The study looked at factors at play in the Amazon -- fires, deforestation, weather and the expansion of ranching -- and concluded that greenhouse gases including methane and nitrous oxide being emitted in the Amazon basin offset and most likely exceed the region's ability to soak up carbon dioxide.
Access the full report HERE. (Source: Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 11 Mar., 2021) Contact: Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, +41(0)21 510 17 40,
Fax +41 (0)21 510 17 01, www.frontiersin.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News Amazon Rainforest, GHGs, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change,
This funding will help to remove 28 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere, equivalent to the offsetting London's entire CO2 emissions annually over the next 15 years, through investing in eco-friendly projects like harvesting nuts, seeds, and coffee sustainably, restoring lost forests, diversifying crops to prevent soil erosion, and launching conservation activities -- restoring tropical forests as our most effective and natural carbon capture and storage sinks.
The government program is expected to attract as much as £850 million in private investment, support thousands of green jobs across multiple sectors, such as agriculture, food, and technology in these regions, and to provide 23 pct of the reduction in carbon emissions and climate impacts needed over the next decade to meet the goals set in the Paris Climate Agreement. (Source: UK Ministry of State, PR, 12 Mar., 2021)
Contact: UK International Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith , www.gov.uk/government/people/zac-goldsmith
More Low-Carbon Energy News Rainforest, Reforestation, Climate Change, Deforestation,
The funding will be used to develop a building automation software program -- Riptide IO -- and extend its Building Operation System platform to more buildings, including schools and offices.
The company's Smart Motor System -- the world's most energy-efficient, cost-effective, internet-enabled motors and controls -- has helped reduce energy consumption for clients by an average of 64 pct compared to the conventional electric motors used in home HVAC applications, according to the company.
(Source: Turntide Technologies, Website, Fortune, Mar., 2021) Contact: Turntide Technologies, 669-224-4377, www.turntide.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Management, Energy Storage, Energy Efficiency,
The offshore wind farm will be operated by the Crosswind Consortium, a joint venture between energy companies Shell and Eneco, and have an overall capacity of 759MW, half of which is being purchased by Amazon to power its European operations .
The project is the e-commerce giant's largest single-site renewables project to date.
In December, Amazon announced it will invest in 26 wind and solar projects totaling 3.4GW of electricity production capacity. (Source: Amazon, PR, Energy 8 Feb., 2021) Contact: Eneco,
Kees-Jan Rameau, Strategic Growth Officer, www.eneco.com; Amazon, amazon-pr@amazon.com, www.amazon.com/pr; Shell, www.shell.com/newenergies;
Crosswind Consortium, www.crosswindhkn.nl
More Low-Carbon Energy News Amazon, Shell, Eneco, Wind, Renewable Energy,
ZeroAvia has completed 10 test flights with a six-seater propeller plane powered by hydrogen. Investors included Amazon and energy giant Royal Dutch Shell.
ZeroAvia -- "the first practical true zero emissions aviation powertrain" -- enables zero emission air travel at scale, starting with 500 mile short-haul trips, at half of today's cost. The company's novel approach removes many limitations of the current zero emission programs, according to the company website
(Source: ZeroAvia, PR, Website, Jan., 2021)
Contact: ZeroAvia, Valery Miftakhov, CEO, info@zeroavia.com, www.zeroavia.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Hydrogen news, Alternative Fuel news,
Amazon previously announced it aims to power all of its operations with renewable energy sources by 2025, five years ahead of an earlier target, and to become carbon-neutral 15 years later. Including the new deals, Amazon has backed 127 wind and solar projects, with 6.5 gigawatts of capacity.
(Source: Amazon, PR, 10 Dec., 2020) Contact: Amazon, amazon-pr@amazon.com, www.amazon.com/pr
More Low-Carbon Energy News Amazon, Renewable Energy,
Eden Reforestation Projects -- $5 million to plant trees and alleviate extreme poverty in three countries.www.edenprojects.org. (Source: Bezos Earth Fund, Release, 16 Nov., 2020)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Bezos Earth Fund, Climate Change,
Climate Pledge members agree to: measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis; implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Climate Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies; and to neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially-beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.
