Executives from 13 major U.S. corporations are announcing at least $140 billion in new investments to decrease their carbon footprints as part of a White House initiative to recruit private commitments ahead of a United Nations climate-change summit later this year in Paris.

Companies including Apple Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co., and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will join Secretary of State John Kerry and top administration officials at the White House for the announcement. In addition to pledges to cut emissions, provide financing to environmentally-focused companies, and reduce water consumption, the companies have said they will procure at least 1,600 MW of new, renewable energy. The White House said in a statement that it expects to announce a second round of similar pledges later this fall from additional companies.

The commitments are being announced as President Barack Obama is looking to build momentum toward a legacy-defining global climate accord in Paris. In addition to company-specific commitments, the corporate leaders on Monday will signal their support for a strong climate agreement out of the United Nations talks. They administration is using the pledges to set an example for companies to find ways to eliminate their carbon emissions.

Climate Talks

“As the world looks toward global climate negotiations in Paris this December, American leadership at all levels will be essential,” the White House said in a fact sheet detailing the announcement.

The administration’s actions are pushing the issue into the 2016 presidential debate. Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, released an energy strategy saying she would both defend and go beyond Obama’s efforts. Republican candidates have criticized the administration’s initiatives as costly to the economy and unnecessary.

Among the pledges, aluminum manufacturer Alcoa Inc. has agreed to reduce emissions by 50 percent from its 2005 levels, while agricultural giant Cargill Inc. says 18 percent of its total energy use will come from renewable sources.

Coca-Cola Co. said it would drive down the carbon footprint of its beverage production by 25 percent over the next five years, while Google says it plans to triple its purchases of renewable energy over the next decade. Berkshire Hathaway says it plans to invest up to an additional $15 billion in the construction and operation of renewable energy generators, while Bank of America Corp says it will increase its environmental business initiative by $75 billion over the next decade, according to the White House

Other participating firms include Wal-Mart, United Parcel Service Inc., PepsiCo Inc., Microsoft Corp., General Motors Inc.

The corporate commitments won’t be the administration’s only major climate announcement in the next few weeks. The Environmental Protection Agency is set to present final regulations that aim to reduce carbon emissions from power plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 later this week.

While visiting Kenya over the weekend, Obama repeatedly praised the country for its efforts to address climate change, saying its efforts tor educe emissions “has put it in the position of being a leader on the continent.” And next month, the president will travel to Alaska for an international summit on Arctic climate issues.

©2015 Bloomberg News

For more, see Big Companies, Big Renewable Investments.

Chile's Schwager Energy and China-based Shenyang Yuanda Commercial & Investment Co. signed a memorandum of understanding on Nov. 3 to build the 3-MW Los Pinos run-of-the-river hydroelectric plant in southern Chile's Lagos region, according to BN Americas.
 

California Governor Jerry Brown proposed spending $59 billion to fix crumbling roads and raising the state’s renewable energy mandate to 50 percent.

Sweden and Norway agreed to boost their target for renewable energy production amid concerns the additional capacity will exacerbate a power glut and strain the region’s electricity grid.

Executives from 13 major U.S. corporations are announcing at least $140 billion in new investments to decrease their carbon footprints as part of a White House initiative to recruit private commitments ahead of a United Nations climate-change summit later this year in Paris.

Companies including Apple Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co., and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will join Secretary of State John Kerry and top administration officials at the White House for the announcement. In addition to pledges to cut emissions, provide financing to environmentally-focused companies, and reduce water consumption, the companies have said they will procure at least 1,600 MW of new, renewable energy. The White House said in a statement that it expects to announce a second round of similar pledges later this fall from additional companies.

The commitments are being announced as President Barack Obama is looking to build momentum toward a legacy-defining global climate accord in Paris. In addition to company-specific commitments, the corporate leaders on Monday will signal their support for a strong climate agreement out of the United Nations talks. They administration is using the pledges to set an example for companies to find ways to eliminate their carbon emissions.

Climate Talks

“As the world looks toward global climate negotiations in Paris this December, American leadership at all levels will be essential,” the White House said in a fact sheet detailing the announcement.

The administration’s actions are pushing the issue into the 2016 presidential debate. Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, released an energy strategy saying she would both defend and go beyond Obama’s efforts. Republican candidates have criticized the administration’s initiatives as costly to the economy and unnecessary.

