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Here in the Middle East, the sense of excitement one month after the COP21 climate talks has electrified the halls of the massive convention center where over 33,000 people are expected to attend the annual Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW). This week’s agenda has already started with numerous side events building off COP21, including the annual assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). But yesterday’s opening ceremony amplified COP21’s accomplishments, while reminding attendees that much work remains to be done if the world is really going address the risks posed by climate change.

It has been 10 years since Masdar, Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company and the main sponsor of ADSW, was founded, and its chairman, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, summed up in his opening remarks what occurred in Paris succinctly:

“For the past two decades, we kept saying ‘we can,' ‘we should’ and ‘we must’ but last month at the Paris Conference of Parties (COP21), we did.”

Dr. Al Jaber also told the audience, “There has never been a greater opportunity to make real progress toward sustainable development and to create an economic potential that could drive sustained growth for future generations.” For Masdar -- which has endured its share of ups and downs building its sustainability city near Abu Dhabi's airport, as well as the challenges it faced working on renewable energy projects for the past decade -- the past several weeks have been cathartic.

Ban Ki-moon, who has centered his tenure as Director-General of the Union Nations around campaigning for a global agreement to address climate change, also spoke with optimism at this summit’s opening ceremony. “We are the first generation with an opportunity to end poverty,” said Mr. Ban, “but we are the last generation with a chance to combat climate change. Clean energy is the key to both of these tests.”

President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico also addressed the several thousand who were in attendance, and the morning’s events also included the ceremony for the Zayed Future Energy Prize (ZFEP). ZFEP, which is best described as a “Nobel Prize for clean energy deployment," awarded several clean-energy innovations within business, the nonprofit community and schools.

Clean energy indeed is the hot issue here in Abu Dhabi this week, and the exhibit halls in Abu Dhabi’s convention center are laden with booths showcasing countless products and services related to the sector. Dozens of industry groups from nations around the world have space devoted to their companies’ innovations, while companies ranging from startups to energy behemoths such as BP and Total also have a presence. What started several years ago as the World Future Energy Summit has morphed into a gathering that includes conferences on water and waste, as well as another that is devoted to finding ways to empower more women to enter the clean energy and sustainable development sectors.

With oil under $US30 a barrel and projected to drop even further in price, one would assume clean energy technologies to struggle in this business environment. But judging by the number of deals expected to be made in Abu Dhabi this week, and this event’s continued growth, watch for this sector to grow even more. Renewables have become more profitable even as they have become cheaper, and the optimism here signals that new sources of energy will have a banner year in 2016.

Image credit: Leon Kaye

Disclosure: Leon Kaye’s trip to Abu Dhabi was paid for by Masdar

Last week, the price of crude oil dipped to a 12-year low selling for under $30 a barrel -- a far cry the pre-recession peak of around $147. On Jan. 16 it was reported that a town in northern Michigan was the first place in the country to start selling gas at under a buck a gallon in a purported local price war. Meanwhile, the national average price for gasoline is running at just $1.89 a gallon.

This is the culmination of a protracted downward price trend due to a global oil-production glut, which according to the American Automobile Association saved Americans more than $115 billion during 2015, with drivers pocketing savings of more than $550 each.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, some American car buyers seem to have taken this as a signal to forgo the economical compact car, and start buying SUVs again. Ford said ahead of last year’s Los Angeles auto show that it predicts the market for SUVs will grow to 40 percent by 2020, up from around a third of the domestic U.S. market today.

But despite the return of cheap gas, all the major auto companies continue to take electrification seriously, including Ford, which recently announced they will invest another $4.5 billion to bring 13 new electrified cars to its lineup by 2020. And this week’s Economist ran a couple of articles reporting that demand for lithium-ion batteries is surging, with lithium itself being, “one of the world’s only hot commodities.” That’s remarkable with crude at today's rock-bottom prices.

For sure, robust demand for lithium and lithium-ion batteries does not depend on the transportation sector alone. The Economist details that utilities are installing “millions” of batteries as energy storage into power plants to regulate supply at times of peak of demand, as well as accommodating the "intermittency" of renewables.

