Green Detectives Help Consumers Understand COP15 Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--More than half of Americans say they’ve never heard of cap and trade. But a new Web site, GreenDetectives.net, launched today to raise awareness of cap and trade and other complex climate change issues in advance of Copenhagen's historical United Nations climate change conference.

“Everyone needs to understand the terminology, words like cap and trade and climate finance, and keep up with these important debates,“ said Tuerff. “Greenhouse gas regulation is coming to the United States, and it will affect us all, so taking 15 minutes to watch the videos is a good start.”

In a few days, negotiators from 192 countries will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, to work toward a treaty to replace the current global pollution reduction agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. COP15 will address global economic and humanitarian challenges, and may set in motion huge changes that affect an uninformed public.

“Between new Pew Center research illustrating low awareness and concern about climate change, and the millions of dollars invested in ‘debunking’ beliefs that it even exists, America has a real problem as we head into COP15 in Copenhagen,” says Valerie Davis, CEO of EnviroMedia, a firm that focuses on authentic green marketing.

EnviroMedia President Kevin Tuerff added, “Valerie and I have spent our careers researching and explaining air, water and waste pollution challenges to consumers. Global climate change is by far the most complex issue we’ve taken on, but we have faith Americans will contribute to the solution if they take time to understand the connection between our everyday lives as consumers, and important issues like cap and trade being discussed in Copenhagen at the United Nations climate change conference.”

Climate Change Decoder

The goal of the new Green Detectives Web site is to demystify the climate change debate before the United Nations climate change conference. At GreenDetectives.net, Tuerff and Davis simplify terms like climate finance, REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), climate adaptation, technology transfer and cap and trade through the use of a “decoder,” which provides a video explanation of the term selected by the user.

“Everyone needs to understand the terminology, words like cap and trade and climate finance, and keep up with these important debates,“ said Tuerff. “Greenhouse gas regulation is coming to the United States, and it will affect us all, so taking 15 minutes to watch the videos is a good start.”

In Copenhagen, Davis and Tuerff will provide daily updates on COP15 via GreenDetectives.net, and serve as delegates representing the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development.

They are the only American advertising industry executives who have provided perspective from these annual UN climate talks for three consecutive years. This year they also participated in business briefings with the U.S. State Department’s climate negotiators.

Davis and Tuerff were originally dubbed the “Green Detectives” in a 2008 Washington Times news article after they started GreenwashingIndex.com—an online tool featured in Time and Newsweek to call out misleading green advertising.

Follow Tuerff and Davis at GreenDetectives.net and on Twitter at twitter.com/enviromedia.