By Stefan Pellech, Intellecap

Intellecap, publisher of Beyond Profit, partnered with the Rockefeller Foundation and the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) to explore opportunities for the private sector in building resilience of the urban poor against the impacts of climate change. Our work focused on understanding the specific vulnerabilities of the poor in four cities – Surat and Gorakhpur in India, Semarang in Indonesia and Chiang Rai in Thailand – and identifying potential business responses to these. » Continue reading “Climate Change and Building Resilience”

A recent article in GOOD magazine touched on an interesting aspect to the clean energy debate. Developing nations are in a unique situation when it comes to adopting alternative and clean energy. These countries are in a position to develop the right way from the start.

Currently, developed countries, such as the United States, depend on “dirty” energy—oil, coal, etc. Old habits are hard to break. For countries such as India, China and Brazil, using clean energies from the start can save them from having to change these bad habits in the future. » Continue reading “How to “Leapfrog” Dirty Energy”

This story originally appeared in our December 17, 2010 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe.

As part of a new report, ACCESS examines how climate change will affect India’s agricultural sector.

Climate change has again become global headline news. The recent UN-sponsored climate summit in Cancun, Mexico, has brought together 190 nations to discuss domestic and international environmental policy. India is just one of the nations involved and it could not be timelier: a study by the Climate Vulnerable Forum delineates how imperative it is for the country to assume a more pro-active stance in addressing climate change. The study predicts that India is susceptible to rising health problems and loss of habitat. Since rural India still heavily depends on the land, how will climate change affect agriculture-dependent peoples? » Continue reading “Climate Changing Livelihoods”

Last week in Mumbai, I arrived at a talk about climate change with Bill McKibben, the environmentalist and author, with copious amounts of dust and grime on my face.  I had taken an auto-rickshaw–a three-wheeled, hard-shelled beetle of a machine, that does an excellent job of two things: getting a person from A to B, and making a whole lot of noise and air pollution in the process.

I thought about the pollution in Mumbai as Bill gave his talk.  In India, the pollution comes in many forms, of which rickshaws are just one.*  Bill spoke about the need for India to be part of the larger global environmental movement through 350.org, an international campaign dedicated to uniting the world around solutions to the climate crisis. Why 350?  Scientists say that 350 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity.  Here’s a sobering thought: we’re currently already over that limit at 389.

During the talk, I wanted very much to believe that everyone in the room was on board, and that we would all go out and make change, but it seemed unlikely.  Even I, a relatively environmentally conscious citizen—who turns lights off when I leave a room—am not as worried as I should be about rising tides and temperatures.  So, here’s the 350 million dollar question: what will make us all care?

» Continue reading “Something’s in the Air”