|
English: Finding the Silver Pipelining in the Keystone XL Decision “Dù cho Hilary Clinton có ý nói theo nghĩa này hay không, Hilary Clinton gọi đường ống Keystone XL là một “sự phân tâm” khỏi việc giải quyết vấn đề biến đổi khí hậu – một thông điệp mà tổng Thống Obama lặp đi lặp lại khi giải thích cho quyết định từ chối của mình. Cho những ai trong chúng ta nhận ra nhu cầu bức thiết của việc giải quyết vấn đề biến đổi khí hậu và của việc đưa ra những lựa chọn khó khăn và phác thảo những chính sách rõ ràng để đưa đến những kết quả khả quan và cân bằng, thời gian, công sức và sự chú ý hướng đến Keystone XL đã thực sự là một sự phân tâm.” —  Hôm nay Tổng thống Obama, sau 7 năm nghiên cứu và thảo luận, đã từ chối yêu cầu của TransCanada xin Giấy Phép của Tổng thống cho đường ống Keystone XL – một đường ống dài 1179 dặm được thiết kế để vận chuyển số lượng đến 830,000 thùng dầu một ngày sản xuất tại Canada đến một hệ thống ống dẫn tích hợp ở Mỹ. Mặc cho sự biểu tình phản đối của chính quyền Obama đối với sự kiện này, quyết định từ chối cấp giấy phép được đồn là đã được đưa ra một thời gian trước đây và quyết định công bố vào thời điểm hôm nay là một bước đi có tính toán để thắng chiếc ghế tổng thống và sự hỗ bổ sung của chính quyền từ cộng đồng môi trường trước khi đến Paris để dự các cuộc đàm phán về khí hậu của Liên Hiệp Quốc vào cuối tháng này. Tổng thống xác nhận rằng chấp thuận cho đường ống Keystone XL sẽ làm giảm vai trò của Mỹ với tư cách là nước đi tiên phong trong cuộc chiến khí hậu, khi trong thực tế quyết định này dường như có trọng lượng trong nước hơn là quốc tế. Thực sự, vai trò lãnh đạo của Mỹ trong cuộc chiến khí hậu được hỗ trợ mạnh mẽ hơn bởi các hoạt động Mỹ đã thực hiện như là một phần của Kế hoạch Hành động vì Khí hậu – Climate Action Plan. Tiếp tục đọc “Tìm ra điểm sáng trong quyết định Keystone XL” |
Chuyên mục: Biến đổi khí hậu – Climate change
Obama’s nuclear play
Allen Greenberg | Nov 29, 2015
Here’s a nice bit of irony:
Energybiz – James Hansen, the scientist who was first to raise the alarm about climate change, fueling calls to shut down coal-fired power plants, will later this week urge the expansion of nuclear power.
In other words, depending on how things work out, utilities that were forced to close down or convert their coal-powered operations because of Hansen’s work, could soon find themselves thanking him for encouraging policymakers and regulators to approve plans to build new nuclear plants.
Hansen will issue his call in Paris, during the two-week climate conference that kicks off Monday. The conference is expected to draw some 20,000 attendees, including President Obama and 120 or so other world leaders.
Also read: First U.S. small modular reactor inches ahead
The hope of the climate talks is to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. Few, however, expect the conference to deliver anything meaningful. That’s because the pledges being made to cut greenhouse gas emissions are voluntary and are unlikely to be enough to stave off environmental catastrophe. Tiếp tục đọc “Obama’s nuclear play”
How clean is clean coal?
16 November 2015Articles and blogs
Ilmi Granoff and Sam Pickard
ODI – The coal industry argues that more efficient and less polluting ‘advanced coal’ will help reduce carbon emissions and other pollution. What we can’t forget, ahead of next week’s World Coal Association meeting and OECD talks on coal policy, is that there are cheaper and cleaner options.
Burning coal generates about 40% of fossil fuel emissions. Current G7 and Chinese plants, alongside a dramatic expansion of coal power planned in the developing world, stand to blow our carbon budget.
To address this threat, the coal industry proposes replacing the most polluting coal technologies with advanced ‘high-efficiency, low emissions’ coal technologies. It claims that this will reduce emissions enough to keep global mean temperature under two degrees while taking advantage of coal as a cheap energy source.
Some also advocate that ‘climate finance’ should cover the price mark-up from conventional to advanced coal. For this to make sense, advanced coal would either need to be cleaner or cheaper than the alternatives – it is neither.
Advanced coal pollutes far more than alternatives Tiếp tục đọc “How clean is clean coal?”
