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In 1997, Governments throughout the world took an environmental step and agreed on the Kyoto Protocol. This established targets for reductions in emissions from a basket of greenhouse gases emitted by industrialised countries. However, since then, and despite all of the political platitudes for environmentalism, recent negotiations at COP6 in The Hague demonstrated the difficulties of practical implementation...
The year 2000 saw the establishment of the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association (CREIA), the convening of the first international trade fair targeting renewables in China, and the inclusion in the draft National Tenth Five-Year Plan of a proposal to develop a mandated renewable energy market-share mechanism. These are all signs that the Chinese renewable energy dragon is awakening to establish...
The world's largest sustainable energy fair, Sustain 2001, gets underway in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, this month and the sheer size of the event is a reminder that the days when Renewable Energy (RE) was regarded as an 'alternative' abstract form of energy have long since gone.
The fifty-three years since India's independence have seen an expansion in the total energy use in the country with a shift from non-commercial to commercial sources. The use of commercial energy has increased ten fold over this period. Especially in the last 10 years where India has witnessed relatively faster growth in the economy (6.4% GDP growth for 1999-2000) and subsequent energy demand. Nevertheless,...
With an increasing world population and a growing economy, the demand for energy is sure to grow. The latest predictions for world energy demand all show an upward trend and even with increased energy efficiency we will still need substantially more energy by 2050 than we use today. Where's it to come from? Dr Federico Casci of the European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA) organisation believes...
The most successful complex systems in the world are simple biological organisms like bacteria, which work on tight closed cycles of energy and nutrients. Collection, storage and use are linked by complex feedback cycles, constantly fine tuning to maximise the efficiency of the system. This is how the buildings of the future will function. Energy is the essential nutrient of modern civilisation and...
Established in 1994, the Clean Energy Foundation was set up to help realise and implement projects prepared and developed by an international alternative energy group based at the Hacettepe University Physics Engineering Department, Ankara, Turkey. The New and Clean Energy Group was struggling to advance research and developments at the time so the Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Council...
The underlying causes (and the potential consequences) of global warming are the subject of increasing debate and legislation. For example, in the UK a Climate Change Levy has just been introduced to help control and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Additional impetus to combating global warming has been added by the recent publication of the Third Assessment Report...
Wind energy programmes started in India during the 1980s and gained momentum during 1992-1993 mainly due to the participation of private developers who saw wind as a viable alternative source of power for their existing industrial activities. The liberal incentives provided by the Government of India like 100 per cent depreciation in the first year itself, a five year tax holiday; wheeling/banking,...
The UK government is keen to be seen as providing international leadership on the environment. This was one of the main themes of Prime Minister, Tony Blair's speech to a Green Alliance audience in October last year. The point was reiterated when the Prime Minister spoke on a WWF platform in March, where the topic of the speech itself was the international environment. That the Prime Minister identified...
Water is the basic element for human survival. A high percentage of the population that is without adequate water facilities mainly for agricultural needs is concentrated in solar-abundant rural areas. Most of these areas are in developing and under-developed countries and are deprived of conventional sources of energies, either due to natural shortages or because of institutional and economic reasons...
Solar energy offers enormous potential for a tropical country like India. There are ongoing programmes to tap the potential both for stand alone and grid connected solar PV systems, and solar thermal systems. TC Malhotra, Indian Correspondent for Refocus reports.
A powerful tool for the promotion of the use of the solar thermal systems is the existence of technical standards and regulations for these industrial products. These technical specifications permit the quality improvement of the products and, consequently, the increase of the consumers' confidence to this technology. Eva Kotsaki, CEN/TC 312 Secretary, CRES - Energy Policy and Planning Division, Greece...
This column discusses the developments of the markets and the changes in policy regarding the supply and use of green energy. It is the product of a co-operation between Refocus and www.greenprices.com. In each issue, key information will be presented on green energy both in Europe and abroad. This month focuses on the use of biomass for the production of green energy.
Europe's Sixth Environmental Action Programme (EAP), which has been proposed by the European Commission's Environment Directorate General, places special emphasis on the development and use of more renewable energies. In fact, the Commission has gone so far as to state, 'In energy, we need to promote a further shifting from the coal- and oil-fired power generation towards lower CO 2 emission...
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