IEA Executive Director on Official Visit to Republic of Korea

05.09.2016

Dr. Fatih Birol, IEA Executive Director, was in Korea on an official visit on 1-2 September 2016.

He met with Mr. Joo Hyunghwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, with their discussions concentrating on expectations for a re-balancing of global oil markets and on progress countries are making on climate policy since the Paris UN Climate Conference (COP 21) ended last December. They also spoke about recent developments in Korean energy policy, including opening up electricity and gas markets, increasing renewable energy production and improving energy efficiency – all topics much debated in other IEA countries.

Dr. Birol also met with Mr. Syekyun Chung, the Speaker of the National Assembly. Their talks focussed on the implications of developments in global energy markets on Korea’s own energy landscape as well as the efforts underway to modernize the IEA, particularly through closer engagement with countries in Asia.

His other engagements during the visit included participation in Korea Energy Economics Institute’s 30th Anniversary International Conference “Future Energy System under New Climate Change Regime”, which was presided over by Mr. Joo Heon Park, President (KEEI). Dr. Birol delivered the keynote address on Global energy prospects and policy priorities post COP-21.

On the first day of the visit, Dr Birol was in Busan to attend the 17th World Clean Air Congress and 9th CAA Better Air Quality Conference to present the recent World Energy Outlook Special Report on Air Pollution at an event that attracted around 1000 attendees.

Source: iea.org

Global Oil Demand Can Only Increase

05.09.2016

While incremental annual gains obviously vary, there is nothing more assured than increasing global oil demand. The steady drumbeat of more people, making more money, using more oil may be boring to some, but it is also perhaps our most fundamental energy reality. The world now consumes ~95 million b/d of oil, up from 86 million b/d in 2008 and a 11% rise even amid the worst economic times since the 1930s.

And we know that there is so much more to come: oil is the world’s primary fuel, oil is the enabling force of globalization, and 85% of the global population lives in undeveloped nations still waiting for their chance to consume oil like we rich Westerners do. Just imagine the future: every day, for instance, the average American consumes 25 times more oil than the average Indian, and India has four times more people!

But even idiosyncratic factors that don’t immediately come to mind can quickly boom demand in a very short period of time. For example, over the past year or so, China has been filling its strategic petroleum reserves as prices plunged. EIA estimates that China is planning to build 500 million barrels of strategic crude oil reserve space by 2020. No wonder: the Chinese now buy nearly 25 million oil-based cars a year.

Even the developed nations with saturated markets are by no means facing “declining oil demand,” regardless of what you keep hearing. U.S. oil demand won’t dip below 19.3 million b/d for as far as models are forecasting, and even environmental stalwart Europe is set for an increase in oil demand (here). This comes from the ignored fact that oil has no significant direct substitute. No matter the attention they receive or the incentives being offered, non-oil vehicles, for instance, are not even 1% of the vehicles being sold.

This indicates why the demand for oil is largely inelastic with respect to price. Whether oil prices rise or fall, demand continues to mount in a staggeringly similar manner . That’s because oil demand is far more related to the general constants of rising economic growth and personal income than it is to price .

And with 20,000 children a day dying from preventable poverty enabled by a lack of energy, the rich West has the moral obligation to encourage massive economic growth for the world’s poor. Nations with higher incomes have a higher standard of living and live healthier, longer lives. It’s those countries that don’t consume much oil that suffer most and remain isolated from the rest of the world.

Thus, policies that hurt the U.S. oil industry in the name of helping Americans are sheer folly because they ultimately just hurt Americans by making an indispensable product more difficult and costly to bring to market. Especially since oil is a global commodity sold on an international market, where “events over there affect prices over here,” rising oil demand mandates that we produce as much here and support our oil industry as much as possible.

Because if we don’t, if we just leave the supply and production chain to Russia and OPEC, global and U.S. oil security will be severely eroded, and we will be at the whim of people that “don’t like you very much.”

