide on the prioritization methodologies available, and expertise on how best to implement such tools.

***
Background:
As the world's population reaches 7 billion, the demand for energy, food, and water has never been greater. An increasing number of freshwater ecosystems, which are the providers of vital services and resources to humankind – such as clean water, fisheries, flood protection – are being significantly impacted by human activities. By losing these assets, humankind risks to lose the very basis for livelihoods and biodiversity in many places on this planet.

Identifying priority areas for freshwater conservation is an important step in ensuring that areas most valuable from a conservation perspective within river basins remain protected from disruptive infrastructure development and unsustainable use, while sustainably supplying societal needs for water, energy, and food.

Methods for the identification and subsequent prioritization of areas of conservation value – both terrestrial and aquatic – are increasingly available. The WWF is developing and using such methods for prioritization of areas for freshwater conservation and to contribute in guiding sustainable development and human use in river basins, while also protecting important natural assets.

While numerous approaches or methodologies are available to obtain credible results, there are a set of core planning principles that are critical in any freshwater prioritization process. Key among these is adequately involving all stakeholders in the decision-making process in order to secure the buy-in of society, and hence legitimacy of the process. This will ultimately allow for the outcomes to be integrated into legal, policy, and management frameworks, and turned into effective, sustainable practice.

WWF has conducted prioritization assessments inter alia in the Amazon, Austria, China, India, the Mekong, and Mexico, all of which were implemented in different contexts and under diverse conditions. Through these assessments, WWF has gathered a critical mass of expertise and experiences, leading to the identification of key characteristics to successful approaches and opening the way to sound water resources management in the face of infrastructure development that responds to the increased demand for energy and food.

The guide moreover provides recommendations to the main players involved – public authorities in charge of water management, private sector, and civil society – on key aspects to consider when engaging in a freshwater prioritization process.

Power the future, not the past

2011-11-09

Paris, France – The World Energy Outlook 2011, released today by International Energy Agency (IEA) has shown the ever-growing impact of fossil fuels on the environment and the impact of high and volatile fossil fuel prices on economies, but fails to follow through with a strong emphasis on energy efficiency and renewable energy as the global escape route from these dilemmas, WWF said today.

"WWF particularly questions the crucial assumption that global oil prices in 20 years will be only slighter higher than today," said Samantha Smith, Leader of WWF's Global Climate and Energy Initiative.

"Three billion new consumers are coming on line from emerging economies. If they use fossil fuels at the same rates as consumers do today, oil prices will go through the roof – as will CO2 emissions."

"WWF thinks that renewable energy is the future, and the key to true energy and climate security. The IEA assumes that by 2035, about half of all new power capacity will come from renewables. This is business as usual - we could get there from today's trends. But as WWF's Energy Report shows, we could get to 100% renewable by 2050."

Focus on a fully renewable energy future

The IEA also shows that in order to replace high-carbon coal, a dash for low-carbon gas – alone and in the absence of other measures to promote energy conservation and renewables – may put the world on a global warming trajectory for over 3.5ºC, a substantial overrun of the global agreement that the world should be kept within 2ºC global warming.

"The IEA has been a leader in highlighting the link between fossil fuels and climate change," said Ms Smith. "We'd like to see it maintain this leadership, and focus more on a fully renewable energy future."

The WEO also shows that providing clean, affordable and reliable energy to the poor is entirely within reach. It would cost less than $US50 billion per year to bring basic and renewable energy services to the approximately three billion people worldwide who currently lack them. By comparison, oil imports for the EU and US combined cost 12 times as much. The WEO also shows that fossil fuel subsidies for consumers, currently at $US400 billion provide few benefits for the poor.

Clean and affordable energy for the world's poorest

"The IEA thankfully has debunked the myth that fossil fuel subsidies benefit the poor. Less than one-tenth of these reached the poorest 20% globally. These subsidies just pay for the middle classes' growing energy consumption, and fire-up climate change. This money should instead pay for renewables and bringing affordable and clean energy to the people who really need it – the poor," said Dr Stephan Singer, Director Energy Policy for WWF's Global Climate and Energy Initiative.

In developing countries, more than 1 billion people have no access to reliable electricity and more than 2.5 billion people rely on polluting and inefficient biomass and coal use for cooking and heating.

WWF campaigns for more green energy in Japan

2011-08-01

Tokyo, Japan - WWF has launched a new business partnership that urges the Japanese government to adopt more renewable energy into the country's power mix to help increase energy security and reduce the impact of climate change on future generations.

The Business Partnership for Low-Carbon Society urges the nation to rethink its energy future and shift to a greener society where renewable energy plays a central role.

Demands for a greener energy mix have peaked since the devastating earthquake that struck northeastern Japan on March 11 this year, the worst in the country's history. Measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, it also triggered a tsunami that washed out costal cities and farmland across the northeast.

The disaster virtually made it impossible for the government to build new reactors as planned, and it instead shifted to the development of a new energy policy that includes more renewable energy technologies and an enhanced focus on environmental protection.

In a show of support for the demands for a cleaner, greener energy mix across the country, IKEA Japan and mont-bell Co., Ltd are endorsing WWF's new corporate partnership. Their concerns and vision have been highlighted in the recent WWF-backed Communiqué on the Future of Energy in Japan, which outlines the need for all of society to conserve energy and push for the adoption of policies that will make the adoption of renewable energy technologies across Japan a reality.

"The nation's energy policy also works as a climate policy," says Yosuke Ikehara, a Climate and Energy Project Leader of WWF Japan. "When developing a future energy vision, we need to place renewables in a central position by taking into account safety and sustainability as well as their potential to reduce the impacts of climate change."

