Common Sense on Climate Change http://www.ucsusa.org/
This site offers some practical ideas on what you can do to
combat climate change.
Carbon Disclosure Project http://www.cdproject.net
The site lists the responses of major companies to an in-depth
climate questionnaire. Released in February, the 2003 report
further substantiates the proponents' call for additional
disclosure with respect to the financial impact of climate
change. One of the report's key findings is that the regulatory
risks relating to greenhouse gas emissions are a reality,
and that this regulation will be felt most powerfully in emissions-intensive
companies such as electric power companies. The report also
states that companies vary widely in their degree of risk
exposure and the level to which they have developed their
risk management capabilities in response. As these differentials
become more transparent to the financial markets, the CDP
maintains that significant impacts can be anticipated on the
valuations of both debt and equity securities. The report
also states that, "Coal-dependent utilities face the
greatest risk. Companies with a high coal energy mix acknowledge
that the lack of a viable CO2 control technology may lead
to the early retirement of coal plants."
Survey of Climate Change Disclosure
in SEC Filings of Automobile, Insurance, Oil & Gas, Petrochemical
and Utilities Companies http://www.foe.org/camps/intl/corpacct/wallstreet/secsurvey.pdf
By Michelle Chan-Fishel, Friends of the Earth-US, November
2003. This survey of heavy emitting and heavily impacted sectors
is based on review of company 10Ks and other SEC filings submitted
in 2002. It compares 2002 disclosure against 2001 and finds
slight improvement. Indispensable for benchmarking companies
and industries.
Environmental Exposures in the U.S. Electric Utility Industry http://www.yale.edu/environment/publications
In early 2003, Robert Repetto and James Henderson of the Yale
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies issued this study.
In financial terms, the Repetto/Henderson analysis compares
the environmental exposures of leading public power companies
under a range of plausible future environmental policy scenarios
concerning carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides
and mercury - the four pollutants referenced in the shareholder
proposal. The authors state that their results confirm that
these policy issues constitute material financial uncertainties
for most companies in the industry. They further maintain
that their study companies vary considerably in the adequacy
of their financial reporting of the potential impact of environmental
exposures to impending air quality and climate policies. One
key conclusion of the report is that greater transparency
would benefit investors and the most favorably positioned
companies.
Changing Drivers: The impact of Climate Change on Competitiveness
and Value Creation in the Automotive Industry http://newsroom.wri.org/newsrelease_text.cfm?NewsReleaseID=267
This report, authored by Duncan Austin, Niki Rosinski, et
al., and published by the World Resources Institute in late
2003, looks at how pressures to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse
gases will affect the 10 leading automakers over the next
12 years: BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda,
Nissan, PSA Peugeot Citroën Group, Renault, Toyota, and
Volkswagen. According to the report, companies producing low-carbon
vehicles and possessing superior carbon-reducing technologies
should see market share increase and competitive advantage
grow as these developments take hold. In contrast, companies
that have more carbon-intensive vehicles and that are lagging
behind in the race to develop lower-carbon technologies could
suffer from lower sales, increased costs, and reduced profits.
Electric Power, Investors, and Climate Change: A Call
to Action http://ceres.org/newsroom/press/electricrecs.htm
In June 2003, CERES released this set of recommendations in
which eight electric power companies joined with investors
and environmental groups to advocate for more action on climate
change. The report makes four recommendations that: Senior
management and directors of electric companies and investors
should actively engage in the climate change issue; Investors
and electric companies should quantify and analyze climate
change financial risk; Government should enact a national
mandatory market-based climate change program to limit greenhouse
gas emissions to create certainty for both electric utilities
and investors; and Government must help transform the market
for clean energy technologies.
Corporate Governance and Climate Change:
Making the Connection http://ceres.org/newsroom/press/ceresirrcrel.htm
In July 2003, CERES released this study demonstrating that
most of America's biggest carbon dioxide-emitting companies
- including ChevronTexaco (CVX), ExxonMobil (XOM), General
Electric (GE), Southern Company (SO), and Xcel Energy (XEL)
- are not adequately disclosing the financial risks posed
by climate change and also are failing to deal with global
warming issues in other key corporate governance areas. The
electric power industry as a whole scored lowest on the checklist,
despite being the largest source of U.S. emissions and vulnerable
to changing clean air regulations.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
Third Assessment Report, 2001 http://www.ipcc.ch
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established
by the World Meterological Organization and the United Nations
Environment Programme to assess scientific, technical and
socio-economic information relevant for the understanding
of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation
and mitigation.
Climate Change and the Financial Services Industry http://www.unepfi.net
Published by the United Nations Environment Programme, Geneva,
Switzerland, October 2002.
Climate Change Impacts on the United States: The Potential
Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, 2000 http://earth.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/nacc
Published by the U.S. Global Change Research Program.
Changing Oil: Emerging Environmental Risks and Shareholder
Value in the Oil and Gas Industry
By Duncan Austin and Amanda Sauer, World Resources Institute,
Washington, DC, August 2002.
