Top Stories

U.S. EPA moves on emissions as Congress stalls.—reliability high.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formally declared that greenhouse gases endanger human health Monday, allowing President Barack Obama to show his commitment to act as a major climate change summit opened in Copenhagen. The ruling by the EPA, widely expected after it issued a preliminary finding earlier this year, will allow the agency to regulate planet-warming gases even without legislation in the U.S. Congress." From Reuters.

Economist debate: China and the U.S.—reliability high.
In the recent on-line debate at The Economist the resolution "This house believes that China is showing more leadership than America in the fight against climate change" was carried 70% to 30%. See The Economist.

Companies, Industries, Markets and Supply Chains

Longyuan Said to Raise $2.3 Billion in Wind Power IPO.—reliability high.
"China Longyuan Power Group Corp., the nation’s largest wind-power producer, raised HK$17.5 billion ($2.26 billion) in the world’s third-biggest initial public offering by an alternative energy company." Discusses share movements and valuations of other leading renewable energy firms. See Bloomberg.

Big break for Fairtrade as Kit Kat receives certification.—reliability high.
"After lengthy talks between the UK arm of the Swiss food giant Nestlé and the Fairtrade Foundation, the familiar blue and green logo will appear on the wrappers of Kit Kats in the UK and Ireland from January. Initially the certification will only apply to the larger four-finger Kit Kats but it will be extended to the smaller bars." This represents a significant expansion for the Fairtrade Foundation, and is part of Nestlé's long-term program to help cocoa farmers. From The Guardian.

New Eco-label Disclosure Project To Examine "Green" Claims.—reliability high.
"with over 350 eco-labels promising to monitor everything from fisheries to dishwashers, and with little to no oversight, it can be difficult to know what, if anything, these stamps of approval really mean. The World Resources Institute, as part of its Green Supply Chain project, has partnered with Big Room Inc.’s ecolabelling.org to survey eco-labels’ practices and promises." See WRI site.

Chinese Energy Plans Could Trim World Oil Demand, Goldman Says.—reliability high.
"In a research note Friday, Goldman Sachs says China’s new energy plans could conceivably cut the country’s oil consumption by 15 million barrels a day over the next 40 years—if China makes significant improvements in energy efficiency and boosts its use of alternative energy." More highlights of report. See Wall Street Journal Environmental Capital blog.

Government and Regulation

BICEP Companies, Major U.S. Utilities Call on Senate for Leadership and Swift Action on Climate & Energy.—reliability high.
Statement from business group urges passage of climate change bill. "member companies of Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP), along with seven major power companies, expressed concern today about the delay in passing U.S. climate and energy legislation and applauded ongoing efforts by Senators Kerry, Graham and Lieberman to create a new bipartisan bill." From CSRwire.

.LG Sues DOE Over Energy Star Treatment.—reliability high.
.LG Electronics believes it is being unfairly singled out after the Department of Energy required LG to remove the Energy Star label from some of its refrigerator-freezers starting Jan. 2. As a result, LG filed a complaint against the department" See Environmental Leader. LG press release here.

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