"It is significant that this idea is also coming from the Japanese businesses sector at this time," added Mr. Ikehara.

To promote the uptake of renewable energy resources, a feed-in tariff bill is now under discussion at the Japanese Diet. However, there is a regressive proposal in discussion that puts a ceiling on the amount of surcharge per unit of power consumption, which would prevent wider dissemination of renewable energy technologies. WWF Japan is urging legislators to pass the bill in a form that promotes the renewable sources of power.

Fast lane for innovation key to avoid rocky road of climate change

2011-06-16

While the United Nations climate talks in Bonn this week creep forward, a new WWF report says that fast and scaled up support for innovative approaches to developing a low-carbon economy is possible.

Enabling the Transition – Climate Innovation Systems for a Low Carbon Future, released today, calls for inclusive actions of equal speed and scale and states that "the speed, scale and complexity of climate change is having a multiplying effect on other environmental stresses".

"The International Energy Agency has just reported record high emissions in 2010. WWF's new report on innovation shows that governments can create the fast lane to global deployment of clean technologies," said Samantha Smith, leader of WWF's Global Climate and Energy Initiative.

"While industry is starting to get on board, governments are called upon to make clean technology markets grow at a fast pace. They need to introduce stronger national legislation as much as finalizing the international framework currently negotiated in Bonn."

The report assesses nine economies – China, India, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the European Union. It shows a range of common conditions for moving fast towards a low carbon economy: they include strengthening domestic and international technology collaboration, establishing new low carbon markets, stimulating demand, and attracting private capital.

Providing reliable, affordable and clean energy on the scale required will need large initial investment. But the benefits would be much greater in the long term, providing economic and development opportunities and massive cost savings.

"Every country and region has its own unique starting point and ability to create enabling environments for climate entrepreneurship," said Samantha Smith. "However, they also share a great deal of the challenges and the opportunities gained from strengthening climate innovation systems."

Increased collaboration and investments must be facilitated and reinforced with carefully designed policies, the report states. These policies should include re-directing the existing $ 200-500 billion global fossil fuel subsidies into sustainable energy solutions, as well as rewarding transformative solutions in public procurement and economic stimulus packages.

"The overwhelming majority of capital required for making the transition to low carbon will come from private sources, and that money will flow where it expects to achieve the highest return on investments. We need to discuss how to attract private capital to climate innovations, including targeted support from public funds" said Magnus Emfel, Manager Climate Innovations at WWF Sweden and editor of the report.

"The UNFCCC should send a clear signal to countries about the level of ambition for low carbon innovation," said Samantha Smith. "Unfortunately, progress in Bonn is sluggish at best – our report shows how governments could move into the fast lane."

The on-going United Nations meeting in Bonn is preparing for the climate conference in South Africa at the end of 2011 (UNFCCC COP 17, 28 Nov to 9 Dec 2011). WWF says that progress and agreements should be reached in Bonn on a number of critical stepping stones, including public climate finance, all of which can then be successfully finalized in Durban, South Africa.

Groundbreaking report underscores advantages of renewable energy future

2011-05-09

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – A major new report by the United Nations-supported Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) launched today underscores the incredible environmental and social advantages of a future powered by renewable energy over the next decades, WWF said.

The 900-page Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation compares 164 scenarios on renewable energy and is the most comprehensive analysis ever of trends and perspectives for renewable energy.

"The IPCC and governments of the world signal loud and clear: fossil fuels and nuclear are no real alternatives to renewables," said Dr Stephan Singer, Director for Global Energy Policy for WWF International.

"As oil and gas within easy reach is dwindling, the world needs to move to clean and sustainable sources of energy and avoid any investment into dirty alternatives."

Although unique in its epic scope, the IPCC underestimates the potential of deploying renewable energy even faster, especially when combined with top level energy efficiency, WWF said. The organisation's own analysis, called The Energy Report, shows a pathway to a 100% renewable energy future by 2050. This analysis is the first that also indicates the challenges and research needs to make sure this low carbon development respects development needs of up to 9 billion people.

"IPCC delivers a landmark report that shows the rapid growth, low-cost potential for renewable energy – but unfortunately does not endorse a 100% renewable energy pathway until 2050," said Singer.

"WWF's report adds that missing piece – a bold vision with a clear timeline. We need to be fast if we want to tackle pressing issues as varied as energy security and efficiency, and at the same time keep climate change well below the danger threshold of 2 degree global warming.

WWF strongly emphasizes that in addition to the climate benefits, the IPCC report documents the plethora of other advantages clean renewables provide including health and security of supply benefits, new job and technology opportunities for all countries and the potential to provide clean and affordable energy to the more than two billion people in parts of the developing world which either have no or only erratic access.

Meanwhile, more than four days of negotiations that preceded the report's launch this week in Abu Dhabi produced a Summary for Policy Makers, agreed to by more than 100 governments present in the early hours of Monday 9 May.

"Unfortunately, the Summary for Policy Makers is only a feeble outline and does not in the least match the high quality of the full report," said Singer. "One needs to turn to the full report to understand the massive job the IPCC has managed to achieve."

The Summary for Policy Makers which has now been approved by the world's governments, becomes an accepted basis for planning energy policies, investment and infrastructure for national and regional governments as well as for U.N. agencies and international organisations such as the World Bank.

Top climate change panel to launch groundbreaking renewable energy report

2011-05-03

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is expected to launch an extensive and long-awaited report on renewable energy May 9 in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.

The 900-page Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation is significant because it compares 164 scenarios on renewable energy and is the most comprehensive analysis ever of trends and perspectives for renewable energy.

Preceding the launch, from 5 to 8 May, more than 100 governments will negotiate the Summary for Policy Makers.

