Incentive Plan for New Bio-Liquid Heating Fuel Good News for Rural Households

Plans which mean that the UK’s 1.4 million homes currently heated by oil will be able to receive incentive payments for switching to a new bio-liquid heating fuel, are vital to encourage consumer take-up says the Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC).

OFTEC was instrumental in the successful campaign to include the option of using blends of bio liquids to heat buildings in the consultation paper for the proposed Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), which was issued by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) on 1st February 2010.

Under the proposed RHI, homes and other buildings using renewable heat technologies will qualify for regular incentive payments from OFGEM for up to 20 years after installation. For some technologies payments could be as high as £1,400 per annum for an average sized house.

OFTEC has been working in partnership with the ICOM and the University of East Anglia to develop a new bio-fuel which can be used in existing oil boilers with minor modifications. The bio-fuels project has helped provide a body of evidence to DECC to show that bio-heating fuels can easily deliver green house gas savings in the heating sector at a lower cost than other technologies.

Commenting on the announcement about the RHI, Jeremy Hawksley, OFTEC director general said, “We welcome the move to include the new bio-liquid heating fuel within the consultation paper for the RHI, which is good news for both the environment and the consumer. 47% of our CO² emissions in the UK and Ireland come from buildings and therefore it is a key area to target in reducing our carbon footprint. Homes currently heated by oil will be able to switch to bio-fuel with very little effort and at very low cost. We hope the fuel will be available from later this year.

“Under the RHI, this will enable householders to claim annual payments towards the cost of their fuel from April 2011. In the UK there are nearly 1.4 million, mainly rural and semi rural homes, heated by oil and we estimate that 90% of these and many homes off the mains gas grid, will be using the new fuel by 2020.”

The association also welcomed the announcement that a fossil fuel levy will not be applied, as had been muted and that the RHI will be funded from general taxation.

“The decision not to immediately apply a fossil fuel tax is sensible. This would have increased fuel bills when home budgets are tight and would have risked increasing fuel poverty.”

For further information contact Jeremy Hawksley OFTEC Director General on 01473 618555 or jhawksley@oftec.org

Have you got a Vision of the Future?

Planet Positive launches 2020 Vision: a Campaign to Inspire Action on Climate Change

2020 Visions “I’d like to eat less and less meat, I’m doing my best but I haven’t cut it out altogether.” Lord Nicholas Stern, Academic and Author of the Stern Review

“I wish for all nations to come together to have one vision. I wish for us to go back to living our ancestors’ lives, to own our land, to have trees. Indigenous peoples are really affected by climate change so I urge all nations to come together to have one voice.” Moses Mopel Kisosion, Member of the Massai Tribe in Kenya

“I barely use the car, I travel by public transport and I turn the thermostat down a degree or two, though my wife is Spanish and she has an affection for warmer homes than I do!” Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrats Leader

LONDON 17th December 2009: Celebrities, business leaders, environmentalists, politicians and school kids around the world have been communicating their hopes for life on earth by 2020 as part of a new campaign called 2020 Vision. The campaign, launched by Planet Positive, an international environmental mark for a better way of living, on (www.planet-positive.org), aims to reposition climate change as an opportunity to create a better way of living by presenting positive yet realistic views of a low carbon world.

The campaign was launched this week in the UK and has already been supported by celebrities such as Bianca Jagger, business leaders from M&S, ASDA, Barclays Bank, Eurostar, British Airways and every major UK political party. Environmentalists and scientists have also offered their visions including Lord Nicholas Stern, Sir Jonathan Porritt, Dr Pachauri (Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and Zac Goldsmith, director of the Ecologist.

The campaign provides people with the chance to provide their view of the future via online movies, illustrations or written word. The website allows anyone anywhere in the world to view visions and upload their own, stimulating debate around climate change. A group of school children’s pictures of how their lives could look by 2020 sit alongside business leaders, politicians, designers and celebrities.

The 2020 Vision website also provides people with reassurance and clarity on the innovation, infrastructure and products that will help them shift into low carbon, more sustainable lifestyles. Ten website sections provide information on key areas of our lives such as Home, Energy, Food, Water, Travel, Transport, Communication and Entertainment.

