Did Sentosa's natural shores survive Exercise Northstar VII?
from wild shores of singapore
Quenched
from talfryn.net
Crab! How am I supposed to eat with these two claws?
from The annotated budak
Bomb Shell
from Urban Forest
Azure-winged Magpie defending its food
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Flowerpeckers and Clidemia hirta
from Bird Ecology Study Group
Experts cite climate change and rapid industrialisation to explain fluctuating rainfall
Amresh Gunasingham, Straits Times 16 Jul 09;
NEW data shows Singapore's rainfall has been dwindling over the last 30 years and more extreme weather changes are predicted to hit the region in the coming years.
A report from the Energy Studies Institute (ESI) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has found that from 1907 to 1967, average annual rainfall levels were up to 80mm above the long-term average of 2,346mm. But since 1967, rainfall has mostly remained at less than 40mm below the long-term average.
The study was based on data over the last 100 years obtained from the National Environment Agency's (NEA) Meteorological Services Division.
Confirming the findings, a spokesman for the NEA said: 'There was a gradual decreasing trend in rainfall, mainly due to a natural variability in Singapore's climate.'
The years 2006 and 2007 saw rainfall peak above the long-term average, but this was an exception to the trend, the report noted.
Some experts pointed to factors such as Singapore's rapid industrialisation during the 1970s to explain the pattern of falling rainfall.
'The effects of global climate change have been more pronounced only during the last two decades, so the rainfall change occurred a little too early,' noted Professor Lim Hock, founding director of Temasek Laboratories, which conducts research into areas of science and technology identified as critical to Singapore.
'The significant change in the landscape and ground cover condition of Singapore can affect the local distribution of clouds and rain, and hence, the observed reduction in rainfall.'
Singapore, with limited land for catchments to collect and store rainwater and with no groundwater, is also vulnerable to water scarcity issues.
Climate change - where the frequency of extreme weather patterns such as droughts and floods is expected to increase - was another factor, said experts.
The findings support forecasts made by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that annual rainfall levels in South-east Asia will fall in the first half of this century, said Associate Professor Ho Juay Choy, principal research fellow from ESI, who led the research effort.
Global warming predictions point to South-east Asia suffering from 'water stress', which refers to periods of extreme drought, brought about by a lack of fresh water supply.
'Climate change will likely affect health, agricultural, economic activities as well as water supply,' said Prof Ho.
Reduced rainfall was part of a wider trend in the region, particularly in Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia, Prof Ho added.
The only exception to the trend was the Philippines.
The United Nations predicts that by 2025, 1.8 billion people worldwide will be living in conditions of absolute water scarcity.
Professor Liong Shie-Yui, principal research fellow at NUS' Tropical Marine Science Institute, said it was important to consider that rainfall levels also vary substantially year-on-year.
For example, it is not uncommon for rainfall to peak at 3,200mm one year and drop to 2,200mm the next.
Despite the variability of shifting weather patterns, Singapore's integrated approach to water management means it is well equipped to cope, said Prof Liong.
For example, desalination and Newater - sources which have the advantage of being independent of fluctuations in rainfall - have been added to its water supply.
'These measures have enhanced our resilience against climate-change uncertainties such as fluctuating rainfall,' he added.
amreshg@sph.com.sg
# Thunderstorm days: An average of 14 thunderstorm days per month was recorded over the past 50 years. Although considered high, this is consistent with the local weather patterns.
# Wet days: There were 169 wet days on average in Singapore over the last 50 years. A wet day is defined as one in which there is more than 0.2mm of rainfall recorded.
# Temperature: Temperature variations over the past 50 years confirm a trend of temperatures rising more in the last 20 years.
SOURCE: ENERGY STUDIES INSTITUTE
Jason Gerald John, The New Straits Times, AsiaOne 16 Jul 09;
MALACCA, MALAYSIA - The state government is planning to turn deserted Pulau Upeh into a centre for Hawksbill turtle conservation as well as an eco-tourism attraction.
The island is the country's main landing site for the critically-endangered sea turtle species which belongs to the family Cheloniidae.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the state government would be working with a private investor for this purpose and the planned development would include upgrading the 120 chalets that had been abandoned for 10 years and the construction of new ones.
"The island was initially bought by Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and was supposed to be turned into its training centre but the plan did not materialise.
"We have now bought the island back for RM6.5 million and would be developing it with the private sector.
"Work on the island will begin next month and is expected to be completed in a year.
"The shores around the island will be preserved for turtle conservation."
Ali said this after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the purchase of the island between Chief Minister Incorporated (CMI) and TNB.
CMI was represented by Malacca State Secretary Datuk Omar Kaseh and TNB by its president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh.
Ali said Pulau Upeh had the potential to be the next big tourism attraction in the state. He added that its location, close to the Klebang beach, made it easily accessible.
"The island would also be a stone's throw from the soon to be constructed RM250 million Arab City Klebang," he said, adding that the island could be accessed via boat from Sungai Melaka or the Boat Explorer jetty in Klebang.
Ali said tourists could visit the island to catch a glimpse of the Hawksbill turtle and this would also be promoted by the state.
"I have asked the state Tourism Promotion Board to look into offering packages for tourists to visit Pulau Upeh," he added.
Every year, between 200 to 300 Hawksbill turtle nests are identified in Pulau Upeh and the nearby beaches.
This population is significant as it is the largest nesting congregation in Peninsular Malaysia.
--NST
Threat to Hawksbill turtles
Martin Carvalho and Chen Pelf Yeen, The Star 17 Jul 09;
MALACCA: A proposed private development project on Pulau Upeh, off the coast here, could see one of Malaysia’s top nesting sites for the endangered Hawksbill turtles being lost for good.
Located off the reclaimed land in Limbongan, the 2.5ha island has a 100m stretch of beach which is home to some 100 turtle nests, almost 30% of the entire estimated 350 nests in peninsular Malaysia.
The latest threat to the nests comes from the approval by the state government to a private company to revive and expand the island’s abandoned resort.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the Government had made up its mind to develop the island as a tourist spot.
“I believe it can succeed this time as tourism development in Malacca is extraordinary,” he said on Wednesday.
In the late 1980s, the state developed a resort and 120 chalets on the island through the State Economic Development Corporation.
However, it was abandoned in the mid-1990s and the state subsequently sold it to Tenaga Nasional Bhd as a training centre for RM10.4mil in 2003.
A private company applied to carry out the latest revival project and the state approved it last week.
Mohd Ali said the company, which would begin work next month, would increase the number of chalets to 200.
He noted that the state had earlier proposed to the Fisheries Department to convert the island into a turtle-nesting centre but the proposal fell through due to lack of federal funds.
Worldwide Fund for Nature Malaysia chief technical officer for peninsular Malaysia Surin Suksuwan expressed shock when told of the revived resort project.
“We are concerned that the project, if carried out indiscriminately, will result in irreversible impact on the turtles nesting and their nesting behaviour,” he said.
He said the WWF had briefed state officials three weeks ago on the turtles and proposed a low-impact turtle eco-tourism project.
Bernama 15 Jul 09;
JAKARTA, July 15 (Bernama) - Riau, which is blanketed in haze due to forest fires in 140 areas and 11 sub-districts, is considering Malaysia's offer to put out the fires.
Forestry Department spokesman Said Nurjaya said he received a letter from Malaysia forwarded by the Indonesian Environment Ministry on the note of understanding on cooperation to put out forest and peat soil fires.
"Putting out the fires will help reduce haze," he told Antara news agency in Pekanbaru, Riau on Wednesday.
He said the Indonesian Environment Ministry leave it to Riau's Forestry Department to prepare equipments for the fire fighting job.
Other Indonesian provinces involved in the Malaysia-Indonesia cooperation are Kalimantan Tengah, Aceh and Jambi.
The haze situation in Riau has reached serious stage and strong winds from South-east to North-East may blow the haze to Malaysia dan Singapore.
Pekanbaru, the provincial capital of Riau is covered in heavy haze from forest and peat soil fires.
-- BERNAMA
Malaysia, United States Offer Assistance as Riau Struggles With Fires
Budi Otmansyah The Jakarta Globe 15 Jul 09;
Pekanbaru, Riau. Malaysia and the United States have offered to help Indonesia deal with haze resulting from forest and peatland fires that have plagued Riau, an official said on Wednesday.
“The Malaysian government has offered aid to tackle the smog and forest fires, and we’ve accepted the offer,” said Syaid Nurjaya, the head of the Riau Forestry Agency.
Malaysia’s offer was outlined in a memorandum of understanding that was signed by Masnellyarti Hilman, who oversees environmental damage at the State Ministry for the Environment, and Datuk Suboh Mohammad Yasin, an official from Malaysia’s environment ministry, Syaid said.
“We are studying Malaysia’s offer,” Syaid said. “The environment ministry has left all of the decisions to us.”
Haze caused by forest and peatland fires has forced the authorities in Riau to repeatedly delay flights due to poor visibility.
There have also been reports of a spike in respiratory problems among Riau residents.
Health officials in the province said on Tuesday that up to 44,000 people in Pekanbaru, the provincial capital, had sought treatment for respiratory ailments since May.
Syaid said on Tuesday that authorities were planning to drop water from planes next week to combat fires ravaging the province and other parts of Sumatra.
