Carbon War Room

2013 was a significant year for the War Room, which enjoyed successes with its Smart Island Economies, Energy Efficiency in the Built Environment and Shipping Efficiency operations, launched its fifth operation - Trucking Efficiency, and added three new founders to its Founders Circle. It also set an ambitious new course to guide operations through 2015. On page 12 of this issue, CCW offers an inside look at the organization’s three-pronged Strategic Intent from CWR President José María Figueres. This roadmap calls for CWR to double its initiatives, expand its Founders Circle, and develop metrics to track how its efforts have achieved gigaton-scale greenhouse gas emissions reductions. This issue also includes an update on how Sir Richard Branson’s private island is going green, and how NRG Energy won the bid to help Necker Island achieve a level of 80 percent renewable energy (page 18). Necker Island serves not only as a “demo” for the Ten Island Challenge, but also as the location for this February’s Creating Climate Wealth Summit, in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Institute. Dedicated solely to the Smart Island Economies Operation, CCW Necker garnered some impressive commitments from seven more Caribbean countries to country level and regional renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Some will remember 2013 as a breakthrough year for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs in the US. On page 30, read how CWR played a key role in helping Ygrene Energy Fund launch programs in the Sacramento and Miami regions, with many more projects in the pipeline for 2014. Turn to page 36 to learn how CWR made headway in achieving its global aspirations with its first Asiabased Creating Climate Wealth Summit in Singapore last year. Building on momentum from the event, CWR sent a full-time staffer to Singapore to lay the groundwork for an office from which it aims to base its Asian operations. Finally, go to page 46 for thought leadership from Joshua Kagan, Operation Lead of Green Capital. He reviews the last two years of work with cities to scale energy efficiency in buildings around the world. With energy spending on buildings topping $400 billion in the US alone, it’s a market that can’t be ignored, in terms of bottom lines and potential emissions reductions.

Distributed renewable energy offers emerging markets the opportunity to tackle energy access challenges and reduce carbon emissions, while improving profit margins in specific industries, including mining. Building off of a case study in a South African mine, the Carbon War Room has found that off-grid mines can greatly reduce their energy costs by introducing solar-diesel hybrid systems. These systems may represent the most promising way to increase the deployment of renewable energy throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, where 585 million people lack access to energy.

We are excited to be sharing the findings from the Creating Climate Wealth Singapore summit. To those who joined us at the summit, a hearty thank you for contributing your energy, time, and resources to this work. The Carbon War Room was energized by the solutions that came out of the four working tracks – to the point that we established an official presence in the region, through a new office in Singapore. Please read on for more about the War Room’s first Asian Creating Climate Wealth (CCW) summit.

The Smart Growth Pathways publication provides an initial view of the roadmap to sustainability for Aruba through a focus on low-carbon pathways as the keystone to sustainability and economic growth. While the document focuses more on the opportunity to transform the energy sector from one that depends on fossil fuels to one that is fundamentally renewable, there is also consideration of the many sectors that rely on this energy system to create their livelihoods, and the livelihoods of others, on the island. We believe that while transformation of the energy sector is a near-term commercially viable opportunity, all stakeholders in all sectors should have a say in the outcome, as the result will have such widespread effects.

How to Create Climate Wealth through Efficient Buildings

The report finds that the technologies required for the United States to achieve universal clean and affordable transportation are not just futuristic ideas – they are proven and available today. In order to significantly reduce oil consumption in the U.S., policymakers must work both to create a framework for the adoption of alternative fuel vehicles and to promote greater energy efficiency in existing vehicles.

The Carbon War Room accelerates entrepreneurial solutions to achieve profitable, gigaton-scale reductions of carbon emissions. Learn more about the Carbon War Room with this introduction packet.

Welcome to Creating Climate Wealth: Spring 2013 “Climate Change is the biggest wealth creating opportunity of our generation” Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Carbon War Room