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Renewable Energy Is Electrifying COVID-19 Isolation Centers in Nigeria

Photo: Twitter (screenshot)

The COVID-19 pandemic has upturned our 21st century existence, wreaking havoc on both social and cultural norms and our way of life. It has also crippled the global economy and continues to impact diverse business sectors and industries — travel, transportation, education, and manufacturing.

Photo: Twitter (screenshot)

While large-scale industries have been greatly impacted, many micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) and smaller businesses have been completely decimated, with many such businesses gone for good whilst others continue to struggle to survive with the earliest projected recovery times spanning from 3 to 5 years following the COVID pandemic.

The electricity sector has not been left out of this ongoing negative impact resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, as it continues to struggle with increased epileptic power supply and increased losses stemming from unpaid electricity debts due to lack of cost-reflective tariffs and decreased consumer spending.

In Nigeria, the crisis from the pandemic has coincided with declining oil revenue and stalled economic growth which has trickled down to the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). As a result, Nigeria faces an increasing electricity deficit due to an epileptic power supply that is unable to support the nation’s economic, health care, or other essential sectors — such as food supply chains — during this crucial time.

Across the entire Nigerian electricity value chain, we see a reduction in energy access due to disruptions in power system operations and bottlenecks occasioned by measures put in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. These include the ban on international and interstate travels, as well as the need for local and physical distancing which have greatly limited the supply chain networks.

In the Nigerian mini grid sector, for example, several projects have become stranded or delayed. The pandemic has further increased the cost of implementing scheduled projects and default of payment by consumers. These effects can, however, be curbed with the right regulatory responses and increased investments into the off-grid sector. However, despite these challenges, the global pandemic provides a unique opportunity for renewable energy to meet the increasing energy demands of consumers and to facilitate the urgent delivery of energy to support the critical health and medical facilities that desperately need it through tailored power solutions.

A few mini grid companies, like Green Village Electricity (GVE) Projects Ltd, have innovated to provide essential support through electricity services for health care centers, particularly COVID-19 isolation, testing, and diagnostic centers. As one of the leading mini grid developers across Sub-Saharan Africa, GVE is looking to support the stagnating economy by providing electricity through solar technologies for essential services sectors.

GVE recently successfully deployed a 12KVA solar system with 30kWh battery storage solution at the Rivers State COVID-19 Isolation Facility located at the Eleme General Hospital, Ogale, Nchia, thereby enhancing their clinical capacity to serve the 100,000+ people of Eleme LGA.

In addition, they successfully deployed an 18KVA solar solution to power the isolation and treatment facility upgraded and furnished by the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) at the Enugu State Medical Diagnostics Centre, Nigeria. This was made possible by the combined efforts of the Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN), Clean Technology Hub Nigeria and the Rivers and Enugu state governments.

They have been able to accomplish this through the support of All On — an off-grid renewable energy impact investing firm operating in Nigeria. As part of its COVID-19 Solar Relief Fund, All On made grants available to four off-grid companies that are looking to expand this service offering to support primary health care centers in these states, as a way to improve on health services in underserved communities.

Furthermore, as a direct result of COVID-19 and to further their socio-economic impact in the communities they serve, GVE as the foremost indigenous mini grid firm has been able to prioritize health care facilities within the service areas of their already existing and operational mini grids, and are supporting their operations by providing a discounted tariff of up to 80% for electricity consumption for a period of six months to help increase their capacity to respond to these urgent cases and ensure uninterrupted power supply for operations.

In addition to powering health facilities and isolation centers and based on their values as a socially responsible company, GVE is leveraging public-private partnerships to drive impact for economic clusters. The company recently signed a tripartite agreement to power one of the largest and busiest markets located at the heart of Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja, Wuse Market. This will be the first of many of these projects in the city center going forward and it stands to provide a host of benefits to the members of the market community which are yet to unfold.

While Nigerian citizens await the government making good on its promise to provide months of free electricity to the people as a COVID-19 intervention, the leading mini grid developer GVE, along with other off-grid partners, are taking up the responsibility to electrify the country, eliminate energy poverty, and fill the energy gaps that have now become even more evident in this COVID-19 era.

Authors: Ms. Talatu Tarfa & Ms. Ifeoma Malo

Source: Clean Technica

Diego, Key to Saving His Species, Returns Home After More Than 80 Years

Photo: Galapagos National Park, via UNEP
Photo: Galapagos National Park, via UNEP

After a five-hour journey by boat and an inland journey on a ranger´s backpack, Diego, the giant tortoise who helped save his species from extinction, finally arrived his native Española Island, in the emblematic Ecuadorian archipelago of Galápagos.

Diego, now over 100 years old, will have the chance to live in the wild after eight decades of residing in a zoo and in a conservation center, where he fathered at least 800 offspring.

On June 15, the Galápagos National Park organized the release into the wild of Diego and other 14 giant tortoises, which had been part of a breeding programme that started in the 60s to recover the Chelonoidis hoodensis population in Española Island, where the species had dropped to only 15 specimens.

The project was based on Santa Cruz, another island in the archipelago.  Diego and two other males, plus 12 females took part in the recovery project, with such a success that now Española holds a stable population of around 2,300 tortoises.

Renowned for his fertility, Diego stood out for his charismatic personality. His caregivers describe him as being very active and vocal in his mating habits. When the Park announced in 2016 that he had fathered at least 40% of all the young tortoises in Española, he went viral.

Photo: Galapagos National Park, via UNEP

Diego lived in the San Diego Zoo for around 30 years and came back to Galápagos in 1976. His impressive journey has caught worldwide attention. “Diego´s efforts helped us bring back a species that was on the brink of extinction. Diego´s legacy is along us to move forward”, said Freddy Villalba, a park ranger.

14 species of giant tortoises populated the Galápagos Islands, famous for inspiring Charles Darwin´s theories of evolution and natural selection.

Three species have been officially declared extinct: Chelonoidis abingdonii (Pinta Island), Chelonoidis niger (Floreana Island) and Chelonoidis phantasticus (Fernandina Island).  One specimen of the latter might have been found, but genetic tests are still being developed to confirm the discovery.

Diego and his 14 companions bred in captivity for more than 40 decades. They were kept in two corrals, where scientists gathered the eggs and kept them in incubators. Once the tortoises were born, they stayed at the recovery center for seven years before they were released back to Española Island. This method lasted until 2012. In 2018, the last juveniles were transported to Española.

“With no doubt the Española breeding programme is a conservation success story since we were able to restore this population with only 15 individuals. We have now detected natural reproduction in the island and we are ready to shut the programme down”, said Danny Rueda, director of the Galápagos National Park.

The Ministry of Environment of Ecuador decided to end the breeding program, after a 2019 census in Española found that the island had sufficient conditions to maintain the tortoise population, which will continue to grow normally, even without new repatriations of juveniles.  The survey was conducted by the Galápagos National Park Directorate and Galápagos Conservancy, as part of the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative.

Photo: Galapagos National Park, via UNEP

“The survival rate of the young tortoises is over 50 percent”, said Rueda, who emphasizes that the breeding programme was accompanied by ecosystem restoration measures.

“With so few tortoises for so long, the Española ecosystem dynamics had changed. In the 70s we eradicated the goats, that were introduced in the 17th century by pirates and whalers. Eight years ago we started reintroducing cactus and other plant species that are essential to the tortoises´ diet”, said Rueda.

Diego and the other 14 tortoises were transported by park rangers 2,5 kilometers towards the island´s interior where there is abundant cactus. The females weigh around 35 kilograms, while the males weigh 55 kilograms.  All are between 80 and 100 years old. They will be monitored by GPS trackers and 40 camera traps.  Free at last, but closely watched by the rangers that have taken care of them for so long, Diego and his companions will be able to wander around their home island.

Source: UNEP

Heat Continues in 2020 – the Month of May Was the Warmest May on Record

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The global surface temperature for the first five months of the year was the second highest on record, marginally behind the strong El Niño year of 2016. The month of May was the warmest May on record, according to U.S. and European datasets.

The year 2020 is very likely  (>99.9%) to rank among the five warmest years and ten warmest years on record, according to a statistical analysis by scientists from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

The analysis was based on current anomalies and historical global annual temperature readings which have confirmed a long-term warming trend due to heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

2015-2019 was the warmest five-year period on record, and 2010-2019 the warmest decade on record. Since the 1980s, each successive decade has been warmer than any preceding decade since 1850, according to WMO’s State of the Global Climate reports.

Photo: WMO

To bring public attention to climate change, broadcast meteorologists around the world on 18 June staged the third annual “Mets Unite Show Your Stripes” campaign. The warming stripes show global warming in cities and countries around the world. – with the concentration of “red” years in the 21st century. That long-term trend is continuing in 2020.

