Businesses leaders met in Denmark yesterday to try to unite behind a call for long-term climate policies on oil, power and technology ahead of a UN conference in December that aims to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
Many companies want clearer carbon emissions rules to plan investments around the world and capitalize on green technology. Some shareholders also want more climate-friendly business.
“We need a global decision” in December, said Philippe Joubert, president of Alstom Power, the electricity generation arm of the French firm that makes components for coal, gas and renewable energy power plants.
“We have to address the Chinese, Russian, US, the German markets all together,” he said.
The meeting of business leaders was expected to call for a clear, long-term price on carbon emissions. Companies reliant on fossil fuels may lose out from measures to boost low-carbon alternatives and want to be prepared.
Not all businesses believe that fighting climate change meant higher costs, organizers said.
“You hear people saying, ‘Oh, we can’t agree, it will be bad for our business.’ Well, here is a business voice that doesn’t think so,” said Tim Flannery, an Australian scientist and chairman of the Copenhagen Climate Council, among organizers of the talks to be addressed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December aims to agree on a treaty for after 2012 when the terms of the Kyoto Protocol expire.
Environment experts and lobbyists say “green” spending can help rebuild a leaner economy run on wind and solar power and avoid a climate crisis even worse then the current financial crisis.
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
NOT TO WORRY: Some people are concerned funds might continue moving out of the country, but the central bank said financial account outflows are not unusual in Taiwan Taiwan’s outbound investments hit a new high last year due to investments made by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and other major manufacturers to boost global expansion, the central bank said on Thursday. The net increase in outbound investments last year reached a record US$21.05 billion, while the net increase in outbound investments by Taiwanese residents reached a record US$31.98 billion, central bank data showed. Chen Fei-wen (陳斐紋), deputy director of the central bank’s Department of Economic Research, said the increase was largely due to TSMC’s efforts to expand production in the US and Japan. Investments by Vanguard International
EARLY TALKS: Measures under consideration include convincing allies to match US curbs, further restricting exports of AI chips or GPUs, and blocking Chinese investments US President Donald Trump’s administration is sketching out tougher versions of US semiconductor curbs and pressuring key allies to escalate their restrictions on China’s chip industry, an early indication the new US president plans to expand efforts that began under former US president Joe Biden to limit Beijing’s technological prowess. Trump officials recently met with their Japanese and Dutch counterparts about restricting Tokyo Electron Ltd and ASML Holding NV engineers from maintaining semiconductor gear in China, people familiar with the matter said. The aim, which was also a priority for Biden, is to see key allies match China curbs the US
STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE: The group is proposing a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, and possibly a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Nissan Motor Co shares jumped after the Financial Times reported that a high-level Japanese group has drawn up plans to seek investment from Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc to aid the struggling automaker. The group believes the electric vehicle (EV) maker is interested in acquiring Nissan’s plants in the US, the newspaper reported, citing people it did not identify. The proposal envisions a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, but also includes the possibility of a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) to prevent a full takeover by the Apple supplier, the report said. The group is
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