New opportunities for measurement and verification.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil have today released a new certification process designed to allow sustainable producers to correctly label their products. This follows Sainsbury's move earlier this week to source all the palm oil used in their products sustainably.

The carbon trust has launched a business-specific carbon calculator today, designed to give businesses an idea of their emissions levels. A few bit of data are needed, but those are easily accessable. We approve. The Carbon Trust has also responded to recent comments by the NAO, their CEO writing "I believe this report gives us the green light to extend our work and has some valuable recommendations that we will examine as part of our ongoing commitment to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy.” GreenBang reports on signs that the hydrogen power sector is reaching maturity.

Drowning in a deluge of standards

Business

• The Carbon Trust is offering free workshops to help businesses measure their carbon footprint.
• A new standard has been launched for sustainable events: BS8901. Read more
• Innovest has launched a study called Carbon Beta and Equity Performance, which compares the success of companies with and those without environmental risk management plans. Chicken or egg, anyone?
• IATA has warned the IPCC that any attempt to include airlines in the European emission trading scheme will meet severe opposition.
• Lucy Aitken writes on Greenwash in today's Guardian. Eurostar's transparency gains them her approval, but GE and the major supermarkets don't fare so well. She also provides a great run-down of some of the key green advertisers and how well they each live up to their promises. Read more.
• Try a toilet audit to clean up your environmental conscience, courtesy of The Guardian.
• The new Voluntary Carbon Standard launches today. Read more from the Climate Group.
• OPEC is promoting carbon capture and storage as an emission-reduction mechanism.

Advertising

• Heather Mills isfronting a new campaign by animal rights charity Viva!. The adverts speak out against the emissions created by the meat industry, and promote vegetarianism as a more ethical choice. According to Viva!, livestock are the second biggest cause of greenhouse gases, with a contribution of 18% compared to 13.5% from all the world's different modes of transport combined. But what about beans??? (Sorry, crude I know...)

Politics

• A Green Fiscal Commission has been launched to examine issues of green taxation. Both potential rewards and penalties will fall under the remit of its investigaion.
• The budget for tackling climate change will be cut by 300 million, due to DEFRA shortfalls, it was announced on Friday. Read more.
• A new Green Homes Service is to offer audits to help people go green. Hilary Benn comments, "The Green Homes Service will cut through the confusion by providing a one-stop shop, including a green MOT for your home and a green home makeover." Read more.
• The Independent notes a drop in grants for low carbon homes. Read more.
• Brown will be giving his first major speech on the environment today.
• The Working Group on Climate Change and Development claims that climate change will reverse decades of social progress in Asia. Read more.

Science

• The Independent covers the growing acidity of our seas, as revealed in the latest IPCC report. Read more.

Society

• Great statistic from the Telegraph: half of the world's carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels come from the half billion richest people in the world. That's about 7 per cent of us. So are the rich really the worst climate criminals? Read more

News from the EAC

The Government Response to the Committee’s Seventh Report of Session 2006-07: Beyond Stern: From the Climate Change Programme Review to the Draft Climate Change Bill was published as the Committee’s Ninth Special Report of Session 2006-07, HC 1110, at 11.00am on Tuesday 13 November 2007.

Are Biofuels Sustainable?

This is the second evidence session on Are biofuels sustainable, held on Tuesday 20 November, Grimond Room, Portcullis House.

Attendees:
Foley, Head of Sustainable Development and Chris Hewett, Policy Development Manager, Environment Agency

Marcus Yeo, Director of Resources & External Affairs and Jessica Magnus, EU Policy Adviser, The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)
Peter Kendall, President & Guy Gagen, Head of Combinable Crops, National Farmers Union (NFU)Greg Archer, Director & Jessica Chalmers, Programme Manager, Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership
Professor Richard Bateman, Head of Policy, and Professor Roland Clift, Biosciences FederationDr Dominick Spracklen, Institute for Atmospheric Science, University of Leeds

Environmental Labelling
This is the first evidence session on Environmental Labelling, held on Wednesday 14 November 2007, Committee Room 20

Attendees:
2.30pmNational Union of Farmers for England and Wales (NFU)
3.10pmMarks and Spencer
3.50pmThe Carbon Trust

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