Syaid said that assistance from Malaysia could include fire extinguishers specially designed for forest and peatland fires, as well as a program to train Riau officials in how to prevent forest fires.
“Obviously, the aid will not include the deployment of Malaysian firefighters,” he said. “In 1997, a Malaysian team joined efforts to put out forest fires, but they gave up.”
Indonesia experienced particularly serious forest fires in 1997 that sent a thick layer of haze over large portions of neighboring countries Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
A number of other countries, including the United States, have also expressed interest in helping the country deal with the fires in Riau, Syaid said.
A special US Armed Forces team is scheduled to hold a joint training session on extinguishing peatland fires with Indonesia’s Armed Forces (TNI), he said.
“We’ve asked the Wirabima Military Regiment Command [in Riau] to include Riau firefighters and fire rangers from the Riau Natural Conservation Agency in this training initiative,” Syaid said.
He said the training would serve as a forum for the United States to share its expertise with Indonesia, adding that the Americans were experienced at putting out brush fires.
“This also demonstrates the TNI’s commitment to disaster response,” he said, without saying precisely when the joint training would be held.
Tempo Interactive 15 Jul 09;
TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Environment activist in Jakarta protested against a project to build transport access in a forest in Tebo Regency, in Jambi Province by a pulp and paper company on Wednesday and accused the company of breaching a conservation area.
In a demonstration outside the main office of Asia Pulp and Paper in Jakarta on Wednesday, Centre for Orangutan Protection said a subsidiary of the company, PT Wira Karya Sejati and PT Rimba Hutani Mas have razed forest near the Bukit Tigapuluh orangutan conservation area to build an 82 kilometer road for timber transportation.
Sadewa spokesman for the Centre for Orangutan Protection said “The road was only 5-7 kilometers from the center of the conservation site. ”Sadewa said the companies had not completed its Analysis on Environmental Impacts of their work, but the logs and timbers were scattered around the road access.
Sadewa also criticised the head of Tebo Regency for failing to recognize the situation in his region and said that efforts from local non governmental organisations to promote the problem have failed to gain response from the local government.
There were four major orangutan conservation area in Sumatra; Aceh, Dolok Sembelin and Batu Ardan, southeast of Tapanuli, and in Angkola and Pasaman. In Bukit Tigapuluh there were 103 population of orangutan which were released to the conservation area five years ago.
DIANING SARI
Bernama 15 Jul 09;
JAKARTA, July 15 (Bernama) -- Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said industrialised countries had yet to honour their promise to compensate developing countries that were protecting their forests, such as Indonesia, Antara news agency reported.
"The compensation is provided for in the Bali Road Map agreement produced at the international conference on climate change in Bali in December 2007," he said.
He said political conditions in the advanced industrialised countries were already stable but those countries still would not meet the promise they had made despite several calls.
At an evironment ministers' meeting in Greenland held concurrently with the G-8 Summit in L'Aquila, Italy, on July 9-10, Rachmat had also voiced the concern.
He said it was still difficult to reduce gas emissions because until now developed countries still refused to give their assistance.
The minister's fourth deputy, Masneliarti, said the environment ministers' meeting that she also attended discussed efforts to reduce emissions by up to 80 percent by 2050.
She said referring to global concensus reduction of gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050 with the developed countries contributing 80 percent reduction was ideal and urgent.
In the meeting she said the developed countries had asked developing nations to make mid-term targets because long-term targets could not be assured as regeneration had taken place by the time.
She said during the meeting no agreement was reached with regard to the amount of aid industrialised countries would give to developing nations to reduce gas emissions. It had only produced mid-term target of reduction by 20 to 40 percent by 2020, she said.
Rachmat said at the G-8 Summit US President Barack Obama said if the developed and developing countries could not make an agreement, the U.S. as an industrialised country, would pay tax on its industrial products exported to developing countries.
-- BERNAMA
Kristen Gelineau, Associated Press Yahoo News 15 Jul 09;
SYDNEY – The first battered bodies were found on a small Australian beach, the white sand around them stained crimson with their blood. A few days later, the killer struck again — this time on the nearby cliffs overlooking Sydney Harbor. The cluster of victims were covered in bite marks, their tiny tummies slashed open.
Through blood-spatter evidence and DNA testing, a profile of the killer began to emerge: Stealthy. Fast. Furry.
What is killing the little penguins in Sydney's beachside suburb of Manly? A fox? A dog? Both?
The investigation so far has yielded some clues. Officials can almost certainly rule out humans; the bite marks and blood patterns point to foxes, which often hold prey in their mouths and prance around shaking it, said Sally Barnes, head of the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service.
To Manly's "Penguin Wardens," a 30-member group of volunteer penguin protectors who spend hours each night guarding the birds, the culprit behind what they've dubbed the "Massacre at Manly Point" is less important than making sure it doesn't happen again.
"It's like a nightmare you can't wake up from," said grief-stricken chief penguin warden Angelika Treichler, a 67-year-old retired teacher who has been watching over the fluffy blue-and-white waddlers nearly every night for the past five years.
The investigation into the nine penguin deaths to date — and efforts to protect those still alive — has spread beyond the wardens to the New South Wales government. The parks service has sent DNA samples to a lab, but won't have results for at least a week.
As they hunt for the killer, parks service officials have set fox bait and traps, and warned residents to keep dogs locked up or on a leash.
"Really, it doesn't matter whether it's a fox or dog — we're not going to wait for the results," Barnes said. "We're just throwing everything we can at keeping the penguins safe."
This week, the parks service sent two "snipers" — trained sharpshooters from the state pest authority, armed with night vision goggles and .22-caliber rifles — to the cliffs to kill any foxes caught in their crosshairs.
Extreme? Not so much. This is, after all, a country that's considering building fences across chunks of Tasmania to help prevent endangered Tasmanian Devils with a contagious cancer from infecting the healthy population.
"Australians are generally animal lovers, and I think they're also very connected to native animals," Barnes said. "So they will do whatever's reasonable to protect particularly endangered ones."
And, as Manly Mayor Jean Hay noted: "Everybody's saying, 'Do whatever it takes to protect them.'"
To an outsider, however ...
"Snipers?" U.S. tourist Christy McLeod, from Bend, Ore., asked from her seat on Manly wharf, eyes darting to the sand where her son was playing. "Really?"
Not anywhere nearby, she was assured. And their targets are foxes, not people.
"That's creepy," she muttered. "They're PENGUINS."
Little penguins, actually. Also known as fairy penguins, they are the world's smallest penguin species, standing around a foot tall.
They are often seen in southern Australia and New Zealand, but are rare in New South Wales; the 120 that live in Manly are the only breeding colony left on the state's mainland, and they are considered endangered by the state government.
Five years ago, Treichler noticed a small group of penguins shuffling each night from the ocean to their nests under the wooden ramp leading to the adjacent beach. She was smitten — and petrified. Who would ensure their safety?
Thus began her nightly vigils next to the birds' nests. She puts off what most would consider important tasks — such as hip replacement surgery — until the three months of the year that the penguins head out to sea.
Others soon joined her, and today, 30 volunteer Penguin Wardens rotate night shifts. Aside from dogs and foxes, 22-year-old warden Elissa Barr cited other dangers: Flash photography disorients the birds. Trash can get stuck around their necks. And drunks sometimes step — and, Barr noted dryly — urinate on them.
But the volunteers can't be everywhere, as evidenced by the recent killings.
Treichler believes the birds were taken during their nightly march home. "In autopsies that were done, they had fresh fish in their tummies," she said from her perch on the Manly pier, the chilly nighttime breeze ruffling her white hair.
So the wardens stepped up their watches. On this night, seven stand guard over a nest of four. The birds are laying low, including the normally flamboyant Mr. Stickybeak. Treichler believes the silence from the private beach where the latest slaughter happened has alerted the Stickybeaks and their neighbors — Mr. and Mrs. Silverwing — to the danger.
"They are usually singing their love songs," she said. "But it's eerily quiet at the moment."
Suddenly, a man and his 6-year-old son approached with unsettling news: Just yesterday, they saw a dead penguin at a beach south of Sydney.
"Did he have his tummy opened?" Treichler asked.
"Yeah," the man replied. "And he was missing his head."
Treichler's face fell. A pained murmur rustled through the group.
"That's a fox," Treichler said.
She and another volunteer scurried off to check on the nests at the private beach. As she slipped away into the night, she conceded with a smile: "It's a bit illegal."
But the chief penguin warden had a job to do. Somewhere in the darkness, the killer still lurked.
Yahoo News 15 Jul 09;
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Malaysia is losing its battle to save its dwindling population of wild tigers, a conservation coalition warned Wednesday after a series of raids that netted tiger carcasses and bones.
"It is clearly time to admit that we are fast losing the battle to save our tigers to an army of smugglers and poachers intent on killing every last one," said the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MyCat).
"They enter our protected areas with ease, and illegally trap, kill and export our wildlife with little fear," said the alliance which includes WWF Malaysia and watchdog Traffic Southeast Asia.
MyCat demanded that Malaysian authorities take action to stop the illegal trade in tiger parts.
It listed a series of seizures of dismembered tigers in recent months, from the Thai-Laos border right down to Malaysia itself, including three kilograms (six-and-a-half pounds) of tiger bones found in northeastern Kelantan state last month.
