Category Archives: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

China financing renewable energy

. .. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .. .

Information drawn from various sources as indicated

China is playing a major role in financing renewable energy.

According to the UNEP study of Global Trends in Renewable Energy , as of 2015, China has invested $101.9 billion in renewable energy, 36% of the world’s total. The US is a distant second, at $44.1 billion.

china
New investment in renewable energy by country and asset class, 2015, and growth on 2014 – Source: UNEP, Bloomberg new energy finance
(Click on image to enlarge)

Of course, the bulk of their investment is in China itself, but their investment is also noticeable in Latin America.

According to PV Magazine, Argentina is investing US $ 340 million in three solar facilities to generate 100 megawatts each. They are being built by three Chinese enterprises: Power China, Shanghai Electric and Talseun

Also in Argentina, according to Rio Negro, the country is investing US $250 million in wind farms to be supplied by Envision Energy, a Chinese firm.

Meanwhile, in Mexico’s inaugural power auction in April, according to PV Magazine , the Chinese solar power firm JinkoSolar signed long-term power purchase agreements with Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission for three solar projects due to produce 188 MW by April 2018. According to the Bloomberg Company JinkoSolar is one of the fastest growing companies in the world.

According to Business News Americas, almost all the major solar power module manufacturers are Chinese, while five of the top ten wind blade manufacturers are Chinese – led by Goldwind, the biggest wind turbine supplier in the world. Goldwind has said it is interested in developing manufacturing facilities in Brazil and has also supplied turbines to projects in Ecuador, Panama, Bolivia and Chile.

Looking to the future, according the the UNEP study, China’s R&D spending challenged Europe’s for the first time in 2015, each investing $2.8 billion.. In third place, the US edged up to $1.5 billion. Solar continues to dominate renewable energy R&D, with spending rising to $4.5 billion and equal to that in all the other sectors combined.

Question for this article:
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Swiss ban new nuclear reactors

. .. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .. .

A blog by Craig Morris in Energy Transition – The German Energiewende

Another setback for the “nuclear renaissance”: Switzerland voted on Friday to focus more on renewables and efficiency. For the first time ever, new nuclear plants are officially off the table—though admittedly, none were planned. The Swiss just “adopted the Energiewende,” writes the Neue Züricher Zeitung. Is no one paying attention? Craig Morris has the details.

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The sun sets on the Leibstadt nuclear power plant, as seen from Dörflingen, Switzerland (Photo by Hansueli Krapf, edited, CC BY-SA 3.0)
(Click on image to enlarge)

Now here’s a news item you probably haven’t heard, at least judging from what I can gather on the internet: Switzerland’s new Energy Act (Energiegesetz, PDF) of 30 September 2016. You would think that, given its scope and Switzerland’s central role in Europe’s power sector, the following contents would have warranted a mention at, say, Reuters, CNN, Bloomberg, and Co.:

* The generation of non-hydro renewable power is to grow from 1.7 TWh last year (PDF in German and French) to 4.4 TWh by 2020 and 11.4 TWh by 2035 (nearly tenfold).

* “Per capita energy consumption” is to shrink by 16 percent from 2000 to 2020 and by 43 percent by 2035. “Per capita” is an important caveat in a small country whose population can easily grow quickly. (Switzerland’s is up around 10 percent over the past decade, like even smaller Norway’s.) Unfortunately, the law does not specify the most important aspect here: final or primary energy?

* Power consumption is to drop by 3 percent by 2020 and 13 percent by 2035.

* The law also, confusingly, speaks of “expanding” hydropower to 37.4 TWh by 2035 – even though it came in at 39.5 TWh last year. (If any readers know how to dissect this, please drop us a comment below.)

* It amends the 2003 Nuclear Energy Act (here’s the old one) to ban permits for new nuclear reactors. It also bans the reprocessing and export of spent fuel rods for reprocessing (except for research purposes with the consent of the Bundesrat). And “changes may not be made to existing nuclear plants.”

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Question for this article:

Are we making progress in renewable energy?

Is there a future for nuclear energy?

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There’s a lot more in the law, much of which deals with the policy mechanisms (level of feed-in tariffs, etc.). But what’s above is a real breakthrough. So why has it gone unreported in English?

One reason may be that a referendum could change everything, as the Swiss press explains (in German). But the report also suggests there is little support for such a referendum in industry, so the referendum may not even take place; in other words, the Swiss business world is happier with renewables and efficiency than with old-school energy production, consumption, and waste.

