CGI Annual Meeting
At the center of CGI is our Annual Meeting, held in New York each September coinciding with the U.N. General Assembly. This is a working session designed to provide insights into global problems for the purpose of enabling productive action in CGI’s four areas of focus: education, energy and climate change, global health and poverty alleviation.
- David Sandalow, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution
- Francis Beinecke, President, Natural Resources Defense Council
- Carol Browner, Principal, The Albright Group, LLC
- Eileen Claussen, President, Pew Center on Global Climate Change
- Debbie Dingell, Trustee, The General Motors Foundation (John Dingell’s wife)
- Dr. Mohamed El-Ashry, Senior Fellow, United Nations Foundation
- Yoriko Kawaguchi, Member of the House of Councillors, Japan
- Vinod Khosla, Partner, Khosla Ventures
- Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense
- Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General, World Conservation Union
- Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chief Executive, The Energy and Resources Institute
- William Reilly, Founding Partner, Aqua International Partners
- Jim Rogers, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO, Duke Energy Corporation
WORKING SESSION 1: Redefining Business As Usual Wednesday, 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
“Redefining Business As Usual” will address how climate change is causing companies large and small to rethink not only their interactions with employees, customers and the public—but increasingly their very business models. This panel will explore some of the most innovative and profitable strategies being adopted by leading businesses and their potential for widespread adoption.
Panelists:- Daniel Esty, Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy, Yale University
- Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO, Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company
- Mindy Lubber, President, Ceres
- Jim Rogers, Chairman, President, & CEO, Duke Energy Corporation
- Ted Turner, Chairman, Turner Enterprises, Inc.
WORKING SESSION 2: Protecting Tropical Forests Wednesday, 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
“Protecting Tropical Forests” will explore the crucial role tropical forests play in stabilizing the climate and how best to protect them. More than 20% of carbon dioxide emissions are caused by deforestation and land use change. This panel will discuss creative programs to protect tropical forests for the benefit of the global climate, biodiversity and local livelihoods.
Panelists:- Rosina Bierbaum, Dean and Professor, University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and Environment
- Stuart E. Eizenstat, Partner, Covington & Burling LLP
- Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder, The Jane Goodall Institute
- Franz Tattenbach, Executive Director, FUNDECOR
WORKING SESSION 3: Stabilizing the Climate: Pathways to Success Thursday, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
“Stabilizing the Climate: Pathways to Success” will discuss the bold action needed to avert catastrophic climate change. The race to stabilize the climate will require a significant shift in how the world generates and consumes energy. This panel will explore critical levers and decision points that could determine success in meeting these ambitious goals.
Panelists:- John P. Holdren, Director, Woods Hole Research Center; Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy, Harvard University
- Ogunlade R. Davidson, Professor, University of Sierra Leone
- David Hawkins, Director, Climate Center, Natural Resources Defense Council
- Anne Lauvergeon, Chairman of the Executive Board & CEO, AREVA
- J. Craig Venter, Chairman & President, J. Craig Venter Institute
WORKING SESSION 4: Expanding Clean Energy Around the World Thursday, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
“Expanding Clean Energy Around the World” will focus on options for dramatically increasing access to clean energy around the world. The panel will discuss practical models for accelerating progress and delivering more win-win results, with special attention to the needs of the 2 billion people who currently lack access to modern energy services.
Panelists:- Vijay Vaitheeswaran, Correspondent, The Economist
- Lorraine Bolsinger, Vice President, Ecomagination, General Electric Company
- Ólafur Regnar Grimsson, President, The Republic of Iceland
- H, Harish Hande, Managing Director, SELCO Solar Light (P) Ltd.
- Christine Loh, OBE, Chief Executive Officer, Civic Exchange Limited
WORKING SESSION 5: Accelerating Green Building Friday, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
“Accelerating Green Building” will explore opportunities for fighting climate change through buildings, which are responsible for more heat-trapping gases than vehicles. This session will demonstrate how investments in energy-saving and other climate-friendly building technologies can save money and contribute to solving the climate challenge.