The Climate Pledge was founded in 2019 by Amazon and Global Optimism with a commitment to reach the Paris Climate Agreement 10 years early and be net-zero carbon by 2040. Eleven organizations have now signed The Climate Pledge including: Amazon, Best Buy, Infosys, McKinstry, Mercedes-Benz, Oak View Group, Real Betis, Reckitt Benckiser (RB), Schneider Electric, Siemens, and Verizon. (Source: Amazon,com, PR, 24 Sept., 2020) Contact: The Climate Pledge, www.theclimatepledge.com; Global Optimism, www.globaloptimism.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News The Climate Pledge, Paris Climate Accord, Climate Change, Carbon Emissions,
Under the offering, customers can choose a $0 Google Nest Thermostat E or a discounted Google Nest Learning Thermostat -- which retails on Amazon in the $320 range -- for $49 after applicable rebates, when they shop on the South Jersey Gas Marketplace.
Independent studies show that Google Nest thermostats saved people an average of 10 pct to 12 pct on heating and 15 pct on cooling costs for an estimated average savings of $131 to $145 per year, according to the South Jersey Gas release.
(Source: South Jersey Gas, PR, Beachcomber, Sept., 2020) Contact: South Jersey Gas, Deborah Franco, VP Clean Energy & Sustainability, www.southjerseygas.com; Uplight, www.uplight.com; Neste Thermostat, www.neste.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News South Jersey Gas , Thermostat, Energy Efficiency,
SCE also foresees half of the state's households having solar panels and vehicles and buildings running primarily on electricity. The utility estimates that 75 pct of cars , space and water heating need to be electric by 2045.
Download the SCE PATHWAY 2045 -- Update to the Clean Power and Electrification Pathway whitepaper HERE. (Source: SCE, Yale Climate Connections, Aug., 2020)
Contact: SCE, Ignacio Fernandez, Climate Policy Aadvisor, William Walsh, VP Energy Procurement & Management, www.sce.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Southern California Edison , SCE, Carbon Neutral, Renewable Energy,
Amazon also released its 2019 sustainability report and an update on the company's sustainability goals and programs, including:
Details of Amazon's sustainability goals are HERE.
(Source: Amazon, PR, June, 2020) Contact: Amazon Inc., Amazon-pr@amazon.com,
www.amazon.com/pr
More Low-Carbon Energy News Climate Pledge, Climate Change, Amazon, Jeff Bezos,
The Climate Pledge calls on new signatories to be net zero carbon across their businesses by 2040 -- a decade ahead of the Paris Climate Accord's goal of 2050. It also calls for signatories to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis; implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions and other carbon emission elimination strategies; and neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially-beneficial offsets to achieve net zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.
Infosys, which is one of the first companies to place an internal price on carbon, has an energy efficiency program that helped reduce its per-capita electricity consumption by 55 pct , and has invested in community-based emission reduction projects to help meet its net zero carbon goal. (Source: Amazon, PR, Business Wire, 16 June, 2020) Contact: Infosys, Salil Parekh, CEO, www.infosys.com; The Climate Pledge, www.theclimatepledge.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Climate Pledge news, Infosys news, Climate Chnage news, Carbon Emissions news, Paris Climate Agreement news,
The company plans to construct similar facilities in Australia and the U.S. -- Ohio and Virginia -- as part of its Climate Pledge and commitment to be powered by 100 pct renewable energy by 2030.
Amazon presently has 31 renewable energy facilities and uses power from solar panels on rooftops at 60 fulfillment centers around the world. (Source: Amazon, GeekWire, 21 May, 2020)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Amazon, Solar,
The study, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, tracked 300,000 trees over 30 years, providing the first large-scale evidence of the decline in carbon uptake by the world's tropical forests. The researchers combined data from two large research networks of forest observations in Africa and the Amazon, as well as years spent traveling to remote field sites
Access the Asynchronous Carbon Sink Saturation in African and Amazonian Tropical Forests study
HERE. (Source: Nature, Mar. 2020)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Carbon Sink, Carbon Emissions,
The fund, which "aims to support scientists, activists, NGOs -- any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world", is expected to begin issuing grant funding this summer.
(Source: Jeff Bezos, Instagram, 18 Feb., 2020)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Climate Change, Amazon, Jeff Bezos,
In its deliberations, the city is defining home wind turbines as being roughly
20 feet high, if ground mounted, or 20 feet above roof height. The models under consideration can generally be
ordered through companies like Home Depot, Amazon, and eBay.
