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Keravan Energia Invests in Energy Efficiency and Emission Reduction

Photo: KPA Union

KPA Unicon and Keravan Lämpövoima Oy, a subsidiary of Keravan Energia and an operator of a bio-power plant, have signed a contract for Unicon Condenser, which will significantly improve energy efficiency of the existing 80 MW bio-power plant and reduce emissions from the power plant. The flue gas condenser and its auxiliaries will be installed in late 2020 and the project will be handed over in the spring of 2021.

Photo: KPA Union

In addition to the flue gas condenser of the most advances technology the delivery includes process equipment building, new stack, emission measurement equipment and water treatment plant. The flue gas condenser recovers waste heat from flue gases and clears flue gases from pollutants such as particulate and sulphur emissions.

Although the bio-power plant in Kerava, Finland already utilizes renewable, carbon-neutral fuels in the form of various wood biomasses, this investment in waste heat recovery will reduce the amount of biomass burned at the power plant and thus reduce the environmental impact of energy production and bring savings to the plant’s economy. The production costs are also reduced by utilization of condensate from flue gas condenser for the power plant’s make-up water production, which will reduce the consumption of raw water at power generation.

“The procurement of the flue gas condenser is one step towards our strategy of zero CO2 emissions in energy production. We invest in domestic renewable fuels, and we are determined to eliminate fossil fuels – natural gas and peat. We are also investigating other options for waste heat recovery,” says Jussi Lehto, Managing Director of Keravan Energia.

“The flue gas condenser in Kerava bio-power plant is a fine example of an energy efficiency investment made possible by modern technology that saves both our living environment and money. As a result of the new flue gas condenser, flue gases from the bio-power plant formerly above 100 °C will be condensed to about 50 °C, utilizing waste heat for district heat production. At the same time, ash and other residues will be washed away from flue gases. The flue gas condenser is also an investment in the clean environment of Kerava,” says Teemu Koskela, Executive Vice President of KPA Unicon.

About Keravan Energia

Keravan Energia is a Finnish energy company established in 1906 and operating throughout Finland. In addition to electricity and heat, our range includes solar panel and electronic traffic solutions. We invest in a diverse energy mix; we use domestic renewable biofuel in our production, we have
invested in wind and solar power and we are involved in nuclear projects. In 2019, the Group had a turnover of approximately EUR 65.5 million. The number of employees is 73. www.keravanenergia.fi

About KPA Union

KPA Unicon is a Finnish family-owned company, which has been a strong advocate of clean, renewable energy since 1990. KPA Unicon creates and implements clean energy solutions around the world. It renews existing production systems with technologies utilizing renewable energy sources and
equips energy producers with innovative digital tools. The company aims to lead the debate on clean energy, and to take initiatives that produce value to its partners. The company’s headquarter is in Pieksämäki, Finland and it employs approximately 250 energy professionals in eight different countries. www.kpaunicon.com

Source: KPA Union

Member States Must Cut Emissions Across All Sectors to Achieve EU Climate Targets

Photo-illustration: Unspalsh (Max Titov)
Photo-illustration: Unspalsh (Max Titov)

Emission cuts in the European Union’s (EU) Effort Sharing sectors need to accelerate considerably from 2018 onwards to achieve the current EU 2030 targets, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published recently. In particular, the large amount of emission reductions from planned measures in the transport sector need to materialise through concrete actions.

The EEA briefing ‘National action across all sectors needed to reach greenhouse gas Effort Sharing targets’ analyses EU Member States’ historic and projected emissions that are not included under the EU Emissions Trading System.

According to the EEA briefing, EU Member States and the United Kingdom (UK) have reduced greenhouse gas emissions in Effort Sharing sectors by 11 % from 2005 to 2018. If Member States and the UK were to fully implement their existing and planned policies and measures, as reported under the Monitoring Mechanism Regulation in March 2019, the Effort Sharing emissions could further decrease by 2030 to a level 27 % below that of 2005. Nonetheless, the annual pace of emission cuts needs to nearly double from 2018 onward, in order to achieve the EU Effort Sharing target of 30 % reduction from 2005 to to 2030. The effort sharing target is part of the EU’s commitment of reducing all greenhouse gas emissions at least by 40 % from 1990 to 2030.

Heating and cooling in residential and commercial buildings delivered about half of the reductions in Effort Sharing emissions from 2005 to 2018. Improving energy efficiency and switching to cleaner heating and cooling fuels, including renewable energy sources, helped make these cuts, the EEA briefing states. Emission reductions in this sector are expected to continue.

Conversely, transport and agriculture sectors delivered very limited emission cuts between 2005 and 2018. Transport and agriculture cover together about half of all Effort Sharing emissions. Transport emissions have increased every year since 2014 due to a growing demand for passenger and freight transport.

Member States expect large future reductions in transport emissions, but these reductions mostly rely on measures that are still to be adopted and fully implemented. Worryingly, current projections indicate that EU Member States plan rather low reductions in emissions from the agriculture sector by 2030.

Continued monitoring and evaluation of effects of emission reduction measures is clearly needed. This will help identify the most effective measures to achieve climate neutrality in the EU.

About the briefing

The new EEA briefing builds on the Agency’s recent Trends and Projections report, which assesses progress towards the EU’s climate and energy targets, and a briefing on national policies and measures for climate change mitigation.

The findings are based on preliminary estimates of greenhouse gas emissions for 2018 and historic and projected greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a database of policies and measures that Member States reported to the EEA in March 2019 under the Monitoring Mechanism Regulation. The work also relies on the results of two detailed assessments of trends in the Effort Sharing sectors carried out by the European Topic Centre (ETC) for the EEA in 2017 and 2018.

Source: EEA

Global Light Pollution Is Affecting Ecosystems – What Can We Do?

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

For hundreds of millions of years, the web of life on land has been dependent on, and determined by, day and night, light and dark. Photosynthesis, the process by which plants grow, depends on light and dark. And all animals depend on plants for their survival.

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

One of the less frequently reported impacts of human activity on the environment is the presence of artificial light. Lighting disrupts photosynthesis and the activities of insects, birds and other animals.

A recent study, Light pollution is a driver of insect declines, says habitat loss, pesticide use, invasive species and climate change have all played a role in insect declines globally, but that artificial light at night is another important—but often overlooked—cause.

The light affects insect movement, foraging, reproduction and predation, says the study which, however, suggests that insect biodiversity loss can be mitigated with better informed lighting practices.

“Artificial light at night is unique among anthropogenic habitat disturbances in that it is fairly easy to ameliorate and leaves behind no residual effects. Greater recognition of the ways in which [artificial light at night] affects insects can help conservationists reduce or eliminate one of the major drivers of insect declines,“ it says.

With artificial light increasing by around 2 per cent per year globally, light pollution has become a pertinent issue.

At the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals thirteenth meeting of the Conference of Parties  (CMS COP13) which took place in Gandhinagar, India from 17 to 22 February 2020, delegates considered the topic for the first time following draft resolutions submitted independently by the European Union and Australia.

Artificial light not only impacts insects. Turtles, seabirds and shorebirds, and ecosystems at large, are being affected.

Artificial light at night can disorientate adult and hatchling sea turtles, so they are unable to find the ocean. Birds are also known to become disorientated by lights, resulting in higher bird mortality due to collisions with artificial structures such as buildings. Migratory shorebirds may be exposed to increased predation where lighting makes them visible. They may also abandon preferable roosting sites to avoid lights.

Managing the impact of artificial light

New proposed guidelines drafted by the Government of Australia provide a framework for assessing and managing the impact of artificial light on susceptible wildlife, including migratory species. For example, they consider wildlife-friendly lighting design and the management of light sources near protected wildlife.

The guidelines recognize the potential of conflicting requirements for wildlife conservation and human safety and the need for a balance between the two.

To prevent harm to migratory species, the guidelines propose a multi-step approach. If artificial light is visible outside, best practice light design should be applied so as not to impact nearby habitats of threatened species. An environmental impact assessment should consider negative effects before artificial light sources are installed.

Nature-based solutions offer the best way to achieve human well-being, tackle climate change and protect our living planet. Yet nature is in crisis, as we are losing species at a rate 1,000 times greater than at any other time in recorded human history and one million species face extinction. In addition to important moments for decision makers, including the COP 15 on Biodiversity, the 2020 “super year” is a major opportunity to bring nature back from the brink. The future of humanity depends on action now.

