Aqos developing solar-powered car

18.08.2016

According to Balkan Energy News, team of designers and entrepreneurs based in Belgrade is working on solutions to reduce the car industry’s share in greenhouse gas emissions. Saša Milovančević, one of the founders and chief executive of Aqos Technologies d.o.o., said a solar film which the startup developed allows for the creation of thematic solar-conventional vehicles which won’t have an issue with aesthetics regarding solar cells. The texture and appearance of the cells are an indigenous art motif that should give a new visual – distinctive character to the car, he added. The solar cell has flexibility with two axes and Aqos is working on the solution for all three axes, with increased efficiency in all lighting conditions.

The Serbian company said it has support from scholars from the University of Belgrade and several international car industry entities. The management plans road tests for 2020 and hopes to launch production in Serbia, financed from overseas. After the solar cell is complete, designers and engineers will work on the engine, the battery and suspension, before creating a prototype and moving to a new financing round.

Milovančević said the first cars should be produced by 2023, depending on numerous steps, including market conditions. He underscored availability and good taste are key to the project’s success. The concept for the solar automobile is to design it to utilize energy even in the dark, as little there is.

Source: balkangreenenergynews.com

What would it take to get Australia to 100-percent renewable energy?

18.08.2016

What would it take to convert an entire country to 100-percent renewable energy? How about a country that occupies an entire continent? Australian climate think tank Beyond Zero Emissions is publishing a series of plans addressing how different aspects of the country’s economy and infrastructure can be converted to renewable energy.

As part of its assessment—known as the Zero Carbon Australia Project—the group put a price on converting Australia’s entire fleet to electric cars, claiming that goal is achievable.

The electric-car push is part of one of six plans that address stationary power generation, renewable energy for businesses, transportation, and industry, as well as the issues of land use and economic impact.

The transportation plan in turn is broken down into reports on electric vehicles and high-speed rail, with reports on other forms of public transportation and freight transport forthcoming.

According to the report on electric vehicles, cars operating in urban areas are currently the largest transportation-related source of greenhouse-gas emissions in Australia, accounting for 36 percent of those emissions.

They also account for 6 percent of overall greenhouse-gas emissions in the country.

Switching to electric cars charged using renewable sources would eliminate those emissions, converting passenger cars used in more rural areas to electric power would reduce emissions by another 2 percent, the report says.

It claims that goal is fairly attainable.

Gradually phasing out internal-combustion cars over a 10-year period between 2015 and 2025 would cost at most approximately 25 percent more than a “business-as-usual” scenario in which electric-car adoption proceeds at its current pace, the report claims.

The total cost would be approximately $250 billion (in 2014 real Australian dollars) per year over the period between 2015 and 2035, it claims.

That is as measured under a “high-cost scenario” where the economic factors surrounding electric-car adoption are less than ideal.

Researchers also looked at a “low-cost scenario,” in which prices for electric cars and battery cells drop significantly, maintenance costs are lower than current projections, and gas prices are higher.

In that scenario, a transition to electric cars between 2015 and 2025 would cost the same as the “business-as-usual” scenario. Charging infrastructure to support the enlarged fleet of electric cars would cost $295 per capita annually between 2015 and 2035, the report claims.

That assumes heavier reliance on public Level 2 AC charging stations, with smaller amounts of home Level 2 stations and DC fast-charging stations.

In addition to electric passenger cars, the report looks at other modes of transportation.

As with electric cars, it predicts that electric buses could be adopted at relatively little cost, or possibly even less cost than continuing business as usual, if electric-vehicle costs remain low while gasoline and diesel prices spike.

In addition, a separate report on high-speed rail argues that it is a more attractive alternative to commercial flights in terms of emissions.

Other reports advocate further emissions reductions through more-efficient buildings and land use, and the conversion of Australia’s industries to renewable energy.

Source: greencarreports.com

Renewables are often only as useful as the grid they feed

18.08.2016

renewable-energy — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Scotland recently experienced one of its windiest days of the year with gusts reaching over 180 km/h on top of the country’s highest mountains. While they were disruptive to trains, ferries and car traffic, the winds had the capacity to meet the entirety of Scotland’s electricity needs for the day, according to a report in The Guardian.

This is a milestone for the country. The Scottish government describes onshore wind as the country’s most cost-effective low-carbon energy technology.

However weather like this doesn’t happen every day. A recent analysis by the IEA on Next Generation Wind and Solar Power shows that the variable nature of these renewable resources can present serious technical problems for system operators in charge of maintaining a balance between stable electricity supply and demand.

It is a challenge that is only set to grow as governments around the world seek to meet renewable energy targets under climate action plans.

As long as the contribution of wind and solar to the electricity mix doesn’t exceed a few percentage points, their integration into the grid is simple. However, as next generation renewables are deployed, the issue of system and market integration will increasingly become a critical priority for energy policy.

