Developing Nations

Scramble!

#86: Scramble! This is Serious

After examining more than 200 ways of reducing carbon emissions, McKinsey and Company has found that the growth in India’s carbon emissions could be halved using known practices and technologies, reducing the growth from 1.6 billion tons in 2005 to only 2.8 billion tons in 2030, instead of a previously projected 5-6 billion tons. The investment needed would be around $1 trillion, or 2% of India’s GDP.

Source: Worldwatch Institute, Sept 2009

Politics of Change

 

Ecological Cities

 

Solar Villages

#89: Build Solar Villages

India is pushing ahead with a huge national plan to advance its use of solar PV energy from almost zero today to 20 GW by 2020, and a target of 200 GW by 2040. This is very big by any current global standard, but when set against India’s population of 1.15 billion people, if each household was to have a 1 kW PV system, they would need 383 GW. The financial details have yet to be sorted out, but are premised on falling solar costs.

Source: Guardian

China

#90: Solutions for China

China is aiming to lead the world in the production of hybrid and all-electric vehicles by 2012, reducing China’s GHGs by 19%, and clearing the skies of China’s heavily polluted cities. In 13 Chinese cities, subsidies of up to $8,800 are being offered for taxi fleets and local government agencies to make the switch. The production goal for the end of 2011 is 500,000 hybrid or all-electric cars and buses.

Source: New York Times

China is also accelerating research to grow algae using the CO2 emissions from its coal-fired power plants, using wind and solar energy to extract the CO2. The algae would then be used to make biofuel, fertilizer or animal feed. The Chinese company ENN is encouraged by the results from its trial 10,000 litre algae greenhouse, and planning to expand to a 100 hectare test facility either next to a coal  mine in Inner Mongolia, or on the warm-weather Hainan Island. The less encouraging news is that the facility will not be operational until 2020.

Source: Guardian

India

 

Africa

 

South America

 

Others

 

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