Ambition of only 2 developed countries sufficient for Copenhagen accord meeting 2°C target

Only 2 out of 10 developed countries’ reduction targets submitted to the Copenhagen Accord qualify as ‘sufficient’ to keep global temperature rise below 2°C, finds the update of the ’Climate Action Tracker´ (www.climateactiontracker.org). The reduction targets of all countries currently associated with the Accord lead to a striking inconsistency with the 2°C goal defined in the very same Accord. The current pledges leave the world heading for a global warming of over 3oC above pre-industrial levels by 2100.

The Climate Action Tracker is a science based assessment of Ecofys, Climate Analytics and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) that regularly provides updated information on countries’ greenhouse gas reduction proposals.
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Tags: climate, climate change, climate tracker, copenhagen, global warming, reduction, temperatures

Green Building Growth Highlights Consultants Top Ten Trends for 2010

Green building industry leader, Jerry Yudelson says that green building will continue to grow in spite of the global credit crisis and the ongoing economic recession in most countries. The green building consultant published his annual Top Ten list of green building trends, which included this and other insights.
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Tags: building, efficient, Energy, green, growth, solar, Technology

Water experts warn of Copenhagen blind spot

Professor Patricia Wouters, Director of the UNESCO Centre for Water
Law, Policy and Science, University of Dundee, today fired a shot across
the bows of climate change negotiators in Copenhagen, warning them not
to ignore one of the planet’s most vital natural resources of all -
water.
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Tags: clean water, climate change, copenhagen, drought, dundee, global warming, resource, scarce, university, water, water law

University awarded for taking action on climate change

The University of Sheffield has shown-off its green side after being awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for reducing its carbon intensity by 3.8 per cent over the past three years.

The Carbon Trust Standard is the world’s first carbon award that requires an organisation to take action on climate change by measuring, managing and reducing its carbon footprint to make real reductions year-on-year.

At the University, numerous initiatives have – and are being – undertaken to improve energy efficiency and drive down carbon emissions and it has been successful in obtaining grant aid to fund some of these schemes. These include improving the efficiency of motors in a large number of University buildings, making improvements to heating and lighting controls and insulating pipework and loft spaces. The initiatives will reduce carbon emissions at the University by around 800 tonnes per year.
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Tags: carbon trust, climate change, deborah meadon, dragons den, environment, hilary benn, university of sheffield

First Study Abroad Program on Climate Change and Sustainable Development Beginning Summer 2010

The Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean (CATHALAC) is pleased to introduce an eight-week Study Abroad Program, focusing on Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Through professional training, hands-on learning, and cultural immersion, students will embark on experiencing how global climate change influences sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Now, students will have the opportunity to explore firsthand the diverse direct and indirect effects of climate change on natural and human systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. Students are encouraged both individually and as a group to delve into complex topics and address challenging questions relevant to contemporary regional and national climate change problems,” said Zvia Leibler Danon, CATHALAC’s officer for international cooperation and development.
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Tags: abroad, cathalac, climate change, students, study, sustainable development

A Zeppelin’s-Eye View on Climate Change in the Bay

By using a tourist, sight-seeing Zeppelin airship to study halophilic, extremophile organisms in the San Francisco bay salt ponds, scientists are looking for clues that could indicate the consequences of climate change through modeling ecosystem change.

The SETI Institute and NASA have teamed up with Airship Ventures, Inc. to use the only Zeppelin in the United States to track how reverting a hypersaline ecosystem (salt pond) back to its original state as a wetland can be used to develop a dynamic predictive model of microbial ecosystem change.
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Tags: climate change, ecosystem, organisms, salt ponds, san francisco, seti, zeppelin

Green spaces saving lives, the cosmic technology keeping an eye on developing countries, and capturing carbon

The British Science Festival will be in Surrey from 5-10 September, bringing over 350 of the UK’s top scientists and engineers to discuss the latest developments in science with the public. In addition to talks and debates at the University of Surrey, there will be a host of events throughout the county showcasing the innovation of scientific Surrey.
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Tags: carbon, climate, environment, festival, green, Science, spaces, Technology

Air quality report issued

The European commission has produced a report on air quality.  In total 33 countries including the 25 EU member states have provided air quality data for 2007. Read more

Tags: air, carbon, commision, european, ozone, pollution, quality

Are plants our saviour from the Climate Crunch

Could plants save us from the rising carbon dioxide levels from human emissions and greenhouse gases and save us from the Climate Crunch?

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Tags: carbon, change, climate, climate crunch, crunch, emissions, gases, glaciers, greenhouse, ice age, plants, pollution