The coalition said that investigations into the seized tiger parts found that some were from sub-species not found in the wild in Asia, including the Siberian tiger.
It said the findings suggested that captive tigers, such as those found in zoos and theme parks, were finding their way into the illegal wildlife trade where they are butchered for traditional medicine.
"Swift and severe action must follow," MyCat said.
"If we cannot stop captive tigers from government-supervised institutions from being illegally traded, there is little hope of protecting wild tigers," it said.
Malaysia is estimated to have just 500 tigers still living in the wild.
Thai probe shows tiger parts came from Malaysia
Hilary Chiew, The Star 11 Jul 09;
PETALING JAYA: Investigations by Thai wildlife authorities have confirmed that some of the tiger parts confiscated in Thailand last year belonged to the Malayan tiger, a specie found only in Peninsula Malay-sia.
Dr Suchitra Changtragoon from the Forest Genetics and Biotech-nology Group said genetic fingerprinting revealed that the parts came from three species of tigers — the Indochinese, Amur and Malayan.
The group comes under the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department of Thai-land.
The group investigated 17 meat samples obtained from the seizure of animal parts early this year.
Twelve were found to be tiger meat, three were leopard meat and the rest were meat from the clouded leopard.
Of the 12 tiger samples, five were from Malayan tigers, five were from Indochinese tigers and the remaining two were from Amur tigers.
The findings were published in a scientific journal made available to The Star. The report is also published on the department’s website (http://www.dnp.go.th).
In January this year, three tiger carcasses, weighing up to 250kg, were seized from a truck passing through Hua Hin while in February, two tiger and one panther carcasses were recovered from a truck in Pattani.
In both cases, police said they were believed to have come from Malaysia and the parts were bound for Laos which is believed to be a transit point for Vietnam and China.
Most of the big cats had been cut in half and their organs and pelts removed.
When contacted, Department of Wildlife and National Park’s (Perhi-litan) Saharudin Anan said the results were not conveyed to Malaysia.
“This is news to me. We had requested through the official channels when it was reported that those seizures included the Malayan tiger.
“But until today we are still waiting for the results,” said the law and enforcement division director.
Smuggling of tigers from Malaysia
WWF 16 Jul 09;
Petaling Jaya, 15 July 2009 - News that a number of the tiger parts seized in Thailand earlier this year included those of the Malayan Tiger is depressing, but hardly surprising.
From Changlun, near the Malaysian-Thai border to Nongkai province, near the Thai-Lao border, dismembered tigers have been stacking up in seizure after seizure around the region.
The first two cases this year saw Thai authorities confiscate 250kg of tiger parts and then, 11 dead tigers. The most recent case involved the seizure of 3 kg of tiger bones in Jeli, Kelantan last month by the Malaysian Wildlife and National Parks Department.
Seizures were also reported in May and June throughout the region.
It’s clearly time to admit that we are fast losing the battle to save our tigers to an army of smugglers and poachers intent on killing every last one.
They enter our protected areas with ease, and illegally trap, kill and export our wildlife with little fear. The fact that they are targeting an animal as large, recognizable and iconic as the tiger, suggests that this is a calculated risk that often pays off.
So do we fight back or sit back?
The Malaysian Nature Society, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Wildlife Conservation Society and WWF-Malaysia, which make up the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT), will step up awareness efforts, intelligence gathering and sharing, and will continue to support enforcement agencies working to stamp out illegal trade in wildlife.
But in this case, the most critical step must be taken by the Wildlife Department and the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment – to find out where in Malaysia these tigers came from.
Of the 12 tiger samples tested, five were from Malayan tigers, which are native to Malaysia. The rest consisted of two sub-species not naturally occurring but found in zoos and theme parks here - the Indochinese tiger and Siberian tiger.
This begs the question: How do Siberian and Indochinese tigers end up in a seizure from Malaysia?
The Wildlife Department will be able to ascertain, with its inventory of captive tigers in the country, against which it can compare the Thai DNA results.
And if the evidence points to captive tigers leaking into the illegal wildlife trade, then swift and severe action must follow.
If we cannot stop captive tigers from government-supervised institutions from being illegally traded, there is little hope of protecting wild tigers.
This is a joint statement by the Malaysian Nature Society, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Wildlife Conservation Society - Malaysia Programme and WWF-Malaysia, which form the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT).
Faisal Mohammad Ali, BBC News 14 Jul 09;
One of India's main tiger parks - Panna National Park - has admitted it no longer has any tigers.
The park, in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, was part of the country's efforts to save the famous Royal Bengal Tiger from extinction.
State Minister of Forests Rajendra Shukla said that the reserve, which three years ago had 24 tigers, no longer had any.
A special census was conducted in the park by a premier wildlife institute, after the forest authorities reported no sightings of the animals for a long time.
This is the second tiger reserve in India, after Sariska in Rajasthan, where numbers have dwindled to zero.
Warning bells
Officials from the wildlife department say there is no "explicable" reason for the falling number of tigers.
But a report prepared by the central forest ministry says Panna cannot be compared with Sariska because "warning bells were sounded regularly for the last eight years".
The report says wildlife authorities failed to see the impending disaster despite repeated warnings, and lost most of Panna's big cats to poaching.
While this controversy rages, there have been reports that another national park in Madhya Pradesh, Sanjay National Park, which was included in the tiger project three years ago, also has no tigers left.
The park had a population of 15 tigers until the late 1990s.
Of the more than 1,400 tigers in the country, 300 dwell in the state of Madhya Pradesh, which is also called the "tiger state of India".
Best managed
But Madhya Pradesh's forest minister Rajendra Shukla says all the news is not bleak.
"Panna is our only park which has lost on this count," he says. "Three of state's reserve forests - Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Pench - have been adjudged among the best managed tiger reserves in the country."
Mr Shukla has drawn up a seven-member committee comprising the state's chief conservator of forests and experts, to ascertain why the tigers have disappeared.
The chief conservator, HS Pabla, told the BBC that the report would be submitted some time in August.
He said that tigers from Sanjay National Park "could have strayed to the adjoining area, which is now part of the state of Chattisgarh, created some years ago."
The authorities have recently transported two female tigers to Panna from another nearby tiger park, and sought permission from the central administration to bring in four more, two of them males.
Project tiger
India had 40,000 tigers a century ago, but the numbers dwindled fast because of hunting and poaching.
The country banned tiger hunting and launched an ambitious conservation effort named Project Tiger to increase the population of the endangered species.
A number of forest areas were declared national parks and funds allotted for protecting the tigers.
Though the programme bore fruit initially, with the decline in numbers checked because of a hunting ban, recent years have seen a phenomenal rise in poaching, which is now organised almost along the lines of drug-smuggling.
The authorities have not been able to put a stop to it, owing to the ever-changing techniques used by the cartels, and corruption within.
MK Ranjitsingh, a member of National Wildlife Advisory Board, says the authorities must crack down on the poachers by preventing their activities in the parks, and stopping the export of tiger products.
And they must, he adds, lobby for international pressure on the nations of the Far East, which are the main buyers of such goods.
There have been reports that there is a huge demand for tiger bones, claws and skin in countries like China, Taiwan and Korea.
The Big Question: Can India's tigers be saved or are they now doomed to disappear?
Andrew Buncombe, The Independent 15 Jul 09;
Why are we asking this now?
This week officials at the Panna Nature Reserve in the state of Madhya Pradesh, the so-called tiger state, revealed that there were no longer any of the big cats in the entire park. After forest officials reported not sighting any of the animals for some time, a leading wildlife organisation carried out a survey. The state's forest minister, Rajendra Shukla, confirmed that the reserve, which three years ago had up to 24 tigers, no longer had any whatsoever. Almost all are believed to have been killed by poachers.
Why is this so serious?
This is not the first time a prestigious reserve has reported that its tigers have disappeared. In 2005, it was revealed that all the tigers in the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan had also been killed by poachers. What makes this case different is that the problems faced by the park were regularly drawn to the attention of officials. A committee appointed by India's Supreme Court even warned of the potential peril facing the park and how Panna could see a repeat of what happened at Sariska. A report by the central government's forest ministry says "warning bells were sounded regularly for the past eight years" but that the local authorities did not take heed.
Dr Raghu Chundawat, an independent scientist who carried out an extensive tiger radio-collaring project in Panna and who repeatedly warned of their falling numbers, said: "We have been shouting about this for the past six years. There is a big problem. The state government is still refusing to listen."
What is the current strength of India's tiger population?
A census carried out on behalf of the government and handed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh two years ago revealed that the total may be as few as 1,300 animals. The upper limit was put at 1,500. While there are no precise figures, some estimates suggest that the turn of the 20th Century, the population may have stood at 100,000. Some experts believe there may now be as few as two genetically viable populations of tigers in India, located in the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand and the Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, which is said to have inspired Rudyard Kipling to pen The Jungle Book.
What is responsible for this decline?
The most pressing problem is the failure of the authorities to stop poaching. Tiger pelts and body parts still drive a huge market in China and elsewhere in East Asia where they are believed to have special medicinal powers. Campaigners say that a skin can fetch £5,300 while tiger penises, said to improve sexual prowess, can be sold for up to £14,000 per kilo. The authorities suffer from a lack of trained, properly-equipped forest guards. Salaries are low and motivation is often lacking. There are widespread suggestions of bribery and corruption.
