Thursday, December 8, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Carbon dioxide from industry could be buried offshore
Executice summary, by Damian Kahya and Richard Anderson
According to CO2 Sense, a not-for-profit company which works to support clean energy projects in the area, the Yorkshire and Humber region is one of Europe's biggest emitters of carbon dioxide.
Together, Ferrybridge, Drax and Eggborough provide more than 10% of our electricity but emit some 30 million tonnes of CO2, an odourless and colourless gas, every year.
Add to that two of the UK's larger refineries - Total's Lindsay oil and Conoco Phillip's Immingham - and one of our largest steel mills, Tata Steel's Scunthorpe plant.
The entire cluster puts out a total of 60 million tonnes of CO2 more than double the next biggest emitting region in the UK, along the Thames in Greater London.
"What we're in here is one of the Europe's big energy and climate change hotspots," says Dr Stephen Brown, director of carbon capture and storage at CO2 Sense.
It means that in this region, thousands of jobs depend on industries whose emissions are set to be taxed and regulated ever more heavily over the next decade.
The more industries releasing carbon dioxide in one place, the more potential customers there are for a plan to capture the greenhouse gas and bury it far out under the North Sea.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) for electricity generation has not yet been carried out commercially and at scale anywhere.
Many of the UK's coal and nuclear plants are due to be de-commissioned over the next 10 years as a result of old age or because they do not comply with new emissions regulations.
And the government has promised to completely de-carbonise electricity generation by 2050 - so any new gas or coal plants will be needing their carbon dioxide captured and stored.
"If you want to achieve the sort of carbon reductions we're talking about... either we can't do it without CCS or it would be much more expensive," says Malcolm Grimston, associate fellow at the Oxford Institute of Energy Studies.
But the Treasury withdrew £1bn of support funding from the project when it became clear that it would not be enough to get the plant built.
Instead a range of projects are now turning to an EU competition - NER 300 - for money they hope will be matched by governments.
Private equity backed 2Co wants to build a new coal plant above the Hatfield coal mine and pump the gas to North Sea oil fields where it can be used for enhanced oil recovery.
The idea is that by pushing carbon dioxide in, you can get more oil out - so making money for the taxpayer.
And at Ferrybridge, Scottish and Southern Energy are to start a small pilot plant shortly, though they are not seeking funding from the NER 300 competition.
All the proposals envisage a giant pipe starting with a coal plant, but then collecting carbon dioxide from anyone who will capture it before bringing it out to be buried under the sea bed.
The project is likely to be run by the National Grid and is designed to prevent high carbon industry leaving to avoid paying for their emissions - so called carbon leakage.
"There is the issue of carbon leakage for companies such as steel firms that compete on a global basis," admits Tata's Dr Bruce Adderly.
One way to force coal and steel plants to pay would be to make carbon so expensive that paying to bury it makes sense.
"The problem with that is you push industry into an uneconomic state and you would lose jobs - the last thing we want to do is lose our industry and then try and decarbonise something that doesn't exist," says Jim Ward, head of CCS at the National Grid.
"The recession has meant the price of carbon has plummeted, and means that anyone who has any money to do anything doesn't want to - a lot of these projects are not going to happen," says Mr Grimston.
Projects will be built, he says, and the cost of doing so will fall - but first there must be a negotiation with government.
And not only is CCS expensive to build, unlike conventional coal and gas, it is also expensive to run, unlike wind and nuclear.
Currently separating out the CO2 reduces the efficiency of the plant by about 20-30%, as you need to burn more coal or gas to produce the same power.
From his perch in a helicopter above one of Europe's most polluting regions, these concerns don't seem to deter Dr Brown.
For Yorkshire and the Humber, along with other industrial parts of the UK, it may well be CCS or bust.
According to CO2 Sense, a not-for-profit company which works to support clean energy projects in the area, the Yorkshire and Humber region is one of Europe's biggest emitters of carbon dioxide.
Together, Ferrybridge, Drax and Eggborough provide more than 10% of our electricity but emit some 30 million tonnes of CO2, an odourless and colourless gas, every year.
Add to that two of the UK's larger refineries - Total's Lindsay oil and Conoco Phillip's Immingham - and one of our largest steel mills, Tata Steel's Scunthorpe plant.
The entire cluster puts out a total of 60 million tonnes of CO2 more than double the next biggest emitting region in the UK, along the Thames in Greater London.
"What we're in here is one of the Europe's big energy and climate change hotspots," says Dr Stephen Brown, director of carbon capture and storage at CO2 Sense.