Source: UNEP

 

Citizen Science Projects on Air Quality Produce Useful Information and Raise Public Awareness

Photo-illustration: Pixabay
Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Air pollution is the biggest environmental health threat in Europe and more and more people are taking action to claim their right to clean air. A new European Environment Agency (EEA) report provides an overview of low-cost devices that citizens and NGOs can use to measure local air quality.

The EEA report ‘Assessing air quality through citizen science’ presents successful examples of using simple low-cost devices to measure local air pollution levels. The report also briefly explains how these devices work, summarises their reliability, and highlights the potential of such devices to address questions about air quality.

The EEA report shows that citizen science initiatives can produce useful information about local air quality. Such information can be used, for example, to improve official air quality models used to estimate pollution levels and identify suitable actions to improve air quality. The initiatives often also help to raise public awareness of air quality problems, which can lead to stronger public measures to address the issue or changes in personal behaviour, such as switching from driving to walking or cycling.

However, the various types of measuring devices each have different benefits and disadvantages and users should be aware of their limitations, the EEA report cautions. Although some devices are relatively reliable, low-costs sensors can for example, be sensitive to weather conditions or lack the capacity to measure very high or very low pollutant concentrations.

In the near future, the increasing number of citizen science initiatives focused on air pollution, coupled with new data digitalisation approaches, may represent a paradigm shift in the way that air quality is monitored, the EEA report states. A large network of low-cost sensors, combined with statistical analysis or machine learning, could complement the quality of the current official data and provide new pathways to obtain accurate, real-time information.

Background

The EU Air Quality Directives require every Member State to establish a network of air quality monitoring stations in accordance with a set of criteria. These criteria specify both technical requirements for instruments and the types of locations where stations should be situated, including at traffic, industrial, urban, suburban and rural sites. These provisions aim to ensure that measurements are representative for a defined area and ensure the delivery of harmonised, comparable air quality data across Europe.

Although emissions of air pollutants have decreased substantially in Europe over recent decades, poor air quality continues to harm human health and the environment. Poor air quality causes an estimated 400 000 premature deaths in Europe every year and a significant proportion of Europe’s population lives in areas where air pollution poses risks to health. This is especially true for cities, where exposure to particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution poses health risks.

The European Air Quality Index allows users to understand more about air quality where they live, work or travel. Displaying up-to-date information for Europe, users can gain insights into the air quality in individual countries, regions and cities.

Source: EEA

Signs and Impacts of Climate Change in Atmosphere, Land and Oceans Are Rising

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The tell-tale physical signs of climate change such as increasing land and ocean heat, accelerating sea level rise and melting ice are highlighted in a new report compiled by the World Meteorological Organization and an extensive network of partners. It documents impacts of weather and climate events on socio-economic development, human health, migration and displacement, food security and land and marine ecosystems.

The WMO Statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2019 includes input from national meteorological and hydrological services, leading international experts, scientific institutions and United Nations agencies. The flagship report provides authoritative information for policy makers on the need for Climate Action.

The report confirms information in a provisional statement issued at the UN Climate Change Conference in December that 2019 was the second warmest year in the instrumental record. 2015-2019 are the five warmest years 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.

2019 ended with a global average temperature of 1.1°C above estimated pre-industrial levels, second only to the record set in 2016, when a very strong El Niño event contributed to an increased global mean temperature atop the overall warming trend.

“We are currently way off track to meeting either the 1.5°C or 2°C targets that the Paris Agreement calls for,” said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a foreword.

“This report outlines the latest science and illustrates the urgency for far-reaching climate action.  It brings together data from across the fields of climate science and lists the potential future impacts of climate change – from health and economic consequences to decreased food security and increased displacement,” he said.

The report will be launched at a press conference given by the UN Secretary-General and WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas at UN headquarters on 10 March.

“Given that greenhouse gas levels continue to increase, the warming will continue. A recent decadal forecast indicates that a new annual global temperature record is likely in the next five years. It is a matter of time,” said WMO Secretary-General Taalas.

“We just had the warmest January on record. Winter was unseasonably mild in many parts of the northern hemisphere. Smoke and pollutants from damaging fires in Australia circumnavigated the globe, causing a spike in CO2 emissions. Reported record temperatures in Antarctica were accompanied by large-scale ice melt and the fracturing of a glacier which will have repercussions for sea level rise,” said Mr Taalas.

“Temperature is one indicator of ongoing climate change. Changes in the global distribution of rainfall have had a major impact on several countries. Sea levels are rising at an increasing pace, largely due to the thermal expansion of sea water as well as melting of the largest glaciers, like in Greenland and Antarctica. This is exposing coastal areas and islands to a greater risk of flooding and the submersion of low-lying areas,” said Mr Taalas.

Climate indicators

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Greenhouse Gases

In 2018, greenhouse gas mole fractions reached new highs, with globally averaged mole fractions of carbon dioxide (CO2) at 407.8±0.1 parts per million (ppm), methane (CH4) at 1869±2 parts per billion (ppb) and nitrous oxide (N2O) at 331.1±0.1 ppb. Preliminary data indicates that greenhouse gas concentrations continued to increase in 2019.

A preliminary projection of global fossil CO2 emissions using data from the first three quarters of 2019, suggests that emissions would grow +0.6% in 2019 (with a range of -0.2% to +1.5%).

Oceans

Marine heatwaves

More than 90% of the excess energy accumulating in the climate system as a result of increased concentrations of greenhouse gases goes into the ocean. In 2019, ocean heat content down to a depth of 2 kilometres exceeded the previous record highs set in 2018.

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Ocean warming has widespread impacts on the climate system and contributes more than 30% of sea level rise through thermal expansion of sea water. It is altering ocean currents and indirectly altering storm tracks and melting floating ice shelves. Together with ocean acidification and deoxygenation, ocean warming can lead to dramatic changes in marine ecosystems.

In 2019, the ocean experienced on average nearly 2 months of unusually warm temperatures. At least 84% of the ocean experienced at least one marine heatwave.

Ocean Acidification: In the decade 2009-2018, the ocean absorbed around 23% of annual CO2 emissions, cushioning the impacts of climate change but increasing ocean acidity. The change of pH reduces the ability of marine organisms such as mussels, crustacean and corals to calcify, affecting marine life, growth and reproduction.

Ocean Deoxygenation: both observations and models indicate that oxygen is declining in the open and coastal oceans, including estuaries and semi-enclosed seas. Since the middle of the last century, there has been an estimated 1%–2% decrease (77 billion–145 billion tons) in the global ocean oxygen inventory.

Marine Ecosystems: Deoxygenation alongside ocean warming and acidification is now seen as a major threat to ocean ecosystems and the wellbeing of people that depend on them. Coral reefs are projected to decline to 10%-30% of former cover at 1.5°C warming, and to less than 1% at 2°C warming.

Sea level has risen throughout the satellite altimetery record (since 1993), but the rate has increased over that time, mainly due to melting of ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica. In 2019, the global mean sea level reached its highest value on the record.

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Ice: The continued long-term decline of Arctic sea ice was confirmed in 2019. The September monthly average extent (usually the lowest of the year) was the third lowest on record with the daily minimum extent tied for second lowest.

Until 2016, Antarctic sea ice extent had shown a small long-term increase. In late 2016 this was interrupted by a sudden drop in extent to extreme low values. Since then, Antarctic sea-ice extent has remained at relatively low levels.

The Greenland ice sheet has recorded nine of the 10 lowest surface mass balance years in the last 13 years. And 2019 was the 7th lowest on record.  In terms of total mass balance. Greenland lost about 260 Gt of ice per year over the period 2002-2016, with a maximum of 458 Gt in 2011/12. The loss in 2019 was 329 Gt, well above the average.

Glaciers: Preliminary results from the World Glacier Monitoring Service indicate that 2018/19 was the 32nd consecutive year of negative mass balance for selected reference glaciers. Eight out of the ten most negative mass balance years were recorded since 2010.

Climate-related Impacts

The report devotes an extensive section to weather and climate impacts on human health, food security, migration, ecosystems and marine life. This is based on input from a wide variety of United Nations partners.

Health

Extreme heat conditions are taking an increasing toll on human health and health systems.

In 2019, record-setting high temperatures from Australia, India, Japan, and Europe negatively affected health and well-being. In Japan, a major heat wave event resulted in over 100 deaths and an additional 18 000 hospitalizations. In France over 20 000 emergency room were recorded for heat-related illnesses between June and mid-September and during two major summer heatwaves, there were a total of 1 462 excess deaths in the affected regions.

