‘Extraordinarily Hot’ Arctic Temperatures Alarm Scientists

22.11.2016

iceberg-antarctica — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The Arctic is experiencing extraordinarily hot sea surface and air temperatures, which are stopping ice forming and could lead to record lows of sea ice at the north pole next year, according to scientists.

Danish and US researchers monitoring satellites and Arctic weather stations are surprised and alarmed by air temperatures peaking at what they say is an unheard-of 20C higher than normal for the time of year. In addition, sea temperatures averaging nearly 4C higher than usual in October and November.

“It’s been about 20C warmer than normal over most of the Arctic Ocean, along with cold anomalies of about the same magnitude over north-central Asia. This is unprecedented for November,” said research professor Jennifer Francis of Rutgers university.

Temperatures have been only a few degrees above freezing when -25C should be expected, according to Francis. “These temperatures are literally off the charts for where they should be at this time of year. It is pretty shocking. The Arctic has been breaking records all year. It is exciting but also scary,” she said.

Francis said the near-record low sea ice extent this summer had led to a warmer than usual autumn. That in turn had reduced the temperature difference between the Arctic and mid-latitudes.

“This helped make the jet stream wavier and allowed more heat and moisture to be driven into Arctic latitudes and perpetuate the warmth. It’s a vicious circle,” she added.

Sea ice, which forms and melts each year, has declined more than 30% in the past 25 years. This week it has been at the lowest extent ever recorded for late November. According to the US government’s National Snow and Ice Data Centre, (NSIDC), around 2m square kilometres less ice has formed since September than average. The level is far below the same period in 2012, when sea ice went on to record its lowest ever annual level.

Francis said she was convinced that the cause of the high temperatures and ice loss was climate change. “It’s all expected. There is nothing but climate change that can cause these trends. This is all headed in the same direction and picking up speed.”

Rasmus Tonboe, a sea ice remote sensing expert at the Danish Meteorological Institute in Copenhagen, said: “Sea surface temperatures in the Kara and Barents seas are much warmer than usual. That makes it very difficult for sea ice to freeze.

“When we have large areas of open water, it also raises air temperatures, and it has been up to 10/15C warmer. Six months ago the sea ice was breaking up unusually early. This made more open water and allowed the sunlight to be absorbed, which is why the Arctic is warmer this year,” he said.

“What we are seeing is both surprising and alarming. This is faster than the models. It is alarming because it has consequences.”

Julienne Stroeve, the professor of polar observation at University College London said ice that should be growing at this time of year was retreating. “It’s been a crazy year. There is no ice at Svalbard yet. In the last few days there has been a decline in sea ice in the Bering sea. Very warm air has flooded into the Arctic from the south, pressing the ice northwards.

“Air temperature drives the formation of the ice. It has been really delayed this year so the ice is also much thinner than it usually is. The speed at which this is happening surprises me. In the Arctic the trend has been clear for years, but the speed at which it is happening is faster than anyone thought,” said Strove.

“Ice is very sensitive to weather. There is a huge high pressure over the Kara sea, and Eurasia and Canada. We are seeing very strong winds bringing warm air north.”

The significance of the ice forming late is that this affects its growth the following year, with consequences for climate. “Extreme wind and high air temperatures [now],” she said, “could see ice extent drop next year below the record 2012 year”.

She added: “The ice could be even thinner than it was at the start of 2012. This is definitely a strange year.”

Ed Blockley, the lead scientist of the UK Met Office’s polar climate group, said: “The sea ice is extremely low. It is freezing but very slowly. Last week the Barents sea reduced its ice cover. There was less ice at the end than the start.

“These temperature anomalies are not unprecedented but this is certainly extraordinary. We are seeing a continual decline in ice. It it likely to be a hiccup but it puts us in bad starting position for next year.”

Source: theguardian.com

GM Accelerates Renewables Pledge With 50MW Texas Wind Farm Deal

22.11.2016

General Motors has made its largest renewable energy purchase to date by signing a new power purchase agreement (PPA) with a 150MW wind farm currently under development in Texas.

