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Renewable Energy Investment Up 25%
WIND, BIOFUELS, SOLAR
The report, prepared by UNEP with London-based New Energy Finance, said the wind sector won most investment with 38 percent of the total, ahead of biofuels on 26 percent and solar power on 16 percent.
Renewable energies are a key to fighting global warming, widely blamed on greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels. A UN panel has projected that emissions will cause more floods, droughts, disease and rising oceans.
Of the total of US$100 billion, the report said US$71 billion included initial public offerings and spending on research and development of sustainable energy while mergers and acquisitions added almost US$30 billion.
UNEP noted that gains by many renewable energy stocks had far outpaced rises in world stock markets in recent months but toned down comparisons with Internet stocks which surged in the late 1990s before the dot-com collapse in 2001.
Unlike dot-com firms, the report said renewables were based more solidly on existing technology, that many companies were generating strong revenues and had regulatory support.
"Betting on companies that already have technologies is easier than betting on companies that are developing the technologies of the future," Eric Usher, head of UNEP’s Energy Finance Unit in Paris, told Reuters.
The report said that renewable energies accounted for 18 percent of investment in world power generation, or US$21.5 billion, compared with 2 percent of installed capacity.
The report also said the International Energy Agency, which advises rich countries, seemed conservative in forecasting that renewables would account for just 9 percent of power generation by 2030. UNEP scenarios ranged up to 23 percent of the total.
Story by Alister Doyle , Environment Correspondent, Reuters News Service
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Renewable Energy Investment Up 25%
Almost 10 percent of the 2006 investments were in China, he said. India was the biggest net buyer of companies abroad in 2006, led by takeovers by Indian wind turbine maker Suzlon which is planning a European listing.
The report said worries about climate change, high oil prices averaging more than US$60 a barrel last year, efforts to break dependence on energy imports and government incentives to shift away from fossil fuels had spurred investment.
The report, prepared by UNEP with London-based New Energy Finance, said the wind sector won most investment with 38 percent of the total, ahead of biofuels on 26 percent and solar power on 16 percent.
Renewable energies are a key to fighting global warming, widely blamed on greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels. A UN panel has projected that emissions will cause more floods, droughts, disease and rising oceans.
Of the total of US$100 billion, the report said US$71 billion included initial public offerings and spending on research and development of sustainable energy while mergers and acquisitions added almost US$30 billion.
UNEP noted that gains by many renewable energy stocks had far outpaced rises in world stock markets in recent months but toned down comparisons with Internet stocks which surged in the late 1990s before the dot-com collapse in 2001.
Unlike dot-com firms, the report said renewables were based more solidly on existing technology, that many companies were generating strong revenues and had regulatory support.
"Betting on companies that already have technologies is easier than betting on companies that are developing the technologies of the future," Eric Usher, head of UNEP’s Energy Finance Unit in Paris, told Reuters.
The report said that renewable energies accounted for 18 percent of investment in world power generation, or US$21.5 billion, compared with 2 percent of installed capacity.
The report also said the International Energy Agency, which advises rich countries, seemed conservative in forecasting that renewables would account for just 9 percent of power generation by 2030. UNEP scenarios ranged up to 23 percent of the total.
Story by Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent, Reuters News Service
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Fruit could make ‘powerful fuel’
It is called dimethylfuran – it can store 40% more energy than ethanol, does not evaporate as easily and is less volatile.The scientists say that fructose can be obtained directly from fruits and plants or made from glucose.
But more work needs to be done to assess the environmental impact of this new fuel.
In Britain, researchers say that the technology now exists to create biodiesel not just from palm oil but from a range of materials including wood, weeds and plastic bags.
This process is called biomass to liquid and experts say that within six years up to 30% of Britain’s diesel requirements could be met from this source.
Jeremy Tomkinson of the UK’s National Non-Food Crops Centre said this next generation of biofuels could meet many needs beyond powering cars.
"The impact on society we’re hoping will be far wider than simply ‘we can give you a fuel now with a tenfold reduction in its carbon footprint’.
"Imagine now if chemicals that we use in the chemical industry also came from the same feed stock, the aircraft that we fly to New York in also runs on this? There’s the big potential," he said.
The biggest drawback to this process is cost.
Setting up new production facilities is estimated to be 10 times higher than for current biofuel refineries.
Story by Matt McGrath, BBC Environment:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/6224846.stmPublished: 2007/06/21 01:36:05 GMT
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Seven truths about China and climate change
China has officially passed the U.S. as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. This is likely to prompt a lot of misinformation and obfuscation from the usual quarters.
So here are some simple truths about China and global warming that everyone should remember as the debate proceeds. 1. The U.S. still vastly outpaces China in terms of per-capita GHG emissions, and will for the foreseeable future. That’s because the U.S. is a much more industrialized and richer country, with a GDP of around $13.2 trillion compared to China’s of $2.5 trillion.
2. The West in general and the U.S. in particular are responsible for the vast majority of manmade greenhouse gases presently in the atmosphere. The West also consumed many resources to the point of near-depletion, among them petroleum. That means China will be denied the ability to develop in the same way and at the same pace the U.S. did. In addition, China will have to contend with the already-inevitable impacts of global warming, which it did not create.
3. China still contains millions of people in abject poverty. Economic development there is an ethical and political imperative. For people in the West to discourage development in China is both futile and unethical.
4. If China develops along the same path as the West, it will condemn all of humanity to a Lord of the Flies future of disease, extreme weather, violent conflict, starvation, and mass immigration. Again: if China develops based on fossil fuels, humanity is f*cked.
5. Sustainable development for China – using green energy and cradle-to-cradle manufacturing – will be much, much more expensive than the default (Western) path to industrialization.
6. The only way China will choose to develop in a more sustainable-but-expensive way is if somebody else pays for it.
7. Who should pay for it? Those who reaped the benefits of fossil fuels and filled the atmosphere with carbon. Us. The West. Principally the U.S.
There you have it. The logic of the situation – the moral logic, the economic logic, the climatic logic – points in one direction: we need to start sending a lot of sustainable development money and technology, and know-how to China.
(And India, and Africa, etc.)Anybody want to tell me where this chain of reasoning breaks down? And if doesn’t, why so few people forthrightly face its conclusion?
Posted by David Roberts/Photograph by Peter Parks/AFP
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NSW Govt goes ahead with desal plant
The Premier, Morris Iemma, said rain over the past 14 days had added about seven and a half months to the longevity of Sydney’s drinking water supply."Over the past two weeks up to 320mm of rain has fallen on Sydney’s catchment areas, boosting the dams by 336 billion litres of water," Mr Iemma said.
"This is some of the best rain we’ve had in more than eight years, with strong dam inflows recorded over the past two weeks."
Mr Iemma said there was no immediate plan to ease water restrictions across Sydney or back down on a range of initiatives, including the desalination plan.
But he said an investigation would be undertaken to see if "certain environmental flows" could recommence.
Storms have cost over $350 millon – insurers
The cost of the storms that hit coastal areas of NSW this month has risen to more than $350 million, the Insurance Council of Australia says.
Insurers have received about 33,000 claims for damage to buildings, contents and vehicles since the first storm struck Newcastle and the Central Coast on June 8, the council says.
"Repair work is under way and in many cases claims have already been completed and have been paid out," chief executive Kerrie Kelly said today.
Affected policyholders who have not yet lodged claims should do so as soon as possible, Ms Kelly said.
She also issued a warning about continuing danger from electricity.
"The Insurance Council is urging everybody whose home or business was damaged by water to take particular care with the use of electrical power outlets and appliances that may have been submerged, to avoid possible personal harm caused by electrical shocks," she said.
Mr Iemma this week said the final bill was likely to exceed $1 billion.
Newcastle still under threat from Pasha Bulka oil spill
A potential oil spill remains a concern for maritime authorities trying to refloat the bulk carrier Pasha Bulker grounded off a Newcastle beach, NSW Ports Minister Joe Tripodi says.
Mr Tripodi today told NSW Parliament that crews were continuing preparations to salvage the stranded carrier at the end of this month.
"The Pasha Bulker is currently standing up well to the weather and heavy seas off the coast," he said.
"Following extensive discussions with the salvage team and Newcastle Port Corporation however, I’m advised there remains a risk of an oil spill during both the preparation for and the refloating attempt from Nobbys Beach.
"This is not a routine exercise – refloating a 40,000 tonne bulk carrier is a difficult task."
He said the operation was further complicated by the breach in the outer hull of the vessel.
Newcastle Port Corporation chief executive Garry Webb said up to 20 agencies had prepared equipment which could be used if a spill did occur.
The oil spill response vessel Shirley Smith remains in Newcastle on stand-by.
"Any potential oil spill response will be three-pronged, a combination of containment recovery, the possible use of dispersants and a shore-line clean up," Mr Webb said.