Climate scientists and those working in associated fields have established a clear picture of human-caused climate change and what it is likely to mean in the future. The basic information is readily understandable. It’s alarming in what it portends and a rational human society would by now be well on its way to the change of direction which would reduce the need for alarm. But we are not well on the way and there’s little urgency in our approach to the issue. Wide public alarm is rarely even voiced, let alone a stimulus to determined action. The science may be clear, but its appropriation by society at large is obviously no straightforward matter.

Can the social sciences help us? I was attracted by the title of a recently published book, Engaging the Public with Climate Change: Behaviour Change and Communication, edited by three academics, Lorraine Whitmarsh, Saffron O’Neill and Irene Lorenzoni. In its twelve chapters a couple of dozen social researchers and practitioners look at how climate change can be constructively woven into public perception and action. The writers are clear about the urgent need to tackle climate change, but the book doesn’t offer strong advocacy so much as close investigation of the dynamics at work in obtaining and supporting positive public engagement.

Its twelve chapters cover a wide range of societal response. Old habits die hard, says one of them. Information alone seems not to easily change habitual behaviour. The writer wonders whether legislation-driven changes may be necessary, instancing the success of smoking bans in producing marked and finally widely accepted changes in behaviour.

The book has a strong, though not exclusive, focus on the UK. There is certainly a good deal happening there which makes it a useful area for attention. The UK government’s climate change programme sees engagement with the public as vital, “both to encourage specific behaviours to reduce carbon dioxide emissions directly and to gain acceptance for more ambitious Government policy”. The chapter in which this is quoted explores the connection between private-sphere and public-sphere actions. The private actions such as domestic energy conservation, use of public transport, and so on, are obviously useful, but it is when such actions merge into the public sphere that they take on the kind of edge that Ed Miliband looked for when he was climate change minister and called for the creation of a global popular mobilisation campaign to pressure political leaders.

Major campaigning organisations are recognised but not closely analysed in the book. Grassroots organisations like Transition Towns, Carbon Rationing Action Groups, Low Carbon Communities and EcoTeams receive attention for their ability to engage people locally and establish supporting communities in action to reduce carbon usage. Local solutions are very much part of building what one chapter describes as the “collective desire for a low-carbon future”. Grassroots organisations have, as Ed Miliband said, “got stuck in and made things happen”. They can also help move participants to environmental citizenship and engagement in the political process.

The happiness-consumption myth is interestingly analysed in relation to neurological mechanisms. The myth is co-created by the marketers and us. The chapter discussing it is concerned with how the myth can be dismantled, and considers how the development of mindfulness, the “ancient practice of ‘being aware of one’s sensory experience in the present moment’” maybe helpful in countering the strongly implanted feeling that our happiness is linked to consumer goods. Incidentally the writer also wonders whether mindfulness might be helpful in enabling us to pause and reflect as we cope with the strong sense of fear that climate change can arouse.

Some chapters discuss quite specific practical ventures such as the Energy Savings Trust in the UK which offers effective household energy advice. A chapter investigating the potential of new smart meters stresses the need to configure them in such a way as to give simple graphic messages to users and to design them for demand reduction, not only the smooth operations of the supply business. Eco-home open days are found to provide compelling incentives for individuals to take up new ideas. The part played by new digital media in providing information, facilitating engagement and widening participation is hailed, though the writer of that chapter points also to their role in spreading disinformation about climate change.

It’s heartening to get a sense of the size and variety of climate change engagement already taking place in countries like the UK. One writer remarks on the incredible variety of initiatives and the passion and commitment of the individuals attempting to drive changes in behaviours or lifestyles in a pro-environmental direction. He notes that within their own small spheres they are often making a long-lasting difference to the individuals their programmes reach, but regretfully adds that all that energy, passion and busyness is not yet resulting in an observable effect on mainstream society and culture. For that to happen he looks to a large upscaling of behaviour change programmes, and also mentions regulation.

It’s the reference to regulation which identifies for me the limitations of voluntary engagement with climate change, significant though it is as far as it goes. A book like this one is very useful in helping to identify what may work best in the great transition which society must make if dangerous climate change is to be avoided. It reassures those who see change to current habitual behaviour in terms of restriction and loss. It points to the positive community life which can accompany low carbon living. Human life is more enriched than diminished by the change.