(Source: City of Fargo, Cuty Live, 10 Feb., 2020) Contact: City of Fargo, www.fargond.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News Wind, Wind Turbine, ,
When fully online, roughly 80 pct of the facilities total power generation will be purchased by Amazon and Arlington County for its buildings, streetlights, traffic signals, water pumping, and wastewater treatment.
(Source: Dominion Energy Virginia, WDVM, 31 Jan., 2020)Contact: Dominion Energy Virginia, Keith Windle, VP Business Development and Merchant Operations, www.dominionenergy.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Dominion Energy Virginia, Solar,
Qualifying projects include a forest preservation project in Brazil's Amazon River delta, a photovoltaic program in Senegal, a biogas production program in Vietnam and others. The program receiving the highest number of votes will, starting this year, be included in Air France's offsetting initiative.
A global carbon offset scheme for international flights is also being introduced and is backed by the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (CORSIA) to reduce aviation CO2 emissions by 2.5 billion tonnes from 2020 to 2035. (Source: Air France, AirLine Ratings, 14 Jan., 2020)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Carbon Offset, Aviation Emissions, CORSIA,
Amazon's newest renewable energy project in Europe will be the company's first large-scale solar project generating 149 MW near Sevilla. The company's newest renewable energy solar projects in the US will be located in Lee County, Illinois and in Northern Virginia. Together, they total 180 MW and are expected to generate almost 400,000 MWh of renewable energy annually. Once complete, the three new renewable energy solar projects will provide an estimated 329 MW of additional renewable capacity.
To date, Amazon has launched over 70 renewable energy projects providing more than 1,900 MW and over more than 5.3 million MWh of renewable energy annually. These projects include 21 utility-scale wind and solar farms and more than 50 solar rooftops installed on fulfillment centers and sort centers around the globe.
(Source: Amazon, PR, BusinessWire, Dec., 2019)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Amazon, Renewable Energy, Wind,
COP25 was originally scheduled for Brazil but moved to Chile after Brazil's right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, widely criticized by environmentalists for his policies on the Amazon region, took office last January. However, following lengthy spells of civil unrest in Chile, the Sebastian Pinera government there announced in early November that the country was ceding the hosting of COP25 to Spain, four weeks before it was set to start.
Despite having given formal notice on withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, the U.S. will attendant the Madrid
meeting. (Source: UN COP25, Various Media, 30 Nov., 20190 Contact: COP25, www.ifema.es/en/cop25; World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas, Secretary General, +41 (0) 22 73 0811, www.wmo.int
More Low-Carbon Energy News COP25, Climate Change, World Meteorological Organization ,
In response to considerable environmental group opposition to the lifting of the ban, The Brazilian Agriculture Ministry denied that the move undermines preservation of the Amazon and Pantanal regions and claimed the 2009 rule was "obsolete, because other laws had since been passed protecting those areas."
In Sao Paulo, the Sugarcane Industry Union (UNICA) added that the 2009 rule was "nothing more than bureaucratic scaffolding" and that "ethanol and all our products must be sustainable from beginning to end."
Brazil is the world's largest sugarcane producer, with more than 10 million hectares (24.7 million acres) planted in 2018, according to data from UNICA.
(Source: UNICA, DFS, 10 Nov., 2019) Contact: UNICA, atendimento@unica.com.br, www.english.unica.com.br
More Low-Carbon Energy News UNICA, Sugarcane Ethanol, Ethanol, Brazil Ethanol,
The goal is to help these startups scale-up their businesses and make construction, buildings and energy systems more efficient and flexible, and public spaces more multifunctional. The ten startups selected for the program include:
The Urbantech Program is a collaboration between private companies and is supported by the philanthropic association Realdania and The Danish Industry Foundation. Urbantech is run by Rainmaking in collaboration with BLOXHUB, Danish Design Centre, Danish Architecture Center and Amazon Web Services.
(Source: Urbantech Program, EU-Startups, Nov., 2019)
Contact: Urbantech Program, urbantech@rainmaking.io,
www.urbantechprogram.io
More Low-Carbon Energy News Sustainability, Energy Efficiency,
The newly announced £1.44 billion funding, which will come from the UK aid budget and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), will be earmarked for tackling climate change, including wildfires.
During the Summit meeting, the G7 agreed to support a medium-term reforestation plan which will be unveiled at the UN in September.