Steve Malkin, CEO of Planet Positive, said: “The next 10 years are critical for climate change. We want to provide a clear, positive view of how our lives can be better by acting on climate change. You can see the 2020 Visions of business leaders, politicians, scientists and celebrities through to school kids and upload your own 2020 Vision.”

The 2020 Vision campaign has been created by the Planet Positive Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, focused on inspiring action on climate change and helping people reduce their environmental impact. Planet Positive recently screened a number of visions at Copenhagen, and was able to collect unique visions from indigenous peoples representing countries from all over the world.

Planet Positive is an environmental mark that certifies that a business, product or person is actively engaged in reducing their carbon emissions. The mark is based on a 4-step process of Measure, Reduce, Act and Report as laid out in the Planet Positive Protocol. Planet Positive certification has been adopted by companies such as M&S, who are constructing a Planet Positive building, and Atomic, who have created a Planet Positive certified ski boot.

www.planet-positive.org

COPENHAGEN POLICE ACCUSED OF VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS AT UN CLIMATE SUMMIT

Danish police have indiscriminately arrested hundreds of climate justice activists during a climate change protest made up of 100,000 people that took place today in Copenhagen. Questions have been raised about the fact that the arrests occurred in a different time and place to where some trouble had momentarily flared earlier in the day. Journalists have been restricted from reporting at the site of the arrests since 1800hrs.

It’s estimated that 100 people are still being held on the road in extremely cold weather, cuffed and forced into seated positions in lines. They have expressed severe physical discomfort and have no access to water, medical attention or toilet facilities since 1530hrs. Many activists are reported to have urinated themselves while detained on the ground.

An estimated 200 have been removed from the site and taken away in coaches. Several people are reported to have fainted around 1945hrs.

Helga Matthiassen, who was detained for an hour before being released due to an injury she had recently sustained, said, “Of course we’re angry – people all over the world are angry about being lied to by governments who are making a corporate deal at the climate talks, and now when we try to protest against this on the streets we are randomly held by police.

“Not only have we been denied the right to protest, but our basic human rights have also been ignored in this ludicrous, staged police exercise. It seems Danish Police have a new motto: why just criminalise protesters, when you can dehumanise them too?”

"Nuclear is not a solution but a barrier for climate safe development"

“Not only climate change is a question of survival, also the right to and safe use of energy sources. And nuclear energy is not part of it” says Nadezhda Kutepova, president of Russian NGO Planet of Hopes.

Copenhagen, 11 December 2009 - A nuclear-free climate-safe energy scenario is feasible – this is what nuclear experts and women’s NGOs from around the globe will present at WECF’s first event during the official UNFCCC Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen

On Saturday December 12, from 11 am till 12.30 pm, WECF together with WILPF, IFG, Sortir du Nucleaire, NIRS, the Environmental Institute of Munich, Greenpeace, Eodefense and WISE, will “unmask” the true face of nuclear energy and launching WECF’s publication „Nuclear Power: The Critical Question“. Nuclear experts and radiation victims interviewed for the book - from Russia, Kazakhstan and Germany - will be sharing their experiences in a panel discussion.

Dr. Helen Caldicott, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and one of the world's leading nuclear experts, empassioned advocate for nuclear disarmament, and author of several books on the issue, will be presenting the connection between nuclear energy, nuclear weapons production and climate change in her key speech. A proposal for a nuclear-free post-Kyoto regime will be presented, followed by a discussion with members of environmental, development and women’s’ NGOs from a.o France, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Germany.

One of the participants, Kaisha Atakhanova, from EcoForum Kazakhstan, states: “Nuclear energy is like a dragon with two heads - one of it is nuclear energy, the other one is nuclear weapons. They are connected. It is not safe and sustainable. It is not a solution for climate change. It is just a very pragmatic, but very dangerous business. Kazakhstan has to cope with the nuclear heritage from the Soviet period and the cold war. This not only costs a huge amount of money tax payer’s money, but our people pay with their health and that of future generations.

Muborak Sharipova, Open Asia, Tajikistan adds: “When we talk about new sources of energy, we should think how much closer people and the world will be to sustainable peace, if we do not use nuclear. The case of Iran shows very clearly that nuclear production and consumption does not serve the people of Iran, but serves the strenghtening of their dictatorship”.

