UN development chief meets communities grappling with scarce and vulnerable water resources in Burkina Faso

24.11.2016

Wrapping up a three-day visit to the country, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark met today with a rural community in Burkina Faso which is bearing the brunt of the effects of environmental degradation and deforestation in a country where scarce water resources leave the population especially vulnerable to even the smallest fluctuations in rainfall.

Lake Dem, in the country’s Central North region, has lost about 40 per cent of its water. The 51,000 inhabitants of the nearby city of Kaya, and the villages around the lake depend on its health for their water supply.

A UNDP project in partnership with the Government of Burkina Faso and with support from the Government of Austria, works with local communities around Lake Dem to address critical issues threatening the lake – including pollution by fertilizers as well as the build up of sand deposits caused by soil erosion. A lake once replete with fish now has none.

Speaking with project participants, Helen Clark commended the grassroots nature of the initiative – noting that the project had come about because of action at the local community level. “You saw what was happening to the lake, and you decided to act. Without the leadership of the communities, projects like this cannot succeed”, she said.

With an initial investment of US$200,000, the project has run pilot schemes to show how ecosystem-based adaptation initiatives can work in practice. At Lake Dem, the project involved the establishment of a local water committee, the development of a land charter, reforestation of the lake’s borders, and action to reduce the sand deposits which threaten to choke the lake.

The visit to Burkina Faso, Helen Clark’s second as UNDP Administrator, also involved discussions with President HE Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, the Prime Minister, Ministers and officials, on the country’s ongoing and future sustainable development. Talks focused particularly on the country’s new national economic and social development plan, ANDES, which was launched in July this year.

“I first came to Burkina Faso six and a half years ago”, Helen Clark told reporters during the visit. “A lot has changed since then. A political transition has occurred, a comprehensive reform programme is underway, and there is a comprehensive national development plan.”

“These major initiatives will be the basis of discussion with development partners at the conference in Paris in early December. UNDP has been closely involved with the preparation of the new national plan and the preparations for the Paris conference”, she said.

Elsewhere during the visit, Helen Clark joined President HE Roch Marc Christian Kaboré and Ministers in Dori in the north of the country at the launch of a new programme – ‘PADEL’ – which seeks to accelerate and transform local development across the country.

Source: undp.org

Patagonia: ‘On Black Friday, We’re Donating 100% of Sales to Grassroots Environmental Organizations’

24.11.2016

We’re just days from Black Friday, one of the biggest consumer shopping days of the year in America. And as people think generously about family and friends, we also want to help our customers show love to the planet, which badly needs a gift or two (and still gets coal every year).

This year Patagonia will donate 100 percent of global Black Friday sales in our stores and on our website to grassroots organizations working in local communities to protect our air, water and soil for future generations. These are small groups, often underfunded and under the radar, who work on the front lines. The support we can give is more important now than ever.

We’ll also provide information in our stores and on our website about how to get in touch with these groups and easily be active in your own communities—on Black Friday and every day.

For decades, Patagonia has demonstrated that caring for our planet is not in conflict with running a successful business. We are always looking for ways to further reduce our manufacturing footprint, including our company’s reliance on fossil fuels. We also fund grassroots environmental organizations by giving away 1 percent of our sales. To date that amount totals $74 million.

But during a difficult and divisive time, we felt it was important to go further and connect more of our customers, who love wild places, with those who are fighting tirelessly to protect them. This we know: If we don’t act boldly, severe changes in climate, water and air pollution, extinction of species, and erosion of topsoil are certain outcomes. The threats facing our planet affect people of every political stripe, of every demographic, in every part of the country. We all stand to benefit from a healthy environment—and our children and grandchildren do, too.

By getting active in communities, we can effect local change to protect the food we and our children eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe and the treasured places we love the most. And we can impact global priorities, too, by raising our voices to defend policies and regulations that will reduce carbon emissions, build a modern energy economy based on investment in renewables and, most crucially, ensure the U.S. remains fully committed to the vital goals set forth in the Paris climate agreement.

