CARBON IN THE NEWS
WEEK 26 2012
Postal system may be first to use credits to cancel all
emissions
The postal system could become the first industry in the world
to eliminate carbon emissions as it seeks to buy carbon credits under the new global trading system. Speaking
at the second Sustainable Development Seminar for Postal Operation in Asia and
Pacific Countries in HCM City yesterday, said: “The carbon emission fund in
postal services should be submitted at the Universal Postal Union’s (UPU) next
meeting.” (The UPU is a department of the UN.) In the last 20 years many
environmental solutions have become outdated while some have been successful,
but pollution has become a more and more serious threat, he said. “In the last
two decades, floods increased by 2.3 times, in 2012 drought increased by 40 per
cent,” he pointed out. “The meeting aims to share experiences and skills to
achieve sustainable management for a better environment.” About 50 delegates
from 20 Asia – Pacific countries, international organisations such as the
International Labour Organisation, Global Union of Trade, Asia-Pacific Postal
Union, and France’s La Poste are taking part in the three-day meeting that ends
tomorrow. To read this article in full click
here
140 MW of New Wind and
Hydro for Costa Rica by 2015
In the next two and half years, Costa
Rica is planning to add 100 megawatts of wind power and 40 from
hydroelectric. While this amount is a fraction of the 1,000 MW of wind
power Uruguay is trying to add in the same time frame, it is still an
ambitious plan. It also meshes well with Costa Rica’s overall plan to
become carbon neutral by 2021. Planting trees to offset its carbon emissions,
combined with creating more clean energy, is the country’s basic approach to
having a net contribution to climate change of zero. “In the case of
electricity, the aim is to stop burning petroleum derivatives. The projects
included in this process will contribute to this objective of carbon
neutrality,” said Ulises Zuniga Blanco, an employee of Instituto
Costarricense de Electricidad, Costa Rica’s government-managed utility. The new
wind power farms could all be operational by 2014, and the hydroelectric
project by the following year. In 2011, Costa Rica generated about 73% of its
power from hydroelectric, but just 4% from wind power. Wind power
potential there is said to be good, with many rural
areas experiencing winds of 15 to 20 mph. To read this article in
full click
here
O2 becomes the first
network operator to certify carbon footprints with the Carbon Trust
O2 works together
with the Carbon Trust to calculate and certify carbon emissions of voice
and data services. O2 has become the first mobile network operator to
have carbon footprints independently verified by the Carbon Trust. Using
our Footprint Expert software O2 calculated the greenhouse
gas emissions embedded throughout the entire lifecycle of its voice and
data services. Gareth Rice, Head of Environment at O2 says; 'Our aim is to
develop the UK's most carbon-efficient network, putting our own operations
under the microscope and looking for ways to reduce the footprint we leave on
the world. By evaluating our impact in conjunction with the Carbon Trust we
feel we are doing just that.' Darran Messem, Managing Director of Certification
at the Carbon Trust commented: 'We congratulate O2 for becoming the first
mobile network to have telecommunication service carbon
footprints independently verified by the Carbon Trust. We look forward to
supporting O2 in its Think Big ambitions.' To read this article in full click
here
CO2 Credit Exchange Opens
in Texas
The Texas Climate & Carbon
Exchange, which allows companies to voluntarily offset emissions by buying
credits, opened Thursday in Austin through a partnership with Australia-based
Carbon Trade Exchange. TCCX opened with one client, the city of Beppu,
Japan, Dallas Morning News reported. The exchange doesn’t yet have any
customers who want to sell carbon credits, DMN reported. Carbon Trade Exchange,
which has more than 145 members in 22 countries, will provide the electronic
trading platform technology and infrastructure to TCCX. The Texas
exchange will offer a lower membership fee than exchanges in countries
that regulate greenhouse gases. Texas emits more greenhouse gases than any
other state, according to EPA data. The exchange will provide brokerage
services for Texas companies and allow these business to offset their emissions
and become carbon-neutral, CTX said. The Texas exchange will promote the
origination as well as the selling and purchasing of carbon credits on the CTX
global exchange platform. To read this article in full click
here
Norway pledges $141 mln for
Africa clean energy
Norway is to provide 850 million
Norwegian crownsto fund clean energy projects in Ethiopia, Kenya and Liberia,
finance that could unlock private sector investment in new types of carbon
markets, the country's government said on Monday. The African countries will
get the cash as part of the Norway-led Energy+ Partnership, which aims to give
the world's poorest countries access to energy and encourage a new market-based
system to limit emissions from global energy generation. Efforts to promote new
means of financing cleaner energy in developing countries comes at a time when
investment in current U.N. mechanisms is shrinking fast. "Part of the
motivation for this funding is to develop pilot projects that could be eligible
for future new market mechanisms and attract sufficient investment from the
carbon market by 2015," said Hans Olav Ibrekk, a policy director with
Norway's foreign ministry. Through the terms of the deal, which was signed last
week at the Rio+20 climate talks, Ethiopia will get NOK 500 million to invest
in low carbon energy, forests and agriculture. To read this article in full click here
Retailer grows green fingers
It is five years since Marks and
Spencer launched Plan A, a sustainability programme with the aim of turning the
high street bellwether into Britain’s greenest retailer. Sir Stuart Rose, the
former chairman and chief executive of M&S, said when the set of 100
environmental initiatives was launched that it would be no easy task. “This is
a deliberately ambitious and, in some areas, difficult plan,” he said. Indeed,
he said M&S was “calling this “Plan A” because there is no ‘plan B’”. Nevertheless,
Sir Stuart persevered, as he believed that to stay one step ahead of consumer
demands, M&S needed to become a green brand. And according to Neil
Saunders, managing director of Conlumino, the consultancy: “In terms of
sustainability, it is one of the retail success stories.” That success was
recognised on Wednesday night when M&S was named Responsible Business of
the Year at Business in the Community’s annual awards dinner in London (full
list of Winners and Highly Commended companies in BITC’s Awards for Excellence ).
The dinner was due to be attended by the Prince of Wales, who has been
president of BITC for 27 years. To read this article in full click
here
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