The positive effects of renewables are clear: reduced fuel costs, reduced emissions of greenhouse gases, and increased energy security. However negative costs must also be taken into account, such as the higher costs of cycling conventional power plants when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining, or the need for more flexible grid infrastructure able to handle variability of supply.

Grid integration must be seen through the prism of declining technology costs but must also take into account the full system value of renewable energy. To ensure that the system value is positive, renewable energy must be considered within the context of the entire electricity system and implemented alongside other innovations such as renewable energy forecasting, enhanced scheduling of conventional power plants, electricity storage and more flexible generation and grid infrastructure.

A country meeting its energy demand entirely from renewable energy resources for a full day is a taste of a future zero-carbon energy system. However this is a future that cannot be realised solely through the introduction of more and more wind turbines. Smart, predictable, and long-term policies that are based on an understanding of the full system value of renewable energy technologies – and encourage their deployment appropriately – can ensure that even when the wind isn’t blowing, we are still taking steps to meeting climate targets.

Source: iea.org

Côte d’Ivoire: 10 years on, survivors of toxic waste dumping ‘remain in the dark,’ say UN rights experts

18.08.2016

Speaking ahead of the 10th anniversary of the illegal dumping of toxic waste in Côte d’Ivoire, a group of United Nations experts today urged the Ivorian Government, all responsible States and the international community to use the opportunity to address the ongoing human rights impacts of the incident. In a news release from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the experts also called on Trafigura, the Anglo-Dutch commodity trading company behind the dumping, to support this process by disclosing all the information it has about the contents and nature of the waste dumped, and its likely ongoing health and environmental consequences.

OHCHR noted that on 19 August 2006, the cargo ship Probo Koala discharged 500 tonnes of toxic waste in Abidjan. The hazardous substances, which belonged to Trafigura, were also dumped at 18 sites around the city while many other possible locations remain unknown to date. Trafigura had decided not to dispose of the toxic waste in the Netherlands because proper disposal costs more. According to official estimates, 15 people died, 69 people were hospitali zed and over 108,000 others sought medical treatment after the ‘Probo Koala incident.’

“Ten years on, victims of the dumping and other residents in Abidjan remain in the dark about the ongoing dangers to their health,” the experts said, noting that they still do not even know what was in the toxic waste; whether the dumpsites have been adequately cleaned-up, and whether the waste has entered the water supply or the food chain.

“Recognizing the lasting adverse impacts that hazardous materials can have on water and soils, there is real concern for food safety and the health of future generations,” the experts added. The experts urged the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to seize the opportunity of the 10th anniversary to address the long-term health and environmental impacts of the incident and seek additional financial and technical assistance from public health experts and the wider international community. They stressed that in a post-conflict country such as the Côte d’Ivoire, it is even more vital for the international community to provide support. Given their role in these events, the governments of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom where Trafigura is registered, have a particular responsibility to do so. Noting that in March 2015, the United Kingdom refused to launch a criminal investigation into whether Trafigura’s London-based subsidiary had conspired in the UK to dump the waste in Abidjan, the experts said that this lack of action and information has left those affected by the dumping feeling abandoned and vulnerable to further victimization. In November 2015, the Ivoirian Government announced that it had completed the decontamination of all of the dumpsites. At the Government’s request, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) performed an environmental audit of the dumpsites in July 2016 to verify their decontamination.

Source: un.org

Climate Guru Tells Calif. Governor Not To Close Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant

17.08.2016

On Thursday,a letter to Governor Jerry Brown of California, about how nuclear energy was essential to fighting global warming, was sent by Dr. James Hansen and the leading climate scientists in the world, plus a long list of environmentalists.

The letter was prompted by a recent announcement by Pacific Gas & Electric Company to close its well-running, low-carbon, low-cost nuclear reactors at Diablo Canyon because of political pressure from the state of California and especially its Lt. Governor.

The widespread claim—that dozens of nuclear plants merit subsidies to protect the earth’s climate—has been borne out by reality. At the same time, tax subsidies for renewables, plus low natural gas prices, are making reactors uneconomic in the short term.

New York addressed this imbalance last week when it passed a true Clean Energy Standard that supports both renewables and nuclear. Passage came after all parties acknowledged carbon emissions would go up if even a single nuclear plant closed.

But, strangely, California doesn’t seem impressed by the threat of global warming, even after the state’s carbon emissions jumped when the San Onofre nuclear plant closed from a combination of technical and political reasons. That carbon-free electricity was replaced by natural gas and costly out-of-state purchases.

Similarly, if Diablo Canyon closes, its almost 18 billion kWhs per year, the largest and lowest-carbon electricity generation in California, will be replaced by less than 2 billion kWhs per year of similarly-low-carbon renewables, less than 2 billion kWhs per year from efficiency, and over 10 billion kWhs per year from high-carbon natural gas and more out-of-state purchases. California would have little hope of achieving its emissions goals by 2030.

