Global green investment drive 'would pay off in terms of jobs, cleaner air and energy use'
Obama, Hu Jintao and big business back call for every country to contribute
Fiona Harvey The Guardian, Monday 21 February 2011
The United Nations will call on Monday for 2% of worldwide income to be invested in the green economy, a move it says would boost jobs and economic growth.
The call is expected to be matched by statements of support for low-carbon investment from heads of state including President Barack Obama of the US and Hu Jintao of China, and several chiefs of multinational companies.
An investment of 2% of global GDP would more than pay for itself in the form of millions of new jobs, the development of new industries, health benefits from cleaner air, energy efficiency savings and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the UN is expected to say.
These findings are also backed up by a report to be published today by the German government, which warns that Europe will suffer continued low growth rates unless investment in green projects is increased. Raising the level of ambition in the EU's climate targets would increase European GDP by up to $842bn, a 6% rise, and create up to 6m additional jobs across member states.
The world stands at a critical point in terms of low-carbon investment, according to the UN. While India has a national action plan expected to stimulate $1tn of investment in the next decade, and China - already the biggest producer of wind power and solar panels - is pushing ahead with a five-year plan for a "clean revolution", other economies are wavering.
In the US, investment in renewable energy has stalled, and an HSBC analysis found that Republican plans currently before Congress would more than halve federal spending on low-carbon projects, including high-speed rail, carbon regulation and contributions to international climate funds. Plans put forward by Obama, by contrast, provide for a 20% increase in climate and clean energy funding above 2010 levels, paid for by the repeal of $4bn in fossil fuel subsidies and research.
Nick Robins, head of climate change at HSBC, said: "We expect tough negotiations to close this gulf in budgetary priorities between the president and Congress... Although we do not expect all the proposed cuts to materialise, key climate initiatives look set to be curbed."
In the European Union, politicians, green campaigners and businesses are at loggerheads over whether to adopt more ambitious climate targets. Several member states, including the UK, want to toughen the current goal of cutting emissions by 20% by 2020 to a cut of 30% by the same date, arguing that a more stringent target will create new jobs and allow the EU to keep up with China in the race to dominate the green economy. Their case was strongly boosted by a confidential European Commission analysis, seen by the Guardian, showing that if existing policies are followed through, the EU will comfortably exceed its current target, with a fall in emissions of about 25% by 2020.
The German environment ministry's report, also seen by the Guardian, added to this case, concluding that the current 20% target "has become too weak to mobilise innovations". Sticking with it, the authors say, "is the equivalent of digging deeper while still being stuck in a hole", while the 30% target is not only achievable but "economically beneficial".
In the UK, a group of leading businesses will unite today to urge George Osborne, the chancellor, to include measures to stimulate low-carbon development in his March Budget. Peter Young, chairman of the Aldersgate Group, said: "The chancellor has promised a budget for growth but we believe this must be a budget for green growth. The UK needs an explicit strategy to take advantage of the global shift to a green economy, driving jobs and exports. Cuts alone will not deliver a competitive economy."
Sunday, 20 February 2011
Wind farm to be built off Jurassic Coast
A huge off-shore wind farm is to be built off the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, England’s only geological World Heritage Site, prompting concern for tourism and sea views.
By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent 3:48PM GMT 18 Feb 2011
About 250 450ft tall turbines will be built across a 76 square mile area of the English Channel , making the development twice as big as the world’s largest offshore wind farm, which is currently 100 300ft turbines off Kent.
The turbines, which will be sited in a depth of 120ft of water, will provide enough energy to power up to 820,000 homes.
But protesters claim that the wind farm could spoil the view and effect tourism.
The turbines will be situated just eight miles east of Swanage, Dorset, which makes up part of Britain's World Heritage Jurassic Coast and will be seen from the shore.
It will also be 10 miles from Bournemouth and visible to the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit its beaches every year. The horizon is 17 miles away from the resort's cliffs.
Related Articles
World's largest offshore wind farm opens off Kent 23 Sep 2010
They will also be lit up at night-time so they don't present a danger to shipping.
The Crown Estate, which owns the seabed, gave Dutch energy company Eneco permission to build the farm across a 279 square mile area of sea between Dorset and the Isle of Wight.
After examining the location the firm decided on the 76 square mile section in the most northern part of that area but local people remain concerned about the site.
