Multinational enterprises and climate change strategies

Climate change is often perceived as the most pressing environmental problem of our time, as reflected in the large public, policy, and corporate attention it has received, and the concerns expressed about the (potential) consequences. Particularly due to temperature increases, climate change affects physical and biological systems by changing ecosystems and causing extinction of species, and is expected to have a negative social impact and adversely affect human health (IPCC, 2007). Moreover, as a result of the economic costs and risks of extreme weather, climate change could have a severe impact on economic growth and development as well, if no action is taken to reduce emissions (Stern, 2006). This means that it can affect multinational enterprises (MNEs) active in a wide variety of sectors and countries. Climate change is not a 'purely' environmental issue because it is closely linked to concerns about energy security due to dependence on fossil fuels and oil in particular, and to energy efficiency and management more generally. Controversy about the climate change issue has led to a broadening of the agenda in some cases, with policy-makers targeting energy to avoid commotion about the science and politics of climate change, and firms likewise, also because addressing climate change in practice usually boils down to an adjustment in the energy base of business models

Emerging energy geographies : scaling and spatial divergence in European electricity generation capacity

This paper presents an evaluation of the impact of the related EU internal energy market and renewable energy policies by exploring the (sustainable) energy transition in the EUropean electricity sector and drawing on the emerging literatures on energy geographies. We use evidence aggregated from plant-level data on installed electricity generation capacity in the EUropean electric utilities sector over the period 1990–2013 to demonstrate how the unintended interaction between EU policies on energy market liberalization and climate change have led to new renewable energy entrants and more widely dispersed ownership of total generation capacity. Our empirical results suggest that six energy geography concepts enable deeper insights into the spatiality of the EUropean energy transition. Specifically, we find that territoriality and scaling are key lenses for interpreting the differentiated change processes occurring at EUropean, subregional and national levels. The EUropean energy transition is unlikely to converge onto a single trajectory any time soon, but particularly subregional approaches are argued to offer policy-makers with more spatially cognizant and effective levers

Fairtrade and Climate Change

Can climate and development issues be tackled through partnerships? In view of the very limited number of multi-stakeholder partnerships for climate change in general, and those focused on development (developing countries) in particular, it seems useful to take a step back and consider the linkages between climate and development in a bit more detail. Also: what are the finance perspectives on climate change? And how do farmers look at the topic? Is there a trade-off between fairtrade and climate change? The fifth Max Havelaar Lecture considers these tensions. Position paper written by Ans Kolk and Jonathan Pinkse. Poverty alleviation constitutes a multi-faceted problem. It is on the one hand extremely local and leads to enormous deprivation of at least half of the world’s population. But on the other hand, it is an extremely international problem as well through the operation of global markets – in particular of resources – and the functioning of value chains. It has increasingly become acknowledged that the role of corporations and the private sector is vital for sustainable solutions to poverty. Entrepreneurial solutions are often considered preferable to the traditional approach of development aid and subsidies. Micro-credits and fair trade labels are typical examples of this new development paradigm. At the same time, however, it is clear that the involvement of private (international) corporations is far from undisputed. The claim that the profit maximisation strategies of private corporations can ‘solve’ poverty requires substantial modifications. It is obvious that some strategies are more effective than others. The integration of developing countries in the international supply chains of multinational corporations can have positive and negative repercussions. The new development paradigm therefore is not yet established, let alone undisputed. The Max Havelaar lecture stimulates the thinking on these issues in a balanced manner, without making use of the usual simplifications either in support of or against the involvement of firms in development. The Max Havelaar organisation is proof of this approach: it is aiming at a continuous improvement in its strategy towards labeling products – increasingly in a variety of partnerships with NGOs, corporations and governments. The Max Havelaar lecture has seven aims: - Provide a platform for the presentation of state-of-the-art scientific insights into how sustainable business and development cooperation can be combined - Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the involvement of corporations in poverty alleviation in a systematic and non-ideological manner - Address the complexities of sustainable development rather than engage in simplifications on poverty, in order to come up with realistic – and obtainable – approaches to address in particular poverty (Millennium Development Goal 1) - Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of specific approaches such as trade marks, codes of conduct, reporting or governance measures - Provide an arena in which innovative ideas can be launched - Consider development as part of international value chains in which a fair distribution of income, power and knowledge is an issue that affects both developed and developing economies - Start a structured dialogue on shaping the preconditions for effective partnerships between public and private parties (including firms and NGOs) for development (Millenium Development Goal 8

The Climate Change - Development Nexus and Tripartite Partnerships

In view of the very limited number of tripartite partnerships for climate change in general, and those focused on development (developing countries) in parti cular, as shown in an earlier position paper (Kolk & Pinkse, 2010), it would seem useful to take a step back and consider the linkages between climate and development in more detail. In view of the very limited number of triparti te partnerships for climate change in general, and those focused on development (developing countries) in parti cular, as shown in an earlier position paper (Kolk & Pinkse, 2010), it would seem useful to take a step back and consider the linkages between climate and development in more detail. This paper starts by doing that. It includes a brief discussion of linkages and trade-off s between the two issues and the crucial distinction between climate change adaptati on and climate change miti gati on. Subsequently, it presents the results of an empirical explorati on of a number of illustrati ve partnerships in what seems to be an emergent phenomenon. Implications will be given for follow-up research on climate change and development partnerships