But a clock is ticking. The gradual spread of less energy-demanding habits and more ecologically aware lifestyles does not look at all likely to alter society’s direction fast enough to make a difference. Governments must lead the public engagement and must use their powers to hurry along the radical changes required. If they are wise they will take all the advice the social sciences can give in the process, but they can’t wait until something different has slowly evolved. And most of the groups investigated by the book wouldn’t want them to. They may be focused on the local and the achievable but it is the alarming prospect of global climate change which drives their action.

Article by Bryan Walker, appearing courtesy Celsias.

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The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) recently launched by the UK government has been met with mixed reactions.

The £860bn pound scheme is expected to increase green capital investment by £4.5bn by 2020 and will stimulate a new market in renewable heat. The number of industrial, commercial and public sector installations is expected to rise seven-fold by 2020.

Businesses that install low-carbon forms of heating such as Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) will be paid the RHI at 4.3p per kW hour of renewable heat produced for systems less than 100kW and 3p per kWh for systems above 100kW in quarterly installments over periods of up to 20 years. The RHI tariff will reduce the payback period to between 6-9 years on commercial heat pump installations.

Geothermal International, a company with over 80% share of the UK’s commercial GSHP systems, welcomed the scheme, saying it will transform the market. “We are delighted the Government has committed to encouraging a national switch to low-carbon heating. Ground Source Heat Pumps have a vital role to play in meeting targets to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by 2050 – the technology is a proven renewable energy heating and cooling solution for the 21st century”, said Patrick Sherriff, Geothermal International’s marketing director.

The company has installed more than 160MW of GSHP systems in the UK, including Europe’s largest lake loop at Mansfield Hospital and the UK’s largest closed loop system at the One New Change building in the City Of London. Amongst its most typical customers are offices, retail developments, police headquarters, schools, hospitals, community centres, sports centres and even the UK’s first carbon-neutral church at Little Walsingham, Norfolk.

GSHP systems work by extracting the natural warmth stored in the ground all year round. A typical system consists of a buried earth loop connected to a heat pump. Liquid is pumped down the loop, where it gathers warmth from the earth, and is then compressed, raising its temperature high enough to be used in space heating a building. For cooling, the process is reversed. Working on a similar principle, a typical Air Source Heat Pump system draws heat from the air outside a building then uses a pump to concentrate the heat which in turn warms water for radiators. ASHP systems can supplement GSHP systems and can be readily retro-fitted.

Concerns
Not everyone is so enthusiastic about the RHI, though. Green charity Environmental Protection UK (EPUK) has issued a warning that the scheme could lead to increasing air pollution, especially in urban areas.

Businesses and households will receive incentive payments to use renewable heat which includes biomass systems such as wood-fired boilers. But these biomass heating systems can release high levels of air pollutants when fuel is burnt, EPUK said. That presents a potential health risk in built-up areas.

According to figures from the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, pollutants released by biomass heating systems, similar to those from vehicles, could contribute to up to 200,000 premature deaths a year.

EPUK suggests a location-based approach to renewable heat, with local authorities having a greater say in what types of system can be installed to ensure that pollution levels and potential health risks are minimised.

“The RHI highlights the need for a rethink on the Government’s microgeneration strategy,” said EPUK chair James Grugeon. “It’s a step in the right direction, but this broad-brush approach to installing renewables shows there is a lack of understanding about the local health impacts they can have and also where they work best.”

Friends of the Earth, another UK-based green charity, acknowledged the potential benefits of the scheme but also expressed concerns over the use of unsustainable biomass and incineration.

Article by Antonio Pasolini, appearing courtesy Justmeans.

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Recently, China has been working hard to reverse their image as the world’s most polluted country and the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. A recent study revealed that they are now the world’s leader in clean energy efforts, leaving other more-developed countries far behind.

The report, which was sponsored by Australia’s Climate Institute think tank, revealed that China is leading the world in renewable energy efforts and is making significant strides toward reducing pollution in their country and around the world.

One major reason China has been named a leader in green energy is because of their efforts to cut pollution from the electricity generation process. The electricity generation process can be blamed for much of the pollution in China, as well as around the world. They are doing this mainly by offering incentives to the people who are responsible for manufacturing the resource. They award incentives, often in cash form, to manufacturers who develop low-carbon ways of developing electricity.

China is second only to Great Britain when it comes to their efforts to cut pollution from the electricity generation process. China’s efforts are estimated at US $14.20 per ton of carbon while Great Britain’s efforts are estimated at US $29.30 per ton of carbon.