The report comes after the launch earlier this year of WWF's vision for achieving a 100% renewable energy future by 2050, the most ambitious scenario of any published so far. This vision – The Energy Report – is based on a detailed scenario by energy consultancy Ecofys and shows the opportunities but also the challenges of such a development based on existing technologies.

The Energy Report unfortunately came too late to be considered by IPCC authors for inclusion in the IPCC analysis.

Although unique in its epic scope, the IPCC therefore underestimates the potential of deploying renewable energy even faster, especially when combined with top level energy efficiency, WWF said.

"IPCC delivers a landmark report that shows the rapid growth potential for renewable energy – but unfortunately does not endorse a 100% renewable energy pathway until 2050," said Stephan Singer, Director for Global Energy Policy at WWF International.

"WWF's report adds that missing piece – a bold vision with a clear timeline. We need to be fast if we want to tackle pressing issues as varied as energy security and efficiency, and at the same time keep climate change below the danger threshold."

The 164 scenarios compared in the IPCC report show that renewable energy is projected to remain the fastest growing energy source. Renewables beat fossils in global and regional availability; most of them will also see substantive cost reductions in the next decades, particularly solar energy.

"There are no real alternatives to energy efficiency and renewables," said Singer. "As oil and gas within easy reach are dwindling, the world needs to move to clean and sustainable sources of energy and avoid any investment into dirty alternatives."

WWF agrees with the IPCC that the recent large growth in clean energy investments and the simultaneous cost reductions in wind and solar energy provide a strong start for renewable energy expansion.

"If we want to bring renewables out of the niche and substitute fossil and nuclear fuels, we need to see substantive policy change and financial support in all regions of the world," said Singer. "IPCC has done a great job in identifying both – the big challenges and the even larger opportunities and benefits of renewable energy for all nations."

It is no coincidence that the IPCC report on renewable energy is being launched in the UAE, the country with the sixth and seventh largest proven reserves of oil and gas respectively.

"The UAE has started to make laudable efforts to diversify its energy mix and is fast becoming a leading country in clean energy development", says Tanzeed Alam, Policy Director of Emirates Wildlife Society in association with WWF(EWS-WWF). "Our studies for the UAE Ecological Footprint Initiative show that by 2030 Abu Dhabi could reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 40% powered by a rapidly growing renewable energy sector that surpasses current targets."

Business, government meeting ends in emissions reductions commitment

2011-04-29

Jakarta, Indonesia - The Business 4 Environment (B4E) Summit closed today in Jakarta with the release of the B4E 2011 Business Declaration supporting Indonesia's commitment to reduce emissions by between 26 percent and 41 percent by 2020.

This Declaration has been developed as a pledge from the Indonesian business community to support President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Government of Indonesia to reduce emissions by a minimum of 26 percent by 2020, against a targeted 7% economic growth.

"Governments cannot do the efforts alone," said Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a keynote address on Thursday. "As all of us move towards low-carbon development, we will need the greater participation of civil society and business leaders as our partners to realize a robust green economy," he continued.

The President also highlighted Indonesia's commitment to allocate the expansion of plantations and other economic activities to already degraded - or low carbon- areas.

"WWF is very pleased with the bold commitment by the Indonesian President. This is a foundation for all business players to synergize with relevant stakeholders to reach the target of 26 to 41 percent emissions reduction, as laid out in 2009 at the G20 meeting in Pittsburg," said Dr. Efransjah, CEO of WWF-Indonesia.

The summit's nearly 700 representatives from business, governments and NGOs were included in the declaration, delivered by H.E Hatta Rajasa Indonesia's Coordinating Minister of the Economy.

A key component of the Declaration is an agreement to support Zero Net Deforestation and Forest Degradation by 2020 (ZNDD), and at the same time phasing out of products coming from deforestation of ecologically important forests by 2020.

Based on the first chapter of WWF's new Living Forests Report, which was released at the B4E summit on Wednesday, 27 April, more than 230 million hectares of forest will disappear by 2050 if no action is taken. The report proposes that policymakers and businesses unite around a goal of ZNDD by 2020 as a global benchmark to avoid dangerous climate change and curb biodiversity loss.

The Declaration is an encouraging sign that we are moving towards the kind of cross-sector collaboration that is crucial if we are going to halt forest loss and mitigate the damaging impacts of climate change," Dr. Efransjah added.

The Declaration also included promises to reduce resource intensity with investments in energy and resource efficiency, support for areas of high biodiversity, investment in sustainable urban planning and better supply chain management.

"We will continue working to encourage forestry and plantation companies to use sustainable practices. Good governance and incentives will provide the certainty businesses need to operate successfully using existing degraded land," said Rod Taylor, WWF International's Director of Forests.

Business collaboration in the Heart of Borneo
The B4E Summit opened with the Heart of Borneo (HoB) Green Business Day, organized by WWF's Heart of Borneo Initiative, providing an opportunity for open dialogue between key business leaders in the palm oil, forestry and mining sectors with operations on the island of Borneo.

Adam Tomasek, WWF's HoB team leader, said the HoB Initiative was committed to using a multi-stakeholder process to achieve conservation and sustainable development across the 22 million hectares landscape.

"The HoB Green Business day represented this commitment and the productive dialogue that emerged with the key sectors, government and civil society helped deepen the understanding of challenges and opportunities of achieving sustainability."

He said the event moved commitments forward in a number of ways, in particular with the announcement of the first pulp and paper participants to join GFTN Indonesia.

Brave new world fuelled by clean economical energy possible and imperative by 2050

2011-02-03

Gland, Switzerland: All of the world's energy needs could be provided cleanly, renewably and economically by 2050, according to a major new study by WWF.

