Clean Energy Stimulus Beats Cap and Trade

Clean Energy Stimulus Beats Cap and Trade: Davos Roundup Part II

Posted By Environmental Leader On January 29, 2010 @ 8:20 am In Climate, Conventional Energy, Financial, Global, Strategy & Leadership | No Comments

Cap and trade legislation should go the way of the dodo bird [1], and emphasis should be put on building renewable energy as availability of fossil fuels wanes, business leaders said at the World Economic Forum [2], which runs through Jan. 31 in Davos, Switzerland.

Tom Donahue, President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that 2010 being an election year should hamper any further efforts to pass a U.S. climate bill that includes cap and trade, reports Reuters [3]. Donahue said he supported climate legislation, just not “like the one that came out of the House.”

John Rice, a top exec at GE, said in the same article that trying to push through a cap and trade option this year would result in a “very incomplete solution.”

Instead, observers expect the U.S. to continue down the path of offering economic stimulus for renewable energy and clean energy projects.

Still, Stephen Green, group chairman at HSBC, sees a future for emissions trading. He said that banking reforms designed to prevent off-balance-sheet trading proposed recently by President Obama should not be used to squelch the carbon trading market, Reuters [4] reports.

Indeed, carbon trading and other elements of “green” business are squarely in the limelight at Davos, as evidenced by chatter at a late night party, reports Business Week [5].

Alstom, which makes power equipment, expects demand for technologies related to renewables and nuclear to far outstrip growth in conventional coal and gas-fired power plants, Reuters [6] reports.

To that end, the International Energy Agency said in London that oil use in rich nations will never return to 2006-07 levels because of fuel efficiency and alternative energy, Reuters [7] reports.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia says not to worry about a lack of oil in the world. They still have it covered, reports Reuters [8].

At an annual gathering of money managers, agreement came that energy markets would provide robust growth in 2010, reports BBC [9].

The 2010 Environmental Performance Index [10] was released at Davos, with Iceland receiving the top score. The U.S. placed 61 out of 163.