University of Leicester researchers are set to use new technology they have developed to monitor the impact of increased traffic on pollution levels in London during the Olympics. The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are expected to draw 11 million visitors from around the world to the UK’s capital for seven weeks, and 3 million … Read more
A new Worldwatch Institute report stresses the urgent need for cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions. Although global emissions of carbon dioxide (C02) declined slightly in 2009, the beginnings of economic recovery led to an unprecedented emissions increase of 5.8 percent in 2010. In 2011, global atmospheric levels of CO2 reached a high of 391.3 … Read more
A new report, commissioned by SHV Energy, has found that European residential heating systems fuelled by Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) are 20 per cent lower in carbon emissions, compared to those fuelled by heating oil. The study, Carbon footprints of heating oil and LPG heating systems, also found that the carbon emissions from an LPG … Read more
The UK Government’s plans to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies to reduce carbon emissions have received a cautious welcome. A new report concludes that most of the uncertainties facing these technologies can – in principle – be resolved ‘Carbon capture and storage: realising the potential?’ is the culmination of a two-year project funded … Read more
The Government has announced a review and public consultation of the ‘smoky coal ban’ regulations. The ban on the marketing, sale and distribution of bituminous fuel (or ‘smoky coal ban’) was first introduced in Dublin in 1990 in response to severe episodes of winter smog that resulted from the widespread use of smoky coal for … Read more
Data submitted by the EPA to the EU Commission show that emissions of Greenhouse Gases in 2011 for companies in Ireland covered by the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) are considerably lower than in 2010. The data for 2011 shows emissions have dropped sharply to 15.77 Mtonnes from 17.36 Mtonnes in 2010. The reduction is largely … Read more
NUI Galway’s first-year Engineering students have scooped first, second and third prize in the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport Ireland ‘Student Idea of the Year’ Awards. The awards are presented to the originators of the most innovative ideas which could make the most significant contribution to some aspect of the transport industry in Ireland. … Read more
Dublin City Council has officially opened the Canal Way Cycle Route. The 3.6 km off-road cycle route runs from Portobello to Sheriff St along the Grand Canal. It passes Leeson St Bridge, Dublin’s Docklands and over Samuel Beckett Bridge. It is the first part of a planned cross city, off-road cycle route. The route has … Read more
Over 75 scientists will gather at NUI Galway for the annual project meeting of CARBOCHANGE (Changes in carbon uptake and emissions by oceans in a changing climate) on 7-9 March. The meeting will take place in the Aula Maxima at the University. CARBOCHANGE is a large-scale integrating collaborative research project of €7 million funded by … Read more
Pressure is mounting on the EU to raise the carbon price under the Emissions Trading System (ETS) – the EU’s main tool for reducing industrial greenhouse gas emissions. The European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee has just voted by a significant majority in favour of withholding carbon allowances in the ETS – a move … Read more