South America, Europe and Asia had their warmest January-May period on record.  Much of the northern half of Asia saw temperatures at least 3.5°C (6.3°F) above average, according to NOAA’s monthly global report. Record warm January-May temperatures were present across parts of the Atlantic, southern Pacific, and southern Indian oceans.

It was the warmest May on record, according to the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts which operates  the European Copernicus Climate Change Service, and uses datasets combining millions of meteorological and marine observations, including from satellites, with models’ outputs to produce climate reanalyses over the entire climate system.

NOAA, which reports monthly climatological data from observing sites, said that that May global temperatures tied with 2016. It was the 44th consecutive May and the 425th consecutive month with temperatures, at least nominally, above the 20th century average. The seven warmest Mays have all occurred in the past seven years.

The Northern Hemisphere had its warmest May on record, driven by exceptional heat in Siberia where temperatures were up to 10 °C above average. The unusual warmth in winter and spring was associated with an exceptionally early break-up of ice in Siberia’s rivers and a massive diesel spill, which according to media reports, was due to melting permafrost beneath tank supports.

Photo: WMO

“Although the planet as a whole is warming, this isn’t happening evenly. For example, western Siberia stands out as a region that is warming faster than average and where variations in temperature from month to month and year to year tend to be large. However, what is unusual in this case is how long the warmer-than-average anomalies have persisted,” according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service reported  that  it was monitoring fire activity in the Arctic Circle.

In contrast to Siberia, much of Alaska saw cooler than average temperatures in May.

Surface temperatures are only one indicator of climate change. Others are: ocean heat, ocean acidification, sea level, glaciers, Arctic and Arctic sea ice extent, and atmospheric carbon dioxide, which continues to be at record levels.

Source: WMO

We Need a Total Fossil Fuel Lockdown for a Climate Revolution

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Growth in renewable power has been impressive over the past five years. But too little is happening in heating, cooling and transport. Overall, global hunger for energy keeps increasing and eats up progress, according to REN21’s Renewables 2020 Global Status Report (GSR), released recently. The journey towards climate disaster continues, unless we make an immediate switch to efficient and renewable energy in all sectors in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

“Year after year, we report success after success in the renewable power sector. Indeed, renewable power has made fantastic progress. It beats all other fuels in growth and competitiveness. Many national and global organisations already cry victory. But our report sends a clear warning: The progress in the power sector is only a small part of the picture. And it is eaten up as the world’s energy hunger continues to increase. If we do not change the entire energy system, we are deluding ourselves,” says Rana Adib, REN21’s Executive Director.

The report shows that in the heating, cooling and transport sectors, the barriers are still nearly the same as 10 years ago. “We must also stop heating our homes and driving our cars with fossil fuels,” Adib claims.

There is no real disruption in the COVID-19 pandemic

In the wake of the extraordinary economic decline due to COVID-19, the IEA predicts energy-related CO2 emissions are expected to fall by up to 8% in 2020. But 2019 emissions were the highest ever, and the relief is only temporary. Meeting the Paris targets would require an annual decrease of at least 7.6% to be maintained over the next 10 years. Says Adib: “Even if the lock-downs were to continue for a decade, the change would not be sufficient. At the current pace, with the current system and current market rules, it would take the world forever to come anywhere near a no-carbon system.”

“Many recovery packages lock us into a dirty fossil fuel economy”

Recovery packages offer a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make the shift to a low-carbon economy. But according to Adib there is a great risk for this enormous chance to be lost. “Many of these packages include ideas that will instead lock us further into a dirty fossil fuel system. Some directly promote natural gas, coal or oil. Others, though claiming a green focus, build the roof and forget the foundation,” she says. “Take electric cars and hydrogen, for example. These technologies are only green if powered by renewables.”

Choosing an energy system that supports job creation and social justice

The report points out that “green” recovery measures, such as investment in renewables and building efficiency, are more cost-effective than traditional stimulus measures and yield more returns. It also documents that renewables deliver on job creation, energy sovereignty, accelerated energy access in developing countries, reduced emissions and air pollution.

“Renewables are now more cost-effective than ever, providing an opportunity to prioritize clean economic recovery packages and bring the world closer to meeting the Paris Agreement Goals. Renewables are a key pillar of a healthy, safe and green COVID-19 recovery that leaves no one behind,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). “By putting energy transition at the core of economic recovery, countries can reap multiple benefits, from improved air quality to employment generation.”

This contrasts with the true cost of fossil fuels, estimated to be USD 5.2 trillion if costs of negative impacts such as air pollution, effects of climate change, and traffic congestion are counted.

Renewable energy systems support energy sovereignty and democracy, empowering citizens and communities, instead of big fossil fuel producers and consumers. “When spending stimulus money, we have to decide: Do we want an energy system that serves some or a system that serves many?”, says Adib. “But it’s not only about money. We must end any kind of support to the fossil economy, particularly when it comes to heating, cooling and transport. Governments need to radically change the market conditions and rules and demonstrate the same leadership as during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The report finds:

  • Total final energy demand continues to be on the rise (1.4% annually from 2013 to 2018). Despite significant progress in renewable power generation, the share of renewables in total final energy demand barely increased (9.6% in 2013 to 11% in 2018). Compared to the power sector, the heating, cooling and transport sectors lag far behind (renewable energy share in power, 26%, heating and cooling, 10%, transport, 3%).
  • Today’s progress is largely the result of policies and regulations initiated years ago and focus on the power sector. Major barriers seen in heating, cooling and transport are still almost the same a decade on. Policies are needed to create the right market conditions.
  • The renewable energy sector employed around 11 million people worldwide in 2018.
  • In 2019, the private sector signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for a record growth of over 43% from 2018 to 2019 in new renewable power capacity.
  • The global climate strikes have reached unprecedented levels with millions of people across 150 countries. They have pushed governments to step up climate ambitions.  As of April 2020, 1490 jurisdictions – spanning 29 countries and covering 822 million citizens – had issued “climate emergency” declarations, many of which include plans and targets for more renewable-based energy systems.
  • While some countries are phasing out coal, others continued to invest in new coal-fired power plants. In addition, funding from private banks for fossil fuel projects has increased each year since the signing of the Paris Agreement, totaling USD 2.7 trillion over the last three years.

“It is clear, renewable power has become mainstream and that is great to see. But the progress in this one sector should not lead us to believe that renewables are a guaranteed success. Governments need to take action beyond economic recovery packages.  They also need to create the rules and the environment to switch to an efficient and renewables-based energy system. Globally. Now.” concludes Arthouros Zervos, President of REN21.

Source: UNEP

Innovative Program Connects Donors and Tree-Planting Groups

Photo: Sabin Ray/WRI, via UNEP
Photo: Sabin Ray/WRI, via UNEP

In 2018, the United Nations (UN) declared 2021-2030 as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration in an effort to reverse centuries of damage to forests, wetlands and other ecosystems. The following year, as if to dramatize the urgency, fires swept through the forests of the Brazilian Amazon, Eastern Australia and the western coast of the United States. Coverage in both traditional and social media served as a global call to action, and millions of dollars have been since been mobilized to grow trees and restore forests and farms.

But campaigns like these can create a dilemma.  Funders often have trouble finding people they can trust to do the hard work of planting trees. Planters must understand the land and ecology of the region, and know what kinds of trees will both survive and respond to the needs of a particular area. Funders also want to connect with projects that are equipped to manage the large volume of finance that is now being directed to trees.

TerraMatch, a new part of World Resources Institute’s (WRI) Global Restoration Initiative is designed to address those problems, connecting money with knowledge and shovels. The global platform uses an algorithm to match funding offers with projects that are run by experienced leaders, capable of getting the right trees into the right ground.

“People support tree-growing with various purposes in mind, but achieving those goals requires local expertise,” says Aaron Minnick, who manages TerraMatch. “And when funders and local people develop strategies together based on mutual understanding and common goals, they are also much more likely to succeed.”

The TerraMatch platform includes a website and an app with offline capabilities for iPhone and Android. It is accessible in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Funders benefit by receiving accurate information on vetted projects and local experts benefit from a connection to reliable, large-scale funding.

The power of trees

By any measure, trees are a smart investment. They keep the planet cool, absorb carbon and filter air pollution. They also mitigate natural disasters by regulating weather, stabilizing land, protecting crops and reducing opportunities for pathogens to pass between animals and people.

Photo: One Tree Planted, via UNEP

But growing trees the right way is not as simple as it sounds; history is full of examples of tree-planting gone wrong. Trees planted in grasslands in Australia, Brazil and South Africa have harmed local plants and animals and reduced water flows. And mesquite, planted in Kenya to combat desertification, grew so aggressively that it killed native vegetation, blocked roads and irrigation canals and resulted in significant economic and biodiversity loss for local people.