Source: forbes.com

Nigerian Environment Minister in Morocco to Visit NOOR Solar Project and Discuss Morocco-Nigeria Cooperation Ahead of COP22

02.09.2016

Salaheddine Mezouar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and COP22 President held a meeting with Minister Mohammed on August 23, during which he reiterated the importance of the two countries on the African continent and expressed “the will of Morocco to work with Nigeria to support African climate change action in order to guarantee a strong implementation of the Paris Agreement on the continent as well as the success of COP22.”

Minister Mohammed also met with COP22 Special Envoy and Morocco High-Level Climate Champion, Hakima El Haite to discuss the framework cooperation on environmental issues, participation in events to be held in the lead up to COP22, as well as Nigeria’s interest in learning best practices from Morocco on its NOOR solar program. Nigeria has set a target of 50% renewable power by 2020, including 1,000MW of solar energy. Morocco is a green power leader in Africa with a goal of 52% renewables by 2030 and 2,000 MW of solar by 2020.

The Nigerian Minister’s visit to Morocco included a visit to the NOOR solar plant in Ouazazate, which she described as a stellar example of “Africans taking ownership on a renewable power agenda, at scale and with Moroccan professionals. I’ll take that back with me to Nigeria.”

During her two-day visit to Morocco the Nigerian Minister also met with COP22 Scientific Committee President, Nizar Baraka, World Bank Country Director for the Maghreb and Malta, Marie-Françoise Marie-Nelly, MASEN Director, Mustapha Bakkoury and high-level representatives from the African Development Bank.

Source: cop22.ma

US Firm in Battle for East African Multimillion Dollar Wind Power Project

02.09.2016

A sustained seven-year effort by U.S. wind power firm Cordisons International Ltd. to put up a multimillion dollar 90-MW wind farm in Kenya may have come to an end after the country’s land custodian National Land Commission (NLC) declined to grant the company lease for some 11,000 acres of land it had sought, arguing that the firm had ignored procedures in applying for land.

Instead the commission ruled that the land will be leased to Belgium giant Electrawind, and its local partner Kenwind Holdings Ltd.

The NLC — the country’s land custodian — ruled that the U.S. company had not followed the right procedure in applying to develop the 11,000 parcel.

Cordisons, according to NLC chairman Mohammed Swazuri, had applied for the lease to the county government for the land as opposed to the commission while skipping numerous requirements and regulations that would warrant the company getting the land, in a dispute that seemingly surrounds who between the local county and national government had power over the land.

On the other hand, Kenwind Holdings had wanted 3,200 acres of the land where some 700 families will be moved from to pave way for the US$230 million project.

Kenyan media however quoted Crispin Kodi, an official of Cordison, saying that his company had not been notified of the loss of its lease bid and would allegedly appeal the NLC decision.

On the other, Kenwind director Susan Nandwa said her firm will abide by the NLC decision and will move ahead with arrangements to acquire the lease, and move the families occupying the land.

“We have followed all the right procedures in applying for lease to this land, and we do not anticipate any obstacles from any one quarters” Nandwa said.

“We are moving ahead with pending legal and compensation plans with the hope that construction work on the ground can kick off by the end of the year,” she told Renewable Energy World by phone from Europe.

The company, she said, was the one rightly entitled to the land, adding that Kenwinds had made sound financing and technical arrangements for the mega wind power project.

Kenwind has attracted the interest of World Bank’s investment arm International Finance Corporation (IFC), which has bought a 45 percent stake in the company and is also a major financier in the project.

And while the bank declined to comment on the matter, sources indicated that the World Bank subsidiary had commissioned an independent environmental assessment study of the site and was going ahead with financing.

However environmental action group Environmental Justice Atlas (EJA) had cautioned that another conservation group Nature had expressed reservations over the project.

“Nature Kenya’s main concerns were that the environmental impacts assessment (EIA) done by Kenya’s National Environmental Management Authority was inadequate, and certain issues in it needed to be addressed prior to its approval and also during project implementation,” said EJ Atlas.

“Some of the recommendations that were put forward included the need to carry out detailed biodiversity surveys and set baselines, adopt avian safe wind farm design and turbine placement, and develop and implement a biodiversity monitoring framework,” the group said.

However, EJ Atlas said the EIA was approved without incorporating the recommendations by Nature Kenya.

