What more can I say? - by Richard... Wednesday, January 06, 2010

What more can I say? - by Richard... Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Joe Bastardi on global warming. And still, as The Daily Express notes, the stupid, malign fools still want to claim the planet is heating up.

We had another dump of global warming here this morning, at least two inches on top of the last lot. Only limited traffic is running on the main roads by most side street are impassable. Public services such as refuse collection have ceased to function and there is an eerie silence in the streets.

Apart from the immediate loss of productivity – not that we produce very much in this country any more – we are seeing an spike in fuel prices, with coal prices rising sharply by around $5.00 a ton for cargoes delivered into Europe "on strong buying after the New Year holidays." 

South African FOB prices, they say, rose less steeply, by around $2.00 a ton, on renewed Indian buying interest but are expected to move rapidly higher during the next few weeks because demand exceeds available supply. Given our current reliance on imported coal – having wound down our own coal industry – this can only be bad news.

The warmists prattle on about the costs of global warming. Had they any brains at all, they would realise that the economic – and human – cost of the cold are far, far greater. But, such is their obsession (and their financial interest) that they are incapable of looking beyond their own noses.

These people are dangerous. We, the silent (and not so silent) majority need to show we are even more dangerous when roused.

CLIMATE CHANGE – NEW THREAD

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Pachauri: the smoking gun - by Richard...

Gradually, we are closing in on Dr R K Pachauri's little outpost of empire in 27 Albert Grove, Merton, as further evidence is obtained which reveals the undeclared scale of this operation.

The "smoking gun" is a 50-page study entitled: SI2 - Sustainable Investment in India, reporting on "Sustainable development of portfolio investment in India's publicly listed companies," which TERI Europe published in May 2007. 

This was the year that the organisation filed accounts with the Charity Commission claiming an income of a paltry £9,000 and an expenditure of a mere £5,000.

Although it was produced, we are told, with the "generous support" of the Global Opportunities Fund of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, we still do not know how much it cost to produce. 

Nevertheless, we have speculated that it cost a great deal more than the £5,000 declared as expenses that year, and the "generous support" given to carry out the project must have been considerably more than the £9,000 declared as income.

Now, however, we are in a very much better position to estimate the cost of the project as TERI Europe went on to update this report for the International Finance Corporation – an offshoot of the World Bank – which it published in May 2009 under the title "Sustainable Investment in India 2009".

This document, with one other produced by TERI Europe in April 2009 - called "Sustainable Investment in Brazil 2009" was part of a three-part project each very similar -two parts of which were completed by TERI Europe and the third by a Chinese organisation.

And here, there is information on costing, through the good offices of the IFC Advisory Services in Environmental and Social Sustainability, which has produced its Annual Report 2009, containing the details.

The projects were started on 21 July 2008 and the total cost, shared between TERI Europe and the Chinese outfit, Business for Social Responsibility Advisory Services, was $331,000. 

Assuming an equal split between the three parts of the project, that means TERI Europe must have been paid about $110,000 for each of the reports. Even with today' debauched sterling, that still amounts to nearly £70,000 a throw - £140,000 for the two.

Now, we cannot say that TERI Europe was paid the same amount for the "SI2 - Sustainable Investment in India" report, although the organisation does acknowledge the "generous support" from the FCO. Given the scale of the production, it surely cannot have been much less.

Thus, we have a situation where there is good evidence that TERI Europe was engaged in the production of a report for which it must have attracted funding in the order of £70,000 and incurred considerable expense, yet it shows an income of £9,000 and an expenditure of £5,000.

Even if there is a substantial discount on the SI2 report, it is simply not credible that TERI Europe could have operated that year with an income so low, or spent so little. On the face of it, we are very much closer to showing that this organisation has indeed been guilty of false accounting, and misleading the Charity Commission.

We have written to the FCO, formally asking for details of the amounts paid to TERI Europe for the project, and await their response with interest. We will keep you appraised, as the noose tightens.

PACHAURI THREAD

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Pachauri: TERI-Europe – the enigma (Part 4) - by Richard... Tuesday, January 05, 2010

As we left it with our last piece, we were looking Dr R K Pauchauri's London enterprise, by the name of TERI Europe. Headquartered at 27 Albert Grove, Merton (pictured), it is a registered charity which declared to the Charity Commissioner a total of £24,000 (exactly) income for the three trading years ending in 2008, with an expenditure of exactly £16,100.