Announced last week, the deal will see the car manufacturer purchase one third of the power produced by the Cactus Flats facility, providing enough power for 16 of GM’s US facilities.

Operated by global clean energy developer Renewable Energy Systems (RES), the wind farm is expected to come online during the first half of 2018 when the PPA contract commences.

GM said it would source more than 193,000MWh of electricity from wind farms annually, enough to power its Austin IT Innovation Center, a GM Financial office in Fort Worth and 13 parts warehouses.

Its GM Arlington Assembly plant, which is already 50 per cent powered by renewable energy, will also have all of its electricity needs met with green power.

The carmaker – which aims to power its entire operations across 59 countries with renewables by 2050 as part of its commitment to the RE100 initiative – said the addition of the new wind farm deal means six per cent of its global electricity use will come from renewables.

The company said that in addition to utilising an anticipated 114MW of wind power within the next two years, GM hosts 24 solar installations around the world.

Shortly before joining the RE100 campaign in September, GM also unveiled its first mass-market fully-electric car – the Chevy Bolt – which can drive for 238 miles on a fully charged battery, giving it a longer range than the Tesla Model 3 vehicle.

Rob Threlkeld, GM’s global manager of renewable energy, said the firm’s commitment to renewables would help to make the company stronger.

“These renewable energy investments drive down greenhouse gas emissions, reduce our dependence on finite resources, and help keep our air and water clean,” said Threlkeld. “Investing in Texas wind energy is an important step on a journey that will see clean, renewable sources account for 100 per cent of GM’s global energy footprint by 2050.”

The RE100 campaign, which is led by the Climate Group in partnership with CDP as part of the We Mean Business Coalition, brings together more than 70 large global corporations, such as IKEA, Apple and Coca-Cola Enterprises.

Amy Davidsen, The Climate Group’s executive director for North America, said: “It’s fantastic to see General Motors putting words into action so soon after their joining RE100. GM has already saved millions of dollars by using renewable energy – going 100 per cent renewable makes business sense.”

Source: businessgreen.com

RE100 Urges EU Energy Policy Revamp to Boost Renewables

22.11.2016

The EU’s energy policy needs to deliver a series of “transformational changes” if the bloc is to help businesses meet their clean electricity goals.

That is the conclusion of a new report from think tank E3G, written on behalf of the business-led clean energy coalition RE100 – whose 83 members have all committed to 100 per cent renewable energy.

The report argues that in order to help ensure the private sector meets its increasingly ambitous renewable energy goals the bloc should adopt more ambitious renewables targets, facilitate free trade of clean energy across borders, retain priority access for renewables projects to the grid, and potentially even encourage renewables to become a default option for firms by implementing a certificate scheme for non-renewable rather than renewable energy sources.

The report pushes strongly for the continued use of priority dispatch, which currently gives clean power priority over other energy sources on European electricity grids. Priority access provides clean energy developer with a key advantage over fossil fuels and advocates argue it also helps bring down wholesale power prices by ensuring output from renewables projects that have minimal marginal costs is maximised. However, critics have argued the policy is undermining investment in essential back up power plants.

RE100 members such as BT, IKEA Group, Google, Nestlé, Royal DSM and Unilever all contributed their experiences to the report.

John Harris, renewable energy investment manager at IKEA Group, said improved legislative frameworks are needed to allow more businesses to invest in renewables. “Whether companies purchase renewable electricity or want to generate renewable power themselves, we are all looking to EU policy to support us in reaching our target of 100 per cent renewable power,” he said in a statement.

EU documents leaked earlier this month have led some businesses to fear priority dispatch could be scrapped from the EU’s renewable energy directive after 2020.

Another leak last week relating to the EU’s Winter Package, which is set to be unveiled on the 30th November, also indicated it could cut back priority dispatch while introducing capacity mechanisms which some experts fear could subsidise new coal plants.