Global Warming does not care what technology is used, just how much carbon is emitted. All wind energy in California only produced 12 billion kWhs in 2015, much less than Diablo Canyon. The two Diablo Canyon nuclear reactors would produce almost 18 billion kWhs every year for the next 25 years if not prematurely closed for political reasons. Since wind turbines have to be replaced about every 20 years, this means that just to stay even, California would have to install three times as many wind turbines as exist today. The are no plans for installing that many wind turbines.

Which is why James Hansen, and most of the rest of us, seem at wit’s end at such foolishness on the part of what is usually the most environmentally-conscious state. It’s as if the Governor’s Mansion ideological hatred of nuclear exceeds their concern about global warming.

Source: forbes.com

Ontario’s wind energy plan ignored impact on rural communities study says

17.08.2016

The 2009 Green Energy Act gave little thought to the transformation that wind farms bring to rural communities — problems that even revisions to the act “will only partially address,” writes a group headed by Stewart Fast. Fast personally favours wind energy, “but only if it’s done right.”

In Ontario, he says, much of it wasn’t.

He studies energy and environment issues at U of O’s Institute for Science, Society and Policy, and led a study group including industry and anti-wind members. Their paper, Lessons learned from Ontario wind energy disputes, has been published in the journal Nature Energy.

The Liberals’ Green Energy Act came in quickly, the geographer said in an interview. It brought new investment, “but those discussions about how a place will change because of this new project happened late in the process … There was a sense that the quicker you got in your proposal for the FIT contract to the government, the better chance you had.”

The FIT, or Feed-In Tariff, gave premium prices for solar and wind energy.

“It was a gold rush, basically,” said Fast. And since those involved kept details secret to avoid giving their competitors an edge, residents didn’t know what their neighbours were planning.

“That is really the worst way to go about something that you know is going to have a big impact” on landscape and people, he said. Ontario took little account of heritage, landscapes and “place-attachment,” the sense we have of being anchored somewhere, the group writes.

“As it currently stands, Ontario’s renewable energy policy framework ignores these complex questions of identity and the question of whether or not turbines will fit into communities,” the study says.

Fast said there’s a “jarring change that can happen once turbines come up — that is something that is important.”

As well, some residents near wind farms worry about health impacts from vibration and sounds that are too low for human ears to hear. Fast says Ontario brushed off these concerns without enough information, assuming there is no health impact unless proven otherwise rather than “taking a precautionary approach.”

Other issues he raises:

Premier Dalton McGuinty announced at the start that renewable energy would not be blocked by NIMBY protests, effectively labelling opposition as “ignorant, kind of self-interested NIMBY-ism. That’s a mistake right off the top.”

“There was lip-service paid to the importance of having community ownership.” But the reality didn’t give much support to community projects.

Wind opponents have often complained that most wind farms are run by industries from outside their communities.

Developers preferred one-on-one talks with residents to avoid the protests that can happen at big meetings. But rural people saw this as a “divide-and-conquer” method.

The Act removes municipal zoning controls over renewable projects.

In Ottawa, one wind opponent said the disputes over turbines “have pitted neighbour against neighbour.

“Just in terms of the fabric of the community (it is) ripping people apart,” said Jane Wilson, who chairs Ottawa Wind Concerns. “Even families are not speaking. People have lost complete faith in their government … People had no say whatever in what happened in their community.”

Fast’s group concludes that more transparent approaches would make some wind proposals more acceptable, but it isn’t optimistic. The authors end the study by saying: “Nonetheless, many of our recommendations will unfortunately remain unaddressed, without further consideration or assessment of the lessons that could be learned.”

Ontario now has 5,700 megawatts of wind capacity, though turbines don’t run at top speed all the time. Ontario’s total capacity from all sources is 35,221 MW.

Source : ottawacitizen.com

Humble moss helped create our oxygen-rich atmosphere

17.08.2016

The evolution of the first land plants including mosses may explain a long-standing mystery of how Earth’s atmosphere became enriched with oxygen, according to an international study led by the University of Exeter.

Oxygen in its current form first appeared in Earth’s atmosphere some 2.4 billion years ago, in an incident known as the Great Oxidation Event. However, it was not until roughly 400 million years ago that this vital compound first approached modern levels in the atmosphere. This shift steered the trajectory of life on Earth and researchers have long debated how oxygen rose to modern concentrations.

In a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Professor Tim Lenton, of the University of Exeter, and his colleagues theorised that the earliest land plants, which colonised the land from 470 million years ago onwards, are responsible for the levels of oxygen that sustains our lives today. Their emergence and evolution permanently increased the flux of organic carbon into sedimentary rocks, the primary source for atmospheric oxygen, thus driving up oxygen levels in a second oxygenation event and establishing a new, stable oxygen cycle.

Earth’s early plant biosphere consisted of simple bryophytes, such as moss, which are non-vascular — meaning they do not have vein-like systems to conduct water and minerals around the plant. Using computer simulations, the researchers first estimated that these plants could have generated roughly 30% of today’s global terrestrial net primary productivity by about 445 million years ago.

