March 4, 2008 (Today Online) – Developers of new and green buildings can now tap into a S$20 million fund set up by the Government – a decision that is certain to sit well all-round as oil prices continue to surge.
The fund will partly offset the cost of integrating solar panels into new buildings “which attain a certain level of Green Mark standard”, Mr S Iswaran, the Minister of State for Trade and Industry (MTI) told Parliament yesterday. Continue reading
March 2, 2008 (Daily Yomiuri) – The government and business groups are set to jointly promote the use of 21 revolutionary new technologies, such as an advanced form of solar-power generation and underground storage of carbon dioxide emissions, as part of a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions, government sources said Saturday.
Adoption of the plan, which also forms part of a national road map for promoting technological development, by the world’s major polluters could account for as much as 60 percent of the 40 billion ton cut in global emissions by 2050 that Japan has proposed, the sources said.
The government is set to announce the plan at a meeting of ministers from 20 countries on global warming to be held in Chiba starting March 14. Continue reading
Spring 2008 (YES! Magazine, Anna Fahey) – Last summer, Chinese President Hu Jintao toured the country in short sleeves to show that his countrymen could turn their air conditioners down. In China, conservation is “in.” Fashions do change.
Global warming denial is out of vogue. Unfortunately, though, the climate change do-nothing set is sporting a new line: “Why should we bother fighting climate change when China’s emissions are increasing?”
February 26, 2008 (Xinhua) – China’s green construction system, with a market value estimated at 1.5 trillion yuan (US$208 billion), is growing through energy-efficient projects, the Ministry of Construction said here on Tuesday. Qiu Baoxing, deputy head of the ministry, said the construction area involved had increased by 2 billion square meters each year, nearly half of world’s total.
As the largest construction market, China also has the largest amount of energy to conserve. Continue reading
February 4, 2008 (Company release) – Fairchild Semiconductor, a global supplier of high-performance products that drive energy-efficiency, has opened a design center in Pune, India. This research and design (R&D) center will be responsible for designing and developing the company’s new generation of power MOSFETs and IGBT technology to support popular applications such as solar inverters, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), automotive, lighting and ballast applications.
February 11, 2008 (Bangkok Post) – To cope with high oil prices and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Thailand must pursue four options: development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, nuclear energy and carbon capture and storage. However, renewable energy has certain limitations, and options for each country are different depending on availability of natural resources, technologies and manpower. This is why the Thai government has mainly concentrated on renewable energy based on domestic raw materials and wastes.
Financial incentives together with the provision of information to investors and consumers have proved to work wonders, for instance in the promotion of biofuels. The consumption of gasohol (E10) more than doubled in 2007. With the introduction of E20 in 2008, daily demand for ethanol should reach two million litres by 2011 when new cars capable of using E85 should be on sale.
February 10, 2008 (Lin Yanqin and Esther Fung) Spiralling oil prices, growing global demand for energy, limited and uncertain supplies from oil-producing countries, climate change from greenhouse gas emissions – these are the challenges faced by a Singapore dependent on imports for energy needs.But even if Singapore has to be a “price-taker” in meeting its energy needs, it can still turn “energy challenges” into “energy opportunities”.
To help make this happen, a master plan – outlined in the National Energy Policy Report – was unveiled by the Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang yesterday, with six strategies mapped out for Singapore’s energy future.
Steps will be taken to improve energy security by diversifying energy sources and the mix of fuels currently used to generate electricity. Plans are also in place to grow the value-add of the energy industry, now worth 20 billion, into a $34-billion industry by 2015, and triple the number of jobs to 15,300.
From: Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive
To: All Shell employees
Date: 22 January 2008 Subject: Shell Energy Scenarios
Dear Colleagues
In this letter, I’d like to share reflections about how we see the energy future, and our preferred route to meeting the world’s energy needs. Industry, governments and energy users – that is, all of us – will face the twin challenge of more energy and less CO2.
This letter is based on a text I’ve written for publication in several newspapers in the coming weeks. You can use it in your communications externally. There will be more information about energy scenarios inthe months ahead.
By the year 2100, the world’s energy system will be radically different from today’s. Renewable energy like solar, wind, hydroelectricity and biofuels will make up a large share of the energy mix, and nuclear energy too will have a place.
Mankind will have found ways of dealing with air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. New technologies will have reduced the amount of energy needed to power buildings and vehicles.
January 25, 2008 (Bahrain Tribune) – Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s $15 billion future-energy initiative, has made significant steps forward in its ambition to make Abu Dhabi the global centre for future energy. As a long-term strategic and financial initiative, the company aims to create an entirely new economic sector in the emirate, turning it into an exporter of technology.Since its inception in April 2006, Masdar has been working to bring this initiative to life, and many of the building blocks are now in place. Masdar Clean Technology Fund (www.masdarctf.com), an investment fund dedicated to advancing renewable energy and sustainable technologies, has concluded its first year of operations with one of the strongest and most successful deal flows in the investment community. Continue reading
January, 26, 2008 (Bloomberg) – Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda vowed to cut carbon emissions and earmark funds to help developing nations cope with global warming, in a bid to take a leading role in combating climate change. Over the next five years, Japan will spend $30 billion on new environmental technology at home and provide another $10 billion for developing countries, Fukuda said in a speech today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Fukuda also proposed a 30 percent improvement in energy efficiency globally by 2020.
Asia Cleantech 