About the approval of the climate bill (in Portuguese)

Soromenho-Marques: aprovação da Lei do Clima traz dinâmica política inédita aos EUA
Viriato Soromenho Marques, a portuguese Professor of Philosophy and Environment, says that this approval is not so much about reducing greenhouse gases, but more about the politics that were involved and the future possibilities it opens.

"O resultado mais positivo da aprovação da Lei americana do Clima, pela Câmara dos Representantes, não é a redução de emissões mas sim uma dinâmica política inédita e o que esta permitirá fazer no futuro, comentou hoje Viriato Soromenho-Marques, coordenador do Programa Gulbenkian Ambiente."

House of Representatives passes Climate change bill

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the country's first climate change legislation.
House Passes Bill to Address Threat of Climate Change
This bill goes to the Senate for approval.

Historic day for Energy and Climate in the US?

Today the United States of America will be discussing the proposal for energy and climate, Barack Obama's priority.
The goal is to reduce 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050 greenhouse gas emissions, compared to 2005, through a trading scheme.
If this proposal is approved, the US can participate in the Copenhagen Conference and a post Kyoto agreement would be more plausible with the US.

Solar impulse

Solar impulse is an airplane driven by solar energy. It has about 12 thousand photovoltaic cells and it has an autonomy of about 36 hours. During the day, it uses solar energy. At night it uses energy accumulated in lituim batteries. It has been developed by a team coordinated by Bertrand Piccard.
The final goal of the project is a flight around the world with no stops.

Climate Action

Climate Action is a European gateway to the EU climate change policy.
EU targets are displayed in the figure.

It also promotes environmental awareness advising European citizens on action to take to tackle climate change.

Green Week

EU is promoting the Green Week from 23rd to 26th June.
This is an annual conference about Europe's environment policy.
Key issues are:

"What are the prospects for reaching a new global deal to control climate change at the crucial Copenhagen conference in December?
How can we best 'climate-proof' our economies against the impacts of present and future climate change?
How can we create a carbon-free society by 2050?
How can we ensure action to address climate change best serves conservation of the ecosystems that support life on Earth?"

Energy Efficiency Guide (in spanish)

Centro de Eficiencia Energética, Union Fenosa, has published the Energy Efficiency Guide. It is in spanish.

"La eficiencia energética se sitúa en el centro de los tres ejes de la política energética mundial:
• La garantía de suministro, particularmente relevante en España [e Portugal], que importa casi el 80% de su energía primaria.
• La competitividad, que recobra mayor importancia en el escenario económico y financiero actual.
• La sostenibilidad, con sus implicaciones sobre el cambio climático.
Según la Agencia Internacional de la Energía, en el escenario tendencial el consumo energético se incrementaría un 50% en los próximos 25 años, lo que provocaría un mayor aumento de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero. De acuerdo al cuarto informe del Grupo Intergubernamental de Expertos sobre el Cambio Climático (IPCC), publicado a finales del 2007, este escenario tendencial nos llevaría a un incremento de las temperaturas de más de 6 ºC a finales de este siglo."