Two years in preparation, The Energy Report breaks new ground with its global scope and its consideration of total energy needs including transport, and making adequate and safe energy available to all.

"If we continue to rely on fossil fuels, we face a future of increasing anxieties over energy costs, energy security and climate change impacts," said WWF Director General Jim Leape. "We are offering an alternative scenario – far more promising and entirely achievable.

"The Energy Report shows that in four decades we can have a world of vibrant economies and societies powered entirely by clean, cheap and renewable energy and with a vastly improved quality of life.

"The report is more than a scenario – it's a call for action. We can achieve a cleaner, renewable future, but we must start now."

The two-part report contains a detailed analysis and scenario presented by respected energy consultancy Ecofys, an analysis by WWF, and a graphic narrative by OMA. It shows that by 2050, power, transport, industrial and domestic energy needs could be met with only isolated residual uses of fossil and nuclear fuels – vastly reducing anxieties over energy security, pollution and not least, catastrophic climate change.

Energy efficiency in buildings, vehicles and industry would be a key ingredient, along with an increase in the energy needs met through electric power, renewably generated and supplied through smart grids.

Under the Ecofys scenario, in 2050 total energy demand will be 15 percent lower than in 2005, despite increases in population, industrial output, freight and travel - and energy being made available to those currently not enjoying its benefits. The world no longer relies on coal, or nuclear fuels, while international rules and cooperation limit potential environmental damage from biofuel production and hydroelectricity development.

"In this report we are very deliberately not making extravagant assumptions about the benefits of technologies yet to come," said Ecofys director Kees van der Leun. "This inherently means that this is a moderate estimate of the renewable energy future we could enjoy by 2050."

"At Ecofys we know that solutions for the global energy challenge are at hand. There are numerous systems that use energy more efficiently, allowing us to manage current energy sources more carefully. Moreover, we understand the opportunities in using the vast amounts of sustainable energy that surround us."

Providing reliable, affordable and clean energy on the scale required will need a global effort – similar to the global response to the world financial crisis. But the benefits would be much greater in the long term, with the savings from lower energy costs balancing total new investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency by 2040 and savings over a "Business-As-Usual" scenario amounting to around €4 trillion from lower energy costs alone by 2050.

Other benefits are savings from avoiding energy security conflicts, dirty spills and supply disruptions that are inherent in sourcing ever scarcer fossil fuels from more and more politically or environmentally challenging areas.

Importantly, The Energy Report scenario would see CO2 emissions from the world's energy supply sector reduced by over 80 per cent by 2050 - providing a high level of confidence that the average global temperature rise will be limited to the less than the two degrees Celsius threshold identified as presenting unacceptable risks of catastrophic climate change.

"We will live differently, but we will live well," said Jim Leape. "We must provide energy for all without imperiling our planet, and this report shows that we can."

More stimulus needed for energy conservation in China

2011-01-26

Beijing – Economic development plans in China need to further promote a low carbon economy, says a new WWF report assessing the climate and energy impacts of China's stimulus package.

In November 2008, the State Council (China's highest decision-making body) decided to invest four trillion RMB – approximately 586 billion US dollars – to bolster the country's economy from the global financial crisis. As in March China's National Congress will adopt the 12th Five-Year Plan, the main policy tool driving economic and social development in China, this study offers an important reference on how to direct future investments.

The study found that China's stimulus package has been successful in boosting economic growth mainly through investments in infrastructures. This has increased demand for energy-intensive industries and pushed up China's energy consumption in the short-term (2009-2010). It is estimated, however, that the stimulus will have long terms benefits for energy conservation and that its net effects on carbon emissions will be positive from 2014 onwards.

"There are signals that macroeconomic planning is starting to take carbon emissions seriously into account. We will need more of this in the future. All investment policies will have to factor in energy and resource conservation, as well as climate change," said Dr. Li Lin, Leader of WWF's China for a Global Shift Initiative.

The main benefits in the long term will be driven by investment in the railway and urban transport systems, contributing to reduce energy consumption in the transport sector by 20% by 2020. Overall, it is anticipated that the originally forecast 9.63 billion tons of CO2 emissions by 2020 will decline to 9.36 billion tons. However, more efforts are needed to reach the goal that China pledged at the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December 2009 (reducing emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45% by 2020 compared to 2005).

The report recommends that China increase investments in energy conservation, including stricter approval standards for energy-intensive projects and disincentives for those using inefficient technologies. China also needs to take full advantage of the country's renewable energy potential and upgrade the energy grids.

Carbon footprint accounts for 54% of China's total ecological footprint, according to a WWF report published in November 2010, so promoting a low-carbon economy will be crucial for China's environmental sustainability.

"If properly directed, economic interventions can support the transition to low carbon development. The next Five-Year Plan offers an enormous opportunity to set China firmly on track towards the achievement of a low carbon economy," added Dr. Li.

Cancun negotiators need to play catch-up

2010-11-28

Cancun, Mexico – After a spate of reports showing a shortfall in actions to prevent catastrophic climate change, agreeing to a catch up plan is the pressing priority facing countries assembling for the UN climate conference in Cancun, Mexico, WWF said today.

"At this point there is a clear disconnect between the stated goal of limiting global warming and international commitments in mitigation and finance," said Gordon Shepherd, Leader of WWF's Global Climate Initiative. "However we are seeing growing momentum in several countries to act on climate at the national level."

"The Cancun outcome needs to explicitly recognise the shortfall in action to cut emissions to safe levels and protect people and the planet from climate impacts – and then, building on this national momentum, lay out a clear plan for catching up."