(Source: G7 Release, Various Media, Daily Mail, 27 Aug., 2019)
More Low-Carbon Energy News G7, Climate Change, Carbon Emission ,
"The fires raging in parts of the Amazon rain forest are symptomatic of a 'climate emergency which does not know international boundaries. The Amazon is a global resource as well as a national one." -- The Bishop of Salisbury, Nick Holtam, Church Of England Environmental Affairs Leader
More Low-Carbon Energy News Climate Change news,
The study, published August 5 in the journal Nature Geoscience, found that accounting for phosphorus-deficient soils reduced projected CO2 uptake by an average of 50 pct in the Amazon, compared to current estimates based on previous climate models that did not take into account phosphorus deficiency. The Amazon Basin is critical to help mitigate climate change due to its trees absorbing around a quarter of the CO2 released each year from the burning of fossil fuels.
According to Berkeley Lab research scientist and study co-author Jennifer Holm, "Most predictions of the Amazon rainforest's ability to resist climate change are based on models that have outdated assumptions; one of those is that a sufficient supply of nutrients such as phosphorus exist in soils to enable trees to take in additional CO2 as global emissions increase," said . "But in reality the ecosystem is millions of years old, highly weathered, and therefore depleted of phosphorus in many parts of the Amazon."
Agriculture, forestry, and other types of land use account for 23 pct of human-caused GHG emissions, yet at the same time natural land processes absorb the equivalent of almost a third of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and industry, according to the recently released International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on land and climate interactions.
(Source: DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, PR, Eureka Alert, 20 Aug., 2019) Contact: US DOE
Office of Science, energy.gov/science; LBNL, Jennifer Holm, Research Scientist and Study Co-author, www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-holm-265600b, www.lbl.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News LBNL, Rainforest, CO2, Carbon Sink, Climate Change,
Eolus North America holds 60 pct interest in Wind Wall Development, LLC that owns the rights to the Wind Wall 1 Project. Commercial operation is planned for 2020. Eolus North America, Inc has also entered into a long-term PPA with Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com company. The wind farm is projected to generate sufficient energy for up to 14,000 U.S. homes for a year.
Eolus presently has aabout 800 MW of assets under the full scope of management contract and will reach over 1,200 MW over the next few years.
(Source: Eolus Vind AB, PR, ClobalNewsWire, Yahoo, 20 June, 2019)
Contact: Eolus Vind AB North America, Per Witalisson, CEO, +46 10 199 88 02
www.eolusvind.com; Vestas, Christina Schmidt, +49 40 46778 5153, +49 (0) 160 90141736., chbut@vestas.com, www.vestas.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Vestas, Eolus Vind, Wind,
The May 2019 deforestation is 25 pct higher than in May 2018, May, and twice that of May, 2017.
Earlier this year, Brazil's freshman President Jair Bolsonaro's administration was reportedly planning to follow US President Donald Trump's lead and pull Brazil out of the Paris Climate Agreement. In his first 5 months in office, Bolsonaro abolished the ministries that dealt with climate change, trimmed the remaining agencies' budgets and now wants to privatize vast areas of the Amazon rain forest for agribusiness, timber and mining interests. (Source: Various Media, Reuters, June, 2019)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Amazon Deforestation, Carbon Emissions, Deforestation,
The three wind projects are expected to generate more than 670,000 MWh of electricity annually.
These plants, combined with AWS's previous nine renewable energy projects, will produce over 2,700,000 MWh of power each year, according to the Amazon press release. (Source: Amazon, PR, April, 2019)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Amazon, Wind, Renewable Energy,
"We, the undersigned 4,520 Amazon employees, ask that you adopt the climate plan shareholder resolution and release a company-wide climate plan that incorporates the principles outlined in this letter.
"Amazon has the resources and scale to spark the world's imagination and redefine what is possible and necessary to address the climate crisis. We believe this is a historic opportunity for Amazon to stand with employees and signal to the world that we're ready to be a climate leader.
"Climate change is an existential threat. The 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report predicts that a warming of 2 degree C, which we're currently on track to surpass, will threaten the lives of hundreds of millions of people and put thousands of species at risk of extinction. We're already seeing devastating climate impacts: unprecedented flooding in India and Mozambique, dry water wells in Africa, coastal displacement in Asia, wildfires and floods in North America, and crop failure in Latin America. Vulnerable communities least responsible for the climate crisis are already paying the highest price.
