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The Real Cost of Fossil Fuel Subsidies Fossil fuel subsidies are often regressive, with the wealthy benefiting more than the poor. Replacing consumption subsidies with targeted support for the poor reaches the people most in need while avoiding waste in the national budget. The biggest beneficiaries of fossil fuel subsidies are not the poor. In fact, studies show that many subsidies are regressive in nature. A recent IMF study of fossil fuel subsidies globally determined that the wealthiest 20 percent of the population gets a disproportionate 43 percent of the benefit from fossil fuel subsidies, while the poorest 20 percent gets only 7 percent. In fact, the poorest 60 percent of the population still doesn't get as much benefit as the wealthiest quintile. According to a compilation of estimates by international organizations, consumption subsidies reached US$1 trillion to US$1.2 trillion worldwide, consistent with McKinsey & Company's estimate of US$1.1 trillion. Those costs include: Fossil fuel subsidies: Estimated to cost between US$455 billion and US$485 billion. Water subsidies: Estimated at between US$200 billion and US$300 billion. Fisheries subsidies: Estimated at between US$10 billion and US$30 billion. There are better ways to provide assistance to the people who need it most that are also less expensive for the national budget. By one estimate, the cost of transferring US$1 to the poorest 20 percent of the population via gasoline subsidies is US$33. If countries instead shifted that funding to targeted support for the poor, the funding would help the people who need it most, rather than those who need it least. Similarly, consumption subsidies for water and electricity can be replaced by connection subsidies that are better targeted, since the poor account for the majority of those without access to basic services. Consumption subsidies exacerbate common-property problems. Global subsidies to fisheries, for example, are partly to blame for t

The Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) is founded jointly by Stiftung Mercator and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). It will be funded with 17 Million Euro over eight years by Stiftung Mercator, the anticipated location is the Euref-Campus at Berlin. MCC will commence its operations in 2012. Four Working Groups will advance research on the opportunities and challenges of sustainable economic growth in a resource and sink bounded world, with a particular focus on avoiding dangerous climate change. By conducting topical Assessment Reports in close cooperation with international partner institutions, MCC aims to promote deliberative communication and decision-making at the interface between science, policy and society.  "The mission of MCC is timely. Mapping our options for attaining sustainable growth in a naturally bounded world is key to tackling the two defining challenges of this century: Eradicating world poverty and managing climate change. We do have to find a low-carbon approach to growth and development and as we do we will find that this different way is very attractive and dynamic."   Lord Nicholas Stern, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Michelin to Partner with City on the Move Institute At the Challenge Bibendum in Berlin, Michelin has announced its intention of partnering with the City on the Move Institute (IVM). Created and supported since June 2000 by PSA Peugeot Citroën, IVM is looking for new partnerships with companies in a range of industries that are capable of playing a decisive role in improving the quality of urban mobility in the years ahead. Michelin and IVM will exchange ideas and discuss challenges and solutions facing sustainable mobility, an area in which the two companies share a common interest. Michelin "Michelin has organised the Challenge Bibendum since 1998 and in 12 years, it has become an indispensable global event that enables all road mobility stakeholders to work, debate, learn and talk about what road mobility can and must do to become truly sustainable," said Jean-Dominique Senard, Managing General Partner of the Michelin Group. "PSA Peugeot Citroën is a longstanding partner to the Michelin Challenge Bibendum. Since the priorities of the City on the Move Institute and Michelin are perfectly aligned, it seemed entirely logical for us to become a partner to IVM and to officially announce the partnership in Berlin at the 11th Challenge Bibendum." City on the Move Institute "IVM was created to support public discussions about mobility and stakeholders in the process. To strengthen the Institute's development and outreach, we're now committed to working with key mobility players," said Philippe Varin, IVM President. "Michelin's decision to join us is an excellent example of this approach. I'm very pleased to have a partner with extensive experience and knowledge, which is so remarkably and concretely demonstrated at the Challenge Bibendum." Michelin will join IVM's executive bodies, and a common working programme will be developed in the near future to expand the partnership. A non-profit association, the Institute is dedicated to dev

Collaborative consumption From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The term collaborative consumption is used to describe an economic model based on sharing, swapping, bartering, trading or renting access to products as opposed to ownership.[1] Technology and peer communities are enabling these old market behaviours to be reinvented in ways and on a scale never possible before.[2] From enormous marketplaces such as eBay and Craigslist, to peer-to-peer marketplaces such as Tradepal, emerging sectors such as social lending (Zopa), peer-to-peer travel (CouchSurfing, Airbnb), peer-to-peer experiences (GuideHop), event ticket sharing ([[unseat.me]]) and car sharing (Zipcar or peer-to-peer RelayRides), Collaborative Consumption is disrupting outdated modes of business and reinventing not just what people consume but how they consume it.[3] Contents  [hide]  1 Origin 2 The development of collaborative consumption 2.1 Product service systems 2.2 Redistribution markets 2.3 Collaborative lifestyles 3 Sectors currently covered by collaborative consumption 4 Category examples 5 See also 6 References [edit]Origin The term was coined by Ray Algar, a UK-based management in an article entitled 'Collaborative Consumption article by Ray Algar' for the Leisure Report Journal in 2007. The concept has since been championed by Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers, co-authors of "What's Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption".[4] In June 2010, ABC Television's Big Ideas programme included a segment showing Botsman's speech at the TEDx Sydney conference in 2010, describing collaborative consumption as "a new socio-economic 'big idea' promising a revolution in the way we consume".[5] Botsman sees collaborative consumption as a social revolution that allows people to "create value out of shared and open resources in ways that balance personal self-interest with the good of the larger community".[6] In 2010, collaborative consumption was named one of TIME Magazine's 10 ideas that w

EMBARQ Network Launches New Association to Advance Public Transport in Latin American Cities Published on Apr 5 2010 Curitiba's public transport system has become a model for other Latin American cities. Photo by Mariana Gil/CTS-Brasil. CURITIBA, Brazil, March 29, 2010 - Top executives from Latin America's most influential transit agencies will gather next month to launch the Latin American Association for Bus Rapid Transit and Integrated Transport Systems--a member-driven organization that seeks to advance urban public transport and improve quality of life in the region's biggest cities. EMBARQ - The World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport, which launched the initiative, will serve as the association's Technical Secretariat, under the leadership of EMBARQ's Director for Latin America Luis Gutierrez. Guitierrez said, "Despite the progress of urban mass transit in Latin America, the managers of transit agencies and other transport projects do not currently have the tools to deal with some of the problems that exist in the industry. This new association will help transport officials identify common challenges, share their experiences and knowledge, and ultimately, improve their services." Association members will pay an annual fee to participate in meetings and workshops that will take place throughout the year. EMBARQ Network experts will work with members to measure the performance, impact and management of their city's existing transit systems, as well as to plan and implement future transport projects. Specific technical and managerial support will come from the EMBARQ Network's three Latin American centers: the Center for Sustainable Transport in Brazil (CTS-Brasil), the Center for Sustainable Transport in Mexico (CTS-México), and the Center for Sustainable Transport and Health in the Andean Region (CTSS-Andino.). "Latin America has some of the highest rates of urbanization and motorization in the world, leading to