Countries lagging far behind China and Great Britain in their efforts to clean up the electricity generation process are Japan, Australia, the U.S and South Korea. Together, these countries account for about half of the world’s emissions per year.

Overall, China is the leader when it comes to clean energy investments at the global level. In 2009, China’s investment in green energy was over $35 billion. The United States and Britain both came in way below China in clean energy investments, contributing $18 and $11 respectively.

Most of China’s clean energy investment money went toward their commitment to shutting down more than 100 small coal-fired power plants. They want to shut down these plants and replace them with cleaner coal stations, which they state will reduce emissions by 15 percent.

They are also investing their money in numerous other green energy development products and have made a goal to generate 15 percent of China’s total energy from green sources by the year 2020.

There is no telling how China’s investment in green energy will affect energy consumers or power companies around the world. Consumers will just have to wait and see how China’s money will affect the environment as well as energy availability and cost in the coming years.

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In September, the UK’s University of Bath completed construction on a small building whose walls are insulated with the shredded woody inner core, or shiv, of the hemp plant (not to be confused with bast, the fibrous outer part under the bark).

The hemp plant, which can’t be grown in the United States because one variety, Cannabis sativa indica, produces large flower buds called marijuana, is highly useful for its fibers, which can be made into durable paper products, fabrics, “green” plastics, health supplements, fuel and – as shown at Bath – construction products.

The industrial variety, Cannabis sativa sativa, is one of the fastest-growing biomass plants known to man, producing up to 25 tonnes (27.55 short tons) of dry matter per hectare (about 2.5 acres) per year. It is also one of the first plants domesticated by man, showing up in Asia and the Middle East as far back as 10,000 years ago.

Hemp is highly environmentally friendly, growing in poor soil with few amenities (fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides) and little water, though increased production is easy to procure with about the same tilth and chemical enhancements as a wheat crop. Of course, like any growing plant, hemp takes in carbon dioxide, or CO2; that is, sequesters it, and does not release it when chopped for insulation.

The Bath University experimental building is the product of collective efforts, from such construction and materials experts as BRE (Ltd) 1 (Building Research Establishment) Centre for Innovative Construction Materials, based at the university, as well as UK-based Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (sustainability architects), heavy building materials supplier Hanson UK, UK-based industrial hemp supplier Hemp Technology, chemicals producer Lhoist Group, lime-based building products supplier Lime Technology, the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) and Manchester building engineering firm Wates Living Space.

Called the “Hemp Pod”, the small, one-story building’s hemp-filled walls trap air between the shiv’s shreds, providing a sort of passive cooling effect. The fiber itself is also porous, trapping and holding even more heat or cool air. Finally, a lime-based binder, which also absorbs CO2, protects the shredded hemp, improving indoor air quality and making the building eminently fire resistant. In fact, lime and hemp being such natural ingredients, it’s hard to imagine a more eco-friendly approach to building.

The Hemp Pod, while not the first UK building constructed using hemp and lime, is the first purpose-built with said ingredients to test the hemp-lime mixture, according to Dr Mike Lawrence, Research Officer, Bath University’s Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering.

During 18 months of monitoring, Lawrence and colleagues will access readouts from sensors inside the walls to determine how quickly heat and humidity travel through, and then out of, Hemp Pod walls.

BRE’s Centre for Innovative Construction Materials Director, Professor Pete Walker, unashamedly admits that the Hemp Pod is an attempt to attract mainstream builders to the idea of using hemp insulation. But who can blame him, considering that one could grow enough hemp to insulate a three-bedroom house in three short months on a lot the size of a rugby pitch (6,800 square meters, or 73,194 square feet)?

Thus, farmers could use intercropping or cover cropping (between summer and winter crops, for example) on the UK’s 9.3 million hectares of farmland to provide enough hemp to insulate approximately 1,500 new homes per year, or roughly .02 percent of all the homes built in the UK in 2009.

And the cost of hemp is so cheap, compared to other eco-friendly building and insulative materials, that the three-bedroom house sans basement would end up costing a mere £75,000, or less than a plot of land in East Sussex.

Sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) under the Renewable Materials LINK Programme, this Hemp Pod, if combined with technology from Bath University’s straw-bale paneled house called BaleHaus@Bath, would deliver a cool, clean, “green” house that even the Big Bad Wolf could envy.

