Plodding climate talks stepping up to higher levelU.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, trying to revive long-stalled climate talks, told world environment ministers on Tuesday he is "deeply concerned" that many years of negotiation have proven largely fruitless.
"The pace of human-induced climate change is accelerating. We need results now, results that curb global greenhouse emissions," Ban declared at the opening of high-level talks at the annual U.N. climate conference.
In the two-week session's final days, environment ministers will seek agreement on knotty side issues in coping with... Read more.. Date : Dec 8
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Foraying into hydel, CESC to invest Rs 630 cr on Arunachal plant Announcing its foray into hydel business, power utility CESC Ltd today said it would invest about Rs 630 crore for setting up a 90-MW hydel power plant in Arunachal Pradesh.
Company Vice-Chairman Sanjiv Goenka told reporters that the porposed Jorong Hydro-Electricity Power Plant would come up in East Siang district.
''The locational study has been done. We have received the approval of the Arunachal Pradesh government for the project which involves construction of a diversion barrage across the Siyom river near Jarong village,'' he said.
Mr Goenka said the company... Read more.. Date : Dec 7
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Jairam's proposal to open voluntary action to international scrutiny rejectedEnvironment minister Jairam Ramesh's big gambit at Cancun has flopped, with his plan to pitch India as the dealmaker between the rich and the poor countries falling through on Sunday. The three other BASIC countries rejected Ramesh's proposal to open their domestic voluntary actions to international scrutiny without waiting for any returns from the developed world.
TOI had earlier reported that Ramesh intended to pitch India as the bridgemaker with his proposal that all countries with more than 1% of the global annual emissions should come under similar international scrutiny. ... Read more..Date : Dec 7
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UN Climate Talks Move Into Decisive Week As More Nations Pledge CO2 ReductionsU.N. climate talks moved into their decisive week Monday with the agenda dominated by future cuts in carbon emissions and keeping countries honest about their actions to control global warming.
Government ministers arrived in force to begin applying political muscle to negotiations that in the past week have narrowed some disputes, but which are likely to leave the toughest decisions for the final hours of the 193-nation conference on Friday.
Delegates were feeling pressure to produce at least a modest agreement from the two-week U.N. meeting to restore credibility to the... Read more.. Date : Dec 7
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LG to slash CO2 emissions with eco-magnesium
LG Electronics has committed to replacing conventional magnesium used in its mobile phones to a more environmentally friendly magnesium alloy dubbed eco-magnesium. To be rolled out by 2012, this would effectively reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 4kg for every handset manufactured.
"Eco-magnesium is one of LG's key strategies in our ongoing effort to transform... Read more.. Date : Dec 7
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India, France to enhance cooperation in climate change India and France have pledged to enhance cooperation at bilateral and global level to effectively address climate change.
In a joint statement, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh have decided to pursue this objective by working to achieve ambitious outcomes in Cancun in the form of balanced operational decisions on mandated issues in accordance with the Bali Road Map.
France and India have also reaffirmed their determination to continue to work in the framework of the bilateral working group on environment established in 2008, which is to... Read more.. Date : Dec 6
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U.N. talks to delay CO2 market deal for forests: EU The European Union wants to delay a deal to use carbon markets to reward countries which protect their tropical forests, beyond U.N. climate talks in Cancun, said EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard.
The aim of a U.N. deal on tropical forests is to pay countries which preserve their trees, and so cut carbon emissions, also called reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD).
The EU thought it was too early to pay countries by giving them tradable carbon offsets, which they could then sell to rich countries to help them meet their carbon emissions caps.... Read more.. Date : Dec 6
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UN Climate Envoys Consider 2-Year Deadline for Curbing CarbonDiplomats at United Nations climate talks this week will consider a two-year deadline for industrial nations to sign up for further cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions after Kyoto Protocol limits expire in December 2012.
Brazil, named by the UN to help broker an agreement on the future of Kyoto, wants industrial nations at this meeting to agree to make new reduction pledges within two years. Mexico, which is coordinating the discussions in Cancun, said the pledges would have to be in place in the first half of 2012.
Adopting the measures may help bolster the price of carbon... Read more.. Date : Dec 6
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REDD at Cancún Causes Angst in India Forest rights advocates and indigenous community organisations from India are adding their voices to what promises to become the newest division in the climate talks here: the inclusion of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation + in developing countries, or REDD+, as an agreement.