At Patagonia, we will grow and deepen our resolve to protect what we love. We will fight harder and smarter, and use every means at our disposal to prevail for the sake of the country, the planet and the wild places and creatures that need our voice.

Source: ecowatch.com

UK Has Second-Highest Number of Deaths From NO2 Pollution in Europe

23.11.2016

The UK is second only to Italy in Europe for the highest number of annual deaths from a major air pollutant, a report has found just days after a court gave UK ministers a deadline for drawing up a stronger air quality plan.

The European Environment Agency said the UK had 11,940 premature deaths from nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in 2013. This is down from 14,100 in 2012, but still the second worst in Europe. The toxic gas is mostly caused by diesel vehicles and is linked to lung problems.

The agency also revealed that the UK is home to the worst NO2 hotspot in Europe. Marylebone Road in London recorded the highest annual mean levels of the pollutant, more than double than double the legal EU limit.

Campaigners said the data was a reminder that the UK, which has been in breach of EU limits on NO2 since 2010, needed to take tougher action.

James Thornton, the CEO of law firm ClientEarth, which brought the court case, said: “Today’s EEA report puts the UK in an unwanted position near the top of the table when it comes to premature deaths from exposure to NO2 pollution. The UK government should be ashamed of these figures and must act now to protect the health of people in this country.”

Italy and UK both a similar proportion of diesel cars, but the NO2 problem in Italy is also compounded by industrial sources of the pollutant in urban and suburban areas, experts at the EEA said.

Across Europe, the EEA estimated that 71,000 people died prematurely in 2013 because of NO2 pollution. While the pollutant has been on a downward trend since the turn of the century because of stricter diesel car standards, more than one in 10 monitoring stations in Europe still breach NO2 limits, the agency found.

Hans Bruyninckx, the EEA’s executive director, said: “Emission reductions have led to improvements in air quality in Europe, but not enough to avoid unacceptable damage to human health and the environment.”

The report comes as MEPs in the European parliament on Wednesday arpproved caps for five air pollutants, including NO2, to come into force in 2030. The new national emissions ceilings rules are expected to halve the number of deaths from air pollution.

Catherine Bearder, a Liberal Democrat MEP, said: “If I had become a doctor instead of a politician I would be prescribing a serious health warning to the UK government today. The UK government have approved a third runway at Heathrow airport even though they know that air pollution around the airport is already dangerously above legal levels of nitrogen dioxide.”

Source: theguardian.com

Activism around the World: Highlights from November 2016

23.11.2016

river, nature — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

Each year Global Greengrants Fund makes over 700 grants to environmental activists around the world, helping to support grassroots initiatives to protect the planet and the rights of the people who call these natural places home. Here are three exciting projects they’ve supported recently.

Indonesia: Protecting The World’s Most Efficient Carbon Sink

Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation, and is the most efficient carbon sink on the planet. The expansion of palm oil plantations in the Jambi province of Indonesia has recently led to extensive deforestation, damage of the peat forests, and loss of local indigenous territory to corporations. Jaringan Masyarakat Gambut Jambi will use $5,000 to mediate social conflicts, document community land claims, and address the destruction of peat forests by oil palm, and pulp and paper corporations.

Togo: Taking on Oil Extraction

In West Africa oil extraction is causing environmental degradation, pollution from gas flaring, and negative impacts on the quality of local food and soil. Oil Watch Africa Network will use $8,000 to educate and organize 2,500 people in eight countries to resist the expansion of exploitative fossil fuel projects and encourage the adoption of alternative energy systems.

Mexico: Crops without Pesticides

In Mexico traditional farming has been replaced by practices that rely on of the use of highly toxic pesticides. Jittoa Bat Nataka-Weria supports projects that preserve the cultivation of traditional medicinal plants and other native species without the use of pesticides. Using $5,000, members of the group will attend the International Indian Treaty Council’s Pacific Taro Food Sovereignty Conference to increase awareness of the devastation caused by toxic pesticides, and to promote the revival of traditional food crops and medicinal plants.