Changes in climatic conditions since 1950 are making it easier for the Aedes mosquito species to transmit dengue virus, increasing the risk of the occurrence of disease. In parallel, the global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades, and about half of the world population is now at risk of infection. In 2019, the world experienced a large increase in dengue cases.

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Food Security

Climate variability and extreme weather events are among the key drivers of the recent rise in global hunger and one of the leading causes of severe crises. After a decade of steady decline, hunger is on the rise again – over 820 million people suffered from hunger in 2018.  Among 33 countries affected by food crises in 2018, climate variability and weather extremes a compounding driver together with economic shocks and conflict in 26 countries and the leading driver in 12 of the 26.  In light of this, the global community faces an enormous challenge to meet the Zero Hunger target of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The food security situation deteriorated markedly in 2019 in some countries of the Greater Horn of Africa due to climate extremes, displacement, conflict and violence. By late 2019, about 22.2 million people, (6.7 million in Ethiopia, 3.1 million in Kenya, 2.1 million in Somalia, 4.5 million in South Sudan, 5.8 million in the Sudan) were estimated to be severely food insecure, only slightly lower than during the severe and prolonged drought in 2016-17.

There was exceptional dryness in March and much of April followed by unusually heavy rainfall and floods in October-December.   The unusually heavy precipitation in late 2019 was also a factor in the severe desert locust outbreak in the Horn of Africa region – the worst in over 25 years, and the most serious in 70 years for Kenya. This is expected to spread further by June 2020 in a severe threat to food security.

Displacement

More than 6.7 million new internal disaster displacements were recorded between January and June 2019, triggered by hydrometeorological events such as Cyclone Idai in Southeast Africa, Cyclone Fani in South Asia, Hurricane Dorian in the Caribbean, and flooding in Iran, the Philippines and Ethiopia. This number was forecast to reach close to 22 million in 2019, up from 17.2 million in 2018. Of all natural hazards, floods and storms contributed most to displacement.

High impact events

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Floods

More than 2 200 lives were reported to have been lost in various flooding episodes in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar during the monsoon season, which started late but finished with rainfall totals above the long-term average.

The 12-month rainfall averaged over the contiguous United States for the period for July 2018 to June 2019 (962 mm) was the highest on record. Total economic losses from flooding in the United States in 2019 were estimated at US$20 billion.

Very wet conditions affected parts of South America in January. There was major flooding in northern Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil, with losses in Argentina and Uruguay estimated at US$2.5 billion.

The Islamic Republic of Iran was badly affected by flooding in late March and early April. Major flooding affected many hitherto drought-affected parts of east Africa in October and early November.

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Drought

Drought affected many parts of southeast Asia and Australia, which had its driest year on record, influenced by the strong positive phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole.

Southern Africa, Central America and parts of South America received abnormally low precipitation amounts.

Heatwaves

Australia finished the year where it started: with extreme heat. The 2018-2019 summer was the hottest on record, as was December. Australia’s hottest area-averaged day on record (41.9°C ) was on 18 December. Australia’s seven hottest days on record, and nine of the 10 hottest, occurred in 2019.

Two major heatwaves occurred in Europe in late June and late July. In France, a national record of 46.0°C (1.9°C above the previous record) was set on 28 June at Vérargues. National records were also set in Germany (42.6°C), the Netherlands (40.7°C), Belgium (41.8°C), Luxembourg (40.8°C) and the United Kingdom (38.7°C), with the heat also extending into the Nordic countries, where Helsinki had its highest temperature on record (33.2°C on 28 July).

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Wildfires

It was an above-average fire year in several high-latitude regions, including Siberia (Russian Federation) and Alaska (US), with fire activity occurring in some parts of the Arctic where it was previously extremely rare.

The severe drought in Indonesia and neighbouring countries led to the most significant fire season since 2015. The number of reported fires in Brazil’s Amazonia region was only slightly above the 10-year average, but total fire activity in South America was the highest since 2010, with Bolivia and Venezuela among the countries with particularly active fire years.

Australia experienced an exceptionally prolonged and severe fire season in the later part of 2019 with repeated major outbreaks which continued into January 2020. As of early 2020, 33 deaths had been reported and over 2000 properties had been lost, while a total of about 7 million hectares had been burnt in New South Wales and Victoria.

Daily total wildfire CO2 emissions generally followed the 2003-2018 average, according to the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service ECMWF Global Fire Assimilation System dataset. The largest increases above the 17-year mean in July, August, September and the end of December corresponding to the peak activity of wildfires in the Arctic/Siberia, Indonesia and Australia respectively.

Tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclone activity globally in 2019 was above average. The Northern Hemisphere had 72 tropical cyclones. The 2018-19 Southern Hemisphere season was also above average, with 27 cyclones.

Tropical Cyclone Idai made landfall in Mozambique on 15 March as one of the strongest known on the east coast of Africa, resulting in many casualties and widespread devastation. Idai contributed to the complete destruction of close to 780 000 ha of crops in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, further undermining a precarious food security situation in the region. The cyclone also resulted in at least 50 905 displaced persons in Zimbabwe, 53 237 in southern Malawi and 77 019 in Mozambique.

One of the year’s most intense tropical cyclones was Dorian, which made landfall with category 5 intensity in the Bahamas. The destruction was worsened as it was exceptionally slow-moving and remained near-stationary for about 24 hours.

Typhoon Hagibis made landfall west of Tokyo on 12 October, causing severe flooding.

Source: WMO

A Future in Recycling: From Street Waste Collector to Entrepreneur

Photo: UNEP

Young people on parts of the African continent sometimes turn to waste management as an ad hoc or extra job to make small money when they are struggling with unemployment, but often opportunities are scarce to learn how to grow in this sector and turn it into real business.

Here’s an example from South African where supporting an entrepreneur pays off.

Photo: UNEP

Tshepo Mazubuko, a young person  from a Johannesburg suburb, started his business from scratch to build a recycling company that is today employing 17 people and engaging over 800 waste collectors, most of them women from poor communities.

“I learned business in the street. After four years of unemployment, I decided to join waste collectors,” says Mazubuko. “I had to support myself and my family. At the beginning, I was making 200 to 300 rands (13 to 19 US$). It was not enough, but I knew that there was a lot of potential in what I was doing.”

Starting was not easy for Mazubuko.

“I was proud and happy with my first bag from the waste, but it turned out that it was full of rubbish without value,” Mazubuko confesses with a large smile on his face. “I had to learn how to differentiate between rubbish and waste to make money.”

After joining trolley pullers—street waste collectors—he quickly realized that more opportunities abound.

Mazubuko quickly saw the potential in waste and decided to start his business by building a small company to recycle plastic.

“At the beginning, I proposed to my colleagues who were collecting waste that I could help them with transport. They supported me and that was when I decided to buy a truck,” says Mazubuko proudly.

That was Mazubuko’s first step into real business.

Mazubuko then went and procured a small area that his stepfather used to own for producing bricks.  He proposed the idea to his wife who supported him. Together, they took a loan to buy the plot. There was nothing on it. They bought few machines and started recycling plastic waste and created their company.

Today, KI Recycling Company employs 17 staff and engages over 800 waste collectors. The company received support from Switch Africa Green, a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)-European Union project, as well as the Government of South Africa.

Photo: UNEP

Switch Africa Green helps medium, small and micro enterprises in South Africa and other countries in the region to achieve sustainable development by assisting the transition towards an inclusive green economy and sustainable consumption patterns and practices.

“The transition to a green economy requires actions and significant technological, behavioural and systemic change in all levels of the society including citizens, public and private sectors,” says Patrick Mwesigye, UNEP Africa Office Regional Coordinator on Resource Efficiency. “We have seen more radical innovations come from the micro, small and medium enterprises. These enterprises play a key role in the transition to green economies and sustainable development. As UNEP, we support these enterprises in creating business models that are not only economically profitable but also boost environmental and social inclusiveness.”

Waste is processed and turned into plastic pellets that the company exports to other neighbouring countries such as Mozambique and Botswana. The plastic pellets are used to produce water pipes and other products such as plastic chairs.

“Switch Africa Green helped me to learn how to improve my business and grow. It supported me with networking and connected me to other businesses,” explains Mazubuko. “Switch Africa Green widened my horizon and opened my eyes to the real potential in this sector.”

