While governments talk of climate change, a growing band of young, committed environmentalists is emerging in the UK. The storming of Stansted was just the beginning
Tracy McVeigh
The Observer, Sunday 14 December 2008
They are young, smart, organised, committed and, if they are allowed to have their way, they would like to save the world. No longer is an environmentalist a geeky elderly man in socks and sandals or a dreadlocked traveller in a rainbow jumper. Britain's new vanguard of eco-warriors are predominantly in their twenties, they are articulate and knowledgeable and techno-aware.
Monday's demonstration by 57 young protesters from the environmental group Plane Stupid at Stansted Airport in Essex took many by surprise, not least by the audacity of the direct action in getting through extremely tight security and managing to briefly close down a busy airport. Protesting against airport expansion in the UK, Plane Stupid later produced some very media-savvy representatives to put across their case.
For many people it was their first encounter with what has been an underground but growing phenomenon in Britain. Over the past two years a new social movement to rival any protests of the past has been steadily growing, young campaigners and activists who are dedicated to achieve what previous generations have not - stopping climate change. And it is not only in environmental activism that the UK is leading the world but also in the science, with a growing band of dedicated young scientists working against the clock to discover the truth behind climate change.
People like Ellen Fry, a 26-year-old working for the Institute for Climate Change, based at Imperial College. Described by her colleagues as 'brilliant, cutting edge and totally dedicated', she is working on the impact of rainfall on ecosystems and spends much of her time in a field. 'I've worn out three pairs of wellies this year so far!' she says.
'My work is in plant response to climate change, when eco-systems shut down. I was at school when I went to a lecture by an Exxon Mobil executive and I was terrified. I thought I have to do something useful with my life, so I moved into biology.'
She says had she more time she would even consider activism herself although 'perhaps universities wouldn't like their researchers getting arrested'.
Jasmin Karalis, 24, a climate campaigner who helped hijack a train carrying coal to the Drax power station in North Yorkshire in June, takes being arrested as a downside of the work she cares passionately about. She says she finds the political system deeply frustrating 'because everyone thinks we have to have either capitalism or socialism and that there's nothing in between - but there is.
'It's very frightening for people to hear us say that capitalism is the problem, people can't see that there might be anything else. But this system has failed us. Even now all they will speak about at political forums is how money can be made out of this [climate change crisis]. That's shocking. That's disgusting.'
Karalis, from an Iranian family, has only recently graduated from university where she first became environmentally aware. But she refutes the idea that everyone in the movement is a spoilt middle-class kid.
'That's complete nonsense. Of course the media is talking to the most articulate ones because they have the confidence to come forward. But this is a social movement with people from all classes and all walks of life. You don't need to be Oxbridge, you need to be brave.'
Most of the activists and campaigners The Observer spoke to see no divide between the political system, social justice and climate change.
Sophie Stephens, 25, holds down a nine-to-five office job in Leeds. She uses holidays and sabbaticals for her other work, protesting against the UK's carbon emissions and helping develop Climate Camp - the annual event for environmental activists which is in its third year.
'We respect science so much and the work being done in this country is remarkable. At Climate Camp we have lots of eminent experts along to talk about the latest research to keep people fully informed,' she says.
'We have a unique opportunity as a species to pre-empt this disaster. I'm no green goddess, I cycle to work and I recycle, but change needs to happen at a higher level. It terrifies me that we hand all vital decisions about climate change and energy policies to people who believe financial sense is common sense.'
She says taking part in direct action is 'really liberating'.
'That's why we are prepared to break the law. You are suddenly in the middle of the debate and that's empowerment.'
Paul Morozzo was involved in the anti-roads protests of the Nineties. Now aged 41 and living in Yorkshire, the father of two is still a dedicated environmental campaigner and he welcomes the resurgence of a social protest movement.
'It's both new and old. It's partly inspired by older movements like the anti-roads movement, but crucially it's also inspired by the unique circumstances we find ourselves in as the growth economy hits both the ecological limits of the planet and social limits of exploitation and greed. Also there is a real desire to create new stories, the biggest one being a just solution to climate change and averting planetary meltdown. That would be a good one for the grandchildren.
'Environmental struggles in the Nineties were often characterised by intense struggles, either in defence of place, e.g. against road builders, or for early Reclaim the Streets over the creation of place. Now the place is the entire planet and a clash between what people need and what the economy needs. This grand narrative will hopefully motivate a movement equal to the task.
'Given that the government is still planning to build new coal-fired power stations and expand its airports and roads, Ed Miliband's call for a public mobilisation on climate change is a clear attempt to co-opt this growing climate movement. But people aren't daft. They realise that the suffragettes and the civil rights movement didn't win by wearing rubber wrist bands, they won because they were both broad based and willing to take risks, if necessary breaking the law. They knocked directly on power's door, in fact they knocked it down.'
Jody Boehnert runs EcoLabs, a non-profit organisation encouraging ecological literacy through design. A graphic designer, she was drawn to environmentalism through her love of nature.
'I like to hike and I find it almost unbearable to believe that we could squander all this beauty.
'I grew up in Canada. My mother was a professor and active in the feminist movement. My father lectured on the arms race. I have been concerned about global warming since I was a teenager and an activist for over a decade. I feel that we might finally be able to make some progress now. The environmental crisis has hit the mainstream. We can now make the necessary changes if we move decisively.'
'Previous generations have left us an awful mess,' she says. 'The economic successes of the past will be felt by our generation as we learn to deal with degraded ecosystems less capable of supporting life as we know it.
'In a democracy, the government can only ever make changes that are supported by the people, so it is pointless to separate "society" from "government". The problem rests in a culture that refuses to confront environmental realities. We now need to deal with the consequences of this reckless behaviour - the actions of not only previous generations but of most of our contemporaries who only give lip service to change.
'Almost all advocates of change in the mainstream media recommend small steps. Even cumulatively these actions will not stop the climate system from reaching tipping points, now just a few years away. We need to design systemic change - and we need the media to help audiences understand the importance of this agenda above all other agendas.'
If any generation is going to take the brunt of climate change it will be those who are too young to be climbing up power stations or taking PhDs in ecological science.
Joanna Courtice is a schoolgirl campaigner. Aged just 16 she has already persuaded her Cambridgeshire teachers to create an 'eco-school' and is working at trying to encourage awareness and activism among other schools in her area.
'It's about small steps, one thing at a time,' she says. 'For me it's hard persuading other girls my age because they think they have to give things up that they like. It feels like I'm putting them on a diet no one wants to go on.
'But I am 16 and now I can fight back against what people have let happen to the planet. For me it's 16 years of no one fighting. I have to make up for that.'
A history of eco protest
Sizewell, 1980s
During the inquiry into the construction of Britain's last nuclear reactor at Sizewell, Suffolk, Friends of the Earth organised demonstrations against the plant's construction.
Anti-roads, 1990s
These direct action groups prevented work on the new A30 by setting up camp. Residents protested both above ground in tree houses and below it in tunnels. The camp's final resident 'Swampy' (Daniel Hooper) gained celebrity status.
