From An Environmental Issue To A Business Issue -- Good

From the January 23rd EEI newsletter:

Companies Speed Disclosing Climate Change Risks to Shareholders

In response to possible coming emission reduction laws and a push by socially conscious investment funds, more 10-K reports being filed with the SEC are likely to include a disclosure statement about the risks of climate change, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported. The Carbon Disclosure Project, a group of big institutional investors, said a record number of shareholders' resolutions relating to climate change could be filed this year.

The newspaper quoted Mike Lufkin, an associate with the environmental law firm Marten Law Group, as saying: "The handwriting is on the wall that this is going to be a huge issue for companies in the long run." Law firms are creating climate change-oriented practices to capitalize on the focus on climate change, and two attorneys recently sued oil, utility, and coal companies on behalf of Hurricane Katrina victims, claiming climate change warmed the Gulf of Mexico and contributed to the ferocity of the storm, the newspaper reported. Lufkin added: "There was a fundamental change in the discussion. It seems like climate change went from an environmental issue to a business issue, more so last year than at any time in my recent memory."

Avista said climate change could alter the availability and timing of hydro power and increase or decrease demand, the newspaper reported. Climate change regulation could also put constraints on coal-based plants.
Puget Sound Business Journal , Jan. 22.