Yet this is also an organisation which took a contribution of £30,417 from DEFRA in that period, which exceeds the total income for a period of three years, against a high level of operational activity and additional, "generous support" from the Global Opportunities Fund of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Exact information on income, however, remains frustratingly – if predictably – difficult to obtain and although we have written to TERI Europe director (and company secretary) Ritu Kumar, asking for further details of their accounts, we have yet to receive a reponse.

In this fourth piece on TERI-Europe, therefore, what we are doing is building a picture of the operations of TERI-Europe by which means we aim to show that the level of activity could not possibly be supported by the declared income and expenses and therefore, as an entirely reasonable assumption, that details of the accounts have been wrongfully (and illegally) concealed.

Unusually, I am not posting this as a completed work but as a running post, to which I will progressively put up the information I have and then add to it as more comes in, and further details become available, building up the dossier on-line. So far, I have identified well over 40 specific activities/projects, the first twenty-one of which – not in any particular date order (I'm sorting that as I go along) – are posted now, with more going up later.

1. Global Commons Institute in London 

Creation on 24 of December 1999 of an organisation with the informal title, "The Global Commons Network" (GCN). Ritu Kumar involved.

2. EPTSD Dialogue Report: Promoting Sustainable Trade in Textiles and Clothing.

Published on 24-25 January 2002 by WWF. Contribution by Teri Europe.

3. IPIECA Stakeholder Dialogue: International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association, 22-24 April 2003, Durdent Court – UK, with final report, 5 June 2003.

The report summarizes the discussion that took place at the stakeholder dialogue sponsored by the International Petroleum Industry Environmental and Conservation Association (IPIECA), at Durdent Court outside London, United Kingdom, 22-24 April. The dialogue was convened to explore issues surrounding the social impact of the oil and gas industry in its areas of operation. 

The report presents a summary of the views exchanged during the dialogue and has been reviewed by all participants. Consistent with the application of Chatham House Rule during the course of the dialogue, no comments are attributed either to individuals or institutions. Rita Kumar, TERI, listed as an attendee.

4. Symposium: Challenges ahead on the road to Cancún.

16, 17 and 18 June 2003, World Trade Organization, Centre William Rappard, Geneva, Switzerland. Panellist: Ms. Ritu Kumar Environmental Economist, described as Consultant to the Commonwealth Science Council.

5. International conference - Development cooperation and corporate social responsibility: exploring the role of development cooperation agencies. 

Held in Stockholm 22-23 March 2004. Workshop 3 refers: CSR standards and norms in developing countries. Chair: Nigel Twose, The World Bank Group. Rapporteur: Ritu Kumar, TERI-Europe. Organised by the Swedish foreign ministry, in collaboration with IIED, IBLF, Sida and the World Bank.

Report subsequently produced: "Exploring the role of development cooperation agencies in corporate responsibility" by Tom Fox and Dave Prescotti.

6. WTO Public Symposium: "Multilateralism at a Crossroads "

25 - 27 May 2004, Centre William Rappard, 154, Rue de Lausanne, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland. Speaker Ritu Kumar – described as Exec Director, STIC.

7. The Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII)

Initiated by Munich Re in April 2005 in response to the growing realization that insurance solutions can play a role in adaptation to climate change. TERI Europe is a founder member.

8. Conference: "Investing in the Future: a European Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility and the Finance Sector", attended by Dr Ritu Kumar and 
Ms Rochelle Mortier. 1 & 2 December 2005, Riverbank Park Plaza, London.

9. Working Group on Climate Change and Development.

Group formed involving: ActionAid International, Christian Aid, Columban Faith and Justice, IDS (Institute of Development Studies), ITDG (Intermediate Technology Development Group), IIED (International Institute for Environment and Development), Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, nef (new economics foundation), Operation Noah, Oxfam, People & Planet, RSPB, Tearfund, TERI Europe, WWF, WaterAid and World Vision.

10. Report: Up in Smoke?

Foreword by R K Pachauri and participation by TERI Europe. Reported on 20 November 2007 with environmental and development groups saying India should go all out to invest in clean technology even if it means incurring an estimated cost of $2 trillion.

