Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Lending through Kiva helps Mongolia going green

From the Kiva newsletter:
Ulaanbaatar is ranked the world's 5th worst city for air pollution? The World Bank estimates that 60% of the air pollution comes from household heating systems and the fuel used to keep families warm in the winter. XacBank has partnered with Micro Energy Credits to develop green loans for items such as fuel efficient stoves, solar panels, warm housing covers, and energy efficient fuels.
Mongolia goes green

Monday, February 14, 2011

Energy, electricity and sustainability, by Carlos Pimenta (in Portuguese)

Público published an article about energy, electricity and sustainability by Carlos Pimenta, a former politician.
It's in portuguese but it is worth reading!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

The Energy Report, 100% renewable energy by 2050, by WWF and Ecofys

The World Wildlife Fund just released The Energy Report, 100% renewable energy by 2050, where it states that 100% renewable energy by 2050 is expensive, but possible.
By 2050 power, transport, industrial and domestic energy demand could be met largely by renewables, with only small residual pockets of fossil fuels and nuclear power.

But for this we need improved energy efficiency in buildings, vehicles and industrial processes to drive down energy demand 15% compared to 2005 levels. Electricity transmission networks would need to be upgraded and smart grids installed and electric transport would have to be adopted on a global scale.

Read more:
Renewables could meet nearly all world’s energy needs by 2050, says WWF
Download the report

EU leaders rule out binding efficiency target

The European Union target of a 20% improvement in energy efficiency is not on track. Current estimates indicate that only about a 10% improvement will be reached.
The EU leaders gathered together last friday just to reiterate a commitment to review the implementation of the 2020 energy efficiency target by 2013, without a legal binding target.
The top priority should be upgrading the energy grid infrastructure.

Read more:
ECEEE
European Council shies away from action on energy efficiency
From the EcoGeek newsletter:
It's classic good news/bad news. The UK's greehouse gas emissions fell from 2008 to 2009, but this was not due to improvements in technology and cleaner industry, but rather simple economic downturn side-effects. While we're glad to see lower emissions levels, this isn't the way we want to see it happen. If the economy can bounce back, and emissions levels remain low, that would be far better. And if production increased and the emissions levels still continued downward? That would be outstanding!

The same in Portugal...