Source: greengrants.org

Alstom and Carbone 4 measured the carbon footprint of the tramway versus Bus Rapid Transit systems

23.11.2016

Alstom and Carbone 4, a leading consulting company specialized in climate-resilient and low-carbon strategy presented recently the results of a study demonstrating that tramways have a smaller footprint than Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems.

With global urban transport emissions expected to double to nearly 1 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year by 2025, favouring transport modes with the lowest carbon footprints is crucial. Rail can be a key contributor in the fight to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) and reach the target set at COP21 in 2015 to keep global warming below 2°C.

The tram, for example, has been identified as one of the greenest urban transport modes due to its low environmental impact when in operation. The study conducted by Alstom and Carbone 4 compares the carbon footprint of tramways and BRT systems, enabling a better understanding of their comparative performance over the entire lifecycle including construction, operation and maintenance of the two systems. An analysis conducted on a typical 10 km line operated in Belgium demonstrated that for equivalent transport capacity, over a 30-year lifetime, a tramway system emits about half as much CO2 as a BRT system operated with diesel buses, and about 30% less CO2 than a BRT system operated with hybrid buses.

Cécile Texier, Sustainable Development Director at Alstom, said: “At Alstom, we are constantly working to promote sustainable mobility, striving to reduce the operational cost from energy for the benefit of our customers and committed to reducing the carbon footprint of transport. The survey conducted with Carbone 4 illustrates that rail systems have a lower carbon footprint that other motorised modes. It also shows that optimised system like Attractis, an innovative integrated tramway system that is simpler to operate and cost-effective, can significantly reduce CO2 emissions from the construction phase.”

Source: alstom.com

UK’s Largest Community-Owned Rooftop Solar Array Installed at Oxfordshire Aerospace Factory

23.11.2016

Installation of the UK’s largest community-owned rooftop solar array has been completed at UTC Aerospace Systems CTG’s manufacturing site in Banbury, Oxfordshire.

The 2,590 panel project installed at the facility generates 593,304 kWh of clean electricity a year, avoiding 5,800 tonnes of CO2 over the 20 year lifetime of the project.

The project is owned and run by Oxford-based social enterprise Low Carbon Hub, which funded the upfront costs through a combination of loans and a community energy share offer.

The arrangement sees Low Carbon Hub both lease the roof space from UTC Aerospace Systems CTG and sell it the clean electricity generated from the panels, with any extra electricity set to be fed into the national grid. Low Carbon Hub will then use all surplus revenues for community benefit.

“What made this project work in the context of massive solar subsidy cuts, was UTC Aerospace Systems CTG’s corporate goals for carbon reductions and their willingness to see the social and environmental value of our community benefit model,” said Tim Crisp, business project manager at Low Carbon Hub in a statement.

Solarcentury provided the installation and design for the project.

UTC Aerospace System, which has 126 manufacturing sites around the world, says its goal is to be the “greenest aerospace company in the world”. The installation at the CTG site follows a similar solar panel installation at the firm’s Singapore facilities in 2015.

John England, site director at UTC Aerospace Systems CTG, said using the firm’s roof space to generate clean energy whilst also helping the local community is a “win-win for us all”.

“Our business is at the forefront of aerospace innovation and technology,” he said in a statement. “We’re working on next generation aircraft that will enable greener flight. What we do inside our factory is reflected in what we do outside.”

Other projects funded by Low Carbon Hub’s 2016 share offer include a 636 kWp solar project with Prodrive, a 440 kWp community-owned hydro project at Sandford on Thames, and 12 solar PV projects on Oxfordshire schools.