Article by Jeanne Roberts, appearing courtesy Celsias.

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You wouldn’t expect that energy from sunlight, which is very hot, could power air-conditioning units to cool things down. But that’s precisely the latest breakthrough from China-based Shandong Vicot Air Conditioning Co.

Debuting its solar-powered people-cooler at the 2010 World Solar-Powered Air Conditioning Development Forum in Dezhou, China, Shandong demonstrated that the idea is not only feasible, but practicable.

The unit achieves an optimal 85-percent thermal cooling conversion efficiency, and is 27 times more efficient at converting solar insolation to cool air than even the average solar water heater. Since passive and flat-plate solar water heaters are among the most efficient ways to convert solar insolation to usable hot water, this is amazing. More amazing is the fact that the unit is a direct-from-solar cooling device, rather than air conditioning that runs off the electricity generated by solar panels.

According to Shandong Vicot President Li Wen, the A/C unit is the culmination of three years of pioneering solar research efforts by Chinese and American scientists, who collaborated to achieve this cutting-edge technology, which is not only low-carbon but low cost. That is, the unit will recoup its initial investment in 3.5 years, and the entire investment in 6.7 years.

Industry experts were almost unanimous in their opinion that the Shandong Vicot offering is an innovation worthy of China’s increasingly dominant solar technology sector. It also represents an arrow in time for the industry’s future development, particularly as the world is replete with solar technologies to extract electricity from sunlight, but heretofore has no method for converting solar insolation to cooler air.

If, as predicted, 2060 sees the Earth exhausted of its traditional sources of energy like coal, oil and gas, the advent of clean energy technologies like solar, which can be tweaked to produce light, heat and cooling, will be a literal lifesaver.

For China, the world’s largest producer and consumer of solar power, the invention is a milestone. The Chinese people have taken to solar-powered water heating in a big way, and the industry itself reached 4.2 million square meters production capacity in 2009, or an annual growth rate of 35.4 percent.

China now produces 40 percent of the world’s solar cells. In spite of that, most of China’s solar-related production is destined for export, even though last year China rose to be the world’s biggest energy user in 2009 – a record formerly held by the U.S.

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The French government recently announced a large investment program for renewables and green chemistry. The investment, totaling 1.35 billion euros ($1.75 billion) will be allocated over the next four years.

Named “ Démonstrateurs énergies renouvelables et chimie verte ” – or renewable energy and green chemistry demonstration – this program plans to allocate 450 million euros in subsidies and 900 million euros in low-interest loans.

These sums will be allocated progressively : 190 million in 2010 and 290 million per year until 2014.

The program wants private investors and research organizations to join in to bring more than two billion euros to help finance all the projects.

The goal behind this is to spur innovation and the deployment of green technologies in energy and chemistry.

This is not likely to be the last program of its kind in France according to Bloomberg Businessweek:

The environment agency plans to open two other programs under the bill, including a 1 billion-euro plan to develop sustainable transportation and a 250 million-euro measure to develop smart-grid technologies, the spokeswoman said.

Indeed Nicolas Sarkozy’s government is fully aware of how such economic sectors can create local jobs and economic growth. For example, the wind energy sector already employs more than 7,000 people.

This was the reason why France wanted to launch a comprehensive green revolution. Called the Grenelle de l’Environnement, it has since its beginning in 2007, known both successes and failures.

Among the successes one can note the feebate system used to promote energy efficient cars and a zero-interest rate loan for housing renovation.

According to a study published last year by the Boston Consulting Group, the Grenelle could create up to 600,000 jobs.

France is known to have developed for the past decades an important set of nuclear reactors, which partially allow the country to have 90 percent low carbon electricity.

But as concerns over oil reserves and climate grow, it is willing to develop low carbon alternatives.

It seems that with this money, research on solar, wind and other low carbon energy sources will be boosted.

photo: Victor Radziun

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A campaign was launched last week in which celebrities, business leaders, environmentalists, politicians and school kids around the world communicate their hopes for life on earth by 2020. These hopes are being conveyed as part of the 2020 Vision campaign launched by Planet Positive .

The campaign provides people with the chance to express their view of the future via online movies, illustrations or written word. The website allows anyone anywhere in the world to view visions and upload their own, stimulating debate around climate change.

