World climate summit in Copenhagen
The world climate summit in Copenhagen is the 15th annual meeting of the 192 signatory states of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Kyoto Protocol, the first international agreement on the reduction of greenhouse gases, was negotiated at the third Conference of Parties in Kyoto in 1997. In the Kyoto Protocol, the industrialised nation signatories agreed to achieve an overall reduction in emissions of 5.2% on 1990 levels by 2012. In Copenhagen, agreement is to be reached on the main constituents of a follow-up protocol, due to enter... Lire la suite
Munich RE shows that in particular poor countries are severely affected by climate change
Bangladesh, Myanmar and Honduras were the countries most severely affected by extreme weather events from 1990 to 2008, according to a climate change risk study published on Tuesday. When only 2008 is considered, the top three worst-hit countries were Myanmar, Yemen and Vietnam, said the paper which was published on the sidelines of the ongoing UN talks in the Danish capital. The so-called Global Climate Risk Index aims at giving a pointer of a country’s vulnerability to violent weather events stoked by global warming. It is derived from a... Lire la suite
British firms fail to take climate risk seriously
British companies are failing to take the strategic implications of climate change seriously and are missing out on investment opportunities, a study sponsored by three major UK investors said Monday. Firms are addressing the impact of major climate-linked events, but are neglecting to manage incremental changes or extend their focus into supply chains, raw materials or logistics, the study found. The report comes as climate change takes centre stage ahead of a key conference in Copenhagen next month, where world leaders are expected to lay the... Lire la suite
Melting icecaps to cause massive damage in port cities: WWF
Flooding in the world’s major port cities caused by melting icecaps could cause up to 28 trillion dollars (18 trillion euros) in damage in 2050, environmental group WWF said in a report Monday. “If the temperature rises between 0.5 and 2 degrees (Celsius) between now and 2050, it’s possible that the sea level would progress by half a metre (nearly two feet) bringing major financial damage,” Ulrike Saul, in charge of climate and energy for WWF Switzerland, told AFP. Such a rise in the sea level would cause up to 28 trillion... Lire la suite
Allianz & HSBC Insurance Setting an example with green reinstatement
Allianz and HSBC Insurance as global players share an interest: sustainability is a priority for both companies and they are keen to ensure their products offer green and sustainable benefits to their customers, wherever possible. HSBC – the world’s local bank with over 100 million customers – is also a major insurer, with more than 15 percent of its total profits in the first half of 2009 coming from both life and non-life insurance products. Under its bancassurance strategy for personal and business customers, HSBC distributes Allianz... Lire la suite
