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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Japan to Support Energy Saving, Storage-Battery Installations

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to set aside about 93 billion yen ($779 million) to help factories and small-sized businesses install devices to improve energy efficiencyThe ministry is asking for the budget to set up devices such as light-emitting diode lamps and boilers with better efficiency, as well as it plans to spend about 81 billion yen in response to grid issues the country is facing in order to accommodate more renewable energy. Read more >>>
Bloomberg

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Updated Greenhouse Gas Protocol Accounting Guidance

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG-P) is the most widely used international accounting framework for governments and business leaders to understand, quantify, and manage greenhouse gas emissions. The World Resources Institute launched the updated Greenhouse Gas Protocol Accounting Guidance for companies and governments to report their emissions from electricity used (Scope 2). The framework recommends how companies can measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions. This clarity can transform energy buying practices in the corporate world. For the first time, Guarantees of OriginGuarantees of Origin reduces companies’ CO2 footprint, increases awareness of the origin of the electricity consumed and sends a signal to the market that companies prefer electricity from renewable energy sources. Read more >>>
solarnovus.com

Friday, January 16, 2015

IEA - from words to action on energy efficiency

The International Energy Agency today released two guides aimed at helping countries around the world develop ambitious energy efficiency policies by showing policy makers, analysts and statisticians how to better track and use data on the so-called hidden fuel. The first IEA manual, Energy Efficiency Indicators: Fundamentals on Statistics, is intended for statisticians and energy analysts collecting the needed information for the development of energy efficiency indicators. The second manual, Energy Efficiency Indicators: Essentials for Policy Making, is aimed at providing policy makers and energy analysts the tools needed to determine the priority areas for the development of energy efficiency indicators and how to select and develop the data and indicators that will best support energy efficiency policy making. In addition, the indicators provide a basis for international comparisons that can help identify best practices for effective policy design and implementation in countries. Read more>>>
IEA

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Global carbon market to reach record volumes by 2017

The value of the global carbon market grew by 15 percent during 2014 to €45 billion, according to the latest analysis from the Point Carbon team at Thomson Reuters. Higher prices in the European emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) and steady liquidity and prices in the North American markets were the main reasons for the increasing value of carbon markets. In terms of trading activity, however, the traded volume shrank by 17 percent to 7.7 billion (Gt) in 2014. In 2015, the world’s carbon market will grow by 10 percent to 8.5 Gt while its value will increase by half to €69.5 billion. Read more >>>
Commodities Now

Monday, January 12, 2015

Germany’s Carbon Emissions Fall as Renewable Energy Takes the Lead

Renewable energy resources, including wind, hydro, solar and biomass, accounted for 27.3 percent of German electricity generation in 2014, according to Agora’s The Energiewende in the Power Sector: State of Affairs 2014 . Significantly, greenhouse gas emissions and electric power consumption both declined, and wholesale power prices fell to a record-low while Germany’s economy expanded 1.4 percent. Read more >>>
TriplePundit

Friday, January 9, 2015

Volcanic Gases and Climate Change

Do the Earth’s volcanoes emit more CO2 than human activities? Research findings indicate that the answer to this frequently asked question is a clear and unequivocal, “No.” Human activities, responsible for a projected 35 billion metric tons (gigatons) of CO2 emissions in 2010, release an amount of CO2 that dwarfs the annual CO2 emissions of all the world’s degassing subaerial and submarine volcanoes. The published estimates of the global CO2 emission rate for all degassing subaerial (on land) and submarine volcanoes lie in a range from 0.13 gigaton to 0.44 gigaton per year.
Read more >>>
USGS

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Scientists Blame Climate Change For Australia's Worst Bushfires Since 1983

  Australian firefighters continue to scramble and contain the worst bushfires in the country in 30 years. The recent fires have already burned more than 12,000 hectares of land outside Adelaide and destroyed nearly 30 homes.  Reuters reported that the fires have been burning across a 240-km perimeter in South Australia. Read more >>>
International Business Times

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Top 10 Carbon Market Predictions for 2015 from The Climate Trust

The trends, which range from increased climate change adaptation measures at the state and city-level to new protocols for agriculture and forestry, were identified by The Climate Trust based on interactions with their diverse group of working partners—government, utilities, project developers and large businesses. Read more >>>
PRWeb

Monday, January 5, 2015

Why Falling Oil Prices Don’t Hurt Demand for Renewable Energy

Over the last six months, the price of crude oil has fallen by about 40 percent, currently trading below $60 a barrel, the lowest it’s been since 2009. Continuing global production and oversupply mean oil prices could remain low through the winter months and well into 2015.
While it’s true that stocks for some of the more trusted, clean energy investments are being dragged down by dipping oil prices, it doesn’t mean demand for clean energy is also suffering. In fact, as oil prices have tumbled, demand for energy efficiency and renewable energy only keeps growing. Read more >>>
EDF

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Toward Carbon-Negative Power Plants With Biomass Co-firing and CCS

The goal of CO2 emissions reductions and renewable energy incentives have led some power plant operators to broaden their fuel palette to include various carbon-neutral biomass fuels. Biomass can be carbon neutral because it binds carbon from the atmosphere that is then released when it is burned, minimizing net emissions. Carbon capture and storage (CCS), another potential option to cut CO2 emissions from the power sector, is currently under extensive research, development, and demonstration globally. CCS is advancing toward commercialization, but there are still hurdles, mostly nontechnical, that are impeding its widespread deployment. Read more >>>
PennEnergy