The Economist cites a couple of examples in the United States alone: During 2016, a solar plant in Hawaii will be equipped with batteries, such that it will be able to supply energy after dark at a price that is cheaper than using diesel generators. Another example, AES Energy Storage won a contract in 2014 to provide a “peaker-plant” in Southern California with battery storage able to provide up to 100 Megawatts of power to the grid in times of maximum demand, which, as a company spokesman says is, “hybridizing the grid.”

But it’s not just utility grade storage that lithium-ion batteries will fulfill, but at the consumer level too. Next month, Tesla will start installing its $3,000 Powerwall to early adopters in both the United States and Australia, so that people can, at last, store the energy generated from their own solar panels.

As important as energy storage is, transportation is still a key driver of demand for batteries. Tesla, of course, plans to play in both arenas, and the completion of its so-called Gigafactory aims to supply vehicle batteries for 500,000 vehicles a year within five years.

Something else that cannot be overlooked as a driver of demand for lithium-ion batteries is China. In 2015, Chinese auto manufacturer BYD was the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles. Though China’s EV market is comprised of multitudes of electric bicycles, scooters and other “slow speed EVs,” BYD sold over 61,000 “highway capable” electric vehicles, almost all into its domestic marketplace. Furthermore demand for EVs is growing at a clip. The country as a whole, organized around the government’s “new energy” initiative, tripled the output of EVs in the first 10 months of 2015, compared with 2014 - to 171,000 units, many of which were electric buses.

Indeed, government regulation across the globe is likely to help keep the demand for batteries strong. The Economist notes emissions standards in both the EU and US markets are likely to boost demand for lithium from automakers on a long term basis.

This is all good news for the battery manufacturers - a market thus far dominated by a handful of players; South Korea’s Samsung and LG, and Japan’s Panasonic and Sony. But add to that China’s numerous battery makers, and Tesla’s entry into the picture - not to mention automakers like Toyota forging partnerships with suppliers to ensure uninterrupted supply - and the commodity price for lithium spiked in the last two months of 2015, to almost double what it was just a couple of months earlier - reaching around $13,000 a ton.

Still, the market for lithium itself is relatively small. Worldwide, sales of lithium salts according to The Economist add up to only about $1 billion a year. Which might sound surprisingly low, until you consider the amount of lithium in the average battery comprises only 5 percent of total materials used in their manufacture, and only 10 percent of total cost; a little of this important metal goes a long way.

That said, according to The Economist, Goldman Sachs, an investment bank, has described lithium as “the new gasoline.” But if it is to become that, the lithium-ion battery has to satisfy detractors, including the Argonne National Laboratory, who says the ability to provide hundreds of miles driving range, be rechargeable in minutes, and provide power at a cost comparable with natural gas is, “beyond reach” of lithium-ion technology.

Perhaps that’s changing, however. Chevrolet’s boss, Mary Barra, in unveiling the automaker's new Bolt EV asserts the new car’s battery has “cracked the code” in terms of combining long range with affordable price - and it would indeed appear poised to be a breakthrough product if production vehicles achieve the promised 200-mile range for around $30,000 after incentives.

In addition, Samsung announced at this year’s North American International Auto Show that they have developed a prototype “High-Density” battery that will offer a driving range of 600 kilometers (373 miles) on a single charge, with an energy-density 20 to 30 percent improved over today’s - and slated for production in 2020.

There is a saying that the stone age didn’t end because we ran out of stones. So perhaps it’s not premature to say the growth of lithium-ion battery technologies in the face of cheap fossil fuels might allow an analogous saying: the end of the oil age will not be because we run out of oil. Time will tell.

Image courtesy of the author

The United Arab Emirates is home to the world’s eight largest oil and gas reserves, which has allowed for the transformation of Abu Dhabi and Dubai into ultramodern cities boasting some of the world’s most bombastic architecture and infrastructure projects. All that money from oil—and Abu Dhabi hosts 94 percent of the country’s lucrative commodity—has also allowed the country to fund a bevy of foreign assistance programs that creates global impact far outsizing its population of 1.4 million locals (the other 6.8 million people living in the UAE are foreign nationals).