The segregation of waste is time-consuming and costly. After participating in various trainings that were supported by Switch Africa Green, Mazubuko decided to organize his business to make it more focused. He learned that he had to outsource a number of activities that his company couldn’t handle in an efficient way. He decided to outsource waste collection which ensures the waste collectors get more involved in the business. It also makes them happy.

Waste collectors don’t only collect and sell waste but also segregate it to make it easy for processing. By outsourcing these activities, KI Recycling managed to cut on costs and created other parallel businesses for other people from poor communities.

As the business grew, Mazubuko had to think out of the box and encourage householders to segregate the waste they generate. The company created incentives, as Mazubuko realized that people engage in waste segregation if they see the value in doing it.

KI Recycling partnered with others, such as supermarkets, to create a simple system to buy waste from consumers, an initiative dubbed Packa-Ching.

Packa-Ching is a mobile buy-back centre that travels into communities to purchase recyclable materials. Households are paid for materials onto a cell phone (e-wallet) which they can use to purchase airtime, withdraw cash, transfer money or pay at participating shops. Each type of waste is evaluated and bought at a different price.

Pointing to a young man training two new young staff on how to use a newly acquired system for purchasing waste, Mazubuko explains. “He is our engineer, training our colleagues here on how to use Packa-Ching system and make sure waste is well segregated and households are paid the right price for their waste.”

About Switch Africa Green

The SWITCH Africa Green programme supports seven African countries—Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda—to achieve sustainable development by engaging in transition towards an inclusive green economy based on sustainable consumption and production patterns. It aims to turn environmental challenges into opportunities based on the understanding that an inclusive green economy is at the core of sustainable development and has multiple benefits next to environmental protection, notably growth and jobs creation, poverty reduction, economic diversification and income generation. The programme focuses on key enablers for the transition, including access to green financing, enabling policies and standards, circular practices, awareness and skills on eco-entrepreneurship, and innovative solutions.

SWITCH Africa Green is developed and funded by the European Commission and implemented by UNEP. Project partners include United Nations agencies, notably the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Office for Project Services, One Planet network and the African Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production. The main governmental partners are the relevant ministries (environment, industry, agriculture, tourism, economy and finance) as well as national environmental protection  or management agencies and authorities.

Source: UNEP

Investments in Better Living Conditions and Sustainable Solutions

Photo: KfW

KfW is a financial institution for domestic business, namely in Germany, but also for countries in the processes of development and transition. In addition to its headquarter in Frankfurt, it has regional offices in almost 70 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and South-East Europe. KfW Development Bank acts on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is responsible for Germany’s so-called “Financial-Cooperation” activities within the area of development cooperation. We talked with Arne Gooss, the director of the KfW office in Serbia, about their investments, which now have reached almost EUR 2 billion, about ongoing Programme for entrepreneurship and self-employment promotion, about the outcome of activities taken for energy efficiency improvement as well as about other issues.

EP: What is KfW’s geographical scope and who exactly might be supported by KfW in this region?

Photo: From private arhive of Arne Gooss

Arne Gooss: Our main focus in Serbia is its preparation for a future EU-accession and to help Serbia meet the targets of the acquis communautaire especially in the sectors of energy, water supply and disposal, waste management and environment. Besides this, we also promote sustainable economic development by providing credit lines for micro, small and medium-sized companies and municipalities. The choice of companies that could be supported by KfW depends on local needs and the general conditions in place. KfW Development Bank finances investments and reform programs that create better living conditions for the population and offer sustainable and climate-friendly solutions.

When we speak about Serbia, it can be differentiated between activities in the public and the private sector. For instance, in the public sector, we are active in the areas of energy and environment, which includes projects for energy efficiency, renewable energies, water supply and sanitation, as well as waste management and biodiversity. With our activities in the private sector, we aim to reach small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and businesses with a positive social and environmental impact through which Serbia’s society as a whole can benefit.

EP: When the KfW programme of emergency support was launched in November 2000, aimed at the energy import and spare parts procurement, its budget was 70 million euros. It was all spent to provide stable electricity supply. It was almost 20 years ago. Are you familiar with what was the situation in the energy sector back then, especially in the aftermath of 1999?

Arne Gooss: The critical situation in post-war Serbia was the initial reason for German engagement in the energy sector, so we remember the situation very well. The Serbian energy sector was facing significant deficiencies in electricity supply after 1999, and the Serbian coal sector dropped from one of the most modern in the region at the end of the eighties, dramatically in the late nineties. With the KfW Emergency Aid Energy and Untied Financial Loan Energy programmes a contribution was made to stabilising the political and social climate and power supply in Serbia, the latter largely benefiting private users but also industry and trade. Both programmes were designed to support the new pro-reform government. At programme appraisal in 2000/01, Serbia was in a complicated process of political change. Regular and protracted load sheddings in the power sector seriously affected the conditions of life. Both programmes contributed to remedying this core problem. At programme appraisal, the  Serbian government had a clear and understandable interest in stabilising the power sector.

Besides our efforts, the Stability Pact for the Balkans accompanied by an aid programme being established on a Conference of Foreign Ministers convened by the EU on the initiative of the German government came into force in June 1999. Today Serbia is still aware of the sizeable economic importance of the energy sector and is continuing with its effective development to meet the EU acquis. While these and other earlier projects were aimed at ensuring a stable electricity supply, more recent projects have focused on making the energy sector more environmentally and climate-friendly by promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.

In focus:

EP: The investment in Serbia by KfW reached 1.9 billion euros. What sectors are chosen to invest in, and why is it important to help small business to expand too? What kind of companies has the priority for financing?

Arne Gooss: From the total investment amount of roughly EUR 1,9 billion that KfW Development Bank invested in Serbia since 2000, around EUR 1,3 billion EUR went to projects in the public sector and EUR 600 million in the private sector. As I mentioned before, in the public sector our work concentrates on energy and energy efficiency with a focus on renewable energy in wind and hydropower, as well as sustainable infrastructure, particularly in water supply and sanitation, wastewater, solid waste and biodiversity. In the private sector, we concentrate on loans for SMEs and municipalities. SMEs are of particular importance to us because they represent the backbone of the Serbian economy. SMEs in Serbia employ more than 66% of all employees and represent more than 99% of all economic entities in Serbia. In particular, KfW Development Bank aims to introduce new products in the financial market and to help SMEs to achieve easier access to these products. For this reason, SMEs have the priority for financing.

As you might know, in 2000, SMEs had limited access to loans. Private individuals with a low or medium income had almost no access to financial services. To solve this problem, KfW Development Bank, ProCredit Holding, Commerzbank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Dutch Development Bank FMO conjointly founded ProCredit Bank of Serbia. Also, together with the most important donors in Southeast Europe, KfW Development Bank established the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) in 2005. EFSE successfully activated private investment intending to increase the scope of loans for SMEs in Southeast Europe. By the end of 2017, its loan portfolio equalled EUR 131.4 million for more than 100,000 small enterprises. The way of financing SME today through KfW Development in Serbia is in place since 2007.

Our most recent program in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Serbia represented by Public Investement Management Office and the Ministry of Economy as well as the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) is the Programme for entrepreneurship and self-employment promotion (PESEP). This program aims to make a continuous contribution to the development of a sustainable entrepreneurial culture in Serbia, to increase the competitiveness of the Republic of Serbia and to build an economy based on entrepreneurial spirit. By implementing this program, the Republic of Serbia seeks to encourage citizens, especially young people, to think in an entrepreneurial way, as well as to help them to set up their companies to a greater extent. The emphasis is on strengthening local and regional initiatives that should deliver the most immediate results and contribute to the growth of economic success, job creation and retention of young people in the Republic of Serbia.

Photo: KfW

EP: Recently, promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy sources have come into the KfW’s focus. The result should be a more environmentally friendly energy sector. How far have you gone with the plan of the rehabilitation of hydropower plants in Serbia?

