Inside Afghanistan's hydropower revolution

Inside Afghanistan's hydropower revolution | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Say the word 'Afghanistan', and you'll conjure up a number of associations in your listener's mind. It's a safe bet that none of them will include 'promising haven of renewable energy'. But that's a pretty fair description of what's underway in the mountainous north eastern province of Badakhshan – "the least developed part of the least developed country in the world".

UN talks, water matter most to Cyprus

UN talks, water matter most to Cyprus: minister: Scientific American

Cyprus will focus on shoring up European Union water supplies and on preparation for U.N. climate talks in Doha as the green priorities for its six months at the EU helm, its environment minister said on Friday.  Just before beginning its first stint as holder of the rotating EU presidency on July 1, Cyprus asked for 10 billion euros ($12.4 billion) in emergency funding for its financial sector.  For a nation scarred by a severe drought that forced the import of water from Greece in 2008, its cash crisis will not detract from sharing the lessons of water management across the EU.

The Nuclear Power Conundrum

The Nuclear Power Conundrum: Scientific American

Are fossil fuels the retro fallback option for a nuclear-free future?  Nuclear power's back in the news. Last month the Japanese government reversed its post-Fukushima decision to become nuclear-free, and today the Kansai Electric Power restarted the No. 3 nuclear unit at its Ohi plant in Fukui in the western part of the country.  Ironically, a report released today by the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission concluded that last year's accident in northeastern Japan at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) was "profoundly a man-made disaster -- that could and should have been foreseen and prevented."

Gulf Carriers Become Environment-Conscious

Gulf Carriers Become Environment-Conscious | Your Olive Branch News - yobo

Dubai Gulf airlines have recently began taking carbon emissions and environmental issues more seriously than before, amid rising international pressure.  From this year, all airlines are being charged for carbon emission on flights to and from and within the European Union (EU) under its controversial Emissions Trading System (ETS). This covers passenger, cargo and non-commercial flights. A failure to comply with the ETS might cost Gulf carriers hundreds of millions of dollars in fees and penalties – a move that has come under serious attack from the global airline community.  As an oil-producing region, the Middle East has long been considered a net emitter of carbon. However, a latest Deloitte whitepaper indicates that this perception now appears to be changing as the region takes steps to embrace green initiatives...

Latest Carbon News Headlines

Thomson Reuters Point Carbon's OTC price assessments

		Close	+/-
EUA	Dec 2012	8.13	-0.22
sCER	Dec 2012	3.91	-0.21

 

 

Latest Carbon Market News

Markets

06 Jul 2012 15:53

EC clears free EUAs for Czech, Romanian and Bulgarian utilities

LONDON, July 6 (Reuters Point Carbon) - The EU has given permission for Bulgaria, the Czech Republic…

Buy/Free trial

Policy

06 Jul 2012 18:38

INTERVIEW-UN talks, water matter most to Cyprus: minister

NICOSIA, July 6 (Reuters) - Cyprus will focus on shoring up European Union water supplies and on pre…

Buy/Free trial

CDM/JI/AAU

06 Jul 2012 15:52

Tanzania, Iran vie for U.N climate loans

LONDON, July 6 (Reuters Point Carbon) - Project developers from 23 countries, including Tanzania and…

Buy/Free trial

Policy

06 Jul 2012 13:20

Japan 2020 climate target “very difficult” to meet: minister

Japan will unlikely be able to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 25 percent under 1990 levels by 20…

Buy/Free trial

EU ETS

06 Jul 2012 13:38

Italy CO2 output from power to fall as solar displaces coal, gas

LONDON, July 6 (Reuters Point Carbon) - Fossil-fuel based power generation in Italy fell 6.4 percent…

Buy/Free trial

Policy

06 Jul 2012 11:18

Calif. ban on gas pipeline offsets driven by Quebec

SAN FRANCISCO, July 5 (Reuters Point Carbon) – California’s surprise decision to ban carbon credits…

Buy/Free trial

Markets

06 Jul 2012 01:14

CCAs hit $19 in light holiday trading

SAN FRANCISCO, July 5 (Reuters Point Carbon) – California carbon allowances (CCAs) for delivery in 2…

Buy/Free trial

New financing sources to support strong renewables growth – IEA

Environmental Finance | News | New financing sources to support strong renewables growth – IEA
Electricity generation from renewable energy will rise by 40% over the next five years, and non-traditional sources of financing will play an increasing role in renewables investment, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).  Renewable electricity growth is expected to accelerate and reach almost 6,400 terawatt hours (TWh), up from 4,500TWh now, says the IEA’s Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report 2012.

New Robot builds solar power plants

New Robot builds solar power plants on Environmental Expert
Building open area solar parks is mostly manual work. Identical processes are repeated hundreds of thousands of times, so PV-Kraftwerker have been looking into automation options for some time. At the Intersolar North America exhibition in San Francisco, the company will present 'Momo' for the first time in the USA.  The mobile assembly robot named Momo can tackle the whole building process. It is particularly suitable for large area assemblies, where installers face difficult terrain and have to cover large distances. The robot moves to the designated site, supplied with all the necessary photovoltaic modules, assembles the photovoltaic unit and moves on to the next one.

EU Ministers to Discuss Funding Climate Change Adaptation, Water

EU Ministers to Discuss Funding Climate Change Adaptation, Water - Bloomberg

European Union ministers will discuss water management and financing of adaptation to climate change, whose costs to the region are estimated at 20 billion euros ($25 billion) in 2020, at an informal meeting this weekend.  Environment ministers from the bloc’s 27 governments will hold talks on a planned policy paper on safeguarding water resources tomorrow, according to a draft agenda of the meeting hosted by Cyprus.  The second day of the meeting in Nicosia will be devoted to the use of private and EU funds to adjust infrastructure and minimize threats from global warming to human health and ecosystems. The agenda features the presidency priorities in the area of climate change and doesn’t include any discussion on EU carbon-reduction goals beyond 2020 or the bloc’s carbon market after talks on those issues stalled earlier this year.

Solar Impulse Sun-Powered Plane Flies Back to Europe From Africa

Solar Impulse Sun-Powered Plane Flies Back to Europe From Africa - Bloomberg
Solar Impulse, Switzerland’s experimental sun-powered aircraft that uses no fuel, flew back to Europe today from the Moroccan city of Rabat, taking off at dawn with a landing expected about midnight in Madrid, Spain.  The single-pilot craft with a wingspan of an Airbus 340 has been flown on alternative legs by Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, powered by 12,000 solar cells integrated into the wing that supply four 10-horsepower motors with the energy that charges lithium batteries during the day and allows the plane to fly all night.

U.K. Signals Effort to Scrap Barriers Blocking Renewable Energy

U.K. Signals Effort to Scrap Barriers Blocking Renewable Energy - Bloomberg
The U.K. government indicated it’s looking for ways to knock down hurdles blocking renewable energy developments, part of an effort to attract 110 billion pounds ($171 billion) in low-carbon investment.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change asked the industry to provide evidence about what barriers it faces in reaching power-sales agreements with utilities, noting that some generators were reporting more unfavorable terms.  “The government would also like to see a diverse electricity market with reduced barriers for new entrants, and renewable developers are an important part of this,” the department said in a statement released on its website in London today.

Emissions trading: Commission clears temporary free allowances for power plants in Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Romania

Emissions trading: Commission clears temporary free allowances for power plants in Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Romania | eGov monitor | The Information Daily
The European Commission today authorised requests from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Romania for a continued free allocation of EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) allowances to their power sectors beyond this year. The Commission has taken these decisions under provisions which allow certain Member States exemptions from the general rule that, from 2013 onwards, the power sector must buy all its allowances at auctions or in the market. The Commission has already approved applications from Cyprus, Estonia and Lithuania.

Sustainability? Business gets it

Sustainability? Business gets it - Other Views - NewsObserver.com
‘The most formidable challenge we face is global climate change.” That statement comes not from an academic, political pundit or environmental advocacy organization, but from America’s largest bank: Bank of America, headquartered in Charlotte.  In recent weeks, as North Carolina legislators were battling over the use of the word “sustainable” in the government-funded NC Sustainable Local Food Advisory Council, Bank of America was announcing a new $50 billion environmental business initiative.
It is a strange era indeed when big business is more vocal about protecting the environment than government is...