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Tuesday, January 29
Canada: The first commercial-scale coal Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) plant will be launched in Canada next year “on time and on budget” according to its owner Saskatchewan Power. The firm’s $1.24bn upgrade of its 45 year old Boundary Dam coal plant will start capturing CO2 in April 2014. It will sell it to an oil company that will inject it into its oil fields to increase their yield. (Reuters)
China: A study by the Chinese Government has criticised the quality of its environmental assessment agencies saying that their quality control and follow-up work was poor. Coverage of the report by state news agency Xinhua acknowledged growing public awareness of environmental issues and the cancellation of three projects as a result of mass protests. (Xinhua)
USA: Public health, the economy and safety of coastal regions in the US are at increased risk according to a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). “Easing the existing pressures on coastal environments to improve their resiliency is an essential method of coping with the adverse effects of climate change,” said Margaret A. Davidson, co-lead author of the study. (NOAA)
Denmark: The Danish Government is set to lift its zero-tolerance ban on uranium mining, opening the way for the exploitation of a huge deposit in Greenland. If the self-ruled territory requests permission from the Danes, the fifth largest uranium source in the world could be mined. Environmentalists called the decision “deeply hypocritical”. (Euractiv)
EU: The EU needs a significantly higher number of electric and hybrid cars on the road if it is to reach its transport emissions targets, according to a new study. A target of 95g of CO2 per km driven has been set and plans to set targets on the number of electric vehicle charging points have been announced too. The Ricardo-AEA report found a more ambitious target of 60g/km is possible if 24% of new cars were electric. (Times of India)