Panelists:- William McDonough, Principal, William McDonough & Partners
- Maria Atkinson, Global Head of Sustainability, Lend Lease
- Carlton Brown, Principal & Chief Operating Officer, Full Spectrum of NY, LLC
- Karan Grover, Founder, Karan Grover & Associates
- Stephen Lane, Global Director, Capital Projects, Citi Realty Services, Citi
S.1543, to establish a national geothermal initiative to encourage increased production of energy from geothermal resources
- Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, president of Iceland
- Alexander Karsner, assistant secretary of Energy for energy efficiency and renewable energy
- Mark Myers, director, U.S. Geological Survey
- Susan Petty – AltaRock Energy
- Lisa Shevenell – Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, University of Nevada
- David R. Wunsch – New Hampshire Geological Survey
- Kenneth H. Williamson – geothermal consultant
A Discussion on International Climate Change and Clean Energy Policy
Please join the House Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Caucus, Renewable Energy and International Law (REIL) , Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute on September 25th for a roundtable discussion led by national and international policymakers, business representatives, and key stakeholders on issues of global climate and clean energy policy. The discussion will be set in the context of international and business perspectives on the energy and climate bills before the Congress and what can be expected on the global policy front in the coming months.
Panel- James Cameron, Founder, Climate Change Capital (Moderator)
- Bob Simon, Chief of Staff, Senate Energy Committee
- Suedeen Kelly, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- Paul Dawson, Head of Environmental and Regulatory Affairs, Global Commodities, Citi
- Additional business and government leaders
The event is free and open to the public. No RSVP required.
For more information, contact Fred Beck, fbeck@eesi.org or 202-662-1892.
Green jobs created by global warming initiatives 2
- Sigmar Gabriel, Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany
- Congressman Richard K. Armey PhD, Chairman, FreedomWorks
- Jerome Ringo, President, Apollo Alliance
- Dr. Wayne Winegarden, Partner, Arduin, Laffer & Moore Econometrics
- Carol L. Berrigan, Director, Industry Infrastructure, Nuclear Energy Institute
- Vinod Khosla, Founder, Khosla Ventures
- Daniel Kammen, Director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley
- Dr. Kenneth Green, Visiting Fellow, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
- David Blittersdorf, Founder, NRG Systems, Inc.
- Mark Culpepper, Vice President of Strategic Marketing, SunEdison
- Donald Gilligan, President, National Association of Energy Service Companies
- Paul Renfrow, Vice President, OGE Energy Corp.
- Dorothy Rothrock, V.P. Government Relations, California Manufacturers & Technology Association
2:22 PM Armey Environmental regulations would probably create shift from the private sector where freedom reigns to the public sector where command and control reigns. Whatever we do with concerns for the environment relates to energy, electricity, fossil fuel energy. These are among the highest linkage factors in the economy. There will be reduced output and reduced job opportunities. I found myself going back to Armey’s Axiom Number One: the free market is rational, the government is dumb. The market has a history that leads people to best utilize and effectively conserves resources. Government policy generally leads you in exactly the opposite direction. Look at how dramatically obscene agriculture policy is.
2:28 PM Boxer One of my most famous constituents is here. Dick talked about the private sector and capitalism, a perfect introduction to Vinod Khosla. Tell us what you think we should be doing with global warming.
Khosla I come before you not to make an environmental case but an economic one. I believe climate change legislation is good for our economy and our national security. I believe in free markets in a level playing field. We need to start mitigating our risks. We spend over $300 billion on oil imports. Should we spend more money lining the pockets of Hugo Chavez and those who fund terrorism? The uncertainty around climate change legislation is hurting the US economy. Delayed investment, job creation reduce our competitiveness. Solar CIP creates 20 times as many jobs as a coal-fired plant.
2:35 PM Ringo I’d like to suggest seven investment priorities. 1) Clean R&D, such as power storage. Solar PV were invented in the US but commercialized and built abroad. 2) Early commercialization of new technologies. 3) Congress needs to provide market certainty to renewable energy producers. 4) Incentives for clean energy components. 5) Green building retrofitting. 6) Carbon-cap policy must level the playing field to apply to importers. 7) Education and training initiatives. From Iraq to New Orleans, the tragic consequences of our excessive dependence on fossil fuels is driven home every day.
2:41 Winegarden I examined the impact of cap-and-trade on the US economy. Cap-and-trade legislation creates a few green jobs but destroys more jobs. Fossil fuels currently account for 86% of our energy consumption. In the short term, limiting greenhouse emissions only by limiting energy supplies. Energy supply shocks caused a 2% reduction in the US economy. Regardless of one’s position on the climate change consensus, cap-and-trade is an inferior price instrument. Price volatility decreases economic efficiency. Failure to achieve universality greatly reduces its environmental impact but the economic impact will remain the same. Dow Chemical and the aluminum industry have been moving industry out of countries with higher energy costs. The costs of reducing carbon emissions are by no means trivial. Cap-and-trade is wrong. However, if appropriately constructed, a policy with a carbon tax and a reduction in marginal income tax rates would be good.
2:46 Berrigan Any credible program to reduce greenhouse gases must include nuclear energy.
