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Isra-Mart news:
A Republican senator introduced legislation on Wednesday to shield U.S. airlines from a law set to take effect in Europe that would charge carriers globally for aircraft emissions.
The bill was proposed by John Thune, but lacks a Democratic co-sponsor that airlines were hoping would give the proposal more weight in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
A similar bill was approved by the House of Representatives in October with bi-partisan support.
The Obama administration opposes the European law, due to take effect in January.
The law would require airlines to join the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme and buy permits to offset greenhouse emissions from jetliners operating in, or to, and from, Europe.
Airlines globally say compliance would hurt them financially. The change is estimated to cost U.S. airlines $3.1 billion between 2012 and year-end 2020, an industry trade group said.
China, India and two dozen other nations also object and a United Nations' body that oversees civil aviation is accelerating its efforts to try to craft a compromise.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Isra-Mart srl: Negotiators Discuss Taxing Ships to Pay for Climate Change
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Isra-Mart news:
One of the big issues under discussion at the climate talks here in Durban is how to pay for the programs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help people adapt to climate change. There's been a lot of work already done on setting up a multi-billion dollar Green Climate Fund, but it's still not clear where all that cash would come from.
One option on the table—and a pretty good one—is a tax on global shipping. This is generally called a "bunker" tax, referring to the place where fuel is stored on a ship. The idea is to put a fee on emissions that stem from shipping stuff all over world on cargo boats, which would have the impact of both pushing the industry to reduce its emissions, and creating a source of revenue that can be put into the Green Climate Fund.
Emissions from maritime shipping account for about 3 percent of greenhouse gases currently, but are on the rise. A levy on those emissions could generate quite a bit of money. Oxfam estimates that a fee of $25 per ton of carbon would generate $10 billion per year. Meanwhile, it would only raise the price of shipping by an estimated 0.2 percent. Part of the revenues would likely be rebated to poorer countries to make sure the tax doesn't put new burdens on their domestic industries, but the fee has still made some developing countries nervous.
It's also supported by some industry players, including the International Chamber of Shipping, which represents 80 percent of the industry. NGOs like it too. "Raising money for climate action from the shipping industry is just good policy," said Steve Herz, senior attorney with the Sierra Club's International Climate Program. "It will help reduce a large and growing source of carbon pollution, will impose little if any costs on consumers, and can be designed to protect the poor from any adverse impact."
Some developed countries (read: the United States) have been resistant to having any formal directive within the conference on where the money for the Green Climate Fund should come from; that, they argue, should be up to each of the donor countries to decide.
Another option that has been discussed is a fee on aviation. The bloc of least-developed countries has proposed a levy on all international flights, paid for by the ticket-buyer. Their argument, of course, is that if you can afford an expensive international trip, you can afford a few extra dollars to pay for your emissions. But when the European Union recently put a tax on all flights through EU countries, members of Congress freaked out; the House actually passed a bill that would forbid US airlines from paying the fee. A number of other countries were also displeased with the EU's plan. But it can be hard to get developed countries to commit to public funding for climate, and the specific amounts are offered at the discretion of political leaders or bodies. A funding stream like a bunker or aviation tax is more reliable, and it's outside the control of a particular country, which makes it an appealing option for many negotiators.
Isra-Mart news:
One of the big issues under discussion at the climate talks here in Durban is how to pay for the programs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help people adapt to climate change. There's been a lot of work already done on setting up a multi-billion dollar Green Climate Fund, but it's still not clear where all that cash would come from.
One option on the table—and a pretty good one—is a tax on global shipping. This is generally called a "bunker" tax, referring to the place where fuel is stored on a ship. The idea is to put a fee on emissions that stem from shipping stuff all over world on cargo boats, which would have the impact of both pushing the industry to reduce its emissions, and creating a source of revenue that can be put into the Green Climate Fund.
Emissions from maritime shipping account for about 3 percent of greenhouse gases currently, but are on the rise. A levy on those emissions could generate quite a bit of money. Oxfam estimates that a fee of $25 per ton of carbon would generate $10 billion per year. Meanwhile, it would only raise the price of shipping by an estimated 0.2 percent. Part of the revenues would likely be rebated to poorer countries to make sure the tax doesn't put new burdens on their domestic industries, but the fee has still made some developing countries nervous.
It's also supported by some industry players, including the International Chamber of Shipping, which represents 80 percent of the industry. NGOs like it too. "Raising money for climate action from the shipping industry is just good policy," said Steve Herz, senior attorney with the Sierra Club's International Climate Program. "It will help reduce a large and growing source of carbon pollution, will impose little if any costs on consumers, and can be designed to protect the poor from any adverse impact."
Some developed countries (read: the United States) have been resistant to having any formal directive within the conference on where the money for the Green Climate Fund should come from; that, they argue, should be up to each of the donor countries to decide.
Another option that has been discussed is a fee on aviation. The bloc of least-developed countries has proposed a levy on all international flights, paid for by the ticket-buyer. Their argument, of course, is that if you can afford an expensive international trip, you can afford a few extra dollars to pay for your emissions. But when the European Union recently put a tax on all flights through EU countries, members of Congress freaked out; the House actually passed a bill that would forbid US airlines from paying the fee. A number of other countries were also displeased with the EU's plan. But it can be hard to get developed countries to commit to public funding for climate, and the specific amounts are offered at the discretion of political leaders or bodies. A funding stream like a bunker or aviation tax is more reliable, and it's outside the control of a particular country, which makes it an appealing option for many negotiators.
Isra-Mart srl: Germany To Distribute CO2 Vouchers Worth EUR3B To Airlines 2012-202
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Isra-Mart news:
A German environment authority said Thursday it has begun notifying airlines around the world about how many carbon dioxide emission certificates they will receive for free each year, preparing the carriers for the inclusion of the aviation industry in the European Union's cap and trade CO2 scheme from 2012.
In a written statement, the Federal Environment Authority--known as Umweltbundesamt--said that it will hand out some 42.8 million CO2 certificates for the year 2012, the first year that airlines are included in the EU's CO2 emissions trading scheme.
In the 2013 to 2020 period the airlines will receive 40.5 million CO2 allowances per year, said the authority.
"These [CO2 emission rights] have a value of around EUR3 billion according to present market prices," the Umweltbundesamt said.
A spokeswoman for the environment authority said that the notifications have been sent to some 130 airlines around the world. In total, Germany is responsible for overseeing the CO2 trading scheme for a total of 409 airlines, she added.
The number of notifications sent to airlines for now remains relatively low, as some have requested or have been granted exemption from the CO2 trade, the spokeswoman said. Others haven't yet provided information necessary to determine how many CO2 rights they would receive free of charge.
The Umweltbundesamt Thursday declined to detail the allocation of CO2 allowances to individual airlines, but added that it plans to publish a list with this information on Dec. 23.
Isra-Mart news:
A German environment authority said Thursday it has begun notifying airlines around the world about how many carbon dioxide emission certificates they will receive for free each year, preparing the carriers for the inclusion of the aviation industry in the European Union's cap and trade CO2 scheme from 2012.
In a written statement, the Federal Environment Authority--known as Umweltbundesamt--said that it will hand out some 42.8 million CO2 certificates for the year 2012, the first year that airlines are included in the EU's CO2 emissions trading scheme.
In the 2013 to 2020 period the airlines will receive 40.5 million CO2 allowances per year, said the authority.
"These [CO2 emission rights] have a value of around EUR3 billion according to present market prices," the Umweltbundesamt said.
A spokeswoman for the environment authority said that the notifications have been sent to some 130 airlines around the world. In total, Germany is responsible for overseeing the CO2 trading scheme for a total of 409 airlines, she added.
The number of notifications sent to airlines for now remains relatively low, as some have requested or have been granted exemption from the CO2 trade, the spokeswoman said. Others haven't yet provided information necessary to determine how many CO2 rights they would receive free of charge.
The Umweltbundesamt Thursday declined to detail the allocation of CO2 allowances to individual airlines, but added that it plans to publish a list with this information on Dec. 23.
Isra-Mart srl: EU carbon allowance allocation to airlines proceeds despite protest
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Isra-Mart news:
As international opposition to the inclusion of aviation in the EU's carbon emission trading system (ETS) continues to grow, member states have begun informing airlines of their exact free allocation.
Germany is the latest country to do so, saying on Thursday that it expects to allocate 42.8m free EU allowances (EUAs) to airlines at the start of 2012, which is the first year that the aviation sector will be included within the ETS.
German carbon registry DEHSt said it will inform individual airlines about the number of certificates they will receive until 2020.
The UK and Ireland have already published this information (see EDCM 3 October 2011 and 28 Ocotber 2011).
However, DEHSt said it will publish only a detailed list of relevant airlines and their respective EUA allocations on 23 December.
Pushed for details of the German system, a registry spokeswoman said: "All I can say is that we are going to allocate in total 42.8m EUAs in 2012 and 40.5m EUAs annually from 2013-2020 to around 130 airlines that have applied for the allocation of free allowances in Germany."
The allowances will be handed out to airlines by 28 February.
In early 2013, the airlines will have to report their emissions for the year 2012 and hand in the relevant number of allowances to registries.
The EU set the emission benchmarks, on which the exact allocation is based, in September ( see EDCM 26 September 2011).
US opposition grows
Meanwhile, after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said it will rule on 21 December whether the EU's inclusion of airlines in the ETS is legal (see EDCM 7 December 2011) - which is expected to give the move a green legal light - US Senator John Thune introduced a bill to block the inclusion of US airlines in the trading system.
"The idea that the European Union has the right to tax American air passengers and carriers flies in the face of our country's sovereignty," Thune said in a statement on his website on Wednesday.
"I reject this proposed European tax and will work with my colleagues in Congress and countless concerned stakeholders to block this tax."
The bill introduced by Thune is similar to one brought by John Mica to the House of Representatives that was passed on 24 October (see EDCM 25 October 2011).
European estimates
In 2012, airlines will receive 0.6797 free aviation emissions allowances for every 1,000 tonne-kilometre reported for 2010.
A tonne-kilometre is a measure of the distance travelled and the total weight of load and passengers of flight.
According to calculations by consulting firm Altimedes, British Airways will receive the most 2012 allowances, collecting around 4.82% of total free credits, amounting to 10.35m EUAs.
It will be followed by Ryanair (5.6m EUAs), Iberia (4.6m), Emirates (4.3m) and Easy Jet (3.7m) as the top five recipients of free allowances in 2012.
In 2013-2020, the allocation will fall to 0.64219 free aviation allowances per 1,000 tonne-kilometre reported for 2010.
From 30 April 2013, flights landing or departing from airports within the territories of the EU states, as well as Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland, will have to surrender EUAs matching their emissions in the previous year.
Each year, airlines will receive some free EUAs and will have to buy any extras they need on the carbon market.
Isra-Mart news:
As international opposition to the inclusion of aviation in the EU's carbon emission trading system (ETS) continues to grow, member states have begun informing airlines of their exact free allocation.
Germany is the latest country to do so, saying on Thursday that it expects to allocate 42.8m free EU allowances (EUAs) to airlines at the start of 2012, which is the first year that the aviation sector will be included within the ETS.
German carbon registry DEHSt said it will inform individual airlines about the number of certificates they will receive until 2020.
The UK and Ireland have already published this information (see EDCM 3 October 2011 and 28 Ocotber 2011).
However, DEHSt said it will publish only a detailed list of relevant airlines and their respective EUA allocations on 23 December.
Pushed for details of the German system, a registry spokeswoman said: "All I can say is that we are going to allocate in total 42.8m EUAs in 2012 and 40.5m EUAs annually from 2013-2020 to around 130 airlines that have applied for the allocation of free allowances in Germany."
The allowances will be handed out to airlines by 28 February.
In early 2013, the airlines will have to report their emissions for the year 2012 and hand in the relevant number of allowances to registries.
The EU set the emission benchmarks, on which the exact allocation is based, in September ( see EDCM 26 September 2011).
US opposition grows
Meanwhile, after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said it will rule on 21 December whether the EU's inclusion of airlines in the ETS is legal (see EDCM 7 December 2011) - which is expected to give the move a green legal light - US Senator John Thune introduced a bill to block the inclusion of US airlines in the trading system.
"The idea that the European Union has the right to tax American air passengers and carriers flies in the face of our country's sovereignty," Thune said in a statement on his website on Wednesday.
"I reject this proposed European tax and will work with my colleagues in Congress and countless concerned stakeholders to block this tax."
The bill introduced by Thune is similar to one brought by John Mica to the House of Representatives that was passed on 24 October (see EDCM 25 October 2011).
European estimates
In 2012, airlines will receive 0.6797 free aviation emissions allowances for every 1,000 tonne-kilometre reported for 2010.
A tonne-kilometre is a measure of the distance travelled and the total weight of load and passengers of flight.
According to calculations by consulting firm Altimedes, British Airways will receive the most 2012 allowances, collecting around 4.82% of total free credits, amounting to 10.35m EUAs.
It will be followed by Ryanair (5.6m EUAs), Iberia (4.6m), Emirates (4.3m) and Easy Jet (3.7m) as the top five recipients of free allowances in 2012.
In 2013-2020, the allocation will fall to 0.64219 free aviation allowances per 1,000 tonne-kilometre reported for 2010.
From 30 April 2013, flights landing or departing from airports within the territories of the EU states, as well as Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland, will have to surrender EUAs matching their emissions in the previous year.
Each year, airlines will receive some free EUAs and will have to buy any extras they need on the carbon market.
Isra-Mart srl: Tourism bosses’ long-hop tax fears
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Isra-Mart news:
A Queenstown tourism chief fears a green tax hike on long haul flights from the UK could set a harmful precedent.
The British Government has announced its Air Passenger Duty (APD) will increase next April.
The levy – which goes up from £85 to £92 ($170-$184) for flights to New Zealand – is banded on distance travelled.
Destination Queenstown boss Tony Everitt says: “It sets a precedent for other countries around the world.
“That’s the thing that needs to be watched out for.
“I wouldn’t expect this single action to have an immediate significant impact on Queenstown.
“Obviously it is not desirable. It is great the Minister [John Key] is on the case because the UK is an important market for Queenstown, in the top five.”
Prime Minister John Key, also Tourism Minister, is lobbying the British Government on what he regards as an unjustified tax.
Key says environmental concerns have already been addressed through the European Union’s extension of the Emissions Trading Scheme to aviation emissions.
Key says: “That puts a levy on airlines – meaning there is no justification for an additional duty on air passengers which discriminates on the basis of distance.
“The APD places a significant burden on New Zealand businesses, on families who travel, and on our tourism industry,” Mr Key says.
Last month, Key told Mountain Scene he was concerned about what he viewed as inappropriate taxes getting a hold in the UK and extending to other places.
The Tourism Industry Association, New Zealand, is lobbying on the charge, which for the first time will also cover business jets.
Everitt says: “It is something that needs to be addressed on a national and international level.
“We support the Minister and Association’s efforts to get some relief on this.
“The UK market is a tough one for us and other destinations at the moment due to the economic situation there. We do want to see that turn around.”
The APD will be set at £13 for short-haul flights, £65 for mid-distance and £81 for between 6400km and 9600km.
Isra-Mart news:
A Queenstown tourism chief fears a green tax hike on long haul flights from the UK could set a harmful precedent.
The British Government has announced its Air Passenger Duty (APD) will increase next April.
The levy – which goes up from £85 to £92 ($170-$184) for flights to New Zealand – is banded on distance travelled.
Destination Queenstown boss Tony Everitt says: “It sets a precedent for other countries around the world.
“That’s the thing that needs to be watched out for.
“I wouldn’t expect this single action to have an immediate significant impact on Queenstown.
“Obviously it is not desirable. It is great the Minister [John Key] is on the case because the UK is an important market for Queenstown, in the top five.”
Prime Minister John Key, also Tourism Minister, is lobbying the British Government on what he regards as an unjustified tax.
Key says environmental concerns have already been addressed through the European Union’s extension of the Emissions Trading Scheme to aviation emissions.
Key says: “That puts a levy on airlines – meaning there is no justification for an additional duty on air passengers which discriminates on the basis of distance.
“The APD places a significant burden on New Zealand businesses, on families who travel, and on our tourism industry,” Mr Key says.
Last month, Key told Mountain Scene he was concerned about what he viewed as inappropriate taxes getting a hold in the UK and extending to other places.
The Tourism Industry Association, New Zealand, is lobbying on the charge, which for the first time will also cover business jets.
Everitt says: “It is something that needs to be addressed on a national and international level.
“We support the Minister and Association’s efforts to get some relief on this.
“The UK market is a tough one for us and other destinations at the moment due to the economic situation there. We do want to see that turn around.”
The APD will be set at £13 for short-haul flights, £65 for mid-distance and £81 for between 6400km and 9600km.
Isra-Mart srl: IATA warns EU ETS could trigger trade war
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Isra-Mart news:
Opposition from governments against the inclusion of aviation next year in the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is growing and could result in a trade war, IATA warned.
IATA still is pushing for a global solution within ICAO through negotiations (ATW Daily News, Dec. 1), but the “level of opposition is mounting. More than 20 states have indicated their dissatisfaction with Europe’s unilateral action. The danger of a trade war is still possible with Russia, China and India … while a bill is making its way through Congress to prevent US carriers from taking part,” IATA director-aviation environment Paul Steele told reporters in Geneva via satellite from the Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa.
Steele also said the option of filing a complaint under Article 84 of the Chicago Convention is being increasingly discussed. Article 84 allows ICAO members to file a complaint against other members for violating “the cardinal principle of state sovereignty” outlined in the Convention on International Civil Aviation (the Chicago Convention).