Another referendum will be held on 27 November 2016: the one for a closure of the existing reactors (in German). It does not necessarily stand a good chance of passing; parliamentarians overwhelmingly reject it (it’s an idea of the Swiss Greens). On the other hand, a recent survey of the public revealed support for a total phaseout by 2029 (basically, a limited service life of 45 years per reactor). This idea may have as much as 58 percent public support (in German)—possibly another example of politicians out of touch with the people. The first reactor to be shut down would then go offline in 2019. Leibstadt, the youngest, would be the last to go in 2029.

Opponents of the phaseout referendum will reportedly not try to reject the idea of a nuclear phaseout outright. Instead, they will try to win over the “silent majority” of undecided voters in the middle of the political spectrum by simply arguing that setting a specific date or service life for all reactors makes no sense. This clever tactic is likely to succeed, but a quick comparison with the historic debate in Germany over a nuclear phaseout suggests something less savory for nuclear supporters. Remember that slippery slope? By the time you resort to the tactic of “setting a date for a phaseout makes no sense,” you have reached the bottom of it. There is no way back up the slope for nuclear at that point.

Oddly, the Swiss press outlets all report that the new law is part of the government’s “Energy Strategy 2050” even though “2050” is never even mentioned in the new Act. This law is in fact just a starting point. By the end of this year, we will probably know what direction the country is headed.

One wonders when the international media will catch on. Maybe never—or did you know that Switzerland implemented a nuclear phaseout (by 2034) in the wake of Fukushima back in 2011?

Craig Morris (@PPchef) is the lead author of German Energy Transition. He is co-author of Energy Democracy, the first history of Germany’s Energiewende, and is currently Senior Fellow at the IASS.

Europe, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

You’ll never believe how cheap new solar power is

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..

An article by Joe Romm in Think Progress (abbreviated)

Solar energy has grown 100-fold in this country [USA] in the past decade. Globally, solar has doubled seven times since 2000, and Dubai received a bid recently for 800 megawatts of solar at a stunning “US 2.99 cents per kilowatt hour” — unsubsidized! For context, the average residential price for electricity in the United States is 12 cents per kilowatt-hour.

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Solar’s exponentially declining costs and exponentially rising installations
(the y-axis is a logarithmic scale).
(Click on image to enlarge)

Solar energy has been advancing considerably faster than anyone expected just a few years ago thanks to aggressive market-based deployment efforts around the globe. Since it’s hard to keep up with the speed-of-light changes, and this is the fuel that will power more and more of the global economy in the near future, here are all the latest charts and facts to understand it. If you are looking for one chart to sum up the whole solar energy miracle, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) Chairman Michael Liebreich has one from his keynote address at BNEF’s annual conference in April titled “In Search of the Miraculous” [see chart above]:

Thanks to sustained long-term deployment programs, Liebreich explained, “We’ve seen the costs come down by a factor of 150 since 1975. We’ve seen volume up by 115,000.” “How much more miracle-y do you need your miracles to be,” Liebreich added.

What that chart doesn’t reveal is that the price drop and the sales volume increase are directly linked. There is a learning curve: Over the past four decades, for every doubling in scale of the solar industry, the price of solar modules has dropped roughly 26 percent. . .

BNEF projects that by 2040, the world will invest an astonishing $3.4 trillion in solar. That’s more than the projected cumulative investment of $2.1 trillion for all fossil fuels — and $1.1 trillion in new nuclear — combined.

The result of these investments and the continued learning by solar (and wind) makes “these two technologies the cheapest ways of producing electricity in many countries during the 2020s and in most of the world in the 2030s. . . ”

This year we learned “City of Palo Alto considers solar power contract at under $37/MWh.” Bloomberg reported last week that “Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s NV Energy agreed to pay 3.87 cents a kilowatt-hour for power from a 100-megawatt project that First Solar Inc. is developing.”

It is worth remembering that U.S. solar power bids include the 30 percent Investment Tax Credit. According to one analysis, NV Energy’s “$.0387/kWh would potentially turn into about $.07/kWh if we backed out the 30% Federal Tax Credit and 60% depreciation in Year One.”

The bids seen around the world this year without subsidies or incentives are even more stunning. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) received a bid this year for 800 megawatts at a jaw-dropping “US 2.99 cents per kilowatt hour.”

Two other bids were below US 4 cents/kWh, and the last two bids were both below 4.5 cents/kWh — again all of these bids were without subsidies!

That 2.99 cents bid is way down from a 2015 deal Dubai signed for more than 1000 megawatts at 5.84 cents over 25 years. So Dubai has seen a 50 percent price drop in solar in just 18 months.

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Question for this article:

Are we making progress in renewable energy?

