After feed-in tariff legal uncertainty, a January 2010 report by the National Regulatory Research Institute finds that states can successfully and legally implement feed-in tariff programs to accelerate renewable energy projects.
There has been growing talk about a clean-tech race between China and the U.S., often cast in ominous tones. But the quest to develop and implement renewable energy can be one where both nations win.
Imagine a world where the concept of “waste” does not exist. A world in which nothing gets discarded, every industrial product gets reassembled into something useful, each unit of energy is offset and anything and everything is a renewable resource. This is the design principle and environmental philosophy of “zero waste”.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized eight landfill methane capture projects for innovations to reduce their emissions of methane – a potent greenhouse gas — and in the process recover renewable energy. The Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) gives these awards to acknowledge excellence in innovation, successful project development that achieves both environmental and economic benefits.
Yesterday, at the White House, President Obama announced the award of $2.3 billion in Recovery Act Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits for clean energy manufacturing projects across the United States. The 183 projects in 43 states will generate more than 17,000 high quality clean energy jobs and the domestic manufacturingof advanced clean energy technologies including solar, wind, and efficiency and energy management technologies. This investment will be matched by as much as $5.4 billion in private sector funding likely supporting up to 41,000 additional jobs.
While the scientific evidence for climate change grows, the policy responses have so far had little or no impact on the build-up of emissions. Following the recent developments in Copenhagen, there are few signs that this will change in the near future. With this in mind, this article examines why there is still such a gap between what science says is needed, and what is actually achieved through policy.
President Obama forged a political accord with China, India, and South Africa that did not meet the modest expectations for the Copenhagen summit meeting. There was no legally binding treaty to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, but instead countries will be required to list their greenhouse gas reduction targets and a fund will be established to assist poor nations with dealing with climate change.
As the UN conference moves through its second and decisive week, the calls for strong global action to deal with climate change do not appear to be penetrating inside Copenhagen’s Bella Center.
Companies with facilities emitting or products related to GHGs may consider taking the following initial steps to evaluate appropriate measures related to the first time ever requirement that they begin monitoring their emissions of GHGs.
