On October 4th, 2018, Leaders in Energy (LE), in partnership with Resilient Virginia, held its “Utilities of the FutureForum” at the US Navy Memorial in Washington DC. The event had over 80 attendees and was an exciting opportunity to look at recent developments in the role of utilities and future of energy provision and new changes.
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Is Climate Change a Security Issue?
There is a significant yet still under-researched connection between climate change and security-related risks. The frequency of extreme weather events, including flooding, severe droughts and other associated impacts of global warming are contributing to the reduction of crop yields, diminishing water resources, and ultimately impacting human livelihood. In some cases, these events have contributed to the migration of ‘climate refugees’ in order to meet their basic human needs, including access to water, food, electricity, and shelter. As a result, climate change is increasingly entering the policy arena as a significant security issue.
The Time for Business to Act is Now
On the 25th September 2015 in New York a document entitled Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was endorsed by the 193 countries of the UN General Assembly. The Agenda set out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets covering a range of issues facing humanity including action on ending poverty, combating hunger, universally improving health and education, making our cities more sustainable, tackling climate change and protecting our oceans and forests.
Unlike the Millennium Development Goals that came before them, the ambition and universality of the SGDs meant that every country on the planet, developed or developing, stands to benefit. Delivering on the goals we we’re assured by the authors of the agenda would create a fairer world, one where reduced poverty, improved health and better education would create greater wealth that would be more evenly distributed.
Tips and Tricks for Clean Green Business Operations
The power of collective environmental action should not be a surprise when it comes to promoting the transition to a cleaner, greener planet. There are many simple changes you can make to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle. But how can businesses, particularly those first starting out, embrace the same techniques to reduce their carbon footprint, and encourage others to do the same?
What is the Triple Bottom Line and Why is it Crucial for Business Success?
The ‘triple bottom line,’ a phrase first coined by John Elkington in 1994, is a concept that expands how a business’s performance is measured to include social and environmental goals to its financial bottom line.
The triple bottom line is therefore used as a measure of a company’s economic performance and valuation, its level of corporate social responsibility (CSR), as well as its environmental sustainability standards and impacts. And it matters: for example, a 2013 study by Cone Communications and Echo Research showed that 82 percent of consumers in the United States considered the company’s CSR when deciding where to purchase goods and services.
French Environment Minister’s Resignation: A Frustrated Call for Climate Action
On Tuesday, August 28, French environment minister Nicolas Hulot announced he was quitting Emmanuel Macron’s government—on live radio. During his interview with France Inter, a frustrated Hulot explained, “I don’t want to give the illusion that my presence in government means we’re answering these issues properly—and so I have decided to leave the government.”
Hulot, Macron’s most popular cabinet minister and former television presenter and environmental activist, said that his decision was “the most difficult decision of my life,” and was made on the spot—neither Macron nor Hulot’s wife were aware that he was going to resign.
China’s Gas Shortage
Recent strategies and policies to phase out coal in China have led to an increase in demand for natural gas. In October 2017, China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection unveiled plans to cut harmful air pollution, especially the particularly damaging fine particulate matter known as PM2.5. The plan, or “Coal Ban,” has set strict targets on air quality levels in addition to a ban on burning coal in 28 of its northern cities, including Beijing. However, while the air quality improved significantly in Beijing this past winter, the rapid ban on coal burning and the transition to natural gas has left thousands without heat.
SCOOP & STACK Causing Cracks: Oklahoma Tightens Regulations to Curb Fracking Earthquakes
After a slew of earthquakes triggered from shale oil and gas operations, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), the state’s oil and gas regulator, released new rules designed to reduce seismic activity. Hydraulic fracturing—fracking—is being used in combination with horizontal drilling to extract shale oil and gas in what has been called the “US’s hottest new area for horizontal development” in the state’s SCOOP and STACK shale plays, located in the Anadarko Basin.
Networking, New Skills, and Learning from Others: An Interview with Spencer Schecht
This coming week at our 5th Annual Green Jobs Forum, Spencer Schecht, co-owner of Green Drinks DC, will be running a workshop entitled “Fear is Your Copilot: Networking in Washington DC”.
We wanted to take the time to catch up with Spencer and hear about his experience as an early-career climate and energy professional in the DC area, and his tips and suggestions for clean energy jobseekers.
France’s Energy Future with Macron at the Helm
France is in the enviable position of having among the lowest energy costs in Europe, coupled with low carbon emissions--thanks to 58 nuclear plants that provide 75% of France’s total energy consumption. As a result of nuclear investment, France is currently the largest net-exporter of energy in the world, bringing in revenues estimated at 3 billion euros annually.
But the French nuclear plants were designed with an expected 40-year life-span, and their average age is now 35 years. And France, while using a high percentage of recycled nuclear fuel in power production, still faces the problem of how to handle waste products. Thus, the government faces a choice: invest in renewing the fleet of nuclear plants or invest in renewables—or support a mix of the two. Decommissioning old nuclear plants, building a new generation of plants, developing a system of renewables—all these options come with significant price tags.