Airlines Support ICAO on Cusp of Historic Emissions Agreement

28.09.2016

Montreal 27.9. – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged governments at the 39th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to agree a global market-based measure to help the aviation industry manage its carbon footprint.

At the top of the agenda for the ICAO Assembly is the proposal for the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

“The global aviation industry has turned out in force to encourage governments to make history by agreeing to implement CORSIA. This will be the first global agreement of its kind for an industrial sector. We are committed to carbon neutral growth from 2020. CORSIA, along with measures to improve technology, operations and infrastructure, will keep aviation at the forefront of industries responsibly managing their climate change impact,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

IATA member airlines passed resolutions at their Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2013 and again in 2016, calling on governments to implement a global market-based measure (GMBM) to help manage aviation’s carbon footprint. The GMBM must focus on real emissions reductions (not revenue raising for governments), take into consideration differing circumstances of airlines based on maturity of markets, and not distort competition.

“We have a pragmatic compromise in the current CORSIA proposal. And with some 60 states already committed for the voluntary period, momentum is building. We still need more states to demonstrate their leadership and commitment to sustainability by joining,” said de Juniac.

A GMBM must be implemented as part of the package of measures in the industry’s four-pillar strategy on climate change. The GMBM is a critical gap-filler until improvements in technology, operations and infrastructure can fully realize the industry’s sustainability goals. These goals are:

An average fuel efficiency improvement of 1.5% annually to 2020

Carbon neutral growth from 2020

Reducing net 2050 carbon emissions to half 2005 levels

Security

Security will also feature prominently at the Assembly in light of UN Security Resolution 2309 passed on 22 September 2016. Under the leadership of ICAO, the Security Council reinforced the importance for national governments to invest in measures to keep aviation secure in light of evolving terrorist threats.

“The terrorist menace is hovering over our world, including the aviation industry. It is encouraging to see governments addressing the threats to aviation security at the highest international levels. We fully support ICAO’s leadership in helping states to meet their responsibilities on security. Keeping our passengers and crews safe from harm is a top priority for aviation. We look forward to contributing our operational expertise to help in any way that we can,” said de Juniac.

Source: IATA

The World Passes 400ppm Carbon Dioxide Threshold. Permanently

28.09.2016

We are now living in a 400ppm world with levels unlikely to drop below the symbolic milestone in our lifetimes, say scientists. Climate Central reports.

In the centuries to come, history books will likely look back on September 2016 as a major milestone for the world’s climate. At a time when atmospheric carbon dioxide is usually at its minimum, the monthly value failed to drop below 400 parts per million (ppm).

That all but ensures that 2016 will be the year that carbon dioxide officially passed the symbolic 400 ppm mark, never to return below it in our lifetimes, according to scientists.

Because carbon pollution has been increasing since the start of the industrial revolution and has shown no signs of abating, it was more a question of “when” rather than “if” we would cross this threshold. The inevitability doesn’t make it any less significant, though.

September is usually the month when carbon dioxide is at its lowest after a summer of plants growing and sucking it up in the northern hemisphere. As fall wears on, those plants lose their leaves, which in turn decompose, releasing the stored carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. At Mauna Loa Observatory, the world’s marquee site for monitoring carbon dioxide, there are signs that the process has begun but levels have remained above 400 ppm.

Since the industrial revolution, humans have been altering this process by adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than plants can take up. That’s driven carbon dioxide levels higher and with it, global temperatures, along with a host of other climate change impacts.

“Is it possible that October 2016 will yield a lower monthly value than September and dip below 400 ppm? Almost impossible,” Ralph Keeling, the scientist who runs the Scripps Institute for Oceanography’s carbon dioxide monitoring program, wrote in a blog post. “Brief excursions toward lower values are still possible, but it already seems safe to conclude that we won’t be seeing a monthly value below 400 ppm this year – or ever again for the indefinite future.”

We may get a day or two reprieve in the next month, similar to August when Tropical Storm Madeline blew by Hawaii and knocked carbon dioxide below 400 ppm for a day. But otherwise, we’re living in a 400 ppm world. Even if the world stopped emitting carbon dioxide tomorrow, what has already put in the atmosphere will linger for many decades to come.