Connecting the dots

Over the past two years, public awareness and catastrophic natural disasters have created a tipping point, stimulating demand for government authorities and corporate entities to give back to the planet and restore the Earth’s dwindling resources.

In fact,  Minnick says the pressure has been such that “companies, non-governmental organizations and governments are now earmarking money at a rapid pace, specifically for this purpose.”

Through the TerraMatch technique, WRI has channelled more than US$2 million from funders to local experts. In Rwandan farms and forests, women-led cooperatives are growing 42,000 native trees, shoring up slopes and terraces, and preventing erosion to provide a sustainable source of wood and water for their community. In the Peruvian Amazon, farmers are growing more than 300,000 trees to protect the biodiverse Tambopata National Reserve, and shelter the cacao farms that are a source of income for over 10,000 people.

And more funding is coming through in 2021. In Mexico, land owners will grow 500,000 palo de tinto saplings, protecting over 1,500 hectares of habitat for jaguars and howler monkeys, and storing 100,000 tonnes of CO2. In the Andean forests, indigenous communities are planting millions of polylepis trees, providing medicines, food, and water–as well as a home for rare endemic species. And in Brazil, local governments and organizations are working to restore the biodiverse yet fragmented Atlantic Forest with native trees.

“Never underestimate the power of a small group of people with a purpose,” says Musonda Mumba, Terrestrial Ecosystems Unit Chief at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).  In fact, she explains, “transformational change is not affected remotely–and not by governments or CEOs–but through local, hands-on efforts.”

Building momentum toward global targets

TerraMatch sees itself as a centre of gravity for the tree-growing community, connecting efforts and sustaining forward motion.

“The idea of tree-planting is not new,” says Minnick. “But now, the world has woken up. Priorities, policies and pledges are helping to get money to the ground. It’s time to bring everyone to one place, where we can work together and learn from each other.”

All funders and project developers on TerraMatch follow the principles of forest and landscape restoration, an approach that centers the experiences and priorities of the people living in the landscape to maximize environmental and economic impact. Those principles guide the Bonn Challenge, a global effort to restore 150 million hectares of deforested and degraded land by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030. By working with regional platforms AFR100 in Africa and Initiative 20×20 in Latin America and the Caribbean, TerraMatch will help countries meet their restoration pledges while supporting the Sustainable Development Goals and climate action.

The project also supports major corporate partners that want to grow trees the right way, and complements alliances like the Trillion Trees initiative, an effort from the World Economic Forum to channel corporate investment to protect and grow 1 trillion trees by 2030.

With a view to ensuring long-term success, WRI is developing a set of protocols for monitoring tree-growing projects over time. Tracked at key intervals for up to 15 years, state-of-the-art satellite technology and field-level data collection will be integrated to the TerraMatch platform, allowing funders to monitor progress across their portfolio.

UNEP welcomes such innovative platforms and this type of transformation will be key to achieving the targets of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration!

Source: UNEP

Dutch Water Company Will Evaluate Impact of Floating Solar on Water Quality

Photo: Wikipedia/SolarWriter

Evides Waterbedrijf is a water supply company in the Netherlands. It estimates it could generate all the electricity it needs to power its pumping and distribution operations if just 30% of the reservoirs it manages were covered with floating solar panels. But before it makes that commitment, it’s dipping its toe in the water, so to speak, by constructing a 1.62 MW floating solar power plant at a reservoir in Kralingen near Rotterdam. Once completed, it is expected to supply 1.7 million kWh of electricity annually — about 15% of what is needed to run the Kralingen facility.

Photo: Wikipedia/SolarWriter

That’s a pretty small installation and probably would have escaped our notice but for one thing. Once the 4,787 solar panels are in place, the company plans a rigorous examination of how the floating solar system impacts water quality in the reservoir. According to PV Magazine, the analysis will focus on algae growth, the spread of bacteria from bird droppings, the effect of reduced UV radiation on the water, and the impact of the wind. “It is essential that the water quality in the reservoir remains good,” the company says.

Assuming the testing shows no decrease in the quality of the drinking water the company supplies to customers, it may proceed with plans to add floating solar to three other reservoirs, including the Biesbosch reservoir that covers 35o hectares. In all, the Netherlands has about 52,000 hectares of shallow water pools that could serve as the basis for other floating solar installations. Not all that water is used to supply drinking water, so some degradation in water quality would not be as much of an issue as it is with a public drinking water supply.

Evides is subject to the Rijkswaterstaat, the water management agency for the Netherlands. The Dutch Foundation for Applied Water Research (STOWA) is also part of the group, which is overseen by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment and the Solar Energy Application Community (SEAC).

Rijkswaterstaat, in turn, is part of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, which announced in March of 2017 it planned to make water surfaces and land under its control available for the installation of renewable energy plants. Evides is beginning to turn those plans into reality.

Author: Steve Henley

Source: Clean Technica

Sun, Wind and Biomass for Clean Energy

Photo: Unsplash (Jure Tufekčić)

Vojvodina has a great potential for energy production from renewable sources. How much these resources will be used, and to what extent industrial entities will be environmentally conscious, depends most on the state, precisely on the legislation, and its consistent implementation points out Zoran Trpovski, MSc, the Secretary of Industry Association at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vojvodina

Through the unique chamber system, the Industry Association of the Chamber of Commerce an Industry of Vojvodina brings together industrial entities operating in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (AP Vojvodina). They currently have groups which cover metal complex, energetics and construction and there is the Circular Economy Council. Through these forms of organisation, by applying the prescribed procedure, the Association raises current issues concerning these branches of the industry, and it increasingly addresses the topic of energy efficiency. With Zoran Trpovski, MSc, the Secretary of the Industry Association at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vojvodina, we have talked about how much industrial companies are following the global green trends and standards when it comes to business. Since Vojvodina has the highest number of oil industry facilities and the highest potential of renewable energy sources, we are interested in what is the relation between the greatest environmental risks and benefits in this province.

Photo: Radivoj Hadzic

EP: The modern industry today is unthinkable without clean technologies, renewable, green inventions and circular economy. To what extent does the Industry Association deal with these topics and how environmentally conscious are the industrial production companies in Vojvodina?

Zoran Trpovski: It is difficult to give a global assessment, since the scene is very diverse, especially if we bear in mind that the awareness of people, when it comes to the importance of industry as a whole, is re-created after a long period, in the sense that production is necessary to create new value. It is certain that every company tries to follow and implement the current trends in its field. Regarding ecology, regulation is the key, and consistent application of regulations can impose environmental awareness of all industrial entities. I think there is a similar analogy with citizens and their environmental awareness since owners or responsible persons in companies are citizens in the first place and then the persons from those companies. Either you have the awareness, or someone has to “make” you raise it. Within the new concept of work of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vojvodina, both in the Industry Association and the Chamber as a whole, the importance of these issues has been recognised, and I am sure that they will be even more significant in the future.

EP: It was established once refineries and wastewater were the largest polluters in Vojvodina. Do you know what the black ecological spots on the industrial map of Vojvodina are?

Zoran Trpovski: There is now one refinery in the Vojvodina, and it has constantly being pointed out that new owners have invested significant funds in modernisation and advancement of technology, especially for the increase the depth of oil refining. Considerable funds have directly been invested in environmental protection, and a higher proportion of fuels with lower sulfur content further contribute to less pollution. Still, the question of oil wells remains, since they carry a certain environmental risk, and the refinery in Novi Sad, that no longer operates, but that was as well as Pacevo refinery, unfortunately the target of bombing during the NATO aggression on our country. In recent years, people have been mentioning the pollution that occurred during the aggression, which is still affecting the environment. Wastewater is a general problem throughout the country and Vojvodina is no exception. Our lagging behind in environmental protection can be best observed in this area. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vojvodina is fully involved in these issues through the Energy and Energy Mining Group of the Industry Association, as well as other forms of organisation, especially through the recently formed Circular Economy Council.

EP: At the end of the October last year, the Chamber hosted the International Clean Energy Technology Forum. What are the specific activities and successful local projects that indicate that Vojvodina is heading towards the development of clean technologies?

Zoran Trpovski: This was the 13th Forum and the Chamber is the traditional host of the second day of the conference. The main merit for the traditional maintaining of the forum and having burning topics belongs to Mr Tihomir Simic and his associates. The last Forum was dedicated to Serbia’s energy digital perspective. There were many real-life examples on the second day, such as heat pumps, solar energy and other renewable energy, and a special session was devoted to the field of refrigeration. Traditionally, after this gathering, the conclusions and recommendations were sent to the decision-makers. Moreover, when it comes to the Chamber’s standalone activities, we are very proud of the International gathering held in 2018 and organised by the Energy and Energy Mining Group, which was dedicated to all aspects of biomass utilisation.