"The Cancun catch-up plan needs to make progress in several key areas, with the most promising being climate finance, safeguarding forests, finalising the agreement on helping vulnerable people adapt to climate impacts, and building up a transparent system for undertaking emission cuts."

Among the challenges are questions related to the creation of a legally binding set of commitments to safeguard the planet and its people, including the future role of the Kyoto Protocol. Differences in views on this issue held by key countries, such as Japan, the US, China and India, on what such a treaty should contain continue to slow progress.

"Recently, for example, Japan seems to be digging in its heels about not wanting a Kyoto Protocol, which would make it harder to get an outcome in Cancun on a 'package of decisions' unless Japan becomes more constructive," said Gordon Shepherd.

"What is important for Cancun is to build tools that enable action on the ground and build the architecture for such a global agreement, without waiting for the complete set of solutions to emerge all at once."

WWF's view on key issues in Cancun:

The creation of a global climate fund should be agreed and a clear statement made about how to implement new innovative sources of climate finance that were proposed recently by the UN Secretary-General's High Level Advisory Group.
The adaptation text must be finalized and decisions must be made on the various options, to open the way for implementing the Adaptation Action Framework for Implementation. On the issue of addressing "loss and damage", Parties need to be ready to address the fact that some climate impacts are already irreversible and vulnerable countries and communities have a right to be supported once such loss occurs.
The existing text on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) should be strengthened to establish sound national systems that ensure indigenous people and biodiversity will be protected, and the causes for deforestation are addressed by industrialized and developing countries alike. The "REDD+ partnership", an initiative by Norway and France with a number of tropical forest countries including Mexico, has already mobilized some USD 4.5 billion to stop tropical forest loss.
Countries need to formally adopt the emission cut pledges made in the Copenhagen Accord and agree how to measure, report, and verify ("MRV") these actions. In the run up to Cancun, this has been contentious between the US and China: the US needs to make clear it is willing to commit to sound international rules comparable to those of other industrialized countries. China should also agree to a form of international review of its national mitigation efforts.

For journalists: see full press release with media contacts

World Energy Outlook joins the dots on climate action and energy security

2010-11-09

London: Today's World Energy Outlook, keynote annual publication of the international Energy Agency, shows the continuing mainstreaming of the view that effective climate action is clearly linked to future sustainable energy security WWF commented today.

"While we don't necessarily endorse all the detail, WWF is highly gratified with the IEA's growing emphasis on energy efficiency and renewable energy to enhance effective carbon abatement regimes," said Dr Stephan Singer, Director of Global Energy Policy for WWF International.

"We are pleased that they highlight the need to overcome the approximate annual $US700 billion in fossil fuel subsidies. This money, about one per cent of global GDP, needs to go to support renewable and energy conservation and help the poor."

"We are also pleased with the strong push by the IEA that eradicating energy poverty for more than one third of the world's population is a major development issue, with clean renewables best placed to deliver cost effective, equitable and sustainable solutions."

WWF will shortly be issuing a detailed analysis of the World Energy Outlook, both in the run up to the Cancun UN climate conference commencing later this month and its own forthcoming analysis of energy prospects and possibilities.

Climate money can be generated, political will needs to come from Cancun

2010-11-05

New York, USA: A high level analysis of climate finance submitted to the UN today has demonstrated the feasibility of putting up by 2020 US$100 billion a year in public funding to fight climate change.

According to WWF, this conservative analysis by the special High-level Advisory Group on Climate Change Finance (AGF) sets the stage for a finance agreement to come out of the UN climate summit starting late this month in Cancun, Mexico.

"The Secretary General's high level group has come up with the financial mechanisms, now we look to governments to come up with the political mechanisms to get the finance actually flowing," said Gordon Shepherd, leader of WWF's Global Climate Initiative.

Financing, agreed in principle under the Copenhagen Accord from the last UN climate summit, is needed to support action in developing countries to halt the destruction of tropical forests, speed the transition away from high-emission models of development, and to help vulnerable countries adapt to climate change impacts.

"These public funds are critical to speed up the development and implementation of new technologies, as well as for adaptation and resilience building, new energy efficient infrastructure, and for construction. It will also be used to leverage private sector finance which will contribute much of the investments needed in clean energy technologies," said Shepherd.

"Our experience is that public investment and initiatives play key roles in mobilising and directing private investment."

The AGF report gives strong support for financing from carbon pricing mechanisms, with one of the most promising sectors being international aviation and maritime transport, whose emissions are as yet unregulated. "We expect decisive action in Cancun to put this finance source on a fast track to implementation", said Shepherd.

Other promising sources were downplayed because of opposition from some individual group members, with the chief casualty being the financial transaction tax (FTT).

""Financial transaction taxes have been successfully implemented in more than a dozen countries and at this point we should be examining all potential sources of finance on their merits", said Shepherd.

Although the assumptions used by the AGF to assess the scale of potential financing generated are extremely conservative, and some members placed undue emphasis on private sector investments in meeting the $100 billion per year financing milestone, the report provides a useful starting point for moving forward.

Parties in Cancun can build upon the AGF recommendation on the way to establishing a much needed new UN Climate Fund and could contribute to host country Mexico's wish for progress on all elements of a "balanced" Cancun package.

The AGF was set up by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in February, Co-chaired by Prime Minister Stoltenberg from Norway, and Prime Minister Zenawi from Ethiopia, to explore innovative financing sources and mobilize the financing promised for climate change during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen last December.