It means that in this region, thousands of jobs depend on industries whose emissions are set to be taxed and regulated ever more heavily over the next decade.
The more industries releasing carbon dioxide in one place, the more potential customers there are for a plan to capture the greenhouse gas and bury it far out under the North Sea.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) for electricity generation has not yet been carried out commercially and at scale anywhere.
Many of the UK's coal and nuclear plants are due to be de-commissioned over the next 10 years as a result of old age or because they do not comply with new emissions regulations.
And the government has promised to completely de-carbonise electricity generation by 2050 - so any new gas or coal plants will be needing their carbon dioxide captured and stored.
"If you want to achieve the sort of carbon reductions we're talking about... either we can't do it without CCS or it would be much more expensive," says Malcolm Grimston, associate fellow at the Oxford Institute of Energy Studies.
But the Treasury withdrew £1bn of support funding from the project when it became clear that it would not be enough to get the plant built.
Instead a range of projects are now turning to an EU competition - NER 300 - for money they hope will be matched by governments.
Private equity backed 2Co wants to build a new coal plant above the Hatfield coal mine and pump the gas to North Sea oil fields where it can be used for enhanced oil recovery.
The idea is that by pushing carbon dioxide in, you can get more oil out - so making money for the taxpayer.
And at Ferrybridge, Scottish and Southern Energy are to start a small pilot plant shortly, though they are not seeking funding from the NER 300 competition.
All the proposals envisage a giant pipe starting with a coal plant, but then collecting carbon dioxide from anyone who will capture it before bringing it out to be buried under the sea bed.
The project is likely to be run by the National Grid and is designed to prevent high carbon industry leaving to avoid paying for their emissions - so called carbon leakage.
"There is the issue of carbon leakage for companies such as steel firms that compete on a global basis," admits Tata's Dr Bruce Adderly.
One way to force coal and steel plants to pay would be to make carbon so expensive that paying to bury it makes sense.
"The problem with that is you push industry into an uneconomic state and you would lose jobs - the last thing we want to do is lose our industry and then try and decarbonise something that doesn't exist," says Jim Ward, head of CCS at the National Grid.
"The recession has meant the price of carbon has plummeted, and means that anyone who has any money to do anything doesn't want to - a lot of these projects are not going to happen," says Mr Grimston.
Projects will be built, he says, and the cost of doing so will fall - but first there must be a negotiation with government.
And not only is CCS expensive to build, unlike conventional coal and gas, it is also expensive to run, unlike wind and nuclear.
Currently separating out the CO2 reduces the efficiency of the plant by about 20-30%, as you need to burn more coal or gas to produce the same power.
From his perch in a helicopter above one of Europe's most polluting regions, these concerns don't seem to deter Dr Brown.
For Yorkshire and the Humber, along with other industrial parts of the UK, it may well be CCS or bust.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The Right to Environment
This study refers to the fundamental right of the human being to have a healthy, ecologically balanced environment as well as to the necessity of recognizing and guaranteeing this right. The authors analyze the major components of the human being environment protection, the right to water, the right to fresh air, the right to the environment of the human settlements, the relationship: health – environment. A special attention is given to the integration of the sustainable development in the EU policies.
Source:http://www.cse.uaic.ro/WorkingPapers/articles/CESWP2011_III1_PAR.pdf
Generally
speaking, when we talk about environmental protection, we refer to what is
happening or to what we have to do to protect air, water and soil, even if, for
the past few years, we hear more and more about the protection of the
environment of the human being.
The
international consecration of the right to environment was made through the
Statement of the first UN Conference regarding the Environment from Stockholm,
when it was proclaimed that:” Man has the fundamental right to freedom,
equality and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that
permits a life of dignity and well-being.
As a
result, the international community has focused slowly and rather corrective
its attention upon the aspects which had a visible effect, sometimes with
serious consequences, the human beings and the spaces where they operate,
taking into consideration the following dimensions of this environmental
component – the protection of the human being environment:
Taking
into consideration the size and complexity of environmental and health problems
in 2003 was adopted the European Environment and Health Strategy having as main
purpose to reduce diseases caused by environmental factors , and in 2004 the
“SCALE” initiative was launched ( Science – Children - Awareness – Legal
instruments – Evaluation) through which the community efforts go hand in hand,
in line with sustainable development objectives, in order to protect the most
vulnerable groups in our society and those who will shape tomorrow’s society.