EP: What is the perspective of the fossil fuel processing industry in Vojvodina, and what is the perspective of renewable energy sources?

Zoran Trpovski: When it comes to fossil fuels, the company that performs the exploitation knows the answer to this question. Depending on the market trends in consumption patterns, circumstances in the world and other elements, future exploitation will be realised. When it comes to renewable energy, Vojvodina is a part of our country that has excellent conditions for the development of wind, solar and biomass energy production. Depending on the policy of the state, in terms of implementing the obligations of the defined participation of these sources in gross final consumption, as well as on the initiative of private investors in this field, it depends how much cleaner energy we will produce.

In focus:

EP: One of the topics on which the Chamber of Commerce and Industry was working last year was the circular economy. How much has the industry of Vojvodina turned to this global trend, which involves, above all, energy and raw material efficiency?

Zoran Trpovski: As already mentioned, over the last year, we formed the Circular Economy Council, with the desire to influence certain environmental issues and transition from linear to a circular economy at the Province level. Special attention will be paid to responsible waste management, as it is generated daily in our homes as well as in all sectors and segments of industrial production. Every day we witness that businesses are implementing projects of energy efficiency, efficient use of raw materials and others, which affect their financial position and at the same time they also have a positive impact on the environment. There are many good examples, and perhaps it should be noted that biogas power plants, whose development is extremely significant since, in addition to energy production, they provide us with high-quality organic fertilizer.

Photo: Slobodan Nicic

EP: Which funds are at disposal to the industry of Vojvodina for the transition to clean technologies and energy efficiency?

Zoran Trpovski: Quite a large number of institutions are involved in financing energy efficiency projects. These institutions define the conditions of use of these lines, and that significantly ensures the earmarked use. At the same time, different levels of government, from local, provincial to republican finance individual segments in this area. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the industrial entities themselves invest in this area to reduce costs and improve the productivity of their businesses.

EP: How much do you cooperate with the Chambers of Commerce of Hungary, Romania and Croatia as your closest neighbours? How much can we apply their experience in the environmental advancement of the industry, since all those countries are the EU Member States?

Zoran Trpovski: We try to take every opportunity to present positive experiences of neighbouring countries in this field. That is sometimes done through colleagues in the Chambers of Commerce, i.e. representative offices of Croatian Chamber of Commerce in Belgrade, but very often through Embassies, among which the Embassy of the Republic of Slovakia stands out. Very often, business entitiesfrom numerous counties, which are involved in these activities offer their services. Between above mentioned countries, we have had several successful gatherings organised together with our Hungarian colleagues.

EP: Which activities does the Chamber of Commerce of Vojvodina plan for the current year to encourage more intensive development of the “green” industry?

Zoran Trpovski: The stakeholders in this area should be Energy and Energy Mining Group and the Circular Economy Council. These bodies will organise appropriate gatherings and events to develop this segment and inform a wide range of subjects about the current events. We will always be ready to assist in the implementation of all projects in this field by connecting them with decision-making institutions. Besides, very good cooperation with governmental institutions should lead to joint actions in organising public hearings, panels and roundtables which should increase the perception of the public and entities when the topics from these areas are on the agenda.

Interview by: Nevena Djukic

This article was published in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine NATURAL RESOURCES, march – may, 2020

Danish Companies Have an Ambitious Plan to Create Hydrogen for Fuel

Photo: Wikipedia/EERE
  • A group of Danish companies are planning one of the world’s largest hydrogen and synthetic fuel production facilities.
  • The project will use renewable energy to create low-carbon fuels for the country’s transport sector.
  • Bringing down the costs of such fuels is vital to meeting climate targets.

A group of Danish companies are joining forces to build one of the world’s largest facilities producing synthetic fuels. The unique partnership aims to help decarbonize the country’s transport sector by manufacturing sustainable alternatives to fossil-based fuels like petrol and diesel.

Photo: Wikipedia/EERE

Participating companies include many of Denmark’s key transport and logistics players: Copenhagen Airports, A.P. Moller – Maersk, DSV Panalpina, DFDS, SAS and Ørsted. The vision includes generating hydrogen, an emissions-free alternative fuel, using electrolysis powered by renewable energy, as well as synthetic fuels for sectors which currently have limited low-carbon fuel options (producing methanol for the shipping or e-kerosene for aviation).

Fully scaled up, the finished facility in 2030 would have capacity to deliver 250,000 tonnes of synthetic fuel each year, to power buses, trucks, maritime vessels and aircraft, reducing annual carbon emissions by 850,000 tonnes.

As well as positioning Denmark at the vanguard of sustainable-fuel technology, the project could create numerous jobs and establish a mass-scale clean fuel model for others to follow.

Generating hydrogen

In the project, hydrogen will be produced using electrolysis, a process that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen.

When an electrolyzer is powered by renewable energy sources like offshore wind, the hydrogen produced is emissions-free. Unlike fossil-based fuels like petrol or diesel, when hydrogen combusts it doesn’t produce carbon dioxide emissions.

Although still at the planning stage, the entire Danish project will be powered by renewable energy sources, like offshore wind, and comprises three phases.

The first phase involves constructing a 10MW electrolyzer producing clean hydrogen to fuel buses and trucks, which could be operational by 2023. By phase two, the electrolyzer facility will increase to 250MW, and hydrogen will be used to produce renewable methanol to power maritime vessels and renewable jet-fuel for aviation. This is done by reacting the hydrogen with carbon dioxide captured from sources in Copenhagen.

The final phase will upgrade electrolyzer capacity to 1.3GW – making the facility one of the largest of its kind in the world. Given the current plans, this could be fully operational by 2030.

Cutting costs

This sort of industrial scale is key to bringing down the cost of sustainable fuels – and meeting climate targets, like Denmark’s moves to cut carbon emissions to 70% of 1990 levels by the end of the decade.

The group behind the project believe that to be competitive the production of these fuels will need to see similar cost reductions as offshore and onshore wind and solar.

But challenges remain. The COVID-19 crisis has paused some countries’ efforts toward renewable energy. Resulting economic downturns could create barriers to the types of investments needed to make these shifts a reality. Additionally, as the IEA explains, a broad portfolio of clean energy technologies will be needed to truly decarbonise all parts of a country’s economy.

As part of its Shaping the Future of Energy and Materials platform, the World Economic Forum has set up the Accelerating Clean Hydrogen initiative to help overcome these challenges by helping forge new collaborations to scale clean hydrogen.

Source: WEF

The African Country That Inspired More and More Countries to Plant Billions of Trees

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Naitan Tony Wang)
  • In the past 50 years, Ethiopia has lost 98% of its forested areas.
  • To mediate this, it planted an estimated 350 million trees in just a single day in 2019.
  • Their success has inspired other countries, like Pakistan, India and China to do the same.
  • Annually, 18 million hectares of forest are lost around the world, but projects like these go a long way to change that.

When it comes to deforestation, human society is in clear need of root-and-branch reform. Around 18 million hectares of forest are lost worldwide each year – an area roughly the size of Panama. Destruction of tropical rainforest, which stores 210 gigatons of carbon, is the second biggest global contributor to climate change. Meanwhile at the current rate, up to 28,000 species will go extinct in the next 25 years thanks to deforestation.

But developing countries from Ethiopia to Senegal to Pakistan are busy demonstrating how humanity can turn over a new leaf. Ethiopia – which has lost 98% of its forested areas in the last 50 years – smashed records in July 2019 when it planted an estimated 350 million trees in a single day. Pakistan’s Billion-Tree Tsunami project added 350,000 hectares of trees to the country’s landscape in just three years, while India and China – at one time Asia’s chief deforestation culprits – are leading the way in re-greening efforts, with the former planting 66m trees in 12 hours in 2017 and the latter deploying its army to plant an Ireland-sized area of forest in 2018.

The benefits of tree planting

The eye-catching headlines and eye-popping figures are all well and good, but what roles do these acres upon acres of extra forest play in the fight against climate change? The answer is: many. Beside sequestering carbon, boosting biodiversity and pollinators, promoting rainfall and providing firewood, fodder, jobs and shelter, forests are increasingly being recognised for the crucial infrastructure tasks they perform.

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Naitan Tony Wang)

Forests protect priceless arable land from extreme weather events, prevent soil erosion, bind soil together to prevent flash floods, provide natural water filtration systems and even, in snowy areas far from east Africa, shield human settlements from avalanches. Increasingly, this ‘green infrastructure’ is expected to play a vital role in climate change adaptation and as humanity works to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Senegal’s mangrove swamps are a case in point. The west African nation is home to some 185,000 hectares of mangrove swamps, but around 45,000 have been lost since the 1970s due to drought and deforestation. To combat this, a public- and private-funded effort run by the environment agency Océanium has seen 100,000 people from 350 villages perform a mass-planting scheme which has replaced a total of 79 million trees.