Are there any other factors?
Another more long-term reason is the increasing lack of habitats for tigers. India's large, sprawling population is increasingly coming into contact with tigers, with often fatal results for man and beast alike. Without protected habitats, there is nowhere safe for these large, roaming animals to breed and live. Certain pieces of legislation, such as the Recognition of Forest Rights Act which grants some of India's most impoverished communities the right to own and live in the forests, only add to such clashes. Experts say all the evidence shows that tigers and humans cannot safely co-exist and unless there is a willingness to set aside designated, protected areas, than the tiger's chances are not good.
What else?
Another factor is the shortage of prey species. If deer and antelope are being poached, tigers may be tempted to kill livestock, something which pushes them into further confrontation with humans.
Is global warming playing a role here?
In the Sunderbans delta at the mouth of the Ganges there are reports of rising sea levels reducing the amount of land and driving the tigers northwards. This means they are increasingly moving into human settlements. Tigers have long been feared among the fishing and honey-collecting communities that survive in the delta. It's said that few will venture into the forest without wearing a human mask attached to the back of the head. It is believed that a tiger will never attack a human being face-on. Anecdotally, there are increased reports of tigers attacking humans in these areas.
What about tigers elsewhere?
It is not just in India that tigers are suffering. Over the past 100 years, tiger populations across the world have fallen by as much as 95 per cent and are now facing extinction within their last domains. Of the nine sub-species of tiger, three – the Caspian, Javanese and Balinese – are already gone. A fourth, the South China tiger, is already considered "functionally extinct" with perhaps fewer than 30 surviving in the wild. Elsewhere the Sumatran tiger is listed as critically endangered. The others – the Indochinese, the Malayan, the Siberian and India's Bengal tiger – all face massive threats.
What has the Indian government been doing to save tigers?
As far back as 1972 when then prime minister Indira Gandhi established Project Tiger, the value of saving this hugely symbolic animal has been recognised. Tens of millions of pounds has been spent in an often disorganised series of conservation efforts. Today there are more than 40 reserves. And some positive things are being done; last year, three tigers were airlifted into the Sariska reserve in an effort to try and restock the population. The government's National Tiger Conservation Authority – tasked with saving the animal – now wants to ban tourists from the centre of most of the country's reserves. Sab Prakash Yadav, the organisation's joint director, recently said: "Tourism creates a disturbance through vehicles, noise pollution, garbage and the need to provide facilities."
What is the mood among conservationists?
It is a mixture of despair and forced optimism. "This is a catastrophe," Belinda Wright, head of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, said about the loss of the Panna tigers. "It just shows that have not learned any lessons from Sariska. The problem is the relationship between the central and state governments. It is pretty sordid story, actually."
So could the tiger population already be doomed?
Some experts say the small size of the population makes the future of the tiger scientifically unviable. However, such conservationists still chose to carry on their work in the hope of a miracle. Ashok Kumar, deputy chair of the Wildlife Trust of India, said it was essential that attention was paid to improving the training of forest guards, boosting their number and employing park directors who had the dedication to deal with the poaching problem. He said he was heartened by the government's current environment minister and that there were populations in several regions of India that were viable. He said: "The long-term future of the tiger can be saved."
Is there any chance of survival for the Indian tiger?
Yes...
* India knows the value of the tiger, and there appears to be determination to do something.
* Poaching has been stopped in other parts of the world.
* In the past couple of years, India has become educated about this. The census of 2007 may act as a wake-up call and lead to greater action.
No...
* Some experts believe the population is already too small for the animal to have a viable future.
* The authorities seem unable to stop poaching, either confronting poachers or those who trade in tiger.
* India's population is growing, putting more pressure on the natural habitats upon which the tigers rely.
The Telegraph 15 Jul 09;
The Prince of Wales has compared the debate around the world's endangered fish stocks to the discussions which surrounded climate change in the 1980s.
The Prince said that 30 years ago a few people were trying to make their voices heard about the problem of global warming – but nobody wanted to listen.
In a speech to members of the fishing industry, the heir to the throne said that over the years he had tried to raise the issue of fish stocks but the subject was "quite literally out of sight, and out of mind".
The comments came as the prince hosted a Clarence House reception for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an organisation that has been promoting sustainable fishing practices across the globe.
MSC supporters and those who have signed up to the body's eco-labelling and certification programme for wild-capture fisheries were among those invited to the event.
In 1999 the first fisheries entered MSC assessment and in March the following year the Western Australia rock lobster and Thames herring became the first MSC certified fisheries.
Today more than 2,000 seafood products, available in 41 countries, carry the MSC blue eco-label which tells consumers they have been awarded the organisation's certificate for sustainable and well-managed fisheries.
The Prince told his guests: "The science tells us very clearly that if we continue to fish without any care for the long term sustainability of fish stocks we will soon face a nightmare collapse in stocks and inevitable starvation amongst the world's poorest people.
"So I think the debate about the marine environment is rather like that which surrounded climate change in the 1980s.
"Back then climate change was something about which a few people were trying very hard to make their voices heard, occasionally myself, but nobody wanted to listen."
He added: "Over the years I've tried to make speeches and hold seminars and those things about the fishing problem, but again it has been very difficult to get the attention of all sorts of people, agencies, organisations and the consumer – the subject was quite literally out of sight and out of mind."
WWF 16 Jul 09;
Stockholm, Sweden – Large amounts of sewage from cruise ships likely are being dumped into the Baltic Sea because major ports in the region have failed to upgrade their facilities to dispose of the waste.
Only three of more than 20 cruise ship ports around the Baltic – Helsinki, Stockholm, and Visby – have adequate facilities to handle waste from cruise ships when they dock, even though they bring in millions of euros from tourism.
In a letter sent today, the WWF Baltic Ecoregion Action Programme urges those ports to take action and upgrade their facilities. The 12 most visited cruise ports in the Baltic region are: Gdynia, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Klaipeda, Kiel, Copenhagen, Riga, Rostock, Stockholm, Saint Petersburg, Tallinn and Visby.
“We find it unfair that so many ports are profiting from cruise line tourism but are not prepared to take care of their waste,” said Pauli Merriman, Director of the WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme. “We believe that some of these profits should be used to make needed upgrades to their facilities as it should be the responsibility of any country or city that wants to receive these ships, to offer adequate sewage reception facilities“,
WWF initially contacted ferry lines and cruise ship companies sailing in the Baltic Sea two years ago, asking for a voluntary ban on waste water discharge. That same year, most of the ferry lines responded positively.
In May, many cruise lines, through their umbrella organization, the European Cruise Council (ECC), made a voluntary commitment to stop dumping their waste water in the Baltic Sea “when certain conditions are met”. These conditions included “adequate port reception facilities which operate under a ‘no special fee’ agreement”.
“We are happy that the cruise lines have made this commitment and we believe it is now up to the ports to do their part,” said Anita Mäkinen, Head of Marine Program at WWF Finland. “It’s a scandal if we let this pollution continue.”
WWF also is working within the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to push for stronger regulations, which currently allow the discharge of ship waste to international waters. In a paper submitted this week to the IMO Marine Environmental Protection Committee, WWF urges the IMO to strengthen its regulations regarding the discharge of ship waste in eutrophied semi-closed or closed waters, such as the Baltic.
The Baltic Sea will receive more than 350 cruise ship visits with more than 2,100 port calls this year and the industry is growing by an estimated 13 percent per year.
The waste-water produced in these vessels is estimated to contain 74 tons of nitrogen and 18 tons of phosphorus, substances that add to eutrophication. In addition to excess nutrients, the waste water also contains bacteria, viruses and other pathogens, as well as heavy metals.
Reuters 15 Jul 09;
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Urban pollution in Hong Kong has jumped sixfold in the past four years, but experts say local vehicles are more to blame than smog blown in from southern China's manufacturing belts, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.
In recent years, Hong Kong's image as a financial hub has suffered from poor air quality, with its iconic harbor shrouded in a thick chemical smog at times. Officials have often blamed pollutants blown in from China's industrial heartlands in the neighboring Pearl River Delta and Guangdong province.
But the closure of scores of Delta factories during the global financial crisis and efforts to clean up Guangdong power plants by installing sulfur scrubbers are seen to have diminished this effect, with the levels of pollutants above street level in Hong Kong found to have fallen by more than half in recent years.
Down on street level however, an analysis of air pollution at three roadside monitoring stations in urban Hong Kong found a sixfold increase in "health-threatening pollution levels" in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2005, the South China Morning Post reported.
Experts attributed most of the rise to local traffic clogging up Hong Kong's congested roads, rather than contaminated air carried from southern China, the paper reported.
"It is undeniably a local pollution problem at street level. All we need is a lot more and urgent measures to address vehicular pollution to protect public health," Alexis Lau, an expert at the University of Science and Technology, was quoted as saying.
Hong Kong's Environmental Protection Department, however, blamed regional air pollution from China, saying key pollutants emitted by motor vehicles had in fact fallen, the paper reported.
To ease the region's longstanding pollution woes, the Guangdong and Hong Kong governments agreed in 2002 to implement emission reduction targets by 2010, including cuts of 40 percent for sulfur dioxide emissions, though green groups remain skeptical such goals will be met.