The document also suggested the proposed 27 per cent renewables target for 2030 would have no binding national targets and no effort sharing plan.

The new RE100 report, which comes shortly before the expected release this month of an EU Commission review of the EU Renewable Energy Directive and Market Design Initiative, calls for the EU’s renewables targets to be extended after 2020 to form a minimum baseline for the contribution of Member States through to 2030.

“To scale the benefits of renewable energy we need both business action and policy evolution,” said Thomas Lingard, climate advocacy and sustainability strategy director at Unilever, in a statement. “As more and more leading businesses actively look to source 100 per cent renewable energy, we need a Renewable Energy Directive that supports, not holds back these ambitions.”

Damian Ryan, acting chief executive of The Climate Group – which leads the RE100 initiative along with CDP – said while more companies than ever before are committed to bold climate action, governments “at all levels” need to raise the ambition of long-term climate policies in order to ensure many more firms are able to secure 100 per cent renewable power.

Simon Skillings, senior associate of E3G and author of the report, said the EU “must unleash its potential before it’s too late” if it wants to retain its competitive edge. “That means making it cheap and easy to procure renewable electricity to empower its energy consumers,” he added.

Source: businessgreen.com

Giant 8MW Turbine Delivers First Power From Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm

21.11.2016

vetroturbina — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

A giant 8MW offshore wind turbine in Liverpool Bay has delivered power to the grid for the first time, chalking up another important milestone for the UK’s offshore wind industry.

DONG Energy announced today that the Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm – a joint venture 50 per cent owned by the Danish energy giant with 25 per cent stakes held by PKA and KIRKBI A/S – has exported its first power for the grid.

The milestone marks the first time the next generation 8MW turbines from manufacturer MHI Vestas have been used commercially offshore.

Supporters of the new generation of 8MW+ turbines, argue the giant machines will play a key role in pushing down the cost of offshore wind power through increased output and reduced running costs.

The turbines boast more than double the output of the 3.6MW turbines, which were deployed in 2007 at the initial Burbo Bank offshore wind farm.

“First power is a key milestone for us because it proves that every part of the transmission and generation equipment is successfully working,” said Claus Bøjle Møller, Burbo Bank Extension programme director. “We’re progressing well with the construction of the wind farm thanks to a huge effort from our construction team and our contractors.

“This milestone is also significant for the offshore wind industry at a broader scale. Using these bigger turbines is a major step in reducing the cost of energy from offshore wind and we are proud to once again introduce a step-change in technology.”

The companies now expect to bring more turbines online in the coming weeks. DONG Energy said all 32 of the project’s turbines are expected to be in place in the first quarter of 2017, delivering up to 258MW of capacity – enough to meet the annual electricity demands of approximately 230,000 UK homes.

When the project is complete the two wind farms in Liverpool Bay are expected to produce enough power each year for almost third of a million homes, over one and a half times the size of The Wirral.

DONG Energy said work is also underway on a multi-million pound state of the art operations and maintenance facility at King’s Wharf, Seacombe, which will to serve the two wind farms and create around 45 long term jobs.

Source: businessgreen.com

Beijing Bans Highly Polluting Cars During Smog Alerts

21.11.2016

Next year, Beijing will ban highly polluting old cars from being driven whenever air-quality alerts are issued in the city or neighbouring regions, according to its environmental protection bureau.

China has adopted various measures over the years to reduce the smog shrouding many of the country’s northern cities in winter, causing hazardous traffic conditions and disrupting daily life.

From 15 February, vehicles that don’t meet the government’s current standard on emissions (those more than 10 years old) will be banned in Beijing’s main urban area whenever orange or red alerts are issued in Beijing or neighbouring Hebei province and Tianjin city.

Vehicles breaking the restrictions will be fined 100 yuan (£11.75) every four hours they are on the road, the bureau added.

