Could the 2014 World Cup, the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics and Brazil’s climate leadership add up to transformative moments that launch us on our pathway to a sustainable future?

Four powerful sustainability trends will start converging in and around Brazil as we head into this century’s second decade:

1. Brazil’s climate leadership. With the tone of diminished expectations already set for the climate negotiations next month in Copenhagen, one bright spot appears to be the aggressive— if not audacious — commitments by Brazil to stop Amazon deforestation and curb carbon emissions 35% by 2020, (See article in Nature.)

2. Major sports advertising. The companies who spend tens to hundreds of millions of dollars to be sponsors of the World Cup and the Olympic’s will be touting their sustainability leadership to consumers and investors. (See IBM’s Smarter Planet)
3. The closing of the “critical decade”. Starting in 2005, the world’s leading scientists warned that our civilization had about ten years to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions enough to stave of the most catastrophic impacts of global temperature rise.
4. The eyes of the world. Up to 70% of the world’s population may be tuning in on radio, TV, online or their smartphones. Not since Babel have we had a chance to engage in a global conversation about shared responsibilities and opportunities.

Short of an alien craft landing on the White House lawn, Brazil’s command of the world’s sports stage may be humankind’s best chance to get in sync on how to create a flourishing future for our species and the planet.

For that to happen, there is some business to de-usualize.

First and foremost, Brazil has to turn talk into measured action. In just a few weeks time, before Brazil’s delegation heads off to Copenhagen, governors or their representatives from 18 states, the mayor of Rio, Brazil’s energy minister and auto, petro and airline executives will begin to construct an integrated strategy for sustainable jobs, food, fuel and rainforests. Catalyzed by Sustainable BioBrazil (a Brazilian NGO with whom we work), the policy roundtable is the first of three planned meetings in Sao Luis, Maranhao between now and April, 2010. During this time, participants will wrestle with intertwined challenges of creating new economic opportunities to lure people away from Amazon-destroying livelihoods, finding the right formula and market for avoided deforestation credits, experimenting with intercropping of food and fuel together on Brazil’s extensive but underutilized agricultural lands, and trying to sharpen the thinking about indirect land-use and carbon life cycle calculations that will determine how open world markets will be to Brazilian biofuels and food exports — upon which the majority of jobs for displaced Amazon ranchers, loggers and charcoal makers will depend.

And if the Brazil Convergence is going to fire a global transformation, the media and cultural power of both the World Cup and Rio’s Olympiad are going to have to be more explicitly devoted to telling the stories of progress and possibility. Brazil’s own stories, of course, but also stories of challenges and solutions from the hundreds of nations represented at these events. Organizers have an opportunity to shift their thinking about what makes their event “green”. Merely reducing the environmental impact of the operations (aka event sustainability) is necessary but not sufficient. They should unleash their iconic power to inspire all the people they reach to take action. During the month-long World Cup and Olympic fortnight, advertisers and their brilliant agency storytellers can craft compelling meta-narratives about the technologies and decisions that are moving our civilization forward. This way, 2014 and 2016 can provide global audiences with mileposts of progress that surely must come.

Finally, there is the distinct possibility that by 2014, nearly every aspect of the process of getting to or watching the games will have a carbon number or sustainability index attached to it. Fuel at the pump will have a carbon-rating, and the backstory of how new technologies and efficiencies lowered that number. TVs will show how much energy they are using, from what sources, with what kind of impact. Labels on official beers will feature certifications for energy and water used in their making and boast about their recycling prowess. Airlines flying to Rio and World Cup host cities will use seatback videos to talk about the percentage of sustainable biofuel in their plane’s tanks and the millions of hectares of Amazon they, their industry partners and the flying public are protecting as carbon sinks and bioresources for the planet.

While we watch for progress on these fronts at the Vancouver, London, Sochi Olympics and next summer’s South African World Cup, indications are its going to be up to you, Brazil, Brazil.

Could the 2014 World Cup, the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics and Brazil’s climate leadership add up to transformative moments that launch us on our pathway to a sustainable future?

Four powerful sustainability trends will start converging in and around Brazil as we head into this century’s second decade:

1. Brazil’s climate leadership. With the tone of diminished expectations already set for the climate negotiations next month in Copenhagen, one bright spot appears to be the aggressive— if not audacious — commitments by Brazil to stop Amazon deforestation and curb carbon emissions 35% by 2020, (See article in Nature.)

2. Major sports advertising. The companies who spend tens to hundreds of millions of dollars to be sponsors of the World Cup and the Olympic’s will be touting their sustainability leadership to consumers and investors. (See IBM’s Smarter Planet)
3. The closing of the “critical decade”. Starting in 2005, the world’s leading scientists warned that our civilization had about ten years to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions enough to stave off the most catastrophic impacts of global temperature rise.
4. The eyes of the world. Up to 70% of the world’s population may be tuning in on radio, TV, online or their smartphones. Not since Babel have we had a chance to engage in a global conversation about shared responsibilities and opportunities.

Short of an alien craft landing on the White House lawn, Brazil’s command of the world’s sports stage may be humankind’s best chance to get in sync on how to create a flourishing future for our species and the planet.

For that to happen, there is some business to de-usualize.