Anti-GM, 1998-2004
Demonstrators, including environmentalist George Monbiot, were arrested in 2001 for criminal damage during a protest at Wales's only GM crop trial. The not guilty plea, based on acting in the public interest, brought the issue of GM crop safety into the public eye.
Anti-runway, 2007
Mass demonstrations against the expansion of Heathrow airport were held throughout the summer, with thousands of protesters camping on the site of the new runway.
Climate camps, 2008
In the wake of the success of previous ones, 'climate camps' for protesters at sites where airports and roads are due to be expanded or built have grown in number and popularity. Richard Rogers
Monday, 15 December 2008
BYD to Introduce China's First Electric Car
By NORIHIKO SHIROUZU
SHENZHEN, China -- A Chinese auto maker plans to unveil the country's first homegrown electric vehicle for the mass market, at least a year ahead of similar efforts around the world.
On Monday, BYD Co. plans to show reporters in Shenzhen the new F3DM, which runs off batteries that can be charged from a regular electrical outlet. BYD began marketing the F3DM this month to cab operators and other potential fleet customers, and plans to have it in showrooms by the end of this month, said Henry Li, a senior company executive. BYD plans to sell the car in the U.S. market as early as the second half of 2010.
Associated Press
The F3DM runs on batteries and is charged at a regular electrical outlet.
China's government intends to support the electric vehicle push through research-and-development subsidies for auto makers and tax breaks and other incentives for consumers, as well as with plans to build battery-charge stations and other public infrastructure. The government hasn't said how much it will spend.
Though essentially an electric car, the F3DM also has a small gasoline engine that is used to generate electricity if the battery runs dry. Some people question whether the leap to electric cars makes sense in China, in part because most of China's electricity comes from "dirty" coal-burning power plants.
BYD plans to sell as many as 10,000 F3DMs in 2009, according to Mr. Li. The car is to be priced at less than 150,000 yuan, or about $22,000, toward the low end of the price range for a typical midsize sedan in China.
General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. are both developing similar battery-powered cars. But Toyota won't launch its version until late 2009 and plans to sell it in the U.S. and Japan, not in China. GM is expected to launch its Chevy Volt in late 2010 in the U.S., but the company's financial struggles have left plans unclear. Nissan Motor Co., which is weighing the launch of an electric car in China as early as 2012, believes that battery-powered cars could account for as much as 30% of all automobile sales in China by 2020.
The city of Shenzhen, where BYD is headquartered, is expected to announce Monday that it is buying some 20 F3DMs.—Ellen Zhu in Shanghai and Gao Sen in Beijing contributed to this article.
Write to Norihiko Shirouzu at norihiko.shirouzu@wsj.com
SHENZHEN, China -- A Chinese auto maker plans to unveil the country's first homegrown electric vehicle for the mass market, at least a year ahead of similar efforts around the world.
On Monday, BYD Co. plans to show reporters in Shenzhen the new F3DM, which runs off batteries that can be charged from a regular electrical outlet. BYD began marketing the F3DM this month to cab operators and other potential fleet customers, and plans to have it in showrooms by the end of this month, said Henry Li, a senior company executive. BYD plans to sell the car in the U.S. market as early as the second half of 2010.
Associated Press
The F3DM runs on batteries and is charged at a regular electrical outlet.
China's government intends to support the electric vehicle push through research-and-development subsidies for auto makers and tax breaks and other incentives for consumers, as well as with plans to build battery-charge stations and other public infrastructure. The government hasn't said how much it will spend.
Though essentially an electric car, the F3DM also has a small gasoline engine that is used to generate electricity if the battery runs dry. Some people question whether the leap to electric cars makes sense in China, in part because most of China's electricity comes from "dirty" coal-burning power plants.
BYD plans to sell as many as 10,000 F3DMs in 2009, according to Mr. Li. The car is to be priced at less than 150,000 yuan, or about $22,000, toward the low end of the price range for a typical midsize sedan in China.
General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. are both developing similar battery-powered cars. But Toyota won't launch its version until late 2009 and plans to sell it in the U.S. and Japan, not in China. GM is expected to launch its Chevy Volt in late 2010 in the U.S., but the company's financial struggles have left plans unclear. Nissan Motor Co., which is weighing the launch of an electric car in China as early as 2012, believes that battery-powered cars could account for as much as 30% of all automobile sales in China by 2020.
The city of Shenzhen, where BYD is headquartered, is expected to announce Monday that it is buying some 20 F3DMs.—Ellen Zhu in Shanghai and Gao Sen in Beijing contributed to this article.
Write to Norihiko Shirouzu at norihiko.shirouzu@wsj.com
Greek Power Plant to Use New Solar Technology
By JIM CARLTON
A technology that uses special mirrors and lenses to help generate electricity from sunlight may be a new bright spot for the solar industry.
Often called "concentrated photovoltaics," the technology was the focus of a $103 million deal in November to install 10 megawatts of generating capacity in southern Spain, enough to power a city of 40,000. SolFocus Inc., the Silicon Valley company that supplied technology in that transaction, on Monday is also announcing a deal to help build a 1.6-megawatt power plant in Greece that is based on the same approach.
SolFocus panels can be made from glass and aluminum, instead of silicon.
Concentrated photovoltaics use mirrors and lenses to direct an increased amount of energy on smaller solar panels, which can be made from low-cost materials such as glass and aluminum, thus avoiding the use of silicon, a commodity that can be subject to shortages that keep panel prices high.
The technology is on a trajectory to grow from less than 10 megawatts of generating capacity world-wide this year to as many as six gigawatts by 2020, according to a report issued earlier this year by Greentech Media and the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development, research groups both in the Boston area. That would pale in comparison to the projected 300 gigawatts in overall solar production by then, but would still double the current overall capacity of nearly three gigawatts -- most of which is supplied by silicon-based solar panels.
SolFocus is expected to announce a transaction Monday with Samaras Group, a renewable-energy developer in Greece. Including the latest deal, SolFocus officials say they will have contracts to install up to 20 megawatts of capacity.
The start-up, based in Mountain View, Calif., has raised $96 million in venture capital since its inception in 2006, and expects to close another $60 million to $80 million in venture financing by the end of January, said Chief Executive Mark Crowley. He said that money is being used to help increase the company's manufacturing capacity.
In all, investors have poured almost $400 million in venture capital into the concentrated photovoltaic sector over the past three years, Greentech Media estimates.
One big limitation for the technology, analysts say, is that it is best suited for locations with ample direct sunlight, like southern Europe and the American Southwest.
Conventional solar panels, by contrast, are being deployed almost everywhere. The concentrated technology isn't seen as practical for many homes and businesses, because it requires more room to set up.
The technology also has a few bugs to work out, some industry officials say. Sharp Corp., for instance, is testing concentrated photovoltaics on three continents. But the Japanese company hasn't marketed anything yet because of issues including a tendency of the machinery to be impacted by dust and getting the concentrating equipment to point directly at the sun for best results.