One key organization providing development assistance worldwide is Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), which was founded around the same time the UAE gained independence in 1971. This foreign aid agency has distributed US$7.3 billion in loans and US11.5 billion in grants over the past 45 years. Long focused on the funding of projects that aim to reduce poverty worldwide, in recent years ADFD has added clean energy projects to its portfolio. In a partnership with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), ADFD is now financing solar and wind power projects worldwide. At a press conference the day before the annual Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week launched, ADFD and IRENA announced four new projects in the Caribbean and Africa.

These projects in Antigua and Barbuda, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde and Senegal together will receive low-interest loans totaling US$46 million. These four new programs are part of a wider US$350 million, seven-year initiative to fund clean energy installations in developing nations. The largest project this funding cycle is in Antigua, where a 4 megawatts of wind and solar installations will provide power that will in part desalinate water.

Within Africa, a total of US$41 will finance various solar and wind power projects. In Burkina Faso, what IRENA describes as a 3.6MW photovoltaic mini project will provide electricity to over 12,000 families. A hybrid PV and wind project will allow the Cabo Verde island of Brava, home to 6,000 people, become powered completely by renewables. Finally, two megawatts of solar installations spread across Senegal will help to electrify rural villages.

At a press conference held during IRENA’s annual assembly, the agency’s Director-General, Adnan Amin, said, “While renewable energy resources are abundant in many development countries, adequate finance can still be a barrier to deployment.” The alliance between these two agencies is one way to boost renewables in developing nations, many of which are importing expensive and dirty diesel to create electricity when, in fact, they have plenty of wind and sun that could be harnessed instead. IRENA receives proposals for such projects and vets them in order to select the ones showing the most potential; ADFD then provides the loans, which have an interest rate between one and two percent.

Abu Dhabi has been the focal point of similar clean power development projects the past several years. Masdar, for example, has also partnered with ADFD to install wind and solar projects in the South Pacific and Seychelles. Over time all of these projects, while small at an individual scale, add value by helping organizations such as IRENA and Masdar to develop best practices so that future projects can become better constructed, more efficient and most importantly, expand clean energy access in regions that can benefit from renewables the most.

Indeed, these projects, and Abu Dhabi’s commitment to IRENA and its goals, show the Emirate is serious about playing a role in sustainable development. Even more importantly for the broader picture, these solar and wind projects demonstrate that renewables are a business opportunity, even in the most remote rural regions. And the multiplier effect energy access has will engender even more open doors for small business, social enterprise and lifting people out of poverty.

Image credit: Ingo Wolbern

Disclosure: Leon Kaye’s trip to Abu Dhabi was paid for by Masdar

By Melissa Schweyer

Masdar has invited me to visit the United Arab Emirates to attend the fourth annual Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. It’s a week-long global forum that brings together thought-leaders, policymakers and investors to address the challenges of renewable energy and sustainable development.

On my first day here, I took a tour of the Shams 1 Plant, the largest solar energy power plant in the Middle East. It’s located approximately 75 miles southwest of Abu Dhabi’s city centre, hours deep into the desert, stretching across 1.5 miles of sandy, arid land.

Though not inherently obvious during my tour, it later dawned on me that Shams 1 implements many CSR-related initiatives.

Below I’ve compiled a list of 10 takeaways which echo many best practices from the corporate social responsibility (CSR) community:

1. They’re a living testament to the importance and benefits of business diversification and innovation.

Though best known for its wealth in natural resources (i.e. oil), Abu Dhabi (and its renewable energy company, Masdar) have made significant strides to diversify its sectors of revenue by supporting projects such as Shams 1. To do this requires a lot of forward-thinking, innovative planning and calculated risk-taking.

Breaking the status quo certainly has its perks.

2. They value the health and safety of their employees.

The plant takes pride in their health and safety track records, beating their own rigorously set objectives by a landslide. 11,000,000 work hours have accumulated without major incident.