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And these prices aren’t unique to the Middle East. As Bloomberg New Energy Finance reported in April, Enel Green power signed a contract for $.036/kWh in in Mexico — 3.6 cents.

With prices dropping so fast, sales of solar PV [photovoltaic] systems have been soaring, as you can imagine.

From 2005 through 2015, annual PV sales in this country went up 100-fold! And projections suggest that solar sales may double this year, driven by Congress’s five-year renewal (with phase-out) of the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). . .

The solar miracle has been driven by major state, national, and international policies. BNEF Chair Liebreich calls this “The March of the Price Signal” — the rapid expansion of global deployment programs, especially market-based mechanisms such as renewable portfolio standards and reverse auctions.

Unfortunately, other countries have had bigger and more reliable deployment programs whereas our erratic policies generally diminish or disappear whenever and wherever conservatives assume control. In the past decade in particular, massive government-led deployment policies in China and Germany have been a major driver of the world’s stunning price drop.

The good news is that solar power in this country has a very bright future, thanks to the renewal of the ITC. By one recent projection, the U.S. could hit 100 gigawatts total installed capacity by 2021. That said, India also plans to hit 100 gigawatts by 2022.

China, however, plans to triple solar PV capacity to 150 gigawatts installed by 2020! So the race is definitely on.

No wonder the International Energy Agency concluded last fall: “Driven by continued policy support, renewables account for half of additional global generation, overtaking coal around 2030 to become the largest power source.”

The ‘Other’ Form Of Solar Energy, Which Can Run At Night

Earlier this month, I wrote about the “other” form of solar, concentrating solar thermal power, which uses sunlight to heat water and uses the steam to drive a turbine and generator. That heat can be stored over 20 times more cheaply than electricity — and much more efficiently — so CSP [Concentrated Solar Power] can provide power long after the sun has gone down.

Now that China appears to be placing a large bet on solar thermal electric, it seems likely CSP will also start coming down the learning curve, which will help it increase sales, which in turn will keep it coming down the learning curve — a virtuous circle that PV is already benefiting from.

The 2014 STE Technology Roadmap from the International Energy Agency (IEA) projected that while PV could generate 16 percent of the world’s electricity by 2050, as much as 11 percent could be generated by STE [solar thermal energy] at the same time.

Given how fast solar PV has been coming down in price — and given the world’s commitment in Paris last December to keep ratcheting down carbon pollution in the coming decades to keep total global warming “well below 2°C” — it seems entirely possible if not likely that solar power will outperform the IEA’s scenario.

Indeed, it’s precisely because clean energy has been moving at the speed of light that “almost everything you know about climate change solutions is probably outdated,” as I’ve been detailing for months. Stay tuned to this channel for more surprises.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

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Urban leadership in the US for renewable energy

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..

Excerpts from the newsletter and website of Renewable Cities

Following on the heels of the City of Boulder’s September announcement that the community will move to 100% renewable electricity by 2030, Utah’s Park City has just committed to to the same target by 2032.

renewable

From Colorado to Utah to California, from mountain cities to coastal metropolises, the diversity of local governments in pursuit of wind, water, waste, and solar power demonstrates the breadth of the movement for 100% RE [renewable energy] in cities.

That’s not all—with the Los Angeles’ City Council directing staff to develop a plan for 100% renewable energy, the editorial board of North America’s most influential newspaper, The New York Times, has taken notice. Citing climate impacts and the power of cities to move the needle on energy production and consumption, the editorial board says  about LA: “The next step will be to develop a realistic but ambitious timeline for the city to end its dependence on fossil fuels.”

In July of 2016, Renewables Cities together with the Sierra Club, ICLEI USA, and the City of San Francisco Department of the Environment, brought together a group of 20 local governments from around the USA and Canada to learn and share ideas on how to transition to 100% renewable energy.

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Question for this article:

Are we making progress in renewable energy?

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Leading and learning cities—from Denver to Chicago, from Vancouver to Rochester—arrived in San Francisco for the three-day dialogue to hear about a range of new research and tools and to work collaboratively on policy solutions through a facilitated dialogue process. Participants included mayors, councillors and supervisors, energy managers, engineers, planners, sustainability directors, and economic development officers.

Along with these local government leaders, we brought together companies that are implementing 100% renewable energy, including Apple, and that are helping municipalities reach their 100% RE goals, including Google’s Project Sunroof. Groups such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance also participated and showcased their tools and best practices.

We’re proud to release the Outcomes Report from the North American Dialogue on 100% Renewable Energy in Cities and would like to thank the California Clean Energy Fund and Sunpower for supporting this dialogue.

