Published Date: 08 April 2009
MORE than £1.8 million has been pumped into a trial of electric vehicles in Glasgow.
The Technology Strategy Board – part of the UK government's Department for Business – awarded the grant to a consortium led by Glasgow-based Allied Vehicles. The group includes Dundee-based battery maker Axeon, Glasgow City Council, ScottishPower, Strathclyde University and Scottish Enterprise. Under the project, 30 Peugeot 207s and ten Peugeot Eurobuses will be powered by batteries and used by public organisations in Glasgow.
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
Sean O'Grady: Only time can dispel the charges against electric cars
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
Anyone watching a late 1980s movie nowadays is reduced to giggles when they spot someone using a "mobile" phone the size of a cornflakes packet. Perhaps in 15 years' time we will look back at today's electric vehicles with the same bemused nostalgia. Mobile phones have come an astonishing distance in two decades and the same will happen with the electric car. Mainstream companies such as General Motors, Renault-Nissan and BMW are investing in it. It is the greenest way to get around – especially if the electricity is from renewables.
Right now, however, an electric car is not a promising proposition as sole family transport. They are too small, slow (50mph tops)and expensive. Most have a range of about 40 miles. At £8,000 for the best-selling G-Wiz they make sense thanks to very low running costs, tax breaks and exemption from the London congestion charge. For £90,000 you can have a Tesla electric roadster with a range of 220 miles and acceleration to leave a Lamborghini for dead.
What will the electric car of five, 10, 15 years be like? The Chevrolet Volt, probably. If General Motors survives, this "proper" car will be on sale in 2011. Today's "hybrids", such as the Toyota Prius, allow the internal combustion engine to do most of the work. The Volt and its GM cousin the Vauxhall Ampera rely mostly on electric motors to move them and look presentable.
The Volt has a modest range – 40 miles. Less space but more range can be found in the Mini E, now on trial. It only has two seats but it's fairly normal: 0 to 62 mph in 8.5 seconds and a range of 150miles. It has a top speed of 95mph.
For the foreseeable future the electric car will force you to make compromises but they are becoming less onerous. It has taken a couple of decades to make the mobile phone mobile. Like driving a G-Wiz, you have to be patient.
Anyone watching a late 1980s movie nowadays is reduced to giggles when they spot someone using a "mobile" phone the size of a cornflakes packet. Perhaps in 15 years' time we will look back at today's electric vehicles with the same bemused nostalgia. Mobile phones have come an astonishing distance in two decades and the same will happen with the electric car. Mainstream companies such as General Motors, Renault-Nissan and BMW are investing in it. It is the greenest way to get around – especially if the electricity is from renewables.
Right now, however, an electric car is not a promising proposition as sole family transport. They are too small, slow (50mph tops)and expensive. Most have a range of about 40 miles. At £8,000 for the best-selling G-Wiz they make sense thanks to very low running costs, tax breaks and exemption from the London congestion charge. For £90,000 you can have a Tesla electric roadster with a range of 220 miles and acceleration to leave a Lamborghini for dead.
What will the electric car of five, 10, 15 years be like? The Chevrolet Volt, probably. If General Motors survives, this "proper" car will be on sale in 2011. Today's "hybrids", such as the Toyota Prius, allow the internal combustion engine to do most of the work. The Volt and its GM cousin the Vauxhall Ampera rely mostly on electric motors to move them and look presentable.
The Volt has a modest range – 40 miles. Less space but more range can be found in the Mini E, now on trial. It only has two seats but it's fairly normal: 0 to 62 mph in 8.5 seconds and a range of 150miles. It has a top speed of 95mph.
For the foreseeable future the electric car will force you to make compromises but they are becoming less onerous. It has taken a couple of decades to make the mobile phone mobile. Like driving a G-Wiz, you have to be patient.
Brown's electric dream for Britain
Exclusive: PM reveals plans to create first 'green' cities geared towards electric cars in drive to create 400,000 new jobs
By Andrew Grice, Political Editor
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
Gordon Brown has promised an environmentally friendly Budget later this month to kick start a "green recovery" – including the mass introduction of electric cars on Britain's roads.
In an exclusive interview with The Independent, the Prime Minister trailed measures to make Britain "a world leader" in producing and exporting electric cars, hybrid petrol-electric vehicles and lighter cars using less petrol. Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, will announce in his Budget that trials for electric cars in two or three cities will begin next year. Councils will be invited to bid to become Britain's first "green cities". The Government will open talks with power companies to ensure the vehicles can have their batteries recharged at a national network of power points at the roadside.
Mr Darling will also set a target of creating 400,000 jobs in "green industries" over the next five years.
Other green measures to be outlined by the Government shortly include relaxing planning rules to allow the building of more wind farms to ensure Britain hits its target to generate 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. "Smart meters" will eventually be installed in every home so people can see how much energy they use. Ministers also want to develop a "clean coal" industry by approving an experiment with carbon capture and storage.
In his first newspaper interview since last week's G20 summit, Mr Brown kept open the option of a limited further fiscal stimulus in the Budget. But with public borrowing in the current financial year likely to rise from the forecast £118bn to around £150bn, he hinted that the Chancellor might have to announce more tax rises for the medium term to balance the nation's books.
"It is not just what we do to give real help now, but about setting a path for the future as well. We always take into account what we need and what is best future for the fiscal position," he said.
Pledging a raft of measures to ensure Britain emerges from the recession as a "low carbon" economy, the Prime Minister said the country could increase its output of environmental goods and services by 50 per cent to £1.5bn in the next few years.