(Reporting by James Pomfret; Editing by Jerry Norton)
Steve McCormack, The Independent 16 Jul 09;
This year's Bosch Technology Horizons Award, in association with The Independent and the Royal Academy of Engineering, gave young people in two age groups the chance to answer the question, "How can technology and engineering provide innovative solutions to today's global challenges?"
A total of 545 entries were received, with writers grappling with issues such as renewable energy, the global water shortage, and medical solutions to new diseases. Their essays also addressed the philosophical and public relations side of the engineer's role. As one of the judges, I was impressed by the combination of scientific understanding and writing flair exhibited by all 14 essays that made the shortlist in both age groups. In the 14-18 age group, Leon Zhang from Urmston Grammar School in Manchester took the first prize of £700, while in the 19-24 age group, Gavin Harper, in the second year of a PhD at Cardiff University, netted the top award of £1,000.
The Technology Horizons Award, now in its fourth year, encourages students to think creatively about the changes and challenges facing the world. The award also seeks to highlight the importance of technology and engineering to young people, and inspire more of them to choose these subjects for study at A level and university.
The winners attended a presentation ceremony at The Royal Academy of Engineering in London, hosted by former Tomorrow's World presenter Kate Bellingham, now President of Young Engineers, and featuring presentations from Andy Green, the RAF pilot who drove the Thrust supersonic car to a world record 763 mph in 1997, and Peter Fouquet, President of Bosch UK.
Winner, 14-18: Leon Zhang
Take this time to think, for just a moment. In the past second, one and a half acres of rainforest were cut down, destroying the homes of many species of wildlife. In the past minute, the energy used in the UK was equal to 313 million tons of oil, which we can never get back. In the past hour, 160 children died from lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Mother Earth is in deep trouble. And it is our duty to get her out.
The problems our Earth faces can affect us all. Melting polar ice caps, rising temperatures, the economic crisis – it seems we cannot escape them. The media has done its fair share emphasising the problem. Yet, there is a bright side. Our greatest strength as human beings is the ability to think. We can try to put a stop to these global dilemmas.
One prime example is finding solutions to water problems in developing countries such as Africa. In one of the hottest places on Earth, water is in scarce supply. Up to 250 million Africans could live in water-stressed areas by 2010, and more than 50 per cent of Africans suffer from water-related diseases such as cholera and infant diarrhoea. However, there are solutions. Engineering has already produced breakthroughs. By pressurising sea water to produce vapour jets and filtering them through carbon nanotubes, we can get clean drinking water from sea water – an almost inexhaustible resource. It may sound complex, but such engineering feats can save millions of lives, not just in Africa but all over the planet.
Japan has long been renowned for its mind-blowing technological advances that are often years ahead of the rest of the world. One of its most ambitious plans is to build a working space solar power system by 2030. By drawing on the colossal energy of the sun, it could meet the entire world's electricity requirements indefinitely without nuclear or GHG emissions. It sounds like a space-age dream, doesn't it? If successful, the impact on the world would be monumental. It would mean energy for schools, hospitals, and homes. It would mean another industrial revolution.
Every day, people everywhere are doing their bit, from recycling newspapers at home, to developing hydrogen-powered fuel cell cars in a lab. We are finally entering an era where engineering and technology are making the world a better place. Take the time to think, for just a moment. Now stop, and think towards the future.
The award winners
Aged 14-18
Winner: Leon Zhang, Urmston Grammar School, Manchester.
Runner-up: Jonathan Morris, St Olave's Grammar School, Kent
Highly Commended: Emily Cullis, Ounsdale Sixth Form College, Wolverhampton; Max Iles, Worcester Sixth Form College; Constance Mantle, Highgate School, London; Ben Richardson, Cults Academy, Aberdeen; Ethan Simpson, Hawick High School.
Aged 19-24
Winner: Gavin Harper, Cardiff University
Runner Up: Alejandro Vicente-Grabovetsky, Cambridge University
Highly Commended: Thomas Barker, Sheffield Hallam University; Mohammad bin Jalil Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College; Holly Ferrie, Brunel University; Su Sean Goh, LSE; Cole Soutter, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
Winning Schools: (those submitting most entries)
St Olave's Grammar School, Kent; Westcliff High School for Girls, Essex.
Winner, 19-24: Gavin Harper
Bespoke pieces are always expensive. Whether it's a tailor-cut Savile Row suit, or a hand-made piece of furniture, there is a premium to be paid for exclusivity. That is why one-off's are never going to change the world. They're just too expensive. Make fewer than 100 of them, and the cost of R&D is prohibitive. Churn them out like bottletops, and the initial costs of development dwindle into insignificance.
While many would advocate a smattering of made-to-measure nuclear power stations, the real clean-tech solutions will borrow more from the high street than haute couture.
Once we take a design, engineer out the complexity, make it cheaply and stamp it out cookie-cutter style, the price of innovation falls. It makes engineering business sense, and the concept can just as easily be understood by the hordes of shoppers flocking to Primarni, who know that if you take leading edge design, simplify it and make a lot, you get a product that performs, at an acceptable price.
GE announced in November 2008 that it had shipped its 10,000th 1.5MW wind turbine – impressive, for a company that has only been in the market for just over half a decade: it shows that once mass production intervenes, it's possible to increase capacity quickly. Unlike Ford... these turbines are "only available in white".
Another company, SolFocus is fast becoming the IKEA of the Solar Industry. It knows that if you have an expensive material, whether silicon for a solar panel, or top-notch wood for a table, there are parts of the product where you can use a cheaper material, and where using the more expensive material is needless over-specification. So where IKEA uses quality wood as the facing veneer for its furniture, but makes the structure from cheaper recycled manufactured woods, so SolFocus is using a cheap mirror to concentrate the solar energy onto a small piece of high-quality silicon. It is using less of an expensive material to achieve a similar effect.
They are not the only people with this idea – Cool Earth Solar takes it further. While you can produce a precision-reflecting surface that will give high performance, how much cost can you engineer out of a parabolic reflector? Rather than trying to extract the most sunlight from a given area, why not turn the idea on its head and extract the most sunlight for a given amount of money?
The company feels anything but deflated about its idea to make parabolic reflectors out of metallised mylar – an exceptionally cheap material, but one that does not hold its form very well due to its flimsy nature... unless you make it into a balloon. Premium helium party balloons are made from two circular sheets of plastic fused together, so imagine a parabolic reflector formed from a clear sheet, and a shiny sheet. It's a lightweight solution, to a heavyweight problem. Best of all, the lack of weight means the mounting hardware can be commensurately lean.
Concentrating solar plants apply the same approach on a larger scale. eSolar is a company with bold ambitions – to churn out electricity from the sun at a price lower than you can make it from coal, with its associated carbon penalty. The concept is similar – rather than coating large areas of land with expensive silicon, make arrays of cheap mirror that can focus the energy on a single point. The US threw £266m into developing Solar One, a concentrating plant with a capacity of 64MW (since upgraded to Solar Two), but take this concept, and rather than making a one-off, break it down into modules that can be mass produced out of standard components, and you've got a recipe for cheap, clean power.
The challenge for engineers isn't generating complexity – throw sufficient money at a problem, and it's always possible to generate a sophisticated technical solution – but reducing the cost to a point where the technologies become ubiquitous.
An apocryphal tale, long proven to be fictitious, carries an important fable for clean-tech. The story goes that the Americans invested a small fortune in inventing a pressurised pen (that claim should rightfully be attributed to Dr Paul C Fisher) which could write in zero-G, while the Russians used a pencil.
Cheap and a lot is the answer.
The environmental and social crisis that threatens us requires deeper solutions than new technology alone can provide
Merrick Godhaven, guardian.co.uk 15 Jul 09;
Technology is part of the solution to climate change. But only part. Techno-fixes like some of those in the Guardian's Manchester Report simply cannot deliver the carbon cuts science demands of us without being accompanied by drastic reductions in our consumption. That means radical economic and social transformation. Merely swapping technologies fails to address the root causes of climate change.
We need to choose the solutions that are the cheapest, the swiftest, the most effective and least likely to incur dire side effects. On all counts, there's a simple answer – stop burning the stuff in the first place. Consume less.
There is a certain level of resources we need to survive, and beyond that there is a level we need in order to have lives that are comfortable and meaningful. It is far below what we presently consume. Americans consume twice as much oil as Europeans. Are they twice as happy? Are Europeans half as free?
Economic growth itself is not a measure of human well-being, it only measures things with an assessed monetary value. It values wants at the same level as needs and, while it purports to bring prosperity to the masses, its tendency to concentrate profit in fewer and fewer hands leaves billions without the necessities of a decent life.
Techno-fixation masks the incompatibility of solving climate change with unlimited economic growth. Even if energy consumption can be reduced for an activity, ongoing economic growth eats up the improvement and overall energy consumption still rises. We continue destructive consumption in the expectation that new miracle technologies will come and save us.
The hope of a future techno-fix feeds into the pass-it-forward, do-nothing-now culture typified by targets for 2050. Tough targets for 2050 are not tough at all, they are a decoy. Where are the techno-fix plans for the peak in global emissions by 2015 that the IPCC says we need?