Source: businessgreen.com

Renewable Energy to Crown Buckingham Palace’s £369m Makeover

23.11.2016

Solar panels could be fitted onto the roof of Buckingham Palace as part of a £369m renovation of the iconic building, according to a programme report for the proposed refit published last week by the Royal Trustees.

According to the report, project consultants considered various alternative sources of electricity to supplement the Palace’s mains power, with the Household ultimately deciding to include solar electric panels and an anaerobic digestion unit in its plans for the reservicing.

The solar panels would be installed on the flat areas of the roof, meaning they would not be visible from the ground or from the principal rooms in the Palace.

The panels are expected to source less than five per cent of the current building’s power demand, but its share of the power mix could increase over time as the Palace reduces its overall power consumption, the report said.

“This option will be a viable, credible and potentially valuable addition to the Palace, particularly in terms of protecting the environment,” the report said.

Likewise, the proposed anaerobic digestion unit is unlikely to supply more than five per cent of the Palace’s energy needs.

However, the proposals pointed out that anaerobic digestion units are a low capital cost solution and would reduce the carbon footprint of the Palace by around five per cent, as well as reducing the cost and environmental impact of waste removal.

Other technologies including solar thermal panels, ground source heat pumps, electrical heating, and fuel cells were identified in the report as potential ways heat and power could be delivered to the Palace, with the report adding it will consider them in the future “as technology develops”.

Source: businessgreen.com

Calls for greater collaboration to enhance resource efficiency and economic growth

23.11.2016

Scientists, industry-leaders and policy-makers gathered in Paris on saturday to discuss the economic potential of resource efficiency, as well as its role in limiting global warming and putting the world on a more sustainable, equitable development track.

The event was part of UN Environment’s ongoing dialogue with business to address environmental sustainability.

In his opening remarks, Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment, said the world had shown that it was able to solve environmental issues, but it could not do this without business. “All the practical solutions will happen in business,” he said.

The report, Resource Efficiency: Potential and Economic Implications, put the estimated potential savings from increased resource efficiency at about $US 2.9 trillion a year for private investors. In 70 per cent of the cases, the required investment would offer a rate of return greater than 10 per cent a year.

The International Resource Panel, launched by UN Environment in 2007, was created to support science-based policy-making on the sustainable management of natural resources. Its work has noted, for example, that:

Annual global extraction of materials grew from 22 billion tonnes in 1970 to around 70 billion tonnes in 2010. For example, China used more cement in the three years 2011-13 than the United States used in the whole of the 20th century.

The richest countries consume on average 10 times as many materials as the poorest countries.

A third of the world’s soils are degraded due to erosion, nutrient depletion, acidification, salinization, compaction and chemical pollution.

Some 60 per cent of global terrestrial biodiversity loss is related to food production.

Effective resource efficiency policies could increase global economic activity by around 6 per cent by 2050, compared to existing trends, as well as increase employment.

Saturday-s event, titled “Sustainable Resource Management: Business Opportunities and Economic Potential”, was organized by the International Resource Panel, UN Environment and the International Chamber of Commerce, and was hosted by the French Ministry of the Environment, Energy and the Sea, and the French Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Académie Diplomatique Internationale.

Source: unep.org

UNIDO and China strengthen the global innovation network on inclusive and sustainable industrial development

23.11.2016

The China International Centre for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE) will fund a new project to strengthen the global innovation network on inclusive and sustainable industrial development, which is the mandate of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

An agreement on this was signed today by UNIDO’s Director General LI Yong and the Party Secretary and President of the Academic Council of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, YU Xinhui.

The project will establish a Global Science and Technology Innovation Centre at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences as a knowledge base for bringing in best practices and new technologies to Chinese industries, as well as to industries in other developing countries in the region and beyond.

The initiative will be an important component of UNIDO’s Country Programme for China 2016-2020, which features “helping China’s international cooperation” as one of the three key components, along with green industry and food safety. It also aims to make an effective contribution to China’s One Belt, One Road Initiative.