Arne Gooss: For reaching the goal of a more environmentally friendly energy sector, we are active in energy efficiency, where we work closely with the Ministry of Mining and Energy (MoME) and the Office for Public Investment (PIMO). In the field of RES, we see the reconstruction of ecologically friendly hydropower plants as one key component of sustainable energy generation. The rehabilitation of the hydropower plants Bajina Basta and Zvornik, financed by favourable loans of EUR 100 million, was one of the first projects in the area of renewable energy resources. The Bajina Basta and Zvornik hydropower plants were built in 1968 and 1955 and have exceeded their economic and technical life. Without extensive refurbishment and modernisation the two hydropower plants’ electro-mechanical units would suffer from serious malfunction. The project includes the rehabilitation of the turbines and the modernisation of the electro-mechanical equipment in both hydropower plants. The Bajina Basta and Zvornik projects have increased their capacity by 15 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively. In total, 460 MW of installed capacity have been rehabilitated, and 77 MW of power were additionally commissioned. This way, we increased the efficiency of production from RES. Also, the turbines have been overhauled in both power plants, and their service life has been extended by 30-40 years. The continued operation of the power plants avoids CO₂ emissions of around 1.9 million tons per year (compared to electricity production in a coal-fired power plant).

EP: In cooperation with the EBRD, KfW financed the introduction of a coal quality management system in Serbia’s largest mining area Kolubara. We are at the moment in the middle of the crisis concerning air pollution. As it seems, and official monitoring review confirms it, the majority (especially when it comes to PM10 and PM2,5) of it comes from thermal plants. How much will that novel system reduce CO2 emissions?

Photo: KfW

Arne Gooss: In the field of electricity production, KfW, in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), participated in financing the introduction of a coal quality management system in Serbia’s largest mining area Kolubara. There is a great need for an environmentally friendly coal quality management system that significantly reduces CO2 emissions. With the introduction of an open-pit coal quality management system in the western part of the Kolubara mining basin, coal-fired power plants should receive a uniform coal quality for energy production. The total cost of the project is EUR 182 million, with EUR 74 million from KfW and co-financing from EBRD with EUR 80 million and EPS with EUR 28 million. The project enables a more efficient and cleaner energy production and reduces CO₂ emissions by approx. 700,000 tons per year, SO₂ emissions by approx. 3,800 tons per year and NOX emissions by approx. 800 tons per year. Besides, the more efficient coal quality management will save EPS EUR 25 million annually, so it will save not only a notable amount of greenhouse gases and pollutants, but also costs.

Interview by: Tamara Zjacic

Read the whole article in the new issue of Energy portal Magazine GRINNOVATIONS, December 2019 – February 2020.

Europe Has Warmest Winter on Record

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Biegun Wshodni)

The past winter was by far the warmest on record for Europe, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service/ECMWF. It was the second warmest February, both globally and for Europe.

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Sasha Sashina)

From December 2019 to February 2020, there was persistent mild weather over Europe, particularly in the north and east. The average temperature was almost 1.4°C higher than that of the previous warmest winter, 2015/16 (when there was a strong El Niño) and 3.4ºC above the 1981-2010 norm.

February temperatures were most above average over a large region covering much of Europe, Siberia and Central Asia, and over West Antarctica, while they were most below average over northern Alaska. The month was 0.8°C warmer than the average February from 1981-2010, making it the second warmest February in this data record, about 0.1°C cooler than February 2016 and 0.1°C warmer than February 2017.

European-average temperature anomalies are generally larger and more variable than global anomalies, especially in winter, when they can change by several degrees from one month to the next. The European-average temperature for February 2020 was particularly high. The month was: 3.9°C warmer than the average February in the period 1981-2010.

Japan also had both its warmest winter and warmest February on record, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The average temperature from December to February was 1.66°C above the 1981-2000 baseline.

France and Spain both had the warmest and driest Februarys on record. In North Africa, Morocco also reported very low rainfall. By contrast, the  United Kingdom had its wettest February on record, according to the Met Office.

In addition to the underlying long-term signal from climate change, natural climate variability also played a role. The North Atlantic Oscillation, which refers to variations in the large-scale surface pressure gradient in the North Atlantic region, has been predominantly “positive” during winter 2019/20. A positive NAO during winter is usually associated with wetter-than-normal conditions across northern Europe and drier-than-average conditions for southern Europe and the Mediterranean region.

It was the warmest January on record, both in Europe and globally.

Details are available here

Source: WMO

Under What Conditions Will Clean Energy Become The Norm?

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Even as renewables become a more common energy source around the world, they still face major obstacles. Some barriers are inherent with all new technologies; others are the result of skewed regulatory frameworks and marketplaces. Through what confluence of conditions will clean energy become the norm?

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The Union of Concerned Scientists states that wind and solar already have overcome numerous barriers to become competitive with coal, natural gas, and nuclear power. The shift towards the adoption of renewable energy is not mainly driven by the federal government, but by state governments, private corporations, and community initiatives. The growth rates of various energy sources, the flows of clean energy investment, and the world’s progress on its sustainability goals are solid beginning points.

But, in a world driven by corporate, political, and media influences, under what conditions can clean energy as a normal be possible? Thinking through the conditions that enable and constrain agency and action helps us better understand precisely how individuals and collectives set social changes into motion and can point us toward a clean energy world.

That’s the gist behind research from the University of Minnesota which invites us to extend and consider how social change precedes and provokes transformations of many kinds: technological, ecological, economic, political, legal, ethical, cultural, ideological, and intellectual.

The scholarship indicates that, when we ask about the conditions of social change, we are revealing both the preconditions for transformation and how encounters encourage us to think and feel and act, not just individually but collectively as well. It’s that collective response, that sense of moving beyond our individual satisfaction and desire, that might promote the conditions where pervasive applications of clean energy become the norm.

Philosophizing about Ways Clean Energy Will Become the Norm

Anthropogenic climate change has necessitated innovations of green energy that could force the conditions for an energy transition away from fossil fuel dependence, at least in slow stages. The University of Minnesota investigation compels us to ask, “How could a framework of sustainable energy production and extraction be drawn from philosophers who have framed western ideas about the language of knowledge?”

They call on us to interrogate the way that language is mobilized to marginalize some people and foreground others. The discourse around renewables is morphing by significant degrees, no longer the fodder for controversy and radical thought. Our comfort with the once-accepted energy source of fossil fuels is incrementally translating into acceptable of new energies that are carbon free. What does a a philosophy of energy look like?

Friedrich Nietzsche spoke about a kind of “peace treaty” that would come about as a means of securing stability — it would require establishing and enforcing a linguistic code of conduct. For Nietzsche, truths are created, not discovered, invented, not found – and language is the fundamental condition of their formation. He asks us to create new ways of becoming with/in the world.

So the conditions that usher in clean energy would require a language in which, for example, decentralized models become commonplace. Smaller generating stations, spread across a large area, would work together to provide power. And capital costs, like the expenses of building and installing solar and wind farms, could be viewed differently, as part of a larger profitability equation. Solar and wind, like other renewables, are inexpensive to operate with endless energy supply and minimal maintenance. The condition of clean energy full life expenses, as a result, come from innovation and constructing the resulting stable technology.

As Judith Butler relates, “Our acts are not self-generated, but conditioned. We are at once acted upon and acting.” It’s becoming common to see school climate strikes and social movements like Extinction Rebellion. Numerous governments around the world have declared a climate emergency. The Green New Deal is on the lips of the Democratic party in the US with the impetus that a rapid transition to clean energy is possible.

With such clean energy norms emerging around us, the conditions that persuade us to act are making people around the world less skeptical of clean energy and more ready to act. But, as Butler writes, “The forces that act upon us are not finally responsible for what we do, in part because we are able to modify the conditions themselves.” Transformations are necessarily conditioned by language and, indeed, have to pass through language. Change only occurs through individual and collective efforts which create the pathway for resignification. We act, we react, and we transcend, relying but also emerging from the conditions which form us, which we, in turn, reform.

New energy technologies must demonstrate conditions of scale, as most investors want large quantities of energy, ideally at times when wind and solar aren’t available. And we must make visible the disconnect between science and policy and how the price we pay for coal and gas isn’t representative of the true cost of fossil fuels. We must expose the enormous costs of the climate crisis and other externalities, and, through such language, we have the capacity to change the conditions where fossil fuels seem inevitable.

Jacques Derrida admits, ‘Yes, I only have one language, yet it is not mine.” The gist here is that we may — on the surface — have a common language where clean energy holds inevitable dominance. But the conditions that will reframe fossil fuels as an historic anomaly and renewables as primary reliance imply that individuals will achieve agency that rises from particular relations. The well-established nature of existing fossil fuel infrastructure has created pervasive ways of being and erects formidable barriers for renewable energy.

