For billions of people, mountain meltwater is essential for drinking water and sanitation, food and energy security, and the integrity of the environment. But today, as the world warms, glaciers are melting faster than ever, making the water cycle more unpredictable and extreme. And because of glacial retreat, floods, droughts, …
Boreal forests serve as important global sources or sinks of carbon (C) and wildfire is a major driver of C storage in these forests. Although fire releases CO2 to the atmosphere, it also converts plant biomass into forms of black carbon, such as charcoal, that are resistant to microbial attack …
Climate-conscious consumers want to cut their carbon footprints. Retailers have responded, initially, labelling air freighted produce with an airplane. But this simplistic strategy hit developing country producers in an unfair way, and today schemes to consider the full carbon lifecycle of goods are underway.
Meeting in Bangkok in early April, climate change negotiators started grappling with key trade related issues, such as intellectual property rights and competitiveness concerns. Delegates also considered the responsibilities that countries could take on in the post-Kyoto climate regime they hope agree on by 2009. India proposed basing future commitments …
The Earth's climate is changing because the composition of our atmosphere is being altered, primarily as a consequence of human activity. We are now also experiencing a non-cyclical rise in the global temperature caused by the accumulation of the so-called "greenhouse gases"--carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and others. The bottom …
Any serious attempt to deal with climate change must involve transport. Transport accounts for 13% of all world greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, though this figure takes into account CO2 sources other than fuel combustion, such as forestry, land-use and biomass burning. A look at CO2 emissions from fuel combustion only …
The radiations from the sun can be converted into electrical energy using devices like solar cells. The device that can directly convert solar energy into usable electrical energy is known as solar cell or photovoltaic cell. The voltage generated from a single photovoltaic cell is typically only a fraction of …
The purpose of this report is not to prescribe specific instruments or technologies. Different technologies and different policy instruments can be applied to different sectors and countries. Indeed, the more differentiated the global strategy, the greater the scope for learning, so it is important not to be unduly prescriptive on …
This book looks at methods to maintain a level playing field for US industry under domestic climate policy. Through an assessment of the economics and trade flows of key carbon-intensive industries, the authors evaluate a number of proposals included in current legislation. They argue that, given the limited role of …
Ecosystems of the Iwokrama rainforest reserve in Guyana have been sold off. A uk -based private equity firm, Canopy Capital, has purchased the rights to environmental services generated by the 371,000-hectare tropical forest. In return, the firm has guaranteed a "meaningful contribution' to the forest's running costs for five years. …
Australia has launched its first carbon capture and storage (ccs) project. Touted as the deepest geological storage of CO2, the project will capture and compress about 100,000 tonnes of CO2 and inject it into a depleted natural gas reservoir two km underground. While there are similar carbon storage facilities in …
A group of 18 us states and environmental organizations have once again sued the us environmental protection agency (epa). The petition is an attempt to force the us government to come up with a legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles. The petitioners accused epa of deliberately "dragging …
fuel efficient: South Korea will soon become the first nation to set a national greenhouse gas emissions target, though the country is not obliged to make mandatory emission reductions under the Kyoto Protocol. On March 24, it decided to freeze overall greenhouse gas emissions at 2005 levels until 2012. Under …
biofuels have often been billed as the silver bullets of climate change. In recent times, however, their benefits have come under scrutiny. One analysis suggests that clearing forests and savannah to grow biofuels releases vast amount of carbon into the atmosphere, far more than the carbon spared from the atmosphere …
Mumbai's suburban railway network may earn some brownie points in its efforts to overhaul the system to make it energy-efficient and travel-friendly. New braking and duct systems have been introduced in some coaches. But grey areas remain. "Every year we buy power worth Rs 300 crore to run the suburban …
When HSBC India joined hands with the ministry of science & technology and the ministry of earth sciences last week to set up the Earth Sciences Forum to address climate change challenges, it was not a one-off initiative by the bank. HSBC's other climate change initiatives include HSBC Climate Partnership, …
Rich nations, including the US and UK, are planning to push rapidly industrialising nations like China and India into accepting "back door" limits on their greenhouse gas emissions. They want climate negotiators to agree global technical standards on "dirty" manufacturing industries like aluminium, iron and steel, cement and chemicals - …
Environmentalists, policy makers, industry and schoolchildren came together to lend support to the green cause during the Earth Care Awards function held on World Earth Day The debate over climate change is now urgent, demanding the attention of citizens and authorities everywhere. Taking an important step to increase awareness about …
Atmospheric measurements show that the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere is currently '385 parts per million (ppm) and rising fast. But this value is a global average that tells us nothing about the regional distribution of greenhouse gas emissions. As the world embraces myriad mitigation strategies, it must …