"It's still a few years out, but there is a spot for this," said Ron Kenedi, vice president of Sharp Solar Energy Solutions Group, a Huntington Beach. Calif., unit of Sharp's U.S. subsidiary.
The technology is seen having the highest potential in supplanting conventional power sources in midsize applications, such as supplying power for a water treatment plant. "It will occupy the middle ground of 10 to 50 megawatts over time," said Eric Wesoff, a Greentech Media analyst based in Woodside, Calif.
Write to Jim Carlton at jim.carlton@wsj.com
A technology that uses special mirrors and lenses to help generate electricity from sunlight may be a new bright spot for the solar industry.
Often called "concentrated photovoltaics," the technology was the focus of a $103 million deal in November to install 10 megawatts of generating capacity in southern Spain, enough to power a city of 40,000. SolFocus Inc., the Silicon Valley company that supplied technology in that transaction, on Monday is also announcing a deal to help build a 1.6-megawatt power plant in Greece that is based on the same approach.
SolFocus panels can be made from glass and aluminum, instead of silicon.
Concentrated photovoltaics use mirrors and lenses to direct an increased amount of energy on smaller solar panels, which can be made from low-cost materials such as glass and aluminum, thus avoiding the use of silicon, a commodity that can be subject to shortages that keep panel prices high.
The technology is on a trajectory to grow from less than 10 megawatts of generating capacity world-wide this year to as many as six gigawatts by 2020, according to a report issued earlier this year by Greentech Media and the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development, research groups both in the Boston area. That would pale in comparison to the projected 300 gigawatts in overall solar production by then, but would still double the current overall capacity of nearly three gigawatts -- most of which is supplied by silicon-based solar panels.
SolFocus is expected to announce a transaction Monday with Samaras Group, a renewable-energy developer in Greece. Including the latest deal, SolFocus officials say they will have contracts to install up to 20 megawatts of capacity.
The start-up, based in Mountain View, Calif., has raised $96 million in venture capital since its inception in 2006, and expects to close another $60 million to $80 million in venture financing by the end of January, said Chief Executive Mark Crowley. He said that money is being used to help increase the company's manufacturing capacity.
In all, investors have poured almost $400 million in venture capital into the concentrated photovoltaic sector over the past three years, Greentech Media estimates.
One big limitation for the technology, analysts say, is that it is best suited for locations with ample direct sunlight, like southern Europe and the American Southwest.
Conventional solar panels, by contrast, are being deployed almost everywhere. The concentrated technology isn't seen as practical for many homes and businesses, because it requires more room to set up.
The technology also has a few bugs to work out, some industry officials say. Sharp Corp., for instance, is testing concentrated photovoltaics on three continents. But the Japanese company hasn't marketed anything yet because of issues including a tendency of the machinery to be impacted by dust and getting the concentrating equipment to point directly at the sun for best results.
"It's still a few years out, but there is a spot for this," said Ron Kenedi, vice president of Sharp Solar Energy Solutions Group, a Huntington Beach. Calif., unit of Sharp's U.S. subsidiary.
The technology is seen having the highest potential in supplanting conventional power sources in midsize applications, such as supplying power for a water treatment plant. "It will occupy the middle ground of 10 to 50 megawatts over time," said Eric Wesoff, a Greentech Media analyst based in Woodside, Calif.
Write to Jim Carlton at jim.carlton@wsj.com
Green activists find new ally in US unions
The Associated Press
Published: December 14, 2008
POZNAN, Poland: Some U.S. labor groups that have long feared environmental campaigns as a threat to American jobs are starting to see advantages in going green.
This evolution was clear at this week's U.N. climate talks in Poland, where several American labor groups and environmental activists made joint appeals for policies that would promote high-tech renewable energy as the answer to both climate change and job losses.
About 25 representatives of U.S. unions were in Poznan — about twice the number at last year's U.N. talks in Bali, Indonesia — representing workers from the electrical, transit, steel, service and other sectors.
"There is a very wide cross-section of American unions that reflects the growing engagement of American unions' support of climate change policies," said David Foster, executive director of the Blue Green Alliance. The group was founded by the United Steelworkers, North America's largest manufacturing union, and the Sierra Club, the United States' largest and oldest grass-roots environmental group.
"There's a power in the joint vision that we just don't have functioning on our own," added Foster, who was for 16 years a United Steelworkers regional director.
The Blue Green Alliance was founded in 2006 and expanded this autumn to include three more unions and another green group.
Environmental protection and labor rights have intersected before, especially in past battles to eliminate toxins and other pollutants from the workplace.
But the two sides have also found themselves at odds. Unions have often seen nature lovers as idealists willing to sacrifice American jobs for the sake of endangered species. Some coal industry workers remain hostile to efforts that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by closing down coal-fired plants.
But both groups also have felt growing pressure over the past decade because of manufacturing job losses in the American heartland and what they see as an erosion of workers' rights and weakening environmental protection.
Environmentalists want clean energy — such as wind and solar power — to reduce gases that degrade the environment. It is in their interest that new jobs in the sector offer good pay and benefits, to win labor's support for their agenda.
David Hawkins, director of climate programs with the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council, attributes the deepening cooperation to the need to fight opponents who say you cannot protect the environment and preserve jobs at the same time.
"They keep on shouting that scare campaign at every opportunity they get," Hawkins said. "An alliance is a powerful way of sending the message that you can have both."
Margrete Strand Rangnes, a Sierra Club representative, says environmentalists are also fighting for workers to have stronger protections as a way of protecting whistleblowers who speak out against environmental and other violations.
Some unions see jobs in the renewable energy sector as a way to create a new wave of well-paid jobs that will replace the nearly 5 million manufacturing jobs that have disappeared over the past decade.
Robert Baugh, chairman of AFL-CIO's energy task force, said his federation still has "some differences" with environmental groups, but that "we also have a lot of common interests."
As environmentalists push for clean energy policies, he said it's vital that labor get involved to ensure that as those policies are put in place, workers' interests are not ignored.
"The climate crisis and a new energy policy is an opportunity for our country to actually have a strategy about the environment, about manufacturing," Baugh said. "We think that by addressing the environmental crisis, we actually can have the opportunity to create good, green jobs."
Baugh noted, for instance, that there are about 8,000 parts in a windmill — and that his group wants to ensure that American workers will be making them.
The labor leaders who are going green like to cite examples of where green policies have led to job creation.
Pennsylvania, for example, passed renewable energy standards several years ago that persuaded the Spanish wind energy company Gamesa to open up four plants in Pennsylvania, creating 1,400 new jobs making wind turbines.
And last year, about 500 laid-off steel workers were called back to work in two steel plate mills Gary, Indiana, to produce steel for wind turbines.
Foster said unions and green groups have waged joint lobbying efforts nationwide for laws increasing energy efficiency and promoting renewable energies, and they have teamed up for numerous court battles against companies that violate workers' rights and environmental standards.
For example, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club have endorsed the Employee Free Choice Act, a union-backed bill that would protect workers' rights to join unions. The Sierra Club has mobilized members to write to their Congress members to support the bill.
