Carbon smart

CLIMATE negotiations over the years have focussed on reducing fossil fuel consumption. It is believed to be one of the best ways to reduce rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels as worldwide carbon emissions from fossil fuels are said to have increased by 16 per cent between 1900 and 2008. But reducing fossil fuel consumption has been a bone of contention between the developed and developing world.

Carbon capture made easy

WHAT do you get when you put together salt, sugar and alcohol? Well, not a cocktail, but for sure a device which can capture and store carbon for long.

‘Don’t push tar sands’

EIGHT Nobel peace laureates have urged Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper to stop the extraction of oil from tar sands in the country. Oil thus extracted is 25 per cent more polluting than ordinary crude oil, according to the European Commission. Canada is home to the largest reserves of the sands.

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Pollution Chevron not sorry For amazon

New approach to CDM

Will generate large amounts of carbon credits at little cost

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greenhouse gas emissions UK plans to go low-carbon

Another co2alition of the willing?

It was the biannual gathering of over 100,000 Protestants in Bremen, a small town in Germany. As the articulate minister for environment, Sigmar Gabriel, came to participate in a discussion on energy security for a climate-secure world, many stood up. Soon the hall was full of blue placards, held high, all saying: "No to coal." The minister, I could see, was riled. He believed he was the environmentalist in the crowd. He said he would build coal power stations, because the country was phasing out nuclear power.

As green as billed?

Environment finds a place in Obama's economic package US President Barack Obama signed the US $787.2 billion stimulus package on February 19 to rescue the country from economic turmoil. During the signing ceremony, he carefully chose a backdrop of solar installations to send out a clear signal: his administration is serious about environment and climate change.

Recycling carbon

Scientists propose burying it below oceans WORLD carbon dioxide levels are rising. The future is expected to be exceptionally warm. Many technologies are being proposed to tackle it. Efficiently reducing global warming requires carbon capture in large amounts. Furthermore, the captured carbon has to stay that way for thousands of years.

With a trace of Molybdenum

Tropical forests can capture carbon FORESTS hold the centrestage in climate change. They can reduce carbon emissions up to 10-20 per cent of what has been projected by 2050. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said that the greatest potential for carbon capture exists within tropical forests.