Cars at the National 1 or National 2 emissions standards, which the rules are aimed at, only account for 8% of the cars in the city, but they account for more than 30% of smog causing nitrogen oxide emissions, the bureau said.

The adjustment to regulations also said that schools would only be closed selectively during alerts, rather than the blanket approach that was used originally when Beijing issued its first ever red alert in December last year.

The government has been tweaking the new system since its introduction. It has worked to unify it across the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei provinces. In February the minimum threshold for issuing alerts was raised.

Beijing officials are also taking measures to reduce the emissions of vehicles driven in the city. Measures include using licence-plate restrictions to limit the overall number of cars and providing subsidies to electric vehicle buyers to promote fuel-replacement vehicles.

Source: theguardian.com

Tesla, SolarCity Merger Approved by Shareholders

21.11.2016

Shareholders approved the $2.6 billion bid by Tesla Motors to buy SolarCity, paving the way for the clean energy giant to become a one-stop shop for electric vehicles, rooftop solar and energy storage.

“I think your faith will be rewarded,” Elon Musk said after the merger was approved by 85 percent of the company’s unaffiliated shareholders.

“We can’t do this well if Tesla and SolarCity are different companies, which is why we need to combine and break down the barriers inherent to being separate companies,” Musk said in August when Tesla announced it closed the deal with SolarCity. “That they are separate at all, despite similar origins and pursuit of the same overarching goal of sustainable energy, is largely an accident of history. Now that Tesla is ready to scale Powerwall and SolarCity is ready to provide highly differentiated solar, the time has come to bring them together.”

Next year, Tesla plans to begin rolling out the $35,000 Model 3 sedan and a new solar roof.

Source: ecowatch.com

China’s Grid-Connected Wind Power Capacity Increases

21.11.2016

China’s grid-connected wind power capacity continued to pick up, but the utilization rate was waning after years of capacity expansion, the latest data from the National Energy Administration (NEA) showed.

China’s total installed capacity of wind power generation facilities connected to the power grid reached 139 million kilowatts by the end of September, up 28 percent from a year earlier, according to the NEA.

The growth rate outpaced that of the nation’s total power use, a key barometer of economic activity, which totaled 4.5 percent year on year for the first nine months, official data showed.

The first nine months also saw newly added grid-connected wind power generation capacity of 10 million kilowatts, said the NEA.

However, those power generation facilities had average utilization hours of 1,251 in the first nine months, declining by 66 hours from a year earlier.

Of all provincial areas, Southwest China’s Yunnan province registered the largest gain in grid-connected wind power capacity of 2.26 million kilowatts in the first nine months.

China, the world’s second largest economy, has been trying to develop a clean energy network and pursue green growth in recent years.

Source: chinadaily.com.cn

Solar Power: Best Alternative to Light Up Rural Africa

21.11.2016

Solar energy has always been an alternative power source in areas not connected to the electricity grid. And this is what Bernard, a Kenyan chicken breeder, living in a small village about sixty kilometers from Nairobi believes.

With a solar panel installed on the roof of his house, it now illuminates his nights and feeds power to his radio and television.

Bernard believes the answer to the electrical demand for millions of African homes can come from solar power, which still represents less than 5% of the energy sources of the African electricity networks. This number however continues to grow.

Several African countries have embarked on increasingly ambitious projects for renewable energy.

These solutions have mainly flourished in the eastern part of the continent, as in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, but are also expected to spread in West Africa, where the problems are comparable.

Senegal has commissioned two photovoltaic power plants of 22 and 20 MW, the first of a series, with a stated target of 20% renewable energies in 2017 and 30% in 2018.

More than a choice, these cheaper solutions are in any case a necessity in relation to an ever-increasing demand for electricity, in a rapidly changing continent.