Published: December 14, 2008
POZNAN, Poland: Some U.S. labor groups that have long feared environmental campaigns as a threat to American jobs are starting to see advantages in going green.
This evolution was clear at this week's U.N. climate talks in Poland, where several American labor groups and environmental activists made joint appeals for policies that would promote high-tech renewable energy as the answer to both climate change and job losses.
About 25 representatives of U.S. unions were in Poznan — about twice the number at last year's U.N. talks in Bali, Indonesia — representing workers from the electrical, transit, steel, service and other sectors.
"There is a very wide cross-section of American unions that reflects the growing engagement of American unions' support of climate change policies," said David Foster, executive director of the Blue Green Alliance. The group was founded by the United Steelworkers, North America's largest manufacturing union, and the Sierra Club, the United States' largest and oldest grass-roots environmental group.
"There's a power in the joint vision that we just don't have functioning on our own," added Foster, who was for 16 years a United Steelworkers regional director.
The Blue Green Alliance was founded in 2006 and expanded this autumn to include three more unions and another green group.
Environmental protection and labor rights have intersected before, especially in past battles to eliminate toxins and other pollutants from the workplace.
But the two sides have also found themselves at odds. Unions have often seen nature lovers as idealists willing to sacrifice American jobs for the sake of endangered species. Some coal industry workers remain hostile to efforts that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by closing down coal-fired plants.
But both groups also have felt growing pressure over the past decade because of manufacturing job losses in the American heartland and what they see as an erosion of workers' rights and weakening environmental protection.
Environmentalists want clean energy — such as wind and solar power — to reduce gases that degrade the environment. It is in their interest that new jobs in the sector offer good pay and benefits, to win labor's support for their agenda.
David Hawkins, director of climate programs with the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council, attributes the deepening cooperation to the need to fight opponents who say you cannot protect the environment and preserve jobs at the same time.
"They keep on shouting that scare campaign at every opportunity they get," Hawkins said. "An alliance is a powerful way of sending the message that you can have both."
Margrete Strand Rangnes, a Sierra Club representative, says environmentalists are also fighting for workers to have stronger protections as a way of protecting whistleblowers who speak out against environmental and other violations.
Some unions see jobs in the renewable energy sector as a way to create a new wave of well-paid jobs that will replace the nearly 5 million manufacturing jobs that have disappeared over the past decade.
Robert Baugh, chairman of AFL-CIO's energy task force, said his federation still has "some differences" with environmental groups, but that "we also have a lot of common interests."
As environmentalists push for clean energy policies, he said it's vital that labor get involved to ensure that as those policies are put in place, workers' interests are not ignored.
"The climate crisis and a new energy policy is an opportunity for our country to actually have a strategy about the environment, about manufacturing," Baugh said. "We think that by addressing the environmental crisis, we actually can have the opportunity to create good, green jobs."
Baugh noted, for instance, that there are about 8,000 parts in a windmill — and that his group wants to ensure that American workers will be making them.
The labor leaders who are going green like to cite examples of where green policies have led to job creation.
Pennsylvania, for example, passed renewable energy standards several years ago that persuaded the Spanish wind energy company Gamesa to open up four plants in Pennsylvania, creating 1,400 new jobs making wind turbines.
And last year, about 500 laid-off steel workers were called back to work in two steel plate mills Gary, Indiana, to produce steel for wind turbines.
Foster said unions and green groups have waged joint lobbying efforts nationwide for laws increasing energy efficiency and promoting renewable energies, and they have teamed up for numerous court battles against companies that violate workers' rights and environmental standards.
For example, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club have endorsed the Employee Free Choice Act, a union-backed bill that would protect workers' rights to join unions. The Sierra Club has mobilized members to write to their Congress members to support the bill.
Abraham Breehey, a senior union official, said workers are starting to shake off their belief that green energy spells doom rather than opportunity.
Breehey pointed to the case of a group of Indiana blacksmiths who recently struck a multimillion dollar deal to produce a new hammer for heavy-duty work in building wind turbines.
That "was a light bulb moment, and we realized that there must be more examples where job opportunities on their face might not seem like green jobs but end up being part of the green economy," said Breehey, of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers.
California to Curb Truck Emissions
By REBECCA SMITH
New regulations in California for heavy-duty diesel trucks could force a sweeping overhaul of the state's trucking industry and pave the way for similar changes elsewhere.
The California Air Resources Board voted Friday to require trucks after 2011 to gradually reduce emissions of soot and, eventually, nitrous oxides implicated in smog formation. Remedies range from installing diesel exhaust filters at a cost of $10,000 and higher, to buying new engines or replacing trucks altogether.
Nearly all vehicles must be upgraded by 2014, and engines older than 2010 models will have to be replaced between 2012 and 2022. The goal: Reduce soot pollution 85% by 2022.
The rule caps an eight-year campaign by the board to curb diesel emissions, starting with the smallest sources and working up to the roughly one million heavy-duty diesel vehicles that operate in the state. An additional rule approved Friday requires low-friction tires and aerodynamic modifications to improve fuel economy.
The air board's actions are followed closely by experts outside California. Other states often piggyback off California's detailed regulatory process, and once manufacturers make changes for the state, it's easier to do the same elsewhere. Many technologies required by California later became standard nationwide, such as catalytic converters, which the state required in the 1970s.
Trucking groups argued that the cost of the rules approved Friday, about $5.4 billion, amounts to an excessive burden when the economy is mired in recession and truck revenues have dropped. The California Trucking Association, which represents 3,600 trucking firms operating 350,000 vehicles, urged the board to give truckers more time to comply.
But the board concluded that the state's air districts wouldn't meet federal air-quality standards without action now. Heavy-duty trucks are responsible for 32% of smog-forming emissions and 40% of diesel emissions from mobile sources, the air board found.
"This accelerates the cleanup of equipment on the road today," said Tom Cackette, the board's executive officer. The board estimates that 350,000 trucks will be replaced faster than normal because of the rule and that thousands of lives will be spared the health consequences of polluted air.
Even though newer trucks are cleaner, "waiting for the turnover to occur naturally just isn't fast enough," said Kathryn Phillips, head of the transportation and clean-air program for the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit advocacy group. Other states could follow California's lead in restricting diesel emissions, Ms. Phillips said, including those with big pollution problems and large ports that are magnets for trucking activity. New York, Massachusetts and Texas have shown a particular interest in the California rules, she said.
Some truckers will be able to simply add equipment in the early years of the rule but ultimately will have to scrap trucks for cleaner and costlier ones that are newer. About $1 billion in state money is available to defray costs, and those who act ahead of deadlines are entitled to larger payouts.
Some truckers broke ranks with the trucking industry and urged the air board to impose the new restrictions.
Wayne McCully, 64 years old, who has hauled heavy loads for four decades, signed a petition favoring action. He says he believes research showing that microscopic particles in soot contribute to cancer, heart attacks and lung disease. "I'm no tree hugger, but I am concerned about the environment," Mr. McCully said.