Tony Williams, environment director at Bournemouth Borough Council, was worried about sea views.
"We support the wind farm in principle,” he said. "But in terms of visibility we recognise that the 150 metre high turbines maybe an issue and we are concerned they will be located at a distance of 10 miles."
Author Rodney Legg, who has written books on the Jurassic Coast, said a wind farm off the Dorset coast would be a disaster.
"It's England's only geological World Heritage Site which is up to 400 million years old and you don't want those things in the background,” he said.
"They would be an incredible distraction. Shipping is one thing because you would expect it in a maritime nation, but wind turbines would be cluttering things up.
"It would be spoiling a view that is half as old as time itself. We have got into a habit of cluttering up all our open spaces.
"And there is the army firing ranges at Lulworth that send shells 14 miles out to sea, so I doubt who ever came up with this location had considered that.
"So perhaps the country will be saved by the army once again.
"If these things are ever put up the army can use them as target practice."
However Chris Sherrington, director of the project for Eneco, insisted the public will be consulted.
"After comprehensively evaluating key aspects of the project in relation to wider stakeholder interests we have chosen the most suitable location for the wind park.
"This is an important milestone in the lifetime of the development of this project and enables us to look to the future and consider wider impacts such as the positive economic benefits our project could bring to the area."
By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent 3:48PM GMT 18 Feb 2011
About 250 450ft tall turbines will be built across a 76 square mile area of the English Channel , making the development twice as big as the world’s largest offshore wind farm, which is currently 100 300ft turbines off Kent.
The turbines, which will be sited in a depth of 120ft of water, will provide enough energy to power up to 820,000 homes.
But protesters claim that the wind farm could spoil the view and effect tourism.
The turbines will be situated just eight miles east of Swanage, Dorset, which makes up part of Britain's World Heritage Jurassic Coast and will be seen from the shore.
It will also be 10 miles from Bournemouth and visible to the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit its beaches every year. The horizon is 17 miles away from the resort's cliffs.
Related Articles
World's largest offshore wind farm opens off Kent 23 Sep 2010
They will also be lit up at night-time so they don't present a danger to shipping.
The Crown Estate, which owns the seabed, gave Dutch energy company Eneco permission to build the farm across a 279 square mile area of sea between Dorset and the Isle of Wight.
After examining the location the firm decided on the 76 square mile section in the most northern part of that area but local people remain concerned about the site.
Tony Williams, environment director at Bournemouth Borough Council, was worried about sea views.
"We support the wind farm in principle,” he said. "But in terms of visibility we recognise that the 150 metre high turbines maybe an issue and we are concerned they will be located at a distance of 10 miles."
Author Rodney Legg, who has written books on the Jurassic Coast, said a wind farm off the Dorset coast would be a disaster.
"It's England's only geological World Heritage Site which is up to 400 million years old and you don't want those things in the background,” he said.
"They would be an incredible distraction. Shipping is one thing because you would expect it in a maritime nation, but wind turbines would be cluttering things up.
"It would be spoiling a view that is half as old as time itself. We have got into a habit of cluttering up all our open spaces.
"And there is the army firing ranges at Lulworth that send shells 14 miles out to sea, so I doubt who ever came up with this location had considered that.
"So perhaps the country will be saved by the army once again.
"If these things are ever put up the army can use them as target practice."
However Chris Sherrington, director of the project for Eneco, insisted the public will be consulted.
"After comprehensively evaluating key aspects of the project in relation to wider stakeholder interests we have chosen the most suitable location for the wind park.
"This is an important milestone in the lifetime of the development of this project and enables us to look to the future and consider wider impacts such as the positive economic benefits our project could bring to the area."
Go-karts go green
No noise, no petrol, no emissions… A new generation of go-karts is in pole position at the UK's first eco track
Martin Love The Observer, Sunday 20 February 2011
The macho world of go-karting – stalwart of a million stag nights and much podium-topping laddishness – is changing gear and reinventing itself as a carbon-neutral, eco-friendly pastime for environmentally enlightened speedsters.
TeamSport, the country's biggest indoor-karting operator, has just opened Britain's first green go-kart venue. The double-storey 750m track has been created in an old industrial unit in Bermondsey, just a 10-minute walk south of Tower Bridge in London, and the karts themselves are completely silent and fully electric. Ultra-light, they offer astonishingly abrupt acceleration. Each one costs £6,000 and can reach speeds of up to 40mph on the straight. In fact the karts, specially developed by Enfield-based Biz Karts, are so powerful they outperform their traditional petrol-engined cousins.