Source: africanews.com

World Bank Steps Up Climate Funding in Arab World

18.11.2016

world-2081907_960_720 — Photo illustration: Pixabay

The World Bank Group announced few days ago a new plan to ramp up support for countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to confront the multiple threats of climate change. Over the next four years, the MENA Climate Action Plan aims to nearly double the portion of Bank financing dedicated to climate action, taking it to around US$1.5 billion per year by 2020. Speaking at a press conference at the COP 22 global climate summit in Marrakech, World Bank MENA Vice President Hafez Ghanem said the plan would focus on the four priorities of food and water security, sustainable cities adapted to new climate conditions, the transition to low-carbon energy, and the protection of the poorest who are most exposed to the impacts of climate change.

“Climate change will make a difficult situation much worse, and will affect millions of people in the Middle East and North Africa region” said Ghanem, “this is especially true of the impact on scarce water resources, already the lowest in the world, which will become even scarcer, threatening critical industries such as agriculture, on which millions in poorer, rural areas depend for their livelihoods.” You can see the plan here.

Source: worldbank.org

France Announces Coal Power Phase Out Date

18.11.2016

France this week became the latest country to vow to phase out unabated coal power from its energy mix, pledging that its last coal plant will shut by 2023 at the latest.

French President Francois Hollande announced the target at the COP22 Climate Summit in Marrakesh earlier this week, providing further momentum to the campaign to get governments to set target dates for phasing out the most carbon intensive fuels from their energy mix.

France sources around three quarters of its power from its fleet of nuclear power plants, and like several other European countries is looking to reduce its reliance on coal power as it seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions and comply with EU air quality rules.

However, the clear target date provides a boost to the country’s wider decarbonisation efforts and follows a similar UK commitment to phase out unabated coal power by 2025. The UK last week launched an official consultation on its plan to phase out coal power, acknowledging that its last coal plant could close earlier than the 2025 cut off date.

Hollande also used his speech to the Marrakesh Summit to pointedly praise President Barack Obama and stress that the Paris Agreement and action on climate change was “irreversible”, despite President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to “cancel” the international treaty.

His comments were echoed over the course of the week by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State John Kerry, and other world leaders, who all predicted Trump would not be able to derail the global effort to keep temperature increases below 2C.

The news also comes amidst speculation the UK is set to become the 111th country to ratify the Paris Agreement, either later today or tomorrow.

Parliamentary scrutiny of the ratification process was completed yesterday, leaving the government free to submit the official documents to the UN.

Source: businessgreen.com

Australia Ranked Among Worst Developed Countries for Climate Change Action

18.11.2016

Australia has been singled out again as a climate laggard, being ranked fifth-worst for emissions and policies among developed countries and among the six worst countries in the G20 when it comes to climate action.

In the climate change performance index, released overnight at the UN climate talks in Marrakech, Australia comes ahead of only Kazakhstan, South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia.

The 58 countries assessed by Climate Action Network Europe and Germanwatch are responsible for 90% of global energy-related carbon pollution. They are then ranked according to their emissions level, the trend in emissions, the deployment of renewable energy, the energy intensity of the economy and climate policies.

Australia is near the bottom of the countries, labelled as having “very poor performance”.

Australia’s hostile relationship between federal and state climate policies was noted in the report, which said: “While the former were rather unambitious and uninspired, the latter managed to some extent to take independent action.”

The finding came following comments from the prime minister and federal ministers, criticising state-based renewable energy and emissions targets.

Since previous rankings, Australia improved slightly with its emissions trend but dropped in energy efficiency.

The Australian Conservation Foundation’s chief executive, Kelly O’Shanassy, said: “The government spruiks its climate credentials but Australia remains a laggard on cutting climate pollution.

“The world is watching as our pollution rises and governments support new mega-polluting coalmines.”

O’Shanassy said Australia must not proceed with Adani’s Carmichael coalmine.

Meanwhile, the federal minister for energy and the environment, Josh Frydenberg, used his time in Marrakech to lobby the US in favour of Adani’s Carmichael coalmine, complaining about US activists funding a campaign to stop the huge project from proceeding.

In a separate study from the London School of Economics, researchers examined the consistency of actions of G20 countries, compared with the goals of the Paris agreement.