Even within the limited sphere of technology, we have to separate the solutions from the primacy of profit. We need to choose what's the most effective, not the most lucrative. Investors will want the maximum return for their money, and so the benefits of any climate technologies will, in all likelihood, be sold as carbon credits to the polluter industries and nations. It would not be done in tandem with emissions cuts but instead of them, making it not a tool of mitigation but of exacerbation.
Climate change is not the only crisis currently facing humanity. Peak oil is likely to become a major issue within the coming decade. Competition for land and water, soil fertility depletion and collapse of fisheries are already posing increasing problems for food supply and survival in many parts of the world.
Technological solutions to climate change fail to address most of these issues. Yet even without climate change, this systemic environmental and social crisis threatens society, and requires deeper solutions than new technology alone can provide. Around a fifth of emissions come from deforestation, more than for all transport emissions combined. There is no technological fix for that. We simply need to consume less of the forest, that is to say, less meat, less agrofuel and less wood.
Our level of consumption is inequitable. Making it universal is simply impossible. The scientist Jared Diamond calculates that if the whole world were to have our level of consumption, it would be the equivalent of having 72 billion people on earth.
With ravenous economic growth still prized as the main objective of society by all political leaders the world over, that 72 billion would be just the beginning. At 3% annual growth, 25 years later it would be the equivalent of 150 billion people. A century later it would be over a trillion. Something's got to give. And indeed, it already is. It's time for us to call it a crisis and respond with the proportionate radical action that is needed.
We need profound change – not only government measures and targets but financial systems, the operation of corporations, and people's own expectations of progress and success. Building a new economic democracy based on meeting human needs equitably and sustainably is at least as big a challenge as climate change itself, but if human society is to succeed the two are inseparable.
Instead of asking how to continue to grow the economy while attempting to cut carbon, we should be asking why economic growth is seen as more important than survival.
• Merrick Godhaven is an environmental writer and activist. He co-authored the Corporate Watch report Technofixes: A Critical Guide to Climate Change Technologies.
Clean technology entrepreneurs need help to make their low-carbon brainwaves succeed commercially
Garry Staunton, guardian.co.uk 15 Jul 09;
The UK has a great track record in innovation. A quick look through the history books reveals an illustrious history of invention, from the telephone and the jet engine through to genetic fingerprinting and the internet.
When it comes to tackling climate change, the diversity of the ideas in this week's Manchester Report shows there is certainly no lack of British ambition or creative thinking. With suggestions such as cheap biomass cooking stoves to harvesting the oceans for energy, many readers might have been wondering why these ideas aren't already widely deployed. Particularly given their potential to deliver such great rewards for the planet, entrepreneurs, investors and the economy as a whole.
Sadly, the truth is that great ideas alone are not enough to transform the way we generate energy or the carbon-intensive industries that underpin modern living. Serious blood, sweat and tears are needed to ensure that ideas become commercial reality. Investors speak of the journey from "lab to listing", and finding the right path on this journey is essential if low-carbon entrepreneurs want to see their ideas succeed.
The bottom line, of course, is that the technology needs to work. And this means both in the lab and in the world outside. Having tested the initial concept, the much bigger challenge is then to prove that the technology can be scaled up and replicated on a much larger, commercial scale.
Solar energy from photovoltaic cells is a case in point. The technical potential of generating electricity from the sun's rays is well-recognised. Making the technology cost-effective when deployed at scale, however, is an issue that must be overcome. To make this a reality, it is vital that we develop advanced photovoltaic technology that can be manufactured at large scale and low cost. That is why the Carbon Trust is currently running a major R & D project to make this vision a commercial reality.
And this gets to the crux of the matter, because development of the technology is only half the battle when it comes to its success. The clean tech sector, like any other, is governed by the basic market principles of supply and demand. There needs to be an appetite for the product and it must be possible to deliver it on the scale required, at the quality required and at an acceptable price.
For this reason, the innovators behind any great low-carbon idea must build a thorough understanding of the market from the outset. Understanding who the key players are and establishing relationships with them is essential - both to build credibility and to understand the needs and wants of the organisations that may well be the customers of the future. Innovators also have to show they understand their final customers, and what they want. This requires a focus on moving them from a state of indifference (we know you exist, but… ) through curiosity, and on to where they have a genuine desire to purchase your product.
We have seen this sort of transition with fuel cells. Over the past five years, UK fuel cell companies have moved from small research-focused organisations to companies with listings on the Alternative Investment Market, partnering with household-name utilities and maintaining order books worth tens of millions of pounds.
Finally, the ability to build a capable and financially stable company as the organisation grows is a key factor in determining whether a technology lives or dies in the real world. The reality is that the best inventors aren't always the best business leaders, so pulling in the right skills from a commercial and production perspective and attracting significant, private, external funds to fuel growth, is key.
Not all clean tech brainwaves will see the light of day but, with the UK on the cusp of a clean tech revolution which could generate fantastic economic opportunity, it is imperative that we speed up the process of commercialising new ideas. As the Manchester Report demonstrates, there is a wealth of innovative thinking ripe for the picking. The key will be to provide flexible but targeted support for these companies, to help them navigate the innovation journey. They can then emerge from the lab and grow into successful commercial businesses that will sit at the heart of the low-carbon economy.
• Garry Staunton is Technology Director at The Carbon Trust
Peter Griffiths and Nina Chestney, Reuters 15 Jul 09;
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will double the share of its electricity generated from low carbon sources by 2020 as part of plans to cut emissions and counter global warming, the government said on Wednesday.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said 40 percent of Britain's electricity will come from nuclear, wind, solar, marine and cleaner coal, compared with a fifth today.
By 2020, renewable energy sources will provide 31 percent of Britain's electricity, up from 6 percent today, while nuclear's share will fall to 8 percent from current levels of between 15 percent and nearly a quarter, depending on the variable output of nuclear plants.
"Our plan will strengthen our energy security...it seizes industrial opportunity and it rises to the moral challenge of climate change," Miliband said in a statement.
The pledge shows Britain's commitment to climate talks in Copenhagen in December that aim to secure a global deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol on reducing emissions, he added.
Attempts to reach a new accord have foundered on fears that environmental targets could hamper any economic recovery and rows between rich and developing nations on emissions cuts.
U.S. President Barack Obama, who chaired the Major Economies Forum this month, failed to convince China, India and others to agree to a G8-supported goal of halving world emissions by 2050.
With Britain in its worst recession in 50 years and the ruling Labour Party trailing in the polls with an election less than a year away, the government has been keen to talk up the benefits of the growing environmental sector.
Analysts said the proposals could help Britain's economy, but warned that it is still well behind some other countries.
"Others are finishing the quarter finals, while we are still planning the best stadium," said Stuart Haszeldine, geosciences professor at the University of Edinburgh.
The plan will help Britain to meet its 2008 pledge to the European Union to meet 15 percent of its energy demand through renewable sources by 2020, up from 1.3 percent in 2005.
But this target is less ambitious than those of Spain and France, which signed up for targets of 20 percent or higher, and of Sweden which agreed to a 2020 goal of 49 percent.
CLEANER COAL
The government reaffirmed its commitment to making coal-fired power stations less polluting by funding research into carbon capture and storage technology (CCS).
The technique of removing carbon dioxide from a coal plant's smoke and burying it underground could reduce emissions by 90 percent, the government said. Britain will help fund four CCS trials and require new coal-powered plants to fit the technology within five years of it being proved viable, probably by 2020.
In a series of policy documents, Britain said the global market for low carbon goods and services could expand to 4.3 trillion pounds ($7,047 billion) by 2015 from 3 trillion pounds in 2007/08 and grow even faster if a deal is struck in Denmark.
Miliband said Britain's low carbon sector will be one of the few areas of the economy that will grow during the recession and beyond, expanding at over 4 percent each year up to 2014/15.
The number of people employed in the sector could rise by 400,000 to over 1.28 million by 2015, compared to 880,000 today.
Action to tackle climate change will add about 8 percent to household energy bills by 2020, Miliband said. This estimate relies on consumers using less energy.
About a fifth of the emissions cuts by 2020 will come from cleaner transport, including government subsidies of between 2,000 and 5,000 pounds for each electric car. A further 15 percent of the emissions cuts must come from making homes more energy efficient, while 10 percent will come from the workplace.
Britain was the first country to set legally-binding emissions targets. It wants to cut its output of planet-warming gases by 34 percent by 2020, from 1990 levels.
(Additional reporting by Michael Szabo and Daniel Fineren. Editing by Anthony Barker)
FACTBOX: Key facts from Britain's low carbon route map
Reuters 15 Jul 09;
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain outlined on Wednesday how it plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change.
Following are the key elements of the plan.
INDUSTRY
The government said the low carbon sector would be one of the few areas of the economy to grow during the recession and beyond. The UK low carbon goods and services sector is expected to grow by more than 4 percent per year up to 2014/15.
The global low carbon market could expand to at least 4.3 trillion pounds ($7.05 trillion) by 2015 from 3 trillion pounds in 2007/8 if a deal is reached at climate talks in Copenhagen in December.
The number of people employed in the sector in Britain could rise to more than 1 million by 2015, from 880,000 today.
In regard to housing, only zero carbon homes will be built from 2016, the government said.