Download the Outcomes Report in web or print versions (PDF). For more information, including resources, presentations, photos, and blog posts, see the dialogue website.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

North America, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Countries Adopt Kigali Amendment to Phase Down HFCs

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

A blog by David Doniger and Alex Hillbrand for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

At 6:55 on Saturday morning [October 14], more than 140 countries sealed a landmark deal, called the Kigali Amendment, to phase down the powerful climate-warming pollutants called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under the Montreal Protocol, the treaty that saved the ozone layer.

nrdc
Source: Guus Velders, RMI, reprinted by NRDC by permission
(click on image to enlarge)

Almost ten years after NRDC and others first proposed amending the Montreal treaty to curb HFCs, countries reached a deal that will avoid rampant growth in these dangerous chemicals, eliminate most current uses over time, and replace them with a new generation of alternative chemicals and products that are climate-friendlier and more energy-efficient.

The HFC agreement establishes timetables for all developed and developing countries to freeze and then reduce their production and use of HFCs, chemicals used in air conditioning, refrigeration, insulating foams, and other applications.

HFCs are the fastest growing climate pollutants, and they pack hundreds to thousands of times the climate-warming punch of carbon dioxide, pound for pound. Scientists estimate that HFCs could add up to 0.5° Celsius to global temperatures by century’s end if their growth is not checked, dooming our chances to meet the Paris Climate Agreement’s target of holding warming below 2.0°Celsius.

But the new agreement will avoid this disaster. A new analysis by Dr. Guus Velders and colleagues projects that the Kigali amendment will avoid nearly 90 percent of the temperature increase that HFCs could have caused.

NRDC estimates that the agreed HFC phase-down will avoid the equivalent of more than 80 billion tons of CO2 over the next 35 years. (This includes controls on emissions of HFC-23 emissions occurring as a byproduct of HCFC-22 production, which also was agreed in Kigali.)

This is equivalent to knocking out the entire planet’s fossil-fuel CO2 emissions for more than two years.

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Question for this article:

Despite the vested interests of companies and governments, Can we make progress toward sustainable development?

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This is the biggest step to protect against catastrophic climate change that countries have taken in the year since the landmark Paris agreement.

The HFC phase-down will trigger further reductions in CO2 emissions from power plants because more efficient air conditioners and other equipment will require less electricity.

Under the amendment, developed countries agreed to make their first HFCs cuts by 2019; in fact, the U.S., the European Union, and other countries have already started. Developed countries will also take the lead in bringing climate-friendly, energy-efficient alternatives to market.

China, Brazil, South Africa, Argentina, and more than 100 other developing countries committed to freeze their HFC production and use by 2024, and reduce in subsequent steps. India, Gulf States, and Pakistan agreed to make HFC reductions on a slower track, starting with a freeze in 2028 (three years earlier than India had originally proposed).

Developed nations committed to provide additional funds through the Montreal Protocol’s Multilateral Fund to support developing countries in achieving their commitments. The agreement also opens the door for countries that choose to move faster to benefit from early MLF funding, and for the MLF to support energy efficiency improvements alongside the reduction of HFCs.

While funding for the MLF’s next three-year cycle will be negotiated next year, developed country parties have pledged new funding to support developing countries’ adoption of alternatives. A group of countries pledged to provide an additional $27 million in “fast start” financing for next year, and this will be matched by $53 million from a coalition of 19 philanthropies, for a total of $80 million.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking to the plenary Friday afternoon, urged countries to deliver an ambitious agreement and to bet on the future of clean energy technology, noting that “ten years in this world of technology is a lifetime – many lifetimes, in fact.”

So, on a warm Kigali night in October, the Montreal Protocol that saved the ozone layer has taken on its shoulders the responsibility to help solve the global climate crisis. If this treaty succeeds as spectacularly as before, tonight will mark a major turning point in the fight to keep our planet safe for generations to come.

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World Culture Forum 2016 Concludes with Bali Declaration Launched

.. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .. .

A press release from the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture published by ACN News Wire

World Culture Forum (WCF) 2016 concluded on October 14 in Bali, Indonesia, with the issuance of the Bali Declaration, consisting of 10 points of commitment, which enable culture to be the driver of sustainable development and urge the UNESCO state members and civil societies to accomplish the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

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(Click on image to enlarge)

Read by the Head of WCF 2016 Steering Committee, Ananto Kusuma Seta in the closing ceremony, the Declaration emphasized that all participating countries should incorporate culture at the heart of future development frameworks.

