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Delivering results
HP pledges to cut carbon dioxide emissions
In a joint effort with WWF, HP committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 15 percent over the next four years at its operating facilities worldwide. As and environmental leader in the technology sector, HP has set measurable targets that will educate and inspire other industry leaders to take meaningful action to reduce their carbon footprint
As part of the agreement, HP will also work with WWF to improve the energy efficiency of its products and use their technology in conservation effort around the world. In the North America's Bering Sea, HP will provide funding and technology to study the effects of climate change on the wildlife and habitats.
WWF is working with the insurance industry to do more to address the growing impact of climate change-induced damages.
© WWF-Canon/Martin HARVEY
Insurance industry gets serious about climate change
Climate change has the potential to alter and intensify destructive weather patterns in the United States. These changes could make insurance unaffordable for customers in high-risk areas. In fact, insurance premiums in states vulnerable to hurricanes are already increasing, and in some cases insurers are exiting these markets altogether.
WWF and the Allianz Group, one of the largest insurance providers in the world, are calling on the insurance industry to do more to address the growing impact of climate change-induced damages. WWF and the Allianz Group have released a study suggesting US insurers incorporate potential climate change impacts into planning rather then rely only on historical data on past weather events. Together, we are engaging the insurance industry and others to better manage these new risks. Allianz is also investing $600 million in renewable energy projects, introducing a tool based on Google Earth in the US to help customers manage exposure to natural catastrophes, and cutting its greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by 2012.
WWF/Allianz Group Report - Climate Change and Insurance: An Agenda for Action in the United States (PDF, 1.01MB)
Pioneering the road to cleaner energy
WWF and seven "pioneering" U.S. electric power companies, public utilities and municipal governments are proving that the electric industry can take giant steps to reduce its contribution to the global warming that endangers people, wildlife and the overall health of our living planet.
Ginette Hemley, managing vice president of WWF and representatives from Florida Power and Light.
© WWF
Austin Energy (Texas), Burlington Electric Department (Vermont), Florida Power and Light (Florida), Sacramento Municipal Utility District (California) and Waverley Light and Power (Iowa) were introduced February 11, 2004 as the first U.S. power companies to join the PowerSwitch! program. On September 29, 2005, the City of Aspen (Colorado) and the City of Annapolis (MD) also pledged to take the WWF PowerSwitch! Challenge:
- Using renewable energy to generate 20 percent of power sold
- Increasing energy efficiency by 15 percent
- Phasing out the least efficient half of energy generation (or production) from coal
"These commitments demonstrate that innovative electric companies can make the switch to clean energy and reduce heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions. Now energy companies and World Wildlife Fund are calling on the U.S. Congress to limit carbon dioxide pollution," said Ginette Hemley, managing vice president of World Wildlife Fund. "The survival of over a million species and many of the world's most biologically rich natural areas may hang in the balance, depending on whether we act responsibly now or continue to ignore global warming."
The Kyoto Protocol
WWF supported and worked in countries around the world for ratification of the only international framework for significant action to address global warming. All of the twenty-five countries WWF's international team and dedicated activists targeted for ratification have ratified the treaty. Today, WWF plays an active role in the climate debate and our scientists and policy experts will help ensure that the best science is available to negotiators that are working to build a framework for confronting climate change that will replace the Kyoto Protocol
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
WWF played an essential role in collaborating with governments to create the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the landmark treaty signed by more than 100 governments in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit. The Convention established a legal framework for governments to address climate change, and was the treaty under which the Kyoto Protocol was agreed five years later. Because climate change is a complex, global issue WWF's worldwide network of organizations gives it a unique capacity to work with governments to find solutions.
More on Climate
News and Updates
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Impacts from Extreme Weather Events Made Worse Due to Lack of Conservation, Report Finds July 02, 2008
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Senior WWF official Urges Congress to Embrace Global Approach to Species Conservation June 24, 2008
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Ecosystem and Resource Managers Must Prepare for Climate Change, New Government Study Finds June 20, 2008
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Climate Change Fueling Extreme Weather Events, Government Study Finds June 19, 2008
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WWF Statement on Senate Climate Bill June 06, 2008
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WWF Experts
Richard Moss
Vice President and Managing Director for Climate Change
“Climate change and what we do about it is going to transform the world much more rapidly than people realize. It’s my goal to get us moving to a world we will want, not one we’ll regret leaving for our children and grandchildren.”
Climate witness
Van Beacham is a professional fly fishing guide and lives in northern New Mexico. Van has been fishing since he was 6 years old. Over the years he has witnessed many of the effects that warmer temperatures are having on the river systems and the fish that depend on them.
» Read more
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Expedition Diary
Take a journey with Lara Hansen, WWF's chief climate change scientist, to Fiji, where WWF is studying the effects of climate change