Tiempo Climate Newswatch

The world needs a Green New Deal as political efforts to protect the environment have proven totally inadequate, according to Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Environment Programme. "The financial, fuel and food crises of 2008 are in part a result of speculation and a failure of governments to intelligently manage and focus markets. But they are also part of a wider market failure triggering ever deeper and disturbing losses of natural capital and nature-based assets coupled with an over-reliance of finite, often subsidized fossil fuels," he argued as the Green Economy Initiative was launched.

The Green Economy Initiative rests on three pillars: valuing and mainstreaming nature's services into national and international accounts; employment generation through green jobs and the laying out the policies; and instruments and market signals able to accelerate a transition to a Green Economy. Steiner emphasized the "enormous economic, social and environmental benefits likely to arise from combating climate change and re-investing in natural infrastructure - benefits ranging from new green jobs in clean tech and clean energy businesses up to ones in sustainable agriculture and conservation-based enterprises."

A new report from the Chinese Academy of Sciences predicts that the nation's greenhouse gas emissions could double over the next twenty years. The authors of China Energy Report 2008 estimate that, by the year 2030, China's burning of fossil fuels could emit between 11.4 and 14.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. Global carbon dioxide emissions in 2007 were estimated to be about 31.2 billion tonnes.

The authors conclude that, regardless of historical responsibility, China's development path "cannot repeat the unconstrained emissions of developed countries' energy use. We must soon prepare and plan ahead to implement emissions reduction concepts and measures in a long-term and stable energy development strategy." Nevertheless, echoing the government line, economic development must not be sacrificed to climate mitigation. European environment ministers have called on the major developing nations to cut emissions by 15 to 30 per cent below a "business as usual" level as part of a post-Kyoto climate framework.

The United States Department of the Interior is to make more than 190 million acres of federal land available for the development of geothermal electricity generation. Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced that electricity production in the areas to be leased could meet the power needs of 5.5 million homes by the year 2015. Land in the National Park System would not be available for leasing.

The United Kingdom has taken over from Denmark as the world's largest generator of energy from off-shore wind turbines. Mike O'Brien, minister of state for the department of energy and climate change, said that "offshore wind is hugely important to help realize the government's ambition to dramatically increase the amount of energy from renewable sources. Overtaking Denmark is just the start. This will help in the fight against climate change and further secure the UK's energy supplies." The British government plans to boost power generation from wind farms by a third over the course of the coming year and what will be the world's largest wind farm, the Greater Gabbard scheme, should be completed by 2011. It intends to meet 15 per cent of the nations' energy needs by renewable energy sources by the year 2020.