|
Your daily must-read during the UN climate change summit in Paris | COP21 Day #4
|
|
|
Goldman Sachs says 2015 is shaping up as a watershed year for the low carbon economy, and the stock markets have responded accordingly. The firm released a report this week — timed to coincide with COP21 — valuing the low carbon economy at more than $600 billion per year. The report recommends that long-term investors focus on a number of key trends: LEDs, solar cells, onshore wind as well as hybrid and electric vehicles. By 2020, it expects six in ten lightbulbs will be LEDs — and that carmakers will sell 25 million hybrid and electric vehicles by 2025, ten times more than today. ValueWalk reports US electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors is one of the companies to directly benefit from the announcement, with its stocks up more than 3 per cent earlier this week.
|
|
Europe's biggest solar farm has opened for business this week, Reuters reports — on time, and within budget. French energy group Neoen is running the 300 megawatt solar farm, which is slightly bigger than Monaco and produces power at a price below that of new nuclear plants. Built on a 250-hectare site south of Bordeaux, the plant provides power for 300,000 people at a construction cost of €360 million. The plant will sell power at €105 per megawatt-hour for 20 years, well below the cost of power from new nuclear power reactors. The Connexion points to a newspaper report that compares the project to France’s latest nuclear reactor, currently under construction in Flamanville. The nuclear plant's budget has risen from €3.3 billion to €10.5 billion and is due to start production six years late.
|
|
|
You know climate action has gone mainstream when even fashion magazine Vogue is talking about it. The monthly glossy has published stylish photographs of “formidable women leading the way” at COP21. Vogue’s shoot includes the likes of UN top climate change official Christiana Figueres, World Bank Group vice president Rachel Kyte and grassroots organisation 350.org executive May Boeve. The women also answered questions, leading to the revelation that Figueres “is not afraid to cry at work” and “covertly practices a dance routine to Beyoncé’s ‘Move Your Body’ with her staff.”
|
|
CEO Paul Polman of global consumer goods giant Unilever revealed that he estimates the cost of climate change for his company at €400 million annually. In Paris, at the sidelines of the UN climate summit, Polman focused on the opportunities: “The most motivating for business is that it offers opportunities. New products, such as a more concentrated deodorant, washing powder with which you can wash in lower temperatures, or waterless shampoo, are doing well on the market,” NLTimes reports.
|
|
Scroll Down for Social Media Highlights
 Scroll down for COP21 social media highlights, including a sighting of climate angels. Today's Daily Planet also brings you insider tips from Le Bourget where the negotiations are taking place, our poll of the day about the role of business in solving climate change as well an overview of climate innovation events in Paris and a flashback to how we made it to Paris. Not a subscriber yet? Subscribe today!
|
|
Insider Tips from the Summit in Le Bourget
|
|
|
The Daily Planet's latest insider tips, brought to you by Climate-KIC's observers at the COP21 negotiations.
- Today is young and future generations day! Time to consider how education (see here for Climate-KIC's programmes), training and public awareness are a crucial part of climate action.
- Find out more about it: Join the UNFCCC and Christiana Figueres at 13:15 in the Blue Zone for youthful stories of change and an inspirational climate change video.
|
|
|
|
This afternoon is all about buildings!
|
|
|
Business Attitudes: Poll of the Day
|
|
|
|
Over the last few months, Europe's C-suite business leaders were asked about their attitudes towards climate change — and the role of radical innovation.
As we await the results of this survey this afternoon (if you're in Paris today, you can attend the announcement), we invite Daily Planet readers to take a stab at predicting some of the outcomes.
Yesterday's poll: 89 per cent of you expect that European business leaders believe there is a large amount of scope to evolve their business models to reduce resource consumption and carbon emissions.
Today's question: Do you think most business leaders seek input from entrepreneurs and start-ups when it comes to responding to the risk of climate change and its impact on the marketplace?
|
|
Climate Innovation at COP21
|
|
|
|
Today in central Paris from 14:00 until 15:30.
At this event, the much anticipated 2015 survey on European business attitudes towards climate action “Sparking an innovation step change” will be released.
More info >>
|
|
Today in Le Bourget from 10:00 until 18:15.
The first UNEP Buildings Day will be held in Le Bourget at COP21 on 3 December 2015 and provides an opportunity to launch an unprecedented alliance of organisations.
More info >>
|
|
|
Tomorrow in central Paris from 20:30 until 23:15.
Join the Climate-KIC community for a celebration of Europe’s climate innovation champions. Learn about our most exciting and successful climate innovations, meet our climate champions, and hear from experts and passionate leaders.
More info >>
|
|
Tomorrow in Le Bourget from 16:45 – 18:15.
Yvo de Boer, Director-General at GGGI and former executive secretary of the UNFCCC, will moderate an event with perspectives on cross-sector collaboration and public-private partnerships that aim at delivering scalable climate solutions.
More info >>
|
|
Angels sighting: Manjana Milkoreit spotted Australian 'climate angels' and a group of police officers outside the Le Bourget site and tweeted this snapshot.
"#Climate Guardian Angels from #Australia at Le Bourget. It seems, even angels need protecting. #cop21 #placetobcop21," she observed.
The so called Climate Guardians brought letters and artworks from Australian children to the climate summit.
|
|
|
Top policy tweeter: Ségolène Royal, French minister for ecology, sustainable development and energy — and former partner of President François Hollande — has a very active Twitter feed, with lots of video clips of her activities at COP21.
One of yesterday's tweets reads: "Francophone youth for water! Presentation of the white paper 'A Paris for water,' and also included a short but lively video clip.
Royal — or presumably mostly her staff as it's Royal starring in the videos — tweets in French, but that's nothing that Twitter's automatic translation service can't solve!
|
|
|
Excuse your French?: Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd is no angel, and doesn't need translating. He complimented the Australian Youth Climate Coalition when he ran into them this week in typical Australian fashion.
"Ran into @aycc here at Paris summit yesterday. All working their butts off. K," he tweeted, along with a video clip.
|
|
|
Daily #JourneyToParis Flashback
|
|
|
#JourneyToParis:
We have arrived!
 Following a virtual journey that started in June, we have arrived in Paris and now keep you up to date with daily reports from COP21.
Find out how we got here by checking out our Journey to Paris, which took us across 27 countries. We put a spotlight on innovators who are already creating solutions across Europe.
We have an unprecedented opportunity to create a prosperous zero carbon future, driven by innovation, jobs, and investment. Climate-KIC is seizing that opportunity for Europe by connecting both public and private sectors with climate change-focused education, research and innovation. Join us!
|
Get in touch
 Drop the Daily Planet newsroom a line if you have any questions or tips!
Contact our editors — based in Paris and London during COP21 — on Twitter or send us an email at media@climate-kic.org.
Connect with Climate-KIC's COP21 observers at the official UN site in Le Bourget: Tweet @krptndr or email andrea.karpati@climate-kic.org.
|
|
EDITORIAL: Executive Editor: Angela Howarth | Editor in Chief: Peter Koekoek | Editor, Events: Kelsey Hunter | Editor, Social Media: Molly Redmond | Reporter, Le Bourget: Andrea Karpati
PUBLISHER: Climate-KIC, the EU's main climate innovation initiative © 2015 Climate-KIC
|
|
Share the Daily Planet with
your friends and colleagues!
|
|
|
|
|
Planet