Fully functioning mangrove ecosystems are vital to Senegal’s health – both economic and otherwise. Not only will the extra tidal forest provide a habitat for a cornucopia of species, and sequester 500,000 tonnes of carbon over 20 years, it will maintain water quality, prevent soil erosion and protect crucial arable land from floods and high winds.

Ecosystem-based adaptation

Natural infrastructure responses to climate change – known as ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) – are increasingly finding favour as an alternative to human-engineered ‘grey’ infrastructure, which relies on concrete and steel, two of the most environmentally destructive materials on the planet.

For example, reforestation programmes in Colombia’s 15 major water basins are helping improve filtration and water quality to guarantee clean water for 22 million people. Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam has also improved its natural flood defences through mangrove replantation, while constructed wetlands in Texas naturally filter 95 million gallons of wastewater per day.

In the Mexican city of Xalapa, rampant urban expansion has eaten away at the mountainous cloud forest that provides 30% of the city’s water supply, as well as vital support for the local economy, while the loss of trees has made the slopes more prone to landslides and flooding. In its bid to reverse the damage, Xalapa has become the first Latin-American city to make systematic use of EbA. The CityAdapt project is working to restore and protect large areas of the city’s cloud forest – opting for green protection in place of costly concrete flood defences.

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Joshua Fuller)

Alpine forests in Switzerland and Austria perform similar roles in screening settlements. Known as ‘protection forests’, these areas of woodland shield human habitations from natural hazards such as rockfalls, avalanches, floods and debris – and are increasingly considered the equal of engineered architecture in efficacy. Roughly half of Swiss forests currently protect towns, roads or railway lines from avalanches or rockslides. Fallen snow is more stable in forested areas because snow catches in treetops rather than accumulating on the ground, while tree cover stabilises wind conditions and temperatures, and trunks provide a bulwark against slippage.

At the opposite end of the temperature scale, meanwhile, a suburb of Sydney in Australia has demonstrated the value of trees in sheltering citizens from sweltering summer temperatures. Scientists discovered that two streets only a kilometre apart have measurably different microclimates, with ground-level temperatures that vary by as much as 10 degrees. The key difference? Percentage of tree cover. Uncovered concrete surfaces absorb heat energy, even retaining it after the sun goes down in a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect. These night temperatures can lead to everything from elevated energy demands to spikes in heat-related casualties. In the US alone, heat-related deaths number 1,000 a year. The vast majority of them occur in urban areas.

Favouring green over grey infrastructure clearly makes ecological sense but it also make economic sense. In 2012, New York City compared two projects to manage stormwater flows – one a green infrastructure plan that involved green roofs and bioswales – the other an off-the-shelf grey infrastructure project deploying tunnels and storm drains. The green option offered cost savings of more than $1.5bn, without any reduction in efficacy. These findings have been replicated numerous times, demonstrating that EbA has a vital role to play as we work to refine our responses to climate change and meet the SDGs. Insurance companies protecting coastal fishing communities or other vulnerable industries, it has been speculated, might even be tempted to foot the bill for green improvements themselves, to offset the future costs of extreme weather disruption.

Data can’t measure everything

Not all of the benefits of restored ecosystems, however, can be measured in data terms. To stress the economic value of healthy forests is to compound the error that has enslaved the natural world to human productivity. Time in wild nature, according to the Wildlife Trust, is ‘fundamentally important for our health, wellbeing and happiness’. Research shows that regular contact with the natural world improves rates of happiness and self-esteem. Children felt that nature taught them how to take risks and made them more creative, while spending time in greenery is shown to have a positive impact on conditions from ADHD to depression.

Yet even this doesn’t tell the full story. Our appreciation of the value of green spaces won’t be complete until we recognise nature’s right to exist in and of itself, and cease to see the environment as a means to human ends.

Whatever our approach to ecosystem restoration in future, it is obvious we need to proceed at scale. Only through mass restoration and reforestation schemes – of the kind pioneered by Ethiopia, Pakistan, Senegal and the world’s less developed nations – can we hope to reverse the dismal depletion that for too long has characterised humanity’s relationship with the green world, to its detriment and our own.

The ideas presented in this article aim to inspire adaptation action – they are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Global Center on Adaptation.

Source: WEF

Global Food Markets Still Brace for Uncertainty in 2020/21 Because of COVID-19 Says FAO

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Food markets will face many more months of uncertainty due to COVID-19, but the agri-food sector is likely to show more resilience to the pandemic crisis than other sectors, according to a new report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The Food Outlook report provides the first forecasts for production and market trends in 2020-2021 for the world’s most traded food commodities – cereals, oilcrops, meat, dairy, fish and sugar.

“The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been felt – at varying degrees – across all food sectors assessed by FAO. Whilst COVID-19 has posed a serious threat to food security, overall, our analysis shows that from the global perspective, agricultural commodity markets are proving to be more resilient to the pandemic than many other sectors. That said, owing to the size of the challenge and the enormous uncertainties associated with it, the international community must remain vigilant and ready to react, if and when necessary,” said Boubaker Ben-Belhassen, Director of the FAO Trade and Markets Division.

Key trends and prospects for major food commodities in 2020/21

Cereals

In spite of uncertainties posed by the pandemic, FAO’s first forecasts for the 2020/21 season point to a comfortable cereal supply and demand situation. Early prospects suggest global cereal production in 2020 surpassing the previous year’s record by 2.6 percent.

World cereal trade in 2020/21 is projected to stand at 433 million tonnes, up 2.2 percent (9.4 million tonnes) from 2019/20, and setting a new record high, boosted by expected expansions in trade of all major cereals.

Meat

World total meat production is forecast to fall by 1.7 percent in 2020, due to animal diseases, COVID-19-related market disruptions, and the lingering effects of droughts.

International meat trade is likely to register a moderate growth – but considerably slower growth than in 2019 – largely sustained by high imports from China.

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

International meat prices have fallen by 8.6 percent from January 2020, with the sharpest drop in ovine meat, followed by poultry, pig and bovine meats due to the impacts of COVID-19-related measures, including ensuing logistical bottlenecks, steep decline in global import demand, and substantial volumes of unsold meat products.

Fish

The COVID-19 pandemic will continue to heavily affect seafood markets, particularly fresh products and popular restaurant species this year. On the supply side, fishing fleets are laying idle and aquaculture producers have drastically reduced stocking targets.

The pandemic is set to severely hit, in particular, global shrimp and salmon production. The shrimp farming season in Asia, which generally begins in April, is now delayed until June/July. In India, for example, farmed shrimp production is expected to fall by 30-40 percent.

Also, worldwide demand for both fresh and frozen shrimp is declining significantly, whilst demand for salmon is expected to drop by at least by 15 percent in 2020. Retail sales, in particular, of fresh salmon and trout have fallen greatly, and this will not recover for some time.

Sugar

World production of sugar in 2019-2020 is forecast to drop for the second consecutive year and fall below the estimated level of global consumption – for the first time in three years.

Trade in sugar is foreseen to expand, sustained by low prices and stock rebuilding in some traditional importing countries.

So far, the expectation of a global sugar production deficit for 2019/20 season has done little to support international sugar prices, which have been falling since mid-2017, and are below estimated production costs for the vast majority of world producers.

Milk

Notwithstanding market disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, world milk production is showing resilience, possibly growing by 0.8 percent in 2020. However, world dairy exports are expected to contract by 4 percent, amid faltering import demand.

Oilcrops

Despite subdued demand prospects linked, amongst other things, to the pandemic, FAO’s latest 2019/20 forecasts for oilseeds and derived products point towards a tightening global supply-demand situation, triggered by a marked contraction in production.

Tentative forecasts for 2020/21 suggest that supplies could remain tight relative to demand.

COVID-19: From a global health crisis to a global food crisis?

The report has a special article that compares the current COVID-19 health crisis with the 2007-2009 crises, identifying differences and communalities across countries and food commodities, and examining the current and likely impacts of the pandemic, with a focus on international food markets.

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

It also provides an informative benchmark on how to return market functioning to normality, even if contagion rates remain unchecked.

The feature concludes that compared to the 2007-08 global food price crisis, the world is faring better now as global food production prospects are positive, stocks are high, international food prices are low and trade is broader-based with more importing and exporting countries. Furthermore, policy-makers are now more experienced in dealing with global crises, as well as better informed and prepared.

