Archive for the ‘Climate Change’ Category
Solar Feed-in-Tariffs (FIT) help make renewable energy more affordable
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The feed-in tariff system is designed as an incentive for energy producers to move away from conventional fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Essentially, it is government legislation which guarantees a fixed, premium rate for renewable electricity fed into the national grid. The power companies are obliged by the government legislation to buy the renewable [...]
Britain To Shift To Smart Grid, Meter Systems
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Britain is to shift to a smart energy system, including a national smart grid, which should pave the way to a low carbon future that includes large wind farms, more efficient heating systems and electric vehicles.
The government said smart meters, which provide real-time information to consumers about energy usage, and smart grids, which give real-time [...]
Cutting emissions to mitigate climate change will make people healthier, according to research.
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A special series of articles, published in medical journal, the Lancet, outlines how such policies could have a direct impact on global health.
The series has been released ahead of the UN climate summit in Copenhagen.
World Health Organization (WHO) director, Margaret Chan, said health protection should be a criterion by which mitigation measures were judged.
Dr Chan [...]
Small-scale green energy schemes could generate more electricity than two nuclear power stations
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Small-scale renewable electricity schemes could generate more than twice the output of Sizewell B nuclear power station by 2020 if Ministers improve the proposed Clean Energy Cash-back scheme (or feed-in tariff), due to be launched in April next year, according to figures released today.
The environmental campaign group used figures obtained from the Government to show [...]
Government urged to introduce local carbon budgets
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The Government should introduce local carbon budgets to help ensure that councils play their part in tackling climate change, Friends of the Earth said today. The call coincides with today’s speech by Local Government Secretary John Denham which urges local councils to “lead the way” in helping Britain meet its climate change commitments to drive [...]
Councils must do more to tackle climate change
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Councils can play a major role in tackling climate change, but many have failed to put appropriate strategies and action plans in to place, a new report by the Local Government Association Independent Climate Change Commission states.
Friends of the Earth’s climate campaigner Martyn Williams said:
“Climate change is the biggest threat facing humankind, and local authorities [...]
New policy puts climate change at the heart of planning
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The government will publish a new planning policy designed to boost the use of renewable energy and community heating schemes in new buildings as it gears up for the introduction of carbon-free homes from 2016.
It is thought that the new planning policy statement (PPS) addresses the concerns of the renewables industry and many local authorities, [...]
Questions & Answers on Zero-Carbon Homes
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The government wants all of our homes to be zero-carbon by 2016. Is this target achievable?
What does a zero-carbon home actually mean?
The government’s definition of a zero-carbon home is one where there are zero net emissions from all energy used over one year. This means that energy needed for heating, lighting, hot water and all [...]