When the properties of modern bryophytes were taken into account, including their elemental composition and effects on rock weathering, they found that modern levels of atmospheric oxygen were achieved by 420 to 400 million years ago, consistent with independent evidence.

These findings therefore suggest that the first land plants, such as the humble moss, created the stable oxygen-rich atmosphere that allowed large, mobile, intelligent animal life, including humans, to evolve.

Professor Tim Lenton, of the University of Exeter, said: “It’s exciting to think that without the evolution of the humble moss, none of us would be here today. Our research suggests that the earliest land plants were surprisingly productive and caused a major rise in the oxygen content of Earth’s atmosphere.”

Source: sciencedaily.com

UK to double French energy supplies with new cable

16.08.2016

A privately funded project has announced it will build a £1.1bn cross Channel electricity cable which will double the amount of energy the UK presently receives from France. The cable, called an inter-connector, will run from Lovedean, near to Portsmouth to the Le Havre area. Developer, Aquind, which is led by Ukrainian businessman Alexander Temerko, is behind the project. The company said the 150-mile cable would come online in 2021. It plans to deliver up to two gigawatts to the National Grid, which has signed a connection agreement with it. The energy it plans to deliver to Britain will supply power to the equivalent of four million homes. The company, which is backed by private investors, is currently in the process of securing a connection agreement with the French. It will be able to transfer electricity both ways, if market conditions are favourable.

“Blackout risks”

The National Grid and its French counterpart, RTE, already own a 2GW interconnector between the two countries which has been in use since 1986. Aquind said its cable would provide a valuable source of energy at a time when coal-fired stations were being closed down and planned new gas and nuclear installations were yet to be built. Lord Callanan, a non-executive director at Aquind, said: “With a growing energy supply gap threatening UK households and businesses, there’s an urgent need for a fast and reliable way to introduce new capacity. “The interconnector will significantly ease the pressure on the UK grid and reduce the risk of blackouts,” he added.

Cheaper energy

At present the UK mainland has four interconnectors from France, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland supplying 4GW of capacity. The Aquind interconnector is one of just two current interconnector projects that are fully privately funded. It is applying for an exemption from EU and UK regulations governing minimum and maximum prices, revenue and capacity. Six other new interconnectors have been approved and will follow the regulated route under the “cap and floor” regime. Aquind thinks the exemption model will earn it more money because of the lower electricity prices generated by France’s national grid which relies on nuclear energy.

Zoe Double, head of power at ICIS, the independent authority on UK energy market pricing, said its data showed that UK wholesale power prices had become gradually more expensive than their French equivalent in the past five years, which made supplying power to the UK from France more economic. “The spread between the two markets has widened because while power prices across Europe have fallen, UK prices have not fallen as far as France – partly because there have been concerns about whether the UK can meet demand at peak times in recent years, and this risk has been reflected in a higher price.”

Source: bbc.com

Spanish Wind Energy Association recognizes IEA Executive Director Birol

16.08.2016

The Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE) awarded Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA’s Executive Director, its Annual Distinction in recognition of the IEA’s work in promoting renewable energy in Spain and across Europe. In a statement announcing the award, the AEE recognized efforts by the IEA and Dr Birol at highlighting the fact that renewable are no longer a niche and should now be considered a conventional source of energy.

In the Opening Session of the Spanish Wind Power Congress, Keisuke Sadamori, IEA Director of Energy Markets and Security, delivered a keynote speech on recent developments in wind and other renewable energy markets, integration challenges and necessary policy measures to ensure renewable growth in line with Paris Agreement ambitions. Mr Sadamori also expressed his appreciation for the award to Dr Birol as recognition of IEA work in renewables.

Later in the day, Dr Paolo Frankl, head of IEA’s Renewable Energy Division, accepted the award on behalf of Dr Birol. “This award represents a further stimulus to accelerate the modernization process of the IEA initiated by Dr Birol,” said Dr Frankl, “and more specifically to further expand our efforts in system integration and renewable policy assessment.”

Previous recipients of the award include US President Barack Obama and Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC.

Source: iea.org

Toyota, Tesla and Vestas ranked among world’s top green companies

16.08.2016

Toyota, Tesla, Vestas, DONG Energy and Panasonic are among the top ranked companies in the first ever Carbon Clean 200 list, which claims the world’s greenest large companies are outperforming their more polluting counterparts by as much as three to one.

Published today, the inaugural Clean 200 ranks the largest publicly listed companies worldwide by their total clean energy revenues, as rated by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, with the list dominated by firms from China and the US.

To qualify, companies must have a market capitalisation of at least $1bn and generate 10 per cent of their revenues from clean sources.

More than 70 of the companies included in the list receive a majority of their revenue from clean energy, the rankings show, with most of the 200 from China (66 entries) and the US (40), although there is also strong representation from Japan (20), Germany (8), India (7) and Canada (5).