"This is a major part of our plan for recovery in the Budget," he said. He added that the Government would provide incentives to help the car industry become a market leader across the world for electric and hybrid cars. Yesterday, the plans received a boost when the European Investment Bank approved a £340m loan to Jaguar Land Rover to develop "green" vehicles, with a further £373m to be split between Nissan's plants in Sunderland and Spain.
Mr Brown said he would consider buying a fleet of electric cars for ministers to set an example. To help Britain's struggling car industry, he said the Government was considering a "scrappage" scheme under which motorists would get up to £2,000 for trading in a polluting older car for a cleaner new vehicle.
"A different type of economy will emerge in the recovery – if we are prepared to invest in the future," he said. "Britain has a very strong and successful future ahead of us. We are leading in a number of key sectors."
The jobs of the future would come from a "green revolution" and an expansion in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, health care, education, the creative industries, information technology, bioscience and advanced manufacturing. Despite fears of a much smaller financial sector, he insisted that London would still be "one of the most attractive places to do business from".
Mr Brown said the push would enjoy widespread public support. "This is a job creator, a quality of life improver and an environment-enhancing measure," he said. "We want to harness a desire among people to be part of this. A better Britain means building a greener Britain."
Mr Brown struck an upbeat note about the United Nations-led talks on a new climate change treaty, to be held in Copenhagen in December. Despite fears that President Obama might not be ready to sign up by then, Mr Brown insisted: "He is determined to move the environmental agenda forward."
He added: "We have been brought down by a global banking crisis. We in Britain are capable and well placed – with our natural strength and our enterprising past and present, to be able to meet all these challenges in the future."
By Andrew Grice, Political Editor
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
Gordon Brown has promised an environmentally friendly Budget later this month to kick start a "green recovery" – including the mass introduction of electric cars on Britain's roads.
In an exclusive interview with The Independent, the Prime Minister trailed measures to make Britain "a world leader" in producing and exporting electric cars, hybrid petrol-electric vehicles and lighter cars using less petrol. Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, will announce in his Budget that trials for electric cars in two or three cities will begin next year. Councils will be invited to bid to become Britain's first "green cities". The Government will open talks with power companies to ensure the vehicles can have their batteries recharged at a national network of power points at the roadside.
Mr Darling will also set a target of creating 400,000 jobs in "green industries" over the next five years.
Other green measures to be outlined by the Government shortly include relaxing planning rules to allow the building of more wind farms to ensure Britain hits its target to generate 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. "Smart meters" will eventually be installed in every home so people can see how much energy they use. Ministers also want to develop a "clean coal" industry by approving an experiment with carbon capture and storage.
In his first newspaper interview since last week's G20 summit, Mr Brown kept open the option of a limited further fiscal stimulus in the Budget. But with public borrowing in the current financial year likely to rise from the forecast £118bn to around £150bn, he hinted that the Chancellor might have to announce more tax rises for the medium term to balance the nation's books.
"It is not just what we do to give real help now, but about setting a path for the future as well. We always take into account what we need and what is best future for the fiscal position," he said.
Pledging a raft of measures to ensure Britain emerges from the recession as a "low carbon" economy, the Prime Minister said the country could increase its output of environmental goods and services by 50 per cent to £1.5bn in the next few years.
"This is a major part of our plan for recovery in the Budget," he said. He added that the Government would provide incentives to help the car industry become a market leader across the world for electric and hybrid cars. Yesterday, the plans received a boost when the European Investment Bank approved a £340m loan to Jaguar Land Rover to develop "green" vehicles, with a further £373m to be split between Nissan's plants in Sunderland and Spain.
Mr Brown said he would consider buying a fleet of electric cars for ministers to set an example. To help Britain's struggling car industry, he said the Government was considering a "scrappage" scheme under which motorists would get up to £2,000 for trading in a polluting older car for a cleaner new vehicle.
"A different type of economy will emerge in the recovery – if we are prepared to invest in the future," he said. "Britain has a very strong and successful future ahead of us. We are leading in a number of key sectors."
The jobs of the future would come from a "green revolution" and an expansion in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, health care, education, the creative industries, information technology, bioscience and advanced manufacturing. Despite fears of a much smaller financial sector, he insisted that London would still be "one of the most attractive places to do business from".
Mr Brown said the push would enjoy widespread public support. "This is a job creator, a quality of life improver and an environment-enhancing measure," he said. "We want to harness a desire among people to be part of this. A better Britain means building a greener Britain."
Mr Brown struck an upbeat note about the United Nations-led talks on a new climate change treaty, to be held in Copenhagen in December. Despite fears that President Obama might not be ready to sign up by then, Mr Brown insisted: "He is determined to move the environmental agenda forward."
He added: "We have been brought down by a global banking crisis. We in Britain are capable and well placed – with our natural strength and our enterprising past and present, to be able to meet all these challenges in the future."
GM: Goodbye Hummer? Hello electric scooter
Ailing car multinational General Motors tries to green itself by collaborating with Segway and dumping Hummer
Daniel Nasaw in Washington
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 7 April 2009 18.24 BST
General Motors and Segway unveiled a prototype two-seat electric scooter today, intended to ease urban congestion and pollution and help GM recast itself as environmentally progressive and technologically innovative.
The vehicle, named Puma (for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), is the product of an unlikely collaboration between an ailing American industrial behemoth known for manufacturing gas-guzzlers and a privately held company founded on technological wizardry.
