Trucking’s Carbon Footprint Goes Beyond On-Road Vehicles

(Trucking Info)

A trucking company’s carbon footprint goes beyond its on-road vehicle fleet to include other direct emissions, indirect emissions and the optional “life-cycle” emissions, according to the American Transportation Research Institute.

ATRI released the findings of its analysis of greenhouse gas reporting tools and emissions models, with the goal of helping carriers quantify potential sources of greenhouse gases within their operations.

“ATRI’s study also highlights the need for industry involvement in standardizing approaches for carbon accounting,” said Mike Naatz, president of the customer care division and chief customer officer for YRC Worldwide. Naatz is a member of the ATRI Research Advisory Committee, which identified this research priority.

ATRI’s research identified both U.S. and international reporting tools and methodologies. Among the key findings were differences in the weighting of model inputs, which in turn impact the reported level of emissions. Read more here.

Trade in Natural Resources and the Business Community: What Is at Stake?

(WTO – Adrian van den Hoven, and Anka Schild)

Trade in natural resources (e.g. energy, minerals, plants, animals and forestry) is an important and growing share of world trade; in value terms its share increased by 20% annually in the past ten years. Although the overheated situation on raw materials market of 2008 has disappeared, pressures will mount as economic activity starts up again, but also as a result of an expected 20% increase in the world population by 2025.

Although access to raw materials is crucial for the sound functioning of the world economy, the number of restrictions imposed on the export of natural resources has increased significantly over the past few years. An OECD Workshop on Raw Materials in October 2009 demonstrated that these restrictions distort the global market and have a negative impact on both developed and developing countries. The WTO is well placed to endorse a global response to this issue. It should promote free trade in natural resources by removing existing distortions and developing and administering rules and disciplines in support of open markets.

For industrial consumers, access to raw materials under non-discriminatory and market-based conditions is crucial for their competitiveness. Increasingly however, countries are pursuing strategic policies to secure access to raw material deposits worldwide, while at the same time restricting access to their domestic raw material markets at the expense of raw materials importers. This is for instance the case for highly specialised metals and minerals, such as rare earths, lithium and platinum group metals (platinum, palladium and rhodium). These materials are needed for the development of technologically sophisticated products, which are critical for low-carbon/‘green’ technologies. Read more here.

U.S. Seeks to Push Ahead With Trade Deal on Green Technologies

(Bloomberg BusinessWeek – Mark Drajem)

The U.S. is talking with Canada, the European Union and Australia about eliminating tariffs on solar, wind and related energy technologies to spur their use, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said today. Kirk said the U.S. is seeking an “early harvest” for an agreement on so-called green technologies, which means an environmental deal wouldn’t have to wait for completion of the Doha Round of World Trade Organization talks. Negotiations on environmental goods have taken place since 2008.

“We think it only makes sense to make the trade of those goods more open,” Kirk said at a Washington event on patent protections. “We think it is important enough” that it could move ahead on its own, he said. Read more here.