Last week, several airlines confirmed to ATW that using Article 84 to stop the EU ETS was raised at the ICAO council last month. Also, Assn. of European Airlines (AEA) secretary general Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus conceded to ATW that the risk of retaliation against EU carriers and an action through Article 84 were becoming a real concern.
According to sources, India is seriously considering using Article 84 against the EU and its 27 member states. There have been similar complaints in the past but all of them have been settled out of court. If no settlement is reached, the case will end up in the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, in The Hague.
Steele said the EU was in a difficult position. “There is demand from governments worldwide to change the EU ETS but it is not easy to change an existing regulation and all change options— intra-EU scheme, departing flights only, delay of the introduction—are problematic,” he said, adding that the only “real way to solve this is for all governments to get back around the table at ICAO.”
EU climate action commissioner Connie Hedegaard reiterated the EU was steadfast in its decision to include aviation in its ETS from next month. “There is no way the EU will change legislation,” she said in Durban. She also criticized the US House of Representatives for passing a bill prohibiting its airlines from participating in the ETS aviation scheme, calling the move “arrogant and ignorant.”
The House bill is merely symbolic at this stage, with action needed in the US Senate to move the issue forward. To that end, US Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) this week proposed similar legislation that he said would "enable the US Dept. of Transportation to take necessary action to ensure America's aviation operators are not penalized by any tax unilaterally imposed by the EU."
Isra-Mart news:
Opposition from governments against the inclusion of aviation next year in the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is growing and could result in a trade war, IATA warned.
IATA still is pushing for a global solution within ICAO through negotiations (ATW Daily News, Dec. 1), but the “level of opposition is mounting. More than 20 states have indicated their dissatisfaction with Europe’s unilateral action. The danger of a trade war is still possible with Russia, China and India … while a bill is making its way through Congress to prevent US carriers from taking part,” IATA director-aviation environment Paul Steele told reporters in Geneva via satellite from the Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa.
Steele also said the option of filing a complaint under Article 84 of the Chicago Convention is being increasingly discussed. Article 84 allows ICAO members to file a complaint against other members for violating “the cardinal principle of state sovereignty” outlined in the Convention on International Civil Aviation (the Chicago Convention).
Last week, several airlines confirmed to ATW that using Article 84 to stop the EU ETS was raised at the ICAO council last month. Also, Assn. of European Airlines (AEA) secretary general Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus conceded to ATW that the risk of retaliation against EU carriers and an action through Article 84 were becoming a real concern.
According to sources, India is seriously considering using Article 84 against the EU and its 27 member states. There have been similar complaints in the past but all of them have been settled out of court. If no settlement is reached, the case will end up in the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, in The Hague.
Steele said the EU was in a difficult position. “There is demand from governments worldwide to change the EU ETS but it is not easy to change an existing regulation and all change options— intra-EU scheme, departing flights only, delay of the introduction—are problematic,” he said, adding that the only “real way to solve this is for all governments to get back around the table at ICAO.”
EU climate action commissioner Connie Hedegaard reiterated the EU was steadfast in its decision to include aviation in its ETS from next month. “There is no way the EU will change legislation,” she said in Durban. She also criticized the US House of Representatives for passing a bill prohibiting its airlines from participating in the ETS aviation scheme, calling the move “arrogant and ignorant.”
The House bill is merely symbolic at this stage, with action needed in the US Senate to move the issue forward. To that end, US Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) this week proposed similar legislation that he said would "enable the US Dept. of Transportation to take necessary action to ensure America's aviation operators are not penalized by any tax unilaterally imposed by the EU."
Isra-Mart srl: California's low carbon vehicles plan moves up a gear
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Isra-Mart news:
California has unveiled proposals to slash transport emissions and put 1.4 million electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen-powered cars on its roads by 2025.
The Advanced Clean Car package of regulations put forward by the state's Air Resources Board (ARP) should result in a 75 per cent reduction in smog-forming emissions by 2025 and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 52 million tonnes, the equivalent of taking 10 million cars off the streets.
The proposed rules are in line with California's ambition to reduce its emissions 80 per cent by the middle of the century and come soon after US President Barack Obama published early plans to double car fuel efficiency to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.
As well as improving the efficiency of petrol and diesel cars, the regulations would aim to ensure low-carbon vehicles make up one in seven new cars sold in California in 2025 and should also supply the infrastructure to support them.
While the ARB noted implementing the technologies needed to achieve the new smog and greenhouse gas standards would increase a new vehicle's price in 2025 by about $1,900, it said this would be more than offset by $6,000 in fuel cost savings over the life of the car.
It expects the monthly cost of running a new car to fall by $12, even when considering the higher cost of the loan or lease, and predicts overall operating cost savings will reach $5bn in 2025, rising to $10bn in 2030 when more advanced cars are on the road.
Together, the entire package should result in a cumulative reduction of more than 870 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gases through to 2050, as well as creating an additional 21,000 jobs in 2025, rising to 37,000 in 2030.
"These rules will make California the advanced car capital of the world, driving the innovation, patents and technology that will generate thousands of jobs here, and set the stage for us to compete in the global clean car marketplace," said ARB executive officer James Goldstene.
However, the measures were criticised by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), which argued that the goals for zero-emissions vehicles should be stronger.
"California needs to ensure we get on the right trajectory to meet the state's public health and climate goals by mid-century," said Don Anair, senior engineer with the UCS Clean Vehicles programme.
"With more than 30 models of electric cars expected from automakers in the next few years, California should feel confident enough to eliminate special credits that could undermine the proposal and set a 30 per cent more aggressive sales target."
Isra-Mart news:
California has unveiled proposals to slash transport emissions and put 1.4 million electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen-powered cars on its roads by 2025.
The Advanced Clean Car package of regulations put forward by the state's Air Resources Board (ARP) should result in a 75 per cent reduction in smog-forming emissions by 2025 and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 52 million tonnes, the equivalent of taking 10 million cars off the streets.
The proposed rules are in line with California's ambition to reduce its emissions 80 per cent by the middle of the century and come soon after US President Barack Obama published early plans to double car fuel efficiency to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.
As well as improving the efficiency of petrol and diesel cars, the regulations would aim to ensure low-carbon vehicles make up one in seven new cars sold in California in 2025 and should also supply the infrastructure to support them.
While the ARB noted implementing the technologies needed to achieve the new smog and greenhouse gas standards would increase a new vehicle's price in 2025 by about $1,900, it said this would be more than offset by $6,000 in fuel cost savings over the life of the car.
It expects the monthly cost of running a new car to fall by $12, even when considering the higher cost of the loan or lease, and predicts overall operating cost savings will reach $5bn in 2025, rising to $10bn in 2030 when more advanced cars are on the road.
Together, the entire package should result in a cumulative reduction of more than 870 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gases through to 2050, as well as creating an additional 21,000 jobs in 2025, rising to 37,000 in 2030.
"These rules will make California the advanced car capital of the world, driving the innovation, patents and technology that will generate thousands of jobs here, and set the stage for us to compete in the global clean car marketplace," said ARB executive officer James Goldstene.
However, the measures were criticised by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), which argued that the goals for zero-emissions vehicles should be stronger.
"California needs to ensure we get on the right trajectory to meet the state's public health and climate goals by mid-century," said Don Anair, senior engineer with the UCS Clean Vehicles programme.
"With more than 30 models of electric cars expected from automakers in the next few years, California should feel confident enough to eliminate special credits that could undermine the proposal and set a 30 per cent more aggressive sales target."
Isra-Mart srl: UK could face legal action from EU over solar subsidy fiasco
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Isra-Mart news:
The UK government could face legal action from Brussels over plans to slash feed-in tariffs for solar installations and introduce energy efficiency requirements on buildings seeking the incentives, the European Commission has revealed.
Energy commissioner Günther Oettinger yesterday confirmed legal proceedings would be launched if changes to the feed-in tariff scheme threatened progress towards the UK's binding EU target to supply 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources.
Responding to a question from Green MEP for London Jean Lambert, Oettinger said legal action would be taken against any member state which weakened its policies in such a way that they threatened progress towards their green energy targets.
He also confirmed that the EU had already been in contact with the government over the consultation.
"Whenever Member States revise their support for support schemes for renewable energy, they need to do so in a manner which does not destabilise the renewable energy industry or risk undermining their own plans to achieve their 2020 targets," he said.
"Should the UK or any Member State weaken policies in such a way that it would threaten progress towards their targets, the Commission would take action, launching legal proceedings if necessary."
The government has consistently maintained the changes to the incentives are necessary to stop the feed-in tariff scheme exceeding its budget, and that the cuts will not threaten the UK's renewable energy or emission reduction targets.
But in a statement Lambert argued the UK's current plans, which will more than halve feed-in tariffs and place a requirement on buildings to meet energy efficiency standards before receiving feed-in tariffs, will put thousands of jobs at risk in the solar industry and cause bankruptcies.
"Under the Commission's ruling, the UK is prevented from making amendments to support schemes which could jeopardise the renewables industry, yet sudden, drastic cuts to the tariff will strip away investor confidence, reduce the market for solar companies across the country, and threaten jobs," she said.
"In the current climate, with unemployment reaching record levels, we can ill afford further job losses which could potentially reach into the thousands. This would seem to be a risky move: "destabilising" the industry by anyone's definition."
She urged the UK government to prove its plans to slash the subsidy will not stop the UK from delivering 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 as required under the EU directive.
Earlier this week it emerged the High Court has refused to proceed with legal action by Friends of the Earth and two solar power firms seeking to block the deep cuts to feed-in tariffs.
However, the court will next week hear an appeal against the decision.
In related news, the Solar Trade Association is seeking signatories for a letter that will urge the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister to intervene to block the controversial cuts to the incentives.
The letter will be delivered on 13 December, one day after the proposed cut off for solar installations to receive the current rate of incentives.
"Letter to PM & DPM on Solar #FIT Review... To sign it, email jbeard@r-e-a.net with your name, position and company!," Howard Johns, chairman of the STA, wrote on Twitter.
The letter warns that energy ministers have signed off proposals which could see the sector reduced to a tenth of its current size, at the cost of tens of thousands of jobs.
"Failure to secure a sensible solution to the unfolding crisis in the solar power industry makes no sense for tax-payers, consumers or voters." it says.
David Cameron side-stepped a call to halt the plans at Prime Minister's Question Time last month.
Isra-Mart news:
The UK government could face legal action from Brussels over plans to slash feed-in tariffs for solar installations and introduce energy efficiency requirements on buildings seeking the incentives, the European Commission has revealed.
Energy commissioner Günther Oettinger yesterday confirmed legal proceedings would be launched if changes to the feed-in tariff scheme threatened progress towards the UK's binding EU target to supply 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources.
Responding to a question from Green MEP for London Jean Lambert, Oettinger said legal action would be taken against any member state which weakened its policies in such a way that they threatened progress towards their green energy targets.
He also confirmed that the EU had already been in contact with the government over the consultation.
"Whenever Member States revise their support for support schemes for renewable energy, they need to do so in a manner which does not destabilise the renewable energy industry or risk undermining their own plans to achieve their 2020 targets," he said.
"Should the UK or any Member State weaken policies in such a way that it would threaten progress towards their targets, the Commission would take action, launching legal proceedings if necessary."
The government has consistently maintained the changes to the incentives are necessary to stop the feed-in tariff scheme exceeding its budget, and that the cuts will not threaten the UK's renewable energy or emission reduction targets.
But in a statement Lambert argued the UK's current plans, which will more than halve feed-in tariffs and place a requirement on buildings to meet energy efficiency standards before receiving feed-in tariffs, will put thousands of jobs at risk in the solar industry and cause bankruptcies.
"Under the Commission's ruling, the UK is prevented from making amendments to support schemes which could jeopardise the renewables industry, yet sudden, drastic cuts to the tariff will strip away investor confidence, reduce the market for solar companies across the country, and threaten jobs," she said.
"In the current climate, with unemployment reaching record levels, we can ill afford further job losses which could potentially reach into the thousands. This would seem to be a risky move: "destabilising" the industry by anyone's definition."
She urged the UK government to prove its plans to slash the subsidy will not stop the UK from delivering 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 as required under the EU directive.
Earlier this week it emerged the High Court has refused to proceed with legal action by Friends of the Earth and two solar power firms seeking to block the deep cuts to feed-in tariffs.
However, the court will next week hear an appeal against the decision.
In related news, the Solar Trade Association is seeking signatories for a letter that will urge the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister to intervene to block the controversial cuts to the incentives.
The letter will be delivered on 13 December, one day after the proposed cut off for solar installations to receive the current rate of incentives.
"Letter to PM & DPM on Solar #FIT Review... To sign it, email jbeard@r-e-a.net with your name, position and company!," Howard Johns, chairman of the STA, wrote on Twitter.
The letter warns that energy ministers have signed off proposals which could see the sector reduced to a tenth of its current size, at the cost of tens of thousands of jobs.
"Failure to secure a sensible solution to the unfolding crisis in the solar power industry makes no sense for tax-payers, consumers or voters." it says.
David Cameron side-stepped a call to halt the plans at Prime Minister's Question Time last month.
Isra-Mart srl: Environment Agency taskforce orders businesses to bin waste crime
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Isra-Mart news:
The Environment Agency has ploughed £5m into a new taskforce as it looks to crackdown on illegal waste sites in England and Wales, warning businesses to be on the lookout for offenders.
Around 600 illegal waste sites are thought to be in operation in the UK, potentially contaminating land and rivers with oil and toxic chemicals.
The agency closed or brought into regulation 1,195 illegal waste sites, undertook 400 waste-related prosecutions during 2010/11, and has recouped almost £1m from offenders through court orders in the last six months.
However, the problem has not been eradicated and the task force, which will include former police detectives, will be charged with gathering intelligence and acting quickly to close the remaining sites.
The agency also warned businesses to be wary of anyone offering cheap waste disposal services and urged companies to check if waste management firms have a valid licence.
It added that businesses must complete waste transfer notes - and keep them for two years - and use the NetRegs Waste Directory to find licensed recycling and waste disposal sites.
"Waste crime is a serious offence that poses a risk to human health and can damage the environment," said Dr Paul Leinster, chief executive of the Environment Agency. "If you're involved in illegal waste activities, you should be looking over your shoulder and expecting a visit from our enforcement officers.
"We'll press for the strongest possible penalties - including prison - for those convicted of these crimes against communities."
Isra-Mart news:
The Environment Agency has ploughed £5m into a new taskforce as it looks to crackdown on illegal waste sites in England and Wales, warning businesses to be on the lookout for offenders.
Around 600 illegal waste sites are thought to be in operation in the UK, potentially contaminating land and rivers with oil and toxic chemicals.
The agency closed or brought into regulation 1,195 illegal waste sites, undertook 400 waste-related prosecutions during 2010/11, and has recouped almost £1m from offenders through court orders in the last six months.
However, the problem has not been eradicated and the task force, which will include former police detectives, will be charged with gathering intelligence and acting quickly to close the remaining sites.
The agency also warned businesses to be wary of anyone offering cheap waste disposal services and urged companies to check if waste management firms have a valid licence.
It added that businesses must complete waste transfer notes - and keep them for two years - and use the NetRegs Waste Directory to find licensed recycling and waste disposal sites.
"Waste crime is a serious offence that poses a risk to human health and can damage the environment," said Dr Paul Leinster, chief executive of the Environment Agency. "If you're involved in illegal waste activities, you should be looking over your shoulder and expecting a visit from our enforcement officers.
"We'll press for the strongest possible penalties - including prison - for those convicted of these crimes against communities."
Isra-Mart srl: Durban close to breakthrough climate deal
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Isra-Mart news:
Rumours are circulating at the UN's climate summit in Durban that a major deal could be reached in the next 24 hours, paving the way for a global emissions reduction treaty to be agreed by 2015.
Unconfirmed reports suggest high level ministerial negotiations could be closing in on a breakthrough, with observers speculating that the EU and the China and G77 group of developing economies are close to a deal that could see the Kyoto Protocol extended and a roadmap agreed towards a parallel legally binding treaty.
A series of press conferences were cancelled this afternoon as closed door negotiations overran, prompting a flurry of excitement in the conference hall.
The WWF's Samantha Smith told the RTCC website that China was "putting more detail on the table" outlining its conditions for an agreement.
"They put their initial proposal on the table in a meeting with NGOs on Sunday, it was rather detailed then," she said. "But when they were in the informals and in press conferences they were not giving a detailed proposal. My impression is that other countries have now come back to them with different offers and that is moving the process along, that is why everyone is running around."
She added that a number of other countries, including Brazil, were also putting forward new texts, several of which have been well received and have fuelled hopes an agreement can be reached tomorrow.
In addition, RTCC said there were unconfirmed reports that a deal on the structure for the proposed $100bn Green Fund had been "signed off", while separately observers writing on the social media site Twitter suggested agreements were close to being finalised on reforms to the REDD forest protection scheme and the CDM offsetting scheme.
Earlier in the day, hopes that an agreement could be reached on the EU's proposed roadmap were fuelled by comments from US climate envoy Todd Stern in which he said the US supported the idea of a new roadmap and wanted to see an ambitious international deal reached by 2020.
Silvia Merega, chief negotiator for the G77 group, similarly told news agencies that the negotiations on the proposed roadmap were progressing well. "We have no problem dealing with what will be the next steps after Durban," he said. "We have to have some kind of rules. I don't know at this point if these rules would establish what the outcome of the negotiation would be."
