Sustainability

Review: How Big Oil could grease invisible hand

22 Sep 2014

“Pump” contends that democracy at the gas station would help U.S. democracy more broadly. Offering drivers fuel choices like ethanol, as Brazil did, might ease the grip of Exxon Mobil and its peers. The film makes a convincing case, even as it evades some inconvenient truths.

Wall Street titans miss climate change opportunity

24 Jun 2014

Ex-Mayor Mike Bloomberg, former Treasury boss Hank Paulson and financier Tom Steyer have made a big splash with their Risky Business report on how environmental havoc may hurt U.S. prosperity. But the research so far lacks the financial heft to sway corporate bosses to act.

China’s water crisis to test “decisive” markets

11 Apr 2014

China’s urban water bills are rising. It’s a nod towards curbing overuse, but too little to defuse a brewing crisis. A real fix requires market prices for thirsty industrials and agriculture. This will be a trial by water for the country’s supposed market reforms.

Anadarko’s $5.1 bln settlement adds up in market

4 Apr 2014

The U.S. oil driller’s pollution payment is at the low end of a court-defined range, which had a midpoint of around $10 bln. The 15 pct gain in Anadarko’s market cap equals that gap plus a small bonus for relief. And it brings the stock’s 12-month rise back in line with the S&P.

China index: growth cannot cloud judgment on smog

28 Mar 2014

Fresh data shows Beijing smog is no smoggier than before, but the pressure to disperse it has grown. New-found wealth is no substitute for poor health. Now that pollution is an official public enemy, air quality could be a useful target for cleaner growth.

Smog obscures looming water risk for China

4 Feb 2014

Bad air is visible, and vexes the urban rich. But recent attempts to fix China’s airpocalypse may exacerbate another acute risk: water. Thirsty energy companies and consumers may not see the threat just yet; they will if policy and price changes pull the plug on cheap supply.

Climate change tail risks aren’t like Wall Street’s

27 Sep 2013

Like bank risk managers, researchers rely on complex models to assess worst-case scenarios. The incentives are different, though. Dire predictions can be more rewarding for scientists. That’s the reason to focus on the IPCC’s new baseline forecasts, which are now less alarming.

Canada-U.S. oil pipe beats shipping options

8 Feb 2013

Washington is stalling on the Keystone pipeline, so Canada is exploring alternatives for its oil-sands crude. But exporting it on tankers would be more polluting and riskier. American NIMBY opposition to Keystone is bad for the planet as well as for the nation’s energy supplies.

Carbon tax would beat green energy credits

17 Jan 2013

A new bill to end U.S. energy tax handouts doesn’t go far enough. Washington’s problem is an excess of expenses over revenue. Replacing preferential treatment for government darlings with a tax on discouraged emissions could help fix that while also reducing market distortions.

Obama’s gas guzzler curbs trump drill baby drill

29 Aug 2012

The White House is doubling fuel efficiency for U.S. vehicles. That’s more likely to cut drivers’ costs and reduce dependence on foreign oil than Romney’s crude exploration plan. But hiking the gas tax would be the smartest way to tackle America’s overreliance on Black Gold.

NIMBYs are China’s new neighbours from hell

31 Jul 2012

Communities protesting about dirty chemical plants or waste treatment are a rich-country problem come early. Their gripes may be understandable: China faces hefty environmental risks. But appeasing rattled townsfolk drags on growth by lowering the returns from building.

Ethical Economy: Cooling down global warming

14 Dec 2011

The near-failure of the Durban conference on global warming is a sign that the activists’ campaign has stalled. They should stop using the story of the sorcerer’s apprentice as their model. The energy economy is not a monster that has turned against its maker.

Obama’s smog backdown won’t help sick U.S. economy

5 Sep 2011

The White House has bowed to critics in Congress and industry, who said new air quality rules would kill jobs. Polluters have previously exaggerated the costs of EPA regulations, and health-related savings matter, too. The rationale for caving in is a smokescreen for politics.