However, although, globally, there is enough food for everyone, the significant decline in economic growth due to the pandemic has translated into an issue of access to food, limiting people’s ability to get enough or nutritiously enough food, especially in countries already hit by hunger and other crises even before COVID-19.

FAO Food Price indices gets a facelift

The report announces improvements to FAO Food Price Indices, in particular to the monthly FAO Food Price Index (FFPI), widely recognized as a leading indicator for price developments in international food markets, published on the first Thursday of each month. The revisions to FFPI include its rebasing, from 2002-2004 to 2014-2016, and expansion of its coverage, from 73 to 95 price quotations. FAO will start publishing the revised FFPI as of July.

Source: FAO

For People on the Front Lines of Climate Change, COVID-19 Is a New Challenge

Photo: UNEP

Sababil Al-Haj Hussain lives in the Sudanese locality of Al Rahad, which sits in the middle of a semi-arid ribbon of land known as the Sahel.

Photo: UNEP

Life there has long been challenging. The area is prone to both droughts, which are being made more severe by climate change, and conflicts between farmers and animal herders over the shrinking availability of fertile land. The situation has led many men to migrate away from Al Rahad in search of new job opportunities, leaving women behind to care for their families. In the absence of men, many women have taken on new economic responsibilities to make up for lost income, but remain largely excluded from the decision-making bodies that manage natural resources and local disputes.

“Women here in villages are faced with various problems, and they need to learn how to resolve small disputes that arise,” said Al-Haj Hussain. “They must be able to defend their rights, their children’s rights, and [learn] how to raise their children to avoid conflicts in the future.”

Al Rahad is one of many communities where the combined effects of climate change, conflict, gender inequality, and now the COVID-19 pandemic are posing grave threats to the security of residents, especially women and girls.

Photo: UNEP

A new report from the United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Women, the United Nations Development Programme, and United Nations Political and Peacebuilding Affairs is taking a closer look at some of those communities.

The study, Gender, Climate, and Security: Sustaining Inclusive Peace on the Front Lines of Climate Change, finds that gender norms and power structures shape the way women and men are impacted by—and respond to—risks caused by climate change and insecurity. Pre-existing inequalities, gender-related expectations, and unequal access to resources can leave some groups of women and men disproportionately vulnerable, the report says.

It’s imperative for women to have a central voice in the policies and programmes designed to address challenges emerging from climate change and insecurity, the report finds. Gender equality and peace-building initiatives should also consider challenges—and possible opportunities—related to climate change.

The report features 11 case studies of communities where insecurity, climate change, and gender issues are coming together. In Chad, for example, violence against women, which often denies them equal access to and control over resources, is prevalent in many communities. Along with being unjust, it reduces the productivity of households, undermining their ability to adjust to economic and climate-related shocks. Another example in Nigeria demonstrates that joblessness—exacerbated by climate change—is contributing to the decisions of young men to join armed groups, like Boko Haram. Meanwhile, water shortages in informal settlements across Pakistan expose women and girls, who are responsible for water collection, to new risks of domestic violence and sexual exploitation.

Photo: UNEP

The COVID-19 pandemic is now threatening to make many of those problems worse. Across the world, the pandemic has been marked by a spike in gender-based violence. But resources and funding dedicated to supporting women’s initiatives—like critical  reproductive health programmes— is being redirected to support the COVID-19 response. Lessons from the Ebola outbreak show that cutting such programmes can have dire consequences for women.

To help communities build back better, the report recommends scaling up programmes that integrate gender equality, climate action, and peace-building goals.

The United Nations (UN) is already working to help tackle gender inequality and foster peace in many climate change-affected communities. In Al Rahad, the Joint Programme for Women, Natural Resources, Climate, and Peace, a partnership of four different UN bodies, including the United Nations Environment Programme, has completed a pilot project to provide women with climate-resilient jobs and help them participate more fully in community decision making and conflict-resolution bodies.

Since the project began, 87 percent of women involved have seen their incomes rise. The perception among community members of women as leaders in key decision-making processes nearly doubled and the participation of women in local conflict-resolution bodies increased by 20 percent.

Vegetable farmer Arafa Al-Mardi is one of those who have benefited from the programme. In addition to providing seeds and training to improve her garden’s productivity, the project also strengthened Al-Mardi’s connections to local markets.

“I have benefited so much from [increased] revenues,” says Al-Mardi. “You can never imagine the extent of my happiness. I have earned this myself, therefore it is a very special feeling of joy.”

Source: UNEP

 

Coral Reefs Are ‘Glowing’ in a Desperate Bid to Survive Warmer Seas

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Milan Degraeve)
Photo-illustration: Unsplash (NOAA)

A global study has revealed exactly why corals glow during ocean heatwaves: to try and survive.

The research by the University of Southampton’s Coral Reef Laboratory shows that some corals exhibit a dazzling colourful display when they suffer bleaching due to warmer temperatures—to protect themselves.

The university’s scientists found that glowing colours in bleached corals act like a protective layer (similar to sunscreen) when symbiotic micro-algae are lost. The vivid colours are also a blinking neon sign that encourages the algae to return. The study suggests that corals develop extreme colouration within 2 to 3 weeks after exposure to mild or temporary heat stress.

Bleaching occurs when corals—tiny marine animals that secrete calcium carbonate for protection—become stressed by factors such as warm water or pollution. The stress causes them to expel the microscopic symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae, which reside within their tissues. The corals then turn ghostly white; they become ‘bleached.’ This video explains the process.

The zooxanthellae are the primary food source for corals. If the algae do not return to the corals as soon as possible (or if temperatures get warmer), corals are exposed to environmental stressors and can die. Within a few years, an entire coral reef can break down and much of the biodiversity that depends on its complex structure is lost, a threat to the world corals.

Professor Jörg Wiedenmann, head of the University of Southampton’s Coral Reef Laboratory explained: “If the coral cells can still carry out at least some of their normal functions, despite the environmental stress that caused bleaching, the increased internal light levels will boost production of colourful, photoprotective pigments. The resulting sunscreen layer will then promote the return of the symbiotic algae.”

Coral reefs, like underwater cities, support a quarter of all marine life, up to a million species. They provide at least half a billion people with food security and livelihoods; protect coastlines from damage by buffering shorelines against waves, storms and floods.

Photo: WIedenmann, D’Angelo

The researchers conducted a series of controlled laboratory experiments at the coral aquarium facility of the University of Southampton.

“Our research shows that colourful bleaching involves a self-regulating mechanism, a so-called optical feedback loop, which involves both partners of the symbiosis. In healthy corals, the photosynthetic pigments of the algae take much of the sunlight. When corals lose their algae, the excess light travels back and forth inside the animal tissue –reflected by the white coral skeleton. This increased internal light level is very stressful for the symbionts and may delay or even prevent their return after conditions come back to normal,” said Wiedenmann.

Bleached corals glow in luminescent colours—blue, yellow and purple—a phenomenon that has sparked the Glowing Gone Campaign in which UNEP has partnered with The Ocean Agency, among other leading ocean conservation organizations. The process was showcased through the Emmy-winning Netflix documentary Chasing Coral.

However, bleaching—explained Dr. Cecilia D’Angelo, an author of the study and Lecturer of Molecular Coral Biology at Southampton—is not always a death sentence for corals.

“If the stress event is mild enough, corals can re-establish the symbiosis with their algal partner. Unfortunately, recent episodes of global bleaching caused by unusually warm water have resulted in high coral mortality, leaving the world’s coral reefs struggling for survival.”

Source: UNEP

How to Exploit Coal Reserves?

Photo: Jan Valo

The increase of energy production from renewable sources and higher energy efficiency are definitely directions towards a sustainable energy future of Serbia. Energy experts have no dilemmas about that. However, the subject that makes them differ, including our interlocutors, is what to do with coal reserves: whether to invest in the exploitation of coal in an environmentally friendly way or to start with the decarbonisation of the electricity system now and turn exclusively towards clean energy

The record air pollution in cities across Serbia this winter has raised the question of how much coal-fired power plants with their emission of harmful substances are affecting the air and our health and what to do in a situation where coal is still the dominant source of energy in our country and judging by the reserves, we can continue to exploit it for at least half a century. Is the economic viability of coal a justifiable reason to base the electricity system on it in the near future, is coal at all the cheapest source of energy, how much we are able to use coal in an environmentally friendly way, or it is already wiser to move to the decarbonisation process and invest as much as possible in renewable energy sources – we asked the opinion of two eminent experts in this field, Branko Kovacevic, PhD, President of EPS Supervisory Board, formerly Professor and Dean of the School of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade and Rector of Belgrade University, and Nikola Rajakovic, PhD, Professor at the Department of Power Systems at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade, who chaired the EPS Steering Committee from 2002 to 2004, and also was the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Mining and Energy from 2008 to 2011.