The Bali Declaration contains following issues:

1. Commitment of the UNESCO state members and civil society to work for the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda

2. Promote the culture of peace in order to make an inclusive, just, and tolerable society

3. Implement the points of recommendation from WCF symposiums series

4. Strengthen the role and involvement of the youth in economics, culture, and socio-politics in respect of promoting mutual understanding and equality

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5. Recognize the role of intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations to enable culture to contribute to sustainable inclusive development

6. Increase the investment in human capital and empowerment of the local community in developing solutions to the world’s most demanding issues

7. Partner with all the elements of stakeholders to ensure that the effort to address the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda is culture-oriented

8. Support from UNESCO to protect cultural heritages from various forms of threats, including wars and social conflicts

9. Drive the implementation of cultural values into a report mechanism at every stage of Sustainable Development Goals

10. Develop an action framework to be launched at the 39th UNESCO General conference in October 2017

Director General of Culture, Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, Hilmar Farid, stated that the Declaration will soon be followed-up in the general meeting to be held in 2017.

In the same occasion, the representative of the youth group from 39 countries also declared the point of recommendation of IYF 2016, one of which was to develop and make benefit from open source technology to improve education, social, and culture over three years.

For further information, please contact:

Ministry of Education of Culture, Republic of Indonesia
Jalan Jenderal Sudirman Senayan, Jakarta 10270
Phone: +62 21 5711144
Website: www.kemdikbud.go.id

East Asia, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Pangolins, elephants win big protections at United Nations wildlife gathering

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..

An article from Humane Society International

There’s mostly good news, but also some disappointing outcomes, coming from Johannesburg and the meeting of delegates from 183 nations at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). In a marker of continuing momentum for our anti-ivory-trade campaign, the parties have approved a resolution recommending the closure of domestic ivory markets that contribute to poaching and the illegal ivory trade. This is the first time that a United Nations body has agreed on the urgency of shutting down ivory markets worldwide, and the resolution comes in the midst of a dramatic rise in poaching and the illegal wildlife trade. Legal markets have served as a convenient cover to launder illicit ivory and to perpetuate market demand, and there is no excuse to permit these markets.

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The parties rejected a proposal to allow limited international trade in rhinoceros horn. Bob Koons

Sign the pledge: Don’t Buy Wild!

The delegates have also recommended that all eight species of pangolins, the world’s most trafficked mammals, should be given the highest protection under Appendix I. Pangolins are covered by keratin scales, and these and other body parts are used in medicines and tonics in some Asian and African countries. The United States imports tens of thousands of pangolin products every year, which find their way into markets around the country, including in Oregon where The HSUS is working to pass a measure protecting 12 types of animals affected by the global poaching epidemic, including elephants, sea turtles, and pangolins. HSI led the fight at CITES for the pangolin proposal.

The parties to CITES also rejected a proposal from Swaziland to allow limited international trade in rhinoceros horn, which could have had potentially disastrous consequences for the remaining global rhino populations. The proposal would have legitimated rhino horn as a commodity, increasing demand in consumer countries, complicating enforcement, and opening a loophole through which horns from poached rhinos could be laundered into the legal trade. This proposal would have also undermined the commendable efforts undertaken by consumer countries to reduce demand for rhino horn, as exemplified by HSI’s demand reduction education campaign, waged in cooperation with the government of Vietnam.

Three other big wins today were the recommendations to list silky sharks, thresher sharks, and devil rays on Appendix II of CITES, which would provide protections for these species from overexploitation for international trade. These two species of shark are in decline due to finning and overfishing, and devil rays are being increasingly targeted for their gill plates, which are virtually indiscernible from manta ray gill plates, a species already protected under CITES.

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Question for this article:

What is the relation between the environment and peace?

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Besides these victories, we have helped secure greater protections for Barbary macaques, African grey parrots, and 56 species of reptiles. African grey parrots are one of the most widely traded birds for the exotic pet trade. Although many are bred in captivity, up to an estimated 18,000 greys are removed from the wild each year, mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As a result, wild populations have declined by as much as 49 percent in the past 47 years. CITES has recommended an Appendix I listing for this species, which will stop international commercial trade in these wild birds. Fifty-six species of reptiles that are traded in the exotic pet trade were recommended for new or increased CITES protection, including Central America’s arboreal alligator lizards, African pygmy chameleons, Vietnam’s psychedelic rock gecko, Tanzania’s turquoise dwarf gecko, Madagascar’s Masobe gecko, the Borneo earless monitor lizard, and the crocodile lizard of Vietnam and China.

Our CITES team also fought back against a proposal from Canada to reduce protection for the peregrine falcon. The proposal sought to permit commercial trade in the wild birds who are very popular for the falconry trade throughout the Middle East.