2:52 Sanders My impression is that you’re creating many small-business capitalists by allowing people to sell solar power back into the grid.
Gabriel Thousands of new jobs are being created in East Germany by companies including American companies creating solar wafers. You have the right to put the energy you produce back into the German grid. You get money for your energy production.
Sanders How many homes have this arrangement?
Gabriel Some hundred thousand. It’s a growing number. Some use geothermal, some use photovoltaic, some use wind.
2:58 Inhofe Dick, Dingell has proposed a gas tax. I’m not in favor of it. I think it’s a more honest way of doing it, not a cap-and-trade system.
Armey The early research in economic externalities was really part of the government’s failure to establish the proprietorship of the environment. I like about the Dingell proposal is that it sets a price. Cape Wind is clearly a governmental NIMBY problem. Same with nuclear. It is because of government regulation we’ve never developed the low-sulfur coal, in fact putting them into parks. The market encourages the genius of the private sector. The problem with cap and trade is where do you make the initial allocation? I say give them to Medicare. Let Medicare peddle them to the private sector. My guess is politicians will decide who are our best friends, for a politically defined redistribution of the wealth.
Inhofe Isn’t a carbon tax more honest than cap and trade?
Winegarden Absolutely. Taxes are a negative incentive. They need to be balanced out by a positive incentive by cutting marginal tax rates.
Lobbying by the U.S. Department of Transportation Against State Actions to Address Climate Change (cancelled)
Internal e-mails show that Transportation Secretary Mary Peters personally directed a behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign approved by the White House to oppose EPA approval of California’s landmark standards reducing greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.
Carbon Disclosure Project Launches Fifth Annual Report
The Carbon Disclosure Project, a non-profit that advocates corporate climate change disclosure on behalf of a large pool of institutional investors (funded by WWF, government environmental agencies, and various foundations), released its fifth annual report with great fanfare yesterday. In proceedings moderated by Harold E. Ford Jr. (DLC, Merrill Lynch) and keynoted by Bill Clinton (with a video message from Rupert Murdoch), the CDP’s Paul Dickinson announced the results from their questionnaire, sent to 2400 companies around the world. 1300 responded, including 77% of the Financial Times 500, compared to 72% in CDP4, 71% in CDP3, 59% in CDP2, and 47% in CDP1. 76% of responding FT500 companies reported implementing a GHG emissions reduction initiative compared to 48% in CDP4. Europe-based firms had the highest response rate with 83%. However, North America-based firms demonstrated significant improvement with a CDP5 response rate of 74%, compared to 66% in CDP4. South America-based firms also increased their response rate to 60% in CDP5 from 50% in CDP4. The website allows users to search responses by company name (some responses are not publicly available). The executive report is also available.
It’s interesting, for example, to contrast BP with ExxonMobil, both of whom offer detailed disclosures. BP has active wind, solar, biofuels, and CCS divisions, and is concerned by melting permafrost; ExxonMobil sees climate change as an opportunity for growth in the natural gas sector and is looking to reduce flaring in its natural gas wells in Nigeria.
In coverage, the New York Times notes that Gas Emissions Rarely Figure in Investor Decisions and the Washington Post and Business Week cover the Wal-Mart press release about setting up a program to measure its supply chain footprint. Agence-France Presse emphasizes the finding that World companies show big interest in climate, US firms lag, whereas Reuters sees the positive message that Climate change spurs industry restructuring. Forbes discusses Sun Microsystems’ launch of OpenEco, a corporate social-networking website for tracking GHG emissions.
Corporate Climate Response Chicago
Chicago, September 25-26 2007
This two-day event will bring together companies, regulators and other experts to discuss the best solutions for companies looking to mitigate their carbon footprints. Supporters of this event include the City of Chicago DoE, IBM, and MetaFore. Corporate Climate Response also coincides with Chicago’s ‘Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet’ festival.
This is our 5th Corporate Climate Response event and a number of top speakers are participating including representatives from Ford, Time, Anheuser-Busch, IBM, McDonald’s, United Technologies, Catepillar, BP America, Exelon, EPA, Energy Star, WRI and more.
This event includes sessions on carbon footprint and life-cycle analysis, energy efficiency, choosing green power sources, offsetting and emissions trading, climate adaptation, and engaging the public on global warming issues. Attendees will also learn about the latest update in national climate change policy and how upcoming state and federal actions will directly impact US corporations. It will attract over 200 delegates from across the US whose responsibility is to implement climate change solutions for their organizations.