Safety signs seem to be displayed at every next turn—reinforcing their commitment to safety whilst reinforcing the importance of precautionary measures to staff. Employees are also prohibited from working outside during periods of extreme heat–lessening their chances of dehydration and heat stroke.

3. They break all of the employee engagement rates you’ve ever read or heard about.

Shams 1 boasts a 99 percent employee retention rate. Employees just “get it” and enjoy being part of something that’s cutting edge and sustainable.

4. They’re virtually spearheading a movement to help drive down industry costs, creating more competition and accessibility.

Arguably, massive projects such as Shams 1 give a lot of attention to the renewable energy sector, further legitimatizing the industry and accelerating growth within the renewable energy manufacturing sector. It’s quite conceivable that projects such as this one have helped increase competition and drive down costs over time.

5. They’re a living example of the statement “green sells.”

At the time, Shams 1 was named the largest financing transaction for any solar power project, bringing in a colossal US$600 million.

Who says green doesn’t sell?

6. They’ve helped — albeit symbolically — prove the success of impact investing.

Shams 1 brought in 103 percent of its targeted energy goals and continues to optimize its operations to gain efficiencies and growth.

The project has been funded by Masdar, Total and Abengoa Solar and stands as an excellent case study for successful renewable energy investment.

7. They illustrate the importance of incremental change on a mass scale.

Though the plant does not power the entire country (it provides power for about 20,000 households), it is a significant step in the right direction. The hope is that the success from this project will help support similar sustainably-driven initiatives in the future.

8. They’re a model example of alternative waster management.

Improvising solutions for optimization and efficiency, Shams 1 demonstrates how innovative thinking can help us find ways to mitigate waste. Fans are used instead of water to condense steam, no chemicals or soaps are used to clean solar mirrors, water is continuously reused and when all options are exhausted, they partner with waste management companies to properly dispose of leftovers.

9. They walk the talk of information sharing.

It’s obvious from the moment you enter the plant that you’re there to do more than take pretty photos. You’re treated as a student with the sole purpose to learn as much as possible.

As our tour guides so rightfully put it, the plant doubles as a museum with countless visitors receiving tours from the Shams 1 staff on an ongoing basis.

They’re all about sharing the wealth of knowledge.

10. They demonstrate that there’s always room for scaling impact. In this case, that includes making room to give back.

Though the plant is doing incredible purpose-driven work already, it still makes time to give back in many of the more conventional CSR ways. Shams 1 provides meaningful internship opportunities to students and gives sponsorship funding to local events and activities that relate to education, health and environmental initiatives.

The Shams 1 Solar Plant not only helps the world shift to a sustainable economy, but it also draws many parallels with CSR themes and best practices. Initiatives such as this one are crucial if we hope to meet our commitments from COP21 and advance our purpose-driven business sector.

Melissa Schweyer is a writer, people-person and change-maker with nearly five years of progressive work experience in the not-for-profit sector. Most recently, she’s teamed up with Habitat for Humanity Hamilton, utilizing many of her past experiences to help break the cycle of poverty in Hamilton, Canada. A CSR enthusiast at heart, Melissa also manages a blog, www.csrtist.com, where she shares her thoughts, ideas and new ways of thinking about corporations and how they can make a positive impact on our world. In her spare time, you’ll most likely find her writing, practicing yoga, enjoying cheese or spending time with family and friends.

Follow Melissa Schweyer @CSRtist

CEOs acknowledge that purpose – a clear reason to exist beyond making money – has become a key part of business strategy, according to PwC’s annual survey of global CEOs. Indeed, 61% agree that business success in the 21st century will be redefined by more than financial profit.

But CEOs definition of 'purpose' did vary. For some, it meant why their business exists; for others it meant more around what their businesses do or aim to achieve, or how business is done. And when asked to describe their corporate purpose, CEOs talked
about value for one or more of a variety of stakeholders, including shareholders, supply chain partners, employees, customers and society at large – as well as their business itself, in terms of things like growth.