World Energy Outlook 2015
Order online here
WEO-2015 Table of Contents
WEO-2015 Acknowledgements
Introduction and ScopeExecutive SummaryArabic | Chinese | English | French | German | Italian | Japanese | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Turkish
WEO-2015 Table of Contents
WEO-2015 Acknowledgements
Introduction and ScopeExecutive SummaryArabic | Chinese | English | French | German | Italian | Japanese | Korean | Polish | Russian | Spanish | Turkish
Press Release
Presentation to the Press
Factsheets
The precipitous fall in oil prices, continued geopolitical instability and the ongoing climate negotiations are witness to the dynamic nature of energy markets. In a time of so much uncertainty, understanding the implications of the shifting energy landscape for economic and environmental goals and for energy security is vital. The World Energy Outlook 2015 (WEO-2015) presents updated projections for the evolution of the global energy system to 2040, based on the latest data and market developments, as well as detailed insights on the prospects for fossil fuels, renewables, the power sector and energy efficiency and analysis on trends in CO2 emissions and fossil-fuel and renewable energy subsidies.
In addition, the WEO-2015 is informed by in-depth analysis on several topical issues:
— A lower oil price future? The decline in oil prices and changed market conditions have prompted a broad debate over how and when the oil market will re-balance. This analysis examines the implications for markets, policies, investment, the fuel mix and emissions if oil prices stay lower for longer. Tiếp tục đọc “World Energy Outlook 2015”
MOOC: Powering Agriculture—Sustainable Energy for Food
poweringag.org – We are happy to announce that the global initiative “Powering Agriculture: An Energy Grand Challenge for Development” (PAEGC) is launching a free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in cooperation with TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences. The 8-week course, which will run from Feb. 1 – Mar. 27, 2016, introduces challenges and solutions for sustainable energy use in the agriculture and food industry.
Background
Around one third of the energy used worldwide goes into the production and processing of food from field to table. Given the current energy system mix, the agrifood industry sector is however heavily dependent on fossil fuel inputs for production, transport, processing and distribution, and contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. With a continuously growing world population the need for food and for energy to produce it is increasing. At the same time millions of farmers and processors in developing countries and emerging economies lack access to clean energy technologies for irrigation, drying, cooling, storage and other processes.
How can these needs be met sustainably?
We have to produce more food with less energy, make energy use more efficient, and introduce and upscale more clean energy technologies.
About the Course
This MOOC will introduce participants to the Energy-Agriculture Nexus and introduces approaches for sustainably providing energy throughout all stages of agricultural value chains. Challenges but also solutions will be analyzed, concrete technologies will be examined focusing on their utility to promote access to clean energy. Participants will further be familiarized with relevant external influences such as market conditions, politics, and financing schemes of “powering agricultural” projects. Learning materials, developed by well-known experts, will be available as texts as well as videos on a week-by-week basis and are accompanied by assignments that will require the application of the newly learned skills. Tiếp tục đọc “MOOC: Powering Agriculture—Sustainable Energy for Food”
China Burns Much More Coal Than Reported, Complicating Climate Talks
All signs point to a treaty of hope in Paris
Despite the recent setbacks, there are signs that point to a successful outcome for the UN climate talks in Paris. At the very least, it will achieve more than the UN meeting six years ago in Copenhagen.
Wednesday 25 November 2015
Ambitious climate goals, weak foundations
Speed read
- Most ASEAN and Pacific SIDS have submitted national plans for a UN global pact
- But concerns have been raised about the reliability of the data used for the plans
- Still, the country pledges are described to combine ‘complex’ needs of the areas
The INDCs are public pledges detailing how each country plans to cope with climate change, starting in 2020, as part of a new international climate agreement that will be adopted at the UN conference. Tiếp tục đọc “Ambitious climate goals, weak foundations”
What Will the U.S. Energy Industry Look Like Over the Next Five Years?
Experts discuss shale’s impact on prices, where OPEC is headed, and other topics
The U.S. shale-oil boom and OPEC’s actions will factor into energy prices and renewables. Photo: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
WSJ – Low fuel prices and new climate policies are rapidly transforming the American energy sector, while escalating wars in the Middle East and a nuclear deal with Iran are clouding the global oil picture.
To get a sense of what the energy future may hold, The Wall Street Journal reached out to three experts in energy and geopolitics: Amy Myers Jaffe, executive director of energy and sustainability at the University of California, Davis; Sarah Emerson, principal at ESAI Energy and president of Energy Security Analysis Inc.; and Meghan O’Sullivan, the Jeane Kirkpatrick professor of the practice of international affairs and director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Here are edited excerpts.
One-year outlook
WSJ: What will the U.S. energy industry look like a year from now if low oil and gas prices persist? Tiếp tục đọc “What Will the U.S. Energy Industry Look Like Over the Next Five Years?”
Miền Trung thời El Nino
10:02 AM – 14/11/2015 TNTS – Vũ Đức Sao Biển
Miền Trung nước ta có vị trí địa lý khá đặc biệt. Nó là một dải đất dài chạy dọc theo vòng cung bờ biển, địa hình chủ yếu là núi non và đồi gò, vùng bình nguyên hẹp và nhỏ.