It found Australia – as well as Argentina, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the US – were “falling behind with their national climate mitigation action”.

“These countries lack overall framework legislation or regulation on climate change, need to move from sectoral to economy-wide targets and extend the timeframe of their targets to 2030,” the report said.

Source: theguardian.com

EIB confirms plans to strengthen support for North African renewable energy and energy efficiency

18.11.2016

The European Investment Bank today confirmed plans to strengthen support for the Green for Growth Fund to enable new investment in small scale energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across North Africa, in Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia, as well as Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories. Expanded geographic engagement of the specialist climate fund to the southern Mediterranean region will focus investment on projects that can generate high energy savings and significant CO2 reduction in countries that have high levels of fossil fuel use, limited renewable energy and restricted implementation of energy efficiency schemes.

“Unlocking new investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency is a global challenge and the Green for Growth Fund has an impressive track record that has already enabled more sustainable energy use in Southeast Europe and the European eastern neighbourhood. The European Investment Bank is committed to strengthening the local impact of climate related investment and the planned expansion of the Green for Growth Fund to North Africa and the Middle East can help to reduce emissions and provide a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels use across the region.” said Jonathan Taylor, European Investment Bank Vice President.

The Green for Growth Fund provides dedicated credit lines to local financial and non-financial intermediaries, including commercial banks and microfinance institutions, for investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency schemes by local partners, such as businesses, households, municipalities and energy companies. Targeted technical assistance is also used to strengthen environmental and social impact assessment, energy audits and roll out energy efficiency focused credit lines.

At COP 22 currently taking place in Marrakech, Morocco, representatives of the European Investment Bank and the Green for Growth Fund yesterday highlighted how the initiative had already unlocked investment for projects that the EIB could not directly support and confirmed their shared commitment to support new energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

“The EIB has played a key role in the creation of the Green for Growth Fund and remains one of the fund’s leading partners. We are very pleased about the EIB’s increased commitment, which will help the Green for Growth Fund to attract additional private investors and enable the fund to further expand and build on its proven support for energy efficiency and renewable energy.” said Elvira Lefting, advisor to the Green for Growth Fund.

The EUR 410 million Green for Growth Fund has been backed since 2009 by the EIB and co-initiator KfW, along with partners including EBRD, IFC, FMO, the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and the European Commission and supported investment by final beneficiaries that saves an estimated 1,300,000 MWh and 329,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

Source: eib.org

Bicycle Friendly Amsterdam Aims for Clean Transport, Smarter Buildings, and a Circular Economy

18.11.2016

Cycling is a big part of Amsterdam’s clean transport story. The city has more bikes than people and is increasing the number of green bikeways, separated from roads.

“More and more, we’re biking,” said Peter Paul Ekker, spokesman for Amsterdam Alderman Abdeluheb Choho, vice mayor for sustainability. As described in an earlier article in this series, “Strong Support in Amsterdam for City’s Climate and Sustainability Efforts,” the city intends public transport to be totally electric by 2025, at which point all taxis also will need to be electric.

It also plans to completely bar older, dirtier fossil-fueled vehicles from entering the city. Some restrictions on conventional commercial vehicles are already in place.

A Clean and Circular Economy

Once Amsterdam officials realized that the city could replace a third of the building materials it uses annually by recovering and reusing them, the city became a strong proponent of the “circular economy.”

“You need to build smart,” Ekker said, constructing buildings so raw materials can be more easily recovered once the building has reached the end of its useful lifespan.

All concrete that the city uses in the future will be recycled—“a huge CO2 reduction,” according to Ekker. In contracting with developers for buildings in Amsterdam, 30 percent of a prospective project’s rating is based on its sustainability score.

Amsterdam is not just focusing on its “tear downs.” The city is keen on retrofitting buildings to make them more energy efficient. Nowhere is this concern more evident than when it comes to school buildings.