Toyota Motor tops the list closely followed by Siemens, while there are also strong showings for Schneider Electric (4), Panasonic (5), Vestas Wind (7), Philips Lighting (8), DONG Energy (11), Tesla Motors (17), Gamesa (18), First Solar (19) and Samsung(23).

There are only two UK companies in the list – Atlantics Yield (ranked 92), which co-invests in renewable energy assets primarily in Europe and North America, and Reading-based Dialog Semiconductor (159), which is involved in the power management and smart meter sectors.

The list excludes all oil and gas companies and utilities which generate less than 50 per cent of their power from renewable sources, as well as companies which engage in “negative climate lobbying” or profit from tropical deforestation, weapons manufacturing, and the use of child and/or forced labour.

The rankings are included in a report by non-profit organisation As You Sow and market research firm Corporate Knights, which plan to update the list quarterly to serve as an opposing accompaniment to the ‘Carbon Underground 200’ ranking of fossil fuel companies being targeted for divestment.

Comparing the two lists shows those listed in the Clean200 rankings achieved a stimulated annualised return of 21.82 per cent over the past decade, which is around three times the 7.84 per cent return achieved by companies in the Carbon Underground list over the same period, according to Corporate Knights.

“The Clean200 nearly tripled the performance of its fossil fuel reserve-heavy counterpart over the past 10 years, showing that clean energy companies are providing concrete and measurable rewards to investors,” said Toby Heaps, CEO of Corporate Knights and report co-author.

“What’s more, the outstanding performance of this list shows that the notion that investors must sacrifice returns when investing in clean energy is outdated. Many clean energy investments are profitable now, and we anticipate that over the long term their appeal will only go up as technologies improve and more investors move away from under performing fossil fuel companies.”

The 21.82 per cent return generated by companies in the Clean200 list was due in large part to significant exposure to Chinese clean energy companies which have experienced considerable growth, the report authors said.

“Our intention with the Clean200 is to begin a conversation that defines what companies will be part of the clean energy future,” said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow and the report’s co-author. “The Clean200 turns the ‘carbon bubble’ inside out. The list is far from perfect, but begins to show how it’s possible to accelerate and capitalize on the greatest energy transition since the industrial revolution.”

Source: theguardian.com

Greenpeace Reveals Brands Stumbling on the Catwalk to Toxin-Free Fashion

15.08.2016

Since the “Detox My Fashion” campaign launched in 2011, 76 fashion brands, retailers and suppliers have committed to remove toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020, accounting for a combined 15 percent of global textile production. For its 2016 Detox Catwalk, Greenpeace evaluated 19 of the committed fashion and sportswear companies to see which are on track to follow through.

Greenpeace assessed how companies have performed against key criteria related to their Detox 2020 plans, substance elimination, and transparency. The report dissects whether companies have proactive, precautionary systems in place for eliminating hazardous chemicals; their progress on substituting per- and poly-fluorinated chemicals (PFCs) and other known hazardous substances from their products and manufacturing processes; and their disclosure of suppliers’ lists and the pollution they discharge.

While most had mixed results, H&M, Inditex (parent company of Zara, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti and Bershka) and Benetton stood out as front runners, while Nike, Esprit, Li-Ning and Limited Brands (parent company of Victoria’s Secret and LaSenza) received the lowest scores.

“Our assessment shows that the textile industry as a whole is not doing enough to go toxin-free. 16 out of the 19 brands assessed are stumbling over transparency issues or failing to eliminate toxic chemicals; with only three years left they must speed up now if they’re to meet their 2020 deadlines,” said Kirsten Brodde, Head of the Detox My Fashion campaign at Greenpeace Germany.

H&M and Inditex are two of the world’s largest fashion companies, while Benetton is a mid-sized Italian brand. They were the only three to rank in the ‘Avant-Garde’ category for being “ahead of the curve,” with “credible timelines, concrete actions and on-the-ground implementation.” All three have completely eliminated PFCs, take a “clean factory” approach, and monitor water discharge.

“We applaud H&M, Zara and Benetton for leading the way and setting a new standard in toxic-free fashion,” Brodde said. “These companies prove that cleaning up the fashion industry is possible – both for large and medium-sized companies.”

Many of the remaining companies were heavily criticized by their reliance on the “flawed chemical list from the industry group Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC),” which Greenpeace asserts is missing important substances such as PFCs and solvents such as Dimethylformamide (DMF). Furthermore, the organization repeatedly insists that elimination of PFCs must be accompanied by hazard-based assessment of alternatives, which even some of the top scorers have not yet implemented.

Nike was one of the companies to receive particularly harsh judgement on those grounds. As Greenpeace put it, Nike was “the only brand to completely fail on all three of the categories assessed.” Interestingly, the organization effectively awarded Nike a score of 0 out of 9 (there were 3 levels for each of the 3 key areas assessed), despite noting that the sportswear company has successfully eliminated all C8 PFCs and has phased out 90 percent of all PFCs from its products, in addition to publishing an online interactive map of its suppliers. Greenpeace explained that Nike has not committed to eliminate all PFCs from all of its products by 2020, among other gaps in its Detox 2020 plan, including that it relies on the ZDHC list. The NGO added that “Nike needs to transform its attitude.”