“At best (in that scenario), one might expect a balance in the near term and so CO2 levels probably wouldn’t change much – but would start to fall off in a decade or so,” Gavin Schmidt, Nasa’s chief climate scientist, said in an email. “In my opinion, we won’t ever see a month below 400 ppm.”

The carbon dioxide we’ve already committed to the atmosphere has warmed the world about 1.8F since the start of the industrial revolution. This year, in addition to marking the start of our new 400 ppm world, is also set to be thehottest year on record. The planet has edged right up against the 1.5C (2.7F) warming threshold, a key metric in last year’s Paris climate agreement.

Even though there are some hopeful signs that world leaders will take actions to reduce emissions, those actions will have to happen on an accelerating timetable in order to avoid 2C of warming. That’s the level outlined by policymakers as a safe threshold for climate change. And even if the world limits warming to that benchmark, it will still likely spelldoom for low-lying small island states and have serious repercussions around the world, from more extreme heat waves to droughts, coastal flooding and the extinction of many coral reefs.

It’s against this backdrop that the measurements on top of Mauna Loa take on added importance. They’re a reminder that with each passing day, we’re moving further from the climate humans have known and thrived in and closer to a more unstable future.

Source: theguardian.com

New York City To Host Formula E Electric Car Race in July 2017

28.09.2016

The Formula E series of electric car races will be headed to New York City towards the end of July 2017, putting on a pair of races along the Brooklyn waterfront.

The tentative dates for the two races are: July 29 and July 30, 2017. They will serve as the finale of the approaching Formula E season, which kicks off in Hong Kong next month.

Notably, the New York races are the only races amongst the upcoming series slated to take place in the US — though, this may change. Previously Formula E has held races in Miami and in Long Beach, California; as well as, of course, cities outside of the US (like Berlin, where CleanTechnica was also present for a race).

Green Car Reports provides more info: “The New York City race — or ‘ePrix’ as Formula E calls its events — will be held in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn. Like all Formula E races, it will use a temporary street circuit. In this case, the track will measure 1.21 miles with 13 turns. It will be located on the Brooklyn waterfront, affording views of the Manhattan skyline for added caché. Using temporary street circuits allows Formula E to hold races in urban centers for maximum exposure, something that isn’t possible with purpose-built racetracks, which tend to be located in rural areas.”

Interestingly, the Jaguar Panasonic Racing team seems to be particularly happy about the news, owing to the fact that “Jaguar North America’s headquarters is located relatively close to New York City in Mahwah, New Jersey, (and) the team considers the New York City ePrix its home race.”

Good news for electric car fans in New York City, and for racing fans in general.

Source: cleantechnica.com

OPEC Secretary General attends opening of 15th IEF Ministerial

28.09.2016

Algeria, 27 September 2016 – OPEC Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, attended the opening session of the 15th Ministerial Meeting of the International Energy Forum (IEF) here yesterday.

HE Barkindo took part in the first plenary session of the Conference, held at the impressive International Convention Centre, speaking alongside the Secretary General of the IEF, Dr Sun Xiansheng, and the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Dr Fatih Birol.

The IEF Ministerial, which brings oil and gas producers and consumers together to discuss challenges facing the global energy markets, will run until September 28. It is being attended by well over 400 delegates from 54 countries. In total, around 900 participants have gathered at the Convention Centre for the event.

The Conference, which is being attended by OPEC’s Oil and Energy Ministers, was officially opened by Algerian Prime Minister, HE Abdelmalek Sellal, with whom the OPEC Secretary General met after the opening.

HE Mohammad Barkindo has spent the last few days meeting OPEC Heads of Delegation and other high-ranking officials to discuss various matters associated with the current oil market conditions.

OPEC’s Ministers are due to hold a consultative meeting on Wednesday at 15.00 hours local time – after the close of the IEF Conference.

Early this morning, the OPEC Secretary General joined Conference President, HE Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, who is Qatar’s Energy and Industry Minister, at an informal breakfast meeting with Algeria’s Energy Minister, HE Noureddine Boutarfa, HE Eng. Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Minister of Petroleum of I.R. Iran, and HE Eng. Eulogio Del Pino, Venezuela’s People’s Minister of Petroleum and Mining, as well as Russia’s Energy Minister, HE Alexander Novak.

