Biochar mitigation 25% better than biomass: report

TOKYO ~ Sustainable biochar production has the technical potential to make a substantial contribution to mitigating climate change, according to a report in Nature.
The report, one of the most objective and scientific ever undertaken, shows that maximum avoided emissions in the order of 1.8 Pg CO2-Ce annually, and of 130 Pg CO2-Ce over the course [...]

Greenhouse mafia active down under

ATTITUDES shown at Copenhagen by the world’s major per capita polluters namely the USA, Australia and China, demonstrated that the core thinking has barely changed since Kyoto 20 years ago.
Sure, the presentation is smoother, the denial less strident, and the opposition to change less aggressive; but behind the scenes it is clear that big [...]

UN sanctions required to stop Indonesia logging: campaigners

SINGAPORE ~ Indonesia, currently third after China and USA in the CO2 emission league table, could become the world’s worst unless something is done to stem the country’s pursuit of wealth through logging and palm-oil cultivation.
Responding to the declaration by Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last week that his state would send financial aid to keep [...]

Coal-fired pollution to cost China US$390 billion

TAIPEI ~ Without significant action, by 2020, air pollution could cost China
US$390 billion per year as a result of disease, illness and premature death, states a report issued last week.
The report, entitled The True Cost of Coal, and commissioned by Greenpeace, WWF and the Energy Foundation, states that China’s coal-fired power stations are the country’s [...]

Earth heading for ecological credit crunch, WWF report

TOKYO ~ The world is heading for an ecological “credit crunch” as human demands on the world’s natural capital reach nearly a third more than earth can sustain.
That is the stark warning contained in the latest edition of WWF’s Living Planet Report, a highly-respected statement of the planet’s health produced every two years.
In addition, global [...]

Nestle, Cadbury, Coke, Pepsi, Unilever et al refuse to make palm-oil pledge

SINGAPORE – Thirty-one food, cosmetic and consumer goods companies – and one palm-oil supplier – have signed a Rainforest Action Network (Ran) pledge to support a moratorium on the expansion of palm-oil plantations into tropical forests.
  But many others, including major international corporations such as Cadbury, Campbell Soup, Chanel, Elizabeth Arden, Hershey, Kellogg’s, Kraft, L’Oreal, [...]

Greenpeace to meet with Indonesia government over logging

SINGAPORE ~ Greenpeace has re-iterated its call for urgent action to protect forests in order to save the global climate after gathering new evidence of the mounting threat to forests in the provinces of Papua and Riau (Indonesia).
Greenpeace is urging the government of Indonesia in Jakarta to appreciate and to provide immediate legal support to [...]

Court action urged on climate change crimes committed by Indonesia, Papua New Guinea

PARIS ~ A former slave who took the government of Niger to court for failing to enforce its own anti-slavery laws has set a precedent that could see similar cases  being brought to court by climate-change activists.
Hadijatou Mani, 24, won her case on Monday in what campaigners said was an historic judgement that was reported by [...]

Greenpeace exposes Indonesian logging companies as liars

THE more we learn about climate change the clearer it becomes that CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions are the single most important factor influencing global warming.
It doesn’t really matter which country the CO2 is released from, it all finds its way into the upper atmosphere.
Many human activities release CO2 into the atmosphere - transport, cement production, [...]

Cities are the key to climate change says UN report

BANGKOK ~ Because of their compact form and the economies of scale, cities can reduce energy consumption and make a significant difference to climate change, says a United Nations (UN) report published today.
The report, entitled State of the World’s Cities 2008, includes an extensive focus on energy consumption in cities worldwide and says that well-planned [...]