The clean energy sector is entering a phase of dramatic change in which business models are being transformed against a backdrop of regulatory uncertainty, as the industry emerges from a challenging period caused by the global economic downtown. Technologies and business structures that were once abandoned, are now being revived in several key sectors.
The Cancun conference is being credited with keeping international climate talks alive. But the real potential for bringing emissions under control may lie in a Plan B, with nations acting on their own in moving toward a low-carbon economy.
As utilities seek to build new nuclear power plants in the U.S. and around the world, the latest generation of reactors feature improvements over older technologies. But even as attention focuses on nuclear as an alternative to fossil fuels, questions remain about whether the newer reactors are sufficiently foolproof to be adopted on a large scale.
Corporate responsibility, long seen as the preserve of companies in developed economies, is gaining ground in developing countries according to a review of ESG practices in 40 large emerging market companies – a new report published by Sustainable Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN), a working group of the Social Investment Forum (SIF).
SIRAN has partnered with global sustainable investment specialists EIRIS to assess 40 leading companies in ten emerging markets against key environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, including indicators on board practice, bribery, human rights, labor standards in the supply chain, health and safety, environment, climate change and biodiversity. Countries assessed in the study include Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Israel, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia and South Africa.
The US is not the only country looking to renewable energy as a way to boost its economy by providing opportunities for increased investment, building low carbon efficiency into the infrastructure and creating millions of jobs. Australia, The European Union, South Korea, China, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, France and the United Kingdom