Sustainable energy and green economy: a new paradigm for Caribbean development

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)) has made energy sustainability in the region as one of its priorities. In 2014, the Bank issued a report   “A New Paradigm for Caribbean Development: Transitioning to a Green Economy”, which analyses the options to make a transition to increased energy efficiency and use of renewable energy.

Climate Adaptation Experts Help Prepare for Disaster

Over the past few years, climate adaptation has become a field, separate from climate mitigation, which focuses on reducing emissions and minimizing carbon footprints. Climate adaptation experts now head up new adaptation practices at consulting firms or lead sustainability teams for companies and government offices. Although climate mitigation is still far more common and better funded, climate adaptation is having a moment. The first step in any climate adaptation project, whether for the private or public sector, is to conduct a vulnerability assessment to determine which climate-related changes might most affect the company or region. Read more at www.climatecentral.org

EU unveils plans for historic single energy market

The EU unveiled plans on Feb. 25 for a continent-wide single energy market to reduce its uneasy reliance on Russian supplies and cut a massive annual import bill of 400  billion euros. The European Union imported 53 percent of its energy needs last year , a dangerous vulnerability in itself at a time of growing global insecurity, not least tensions with Russia. The plans for 'energy union' include completing the single market, increasing energy security, boosting efficiency, reducing the use of fossil fuels and increased research on new energy sources. Some 75 percent of the EU housing stock is energy inefficient, the transport sector relies on oil, 90 percent of which is imported, while distorting subsidies cost 120 billion euros, the report said. Worse still, EU electricity prices are 30 percent higher than in the United States and gas prices more than double, putting the bloc at a serious economic disadvantage. Read more at http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/

The Ideal Climate Deal

In Lima, nations concurred on a four-page document that acknowledges "grave concern" that the world is on a path to significantly exceed 2 degrees of warming. Starting next month, if they are ready to do so, nations are invited to reveal their goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the class of pollutants from burning fossil fuels and the principal cause of global warming. The Lima instructions carefully avoid suggesting whether the goals codified in a Paris agreement should be legally binding or merely voluntary. Let's imagine for a moment what an ideal achievement -- an international agreement equal to the challenge -- would be at the upcoming COP. It should include following elements: full disclosures of nation's goals and action plans; international supprt and cooperation programs; involvment of private sector; an end of carbon emission subsidies; a universal price on carbon. Read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

Renewable energy poised to overtake nuclear in the UK

The contribution of renewables towards keeping the lights on more than doubled from 6.8 per cent in 2010 to 14.9 per cent in 2013, according to the Office of National Statistics. Nuclear power, at 19 per cent, is in slow decline – no new power stations have been built since 1995, when it contributed more than 25 per cent of the UK's electricity. Onshore wind turbines delivered a third of the country's renewable electricity in 2013, with offshore wind rising fast and accounting for 21 per cent. A plan approved last week for the world's largest offshore wind farm – 400 turbines covering more than 1100 square kilometres of the shallow waters of the Dogger Bank in the North Sea – would add almost two-thirds to existing offshore generating capacity of 4000 megawatts. Read more at http://www.newscientist.com

Apple to build 100 percent renewable energy-powered data centers in Denmark and Ireland

Apple just announced plans to construct two new data centers in Europe – and like all current Apple data centers, the facilities will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy. Constructed at a total cost of $1.9 billion, the data centers will each measure 166,000 square meters (545,000 square feet) and will power the company’s iTunes App Store, iMessage, Maps and Siri services. Read more at inhabitat.com

Climate science: Do you believe in climate change?

To climate scientists, climate change is not a question of belief, but rather one of physics. It's a physical reality that gases like water vapor and carbon dioxide absorb the radiation emitted by the Earth and in doing so trap energy in the atmosphere. It's physics that trapping energy in the atmosphere changes climate. Physics is simply physics, and whether you or I believe in it or not will have absolutely no impact on the outcome. I've never been asked if I believe in gravity, for example, yet like gravity, the absorbing of energy by greenhouse gases is a matter of physics and something humans cannot alter. Read more at http://www.dailycamera.com

Surprisingly, a Voluntary Climate Treaty Could Actually Work

Negotiators around the world are deliberating proposals for an international climate change treaty that will contain a glaring loophole: It won’t be binding. That’s less than ideal, but it’s still worthwhile for several important reasons. First, all treaties are essentially voluntary, short of violators being placed under severe sanctions or the threat of war. Second, the more binding the language of the treaty seems, the less likely it is that countries will make any commitment to act. And third, the only previous international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was surprisingly successful.  Read more at http://www.nytimes.com/

Renewable Energy Review: Brazil

Bottlenecks will need to be addressed to accommodate the 22.4 GW of wind capacity expected to be online by 2023, from just 3.5 GW today. Read more at www.renewableenergyworld.com

Speech: Towards an Effective Energy Union

The EU plans to set an agenda for energy issues as the need for imports increases. Energy security is a key issue, according to Energy and Climate Change Miguel Arias Cañete. He stressed the need for integrating renewable energy into the grid and for being a world leader in this field. He also addressed the need to develop the internal energy market and a low-carbon economy. Read more at praguepost.com/eu-news