The event is sponsored by Environmental Defense, The Alliance to Save Energy, MetaFore, and the Institute for Sustainable Communication.
- Mayor Richard M. Daley
- Laura Flanigan, Director, Chicago Sustainable Business Alliance
- Jonathan Lash, President, World Resources Institute
- John Disharoon, Director of Sustainable Development, Caterpillar Inc.
- Bill Gerwing, Director of Environmental Policy, BP America
- Melissa Lavinson, Director for Federal, Governmental and Regulatory Relations, PG&E
- Alice LeBlanc, Director of the Office of Environment and Climate Change, AIG
- Doug Scott, Chair of Climate Change Advisory, Illinois EPA
- Henry Henderson, National Resource Defense Council
- Karen Hobbs, First Deputy Commissioner, City of Chicago’s Department of Environment
- Michelle Manion, Climate & Energy Team Manager, NESCAUM
- Jim Sullivan, Director, Climate Leaders Program, EPA
- Vicki Arroyo, Director of Policy Analysis, Pew Center on Global Climate Change
- Howard Learner, Director, Environmental Law and Policy Center
- Anthony Janetos, Director, Joint Global Change Research Institute
- John Viera, Director of Sustainable Business Strategies, Ford Motor Company
- David Refkin, Director of Sustainability, Time Inc.
- Audra Jones, Senior Director of Partnership Development, UN Foundation
- Paul Vitello, Director of Environmental Programs, United Technologies
- Gary Rancourt ,Business Development Executive, IBM Big Green Innovations
- Steve DePalo, Energy Manager, McDonald’s USA
- Kara Saul Rinaldi, Director of Government and Public Affairs, Owens Corning
- Betsy Dutrow, Program Manager, Energy Star for Industry
- Peter Garforth, Principal, Garforth International
- Todd Brady, Corporate Environmental Manager, Intel Corporation
- Tom Costantino, Asset Management and Resource Recovery Manager, PSEG
- Jack Groh, Environmental Manager, NFL
- Bob Accarino, Director of Global Environmental affairs, Abbott
- Emily Barton, Corporate EHS Manager, Motorola and President, NAEM Lake Michigan Chapter
- Steve Fine, Vice President, ICF International
- Menno Enters, Manager of Utilities, Walgreens
- Dean Pusch, Manager of Environmental Affairs, Anheuser-Busch
- Jessica Bridges, Executive Director, USCHPA
- Helen Howes, Vice President, Corporate Environment Health & Safety, Exelon
- Rob Threlkeld, Manager of Supply Contracts and Green Initiatives, GM
- Laura H. Kosloff, Senior Counsel, EcoSecurities
- Michael Schlup, Director, The Gold Standard
- Anne Hambleton, Managing Director, Native Energy
- Jim Sullivan, Director, Climate Leaders Program, EPA
- George Milner, SVP Energy/Environmental, Mohawk Fine Papers
- Andrew Kruger, Vice President, Greenhouse Gas Markets, Evolution Markets
- Thomas M. Cushing, Vice President, Chicago Climate Exchange
- Rick Adcock, Senior Vice President of Environmental Markets, World Green Exchange
- Michael Loreman, Vice President, DTE Energy
- Ronald Meissen, Senior Director of Corporate Environment, Health and Safety, Baxter Healthcare Corporation
- James Stanway, Director of Project Development, Wal-mart
- Rich Wells, Vice President of Energy, Dow
- Peter Knight, Managing Director, Context
- Victoria Mills, Project Manager, Corporate Partnerships, Environmental Defense
- Dick Marklein, Energy Services Director, Kimberly Clark
- Matthew Banks, Senior Program Officer, Climate Change Program, WWF
- Andrew J. Hoffman, Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise, The University of Michigan
- Debra Shore, Commissioner, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
- Brad Warren, Consultant, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership
- Jeannette Oelschlaegel, IResearch Manager, AccountAbility
- Wood Turner, Project Director, Climate Counts
- Don Carli, Research Fellow, Institute for Sustainable Communication
- Iciar Vaquero, Project Director, Carbon Footprinting and Labelling initiative, The Carbon Trust
Bloggers at UN Climate Change Event
The UN brought a group of twelve bloggers to the event, most of whom are professional staffers; the UN Dispatch blog offers a jump-off point for the coverage.
The dozen bloggers include three from the Center for American Progress: Kate Sheppard and Ezra Klein from TAPPED and Kay Steiger from Campus Progress, as well as Gristmill’s Brian Beutler, the Atlantic.com’s Matthew Yglesias, Treehugger’s Jasmin Chua, Boing Boing Gadgets’ Joel Johnson, the Washington Note’s Sameer Lalwani, Global Voices Online’s Juliana “Tweets” Rotich, and Foreign Policy Passport’s Blake Hounshell.