Source: unido.org

Advanced Coal Technologies Could Provide Carbon Relief

23.11.2016

Coal is not clean. But that does not mean that it could not be made cleaner. And that’s relevant because much of the developing world will remain dependent on coal, as will most developed nations to a lesser degree. At issue then is whether carbon capture and storage is technically possible and if so, at what cost.

“Twenty-two countries have submitted climate plans that include a role for advanced coal technologies,” says Benjamin Sporton, chief executive of the World Coal Association, in a telephone interview. “We are in Marrakech to talk about about the role of that technology. It is misguided for people to talk about how to get rid of coal. We need to be part of the solution.”

The association says that coal is now about 40% percent of the global electricity mix and that in 2040, it will still be 30%. The central question is thus how to make it cleaner as opposed to how to make it go away.

The Asian share of the global coal pie is now about 69% but that will grow to be 77% in 2040. Even China, which will reduce its coal usage from 75% of its electricity portfolio to 49% during this time, will still use 27% more coal because of its anticipated economic expansion. The United States, too, will depend on coal for 25% of electricity in 2040, says the International Energy Agency in Paris.

Sporton acknowledges that carbon capture and storage has been an elusive technology but says in the same breath that it remains within reach. To get there, national governments need to place the same emphasis on its development as they have on the expansion of renewables. Green energies, for example, have received $800 billion in federal subsidies while carbon capture and storage has gotten just $20 billion, all over a 10-year time period.

“The objective here is to reduce emissions,” Sporton says. “Governments are recognizing that carbon capture and storage has a role to play. This is not something that a lot of environmentalists want to hear. But coal is here for decades to come and they can’t wish it away.”

American Electric Power is now retiring 6,500 megawatts of coal-fired capacity, saying that it will be using natural gas that is just as cheap and that releases fewer carbon emissions. First Energy Corp., meanwhile, has closed several coal plants, which had provided 13 percent of its power and Duke Energy is doing the same: In 2008, the utility generated 70% of its electricity from coal. Now that figure is 42%, and falling.

“With the exception of Asia and potentially Latin America, we see coal as continuing on its descending glide path partially due to the Paris accords but more so due to the increasing cost, complexity and financial risk of building such facilities,” says Mark Repsher, an energy expert at PA Consulting Group. “Also, the potential proliferation of the lower cost of natural gas supply across the globe” will have the same effect.

Scrub Hard

But coal use will still exists in the United States, as it will elsewhere around the globe. China’s National Energy Association expects a 20% pop over five years there. Even Germany, bent on expanding renewables, says it will still have a role, as does Japan, which ask why it can’t be used more “efficiently.” What then is the alternative to current coal technologies?

Coal gasification plants scrub the mercury, nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide before they would separate the remaining byproducts: carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which could be used to power everything from cars to power plants. The power sector’s biggest such project went live at Boundary Dam in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada on October 2, 2014.

And, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Southern Company said that they had completed an initial demonstration phase of carbon capture at Southern’s coal-fired Plant Barry in Alabama, which was able to recover more than 90 percent of the carbon dioxide, send it through a 10-mile pipeline, and inject it underground. But Southern’s oil enhancement Kemper project in Mississippi is $4 billion over budget and two years overdue.

Source: forbes.com

Tesla, SolarCity Power Entire Island With Solar + Batteries

23.11.2016

Ta’u, an island in American Samoa, has turned its nose at fossil fuels and is now almost 100 percent powered with solar panels and batteries thanks to technology from the newly combined Tesla and SolarCity.

The microgrid is operated by American Samoa Power Authority and was funded by the American Samoa Economic Development Authority, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Interior.

Radio New Zealand reported that the $8 million project will significantly reduce fuel costs for the island, which is located more than 4,000 miles from the west coast of the U.S. Ta’u’s 600 residents previously relied on shipments of diesel for power. At times, a shipment could not arrive on the island for months, meaning the island had to power ration and faced reoccurring outages.