After lunch, HE Mohammad Barkindo received in his office at the Convention Centre Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, HE Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, and Iraq’s Oil Minister, HE Jabbar Ali Hussein Al-Luiebi. Both Ministers took the time to address OPEC staff attending the Conference.

Total’s Chief Executive Office, Patrick Pouyanne, also paid a visit to HE Mohammad Barkindo at his office.

The OPEC Secretary General’s meetings have been going on long into the evening. On Monday, he joined the Conference President in holding initial talks with the Russian Energy Minister.

Media attention on the meeting has been high. After the first plenary session, HE Mohammad Barkindo spoke at length to reporters about the general oil market conditions, the value of the IEF in promoting producer-consumer dialogue, in addition to fielding questions about OPEC’s forthcoming informal discussions.

Hosting the IEF Ministerial is proving to be another major success for the Algerian authorities. Algiers is fast becoming a prime location for such large events.

The capital’s international standing is being enhanced by the new, state-of-the art Convention Centre, which was inaugurated by Algerian President, HE Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and Prime Minister, HE Abdelmalek Sellal, in early September.

The massive complex, which covers an area of 230,000 square metres, is the largest convention centre in North Africa. It comprises a 6,000-seat lecture hall, a 15,000 square metre exhibition hall, a multifunctional press conference hall, and a dedicated area for heads of state, as well as many auxiliary buildings.

Source: opec.org

Spain Closes In on 50 Percent Renewable Power Generation

28.09.2016

Over the first eight months of this year, Spain averaged an impressive 47.2 percent renewable energy share in its generation mix. The achievement was reported by Spanish electricity transmission system operator, Red Electrica de Espana (REE).

Breaking down the renewable share reveals Spain to have developed a strong mix of renewable generating capacity: wind power (21.8 percent), hydroelectric (17.8 percent), solar PV (3.4 percent), solar thermal (2.4 percent), other (1.8 percent).

The remaining 52.8 percent of the generation mix was made up by a variety of non-renewables, including: nuclear power (23.2 percent) and coal (10.5 percent).

Demand over the same period on the Spanish peninsula from the population of 47 million was estimated at 167,133 GWh.

The top renewable source, wind power, generated 3,630 GWh, in the month of August — an increase of 12.2 percent over the previous year, and 17.6 percent of total production that month. For some time now, Spain has held the second highest wind power capacity in Europe — over 23 GW.

Source: renewableenergyworld.com

China Ratchets Down Green-Energy Growth for First Time ever

28.09.2016

Over the past few years, China has made a major push to reduce carbon emissions by encouraging use of green technologies. Thanks to generous government incentives and fleet purchases, it is now the world’s largest market for plug-in electric cars. Construction of new solar and wind farms has also proceeded at a rapid pace.

But could that green-energy growth soon slow down?

Installation of new solar and wind farms is expected drop 11 percent in 2017, representing the first recorded decline in the history of the modern renewable-energy business, according to Bloomberg. The expected drop comes despite the industry reaching a record high in China this year. It stems from stagnating electricity demand in China resulting from slowing economic growth, which the government expects to create excess electricity-generation capacity. The government is already “re-calibrating” subsidies for renewable energy, according to Bloomberg. Chinese renewable-energy policy is crucial to the industry as a whole because the country has been its single largest market for the past eight years.

China’s demand for solar panels and wind turbines has fueled industry growth, and large-scale renewable-energy projects have brought down the cost of both energy sources. Global renewable-energy capacity is expected to grow 17 percent in 2017, but that’s still the slowest amount of growth in at least a decade, according to London-based research firm BNEF. China’s wind and solar capacity is expected to increase 41.8 gigawatts in 2017, compared to 46.9 GW this year.

While the renewable-energy industry has come to rely on robust Chinese demand, it may be able to weather this slowdown without too much trouble. Analysts note that companies may be able to devote extra capacity developed for China to emerging markets, such as India, the Middle East, and Latin America. There’s also steady growth in more developed markets like North America, where price declines could make it possible for more households to install solar panels (if not personal wind turbines). Demand in China may also pick up again as new construction absorbs more of the current renewable-energy generating capacity. Because while China’s green-energy slowdown is remarkable, it is likely only a short-term phenomenon, noted Jules Kortenhorst, CEO of the Rocky Mountain Institute energy research firm. “China is committed to a low-carbon future,” he said.

Source: greencarreports.com

Global dumpsite hazards led to 750 deaths in 7 months

28.09.2016

This week at the 2016 ISWA World Congress in Novi Sad, Serbia ISWA announced the publication of its latest report, A Roadmap for the Closure of Waste Dumpsites. This roadmap will shape a fundamental part of ISWA’s agenda over the coming years as ISWA plans to invest significant energy into helping close some of the most dangerous waste facilities on the planet.

As this article in D-Waste Dive acknowledges, between Dec. 2015 and June 2016, there have been more than 750 deaths globally related to poor waste management in dumpsites and associated health impacts.

The dangers of the these dumpsites is very real and affects significant numbers. Open dumpsites receive approximately 40% of the world’s waste and serve three to four billion people.

Source: source.org

New York City Sets the First Citywide Energy Storage Target

28.09.2016

Only two U.S. states, California and Massachusetts, have set targets for energy storage deployments. Now New York City has joined them.

The city government unveiled a storage goal of 100 megawatt-hours by 2020 last week, along with an expanded solar target of 1,000 megawatts by 2030. Storage, with its capacity to integrate variable wind and solar power sources into the grid, is expected to play a critical role in meeting the city’s plans to cut greenhouse gases by 80 percent by 2050.

Storage experts told GTM that this is the first time a city has set such a target.

The city’s target is not a legally binding requirement like California’s. It’s more of an aspirational target with policies designed to make the process easier.

“With a city-based target, they are also directly responsible for building codes and siting regulations, deployment strategies and even local taxes – and the city can also take steps to adapt all these rules and regulations to accelerate deployment,” wrote Matt Roberts, executive director of the Energy Storage Association, in an email. “The city is able to marshal its forces toward this collective goal, and can more easily adjust the goal based on the observed value delivered in the future.”

The New York City target applies to the full spectrum of storage, including electrochemical and thermal technologies. City officials are targeting storage as a way to reduce demand charges, defer distribution system upgrades, pre-cool buildings and shift solar power consumption.

For all the potential use cases, energy storage is still a bit player in the city’s energy system. A major motivation for the storage target is to make permitting easier, said Daniel Zarrilli, senior director of climate policy and programs with the city.

Currently, getting a storage system approved is “largely a one-off process where it’s pulled out of a queue and dealt with specifically because it’s unique,” he said. “We don’t want people thinking, ‘Oh, I want to put in storage, but it may be too hard.'”

That’s how solar permitting was in the early days, but then the city set a target in 2014 to get 100 megawatts of public solar and 250 megawatts of private solar by 2025. This spurred an increase in deployments and a streamlining of the city’s procedures.

“We’ve been using that target as a way to knock down some of the internal bureaucratic hurdles,” Zarrilli said. The hope is something similar will happen with storage.

Energy storage makes a lot of for New York City, said Daniel Finn-Foley, a senior analyst for energy storage at GTM Research.

“It’s easy to forget that Manhattan is an island, with all the associated complications, but you’d be reminded if you ever tried to plan transmission systems into the city,” he said. “Its capacity prices are quite high — the latest strip auction for the NYISO capacity market cleared at $10.99/kW-month, compared to $3.62 across much of the rest of the state.”

Most recent growth in storage capacity nationwide has been driven by cheaper lithium-ion batteries, but the New York City Fire Department and the Department of Buildings are still figuring out the safety implications of this new technology. Lithium-ion chemistries carry some degree of risk for fires, and the city wants to feel secure before adding them into the highly dense region.

A block on lithium-ion would force developers to focus on other technologies, which might not be the cheapest or most efficient for a particular use case. The city has plenty of other options to work with though. The Metropolitan Transit Authority, for instance, is trying out a 400-kilowatt-hour vanadium redox flow battery in downtown Manhattan. That technology is known for its safe components and long-duration performance.