The companies have no plans as yet to mass produce the vehicle and offer it for sale, instead characterising today's announcement as a demonstration of technology.
"It's a directional statement that we're making ... an urban transportation we need to reinvent how we move people around in cities and towns," Segway president and chief executive officer, Jim Norrod, said in an interview.
The announcement comes eight days after President Barack Obama challenged General Motors and Chrysler to "restructure, to modernise, and to make themselves more competitive". At the same time, Obama fired GM's chairman and chief executive, Rick Wagoner, who had failed to stem a long-term decline in the company's US sales and whom Obama said lacked vision to take the company forward.
General Motors has already received $15bn (£10bn) in bailout loans from the taxpayer, and Obama demanded last week that the company devise a radical restructuring plan if it hopes to receive more funds. General Motors and Segway began talks on the project 18 months ago, before the taxpayer bailout, but the company was keen today to promote the Puma as a symbol of the company's break from tradition.
"Imagine small, nimble electric vehicles that know where other moving objects are and avoid running into them," said GM's vice-president of research and development, Larry Burns. Meanwhile, the company has signalled that it may jettison its Hummer brand, the massive, much-loathed military-style vehicles.
The new vehicle can hit a top speed of about 35 miles an hour and its lithium-ion battery system gives it a range of 35 miles, the company said. A full recharge for the vehicle takes between eight and 10 hours, but uses only 40 pence worth of power.
"We think 35 miles in a city is pretty reasonable to do in a day," Norrod said. "Then you get back and you charge it overnight, and we think that's sufficient."
The company has not tested the vehicle in poor weather or on terrain rougher than pavements. The company said in a statement that it had "no current plans to offer it for sale" and did not suggest a price range but added that "it's probably less than most current small car prices".
Norrod said mass production would depend on whether cities created the necessary infrastructure – "bike lanes could be a good start," he said. He said London, Paris, Abu Dhabi and Singapore would be likely candidates for the vehicle, as would Indianapolis, Atlanta and Washington in the United States.
The vehicle rides on two side-by-side wheels, but like the $5,000 stand-up Segway on the market since 2002, the Puma stabilises and balances itself. It boasts a zero turning-radius, making it easy to squeeze into tight parking spots.
The vehicle's appearance, which resembles a double-width wheelchair with a windscreen canopy, drew sniggers on its first outing.
"How would you imagine a guy picking you up at your place in that thing?" a CNN anchorman, TJ Holmes, asked a woman colleague, with a chuckle.
Daniel Nasaw in Washington
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 7 April 2009 18.24 BST
General Motors and Segway unveiled a prototype two-seat electric scooter today, intended to ease urban congestion and pollution and help GM recast itself as environmentally progressive and technologically innovative.
The vehicle, named Puma (for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), is the product of an unlikely collaboration between an ailing American industrial behemoth known for manufacturing gas-guzzlers and a privately held company founded on technological wizardry.
The companies have no plans as yet to mass produce the vehicle and offer it for sale, instead characterising today's announcement as a demonstration of technology.
"It's a directional statement that we're making ... an urban transportation we need to reinvent how we move people around in cities and towns," Segway president and chief executive officer, Jim Norrod, said in an interview.
The announcement comes eight days after President Barack Obama challenged General Motors and Chrysler to "restructure, to modernise, and to make themselves more competitive". At the same time, Obama fired GM's chairman and chief executive, Rick Wagoner, who had failed to stem a long-term decline in the company's US sales and whom Obama said lacked vision to take the company forward.
General Motors has already received $15bn (£10bn) in bailout loans from the taxpayer, and Obama demanded last week that the company devise a radical restructuring plan if it hopes to receive more funds. General Motors and Segway began talks on the project 18 months ago, before the taxpayer bailout, but the company was keen today to promote the Puma as a symbol of the company's break from tradition.
"Imagine small, nimble electric vehicles that know where other moving objects are and avoid running into them," said GM's vice-president of research and development, Larry Burns. Meanwhile, the company has signalled that it may jettison its Hummer brand, the massive, much-loathed military-style vehicles.
The new vehicle can hit a top speed of about 35 miles an hour and its lithium-ion battery system gives it a range of 35 miles, the company said. A full recharge for the vehicle takes between eight and 10 hours, but uses only 40 pence worth of power.
"We think 35 miles in a city is pretty reasonable to do in a day," Norrod said. "Then you get back and you charge it overnight, and we think that's sufficient."
The company has not tested the vehicle in poor weather or on terrain rougher than pavements. The company said in a statement that it had "no current plans to offer it for sale" and did not suggest a price range but added that "it's probably less than most current small car prices".
Norrod said mass production would depend on whether cities created the necessary infrastructure – "bike lanes could be a good start," he said. He said London, Paris, Abu Dhabi and Singapore would be likely candidates for the vehicle, as would Indianapolis, Atlanta and Washington in the United States.
The vehicle rides on two side-by-side wheels, but like the $5,000 stand-up Segway on the market since 2002, the Puma stabilises and balances itself. It boasts a zero turning-radius, making it easy to squeeze into tight parking spots.
The vehicle's appearance, which resembles a double-width wheelchair with a windscreen canopy, drew sniggers on its first outing.
"How would you imagine a guy picking you up at your place in that thing?" a CNN anchorman, TJ Holmes, asked a woman colleague, with a chuckle.
Segway and GM launch Puma joint venture
By John Reed in London
Published: April 7 2009 20:33
General Motors and Segway on Tuesday unveiled a tiny two-wheeled, two-seat electric car designed to drive on its own and automatically avoid collisions.