But the new microgrid replaces this reliance on dirty fuels with more affordable solar energy, as Peter Rive, SolarCity co-founder and CTO, detailed in a blog post about the project, adding that the microgrid is designed to optimize system performance and maximize savings.

“Factoring in the escalating cost of fuel, along with transporting such mass quantities to the small island, the financial impact is substantial,” Rive wrote. He pointed out that the microgrid also eliminates “the hazards of power intermittency” and makes “outages a thing of the past.”

The microgrid, which only took one year to build, features 1.4 megawatts of solar generation capacity (or 5,328 solar panels) and 6 megawatt hours of battery storage from 60 Tesla Powerpacks. An estimated 109,500 gallons of diesel will be offset per year.

“Before today, every time we turned on the light, turn on the television, turn on maybe the air conditioner, all of the cash registers in China, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia go ‘cha-ching,’ but not after today,” SolarCity market development director Jon Yoshimura told Radio New Zealand. “We will keep more of that money here, where it belongs.”

With the Powerpacks, the island can store solar energy at night, allowing for around-the-clock use. The microgrid allows the island to stay fully powered for three days without sunlight and can recharge to full capacity in only seven hours.

A hospital, high school and elementary schools, fire and police stations and businesses will be using the new clean energy source.

“It’s always sunny out here, and harvesting that energy from the sun will make me sleep a lot more comfortably at night, just knowing I’ll be able to serve my customers,” local resident and business owner Keith Ahsoon told SolarCity.

“This is part of making history,” Ahsoon added. “This project will help lessen the carbon footprint of the world. Living on an island, you experience global warming firsthand. Beach erosions and other noticeable changes are a part of life here. It’s a serious problem, and this project will hopefully set a good example for everyone else to follow.”

Ta’u could be an example for other islands around the globe facing similarproblems.

“Ta’u is not a postcard from the future, it’s a snapshot of what is possible right now,” Rive wrote. “Renewable power is an economical, practical solution for a growing number of locations and energy needs, and islands that have traditionally relied on fossil fuels can easily transition to microgrids powered by solar and storage today.”

Source: ecowatch.com

China is Building a Giant Solar Plant at Chernobyl

23.11.2016

A new solar summer rises from the ashes of nuclear winter. Two Chinese energy firms will be constructing a new solar power plant in the exclusion zone near the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, which suffered a powerful explosion in 1986 that poisoned the surrounding area with nuclear radiation. “There will be remarkable social benefits and economic ones as we try to renovate the once damaged area with green and renewable energy,” said Shu Hua, the chairman of GCL System Integration Technology (GCL-SI), one of the firms tasked with the project. Making the best of a bad situation could prove inspiring to others as the global community begins the hard work of implementing the Paris Agreement.

A 1,000 square mile exclusion zone of forests and marshland surrounds the former Chernobyl nuclear reactor in Ukraine and has been largely off-limits since the 1986 disaster. The reactor itself will be covered next year by a $1.6 billion steel arch. GCL-SI has not revealed details regarding where the new solar power plant will be built or how much it will cost. However, GCL-SI management states that the project will be safe for workers. “Ukraine has passed a law allowing the site to be developed for agriculture and other things, so that means (the radiation) is under control,” said a manager who spoke anonymously.

The Chinese firms in charge of building the solar power plant are attempting to build up an international presence and reputation for clean energy excellence. Even before their Chernobyl project, the Chinese have successfully reformatted contaminated land into renewable energy generators. To discourage urban expansion from absorbing more farmland, China has implemented policies that encourage solar and wind power plants on damaged land, including in Shanxi, the country’s top coal province. With 43 gigawatts of generating capacity expected by the end of the year, China is currently the world’s top solar power generator. In the race towards global energy dominance, China is also well ahead. 72 percent of the global solar power components produced in 2015 were made in the People’s Republic.