He intends to buy an aerodynamic Kenworth truck for $114,000 -- less than he would have expected to pay if the economy wasn't in recession. Its fuel economy is rated at seven to nine miles per gallon, a 25% to 30% improvement over what he's getting with his 10-year-old rig.
Write to Rebecca Smith at rebecca.smith@wsj.com
New regulations in California for heavy-duty diesel trucks could force a sweeping overhaul of the state's trucking industry and pave the way for similar changes elsewhere.
The California Air Resources Board voted Friday to require trucks after 2011 to gradually reduce emissions of soot and, eventually, nitrous oxides implicated in smog formation. Remedies range from installing diesel exhaust filters at a cost of $10,000 and higher, to buying new engines or replacing trucks altogether.
Nearly all vehicles must be upgraded by 2014, and engines older than 2010 models will have to be replaced between 2012 and 2022. The goal: Reduce soot pollution 85% by 2022.
The rule caps an eight-year campaign by the board to curb diesel emissions, starting with the smallest sources and working up to the roughly one million heavy-duty diesel vehicles that operate in the state. An additional rule approved Friday requires low-friction tires and aerodynamic modifications to improve fuel economy.
The air board's actions are followed closely by experts outside California. Other states often piggyback off California's detailed regulatory process, and once manufacturers make changes for the state, it's easier to do the same elsewhere. Many technologies required by California later became standard nationwide, such as catalytic converters, which the state required in the 1970s.
Trucking groups argued that the cost of the rules approved Friday, about $5.4 billion, amounts to an excessive burden when the economy is mired in recession and truck revenues have dropped. The California Trucking Association, which represents 3,600 trucking firms operating 350,000 vehicles, urged the board to give truckers more time to comply.
But the board concluded that the state's air districts wouldn't meet federal air-quality standards without action now. Heavy-duty trucks are responsible for 32% of smog-forming emissions and 40% of diesel emissions from mobile sources, the air board found.
"This accelerates the cleanup of equipment on the road today," said Tom Cackette, the board's executive officer. The board estimates that 350,000 trucks will be replaced faster than normal because of the rule and that thousands of lives will be spared the health consequences of polluted air.
Even though newer trucks are cleaner, "waiting for the turnover to occur naturally just isn't fast enough," said Kathryn Phillips, head of the transportation and clean-air program for the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit advocacy group. Other states could follow California's lead in restricting diesel emissions, Ms. Phillips said, including those with big pollution problems and large ports that are magnets for trucking activity. New York, Massachusetts and Texas have shown a particular interest in the California rules, she said.
Some truckers will be able to simply add equipment in the early years of the rule but ultimately will have to scrap trucks for cleaner and costlier ones that are newer. About $1 billion in state money is available to defray costs, and those who act ahead of deadlines are entitled to larger payouts.
Some truckers broke ranks with the trucking industry and urged the air board to impose the new restrictions.
Wayne McCully, 64 years old, who has hauled heavy loads for four decades, signed a petition favoring action. He says he believes research showing that microscopic particles in soot contribute to cancer, heart attacks and lung disease. "I'm no tree hugger, but I am concerned about the environment," Mr. McCully said.
He intends to buy an aerodynamic Kenworth truck for $114,000 -- less than he would have expected to pay if the economy wasn't in recession. Its fuel economy is rated at seven to nine miles per gallon, a 25% to 30% improvement over what he's getting with his 10-year-old rig.
Write to Rebecca Smith at rebecca.smith@wsj.com
Highlights of Australia's climate-change policy
Reuters, Monday December 15 2008
CANBERRA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Australia, the fourth-largest per-capita emitter of greenhouse gases, unveiled its long-awaited climate-change policy on Monday. Following are the key points:
EMISSION REDUCTION TARGETS & SCOPE
* Long-term goal of 5-15 percent reduction in carbon emissions from 2000 levels by 2020, equating to per capita cuts of 27-34 percent.
* The 15 percent target is contingent on a global agreement to make a similar reduction.
* National emission caps set in early 2010, covered by emission permits. For example, if there is an annual cap of 500 million tonnes of carbon, only 500 million tonnes worth of carbon permits will be issued in that year.
* Scheme applies to 1,000 firms covering 75 percent of total emissions.
* Broad coverage, including power generators, transport and oil and gas production, though agriculture to be excluded until at least 2015.
* Government to compensate for any rise in fuel prices arising from new policy. Airline industry will have to pay higher price, though could be eligible for other forms of compensation.
CARBON TRADING
* First carbon permits to be auctioned in the first half of 2010.
* Carbon permits to be freely traded, subject to an interim price cap of A$40 per tonne to prevent price shocks and unstable market.
* Estimated starting market price to be around A$23 per tonne if 5 percent long-term target adopted, or around A$32 if 15 percent goal adopted.
* Unlimited access to offshore carbon credits approved under Kyoto protocol but initially no exports of Australian permits.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Annual growth in gross national product to be trimmed to 1.1 percent under new policy, from 1.2 percent if nothing is done.
* One-off rise in consumer prices of around 1.1 percent, based on a carbon price of A$25 per tonne.
COMPENSATION
* Energy-intensive, exporting industries to receive free permits equal to between 60 and 90 percent of requirements, depending on a sensitivity ratio. Ninety percent assistance applies to those emitting 2,000 tonnes of carbon for every million Australian dollars of revenue; 60 percent to those emitting 1,000-1,999 tonnes for every million dollars.
* Industries likely to receive 90 percent free permits include makers of aluminium, cement, iron and steel, lime and silicon; those to receive 60 percent free permits include makers of alumina, petroleum and liquefied natural gas.
* Coal-fired power stations to receive direct assistance worth A$3.9 billion in free permits over five years, subject to a review aimed at preventing generators from making any windfall profits from any sale of permits.
* Government sets up fund to develop clean-coal technologies. (Reporting by Mark Bendeich; editing by Michael Perry)
CANBERRA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Australia, the fourth-largest per-capita emitter of greenhouse gases, unveiled its long-awaited climate-change policy on Monday. Following are the key points:
EMISSION REDUCTION TARGETS & SCOPE
* Long-term goal of 5-15 percent reduction in carbon emissions from 2000 levels by 2020, equating to per capita cuts of 27-34 percent.
* The 15 percent target is contingent on a global agreement to make a similar reduction.
* National emission caps set in early 2010, covered by emission permits. For example, if there is an annual cap of 500 million tonnes of carbon, only 500 million tonnes worth of carbon permits will be issued in that year.
* Scheme applies to 1,000 firms covering 75 percent of total emissions.
* Broad coverage, including power generators, transport and oil and gas production, though agriculture to be excluded until at least 2015.
* Government to compensate for any rise in fuel prices arising from new policy. Airline industry will have to pay higher price, though could be eligible for other forms of compensation.
CARBON TRADING
* First carbon permits to be auctioned in the first half of 2010.
* Carbon permits to be freely traded, subject to an interim price cap of A$40 per tonne to prevent price shocks and unstable market.