The troubled Detroit carmaker said that unlike the upright Segways now in use, the vehicle would be enclosed from the elements, carry two or more passengers and have a top speed of 35 miles an hour.
Neither GM nor Segway gave any prices or dates when production might start for the vehicle, dubbed Puma – Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility – as they showed a prototype in New York.
The prototype runs on a lithium-ion battery and has a driving range of 35 miles on one charge.
Segway said it had begun informal talks with city planners “from Paris to Singapore” about taking part in tests to see how the vehicle would work in urban environments.
GM, which is investing in advanced technologies such as vehicle-to-vehicle communications in spite of its financial problems, said the car “could change the way we move about in cities”.
Asked about the practicality of Puma, GM said: “Not everybody in the world will be driving these things, but it certainly has applicability for cities, college campuses, and things of that ilk.”
The carmaker will provide the technology that will enable Puma to negotiate traffic and park without hitting other vehicles.
Makers of pint-sized electric vehicles have a history of making grand promises to revolutionise transport but then struggling to clear regulatory and practical hurdles, preventing them from winning mass acceptance.
In Britain, the Sinclair C5, a three-wheel battery-powered vehicle created by Sir Clive Sinclair and launched in 1985, failed because of safety concerns and other practical issues. The company producing it was put into receivership the same year.
Segway has sold about 50,000 of its two-wheel scooters since launching them in 2002. Some countries ban their use on public roads. They are commonly used in places such as theme parks and military bases, and by police.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Published: April 7 2009 20:33
General Motors and Segway on Tuesday unveiled a tiny two-wheeled, two-seat electric car designed to drive on its own and automatically avoid collisions.
The troubled Detroit carmaker said that unlike the upright Segways now in use, the vehicle would be enclosed from the elements, carry two or more passengers and have a top speed of 35 miles an hour.
Neither GM nor Segway gave any prices or dates when production might start for the vehicle, dubbed Puma – Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility – as they showed a prototype in New York.
The prototype runs on a lithium-ion battery and has a driving range of 35 miles on one charge.
Segway said it had begun informal talks with city planners “from Paris to Singapore” about taking part in tests to see how the vehicle would work in urban environments.
GM, which is investing in advanced technologies such as vehicle-to-vehicle communications in spite of its financial problems, said the car “could change the way we move about in cities”.
Asked about the practicality of Puma, GM said: “Not everybody in the world will be driving these things, but it certainly has applicability for cities, college campuses, and things of that ilk.”
The carmaker will provide the technology that will enable Puma to negotiate traffic and park without hitting other vehicles.
Makers of pint-sized electric vehicles have a history of making grand promises to revolutionise transport but then struggling to clear regulatory and practical hurdles, preventing them from winning mass acceptance.
In Britain, the Sinclair C5, a three-wheel battery-powered vehicle created by Sir Clive Sinclair and launched in 1985, failed because of safety concerns and other practical issues. The company producing it was put into receivership the same year.
Segway has sold about 50,000 of its two-wheel scooters since launching them in 2002. Some countries ban their use on public roads. They are commonly used in places such as theme parks and military bases, and by police.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
BA and Virgin propose carbon trading for airlines
BA and Virgin Atlantic are among five groups taking the lead in volunteering to be included in global climate change agreement that could open the way for extending the growing emissions trading system to the airline industry.
By Roland GribbenLast Updated: 6:57PM BST 06 Apr 2009
Air France-KLM, Cathay Pacific and BAA, the airport operator are also members of the Aviation Global Deal Group along with specialist advisers The Climate Change Group.
They tabled the offer at a UN conference in Bonn where 175 nations are discussing the framework for a tougher climate change pact to replace the looser Kyoto Agreement.
Environmental groups have strongly criticised airlines for their reluctance to take a climate change initiative. Airlines are estimated to account for just 2pc of global pollution but with the EU planning to include aviation in its emissions trading scheme from 2012 there is growing pressure for airlines to fall in line.
Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN's climate change group said little progress had been made on the aviation issue and added that there was uncertainty about whether the sector would be included in the final agreement due to be approved in Copenhagen in December.
The BA group's pact covers all the aviation sector, including the US which has its own proposals for curbing airline emissions, but differences with the EU package is said to be hindering a common approach.
The proposals involve setting a global cap on aviation emissions with targets set for individual airlines linked to the carbon content of their yearly fuel purchases. A UN body would administer the system, including the auction of permits.
By Roland GribbenLast Updated: 6:57PM BST 06 Apr 2009
Air France-KLM, Cathay Pacific and BAA, the airport operator are also members of the Aviation Global Deal Group along with specialist advisers The Climate Change Group.
They tabled the offer at a UN conference in Bonn where 175 nations are discussing the framework for a tougher climate change pact to replace the looser Kyoto Agreement.
Environmental groups have strongly criticised airlines for their reluctance to take a climate change initiative. Airlines are estimated to account for just 2pc of global pollution but with the EU planning to include aviation in its emissions trading scheme from 2012 there is growing pressure for airlines to fall in line.
Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN's climate change group said little progress had been made on the aviation issue and added that there was uncertainty about whether the sector would be included in the final agreement due to be approved in Copenhagen in December.
The BA group's pact covers all the aviation sector, including the US which has its own proposals for curbing airline emissions, but differences with the EU package is said to be hindering a common approach.
The proposals involve setting a global cap on aviation emissions with targets set for individual airlines linked to the carbon content of their yearly fuel purchases. A UN body would administer the system, including the auction of permits.