 Ảnh: Shutterstock |
Địa hình ấy có chiều dài mà thiếu chiều ngang, lại chịu ảnh hưởng trực tiếp của chế độ gió mùa, đặc biệt là gió foehn khô nóng mùa hè từ khu vực vịnh Thái Lan thổi sang, qua nước bạn Lào rồi đổ xuôi theo dãy Trường Sơn Đông tạo tình hình khô nóng.
Cuối tháng 10 dương lịch, tôi về miền Trung. Đáng lẽ như nhiều năm trước, trời cuối thu miền Trung sẽ có màu nắng lụa rất đẹp, dịu dàng và trong như lọc; buổi chiều sẽ có gió heo may thổi nhẹ qua khắp đồng bằng, bờ tre, bãi mía, nương dâu. Đáng lẽ như nhiều năm trước, mùa này miền Trung đã có lũ lụt – những trận lũ lụt vừa hoặc nhỏ. Đó là hiệu ứng của vùng không khí lạnh từ phương bắc tràn về, kết hợp với những cơn bão trung bình đưa mây về quần tụ trên núi cao. Mây sẽ tạo mưa nhiều cho vùng thượng nguồn, chảy xuống thành lũ lụt ngập khắp đồng bằng. Thế nhưng năm nay và tháng 10 này, miền Trung không thấy mùa lũ lụt. Quảng Nam – vùng đất nằm đúng trung lộ của đất nước, ba năm qua không có lụt, dù là cơn lụt nhỏ. Tiếp tục đọc “Miền Trung thời El Nino”
Implications of a Low-Carbon Future
-
Nov 16, 2015
The world relies heavily on fossil fuels to meet its energy needs, and the development and trade of those fuels has influenced relationships among countries throughout modern history. Most reasonable projections of the next several decades anticipate that the role of coal, oil, and gas will be maintained but lose market share to lower-carbon energy sources like wind, solar, nuclear, and greater efficiency. Despite the continued role for fossil fuels, the push for greater reliance on lower-carbon energy sources has made progress since it began in earnest several decades ago. Nearly $318 billion was invested in new clean energy sources around the world last year, up from $60 billion in 2004. Nearly half of this investment took place in large developing economies, particularly China but also Brazil, India, and South Africa.
How Thailand’s Solar Power Visionary Built an Industry with a Boost from IFC
Courtesy of Solar Power Company Group
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- One of the winners of this year’s UN Momentum for Change awards has been transforming Thailand’s renewable energy capacity with utility-scale solar farms.
- To get finance flowing for what was then a new industry in the country, she worked with the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Clean Technology Fund to access blended finance.
- The project is increasing clean energy capacity while helping drive economic growth in one of Thailand’s most impoverished regions.
Worldbank – Thailand’s solar power market was at a standstill in 2008, with solar energy accounting for less than 2 MW of installed capacity. Technology costs were falling, though, and the government was starting incentives for renewable energy developers. Wandee Khunchornyakong, a retired solar panel manufacturing executive, saw potential. Tiếp tục đọc “How Thailand’s Solar Power Visionary Built an Industry with a Boost from IFC”
Loss of diversity near melting coastal glaciers
Loss of diversity near melting coastal glaciers
Sedimentation impacting an entire ecosystem on seafloor
- Date:
- November 13, 2015
- Source:
- Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
- Summary:
- Melting glaciers are causing a loss of species diversity among benthos in the coastal waters off the Antarctic Peninsula, impacting an entire seafloor ecosystem. This has been verified in the course of repeated research dives, the results of which were recently published by experts from Argentina, Germany and Great Britain.
Tiếp tục đọc “Loss of diversity near melting coastal glaciers”
Renewables: Asean’s new energy frontier?
Renewable energy is rapidly becoming a mainstream source of power in Southeast Asia, accounting for more than 15 per cent of electricity generation in the region. This number will grow over the next decade and beyond, driven by climate change, energy security and economics.
Finding the Silver Pipelining in the Keystone XL Decision
-
Nov 6, 2015CSIS – Today President Obama, after seven long years of study and deliberation, rejected TransCanada’s request for a Presidential Permit for its Keystone XL pipeline – a 1,179 mile pipeline designed to bring up to 830,000 barrels per day of Canadian oil to an integrated pipeline system in the United States. Despite the Obama administration’s protestations to the contrary, the decision to deny the permit is rumored to have been made for quite some time and the timing of today’s decision appears to be a calculated step to win the president and the administration additional support from the environmental community before heading off to Paris for the UN climate negotiations at the end of this month. The president asserted that approving Keystone XL would undercut the U.S. role as a climate leader, when in reality the decision likely carries more weight in domestic rather than international circles. Indeed, U.S. leadership on climate is more firmly supported by the suite of action it has taken as part of the Climate Action Plan.
Tiếp tục đọc “Finding the Silver Pipelining in the Keystone XL Decision”
CVD 