The website also provides people with some reassurance and clarity on the innovation, infrastructure and products that will help them shift into low carbon, more sustainable lifestyles.  There are ten online sections, which provide information on key areas of human life such as Home, Energy, Food, Water, Travel, Transport, Communication and Entertainment.

Steve Malkin, CEO of Planet Positive, said: “The next 10 years are critical for climate change.  We want to provide a clear, positive view of how our lives can be better by acting on climate change. You can see the 2020 Visions of business leaders, politicians, scientists and celebrities through to school kids and upload your own 2020 Vision.”

Planet Positive is an environmental mark that certifies that a business, product or person is actively engaged in reducing their carbon emissions. The mark is based on a 4-step process of Measure, Reduce, Act and Report as laid out in the Planet Positive Protocol.

Be sure to visit their website to view people’s messages for the future. There are various celebrity messages and artworks online, as well as the opportunity to leave a message of your own.

“I wish for all nations to come together to have one vision.  I wish for us to go back to living our ancestors’ lives, to own our land, to have trees. Indigenous peoples are really affected by climate change so I urge all nations to come together to have one voice.”
Moses Mopel Kisosion, Member of the Massai Tribe in Kenya

Article by Kate R., appearing courtesy of Celsias

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A recent event sponsored by the British High Commission on climate change and low-carbon business drew out into the open a serious issue. As many are aware, should the temperature rise as much as 4 degrees Celsius (or about 7 degrees Fahrenheit) due to climate change, some serious problems for countries around the world will emerge.

One of the keys to keeping carbon emissions, and therefore climate change, in check is getting reductions in place. One of the easiest and most palatable ways to sell this to business is through energy efficiency measures.

Energy efficiency in business is considered low-hanging fruit, something that can be easily achieved in many cases, with both environmental and economic savings. They have one of the highest internal rates of returns (IRR) and companies can usually see the business case to do it. However, Frederic Crampe, Managing Director of ReEx Capital Asia stumbled onto difficulty with one of his case studies.

In discussing a client project in the Philippines, Crampe mentioned that some simple steps were taken to conserve energy in one of the properties of a shopping mall developer. The net operation savings were in the vicinity of US$1 million in the first year, and likely to be similar going forward.

Naturally, the business owners were pleased to see that much money being returned to their bottom line… and like most businesses, naturally already had ideas on how to spend it. In fact, they were considering developing a new shopping mall with the proceeds of their energy efficiency exercise.

It was a classic case of the so-called “rebound effect.” Basically, it works like this: investments in energy efficiency, while initially positive in reduction of energy usage, eventually result in overall usage of more energy. Why? Because cost savings get reinvested into other consumptive activities of some kind.

In the case of this mall developer, a reduction of consumption in resources will give funding to yet another outlet for consumption. When challenged on the logic of the situation, Crampe replied,

“I don’t see a problem with this. Development in many corners of the world still needs to happen, and people need jobs.”

Comments on from the audience came thick and furious. Eugene Tay, editor of the Green Business Times said,

“While this may be an energy efficient approach, it certainly is not energy effective in the end result.”

While its true that people need jobs and will always have a need for certain products and services, a shift needs to happen to ensure those products and services are produced in an environmentally sound manner. Supply of resources on a finite planet is limited. Continuing an unquestioned, endless cycle of consumption of resources perpetuates the problems we are facing in many areas, including climate change.

Dr. Geh Min of the Singapore Nature Society said,

“If energy efficiency leads to more consumption, rather than overall reduction in resource use, then we are on a self-defeating path.”

Jessica Cheam , reporter for the Straits Times agreed.

“Without assessing patterns of consumption, we’re definitely heading down the wrong track,” she said.

Ultimately, we need to question if these incentives for companies are really working. We need to scrutinize where the savings are going if energy efficiency is really going to help us solve climate change.

This example beckons the question — through many energy efficiency initiatives, are we deluding ourselves into more business as usual?

If at the end of the day we are only enabling the existing system to work more efficiently down the same misguided path, we’ve accomplished nothing but wasting valuable time.

Rajendra Pachauri, head of the IPCC brilliantly paraphrased the wisdom of Gandhi from decades ago in a recent interview.

“Who cares how fast we are moving if we are going the wrong direction?”

If business is to be a key player in turning around emissions, and take a genuine stand on climate change, a fundamental shift in mentality and operation is necessary. Anything less, and it becomes just a bit of history repeating.

Article appearing courtesy of Celsias

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On November 16-17, 2009 in Beijing, China — one of the pioneering countries of clean technology – the U.S.-China Green Tech Summit will share innovative solutions to deploying renewable and energy efficient technologies. The conference is expecting over 300 clean tech leaders from the United States and China, including speakers from BP Solar, General Motors China Group and UC Berkeley. It will discuss and analyze international projects that will aid in development of sustainability, alternative energy and more.

As official media partner of the U.S. China Green Tech Summit, CleanTechies is happy to offer you a special discount of $300 dollars off the ticket price. Simply mention “CleanTechies” when you register.

“Climate change, clean and efficient energy and environmental protection are among the greatest challenges facing the United States and China. Cooperation between the United States and China is critical to enhancing energy security, combating climate change, and protecting the environment and natural resources…”— U.S.-China Memorandum of Understanding to Enhance Cooperation on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment (July 2009)

With guest speakers such as Dan Kammen, author of over 90 publications and a book on environmental, technological, and health risks and numerous reports on renewable energy and development, Jonathan Woetzel, Director of McKinsey and Co., Greater China Office, and numerous others hailing from China’s leading clean tech companies such as Tsing Capital and Trina Solar, this conference is sure to bring new light to the world’s dependency on foreign oil, global warming concerns and other inefficiencies we currently face.

The panels of experienced speakers will give a glimpse into several topics including a vision of a low carbon future and what it takes to achieve it. This includes turning current research on climate change into practical implementation on certain green tech projects.

In addition, discussion will then cover China’s focus to further build its solar power capacity. The conference will discuss how to produce solar power competitively and steadily to compete with traditional electricity, as well as analyzing an upcoming project of building an international communication and R&D center without harming the surrounding area, including water and soil quality. The agenda will then focus on electric vehicles and where the sector stands and how the U.S. has invested more than $25 billion in the emerging division, yet China is the forefront leader in electric vehicles.

This dynamic discussion with the cooperation between the United States and China, two leaders pioneering clean tech advancements, will surely bring best practices to obstacles facing green technology. This is truly a conference you do not want to miss!

Register for the 2009 Green Tech Summit here, and visit the CleanTechies Events Calendar for more clean tech conferences.

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The British Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in July unveiled a plan to cut the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions by 34 percent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels.

In par with the 2007 IPCC recommendations and far beyond the United States’ and Europe’s goals on climate change mitigation, the United Kingdom is willing to act as leader in the fight on global warming ahead of the Copenhagen discussions in December.

This occurs as China is urging developed nations to cut their emissions by 40 percent by 2020 and as the 49 least developed countries (and many others) are demanding even more drastic cuts.

Reaching these most ambitious targets will need a comprehensive plan and Ed Miliband, the British Secretary of State of Energy and Climate Change, is willing to use all means to succeed — from energy efficiency and conservation to renewables and nuclear.

Due to create more than a million jobs and significantly cut the country’s natural gas imports, the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan is an example to be followed quickly.

The plan foresees that by 2020 around 40 percent of the nation’s electricity needs will be answered by low carbon sources such as renewable energies and nuclear. Renewables alone will account for 30 percent of the electricity mix.

Energy efficiency is also an important part of the plan. No less than seven million homes are expected to haven been benefitted from retrofitting and weatherizing support by 2020. Additionally, smart meters are to be installed in each house or apartment to help people cut their energy consumption.

According to the plan, cars will have to emit 40 percent less carbon dioxide than current models, emitting as little as 95 grams of CO2 per km on average. The plan will also invest in cycling as an alternative to driving.

As if  this fantastic plan wasn’t already enough, the United Kingdom might soon launch a new high speed rail network, which would link London to Glasgow and Edinburgh in approximately two hours, compared to more than four hours today.

Requiring no less than £34 billion ($55 billion) up to 2020, this plan would build 1,500 miles (around 2,400 km) of new tracks and link almost all major cities. It would also replace the equivalent of 900 flights per day.

There are many other ideas entailed in the plan — for example, the UK will also be investing in a bigger, smarter electricity grid, clean coal and electric cars.

Three months before discussions about the future of the Kyoto Protocol will resume in Copenhagen, her Majesty’s Government seems to be committed to spurring competition on climate change mitigation and cleantech.

Let’s hope the UK’s call will be heard. If replicated on a global scale, this would create millions of jobs for CleanTechies around the world!

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