But while the delegates at CITES agreed to close domestic ivory markets, they failed to recommend that the African elephant receive the highest level of international protection under Appendix I. The proposal, which would have prohibited all international commercial trade in African elephant body parts, failed to garner enough votes. We are especially disappointed that the United States opposed this upgrading, a stance somewhat inconsistent with its prior good works and its declarations on elephant protection.

In a second disappointing outcome, the parties did not agree to list all African lions on Appendix I. There might be fewer than 20,000 of these lions left in the world. The marginal action they did take will prohibit countries like South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania from selling parts of wild lions, but it won’t prevent trophy hunters from killing lions and shipping them back to the hunter’s home country. Fortunately, for 2016, the United States suspended imports of all lion trophies. The CITES decision also won’t stop the international commercial trade in lion bones from cruel lion farming operations, such as those in South Africa, which offer canned lion hunting, cub petting, and lion walks.

The United States is a top destination for wildlife products, and our work here is aligned with global conservation priorities. We have helped shepherd passage of groundbreaking laws in several states to help combat the illegal wildlife trade, as well as push for strong federal rules. But this is a problem that also requires nations throughout the world to take action. That’s why CITES is such an important gathering, and it’s why our HSI team members are fighting for animal friendly measures and fighting off threats that would imperil animals in even more dramatic ways. Become a Wildlife Defender.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

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Quebec: International Summit of Cooperatives: Discussing the defining role cooperatives and mutuals play in sustainable economic development

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..

Press release from the International Summit of Cooperatives

From October 11 to 13, 2016, top experts and thousands of executives, decision-makers, managers and leaders from the cooperative community and other sectors will be converging on the Quebec City Convention Centre, in Canada, for the third edition of the International Summit of Cooperatives, an initiative of the Desjardins Group and the International Co-operative Alliance.

coops

This year, the Summit is highlighting “cooperatives’ power to act,” a key instrument for sustainable development. Recognized for its contribution to the betterment of communities, the cooperative model contributes just as much to global prosperity; the 2.6 million cooperatives and mutuals with 1 billion members worldwide generate US$3 trillion annually and some 250 million direct and indirect jobs. The world’s 300 largest cooperatives alone produce combined turnover equal to Canada’s GDP. The vital forces of the cooperative community from 103 countries will therefore create fertile ground for discussions on sustainable growth.

210 speakers, including the top five distinguished economic thinkers

While growth is marked by profound changes, five leading experts will share their insights on the new global socioeconomic and geopolitical realities. Joseph Stiglitz, professor at Columbia University in the City of New York and winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, Jeremy Rifkin, American prospective essayist, Robert Reich, professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and prominent opinion leader, Mark Kramer, founder and managing director of the FSG consulting firm in Boston, and Navi Radjou, eminent innovation and leadership advisor based in California, will discuss the major issues of the 21st century and the business models most conducive to global prosperity. More than 200 internationally renowned speakers will address the specific challenges faced by cooperatives and mutuals, and will propose concrete solutions to strengthen their role as the vector for social and economic change.

Four main themes, hundreds of topics

Summit communications will focus on four main themes, which will guide the various forums, conferences, round tables, workshops and sectoral meetings.

Acknowledging global socioeconomic and geopolitical trends and challenges will take stock of the global situation by tackling topics, such as growing inequalities, weakening real economies, the employment crisis, innovation and the emergence of the collaborative economy.

Increasing the capacity to act will discuss ways of mastering new business realities, such as the innovation culture, work in the digital era, the use of Big Data, access to capital, talent management and commitment to the community.

Expanding economic power will enable cooperative enterprises to come together and discuss business opportunities and challenges specific to their industry.

Cooperatives in action will be an opportunity to take part in the largest brainstorming session on the Sustainable Development Goals established by the UN. Various workshops will give participants a chance to propose ideas to address the challenges associated with food security, employment crisis, access to health care and social services, poverty and financial inclusion, climate change and sustainable development.

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Click here for a French version of this article or here for a Spanish version.

Question for this article:

What is the relation between the movement of coooperatives and the movement for a culture of peace?

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64 inspiring scientific projects

On October 10 and 11, members of the scientific community from diverse backgrounds will be presenting their findings and thoughts on the power of action and the impacts of cooperatives and mutuals. These 64 research projects will be discussed by professionals from the cooperative community. This formula, linking research and practice, will provide for a dynamic and practical delivery of the authors’ work.

14 insightful studies

The Summit also offers an exceptional opportunity for participants to access exclusive information targeted specifically at cooperatives and mutuals. The results of the most recent studies on the situation of cooperatives around the world and on the most effective practices will be presented during sectoral meetings and conferences by leading experts.

