Environment and Energy

Public event on Rio+20 CANCELLED

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:30:10 +0000

Waterloo, Canada – April 30, 2012 – The Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA)’s public event scheduled for May 3, Rio+20: A Waste of Time or a New Beginning?, has been cancelled due to a scheduling conflict. The BSIA regrets any inconvenience and hopes to reschedule this event.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Declan Kelly, Communications Specialist, CIGI
Tel: 519.885.2444, ext. 7356, Email: dkelly@cigionline.org

The Challenge for Rio+20: Countering Two Decades of Inaction

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:46:08 +0000

Pull Quote:

During a presidential election, there is no conceivable way, in my view, that Obama could gain any political points whatsoever by going off to an international summit that addresses questions of redistribution.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Earth Summit, the United Nations (UN) is holding its Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012. For a better understanding of the issues at play and a sense of what to expect from “Rio+20,” we talk to CIGI Distinguished Fellow David Runnalls.

All's not lost, Ontario. The future is green, not black

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:05:35 +0000

Pull Quote:

The coming energy shift will dwarf all these earlier transitions combined. It won’t arise from just one disruptive technology but from an integrated suite of many, such as advanced batteries, building reskinning, smart grids, cheap super-thin photovoltaic materials, ultra-deep geothermal power, and perhaps thorium nuclear power.

Ontario, we’re told, is Canada’s new rust belt. The high dollar is pummelling the province’s exports. Big manufacturers are fleeing. The Liberal government is slashing spending to maintain the province’s credit rating. And to top it off, it’s wasting money promoting green energy. There’s just one problem with this pop wisdom: It’s largely nonsense.

China: the path to responsible business and sustainable growth

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:51:22 +0000

On February 24, China's banking regulatory commission released its green credit guidelines, securing China's global leadership in advancing environmental principles and rules across its banking sector.

Reports of Cheap Oil's Death Are Not Greatly Exaggerated

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:03:00 +0000

Pull Quote:

But nature marches on. The climate is being perturbed by humanity’s release of 35 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year, and it’s sending us signals. It will continue to do so, regardless of our discourse.

With new sources and methods of global petroleum production coming on stream — shale fracking, ultra-deepwater drilling and new fields in Africa, to name a few — some energy analysts have argued that reports of the death of cheap oil have been greatly exaggerated.

Our peak oil premium

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:52:34 +0000

Pull Quote:

The world’s cheap and easy-to-get oil is disappearing fast. So, on average, each additional barrel requires more work, more complex technology, more environmental risk to get and refine than the last.

Peak oil – it’s history, right?

Everything has changed so fast.

Two years ago, the world was facing an intractable oil crisis. “By 2012, surplus oil production capacity could entirely disappear,” the U.S. Defence Department declared in a major report. “A severe energy crunch is inevitable without a massive expansion of production and refining capacity.”

CIGI experts available to comment on UN report on global sustainability

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:36:36 +0000

WATERLOO, CANADA — January 30, 2012 — To provide comment and context on the United Nations’ High-level Panel on Global Sustainability (UN GSP), The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) will have the following experts available to media:

UN Panel Calls for Integration of Environment into International Economic Reforms

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:16:47 +0000

Pull Quote:

A country with a bankrupt environment is no more capable of success than one whose economy is broke.

A quarter of a century ago, the Brundtland Commission outlined the concept of sustainable development for the first time. It began its rather sobering report with the memorable phrase, “The Earth is one but the world is not,” to describe the interactions between the world’s environmental and economic and political systems. Sustainable development was to provide a new paradigm for economic growth, social equality and environmental sustainability.

Global Sustainability: Pursuing the Elusive Prize

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:08:06 +0000

Pull Quote:

Reforming financial markets so they play their historic role of investing in a resilient, sustainable economy for future generations is a notably brave feature of the panel’s message.

As the world’s political and business leaders head home from the World Economic Forum in Davos, it is right asking which of the world’s toughest challenges were identified, let alone solved, on the “Magic Mountain.” Timely, then, that today the UN launches the report of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability.

Searching for Disruption, Sustainability and Transformation at Davos

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:26:08 +0000

Pull Quote:

The Occupy movement spread to 900 cities last year in a matter of days, but its impact is slow and not as grand as I and many others would wish. The same for the Arab Spring.

Heads of state and leading figures from business and academia gather this week in Davos, Switzerland to “shape global, regional and industry agendas,” as part of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting.