SUSTAINABLE & CLEAN ENERGY | ENERGY EFFICIENCY | LOW CARBON DEVELOPMENT | CLIMATE CHANGE | ___________ TECHNOLOGY | POLICY | INVESTMENT
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Visualization tools for energy flows in Canada's energy systems
Canada Energy Systems Analysis Research (CESAR) in partnership with whatIf? Technologies Inc. have developed interactive, multi-year Sankey diagrams showing the energy systems of Canada and its provinces between 1990 and 2013.
Monday, December 12, 2016
Energy efficiency already accounts 30 times more jobs in the U.S. than coal mining
Energy efficiency is a growing employer with 1.9 million jobs nationwide and thousands of jobs in each state. These findings are revealed by the report Energy Efficiency Jobs in America, which is prepared by E2 and E4TheFuture and based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and a survey of tens of thousands of businesses across the country. It is projected that 245,000 more jobs to be added over the next year - very impressive 13 percent growth rate.
Labels:
energy efficiency
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US
Friday, December 9, 2016
Clean Energy Economy: how to get there
The new report, From Risk to Return: Investing in a Clean Energy Economy by the Risky Business Project, demonstrates that not only is managing the risks implied by climate change both economically and technically viable, but it also would create significant new business opportunities. The transition to a cleaner energy economy rests on three pillars: moving from fossil fuels to electricity wherever possible, generating electricity with low or zero carbon emissions, and using energy much more efficiently.
Labels:
clean energy
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economy
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greenhouse gas
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US
Monday, December 5, 2016
EC's new Clean Energy for All Europeans package: energy efficiency first
The European Commission has proposed a binding EU-wide target of 30% for energy efficiency by 2030. EC plans to reach this target through:
Labels:
energy efficiency
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Europe
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policy
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
India now claims the number three spot in utility-scale solar power
This happened after the Kamuthi solar plant in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu was connected to the power grid. The 648-megawatt Kamuthi plant is considered the world's largest solar project in a single location after leapfrogging the world's second largest solar plant, the Topaz Solar Farm in California, which has a capacity of 550 megawatts.
Labels:
India
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solar power
Thursday, November 24, 2016
Canada’s first tidal turbine in the Bay of Fundy now powering 500 homes
The 1,000-tonne heavy and five storeys tall two-megawatt turbine has been successfully connected to the power grid in Nova Scotia and now is providing energy to hundreds of homes. It has a subsea gravity base that allows it to sit on the sea floor under its own weight at the eastern end of the bay in the Minas Passage, a five-kilometre-wide channel near Parrsboro, N.S.
Labels:
Canada
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tidal power
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Climate change as century’s greatest threat to human health
Impact of climate change on human health became a subject of serious research. In 2009, prior to Copenhagen climate change conference, prestigious medical journal The Lancet published an article, which stated that “climate change is potentially the biggest global health threat in the 21st century”.
Labels:
climate change
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health
Saturday, November 19, 2016
COP22 in Marakech pledged to move ahead with implementation of Paris Agreement
In the Marrakech Action Proclamation Parties to UNFCCC confirmed heir “commitment” to the “full implementation” of the Paris Agreement and called for “the highest political commitment to combat climate change” and “strong solidarity with those countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change”. In the Proclamation, developed countries reaffirmed their $100 billion mobilization goal per year by 2020 to support climate action by developing countries.
Labels:
climate change
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event
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global
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UNFCCC
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Acceleration of energy efficiency implementation in industry as solution to climate and competitiveness challenges
The world's manufacturing industry is responsible for about one-third of total GHG emissions and includes the highest carbon-emitting sectors - the production of iron and steel, aluminum, chemicals and cement. A report published by The World Bank Group A Greener Path to Competitiveness provides recommendations and guidance on how companies and countries can stay competitive while implementing more climate-friendly technologies and strategies.
Labels:
business
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energy efficiency
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global
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industry
Friday, November 11, 2016
Volcano eruption mitigated sea level rise by quarter of an inch per decade
The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, which sent tens of millions of tons of sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere and caused reflection of solar heat and cooling ocean temperatures, has masked the worsening effects of industrial pollution on global sea levels.
Labels:
climate change
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disaster
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global
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science
Monday, November 7, 2016
UNEP report: world is still heading for temperature rise of 2.9 to 3.4 °C this century
World must urgently take actions to reduce roughly a further quarter off predicted 2030 global greenhouse emissions to have any chance of minimizing dangerous climate change, says just released UNEP's annual Emissions Gap report. The report states that 2030 emissions are expected to reach 54 to 56 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent – far above the level of 42 needed for limiting global warming to 2°C this century.
Labels:
energy efficiency
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global
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greenhouse gas
Friday, November 4, 2016
Vancouver is leading the way towards zero emission buildings
Vancouver's Zero Emissions Building Plan, approved by City Council in July, is to fundamentally shift building practice in Vancouver within next 10-15 years. The Plan includes detailed actions to ensure the majority of new buildings in Vancouver use 100% renewable energy and have no operational greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, and that all new buildings achieve these outcomes by 2030.
Labels:
buildings
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Canada
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energy efficiency
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standards & labelling
Monday, October 31, 2016
GHG standards for light-duty vehicles: U.S. automaker performance report
Labels:
greenhouse gas
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industry
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standards & labelling
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transport
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US
Friday, October 28, 2016
Building energy use per floor area for world's major economies declined in 2000-2012 by 5-30%
Labels:
buildings
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energy efficiency
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global
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IEA
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Energy efficiency standards and labelling not only reduce appliance energy use but also induce price decline
Contrary to common assumption that raising energy efficiency levels will push up purchase prices for equipment, in Australia the real price for new refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers, sold between 1993 and 2014, dropped by 33 - 49%, while energy consumption decreased by 20 - 44% (see the table above). The similar changes are happening also in EU countries and in the U.S. These data are presented in the recent IEA's report "Achievements of appliance energy efficiency standards and labelling programs".
Labels:
energy efficiency
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IEA
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standards & labelling
Monday, October 24, 2016
Green Climate Fund contributes US$ 378 million to EBRD projects
Labels:
climate change
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energy efficiency
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funding
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investments
Friday, October 21, 2016
Global EVs sales have risen nine-fold over last 5 years, while price of battery packs fell 65%
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
The Asia Super Grid will connect China, Japan, Russia and South Korea to boost renewables
In March this year, SB Energy Corp. (Japan), State Grid Corporation of China, Korea Electric Power Corp., and Rosseti, a Russian electric power and grid operator, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to conduct technical and economic feasibility studies toward creating the international electricity transmission network in Northeast Asia.
Labels:
Asia
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electricity
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investments
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trade
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Kigali HFCs agreement - climate deal which may be more practically important than Paris accords
The amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer endorsed in Kigali is the single largest contribution the world has made towards keeping the global temperature rise 'well below' 2 degrees Celsius. Leaders from 170 countries agreed to cut the worldwide use of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, which are used in air-conditioners and refrigerators.
Labels:
global
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greenhouse gas
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HFCs
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policy
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
World's top GHG emitting industries
According to the World Bank report, about a third of both global carbon dioxide emissions and the world’s energy consumption are attributable to manufacturing industries.e. Industrial sector emissions grew 63 percent from 1970 to 2010. Report provides a ranking of the top emitting industries. Iron and steel, nonmetallic minerals (cement) and (nonferrous metals ( aluminum) industries are the major GHG emission contributors within manufacturing industries.
Labels:
energy efficiency
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global
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industry
Friday, October 7, 2016
Paris Agreement will enter into force on 4 November 2016.
On 5 October 2016, further to the deposit of the instruments of ratification to the Paris Agreement by 74 Parties to the Convention, the per cent of the total global greenhouse gas emissions achieved was 58.82 per cent.
Labels:
climate change
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UNFCCC
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Now we are living in a 400 ppm CO2 world...
September 2016 is a major milestone for the world’s climate change history - according to Mauna Loa CO2 program at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the monthly value of atmospheric carbon dioxide failed to drop below 400 parts per million. It means, that 2016 will be the year that CO2 officially passed the symbolic 400 ppm mark, never to return below it in our lifetimes.
Labels:
carbon
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climate change
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global
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science
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Globally number of electric cars on the roads has doubled in 2015 and reached 1.26 million
In 2014, only about half of today’s electric car stock existed, while in 2005, electric cars were measured in hundreds, according to new IEA report. 80% of the electric cars on road worldwide are located in the United States, China, Japan, the Netherlands and Norway. China is leading the global deployment of electric bus fleets, with more than 170 000 buses already circulating today.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Taking a bus for commute is 30 times safer than driving a car!
This finding comes from a new study by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). Travel by public transportation is far safer than car travel. Intercity and commuter passengers have about one-20th, urban rail and bus passengers about one-30th, per billion passenger-miles as car travel. Public transit-oriented communities have less than a fifth the total (pedestrian, cyclist, automobile and transit passenger) per capita traffic fatality rates as in automobile-dependent communities.
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Extreme weather disasters, induced by global warming, cost U.S. $67 Billion
Between 2005 and 2015, the presidents of the U.S. issued 832 separate emergency or disaster declarations for which Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided either public assistance—defined as funding for state, tribal, and local governments—or individual assistance in the form of grants typically made to homeowners and renters whose home damage was not covered by homeowners insurance.
Labels:
climate change
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cost
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disaster
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funding
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US
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
The launch of the world’s first large-scale tidal energy farm in Scotland
The initial phase of MeyGen tidal wave project was launched in Scotland in September. Four tidal wave turbines will be installed underwater simultaneously. The turbine is about 15 metres tall (49ft), with 16 metres blades diameter, and weighing in at almost 200 tonnes, each will produce 1.5 megawatts electricity.
Labels:
Europe
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investments
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tidal power
Friday, September 16, 2016
Ukraine is going to transform Chernobyl nuclear wasteland into huge solar power farm
According to the Ukrainian government, the contaminated nuclear wasteland around Chernobyl could be turned into one of the world’s largest solar farms, producing nearly a third of the electricity that the exploded plant generated at its height 30 years ago. 6,000 hectares of “idle” land in Chernobyl’s 1,000 square mile exclusion zone, which is considered too dangerous for people to live in or farm, could be turned to solar, bio-gas and heat and power generation.
Labels:
environment
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nuclear energy
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solar power
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Ukraine
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Motorised wheel can turn regular bicycle into electric bike
With EVELO's Omni Wheel, virtually any bike becomes an electric bike within 30 minutes, that gives you a boost of power when you need it. You can ride with the speed up to 17 miles per hour.
Friday, September 9, 2016
Ancient civilizations that were destroyed by climate change
This isn't the first time climate change has threatened civilisation. Many scientists speculate that devastating environmental changes caused by climate change are largely to blame for disappearance some famous past civilisations. The decline in Ancestral Puebloans, who suddenly abandoned their distinctive homes in the Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon villages, located on Colorado Plateau, "coincided with a prolonged drought in the San Juan Basin between 1130 and 1180. Lack of rainfall combined with an overtaxed environment may have led to food shortages".
Labels:
climate change
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impact
Friday, September 2, 2016
Globally, solar power has doubled seven times since 2000
Solar power has grown 100-fold in the U.S. in the past decade and it cost come down by a factor of 150 since 1975. The price drop and the sales volume increase are directly linked - over the past four decades, for every doubling in scale of the solar industry, the price of solar modules has dropped roughly 26 percent.
Labels:
global
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investments
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prices
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solar power
Friday, August 26, 2016
Friday, August 19, 2016
Sea level rise may put millions of U.S. coastal homes underwater by 21 century
Storm surges and higher tidal flows caused by climate change could gobble almost 1.9 million houses in hundreds of cities, according to a report by the real estate company Zillow. In total, homeowners could lose some $882 billion by 2100.
Labels:
climate change
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disaster
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US
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water
Friday, August 12, 2016
Mitsubishi can now transmit solar energy from space
Using microwave technology, Mitsubishi has sent 10 kilowatts of power wirelessly through the air to a receiver positioned 1,640 feet away. Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said that it also moved power wirelessly, sending 1.8 kilowatts of power through the air. Japan is looking for ways to expand its ability to power themselves, especially since the Fukishima Daiichi nuclear reactor meltdown in 2011.
Labels:
Japan
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solar power
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technologies
Friday, August 5, 2016
Too hot to work... rising temperatures reduce productivity
Global warming will cost the world over $2 trillion a year in lost productivity by 2030, according to the study, published by the researchers from New Zealand.
Labels:
climate change
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cost
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global
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human behaviour
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impact
Friday, July 29, 2016
Greenland lost 1 trillion tons of ice in just four years
A satellite study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, suggests that the Greenland ice sheet lost a staggering 1 trillion tons of ice between the years 2011 and 2014 alone. Combining the satellite observations with modeling the researchers found that the Greenland ice sheet lost mass at an average rate of about 269 billion tons per year.
Labels:
climate change
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science
Friday, July 22, 2016
What is a wind turbine and how it works
Article, posted on US DOE web portal, describes technical principles and types of wind turbines, variety of their applications and future of wind turbine technology.
Since the turn of the century, total U.S. wind power capacity has increased more than 24-fold. Currently, there’s enough wind power capacity in the U.S. to generate enough electricity to power more than 15 million homes.
Labels:
technologies
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US
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wind power
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Average price for carbon offsets looks like a good deal for companies trying to reduce their climate risk
A new report by Forest Trends’ Ecosystem Marketplace “Buying in: Taking Stock of the Role of Carbon Offsets in Corporate Carbon Strategies” found that companies buy carbon offsets to accelerate their deep economic transformation, rather than just to create a good environmental reputation.
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Solar power to expand sixth fold by 2030 and to become cheapest energy resource
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency's report solar plants utilizing photovoltaic technology could account for 8% to 13% of global electricity produced in 2030, compared with 1.2 % at the end of last year. The average cost of electricity generated from solar panels is expected to drop as much as 59% by 2025.
Labels:
cost
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prices
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solar power
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Scarcer water creates new challenges for energy
Water scarcity challenges industries around the world. The report Water-Energy Nexus: Business Risks and Rewards looks at three regions where industries that face risks related to water and energy supply are finding emerging solutions to address their reliance on scarce resources - the Middle East and North Africa, China and the United States.
Friday, July 1, 2016
IEA: around 6.5 million people die globally each year due to poor air quality
Georgia, Bulgaria, China, India, and Russia are among the countries with the highest mortality rates caused by air pollution, while Brazil, Denmark, Norway, United States and United Arab Emirates are among countries with the lowest rates. Air pollution is the world's fourth-largest threat to human health, behind high blood pressure, dietary risks and smoking.
Labels:
energy.
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environment
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global
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health
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
IRENA forecasts further solar and wind power cost downfall
In its recent report The Power to Change: Solar and Wind Cost Reduction Potential to 2025, International Renewable Energy Agency finds that by 2025 – with the right regulatory and policy frameworks in place – average electricity costs could decrease 59% for solar photovoltaics (PV), 35% for offshore wind, 26% for onshore wind, and up to 43% for concentrated solar power compared to 2015.
Labels:
cost
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prices
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solar power
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wind power
Monday, June 27, 2016
Over 127 thousand Ukrainian homeowners received "warm credits" for energy efficiency improvement
Since the beginning of so called "warm credits" loan program, total amount of loans provided to Ukrainian homeowners have reached UAH 2 billion (around $80 million). Last week was record high in terms of program activities - 6352 new loans were provided for total amount of UAH 104 million ($4 million).
Labels:
buildings
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energy efficiency
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investments
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Ukraine
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Remarkable decline of the solar power auction prices in developing countries
Based on the “levelised cost” of electricity, which estimates the net present value of the costs of a generating system divided by the expected output over its lifetime, solar power is getting close to gas and coal as an attractively cheap source of power. Auctions of long-term contracts to purchase solar power in developing countries such as South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Peru and Mexico provide real-world evidence of this phenomena.
Labels:
global
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prices
,
solar power
Monday, June 20, 2016
U.S. researchers: climate change is a significant threat to the human health
New report The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment, published by U.S. Global Change Research Program, examines how climate change is already affecting human health and the changes that may occur in the future. Climate change endangers people's by affecting food and water sources, the air we breathe, the weather we experience, and our interactions with the built and natural environments.
Labels:
climate change
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health
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impact
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science
Friday, June 17, 2016
EV battery prices are expected to drop 2-4 times in next six years
IEA's report states that the year 2015 saw the global threshold of 1 million electric cars on the road exceeded, closing at 1.26 million. In 2014, only about half of today's electric car stock existed. 2015 also saw more than 200 million electric two wheelers on the road,and 170 000 buses, primarily in China.
Labels:
prices
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storage
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technologies
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transport
Thursday, June 16, 2016
The water footprint of energy
Water and energy are connected and highly interdependent - we need water for our energy systems and we need energy systems for our water. For example, in the United States, more freshwater (41 percent) is used to cool power plants than for any other use. From other side, about 8 percent of global energy generation is used for pumping, treating, and transporting water.
Labels:
energy.
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fossil fuels
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renewable energy
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water
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Global electricity output from wind and solar will surpass nuclear electricity in 8 years and coal – in 20 years
Bloomberg's New Energy Outlook 2016 forecasts a significantly lower track for global coal, gas and oil prices than previous projection, and also shows a steeper decline for wind and solar costs. BNEF’s long-term forecast sees $11.4 trillion investment in global power generation capacity over 25 years, with electric vehicles boosting electricity demand by 8% in 2040.
Labels:
electricity
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global
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investments
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Researchers: all 36 countries with emission caps under the Kyoto Protocol met their commitments
The results of the analysis, published in the Climate Policy journal, show that significant efforts, made by the EU, Japan and others countries, signed up to the Kyoto Protocol, helped them to collectively surpass their commitments. That might happen even without a rapid emissions drop in Russia, Ukraine and others as they shifted to market economies.
Monday, June 13, 2016
Scientists from Iceland convert carbon dioxide into basaltic rock
Turning Carbon Emissions to Stone from Earth Institute on Vimeo.
According to a paper published in the journal Science, carbon dioxide emissions from an geothermal electric power plant have been captured, pumped underground and solidified. Scientists, working on a project called CarbFix were able to turn CO2 into a chalk-like solid material in two years, while earlier studies suggested it could take thousands of years for large amounts of carbon dioxide to be converted to chalk.
Labels:
carbon
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CCS
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science
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technologies
Friday, June 10, 2016
EU debates about energy efficiency target are ranging between 27% and 40%
The European Commission is studying a range of options for the revision of the 2030 energy efficiency target, from the current 27% target to the European Parliament’s preferred goal of 40%. The Commission’s own analysis shows that the higher the target, the better the results for jobs, energy security and economic turnover.
Labels:
energy efficiency
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Europe
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policy
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Carbon cap and trade system is the core of Ontario’s new climate action plan
Source: www.ontario.ca/page/climate-change-action-plan
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
First ever grid-connected wave power station in Europe was launched in Gibraltar
Last month, the first ever grid-connected wave power station in Europe was opened for business in Gibraltar, tiny British territory. Eco Wave Power (EWP) developed innovative wave energy station, which is installed on the ammunition jetty and will be producing 15 percent of the territory's energy needs.
Labels:
Europe
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technologies
,
tidal power
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