Minister for the environment, Phil Hogan, has proposed adding the funding to this year’s fast start finance commitment. The drive aims to help the least developed countries tackle the effects of climate change. Mr Hogan said it was important the Irish people remembered their responsibilities to the developing world, despite the country’s own economic woes. … Read more
IBM has today opened the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant program to new applications for 2012. Smarter Cities Challenge is a three-year, 100-city, US$50m grant programme in which IBM’s top technical experts and consultants provide actionable advice to urban centres. Already, in 2011, the IBM Smart Cities initiative has provided practical advice to dozens of … Read more
As part of the overall €1.6bn required to be raised through taxes in 2012, motor tax rates are increasing. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Phil Hogan said today (6 December, 2011); “This is the first increase in motor tax rates for three years and most categories of vehicles will see an … Read more
After optimising airline routes in order to save millions of litres of fuel a year, the Irish Aviation Authority have won a Sustainable Energy Award. Other cost-saving initiatives by the IAA have include a freeze on safety regulation charges and the re-design of airspace. The Sustainable Energy Awards were established in the nation to rewards … Read more
Parasitic worms that infect fish, and have a devastating effect on fish reproduction, grow four times faster at higher temperatures – providing some of the first evidence that global warming affects the interactions between parasites and their hosts. The study from the University of Leicester in the UK revealed that global warming had the potential … Read more
The UK’s largest carbon capture (CC) pilot plant, built at the coal-fired power station at Ferrybridge in West Yorkshire and owned and operated by energy group SSE, has been officially opened. The project, which is a collaboration between SSE, Doosan Power Systems and Vattenfall, is the first of its size to be integrated into a … Read more
The UK’s oldest environmental NGO has been forced to close after government cuts to local authority budgets drastically reduced its income. Formed as the Coal Smoke Abatement Society at the end of the nineteenth century, Environmental Protection UK provided expert analysis on air quality and, more recently, contaminated land and waste issues. But over the … Read more
An American consortium has begun injecting CO2 into the first test storage project in the country. The Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium (MGSC) has begun work, today (November 28), on the site more than a mile beneath the state of Illinois. The work is led by the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS), part of the Prairie … Read more
Star Refrigeration has installed a bespoke cooling system at a UK data centre operated by a major financial institution for retail and commercial banking. A world leader in cooling and heating system innovation, Star replaced an existing R22 refrigeration plant with a highly energy efficient, low maintenance solution. Star has provided the banking client with … Read more
Air pollution from the 10,000 largest polluting facilities in Europe cost citizens between € 102 and 169 billion in 2009. This was one of the findings of a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) which analysed the costs of harm to health and the environment caused by air pollution. Half of the total … Read more