REDD+ essentially supports developing countries financially and technically, to either prevent deforestation or regenerate forests through afforestation.
The resulting carbon sequestration is aimed to reduce overall emissions, while the move itself will enable sustainable forestry and... Read more.. Date : Dec 5
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Waste management can battle climate change: UN Cutting emissions from the world's waste management companies could have a big impact in the fight against climate change, according to a United Nations report released on Friday.
"Waste and Climate Change: Global Trends and Strategy Framework" - prepared by the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) International Environmental Technology Centre - says the waste sector is particularly well placed to cut its contribution to global man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) and even become an emissions saver.
The report recommends reducing the amount of primary materials used in manufacturing,... Read more.. Date : Dec 4
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Bangalore Development Authority follows Palike, starts managing its waste After Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, it is now the turn of Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to manage its own waste. This will soon be replicated in all commercial establishments and upcoming layouts.
The development agency, on an average, generates 200 kg to 300 kg of waste of which 100 kg is organic waste and 100 kg is non-degradable waste.
Earlier, all this waste was either sent to the dump sites or disposed behind the BDA offices. But now with the help of Solid Waste Management Round Table, an NGO, the agency will manage all its organic waste and use the manure... Read more.. Date : Dec 4
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No extension for JNNURMThe urban development ministry's hope of getting more allocation for Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) - its flagship urban infrastructure modernisation programme launched in 2005 for a seven-year period - has been all but dashed.
On Friday, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee not only refused to entertain a request for more funds but also ruled out extension of JNNURM.
The ministry had written to Mukherjee seeking more funds to implement infrastructure projects and was also expecting an extension for JNNURM.
"The mission will have to be... Read more.. Date : Dec 4
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India scores major success at Cancun climate talksIndia has scored a major success at the Cancun climate change talks when its negotiators managed the backing of EU and G-77 for its proposal to set up a mechanism for technology transfer to deal with climate change.
The transfer of technology is crucial as developing countries, particularly the more vulnerable and less developed, do not have the financial or technical wherewithal to develop technologies that can... Read more.. Date : Dec 4
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JNNURM expenditure rises in Pune around Rs1,000 croreThe cost of Jawaharlal Nehru national urban renewal mission (JNNURM) projects implemented by the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has shot up by nearly Rs1,000 crore, thereby affecting the civic body’s annual budget.
Of the 14 JNNURM projects being undertaken by the PCMC at a cost of Rs2,601 crore, the outlay of nine has increased and the civic body will now require Rs3,565 crore to complete it.
The increased cost is equivalent to the civic body’s annual budget.
The civic body had launched the Rs2,601-crore JNNURM projects in 2006. For these plans,... Read more.. Date : Dec 3
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Business Leaders Make Case for Building a Global Low-Carbon EconomyThe Business Action for Climate 2010 event featured a keynote address by His Excellency, President Felipe Calderon, United States of Mexico, remarks by Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and a panel discussion of business and NGO leaders moderated by Charlie Rose with Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company, Andrew Liveris, Chairman and CEO, The Dow Chemical Company, James E. Rogers, Chairman, President, and CEO, Duke Energy, José Antonio Fernández, Chairman and CEO, FEMSA, and Carter Roberts, President and CEO, WWF-US... Read more.. Date : Dec 3
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JK’s untapped CDM potential $1100 mnIn a startling revelation of its kind, a study has pegged Jammu and Kashmir’s Clean Development Mechanism potential at 75 million Certified Emission Reduction (CER) credits per annum in various sectors of energy and forestry. This means the state can earn an unimaginable 1100 mn US dollars annually by selling carbon credits the CER would yield to it.
According to experts, the only requirement for the state to sell its carbon credits would be to get approved CDM certificate for its projects in different sectors from the United Nations. “Once these projects come up the carbon... Read more.. Date : Dec 3
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US, China close in on accord on key climate issue The United States and China appeared close to agreement Wednesday on a key issue that has troubled climate change negotiations, boosting prospects that talks on global warming will score their first success in years.
Analysts said the tone over measuring emissions had softened between the two major protagonists in the 193-nation talks. Over the past year they repeatedly exchanged accusations of reneging on commitments and undermining the talks.
The much disputed issue involves how countries account for their actions to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping... Read more.. Date : Dec 3
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Delegates say carbon credit program should stay Jamaica’s senior climate negotiator on Wednesday called for the continuation of one of the world’s largest carbon credit programs, which is at risk of collapse when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
The U.N.-backed Clean Development Mechanism, or CDM, which is defined in the Kyoto Protocol, allows developed countries under the treaty to meet their emission-reduction targets by carrying out an equivalent emission-reduction project in a poorer country.
Post-Copenhagen, a Cancun compromise?There are lowered expectations as the world tries to agree modest steps to rein in... Read more.. Date : Dec 3
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India has potential to be leader in green technology: Ramesh As he heads for crucial negotiations at UN climate change meet, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has said India has the potential to become a world leader in green technology especially in nuclear energy.
Trying to put across the message at the global platform that India need not always be seen as a recipient of technology, Ramesh said, "I have been saying repeatedly that challenge of climate change is god-sent opportunity to Indian business to become world leader in green technology.
"Let us not always keep talking of technology transfer," the minister, who will leave on... Read more.. Date : Dec 2
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U.N. climate talks struggle to overhaul carbon trade Countries differed sharply on Wednesday on the future of a $20 billion carbon market after 2012, casting doubt on any overhaul of the scheme at U.N. climate talks in Cancun.
The Kyoto Protocol allows rich countries to meet greenhouse gas emissions limits by paying for carbon cuts in developing countries, earning carbon offsets in return.
No new emissions limits have been agreed after the first phase of the protocol ends in 2012, stifling investment in the offset scheme, experts told the November 29-December 10 climate talks.
Some market participants and countries want... Read more.. Date : Dec 2
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Energy-efficient lights can save countries billions, massively cut emissions – UN report Countries across the world can massively reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and save billions of dollars in energy costs, according to a United Nations report released today at a major climate change conference in Mexico.
The 100 Country Lighting Assessment, produced by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), quantifies the emissions reductions and cost savings that can be achieved by shifting from obsolete incandescent lamp technology to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) in 100 countries that have not yet initiated a transition to... Read more.. Date : Dec 2
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Lake effect: World's lakes warming due to climate change The world's lakes are warming because of climate change, according to a study published last week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, a publication of the American Geophysical Union.
In the first worldwide survey of how lake temperatures are changing due to greenhouse gas emissions, scientists report that the Earth's largest lakes have warmed at an average rate of 0.81 degree (F) per decade during the past 25 years. Some lakes warmed as much as 1.8 degrees per decade.
The warming trend was global.
NASA scientists Philipp Schneider and Simon Hook used thermal... Read more.. Date : Dec 2
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U.N. climate talks must solve forest carbon riddle U.N. climate talks will struggle to agree new greenhouse gas targets next month unless they can solve a complex loophole where developed countries currently ignore emissions from logging plantation forests.
Environment ministers from almost 200 countries will gather in Cancun, Mexico, from November 29 to December 10 to try to toughen the world's response to climate change.
U.N. executives want rich countries in Cancun to make present emissions pledges binding under a U.N. deal, now expected to be finalized in December 2011.
One of the biggest hurdles to agreeing such... Read more.. Date : Dec 2
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U.N. panel issues 20 million carbon offsets
A United Nations panel overseeing trade in carbon offsets under the Kyoto Protocol decided late on Friday to issue 20 million tonnes of offsets, the information company Point Carbon reported.
The panel, known as the executive board, oversees a $20 billion trade in offsets which allows rich countries to meet greenhouse gas emission limits by paying for carbon cuts in developing nations.
The trade has been dominated by industrial projects which destroy a powerful greenhouse gas called HFC 23, a waste product from the manufacture of refrigerants, mostly... Read more.. Date : Dec 1
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Datacraft deploys green infrastructure solution for a large FMCG conglomerate in India Datacraft announced today that it has been selected by one of India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies to integrate and implement an innovative green infrastructure facility project in India. The move comes with the conglomerate's decision to consolidate its infrastructure and relocate its headquarters to a new facility. The new environment is slated to be a 100% green infrastructure compliant facility, consisting of four buildings that house the organisation's key departments and IT infrastructure. The energy-efficient systems and collaborative IT infrastructure are... Read more.. Date : Dec 1
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