* Estimated starting market price to be around A$23 per tonne if 5 percent long-term target adopted, or around A$32 if 15 percent goal adopted.
* Unlimited access to offshore carbon credits approved under Kyoto protocol but initially no exports of Australian permits.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Annual growth in gross national product to be trimmed to 1.1 percent under new policy, from 1.2 percent if nothing is done.
* One-off rise in consumer prices of around 1.1 percent, based on a carbon price of A$25 per tonne.
COMPENSATION
* Energy-intensive, exporting industries to receive free permits equal to between 60 and 90 percent of requirements, depending on a sensitivity ratio. Ninety percent assistance applies to those emitting 2,000 tonnes of carbon for every million Australian dollars of revenue; 60 percent to those emitting 1,000-1,999 tonnes for every million dollars.
* Industries likely to receive 90 percent free permits include makers of aluminium, cement, iron and steel, lime and silicon; those to receive 60 percent free permits include makers of alumina, petroleum and liquefied natural gas.
* Coal-fired power stations to receive direct assistance worth A$3.9 billion in free permits over five years, subject to a review aimed at preventing generators from making any windfall profits from any sale of permits.
* Government sets up fund to develop clean-coal technologies. (Reporting by Mark Bendeich; editing by Michael Perry)
Australia commits to July 2010 for carbon trade
Reuters, Monday December 15 2008
(Adds detail)
By James Grubel
CANBERRA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Australia committed on Monday to adopting the most sweeping carbon trade scheme outside Europe in 2010, resisting industry calls for a delay, but its plan to cut greenhouse gases fell well short of demands by green groups.
Climate Change Minister Penny Wong set a target range to cut Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by between 5 and 15 percent by 2020, based on year 2000 levels, to give Australia flexibility in global talks for emission cuts beyond 2012.
"These are hard targets for Australia," Wong told reporters, adding that the policy was designed to ease the economic impact of the scheme in light of the global financial crisis.
"Our economy, including food production, agriculture and water supplies, is under threat. If we don't act now, we will be hit hard and fast. We will lose key industries and Australian jobs."
Scientists and green groups wanted cuts of at least 25 percent but the carbon scheme comes at a politically sensitive time for the government, with the mid-2010 start date set only months before it is due to hold elections to seek a second term.
"It's a total and utter failure," Greenpeace climate campaigner John Hepburn said.
While the emissions targets are lower than the European Union's target of 20 percent by 2020, and incoming U.S. President Barack Obama's proposed cuts of 25 percent, Wong said the targets were stronger on a per-capita basis.
Wong said carbon trading would cover 75 percent of Australia's carbon emissions and involve 1,000 of the nation's biggest firms, although big-polluting exporters would receive up to 90 percent of carbon permits for free.
The price of carbon will be set by the market, with the first permits to be auctioned in the first half of 2010. The government expects a price of about A$25 ($16.70) a tonne, and will impose an interim price cap of A$40 a tonne.
Participating firms will need to surrender a permit for every tonne of carbon emitted.
The auction of permits is expected to raise A$11.5 billion in 2010/11, which will all be used to compensate business and households for higher costs for electricity and transport.
The government said the scheme would trim about 0.1 percent off annual growth in gross national product from 2010 to 2050, with a one-off increase in inflation of around 1.1 percent.
Australian farmers, who have suffered more than seven years of severe drought, will be spared from taking part in carbon trading for at least five years. Agriculture accounts for about 16 percent of Australian emissions.
But transport and fuel will be included in the scheme.
The government will introduce carbon-trading laws into parliament in 2009, where it needs the support of the Greens and two independent senators, or the conservative opposition, which want the scheme delayed due to the global economic downturn.
Australia's greenhouse emissions are one of the highest per-capita levels in the developed world and five times more per person than China, due to its reliance on coal for electricity.
($1=A$1.49)
(Reporting by James Grubel, Editing by Mark Bendeich)
(james.grubel@reuters.com; =612 6273 2730; Reuters Messaging: james.grubel.reuters.com@reuters.net))
(Adds detail)
By James Grubel
CANBERRA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Australia committed on Monday to adopting the most sweeping carbon trade scheme outside Europe in 2010, resisting industry calls for a delay, but its plan to cut greenhouse gases fell well short of demands by green groups.
Climate Change Minister Penny Wong set a target range to cut Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by between 5 and 15 percent by 2020, based on year 2000 levels, to give Australia flexibility in global talks for emission cuts beyond 2012.
"These are hard targets for Australia," Wong told reporters, adding that the policy was designed to ease the economic impact of the scheme in light of the global financial crisis.
"Our economy, including food production, agriculture and water supplies, is under threat. If we don't act now, we will be hit hard and fast. We will lose key industries and Australian jobs."
Scientists and green groups wanted cuts of at least 25 percent but the carbon scheme comes at a politically sensitive time for the government, with the mid-2010 start date set only months before it is due to hold elections to seek a second term.
"It's a total and utter failure," Greenpeace climate campaigner John Hepburn said.
While the emissions targets are lower than the European Union's target of 20 percent by 2020, and incoming U.S. President Barack Obama's proposed cuts of 25 percent, Wong said the targets were stronger on a per-capita basis.
Wong said carbon trading would cover 75 percent of Australia's carbon emissions and involve 1,000 of the nation's biggest firms, although big-polluting exporters would receive up to 90 percent of carbon permits for free.
The price of carbon will be set by the market, with the first permits to be auctioned in the first half of 2010. The government expects a price of about A$25 ($16.70) a tonne, and will impose an interim price cap of A$40 a tonne.
Participating firms will need to surrender a permit for every tonne of carbon emitted.
The auction of permits is expected to raise A$11.5 billion in 2010/11, which will all be used to compensate business and households for higher costs for electricity and transport.
The government said the scheme would trim about 0.1 percent off annual growth in gross national product from 2010 to 2050, with a one-off increase in inflation of around 1.1 percent.
Australian farmers, who have suffered more than seven years of severe drought, will be spared from taking part in carbon trading for at least five years. Agriculture accounts for about 16 percent of Australian emissions.
But transport and fuel will be included in the scheme.
The government will introduce carbon-trading laws into parliament in 2009, where it needs the support of the Greens and two independent senators, or the conservative opposition, which want the scheme delayed due to the global economic downturn.
Australia's greenhouse emissions are one of the highest per-capita levels in the developed world and five times more per person than China, due to its reliance on coal for electricity.
($1=A$1.49)
(Reporting by James Grubel, Editing by Mark Bendeich)
(james.grubel@reuters.com; =612 6273 2730; Reuters Messaging: james.grubel.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Australian Gas Industry Welcomes Govt Carbon Scheme
SYDNEY (Dow Jones)-- The industry association representing Australia's oil and gas producers Monday welcomed the federal government's move to provide liquefied natural gas, or LNG producers, assistance under its proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme.
Under the plan outlined earlier Monday, firms producing 1,000-1,999 tons of carbon dioxide per A$1 million in revenue, such as LNG producers and alumina and petroleum refiners would be liable for just 40% of emissions.