Tesco's 'flights for lights' promotion – every little hurts
Supermarket's offer of air miles in exchange for low-energy light bulbs is like giving away a pack of Benson and Hedges with every Nicorette patch
I'm an optimist. And not because, as the cynics would have it, I'm actually a pessimist who's not in possession of all the facts. And despite the apocalyptic and increasingly shrill science that flows like glacial meltwater from the world's climatologists, my optimism remains.
Then I spot something that makes my head explode with eye-popping disbelief at its stupidity. This happened on Saturday when a colleague showed me the latest Tesco ad "Turn lights into flights". Yes, you read that correctly.
Tesco chief executive Terry Leahy is now offering air miles when you buy a low energy lightbulb. What next? Free packet of 20 Benson & Hedges with every Nicorette patch? A dozen king-size Mars bars with each box of Ryvita? Talk about counter-productive. It's like being lost in the desert, miles from anywhere and eating your own legs to sustain yourself during your search for help.
The idea of everyone 'doing a little' and it somehow, in contravention of the laws of physics, 'making a big difference' has already been deftly and delightfully dismissed by my good friend George Marshall. And the recent furore on Daily Mail Island over the disastrously delayed demise of the incandescent bulb is similarly loony. Swapping the odd lightbulb or two is one of the simplest, least inconvenient things we might expect people to do in tackling climate change, but still the islanders practically have an aneurysm. Giving away air miles to incentivise the lightbulb swap just beggars belief.
And herein lies the problem. We're still being lied to in regard to what really needs to be done. As Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas said the other week: "Did Wilberforce ask people to cut down from two slaves to one? Or Emmeline Pankhurst politely suggest that husbands might consult their wives before going out to vote?." We need sweeping changes to our carbon emissions, not tweaks. And we're all in denial. Not only are we convinced that we're already 'doing our bit', with relatively inconsequential things like refusing offers of plastic bags, we're actively hostile towards doing more as a result. Our willingness to act is inversely proportional to the impacts of our actions, like donating to a seal protection charity while swanning around in a freshly clubbed, still bleeding pelt.
Advertisers are complicit with government in this deception. Tesco's ad may be crass but it's not alone and reeks of greenwash, a growing phenomenon that Futerra (where I work) helped to expose last year in a Greenwash Guide and which Fred Pearce has also entertainingly focused on. The hugely expensive Honda splash that ran across eleven consecutive pages of Saturday's Guardian (generating so much advertising revenue it produced a fawning article in its own right) also focuses on lots of "little dos". What it didn't mention is their negligible impact, even when massively multiplied. My favourite piece of inadvertent anti-greenwash is still an ad by Turkish Airlines, however, that boasted the strapline "We are changing the skies". Indeed.
Every little hurts (and we seem to enjoy it).
I'm an optimist. And not because, as the cynics would have it, I'm actually a pessimist who's not in possession of all the facts. And despite the apocalyptic and increasingly shrill science that flows like glacial meltwater from the world's climatologists, my optimism remains.
Then I spot something that makes my head explode with eye-popping disbelief at its stupidity. This happened on Saturday when a colleague showed me the latest Tesco ad "Turn lights into flights". Yes, you read that correctly.
Tesco chief executive Terry Leahy is now offering air miles when you buy a low energy lightbulb. What next? Free packet of 20 Benson & Hedges with every Nicorette patch? A dozen king-size Mars bars with each box of Ryvita? Talk about counter-productive. It's like being lost in the desert, miles from anywhere and eating your own legs to sustain yourself during your search for help.
The idea of everyone 'doing a little' and it somehow, in contravention of the laws of physics, 'making a big difference' has already been deftly and delightfully dismissed by my good friend George Marshall. And the recent furore on Daily Mail Island over the disastrously delayed demise of the incandescent bulb is similarly loony. Swapping the odd lightbulb or two is one of the simplest, least inconvenient things we might expect people to do in tackling climate change, but still the islanders practically have an aneurysm. Giving away air miles to incentivise the lightbulb swap just beggars belief.
And herein lies the problem. We're still being lied to in regard to what really needs to be done. As Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas said the other week: "Did Wilberforce ask people to cut down from two slaves to one? Or Emmeline Pankhurst politely suggest that husbands might consult their wives before going out to vote?." We need sweeping changes to our carbon emissions, not tweaks. And we're all in denial. Not only are we convinced that we're already 'doing our bit', with relatively inconsequential things like refusing offers of plastic bags, we're actively hostile towards doing more as a result. Our willingness to act is inversely proportional to the impacts of our actions, like donating to a seal protection charity while swanning around in a freshly clubbed, still bleeding pelt.
Advertisers are complicit with government in this deception. Tesco's ad may be crass but it's not alone and reeks of greenwash, a growing phenomenon that Futerra (where I work) helped to expose last year in a Greenwash Guide and which Fred Pearce has also entertainingly focused on. The hugely expensive Honda splash that ran across eleven consecutive pages of Saturday's Guardian (generating so much advertising revenue it produced a fawning article in its own right) also focuses on lots of "little dos". What it didn't mention is their negligible impact, even when massively multiplied. My favourite piece of inadvertent anti-greenwash is still an ad by Turkish Airlines, however, that boasted the strapline "We are changing the skies". Indeed.
Every little hurts (and we seem to enjoy it).