For any further information and interviews contact:
Gordon Shepherd, Leader WWF Global Climate Initiative, gshepherd@wwfint.org, Ph: +41 794567959
(On European time-zone)
Mark Lutes, Finance Policy Coordinator, WWF Global Climate Initiative, mark.lutes@wwf.panda.org, Ph: +1 416 484-7723; mobile: +1 416 473-5919;(On Toronto, Canadian time-zone)
Ashwini Prabha, Communications Manager, WWF Global Climate Initiative, aprabha@wwfint.org, +41 798741682

More information on financing for climate change and AGF: www.panda.org/climatefinance

Popular climate, energy consumer guide goes global

2010-10-26

Topten International Group and WWF today announced the launch of the popular Topten consumer guides in the U.S.A. and mainland China, giving people around the world the opportunity to fight climate change by making informed decisions on the energy costs of the appliances they buy.

Topten is an international alliance of organizations, including WWF, which offers localized, consumer-oriented online search tools for energy efficient products. Topten's goal is to address climate change and energy consumption by driving demand and encouraging innovation for super-efficient products in common categories from appliances to electronics—potentially, any product with a switch or a motor.

Including its existing affiliates in 16 European countries, the areas now covered by Topten organizations account for roughly 40 percent of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions.

"If hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide make smart choices for the most efficient products, they will not only save money from increased energy bills, they will also substantially cut global warming and other pollution," said Dr. Stephan Singer, Director, Global Energy Policy for WWF. "Energy conservation alone is the largest source of all thinkable actions to curb CO2 emissions by more than one third in the next few decades."

Energy-efficient products offer one of the quickest, least painful routes to significant greenhouse gas reductions. The most efficient products in common consumer categories such as refrigerators and televisions use up to 50 percent less energy than the category average. Even a modest consumer shift—10 percent of current sales—to the most energy efficient products could have a considerable impact on climate change by eliminating the release 100 million metric tons of carbon-equivalent gases each year.

And there's no reason to assume that 10 percent is all a given market will tolerate. The Swiss market, for example, has already demonstrated the success of the Topten model, as the sales of highly-efficient heat-pump clothes dryers, first identified as super-efficient by Topten in 2000, have gone from less than 3 percent of the Swiss market in 2004 to more than 25 percent of the market today.

Each Topten organization helps consumers save energy and money by identifying, ranking, and publicizing the 10 most energy-efficient products available in a wide range of product categories.

"We are excited not only to be helping U.S. consumers, but also to be part of an international consumer movement toward energy efficiency," said Norman L. Dean, President of the non-profit Topten USA.

Topten USA has already formed alliances with utilities, retailers, and additional NGOs including WWF, and the Natural Resources Defence Council. In ranking the 10 most energy-efficient products in a given category, Topten USA offers a valuable new approach to consumers who have long looked to the Energy Star program for efficient products.

"Energy Star has been a huge success," says Dean. "But its approach sets baselines, and any product that clears the minimum gets the designation. Topten doesn't suggest a baseline; we provide a real-time list of the very best. Often the products on a Topten list are 20-40 percent more efficient than a model that just meets the baseline. American consumers can achieve very real cost and energy savings by purchasing the most efficient products."

In China, encouraged by increasingly favourable policies and growing market demand, major Chinese manufactures are now developing a wide range of low cost smart energy goods.

"The Chinese market is booming and many consumers are buying their first ever car or upgrading their household electronic appliances. "As an online portal for best energy-saving products, Topten has the potential to reach millions of Internet users in China and help them make the best choice for consumer products," " says Dr Li Lin, Deputy Country Representative of WWF China.

Topten organizations offer their product rankings on the Web. Each site offers simple, current, independently researched lists of the "best of the best" products available in that country.

More about Topten

Each Topten organization helps consumers save energy and money by identifying, ranking, and publicizing the ten most energy-efficient products available in a wide range of product categories.

Founded by the Swiss Agency for Energy Efficiency and WWF, Topten's logic is simple. By naming the ten most efficient products in each category, the organizations make it easy for consumers to cut through the clutter of products on the market. And growing demand and publicity for efficient products in turn spurs manufacturers to innovate, accelerating the introduction of next-generation efficiency.

Supported by an international alliance of independent organizations, Topten was launched in 2000 in Switzerland. Since then, 15 other national Topten sites have been established thanks to the European IEE-projects Euro-Topten (Intelligent Energy Europe). Each Topten website provides a selection of best appliances from the energy point of view. Topten works as an open platform: new countries can join any time. More information can be found on www.topten.info.

The product selection and ranking on the Topten website is up to date and based on independent research. Topten is impartial and transparent. And it helps people save energy and money at the same time.

Topten member organizations rank the most energy efficient products currently available in their countries and offer the information free through Topten websites and other communications outlets. Topten helps consumers, businesses, and governments to make smart, climate-friendly choices.

In the U.S.A., go to www.toptenusa.org ((live at 17:00 US EST Oct. 26)
In China, www.top10china.cn
In Europe, www.topten.info

New method emerges to deter "indirect" land grab for biofuel production

2010-10-08

Utrecht/Nürnberg/Brussels – A new methodology that could deter the "indirect" conversion of virgin or tropical forests for biofuel production was published today by prominent consultancy Ecofys, WWF and Conservation International.

The Responsible Cultivation Area [RCA] methodology could complement emerging bans on converting high value ecosystems directly into biofuel productions by providing a measure to reduce the risk of indirect biofuel production impacts such as biofuel displacement of food production into conservation areas.

RCA, which has been field tested in Indonesia and Brazil, works by setting up guidelines for the expansion of energy crop production in ways that reduce the potential for it to impact on food production.

Acceptable measures would include increasing yields on existing energy crop plantations, integrating energy crop and food production and directing additional production towards 'unused land' with low biodiversity and low carbon stocks.

Future likely developments, such as the use of residues or aquatic biomass such as algae for energy production, will be taken into account in future versions of the methodology.

