Topic: greenhouse gases

On Thursday, for the first time ever, the United States will see a price on carbon emerge from a mandatory emissions cap-and-trade program.

By encouraging clean technology deployment and imposing new costs on commonly traded commodities, climate policy would have significant impacts on international trade flows. This document answers basic questions about climate policy and its implications for the international trade of goods.

As different statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction policies continue to emerge in the United States, more and more businesses are calling on the federal government to enact a single, uniform policy. The prospect of complementary policies between different levels of government—as well as the potential for conflicting and even duplicative regulations—could have significant implications for business. This installment of WRI’s “Bottom Line” series explores the fundamental debates about, and potential outcomes of, different degrees of state and federal policy action.

Hong Kong Adopts GHG Protocol for Building Sector

Hong Kong’s government adopts guidelines for GHG accounting in its building sectors, and announces a “carbon audit” of 10 of its buildings.

WHAT: Nobody wants to admit that the United States has only made slow progress when it comes to improving on-road fuel efficiency.

A New Climate for the Forest Products Industry

The forest products sector holds an enormous stake in the coming economy defined by resource constraints, climate change policies, and shifting consumer values.

EGI offers a new hope for electricity in Brazil.

Can the World Bank Lead on Climate Change?

As the finance ministers of the G8 countries begin their annual meetings this Friday in Osaka, Japan, they are expected to endorse two multibillion dollar funds to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases

Can Capturing Carbon Become a Reality?

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is both hailed as a “silver bullet” for the coal industry, and reviled as a pipe dream. The reality is that the U.S. needs CCS, and a comprehensive policy framework for rapid development and deployment.

A World Resources Institute (WRI) analysis of the complex challenges that investors would face when deploying carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies shows that until government policies support large-scale demonstrations it is unlikely that CCS will be able to fulfill its potential in combating climate change.

Indian Industry Launches National GHG Inventory Program

Continuing the positive trend in corporate greenhouse gas accounting, over 40 Indian companies launched the India GHG Inventory Program this week. The program is the latest national-level program for corporations to measure and manage their GHG emissions based on internationally recognized standards.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics has been awarded a $1.5 million grant by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) as part of the foundation’s $100 million Climate Change Initiative.This joint project, conducted with the World Resources Institute (WRI), will undertake a comprehensive analysis of the connections between international trade and climate change policies and make recommendations for how these policies can be mutually supportive.

In the same month that a similar program was launched in Brazil, India kicked off a climate program here today with more than 40 member companies from a wide range of industries, including cement, pharmaceuticals, engineering, and many more.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Lunch Panel to Discuss Climate and Trade Links

WHAT: The World Resources Institute and the Peterson Institute for International Economics will hold a briefing to release Leveling the Carbon Playing Field, a timely book on the linkages between climate change and trade policy.

The Climate Registry, which uses accounting methodologies created by the World Resources Institute, will name WRI one of its founding reporters next month.