Nike was joined in the ‘Faux Pas’ category by Esprit, Li-Ning and Limited Brands, which Greenpeace asserts “are currently heading in the wrong direction, failing to take individual responsibility for their supply chains’ hazardous chemical pollution.”

The vast majority – 12 of the 19 evaluated companies – are still in ‘Evolution Mode,’ and need to improve their performance in at least two of the three key assessment criteria. These include Adidas, Burberry, Levi Strauss & Co., Marks & Spencer, Primark and Puma, all of which Greenpeace says are not banning enough hazardous chemicals due to their reliance on the ZDHC’s “flawed methodology.” Greenpeace previously campaigned against Adidas, Nike and Puma for producing gear that contained hazardous chemicals for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Companies such as C&A, Fast Retailing, G-Star, Mango, and Miroglio scored higher within the same “Evolution Mode” group, either for better chemicals management or greater supply chain transparency. Specifically, C&A was applauded for the latter, while G-Star and Mango have both completely eliminated PFCs from their products.

Greenpeace also called out companies that have failed to make credible, individual Detox commitments. Specifically, the NGO listed Armani, Bestseller, Diesel, D&G, GAP, Hermes, LVMH Group/Christian Dior Couture, Metersbonwe, PVH, VAncl and Versace among those that “continue to avoid tackling the problem with the seriousness it deserves.”

Source: sustainablebrands.com

Lower oil prices affect global growth of mining industry, says UNIDO report

15.08.2016

Global production growth from mining activities remained low in 2015 and was significantly affected by lower crude oil prices, and the combined production of mining and utilities rose a mere 1.0 per cent in 2015, according to a report released today by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

Extraction of crude oil accounts for almost 90 per cent of the mining industry in oil-rich economies. World Statistics on Mining and Utilities is a biennial publication of UNIDO which presents global statistics on mining and quarrying, electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning, as well as water supply, sewerage, and waste management.

The report states that the growth potential of mineral products is generally diminishing due to the depletion of mineral resources. The decline in recent years was caused by lower demand of minerals from slow growing manufacturing combined with falling oil prices. The report refers to OPEC data which lists the average price of crude oil per barrel at USD 49.5 in 2015, down from USD 109.5 in 2012.

Between 2010 and 2015, the annual average growth from mining and utilities in industrialized countries was around 1.0 per cent. During the same period, the annual average growth in emerging and developing economies was estimated at 2.8 per cent. Both figures indicate a declining trend compared to the data published in the 2014 edition of the same UNIDO report.

Despite the gradual decline of mining activities in industrialized countries, this sector plays a dominant role in some developing economies of Africa and the Gulf region. In recent years, the contribution of mining to GDP rose significantly in Angola and Equatorial Guinea.

The United States accounts for more than 15 per cent of the total value added of mining and utilities. China ranks second, however its position relative to the population size is much lower. In terms of per capital value added of the mining and utilities, leading economies in 2015 were Qatar, Kuwait, Norway and Brunei Darussalam.

The share of developing and emerging industrial economies in the global production of mining and utility sectors is constantly rising and in 2015 reached 50 per cent of the global total. However, the development of this sector involves a huge infrastructural network of mines, structures, pipelines electricity mains, etc. Many resource-rich developing countries are yet to exploit their mining industry potentials for economic growth.

UNIDO maintains international industrial statistics database covering manufacturing and mining and utilities. Statistics on global manufacturing are presented in International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics.

World Statistics on Mining and Utilities 2016 is a joint publication of UNIDO and Edward Elgar Publishing

Source: unido.org

IRENA Conference Set to Boost Off-Grid Renewable Energy Development Worldwide

15.08.2016

Key stakeholders from the off-grid renewable energy sector – including policy makers, the private sector, financiers, and development institutions – will gather in Nairobi, Kenya from 30 September to 1 October 2016, to push forward the global off-grid agenda. The third International Off-grid Renewable Energy Conference and Exhibition (IOREC), organised by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in partnership with the Kenyan Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE), aims to improve electricity access by scaling up off-grid renewables.

“Achieving 100 per cent electricity access by 2030 will require the pace of electricity expansion to nearly double – but this has never been more possible,” said IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin. “Dramatic cost reductions in recent years have made renewable technologies the most economic option for off-grid electrification – even cheaper than diesel-fired generation or kerosene-based conventional lighting in majority of contexts. Off-grid renewables can spur socio-economic growth while also contributing to multiple Sustainable Development Goals.”

Today, roughly 15 per cent of the world’s population lives without electricity and many more live without reliable access. Experts at the last IOREC, held in Manila in 2014, underlined that off-grid renewables offer a cost-effective, clean, and reliable option to expand electricity access in rural, peri-urban, and island contexts. To achieve this, there must be a holistic approach towards energy access – taking into account water, agriculture, health, telecommunication, and education.

