Climate Change Reading from The Guardian
One of my favorite spots to get my globaly warming wonky schwerve on for global policy and business news is the Climate Change special report section of the London Guardian. Here are a couple of the more interesting articles from the last week:

Climate change: risk and opportunity British businesses are taking climate change very seriously, both as a potential commercial opportunity and a risk factor that could affect their markets, according to a survey published today. [...] More than 80% of FTSE 500 companies surveyed by the advice and research group Article 13 said they expected to consider climate change issues in 2005. Nearly a quarter of the companies (21%) are taking the issue to board level, a jump from 12% last year. A third of the companies sur veyed saw new products as a crucial opportunity arising from climate change. "Any company that can contribute to a low-carbon economy has an opportunity," said one interviewee. Some executives saw a major role for business in creating the technology that would mitigate the effects of climate change. Government policy is seen as likely to encourage the development of wind farms and biofuels. Two thirds of companies saw climate change as a potential threat in terms of the long-term sustainability of their companies or rising costs. Ten per cent saw "reputational damage" as an issue.

Payout idea to save rainforests Developing nations should be paid to preserve tropical rainforests as part of a drive to slow global warming, according to suggestions made at a two-day climate seminar in Bonn yesterday. Most efforts to rein in climate change have so far focused on curbing carbon dioxide emissions from cars, power plants and heavy industry. But Robert Aisi, Papua New Guinea's delegate at the 190-nation seminar which aims to widen the UN Kyoto protocol on slowing climate change said: "Forests are our assets and should be valued." Under the extension plan, farmers in the developing world would get a cash incentive to preserve trees - which soak up greenhouse gases as they grow - rather than sell them to loggers or cut them down to make way for crops.

Air travel mars UK's green strategy Greenhouse gas emissions from UK air travel has doubled in 13 years, damaging the government's claims to be a world leader in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Figures from the Office of National Statistics published yesterday show that total UK greenhouse gas emissions fell by 8.1% between 1990 and 2003, considerably less than the 13.4% fall claimed by the Department of the Environment. Nearly all the gains come from the closing of the coal mines under the Conservative government, and the switch from coal to gas for electricity generation. [...] Emissions from aviation rose from 20.1m tonnes in 1990 to 39.5m last year. During the same period, emissions from private cars rose from 59.6m tonnes to 67.8m, figures that are included in the Kyoto calculations.

If you're a frequent flyer (or even if you're not), you can find out how much CO2 a flight emits with this handy calculator. It also comes up with a cost for this emission, which you can then donate that amount to offset the emission to several charities via Climate Care (an organization that sells CO2 reductions, and funds projects around the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to tackle climate change). My recent trip from Seattle to the East Coast (I used New York's JFK as my destination, as they don't have a lot of smaller airports in the calculator's list) emitted 0.96 tonnes of CO2 and my offset cost is £6.25 (or $11.41--whew, those European currencies are kicking our butts!).