Links to their posts are after the jump.
- Californication
- Gore Speaks
- Necessary Caveat to the Tediousness of Speechificating
- More Talking About Talking
- Talking About Talking
- Ban Leader
- Starting the Global Conversation
- U.N. Climate Change Summit Wrap Up
- Using Less Power Good; Using None at All Better
- Bush Skipping Climate Change Summit…Mostly
- How Should the U.N. Talk to Blogs?
- Blogging the U.N. High-Level Event on Climate Change
- Nations Agree to Accelerated “Freeze and Phase Out” of Climate-Damaging Chemicals
- Canadian Youth Tackle Urban Climate Change
- Governator’s Climate Pep Talk
- U.N. Climate Klatch Today, Bush Plays Hookey
- Quote of the Day: Ban Ki-Moon on International Action on Climate Change
- Ahmadinejad Steals the Show
- Schwarzenegger Steps Up, Moves Beyond Kyoto
- TWN hits the UN for Climate Change Session
UN Climate Change Conference
The UN climate change “high-level event”, “The Future In Our Hands, is ongoing, webcast online.
The New York Times has coverage, as does the BBC.
NYT quotes Gov. Schwarzenegger (R-Cal.):California is moving the United States beyond debate and doubt to action. The time has come to stop looking back in blame or suspicion. The consequences of global climate change are so pressing that it doesn’t matter who was responsible for the past, what matters is who is answerable for the future.Of course, Schwarzenegger isn’t above partisan politics when it comes to climate change either:
He sliced millions from Attorney General Jerry Brown’s budget, including $1 million to pursue climate change litigation on behalf of the state. Brown, a Democrat, enraged Republicans for challenging city and county land-use plans if they did not adequately address the effects of local growth on global warming.
The Future in Our Hands: Addressing the Leadership Challenge of Climate Change
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that he will convene an informal high-level event in New York on the margins of the General Assembly on 24 September to promote discussion on possible ways to move the international community toward negotiations on new global agreement on climate change at the upcoming United Nations climate change conference in Bali in December.
The Secretary-General hopes that world leaders will send a powerful political signal to the negotiations in Bali that “business as usual” will not do and that they are ready to work jointly with others towards a comprehensive multilateral framework for action on climate change for the period after 2012.
The Secretary-General informed Permanent Representatives and Permanent Observers to the United Nations of the event, which will be informal and will seek to reaffirm the importance of addressing climate change in a global forum and provide an opportunity to involve all countries in the multilateral process. The high-level event would not seek to engage Governments in negotiations on the outcomes in Bali nor seek a negotiated outcome.
The Secretary-General has repeatedly stated that climate change is a major global challenge and he intends to take a leadership role in helping the international community address the problem. As the only global forum, the United Nations is uniquely positioned to forge a common approach to combating climate change. He has stated that all countries are experiencing it, all countries are becoming more conscious of the need to address this issue and the time for action is now.
Earlier this year, the Secretary-General appointed three Special Envoys to assist him with consultations with Governments on how he might facilitate progress in the multilateral climate change negotiations within the UN, as well as their views on a possible high-level event later this year. The Special Envoys are: H.E. Mrs. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway and former Chair of the World Commission of Environment and Development, H.E. Mr. Han Seung-soo, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea and former President of the 56th session of the UN General Assembly; and H.E. Mr. Ricardo Lagos Escobar, former President of Chile.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is among the leaders who plan to attend.
9:00 am – 9:45 am: Opening Plenary Meeting Opening by the Secretary-General, with the participation of the President of the 62nd session of the General Assembly and the Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Morning session 10:00 am – 1:00 pm: Thematic Plenaries (taking place in parallel)- Thematic Plenary I — Adaptation “The challenge of adaptation — from vulnerability to resilience”
- Thematic Plenary II — Mitigation “Reducing emissions and stabilizing the climate — safeguarding our common future”
- Thematic Plenary III — Technology “Innovating a climate-friendly world— the role of technology and its dissemination”
- Thematic Plenary IV — Financing “Financing the response to climate change — investing in tomorrow”
Afternoon session 1:15 pm – 2:45 pm: Side Event for Leaders “Global voices on climate change” Hosted by Kenya, Indonesia, Poland and Denmark
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Thematic Plenaries Continued from the morning sessions
Closing 5:30 pm – 6:15 pm: Closing Closing and presentation of Chair’s Summary by the Secretary-General