Among the pledges, aluminum manufacturer Alcoa Inc. has agreed to reduce emissions by 50 percent from its 2005 levels, while agricultural giant Cargill Inc. says 18 percent of its total energy use will come from renewable sources.

Coca-Cola Co. said it would drive down the carbon footprint of its beverage production by 25 percent over the next five years, while Google says it plans to triple its purchases of renewable energy over the next decade. Berkshire Hathaway says it plans to invest up to an additional $15 billion in the construction and operation of renewable energy generators, while Bank of America Corp says it will increase its environmental business initiative by $75 billion over the next decade, according to the White House

Other participating firms include Wal-Mart, United Parcel Service Inc., PepsiCo Inc., Microsoft Corp., General Motors Inc.

The corporate commitments won’t be the administration’s only major climate announcement in the next few weeks. The Environmental Protection Agency is set to present final regulations that aim to reduce carbon emissions from power plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 later this week.

While visiting Kenya over the weekend, Obama repeatedly praised the country for its efforts to address climate change, saying its efforts tor educe emissions “has put it in the position of being a leader on the continent.” And next month, the president will travel to Alaska for an international summit on Arctic climate issues.

©2015 Bloomberg News

For more, see Big Companies, Big Renewable Investments.

In our previous e-briefing, we discussed the advent, from 1 December 2008, of rules on abnormal rent increases. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has acknowledged that the current rules do not work fairly and, in some cases, do not work at all. It is...

Details have just been published of the annual uprating of compensation limits for tribunal claims and other amounts payable under employment legislation. The new amounts will apply where the relevant event occurs on or after 1 February 2009. For un...

After a delay of some two months from the usual release date, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) hourly rates that will apply from 1 October 2009, have been announced today, as follows: Workers aged 22 and over: £5.80 (up from the current &pou...

With the new advances, fertility doctors will be able to hand-select the healthiest and quality sperm for artificial insemination, in effect increasing a woman's chance of becoming pregnant.

The United States has ramped up its military operations in waters close to China this year as the risk of confrontation between the two nations continues to grow.So far this year, aircraft from the US armed forces have conducted 39 flights over the South China Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea and the Taiwan Strait – more than three times the number carried out in the equivalent period of 2019.Two of the flights passed closed to Hong Kong, a rare move that indicated their proximity to mainland…

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar has warned that if the number of coronavirus-positive patients increased in the country, more stringent measures and lockdown may be imposed in the...

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Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar called on Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday to discuss the issue of increased allowances of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s employees.According to a statement issued by the corporation, the mayor said that his meeting with the CM helped...

In a sudden change in weather, Delhi witnessed a massive dust storm on Sunday morning. Pictures and videos showed dust storm enveloping Delhi and NCR.

How cool is that?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned against any early reopening of economies, noting Canada is still in the emergency phase.

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Tune into our new show Fox League Live on Channel 502 Monday to Friday at 6.30pm and on Saturday at 3pm and Sunday at 5pm.

Sebastian Vettel said that he had fallen in love with the Suzuka circuit after winning the Japanese Grand Prix for the second time

The Emirates Airline and Group chairman does not see air travel returning to normal for at least another 18 months.

Recently hour Hon.FM have increased limit from 1 cr to 5 cr for auditing of MSME. Can some give official notification or circular @ arpangoenka @ gmail.com

Recently hour Hon.FM have increased limit from 1 cr to 5 cr for auditing of MSME. Can some give official notification or circular @ arpangoenka @ gmail.com

Our Hon. FM have announced of increasing threshold limit for auditing for msme from 1cr to 5 cr. We are unable to get official notification. Pls give link. arpangoenka @ gmail.com

Recently our FM announce increase of limit from 1cr to 5 cr for msme ( auditing ). Can somebody pls give official notification for confirmation. Pls email at arpangoenka@gmail.com

Our Hon. FM have announced of increasing threshold limit for auditing for msme from 1cr to 5 cr. We are unable to get official notification. Pls give link. my email id arpangoenka@gmail.com

May 10 is Mother's Day and like many other Bollywood celebrities, Shilpa Shetty took out time to talk about what an "incredible example of strength, dignity, ethics and love" her mother has been for her as well as her sister Shamita. "I am so grateful to God for blessing me with 'this' mother in this life, who has loved and supported me unconditionally and selflessly. She has been an incredible example of strength, dignity, ethics and love to both Shamita and me and moulded us into the individuals we are today. The moral and spiritual values that she gave us throughout our formative years make for such a beautiful gift - one that can never be repaid," said Shilpa.

