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All Kyoto Protocol Rules Now Legally Binding in Europe

All the requirements under the 1997 Kyoto climate protocol are now legally binding in all 15 member states of the European Union. On Wednesday, a decision of the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers entered into force that governs the way in which emissions of six greenhouse gases covered by the treaty have to be monitored and reported. The targets of the European Union and its individual member states related to the emissions of greenhouse gases became binding in 2002. The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the only international framework to combat global warming. With this step, all provisions of the protocol have become EU law, and the EU has reaffirmed its global leadership in fighting climate change and implementing the protocol. On May 1, the EU expands to take in 10 new member states to the east of the current bloc, and all provisions of the protocol will also apply to them. "Now we have adopted all the necessary EU legislation to carry out our commitments under the Kyoto Protocol," said Margot Wallstrom, European Commissioner for the Environment. "This means that we are fully implementing this important protocol even before […]

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Energy Department Rolls Out Revised Hydrogen Plan

The U.S. Department of Energy released its new plan to shift the nation toward a hydrogen based transportation system. The plan, unveiled Wednesday by Bush administration officials, lays out milestones for technology development over the next decade, with the goal of a commercialization decision by industry in 2015. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said the plan includes timelines that provide clear and scientific measures to track and demonstrate progress. "If we achieve our technical objectives, the automotive and energy industries will be in a position to begin to mass market availability of both vehicles and refueling infrastructure by 2020," he said. Abraham said the plan integrates research, development and demonstration activities from the Energy Department's renewable, nuclear, fossil and science offices. An integrated hydrogen program will improve the effectiveness and accountability of the department's research activities, he said, and increase the probability of success in achieving technical milestones on the road to a hydrogen economy. Abraham touted the administration's fiscal year 2005 budget request for $227 million for research to support the hydrogen fuel initiative and its support for FreedomCAR, which provides $90 million annually for research into hybrid components and other advanced vehicle technology. The new plan follows a report […]

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Global Wind Power Growth Continues to Strengthen

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) jointly reported statistics on worldwide wind power expansion for 2003. A record $9 billion (8,133 megawatts (MW)) of wind power capacity was installed bringing the world's total wind power generating capacity to 39,294 MW. This is enough to power 9 million average American homes, or 19 million average European households. Global cumulative installed capacity increased by 26% in 2003. The increase of 8,133 MW was 18% higher than 2002's 6,868 MW. Globally the total amount of installed wind power has grown 500% since 1997, from 7,636 MW to 39,294 MW in 2003. Europe and the U.S. dominated the global market in 2003, accounting for 88% of the new installations. India added 408MW (5%), the largest single addition outside the European and U.S. markets. The countries with the most wind power capacity are Germany – by far the largest market, in spite of a slight decline in the rate of new installations – followed by the United States, Spain, India and Austria. A number of countries, including the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, and the UK, now have several hundred megawatts installed and are nearing the 1,000-MW mark (3). "It […]

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