“A growing number of governments, businesses and individuals are recognising the potential of off-grid renewables as a solution to energy access issues,” said Mr. Amin. “In 2015, USD 276 million was invested in the off-grid solar sector alone, a 15-fold increase over 2012. We now must further accelerate off-grid renewable energy deployment, not just for access, but for economic prosperity and poverty eradication.”

IOREC 2016 will focus on four overarching themes: stand-alone systems for rapid expansion of electricity access; technology innovation to unlock new opportunities; mini-grid development to meet growing demand; and socio-economic benefits of off-grid renewable energy system deployment. Participants will share experiences and best practices on the design and implementation of enabling policies, tailored financing schemes, innovative business models, and technology applications to boost off-grid development.

In parallel to the conference, ARE will organise an exhibition for the private sector to showcase renewable energy projects and products. IOREC also takes place directly following the SEED Africa Symposium (28-29 September 2016), an international forum to stimulate growth of social and eco-entrepreneurship in Africa.

Source: irena.org

Volcanic eruptions slow down climate change – temporarily

12.08.2016

Although global concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has continuously increased over the past decade, the mean global surface temperature has not followed the same path. A team of international reseachers, KIT scientists among them, have now found an explanation for this slowing down in global warming: the incoming solar radiation in the years 2008-2011 was twice as much reflected by volcanic aerosol particles in the lowest part of the stratosphere than previously thought. The team presents their study in Nature Communications.

For the lowest part of the stratosphere – i. e. the layer between 10 and 16 kilometres — little information was available so far, but now the international IAGOS-CARIBIC climate project combined with satellite observations from the CALIPSO lidar provided new essential information. According to the study, the cooling effect due to volcanic eruptions was clearly underestimated by climate models used for the last Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. Led by the University of Lund, Sweden, and supported by the NASA Langley Research Center, USA, and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, three major German atmospheric research institutes were also involved: the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz (MPI-C), the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research in Leipzig (TROPOS) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Since more frequent volcanic eruptions and the subsequent cooling effect are only temporary the rise of Earths’ temperature will speed up again. The reason is the still continuously increasing greenhouse gas concentration, the scientists say.

In the first decade of the 21st century the average surface temperature over the northern mid-latitude continents did increase only slightly. This effect can be now explained by the new study on volcanic aerosol particles in the atmosphere reported here. The study uses data from the tropopause region up to 35 km altitude, where the former is found between 8 km (poles) and 17 km (equator) altitude. The tropopause region is a transition layer between the underlying wet weather layer with its clouds (troposphere) and the dry and cloud-free layer above (stratosphere). “Overall our results emphasize that even smaller volcanic eruptions are more important for the Earth´s climate than expected,” summarize CARIBIC coordinators Dr. Carl Brenninkmeijer, MPI-C, and Dr. Andreas Zahn, KIT. The IAGOS-CARIBIC observatory was coordinated and operated by the MPI-C until the end of 2014, since then by the KIT.

To collect their data the team combined two different experimental approaches: sampling and in situ measurements made by IAGOS-CARIBIC together with observations from the CALIPSO satellite. In the IAGOS-CARIBIC observatory trace gases and aerosol particles in the tropopause region are measured since 1997. A modified air-freight container is loaded once per month for four intercontinental flights into a modified Airbus A340-600 of Lufthansa. Altogether about 100 trace gas and aerosol parameters are measured in situ at 9-12 km altitude as well as in dedicated European research laboratories after flight. TROPOS in Leipzig is responsible for the in situ aerosol particle measurements in this unique project. KIT runs 5 of the 15 installed instruments, also the one for ozone. Collected particles are analyzed at the University of Lund, Sweden, using an ion beam accelerator for measuring the amount of particulate sulfur. When comparing this particulate sulfur concentration to the in situ measured ozone concentration this ratio is usually quite constant at cruise altitude. However, volcanic eruptions increase the amount of particulate sulfur and thus the ratio becomes an indicator of volcanic eruption influencing the tropopause region. “The ratio of particulate sulfur to ozone from the CARIBIC measurements clearly demonstrates the strong influence from volcanism on the tropopause region,” report Dr. Sandra M. Andersson and Professor Bengt G. Martinsson of the University of Lund, who are the lead authors.

The second method is based on satellite observations. The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) mission, a collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US and the Centre National d’Etude Spatiale (CNES) in France, has provided unprecedented view on aerosol and cloud layers in the atmosphere. Until recently, the data had only been scrutinized above 15 km, namely where volcanic aerosol are known to affect our climate for a long time. Now also aeorosol particles of the lowermost stratosphere have been taken into account for calculating the radiative balance of the atmosphere, to evaluate the impact of smaller volcanic eruptions on the climate.

