LINK:

Working Towards Sustainable Development: Opportunities for decent work and social inclusion in a green economy is available at the ILO website at:

http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—dgreports/—dcomm/—publ/documents/publication/wcms_181836.pdf

In a report released in June by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, authors Marc Lee and Amanda Card acknowledge that transition to a zero carbon Canada will take several decades, and state that the principal challenge for Canada and all countries is to de-couple the economy from fossil fuels. They calculate that only 9% of Canadian workers are employed in jobs related to fossil fuels and other “hot spots” of Canadian industry (including electricity generation, freight transportation and transportation services, chemical manufacturing, metal manu­facturing and agriculture), yet these sectors comprise 78% of industrial and commercial GHG emissions. The authors also calculate GHG emissions per worker in 14 industrial sectors in Canada. The report offers 12 recommendations for achieving zero carbon growth while creating and maintaining decent green jobs.

A Green Industrial Revolution: Climate Justice, Green Jobs and Sustainable Production in Canada, published by of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, is available at:

LINKS:
Draft Regulatory Impact Analysis:Proposed Rulemaking for 2017-2025 Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards is at the EPA website at:

http://epa.gov/otaq/climate/documents/420d11004.pdf

Gearing Up: Smart Standards Create Good Jobs Building Cleaner Cars is available at the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) website at:

http://www.aceee.org/sites/default/files/publications/researchreports/e127.pdf

(registration required, free).

A summary of the topic, New Car Rules Get it right on Energy, the Environment and the Economy, is at the Centre for Climate and Energy Solutions at:

http://www.c2es.org/blog/greenwaldj/new-car-rules-get-it-right-energy-environment-economy

The Center for American Progress published an analysis of the potential for clean energy installations on public land in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. They project that these states could stimulate more than $137 billion in investment in solar, wind, and geothermal energy over the next two decades, create more than 209,000 direct jobs, and provide electricity for 7 million homes. See The Vast Potential for Renewable Energy in the American West: Developing Wind, Solar, and Geothermal Energy on Public Lands at: http://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2012/08/pdf/renewable_energy_west.pdf

LINKS:

Duke Forum for Law & Social Change Volume 4 (2012) special issue on “A Just Transition to a Green Economy” is available at: http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/dflsc/ , including: Gordon, Soares and Steigleder, “Preparing America’s Workforce for Jobs in the Green Economy: A Case for Technical Literacy” and Farrell, “A Just Transition: Lessons Learned from the Environmental Justice Movement”.

LINKS:

Review of the Implementation in the EU of area K of the Beijing Platform for Action: Women and the Environment is available at:

http://www.eige.europa.eu/content/document/gender-equality-and-climate-change-report

LINKS:

Green Technologies and Practices Summary is available at:

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/gtp.nr0.htm , with links to technical documents.

LINKS:

Towards a Green Economy for Canada is available at the Sustainable Prosperity website at: http://www.sustainableprosperity.ca/dl864&display

The B.C. Bioeconomy Committee was formed in July 2011 to provide advice on opportunities in the sector – specifically forest biomass- to the Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation. The report, released over the summer of 2012, provides a snapshot, rather than a comprehensive study, of the wide range of activities already underway in B.C., as well as Alberta, Ontario, U.S., Europe and Finland. The Committee concludes that there is an urgent need for government leadership, and provides recommendations for action.

On July 19, Ontario announced that it is proceeding with the conversion of the Atikokan Generating Station from coal to biomass, as part of its plan to eliminate coal-fired electricity generation by the end of 2014. The government projects that the conversion will create 200 construction jobs, as well as preserve existing long-term jobs because of a provision that the biomass must be sourced from Ontario’s forests and processed in Ontario.

On September 13th the Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility at the University of British Columbia was officially opened, to convert local, renewable wood fuel to energy by means of a biomass gasification technology. Note that the federal government also announced funding on September 13 for the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) tidal energy project in Halifax.

