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The European Commissioner for energy policy, Andris Piebalgs, said yesterday during the press conference where the EU unveiled its plan of action against climate change: In a time of growing oil prices and climate change concerns, renewable energy sources is an opportunity that we cannot miss. They will help us to reduce our CO2 emissions, strengthen our security of supply and develop jobs and growth in a high tech developing sector. If we do the effort now, Europe will be the leader in the race towards the low carbon economy that the planet so desperately needs. Press Release: Boosting growth and jobs by meeting our climate change commitments

Yesterday the European Union agreed on a plan of action against climate change. The aim is a 20% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 from the European countries. But the aim could be increased to 30% if other countries follow suite. To be able to reach the 20% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by year 2020 the European Commission have outlined four measures that will help them achieve the goal: An improved emissions trading system (ETS) is needed. The new improved trading system will cover more emissions and allow companies in one EU country to buy allowances in any other. Emission reduction targets for industries not covered by the ETS, so that everyone can contribute. Examples on industries not covered are buildings, transport, waste etc. Legally binding targets will be introduced for increasing the share of renewable energy in every country. The different targets will reflect each countries individual potential. And finally new rules on carbon capture and storage and on environmental subsidies will be introduced throughout the EU. The whole plan is expected to cost 3 euros a week for every citizen (60 billion euros a year). The European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso says the cost is “manageable”. Yesterday at the press conference where EU's plan of action was presented, Jose Manuel Barroso said that: Responding to the challenge of climate change is the ultimate political test for our generation. Our mission, indeed our duty, is to provide the right policy framework for transformation to an environment friendly European economy and to continue to lead the international action to protect our planet. Our package not only responds to this challenge, but holds the right answer to the challenge of energy security and is an opportunity that should create thousands of new businesses and millions of jobs in Europe. We must grasp that opportunity. With this plan of action the EU is aiming to stopping the global temperatures to rise above 2 degrees. But is the plan enough? Many people think not. Unfortunately a 20% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions is not enough to stop climate change running out of control. If you listen to the scientists a 2 degree increase in global temperature is not enough to stop the worst effects of climate change. Only aiming for 20% cuts will take us to a 3 degrees increase in global temperatures where climate change will run out of control and there will be no turning back. Last time the earth were 3 degrees hotter than it is today the North Pole and Greenland were ice free, trees were growing in Antarctic and the sea level was 25 metres higher than it is today. According to CarbonEquity we should, "if we value biodiversity and human life", instead aim for a 0,5 degree (320 ppm CO2e) target. In a recent paper, CarbonEquity explains why we should aim for 0,5 degrees and explains that it is possible with global and massive political actions. Video: "Taking a head start to create a low carbon world economy" abWritePlayer(1664375, 468, 400, "http://vid.adbrite.com/video/abplayer?"); Image and Video credit: European Communities.

This year Dell, the computer maker, will be 100% carbon neutral. They will become carbon neutral by buying carbon reductions. While it’s not the best way to go green it is the fastest and simplest way at the moment. You could see it as a big first step towards a more sustainable second step. One thing is for sure. Dell is trying to take the green lead in the computer world. Michael Dell, the company’s chairman and CEO, says that "never before in the history of business have we seen such a critical need to build a worldwide community dedicated to improving the environment." He continued by saying that "leadership starts at home, which is why we [Dell] are going carbon-neutral, but this should only be the beginning of building long-term partnerships with customers, stakeholders and suppliers of all sizes to team up and make a difference for the Earth we all share." Dell recently implemented a company-wide power saving program that, according to Dell, will result in a savings of about 13 million kilowatt hours of electricity (about 8,500 tons of CO2). This will also help save Dell about $1.8 million annually. Dell is also on a pretty good spot on Greenpeace’s guide to greener electronics. But still Dell has no products on the market without the worst chemicals. In November last year Dell's Inspiron 531 became the first PC to reach Energy Star 4.0. Dell is also teaming up with ABN AMRO, AMD, Ask.com, Salesforce.com and WellPoint in the "Plant a Tree for Me" program where the companies have committed to offsetting part of their carbon output by planting trees. Image credit: Joi. Image licensed under a Creative-Commons Attribution license.

The European market for carbon dioxide emissions rights increased with 30% during January and September last year. Currently one ton of carbon dioxide emissions rights will cost you €24 (about $35). The price for the same ton of emission rights during the period of 2005 and 2007 is currently €1 (about $1,46). This is due to the fact that the European Union has, as planned, lowered the number of emissions rights, and thus the demands on the market have increased the price for the emission rights. Andrei Marcu, president of the International Emissions Trading Association, says that “establishing similar schemes to the European Union's emissions trading system in Canada and other parts of the world is crucial to the development of the carbon market and to helping the environment”. Andrei Marcu is also hoping that Canada will follow EU’s path and introduce a similar trading scheme that could be linked with the European so that, hopefully, a global emissions trading system could emerge. Learn more: - Certified Emission Reduction - European Emissions Trade Takes Off as World Watches - Voluntary Emissions Reduction

Spain recently inaugurated its brand new high-speed railway system called AVE (Alta Velocidad Española). The new high-speed trains will travel from Madrid to Málaga in a speed of up to 350 kilometres per hour. The journey will take around 2,5 hours. Before the new railway system the same journey with train would have taken around 4 hours. The new high-speed railway system is a greener alternative, and in some cases, a faster alternative than by going the same journey by plane. In April, the next part of AVE that connects Madrid and Barcelona is scheduled to be completed. When finished, people will be able to travel through all of Spain via high-speed trains. The Spanish Prime Minister, José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero, have praised AVE saying "it’s an effective and environmental friendly means of transportation". Magdalena Álvarez, the Spanish Economic Minister, have said that "AVE opens many doors to the future" and that AVE "is a project that will create wealth and take us [spain] another step towards the society we want to create". The Spanish government is planning to connect all the major cities in Spain with the AVE high-speed railway system. Year 2020 the whole system is planned to be finished to a total cost of 80,5 billion euros. Over 10000 kilometres of high-speed railways will then have been built across Spain. Image credit: Mikelo. Image licensed under a Creative-Commons Attribution-Share Alike license.