"Amazon's leadership is urgently needed. We're a company that understands the importance of thinking big, taking ownership of hard problems, and earning trust. These traits have made Amazon a top global innovator but have been missing from the company's approach to climate change. For example: We (Amazon) haven't disclosed a company-wide plan to reach zero carbon emissions within the timeline required; Shipment Zero only commits to net carbon reductions; We have an AWS for oil & gas initiative devoted to helping fossil fuel companies accelerate and expand oil and gas extraction; We donate to climate-delaying legislators (Amazon has joined a variety of sustainability organizations like the Corporate Eco Forum and the American Council on Renewable Energy, we donated to 68 members of congress in 2018 who voted against climate legislation 100 pct of the time) ; and our sustainability goals lack context. "For example, we've set a goal of at least 50 solar installations in warehouse facilities by 2020. This represents only 6 pct of buildings in our global fulfillment network and a fraction of our overall carbon footprint .
"Our customer obsession requires climate obsession. This necessitates an immediate company-wide plan addressing climate change that demonstrates the following principles: Public goals and timelines consistent with science and the IPCC report ; A complete transition away from fossil fuels rather than relying on carbon offsets; Prioritization of climate impact when making business decision; Reduction of harm to the most vulnerable communities first; Advocacy for local, federal, and international policies; Fair treatment of all employees during climate disruptions and extreme weather events.
"In our mission to become 'Earth's most customer-centric company,' we believe our climate impact must be a top consideration in everything we do. We have the power to shift entire industries, inspire global action on climate, and lead on the issue of our lifetimes. We ask that you, as leaders responsible for our strategic direction, adopt the climate plan resolution and release a company-wide plan that incorporates the six principles above." (Source: Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, April, 2019)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Amazon, Climate Change, Renewable Energy,
AWS will purchase the output of a new 91.2MW project in Donegal, Ireland, expected to be online by the end of 2021.
AWS will also purchase 91MW of power from a new wind farm in Bäckhammar, Sweden, to deliver energy by the end of 2020.
Thirdly, a wind project in California, US, will provide up to 47MW of wind power to AWS by the end of 2020. The names of the projects or developers have not been disclosed.
The combined capacity of over 229MW, is expected to generate more than 670GWh annually.
(Source: Amazon, Windpower, Others, 9 April, 2019)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Amazon, Renewable Energy, Wind,
The new LEAN initiative is part of the Johnson Controls and CBRE Innovation Lab, established three years ago to evaluate, connect and leverage products, services and energy data to create value for occupiers and investors of real estate, according to the company.
Berkeley Lab will automate and improve the LEAN tool and create an open-source version for public use. CBRE will be an initial deployment partner and will use the tool to help their customers target cost-effective energy efficiency retrofit opportunities. WRI will use the open-source version of the tool to help local governments target these retrofit opportunities in both public and private buildings.
Download Johnson Controls LEAN energy analysis technology details
HERE. (Source: Johnson Controls, PR, Campus Safety, 20 Jan., 2019) Contact: Johnson Controls, Clay Nesler, JVP Global Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs, (855) 324-3650,
www.johnsoncontrols.com; CBRE Group Inc., David Pogue, Snr. VP, (212) 984-6515, www.cbre.com; World Resources Institute, www.wri.org; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, www.lbl.gov
More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency, Johnson Controls, CBRE, World Resources Institute,
Writing on his blog, Araujo described climate science as a "dogma" that ignores "evidence" showing the opposite of rising temperatures and greater concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere.
"The left has sequestered the environmental cause and perverted it to the point of paroxysm over the last 20 years with the ideology of climate change. The climate [scientists] gathered some data suggesting a correlation between rising temperatures with increasing concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, ignored data suggesting the opposite, and created a scientific dogma that no one else can contest on pain of being excommunicated from good society.", the new foreign minister's blog contends.
Araujo's blog parrots U.S, President Donald Trump adding, "This dogma has served to justify an increase in the regulatory power of states over the economy and power of international institutions over national states and their populations, as well as to stifle economic growth in democratic capitalist countries and foster China's growth."
Pres. Donald Trump, who recently raked the U.S. Forest Service over the coals for not adequately raking leafs to prevent forest fires, will perhaps be best remembered for calling climate change a "hoax" and a "con-job created by the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive."
