The Government has released the promised review of National Climate Policy. On foot of the policy set out in the National Climate Change Strategy 2007-12, Ireland is on course to meet its binding commitment for the purposes of the Kyoto Protocol in the compliance period 2008-12. However, beyond 2012, Ireland has clear and challenging greenhouse … Read more
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the not-for-profit organisation that gathers data on how companies act to prevent dangerous climate change, is issuing a final call to Irish businesses to participate in this year’s project. The deadline for entries is Tuesday, 31st May 2011. The Project, principally sponsored in Ireland by the NTR Foundation and supported … Read more
Renewable energy should make a major contribution to decarbonising the UK economy over the next decades, according to the Committee on Climate Change The conclusions are set out in the Committee’s Renewable Energy Review which was requested under the Coalition Agreement. The review concludes that a renewable energy share of around 30% by 2030 would … Read more
The total global potential for renewable energy “is substantially higher than both current and future projected global energy demand” is the message of the Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation just released by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report states that renewable energy production will increase “anywhere … Read more
Urgent action is required to protect the infrastructure which the UK national economy relies upon from the effects of climate change, warns British Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman. Planning and design will need to take into account the impact which more extreme weather will have on essential services such as transport networks and power supplies, otherwise … Read more
The Catlin Arctic Survey has successfully extracted its team of explorers from the Arctic Ocean. A collaboration between scientists and explorers, the Catlin Arctic Survey undertakes field research in the Arctic and provides a unique platform to tell the story of its changing climate and how it relates to regions around the world. The team … Read more
While UN climate negotiations show no sign of significant progress, calculations from the European Wind Energy Association show that wind energy is achieving over a quarter of the emissions reductions required under the current Kyoto agreement. The recent UN climate negotiations in Bangkok “produced little more than the agenda for further negotiations,” according to the … Read more
The water and carbon footprint of wasted household food in the UK has been identified for the first time, highlighting the major environmental consequences of food waste, both domestically and globally. The report, ‘The Water and Carbon Footprint of Household Food Waste in the UK’ – jointly published by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) … Read more
The Environmental Protection Agency’s climate change lecture series continues on Tuesday, 15th March 2011, at 6.30pm, in the Mansion House, Dublin, with a lecture entitled ‘Climate Change and Agriculture – ensuring food production is not threatened’. The lecture will be given by Alexendre Meybeck of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, based in Rome. One … Read more
Grocery retailer Sainsbury’s is using experimental technology to help reduce the UK’s dependence on fossil fuels. Many people are unaware of the strain the National Grid comes under at peak times, as coal-fired power stations across the country have to be ‘switched on’ to meet the increased demand on the UK’s electricity supply. Power station … Read more