Meanwhile, the Guardian reported that the African Group of Nations has also signalled its support for the EU plan, despite remaining frustrated at the stance of the US and those countries that have ruled out signing up to a second Kyoto commitment period.
However, while the group of least developed countries has supported the EU's plans for a new roadmap any agreement is likely to be met with a mixed response from green groups and development charities.
Critics have already warned that delaying a treaty until 2020 risks missing the opportunity to avoid temperature increases of over two degrees and could result in temperature increases of over four degrees unless extremely steep emission reductions are delivered post 2020.
Moreover, there remain no guarantees that a deal will be finalised with the EU remaining insistent that it will only sign up to a second Kyoto commitment period if other large emitters make detailed commitments to agree a new binding treaty by 2015.
A number of countries, including India and the US, have been reluctant to make such a commitment, while it also remains unclear how Japan, Russia and Canada, which have each signalled they will not extend the Kyoto Protocol, will fit into any new deal.
Negotiations are now expected to extend late into the evening ahead of the official final day of the summit tomorrow.
Ministers moved this evening to counsel against undue optimism. British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne led the way, telling the Press Association that while good progress was being made the mooted deal could still "go pear-shaped".
However, reports continued to circulate that the US, Canada, and Brazil had all agreed to support the EU's roadmap, leaving China and India under growing pressure to sign on to the plan.
Isra-Mart news:
Rumours are circulating at the UN's climate summit in Durban that a major deal could be reached in the next 24 hours, paving the way for a global emissions reduction treaty to be agreed by 2015.
Unconfirmed reports suggest high level ministerial negotiations could be closing in on a breakthrough, with observers speculating that the EU and the China and G77 group of developing economies are close to a deal that could see the Kyoto Protocol extended and a roadmap agreed towards a parallel legally binding treaty.
A series of press conferences were cancelled this afternoon as closed door negotiations overran, prompting a flurry of excitement in the conference hall.
The WWF's Samantha Smith told the RTCC website that China was "putting more detail on the table" outlining its conditions for an agreement.
"They put their initial proposal on the table in a meeting with NGOs on Sunday, it was rather detailed then," she said. "But when they were in the informals and in press conferences they were not giving a detailed proposal. My impression is that other countries have now come back to them with different offers and that is moving the process along, that is why everyone is running around."
She added that a number of other countries, including Brazil, were also putting forward new texts, several of which have been well received and have fuelled hopes an agreement can be reached tomorrow.
In addition, RTCC said there were unconfirmed reports that a deal on the structure for the proposed $100bn Green Fund had been "signed off", while separately observers writing on the social media site Twitter suggested agreements were close to being finalised on reforms to the REDD forest protection scheme and the CDM offsetting scheme.
Earlier in the day, hopes that an agreement could be reached on the EU's proposed roadmap were fuelled by comments from US climate envoy Todd Stern in which he said the US supported the idea of a new roadmap and wanted to see an ambitious international deal reached by 2020.
Silvia Merega, chief negotiator for the G77 group, similarly told news agencies that the negotiations on the proposed roadmap were progressing well. "We have no problem dealing with what will be the next steps after Durban," he said. "We have to have some kind of rules. I don't know at this point if these rules would establish what the outcome of the negotiation would be."
Meanwhile, the Guardian reported that the African Group of Nations has also signalled its support for the EU plan, despite remaining frustrated at the stance of the US and those countries that have ruled out signing up to a second Kyoto commitment period.
However, while the group of least developed countries has supported the EU's plans for a new roadmap any agreement is likely to be met with a mixed response from green groups and development charities.
Critics have already warned that delaying a treaty until 2020 risks missing the opportunity to avoid temperature increases of over two degrees and could result in temperature increases of over four degrees unless extremely steep emission reductions are delivered post 2020.
Moreover, there remain no guarantees that a deal will be finalised with the EU remaining insistent that it will only sign up to a second Kyoto commitment period if other large emitters make detailed commitments to agree a new binding treaty by 2015.
A number of countries, including India and the US, have been reluctant to make such a commitment, while it also remains unclear how Japan, Russia and Canada, which have each signalled they will not extend the Kyoto Protocol, will fit into any new deal.
Negotiations are now expected to extend late into the evening ahead of the official final day of the summit tomorrow.
Ministers moved this evening to counsel against undue optimism. British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne led the way, telling the Press Association that while good progress was being made the mooted deal could still "go pear-shaped".
However, reports continued to circulate that the US, Canada, and Brazil had all agreed to support the EU's roadmap, leaving China and India under growing pressure to sign on to the plan.
Isra-Mart srl: US insists it supports EU calls for climate treaty roadmap
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Isra-Mart news:
The US has rejected accusations that it is blocking plans to deliver a global climate change treaty, insisting it supports EU proposals for a new roadmap that could see an international treaty to curb emissions agreed by 2015.
The US and India have been widely blamed for blocking the EU plan, which would see the bloc sign up to an extension of the Kyoto Protocol if other major economies commit to agreeing a binding climate deal by 2015 that would then come into force by 2020 at the latest.
However, speaking earlier today US climate envoy Todd Stern told reporters the US did support the EU plan.
"It is completely off base to suggest the US is proposing it will delay action to 2020," he said. "The EU has called for a roadmap. We support that."
He said the US is fully engaged with the negotiations and remains committed to delivering a binding international treaty that imposes obligations on all countries. "The kind of roadmap that countries have called for, that the EU has called for, that the US supports," he said, although he failed to provide further details on whether the US would sign up to a formal roadmap agreement.
Stern also further fuelled hopes an agreement could be reached on the shape of the proposed $100bn a year Green Fund, confirming he remains optimistic a deal can be finalised.
Stern's comments came ahead of British energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne's address to the conference, during which he reiterated the EU would only extend the Kyoto Protocol if other nations agree to ambitious emissions-reduction targets.
"Together with the EU, we have clearly stated we are willing to move to a second Kyoto commitment period, maintaining ambition and environmental integrity," he said.
"But to do that in isolation makes no sense... That would not provide the certainty investors need; it would not close the emissions gap; it would not meet the hopes of Cancun; it would not help the poor and the vulnerable.
"We need a clear roadmap to a wider agreement. If that roadmap cannot be agreed here in Durban, we will not agree a second commitment period of Kyoto."
The US intervention suggests such a roadmap could yet be agreed, but with less than two days to go to the official close of the summit a large number of issues remain unresolved.
Most notably, the US, China and India appear unlikely to sign up to the new roadmap without further details on what an eventual treaty would look like when it is finalised in 2015.
Moreover, all the key players remain hugely divided on the crucial subject of how emissions reductions should be shared, with emerging economies continuing to argue that industrialised nations must shoulder more of the costs.
Isra-Mart news:
The US has rejected accusations that it is blocking plans to deliver a global climate change treaty, insisting it supports EU proposals for a new roadmap that could see an international treaty to curb emissions agreed by 2015.
The US and India have been widely blamed for blocking the EU plan, which would see the bloc sign up to an extension of the Kyoto Protocol if other major economies commit to agreeing a binding climate deal by 2015 that would then come into force by 2020 at the latest.
However, speaking earlier today US climate envoy Todd Stern told reporters the US did support the EU plan.
"It is completely off base to suggest the US is proposing it will delay action to 2020," he said. "The EU has called for a roadmap. We support that."
He said the US is fully engaged with the negotiations and remains committed to delivering a binding international treaty that imposes obligations on all countries. "The kind of roadmap that countries have called for, that the EU has called for, that the US supports," he said, although he failed to provide further details on whether the US would sign up to a formal roadmap agreement.
Stern also further fuelled hopes an agreement could be reached on the shape of the proposed $100bn a year Green Fund, confirming he remains optimistic a deal can be finalised.
Stern's comments came ahead of British energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne's address to the conference, during which he reiterated the EU would only extend the Kyoto Protocol if other nations agree to ambitious emissions-reduction targets.
"Together with the EU, we have clearly stated we are willing to move to a second Kyoto commitment period, maintaining ambition and environmental integrity," he said.
"But to do that in isolation makes no sense... That would not provide the certainty investors need; it would not close the emissions gap; it would not meet the hopes of Cancun; it would not help the poor and the vulnerable.
"We need a clear roadmap to a wider agreement. If that roadmap cannot be agreed here in Durban, we will not agree a second commitment period of Kyoto."
The US intervention suggests such a roadmap could yet be agreed, but with less than two days to go to the official close of the summit a large number of issues remain unresolved.
Most notably, the US, China and India appear unlikely to sign up to the new roadmap without further details on what an eventual treaty would look like when it is finalised in 2015.
Moreover, all the key players remain hugely divided on the crucial subject of how emissions reductions should be shared, with emerging economies continuing to argue that industrialised nations must shoulder more of the costs.
Isra-Mart srl: Water efficiency technologies to be included in Green Deal
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Isra-Mart news:
Businesses keen to invest in more energy efficient water systems look set to receive a boost, after the environment secretary today confirmed a range of hot water technologies could be included in the government's flagship energy efficiency Green Deal scheme.
Caroline Spelman said hot water efficiency measures, such as new efficient boilers, might be included in the Green Deal financing scheme which is due to launch next autumn.
The comments came as Spelman launched the government's delayed white paper setting out how it intends to improve water management across the UK.
"Making sure we've got enough water for everyone is going to be one of the major challenges this country will have to deal with in the years ahead," she said. "We can already see the problems we may face with part of Britain still in drought even though we're in December."
The White Paper outlines how the government plans to drive investment in new water infrastructure and encourage water efficiency among homes and businesses through new incentives and labelling systems.
In addition to revealing that hot water efficiency measures might be available through the Green Deal, the paper also confirms government plans to develop water efficiency guidelines designed to encourage greater uptake of water butts and dual flush toilets.
It also hinted that some of these water saving measures could be promoted to businesses and homeowners applying for Green Deal financing to undertake efficiency makeovers.
The paper sets out a wide-ranging package of reforms designed to extend competition among water companies and prevent steep increases in water bills.
Responding to questions from BusinessGreen, Spelman said businesses were increasingly considering water and energy efficiency in tandem and cited Defra research which found the UK economy could save £23bn by using resources more efficiently.
"As part of the greening of our economy an increasing number of businesses taking up new technological solutions to reduce their carbon footprint and their water footprint," she said.
"Water as a resource and energy as a resource are two commodies that businesses generally are reviewing their use of as part of their own resource efficiency."
Today's wide-ranging White Paper is a precursor to a draft Water Bill which will be presented for pre-legislative scrutiny in early 2012.
Spelman said government was keen for UK businesses to take advantage of the $300bn a year global market for water products and services.
She added that Defra will launch a £3.5m innovation competition in March 2012, seeking technologies which can recover 1,000 megaliters per day from surface water and ground water cycles.
"Part of what we need to do in order to grow our economy is support science and technology, research and development into these new green technologies because they are undoubtedly growth area and also exportable technologies," she said.
"The UK already has a lot of international leadership in terms of green technologies and our commitment to reduce our carbon footprint and be more resource efficient. And the opportunities for businesses to invest go hand-in-hand with delivering those objectives."
However, experts have suggested the changes will lead to increased water bills as water companies pass on the costs of upgrades and government compensation schemes that allow abstraction licences to be changed.
Alongside the white paper, the Environment Agency published research analysing the impact of climate change and population growth on water resources.
It found that by the 2050s, under a medium emissions scenario, short duration droughts of 12 to 18 months are likely to become more frequent. It added that as a result severe droughts like that experienced in 1976 could become more common, despite the increased resilience of public water supply and more winter storage.
Commenting on the water strategy Friends of the Earth's Nature Campaigner Paul de Zylva said a national water strategy was long overdue.
"Households, farmers and wildlife across the UK are being left high and dry by Ministers' failure to properly manage our precious water supplies," he said. "We can't keep lurching between floods, droughts and hose-pipe bans - a national water strategy is long overdue.
"Fast action is needed to cut water waste, tackle floods and prevent our rivers and wildlife being sucked dry."
Shadow Environment Secretary Mary Creagh insisted the government had to take more action to help reduce water bills.
"The Tories' botched water privatisation left South West residents facing the highest bills in the UK and we welcome the Government's offer of £50 a year off their bills," she said. "The 2.4 million households across the rest of the country who spend more than five per cent of their income on water need a more robust approach from government and the water companies to ensure water remains affordable to all."
Isra-Mart news:
Businesses keen to invest in more energy efficient water systems look set to receive a boost, after the environment secretary today confirmed a range of hot water technologies could be included in the government's flagship energy efficiency Green Deal scheme.
Caroline Spelman said hot water efficiency measures, such as new efficient boilers, might be included in the Green Deal financing scheme which is due to launch next autumn.
The comments came as Spelman launched the government's delayed white paper setting out how it intends to improve water management across the UK.
"Making sure we've got enough water for everyone is going to be one of the major challenges this country will have to deal with in the years ahead," she said. "We can already see the problems we may face with part of Britain still in drought even though we're in December."
The White Paper outlines how the government plans to drive investment in new water infrastructure and encourage water efficiency among homes and businesses through new incentives and labelling systems.
In addition to revealing that hot water efficiency measures might be available through the Green Deal, the paper also confirms government plans to develop water efficiency guidelines designed to encourage greater uptake of water butts and dual flush toilets.
It also hinted that some of these water saving measures could be promoted to businesses and homeowners applying for Green Deal financing to undertake efficiency makeovers.
The paper sets out a wide-ranging package of reforms designed to extend competition among water companies and prevent steep increases in water bills.
Responding to questions from BusinessGreen, Spelman said businesses were increasingly considering water and energy efficiency in tandem and cited Defra research which found the UK economy could save £23bn by using resources more efficiently.
"As part of the greening of our economy an increasing number of businesses taking up new technological solutions to reduce their carbon footprint and their water footprint," she said.
"Water as a resource and energy as a resource are two commodies that businesses generally are reviewing their use of as part of their own resource efficiency."
Today's wide-ranging White Paper is a precursor to a draft Water Bill which will be presented for pre-legislative scrutiny in early 2012.
Spelman said government was keen for UK businesses to take advantage of the $300bn a year global market for water products and services.
She added that Defra will launch a £3.5m innovation competition in March 2012, seeking technologies which can recover 1,000 megaliters per day from surface water and ground water cycles.
"Part of what we need to do in order to grow our economy is support science and technology, research and development into these new green technologies because they are undoubtedly growth area and also exportable technologies," she said.
"The UK already has a lot of international leadership in terms of green technologies and our commitment to reduce our carbon footprint and be more resource efficient. And the opportunities for businesses to invest go hand-in-hand with delivering those objectives."
However, experts have suggested the changes will lead to increased water bills as water companies pass on the costs of upgrades and government compensation schemes that allow abstraction licences to be changed.
Alongside the white paper, the Environment Agency published research analysing the impact of climate change and population growth on water resources.
It found that by the 2050s, under a medium emissions scenario, short duration droughts of 12 to 18 months are likely to become more frequent. It added that as a result severe droughts like that experienced in 1976 could become more common, despite the increased resilience of public water supply and more winter storage.
Commenting on the water strategy Friends of the Earth's Nature Campaigner Paul de Zylva said a national water strategy was long overdue.
"Households, farmers and wildlife across the UK are being left high and dry by Ministers' failure to properly manage our precious water supplies," he said. "We can't keep lurching between floods, droughts and hose-pipe bans - a national water strategy is long overdue.
"Fast action is needed to cut water waste, tackle floods and prevent our rivers and wildlife being sucked dry."
Shadow Environment Secretary Mary Creagh insisted the government had to take more action to help reduce water bills.
"The Tories' botched water privatisation left South West residents facing the highest bills in the UK and we welcome the Government's offer of £50 a year off their bills," she said. "The 2.4 million households across the rest of the country who spend more than five per cent of their income on water need a more robust approach from government and the water companies to ensure water remains affordable to all."
Isra-Mart srl: Durban inches towards deal on Green Fund, shipping, and CCS
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Isra-Mart news:
The negotiations on the future of the Kyoto Protocol may remain deadlocked, but a breakthrough could still be delivered on the promised $100bn-a-year Green Climate Fund.
According to reports, ministers are close to agreeing the framework for how the new fund would operate, funnelling billions of dollars to help poor nations cut emissions and adapt to inevitable climate change impacts.
Critics, including leading economist Lord Stern, have warned that the talks have focused almost entirely on how the fund would operate with little attention paid to how it will raise $100bn a year from 2020.
However, negotiators remain optimistic that once the framework for the new fund is in place it will become easier to agree on the mechanisms that can be used to raise the necessary finance.
Earlier in the week, it had been suggested that the US and Saudi Arabia were blocking a deal on the new fund, but in an encouraging development US lead negotiator Todd Stern told reporters yesterday that he had "a fair amount of confidence this is going to get done in a positive way".
In another encouraging sign, a bidding war is already under way to host the headquarters of the proposed fund with both Mexico and Germany putting themselves forward for consideration.
Senior diplomats said that any agreement on the new fund would represent a major breakthrough and could also have a knock-on effect on the wider negotiations given influential countries such as Brazil and China have made the launch of the fund a condition of their continuing negotiations on a future global climate treaty.
There was also speculation ministers could agree one of the mechanisms for raising capital for the new fund, with officials expressing optimism that they were close to a deal on some form of international levy on shipping and potentially even aviation emissions.
UK energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne confirmed significant progress was being made, telling reporters that "we certainly think the aviation and shipping areas are the most likely areas to yield early dividends when it comes to funding finance".