(Source: Ernesto Araujo, Blog, 12 Oct., 2018)
Contact: Ernesto Araujo, Blog
www.metapoliticabrasil.com/blog/sequestrar-e-perverter?fbclid=IwAR2yJ9k5BJzaHGjjYrVwRdTNyX53DHT1Ng6e4MtnV-sA1xvD-MloWv84hMU
More Low-Carbon Energy News Donald Trump.Climate Change,
Researchers say uncontrolled wildfires in the understorey -- ground level -- of humid tropical forests during extreme droughts are a large and poorly quantified source of CO2 emissions. The study Quantifying Immediate Carbon Emissions from El Nino-Mediated Wildfires in Humid Tropical Forests, looked at a 6.5 million hectare region, of which almost 1 million hectares of primary and secondary forests burned during the 2015-2016 El Nino. Although the area analyzed covers less than 0.2 pct of Brazilian Amazonia, these wildfires resulted in expected immediate CO2 emissions of over 30 million tonnes, three to four times greater than comparable estimates from global fire emissions databases.
Dr Erika Berenguer of Oxford and Lancaster University, and colleagues found that following the fires, the surviving trees grew significantly more than those located in unburned forests. On average trees in burned areas of forest grew 249 pct more than trees in forests hit by drought but not fire. Although the growth rate is good news, this large increase in growth appears to be a relatively short-term response, according to the researchers.
Professor Jos Barlow of Lancaster University said: "Only a few trees can survive these wildfires, as Amazonian forests did not co-evolve with this threat. So even though surviving trees grow faster in burned forests, this does not compensate the large carbon loss that results from tree mortality."
Meanwhile, Camila V. J. Silva of Lancaster University led research including 31 other burned plots across the Brazilian Amazon, which showed that even 30 years after a fire, seemingly 'recovered' forests still hold 25% less carbon than nearby undisturbed primary forests.
(Source: Lancaster University, 8 Oct., 2018) Contact: Lancaster University, Kieran Withey, Lead Author,
Beth Broomby, +44 01-524-593-719,
b.broomby@lancaster.ac.uk, www.lancs.ac.uk
More Low-Carbon Energy News Carbon Emissions, CO2,
The company plans to deploy large scale rooftop solar systems at 10 of its U.K. fulfillment centers over the next 18 months.
This solar generated electricity will be backed by UK Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin certificates, which means that the energy bought for fulfillment centers and other buildings will have come from sources such as wind and solar. (Source: Amazon, CNBC, 16 Oct., 2018)
More Low-Carbon Energy News Amazon, Solar,
van Beurden noted that reforestation -- the planting of more trees -- was the only solution to meeting the goal of 1.5C. Reforestation is similar to afforestation, which is the process of restoring and recreating areas of woodland on land that was not previously forested.
Removal of woodland areas and forests from the planet has become all too common, due to agricultural activities, logging, mining and forest fires. Forests soak up pollution and dust from the air, maintain the balance of CO2 and oxygen in Earth's atmosphere, build natural habitats and ecosystems and maintain the water cycle which prevents soil erosion.
Reforestation can help mitigate global warming by reducing the amount of CO2 in the air. Trees use sunlight to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Water also evaporates from leaves and this conversion of water to vapour removes heat from the air.
The Shell CEO added that an Amazon-sized tree planting project is needed to meet global warming targets. (Source: Shell, iNews, 10 Oct., 2018)
The recently released long-term study offers a better understanding of how mangrove deforestation contributes to the greenhouse gas effect, one of the leading causes of global warming.
The Brazilian mangrove forest fringes the entirety of the Atlantic Coast at the mouth of the Amazon, the largest river in the world with the largest mangrove forest. Mangroves -- aka Blue Carbon -- represent 0.6 pct of all the world's tropical forests but their deforestation accounts for as much as 12 pct of GHG emissions from all tropical deforestation.
Partial funding for the study was provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development, Sustainable Wetlands Adaptation and Mitigation Program. (Source: Oregon State University, KTVZ.COM, 24 Sept., 2018) Contact: Oregon State University, J. Boone Kauffman, Research Leader, www.researchgate.net/profile/John_Kauffman3
More Low-Carbon Energy News Carbon Emissions, Blue Carbon, Carbon Sequestration, Mangrove,