The study was conducted by the coalition that included International Institute for Environment and Development, Oxfam International, TERI Europe and the World Wildlife Fund, "aimed at assessing the impacts of climate change on global efforts to reduce poverty."

11. EU Parliament Report: Climate Change and India: Impacts, Policy Responses and a Framework for EU-India Cooperation

Completed in January 2008 by Dr Ritu Kumar 

12. Sustainable building design: strengthening capacities for planning and implementation

As part of the EU-funded Asia Urbs programme, TERI-Europe was engaged in a project aimed at improving urban environment through the introduction of sustainability measures in building design. 

The project was jointly implemented by RENUE (Renewable Energy for the Urban Environment) in the UK, ICAEN (Institut Catalana d' Energia) in Barcelona, Spain, TERI, Delhi, India, and the Haryana Energy Development Agency, India. 

The project aimed at exchanging advice and good practices between the EU (European Union) and India to assist the local authority in Gurgaon to formulate urban development strategies and develop sustainable building design plans.

13. Facilitating sustainable trade in the textile and clothing sector.

TERI-Europe completed a comprehensive review of environmental and social requirements faced by textile and clothing exporters, exporting to the EU. This information has been compiled in a CD Rom, which contains a database on environmental and social requirements for the textile and clothing sector and provides exporters with a ready tool to access information on technologies, retail sources, and trade links.

The scheme included pilot demonstrations on management of supply chains, as well as adherence to environmental, social, and trade regulations, which were conducted in two factories each in Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka.

Sponsored jointly by the EU and the Commonwealth Science Council.

14. Asia Eco-Design Electronics(AEDE)

TERI Europe is a major partner in this project. Amongst other activities, on 5 December 2006 Ritu Kumar moderated a panel discussion at the Hotel Silken 11–19 Boulevard Charlemagne, Belaymont, Brussels, Belgium.

AEDE is funded by the European Union as part of the Asia-Pro Eco Programme. The overall goal is to assist the Asian electronics and electrical suppliers to meet the challenges of existing and forthcoming EC and Japanese product-related environmental legislation and emerging CSR developments.

15. Conference: "Kyoto and Beyond: a Global Strategy"

Commonwealth Club, London, 18 May 2006 - Organised by Save our World. Contribution made by Ritu Kumar (Director of TERI-Europe).

16. Report: SME Clusters and Responsible Competitiveness in Developing Countries. Produced by AccountAbility with UNIDO. Consultee: Ritu Kumar, TERI Europe. Published January 2006.

17. Energy efficiency and building design

TERI-Europe assisted the London Borough of Merton in organizing a major seminar on energy efficiency and in incorporating renewable energy technologies in building design. The seminar was part of the activities of the EU funded Asia Urbs project on building design. Date not known.

18. Conference: Climate Change: India Policies and Perceptions.

In recognition of the global nature of the challenge of climate change and the many synergies and areas of potential collaboration between the UK and India, the City of London co-hosted a conference with HSBC, the London School of Economics and TERI Europe on 30 September 2009. This event took place at the London School of Economics and the keynote speaker was R K Pachauri, Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change & Director General, TERI.

19. Conference: RSA/TEHELKA two-day summit of political, business and civil society leaders share their knowledge and experience of how to engage with and understand India.

7-8 June 2007 at The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce). The Challenge of India: Ritu Kumar speaker. Other speakers include J J Irani - Director, TATA Sons.

20. Developing clean development mechanism projects for renewable energy technologies.

TERI-Europe has completed a study sponsored by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK, which seeks to cast commercially viable renewable energy projects as potential CDM (clean development mechanism) projects. TERI-Europe worked with five proponents of different types of renewable energy technologies to assist in the calculation of baselines and transaction costs. As part of this activity, a set of guidelines for developing CDM projects in the renewable energy sector has been elaborated. Additional information on potential partners in India and the UK, interested in developing CDM projects in India, has also been provided.

21. Conference: Global Energy Challenge – Time to Act

The Energy Conference of Verbund, 16 - 18 September 2009, Schloss Fuschl/Hof near Salzburg. Speaker Ritu Kumar on "Global responsibility". Also speaking: Peter Höppe, Head of Geo risks Research of Munich Re Group, Germany on "How much does climate change cost?"

So far, so good. More to follow.

PACHAURI THREAD