Source: inhabitat.com

Oil and Gas Companies in North America Less Green Than Those in EU

22.11.2016

Oil and gas companies in North America are lagging behind their European counterparts in cleaning up their operations, new research has found, with higher greenhouse gas emissions and less investment in clean alternatives.

ExxonMobil and Chevron of the US, alongside Canada’s Suncor, ranked lowest in a review conducted by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) of 11 of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies. At the top of the table came Statoil of Norway, Italy’s Eni and the French company Total.

Companies were rated on criteria including their greenhouse gas emissions and their asset mix, which is determined by the hydrocarbons they extract, and the methods used; their climate-related goals, such as investments in renewables and other forms of low-carbon energy, if any; whether they make efforts to capture and use methane, or flare it; their use of water, and whether they are likely to be affected by water shortages; and the efficiency of their operations.

The North American companies ranked so low in part because of their exposure to tar sands, particularly in Canada, and their lack of investment in conventional gas. This is in part explained by the history and geography of the different companies involved: Suncor, for instance, from its headquarters in Montreal, set up the first commercial operation to exploit the Canadian oil sands in the 1960s; while Statoil, with its history of exploration in the North Sea, has had a longer focus on conventional gas.

However, factors such as investment in alternatives to fossil fuels, and efforts to reduce emissions from their operations, are matters that are within each company’s control. European companies also face more pressure from governments and activists to become cleaner and reduce emissions, while such pressure is likely to abate further in the US in the next few years under the presidency of Donald Trump and a Republican-dominated Congress.

Three major companies – Saudi Aramco, Russia’s Rosneft and PetroChina – were unranked in the CDP report, entitled In the Pipeline and published on Tuesday, because they refused to respond to the organisation’s questions.

The Bank of England is also pursuing greater disclosure on climate change issues from the oil and gas sector, with a view to assisting investors. Mark Carney, the governor, has asked a taskforce on climate-related financial disclosure to report to him in December, giving information that would be useful for investors to judge the climate strategies of fossil fuel companies.

Paul Simpson, chief executive of the CDP, said: “There are reasons to be optimistic. Some oil and gas majors have the balance sheets to transition to much lower carbon business models, and play a key role in implementing the goals of the Paris agreement.”

Tarek Soliman, senior analyst for investor research at the CDP, said: “On both sides of the Atlantic, international oil and gas majors need to look at how they fit into an energy system which achieves the goals laid out in the Paris agreement. Our research shows that European companies have been more active in developing transition strategies for the coming decade, which is expected to feature peak oil demand, and are starting to implement these. But more needs to be done across the board.”

Source: theguardian.com

USAID Announces $4 Million to Solar Start-ups for African Off-Grid Energy

22.11.2016

At the 22nd session of the UN Climate conference (COP 22), Power Africa Coordinator Andrew M. Herscowitz announced $4 million in new investments to eight companies that are revolutionizing household solar power across Africa through the Scaling Off-Grid Energy: Grand Challenge for Development. The Enterprise Awards are expected to create up to 120,000 additional connections in off-grid communities.

“The Grand Challenge for Development is designed to support innovators like these eight companies who are scaling up their inventions,” said Herscowitz. “The options for powering your home and business are changing, and these types of innovations will create opportunities to transform the power sector in homes across the planet,” he said.

The Scaling Off-Grid Energy Enterprise Awards provide seed funding to solar start-ups to support geographic expansion throughout Africa, test new business models and tap into private and public financing.

The new awards will enable recipients to expand home solar power solutions to existing and new African markets, improve payment and distribution processes, and bring down costs for customers:

Greenlight Planet (Nigeria,Uganda) is expanding sales of low-cost solar home solutions through state of the art pay-as-you-go technology and deep distribution networks.

d.light (Kenya) is developing and expanding on software, training materials, and a call center to support a direct distribution model.

Fenix (Zambia) is expanding energy access through its expandable solar solutions kits that include options to power phones, lights, radios, televisions, and other appliances.