Green Schools, Clean Energy

Amsterdammers are solicitous of their next generation.

“All schools will have green roofs, solar panels, good insulation,” Ekker said. Green roofs insulate the building, reducing the need for heating and cooling. They thereby improve air quality along with occupants’ comfort. “It’s a win-win situation,” he noted.

The city plans to increase the number of households with rooftop solar generators from 5,000 to 80,000 by 2020 while it expands the city’s wind power generating capacity from 67 MW to 85 MW. But whereas many residents are interested in solar, relatively few have suitable roofs.

To meet this challenge, the city has been working with owners of large factory and commercial roofs since 2015 to arrange for them to lease their roofs to residents for solar generation.

Waste-to-Energy

In adhering to its ideals of a circular economy, Amsterdam is reusing municipal waste to co-generate heat and power for residents in northern and western Amsterdam. The waste is collected and delivered to a central incinerator with advanced pollution controls. Heat generated by the plant is distributed to households in large insulated pipes, replacing individual gas furnaces.

In addition, excess heat from a gas-fired power plant on the east side of Amsterdam in Diemen currently serves residents in the city’s southern and eastern quadrants, and the city is planning to create a region-wide heat network.

All told, Amsterdam plans to have 102,000 homes on district heating by 2020 and 240,000 by 2040. Geothermal heat sources and surplus heat from urban greenhouses, where flowers and vegetables are grown, will provide heat to the regional heat-network.

Amsterdam’s leaders understand that clean air and clean water are essential if the city is to be habitable, sustainable, and attractive to residents and businesses in the future. They know that a clean environment is intrinsically more attractive than a polluted one and that it is not only compatible with economic prosperity, but conducive to it.

By emphasizing the health and economic benefits of their climate and energy programs, they’ve built a strong public consensus in its favor.

Source: renewableenergyworld.com

Program of metrological support for Gazprom’s operations approved for 2017–2021

18.11.2016

The Gazprom Management Committee approved the Comprehensive Targeted Program of metrological support for the Company’s operations between 2017 and 2021.

The Program is aimed at further improving the quality of metering Gazprom’s gas deliveries to domestic and foreign consumers. Particularly, the document stipulates measures for upgrading, reconstructing and retrofitting gas metering stations.

The Program will contribute to better operation of the Unified Gas Supply System, more efficient use of energy resources, including associated petroleum gas, and fewer air emissions.

Gazprom’s specialized structural units were instructed to use the Program as a basis for the Company’s annual and medium-term investment programs covering the construction, reconstruction and retrofitting of Gazprom’s metrological support facilities.

Source: Gazprom.com

‘We need everyone,’ Ban says

18.11.2016

Ban_Ki-moon_February_2016 — Photo: en.wikipedia.org

Rallying stakeholders gathered in Marrakech, Morocco, for the United Nations Climate Conference, known as ‘COP 22,’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday urged everyone – “from the local to the global” – including the private sector, cities and civil society, to get involved in the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

“We need everyone. And we need action from the local to the global. Partnerships should focus on results today – and make progress for the long-term. We have no time to waste, and much to gain, by acting now,” Mr. Ban told a High-Level event on Accelerating Climate Action.

The President of COP 22, Salaheddine Mezouar, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco, noted that “without minimizing the eminent responsibility of States,” the contribution of non-State actors serves as a “structuring supplement” to multilateral action against the impacts of climate change.

Last December at the previous Conference, known as COP 21, 196 Parties to the UNFCCC adopted the Paris Agreement, so-named after the French capital where it was approved. It aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016, in time for COP 22, which has been under way since 7 November.

The Global Climate Action Agenda, launched formally in 2014 at COP 20, in Lima, Peru, aims to mobilize non-State actors in addressing climate change.

In Paris the next year, two Climate Champions, Laurence Tubiana, French Ambassador for climate change negotiations, and Hakima El Haité, Moroccan Minister for the Environment, were appointed to accelerate joint action on the Agenda.

Source: un.org

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