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Global Warming Solutions 2005

What’s on the Climate Horizon –
Risks and Benefits for Businesses, Investors and Financial Institutions

June 8 and 9 Roosevelt Hotel, New York City

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Conference Summary, continued...

The awards were presented by former Massachusetts Environmental Affairs Secretary and US Energy Assistant Secretary Susan Tierney, a managing partner at the Analysis Group and chair of the Clean Air - Cool Planet Board of Directors.

“These awards are intended to recognize the real work done by people, companies, communities, and campuses to reduce the emissions that cause global warming,” said Tierney. “But it goes beyond that.

“We particularly want to celebrate those who reach others with their commitment, who make action on global warming a central part of their mission, and who involve their whole community, whatever that might be, in that effort,” Tierney said.

The conference kicked off with a report on the latest climate science by Robert W. Corell, chair of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA), who warned his audience to “watch the oceans, because they are the flywheel of climate change. That’s where the heat energy of the planet goes, that’s where the drivers are.”

Noting that confidence in scientific models of ocean warming is now 95 percent, Corell said all six of the world’s oceans now show significant warming, and that “even if we cut carbon pollution now, it will take several hundred years to end the warming, and sea-level rise will continue beyond that.” He also said that chances that ocean circulation, particularly in the North Atlantic, will be altered are very real, and that “Europe and eastern Canada and the Northeast will get colder and the rest of the world will get much, much hotter.

“It’s happened before, and if we keep on the path we’re on, we can shut down the system,” he said.

Wednesday’s luncheon keynote speaker, CEO Jeff Swartz of Climate Champion Timberland Company, urged those who would take action on global warming, as his company has, to heed the balance between the needs of the CFO and good stewardship.

“I can be as green as can be, but if I’m not making enough of a profit to stay in business, then I’m a fool,” he said. “So I need to have good people who will remind me, when I want to do something good for the environment, that I have to make sure it’s good for business, or there’s no point.”

The first plenary, Navigating a Challenging Regulatory Environment, moderated by New York Times Associate Editor Bob Semple, featured commentary on coming regulations - and how businesses and investors can make the best of them - by Jason S. Grumet, Executive Director of the National Commission on Energy Policy, Kevin S. Leahy, General Manager for Environmental Economics and Finance at Cinergy Corporation, Gareth Phillips, Global Product Manager at SGS Climate Change Programme, and Bruce Usher, CEO and Director of EcoSecurities.

The rest of the afternoon was reserved for breakout sessions on “Emerging Issues in Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Environmental Financing,” including tradable renewable energy credits (TRECs) and carbon offsets, investment strategies in a carbon-regulated economy, how and why smart companies are cutting carbon emissions, and how communities can attract energy investments.

Following the awards reception, Architect Robert Fox, of Cook+Fox Architects gave a detailed report on how Climate Champion Bank of America, his firm, and a broad team, are creating One Bryant Park, a 945-foot crystalline skyscraper, to LEED platinum standards. In addition to learning how the bank and its team have been able to take advantage of natural conditions and new technologies, the conference attendees were treated to state-of-the-art animations that let them “see” the building and approach it from a number of angles.

Thursday morning began with a keynote address by Gary Hirshberg, President and CEO of Stonyfield Farm, who noted that the company that began with seven cows “is now the fastest growing brand of yogurt in the country.”

Hirshberg attributed much of the success of the company to "brand loyalty" from customers who are looking for quality in the product but also for good environmental stewardship, like Stonyfield’s decision to be “carbon neutral” in its operations.

"Our customers stay with us because they like what we make and they like what we do," he said. "We have proved that doing good things is doing good business."

Two morning plenary panels looked at regulatory action in the region and its potential impact on business, investment, and the economy.

The first, How Regional and Local Climate Action is Creating a New Investment Landscape, was moderated by Stewart Hudson, president of the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and included Bradley Campbell, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Phil Jessup, executive director of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, Gina McCarthy, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, and Alan Lloyd, secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the second plenary of the afternoon, was moderated by Michael J. Bradley, principal, Michael J. Bradley and Associates. On that panel were Dale Bryk, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council; David Manning, ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬executive vice president for corporate affairs and chief environmental officer at Keyspan Energy; Derek Murrow, director of policy for Environment Northeast; Helen Sahi, senior vice president for sustainability programs at Bank of America; Denise Sheehan, acting commissioner, New York Department of Environmental Conservation, and Susan F. Tierney, managing principal with The Analysis Group.

John W. Rowe, president and CEO of Exelon Corporation, was keynote speaker at lunch on Thursday. In Ensuring a Prosperous, Low Carbon Future, Mr. Rowe said "corporate calls for a responsible carbon policy are also clear evidence that the political momentum is at last shifting, and the real work of climate change is about to begin," noting that "climate change is much more than a regulatory or environmental problem – it is also an enormous technological challenge, and an even greater economic challenge."

He said that those who want to meet these challenges must accept another: "If you really want a world that deals with carbon, you must also support the development and deployment of affordable low carbon energy resources," including natural gas from increased domestic exploration and LNG import infrastructure, coal gasification, renewables, and "the next generation nuclear power, and a rational policy for dealing with spent nuclear fuel.

"For in the end," he said, "our children will only thank us if we adopt realistic policies that both successfully address climate change, and ensure a prosperous, low-carbon economic future."

The closing plenary of the conference took up the call to address the economic challenges inherent in dealing with global warming. Moderated by Conference Chair and Air and Energy Program Director Ashok Gupta of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the plenary looked at How Regulators and Investors Can Work Together to Develop Markets.

The panel included Mindy S. Lubber, president of CERES, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Kathleen McGinty, and Robert L. Pratt, director of the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust.

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Clean Air-Cool Planet, the region's leading organization dedicated to finding and promoting solutions to global warming, creates partnerships in the Northeast to implement solutions to climate change and build constituencies for effective climate policies and actions.