The influence from volcanic eruptions on the stratosphere was small in the northern hemisphere between 1999 and 2002. However, strong signals of volcanic aerosol particles were observed between 2005 and 2012. In particular three eruptions stand out: the Kasatochi in August 2008 (USA), the Sarychev in June 2009 (Russia), and the Nabro in June 2011 (Eritrea). Each of the three eruptions injected more than one megaton sulfur dioxide (SO2) into the atmosphere. “Virtually all volcanic eruptions reaching the stratosphere lead to more particles there, as they bring in sulfur dioxide, which is converted to sulfate particles,” explains Dr. Markus Hermann of TROPOS, who conducts the in situ particle measurements in CARIBIC.

Whether a volcanic eruption has a global climate impact or not depends on several factors. There is the amount of volcanic sulfur dioxide as well as the injection height. But also the latitude of the eruption is important: As the air flow in northern hemispheric stratosphere is largely disconnected from the southern hemisphere, only volcanic eruptions near the equator can effectively distribute the emitted material over both hemispheres. As in the Tambora eruption on the Indonesian Island Sumbawa 200 years ago. This eruption led to such a strong global cooling that the year 1816 was called “year without summer,” including worldwide crop failures and famines.

Also the Krakatau eruption 1883 on Indonesia or the Pinatubo 1991 on the Philippines led to noticeable cooling. The present study now indicates that “the cooling effect of volcanic eruptions was underestimated in the past, because the lowest part of the stratosphere was mostly not considered. Interestingly our results show that the effect also depends on the season. The eruptions investigated by us had their strongest impact in late summer when the incoming solar radiation is still strong,” explains Dr. Sandra M. Andersson.

Source: sciencedaily.com

France passes ‘pioneering’ food waste bill to ban supermarkets from binning unused food

12.08.2016

France passes new food waste bill obliging supermarkets to hand over unused food to charity and not destroy leftover products, claiming the law will be “unique in Europe”. France is to enact a law to reduce the estimated 7 million tons of food wasted in the country each year.

The law forces French supermarkets with retail space of 400 sq m (4,305 sq ft) or more to donate food that is approaching its best-before date to charity or be turned into animal feed or compost, rather than simply discarding it.

They will no longer be allowed to render foodstuffs inedible by pouring water or bleach on them – previously a common practice.

Supermarkets will have to sign contracts with charities or face penalties, including fines of up to €75,000 (£53,000) or two years in jail.

The new measures, according to Guillaume Garot, a Socialist MP who helped frame them, mean“France will become the leading country in Europe” combating food waste.

They bring to an end a system whereby food producers were legally obliged to destroy entire batches of products that carried a supermarket brand name.

“Today, when a supermarket like Carrefour finds even a tiny fault with a crate of its branded yogurts, it sends the whole batch back to the dairy producer, which is legally obliged to destroy the lot even if it is all of excellent quality,” Mr Garot said.

“This is a very regular occurrence and we are talking about huge volumes – several million yogurts binned per year.

“Today, the law makes it possible for manufacturers to give these yogurts to charities without even asking permission from supermarkets.”

The law, he said, was also the first to offer a “combined, coherent policy against food waste”, including education about waste in schools.

“Schoolchildren need to know milk doesn’t come from cartons but cows’ udders, that some vegetables are picked only in certain seasons. They must learn to appreciate the quality of products, as the higher the quality of the meal, the less is left on the plate,” he added.

His co-author, Jean-Pierre Decool, of the centre-Right party, The Republicans, said the law was crucial given that “to bin a baguette is to empty an entire bathtub [of water], and to throw a kilo of meat away is 15,000 litres of wasted water”.

The law, however, can do little about changing rules on a food product’s “use by” or “best before” dates, as these are subject to European regulation – bar ensuring that products remain in shops up to and including the expiry date.

Initially passed earlier this year, the bill was quashed by the Council of State for “procedural reasons”, but is expected to be enacted after being backed by parties across the political spectrum and passed by the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.

The law must now pass through the Senate and is likely to be enacted early next year.

The world population is due to rise from 7 to 9 billion by 2050 and, according to the World Food Programme, mankind wastes between 30 and 50 per cent of the food it produces.

The French law goes further than the UK, where the government has a voluntary agreement with the grocery and retail sector to cut both food and packaging waste in the supply chain, but does not believe in mandatory targets.

The French move came as the Archbishop of Canterbury accused the Government of leaving families vulnerable to hunger and poverty because of controversial welfare reform.

Justin Welby described it as a “tragedy” that families still face hunger in the 21st century but credited food banks with “striving to make life bearable for people who are going hungry”.

The Archbishop’s comments came alongside the publication of an all-party parliamentary report which examined the causes of rising food bank use and household food insecurity. It concluded that Britain was still “a huge distance from abolishing hunger as we know it in our country”.

A Government spokesman said: “We agree with the all-party group that nobody should go hungry, especially when surplus food goes to waste. We will therefore carefully consider the recommendations made in this report.”

Source: telegraph.co.uk

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