4 snippets: IEA’s Birol says we need new Churchills (i.e. ain’t any around at the moment) / EU raises 4°C warming / corporate leaders have light bulb moments / Kidney@BloombergNEFSummit

1. The EU’s chief climate negotiator says the world is on track for around 4°C of global warming under current carbon emissions trends, a trajectory that some scientists say risks a planetary mass extinction event. Read the EurActiv story - http://goo.gl/yo8sn.

2. Last Friday in Istanbul IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol said: “As each year passes without clear signals to drive investment in clean energy, the ‘lock-in’ of high-carbon infrastructure is making it harder and more expensive to meet our energy security and climate goals.”

As we got ready to have lunch by the amazing Bosporus, he then cheerily added: “On planned policies, rising fossil energy use will lead to irreversible and potentially catastrophic climate change.” Aaah.

Then he tells that "we now need leaders like Churchill". He means we don't have any.

Remember: this is the International Energy Agency the body in charge of managing the world’s oil reserves. This is not WWF.

3. Some of you will appreciate the CEO of major EU carbon emitting company in a recent conversation with OECD’s Simon Upton: “We made a major error in pushing for free carbon permits in the EU. We should have gone for auctions because we are better – we would have won.” Good that he finally gets it.

I heard a similar comment from a senior China Light & Power executive in Durban last Dec. She was talking about how they had responded to pressures to reduce power plant emission in Australia and Hong Kong

In Australia they had helped bankroll a campaign to kill an emissions trading scheme they thought would impose costs on existing operations; she thought they’d made the wrong call on that and should have worked with the government.

In Hong Kong the response was different because the government simply told them change was happening and called in the two power generators (it’s a duopoly) to discuss how it was going to happen, including ensuring power revenues covered the necessary cost of capital. No problem, job underway.

4. A possibly more positive note - the 5 minute Climate Bonds pitch at the NYC Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit: http://www.bloomberg.com/video/88682858/. Suggestions for improvement greatly appreciated!

 

Next email: pure bonds!