The majority of CEOs (70%) feel their customers are most interested in cost, convenience and functionality. But more than a quarter (27%) of CEOs believe that their customers are seeking relationships with organisations that address wider stakeholder needs, the survey finds.This surges to 44% when CEOs consider what their customers will prioritise in five years’ time.

In the future it seems clear that CEOs believe customers will put a premium on the way companies conduct themselves in global society too.

PwC highlights that this beief isn’t just happening on the customer front. On the talent side it’s even more pronounced, it says, stating 59% of CEOs believe that top talent wants to work with organisations that share their social values and 67% feel it will be important in five years.

Meanwhile, 37% of CEOs believe their investors seek ethical investments and 45% believe this will be the case in five years.

Picture credit: © Sashazamarasha | Dreamstime.com
 

By Peter Yobo

As a young boy growing up in Accra, the capital city of Ghana, I had a bright future ahead of me. As the only son in my family, I was expected to go to school, get a job and be successful enough to take care of my parents. They set the same expectations for both of my sisters.

Most women didn’t have such opportunities, however. In most families, the eldest son was expected to follow the same path I did, and parents would send that son to the capital if they were financially able. They would send younger brothers to school if they could afford it. If not, those sons moved in with another family member who could put them through school. The girls were made to stay home, to help with the chores or on the farm while they were prepared for marriage.

I was very surprised to hear about gender equality initiatives, because the playing field in the U.S. for women seemed much more equal than in Ghana; it was amazing to me that American women could go to school, get jobs -- even oversee the work of other men.  This is something often unheard of in Ghana.

In my admiration of the opportunities afforded to women in this new country, I didn’t realize right away that women here faced other forms of gender discrimination. So after 10 years here, I asked some of my female friends, “What does being a woman in the U.S. workforce look like?” Luckily, people forgive foreigners for asking questions most people find awkward.

The conversation opened my eyes to some of the issues women in the U.S. face, such as compensation inequality, work-life balance (something that men in the millennial generation also say they experience) and inadequate support from men. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, women earn just 78 cents for every dollar men make.

As I learned that gender equality issues also exist in the U.S., I became increasingly proud to work for PwC, which supports the United Nations’ HeForShe initiative to accelerate global momentum toward gender equity in the workplace. HeForShe’s mission is to engage men as agents of change for gender equality.

We believe this is an important time to bring our men into the conversation. As an impact champion, PwC has committed to taking a number of actions to support the HeForShe mission:

• Develop and launch an innovative male-focused gender curriculum with global reach


• Launch a Global Inclusion Index to further increase women in leadership roles


• Raise the global profile of HeForShe with PwC people, clients and communities

These are the types of initiatives that firms can undertake with the right leadership, and we encourage other companies to think about how they can join this important global conversation. The more men and women play an active role in each other’s successes, the more we can all realize our full potential, which will benefit individuals and organizations.

Men, I challenge you to courageously engage our female colleagues in open, honest and vulnerable conversation, even if the dialogue feels slightly awkward.

I am an advocate for global gender equality. I am HeForShe. I hope you’ll join me.

Image credit: HeforShe via Facebook

Peter is a consultant with PwC Advisory and specializes in helping organisations realise financial and operational improvement through organizational, process and technology change. He has consulted with companies in the Technology, Information, Communications and Entertainment sectors. Peter is also very passionate about Diversity & Inclusion and as a proud supporter of global gender equality, Peter took the HeforShe pledge.

It seems clear that President Barack Obama has truly picked up his game when it comes to protecting the environment: CAFE fuel economy standards, the Clean Power Plan, climate negotiations with China that clearly opened things up for COP21, and now halting all coal leases on federal lands.

But one key legislative initiative that he seems particularly keen on stands out like a smokestack in a nature sanctuary — the Trans Pacific Partnership or TPP.

I know the president believes that if we don’t set the agenda on Pacific trade, the Chinese will. If they do, the thinking goes, all the things we care about -- like protecting wages and the environment -- will be far worse off. I get that, and it could very well be true. But what I don’t get is why President Obama allowed multinational corporations to essentially write the deal in total secrecy.