First and foremost, Brazil has to turn talk into measured action. In just a few weeks time, before Brazil’s delegation heads off to Copenhagen, governors or their representatives from 18 states, the mayor of Rio, Brazil’s energy minister and auto, petro and airline executives will begin to construct an integrated strategy for sustainable jobs, food, fuel and rainforests. Catalyzed by Sustainable BioBrazil (a Brazilian NGO with whom we work), the policy roundtable is the first of three planned meetings in Sao Luis, Maranhao between now and April, 2010. During this time, participants will wrestle with intertwined challenges of creating new economic opportunities to lure people away from Amazon-destroying livelihoods, finding the right formula and market for avoided deforestation credits, experimenting with intercropping of food and fuel together on Brazil’s extensive but underutilized agricultural lands, and trying to sharpen the thinking about indirect land-use and carbon life cycle calculations that will determine how open world markets will be to Brazilian biofuels and food exports — upon which the majority of jobs for displaced Amazon ranchers, loggers and charcoal makers will depend.

And if the Brazil Convergence is going to fire a global transformation, the media and cultural power of both the World Cup and Rio’s Olympiad are going to have to be more explicitly devoted to telling the stories of progress and possibility. Brazil’s own stories, of course, but also stories of challenges and solutions from the hundreds of nations represented at these events. Organizers have an opportunity to shift their thinking about what makes their event “green”. Merely reducing the environmental impact of the operations (aka event sustainability) is necessary but not sufficient. They should unleash their iconic power to inspire all the people they reach to take action. During the month-long World Cup and Olympic fortnight, advertisers and their brilliant agency storytellers can craft compelling meta-narratives about the technologies and decisions that are moving our civilization forward. This way, 2014 and 2016 can provide global audiences with mileposts of progress that surely must come.

Finally, there is the distinct possibility that by 2014, nearly every aspect of the process of getting to or watching the games will have a carbon number or sustainability index attached to it. Fuel at the pump will have a carbon-rating, and the backstory of how new technologies and efficiencies lowered that number. TVs will show how much energy they are using, from what sources, with what kind of impact. Labels on official beers will feature certifications for energy and water used in their making and boast about their recycling prowess. Airlines flying to Rio and World Cup host cities will use seatback videos to talk about the percentage of sustainable biofuel in their plane’s tanks and the millions of hectares of Amazon they, their industry partners and the flying public are protecting as carbon sinks and bioresources for the planet.

While we watch for progress on these fronts at the Vancouver, London, Sochi Olympics and next summer’s South African World Cup, indications are its going to be up to you, Brazil, Brazil.

Apple’s New OS Could Save $10 million Annually in Energy: “Apple computer users who upgrade to the Snow Leopard operating system can expect to save about 10 percent in electricity a year.
Considering Apple’s annual sales of about 10 million computers, the savings will translate to more than 80 million kWh a year, or nearly $10 million in electricity, calculated against a power systems review of [...]“

(Via Environmental Leader.)

Major Firms Going Half-speed on CO2 Reduction: “The world’s largest companies’ carbon-cutting targets are too modest to avoid dangerous climate change, according to a report from the Carbon Disclosure Project.
The Global 100, or the 100 largest firms in the world, have combined goals that will reduce emissions 1.9 percent a year. That is less than half the 3.9 percent that is estimated [...]“

(Via Environmental Leader.)

New S.F. Food Policy Boosts Local Farms

San Francisco has adopted what may be the country’s first county food policy that aims to improve access to healthy food while supporting local agriculture and reducing shipping-related greenhouse gas emissions.

(Via GreenBiz.com Green Business News.)

US hopes to lead climate debate: “President Obama’s chief scientific advisor hopes to take the politics out of science as US engages in climate debate.”

(Via BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition.)

World powers accept warming limit: “Developed and developing nations agree global temperatures should not rise more than 2C above 1900 levels, a G8 declaration says.”

(Via BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition.)

The New GM May Include a Green Logo: “GM may change the background color of its corporate logo from blue to green in an effort to show consumers that it is leaner and greener, more focused on fuel efficiency and more nimble, according to an AP article.
Though no decision has been made on the logo change, there will be some management and cultural [...]“

(Via Environmental Leader.)

Educators Seek 1% of Cap and Trade Proceeds for Green Training: “If the education community has its way, it would get $1 billion in proceeds from U.S. carbon-emissions allowances to put toward education in clean energy, environmental literacy and sustainability.
Sustainability advocates in the ranks of higher education are circulating a letter among college presidents, asking for their support for a plan to set aside 1 percent [...]“

(Via Environmental Leader.)

DOE: $346M For Building Energy Efficiency: “

Energy Secretary Steven Chu has pointed to buildings as a key target for saving energy. On Monday, the Department of Energy backed him up with about $346 million in stimulus package funding.

The 81 million or so buildings in the United States use about two-fifths of the country’s energy, more than manufacturing or transportation, the DOE says. About three-quarters were built before 1979, making them ripe for efficiency retrofits.

$100 million for ‘advanced building systems research,’ aimed at the goal of ‘net-zero’ buildings that generate as much or more energy than they actually use.

$53.5 million into its ‘Commercial Buildings Initiative‘ launched last year. The money is to help expand the number of companies involved from 25 to about 73, starting in September.

To make homes and apartments more energy-efficient, the DOE is putting $70 million into job training for energy efficiency retrofits. And it will also direct $72.5 million toward ‘building and appliance market transformation,’ or that is, the technical and bureaucratic effort to do things like expand Energy Star rating systems and prepare builders and regulators for more stringent building codes.

$50 million into research into solid-state lighting at the technology and advanced manufacturing levels - in other words, more money for light-emitting diodes (LEDs). That announcement follows Friday’s news of new federal lighting efficiency guidelines to take effect in 2012 for fluorescent and incandescent lights.

(Via Green Light.)