In the government's July Green Paper, LNG producers received no such assistance.
Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association Chief Executive Belinda Robinson said the LNG industry acknowledges the "positive and responsible steps" taken by Australia's center-left Labor government.
"There is no doubt that the cost to LNG industry as outlined in the White Paper is less than what it would have been under the Green Paper," Robinson said in a statement.
Still, Robinson said that Australians still "have a long way to go" in accepting that Australia's gas reserves "represent a major strategic asset" for supplying the Asia Pacific region with a substantially cleaner source of energy.
-By Ross Kelly, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8235-2957; ross.kelly@dowjones.com
Under the plan outlined earlier Monday, firms producing 1,000-1,999 tons of carbon dioxide per A$1 million in revenue, such as LNG producers and alumina and petroleum refiners would be liable for just 40% of emissions.
In the government's July Green Paper, LNG producers received no such assistance.
Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association Chief Executive Belinda Robinson said the LNG industry acknowledges the "positive and responsible steps" taken by Australia's center-left Labor government.
"There is no doubt that the cost to LNG industry as outlined in the White Paper is less than what it would have been under the Green Paper," Robinson said in a statement.
Still, Robinson said that Australians still "have a long way to go" in accepting that Australia's gas reserves "represent a major strategic asset" for supplying the Asia Pacific region with a substantially cleaner source of energy.
-By Ross Kelly, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8235-2957; ross.kelly@dowjones.com
Eco home projects get the green light
The Sunday Times
December 14, 2008
Sustainability is the new buzz word for builders
Peter Conradi
One of the solutions to Dubai’s problematic carbon footprint may be glaringly obvious. The sun shines here all year round, so why not make use of it to help the environment?
The Dubai company Solar Technologies FZE announced plans in October to build the first solar panel plant in the Middle East. Measuring 61.4 sq ft, the panels will be the largest in the world, their makers claim.
New green building regulations, meanwhile, are due be submitted to Dubai’s ruling executive council, which will decide the timetable for implementation, starting next year. “Solar energy will feature strongly on the ratings and minimum standards that buildings should adhere to,” Eisa al-Maidour, assistant director-general of Dubai’s municipality for planning and building affairs and chairman of the green building committee, said recently, predicting that all buildings in the emirate would be environmentally friendly and energy-efficient in five to 10 years.
Since the beginning of this year, all new buildings in Dubai have had to meet global benchmarks on sustainability, while Nakheel, one of the country’s largest developers, is backing a campaign to encourage people to replace traditional incandescent light bulbs with low-energy ones.
The need for Dubai to improve its environmental record is clear as you sit in a frustrating traffic jam of 4x4s on Sheikh Zayed Road, surrounded by evidence of the relentless building boom that has transformed the emirate over the past decade. Stung by studies portraying it as one of the world’s worst polluters, the emirate’s rulers have begun looking at ways of creating a more sustainable future.
Green ideas are finding their way into the design of new homes: with searing temperatures the main challenge, buildings are sited to take advantage of prevailing sun and wind conditions; ideally, small towers will be built in the shadow of larger ones, enough to reduce temperatures by a precious few degrees.
Conserving water – most of which comes from energy-intensive desalination plants – is also a challenge. Nakheel, which set up its own environmental department in 2004, says treated water on the man-made Palm Jumeirah island is reused for landscaping, cooling and fire-fighting. At its Shoreline Apartments on the palm’s trunk, solar panels are used to heat water.
Rival developer Damac is also going green and is proud of its flagship Damac Heights development at Dubai Marina, which it hopes will be granted gold status under the US-designed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system being adopted in the United Arab Emirates.
Sustainability is an important selling feature for some residential projects now going on sale. Take the Atrium, a £1.1 billion mixed-use scheme being built by Australia’s Sunland Group in Madinat Al Arab, in the city’s Water-front precinct. The 68-storey skyscraper, expected to be completed by 2013, will be formed of two arching towers that blend together at the 47th level to form a single sculpted gateway, framing and maximising views to the Arabian Gulf and the city.
The complex will feature 1,045 luxury flats, from 60 sq m studios, priced at £442,000, up to a 1,318 sq m £13m penthouse. Although the emphasis will be on luxury, the Atrium will produce 1.725m kWh of renewable energy each year from solar hot water and photo-voltaic panels and wind turbines. Other features include a “smart” air-conditioning system that slightly increases the temperature inside the building when it hits 35C outside. To conserve water, air-conditioning condensate will be used to help irrigate green spaces. There will also be a centralised recycling system, car pooling services and specially designated parking slots for hybrids – a rarity on the streets of Dubai.
Sustainability has guided thinking behind the masterplan for the entire Waterfront-Canal District, a mini-city on a 500-acre site, where 60,000-70,000 people will eventually live and work. In an attempt to lure people out of their cars, the complex will have its own light rail system linking into the Dubai metro, which is due to be completed next year; there will be stops in each of the eight subdistricts into which it is divided. In a novelty for a city in which people don’t often walk, there will also be parks and pedestrian boulevards. The buildings will be designed to minimise energy and water use, with a network of canals providing a further cooling effect. The first phase should be completed in the middle of the next decade.
“Environmental consciousness in Dubai is at a much higher level than it was even five years ago,” says Sudhir Jambhekar, a senior partner at FxFowle, New York-based architects, which drew up the master plan for the development. “Everyone is talking about sustainability but it’s all incremental. Yes, there are contradictions, but we are optimistic that we can overcome them.”
December 14, 2008
Sustainability is the new buzz word for builders
Peter Conradi
One of the solutions to Dubai’s problematic carbon footprint may be glaringly obvious. The sun shines here all year round, so why not make use of it to help the environment?
The Dubai company Solar Technologies FZE announced plans in October to build the first solar panel plant in the Middle East. Measuring 61.4 sq ft, the panels will be the largest in the world, their makers claim.
New green building regulations, meanwhile, are due be submitted to Dubai’s ruling executive council, which will decide the timetable for implementation, starting next year. “Solar energy will feature strongly on the ratings and minimum standards that buildings should adhere to,” Eisa al-Maidour, assistant director-general of Dubai’s municipality for planning and building affairs and chairman of the green building committee, said recently, predicting that all buildings in the emirate would be environmentally friendly and energy-efficient in five to 10 years.
Since the beginning of this year, all new buildings in Dubai have had to meet global benchmarks on sustainability, while Nakheel, one of the country’s largest developers, is backing a campaign to encourage people to replace traditional incandescent light bulbs with low-energy ones.
The need for Dubai to improve its environmental record is clear as you sit in a frustrating traffic jam of 4x4s on Sheikh Zayed Road, surrounded by evidence of the relentless building boom that has transformed the emirate over the past decade. Stung by studies portraying it as one of the world’s worst polluters, the emirate’s rulers have begun looking at ways of creating a more sustainable future.
Green ideas are finding their way into the design of new homes: with searing temperatures the main challenge, buildings are sited to take advantage of prevailing sun and wind conditions; ideally, small towers will be built in the shadow of larger ones, enough to reduce temperatures by a precious few degrees.