UK climate policy not up to scratch, warns CBI
Juliette Jowit and Terry Macalister
The Guardian, Monday 6 April 2009
Business leaders have delivered a surprise attack on the government's environmental policy, arguing that ministers are not doing enough to cut global warming emissions or make sure the UK does not run out of power.
The CBI says billions of pounds of necessary investment will move to the US and China unless the government takes "urgent action".
It comes amid widespread disappointment that the G20 heads of state failed to come up with any real push on green issues as part of a $1.1tn (£743bn) financial aid package for the global economy.
The warning from the CBI follows a series of announcements by major energy companies, including Shell, BP and Centrica, that they would axe or reconsider investment in "low carbon" energy such as wind and solar power and carbon capture for coal-fired power stations.
Richard Lambert, the CBI's director general, said "politics and policy", not the recession, were delaying investment in the UK. He said the government's policies were on the "right path", but companies were "jittery" about investing in the UK because of delays with planning permission, poor National Grid connections, slow funding for new technology, and uncertainty over long-term carbon prices.
The government needs "to get on with it," said Lambert, ahead of today's launch of a new strategy for the energy industry. "If they don't, the risk is that the private capital needed will not come here in the volumes required."
Further evidence of the growing crisis of confidence in the green energy sector is exposed today by a survey which revealed that more than three quarters of Britain's green energy companies were now facing enormous financial difficulties gaining vital access to loans and investment money - a finding that has seriously shaken the industry's parent body.
Out of 39 member companies that responded to a poll by the Renewable Energy Association (REA), 32 said they were suffering from a shortage of cashflow and other problems, while only six said they were not affected at all.
Philip Wolfe, the director general of the REA, said the survey highlighted the need for immediate action by ministers. "Given all the rhetoric on the Green New Deal and Green Tech, it is astonishing that the renewables industry has received no dedicated support - even in areas that don't cost extra money," he said.
"As so little has been done, the last opportunity comes in this month's budget. Other countries have already committed huge stimulus monies to their renewables industries while we have nothing, so the UK industry is now at a serious competitive disadvantage."
Lambert said: "It's a bit of an edgy moment. If we're going to go to where we want to get to by 2020, we need to be moving pretty aggressively on policy."
The CBI's new strategy, one of four "road maps" to a low-carbon economy published today, will call for immediate and short-term actions, including clear planning guidance to fast-track investment in offshore wind farms and nuclear power stations and an upgraded National Grid. Ministers also need to make a quick decision about a promised trial of carbon capture and storage, and fund at least one other, says the business group.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change said there were "clear signals that there's an appetite for investment in nuclear energy" and this month it had increased the incentive for offshore wind power by 50%.
"The government has been working to ensure that the short, medium and long-term environment for energy investment remains healthy in Britain and that any barriers identified are swiftly removed," the department said.
The Guardian, Monday 6 April 2009
Business leaders have delivered a surprise attack on the government's environmental policy, arguing that ministers are not doing enough to cut global warming emissions or make sure the UK does not run out of power.
The CBI says billions of pounds of necessary investment will move to the US and China unless the government takes "urgent action".
It comes amid widespread disappointment that the G20 heads of state failed to come up with any real push on green issues as part of a $1.1tn (£743bn) financial aid package for the global economy.
The warning from the CBI follows a series of announcements by major energy companies, including Shell, BP and Centrica, that they would axe or reconsider investment in "low carbon" energy such as wind and solar power and carbon capture for coal-fired power stations.
Richard Lambert, the CBI's director general, said "politics and policy", not the recession, were delaying investment in the UK. He said the government's policies were on the "right path", but companies were "jittery" about investing in the UK because of delays with planning permission, poor National Grid connections, slow funding for new technology, and uncertainty over long-term carbon prices.
The government needs "to get on with it," said Lambert, ahead of today's launch of a new strategy for the energy industry. "If they don't, the risk is that the private capital needed will not come here in the volumes required."
Further evidence of the growing crisis of confidence in the green energy sector is exposed today by a survey which revealed that more than three quarters of Britain's green energy companies were now facing enormous financial difficulties gaining vital access to loans and investment money - a finding that has seriously shaken the industry's parent body.
Out of 39 member companies that responded to a poll by the Renewable Energy Association (REA), 32 said they were suffering from a shortage of cashflow and other problems, while only six said they were not affected at all.
Philip Wolfe, the director general of the REA, said the survey highlighted the need for immediate action by ministers. "Given all the rhetoric on the Green New Deal and Green Tech, it is astonishing that the renewables industry has received no dedicated support - even in areas that don't cost extra money," he said.
"As so little has been done, the last opportunity comes in this month's budget. Other countries have already committed huge stimulus monies to their renewables industries while we have nothing, so the UK industry is now at a serious competitive disadvantage."
Lambert said: "It's a bit of an edgy moment. If we're going to go to where we want to get to by 2020, we need to be moving pretty aggressively on policy."
The CBI's new strategy, one of four "road maps" to a low-carbon economy published today, will call for immediate and short-term actions, including clear planning guidance to fast-track investment in offshore wind farms and nuclear power stations and an upgraded National Grid. Ministers also need to make a quick decision about a promised trial of carbon capture and storage, and fund at least one other, says the business group.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change said there were "clear signals that there's an appetite for investment in nuclear energy" and this month it had increased the incentive for offshore wind power by 50%.
"The government has been working to ensure that the short, medium and long-term environment for energy investment remains healthy in Britain and that any barriers identified are swiftly removed," the department said.