GTM wasn’t able to find a tally of storage deployments in the city so far, but GTM Research forecasts the state of New York will have an annual market of 273 megawatt-hours in 2020. So if a strong share of the state’s deployments go to its largest city, the 100-megawatt-hour target should be doable.

Source: snip.ly

Annual Implementation Report 2016: Contracting Parties Put into Action Energy Union Objectives

27.09.2016

The Secretariat’s Annual Implementation Report published today outlines the progress achieved by the Energy Community Contracting Parties in implementing the acquis communautaire under the Energy Community Treaty. The current state of implementation is marked by Albania, Kosovo*, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and partially Ukraine having transposed the Third Energy Package. Bosnia and Herzegovina and former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to fail in this endeavour, more than one and a half years after the transposition deadline set by the Ministerial Council.

Director of the Energy Community Secretariat, Mr Janez Kopač, said: “I am extremely delighted that six of the eight Contracting Parties have transposed the Third Energy Package, although Ukraine still has to do so in the electricity sector. This confirms their place in the Energy Union and puts them on par with EU Member States. The next step is to ensure effective and efficient implementation. For example, Third Energy Package Network Codes now need to be adopted in the Energy Community Contracting Parties and applied on the interconnection points on the interface between EU Member States and the Energy Community Contracting Parties. This will ensure equal treatment and thus remove one of the biggest obstacles to pan-European energy market integration.”

Dispute Settlement Procedures against Bosnia and Herzegovina and former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia for failure to transpose the Third Energy Package were initiated by the Secretariat in May 2016. “What is extremely worrying is that these two countries continue to persistently infringe also other provisions of the acquis,” underlined Deputy Director Dirk Buschle. “In spite of significant assistance by the Secretariat and the international community, Bosnia and Herzegovina still fails to comply even with the Second Energy Package in the gas sector, while former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has postponed full electricity market opening by five years to 2020. Without doubt, it is the energy consumers who fall victim to the general political impasse in these two countries”. The dispute settlement cases will be decided by this year’s Energy Community Ministerial Council on 14 October in Sarajevo.

As regards the adoption of the sustainability acquis comprising energy efficiency, environment and renewables, it is Serbia and Montenegro who are the leaders. Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina have already surpassed their 2020 renewable energy targets, while Serbia and Albania are closely following their indicative pathway to reach the final target. Overall, transposition is the weakest in the sphere of energy efficiency, where several Contracting Parties are yet to transpose the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (Albania, Kosovo* and Ukraine) and Energy Services Directive (Albania and Ukraine).

The Annual Implementation Report covers the period from September 2015 to September 2016. It includes dedicated chapters on electricity, gas, oil, national regulatory authorities, renewable energy, energy efficiency, environment, competition and statistics.

Source: energy-community.org

UNIDO hands out cleaner production certificates in Bosnia and Herzegovina

27.09.2016

JAHORINA, Bosnia and Herzegovina, September 2016 – Twenty national experts and 10 company representatives working in different sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina last week received certificates of cleaner production from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

They were trained to improve production measures by means of reducing the consumption of resources, reducing the amount of pollution generated, and increasing productivity. The trainees also prepared cleaner production strategies for their companies.

The training course was conducted as a part of UNIDO’s National Cleaner Production Programme (NCPP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Funded by the Government of Slovenia, the programme is implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations.

UNIDO Project Manager, Petra Schwager stressed the significance of sustainable industrial development for the overall economic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as for the country’s efforts to join the European Union.

Mehmed Cero, Deputy Minister for Environment and Tourism, said: “The project is of high importance for our country. It will help improve resource efficiency and productivity, as well as create jobs in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Universities were also involved in the programme. A group of students from the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences of the University of Sarajevo visited one of the participating companies to collect data necessary to analyze water consumption and identify its water balance. Through the cooperation with higher education institutions, the NCPP intends to include resource efficiency and cleaner production in regular academic curricula.

Source: unido.org

Obama power plant rules face key test in U.S. court

27.09.2016

The centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s climate change strategy, federal rules curbing greenhouse gas emissions mainly from coal-fired power plants, faces a key test on Tuesday when opponents try to convince a U.S. appeals court to throw out the regulations.

Twenty-seven states led by coal-producer West Virginia and industry groups are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan rules before 10 judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

They argue that the EPA overstepped its regulatory authority under the federal Clean Air Act when the agency issued the rules, which the U.S. Supreme Court has put on hold while the case is litigated.

During Tuesday’s arguments, these opponents will face off in court against the EPA, 18 states, corporations including Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google, and a number of cities that support the regulations.

The Clean Power Plan was designed to lower carbon emissions from U.S. power plants by 2030 to 32 percent below 2005 levels, with each state assigned its own emission reduction target and tasked with designing its own plan to achieve that goal.

Power plants are the largest source of U.S. carbon emissions. Nearly 1,500 coal- and gas-fired power plants together emit nearly two billion tons per year of carbon dioxide.

The Clean Power Plan is the main tool for the United States to meet the emissions reduction target it pledged to reach at U.N. climate talks in Paris last December.

“It’s an invasion, in our estimation, of the state regulatory domain,” Scott Pruitt, the Republican attorney general of Oklahoma, one of the states suing the EPA, said at a Washington event this month.

Richard Revesz, director of the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University’s law school, said the suing states were exaggerating the regulatory reach of the EPA.

“The Clean Power Plan, while certainly a very important rule, is not the boundary-breaking behemoth that the petitioners make it out to be,” Revesz said.

The Clean Power Plan, if it survives the legal challenge, could prompt a faster shift to renewable energy sources and accelerate the closure of the country’s oldest coal plants.

The fate of the Clean Power Plan was thrown into question on Feb. 9 when the Supreme Court made a surprise 5-4 decision to grant a request by the challengers to put the rule on hold while the appeals court considered the matter.

The eventual appeals court ruling could decide the case, even if it goes to the Supreme Court. The Feb. 13 death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia left the court ideologically split with four conservatives and four liberals. A 4-4 ruling by the high court would leave in place the appeals court ruling.

Source: reuters.com

Canada to host World Environment Day in 2017

27.09.2016

Canada last week demonstrated its commitment to environmental action as Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, and UN Environment chief Erik Solheim announced that Canada will host World Environment Day in 2017.

The UN Environment-led global event, the single largest celebration of our environment each year, takes place on June 5 and is celebrated by thousands of communities worldwide. Canada will use World Environment Day to showcase to the world the beauty of its natural environment on land and water.

“The Canadian spirit of collaboration is only one of the reasons Canada is a natural choice to host World Environment Day,” The Honourable Catherine McKenna said at a launch event during the United Nation General Assembly in New York. “World Environment Day will be an important part of Canada 150 celebrations.

“On June 5, 2017, we will blend Canadians’ pride in our environment with our determination to address climate change challenges. We are looking forward to showing the world the made-in-Canada approaches that will make our country cleaner and more competitive for businesses.”

Canada works with international partners, like UN Environment, to address environmental issues, including climate change at home and abroad. Hosting World Environment Day, along with plans to ratify the Paris Agreement on Climate Change as soon as possible, shows that Canada is fully behind global action to tackle the biggest environmental challenges of our time.

“World Environment Day is the day the planet celebrates our collective love of and reliance on nature,” said Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment. “It helps encourage action to protect our environment and fosters a deeper appreciation of our connection to the natural world.

“With the major environmental challenges we face, we need environmental leadership more than ever. I’m happy that Canada, which has been demonstrating an emphatic commitment to environmental issues, will host World Environment Day 2017.

“As global host, it is an opportunity for Canada to further demonstrate this commitment and expand its leadership on the international stage.”

Source: unep.org

China Tops WHO List for Deadly Outdoor Air Pollution

27.09.2016

China is the world’s deadliest country for outdoor air pollution, according to analysis by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The UN agency has previously warned that tiny particulates from cars, power plants and other sources are killing 3 million people worldwide each year.

For the first time the WHO has broken down that figure to a country-by-country level. It reveals that of the worst three nations, more than 1 million people died from dirty air in China in 2012, at least 600,000 in India and more than 140,000 in Russia.

At 25th out of 184 countries with data, the UK ranks worse than France, with 16,355 deaths in 2012 versus 10,954, but not as poorly as Germany at 26,160, which has more industry and 16 million more people. Australia had 94 deaths and 38,043 died in the US that year from particulate pollution.

Maria Neria, director of the WHO’s public health and the environment department, told the Guardian: “Countries are confronted with the reality of better data. Now we have the figures of how many citizens are dying from air pollution. What we are learning is, this is very bad. Now there are no excuses for not taking action.”

Gavin Shaddick, who led the international team that put together the data, said: “Globally, air pollution presents a major risk to public health and a substantial number of lives could be saved if levels of air pollution were reduced.”

Sixteen scientists from eight international institutions worked with WHO on the analysis, which gathered data from 3,000 locations, using pollution monitors on the ground, modelling and satellite readings.

They looked at exposure to tiny particulates 2.5 microns in size, known as PM2.5s, which penetrate the lungs and are the air pollutant most strongly associated with an increased risk of death. “The real driver of ill health is ultra-fine particles, 2.5s – they have the ability to permeate the membrane of the lungs and enter our blood system,” said Shaddick, who is based at the University of Bath. “Increasingly there is an understanding that there are not just respiratory diseases but cardiovascular ones associated with PM2.5s.”

In the UK more than 90% of the population lives in areas with levels of PM2.5s above the WHO’s air-quality limits of 10 micrograms per cubic metre for the annual mean. The government is in the high court on 18 and 19 October facing a legal challenge by environmental law group ClientEarth, which says ministers’ clean-up plans for another pollutant – nitrogen dioxide – are inadequate.

Globally, 92% of the population breathes air that breaches WHO limits but the world map of deaths caused by PM2.5s changes when looked at per capita. When ranked by the number of deaths for every 100,000 people, Ukraine jumps to the top of the list at 120.

It is followed by eastern European and former Soviet states, and Russia itself, probably due to a legacy of heavy industry in the region. China drops down to 10th, at 76 per 100,000, and India falls to 27th, with 49 per 100,000.

Air pollution in the Ukraine caused four times more deaths per capita than than the five cleanest countries combined.

Most of the air pollution comes from cars, coal-fired plants and waste burning but not all of it is created by humans. Dust storms in places close to deserts also contribute to dirty air, explaining partly why Iran is at 16th highest for total deaths, at 26,000 a year.

Most of the total deaths worldwide – two out of three – occur in south-east Asia and the western Pacific, which includes China, Vietnam, Japan, Australia, South Korea and small Pacific island states.

Shaddick said: “We might think of [pollution in] Beijing as being very high, but when you fill in the gaps between the big [Chinese] cities, [air pollution in] regions [is] remarkably high compared to the WHO limits [10 grams per cubic metre for the annual mean], up in the 50s and 60s. That’s something we in the west can’t even comprehend. That was probably a bit of a shock [to me].”

The Pacific states of Brunei Darussalam, Fiji and Vanuatu have the lowest number of deaths from air pollution, the WHO found.

Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris and chair-elect of a network of cities combating climate change, said: “Fighting pollution is one of my top priorities as mayor of Paris. It is a vital public health issue and all mayors should take on their responsibility to deliver bold actions.”

The city of Paris voted on Monday to ban cars along a stretch of the river Seine to cut pollution, defeating a minority rightwing opposition.

Hidalgo added: “I have said it before and am saying it again: we cannot negotiate with Parisians’ health.”

Neira said Canada and Scandinavian countries deserved praise for curbing air pollution and singled out France too. “France is taking a lot of action, Paris is taking aggressive measures: aggressive in the good sense. It maybe unpopular because it’s for the health of people but they are putting some restrictions on individuals. We all need to understand this is a matter of public health,” she said.

Source: theguardian.com

ABB Wins $85 Million Orders to Strengthen Power Grid in Canada

27.09.2016

Ultra-high voltage circuit breakers and power transformers to support upgrade of Quebec grid

Zurich, Switzerland, September, 2016 – ABB has won orders worth over $85 million from leading Canadian utility Hydro-Québec (HQ) to upgrade its 800-kilovolt (kV) air-insulated switchgear (AIS) substations and transmission grid with state-of-the-art circuit breakers, power transformers and shunt reactors. The upgrade is driven by the increasing demand for power and the need to integrate new sources of renewable energy.

HQ operates one of the largest 800 kV networks in the world, a large part of which was originally developed in the 1960s and 70s and ABB has been involved in the modernization of its power infrastructure over decades.

“We are pleased to continue supporting Hydro-Québec, in their ongoing efforts to strengthen Canada’s power infrastructure,” said Claudio Facchin, President of ABB’s Power Grids division. “ABB’s leading-edge technologies will help boost the integration of renewables, deliver additional power and enhance transfer of electricity over long distances. Ultra-high voltage transmission is a key focus area within our Next Level strategy and a key differentiator for ABB.”

As part of the project, ABB will design, deliver and commission the state-of-the-art circuit breakers with polymeric insulators, to enhance safety and robustness. It will also design, manufacture and deliver 450 megavolt-ampere (MVA) autotransformers and 735 kV shunt reactors.

Circuit breakers are a vital component of substations, essential for safe, reliable and efficient switching operations. ABB’s live tank breakers are the most widely deployed circuit breakers in operation around the world, providing a cost and eco-efficient, flexible and well-proven solution.

Transformers are integral components of an electrical grid, and essential for the efficient and safe conversion of electricity between different voltage systems. ABB’s transformer portfolio includes power transformers rated up to 1,200 kilovolts, dry- and liquid-distribution transformers, traction and special application transformers as well as related services and components.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leading global technology company in power and automation that enables utility, industry, and transport and infrastructure customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 135,000 people.

Source: abb.com

EU invests €20 million for expansion of solar film manufacturing facility in Germany

26.09.2016

solar-panels — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

The European Investment Bank announced last week a €20 million loan agreement with German-based Heliatek, a world leader in the production of organic photovoltaic devices and solar films. The EU-funded loan, part of an €80 million financial package raised by Heliatek, will help to expand its solar film manufacturing capacity on its site in Dresden by 2018.

Carlos Moedas, EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science said: “Germany is among the world leaders in photovoltaic production, and the research community for photovoltaics in Europe is growing fast across the EU. This €20 million loan supported under Horizon 2020, the EU’s research funding programme, illustrates how the public and the private sector collaborate to keep Europe in a leading role when it comes to energy security and sustainable development.”

This deal falls under the InnovFin MidCap Growth Finance, which is part of the new generation of financial instruments supported under Horizon 2020 (IP/14/670). Under this facility, loans are guaranteed against a proportion of any losses incurred on the debt financing covered under the facility.

Background

InnovFin MidCap Growth Finance is part of “InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators”, the new generation of EU financial instruments and advisory services that was developed under Horizon 2020 to help innovative firms access finance more easily. It will help inject up to €48 billion in investments in Research and Innovation across Europe. It offers long term loans in order to improve access to finance mainly for innovative larger midcaps (up to 3000 employees), but also SMEs and small midcaps. Loans from €7.5 million to €25 million will be delivered directly by the EIB.

Source: ec.europa.eu

Climate Change Solutions: 65% Want Australia to Be World Leader – Study

26.09.2016

renewable-energy — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Public support for Australia to be a world leader in climate change solutions has rebounded to its highest since the major political parties agreed on emissions trading, research shows.

About 65% of the nation want to see Australia lead the world in solutions, an increase from 52% in 2010-12 when the “carbon tax” debate was front and centre in politics.

The annual attitudinal study by the Climate Institute shows this year’s jump, up from 59% in 2014-15.

It’s the closest it has been to the 76% support in 2007 when then prime minister John Howard announced an emissions trading scheme.

The institute chief executive, John Connor, said the results show support is recovering from the carbon tax scare campaign.

The study also found 77% of Australians believe climate change is happening, up from 64% four years ago and 70% last year.

Three-quarters of Australians believe governments should plan for the orderly closure of coal plants and replace them with clean energy.

Just 3% say coal is their preferred energy source for Australia.

And 77% believe state governments should bring in incentives for more renewable energy.

The study also found people want climate policy to be bipartisan, with 90% believing the responsibility for action rests with the federal government.

Source: theguardian.com

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