I look forward to the day when the words “business-friendly” don’t strike fear in my heart. And I do believe we are moving closer to that point, as more and more businesses are beginning to expand their scope to encompass the broader context that they, their suppliers and their customers all operate in. But we clearly are not there yet, not by a long shot, and this agreement pretty much proves it.

The document is broad and sweeping and more than 2,000 pages long. I would be very surprised if more than a handful of people have read it in its entirety. But however much good news might be contained in those pages, there is an item in Chapter 28, under the heading 'Dispute Settlement,' that I find particularly troubling. The provision calls for “the establishment [of] a dispute settlement panel tasked with determining whether a party has failed to comply with its obligations under the Agreement.” The panels will consist of “three objective international trade and subject matter experts,” appointed by the disputing parties. The dispute process further allows for “trade retaliation.”

Let’s look at an example of how this could play out. Two months after the Obama administration rejected the Keystone XL pipeline, TransCanada took advantage of the dispute mechanism in NAFTA, which the TPP provision is modeled after, to sue the U.S. government for $15 billion under the retaliation provision -- claiming that U.S. environmental policy has hurt its business. The case will be decided by a private three-member panel, one of whom will be selected by TransCanada. The second panelist will be selected by the U.S., and the third member will be selected by the two initial members. If the U.S. picks an “international trade and subject matter expert” who happens to be an industry insider, then we know how this will go.

To be clear, this lawsuit will not and cannot reverse the Keystone decision. However, the threat of suits like this will certainly bring pressure to bear on future decisions of this sort.

While NAFTA only grants this power to a relatively small number of corporations, the TPP would open it up to more than 9,000 corporations, including some Japanese and Australian oil companies that are drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. If the U.S. were to curtail drilling there for environmental reasons (something that would make a lot of sense, by the way), what would stop these companies from suing us as TransCanada has?

Other examples have already occurred. Turning the tables under NAFTA, when Quebec banned fracking under the St. Lawrence River, the U.S. oil firm Lone Pine Resources sued the Canadian government.

Another recent example has deprived U.S. consumers of country-of-origin labeling on the meat they buy in the grocery store. This was the result of lawsuit brought against the U.S. by countries which felt that consumers’ knowledge that they were the source of their meat would adversely impact their sales (something to do with a Mad Cow outbreak, perhaps?). The USDA complied by removing the labeling requirement in order to protect American exports to those countries.

Other examples include the Swedish energy giant Vattenfall suing Germany over their decision to phase out nuclear power, and Chevron using this type of tribunal in an attempt to evade the multibillion-dollar lawsuit over oil spill-related damages it is responsible for in Ecuador.

To put it simply, in a world where large companies are dealing with extremely dangerous products and materials, there needs to be accountability no matter how much money is at stake. This dispute mechanism was clearly inserted into the TPP agreement by companies in an effort to avoid any such accountability. At a time when the future of this and many other species lies in the balance, actions by a few powerful companies could make all the difference. This mechanism gives them the means to tip the balance against all the rest of us, in the interest of their short-term profit, without consequence, and it is simply unacceptable.

As David Korten has said, we can only have stability in our society if the power of government, business and the people are roughly in balance. The power of multi-national corporations in recent years has grown to point where they are now writing the laws, leaving few checks and balances remaining on their actions. This proposed agreement would strip away much of the little that remains.

Image credit: Flickr/Deepwater Horizon Response

What environmental and labor advocates have been claiming for some time now has come true: Solar energy is a bigger source of jobs than fossil fuels – and it's only going to get better from here on.

That is according to a new report from the Solar Foundation, which found that by the end of 2015, there were 209,000 workers in the solar industry -- more than those employed in oil and gas extraction.

“The solar industry has once again proven to be a powerful engine of economic growth and job creation,” said Andrea Luecke, president and executive director of the Solar Foundation, in a statement. “Employment in solar has grown an extraordinary 123 percent since 2010, adding approximately 115,000 well-paying jobs.”

