The siren call of 2020 corporate environmental sustainability goals is quickly getting louder, as corporate leaders realize they must go further today to achieve their sustainability targets for tomorrow. Increased use of renewable energy is an ambitious goal for some of the world’s largest companies, as 59 percent of the Fortune 100 and nearly two-thirds of the Global 100 have set GHG emissions reduction commitments, renewable energy commitments or both, according to a recent Ceres’ report, Power Forward: Why the World’s Largest Companies Are Investing in Renewable Energy. One global consumer products company, for example, plans to derive 30 percent of its energy from clean sources by 2020.

The U.S. Department of Commerce just announced that it will add high tariffs for solar modules imported from China. The Canadian government is also investigating the adoption of similar measures, following recent complaints filed by Ontario-based solar manufacturers. With the solar industry in hypergrowth, it’s not a surprise that these governments are interested in boosting new jobs, protecting their economies, and fostering the solar sector. The problem is that tariffs are a short-sighted approach that actually attack the future of North American solar on its home soil, and likely destroy more jobs than they create.

President Obama has been under intense scrutiny for what he would do about climate change ever since he was elected in 2008. Part of that scrutiny takes place during his State of the Union Speech, when renewable energy proponents search for key words about solar and wind energy and count how often he mentions "climate change."

In a previous article, I had a conversation with former-CIA chief Jim Woolsey to discuss one of America’s greatest national security vulnerabilities, its power grid. The issues that Woolsey has been concerned with for over a decade has been the ease in which a terrorist group or other actor (think North Korea for example) could attack the grid and plunge the country into darkness for months, if not years. And if that seems far-fetched, just recall how a tree limb fell in Ohio in 2003 and blacked out the entire Northeast and part of Canada for several days.

Policies favoring clean energy and increased competition would normally dim prospects for existing producers. Not in Chile, where foreign investors are driving a renewable boom at a time of surging returns by local utilities.

My Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2015 model portfolio added a second month to its winning streak, with a 6.1 percent gain for the month and a 5.7 percent gain for the year, despite a continued drag by the strong dollar. If measured in terms of the companies' local currencies, the portfolio would have been up 7.5 percent for the month and 10.5 percent for the quarter or year to date. For comparison, the broad universe of US small cap stocks rose 1.5 percent for the month and 4.0 percent for quarter, as measured by IWM, the Russell 2000 index ETF.

The World Bank indicated in its new report "Building Competitive Green Industries: The Climate and Clean Technology Opportunity for Developing Countries" that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries are set to undergo significant growth and create more jobs in the field of clean technology. Anabel Gonzalez, senior director for the World Bank's Global Practice on Trade and Competitiveness, said developing home-grown clean-tech industries will help developing countries more effectively increase the adoption of low-cost clean energy and drive sustainable economic development.

British Columbia-based tidal developer, Yourbrook Energy Systems Ltd., is testing what it calls a prototype of a shallow water tidal-powered generator pump that could one day be used as part of a pumped storage hydroelectric project.
 

Chile's Schwager Energy and China-based Shenyang Yuanda Commercial & Investment Co. signed a memorandum of understanding on Nov. 3 to build the 3-MW Los Pinos run-of-the-river hydroelectric plant in southern Chile's Lagos region, according to BN Americas.
 

As the renewable energy market shifts and evolves each year, industry experts need to know where the next hot region will be in order to keep up with the changing tides.

U.S. Export-Import Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg mounted a defense of the 80-year-old agency as Republicans weigh eliminating the lender they say backs major corporations with political connections.

Australia is frightening developers away from renewable energy even before the government decides whether to overhaul targets for the industry’s growth.

The threat of climate change is driving China and the U.S. — frequent rivals and the world’s two largest greenhouse-gas emitters — to collaborate on dozens of potential clean-energy breakthroughs.

President Barack Obama pledged deeper U.S. cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions and China will for the first time set a target for capping carbon emissions under an agreement between the world’s two biggest economies.

China could be nearing publication of a plan to guide the development of geothermal energy resources over the next few years as it plunges ahead with efforts to get more of its energy from renewable sources.

Policies favoring clean energy and increased competition would normally dim prospects for existing producers. Not in Chile, where foreign investors are driving a renewable boom at a time of surging returns by local utilities.

The secretary general of the United Nations is frustrated with the pace of negotiations for what’s intended to be a crucial agreement limiting global warming.

Climate change pledges submitted so far from the world’s leading economies won’t be enough to keep the planet from warming dangerously, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday in New York.

Proposals to reduce heat-trapping emissions need to be “a floor, not a ceiling,” he said.

The global increase in temperatures will exceed 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) under the national pledges already submitted to UN, Ban said. That’s the goal scientists and the UN have set to avoid the worst effects due to global warming.

The proposals submitted to date “will not be enough to place us on a 2-degree pathway,” Ban said.

Without any changes to global emissions, the world is on track to warm by 4 degrees Celsius or more, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Change Janos Pasztor said earlier this month.

World leaders have five months to go before a meeting of almost 200 nations in Paris that’s intended to seal a new global pact to cut planet-warming carbon emissions. If successful, the agreement would be the first ever to require both developed nations like the US and growing economies like China to address climate change.

“The pace of UN negotiations are far too slow,” Ban said. “It’s like a snail’s pace.”

The U.S., the world’s biggest historic source of greenhouse gases, pledged earlier this year to cut its emissions by as much as 28 percent by 2025. The European Union has promised a 40 percent cut by 2030. Several other major economies, including Australia and Japan, have yet to submit climate plans to the UN.

The United States and China on Sept. 3 formally joined the Paris Agreement in a ceremony in Hangzhou, China, ahead of the G20 Summit. President Obama and President Xi both deposited their country’s official instrument with United Nations Secretary, General Ban-Ki Moon.

