EFP Online News – Japan carbon policy confuses, EU renewables cash unspent, RiskMetrics bought

Business for Democracy and ASBC Lead Effort to Overturn Citizens United v. FEC

The Business for Democracy Campaign, which the American Sustainable Business Council is spearheading in partnership with Free Speech for People is tackling the compelling issue of corporate contributions to political campaigns.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision on January 21, 2010 allows corporations to spend unlimited funds to support or oppose candidates for political office, overturning campaign finance laws in place for decades. The Business for Democracy campaign is an initiative of business leaders and their companies who believe this ruling is in direct conflict with American democratic principles and a serious threat to good government. The campaign supports the four members of the Supreme Court and the 80 percent of Americans who disagree with the decision (Washington Post poll, Feb. 17, 2010).

If you'd like your business to join this effort, you can sign the statement of support here or here.

EFP Online News – Japan carbon policy confuses, EU renewables cash unspent, RiskMetrics bought

Online News 4 March

Senators demand US suspends renewables grant programme
4 March: US senators have asked the Obama administration to suspend a successful grant programme for renewable energy projects because the vast majority of its funds are going to foreign companies. More…

Confusion reigns over Japanese climate bill (from Carbon Finance)
4 March: Japan’s government is reviewing a proposed climate bill – just days after it was unveiled – following industry lobbying. More…

MSCI to acquire RiskMetrics
4 March: RiskMetrics, the New York-based risk advisory company which has been on a buying spree of environmental, social and governance investment research firms, is itself to be taken over. More…

Shareholders target climate laggards in proxy season
4 March: Activist shareholders are turning up the heat on US and Canadian companies to disclose climate change-related risks and opportunities, an effort that is expected to intensify further with new disclosure guidance from US regulators. More…

EU greening funds insufficient and unspent, NGOs warn
4 March: Most EU funding for renewables and energy efficiency in central and eastern Europe has not yet been spent, a report by Friends of the Earth Europe and Bankwatch has revealed. More…

Bankers call on EU to back green standards and investment
4 March: The EU should lead a global effort to develop green banking standards, said Blaise Desbordes, director of sustainable development at Caisse de Dépôts, a French public investment bank, at a conference in Brussels this week. More…

Private equity investors urged to step-up on climate change
4 March: Private equity investors are the target of a guide on the risks and opportunities posed by climate change, issued this week by the London-based Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change. More…

S&P survey reveals credit risks from carbon ignored
4 March: Less than half of major European companies are fully integrating carbon exposures into corporate financial decisions, according to a survey by ratings agency Standard & Poors, despite the imminent impact of a more stringent phase of Europe’s emissions trading scheme. More…

Deloitte boosts carbon practice with dcarbon8 buy
4 March: Professional services firm Deloitte has acquired specialist consultancy dcarbon8 for an undisclosed sum. More…