Much of the growth has come from the installation side: the people putting those beautiful panels on residential rooftops, parking structures and commercial buildings across the country. I'm sure you've seen them in your neighborhood, too (unless you live in a state where oil and gas lobbies have restricted solar expansion, like Nevada). Sales jobs are also growing.

On the other side, oil and gas jobs are disappearing. Part of this is due to the wave of bankruptcies in coal -- most recently Arch Coal, once one of the biggest energy companies in America. This is due to massive drops in coal prices and the reduction of coal usage, as more and more states shift to cleaner energy. President Barack Obama's recent move to halt new coal mining on federal lands is only another step in the slow death of coal.

Oil is seeing a similar wave, as major oil companies cut their exploration and development budgets due to incredibly low oil prices. Last week, they fell below $30 a barrel, a level at which drilling in much of the United States is just not economically feasible.

The amazing thing, and something no one could have predicted just a few years ago, is that solar is thriving despite the fact that oil and coal prices are so low. Many thought that high fossil fuel prices were necessary for renewables to be able to compete. It turns out they were wrong, which is great news for climate.

“Solar is providing a tremendous boost to our economy while meeting public demand for clean, affordable energy,” said Andrew Birch, CEO of Sungevity, in a statement.

Both the Solar Foundation and the U.S. Department of Labor expect solar job growth to remain strong in the coming year, as more and more panels go online. States that promote clean energy will win, while states that continue to ride the dying horse of fossil fuels will be left behind.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

More than 500,000 people in the United States are homeless on any given night, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. In 2013, more than 20 percent of those homeless men, women and children lived in California. New York state accounted for just over 13 percent.  While some of those numbers have been attributed to economic factors following the recession, homelessness is still a burgeoning problem in the country's largest cities.

And so is the homelessness of people with mental illness. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in 2010 more than a quarter of the country's homeless individuals suffered from some form of severe mental illness. It's a staggering number, when considering that only 4.2 percent of the country's total population in 2014 were deemed to have severe mental illness.

Last week, a group of Senate Democrats in California proposed a plan to address the issue in their state, with a $2 billion bond that would build new housing for homeless individuals with mental illness. According to Senate president pro tem, Kevin de León, the money -- which would be funded by California's Proposition 63 (passed in 2004 as the Mental Health Act) -- would provide enough funding to build 10,000 units.

León also said that he would support another $2 million in general fund revenue (over four years) to be committed to rent subsidies for homeless individuals, as well as an increase in the state's Supplemental Security Income allotments.

The proposal has received moderate bipartisan support. Sen. Bob Huff (R-San Dimas) noted that supporters are "trying to do something about a persistent problem." Fomer Sen. Darrell Steinberg, who authored Prop. 63, called it “the boldest proposal to reduce homelessness in a generation, if not longer.”

Not everyone is happy with the proposal, however. Rose King, a mental health advocate who co-authored Prop. 63, criticized the plan, saying that the state should first fix the mental health program before it uses the money to build housing.

Nor is this the first time that the state faced criticism for the way it has earmarked Prop 63 funds. In 2013 Peter Mantas, former head of Contra Costa Mental Health Commission, charged that the state was using the money from the Mental Health Act for "little feel-good programs" that didn't have a significant impact on overall services for mentally ill residents. His comments were made in anticipation of the release of the state's audit of mental health services.

King has also weighed in on the issue in the past, suggesting that the state's historic use of funds that were designed to bolster programs and much-needed assistance across the board for mentally ill individuals has become "a model of discrimination and waste."

The proposal, which would need to go to ballot first, would provide about $130 million from Prop 63's $1.8 billion coffers, according to Senate Dems.

California is also not the only location to propose building housing that would help provide support for homeless individuals suffering from mental illness. In 2015, the De Blasio administration in New York City upped its "supportive housing" with a $2.6 billion proposal to build another 15,000 units. The apartments would be city-financed and built in supportive communities that would be visited weekly by a social worker.