Nadezhda Kutepova, lawyer and president of The Planet of Hopes, Russia: “Nobody knows how we can solve the problem of nuclear waste. We have thousand tons of liquid and non-liquid radioactive waste in my region. And today’s technology is just able to put it underground. Industry and governments want to use nuclear energy, but none of them takes responsibility for today’s decision. It will be a burden for generations to come - just as climate change. So not only climate change is a question of survival, also the right to and safe use of energy sources. Nuclear is not part of it”.

WECF
A healthy Environment for All is the main mission of WECF, Women in Europe for a Common Future. WECF is a network of a hundred women's and environmental organisations in 40 countries. Our network spans Western Europe and the EECCA region (Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia). WECF has three offices: in the Netherlands, Germany and France. WECF mobilises women to find affordable solutions to the environmental health problems in their communities and encourages women in decision making.

www.wecf.eu

CLIMATE CAMP SETS UP AT TRAFALGAR SQUARE

Hundreds of climate activists have set up a Climate Camp at Trafalgar Square in the run up to the COP15 talks in Copenhagen next week.(1)

The ‘COP out, Camp out’, organised by a group of people who met at the Camp for Climate Action in Blackheath this summer (2), is taking place after thousands of people marched through the capital as part of ‘The Wave.’

Tracy Worthy from the Camp for Climate Action said: “We are here with the Parliament in view to highlight that the elitist and undemocratic talks in Copenhagen are part of a political and economic system that puts corporate profits before the needs of people. We need system change, not climate change.”

“The false solutions being pushed in Copenhagen, such as carbon trading, will not solve the climate crisis. For the bankers, corporations and politicians who brought us the financial crisis, Copenhagen is no more than business as usual.”

The location of the camp was kept secret until the last minute, when the target was announced through mass text-messaging. The activists met up at Jubilee Gardens (outside the Shell Building) and marched on to Trafalgar Square. Tracy Worthy commented, "The camp will be a space for people to get inspired and prepared for taking action during the COP15 talks."

-- Camp for Climate Action Media Team Contact: 07040 900 905

climatecamp.org.uk/press

www.twitter.com/climatecamp

Cambridge University Press: Serious about climate change

The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen promises to be one of the most significant meetings of our time and one question is at the forefront of everyone’s minds: can the world’s leaders agree on and make decisions that are set to change human history?

As the leading publisher in the environmental and atmospheric sciences, Cambridge University Press has a wide and impressive collection of books about the science, policy, law, economics and politics of climate change. These titles are showcased on a new website at www.cambridge.org/cop15

Cambridge University Press has launched this online book collection to highlight the diversity and quality of its climate change publishing programme.

Our authors are top scholars and leaders in their fields of expertise – they include Nobel laureates Burton Richter (Nobel Prize in Physics 1976), the IPCC (Nobel Peace Prize 2007), as well as multi award-winning global economist Sir Nicholas Stern and Sir John Houghton, a world renowned figure at the forefront of the climate debate and research.

As well as publishing important titles, the Cambridge Printing business is committed to becoming one of the UK's most environmentally-friendly printers. It has achieved FSC* certification and the internationally-recognised environmental standard, ISO14001**. This accreditation recognises the use of non-wasteful materials and processes.

Please visit www.cambridge.org/cop15 to browse the full list of our must-reads for COP15 and beyond.

Canada Blocking Global Climate Progress to Protect Dirty Oil Sands

Environmental Groups Launch Video to Engage Global Audience
Climate Activists Won’t Be Silent on Canada’s Inaction on Climate Disaster.

(Edmonton, Alberta) Today, Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace Canada and an international network of environmental groups launched a provocative and powerful new music video mashup, called “Tar Sands Blow,” targeting Canada’s dirty oil sands and focusing on Canada’s role in blocking an international climate treaty.

The video which contains graphic images of the tar sands, urges young people to immediately act to make their voices heard before the international climate meeting in Copenhagen, Dec 7-18. The video is being distributed over the internet by groups and individuals all over the world.

Groups around Canada have called for climate justice actions in a least nine cities during the period Nov 30- Dec 12. