Wind and solar benchmarks for a 1.5°C world
This report presents a detailed methodology for determining the amount of wind and solar capacity that is required for a country to align with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature goal. While the focus
Germany
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Biotech groups await EU rethink on GM crops
Biotechnology companies, who argue they could help solve the global food crisis, are hoping for a boost on Wednesday as regulators attempt to overcome the deadlock over growing genetically modified food in the European Union. With just one crop, an insect-resistant maize, approved for cultivation in the past decade and after several governments instituted GM bans in recent months, in violation of EU law, the European Commission has called for a rethink of the process.
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Germany may spend 113 billion euros on carbon auctions
A European Union proposal to auction all carbon dioxide perm its rather than hand some out for free would cost Germany 113 billion euros($175.6 billion) in the eight years through 2020, according to industry group VIK. Both industrial and household consumers would bear the cost as energy providers raise tariffs to counter higher permit prices, VIK spokesman Roland Schmied said. Business clients would shoulder87 billion euros of the burden, while households would contribute 26.3 billion euros, he said.
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"Rules governing bio-safety aspects are inadequate'
Civil society organisations working on the food security issues here have expressed concern over what they describe as lack of public participation in policy-making on bio-safety in India in the run-up to the international conference of the signatories to the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety to be held in Bonn, Germany, from May 12 to 16.
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Transport in China: energy consumption and emissions of different transport modes
Transport volumes and structures in China change drastically as a result of economic and social development in the country. These changes are associated with increasing energy consumption and negative impacts on the environment, e.g. emissions of greenhouse gases and toxic air pollutants affecting not only the micro and macro climate but also health.
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Merkel Urges Germans To Buy Greener Cars
Germans should buy more fuel-efficient cars, Chancellor Angela Merkel said, even though her government is fighting European Union efforts to force down carbon dioxide emissions. Merkel, who regularly defends Germany's powerful luxury car industry against European Commission plans to clamp down on CO2 emissions, said more efficient cars could provide an answer for two problems: higher energy prices and climate change.
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Let's take cancer clusters seriously this time
Among the many environmental concerns surrounding nuclear power plants, there is one that provokes public anxiety like no other: the fear that children living near nuclear facilities face an increased risk of cancer. Though a link has long been suspected, it has never been proven. Now that seems likely to change.
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Chinese contaminant found in 11 countries
FDA Officials Say They Have Found A Clear Link Between Tainted Heparin And 81 Deaths In US Gardiner Harris Washington: A contaminated blood thinner from China has been found in drug supplies in 11 countries, and federal officials said Monday they had discovered a clear link between the contaminant and severe reactions now associated with 81 deaths in the United States.
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Merkel meets Abe, pans U.S. climate initiative
German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed skepticism over a U.S. initiative to halt the growth of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, during a meeting in Hanover on Sunday with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese officials said. All smiles: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe chat during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Hanover industrial fair on Sunday. AP
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Bad Policy, Not Biofuel, Drive Food Prices - Merkel
Bad agricultural policies and changing eating habits in developing nations are primarily to blame for rising food prices, not biofuel production as some critics claim, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday. Environmentalists and humanitarian groups have stepped up campaigning against biofuels, arguing they divert production away from food and animal feed while contributing to sharp rises in the price of cereals and milk products.
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Use less power to cut emissions
Although carbon-offsetting has gathered momentum as a way for companies to reduce their environmental impact, the best way to cut emissions is still to use less energy. And with oil trading at above $100 a barrel and energy bills continuing to rise, being more efficient makes financial as well as environmental sense. But many companies have yet to change fundamentally the way they operate in order to embrace energy efficiency.