Conserving water – most of which comes from energy-intensive desalination plants – is also a challenge. Nakheel, which set up its own environmental department in 2004, says treated water on the man-made Palm Jumeirah island is reused for landscaping, cooling and fire-fighting. At its Shoreline Apartments on the palm’s trunk, solar panels are used to heat water.
Rival developer Damac is also going green and is proud of its flagship Damac Heights development at Dubai Marina, which it hopes will be granted gold status under the US-designed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system being adopted in the United Arab Emirates.
Sustainability is an important selling feature for some residential projects now going on sale. Take the Atrium, a £1.1 billion mixed-use scheme being built by Australia’s Sunland Group in Madinat Al Arab, in the city’s Water-front precinct. The 68-storey skyscraper, expected to be completed by 2013, will be formed of two arching towers that blend together at the 47th level to form a single sculpted gateway, framing and maximising views to the Arabian Gulf and the city.
The complex will feature 1,045 luxury flats, from 60 sq m studios, priced at £442,000, up to a 1,318 sq m £13m penthouse. Although the emphasis will be on luxury, the Atrium will produce 1.725m kWh of renewable energy each year from solar hot water and photo-voltaic panels and wind turbines. Other features include a “smart” air-conditioning system that slightly increases the temperature inside the building when it hits 35C outside. To conserve water, air-conditioning condensate will be used to help irrigate green spaces. There will also be a centralised recycling system, car pooling services and specially designated parking slots for hybrids – a rarity on the streets of Dubai.
Sustainability has guided thinking behind the masterplan for the entire Waterfront-Canal District, a mini-city on a 500-acre site, where 60,000-70,000 people will eventually live and work. In an attempt to lure people out of their cars, the complex will have its own light rail system linking into the Dubai metro, which is due to be completed next year; there will be stops in each of the eight subdistricts into which it is divided. In a novelty for a city in which people don’t often walk, there will also be parks and pedestrian boulevards. The buildings will be designed to minimise energy and water use, with a network of canals providing a further cooling effect. The first phase should be completed in the middle of the next decade.
“Environmental consciousness in Dubai is at a much higher level than it was even five years ago,” says Sudhir Jambhekar, a senior partner at FxFowle, New York-based architects, which drew up the master plan for the development. “Everyone is talking about sustainability but it’s all incremental. Yes, there are contradictions, but we are optimistic that we can overcome them.”
Corus: 'We will quit EU to avoid carbon regime'
By Tricia Holly Davis in Poznan
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Philippe Varin, the chief executive of Corus, is threatening to shift the steelmaker's European operations to China unless regulations governing carbon emissions are overhauled.
Mr Varin warned that politicians had to help fund new clean-energy technologies or face the prospect of Corus quitting the UK and Europe.
Corus employs around 25,000 workers in the UK and is in negotiations with unions over pay in an effort to curb large redundancies.
"If we are forced to buy CO2 credits on the market without a system to improve our production process, then we will not produce steel in Europe," said Mr Varin, who is also chairman of the World Steel Association's Climate Change Policy Group. "To cut carbon emissions of steel production, we need breakthrough technology, but this is extremely expensive, costing €200m to €300m to upgrade a one million ton production plant."
Varin, who spoke exclusively to the 'IoS' at the UN Climate Change conference in Poznan, said: "There is no way for us to fund this and pay penalties for our CO2 emissions. This would wipe out all of our profits and put us at a competitive disadvantage with manufacturers in nations which are not subject to carbon caps.
"The only way forward is through improved technology, but this costs money and a carbon tax is not the answer, because manufacturers will just move the growth to other countries. Not only will that kill European industry, but we will produce twice as much CO2."
Estimates suggest that every ton of steel produced in China, where factories are older and less efficient, creates twice as many emissions as in Europe. "Our customers will still need steel, so they will have to import from China or another developing nation and then you have the added CO2 associated with shipping," Mr Varin said.
The steel industry, which accounts for 4 per cent of global emissions, was seeking to replace current carbon abatement schemes established under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, with a "sectoral agreement", he said. Such a system would give manufacturers free carbon allowances up to an industry-set benchmark and encourage technology transfer between East and West.
Steelmakers also want emissions reduction credits for deploying new technologies such as carbon capture and storage, which is currently excluded from the Carbon Development Mechanism.
Mr Varin's suggestion of a sectoral agreement process for carbon credits was criticised by environmental campaigners. A Greenpeace spokesman said: "Replacing emissions caps with a sectoral approach would mean the end of the Kyoto principles and would be disastrous for the price of carbon."
EU leaders meeting in Poznan agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020.
In a statement issued by Corus on Sunday a spokesman said: "It is not the case that European carbon regulations are leading Corus to consider physically transferring any of its European production plants assets to locations outside Europe."
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Philippe Varin, the chief executive of Corus, is threatening to shift the steelmaker's European operations to China unless regulations governing carbon emissions are overhauled.
Mr Varin warned that politicians had to help fund new clean-energy technologies or face the prospect of Corus quitting the UK and Europe.
Corus employs around 25,000 workers in the UK and is in negotiations with unions over pay in an effort to curb large redundancies.
"If we are forced to buy CO2 credits on the market without a system to improve our production process, then we will not produce steel in Europe," said Mr Varin, who is also chairman of the World Steel Association's Climate Change Policy Group. "To cut carbon emissions of steel production, we need breakthrough technology, but this is extremely expensive, costing €200m to €300m to upgrade a one million ton production plant."
Varin, who spoke exclusively to the 'IoS' at the UN Climate Change conference in Poznan, said: "There is no way for us to fund this and pay penalties for our CO2 emissions. This would wipe out all of our profits and put us at a competitive disadvantage with manufacturers in nations which are not subject to carbon caps.
"The only way forward is through improved technology, but this costs money and a carbon tax is not the answer, because manufacturers will just move the growth to other countries. Not only will that kill European industry, but we will produce twice as much CO2."
Estimates suggest that every ton of steel produced in China, where factories are older and less efficient, creates twice as many emissions as in Europe. "Our customers will still need steel, so they will have to import from China or another developing nation and then you have the added CO2 associated with shipping," Mr Varin said.
The steel industry, which accounts for 4 per cent of global emissions, was seeking to replace current carbon abatement schemes established under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, with a "sectoral agreement", he said. Such a system would give manufacturers free carbon allowances up to an industry-set benchmark and encourage technology transfer between East and West.
Steelmakers also want emissions reduction credits for deploying new technologies such as carbon capture and storage, which is currently excluded from the Carbon Development Mechanism.
Mr Varin's suggestion of a sectoral agreement process for carbon credits was criticised by environmental campaigners. A Greenpeace spokesman said: "Replacing emissions caps with a sectoral approach would mean the end of the Kyoto principles and would be disastrous for the price of carbon."
EU leaders meeting in Poznan agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020.
In a statement issued by Corus on Sunday a spokesman said: "It is not the case that European carbon regulations are leading Corus to consider physically transferring any of its European production plants assets to locations outside Europe."
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