Despite the concept being agreed in Copenhagen two years ago, financing the Green Fund when it comes into force in 2020 has remained a bone of contention, with cash-strapped countries arguing over the proportion of private and public funds.
But a document is circulating that would funnel the receipts of a tax per tonne on bunker fuel, simultaneously helping to tackle the three per cent of global emissions shipping contributes. It uses the same assumptions as a paper by Oxfam and WWF, which estimated a $25 tax, adding just 0.2 per cent to shipping costs, has the potential to generate $25bn a year in receipts by 2020.
Under the proposals, around $16bn a year would go to developing countries to offset the higher import costs that would result from the levy and $10bn would go to the Green Fund.
International Maritime Organisation (IMO) secretary-general Efthimios Mitropoulos told news agency Bloomberg yesterday that the UN body was considering the proposal, as well as alternative plans to establish an emissions-trading programme. He added that a decision on the measures could be made next year.
However, he did not specify what would be an appropriate levy and insisted any deal must apply globally.
"For this system to succeed, ships should comply with the same global standards all over the world," he said. "Were we to move to different standards for different ships you would have a major problem."
However, significant obstacles to a deal remain. The US is reportedly intent on stripping all mention of specific funding sources from the UN Green Fund document, while Australia has said UN bodies should deal with the problem of rising emissions.
"[Australia] supports multilateral discussions on this issue," a spokesman for climate change minister Greg Combet told the Australian newspaper. "There have been fruitful discussions in the International Maritime Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Organisation in recent months."
Any deal on aviation emissions is also likely to prove even more elusive than an agreement on shipping, with the EU currently battling with China and the US over its plans to impose emissions levies on airlines.
In related news, an agreement that could help accelerate investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in developing countries will be submitted to delegations for final adoption on Friday.
Talks on bringing the technology into the UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) carbon offsetting scheme have been going on for the best part of a decade and at last year's Cancun summit participating countries agreed to allow it inclusion if a list of criteria were addressed and solved.
A draft decision obtained by Norwegian NGO Bellona states that CCS "is a relevant technology for the attainment of the ultimate goal of the Convention and may be part of a range of potential options for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions".
If adopted, CCS projects in developing countries could therefore sell carbon credits through the CDM scheme.
"COP 17 is looking good at this time to provide a milestone achievement for CCS that can remove much of the uncertainty of recent years on the capacity of the UNFCCC to support CCS-related (and therefore very large-scale) mitigation activities in developing countries," wrote Meade Harris, European regional representative for the Global CCS Institute, in a blog on the organisation's web site.
"Such a decision could also help enhance the ability of many national governments to put in place the appropriate frameworks that can give CCS projects their social licence."
Isra-Mart news:
The negotiations on the future of the Kyoto Protocol may remain deadlocked, but a breakthrough could still be delivered on the promised $100bn-a-year Green Climate Fund.
According to reports, ministers are close to agreeing the framework for how the new fund would operate, funnelling billions of dollars to help poor nations cut emissions and adapt to inevitable climate change impacts.
Critics, including leading economist Lord Stern, have warned that the talks have focused almost entirely on how the fund would operate with little attention paid to how it will raise $100bn a year from 2020.
However, negotiators remain optimistic that once the framework for the new fund is in place it will become easier to agree on the mechanisms that can be used to raise the necessary finance.
Earlier in the week, it had been suggested that the US and Saudi Arabia were blocking a deal on the new fund, but in an encouraging development US lead negotiator Todd Stern told reporters yesterday that he had "a fair amount of confidence this is going to get done in a positive way".
In another encouraging sign, a bidding war is already under way to host the headquarters of the proposed fund with both Mexico and Germany putting themselves forward for consideration.
Senior diplomats said that any agreement on the new fund would represent a major breakthrough and could also have a knock-on effect on the wider negotiations given influential countries such as Brazil and China have made the launch of the fund a condition of their continuing negotiations on a future global climate treaty.
There was also speculation ministers could agree one of the mechanisms for raising capital for the new fund, with officials expressing optimism that they were close to a deal on some form of international levy on shipping and potentially even aviation emissions.
UK energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne confirmed significant progress was being made, telling reporters that "we certainly think the aviation and shipping areas are the most likely areas to yield early dividends when it comes to funding finance".
Despite the concept being agreed in Copenhagen two years ago, financing the Green Fund when it comes into force in 2020 has remained a bone of contention, with cash-strapped countries arguing over the proportion of private and public funds.
But a document is circulating that would funnel the receipts of a tax per tonne on bunker fuel, simultaneously helping to tackle the three per cent of global emissions shipping contributes. It uses the same assumptions as a paper by Oxfam and WWF, which estimated a $25 tax, adding just 0.2 per cent to shipping costs, has the potential to generate $25bn a year in receipts by 2020.
Under the proposals, around $16bn a year would go to developing countries to offset the higher import costs that would result from the levy and $10bn would go to the Green Fund.
International Maritime Organisation (IMO) secretary-general Efthimios Mitropoulos told news agency Bloomberg yesterday that the UN body was considering the proposal, as well as alternative plans to establish an emissions-trading programme. He added that a decision on the measures could be made next year.
However, he did not specify what would be an appropriate levy and insisted any deal must apply globally.
"For this system to succeed, ships should comply with the same global standards all over the world," he said. "Were we to move to different standards for different ships you would have a major problem."
However, significant obstacles to a deal remain. The US is reportedly intent on stripping all mention of specific funding sources from the UN Green Fund document, while Australia has said UN bodies should deal with the problem of rising emissions.
"[Australia] supports multilateral discussions on this issue," a spokesman for climate change minister Greg Combet told the Australian newspaper. "There have been fruitful discussions in the International Maritime Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Organisation in recent months."
Any deal on aviation emissions is also likely to prove even more elusive than an agreement on shipping, with the EU currently battling with China and the US over its plans to impose emissions levies on airlines.
In related news, an agreement that could help accelerate investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in developing countries will be submitted to delegations for final adoption on Friday.
Talks on bringing the technology into the UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) carbon offsetting scheme have been going on for the best part of a decade and at last year's Cancun summit participating countries agreed to allow it inclusion if a list of criteria were addressed and solved.
A draft decision obtained by Norwegian NGO Bellona states that CCS "is a relevant technology for the attainment of the ultimate goal of the Convention and may be part of a range of potential options for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions".
If adopted, CCS projects in developing countries could therefore sell carbon credits through the CDM scheme.
"COP 17 is looking good at this time to provide a milestone achievement for CCS that can remove much of the uncertainty of recent years on the capacity of the UNFCCC to support CCS-related (and therefore very large-scale) mitigation activities in developing countries," wrote Meade Harris, European regional representative for the Global CCS Institute, in a blog on the organisation's web site.
"Such a decision could also help enhance the ability of many national governments to put in place the appropriate frameworks that can give CCS projects their social licence."
Isra-Mart srl: Senate bill aims to stop US airlines being pulled into EU emissions trading
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Isra-Mart news:
A Republican senator introduced legislation yesterday that would attempt to stop the EU from forcing US airlines to purchase carbon allowances to cover emissions from flights in and out of the bloc.
The bill was put forward by South Carolinia Senator John Thune, but does not have a a Democratic co-sponsor so is unlikely to be passed in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
It follows a similar bill approved by the House of Representatives in October that would have effectively made it illegal for US airlines to participate in the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS). Thune said participating in the EU's emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) would cost airlines $3.1bn between 2012 and 2020 and put 40,000 jobs at risk.
"The idea that the European Union has the right to tax American air passengers and carriers flies in the face of our country's sovereignty," he said in a statement. "I reject this proposed European tax and will work with my colleagues in Congress and countless concerned stakeholders to block this tax."
Environmental campaigners have criticised the US opposition to a system they say could save around 183 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by 2020 and urged politicians to work with the EU when representatives meet in Washington DC later today.
But Thune's bill was welcomed by trade organisation Airlines for America (A4A), formerly known as Air Transport Association of America.
"We commend Senator Thune for his leadership in joining the administration and his colleagues in the House of Representatives in opposing the application of the EU ETS to US airlines, as it is both illegal and bad policy," said A4A president and chief executive Nicholas Calio.
"Subjecting airlines to the EU's unilateral system will be counterproductive to helping the environment, result in the loss of US jobs, and hamper airlines' ability to invest in new aircraft and continue their extensive efforts to reduce their environmental impact."
The House and Senate bills are unlikely to make it into law given they would almost inevitably spark a huge trade war with the EU and would have a huge impact on the viability of transatlantic flights.
Various legal attempts to overturn the EU's plans have also faltered, with the European Court judgement recently ruling against a group of US carriers that argued the EU's plans are illegal under international aviation treaties.
As such airlines look set to be included in the ETS from January, obliging them to hold emission allowances to cover their emissions – a move that will add to the cost of flights in to and out of the bloc.
However, the Congressional action has cranked up the pressure on the Obama administration to secure exemptions for US airlines.
President Barack Obama "forcibly" made clear his opposition to European Commission president Barroso at a recent summit meeting, said Paul Gretch, director of the Office of International Aviation at the US Department of Transportation (DOT).
Gretch told the GreenAirOnline website that the US was "pro-environmental action" but that the EU was going about reducing emissions from the sector in the wrong way.
"I fear we're heading towards a trade war that airlines and the economy cannot afford," he said, adding that the scheme is "illegal" despite EU rulings to the contrary.
Isra-Mart news:
A Republican senator introduced legislation yesterday that would attempt to stop the EU from forcing US airlines to purchase carbon allowances to cover emissions from flights in and out of the bloc.
The bill was put forward by South Carolinia Senator John Thune, but does not have a a Democratic co-sponsor so is unlikely to be passed in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
It follows a similar bill approved by the House of Representatives in October that would have effectively made it illegal for US airlines to participate in the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS). Thune said participating in the EU's emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) would cost airlines $3.1bn between 2012 and 2020 and put 40,000 jobs at risk.
"The idea that the European Union has the right to tax American air passengers and carriers flies in the face of our country's sovereignty," he said in a statement. "I reject this proposed European tax and will work with my colleagues in Congress and countless concerned stakeholders to block this tax."
Environmental campaigners have criticised the US opposition to a system they say could save around 183 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by 2020 and urged politicians to work with the EU when representatives meet in Washington DC later today.
But Thune's bill was welcomed by trade organisation Airlines for America (A4A), formerly known as Air Transport Association of America.
"We commend Senator Thune for his leadership in joining the administration and his colleagues in the House of Representatives in opposing the application of the EU ETS to US airlines, as it is both illegal and bad policy," said A4A president and chief executive Nicholas Calio.
"Subjecting airlines to the EU's unilateral system will be counterproductive to helping the environment, result in the loss of US jobs, and hamper airlines' ability to invest in new aircraft and continue their extensive efforts to reduce their environmental impact."
The House and Senate bills are unlikely to make it into law given they would almost inevitably spark a huge trade war with the EU and would have a huge impact on the viability of transatlantic flights.
Various legal attempts to overturn the EU's plans have also faltered, with the European Court judgement recently ruling against a group of US carriers that argued the EU's plans are illegal under international aviation treaties.
As such airlines look set to be included in the ETS from January, obliging them to hold emission allowances to cover their emissions – a move that will add to the cost of flights in to and out of the bloc.
However, the Congressional action has cranked up the pressure on the Obama administration to secure exemptions for US airlines.
President Barack Obama "forcibly" made clear his opposition to European Commission president Barroso at a recent summit meeting, said Paul Gretch, director of the Office of International Aviation at the US Department of Transportation (DOT).
Gretch told the GreenAirOnline website that the US was "pro-environmental action" but that the EU was going about reducing emissions from the sector in the wrong way.
"I fear we're heading towards a trade war that airlines and the economy cannot afford," he said, adding that the scheme is "illegal" despite EU rulings to the contrary.
Isra-Mart srl: EU insists it will “not budge” on Kyoto without wider emissions deal
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Isra-Mart news:
The EU has hardened its stance as the Durban Summit enters its final few days, with ministers insisting it will not sign up to an extension of the Kyoto Protocol without a tangible commitment towards a parallel global treaty from other large polluters.
Officials and ministers lined up to warn the EU was not bluffing when it said that the survival of the Kyoto Protocol was dependent on other large economies such as the US, China and India signing up to a roadmap that would see them agree a legally binding global treaty by 2015.
Writing on Twitter this morning, EU climate change commissioner Connie Hedegaard said the EU had established a "firm position: 2015 is enough time for those who are not ready to commit. Why further delay?"
Her comments were echoed by British Climate Minister Greg Barker, who also took to the social networking site to reveal there was a "V sober atmosphere at EU Umbrella meeting real determination not 2 budge on KP2 without clear roadmap 2 Global deal".
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne also reiterated the bloc's stance, insisting that it was "absolutely essential that we have real commitments" from other nations if the EU is to sign up to a new set of Kyoto targets.
If the EU maintains its position the future of the Kyoto Protocol and the wider climate change negotiations will rest on the willingness of the US and the so-called BASIC countries of Brazil, South Africa, India and China to sign up to a roadmap that would see a new treaty agreed by 2015.
Observers have suggested Brazil, South Africa, and potentially China could agree to the roadmap, while the US and India appear more resistant. As one anonymous official told the BBC: "The question will be whether India or the US or both really want to be the ones to stand up and say 'we broke the deal in Durban'."
However, others have accused China of bluffing, indicating publicly that it could sign up to a global treaty while remaining resistant to any move that would see binding emission reduction targets imposed on the country.
Speaking to news agency Reuters, one source close to the talks said there was "no way China will sign up legally, but it doesn't want to be blamed if the talks fail".
US negotiator Todd Stern insisted more detail was required on how any new treaty would work before the US could sign up to the EU's proposed roadmap.
"In order for there to be a legally-binding agreement that makes sense, all the major players are going to have to be in with obligations and commitments that have the same legal force," he told reporters. "That means no conditionality, no condition of receiving the financing, no trap doors, no Swiss cheese kind of agreement."
With the talks entering their final two days observers are divided on the likelihood of a successful outcome.
There have been reports a deal is close to being finalised on the framework for a new $100bn a year Green Fund, but concerns remain that the deadlock over Kyoto will remain unbroken.
There are also fears Prime Ministers and Presidents are less likely to intervene in the final hours of the talks, as has been the case at previous summits, given that EU leaders are currently involved in a crucial summit on the future of the eurozone.
US President Barack Obama did however make his one contribution to the summit yesterday, using a video message to encourage ministers at the talks to step up forest protection measures.
Obama hailed the work of Nobel peace prize winner and Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai who died earlier this year and urged ministers to emulate her global tree-planting programme.
"Wangari's work stands as a testament to the power of a single person's idea that the simple act of planting a tree can be a profound statement of dignity and hope first in one village, then in one nation, and now across Africa," he said.
"Here in Durban, we can carry on her work, to ... grow our economies in a way that's sustainable and that addresses climate change."
Isra-Mart news:
The EU has hardened its stance as the Durban Summit enters its final few days, with ministers insisting it will not sign up to an extension of the Kyoto Protocol without a tangible commitment towards a parallel global treaty from other large polluters.
Officials and ministers lined up to warn the EU was not bluffing when it said that the survival of the Kyoto Protocol was dependent on other large economies such as the US, China and India signing up to a roadmap that would see them agree a legally binding global treaty by 2015.
Writing on Twitter this morning, EU climate change commissioner Connie Hedegaard said the EU had established a "firm position: 2015 is enough time for those who are not ready to commit. Why further delay?"
Her comments were echoed by British Climate Minister Greg Barker, who also took to the social networking site to reveal there was a "V sober atmosphere at EU Umbrella meeting real determination not 2 budge on KP2 without clear roadmap 2 Global deal".
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne also reiterated the bloc's stance, insisting that it was "absolutely essential that we have real commitments" from other nations if the EU is to sign up to a new set of Kyoto targets.
If the EU maintains its position the future of the Kyoto Protocol and the wider climate change negotiations will rest on the willingness of the US and the so-called BASIC countries of Brazil, South Africa, India and China to sign up to a roadmap that would see a new treaty agreed by 2015.
Observers have suggested Brazil, South Africa, and potentially China could agree to the roadmap, while the US and India appear more resistant. As one anonymous official told the BBC: "The question will be whether India or the US or both really want to be the ones to stand up and say 'we broke the deal in Durban'."
However, others have accused China of bluffing, indicating publicly that it could sign up to a global treaty while remaining resistant to any move that would see binding emission reduction targets imposed on the country.
Speaking to news agency Reuters, one source close to the talks said there was "no way China will sign up legally, but it doesn't want to be blamed if the talks fail".
US negotiator Todd Stern insisted more detail was required on how any new treaty would work before the US could sign up to the EU's proposed roadmap.
"In order for there to be a legally-binding agreement that makes sense, all the major players are going to have to be in with obligations and commitments that have the same legal force," he told reporters. "That means no conditionality, no condition of receiving the financing, no trap doors, no Swiss cheese kind of agreement."
With the talks entering their final two days observers are divided on the likelihood of a successful outcome.
There have been reports a deal is close to being finalised on the framework for a new $100bn a year Green Fund, but concerns remain that the deadlock over Kyoto will remain unbroken.
There are also fears Prime Ministers and Presidents are less likely to intervene in the final hours of the talks, as has been the case at previous summits, given that EU leaders are currently involved in a crucial summit on the future of the eurozone.
US President Barack Obama did however make his one contribution to the summit yesterday, using a video message to encourage ministers at the talks to step up forest protection measures.
