China ‘Moving to Lead on Climate Change,’ Says Report
Both China and the U.S., the world’s two principal emitters of greenhouse gases, have been making significant recent progress on tackling climate change, a report by an influential Australian advisory group says. Its report, The Critical Decade: Global Action Building on Climate Change, has particular praise for China, saying its efforts “demonstra… Read More
GM Urges Obama, Congress to Unite on Climate Change
General Motors called on Barack Obama and Congress to work together on climate change on Wednesday, saying the effort would be good for business. GM, which makes the plug-in Chevy Volt, was the first of the big three car makers to sign on to a new push from the business world for greater action on global warming from Washington, the Climate Declar… Read More
Six to See: Slideshow of the Week’s Top Climate News
No matter where in the world we go, this week’s stories show the effects of a changing climate. … Read More
Links to Solar May Forge New Ties Across Mediterranean
The world’s largest concentrated solar power plant opened in March in the middle of Abu Dhabi’s western region, amid the country’s giant oil fields. The $600 million plant’s hundreds of mirrors direct sunlight towards towers full of water. These are heated to drive steam turbines that provide enough electricity for thousands of homes. In a … Read More
Countries in Asia Cutting Carbon Faster than Europe
When it comes to prowess in moving towards a low-carbon economy, some countries in Asia are increasingly outpacing Europe and the United States, a new report shows. Three of the top G20 countries best placed to compete in the global low-carbon economy are now from East Asia, having overtaken their European and American competitors, according to an… Read More
Two Key Climate Change Concepts Are ‘Misunderstood’
Damon Matthews of Concordia University in Montreal and Susan Solomon of MIT make the case that policymakers, the media, and to some extent the public have misunderstood the implications of two key concepts — the “irreversibility” of climate change, and the amount of global warming already in the pipeline due to historical greenhous… Read More
New Process May Make Renewable Energy Reliable at Last
Solar energy is virtually limitless, generates no planet-warming greenhouse gases — and is useless between sunset and sunrise. Wind energy is also plentiful and emits no carbon, and it can be harvested day or night, but not when the air is calm. A discovery announced in Thursday’s issue of Science may offer a way around these daunting problems, … Read More
Africa’s Energy ‘Can Drive its Growth,’ Say Researchers
Africa can go a long way towards lifting itself out of poverty and ending its chronic shortage of energy by using its own resources, a report says. The report, entitled Powering Africa through Feed-in Tariffs – advancing renewable energies to meet the continent’s electricity needs, says renewable energy feed-in tariff policies (REFiTs) can unlock r… Read More