Orb Energy (Kenya) is establishing partnerships with banks and microfinance institutions to finance consumer solar system purchases.

VITALITE (Zambia) is distributing pay-as-you-go solar home systems, televisions, solar lamps, and appliances for rural, off-grid communities.

PEG Africa (Ghana) is testing new digital payment tools that will help rural customers more easily pay for their solar home systems using mobile money.

Shinbone Labs (Benin, Ghana) is directly selling pre-packaged, expandable, low-cost solar kits that can be remotely activated, monitored and, in the future, paid by mobile phones.

Village Energy (Uganda) is building a last-mile solar distribution and servicing network in rural Uganda by training young men and women to become technicians and retail shop managers in their communities.

USAID’s U.S Global Development Lab issued the awards as part of a competitive process through the Development Innovation Ventures program. Applications were evaluated based on three criteria: cost effectiveness relative to traditional alternatives, the plan for collecting rigorous evidence of success, and proposed pathways to scale if proven effective.

The Scaling Off-Grid Energy Grand Challenge is a $36 million initiative launched by Power Africa, USAID, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), and the independent charity, Shell Foundation. The goal is to empower entrepreneurs and investors in achieving 20 million connections so households in sub-Saharan Africa have access to clean, modern and affordable electricity by 2030.

Last week, Microsoft, Acumen, and the United Nations Foundation joined the Grand Challenge for Development as aligned partners committed to leveraging their investments, capabilities, and networks. “With aligned partners like Microsoft, Acumen, and the United Nations Foundation who are investing in or supporting the off-grid solar sector, we can accelerate the growth of the household solar sector in Africa,” said Herscowitz.

In addition, the Global LEAP Awards Off-Grid Refrigerator Competition was launched with a prize purse of $600,000, through cooperation between Grand Challenge partners Power Africa, USAID, the U.S. Department of Energy, CLASP and DFID through the Ideas to Impact Programme.

The Scaling Off-Grid Energy Grand Challenge for Development founding partners work together to align existing investments as well as collaborate on new efforts to address market barriers or failures in the African energy access market, and speed the introduction and growth of new, innovative products and services by enterprises and other actors. The Grand Challenge for Development will initially focus on the household solar market, as the most immediately scalable and investment-ready segment of the off-grid market.

Source: usaid.gov

OPEC Secretary General visits IR Iran

22.11.2016

OPEC Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, met with IR Iran’s Minister of Petroleum, HE Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, during a closed-door session on November 19 in the capital city of Tehran.

According to sources in the Ministry, the two oil chiefs discussed recent oil market developments, and economic and geopolitical uncertainties facing the market. They also considered the future of climate change negotiations and the UN’s Paris Agreement, following the recently concluded COP22 in Marrakesh.

HE Zanganeh pledged continued support for the implementation of the Algiers Accord and stated that he remains confident that an all-inclusive agreement can be reached during the upcoming OPEC Ministerial Meeting to be held in Vienna on 30 November 2016.

In his remarks, the Secretary General acknowledged the flexibility and accommodation already shown by IR Iran in reaching the Ministerial decision of 28 September. He also added that he looked forward to Minister Zanganeh’s continuing leadership – not only by contributing to the consensus needed for implementation of the Algiers Accord but also by actively working with his counterparts from other OPEC Member Countries in that regard.

“The participation of Iran in the implementation of the Accord is crucial and I remain optimistic,” said the Secretary General.

The Secretary General further acknowledged the rapidly changing dynamics in the political economy of the world with the attendant impacts on the oil market. He also stressed the need for cohesive action by OPEC in collaboration with non-OPEC producers in the spirit of equity, fairness and transparency.

The meeting in Tehran is the latest of a series of consultations that HE Mohammad Barkindo has been having with officials from OPEC Member Countries in his bid to ensure that OPEC-14 “will be able to execute the Algiers agreement” as mandated by the Conference.

Source: opec.org

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