Obama hailed the work of Nobel peace prize winner and Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai who died earlier this year and urged ministers to emulate her global tree-planting programme.
"Wangari's work stands as a testament to the power of a single person's idea that the simple act of planting a tree can be a profound statement of dignity and hope first in one village, then in one nation, and now across Africa," he said.
"Here in Durban, we can carry on her work, to ... grow our economies in a way that's sustainable and that addresses climate change."
Isra-Mart srl: Obama stands firm on Keystone XL oil pipeline
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Isra-Mart news:
US President Barack Obama has refused to speed up a decision on the proposed $7bn oil pipeline to link Canada's oil sands with refineries in Texas, rejecting calls from Republicans to tack the project on to renewal of a soon-to-expire payroll tax cut.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Canadian President Stephen Harper at the White House, Obama said it was important the potential environmental impact of the 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline was thoroughly examined before a decision is made.
"With respect to the politics, look, this is a big project with big consequences," he said. "We've seen Democrats and Republicans express concerns about it. And it is my job as President of the United States to make sure that a process is followed that examines all the options."
Keystone XL would transport around 700,000 barrels of oil each day through Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma before reaching the Texas coast. Supporters claim it would bring much needed jobs and reduce the country's reliance on Middle Eastern oil imports.
But opponents argue the pipeline would merely import "dirty" oil, which requires huge amounts of energy to extract. They are also concerned about the risk of environmental contamination, given a current pipeline operated by TransCanada has had several spills in the past year.
Obama faced down pressure from both Canada, which relies on the US for 97 per cent of its energy exports, and Republicans to delay a decision on Keystone until 2013, after the next election, providing time for a full environmental review of the project.
However, Republicans are continuing to push for the project to be given the green light and have argued that approval should form part of a deal that could see the GOP approve soon-to-expire payroll tax breaks that Democrats urgently want to see extended.
But yesterday Obama said he would reject any attempts to tie approval of the project to the proposed extension of the payroll tax cut, which is set to expire on 1 January. However, he stopped short of threatening a veto if the bill does move forward.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, urged the President to rethink, saying the pipeline offered Obama the chance to follow through on his pledge to make job creation a top priority.
He said: "Here's the single greatest shovel-ready project in America, ready to go, and for some reason he's suddenly not interested."
Isra-Mart news:
US President Barack Obama has refused to speed up a decision on the proposed $7bn oil pipeline to link Canada's oil sands with refineries in Texas, rejecting calls from Republicans to tack the project on to renewal of a soon-to-expire payroll tax cut.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Canadian President Stephen Harper at the White House, Obama said it was important the potential environmental impact of the 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline was thoroughly examined before a decision is made.
"With respect to the politics, look, this is a big project with big consequences," he said. "We've seen Democrats and Republicans express concerns about it. And it is my job as President of the United States to make sure that a process is followed that examines all the options."
Keystone XL would transport around 700,000 barrels of oil each day through Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma before reaching the Texas coast. Supporters claim it would bring much needed jobs and reduce the country's reliance on Middle Eastern oil imports.
But opponents argue the pipeline would merely import "dirty" oil, which requires huge amounts of energy to extract. They are also concerned about the risk of environmental contamination, given a current pipeline operated by TransCanada has had several spills in the past year.
Obama faced down pressure from both Canada, which relies on the US for 97 per cent of its energy exports, and Republicans to delay a decision on Keystone until 2013, after the next election, providing time for a full environmental review of the project.
However, Republicans are continuing to push for the project to be given the green light and have argued that approval should form part of a deal that could see the GOP approve soon-to-expire payroll tax breaks that Democrats urgently want to see extended.
But yesterday Obama said he would reject any attempts to tie approval of the project to the proposed extension of the payroll tax cut, which is set to expire on 1 January. However, he stopped short of threatening a veto if the bill does move forward.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, urged the President to rethink, saying the pipeline offered Obama the chance to follow through on his pledge to make job creation a top priority.
He said: "Here's the single greatest shovel-ready project in America, ready to go, and for some reason he's suddenly not interested."
Isra-Mart srl: Lord Stern: rich nations should stop subsidising fossil fuel industry
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Isra-Mart news:
If rich nations were to stop subsidising fossil fuels to the tune of billions of dollars a year, the money raised could go a substantial way to providing the cash needed to help poor countries develop a "green" economy and cope with the effects of climate change, one of the world's leading economists said.
Lord Nicholas Stern, former World Bank chief economist and author of the landmark report for the previous Labour government on the costs of climate change, told the Guardian that rich economies waste money and disadvantage renewable energy by giving away tax breaks, loans and other subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. If governments were to cut these out, and dedicate the savings to helping poor countries, that could raise about $10bn a year towards helping the poor on climate change.
Developed countries have already committed to help poor countries in this way, pledging $100bn a year by 2020, most of which would be channelled through a fund called the "green climate fund", which is the subject of intense debate at the two-week United Nations climate talks in Durban.
But Stern pointed out that the discussions at Durban have focused overwhelmingly on the technicalities of how a fund should be set up. There has been very little discussion on how the sums needed can be raised, although within eight years at least $100bn annually must be channelled to developing countries if existing commitments are to be fulfilled.
Rich nations need to focus urgently on how to raise the money needed, he said.
In addition to cutting out fossil fuel subsidies, Lord Stern said, developed countries could raise the remainder needed from carbon taxes, the auction of permits to emit carbon, levies on international transport and loans from international development banks would all be needed. The sums involved would be affordable if countries put the right policies in place, he said.
"It is all eminently doable. We have set out in detail our estimates and the policies that could achieve them - if governments show the political will," he said.
A tax on carbon of $25 a tonne in developed countries could raise as much as $50bn a year for the fund, while a tax on aviation and shipping emissions could raise $10bn even if countries retained half the revenues for themselves. Stern suggested this should be an attractive idea to cash-strapped government Treasuries. If loans from development banks are added, this could be enough to meet the $100bn a year target.
But the true benefits would be much larger - Stern calculated that these policies, and carbon trading, should be enough to stimulate an additional $200bn to $250bn from the private sector.
The estimates are contained in a report by Lord Stern and Mattia Romani of the Grantham Institute at the London School of Economics.
Discussions on the green fund were "going pretty well" at Durban, said Todd Stern, the US special envoy for climate change. Other countries were also optimistic on Wednesday that the fund could be launched at the Durban meeting, which would help to release billions in funding for poor countries, to be spent on ways of cutting emissions - for instance through renewable energy - and adapting to the effects of global warming.
If the green fund is launched, it may be the one clear success of the conference. Talks on the other main issues - the future of the Kyoto protocol and the potential for a new global treaty on the climate - were crawling at a snail's pace.
The EU reiterated its demand for other countries to join it in pressing for a new international legally binding treaty, to be signed in 2015 or 2016, and to come into force in 2020. Only if some other major economies, such as China or the US, sign up to this "roadmap" will the EU agree to continue the Kyoto protocol after its first "commitment period" expires in 2012. So far, none have done so and some developing countries are insisting the EU should go it alone with a continuation of the Kyoto protocol.
Connie Hedegaard, EU climate chief, said: "There are not many hours left - we want to encourage the big emitters to come forward with more clarity on their real positions."
Chris Huhne, the UK climate and energy secretary, said the EU would not go it alone because, together with a handful of smaller developed countries such as Norway and Switzerland that have also agreed to continue Kyoto, it makes up only 15 per cent of global emissions. "It is absolutely essential that we have real commitments to the roadmap.
Isra-Mart news:
If rich nations were to stop subsidising fossil fuels to the tune of billions of dollars a year, the money raised could go a substantial way to providing the cash needed to help poor countries develop a "green" economy and cope with the effects of climate change, one of the world's leading economists said.
Lord Nicholas Stern, former World Bank chief economist and author of the landmark report for the previous Labour government on the costs of climate change, told the Guardian that rich economies waste money and disadvantage renewable energy by giving away tax breaks, loans and other subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. If governments were to cut these out, and dedicate the savings to helping poor countries, that could raise about $10bn a year towards helping the poor on climate change.
Developed countries have already committed to help poor countries in this way, pledging $100bn a year by 2020, most of which would be channelled through a fund called the "green climate fund", which is the subject of intense debate at the two-week United Nations climate talks in Durban.
But Stern pointed out that the discussions at Durban have focused overwhelmingly on the technicalities of how a fund should be set up. There has been very little discussion on how the sums needed can be raised, although within eight years at least $100bn annually must be channelled to developing countries if existing commitments are to be fulfilled.
Rich nations need to focus urgently on how to raise the money needed, he said.
In addition to cutting out fossil fuel subsidies, Lord Stern said, developed countries could raise the remainder needed from carbon taxes, the auction of permits to emit carbon, levies on international transport and loans from international development banks would all be needed. The sums involved would be affordable if countries put the right policies in place, he said.
"It is all eminently doable. We have set out in detail our estimates and the policies that could achieve them - if governments show the political will," he said.
A tax on carbon of $25 a tonne in developed countries could raise as much as $50bn a year for the fund, while a tax on aviation and shipping emissions could raise $10bn even if countries retained half the revenues for themselves. Stern suggested this should be an attractive idea to cash-strapped government Treasuries. If loans from development banks are added, this could be enough to meet the $100bn a year target.
But the true benefits would be much larger - Stern calculated that these policies, and carbon trading, should be enough to stimulate an additional $200bn to $250bn from the private sector.
The estimates are contained in a report by Lord Stern and Mattia Romani of the Grantham Institute at the London School of Economics.
Discussions on the green fund were "going pretty well" at Durban, said Todd Stern, the US special envoy for climate change. Other countries were also optimistic on Wednesday that the fund could be launched at the Durban meeting, which would help to release billions in funding for poor countries, to be spent on ways of cutting emissions - for instance through renewable energy - and adapting to the effects of global warming.
If the green fund is launched, it may be the one clear success of the conference. Talks on the other main issues - the future of the Kyoto protocol and the potential for a new global treaty on the climate - were crawling at a snail's pace.
The EU reiterated its demand for other countries to join it in pressing for a new international legally binding treaty, to be signed in 2015 or 2016, and to come into force in 2020. Only if some other major economies, such as China or the US, sign up to this "roadmap" will the EU agree to continue the Kyoto protocol after its first "commitment period" expires in 2012. So far, none have done so and some developing countries are insisting the EU should go it alone with a continuation of the Kyoto protocol.
Connie Hedegaard, EU climate chief, said: "There are not many hours left - we want to encourage the big emitters to come forward with more clarity on their real positions."
Chris Huhne, the UK climate and energy secretary, said the EU would not go it alone because, together with a handful of smaller developed countries such as Norway and Switzerland that have also agreed to continue Kyoto, it makes up only 15 per cent of global emissions. "It is absolutely essential that we have real commitments to the roadmap.
Isra-Mart srl: Wetherspoon's moves to down food waste in one
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Isra-Mart news:
Wetherspoon's pubs are raising a glass to environmental performance with the launch of a new trial designed to turn food waste into energy.
The chain has started sending around eight tonnes of food waste each week from 28 of its pubs to the country's largest anaerobic digestion (AD) plant, the Poplars facility in Staffordshire.
Poplars is operated by waste management company Biffa, which already deals with Wetherspoon's glass recycling and general waste throughout the UK.
The company could not confirm how long the trial would last or how much waste it expects to divert from landfill.
But Bob Barltrop, group sales and marketing director at Biffa, said the extension of the partnership between the two companies showed the food industry recognised the financial benefits of reducing its environmental impacts.
"It's the right thing to do and, as landfill tax costs continue to rise it makes good business sense; it will increasingly be the cheapest thing to do with food waste," he said in a statement. "In fact collection contracts such as this are set to be the most economical way for businesses of all sizes to deal with food and general waste."
Wetherspoon's said that it has also looked to curb its environmental impacts by recycling cans, glass, and paper, fitting energy efficient equipment in new or upgraded pubs, and using the same lorries that deliver drinks and food to take away recyclable items.
Isra-Mart news:
Wetherspoon's pubs are raising a glass to environmental performance with the launch of a new trial designed to turn food waste into energy.
The chain has started sending around eight tonnes of food waste each week from 28 of its pubs to the country's largest anaerobic digestion (AD) plant, the Poplars facility in Staffordshire.
Poplars is operated by waste management company Biffa, which already deals with Wetherspoon's glass recycling and general waste throughout the UK.
The company could not confirm how long the trial would last or how much waste it expects to divert from landfill.
But Bob Barltrop, group sales and marketing director at Biffa, said the extension of the partnership between the two companies showed the food industry recognised the financial benefits of reducing its environmental impacts.
"It's the right thing to do and, as landfill tax costs continue to rise it makes good business sense; it will increasingly be the cheapest thing to do with food waste," he said in a statement. "In fact collection contracts such as this are set to be the most economical way for businesses of all sizes to deal with food and general waste."
Wetherspoon's said that it has also looked to curb its environmental impacts by recycling cans, glass, and paper, fitting energy efficient equipment in new or upgraded pubs, and using the same lorries that deliver drinks and food to take away recyclable items.
Isra-Mart srl: Food and drinks firms remain on track to meet ambitious carbon targets
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The UK's leading food and drinks manufacturers, including Coca-Cola, Mars and United Biscuits, are on track to meet ambitious green goals, despite increasing production in recent years, according to a major new report.
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) yesterday issued an annual update of its members' progress towards a series of voluntary targets for reducing environmental impacts, including carbon emissions, water use and waste.
FDF members have reduced CO2 emissions by 25 per cent this year compared with 1990, the report said, adding that they are on track to meet a target to cut emissions by 35 per cent against the same baseline by 2020.
The report also showed that firms had reduced water use, excluding that embedded in products, by 5.3 per cent, edging them towards a 2020 goal of reducing water use by 20 per cent.
In addition, the report revealed that manufacturers this year began tackling the wider environmental impact of their supply chain, adopting goals to reduce water use and management, protect biodiversity, and develop more sustainable sourcing guidelines.
As part of that drive, FDF yesterday launched a campaign encouraging food and drinks companies to save water. Dubbed 'every last drop' it offers guidelines for manufacturing businesses to effectively manage water use across the supply chain.
Minister of state for agriculture and food Jim Paice hailed the industry's progress, but warned there was "no scope for complacency" in curbing the environmental impact of food and drink supply chains.
"There is a huge challenge ahead of us to balance the competing pressure and demands on the global food system," he said.
"This challenge applies to the whole of the food supply chain, so I am particularly pleased to see that the Five-fold Environmental Ambition is encouraging collaboration and engagement with food producers on sustainability objectives."
Nick Bunker, president of Kraft Foods UK & Ireland, and chairman of FDF's sustainability steering group, said the progress was particularly admirable given that overall production has increased.
Output in the food and drink industry increased by 3.5 per cent between September 2010 and 2011, according to the Office of National Statistics.
"In [CO2 emissions] and other areas, we have also improved performance while increasing output to meet higher demand, successfully decoupling environmental impacts from economic growth, which is key to meeting the sustainability challenges of the future and to our own and global food security," he said.
Isra-Mart news:
The UK's leading food and drinks manufacturers, including Coca-Cola, Mars and United Biscuits, are on track to meet ambitious green goals, despite increasing production in recent years, according to a major new report.
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) yesterday issued an annual update of its members' progress towards a series of voluntary targets for reducing environmental impacts, including carbon emissions, water use and waste.
FDF members have reduced CO2 emissions by 25 per cent this year compared with 1990, the report said, adding that they are on track to meet a target to cut emissions by 35 per cent against the same baseline by 2020.
The report also showed that firms had reduced water use, excluding that embedded in products, by 5.3 per cent, edging them towards a 2020 goal of reducing water use by 20 per cent.
In addition, the report revealed that manufacturers this year began tackling the wider environmental impact of their supply chain, adopting goals to reduce water use and management, protect biodiversity, and develop more sustainable sourcing guidelines.
As part of that drive, FDF yesterday launched a campaign encouraging food and drinks companies to save water. Dubbed 'every last drop' it offers guidelines for manufacturing businesses to effectively manage water use across the supply chain.
Minister of state for agriculture and food Jim Paice hailed the industry's progress, but warned there was "no scope for complacency" in curbing the environmental impact of food and drink supply chains.
"There is a huge challenge ahead of us to balance the competing pressure and demands on the global food system," he said.
"This challenge applies to the whole of the food supply chain, so I am particularly pleased to see that the Five-fold Environmental Ambition is encouraging collaboration and engagement with food producers on sustainability objectives."
Nick Bunker, president of Kraft Foods UK & Ireland, and chairman of FDF's sustainability steering group, said the progress was particularly admirable given that overall production has increased.
Output in the food and drink industry increased by 3.5 per cent between September 2010 and 2011, according to the Office of National Statistics.
"In [CO2 emissions] and other areas, we have also improved performance while increasing output to meet higher demand, successfully decoupling environmental impacts from economic growth, which is key to meeting the sustainability challenges of the future and to our own and global food security," he said.
Isra-Mart srl: South Africa green lights 1.4GW of new wind and solar power projects
www.isramart.com
Isra-Mart news:
Plans to build more than 3.5GW of renewable energy capacity in South Africa have taken a major step forward after 28 wind and solar power projects were approved as part of a government tender round that should serve to burnish the host country's green credentials as the Durban Summit enters its final few days.
The government yesterday awarded preferred bidder status to projects totalling 1,416MW of capacity, split between wind power, solar photovoltaic and concentrated solar power projects.
The 28 winners were selected from a total of 53 bids and now have until June 2012 to secure financial close and then begin construction.