TRANSPORT
The government said it will invest up to 10 million pounds in the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure out of a total funding package of 405 million for the low carbon sector announced in the 2009 Budget.
BIOFUELS
The government said it would support creation of a biofuels demonstration plant in England to convert organic waste to bioethanol and would give further details later this year.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
To increase energy efficiency, funding of up to 6 million pounds will be available for smart grid, which will be able to react to fluctuations in power demand and generation.
The government aims to get smart meters in every home by the end of 2020.
RENEWABLES OBLIGATION
The government said it was conducting a consultation to extend the lifetime of the Renewables Obligation (RO) to at least 2037 for new projects, but to limit RO support to 20 years per project.
To fund new low-carbon and renewable energy projects, the government said it would draw on capital from the European Investment Bank and other developers.
The scheme forces utilities to generate an increasing proportion of their electricity from low-carbon sources.
FEED-IN TARIFFS FOR SMALL SCALE POWER PRODUCTION
The government said feed-in tariffs would be introduced for installation of up to 5 megawatts from April 2010 and is consulting on design and implementation this summer. The tariffs offer financial incentives for domestic solar panels or wind turbines.
OFF-SHORE WIND
Out of the Budget funding allocation, the government has pledged up to 120 million pounds to support off-shore wind.
WAVE/TIDAL POWER
The government pledged up to 60 million pounds for wave and tidal power investment, including 9.5 million pounds for the Wave Hub demonstration facility off the Cornish coast.
The Wave Hub project is due to be built in 2010, with deployment in Spring 2011.
The report also said the final shortlist of the Severn tidal scheme were confirmed as three barrages, including Cardiff-Westen Barrage and two lagoons.
The government said it would provide up to 22 million pounds in a Marine Renewables Proving Fund for marine energy technologies reaching demonstration stage within 2011-2014.
RENEWABLE HEAT INCENTIVE
The government a financial incentive to secure heat from renewable energy sources would be available from 2011 with consultation expected toward the end of 2009 on eligible technologies, support levels and a levy to raise funding.
Until new financial incentives are introduced, 45 million pounds of new funding will be available, the government said.
PRICES
The government estimates that taken in isolation, the measures would increase household electricity bills by 15 percent and gas bills by 23 percent by 2020. But new and existing measures would add about 8 percent to household bills because of greater energy efficiency.
(Reporting by Nina Chestney, Peter Griffiths, Daniel Fineren, Nao Nakanishi, Kwok W. Wan, editing by Anthony Barker)
INSTANT VIEW: Britain maps out greener future
Reuters 15 Jul 09;
LONDON (Reuters) - The global market for low carbon goods and services could grow by a third in six years and may expand even faster if a climate change deal is reached in Copenhagen later this year, the UK government said on Wednesday.
The Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Miliband published a "route map" for British emissions cuts of 34 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels and at least 80 percent by 2050.
The following are views on the government's strategy:
NEIL BENTLEY, DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, CBI:
"This is a promising start and includes many measures the CBI has been calling for to reduce emissions across the country. However, question marks remain over the ability of these plans to attract the 150 billion pounds of private sector investment needed to renew our energy infrastructure, improve energy security and allow us to meet climate change targets."
STEVE HOLIDAY, NATIONAL GRID CHIEF EXECUTIVE:
"It's now critical to get action on delivering what's needed to turn that vision into reality. The challenge of ensuring security of supply and fighting climate change is one we cannot afford to fail."
"Crucially, planning reform must be implemented without delay -- where major infrastructure investments are concerned, dates like 2020 are only the blink of an eye away and the clock is ticking."
KEITH ALLOTT, HEAD OF CLIMATE CHANGE AT WWF:
"It's great that the Government is now taking steps to ramp up delivery of clean, renewable energy within the UK...An efficient, green energy future will create jobs and new industries, and massively reduce our reliance on costly and volatile fossil fuel imports." "(But) unfortunately, the government has failed to provide the incentives that will make investors turn away from traditional power sources like unabated coal and move toward low carbon, green energy."
JAMES CLOSE, ERNST & YOUNG PARTNER, GOVERNMENT SERVICES:
"Ernst & Young's recent European Country Attractiveness Survey revealed that new green market opportunities created 6,000 jobs across Europe in 2008. Astute businesses will be positioning themselves to take market share and gain access to this sector."
ANDREW PERKINS, ERNST & YOUNG PARTNER, ENERGY AND
ENVIRONMENTAL INFRASTRUCTURE ADVISORY:
"The Government is serious about reducing Britain's dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear energy and as such they should be welcomed."
"The report recognizes the cost implication of these initiatives but, as the study suggests, the benefits of effective, early action on climate change far outweigh the costs."
MARIA MCCAFFERY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF BRITISH WIND ENERGY
ASSOCIATION (BWEA)
"This will help convince investors that the country is serious about fighting climate change and developing domestic, renewable sources of energy."
"We are on the threshold of a new energy era and need just one more decisive push over the next ten year to deliver on our targets, and move to a low carbon economy...We now need to set our sights squarely on implementation."
NIGEL YAXLEY, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF COALIMP, THE ASSOCIATION
OF UK COAL IMPORTERS
"It's obviously very important to have a very aggressive policy for the development of clean coal within an overall strategy in which renewables, nuclear and energy saving all play an important role."
STUART OLIVER, SPOKESMAN FOR THE CONFEDERATION OF UK COAL
PRODUCERS:
"The UK coal industry welcomes government initiatives to maintain coal as part of the energy mix."
"CCS (carbon capture and storage) will create a new way to burn coal more cleanly...UK Coal, for example, is not merely a coal producer - it has its own plans for wind farms, and generates from coal-bed methane produced as a by-product of mining."
DEBORAH DOANE, DIRECTOR OF THE WORLD DEVELOPMENT MOVEMENT:
"Worryingly the government has said it can use carbon offsetting to meet targets if we fail to cut emissions. This is a dangerous get-out-of-jail-free card which could be disastrous for the climate and for the world's poorest people."
"Ed Miliband's own department has previously acknowledged that we don't need new coal power stations to keep the lights on. So it's contradictory to see his continued claims that we need to build new coal power stations."
DAVID FYFE, HEAD OF IEA'S OIL INDUSTRY AND MARKET DIVISION:
"It is always good to have ambitious targets. We need to look at the solid policy measures that are put in place to back this up, and that is a question mark. Can those sort of reductions feasibly be met in that time horizon? And we need to see what concrete incentives there are to enable us to meet those targets."
PAUL JACKSON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
BOARD: "These announcements include some ambitious figures for reductions in carbon emissions. In order to achieve these we will need more skilled engineers with the relevant skills and further investment in green technology. It is important to recognize the need for consistency and stability in this crucial policy area to secure the future of the UK energy supply and to meet the Government's targets."
ANDY ATKINS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH:
"The Government has a unique opportunity to build on its ground-breaking Climate Change Act and show bold international leadership ahead of crucial U.N. climate negotiations by setting out a detailed route map for slashing UK emissions and delivering a safer, greener future for us all."
"But it's important that the UK meets its targets through domestic cuts in emissions, rather than buying carbon offsets from abroad."
BEN COSH, DIRECTOR OF WIND AND SOLAR DEVELOPER, THE GREEN
COMPANY:
"Finally the UK Government is doing something to catch up with the rest of Europe. We expect the first year of the feed-in tariff to be extremely busy as people with suitable sites place their orders and lock in the highest tariff rates.
"In order for the UK Government to comply with its legal obligation for 2020 it must see 600,000 wind and solar systems deployed across the UK."
DALE VINCE, FOUNDER OF GREEN ENERGY COMPANY, ECOTRICITY:
"As fossil fuel prices continue to increase, our bills will double - again and again. The "cost' of converting to renewable energy... needs to be seen in contrast to this. The urgent conversion to renewable energy will insulate us from some of the worst effects of growing fossil fuel shortages and energy price hikes. This is an investment, not an additional cost."
DAVID WILLIAMS, CEO OF RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPER Eco2,
FORMERLY BIOMASS ADVISOR ON GOVERNMENT RENEWABLE ENERGY:
"April's Budget saw a huge shift in favor toward offshore wind, granting these projects 2 ROCs seemingly under the assumption that only offshore wind projects were affected by the economic downturn. I'm worried that biomass and other renewables could suffer again at the hands of preference for offshore wind.
"The Government has done nothing to facilitate access to debt for renewable projects - as referred to in the Budget in the form of loan guarantees etc.
"Biomass appears to be losing favor to 'sexier' technologies and yet is far better placed to deliver on the 2020 renewable energy targets."
PAUL GOLBY, CEO OF UTILITY COMPANY E.ON UK:
"We have to get serious about the fight against climate change and we have to do it now. I don't like to sound alarmist but it really is now or never if we're to win that fight.
"Everyone has to take responsibility and to take it now - the Government has to give companies such as E.ON a market that also gives them confidence to build Britain's low carbon future and to allow consumers have to embrace that future.
"It's no longer about 'just the Government' or 'just the energy companies', this is a responsibility that falls on us all and that has to be accepted by everyone."