While EJ Atlas lists Cordisons International Ltd as a member of West Texas Wind Energy Clearing House, a search of the company does not yield any website related to the company.

Others listed as Cordison International partners include U.S. company Electric Power Engineers and ISA of Italy.

Source: renewableenergyworld.com

Energy and Air Pollution 2016 – World Energy Outlook Special Report

02.09.2016

Clean air is vital for good health. Yet despite growing recognition of this imperative, the problem of air pollution is far from solved in many countries, and the global health impacts risk intensifying in the decades to come.

The scale of the public health crisis caused by air pollution and the importance of the energy sector to its resolution are the reasons why the IEA is focusing on this critical topic for the first time.

Based on new data for pollutant emissions in 2015 and projections to 2040, this special report, the latest in the World Energy Outlook series, provides a global outlook for energy and air pollution as well as detailed profiles of key countries and regions: the United States, Mexico, the European Union, China, India, Southeast Asia and Africa.

In a Clean Air Scenario, the report proposes a pragmatic and attainable strategy to reconcile the world’s energy requirements with its need for cleaner air. Alongside the multiple benefits to human health, this strategy shows that resolving the world’s air pollution problem can go hand-in-hand with progress towards other environmental and development goals.

Source: worldenergyoutlook.org

Environmental DNA Uncovers Biodiversity in Rivers

02.09.2016

Most natural ecosystems are heavily affected by changes to the human habitat, climate change or invasive species. In order to protect these ecosystems, one needs to know which organisms live in them. Therefore, assessing the state of and change in biodiversity is central to ecology and conservation biology. However, classical methods are often only suitable for determining a subset of organisms. Moreover, they are expensive and involve collecting the organisms themselves.

Recently, scientists came up with the idea of collecting the DNA of organisms from environmental samples instead, such as soil or water, and determining the various species that way. All organisms constantly shed DNA into the environment, such as via feces or skin particles. This environmental DNA is sequenced using state-of-the-art technology and subsequently matched with databases to determine the species. “This completely novel approach has the potential to revolutionize the study of biodiversity,” says Florian Altermatt, a professor at the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag).

NA from mayflies and beavers

Altermatt and his team at Eawag in Dübendorf recently provided practical evidence of this idea by collecting water at various points in the Glatt, a river in the Canton of Zurich, and subsequently extracting all the DNA. “We collected a liter of water, which meant we could extract DNA from a staggering number of species, from aquatic insects, such as mayflies, to the beaver who lives further upstream,” explains study coordinator Altermatt. DNA from thousands of organisms was compared with traditional estimates of biodiversity. This confirmed that the organisms detected actually live in this environment.

In previous studies, the authors had already demonstrated that rivers transport DNA for several kilometers. “This opens up completely novel approaches to collect information on the diversity of organisms in river systems,” says Altermatt. “We can now potentially determine biodiversity in a similar way to the chemistry of the water.” Not only do the individual water samples contain information on aquatic organisms, but also land organisms found along the river. Consequently, the scientists gained a fingerprint of the organisms living in entire catchment areas and demonstrate the potential of environmental DNA for determining the biodiversity of all animals, from aquatic insects to mammals.

Routinely determining biodiversity

The study conducted by the UZH researchers reveals that, through their unique network structure, rivers collect and transport DNA containing information on the organisms in the water and on land. As the method can be automated, it might be possible to obtain data on biodiversity in an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution in the future. “I could imagine that the water samples currently taken by cantonal or federal authorities on a daily or even hourly basis for chemical screening could also be used to record biodiversity,” speculates Altermatt.

Source: sciencedaily.com

Blame Oil: Nigeria Slumps into Recession, Norway Stalls

02.09.2016

rafinerija-nafta-gas — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

Nigeria slumped into recession and Norway’s economic growth slowed to a standstill in the second quarter. Both countries rely on oil for a big chunk of their exports and have been hit hard by the collapse in prices.

Oil has recovered from February’s low of just over $26 per barrel but the current price of about $46 is still less than half what producers were getting just two years ago.

Nigeria’s second quarter GDP fell by more than 2% compared to last year, after slipping by 0.4% in the first quarter. Two consecutive quarters of decline mean Nigeria is now officially in recession.

Low oil prices and fuel shortages have hit Nigeria’s economy hard.

Nigeria isn’t only hurting from low prices. Its oil output also fell sharply because of a series of rebel attacks on infrastructure. Other sectors suffered too, with manufacturing and retail hit by chronic power outages.

The slump in oil prices has drained Nigeria’s foreign currency reserves. To stem the outflow of cash from the country, the government introduced strict restrictions on importing goods that it said could be produced locally. But that decision has reduced the flow of raw materials to the country’s manufacturers.

“Much of the blame for this must fall on Nigeria’s government. Import restrictions have crippled the manufacturing sector, which was long seen as a potential driver of non-oil growth,” said John Ashbourne, Africa economist at Capital Economics.

Norway’s offshore oil, gas and shipping activity shrank by 1.4% in the quarter, while mainland GDP grew just 0.4%.

The government has been forced, for the first time, to tap the nation’s huge sovereign wealth fund. Norway’s central bank said the country might be forced to withdraw more than $9 billion from the $888 billion pension fund in 2016 to make up for the collapse in oil revenue.

Source: money.cnn.com

New Solar Forecasting System Could Save Industry Hundreds Of Millions

01.09.2016

A new solar forecasting system could save the solar power industry hundreds of millions of dollars and make it easier for grid operators and utilities to integrate high penetration levels of variable resources like solar into the electric grid.

The new system, called Sun4Cast, was developed by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado and claims to provide significantly more accurate solar forecasts than those provided by existing solar forecasting systems.

Forecasting solar irradiance is difficult because of the number of variables that can affect it, including air quality, the locations and types of clouds, relative humidity and other atmospheric conditions. Sun4Cast leverages a combination of advanced computer models, atmospheric observations, and artificial intelligence techniques to generate 0- to 6-hour nowcasts of solar irradiance and the resulting power production for specific solar facilities at 15-minute intervals. It also provides forecasts that extend out to 72 hours, allowing utility officials to make decisions in advance for balancing solar with other sources of energy.

Sun4Cast provides more accurate predictions of cloud cover and other atmospheric conditions that influence the amount of electricity generated by solar arrays than existing forecast methodologies. According to NCAR, the new forecasting system proved to be more accurate than existing solar forecasting systems by as much as 50% based on the results of several demonstration projects.

“The use of advanced forecasting of … future solar energy system output allows grid operators and utilities to proactively manage variable output, and thus integrating solar resources into the existing grid at lower costs to society,” according to a study by the Solar Electric Power Association.

High-penetration levels of renewable energy resources on the electric grid are creating new challenges for utility companies and grid operators due to their intermittent nature.

“These results can help enable the nation’s expanding use of solar energy,” said Sue Ellen Haupt, director of NCAR’s Weather Systems and Assessment Program, who led the research team. “More accurate predictions are vital for making solar energy more reliable and cost effective.”

Source: forbes.com

Renault is Proud to Present the 50,000th ZOE

31.08.2016

Three years after launch, Renault ZOE is Europe’s best-selling electric hatchback.

A full 98% of ZOE customers are satisfied… An unrivaled figure. Every three minutes, somewhere in the world, somebody switches from an ICE vehicle to an electric vehicle…

Since 2013, Renault has been the only carmaker to have a complete all-electric vehicle range with Twizy, ZOE and Kangoo Z.E. Since then, the EV market has grown exponentially, expanding by 48% worldwide in 2015. A total 18,500 ZOE vehicles were sold last year for a market share of 20% in Europe and over 55% in France.

Charging a ZOE is also becoming easier every day, with the continuing rollout of new infrastructure. Today, more than 60,000 charge points are available to the public in Europe, and 200 fast-charge stations can be found every 80 kilometers along France’s motorways (Corri-Door project).

Source: Renault.com

Gazprom and Edison Discuss Southern Route of Russian Natural Gas Supplies to Europe

31.08.2016

A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Marc Benayoun, Executive Vice President of EDF and Chief Executive Officer of Edison, took place yesterday in Milan.

The meeting was focused on arranging the southern route of Russian gas supplies to Europe using the capacities of the ITGI Poseidon project within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding and in the light of reviving the TurkStream project. The parties also discussed gas supplies to Edison.

Italy’s Edison SpA is part of EDF Group and is a leading operator in Italy’s energy sector. Edison is mainly focused on hydrocarbon exploration, production and marketing, as well as power generation and sales, including energy efficiency developments.

On February 24, 2016, Gazprom, Edison, and DEPA signed the Memorandum of Understanding on natural gas deliveries from Russia across the Black Sea and third countries to Greece and from Greece to Italy. The parties are committed to take advantage of the work done by Edison and DEPA within the ITGI Poseidon project.

Source: Gazprom.com

Adapting to a Drier World

31.08.2016

Water, which covers more than two-thirds of the planet’s surface, is fundamental to life. It is also essential to energy production.

Water is critical to pumping oil and natural gas out of the ground, thanks to hydraulic fracturing. Hydropower dams can generate power and light up cities. Water is also vital to the cooling of nuclear reactors. But fresh water is becoming less available because of various factors including population growth, intensive agriculture and of course climate change. How this will impact energy production around the world is becoming an increasingly pressing question.

The scale of water use for energy production is tremendous. About 580 billion cubic metres of freshwater a year are necessary for energy production. That’s 1.6 billion cubic meters a day – enough to fill 640,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools every day of the year.

The energy sector must adapt quickly, particularly in countries facing water scarcity. In India, water needs for energy production is expected to increase by almost 50% over the coming two decades as millions more gain access to modern energy services. This rising demand could lead to serious shortages, both of water and energy. In 2010 for instance a drought caused the 2.3 Gigawatt Chandrapur coal-fired power station to shut down, leading to power outages across the state, which is home to over 120 million people. Meanwhile in the United States, some 60% of existing coal-fired power plants are also vulnerable to water demand and supply concerns.

Many of the solutions are clear. Increasing the share of gas-fired and renewable power generation can play a significant role in cutting back on water use. Technological innovations also have a major role, for instance in exploiting non-freshwater sources, including salt water, treated wastewater, storm water, and reclaimed water from oil and gas operations. There are also economic solutions, such as assigning an appropriate price on water where it is currently underpriced or free.

In 2012, the IEA highlighted the importance of this critical water-energy nexus in its flagship publication, the World Energy Outlook (WEO), which dedicated an entire chapter to the issue. The following year, a WEO Special Report, Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map, considered energy infrastructure in the context of climate resilience. And most recently, the WEO-2015 examined the impact of the Chinese coal sector on water resources. It found, for instance, that coal-fired power plants were responsible for around 90% of total water use related to the power sector in China.

Once again, the IEA is recognizing the importance of this problem. This year, WEO-2016 will feature a chapter on the water that will assess current and future freshwater requirements for energy production. This will include a detailed analysis on how the water industry uses energy, including water supply, water distribution, wastewater treatment and desalination.

As the world celebrates Water Week, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the sustainable use of this precious commodity will become critical to ensuring reliable and affordable energy supplies in the future.

Source: www.iea.org

Ignalina Turbine Hall Dismantling Completed

31.08.2016

Work that began in October 2011 to dismantle the turbine halls of unit 1 of the Ignalina nuclear power plant – or the B9/1 project – has been completed. The dismantled equipment weighs more than 18,000 tonnes and consists mostly of turbines, generators, heat exchangers, pumps, valves and pipes.

In a statement last week, Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant said work is continuing on the initial treatment of dismantled waste, which involves “crushing, decontamination, radiological measurements and packaging”, and which is scheduled for completion in 2019.

Lithuania agreed to shut down Ignalina 1 and 2 as a condition of its accession to the European Union. The European Commission is providing substantial funding for the project, scheduled to be completed in 2038.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in April that Lithuania should plan for potential project risks in the decommissioning of the Ignalina plant. A five-day, IAEA-led expert mission to the plant reviewed project risks and uncertainties related to the decommissioning of the two RBMK-1500 light-water, graphite-moderated reactors, which were permanently shut down in 2004 and 2009, respectively.

The mission – carried out at the invitation of the Lithuanian government – said the operator has “identified risks at both the corporate and individual project level and has taken into consideration the experience of other countries in decommissioning”.

Source: world-nuclear-news.org

Audi A9 E-tron Electric Car, Tesla Model S Rival, to Launch by 2020: Report

31.08.2016

The established German luxury carmakers are now taking Tesla Motors quite seriously, and are preparing a crop of electric cars to compete directly with its Model S and Model X.

In 2018, Audi will launch an all-electric SUV based on the e-tron quattro concept unveiled at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show last year. It seems to be aimed squarely at the Tesla Model X. Now it appears Audi may also have a Tesla Model S rival in the works as well.

An all-electric sedan called the A9 e-tron is under development, with plans for a 2020 launch, reports British automotive magazine Autocar.

This model will likely be closely related to the planned electric SUV, and would be positioned above the current A8 sedan as Audi’s flagship.

While Audi has not officially confirmed the A9 e-tron, CEO Rupert Stadler noted in an interview with Autocar that it plans to have three electric models in its lineup by 2020.

The A9 will likely share a platform with the all-electric SUV, which may get the Q6 e-tron name when it goes into production less than two years from now.

It could also share the SUV’s powertrain, which includes three electric motors—one powering the front wheels, and two powering the rear wheels. In the e-tron quattro concept, the two rear motors enable torque vectoring, in which power is shifted side to side to improve handling.

The A9 e-tron will likely also use the same 95-kilowatt-hour battery pack as the e-tron quattro concept, with lithium-ion cells from Korean firms LG Chem and Samsung SDI.

Audi is reportedly aiming for a range of 500 kilometers (310 miles), though that figure likely uses the European NEDC test cycle, with a comparable EPA range estimate being 20 or 30 percent lower.

The A9 e-tron will reportedly be offered with wireless inductive charging, as well as an automated parking feature that allows the car to position itself over the charging plate without any involvement from the driver.

Audi reportedly expects the A9 e-tron to achieve “Level 4” autonomy, meaning it will be capable of driving itself the majority of the time.

That’s another realm in which Audi would compete directly with Tesla. Despite significant criticism in the wake of a fatal crash involving its Autopilot system, Tesla is pushing ahead with plans for fully-autonomous cars.

CEO Elon Musk believes the technology will be available soon, but that getting it approved by regulators may take a bit longer.

Source: www.greencarreports.com

UNIDO and Japan External Trade Organization to Jointly Support Developing Countries on Path of Inclusive and Sustainable Industrialization

30.08.2016

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) will work closely to support the needs of developing countries by promoting trade and investment between Japan and the developing countries in line with the concept of inclusive and sustainable industrial development.

A memorandum of understanding on this was signed today by LI Yong, the Director General of UNIDO, and Hiroyuki Ishige, the Chairman and CEO of JETRO. They are attending the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-VI) taking place in the capital of Kenya.

The new partnership will allow UNIDO and JETRO to develop joint cooperation projects and activities aimed at enhancing sustainable industrialization in developing countries and the economies in transition through promoting trade and investment.

Established in 1958 as an entity that would promote Japanese exports abroad, JETRO’s current focus is on encouraging foreign direct investment into Japan and helping small and medium Japanese firms maximize their global export potential.

Source: unido.org

UN Environment Chief Discusses Lagoon Clean-up, Air Pollution, Wildlife Protection, and Marine Erosion with Côte d’Ivoire Prime Minister

30.08.2016

Erik Solheim just concluded a two-day visit to Abidjan, a first for a Head of UN Environment in Côte d’Ivoire. The visit provided an opportunity to present the priorities of his mandate and discuss key environmental challenges constraining the country’s development process as it aspires to lift thousands out of poverty.

During his visit, Mr. Solheim met with Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan, and Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Remi Allah-Kouadio. He also helped launch the Integrated Ecosystem Management Project to rehabilitate the Banco National Park within the city of Abidjan.

In 2011 as Norway’s Minister of Environment and International Development, Erik Solheim witnessed the bloody political upheaval that cost the lives of thousands of Ivorians and displaced many more. He was impressed by the progress made in the five short years since the end of the conflict.

“Many of the countries that were disrupted are still in crisis. Côte d’Ivoire is not. It’s a testament to the will and optimism of Ivorians and to the leadership of President Ouattara that they have put their country back on track. With a steady eight per cent, the country now boasts one of the strongest economic growth rates in the world, and is a West African powerhouse,” he said.

“I’ve seen Côte d’Ivoire rapidly develop in the last five years. I want to see it continue to build and improve its economy long into the future. For it to do so, economic development must not come at the expense of the environment. Any development that is unsustainable can only take the country so far. To grow the economy past the short-term, Côte d’Ivoire will need to integrate nature and development in an inclusive way,” he added.

The political crisis has generated a lot of social and environmental problems, particularly in the city of Abidjan. The conflict had a dramatic impact both on the process of urbanization and on the infrastructure of Côte d’Ivoire. The population of Abidjan is reported to have doubled between 2002 and 2006 due to large-scale migration from villages and towns.

In a post-conflict environmental assessment report produced by UN Environment in 2015, experts recommended that an alternative urban policy be developed to reduce the burden on Abidjan and its overwhelmed capacity.

Top environmental challenges for the country include the clean-up of the Abidjan Lagoon, air pollution, deforestation and wildlife conservation, marine erosion and the need to undertake an audit of the mining sector and remediation.

Most of these issues, according to Erik Solheim, can better be tackled through partnerships, bringing together different stakeholders including the UN system, the private sector and development partners under the leadership of the government.

“Côte d’Ivoire has exhibited a great recovery from the height of its difficulties. Five years ago, supporting the country in its rehabilitation was a priority for me as Minister. Today, in my new role as head of UN Environment, I look forward to helping Côte d’Ivoire build on its recent growth and success in a sustainable way,” he said.

Source: unep.org

Next Hyundai Elantra GT Hatchback to Appear at Paris Motor Show

30.08.2016

A redesigned Hyundai Elantra GT will make its public debut at the 2016 Paris Motor Show one month from now.

While the Elantra four-door sedan received a complete redesign for the 2017 model year and is now on sale, the compact hatchback model known as the Elantra GT remained unchanged.

Earlier this month, Hyundai announced that it would unveil a redesigned version of the hatchback on September 7, followed by a more traditional public debut at the Paris show.

The short press release and teaser video announcing the launch were put out by Hyundai’s European office, so the car is referred to by the i30 name it wears in markets outside the U.S.

The next Elantra GT will share a platform and many other components with the recently-redesigned sedan but—as with the current Elantra GT—it will likely get some model-specific styling features.

Hyundai’s press release describes a “cascading” grille, and the shadowy teaser images hint at headlights and other details that differ from the Elantra sedan.

The Korean carmaker hasn’t officially confirmed the new hatchback for the U.S., but it seems likely that Hyundai will use it to replace the current Elantra GT.

U.S. buyers have historically been somewhat averse to hatchbacks, but they are proving more popular in small-car segments.

The hatchback Elantra remains a low-volume model against the high-selling four-door sedan, as is the Elantra Coupe.

Still, the Elantra GT lets Hyundai compete with hatchback compacts from U.S. makers, not only the Ford Focus five-door but also the upcoming 2017 Chevrolet Cruze hatchback.

Other competitors for next Elantra GT would include the Mazda 3 and the Volkswagen Golf.

A 2017 Honda Civic hatchback is slated for a U.S. launch later this year, while the former Scion iM is now the 2017 Toyota Corolla iM as Toyota retires its “youth brand.”

The 2017 Chevrolet Cruze hatchback was unveiled at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show back in January, and it’s expected to go on sale later this fall.

Alongside the Elantra GT/i30, Hyundai sibling Kia will unveil another fuel-efficient small car at the 2016 Paris Motor Show.

It’s a redesigned version of the Rio, which will likely arrive in North America as a 2018 model in both sedan and hatchback form.

We’ll learn more about both small Korean cars during the Paris show press days, September 29-30.

Source: greencarreports.com

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