Shilpa used TikTok's in-app campaign #ThanksMaa to thank her mother. She created a video using TikTok's photo template to express love for her mom on this special occasion. It features beautiful photographs of the actress along with her mother.

She also thanked her mother-in-law, "who encourages me with pride in all my endeavours", adding: "None of this would have ever been possible without your love and blessings". Meanwhile, to make the day even more memorable, cricketers David Warner, Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan and actress Hansika Motwani will be going live on TikTok at 11 am on May 10.

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

Deaths from dengue fever soared to nearly three times in Malaysia this year, compared to the same period in 2013, and a stepped-up campaign has been launched

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monster isport headphones with the song “Poker Face” and Best Electronic/Dance Album for The Fame, Lady Gaga bagged a total of 6 Grammy...

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Salaries are expected to rise by 10 pct in 2017, while star performers will attract much more as companies are discernibly prioritising such employees, says a report.

The English language has over 500,000 words! Imagine knowing all these words – what a vibrant vocabulary that person would have! Anyway, it is not possible for a person to know every...

For Chile, it is a great honour and opportunity to chair the 2016 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting. It is an opportunity to celebrate Chile’s first five years as a member of the OECD and is yet another demonstration of the increasing relevance of emerging and developing economies, which today account for more than half of world GDP.

Globalisation has failed to create a level playing field in trade, investment and corporate behaviour, being one of the factors contributing to a backlash against openness in many countries and a decline in confidence in government institutions.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly turning to alternative sources of financing, while new bank lending is declining in a number of countries. Many SMEs remain over-reliant on bank credit, however, and the take-up of instruments other than straight debt varies greatly from one country to another, according to a new OECD report.

Colombia has done much to strengthen the rules governing its telecommunication sector, but it must give its regulator more power to enforce them in order to increase competition, particularly in the highly concentrated mobile market, according to a new OECD report.

Although OECD countries have made tremendous progress in recent years fostering the deployment of high-speed broadband networks, many challenges remain in terms of how to enhance and expand these networks in order to meet the growing demands of the digital economy.

The reforms to the pensions system in Mexico, especially the introduction of a system of individual defined contribution accounts, have significantly improved the system’s financial sustainability.

Globalisation has failed to create a level playing field in trade, investment and corporate behaviour, being one of the factors contributing to a backlash against openness in many countries and a decline in confidence in government institutions.

This first edition of Migration Policy Debates looks at the magnitude and characteristics of the migration movements to Europe and the OECD and at how have they evolved over time.

This edition of Migration Policy Debates presents updated information on international migration in the Americas up to 2014 as well as on labour market outcomes of emigrants originating from the hemisphere. It also summarises available evidence on the emigration of doctors and nurses from the region.

This report documents the increase in labor migration in Asia and looks at how finance and technology can aid its positive impact on home countries. As diasporas increase, governments have reached out to citizens abroad to provide them with financial instruments. Remittance channels have long been consolidated, but financial technology is changing the ways in which migrants remit—reducing fees and opening opportunities for new actors.

Despite a challenging global environment, the growth prospects of Emerging Asia (Southeast Asia, China and India) remain robust over the medium term, according to the latest edition of the OECD Development Centre’s Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India.

Spurred by a rise in 2019 development aid, the OECD and its donor member countries are working to help the most vulnerable countries during the coronavirus crisis. Official development assistance (ODA) provided by OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members rose by 1.4% in real terms to USD 152.8 billion in 2019.

The United Kingdom has significantly boosted its foreign bribery enforcement efforts but needs to be more transparent when resolving cases.

Due to serious concerns about the extremely low level of enforcement of Japan’s offence of bribing foreign public officials – just three prosecutions since 1999 – the OECD Working Group on Bribery recommended in December 2013 that Japan establish an Action Plan to organise police and prosecution resources to be able to proactively detect, investigate and prosecute cases of foreign bribery by Japanese companies.

The international community should call time on all remaining holdouts who have yet to implement internationally agreed tax transparency standards, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría said in a new report to the G20.

Mexico needs to give more priority to foreign bribery enforcement, having yet to prosecute a case involving the bribery of foreign public officials 19 years after ratifying the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

There are few OECD countries where vocational education and training (VET) is held in such high regard or takes so many forms as in Austria. Some 60 percent of young Austrians aged between 25 and 34 have completed a VET course below tertiary level (vocational school or technical college).