Solar, wind, and other renewable resources need to compete with wealthier industries that benefit from existing infrastructure, expertise, and policy. It’s a difficult market to enter, but the force of language and collective action can create conditions where marketplaces react positively to renewable energy shifts.

Final Thoughts

Oil Change International estimates that the United States spends $37.5 billion on subsidies for fossil fuels every year. Through direct subsidies, tax breaks, and other incentives and loopholes, US taxpayers help fund the industry’s research and development, mining, drilling, and electricity generation.

Hannah Arendt reminds us, “Earth is the very quintessence of the human condition.” The existential crisis in which we find ourselves as a planet requires us to speak collectively and robustly about the philosophy of clean energy alongside its pragmatic side. Slightly higher energy costs today are worth the investment if they lead to more affordable, efficient, and cleaner energy to sustain the Earth, and it is the language we choose to wield that can create the conditions for such a clean energy society.

Author: Carolyn Fortuna

Source: Clean Technica

Sweden’s EV Market Share = 24%

Foto-ilustracija: Unsplash (Ben Mater)

Sweden’s plug-in passenger vehicle sales grabbed 24.3% market share in February, more than doubling year on year from 11.8% in February 2019. Internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle sales declined dramatically, with petrol vehicle sales falling 24% and diesels falling a massive 36% compared to February 2019.

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Ben Mater)

Sweden’s February EV mix was dominated by plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) over pure electrics (BEVs), with a ratio of just under 3:1.

Whilst EV sales grew significantly year on year, overall passenger vehicle sales were down 5.4%, with all of the hit falling on pure petrol/diesel vehicles. Petrol-engine vehicle sales fell 24%, from 10,818 in February 2019 to 8,211 last month. Diesel sales were hit even harder, falling 36% from 8,827 to 5,637 and now comprising just 25% of the overall market from 37% a year ago.

The top 3 most popular PHEV models were the Volvo S60/V60, Kia Optima, and Kia Niro. The BEV top 3 were the Kia Niro, Audi e-tron, and Renault Zoe. Kia’s EVs are crushing it right now in Sweden! However, last year’s overall favourites, the Mitsubishi Outlander (PHEV) and Tesla Model 3 (BEV), will likely climb back to the top in 2020 once delivery peaks and troughs are evened out.

National auto association BIL Sweden expects EV market share to average 30% in 2020. LMC Automotive has the country’s 2020 auto sales currently trending between 300,000 and 350,000, so we’re potentially looking at 90,000–105,000 EV sales for the full year. This will likely put Sweden ahead of pioneering Norway for the first time in EV sales volume, simply by virtue of its larger auto market.

Of course, Norway still remains a few years ahead of any other nation in EV market share, having just hit 68% in February.

Europe’s total EV sales are currently on track to hit 1 million in 2020, almost double the volume of 2019.

Author: Maximilian Holland

Source: Clean Technica

Number of Europeans Exposed to Harmful Noise Pollution Expected to Increase

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Road traffic is the top source of noise pollution in Europe, the new EEA report ‘Noise in Europe – 2020’ says, with noise levels projected to rise in both urban and rural areas over the next decade due to urban growth and increased demand for mobility. Rail, aircraft and industry round up the other top sources of environmental noise pollution.

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The report provides an update of noise pollution trends over the 2012-2017 period. It also provides an outlook of future noise projections as well as the associated health impacts in Europe, based on new World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on the health effects from exposure to noise. Building on the previous EEA assessment of noise in Europe from 2014, the report also looks at actions being taken to manage and reduce noise exposure and reviews progress made to meet the EU objectives on noise pollution set by EU legislation, including the Environmental Noise Directive and the EU’s 7th Environmental Action Programme (EAP).

An estimated 113 million people are affected by long-term day-evening-night traffic noise levels of at least 55 decibels (dB(A)). In most European countries, more than 50 % of inhabitants within urban areas are exposed to road noise levels of 55 dB or higher during the day-evening-night period. According to the World Health Organization, health impacts are likely to occur at this level. The EU considers long-term exposure to noise levels over 55 decibels as high.

Significant health impacts

Long-term exposure to noise has significant health impacts. On the basis of the new WHO information, the EEA estimates that such exposure causes 12,000 premature deaths and contributes to 48,000 new cases of ischemic heart disease (caused by a narrowing of heart arteries) per year across Europe. It is also estimated that 22 million people suffer chronic high annoyance and 6.5 million people suffer chronic high sleep disturbance. According to World Health Organization evidence, these health impacts start to occur below the reporting thresholds set by the EU Noise Directive and so are likely to be underestimated. In addition, the information provided by countries under the EU directive does not cover all urban areas, roads, railways and airports.

Apart from affecting humans, noise pollution is also a growing threat to wildlife both on land and in water. Noise can reduce reproductive success and increase mortality and the fleeing of animals to quieter areas.

EU objective for 2020 on noise will not be achieved

While some progress has been made by EU Member States in mapping and reporting more areas of high noise across Europe, overall policy objectives on environmental noise have not yet been achieved. Notably, the objective set for 2020 by the 7th Environmental Action Programme of decreasing noise pollution and moving towards the WHO recommended levels for noise exposure will not be achieved. Noise pollution is projected to increase because of future urban growth and increased demand for mobility.

More than 30 % of data required under the EU directive is still not available after the legally set 2017 reporting deadline. Significant delays suggest that countries may not have taken the necessary steps to address noise pollution. The report adds that better implementation is also required — a point reinforcing the conclusions of a separate recent European Commission assessment on the implementation of the directive.

Actions to reduce noise levels

Countries are already taking a variety of actions to reduce and manage noise levels, however, it remains difficult to evaluate their benefits in terms of positive health outcomes, the EEA report says. Examples of the most popular measures to reduce noise levels in cities include replacing older paved roads with smoother asphalt, better management of traffic flows and reducing speed limits to 30 kilometres per hour. There are also measures aimed at raising awareness and changing people’s behavior in using less-noisy modes of transport like cycling, walking or electric vehicles.

A significant number of countries, cities and regions have also put in place so-called quiet areas, most of which are parks and other green spaces, where people can go to escape city noise. The report says more needs to be done to create and protect quiet areas outside of the city and improve accessibility of these areas in cities.

Background on the EU’s Environmental Noise Directive

People’s exposure to noise is monitored under the Environmental Noise Directive (END) against two reporting thresholds; an indicator for the day, evening and night period (Lden) that measures exposure to noise levels associated with ‘annoyance’ and an indicator for night periods (Lnight) that is designed to assess sleep disturbance. These reporting thresholds are higher than the WHO recommended values and currently, there is no mechanism in place for tracking progress against the latter lower values.

Source: EEA

Coronavirus Outbreak Highlights Need to Address Threats to Ecosystems and Wildlife

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Diseases passed from animals to humans are on the rise, as the world continues to see unprecedented destruction of wild habitats by human activity. Scientists suggest that degraded habitats may encourage more rapid evolutionary processes and diversification of diseases, as pathogens spread easily to livestock and humans.

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The World Health Organization reports that an animal is the likely source of the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19), which has infected tens of thousands of people worldwide and placed a strain on the global economy. It is providing daily updates on its website.

According to the World Health Organization, bats are the most probable carrier of the COVID-19 but added that it is possible that the virus was transmitted to humans from another intermediate host, either a domestic or a wild animal.

Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Previous investigations found that the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome was transmitted from civet cats to humans, while the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome passed from dromedary camels to humans.

“Therefore, as a general rule, the consumption of raw or undercooked animal products should be avoided,” said the World Health Organization in a statement. “Raw meat, raw milk or raw animal organs should be handled with care to avoid cross-contamination with uncooked foods.”

The statement came a few days before China’s legislature took action to curb the trade of wildlife and consumption of all wild animals. Full details are available on the web site of the  Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress (in Chinese).

“Humans and nature are part of one connected system, and nature provides the food, medicine, water, clean air and many other benefits that have allowed people to thrive,” said Doreen Robinson, Chief of Wildlife at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

UNEP’s Frontiers 2016 Report on Emerging Issues of Environment Concern shows zoonoses threaten economic development, animal and human well-being, and ecosystem integrity. In the past few years, several emerging zoonotic diseases made world headlines as they caused, or threatened to cause, major pandemics. These include Ebola, bird flu, Rift Valley fever, West Nile virus and Zika virus disease.

According to the report, in the last two decades, emerging diseases have had direct costs of more than US$100 billion, with that figure jumping to several trillion dollars if the outbreaks had become human pandemics.