More than 50 specialized activities

Alongside regular programming, the Rendez-vous give members of cooperatives, mutuals, cooperative associations and local organizations an opportunity to attend working, information or training sessions, typically by invitation. In addition to these meetings, there are also three pre-Summit activities that bring together select organizations for discussions of hot topics, namely improved efficiency and visibility of cooperatives, international development, and reconstruction after a natural disaster. Some of the 30 or so events will be open to all Summit participants.

A program for young leaders aged 20 to 35

To keep the power of cooperatives going strong, the Summit also focusses on succession. As part of the Young Leaders Program, young cooperators from around the world aged 20 to 35 will have an opportunity to meet with top executives from the cooperative community and representatives of international organizations, such as the UN and WHO, in order to learn about best practices that guide cooperatives and mutuals. These meetings, combined with the many conferences and discussions, will familiarize them with the essential role that cooperatives and mutuals play in implementing sustainable economic development strategies.

For further information on Summit activities and to register, visit: www.intlsummit.coop.

About the International Summit of Cooperatives

The International Summit of Cooperatives is the world’s leading event for business development in the cooperative and mutual community. It offers managers, decision-makers and leaders of cooperative and mutual enterprises of all size and in all sectors, as well as anyone in the world of business, a unique venue for reflection, discussion, cooperation and training on major trends, as well as on current and future economic and financial issues. By demonstrating that the cooperative business model is one answer to the major socioeconomic issues of our times, the Summit aims to promote and foster the development of cooperative enterprises in all countries. The event attracts more than 2,500 participants from 103 countries.

Marie-Josée Gauvin, International Summit of Cooperatives
+ 1 514-845-8222, ext. 222 – media@intlsummit.coop

Jan Schiettecatte, International Co-operative Alliance
+ 32 2 743 10 30 Mobile: + 32 478 84 51 30 – schiettecatte@ica.coop

(Thank you to the Good News Agency for sending us this article.)

North America, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Catholic institutions around the world announce they are divesting from fossil fuel extraction, marking the largest faith-based divestment announcement

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..

An article from 350.org (reprinted in accordance with the “mission of building a global movement to solve the climate crisis”)

Today (October 3), on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Catholic institutions and communities from all over the world celebrated the culmination of the month-long Season of Creation with the largest joint announcement of their decision to divest from fossil fuels.

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The Catholic communities committing to switch the management of their finances away from fossil fuel extraction include: The Jesuits in English Canada; the Federation of Christian Organisations for the International Voluntary Service (FOCSIV) in Italy; the Presentation Society of Australia and Papua New Guinea; SSM Health in the United States; the Diocese of the Holy Spirit of Umuarama in the Brazilian state of Paraná; the Missionary Society of St. Columban, based in Hong Kong and with a global presence in 14 countries; and the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco – Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Milan and Naples (Italy).

Commitments range from divesting from coal, as is the case of the US healthcare institution SSM, to redirecting the divested funds into clean, renewable energy investments, as FOCSIV has announced. As for the Brazilian Diocese of Umuarama, it is both the first diocese and the first Latin American institution to commit to divest from fossil fuels; the Diocese is taking steps to become low-carbon and is part of COESUS, a coalition fighting fracking in Latin America.

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Question for this article:

Divestment: is it an effective tool to promote sustainable development?

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The fossil fuel divestment movement was acknowledged during the presentation of Pope Francis’s message on the World Day of Prayer for Creation by Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, when he pointed out that Pope Francis suggests that “social pressure—including from boycotting certain products—can force businesses to consider their environmental footprint and patterns of production. The same logic animates the fossil fuel divestment movement.”

Major Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, and Anglican organizations came together between September 1st (World Day of Prayer for Creation) and October 4th to observe the Season of Creation, calling on the 2.2 billion Christians worldwide to pray and take action to care for the Earth.

The urgent need to stop all new fossil fuel infrastructure was highlighted by a recent report which found that the potential carbon emissions from the oil, gas and coal in the world’s currently operating fields and mines would increase our planet’s temperature beyond 2°C by the end of this century, and even with no coal, the reserves in oil and gas fields alone would cause warming beyond 1.5ºC.

The campaign to divest from fossil fuels is the fastest growing divestment campaign in history, according to  a report by the University of Oxford. Up to date, nearly 600 institutions worth over $3.4 trillion globally have announced divestment commitments.