America is well ahead of the game when it comes to eco karting and many of its indoor venues already run electric cars. But this is the first one in Britain. However, TeamSport's ambition has been to create an entirely carbon-neutral arena, from the karts to the building. As director Dominic Gaynor explains: "The energy the karts use is relatively small; the real issue is the power needed to run the heavy-duty extraction units that recycle the air when using petrol karts. Here there are no emissions. So the power savings are enormous." And even these reduced-energy needs are being offset with projects in China.
Arriving at the venue on the opening night at the end of January, the first thing that struck me was how clean and polished everything is. It's clearly aiming for the corporate market. The changing rooms are all matt-black walls, red details and uplighters, and wouldn't look out of place in a high-end Japanese restaurant. As it's the first night, the publicity team has invited the Stig along to show us amateurs how to do it. It's not the new Stig though – rumoured by some, gasp, to be a woman – or the one who outed himself recently as being an actual man and not an alien after all. No, it's the original Stig. The one who wore all black and drove off the Ark Royal in an old Jag at 109mph, never to be seen again.
Yet here he is. And he hasn't lost his edge. He posts a lap time that's five seconds faster than anyone else's. But His Stigness has a bit of local competition. TeamSport have their own man. They can't call him Stig (for legal reasons), so they've called him, erm… Bruce. This being an eco-conscience venture, Bruce is all in green, which makes him look like a human-sized praying mantis.
Like Stig I, Bruce is pretty handy on the track, but when I ask him what he thought of the eco karts in the bar later – which is tricky as he won't/can't take off his full-face green helmet – he just nods slowly. In his visor I see my own sweaty face reflected and for a crazy moment I wonder if he is, in fact, a robot from another planet. Then I notice he's wearing old tennis trainers, and one is untied, so on balance he's probably not. Later I learn his real name is actually Matt…
We pull on our helmets for the final race. There's a frenzy of squealing tyres, the racing is fast, furious and clean, but soon enough the yellow hazard flag is flying as someone spins. Then it's bumper-to-bumper stuff for another six laps. I manage to cling on to a flukey second place. And the fact my average speed is only 13.7mph doesn't tarnish the silverwear at all.
Sessions from £42.95pp. To book call 08444 109 109 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 08444 109 109 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, or go to team-sport.co.uk/towerbridge
Cars reunited
When Laurie Cross's dad decided he wanted to track down all the past cars he'd owned in his life, Laurie saw an opportunity to let the internet do the work. Along with his brother, the three of them have now set created classiccarlink.com. It's a sort of Friends Reunited for much-loved vehicles. If they can bring enough people together, then they'll be able to build a site through which past and present owners can share stories and photographs. The site has only been running for a month or two and currently has just over 300 members, but already they've managed to reunite one fellow with his old cars after 45 years. Sign up and see whatever happened to that Austin Healey you wished you'd never sold.
Peer pressure
There's only one way to find an honest opinion about a particular model and that's to speak to someone who already owns one. Autotrader.co.uk has just launched an Owner Review section and in the first two months has already attracted a jaw-dropping 9,000 reviews. From a consumer perspective, these owner reviews allow people to get the low-down on cars from people who've owned them for a longer period of time – so you'll get the truth whether it's good, bad or ugly. But what are the car's most people want to talk about? Here's the site's current top 10:
1. Ford Focus hatchback (2004–2011)
2. Ford Focus hatchback (1998–2004)
3. Volkswagen Golf hatchback (2004–2008)
5. Volkswagen Golf hatchback (1997–2004)
6. Ford Mondeo hatchback (2000–2007)
7. BMW 3 Series saloon (1998–2005)
8. Ford Fiesta hatchback (2002–2008)
9. Vauxhall Corsa hatchback (2000–2006)
10. Vauxhall Vectra hatchback (2002–2008)
Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or visit guardian.co.uk/profile/martinlove for all his reviews in one place
Martin Love The Observer, Sunday 20 February 2011
The macho world of go-karting – stalwart of a million stag nights and much podium-topping laddishness – is changing gear and reinventing itself as a carbon-neutral, eco-friendly pastime for environmentally enlightened speedsters.