(Reporting by Daniel Fineren, Nina Chestney, Peter Griffiths, Kwok Wan, Christopher Johnson; editing by Anthony Barker)
Britain launches renewables drive to cut emissions
Yahoo News 15 Jul 09;
LONDON (AFP) – Britain announced plans Wednesday to slash emissions with a huge increase in the use of renewable energy to generate one third of the country's electricity needs by 2020.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said tackling climate change would require "comprehensive changes" in Britain's economy and society, as he unveiled proposals to cut emissions from transport, agriculture and industry.
Forty percent of electricity would come from renewables such as wind and wave energy, and nuclear and "clean fossil fuels", he said.
Britain has committed to cuts of 34 percent in emissions by 2020, and has signed up to European Union targets to source 15 percent of all energy from renewable sources by the end of the next decade.
It has already reduced greenhouse gases by about 21 percent compared to 1990 levels, including cuts that companies have purchased through the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS).
Explaining how the targets would be met, Miliband said that by 2020, 30 percent of electricity would come from renewables and a further 10 percent from nuclear and coal plants where emissions were captured and stored.
The fuel sources were "the trinity of low carbon and the future of energy in Britain", the minister said.
The government has come under fire over the potential costs of "greening" the British energy sector, but Miliband insisted it would be less costly than feared because of technological advances.
He said the new measures would not increase energy bills before 2015 but admitted bills would rise afterwards by as much as eight percent. But there will be some grants available to make homes more energy efficient.
Miliband also said up to 400,000 jobs could be provided by green jobs from sectors such as low-carbon industry, recycling and waste.
On the day Britain's jobless rate surged to its highest for 12 years, Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said: "The transition to a low-carbon economy provides an important part of the answer of where the future jobs are going to come from".
"This is a challenge that every economy is facing, and we are determined that by setting clear policy now, Britain positions itself to benefit both economically and environmentally from the transition," Mandelson said.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England, the RSPB and National Trust said in a joint statement that a renewable energy revolution in Britain was long overdue.
They added: "We look forward to working with government to ensure this takes place within the timescale needed to tackle climate change."
Greenpeace generally welcomed the plans, but urged the government to back them with sufficient funding.
Low carbon way 'to reshape lives'
Richard Black, BBC News 15 Jul 09;
Ambitious plans to generate one third of UK electricity from renewables by 2020 form the centrepiece of government plans for a low carbon future.
Financial packages for wind and wave energy and changes to planning procedures are among key components of the Low Carbon Transition Plan.
"Smart" meters are to be deployed in 26 million homes by 2020.
The government says the plan will create up to 400,000 "green jobs" without a major hike in energy prices.
"The strategies we are launching today outline the government's vision for achieving a low carbon future for the UK, reshaping the way we live and work in every element of our lives," said Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.
"This is a challenge that every economy is facing, and we are determined that by setting clear policy now, Britain positions itself to benefit both economically and environmentally from the transition."
The measures are designed to meet the UK target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 34% from 1990 levels by 2020, and the EU-derived target of producing 15% of energy from renewable sources by the same date.
Currently, greenhouse gas emissions are about 22% below the 1990 baseline, according to government figures, including cuts that companies have purchased through the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS).
Every sector of the economy will be expected to cut emissions, although electricity generation and heavy industry will bear about half of the reductions.
Among the measures designed to stimulate expansion of renewable power are:
* up to £120m to advance the offshore wind industry
* up to £60m to stimulate progress in wave and tidal technologies
* £6m to explore geothermal energy potential
* a new facility to research nuclear technology
* financial incentives for home generation
* the government will exercise powers to speed up grid connection for renewable installations
While the renewables target is 30% share of the electricity sector by 2020, the low carbon target is 40% - the difference implying a 10% share for nuclear.
Seven thousand new wind turbines may rise from land and sea by 2020; and Climate and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said resistance to the technology would have to change.
"It is important to be sensitive to people's issues around wind power," he told reporters.
"But our default position as a country needs to change. The biggest threat to our beautiful countryside isn't wind turbines, it's climate change."
In addition, the mission of the regulator Ofgem will be expanded to include a mandate for cutting emissions.
Many observers believe the targets are stretchingly ambitious.
"We need a sixfold increase in renewable energy generation in just 11 years," commented Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust.
"This can be achieved but will require not just a transformation in technology, but in political, economic and industrial thinking."
The government says these measures, when combined with an expansion in home insulation and smart meters, will not raise energy prices up to 2015, though probably will do by 2020.
From 2011, the poorest households will receive mandatory help with fuel bills.
Outside energy and industry, transport emissions are to be tackled though a combination of better fuel efficiency on the road, electrification of the rail network, the use of sustainable biofuels, infrastructure for recharging electric vehicles in up to six cities, and measures designed to increase cycling.
Farmers will be asked - and encouraged - to cut emissions by changing agricultural practices, paying for the creation of woodland, and support for facilities that use farm waste for energy.
The government believes the changes will usher in a new post-recession era of sustainable green growth.
Ministers also say the plan puts the UK in a leadership role in the months leading up to December's critically important UN climate summit in Copenhagen.
But while generally welcoming the plan, campaigners suggested it did not go far enough.
"The government's plans are good news for UK energy security, jobs and progress towards a low carbon economy," said Christian Aid's climate policy expert Alison Doig.
"Our fear is that they will not achieve enough to help keep the global temperature rise below 2C (3.6F) and safeguard people in developing countries from dangerous climate change. We also question whether the government has shown enough ambition to inspire courageous commitments by other industrialised countries."
Government unveils sweeping plans to transform UK into low-carbon economy
The low-carbon transition plan covers all sectors, from home insulation and generating power, to electric cars and high-speed trains
Alok Jha, guardian.co.uk 15 Jul 09;
The government has unveiled detailed plans for transforming the UK to a low-carbon economy and meeting its targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The measures, which touch on all aspects of life, from home insulation and power generation to electric cars and high-speed trains, are designed to achieve emissions cuts of 34% by 2020 compared with 1990 levels.
Under the plans, which are projected to create 1.2m "green jobs", every government department will be required to meet a carbon budget alongside its financial budget. The announcement is the first time the government has laid out in detail where the carbon axe will fall and how much each department will be expected to cut.
Miliband warned, however, that domestic energy prices would rise in 2020 to pay for some of the required changes. He hoped this would be offset with energy efficiency savings in 7m homes and financial help for the poorest consumers.
"The proposals published today are the first time we have set out a comprehensive plan for carbon across every sector – energy, homes, transport, agriculture and business," said Miliband. "Our transition plan is a route map to 2020. It strengthens our energy security, it seeks to be fair in the decisions we make, above all it rises to the moral challenge of climate change."
In the government's white paper on energy and climate, called the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan and published today, half of the proposed carbon cuts to 2020 would come from changes to the power sector, 15% from making homes more efficient, 10% from workplace improvements, 20% from changing how we travel and 5% from agriculture and land use.
This means that 40% of UK electricity by 2020 will come from low-carbon sources including renewables, nuclear and clean coal. The white paper also launches consultation on the details of the government's feed-in tariff, re-named the "clean energy cash-back" scheme, which will pay people and businesses a premium for generating low-carbon electricity. A similar scheme for renewable heat will follow in April 2011.
The white paper details plans for a "pay as you save" scheme for homeowners to receive loans to insulate their homes, with money repaid by savings in energy costs.
Philip Sellwood, chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust welcomed the scheme. "People tell us that the biggest barrier that stops them from making their homes more energy efficient is the need to find money to pay for the up-front costs. Our research shows that householders are more likely to make larger investments, including micro-generation and solid-wall insulation, if the costs can be spread through the savings they make on their energy bills."
Other measures in the white paper and the industrial and transport strategies, also published today, include:
• Up to £6m to start development of a "smart grid", including a policy road map next year.
• Launch of the new Office for Renewable Energy Deployment in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to speed up the growth of renewables in the UK.
• DECC to take direct responsibility from Ofgem for establishing a new grid access regime within 12 months.
• Up to £180m would be made available to promote wind and tidal power – this includes setting up a low-carbon economic area in the south-west to promote marine technologies and money for up to 3,000 wind turbines off the UK's shores by 2020.
• £15m to establish a Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre that will develop the next generation of nuclear power infrastructure.
• £10 million will go to improving infrastructure for charging electric vehicles.
• Challenging 15 villages, towns or cities to be test-beds for piloting future green initiatives.
The shadow energy secretary Greg Clark welcomed the white paper, which he said was familiar since much of it borrowed from Conservative policy. "Over 12 years we have had 15 energy ministers, but no energy policy. Does [Miliband] recognise that while other countries have spent the last decade diversifying their supplies of energy, Britain has become even more dependent on imported fossil fuels – threatening our energy security, our economic competitiveness, and our climate change objectives?"
He added: "The secretary of state stands in a position of great moment. He must decide whether he breaks with the past and implements rigorously the measures that both he and I know are needed, or whether the next six months will prove, like the last 12 years, to have been a time of opportunity lost."
John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace, said: "If this plan becomes a reality, it will create hundreds of thousands of green jobs and make Britain a safer and more prosperous country. This will be good for the British economy and, in the long-run, save householders money as we reduce our dependence on foreign oil and gas. Ed Miliband appears to be winning important battles in Whitehall. But it's crucial that these plans now get full cross-party support and more backing from the chancellor. The renewable energy industry is too important to become a political football and this strategy for green jobs deserves more than the current paltry sums being offered by the Treasury."
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