From the point of view of the environmental community, it is important to address the multiple and often interacting threats to ecosystems and wildlife to prevent zoonoses from emerging, including habitat loss and fragmentation, illegal trade, pollution, invasive species and, increasingly, climate change.

Source: UNEP

European Transport Needs to Adapt to Rising Climate Risks

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Jim Gade)

From road and rail networks to ports, airports and inland waterways, critical transport resources are facing unprecedented threats from climate change impacts, notably severe flooding.

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Jim Gade)

However, adapting transport systems to rising climate risks has so far received relatively low attention and better planning is required to avoid damage and related high costs.

Helping to address this gap, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has released a first of its kind study mapping key areas of the main inland transport networks and nodes in the Pan-European region and Canada facing potential climate risks. The regional maps produced in Geographical Information System (GIS) format offer a tool that can help to prioritize adaptation efforts.

The need for such adaptation efforts is increasingly evident. Spain has just suffered the most powerful storms in decades, destroying bridges, and cutting off roads and railway lines. In the UK, annual costs related to flooding and other events, estimated at £50 million in 2010, could increase to up to £500 million by the 2040s. In the European Union, future costs for bridge protection against flooding have been estimated at over €500 million per year.

Sharing country experiences

Complementing the mapping, the study draws on country experiences in the form of case studies, demonstrating a range of efforts that have been undertaken to analyze and adapt to climate change impacts on transport assets and operations.

One example involves analysis of future flooding of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley in Germany. In this scenario, the closure of network sections for 21 days in 2030 due to flooding of the federal highway and the closure of ferries would lead to the rerouting of around 7,000 vehicles, 56 long-distance trains, 78 local trains transporting 500,000 people, and 119 freight trains per day.

Analysis calls for strengthened adaptation efforts

The study includes recommendations for future action at national and international levels towards improved transportation system climate resilience.  Among the key recommendations are for public administrations to make available geographical data for their transport networks and nodes, and to review all their transport infrastructure, including local assets, in Geographic Information Systems.

Read relevant press release and download report here.

Source: UNFCCC

Financing the Global Energy Transformation: Green Bonds

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Despite the positive renewable energy investment trends over the past decade, annual investments in renewable energy power alone need to double until 2050 to meet climate goals. To allocate enough capital to drive the world’s transition to a low-carbon economy, a set of financial solutions need to be developed and taken advantage of by policymakers, investors and financial institutions. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has recently published a series of renewable energy finance briefs looking at tools to scale up renewables. Renewable energy finance: Green bonds highlights green bonds as an innovative instrument that can help channel substantial global capital into renewable energy and other green assets.

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

By bridging the gap between providers of capital and green assets, green bonds can help governments raise finance for projects to meet climate targets and are enabling investors to achieve sustainability objectives. Like conventional bonds, green bonds allow the bond issuer to raise funds for specific projects or ongoing business. The “green” label tells investors that the funds raised will be used to finance environmentally beneficial projects. IRENA’s brief shows that the volume of green bond issuances has been growing nearly constantly since 2014. The green bond market started a little over a decade ago with the European Investment Bank’s first issuance of a Climate Awareness Bond in 2007, which allocated EUR 600 million to 14 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Since then, the green bond market has grown substantially, particularly in the past 5 years, with 2019 issuances reaching a record of USD 270 billion.

Along with the growing amount of capital raised, the market also expanded a growing variety of issuers from different regions – firstly from Europe, then North America, and increasingly from Asia-Pacific and to a smaller extent from Latin America and Africa. Issuers and currencies in which green bonds are offered have also seen diversification. From a market driven primarily by multilateral development banks and development finance institutions, green bonds are now issued by public and private institutions, including governments, government agencies, as well as private corporations and financial institutions.

Today, renewable energy is present in around half of all green bonds issued. However, green bonds remain well below their potential and too small to drive the global shift to renewables. Even though progress to date has been impressive, the green bond market continues to offer enormous growth potential.

The cumulative issuances of green bonds are below USD 1 trillion, while the global bond market is valued at around USD 100 trillion, accounting for less than 1% of cumulative global bond issuances. To grow the green bond market, co-operation between policy makers, standard setters, capital providers and investors is essential. IRENA’s brief highlights specific coordinated actions that various stakeholders can take to untap the potential of green bonds.

Some of the recommended actions include:

  • Policy makers can help increase both the supply of green bonds (through the adoption of leading climate-aligned green bond standards) and the provision of enabling policies that grow the renewable energy sector.
  • Public capital providers can do their part to help de-risk renewable assets and can support green bonds through provision of the seed capital, demonstration issuances and capacity building.
  • Institutional investors can assist by aligning their internal capacities and investment targets with long-term sustainability mandates.
  • Other stakeholders, such as rating agencies, financial institutions and retail investors, also play a role in strengthening the green bond market and advancing the global energy transformation.

For more information, see Renewable energy finance: Green bonds

Source: IRENA

Can by Can – Yes, I Can!

Photo: Solagro

All good ideas have something in common – it always appears to be some ever so logical and simple solution where such an idea found its implementation. The same goes for the innovation by local start-up Solagro. They made a crusher that grants points whenever you “feed“ it with a can.

Photo: Solagro

The crusher isn’t a new invention. Still, in Solagro design, it is substantially different. It was made to motivate users to recycle, and companies that take care of social responsibility to place it on their premises.

Marko Kalicanin and Nemanja Janic, a founding couplet of this team with the numerous innovators, have come up with an idea of valuating each can that user recycles after their experience with the first mechanical presses which they had made and placed at the festivals. Nemanja, the Solagro CEO, says that people respond in a positive way to otherwise somewhat sterile process of recycling if their effort is rewarded.

”Recycling is a generally hideous and repugnant task which we enhanced with an element of the game so that users might find it more interesting and inspiring. Based on our own experience, we know that a reward system forms a habit of separating and recycling the packaging that still prevails even when such an ’incentive’ is long gone.”

What rewards await those who diligently pop cans in the Solagro crusher, we asked Nemanja, and he pointed out that there is a variety of rewards. Still, it depends mainly onvisitors’ structure and the type of event where the crusher will be placed.

“The most appealing rewards are usually available at the most popular music festivals. It is up to the festival organizers to provide the rewards, with our assistance provided, whereas our start-up sets up the digital platform and the recycling system. The most wanted reward this year was undoubtedly an electric bicycle which we gave away on the Manifest festival. However, let me single out rides in an air balloon, helicopter and aeroplane, dinners at restaurants, theatre tickets, and weekends for two at the resorts in Serbia etc. And that isn’t all. The visitors had a chance to delight in ice-creams, beverages, but they were also getting books, toys etc.”

In focus:

Along with Nemanja and Marko, the latter is in charge of research and development, their team comprises the developers Milos and Aleksandar, electronics technician Igor, and Tamara, who is the project manager. Originally, Solagro team contained 6 members, all of them were students of the last year at the Faculty of Agriculture at that time and the volunteers at the Public Utility Company “Gradske pijace” in Belgrade. Today, some of them hold a PhD degree, and others are skilled engineers for irrigation in Israel, bankers in Ecuador, or excellent alcohol technologist. At the same time, Nemanja and Marko set up Solagro following their vision.

When it comes to role distribution between the team members, according to Nemanja, that was a piece of cake. “Marko, although not a mechanical engineer, has a profound talent for device design. More than 200 of devices hitherto made, were designed and engineered by him. On the other hand, I am in charge of sales, negotiations, client relationship management and our presentations at the contests. Together we make a pretty good team, so the rest of the current team members just followed us in stride.“

More than a year ago their invention for can recycling found its way into the selection of the best 15 start-ups at the contest PowerUP!, being picked among three hundred innovations submitted from all over Europe. They arrived at the European finals of the contest PowerUP! in Prague as winners of the national contest held in May 2018 and organized by Startit. The finals and their presentation in Prague have contributed by and large to making valuable contacts and realizing West European market’s requisites when it comes to innovations in environmental protection so that smart crushers could be placed and marketed in those markets in an easier way.

After the finals of this contest in Prague, they showed up at the finals of another prestigious competition in Frankfurt called Clim@ competition, where they were selected among 12 finalists from all over the world. This year, thanks precisely to this competition, they got the support from Green for Growth (the organizer of the Clim@ competition contest) for campaign Smart Recycling in 2019. Also, at the beginning of 2018, they got the grant from the Innovation Fund of the Republic of Serbia through Early development programme to enhance further this system. In July 2018, they were among just a few Serbian start-ups who had a chance to present themselves at the Western Balkans summit in London.

Photo: Solagro

Today Solagro crushers are in use in nine European countries. The citizens of Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Greece, Romania, Austria, Montenegro, Slovenia and Croatia throw cans into the crushers, made by our innovative team, and from there, cans go directly to recycling, so that in 60 days they would be ready to go back on the shelves. Soon, the first smart crusher will make its way to Africa. Nairobi, Kenia’s capital, will get its first Solagro crusher, confirms Nemanja and adds that so far in our country their patent for can recycling has been used mostly at the festivals and other massively popular events.

“From the very beginning the start-up Solagro had a strategic partner in the Recan Foundation who has been helping our innovations first to see the light of day, and later supporting their implementation at numerous festivals in the country and abroad. Still, our ideal buyer would be a big company which deals in the packaging industry (e.g. Ball Packaging) but also all other bottling plants such as Coca-Cola, Heineken, Molson Coors etc”, says Nemanja sharing with us that their goal is to make a strategic part-nership with one of those big companies. “We have made it with Ball Packaging, the biggest can producer in the world.”

It is common knowledge that aluminium cans go through the recycling process countless times, without losing their quality. Discharging of crusher is a duty of a national operator such as Sekopak or the organization “Every can counts” whereas the income coming from the recycled material goes to the crusher owner, but mostly to the association “We live together”.

Innovations have marked the whole development process of the Solagro company. Nemanja affirms that they cooperated with the Public Utility Company “Belgrade City Markets” that resulted in placing one of biodigester for organic waste at one of the markets. “Ever since that, the inventions have just kept on coming. Those include solar power drier for fruits, vegetables and herbs, solar power oven for cooking in nature without smoke and fire, solar system for irrigation and smart crushers which are these days in demand but also other smart appliances for collecting packaging waste.“ Although they haven’t had time to develop all the patents fully, it is quite clear that they do not lack ideas and conceptions which might help the protection of the environment we all share.

We hope that their mobile crushers with the engaging appearance will become commonplace at cities’ squares, at various shows and other places where a lot of people get around. Naturally, while waiting for this creative team to amaze us with another of their designs which will allow us and facilitate waste recycling.

Prepared by: Tamara Zjacic

This article was published in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine  GRINNOVATIONS, December 2019 – February 2020.

World Wildlife Day Highlights Importance of Sustainable Use of Wildlife in “Biodiversity Super Year”

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Joining the global celebration of the United Nations World Wildlife Day, representatives of UN Member States, UN System organizations, international and non-governmental organizations, rural communities and youth gathered at the UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva to mark the day at two high-level events.

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

World Wildlife Day is celebrated this year under the theme “Sustaining all Life on Earth”, highlighting the unique place of wild fauna and flora as essential components of the world’s biodiversity, as well as a key pillar of livelihoods for people, particularly among communities that live close to nature. The events also came as part of what has been dubbed the ‘biodiversity super year’.

Our planet is currently facing the urgent challenge that is the loss of biodiversity: research by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) says up to a million species could disappear in the coming decades if unsustainable human activity, climate change and habitat degradation are left unchecked. Raising awareness of this alarming trend and driving discussions towards solutions to bend the curve of biodiversity loss through conservation and sustainable use were the goals of this year’s World Wildlife Day celebrations.

In his message for this World Wildlife Day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that “On this World Wildlife Day, let us remind ourselves of our duty to preserve and sustainably use the vast variety of life on the planet. Let us push for a more caring, thoughtful and sustainable relationship with nature. A world of thriving biodiversity provides the foundation we need to achieve our Sustainable Development Goals of a world of dignity and opportunity for all people on a healthy planet.”

The Ambassador of India to the United Nations in New York,  the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations,  the CITES Secretary-General, the President of the Wildlife Conservation Society, and a representative of rural communities in Colombia provided opening remarks at the event at the UN Headquarters in New York, stressing the significance of the day and of this year’s theme.

A panel of expert speakers that included Permanent Representatives of the UN missions of Costa Rica and Germany, as well as representatives of UNEP, IUCN’s Sustainable use and Livelihoods Specialist Group (SULi), a youth activist, engaged in discussions on the challenges that lay ahead in finding the right balance between use of wildlife and the need to conserve biodiversity, habitats and ecosystems.

For the fifth year running, one of the World Wildlife Day activities was co-organized with Jackson Wild™ and featured a film showcase based on the year’s theme. Attracting nearly 350 entries, the competition saw a wide array of filmmakers with a passion for wildlife bring to the screen some gripping stories centred on biodiversity and the interaction between people and wildlife. Once again, these films will provide a strong tool to mobilize and inspire the public for the cause of conservation and to raise awareness of the threats weighing on our world’s wild fauna and flora.

Another artistic highlight was the second international World Wildlife Day youth art contest organised with the support of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, and which called on school age and youth artists to illustrate the day’s theme through their art.

Winners of both contests were announced during the high-level event at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The event in New York City was also graced by a moving musical interlude, courtesy of the UN Chamber Music Society, with a wildlife-themed performance.

Earlier that day, representatives of Colombia and Costa Rica spoke at the World Wildlife Day celebrations at the United Nations Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. They joined biodiversity experts from IUCN and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, and a representative of the private sector from Swiss luxury group Richemont for an event co-organized by the CITES Secretariat and the Geneva Environment Network.

Beyond these two official events, States, organizations and civil society groups celebrated the day through their own events around the world. Photographic competitions in Accra, Ghana; a symposium in Bhopal, India; a forum on crocodile conservation in the Philippines; reforestation days in Nicaragua; giant billboards promoting World Wildlife Day across the United States on billboards; and the lighting of the Empire State Building in New York, all together honoured the day.  All in all, people around the world passionate about wildlife and biodiversity joined in on the World Wildlife Day celebrations and took the time to show their appreciation for the value of wild fauna and flora for people, planet and prosperity.

Remarks by organizers:

Ivonne Higuero, CITES Secretary-General:

“As we face a biodiversity crisis of such staggering magnitude, we know that, now more than ever, it is imperative that we remind everyone of the immense value of wild fauna and flora for the planet. Human societies and economies rely on biodiversity in fundamental ways. 2020 is the year to reset humanity’s relationship with nature and to start the transformative changes for both people and our planet. We believe this year’s World Wildlife Day will contribute to raising worldwide awareness of just how essential wildlife is for, as well as their livelihoods.”

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Acting Executive Secretary of CBD:

“We can still reverse the trend of biodiversity loss. This year, the world will come together to act for wildlife and bend the curve on biodiversity loss, as Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are expected to adopt an ambitious and transformative post-2020 global biodiversity framework at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Kunming, China. As governments negotiate the post-2020 framework, increasing the sustainability of wildlife use and management is a priority. In doing so, we must take on the challenge of ending unsustainable exploitation of resources, including wildlife and their ecosystems, while preserving the livelihoods of the communities that depend on them.”

Susan Gardner, Director for Ecosystems for UNEP:

“The evidence is clear – human activity is by far the greatest cause of habitat loss and results in loss of wildlife that require those habitats,” said Susan Gardner, Director of UNEP’s Ecosystems Division. “Sustainable conservation must be based on an appreciation of the interdependency of people and wildlife in order to reimagine a future where the livelihoods of farmers are secured while simultaneously reducing the risks to wild animals that share the land.”

Midori Paxton, Head of Biodiversity for UNDP:

“Wildlife and biodiversity underpin the well-being, safety, and resilience of all societies. One million animal and plant species are at risk of extinction in the coming decades. Billions of families and communities who depend on wildlife and nature for food, water, and their livelihoods are also at risk, as are our economies. If we’re to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we must reverse this trend now and put nature at the heart of development. Through World Wildlife Day we are helping raise awareness of the importance of investing in nature and scaling up solutions through a coaltion of  public, private sector, and civil society partners.”

Lisa Samford, Executive Director of Jackson Wild™:

“It is no longer sufficient to simply raise public awareness about biodiversity loss, media must ignite tangible action to protect and restore our planet and its diverse wildlife. We’re extremely proud of the World Wildlife Day Film Showcase winners because these films go beyond amplifying reasons to care and inspiring awe for our fragile, but resilient planet. They empower the radical changes that will be required to save humanity from ourselves.”

Source: UNEP

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