A trade agreement with China will give European companies the opportunity to compete in the Chinese solar power market, the EU's trade commissioner said.

Many in China think academic pressure on children is out of hand but it is not clear a measure to deemphasize cramming will work.

Justice Bello said all courts in the FCT must resume on Monday.

The post Coronavirus: FCT Chief Judge orders reopening of courts appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, on Saturday, absolved himself of stigmatizing the state’s COVID-19 index case, Mrs. Susan Okpe (Nee Lawani). Ortom, who called on Mrs. Okpe to stop vilifying him, said he’s not the architect of her problem. The governor was responding to several videos by Mrs. Okpe wherein she accused him of […]

COVID-19: ‘I’m not architect of your problems, stop vilifying me’ – Gov. Ortom warns Benue index case, Susan Okpe

The Bauchi State Government has said multiple deaths in Azare Katagum Local Government were not caused by coronavirus, but “normal and seasonal.” Chairman of the Task Force on COVID-19 and Lassa fever, Baba Tela, spoke on Saturday while giving an update on the pandemic. Tela, also the Deputy Governor, lamented that there was a gap […]

Coronavirus: Multiple deaths in Bauchi normal – Deputy Gov

Bauchi State Governor, Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, has debunked an online media report that there have been massive deaths of 300 people in Azare, the headquarters of Katagum Local Government within the last seven days. Briefing newsmen yesterday evening in the Banquet Hall of the government house in Bauchi, Bala said that, “We don’t have incident […]

Bauchi: Only 30, not 300 died in Azare – Bala Mohammed

For one who is contemplating becoming a self employed business person for the first time, there is more to consider than 'the franchise'.  The franchise is merely a method of establishing a business.  Of course one has to consider many ...

Editorial Last year we devoted an issue of Franchising Focus to the international market place in view of the increasing interest in cross border franchising and in global growth by so many systems. There have been a number of changes in the la...

Moldova We are providing more detail on Moldova as the provisions in many respects are quite unusual to an extent which makes one wonder how much the draftsman understood franchising.  Moldova's approach has been to provide a Chapter i...

Introduction The long-awaited regulations on the Administration of Commercial Franchise Operations (the 'New Regulations') were promulgated by the State Council of the PRC on 6 February 2007, and will take effect on 1 May 2007. They apply equally t...

New filing and information disclosure rules relating to franchising regimes in China came into effect on 1 May 2007. Following the implementation of these rules  a clearer franchise regime has come into shape in China. The Filing Rules The Fi...

Franchising is expanding Our franchising team is currently working on a number of exciting new instructions. Most of these have an international flavour and it is clear that franchising is now the major way to build brands in other countries. Our ...

The courts continue to be asked by franchisees to limit the scope of their post termination restrictive covenants. It is becoming key for franchisors to show that the duration of their restrictions reflect the time that it would...

CDC chief ‘will be teleworking for the next two weeks’ after a 'low-risk exposure’

150 soldiers said to be involved in the confrontation

Parents frustrated at mixed COVID-19 school messages

Only Saudi Arabia surpasses India in the purchase of foreign weapons

More and more indicators are spelling out the scale of economic damage being wreaked by Covid-19 and the containment measures taken to tackle it, writes Robert Shortt.

[Premium Times] The Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Ishaq Bello, has ordered all courts in the FCT to resume regular proceedings from Monday, May 11.

[Vanguard] A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Delta State has urged Nigerians to stop accusing Chinese investors of taking over most of the investments in the country.

ISLAMABAD: The son of the Afghan Taliban’s late founder Mulla Mohammad Omer has been appointed as the Taliban military chief in a political reshuffle to check the power of his predecessor, senior militant figures have said.Mulla Mohammad Yaqoob has been announced head of the military...

BEIJING: The coronavirus outbreak exposed “shortcomings” in China’s public healthcare system, a top health official admitted Saturday, saying that reforms are underway to improve the country’s disease prevention and control mechanisms.China has faced criticism both at home...

KATHMANDU: Nepal protested India’s inauguration of a new road to China that passes through territory claimed by Kathmandu on Saturday, with police arresting dozens demonstrating close to India’s embassy.Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday inaugurated via video link the...

KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency has arrested a key operative of a sleeper cell of Indian prime intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing , FIA officials said on Saturday.The anti-terrorism wing of the FIA has arrested Asif Siddiqui a key member of RAW sleeper cell from Karachi,...

SHEIKHUPURA: Eight people were killed while four others sustained bullet injuries in a clash between two groups in the jurisdiction of Bheki police station on Saturday.According to police, the incident occurred near Kharianwala area where GhulamRasool Group and Khadim Group exchanged fire over...

ISLAMABAD: The son of the Afghan Taliban's late founder Mulla Mohammad Omer has been appointed as the Taliban military chief in a political reshuffle to check the power of his predecessor, senior militant figures have said.Mulla Mohammad Yaqoob has been announced head of the military commission...

SHEIKHUPURA: Eight people were killed while four others sustained bullet injuries in a clash between two groups in the jurisdiction of Bheki police station on Saturday.According to police, the incident occurred near the Kharianwala area where Ghulam Rasool Group and Khadim Group exchanged fire...

SHEIKHUPURA: Eight people were killed while four others sustained bullet injuries in a clash between two groups in the jurisdiction of Bheki police station on Saturday.According to police, the incident occurred near Kharianwala area where Ghulam Rasool Group and Khadim Group exchanged fire over...

BEIJING: The coronavirus outbreak exposed “shortcomings” in China’s public healthcare system, a top health official admitted Saturday, saying that reforms are underway to improve the country’s disease prevention and control mechanisms.China has faced criticism both at home...