Clean energy is one of the top topics in the world these days, in presidential speeches, economic growth plans and projections, international competition and cooperation, and even in Hollywood. We have seen rapid growth in wind power, rooftop solar, innovative financing, and much more recently. Here is my list of … [continued]
Hollywood, as a whole, is one of the most powerful entities (can I call it that?) in the world. Some of its biggest stars are getting involved in the politics of climate and clean energy now. A great new video on the web featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Felicity Huffman, Forest Whitaker, … [continued]
That takes my breath away. In one of the biggest renewable energy deals in the history of the world, a Korean consortium led by Samsung* has agreed to build 2,500 megawatts of wind and solar power capacity in the Canadian province of Ontario. Samsung C&T and the Ontario government signed … [continued]
Business leaders from a diverse range of sectors and interests have called on Obama and Congress to make clean energy legislation a reality this year. Together, they have written a letter to Obama and Congress urging them to realize that we are very quickly being left behind by Asia, Europe … [continued]
India has been a bit of a wild card on climate change and clean tech issues. Like China (but not to the same extent), India made the Copenhagen climate negotiations more of a challenge, reluctant to commit to internationally binding targets and international transparency. One day they weren’t willing, then … [continued]
That’s right, you read the headline correctly. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina is getting censored by his own colleagues because of his clean energy, reduce greenhouse gases and carbon pollution, improve energy security message, but he is not letting up. The Senator gave a speech this week that … [continued]
A very beautifully designed interactive map via the AP Climate Pool shows which countries were naughty and which countries were nice when it comes to their greenhouse gas emissions, and also shows each nation’s pledges to do better in the future.
In a blow to the deal struck between the Obama administration and India during pre-Copenhagen visits, in which the President arranged for the transfer of innovative new clean coal technologies; Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) might be removed from the list of technologies that industrial countries can invest in to … [continued]
Copenhagen moved the process forward. Like the Kyoto Accord when it was first agreed to in 1997, it is not yet a legally binding treaty.
The Kyoto accord only became legally binding in 2005, and only then because that was when Russia signed the agreement. The protocol had to be ratified by enough nations to account for at least 55% of greenhouse gas emissions in order to become a valid, binding treaty, and once Russia signed, that threshold was reached. And really it took from 1992, when the Rio agreement focused attention on the problem; till 2005 for it to become legal and binding. These things take time.
Auction revenues from cap and trade would be deposited into 10 new funds established by the legislation. Spending from those funds would not require any further appropriation action (read: filibuster!) CBO’s estimate of direct spending by these ten funds during the first ten years includes:
