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Loading ...IDB Updates Its Biofuels Scorecard
Friday, September 11th, 2009From the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): IDB releases new version of Biofuels Sustainability Scorecard Update incorporates feedback from five regional consultations and addresses concerns regarding food security, indigenous peoples and biodiversity preservation The Inter-American Development Bank has released a new version of its Biofuels Sustainability Scorecard, which will enable users to better anticipate the impacts […]
Greenpeace’s Recipe for an Energy Revolution in Chile
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009Greenpeace Chile recently presented to the government the Chilean version of its Energy [R]evolution scenario. To refresh memories, in the past GP [in cooperation with the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC)] released a report, Global Energy [R]evolution, to show, through scenarios (both global and regional), that a global energy revolution is technically and economically feasible […]
Disappearing Mangroves in Guatemala
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009I read an interesting article from Tierramérica about Guatemala’s disappearing mangroves and a discussion of probable causes and possible impacts. I’ve mentioned here before on The Temas Blog about the importance of mangroves (here, here, here, here and here) in preventing sediment runoff and filtering out contaminants before they enter the sea, stabilizing coastlines, impeding […]
Trends in Clean Energy Investment
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009From the UN Environment Programme (UNEP): Economic Crisis Hits EU and US Clean Energy As Emerging Economy Investments Rise 27% to $36 billion However Renewables Draw More Investment than Fossil-Fueled Energy Technologies in ’08 Geothermal Sees Fastest Growth – Wind Power Tops Overall Investment, Solar Posts Largest Gains $155 billion was invested in 2008 in […]
The Status of Global Renewables
Saturday, May 16th, 2009The Vienna, Austria-based Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) has just released its latest review of the global state of adoption of renewable energy sources — solar (both photovoltaics and passive systems, such as solar water heaters), wind, geothermal, wave, biofuels and small hydro (REN21 excludes large hydropower projects from its review). […]
A Scorecard for Sustainable Palm Oil
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009From the WWF: WWF to grade palm oil buyers Only one percent of the sustainable palm oil available on the market has been bought, according to new figures released by the WWF today. In a bid to speed up this “sluggish performance”, WWF will assess the world’s major users of palm oil over the next […]
FAO: Bioenergy Can Benefit Rural Poor / La bioenergía puede beneficiar a los pobres rurales
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has released a study showing that bioenergy projects can benefit the rural poor. The study looks at 15 case studies in 12 nations in six regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America to examine the impacts that different types of local level Bioenergy initiatives can have on rural […]
Peru Opens Public Consultations on Draft National Environment Policy / Peru pone en consulta pública borrador de política nacional del ambiente
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009Peru’s Environment Ministry (Minam) is circulating for public comment its proposal for a National Environment Policy. Interested parties can submit comments and suggestions through a web-based form. Minam will also be holding consultative workshops on the draft Policy in Lima and four regions. The draft Policy is clear and concise, with a set of overarching […]
ECLAC on Elements for Formulating Public Policy on Biofuels
Thursday, February 5th, 2009The biofuel programs in the developed countries — particularly those in the US and the European Union (EU) — represent a series of opportunities, challenges and risks for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). If biofuel production is to create economic growth in LAC nations without jeopardizing its natural capital and social […]
Colombia Invites Japanese to Build More Biodiesel Plants
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009When Colombian President Uribe visited a plant built in Santa Maria, Magdalena, to process palm oil for biodiesel production yesterday, he not only thanked the Japanese company Odin Energy for their investment in the plant (completed a year ago), but urged them to build another. Uribe appears convinced that Colombia has a bright future as […]