EP: EU member states are planning to close all coal-fired power plants by 2031, while in our country the new ones are still being built led with an argument that electricity production in this way is three times cheaper than energy generated from solar power plants or wind farms. What was taken into account in that calculation and what was omitted?

Photo: Private archive of Branko Kovacevic

Branko Kovacevic: EU member states indeed have long term plans to stop using coal for electricity production by mid-century, but 2031 is not the deadline. Coal will undoubtedly be a significant source of energy in the for the next 15 years. I am not familiar with the details and the input of the calculation you mention with regards to the price/cost ratio of energy obtained from coal and renewable energy sources (RES). However, it is certainly a fact that RES are more expensive for exploitation. Coal is less expensive, while water is still cheaper than coal. Electric Power of Serbia obtains one-third of its energy from hydropower plants and has invested many resources in their revitalisation and modernisation to increase these capacities and extend their working life.

Nikola Rajakovic: The cost of electricity produced by the coal power plants nowdays must include the cost of environmental protection (i.e. the cost of health care), as well as the cost of the entire life cycle of the thermal power plants, which are partly related to the expense of closing down the mines with surface exploitation, the rehabilitation of thermal power plant locations, ash dumps… With such calculation, kWh produced in lignite-fired thermal power plants becomes noticeably more expensive than kWh produced by the solar power plants. The question is why we favour thermal power plants. Thermal power plants were built in the 1970s when carbon dioxide emissions were not even taken into consideration. The concern about nitrogen oxide and desulphurisation seriously started to arise in our country only in this century! A key feature of the modern energy transition is a fast pace of changes. The resources that we need to rely on are the sun, wind, biomass, hydropower, geothermal energy, and above all our knowledge and technical ability to create through energy transition an energy system based on principles that contribute to environmental protection, but which is sufficiently reliable and cost-effective and surely predominantly based on domestic renewable resources.

EP: The fact is that Serbia has coal available for mining for the next 50 years, but it is also known that our thermal power plants do not meet European environmental standards. What is preventing us from using the coal more healthily and how will this gap between the resource that is available and the damage we are doing be reduced in the near future, given the enormous consequences of pollution on health?

Branko Kovacevic: In the 1990s, EU Member States began with significant investments in environmental protection, especially in the field of energy production. At that time, Serbia was going through a severe economic and political period. And while electric filters were being installed on thermal power plants throughout Europe, we fought for every kilogram of coal and kilowatt-hour of electricity to keep the light bulbs on. In recent years, we have been rapidly catching up with Europe. The task that EPS has ahead of themselves is difficult, but we have experts who are ready to deal with them competently. By 2019, EPS invested by far the most in environmental protection in Serbia – 500 million euros. Ninety-seven million euros has been invested in the reconstruction or replacement of the existing electric filters on the power plant units. In the reconstruction of burners by which nitrogen oxide emissions are being reduced, 69 million euros have been invested. In the flue gas desulphurisation on blocks – 193 million euros.

Regarding the use of coal in an environmentally acceptable manner, there has been an investment in the most modern system for coal quality management in the Mining Basin Kolubara. The whole project is worth 181 million euros. EPS is planning further environmental investments worth more than one billion euros in a series of projects that involve the protection of air, water and soil and improvement of environmental quality. In the coming years, investments from EPS will reduce the sulfur dioxide emissions by 90 per cent, nitrogen oxides by 45 per cent and particulate matter by 95 per cent.

Photo:Private archive of Nikola Rajakovic

Nikola Rajakovic: In Kolubara and Kostolica basins, there will likely be lignite for the next 50 years with this intensity of exploitation, but it is a crucial energy fact that we consume it with very low efficiency. Roughly speaking, only about 30 per cent of the available energy from coal is converted to electricity in our thermal power plants. I am confident that our generation does not have the mandate to consume all coal in such an inefficient way. Therefore, I advocate that future generations should be left with enough coal which they will know how to exploit more efficiently. The use of coal in a healthier way is costly, and the transition to clean technologies in thermo-energetics with carbon dioxide storage is prolonged and uncertain. The gap between the available resource and the damage we are doing is impossible to bridge by shutting down all thermal power plants overnight. But an exit strategy must exist and must be started with the closure of all the old thermal units, therefore, with the gradual abandonment of thermal energy based on lignite and switching to renewable sources (primarily solar and wind power plants). The plans for innovation of Kolubara B is absolutely inappropriate for the times we live in!

EP:  The example of Kostolac B TPP, which has relatively modern technology for limiting sulfur dioxide emissions, is often cited but is seemingly not used because of the cost of the use of this technology. On January 15, this year, the Energy Community Secretariat initiated a lawsuit against the Republic of Serbia for exceeding the prescribed emissions of pollutants from thermal power plants. How much will we be forced to align with the European standards if not for ourselves, then for the impact on pollution across Europe?

Branko Kovacevic: The flue gas desulphurisation system for the Kostolac B Thermal Power Plant was completed in 2017, and through warranty measurements, it has been proven that its operating parameters are in full compliance with the agreed and below the current European standard of 200 milligrams per cubic meter. Final adjustments to the EIA study are in process. I expect that the operating permit will be obtained during 2020 and that the plant will enterinto continuous operation. When it comes to the lawsuit, the Energy Community itself is aware that non-EU countries after decades of crises and wars, cannot implement the Large Firebox Directive overnight, as is the case with the EU members. That is why the Energy Community has accepted that the National Emission Reduction Plan -NERP – should be applied instead in countries such as ours. The Government of Serbia adopted this document on January 30, 2020, but EPS has begun to implement NERP’s regulations as of January 1, 2018. In addition to the desulfurization system constructed in Kostolac B TPP worth 96 million Euros, a flue gas desulphurization system worth 217 million euro is being built for the four TENT A units. There are plans for the projects for the remaining two blocks in the TENT A, as well as the blocks in TENT B, TPP Kostolac A and a new Kostolac B3 block whose construction is ongoing. EPS’ total investment in flue gas desulphurisation systems, for the constructed and planned facilities, amounts to approximately 595 million euros. EPS is also planning both primary and secondary measures to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from thermal power plants. In doing so, EPS meets strict EU environmental standards.

Nikola Rajakovic: The alignment with the European standards is beyond question. Nevertheless, I think it is illogical that someone from Europe cares more about us than we do ourselves. I would also like here to point out the relationship between the developed industrial world and the countries in development (where we stand) and related to this a lack of logic in the fight against climate change. That is, cumulatively speaking, if the contributions of developed countries to global warming are much higher, then viewed as a whole, developing countries almost have the moral right to meet their emission quotas. On the other hand, the awareness that the planet is endangered does not give enough leeway to developing countries to meet their emission quotas.

In focus:

Photo: Ljubica Stivic

EP:  Even though we mostly use coal to produce electricity, we continually hear that the future of energy for Serbia, as it is in the EU, is in renewable energy sources. Where do you see it – in wind farms, biogas power plants or some other energy mix or a different approach?

Branko Kovacevic: There is a significant potential for improvement of energy efficiency in all segments of consumption in Serbia. We talk a lot about how and from what sources we produce electricity but until we change our bad habits in the consumption of that energy – the future doesn’t look well. How serious this issue is, shows us the example of Germany which has allotted 17 billion euros to improve energy efficiency, primarily through better insulation in buildings, the purchase of more efficient electric motors, pumps, ventilators, increased investment in energy-saving systems, etc. Significant resources need to be invested in energy efficiency and, of course, renewable energy sources, to be able to create the best and most efficient energy mix. For such systems to be sustainable, it is necessary to work on connecting regional markets, as this not only guarantees stability but also reduces the costs.

Nikola Rajakovic: The future of modern energetics stands in a complex energy mix in which renewables are dominant, in energy efficiency, in the integration of the electricity sector with the transportation, heating and industry sectors, in demonopolisation of sectors, in the active role of customers, inthe market development and above all in the introduction of smart technology networks without which all of the above would not be possible to put into effect. The best references in the field of energy can be seen in the energy mix from the end of this century – up to two-thirds of the energy from solar power plants, and the rest mainly from wind farms and hydropower plants. However, we should not ignore any form of renewable sources. The technologies for converting surplus electricity into heat and liquid hydrogen are especially emerging as the essential energy sources in transportation where fossil fuels are no longer in use.

Prepared by: Tamara Zjacic

Read the whole Interview in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine NATURAL RESOURCES, march – may, 2020

Tesla China Sold 11,095 Model 3 Cars in May

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Tesla China sold 11,095 Model 3 cars in May, which was three times the volume for April. This information comes from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Tesla sold just over 3,600 cars in April, which was down from the 10,160 vehicles sold in March.