"The new methodology contains practical guidance for companies on how to identify responsible production areas with a minimum risk of unwanted direct or indirect land use change," said Bart Dehue, Managing Consultant at Ecofys. "It also offers suggestions for legislators on how to distinguish biofuels with a low risk of indirect land use change",.

Addressing the biofuel "sustainability gap"

At first heralded as an ideal way to decarbonising the road transport sector by delivering a low-carbon alternative to petrol and diesel, biofuels were soon facing issues over whether production that involved extensive forest clearing meant more carbon was being emitted than could be saved over even lengthy periods.

This has become known as the biofuel "sustainability gap", and was behind an EU directive in 2009 adopting sustainability criteria for biofuels and bioliquids These criteria include a minimum for Greenhouse Gas emission reductions compared to fossil fuels. In addition, biofuel and bioliquid production may not lead to unwanted direct land use change, such as the conversion of forests or highly biodiverse grasslands.

However, the possibility of indirect pressure on forests and the environmental and social costs involved was initially overlooked in the European sustainability criteria, currently the world's strongest.

"There is a need to close this sustainability gap to ensure a sustainable future for biofuels", says Imke Luebbeke from the WWF European Policy Office.

There is some recognition of this need, however. The EU is currently conducting consultations on indirect land use change pressures from biofuel production, and it is hoped the RCA methodology would be of some interest to these deliberations.

Focus on low carbon way to satisfy needs the quickest way forward

2010-10-04

Mexico City, Mexico – A focus on satisfying needs is a better basis for a low carbon economy than a focus on improving technologies for delivering the same goods that have met the needs so far, according to case studies delivered to business leaders in Mexico City today.

A report issued by the Low Carbon Leaders Project, supported by the UN Global Compact and WWF, will tell the Business for Environment (B4E) Conference in Mexico City that transformations in the way that needs are met would produce much greater emissions reductions than incremental improvements in existing technology.

"Low Carbon Leaders are the companies who understand that saving the climate depends on revolutionizing the current economy so that the needs we have can be satisfied in totally new ways," says Stefan Henningsson, Director of WWF Sweden's climate change programme and member of the Low Carbon Leaders steering group.

"These companies don't see carbon constraints as a threat, they use it as a driver for innovation. Instead of only improving current products on the margin, the winners in the low-carbon economy focus on what service that best can meet the needs and develop solutions for that. In this way they can increase revenues while taking carbon out of the economy".

The report Low Carbon Leaders – Transformative Solutions Leadership lists twelve examples of 'transformative low-carbon solutions' that can provide services in a new and energy efficient way. Some of these solutions have the potential to build inverse relationships between revenues and emissions.

Saying farewell to the tree-based book

Five of these case studies are to be outlined in detail at the conference, which is expected to go on and call on governments to produce real progress in enabling a low carbon economy at the December UN climate conference in nearby Cancun.

A typical example for a transformative change is lighting which currently – based on conventional incandescent lighting – consumes approximately 19% of all electricity production globally. By focusing on that we need, e.g. light, retailers could help accelerating a switch to efficient technologies such as Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs and LED lighting. A switch that can save 630 million tons of CO2 emissions per year globally while also avoiding wasting US$120 for each ton of CO2 not emitted. A focus on light also supports the provision of timers so that light is provided when it is needed.

Another example for providing a service that meets a need with lower climate impact is to allow people to read with lower climate impact by changing from printed matter to electronic formats such as e-books, with internet bookseller Amazon now already selling more electronic than tree-based books.

The companies gathered in B4E will remind governments that real progress in at the Cancun climate talks in December can help accelerate the up-take of transformative solutions globally.

The B4E conference, convened by WWF, UN Environmental Programme, the Mexican government and the UN Global Compact, will also hear about an application of the new approach called "Moving the sun", using vegetables grown in areas with high solar input, such as Africa: the vegetables are grown organically without the emissions associated with fertiliser and pesticide production, consumed locally and surpluses are transported in low emission ships to fetch premium returns in retail organic markets.

Companies from different sectors are already cooperating to reduce costs and emissions in logistics. Such models of inter-sectoral co-operation can be used elsewhere to guarantee the lowest carbon emissions for a particular service provided.

"There is a tidal wave of companies, large and small, that are now doing all they can to provide society with what we need in new innovative ways that also dramatically reduce the emissions," said Dennis Pamlin, Director of the Low Carbon Leaders Project.

"Moving focus from companies as only a source of emissions to a situation where their potential as solutions providers is recognised would unleash the kind of innovation and collaboration that is needed.

"Today too little attention is given to the solutions that are available and how these solutions can be accelerated. As part of the project we launched a web platform and mobile applications, and in only in a few days during the preparation 40 high-quality solutions were collected.

"These solutions already help reduce almost eight million tonnes of CO2 annually and the aggregated potential for 2020 is more than a billion tonnes. I hope people will download the reports, visit the page and try the mobile applications. These show the passion and commitment among entrepreneurs around the world."

The report is also likely interest to climate negotiators assembling on the same day in Tianjin, China, in the final lead-up meeting to the Cancun climate conference; it states principles and recommendations for policy makers, emphasizing the role of national and international policies to help companies make the shift to low-carbon services.

Policies for the low-carbon future to which Ministers and negotiators should pay heed include increasing research and development, agree on international action programmes to roll-out tested and proven low carbon technologies, e.g. energy plus housing, smart grid solutions, solar PV solutions, phase out fossil subsidies so that transformative solutions can compete more fairly, and tighten standards in a technology neutral fashion.