TeamSport, the country's biggest indoor-karting operator, has just opened Britain's first green go-kart venue. The double-storey 750m track has been created in an old industrial unit in Bermondsey, just a 10-minute walk south of Tower Bridge in London, and the karts themselves are completely silent and fully electric. Ultra-light, they offer astonishingly abrupt acceleration. Each one costs £6,000 and can reach speeds of up to 40mph on the straight. In fact the karts, specially developed by Enfield-based Biz Karts, are so powerful they outperform their traditional petrol-engined cousins.
America is well ahead of the game when it comes to eco karting and many of its indoor venues already run electric cars. But this is the first one in Britain. However, TeamSport's ambition has been to create an entirely carbon-neutral arena, from the karts to the building. As director Dominic Gaynor explains: "The energy the karts use is relatively small; the real issue is the power needed to run the heavy-duty extraction units that recycle the air when using petrol karts. Here there are no emissions. So the power savings are enormous." And even these reduced-energy needs are being offset with projects in China.
Arriving at the venue on the opening night at the end of January, the first thing that struck me was how clean and polished everything is. It's clearly aiming for the corporate market. The changing rooms are all matt-black walls, red details and uplighters, and wouldn't look out of place in a high-end Japanese restaurant. As it's the first night, the publicity team has invited the Stig along to show us amateurs how to do it. It's not the new Stig though – rumoured by some, gasp, to be a woman – or the one who outed himself recently as being an actual man and not an alien after all. No, it's the original Stig. The one who wore all black and drove off the Ark Royal in an old Jag at 109mph, never to be seen again.
Yet here he is. And he hasn't lost his edge. He posts a lap time that's five seconds faster than anyone else's. But His Stigness has a bit of local competition. TeamSport have their own man. They can't call him Stig (for legal reasons), so they've called him, erm… Bruce. This being an eco-conscience venture, Bruce is all in green, which makes him look like a human-sized praying mantis.
Like Stig I, Bruce is pretty handy on the track, but when I ask him what he thought of the eco karts in the bar later – which is tricky as he won't/can't take off his full-face green helmet – he just nods slowly. In his visor I see my own sweaty face reflected and for a crazy moment I wonder if he is, in fact, a robot from another planet. Then I notice he's wearing old tennis trainers, and one is untied, so on balance he's probably not. Later I learn his real name is actually Matt…
We pull on our helmets for the final race. There's a frenzy of squealing tyres, the racing is fast, furious and clean, but soon enough the yellow hazard flag is flying as someone spins. Then it's bumper-to-bumper stuff for another six laps. I manage to cling on to a flukey second place. And the fact my average speed is only 13.7mph doesn't tarnish the silverwear at all.
Sessions from £42.95pp. To book call 08444 109 109 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 08444 109 109 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, or go to team-sport.co.uk/towerbridge
Cars reunited
When Laurie Cross's dad decided he wanted to track down all the past cars he'd owned in his life, Laurie saw an opportunity to let the internet do the work. Along with his brother, the three of them have now set created classiccarlink.com. It's a sort of Friends Reunited for much-loved vehicles. If they can bring enough people together, then they'll be able to build a site through which past and present owners can share stories and photographs. The site has only been running for a month or two and currently has just over 300 members, but already they've managed to reunite one fellow with his old cars after 45 years. Sign up and see whatever happened to that Austin Healey you wished you'd never sold.
Peer pressure
There's only one way to find an honest opinion about a particular model and that's to speak to someone who already owns one. Autotrader.co.uk has just launched an Owner Review section and in the first two months has already attracted a jaw-dropping 9,000 reviews. From a consumer perspective, these owner reviews allow people to get the low-down on cars from people who've owned them for a longer period of time – so you'll get the truth whether it's good, bad or ugly. But what are the car's most people want to talk about? Here's the site's current top 10:
1. Ford Focus hatchback (2004–2011)
2. Ford Focus hatchback (1998–2004)
3. Volkswagen Golf hatchback (2004–2008)
5. Volkswagen Golf hatchback (1997–2004)
6. Ford Mondeo hatchback (2000–2007)
7. BMW 3 Series saloon (1998–2005)
8. Ford Fiesta hatchback (2002–2008)
9. Vauxhall Corsa hatchback (2000–2006)
10. Vauxhall Vectra hatchback (2002–2008)
Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or visit guardian.co.uk/profile/martinlove for all his reviews in one place