The government awarded preferred bidder status to 18 solar PV projects totalling 632MW, and eight wind power projects, totalling 634MW. Two concentrated solar projects totalling 150MW, including the 100MW Abengoa-led KaXu Solar One also got the green light.
A consortium led by Ireland-based Mainstream Renewable Power emerged as a major winner, securing bids to deliver one 138MW wind farm and two solar PV projects totalling 100MW.
The consortium could invest up to £400m in the three projects, which have been co-developed by Mainstream and local partner Genesis Eco-Energy, with Absa Capital having underwritten the debt.
Siemens, Suntech and Group Five Iberdrola are expected to help deliver the technical aspects of the projects.
Mainstream's chief executive Eddie O'Connor welcomed the news, noting the consortium won all the projects it bid for.
"The government has shown tremendous vision and foresight in creating this new and sustainable industry for South Africa, firmly placing it on the world map for renewable energy generation," he said.
"Mainstream is fully committed to playing a leading role in the delivery of this vision and we look forward to participating in Round 2 and all future rounds."
Further rounds are expected to allocate more than 2GW of capacity to help reach the government's target of delivering over 3.6GW of new renewable energy capacity.
Isra-Mart news:
Plans to build more than 3.5GW of renewable energy capacity in South Africa have taken a major step forward after 28 wind and solar power projects were approved as part of a government tender round that should serve to burnish the host country's green credentials as the Durban Summit enters its final few days.
The government yesterday awarded preferred bidder status to projects totalling 1,416MW of capacity, split between wind power, solar photovoltaic and concentrated solar power projects.
The 28 winners were selected from a total of 53 bids and now have until June 2012 to secure financial close and then begin construction.
The government awarded preferred bidder status to 18 solar PV projects totalling 632MW, and eight wind power projects, totalling 634MW. Two concentrated solar projects totalling 150MW, including the 100MW Abengoa-led KaXu Solar One also got the green light.
A consortium led by Ireland-based Mainstream Renewable Power emerged as a major winner, securing bids to deliver one 138MW wind farm and two solar PV projects totalling 100MW.
The consortium could invest up to £400m in the three projects, which have been co-developed by Mainstream and local partner Genesis Eco-Energy, with Absa Capital having underwritten the debt.
Siemens, Suntech and Group Five Iberdrola are expected to help deliver the technical aspects of the projects.
Mainstream's chief executive Eddie O'Connor welcomed the news, noting the consortium won all the projects it bid for.
"The government has shown tremendous vision and foresight in creating this new and sustainable industry for South Africa, firmly placing it on the world map for renewable energy generation," he said.
"Mainstream is fully committed to playing a leading role in the delivery of this vision and we look forward to participating in Round 2 and all future rounds."
Further rounds are expected to allocate more than 2GW of capacity to help reach the government's target of delivering over 3.6GW of new renewable energy capacity.
Isra-Mart srl: Buffett branches into solar power with Topaz purchase
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Isra-Mart news:
US tycoon Warren Buffett has made his first investment in solar power with the announcement this week that he has agreed to purchase First Solar's 550MW Topaz Solar Farm for an undisclosed fee.
The purchase of the $2bn project in San Luis Obispo County, California, is dependent on permits and electrical interconnections, and will be managed through Buffet's MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company.
The deal comes after First Solar was forced to look for alternative finance for the project after missing a deadline for a government loan guarantee.
The move also marks a departure for Mid-Western, which until now has focused its renewable energy investments on wind farms.
"Adding solar energy to our generation portfolio is a strategic move to invest in yet another renewable energy source," said Greg Abel, chairman, president and chief executive of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company.
"This project also demonstrates that solar energy is a commercially viable technology without the support of governmental loan guarantees, and reflects the type of solar and other renewable generation that MidAmerican will continue to seek to add to its unregulated portfolio."
Topaz is one of the two largest solar plants being developed in the world and is expected to come online in 2015.
First Solar will continue to construct the plant and assume responsibility for operations and maintenance, while Pacific Gas and Electric Company will take the electricity from Topaz under a 25-year power purchase agreement.
Isra-Mart news:
US tycoon Warren Buffett has made his first investment in solar power with the announcement this week that he has agreed to purchase First Solar's 550MW Topaz Solar Farm for an undisclosed fee.
The purchase of the $2bn project in San Luis Obispo County, California, is dependent on permits and electrical interconnections, and will be managed through Buffet's MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company.
The deal comes after First Solar was forced to look for alternative finance for the project after missing a deadline for a government loan guarantee.
The move also marks a departure for Mid-Western, which until now has focused its renewable energy investments on wind farms.
"Adding solar energy to our generation portfolio is a strategic move to invest in yet another renewable energy source," said Greg Abel, chairman, president and chief executive of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company.
"This project also demonstrates that solar energy is a commercially viable technology without the support of governmental loan guarantees, and reflects the type of solar and other renewable generation that MidAmerican will continue to seek to add to its unregulated portfolio."
Topaz is one of the two largest solar plants being developed in the world and is expected to come online in 2015.
First Solar will continue to construct the plant and assume responsibility for operations and maintenance, while Pacific Gas and Electric Company will take the electricity from Topaz under a 25-year power purchase agreement.
Isra-Mart srl: Bill Gates in nuclear talks with China
www.isramart.com
Isra-Mart news:
Bill Gates has confirmed he is looking to develop a new type of nuclear reactor that can be run on depleted uranium with the Chinese government.
In a talk at China's Ministry of Science and Technology, Gates confirmed TerraPower, the start-up he and fellow entrepreneur Vinod Khosla have invested millions of dollars in, is "having very good discussions with CNNC [state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation] and various people in the Chinese government".
Although he stressed negotiations were still at an early stage, Gates said up to $1bn could be put into research and development of the innovative reactor technology over the next five years.
TerraPower claims its so-called 'travelling wave reactor' can run for up to 50 years on depleted uranium and produce much less nuclear waste than conventional reactors.
Moreover, Gates said the technology can simulate earthquakes and tidal waves, which would give it extra protection from the kind of devastating event that hit the Fukushima nuclear plant in March.
"The idea is to be very low-cost, very safe and generate very little waste," Gates told the audience. "All these new designs are going to be incredibly safe. They require no human action to remain safe at all times."
Gates has invested millions in the Seattle-based nuclear firm in line with his belief that breakthrough technologies are needed to tackle the world's climate problems.
Both travelling wave reactors and thorium reactors are currently being touted by experts as a safer alternative to conventional uranium reactors, which have fallen out of favour in many countries following the Fukushima disaster.
Isra-Mart news:
Bill Gates has confirmed he is looking to develop a new type of nuclear reactor that can be run on depleted uranium with the Chinese government.
In a talk at China's Ministry of Science and Technology, Gates confirmed TerraPower, the start-up he and fellow entrepreneur Vinod Khosla have invested millions of dollars in, is "having very good discussions with CNNC [state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation] and various people in the Chinese government".
Although he stressed negotiations were still at an early stage, Gates said up to $1bn could be put into research and development of the innovative reactor technology over the next five years.
TerraPower claims its so-called 'travelling wave reactor' can run for up to 50 years on depleted uranium and produce much less nuclear waste than conventional reactors.
Moreover, Gates said the technology can simulate earthquakes and tidal waves, which would give it extra protection from the kind of devastating event that hit the Fukushima nuclear plant in March.
"The idea is to be very low-cost, very safe and generate very little waste," Gates told the audience. "All these new designs are going to be incredibly safe. They require no human action to remain safe at all times."
Gates has invested millions in the Seattle-based nuclear firm in line with his belief that breakthrough technologies are needed to tackle the world's climate problems.
Both travelling wave reactors and thorium reactors are currently being touted by experts as a safer alternative to conventional uranium reactors, which have fallen out of favour in many countries following the Fukushima disaster.
Isra-Mart srl: Green energy firms urged to bid for £125m fund
www.isramart.com
Isra-Mart news:
Green energy supply chain firms, such as those developing wind turbine and electric car components, have been urged to bid for a share of a new £125m government fund designed to boost UK competitiveness.
Business Secretary Vince Cable launched the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative yesterday, targeting key growth areas such as renewable energy and low carbon technologies.
The initiative was based on a bid by local enterprise partnerships to the Regional Growth Fund to boost automotive and aerospace sectors in the Midlands and Liverpool.
However, the government has expanded the fund to cover the whole of England and a range of advanced manufacturing sectors.
Suppliers of all sizes will be encouraged to submit formal proposals to the Technology Strategy Board from early next month for support worth £2m or more. Further details of the programme are expected to be revealed on 13 December.
Cable explained that the fund is designed to boost existing UK supply chain firms and encourage major new suppliers to manufacture in the UK.
"Recent economic and natural shocks such as the ash clouds, tsunami and Japanese earthquake have shown the fragility of long-distance and single-source supply chains," he said.
"I want to seize on the increased preference that big global companies are showing for co-locating key elements of their supply chains with their UK manufacturing operations."
The lack of a strong supply chain is often cited as a major barrier to the growth of the emerging green energy market.
The programme is expected to work alongside the Regional Growth Fund, which was given a £1bn boost last week in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg set out further details yesterday on the increase in the fund, which will now reach £2.4bn, confirming at least two further rounds of bidding, the next round opening in February 2012.
"This additional £1bn boost for British businesses means the Regional Growth Fund will create an estimated 500,000 jobs before the end of this parliament," he said.
"With this targeted support for companies we're unlocking private sector investment, with at least £5 put in for every £1 of public money."
Isra-Mart news:
Green energy supply chain firms, such as those developing wind turbine and electric car components, have been urged to bid for a share of a new £125m government fund designed to boost UK competitiveness.
Business Secretary Vince Cable launched the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative yesterday, targeting key growth areas such as renewable energy and low carbon technologies.
The initiative was based on a bid by local enterprise partnerships to the Regional Growth Fund to boost automotive and aerospace sectors in the Midlands and Liverpool.
However, the government has expanded the fund to cover the whole of England and a range of advanced manufacturing sectors.
Suppliers of all sizes will be encouraged to submit formal proposals to the Technology Strategy Board from early next month for support worth £2m or more. Further details of the programme are expected to be revealed on 13 December.
Cable explained that the fund is designed to boost existing UK supply chain firms and encourage major new suppliers to manufacture in the UK.
"Recent economic and natural shocks such as the ash clouds, tsunami and Japanese earthquake have shown the fragility of long-distance and single-source supply chains," he said.
"I want to seize on the increased preference that big global companies are showing for co-locating key elements of their supply chains with their UK manufacturing operations."
The lack of a strong supply chain is often cited as a major barrier to the growth of the emerging green energy market.
The programme is expected to work alongside the Regional Growth Fund, which was given a £1bn boost last week in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg set out further details yesterday on the increase in the fund, which will now reach £2.4bn, confirming at least two further rounds of bidding, the next round opening in February 2012.
"This additional £1bn boost for British businesses means the Regional Growth Fund will create an estimated 500,000 jobs before the end of this parliament," he said.
"With this targeted support for companies we're unlocking private sector investment, with at least £5 put in for every £1 of public money."
Isra-Mart srl: MPs demand clarity on carbon capture funding
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Isra-Mart news:
The head of an influential committee of MPs has expressed his shock at the decision to reallocate funds away from developing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology and demanded to know when the government envisages the technology being up and running.
Tim Yeo, chair of the energy and climate change committee, today issued an open letter to Chris Huhne after last week's Autumn Statement siphoned off the £1bn earmarked for the UK's first CCS demonstration programme to finance a new set of infrastructure projects.
The move took the industry by surprise and was criticised by the government's own independent advisors after it threw into doubt the agreed timeline for having the first demonstration project completed by 2016 and three more operational by 2020.
CCS is one of the main pillars of the government's energy policy and is expected to become a £10bn industry in the UK employing up to 27,000 people by 2025.
But to date, only one small pilot project has come online with many observers blaming the lack of progress on the lengthy time taken to award funding to the first demonstration project, which saw all applicants withdraw from the process, culminating in Scottish Power's Longannet project in Fife dropping out of the competition in October.
The technology is thought to be well suited to the UK as it has access to geological formations in the North Sea capable of storing carbon emitted from factories and power plants on the east coast, as well as transferable skills from the oil and gas industry.
In his letter to the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Yeo warns that CCS is a vital technology for the low-carbon transition and without it the UK's emissions targets may come under threat.
He calls on Huhne to urgently clarify exactly how much of the promised £1bn of CCS funding will be moved to the infrastructure budget, when he expects a commercial-scale project to be underway, and how the decision affects the next round of plants.
"There would be serious international and economic implications if we were not able to make this technology available," Yeo writes. "Without it, we may face an impossible trade-off between our environmental objectives and energy security.
"We are extremely concerned that the Treasury's short-term fixes will endanger our long-term economic and environmental prospects and these issues are not being given the weight they deserve in Whitehall."
A Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) spokesman insisted the government remained "fully committed" to cost-competitive deployment of CCS in the 2020s.
"We are clear that £1bn remains available to support future projects ... and expect CCS projects to come forward in this spending review period," he said in a statement. "The detailed profile of spend will be determined by the projects selected and when they require funding."
Yeo's letter comes after shadow energy minister Tom Greatrex quizzed Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, on the matter in Parliament yesterday.
Alexander said "£1bn is available for the carbon capture and storage project" and that the funds would be allocated "as soon as the competition is completed".
Speaking afterwards Greatrex said the answer "failed to clear up the uncertainty" that is afflicting the industry over how much funding will be made available during this parliament.
"The government refuses to say how much money there will be before 2015, and won't outline a revised timetable for CCS development on a commercial scale," he added. "If businesses are to invest in the long term development of this vital low-carbon technology, they need clarity from the government not dither and delay.
"It is time Danny Alexander and Chris Huhne came clean, rather than persistently undermining the UK's current commercial advantage on CCS technology."
Isra-Mart news:
The head of an influential committee of MPs has expressed his shock at the decision to reallocate funds away from developing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology and demanded to know when the government envisages the technology being up and running.
Tim Yeo, chair of the energy and climate change committee, today issued an open letter to Chris Huhne after last week's Autumn Statement siphoned off the £1bn earmarked for the UK's first CCS demonstration programme to finance a new set of infrastructure projects.
The move took the industry by surprise and was criticised by the government's own independent advisors after it threw into doubt the agreed timeline for having the first demonstration project completed by 2016 and three more operational by 2020.
CCS is one of the main pillars of the government's energy policy and is expected to become a £10bn industry in the UK employing up to 27,000 people by 2025.
But to date, only one small pilot project has come online with many observers blaming the lack of progress on the lengthy time taken to award funding to the first demonstration project, which saw all applicants withdraw from the process, culminating in Scottish Power's Longannet project in Fife dropping out of the competition in October.
The technology is thought to be well suited to the UK as it has access to geological formations in the North Sea capable of storing carbon emitted from factories and power plants on the east coast, as well as transferable skills from the oil and gas industry.
In his letter to the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Yeo warns that CCS is a vital technology for the low-carbon transition and without it the UK's emissions targets may come under threat.
He calls on Huhne to urgently clarify exactly how much of the promised £1bn of CCS funding will be moved to the infrastructure budget, when he expects a commercial-scale project to be underway, and how the decision affects the next round of plants.
"There would be serious international and economic implications if we were not able to make this technology available," Yeo writes. "Without it, we may face an impossible trade-off between our environmental objectives and energy security.
"We are extremely concerned that the Treasury's short-term fixes will endanger our long-term economic and environmental prospects and these issues are not being given the weight they deserve in Whitehall."
A Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) spokesman insisted the government remained "fully committed" to cost-competitive deployment of CCS in the 2020s.
"We are clear that £1bn remains available to support future projects ... and expect CCS projects to come forward in this spending review period," he said in a statement. "The detailed profile of spend will be determined by the projects selected and when they require funding."
Yeo's letter comes after shadow energy minister Tom Greatrex quizzed Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, on the matter in Parliament yesterday.
Alexander said "£1bn is available for the carbon capture and storage project" and that the funds would be allocated "as soon as the competition is completed".
Speaking afterwards Greatrex said the answer "failed to clear up the uncertainty" that is afflicting the industry over how much funding will be made available during this parliament.
"The government refuses to say how much money there will be before 2015, and won't outline a revised timetable for CCS development on a commercial scale," he added. "If businesses are to invest in the long term development of this vital low-carbon technology, they need clarity from the government not dither and delay.
"It is time Danny Alexander and Chris Huhne came clean, rather than persistently undermining the UK's current commercial advantage on CCS technology."
Isra-Mart srl: Reports: Clean energy investments pass trillion-dollar mark
www.isramart.com
Isra-Mart news:
Hopes that the Durban Summit will result in a new roadmap for a binding global climate treaty agreed by 2015 received a major blow last night, after Indian officials rejected the EU-backed proposals and senior diplomats accused China of failing to clarify whether it will sign up to legally enforced emissions targets.
Reports in The Guardian said that Indian environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan yesterday ruled out signing up to the EU proposal, which would see the Kyoto Protocol extended for a second commitment period on the understanding that all countries, including large emerging economies, agree to finalise a parallel binding treaty by 2015.
The new agreement is expected to impose emissions targets on all major polluters with a view to enacting the treaty by 2020.
The proposal has secured preliminary support from many developing countries, but speaking ahead of a series of crucial meetings between the EU, the US and the so-called Basic countries of Brazil, India, South Africa and China, Natarajan insisted that India is not willing to negotiate any future deal until industrialised nations extend the Kyoto Protocol and make good on all climate aid pledges.