Contacts

www.panda.org/media for latest news and media resources

Meeting needs is the way to low carbon revolution

2010-10-04

Mexico City, Mexico – Business leaders convening today in Mexico City will hear that meeting needs is a better basis for a low carbon economy than a focus for improving technologies for delivering the same goods that have met the needs so far.

A report issued by the Low Carbon Leaders Project, supported by the UN Global Compact and WWF, will tell the Business for Environment (B4E) Conference in Mexico City that transformations in the way that needs are met would produce much greater emissions reductions than incremental improvements in existing technology.

"Low Carbon Leaders are the companies who understand that saving the climate depends on revolutionizing the current economy so that the needs we have can be satisfied in totally new ways," says Stefan Henningsson, Director of WWF Sweden's climate change programme and member of the Low Carbon Leaders steering group.

"These companies don't see carbon constraints as a threat, they use it as a driver for innovation. Instead of only improving current products on the margin, the winners in the low-carbon economy focus on what service that best can meet the needs and develop solutions for that. In this way that can increase revenues while taking carbon out of the economy".

The report Low Carbon Leaders – Transformative Solutions Leadership lists twelve examples of 'transformative low-carbon solutions' that can provide services in a new and energy efficient way. Some of these solutions have the potential to build inverse relationships between revenues and emissions.

Five of these case studies are to be outlined in detail at the conference, which is expected to go on and call on governments to produce real progress in enabling a low carbon economy at the December UN climate conference in nearby Cancun.

A typical example for a transformative change is lighting which currently – based on conventional incandescent lighting – consumes approximately 19% of all electricity production globally. By focusing on that we need, e.g. light, retailers could help accelerating a switch to efficient technologies such as Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs and LED lighting. A switch that can save 630 million tons of CO2 emissions per year globally while also avoiding wasting US$120 for each ton of CO2 not emitted. A focus on light also supports the provision of timers so that light is provided when it is needed.

Another example for providing a service that meets a need with lower climate impact is to allow people to read with lower climate impact by changing from printed matter to electronic formats such as e-books, with internet bookseller Amazon now already selling more electronic than tree-based books.

The companies gathered in B4E will call upon governments to ensure a clear progress is made within the text of the negotiations later this year in the sixteenth Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (COP16) that can accelerate the up-take of transformative solutions globally.

The B4E conference, convened by WWF, UN Environmental Programme, the Mexican government and the UN Global Compact, will also hear about an application of the new approach called "Moving the sun", using vegetables grown in areas with high solar input, such as Africa: the vegetables are grown organically without the emissions associated with fertiliser and pesticide production, consumed locally and surpluses are transported in low emission ships to fetch premium returns in retail organic markets.

Companies from different sectors are already cooperating to reduce costs and emissions in logistics. Such models of inter-sectoral co-operation can be used elsewhere to guarantee the lowest carbon emissions for a particular service provided.

"There is a tidal wave of companies, large and small, that are now doing all they can to provide society with what we need in new innovative ways that also dramatically reduce the emissions. Moving focus from companies as only a source of emissions to a situation where their potential as solutions providers is recognised would unleash the kind of innovation and collaboration that is needed", said Dennis Pamlin, Director of the Low Carbon Leaders Project.

"Today too little attention is given to the solutions that are available and how these solutions can be accelerated. As part of the project we now launch a web platform and mobile applications, and only in a few days during the preparation 40 high-quality solutions were collected. These solutions already help reduce almost eight million tonnes of CO2 and the aggregated potential for 2020 is more than a billion tonnes. I hope people will download the reports, visit the page and try the mobile applications. These show the passion and commitment among entrepreneurs around the world" Pamlin added.

The report is also likely interest to climate negotiators assembling on the same day in Tianjin, China, in the final lead-up meeting to the Cancun climate conference; it states principles and recommendations for policy makers, emphasizing the role of national and international policies to help companies make the shift to low-carbon services.

Policies for the low-carbon future to which Ministers and negotiators should pay heed include increasing research and development, agree on international action programmes to roll-out tested and proven low carbon technologies, e.g. energy plus housing, smart grid solutions, solar PV solutions, phase out fossil subsidies so that transformative solutions can compete more fairly, and tighten standards in a technology neutral fashion.

Notes:
The Low Carbon Leaders Project has been developed under the umbrella of UN Global Compact 'Caring for Climate' initiative in cooperation with WWF. The overview report and supporting materials including case studies can be downloaded from www.transformative-solutions.net. Facts mentioned in this release are detailed and referenced in the report and background documents available from this website. The Low Carbon Leaders Project is developed with the support of WWF, Global Compact, A.P. Moeller-Maersk, and Global Initiatives who provide the secretariat.

The B4E - Business for Environment conference http://www.b4esummit.com/ will bring together leaders from influential global corporations and key global environmental organizations on 4 and 5 October in Mexico City. They are expected to call on governments to make a success of this year's UN climate negotiations in Cancun, Mexico, from 29 Nov to 10 Dec.

WWF contacts:
In Mexico:
•Jatziri Pérez, WWF-Mexico, jperez@wwfmex.org, Tel +52(55) 52 86 56 31 Ext. 223
•Valerie Benguiat, WWF Mexico, vbenguiat@wwfmex.org, Mo +52 5540148410

In the US and Europe:
•Mónica Echeverria, WWF-US, monica.echeverria@wwfus.org, Tel: +1 202 495 46 26
•Steve Ertel, WWF-US, steve.ertel@wwfus.org, Tel +1 202-495-4562, Mobile +1 2024604641
•Barbara Evaeus, WWF Sweden, barbara.evaeus@wwf.se, Mo +46 70 393 9030
•Ian Morrison, WWF International, imorrison@wwfint.org, Mobile +41 798746853

About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with more than 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

www.panda.org/media for latest news and media resources