Here is a short summary of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s State of the State Address, which he made in January 8, 2008. You can read the whole speech over at knbc.com. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his speech, pushes for more dams to be built and repeating his promise to sue the Bush Administration for stopping California to get their "clean-car" standards to take effect. Likewise, on infrastructure, I will continue to push for action. We have a water system built decades ago for 18 million people. Today we have 37 million people. In 20 years, we will have 50 million people. We have to get going. Already homes and businesses are facing mandatory cutbacks. Farms are unable to irrigate crops. Building permits are being denied. And yet raging flood waters run wasted into the sea because they can’t be captured. We must expand water storage. We must build new water delivery systems. We must fix the Delta and restore its ecosystem. We will also continue to make California the world’s environmental leader. We are leading on climate change, low carbon fuels, energy efficiency - and on clean, green technology. When it comes to cleaning our air, preserving our oceans, protecting our environment, California will continue to be the foremost advocate for change. And if we have to sue the federal government to get out of our way, we will do so. Bill Magavern, senior Representative of Sierra Club California, gives his perspective and views of the speech over at CaliforniaProgressReport.com. While we had hoped that Governor Schwarzenegger would use the State of the State to roll out important new programs regarding green chemistry and better fire planning, the speech was largely devoid of details. Image credit: D_vdm. Image licensed under a Creative-Commons Attribution-Share Alike license.

Shell, the major oil company, has decided to adopt algae for its diesel production. The company has already begun the construction of a pilot plant in Hawaii. Growing algae as biofuel will not be taking valuable land areas that are needed to grow food on. Thanks to algaes impressive photosynthesis it will produce 15 times as much oil for a given area compared to other biofuel crops. Algae can also be fed CO2 directly from smokestacks. So, has Shell finally seen the green light? Far from it actually. Shell are just protecting their own interests. Now when the food and oil prices have increased, more and more companies are looking into alternative and cheaper ways, such as algae, to produce diesel. Shell’s chief executive, Jeroen Van der Veer have, recently, criticized Europe’s climate targets saying the 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 are to “overstretched”. He thinks the targets could have “a demotivating effect” on those struggling to reach environmental goals. So, even if Shell are to produce diesel fuel from algae it still remains an old fossil company that try to do everything it can to ensure a prosperous market for environment un-friendly and carbon-spewing fuels. Image credit: Sarah Camp. Image licensed under a Creative-Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works license.

As a person and consumer you have the power to do something about climate change. Never forget or think otherwise. Sure you may wonder how much you’ll actually help by replacing your CFLs, recycling etc but in the end all small things path up to something bigger and more meaningful, especially when many join in. This is part three of a series of posts explaining and giving advice on what you can do to combat climate change from your home, in the store, when you travel and on your spare time. All the things listed are easy to do, some things will take a little longer, but most of them will help save you money (besides all the positive effects on our earth). Your home is your castle! Ban incandescent light bulbs Whole countries are lining up to ban incandescent light bulbs and replace them with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). Maybe your country hasn’t embraced this bright idea yet, but your home can. Switch to low energy efficient light bulbs and help save our environment while you are saving money for yourself. Choose green energy If you have the option you should search for a green electricity supplier that can deliver clean and renewable energy. Just be sure that the energy doesn’t come from any nuclear reactors. Compost and recycle Today you can recycle everything you consume, from food packages to batteries and old TVs to your old furniture’s and much more. When you have gotten into this thing called recycling you should take the next “big step” and compost your food leftovers. When buying new furniture‘s consider to give away your old furniture’s to friends, relatives or to a charity. Hot in here? We usually have it unnecessary hot than we actually need in our apartment. Decreasing the temperature in your home with just one degree lowers the energy usage with around 5%. Put on some clothes or have some fun in the bed with someone instead of increasing the temperature. And when you are away longer periods from your home don’t forget to lower the temperature even more. Here in Scandinavia it’s enough to keep 21 degrees in our living rooms, 18 degrees in the bedroom and around 5-10 degrees in storage spaces and garage. Fill it! When doing your dishes or laundry fill everything to the top. Never run half empty dishwashers or washing machines. If you don’t wash the dishes with hot water before, a full dishwasher eats less energy than doing [the dishes] it manually. When doing the laundry use 40 degrees instead of 60 degrees. Don’t stand-by Shut off all electric gadgets such as your TV, DVD player etc instead of having it on stand-by mode. Also don’t forget to plug out your chargers when they are not in use. Low-flow Install low-flow showerheads and taps in your home. A low-flow showerhead can save up to 50% of your energy usage. Taking a shower is, ordinary, much better than taking a bath. Old freezer is bad freezer You can save a lot of energy by replacing your old freezer or/and fridge to a more energy efficient one. Also be sure not to have it to cold in your freezer. Every degree below -18 degrees increases the energy usage with 5%. Image credit: seier+seier+seier. Image licensed under a Creative-Commons Attribution license.

Did you know that about 25% of the entire size of Los Angeles is made up of roads, parking places and other areas designed for cars? Also check out this picture, taken by the Press-Office City of Münster (Germany). It demonstrates the amount of space required to transport the same number of passengers by car, bus or bicycle. It’s really mind-boggling. Image credit: Marshall Astor. Image licensed under a Creative-Commons Attribution-Share Alike license.