New York Times (June 4)
U.S. car buyers may get a new kind of “sticker shock.” New regulations will require automakers to include annual fuel costs and emissions data beginning with the 2013 models. The shock is important. “Labels can help consumers make better choices…. Detroit and other manufacturers make big changes only when regulators force them to.”
The Economist (February 17)
There has been little success in slowing climate change or reducing carbon emissions. Sweeping new international agreements are elusive. The Economist believes it’s time to look at smaller measures that can gain quick agreement. For example, the industrial gas HFC-134 could be eliminated under the existing Montreal protocol. Substitutes are already available for this gas which “delivers more than 1,000 times more warming than carbon dioxide, mass for mass.” Banning HFC-134 would make a difference and could be done quickly. Success in smaller agreements may even “help build the trust, ambition and momentum needed to get further on deals to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions.”
Tags: Carbon, Climate change, Emissions, Global warming
The Financial Times (July 20)
Executives from 27 companies wrote to support stricter emission standards. They want the EU to cut emissions by 30%, rather than 20%, by 2020. They believe Europe needs stricter standards to be competitive in the green market. Stricter standards will provide companies with the assurance they need to invest in low-carbon technologies. Among the companies signing the letter were Allianz, Asda, Deutsche Telekom, Lloyds Banking Group, L’Oreal, Nestlé, Royal Philips Electronics, Vodafone and Tesco.
