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Change the Rules of the Game
Companies and investors need clear policies that reward sustainability performance. our capital market structures are biased towards short-term financial performance. The lack of carbon-reducing regulations in the U.S. for example has allowed companies to emit greenhouse gases at no cost, thus rewarding big emitters and penalizing more efficient businesses. Far greater sustainability gains can be achieved if smart policies are adopted that send clear market signals encouraging clean solutions with a long-term perspective.
Companies and investors need clear policies that reward sustainability performance. our capital market structures are biased towards short-term financial performance. The lack of carbon-reducing regulations in the U.S. for example has allowed companies to emit greenhouse gases at no cost, thus rewarding big emitters and penalizing more efficient businesses. Far greater sustainability gains can be achieved if smart policies are adopted that send clear market signals encouraging clean solutions with a long-term perspective.
Ceres will advocate for more sustainable policies in the U.S. and around the world as well as build investor and business support for policies and regulations that reduce sustainability risks and protect long-term interests.
How We Will Get There:
- Build business leader support for national and global climate and energy policies.
- Gain passage of a new international climate treaty, including a binding reduction target based on the latest scientific findings by the internationally-recognized IPCC.
- Eliminate tax incentives and government subsidies for fossil fuel technologies and carbon-intensive projects.
- Gain passage of energy efficiency policies to double the historic rate of efficiency improvements and national renewable policies so that at least 20 percent of the nation's electricity comes from renewable power by 2020 and 30 percent by 2030.
- Gain passage of national climate change legislation to achieve a reduction in GHG emissions of at least 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050.
Resources:
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Shifting Ground: Why State Regulators Need to Adapt to America's Changing Energy Landscape
May 22, 2012
- As electric utility companies face new challenges -- outdated energy infrastructure, rising fossil fuel prices, incorporating renewable energy sources -- state utility regulators have a unique and important role to play in shaping the future of energy generation in the U.S. To help understand our country's emerging energy crisis and sketch out a transition plan for the next generation of electric utilities, we spoke with Ron Binz, former chairman of the Colorado Public Utility Commission and principle of Public Policy Consulting.
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The Road to 2020: Corporate Progress on the Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability
Apr 25, 2012
- The Road to 2020: Corporate Progress on The Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability (www.ceres.org/roadto2020) assesses how U.S. businesses are progressing on sustainability and uses as a framework, The 21st Century Corporation: The Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability—a guide for integrating sustainability across a company’s entire enterprise. Specifically, it evaluates where 600 large publicly traded companies1 stand on sustainability issues in terms of governance, stakeholder engagement, disclosure and performance.
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2012 Investor Summit on Climate Risk & Energy Solutions - Final Report
Apr 05, 2012
- The fifth Investor Summit on Climate Risk & Energy Solutions was held on January 12th, 2012, at United Nations headquarters. Co-hosted by the United Nations Foundation, the United Nations Office for Partnerships and Ceres, the Summit brought together more than 450 institutional investor, financial and corporate leaders from around the globe. The Summit showcased a wide range of investment opportunities in climate and energy solutions – in energy efficiency, water efficiency, renewable energy and more – that are positioned to achieve significant growth and scale while replacing outmoded technologies and business models.
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New Jobs - Cleaner Air (Part II): An investment in American Businesses and American Jobs
Nov 17, 2011
- In February 2011, Ceres issued a study demonstrating how new air pollution rules proposed for the electric power sector by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will provide long-term economic benefits across much of the United States. This report supplements this economic study by highlighting specific case examples of the companies involved in building a modern generating fleet. It breaks the supply chain into its component pieces and shows the vital role that American workers play in installing and maintaining sophisticated emission control systems.
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Montana's Energy Future (Part Three): Differing Perspectives on the Energy Economy of the Rocky Mountain West
Oct 26, 2011
- In the third and final episode of our Montana Energy Series, we speak with Tom Darin, Western Regional Representative for the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Despite Montana's wind generating potential, project developers are wary of building large wind farms where there isn't enough infrastructure and power lines to properly distribute and export clean energy. Darin is working with everyone from policymakers to local farmers to help create a viable wind market that would bring jobs and investments to Montana's economy.
