BEIJING (AFP) — China has more than tripled its target for wind power capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2020, likely making it the world’s fastest growing market for wind energy technology, state press said.
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China triples wind power capacity goal: AFP
Monday, May 4th, 2009House climate bill markup plans uncertain as Dems lack votes
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009Prospects of a House subcommittee markup next week on a major energy and global warming bill appear dim as the panel’s Democratic leaders head into the weekend without a clear signal that they have enough votes to move the legislation.
via House climate bill markup plans uncertain as Dems lack votes – NYTimes.com.
Joel Brokaw: A Global Warming Solution Rises from the Junk Heap?
Friday, May 1st, 2009‘In desert regions around the world, large parabolic shaped mirrors are beginning to crop up that may finally make solar energy deliver on its promise. What makes them so special from other solar complexes is the device they’re connected to — an updated version of a 19th-century engine that used to pump water to the rooftop storage towers dotting New York City’s skyline. A Stirling engine, no larger than a household washing machine, converts sunlight into electricity six times more efficiently than other technologies in common use. When scientists do the math, the numbers begin to add up. In fact, researchers at Sweden’s Chalmers Institute of Technology estimate that the entire world’s daily consumption of electricity could be supplied by a Stirling solar farm equivalent to 6 percent of the Sahara Desert area.’
via Joel Brokaw: A Global Warming Solution Rises from the Junk Heap?.
Al Gore calls on world to burn less wood and fuel to curb 'black carbon' | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009‘Soot from engines, forest fires and partly burned fuel is collecting in Arctic and causing north pole to warm at alarming rate
The world must burn less diesel and wood, Nobel peace prize-winner Al Gore said yesterday, as the soot produced is accelerating the melting of ice in polar and mountainous regions.’
Al Gore "Strongly Urges" Support of Climate Legislation
Monday, April 27th, 2009April 24, 2009. Al Gore appeared before before the House Energy and Commerce Committee to support the proposed climate change bill:
“…moreover the best way to secure a global agreement that guarantees that other nations will also reduce their global warming pollution is for our country to lead the world in meeting this historic challenge”
Why It's Not Possible to Solve Climate Change Without China | UC Berkeley Webcasts
Monday, April 13th, 2009See the video of Orville Schell’s talk here: UC Berkeley Webcasts | Video and Podcasts.
Skip ahead to about 6:30 to avoid the introduction.
Orville Schell
China wants importers to cover some emission costs | Markets | Bonds News | Reuters
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) – Countries that buy Chinese goods should be held responsible for the carbon dioxide emitted by the factories that make them in any global plan to reduce greenhouse gases, a Chinese official said on Monday.
“About 15 percent to 25 percent of China’s emissions come from the products which we make for the world, which should not be taken by us,” said Gao Li, director of China’s Department of Climate Change.
via China wants importers to cover some emission costs | Markets | Bonds News | Reuters.
Copenhagen Climate Conference. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen's concluding remarks
Thursday, March 12th, 2009Copenhagen, Denmark. March 12, 2009
End section of a statement by Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the closing of the Copenhagen Climate Convention.
“A global agreement in Copenhegen, is not just about tackling climate change. It will constitute a new era in multilateral relations. It will be a unique occasion to construct a global solution based on mutual responsibility to act and to assist. People demand action.
Goverment must realize that it is in their interest to act. Government will fall if they fail. Politics must not be in the way of necessary solutions. The world needs better goverment.
So in conclusion, let me repeat the key messages:
- Urgency. We must come to an agreement here in Copenhagen in December.
- Direction. We must set a long term target.
- Action. We must commit to short term efforts.
- Fairness. The rich must assist the poor.
- Opportunity. Green growth is the future.
- Governance. If we fail to act, we fall.
Thank you.”
Copenhagen Climate Conference Begins, 'Climate Change, Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions'
Monday, March 9th, 2009Copenhagen, Denmark. March 10, 2009
Today a three day conference on climate change begins here in a drizzly and cold, yet still ‘wonderful’ Copenhagen. This event is part of the build up to the pivotal November-December COP-15 meetings which will attempt to draft a new international agreement to replace the Kyoto protocol which is due to expires in 2012.
A major goal of this conference is to present the new scientific evidence and findings since the IPCC report of 2007. Since much of that report was based on work from 2006, there are essentially three years of work to review and then present to the policy makers attending the November-December meetings.
The program of speakers and scientists, including Dr. James E. Hansen of NASA, covers a dense collection of scientific and relevant social topics ranging from ‘cryosphere, instability, seal level rise’, ‘vulnerability in carbon sinks’, to ‘sustainable urban deveolopment’. Promises to be quite an education.
Copenhagen harbor Nyhavn where Hans Christian Anderson once lived.