This is the latest in a row of recent announcements involving faith communities and climate change. Earlier this month, it was announced that over 3,000 UK churches had switched or planned to move to green energy in 2016; Morocco, where COP22 will gather this December, will give 600 mosques a green makeover by March 2019:  in September, the Indian government asked ashrams to invest in solar power; and just last week the Anglican Church of Southern Africa passed a motion during its provincial Synod to divest from fossil fuels.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article)

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Swedish government wants to reward citizens who repair instead of toss

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Matt Hickman for Mother Nature Network (reprinted by permission)

Last week, the always-enviable country of Sweden unveiled yet another forward-thinking maneuver geared to make all other developed nations look positively backwards in comparison. The maneuver in question, crafted by the country’s ruling Social Democrat and Green Party coalition, comes in the form of a parliamentary proposal that would usher in tax breaks that reward Swedes who opt to send off consumer goods such as bicycles, clothing and shoes for minor mending and repairs instead of chucking said items in the trash and replacing them with new ones. This would be achieved by lowering the rate of the value-added tax (VAT) applied to the professional repair of such items from 25 percent to 12 percent.

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An additional incentive introduced to Swedish Parliament would offer tax refunds — half the labor cost of repairs — to those who fix bigger ticket items including home appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines and ovens. As noted by the BBC, Swedes can already recoup 50 percent of labor costs of “paid house work” such as employing a handyman or cleaning person from their annual income taxes.

“I believe there is a shift in view in Sweden at the moment. There is an increased knowledge that we need to make our things last longer in order to reduce materials’ consumption,” Per Bolund, the country’s Minister For Financial Markets and Consumer Affairs, explains to The Guardian. “We believe that this [the proposed tax breaks] could substantially lower the cost and so make it more rational economic behaviour to repair your goods.”

Bolund anticipates that by offering generous tax breaks on appliance repairs, more waste-conscious Swedes will be encouraged to fix instead of toss. This, in turn, will foster a thriving repairs industry and create new blue-collar job opportunities for the country’s immigrant population.

“Consumer are quite active in changing both what they buy and how they buy in Sweden, to change the environmental impact, so we see a huge increase in the sale of organic food, and we also see that the interest in the ‘sharing’ economy and the ‘circular’ economy is growing quite rapidly,” Bolund adds to the BBC.

Sweden, unfailingly humble one-upper that it is, has proven itself to be at the top of the game when it comes to planet-bettering schemes such as eliminating its reliance on fossil fuels and recycling, an activity that Swedes are so skilled at that it’s created a national garbage deficit — and for a country that relies on waste-to-energy incinerators to heat homes, that’s not necessarily a good thing. However, the governments of other nations have also embraced the art of repairing as an alternative to sending perfectly fixable items to the landfill.

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Question for this article:

What is the relation between the environment and peace?

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Take for example France, which, in 2015 passed a law outlawing planned obsolescence and requiring manufacturers to offer consumers free repairs or replacement parts on appliances up to two years after the date of purchase. Like the proposals in Sweden, the French law — Germany and Norway have similar laws on the books, as well — aims to curb the amount of waste entering landfills, keep money in the pockets of hand wringing-prone consumers and generate jobs in the appliance repair sector.

In other countries, the act of repairing in lieu of chucking is less about mandates and 21st century environmental do-goodery and more about upholding ages-old cultural traditions. Take Japan, for example, where broken yet still-valuable ceramics are meticulously mended in a fix-it-centric art form known as kintsugi. After undoing the traditional kintsugi process, shattered bowls and plates and the like are considered more beautiful — and valuable — than they were before the breakage occurred.

Jugaad — a Hindi word that essentially translates to “a hack” — is practiced throughout India. The idea here is to apply ingenious, duct tape-heavy fixes to broken or on-their-way items instead of trashing them.

The Netherlands is the birthplace of the Repair Café Foundation, a popular grassroots nonprofit that promotes community gathering spots where, as the New York Times describes, “neighbors pool their skills and labor for a few hours a month to mend holey clothing and revivify old coffee makers, broken lamps, vacuum cleaners and toasters, as well as at least one electric organ, a washing machine and an orange juice press.” While the movement was borne in Amsterdam and in its infancy remained largely a Dutch phenomenon, repair cafes have appeared in more than 29 countries spread out across every continent.

And then there’s Ireland.

While Dutch-style pop-up repair cafes have also appeared in Irish cities such as Dublin, the Emerald Isle’s greatest contribution to the fix-it movement will forever be Sugru, the putty-like miracle goo that can be used to repair just about everything. And I mean everything. Marketed as the “world’s first mouldable glue,” the idea for Sugru — a riff on sugradh, the Irish word for “play — was developed by Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh, a product designer hailing from Kilkenny. “I wanted to design something that was so easy and so fun to use that more people would consider fixing things again,” Ni Dhulchaointigh recently told the New York Times.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter who sent us this article.)

Europe, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT