Welcome ! As a young French Marketing professional with a Master's in International Management I have been selecting since January 2007 the latest headlines and best researches on sustainable development, climate change, cleantech and the world energy sector. Sounds great ? Don't hesitate to subscribe now !
Here is why cleantech will be a buzzword all throughout 2012 : the United Nations declared this year will be the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. As Catherine Banet notes on her blog :
” (the) aim is twofold: increase awareness and find solutions on access to energy (with the objective of universal access by 2030) that is, in addition, affordable, clean and safe. ” Here are the main objectives for 2030 :
Ensuring universal access to modern energy services ; Doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency ; Doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. (via Cleantechies).
To CleanTechies : ” The increased use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in the production of refrigerators, air conditioners, and other products could play a significant role in accelerating global warming “
The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) study notes that the projected emissions of HFCs by 2050 could equal nine billion tons of carbon dioxide — or about one-third of current CO2 emissions.
HFCs were introduced in the 1990s to replace chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were a threat to the ozone layer. So, this was a good idea with a strong downside. Continue »
The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which is starting today in Durban, South Africa is THE event to follow during the next two weeks.
According to Dr. Rajendra Pachauri ” Global climate talks need to focus on the growing threat from extreme weather and shift away from political squabbles that hobble progress toward a tougher pact to rein in greenhouse gas emissions. “
Indeed, time is almost up if we want to have a chance to fix the various problems we are facing, and fixing them relatively without too much problems.
To the AFP : ” Brazil, South Africa, India and China said Saturday that November’s UN climate talks should aim to extend the Kyoto Protocol, the only binding global deal to cut greenhouse gases. “
” The four key emerging powers – seen as critical to the success of any future effort to combat climate change – said keeping Kyoto alive should be the “central priority” at the key UN summit in South Africa. “
” The bloc released the statement after two days of talks in southeast Brazil to prepare for the next UN climate conference scheduled to take place in Durban from November 28 to December 9. “ Continue »
To Common Dreams : ” Humanity is near to breaching the sustainability of Earth, and needs a technological revolution greater and faster than the industrial revolution to avoid “a major planetary catastrophe,” warns a new United Nations report.
“The World Economic and Social Survey 2011: The Great Green Technological Transformation,” published today by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs calls for investments of at least $1.9 trillion per year to avert this catastrophe.
I don’t know about you but I have lost count of how many times the United Nations called for action and how nations around the world ignored those calls… Continue »
Here we go again… New climate talks, same disappointment. Preliminary talks took place in Bonn, Germany, to discuss the future of the Kyoto Protocol, which will end next year. To the Guardian, the negotiations aren’t progressing :
Even if they are making progress on ” technical issues “, countries are ” still nowhere near agreement in the three key areas of finance, greenhouse gas emission cuts and the future of the Kyoto protocol. “
Most if not all countries see the current financial and economic crises as excuses for delaying action when they are contrarily to what they think reasons to push the cleantech and energy revolution forward ! Continue »
To Cleantechies : ” A new UN report warns that humans could triple the natural resources they consume by 2050 unless economic growth is “decoupled” from current consumption rates.”
” In developed nations, individuals consume an average of 16 tons per capita of minerals, ores, fossil fuels, and biomass each year, and as much as 40 or more tons per capita in some nations.”
” (…) The panel also suggests more investment in technological, financial, and social innovation to at least freeze per capita consumption. ” For more details, please check out the official webpage.
To the New York Times : ” The population of the world, long expected to stabilize just above 9 billion in the middle of the century, will instead keep growing and may hit 10.1 billion by the year 2100.”
” Growth in Africa remains so high that the population could than triple in this century, rising from today’s one billion to 3.6 billion, the report said — a sobering forecast for a continent struggling to provide food and water for its people.”
“The new report comes just ahead of a demographic milestone, with the world population expected to pass 7 billion in late October, only a dozen years after it surpassed 6 billion.” More at the UN website.
To the UNEP : ” Renewable energy was given a boost with the opening of the first General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) which opened in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
The two-day meeting with 800 delegates from 150 countries confirmed in its first session that Abu Dhabi would host the new intergovernmental organization that will advocate for renewable energy worldwide.
Established two years ago, IRENA is backed by both the developed and developing world as a key new catalyst towards the expansion of renewable energy.” We can thus wish them all the success they need.
According to the Canadian magazine Corporate Knights : ” If the concept of a sustainable city sounds like a paradox, that’s because it is, according to physicist Geoffrey West.”
” Ironically, because of their urban “metabolism,” cities require only 85 per cent of the resources necessary to double in size, and they’re more energy efficient than rural communities. “
The article follows the release of another United Nations study dedicated to better cities. Make sure to read both the report and the article if you are interested by the topic.