Polar Ice Cap Shrinks Further and Thins
By GAUTAM NAIK
A decade-long decline in the ice covering the Arctic Sea is continuing, according to new U.S. data, and other measurements give fresh indications that the area's ice cap is thinning as well.
Associated Press
A polar bear swims near ice floes in Baffin Bay in the Arctic last summer. The Arctic melt is affecting tourism, shipping and trade routes.
Acting like a giant mirror, the Arctic sea ice helps cool the planet by reflecting solar radiation back into space. When there is less sea ice, the dark, open water absorbs more of the sun's warmth and raises the temperature of both air and water -- thereby affecting the climate.
How the sea-ice cover changes -- in both summer and winter -- has become a hot topic for policy makers. The Arctic melt is already affecting tourism, shipping and trade routes. It has persuaded several countries to push for territorial claims in newly accessible regions of the Arctic.
The latest figures were released the same day that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opened a U.S.-hosted summit in Baltimore, which brings together two diplomatic bodies that govern the Arctic and Antarctic. The Obama administration is arguing for more restrictions on polar tourism to protect the fragile environment.
Scientists calculate that thicker ice that is two or more years old now makes up less than 10% of the Arctic's wintertime ice cover, about one-third the average levels seen annually from 1981 to 2000, according to a study reported Monday by a team of scientists at the University of Colorado at Boulder. That is equivalent to a decline of 278,000 square miles of ice, a surface area larger than Texas.
Equally troubling to some scientists is that the overall Arctic ice cap is thinning. That has been hard to measure in the past because the Arctic is vast, and because sea ice can move.
Scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., have now used satellite data to create the first map of sea ice over the entire Arctic basin. Their chief finding, based on data from 2005 and 2006, is that older arctic ice is on average nearly nine feet thick. Submarine measurements from the 1980s found that the ice then had been more than 4½ feet thicker, according to Ronald Kwok of NASA's Jet Propulsion lab.
"The sea-ice changes we're seeing go hand-in-hand with temperature changes," says Walt Meier of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado. "There really isn't another overriding mechanism we see that can cause these long-term changes."
Concern over the polar environment comes amid a tussle in the U.S. over climate change. President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress have said they want a cap on greenhouse-gas emissions -- a departure from the policy of the Bush administration. Last week,, two House Democrats, Rep. Henry Waxman of California and Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, introduced a bill to cut greenhouse-gas emissions 20% below 2005 levels by 2020, a bigger cut than Mr. Obama has called for in the same period.
Either way, the proposals represent only opening salvos in the political fight. Politicians from states that depend for most of their electricity on burning coal, which emits large amounts of greenhouse gases, already are warning that a severe emissions cap could significantly raise energy prices.
Given that debate, it is unclear whether the U.S. will have a climate proposal with broad political support by the time diplomats from around the world meet in December in Copenhagen to discuss a new international climate-change treaty.—Jeffrey Ball contributed to this article.
Write to Gautam Naik at gautam.naik@wsj.com
A decade-long decline in the ice covering the Arctic Sea is continuing, according to new U.S. data, and other measurements give fresh indications that the area's ice cap is thinning as well.
Associated Press
A polar bear swims near ice floes in Baffin Bay in the Arctic last summer. The Arctic melt is affecting tourism, shipping and trade routes.
Acting like a giant mirror, the Arctic sea ice helps cool the planet by reflecting solar radiation back into space. When there is less sea ice, the dark, open water absorbs more of the sun's warmth and raises the temperature of both air and water -- thereby affecting the climate.
How the sea-ice cover changes -- in both summer and winter -- has become a hot topic for policy makers. The Arctic melt is already affecting tourism, shipping and trade routes. It has persuaded several countries to push for territorial claims in newly accessible regions of the Arctic.
The latest figures were released the same day that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opened a U.S.-hosted summit in Baltimore, which brings together two diplomatic bodies that govern the Arctic and Antarctic. The Obama administration is arguing for more restrictions on polar tourism to protect the fragile environment.
Scientists calculate that thicker ice that is two or more years old now makes up less than 10% of the Arctic's wintertime ice cover, about one-third the average levels seen annually from 1981 to 2000, according to a study reported Monday by a team of scientists at the University of Colorado at Boulder. That is equivalent to a decline of 278,000 square miles of ice, a surface area larger than Texas.
Equally troubling to some scientists is that the overall Arctic ice cap is thinning. That has been hard to measure in the past because the Arctic is vast, and because sea ice can move.
Scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., have now used satellite data to create the first map of sea ice over the entire Arctic basin. Their chief finding, based on data from 2005 and 2006, is that older arctic ice is on average nearly nine feet thick. Submarine measurements from the 1980s found that the ice then had been more than 4½ feet thicker, according to Ronald Kwok of NASA's Jet Propulsion lab.
"The sea-ice changes we're seeing go hand-in-hand with temperature changes," says Walt Meier of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado. "There really isn't another overriding mechanism we see that can cause these long-term changes."
Concern over the polar environment comes amid a tussle in the U.S. over climate change. President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress have said they want a cap on greenhouse-gas emissions -- a departure from the policy of the Bush administration. Last week,, two House Democrats, Rep. Henry Waxman of California and Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, introduced a bill to cut greenhouse-gas emissions 20% below 2005 levels by 2020, a bigger cut than Mr. Obama has called for in the same period.
Either way, the proposals represent only opening salvos in the political fight. Politicians from states that depend for most of their electricity on burning coal, which emits large amounts of greenhouse gases, already are warning that a severe emissions cap could significantly raise energy prices.
Given that debate, it is unclear whether the U.S. will have a climate proposal with broad political support by the time diplomats from around the world meet in December in Copenhagen to discuss a new international climate-change treaty.—Jeffrey Ball contributed to this article.
Write to Gautam Naik at gautam.naik@wsj.com
Poor nations call for 'levy' on air tickets to help adapt to climate change
World's poorest 49 countries tell UN meeting that aviation industry must help them cope with global warming by raising money from a tax on airline tickets and emissions trading scheme
John Vidal, environment editor
guardian.co.uk, Monday 6 April 2009 16.51 BST
A levy on all airline tickets and a global trading system for aircraft emissions are the contrasting proposals presented today to tackle the impact of flying on climate.
Negotiators at UN climate talks in Bonn were told by the world's poorest 49 countries that the annual 760m international air passengers should each pay a levy of about $6 (£5.4) on every flight to help those nations adapt to climate change.
The least developed group of countries (LDCs) said a modest levy could raise up to $10bn (£6.8bn) a year and help countries in the frontline of climate change adapt to the intense floods, droughts, sea level rises and crop failures that poor nations are experiencing as a result of global warming.
The proposed levy, they said, would increase the average price of an international long-haul fare by less than 1% for standard class passengers, but up to $62 for people travelling first class.
According to Benito Müller, environment director of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and author of the proposal for the LDCs, said the compulsory levy would have no significant effect on global passenger numbers and would have minimal negative impact on tourism. "By contrast, it will have significant positive impacts on the development of the poorest and most vulnerable countries and communities, by avoiding climate change impacts," he said.
Air freight was deliberately not included in the proposal, said Muller, because the levy is based on the principle of individual responsibility and capability to deal with climate change.
The idea of the levy is based on the successful French "solidarity contribution" of €1 which is charged to all passengers leaving France. This is expected to collect significant sums for the fight against major world illnesses, including HIV/Aids.
The attraction of the levy, Müller said, is that it is easy for the public to understand, simple to administer and is fair because it asks individuals who pollute to pay a minimal sum to the UN to help countries adapt.
Rich countries have already committed to paying poor countries to help them adapt to climate change but they have been at loggerheads over the best way to raise money and distribute it. A series of international meetings over the next six months — of which the Bonn meeting is the latest — will decide ahead of a major climate change conference in Copenhagen in December, at which a successor to the Kyoto treaty will be negotiated.
In contrast to the levy, some of the world's leading airlines and airport operators today proposed a different scheme to enable the aviation industry to contribute to the fight against climate change.
Air France/KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic, airport operator BAA and international NGO the Climate Group have proposed that individual airlines should obtain pollution permits in proportion to the carbon content of their annual fuel purchases.
The airline industry said its scheme would ensure equal treatment for all airlines and open the way to global emissions trading within the sector —and possibly with other industries such a electricity generation.
Proceeds from auctions of the permits would be split between the UN's adaptation fund for developing nations, and an initiative that aims to save forests in poorer nations in return for tradable carbon credits.
John Vidal, environment editor
guardian.co.uk, Monday 6 April 2009 16.51 BST
A levy on all airline tickets and a global trading system for aircraft emissions are the contrasting proposals presented today to tackle the impact of flying on climate.
Negotiators at UN climate talks in Bonn were told by the world's poorest 49 countries that the annual 760m international air passengers should each pay a levy of about $6 (£5.4) on every flight to help those nations adapt to climate change.
The least developed group of countries (LDCs) said a modest levy could raise up to $10bn (£6.8bn) a year and help countries in the frontline of climate change adapt to the intense floods, droughts, sea level rises and crop failures that poor nations are experiencing as a result of global warming.
The proposed levy, they said, would increase the average price of an international long-haul fare by less than 1% for standard class passengers, but up to $62 for people travelling first class.
According to Benito Müller, environment director of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and author of the proposal for the LDCs, said the compulsory levy would have no significant effect on global passenger numbers and would have minimal negative impact on tourism. "By contrast, it will have significant positive impacts on the development of the poorest and most vulnerable countries and communities, by avoiding climate change impacts," he said.
Air freight was deliberately not included in the proposal, said Muller, because the levy is based on the principle of individual responsibility and capability to deal with climate change.
The idea of the levy is based on the successful French "solidarity contribution" of €1 which is charged to all passengers leaving France. This is expected to collect significant sums for the fight against major world illnesses, including HIV/Aids.
The attraction of the levy, Müller said, is that it is easy for the public to understand, simple to administer and is fair because it asks individuals who pollute to pay a minimal sum to the UN to help countries adapt.
Rich countries have already committed to paying poor countries to help them adapt to climate change but they have been at loggerheads over the best way to raise money and distribute it. A series of international meetings over the next six months — of which the Bonn meeting is the latest — will decide ahead of a major climate change conference in Copenhagen in December, at which a successor to the Kyoto treaty will be negotiated.
In contrast to the levy, some of the world's leading airlines and airport operators today proposed a different scheme to enable the aviation industry to contribute to the fight against climate change.
Air France/KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic, airport operator BAA and international NGO the Climate Group have proposed that individual airlines should obtain pollution permits in proportion to the carbon content of their annual fuel purchases.
The airline industry said its scheme would ensure equal treatment for all airlines and open the way to global emissions trading within the sector —and possibly with other industries such a electricity generation.
Proceeds from auctions of the permits would be split between the UN's adaptation fund for developing nations, and an initiative that aims to save forests in poorer nations in return for tradable carbon credits.
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