These
effects are not sufficiently taken into account in current policies, as they
are not sufficiently integrated, meaning that the air monitoring data are not
correlated with water or soil monitoring data and neither with those of health,
and as a consequence, they do not effectively address the specific interface
for environment and health.
Source:http://www.cse.uaic.ro/WorkingPapers/articles/CESWP2011_III1_PAR.pdf
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Off-track, off-target
This report shows that current aid is not reaching the people who need it the most – people living in poor rural communities and urban slums. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the MDG target won't be reached for another 200 years. That's a long wait for a toilet!
Report: http://www.wateraid.org/documents/Off-track-off-target.pdf
- Dirty water and inadequate sanitation cost sub-Saharan Africa around 5% of its gross domestic product (GDP) every year.
- The human cost is even starker – 4,000 children dying every day because of diarrhoeal diseases caused by drinking dirty water and poor sanitation making diarrhoea the biggest killer of children under five in Africa.
Source:
wateraid.orgReport: http://www.wateraid.org/documents/Off-track-off-target.pdf
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
The big city guide to going green
Consumers in San Francisco now have a handy resource to turn to for information on eco-friendly restaurants and retailers—and one that will save them money to boot!
The Green Zebra Guide is a shopping guide and coupon book, offering savings of over USD 12,000 at more than 250 local organic restaurants and shops, spas, yoga and Pilates studios, independent bookstores, bike shops, museums and more. Priced at USD 25, many customers will find that the guide pays for itself in just a few purchases.
Not only are customers inspired to go green, but the Green Zebra Guide is a great marketing tool for participating businesses, many of whom are local independents whose brands aren’t as recognizable as their larger chain competitors. The Green Zebra Guide’s outreach to the local community doesn’t stop there. Green Zebra donates a portion of their profits to the Conservation Connection Project, an environmental science initiative for area public schools. Schools and non-profits also can sign up to sell the guides as a fund-raiser, earning USD 10 for each copy sold.
The guide also features articles and tips on eco-friendly living, including a list of 20 steps you can take today for a greener tomorrow—all in all, a great reference for area residents who want to feel better about their impact on their community and environment. Currently, the Green Zebra Guide is limited to the San Francisco area, but as consumers everywhere become more environmentally conscious, this concept could gain popularity in almost any major city.
Greener bricks, made from cow dung (Or, how Indonesian cows sh*t bricks)
We’ve covered the value of worm poop, and now it’s time for the merits of cow dung to come to the fore.EcoFaeBrick turns cattle waste into bricks that are greener, stronger and 20% lighter than regular clay bricks.
The Indonesian organization was set up earlier this year to tackle the problem of excessive waste in farming areas. From this, the ecological and economical solution of the Cow Dung Brick was born. There’s no visible difference between a traditional brick and the dung brick—and before you ask, there’s no smell either. Instead of using wood fire the dung bricks are fired using biogas, helping to further reduce carbon emissions. The new product also lets land be retained for farming, rather than being excavated for clay for conventional bricks, or becoming a health risk due to ‘too much dung’.
A green product that boosts the wealth of rural Indonesians, it’s not hard to see why EcoFaeBrick came first in the 2009 Global Social Venture competition. The company has identified 22 areas around Indonesia that they want to expand the project to, plus 22 more in other parts of the world. One to support, or otherwise get involved with!
Socially responsible flip-flops upcycled from old newspapers
PaperFlops create flip-flops made from old newspaper, benefiting the underprivileged as well as the environment.
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Recycled and upcycled products feature regularly here on Springwise. Just recently we’ve seen fortune cookie purses, surfboards and even shoes made with waste materials. Now a company in Indonesia,PaperFlops, are next to tread the eco-friendly footwear path with their flip-flop made from old newspaper, benefiting the underprivileged as well as the environment.
PaperFlops are made entirely from biodegradable materials; newspapers, coconut shells, palm tree roots and 100 percent natural rubber. They employ mentally and physically disabled workers as well as street children in Jakarta, Indonesia, providing education and training in arts and crafts to manufacture the handmade products. It takes approximately 1kg of old newspaper to produce a pair of PaperFlops, which keeps production costs low, while a natural sealant is used to ensure they are water-resistant and hard-wearing. Priced at EUR 31 a pair, PaperFlops are available in a range of models and sizes, and are currently seeking funding through Ulule.
Boasting green credentials is becoming a standard requirement for companies looking to boost their public profile. When this can be achieved at the same time as benefiting the less privileged, so much the better. Could your business kill these two birds with one stone through some equally creative thinking?
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