China was the first country to go on lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and this affected Tesla, as reflected in April’s sales numbers. Tesla was just one of the manufacturers in China that had to pause its operations as the Chinese government scrambled to try to control the epidemic.

Elon Musk recently said that Tesla was making rapid progress in lowering the production cost of the Model 3 in China. “We are making rapid progress on lowering the production cost in China, and we’re actually excited to announce on this call that we will be reducing the prices of the Standard Range Model 3 basically tomorrow China time.” This lower cost is a big part of what led to record sales in May.

I remember seeing several critics on Twitter mention that the sales from China would be bad or nonexistent due to the lockdown. I think Tesla has hit that bump that we all knew it was going to hit, and May’s sales are the beginning of the upward trend as Tesla gets back to “Tesla speed.”

Tesla China has already completed the factory shell for the Model Y factory, and I think that by this time next year, we will be writing about Model Y record sales beating Model 3 sales and comparing the two.

I do think that in America, Tesla may be affected more than it was in China due to the factory being shut down for a longer time. If that thought proves true, though, I am confident the following will as well: Tesla will bounce back even harder than it did in China.

By that, I mean that Tesla, having learned from its reopening in China, can apply some of that knowledge toward its factories here. This is what will help Tesla bounce back faster. Sales may be a little low in Q2, but I don’t think they will be devastating as some may have feared or predicted. This is partly due to Model Y deliveries beginning as well. The Model Y will definitely be the push that speeds Tesla’s bounce back to strong sales/delivery numbers.

Author: Johnna Crider

Source: Clean Technica

Making Friends With Plastic Trash for a Better Planet

Photo: Maciej Sudra, via UNEP
Photo: Maciej Sudra, via UNEP

With eight million tonnes of plastic entering the ocean ever year, innovation is critical to find new approaches to waste management, especially as the world looks to build back better after COVID-19.

A group of students in Kenya took on this challenge and created “Plastiki Rafiki” (Swahili for ‘Friendly Plastic’) – an initiative that is making plastic waste work for the economy and the ocean.

In 2017, Kenya’s government enforced a landmark ban on single-use plastic bags, a big step towards slasing plastic pollution. Three years later, however, the fight is far from over. Flip-flops, plastic straws, and food wrappers are amongst the discarded items that overwhelm Kenya’s shores and threaten coastal life. Some plastic are be re-used, reduced and recycled, but a great deal of plastic waste that is collected often ends up in landfills, where it is incinerated- resulting in dangerous levels of air pollution.

The students from the International School of Kenya, who launched ‘Plastiki Rafiki’, believe that through innovation, education, and creativity, plastic trash can be transformed into useful products.

Photo: Maciej Sudra, via UNEP

‘We can show the value of plastic. It’s not just rubbish – you can make something with it,’ said Maciej Sudra, the school’s engineering teacher.

Plastiki Rafiki started in 2018 as a school club that explored engineering solutions to global challenges. Using open source blueprints from organizations such as Precious Plastic, they adapted machines like plastic shredders so that they could be easily manufactured in Kenya. The students now also learn how to design and sell their own products from recycled plastic, from skateboards to toy bats and balls. Profits are used towards setting up grassroots plastic recycling workshop, so the initiative can be replicated in other areas by local communities.

Many of the products can be traced directly to where the waste was collected. For example, when the students were climbing Mount Kenya, they collected rubbish along the way, and brought it back to be made into products. Giving consumers information about the origin of their product raises awareness of the plastic pollution problem across the country. They are also reminded that though single-use plastic is used once, it can continue to pollute areas of natural beauty for many years.

In February 2019, the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Clean Seas campaign teamed up with another innovation to address plastic pollution – Flipflopi. Flipflopi is a nine metre dhow boat made entirely from plastic waste. It voyaged from Lamu to Zanzibar to spread awareness about the way that plastic can be repurposed into a useful material. This awareness is sparking action. This World Environment Day (June 5) the Kenyan government announced that single use plastics would be banned in protected areas across the country.

Photo: Maciej Sudra, via UNEP

In March 2021, Plastiki Rafiki will join Flipflopi’s Lake Victoria voyage, working with lakeside communities and fishing villages to create useful products like fishing equipment and sailing tools from plastic waste. They will also run workshops to teach community members how to collect and transform plastic waste. Through this initiative, Plastiki Rafiki hopes that the plastic pollution that currently hinders the local economy can positively contribute to it.

In the future, Plastiki Rafiki hopes to run off-grid recycling projects to empower communities who may not have access to electricity but do have access to plastic waste. These initiatives will use techniques such as bicycle powered shredders and biogas compressors with seaweed as the fueling agent.

UNEP’s Head of Advocacy, Atif Butt said, “Plastiki Rafiki and Flipflopi demonstrate the importance of creative thinking when solving environmental challenges. Through innovative approaches that take into account social context, plastic pollution can be transformed into a useful material that benefits local communities and the planet.”

Source: UNEP

Protection of Seagrasses Key to Building Resilience to Climate Change, Disasters

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Seagrass meadows can be a powerful nature-based climate solution and help sustain communities hard-hit by stressors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, but these important ecosystems continue to decline. The importance of seagrasses is highlighted in a new report, Out of the Blue: The Value of Seagrasses to the Environment and to People, released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) together with GRID-Arendal  and the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Seagrass meadows are among the most common coastal habitats on Earth, covering more than 300,000 km2 in at least 159 countries. They nurture fish populations, weaken storm surges, and provide numerous other services to coastal communities. Seagrass ecosystems are biologically rich and highly productive, providing valuable nursery habitats to more than 20 per cent of the world’s largest 25 fisheries. They can filter pathogens, bacteria, and pollution out of seawater, and are home to endangered and charismatic species such as dugongs, seahorses, and sea turtles.

But an estimated 7 per cent of seagrass habitat is being lost worldwide each year, and at least 22 of the world’s 72 seagrass species are in decline. Since the late 19th century, almost 30 per cent of known seagrass area across the globe has been lost. The main threats to seagrass meadows include urban, industrial, and agricultural run-off, coastal development, dredging, unregulated fishing and boating activities, and climate change.

The report, launched on World Oceans Day, finds that seagrass ecosystems play an outsized role in combatting the climate crisis. Though they cover only 0.1 per cent of the ocean floor, these meadows are highly efficient carbon sinks, storing up to 18 per cent of the world’s oceanic carbon. Countries aiming to do their part under the Paris Agreement can include seagrass protection and restoration in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to help reduce the amount of heat-trapping carbon in our atmosphere.

“Maintaining the health of seagrass ecosystems – which provide food and livelihoods to hundreds of millions of people, support rich biodiversity, and constitute one of the planet’s most efficient stores of carbon – is important for healthy marine life and for healthy people around the world,” said Susan Gardner, Director of Ecosystems Division. “Seagrasses represent powerful nature-based solutions to the climate challenge and sustainable development.”

As the global community works to build back better and strengthen economies and societies in the wake of the devastation wrought by this pandemic, preserving and restoring seagrass ecosystems can be a highly effective way to protect food chains and create jobs in industries such as fishing and tourism.

The well-being of human communities all around the globe is closely tied to the health of seagrass meadows. In Tanzania, a decline in seagrass was found to have a negative impact on the livelihoods of women who collect invertebrates, such as clams, sea snails and sea urchins, from seagrass meadows. In the North Atlantic, seagrass provides critical habitat to juvenile Atlantic cod, a major commercial species that is fished by fleets from more than a dozen nations. Seagrasses are also part of the cultural fabric of many island communities. For example, in the Solomon Islands, fishers twist seagrass leaves together and shout to seagrass spirits for good luck.

“Seagrasses are the super ecosystems of our oceans, providing an incredible range of benefits to people around the world. Yet, while their flashier counterparts attract more attention, they remain among the most unheralded aquatic environments on Earth. The Out of the Blue report showcases the many ways that seagrasses help people thrive and sustain the healthy natural environment that we all depend on,” said Dr. Maria Potouroglou, seagrass scientist at GRID-Arendal and lead editor of the report.

Despite their importance, new data suggest that seagrasses are among the least protected coastal habitats. Only 26 per cent of recorded seagrass meadows fall within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) compared with 40 per cent of coral reefs and 43 per cent of mangroves.

“Seagrasses can help us solve our biggest environmental challenges. They purify water, they protect us from storms, they provide food to hundreds of millions of people, they support rich biodiversity, and they efficiently store carbon. In light of everything, seagrasses do for people and nature, protecting and restoring them is vital”, said Ronald Jumeau, Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Ambassador for Climate Change, Republic of Seychelles.

Conserving and restoring seagrass meadows can contribute to achieving as many as 10 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals as well as the goals of the Paris Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Source: UNEP

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