A real gold mine of information

Young volunteers for the environment from the Climate and Development Network (Réseau Climat & Développement) have come up with a document listing more than 200 information sites on economic, social and environmental issues. While the names of the various sites are in French the web address frequently uses the English name so it’s easy to … Continue reading A real gold mine of information →

Renewables in India

While discussing India, it is interesting to know that a total installed capacity of over 10,400 MW has been added from various renewable power generation projects during the last three years: 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. This consists of 7,112 MW wind power, 965 MW small hydropower, 1,414 MW bio-power and 940 MW solar power, photovoltaic … Continue reading Renewables in India →

Air conditioning in India

An interesting article published by the Times of India says that India has become more active in establishing minimum energy performance standards and appliance labelling. This article states that 12% of products labelled for energy efficiency fail the tests. How that compares to Europe or the US, I cannot say. Interestingly, the article notes that … Continue reading Air conditioning in India →

Planning to bike around Paris on your holiday?

Amazing what you learn. Velib’, is the world’s biggest bike sharing programme in the world (according to their website) with over 25,000 bicycles available. Velib’ is great for tourists to manoeuvre around the City of Light. Interestingly, EiD has just learned that there is now an iPhone app that allows you to find where the … Continue reading Planning to bike around Paris on your holiday? →

Carbon footprints of hotels

If you want to shrink your carbon footprint when you check into a hotel, you may be better off staying at a mid-range or budget chain hotel. That's the conclusion from a report released by Brighter Planet, the eco-minded tech firm in Vermont that creates digital apps and other technology to measure environmental effects. The … Continue reading Carbon footprints of hotels →

New energy efficiency organisation launches in the UK

A new not-for-profit organisation the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Buildings (EEPB) has been launched in the UK. It replaces the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes, which traditionally did a lot of work with local authorities, housing associations and charities, particularly in regards to fuel poverty. The EEPB’s objectives include the development of industry-agreed solutions to barriers … Continue reading New energy efficiency organisation launches in the UK →

New study on the macroeconomic benefits of energy efficiency

The report, ‘The Macroeconomic Benefits of Energy efficiency: The case for public action’ by E3G, an independent not-for-profit organisation in the UK, argues the current UK and wider European focus on austerity combined with structural reforms will not be enough to drive economic recovery in the short term. A second round of stimulus packages looks … Continue reading New study on the macroeconomic benefits of energy efficiency →

New study related to energy efficiency obligations

At a time of heated debate around the merits of energy efficiency obligations within the draft Energy Efficiency Directive, a new report by the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) and eceee “Determining Energy Savings for Energy Efficiency Obligation Schemes” provides a no-nonsense set of guidelines for determining energy savings under such schemes. Based on a detailed … Continue reading New study related to energy efficiency obligations →

Quotes from Jeffrey Sachs

At the Asian Development Bank annual meeting this week, Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute and professor of sustainable development at Columbia University in the US, said: "We won't meet the carbon targets if nuclear is taken off the table," and further: "Emissions per unit of energy need to fall by a factor of … Continue reading Quotes from Jeffrey Sachs →

Key figures from the European wind industry

The European Wind Energy Association released its new “Green Growth” report on the opening day of the EWEA 2012 Annual Event in Copenhagen on 16 April. The report is available at the EWEA website. Key figures from the report released include: The wind energy sector contributed €32 billion to EU GDP in 2010 The sector’s … Continue reading Key figures from the European wind industry →