LINKS:

B.C. Bioeconomy report is available at:

http://www.gov.bc.ca/jti/down/bio_economy_report_final.pdf

News Release: Ontario Government converts Coal Plant to Biomass at:

http://news.ontario.ca/mei/en/2012/07/ontario-converts-coal-plant-to-biomass-creates-200-jobs.html

Australia’s carbon tax of $23 per tonne was authorized by legislation in November 2011 and began on July 1st 2012. The price, which affects approximately 500 facilities that emit more than 25,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, is fixed for the first 3 years and then will rise at 2.5% per year, until July 1 2015, when it will transition to a fully flexible price under an emissions trading scheme. The government has pledged to allocate approximately 40% of carbon price revenue to help businesses and support jobs; the Jobs and Competitiveness Program has earmarked $9.2 billion for assistance until 2015- including $1.3 billion for a Coal Sector Jobs Package. The Clean Energy Act 2011 and its amendments – including amendments in June and August 2012 – are compiled and summarized at:

http://www.climatechange.gov.au/en/government/clean-energy-future/legislation.aspx

The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) launched the Higg Index in July 2012, to measure the environmental life cycle of apparel production (materials, manufacturing, packaging, transportation, use, and end-of-life). The vision is to expand the index to include the footwear industry, and to measure social and labour impacts. SAC, a trade organization of retailers, manufacturers, NGOs, academics and government representatives, claims to represent more than a third of the global apparel and footwear industries, including Walmart, NIKE, Marks and Spencer, and Levi’s. Their website is at: http://www.apparelcoalition.org

http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/ds412_e.htm

An Angus Reid poll released in late June 2012 shows that 58% of Canadians believe “it is more important to protect the environment, even at the risk of hampering economic growth”. Only 45% of Americans and 43% of Britons agreed with that statement. The summary is at: http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/45431/global-warming-skepticism-higher-in-u-s-and-britain-than-canada/ with a link to the full report and tables.

In the U.S., a survey conducted by the University of Michigan compares the levels of concern for climate change among adults between 32 and 52 years of age. Only 16% were very or moderately interested in the issue (down from 22% in 2009). The detailed report, including where the cohort sources their information, and possible explanations for the lack of engagement is: Miller, Jon D. “Climate Change: Generation X Attitudes, Interest, and Understanding” in Generation X Report v. 1 #3 (Summer 2012) at: http://www.sampler.isr.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/GenXReport.pdf

The Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources released Now or Never on July 19th, after 3 years of consultations and hearings. The unanimous report presents 13 priorities for action to achieve long-term and affordable energy solutions.

LINKS:

Now or Never: Canada must act urgently to seize its place in the new energy world order is available at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/enev/rep/rep04jul12-e.pdf and the French version, Maintenant ou jamais: Le Canada doit agir d’urgence pour prendre sa place dans le nouvel ordre mondial de l’énergie, is at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/enev/rep/rep04jul12-f.pdf

In Japan’s first review of its energy policy after the Fukushima disaster of 2011, a panel of the Japanese Cabinet made public its recommendations on September 14th. Part of the proposed new policy includes phasing out nuclear power by the 2030s – mainly by retiring aging reactors and not replacing them. Japan’s big business lobby is vehemently opposed to such a plan, but strong anti-nuclear public opinion has been evidenced by weekly mass rallies in front of the prime minister’s office, and in submissions to public hearings held by the government as part of its review.

“Japan Will Try to Halt Nuclear Power by the End of the 2030s” (Sept. 14 2012) at the New York Times website at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/15/world/asia/japan-will-try-to-halt-nuclear-power-by-the-end-of-the-2030s.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www

A summary of the options presented for public consideration is at Options for Energy and the Environment: The Energy and Environment Council Decision at:http://www.npu.go.jp/policy/policy09/pdf/20120720/20120720_en.pdf

In August, Environment Canada released its 2012 report documenting Canada’s emission trends. See Canada’s Emission Trends 2012 at: http://www.ec.gc.ca/Publications/253AE6E6-5E73-4AFC-81B7-9CF440D5D2C5%5C793-Canada%27s-Emissions-Trends-2012_e_01.pdf (English) or Tendances en matière d’émissions au Canada 2012 at: http://www.ec.gc.ca/Publications/253AE6E6-5E73-4AFC-81B7-9CF440D5D2C5%5C793-Canada%27s-Emissions-Trends-2012_f_01.pdf (French).

P.J. Partington of the Pembina Institute states: “The progress reflected in this year’s emissions trends report is largely the result of updated baselines and accounting rules for greenhouse gas pollution, as well as the considerable action some provinces are taking to reduce their emissions.” See http://www.pembina.org/media-release/2364. Climate Action Tracker, in its September Update, states: “Canada’s government uses uncommon methods of comparing and projecting emissions, while its 2020 reduction target is unchanged and still estimated as “inadequate” by a wide margin.” http://climateactiontracker.org/assets/publications/briefing_papers/2012-09-04_Briefing_paper_Bangkok.pff.pdf