Both Los Angeles and the state of Hawaii recently declared states of emergency due to rising numbers in homelessness. According to Hawaii's government, it holds the record for the highest per-capita homelessness among the 50 states, with approximately 6,500 homeless individuals, or 465 per 100,000. Hawaii's answer has been equally innovative: to house some eligible individuals in grass huts.

"Our thought process should be broad and out-of-the-box in order to develop solutions to address the issue of housing as well as assist those who need help," said Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland (D-Honolulu), who proposed the bill and suggested that "there is an interest in recapturing some of the traditional ways of living among our people here in Hawaii."

It is not yet clear whether there would be toilets in the thatched huts, or how this unusual concept in state-sponsored housing would address concerns about worsening climate change in a state susceptible to its effects.

Image credit: Flickr/davejdoe

Businesses need to look beyond their own boundaries in the post-Paris climate era, blogs Chris Cook, AkzoNobel Planet Possible Programme Director.

Global leaders will meet this week at the World Economic Forum to discuss the Paris Climate Agreement. As the first major global event after the Paris COP, this session will bring together CEOs and Chairs of major companies, government leaders, heads of international organizations and non-government organizations to set an ambitious post-Paris climate agenda to close the gap between current commitments and what it takes to deliver a world under two degrees.

The message from leading businesses throughout the COP process has been clear –businesses want to play a key role in delivering the low cost zero emission technology that makes tackling climate change possible. They want to see investment in de-carbonizing energy supply and they recognize the need to work together with governments and the energy industry to ensure this happens as quickly as possible.

However progress by companies to address this is still slow. In a post-two degree world, certain crop yields in the US, India and across Africa are expected to decrease by up to 30%; up to 30% of animals and plant species could face extinction; and 30% of the annual sea ice could be lost in the Arctic. If you think about what’s required to avoid these scenarios (as described by the likes of the World Bank and National Research Council), we not there yet - not by a long way.

It’s time for companies to look beyond their own operations and consider the wider impact of their business and look at the entire system that sits beyond their own boundaries. By looking along the value chain of suppliers, manufacturers and raw material providers at one end, and customers and consumers at the other, businesses can get a broader view of the risks - and work towards addressing the materials, water and energy being wasted across sectors.

Just 15% of AkzoNobel’s total environmental footprint lies within our direct control. So, through our Planet Possible strategy, we aim to work more closely with both our suppliers and customers to find new ways of reducing our overall impact. By 2020, we want our entire value chain to be between 25-30% more efficient.

Central to this is helping our customers be more efficient. For example, our biocide-free coatings prevent organisms from clinging to the hulls of ships, helping shipping companies travel faster, use less fuel and produce less emissions. Our Rediset additives enable asphalt to be laid without the need for high-temperature (high carbon impact) mixing. And our Dulux Weathershield KeepCool, an exterior paint which can reflect up to 85% more infrared radiation than traditional exterior paints, is helping to reduce energy use in buildings by up to 15%.

By working in partnership with others, it’s a lot easier to unlock some of the solutions that are required in this emerging low-carbon, resource-constrained world. Collaboration is something we strongly believe in and we can point to several success stories. For example, we recently signed a multi-year agreement to purchase sustainably generated steam from Dutch energy provider Eneco. This will help reduce our CO2 emissions by over 100,000 tons a year.

Elsewhere, we are part of a major Dutch consortium exploring how we might use household waste as a feedstock for our chemical plants. We’re even looking into the possibility of producing chemicals from beet-derived sugar feedstock - again, working with others.

But enhanced collaboration demands new types of relationships that move beyond the traditional, purely transactional supplier relationships that companies are most familiar and comfortable with. These new partnerships must be based on transparency and trust - and the sharing of costs, risks and benefits.

AkzoNobel, and other leading companies, are proving that limitations to the world’s resources and a changing climate do not have to limit ambition and imagination as we strive to do more with less. We have also realized that many of the world’s biggest challenges cannot be solved alone. But working with others doesn’t have to be daunting. After all, you never know where innovation will come from.