Natarajan argued that industrialised nations have still not fulfilled all their obligations under the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol and, in a reference to Canada, Russia and Japan, accused a handful of nations of preparing to leave the long-running treaty.
She also warned that industrialised nations are guilty of an "ambition gap", citing a recent report from the Stockholm Environment Institute that analysed the voluntary emission reduction pledges made at last year's Cancun Summit and concluded that, when various loopholes are taken into account, developing nations have agreed to deeper emissions cuts than rich countries.
The comments are the latest in a series of blows to the EU's proposal for a new roadmap, after senior Chinese officials signalled that they want to see the Kyoto Protocol extended before any new agreement can be reached, and the US continued to argue that new legally binding emissions targets may not be necessary.
Brazilian envoy Luiz Alberto Figueiredo also offered a lukewarm welcome to the proposals, telling news agency Bloomberg that, while the country has "no problem" with looking at a new timeline, plenty of details will need to be finalised before the country is willing to sign up to any new agreement.
The stand off has led to a ratcheting up of tensions between the main players at the talks.
In an unusually outspoken intervention, EU climate change commissioner Connie Hedegaard told the summit yesterday that "the EU has put a significant offer on the table" and the onus is on other countries to follow suit.
"Even if others are not, we are ready to take a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol - now," she said. "We do this in order to preserve what it took us all so many years to agree upon. But we must be reassured that others will join us in a new legally binding framework after that second commitment period and when they will."
Writing later on Twitter, Hedegaard also accused some countries of undermining progress towards a deal while insisting in public that they are looking to reach an agreement. "Sometimes messages are more progressive at public press conferences than in negotiation rooms," she wrote.
Christiana Figueres, head of the UN climate change secretariat, also sought to crank up pressure on the US, warning that the nation is at risk of losing its position as an economic superpower if it does not step up efforts to cut emissions.
"It's concerning and sad that the US has lost leadership, not just politically but, perhaps more importantly for them, in their economy," she told a meeting to launch the second Globe International Climate Legislation study.
"The fact they are losing out on the green economy, losing out on investments in clean energy, losing out on the possibility of being a large exporter of clean energy and technology. It's something that's very difficult to understand and one wonders when they are going to wake up to that."
Figueres was speaking alongside British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, who challenged the US argument that a non-binding treaty could deliver deep emissions reductions.
"I don't think President Ronald Reagan would have decided that the best way to deal with the international missile race was through voluntary pledges. Exactly the same thing applies with climate change," he said.
"The US has recognised the need for a globally binding framework in the past, and I believe the US will recognise it again in the future... One of the most frustrating things about these talks is the way everybody is waiting for the other to go first."
Isra-Mart news:
Hopes that the Durban Summit will result in a new roadmap for a binding global climate treaty agreed by 2015 received a major blow last night, after Indian officials rejected the EU-backed proposals and senior diplomats accused China of failing to clarify whether it will sign up to legally enforced emissions targets.
Reports in The Guardian said that Indian environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan yesterday ruled out signing up to the EU proposal, which would see the Kyoto Protocol extended for a second commitment period on the understanding that all countries, including large emerging economies, agree to finalise a parallel binding treaty by 2015.
The new agreement is expected to impose emissions targets on all major polluters with a view to enacting the treaty by 2020.
The proposal has secured preliminary support from many developing countries, but speaking ahead of a series of crucial meetings between the EU, the US and the so-called Basic countries of Brazil, India, South Africa and China, Natarajan insisted that India is not willing to negotiate any future deal until industrialised nations extend the Kyoto Protocol and make good on all climate aid pledges.
Natarajan argued that industrialised nations have still not fulfilled all their obligations under the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol and, in a reference to Canada, Russia and Japan, accused a handful of nations of preparing to leave the long-running treaty.
She also warned that industrialised nations are guilty of an "ambition gap", citing a recent report from the Stockholm Environment Institute that analysed the voluntary emission reduction pledges made at last year's Cancun Summit and concluded that, when various loopholes are taken into account, developing nations have agreed to deeper emissions cuts than rich countries.
The comments are the latest in a series of blows to the EU's proposal for a new roadmap, after senior Chinese officials signalled that they want to see the Kyoto Protocol extended before any new agreement can be reached, and the US continued to argue that new legally binding emissions targets may not be necessary.
Brazilian envoy Luiz Alberto Figueiredo also offered a lukewarm welcome to the proposals, telling news agency Bloomberg that, while the country has "no problem" with looking at a new timeline, plenty of details will need to be finalised before the country is willing to sign up to any new agreement.
The stand off has led to a ratcheting up of tensions between the main players at the talks.
In an unusually outspoken intervention, EU climate change commissioner Connie Hedegaard told the summit yesterday that "the EU has put a significant offer on the table" and the onus is on other countries to follow suit.
"Even if others are not, we are ready to take a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol - now," she said. "We do this in order to preserve what it took us all so many years to agree upon. But we must be reassured that others will join us in a new legally binding framework after that second commitment period and when they will."
Writing later on Twitter, Hedegaard also accused some countries of undermining progress towards a deal while insisting in public that they are looking to reach an agreement. "Sometimes messages are more progressive at public press conferences than in negotiation rooms," she wrote.
Christiana Figueres, head of the UN climate change secretariat, also sought to crank up pressure on the US, warning that the nation is at risk of losing its position as an economic superpower if it does not step up efforts to cut emissions.
"It's concerning and sad that the US has lost leadership, not just politically but, perhaps more importantly for them, in their economy," she told a meeting to launch the second Globe International Climate Legislation study.
"The fact they are losing out on the green economy, losing out on investments in clean energy, losing out on the possibility of being a large exporter of clean energy and technology. It's something that's very difficult to understand and one wonders when they are going to wake up to that."
Figueres was speaking alongside British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, who challenged the US argument that a non-binding treaty could deliver deep emissions reductions.
"I don't think President Ronald Reagan would have decided that the best way to deal with the international missile race was through voluntary pledges. Exactly the same thing applies with climate change," he said.
"The US has recognised the need for a globally binding framework in the past, and I believe the US will recognise it again in the future... One of the most frustrating things about these talks is the way everybody is waiting for the other to go first."
Isra-Mart srl: Reports: India rejects EU climate deal roadmap
www.isramart.com
Isra-Mart news:
Hopes that the Durban Summit will result in a new roadmap for a binding global climate treaty agreed by 2015 received a major blow last night, after Indian officials rejected the EU-backed proposals and senior diplomats accused China of failing to clarify whether it will sign up to legally enforced emissions targets.
Reports in The Guardian said that Indian environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan yesterday ruled out signing up to the EU proposal, which would see the Kyoto Protocol extended for a second commitment period on the understanding that all countries, including large emerging economies, agree to finalise a parallel binding treaty by 2015.
The new agreement is expected to impose emissions targets on all major polluters with a view to enacting the treaty by 2020.
The proposal has secured preliminary support from many developing countries, but speaking ahead of a series of crucial meetings between the EU, the US and the so-called Basic countries of Brazil, India, South Africa and China, Natarajan insisted that India is not willing to negotiate any future deal until industrialised nations extend the Kyoto Protocol and make good on all climate aid pledges.
Natarajan argued that industrialised nations have still not fulfilled all their obligations under the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol and, in a reference to Canada, Russia and Japan, accused a handful of nations of preparing to leave the long-running treaty.
She also warned that industrialised nations are guilty of an "ambition gap", citing a recent report from the Stockholm Environment Institute that analysed the voluntary emission reduction pledges made at last year's Cancun Summit and concluded that, when various loopholes are taken into account, developing nations have agreed to deeper emissions cuts than rich countries.
The comments are the latest in a series of blows to the EU's proposal for a new roadmap, after senior Chinese officials signalled that they want to see the Kyoto Protocol extended before any new agreement can be reached, and the US continued to argue that new legally binding emissions targets may not be necessary.
Brazilian envoy Luiz Alberto Figueiredo also offered a lukewarm welcome to the proposals, telling news agency Bloomberg that, while the country has "no problem" with looking at a new timeline, plenty of details will need to be finalised before the country is willing to sign up to any new agreement.
The stand off has led to a ratcheting up of tensions between the main players at the talks.
In an unusually outspoken intervention, EU climate change commissioner Connie Hedegaard told the summit yesterday that "the EU has put a significant offer on the table" and the onus is on other countries to follow suit.
"Even if others are not, we are ready to take a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol - now," she said. "We do this in order to preserve what it took us all so many years to agree upon. But we must be reassured that others will join us in a new legally binding framework after that second commitment period and when they will."
Writing later on Twitter, Hedegaard also accused some countries of undermining progress towards a deal while insisting in public that they are looking to reach an agreement. "Sometimes messages are more progressive at public press conferences than in negotiation rooms," she wrote.
Christiana Figueres, head of the UN climate change secretariat, also sought to crank up pressure on the US, warning that the nation is at risk of losing its position as an economic superpower if it does not step up efforts to cut emissions.
"It's concerning and sad that the US has lost leadership, not just politically but, perhaps more importantly for them, in their economy," she told a meeting to launch the second Globe International Climate Legislation study.
"The fact they are losing out on the green economy, losing out on investments in clean energy, losing out on the possibility of being a large exporter of clean energy and technology. It's something that's very difficult to understand and one wonders when they are going to wake up to that."
Figueres was speaking alongside British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, who challenged the US argument that a non-binding treaty could deliver deep emissions reductions.
"I don't think President Ronald Reagan would have decided that the best way to deal with the international missile race was through voluntary pledges. Exactly the same thing applies with climate change," he said.
"The US has recognised the need for a globally binding framework in the past, and I believe the US will recognise it again in the future... One of the most frustrating things about these talks is the way everybody is waiting for the other to go first."
Isra-Mart news:
Hopes that the Durban Summit will result in a new roadmap for a binding global climate treaty agreed by 2015 received a major blow last night, after Indian officials rejected the EU-backed proposals and senior diplomats accused China of failing to clarify whether it will sign up to legally enforced emissions targets.
Reports in The Guardian said that Indian environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan yesterday ruled out signing up to the EU proposal, which would see the Kyoto Protocol extended for a second commitment period on the understanding that all countries, including large emerging economies, agree to finalise a parallel binding treaty by 2015.
The new agreement is expected to impose emissions targets on all major polluters with a view to enacting the treaty by 2020.
The proposal has secured preliminary support from many developing countries, but speaking ahead of a series of crucial meetings between the EU, the US and the so-called Basic countries of Brazil, India, South Africa and China, Natarajan insisted that India is not willing to negotiate any future deal until industrialised nations extend the Kyoto Protocol and make good on all climate aid pledges.
Natarajan argued that industrialised nations have still not fulfilled all their obligations under the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol and, in a reference to Canada, Russia and Japan, accused a handful of nations of preparing to leave the long-running treaty.
She also warned that industrialised nations are guilty of an "ambition gap", citing a recent report from the Stockholm Environment Institute that analysed the voluntary emission reduction pledges made at last year's Cancun Summit and concluded that, when various loopholes are taken into account, developing nations have agreed to deeper emissions cuts than rich countries.
The comments are the latest in a series of blows to the EU's proposal for a new roadmap, after senior Chinese officials signalled that they want to see the Kyoto Protocol extended before any new agreement can be reached, and the US continued to argue that new legally binding emissions targets may not be necessary.
Brazilian envoy Luiz Alberto Figueiredo also offered a lukewarm welcome to the proposals, telling news agency Bloomberg that, while the country has "no problem" with looking at a new timeline, plenty of details will need to be finalised before the country is willing to sign up to any new agreement.
The stand off has led to a ratcheting up of tensions between the main players at the talks.
In an unusually outspoken intervention, EU climate change commissioner Connie Hedegaard told the summit yesterday that "the EU has put a significant offer on the table" and the onus is on other countries to follow suit.
"Even if others are not, we are ready to take a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol - now," she said. "We do this in order to preserve what it took us all so many years to agree upon. But we must be reassured that others will join us in a new legally binding framework after that second commitment period and when they will."
Writing later on Twitter, Hedegaard also accused some countries of undermining progress towards a deal while insisting in public that they are looking to reach an agreement. "Sometimes messages are more progressive at public press conferences than in negotiation rooms," she wrote.
Christiana Figueres, head of the UN climate change secretariat, also sought to crank up pressure on the US, warning that the nation is at risk of losing its position as an economic superpower if it does not step up efforts to cut emissions.
"It's concerning and sad that the US has lost leadership, not just politically but, perhaps more importantly for them, in their economy," she told a meeting to launch the second Globe International Climate Legislation study.
"The fact they are losing out on the green economy, losing out on investments in clean energy, losing out on the possibility of being a large exporter of clean energy and technology. It's something that's very difficult to understand and one wonders when they are going to wake up to that."
Figueres was speaking alongside British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, who challenged the US argument that a non-binding treaty could deliver deep emissions reductions.
"I don't think President Ronald Reagan would have decided that the best way to deal with the international missile race was through voluntary pledges. Exactly the same thing applies with climate change," he said.
"The US has recognised the need for a globally binding framework in the past, and I believe the US will recognise it again in the future... One of the most frustrating things about these talks is the way everybody is waiting for the other to go first."
Isra-Mart srl: Firms urged to accelerate efforts to green their IT systems
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Businesses have been urged to develop green IT policies after a new survey revealed nearly half of the UK's organisations fail to ensure that computers power down out of hours.
A survey of 1,000 IT staff, published today by OnePoll on behalf of software developer Faronics, found that 40 per cent of the UK's private and public organisations have failed to develop green IT strategies.
The vast majority of those organisations without a plan in place believe it would be too time-consuming, taxing or expensive to enforce a green IT strategy.
However, 40 per cent of respondents said they did have green IT policies in place, and nearly a third considered their businesses to be a "green" organisation in terms of IT efficiency.
Significantly, nearly half of those with green IT policies cited cost savings as the main driver, while just 18 per cent cited environmental concerns. Nearly a third said they were driven by corporate social responsibility or reputational concerns.
Bimal Parmar, vice president of marketing at Faronics, said the survey showed businesses were gradually shifting towards developing green IT plans in the face of rising energy bills and growing customer awareness of environmental concerns.
"While organisations have long been sceptical of the financial and business benefits of sustainability, this perception is finally changing," he said.
He urged businesses to adopt simpler green IT measures such as powering down their desktops out of hours, arguing that recent research from energy giant E.ON revealed that £30.8m is wasted every day as a result of idle workstations.
"The impact of a sound desktop management strategy should not be underestimated, especially when considering that only 30 per cent of a desktop's energy is actually utilised productively," he said. "This not only wastes a significant amount of power, but also results in unnecessarily high costs.
"What some people do not seem to realise is that solutions are becoming increasingly sophisticated. IT departments are now able to boot desktops for scheduled maintenance whenever desired and ensure that computers are not shut down while essential updates are occurring out of hours, thus having no effect on company productivity."
Faronics is one of a number of companies to offer PC power management software that allows firms to automatically power down or turn off machines that are not in use. Other providers include UK-based 1E and US software firm Verdiem.
Isra-Mart news:
Businesses have been urged to develop green IT policies after a new survey revealed nearly half of the UK's organisations fail to ensure that computers power down out of hours.
A survey of 1,000 IT staff, published today by OnePoll on behalf of software developer Faronics, found that 40 per cent of the UK's private and public organisations have failed to develop green IT strategies.
The vast majority of those organisations without a plan in place believe it would be too time-consuming, taxing or expensive to enforce a green IT strategy.
However, 40 per cent of respondents said they did have green IT policies in place, and nearly a third considered their businesses to be a "green" organisation in terms of IT efficiency.
Significantly, nearly half of those with green IT policies cited cost savings as the main driver, while just 18 per cent cited environmental concerns. Nearly a third said they were driven by corporate social responsibility or reputational concerns.
Bimal Parmar, vice president of marketing at Faronics, said the survey showed businesses were gradually shifting towards developing green IT plans in the face of rising energy bills and growing customer awareness of environmental concerns.
"While organisations have long been sceptical of the financial and business benefits of sustainability, this perception is finally changing," he said.
He urged businesses to adopt simpler green IT measures such as powering down their desktops out of hours, arguing that recent research from energy giant E.ON revealed that £30.8m is wasted every day as a result of idle workstations.
"The impact of a sound desktop management strategy should not be underestimated, especially when considering that only 30 per cent of a desktop's energy is actually utilised productively," he said. "This not only wastes a significant amount of power, but also results in unnecessarily high costs.
"What some people do not seem to realise is that solutions are becoming increasingly sophisticated. IT departments are now able to boot desktops for scheduled maintenance whenever desired and ensure that computers are not shut down while essential updates are occurring out of hours, thus having no effect on company productivity."
Faronics is one of a number of companies to offer PC power management software that allows firms to automatically power down or turn off machines that are not in use. Other providers include UK-based 1E and US software firm Verdiem.
Isra-Mart srl: Court to decide on EU aviation emissions trading case before Christmas
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The European Court of Justice is poised to make a final decision on the legality of EU plans that will force airlines to purchase carbon credits to cover the emissions of all flights in and out of the bloc's airports.
A spokesman for the Court told BusinessGreen that the ruling will be delivered on 21 December, rather than in January as had been expected.
"There had been no date set until this one," he said. "If the case had taken the average length of time these things usually take it would have been in January, but the Court has moved quicker."
The formal ruling is widely expected to uphold a preliminary judgement made in October, which dismissed US airlines' accusations that the EU had exceeded its jurisdiction and violated international aviation treaties by incorporating aviation in its emissions trading scheme (ETS).
The move should clear the way for airlines to begin buying EU carbon allowances as part of the ETS from 1 January, as originally envisaged, although appeals and the threat of further legal action by Chinese carriers could still disrupt the plans.
Airlines are concerned that the plans could spark trade wars or even tit-for-tat legislation, a fear given more credence by a bill passed in the US House of Representatives that will impose heavy fines on any of the country's carriers that comply with the EU emissions trading rules.
US and EU representatives will meet in Washington this Thursday to discuss the move, which could save around 183 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by 2020.
To date, Brussels has stood firm on its plans and refused pleas to exempt non-EU airlines.
The European Commission agrees with the industry that a global solution to cut emissions would be preferable, but argues that, with little sign of such a deal on the horizon, it must take action to limit the sector's emissions.
The stance has won support from green groups, which urged the US to stop fighting the legislation and work with the EU instead.
"The US should follow words with action and co-operate with Europe in proposing enforceable emissions reductions for the aviation sector," said Pamela Campos, an attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund, in a statement.
"It's time for the US to stop complaining about Europe's actions, and instead put homegrown ingenuity to work with our diplomatic allies to show that there is a pathway to sustainable, climate-sensitive air travel."
Isra-Mart news:
The European Court of Justice is poised to make a final decision on the legality of EU plans that will force airlines to purchase carbon credits to cover the emissions of all flights in and out of the bloc's airports.
A spokesman for the Court told BusinessGreen that the ruling will be delivered on 21 December, rather than in January as had been expected.
"There had been no date set until this one," he said. "If the case had taken the average length of time these things usually take it would have been in January, but the Court has moved quicker."
The formal ruling is widely expected to uphold a preliminary judgement made in October, which dismissed US airlines' accusations that the EU had exceeded its jurisdiction and violated international aviation treaties by incorporating aviation in its emissions trading scheme (ETS).
The move should clear the way for airlines to begin buying EU carbon allowances as part of the ETS from 1 January, as originally envisaged, although appeals and the threat of further legal action by Chinese carriers could still disrupt the plans.
Airlines are concerned that the plans could spark trade wars or even tit-for-tat legislation, a fear given more credence by a bill passed in the US House of Representatives that will impose heavy fines on any of the country's carriers that comply with the EU emissions trading rules.
US and EU representatives will meet in Washington this Thursday to discuss the move, which could save around 183 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by 2020.
To date, Brussels has stood firm on its plans and refused pleas to exempt non-EU airlines.
The European Commission agrees with the industry that a global solution to cut emissions would be preferable, but argues that, with little sign of such a deal on the horizon, it must take action to limit the sector's emissions.
The stance has won support from green groups, which urged the US to stop fighting the legislation and work with the EU instead.
"The US should follow words with action and co-operate with Europe in proposing enforceable emissions reductions for the aviation sector," said Pamela Campos, an attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund, in a statement.
"It's time for the US to stop complaining about Europe's actions, and instead put homegrown ingenuity to work with our diplomatic allies to show that there is a pathway to sustainable, climate-sensitive air travel."
Isra-Mart srl: Siemens adds eMeter to smart grid portfolio
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Siemens has agreed to purchase US data-management company eMeter for an undisclosed amount.
The companies, which have been working together since 2008, signed the agreement at the beginning of the month, paving the way for the deal to close before the end of the year.
eMeter designs software to record and process energy consumption data in electronic, gas, and water meters, which Siemens already uses in some of its own products.
The company manages more than 20 million meters in the US and counts a number of large utilities such as Centerpoint Energy and Silicon Valley Power as customers.
Siemens said eMeter's San Mateo, California, headquarters will be retained and the company is now expected to become part of the German conglomerate's newly-formed Infrastructure and Cities division.
"The acquisition of eMeter means that EnergyIP meter data management software will become an integral part of our smart grid portfolio," said Jan Mrosik, chief executive of the Smart Grid Division of the Siemens Infrastructure and Cities Sector.
"Ever-increasing demand for more efficient power supply networks for cities and utilities make this acquisition even more important."
The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions across the smart meter and smart grid markets that has prompted speculation about further consolidation across the sector.
Most notably, Toshiba acquired smart meter giant Landis+Gyr for $2.3bn earlier this year, after overcoming reported competition from GE, Honeywell International and ABB.
Siemens has agreed to purchase US data-management company eMeter for an undisclosed amount.
The companies, which have been working together since 2008, signed the agreement at the beginning of the month, paving the way for the deal to close before the end of the year.
eMeter designs software to record and process energy consumption data in electronic, gas, and water meters, which Siemens already uses in some of its own products.
The company manages more than 20 million meters in the US and counts a number of large utilities such as Centerpoint Energy and Silicon Valley Power as customers.
Siemens said eMeter's San Mateo, California, headquarters will be retained and the company is now expected to become part of the German conglomerate's newly-formed Infrastructure and Cities division.
"The acquisition of eMeter means that EnergyIP meter data management software will become an integral part of our smart grid portfolio," said Jan Mrosik, chief executive of the Smart Grid Division of the Siemens Infrastructure and Cities Sector.
"Ever-increasing demand for more efficient power supply networks for cities and utilities make this acquisition even more important."
The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions across the smart meter and smart grid markets that has prompted speculation about further consolidation across the sector.
Most notably, Toshiba acquired smart meter giant Landis+Gyr for $2.3bn earlier this year, after overcoming reported competition from GE, Honeywell International and ABB.
Isra-Mart srl: Tesco pops cork on lightweight Champagne bottles
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As retailers gear up for the annual boost in sales of Champagne ahead of the holiday season, Tesco has unveiled a new lighter bottle designed to curb carbon emissions and reduce waste associated with toasting in the new year.
The supermarket chain has started this month stocking its De Vallois Champagne in 830g bottles, a reduction of 70g on the standard 900g design.
The company confirmed plans to use lightweight bottles across its entire Champagne range over the next few years, arguing that the design will cut waste levels, curb the carbon footprint of the drink, and reduce transport costs.
The move forms part of an industry-wide initiative to use lighter bottles currently being pursued by the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne, the body responsible for producing and distributing wine from the world-famous Champagne region.
Andrew Gale, category technical manager for Tesco Beers, Wines and Spirits, said that the move is part of a broader initiative to reduce the amount of glass used across the division.
The company claimed last year to have introduced the lightest-ever wine bottle, weighing in at 300g compared to a standard bottle at 420g, and Gale said that further improvements are in the pipeline.
"We are fully committed to reducing glass waste across our entire drinks portfolio and are working closely with our suppliers and the wider industry to deliver significant CO2 reductions throughout our supply chain," he said. "We are confident that the Tesco shopper will respond positively to the move."
The move came in the same week as the government-backed Waste and Resources Action Programme released its latest update on supermarkets' progress on the voluntary waste reduction targets set as part of the Courtauld Commitment.
The report concluded that supermarkets had made good progress reducing packaging and food waste, but urged them to step up efforts to cut waste produced across their supply chains.
As retailers gear up for the annual boost in sales of Champagne ahead of the holiday season, Tesco has unveiled a new lighter bottle designed to curb carbon emissions and reduce waste associated with toasting in the new year.
The supermarket chain has started this month stocking its De Vallois Champagne in 830g bottles, a reduction of 70g on the standard 900g design.
The company confirmed plans to use lightweight bottles across its entire Champagne range over the next few years, arguing that the design will cut waste levels, curb the carbon footprint of the drink, and reduce transport costs.
The move forms part of an industry-wide initiative to use lighter bottles currently being pursued by the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne, the body responsible for producing and distributing wine from the world-famous Champagne region.
Andrew Gale, category technical manager for Tesco Beers, Wines and Spirits, said that the move is part of a broader initiative to reduce the amount of glass used across the division.
The company claimed last year to have introduced the lightest-ever wine bottle, weighing in at 300g compared to a standard bottle at 420g, and Gale said that further improvements are in the pipeline.
"We are fully committed to reducing glass waste across our entire drinks portfolio and are working closely with our suppliers and the wider industry to deliver significant CO2 reductions throughout our supply chain," he said. "We are confident that the Tesco shopper will respond positively to the move."
The move came in the same week as the government-backed Waste and Resources Action Programme released its latest update on supermarkets' progress on the voluntary waste reduction targets set as part of the Courtauld Commitment.
The report concluded that supermarkets had made good progress reducing packaging and food waste, but urged them to step up efforts to cut waste produced across their supply chains.
Isra-Mart srl: UN: IT must play crucial role in climate adaptation
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Delegates at the Durban Summit would be well advised to consider the role IT can play in cutting emissions and mitigating the impact of climate change, the UN's own technology body has said.
IT is estimated to be responsible for between two and five per cent of global emissions, and businesses and governments are well aware of how to lessen that impact, Dr Bilel Jamoussi, chief of the International Telecommunication Union's study groups department, said in an interview.
Technologies such as smart grids and intelligent transport systems are already well established as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but Jamoussi said that the potential for IT to be used to support climate adaptation efforts has been overlooked until fairly recently.
The ITU will release a report at the Durban Summit this week highlighting how an IT project in Ghana has helped adapt the country's cocoa industry to make it more resilient to climate change impacts.
"The report will look at how ICT [information and communications technology] can be used in optimising production," Dr Jamoussi said. "For example, sharing real-time information between producers and end users."
The report is based on one country, but Jamoussi told BusinessGreen that the findings are applicable to most developing nations.
"It's a really good sign that these countries are seeing how they can adapt," he said. "These countries are not always big producers of greenhouse gases, but they are the most affected [by climate change]."
The ITU has also launched a set of three standardised methodologies that will allow businesses and governments to compare the direct and indirect environmental impacts of products and networks throughout their lifecycle.
And it has helped develop a universal charger for mobile phones that is due to hit stores next year and which reduces the consumption of electricity when no device is attached.
The EU threatened legislation unless mobile phone manufacturers agreed to work on a standardised charger, after research revealed that they generate more than 51,000 tonnes of electric waste each year.
Jamoussi speculated that the global savings resulting from the new standardised design could be even higher.
"We believe this one charger will have a huge impact on e-waste," he said. "When people get a new phone they also need a new charger. This results in hundreds of thousands of tonnes of e-waste we can save."
With reports from Durban suggesting the talks are again deadlocked, the ITU is also campaigning for technology to be better integrated into the long-running negotiations.
"Our key goal is that ICT is viewed as an enabler and plays a central role in adaptation and mitigation," Jamoussi said. "Our report and recommendations are a concrete example of that."
Delegates at the Durban Summit would be well advised to consider the role IT can play in cutting emissions and mitigating the impact of climate change, the UN's own technology body has said.
IT is estimated to be responsible for between two and five per cent of global emissions, and businesses and governments are well aware of how to lessen that impact, Dr Bilel Jamoussi, chief of the International Telecommunication Union's study groups department, said in an interview.
Technologies such as smart grids and intelligent transport systems are already well established as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but Jamoussi said that the potential for IT to be used to support climate adaptation efforts has been overlooked until fairly recently.
The ITU will release a report at the Durban Summit this week highlighting how an IT project in Ghana has helped adapt the country's cocoa industry to make it more resilient to climate change impacts.
"The report will look at how ICT [information and communications technology] can be used in optimising production," Dr Jamoussi said. "For example, sharing real-time information between producers and end users."
The report is based on one country, but Jamoussi told BusinessGreen that the findings are applicable to most developing nations.
"It's a really good sign that these countries are seeing how they can adapt," he said. "These countries are not always big producers of greenhouse gases, but they are the most affected [by climate change]."
The ITU has also launched a set of three standardised methodologies that will allow businesses and governments to compare the direct and indirect environmental impacts of products and networks throughout their lifecycle.
And it has helped develop a universal charger for mobile phones that is due to hit stores next year and which reduces the consumption of electricity when no device is attached.
The EU threatened legislation unless mobile phone manufacturers agreed to work on a standardised charger, after research revealed that they generate more than 51,000 tonnes of electric waste each year.
Jamoussi speculated that the global savings resulting from the new standardised design could be even higher.
"We believe this one charger will have a huge impact on e-waste," he said. "When people get a new phone they also need a new charger. This results in hundreds of thousands of tonnes of e-waste we can save."
With reports from Durban suggesting the talks are again deadlocked, the ITU is also campaigning for technology to be better integrated into the long-running negotiations.
"Our key goal is that ICT is viewed as an enabler and plays a central role in adaptation and mitigation," Jamoussi said. "Our report and recommendations are a concrete example of that."
Isra-Mart srl: Government announces £30m boost to green community and public sector projects
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The government has today announced an additional £30m of funding designed to support energy efficiency improvements to public sector buildings and help local communities deploy renewable energy technologies.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said £10m would be ploughed into a new Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF), while a further £20m would be provided to the Salix scheme, which provides low interest loans to schools, hospitals, and public sector buildings, allowing them to undertake energy efficiency projects and then repay the loans through the resulting energy bill savings.
Huhne said the funding was "great news" for the public sector and community level projects, adding that the new finance would "encourage energy efficiency in our schools, hospitals and universities... [and] get green energy generation and energy efficiency into our communities".
The new £10m LEAF fund will be managed by the Energy Saving Trust and community groups such as parish councils, voluntary associations, development trusts and faith groups are being invited to apply online for funding awards worth around £50,000.
The funding will be awarded in two phases with the first application period running from today until noon on 22 December and the second round running until noon on 20 January 2012. All successful projects will be notified by the end of January.
"The Government is making huge changes to the UK's energy system, including reforms to the electricity market to make sure that we can replace aging power stations and keep the lights on in the cheapest, cleanest way, and the Green Deal, the biggest home energy efficiency drive since the Second World War," said Climate Change Minister Greg Barker. "I want to make sure that local communities are at the heart of this energy revolution, and this funding will help make sure that can happen."
A spokeswoman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) told BusinessGreen that the £50,000 of funding could be used by community groups to deploy small scale renewable energy technologies or undertake feasibility studies and prototype deployments to lay the ground work for larger projects.
However, the move is likely to anger solar firms who have accused the government of sparking the cancellation of a raft of community scale solar installations in the past month as a result of its proposals to impose cuts to feed-in tariff incentives of over 50 per cent for community owned and social housing projects.
The spokeswoman said the department was consulting on how to better support community scale renewable energy projects as part of the review of feed-in tariff incentives. But she maintained some projects will be able to proceed even if deep cuts to incentives are imposed.
Meanwhile, the additional £20m of funding for the Salix loan scheme is expected to reduce public sector energy bills by up to £46m a year while cutting carbon emissions by 210,000 tonnes.
Public sector bodies working on energy efficiency projects that can deliver a return on investment within five years are invited to apply for the new financing before the end of March next year.
Alastair Keir, chief executive of Salix Finance Ltd, the government-backed company set up to administer the loan scheme, said the new funding would allow the firm to continue to provide "much needed assistance to the public sector, helping it reduce its carbon emissions and energy bills".
He added that the interest free loans would allow public sector organisations to "remove the barrier of having to find capital to pay for the energy efficiency measures at a time of tight budgets".
The government has today announced an additional £30m of funding designed to support energy efficiency improvements to public sector buildings and help local communities deploy renewable energy technologies.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said £10m would be ploughed into a new Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF), while a further £20m would be provided to the Salix scheme, which provides low interest loans to schools, hospitals, and public sector buildings, allowing them to undertake energy efficiency projects and then repay the loans through the resulting energy bill savings.
Huhne said the funding was "great news" for the public sector and community level projects, adding that the new finance would "encourage energy efficiency in our schools, hospitals and universities... [and] get green energy generation and energy efficiency into our communities".
The new £10m LEAF fund will be managed by the Energy Saving Trust and community groups such as parish councils, voluntary associations, development trusts and faith groups are being invited to apply online for funding awards worth around £50,000.
The funding will be awarded in two phases with the first application period running from today until noon on 22 December and the second round running until noon on 20 January 2012. All successful projects will be notified by the end of January.
"The Government is making huge changes to the UK's energy system, including reforms to the electricity market to make sure that we can replace aging power stations and keep the lights on in the cheapest, cleanest way, and the Green Deal, the biggest home energy efficiency drive since the Second World War," said Climate Change Minister Greg Barker. "I want to make sure that local communities are at the heart of this energy revolution, and this funding will help make sure that can happen."
A spokeswoman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) told BusinessGreen that the £50,000 of funding could be used by community groups to deploy small scale renewable energy technologies or undertake feasibility studies and prototype deployments to lay the ground work for larger projects.
However, the move is likely to anger solar firms who have accused the government of sparking the cancellation of a raft of community scale solar installations in the past month as a result of its proposals to impose cuts to feed-in tariff incentives of over 50 per cent for community owned and social housing projects.
The spokeswoman said the department was consulting on how to better support community scale renewable energy projects as part of the review of feed-in tariff incentives. But she maintained some projects will be able to proceed even if deep cuts to incentives are imposed.
Meanwhile, the additional £20m of funding for the Salix loan scheme is expected to reduce public sector energy bills by up to £46m a year while cutting carbon emissions by 210,000 tonnes.
Public sector bodies working on energy efficiency projects that can deliver a return on investment within five years are invited to apply for the new financing before the end of March next year.
Alastair Keir, chief executive of Salix Finance Ltd, the government-backed company set up to administer the loan scheme, said the new funding would allow the firm to continue to provide "much needed assistance to the public sector, helping it reduce its carbon emissions and energy bills".
He added that the interest free loans would allow public sector organisations to "remove the barrier of having to find capital to pay for the energy efficiency measures at a time of tight budgets".
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