The World Wildlife Fund announced this week that Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is committing to its Climate Savers Program. Fairmont said they will reduce operational CO2 emissions from its existing hotels by 20 percent below 2006 levels by 2013, while also working on reducing their CO2 emissions through the brand’s new Energy and Carbon Management program. Is this a greenwash or truly something significant?
According to WWF's press release, Fairmont has also committed to:
-Finalize a Green Procurement Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct by the end of 2009;-Educate and encourage its top suppliers (representing approximately 25% of the supply chain) to provide products in accordance with the Green Procurement Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct by the end of 2010;
-Update existing Design and Construction standards to incorporate and reflect LEED standards by the end of 2011;
-Endeavor to include sustainable and LEED-certified hotels across the brand;
-Seek to relocate Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Corporate offices in Toronto Canada to a building with a LEED NC Gold target by 2011.
In more WWF related news...
On Thursday, April 2 at 10:30 a.m. EDT, Pew and WWF will lead a press conference call to preview the first-ever joint Arctic Council/Antarctic Treaty Ministerial Meeting on April 6 and the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting which runs for the following 10 days.
Never before have these groups come together to discuss urgent global issues impacting both the Arctic and Antarctica. These meetings come at a time when the poles are sending critical signals about global warming. Nearly 400 diplomats, polar scientists, government officials and non-governmental organizations from 47 countries and 29 consultative parties will discuss issues including the rapid loss of Arctic and Antarctic ice habitat and the rapid, localized depletion of Antarctic krill, the primary food source for Antarctic whales, seals and penguins.
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) applauds the historic request by the U.S. government to protect millions of Americans from deadly global shipping pollution generated by large ocean-going ships. During a noon news conference today at Port Newark, New Jersey, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced that the U.S. government applied to designate U.S. coastal waters as "Emission Control Areas" under international law.
An Emission Control Area, or ECA, would provide the strongest clean air standards available under international law. It would dramatically improve fuel quality and reduce smog-forming oxides of nitrogen for all ocean-going ships in the exclusive economic zone of the United States, an area that typically extends about 200 nautical miles from the coast. In 2002, ocean-going ships were responsible for about 7,300 tons of smog-forming oxides of nitrogen (NOx) pollution at the New York/New Jersey ports, comparable to the NOx emissions from 7.8 million of today's cars.
"Ships are floating smokestacks that deliver soot and smog straight to the heart of our most crowded coastal cities, home to 87 million Americans," said Andy Darrell, vice president of Living Cities at EDF, who attended today's announcement. "With emissions control areas, these tens of millions of Americans will see ship pollution drop by as much as 96 percent by 2015."
Earlier today, EDF released a new report showing that the container ships, tankers and other large sea-going vessels that dock at more than 100 U.S. port cities burn low grade "residual fuel" or "bunker fuel" that is a major source of air pollution. More than 87 million Americans live in ports and coastal communities that fail to meet basic federal health standards for ground-level ozone and particulate pollution, according to EDF's report, "Protecting American Health from Global Shipping Pollution: Establishing An Emission Control Area in U.S. Waters". The residual fuel contains sulfur levels 1,800 times greater than U.S. law allows for other diesel engines.
EPA estimates that in 2001, ocean-going ships in the U.S. emitted:
* as much oxides of nitrogen (NOx, a key ingredient of ozone smog) as put out by 94 coal-fired power plants (an estimated 745,000 tons).
* as much particulate pollution (sometimes called soot) as is emitted from 117 coal-fired power plants (more than 54,000 tons).
* 40 percent of all mobile source sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions.
A recent study by two leading researchers on shipping pollution, Corbett and Winebrake, shows shipping-related particulate matter emissions contribute to approximately 60,000 global deaths annually, with impacts concentrated in coastal regions on major trade routes.
The United States submitted its application -- asking for the most rigorous clean air standards authorized under international law to apply to ocean-going ships calling on U.S. ports -- to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and will make its case at the July 2009 meeting of the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee. Government officials estimate that foreign-flagged vessels make up 90 percent of the ship calls on U.S. ports.
The EPA estimates that some 87 million Americans live in port areas that do not meet basic federal public health standards for ground-level ozone and particulate pollution. Fortunately, a pivotal opportunity is on deck to achieve significant reductions in the pollution from ocean-going ships. With U.S. leadership in requesting the establishment of an Emission Control Area, and IMO approval, the nation will be sailing more smoothly towards healthier air.
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) just unveiled a groundbreaking online interactive green jobs map to showcase the potential economic benefits of green energy.
This first-of-its-kind tool shows over 1,000 American companies and communities that are already part of a green transformation.
Leaders in economic development view a cap on carbon as a path to an American manufacturing renaissance and a bright spot in our economy.
A cap creates customers for climate solutions across the country, including new customers for the component manufacturers, final product manufacturers, installers and service companies.
Led by Gary Gereffi, a Duke professor of sociology, researchers at Duke's Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness (CGGC) assess five carbon-reducing technologies with potential for future green job creation: LED lighting, high-performance windows, auxiliary power units for long-haul trucks, concentrating solar power, and Super Soil Systems (a new method for treating hog wastes).
They conclude that hidden economic opportunities exist within the supply chains that provide parts and labor for these five industries. The report includes a snapshot of the opportunities for U.S. manufacturing jobs, with a detailed breakdown of the supply chains and maps highlighting the location of companies positioned to support green jobs. States that stand to benefit most from jobs in these sectors include Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California.
"These maps tell the story of companies across the manufacturing heartland that will get new customers and create jobs with a cap on carbon."
- Jackie Roberts, Director of Sustainable Technologies
This morning, President Barack Obama signed two executive orders that could be remembered as the critical turning point toward achieving real energy independence and stopping global warming.
President Obama directed the EPA to review the Bush administration's denial of a waiver request by California to cut global warming pollution from automobiles. The president also ordered the Transportation Department to enact short-term rules on how automakers can improve the fuel efficiency of their new models.
Politically, what President Obama said was at least as important as what he signed.
The President's powerful statement affirming his commitment to moving aggressively to cut global warming emissions and unleash America's clean energy future laid out clear goals for action in the coming weeks and months.
The President's plan—including the next step of a cap on carbon pollution—means more new jobs, a rebirth for the American auto industry, and less global warming pollution.
[from David Yarnold Director of the Environmental Defense Fund]
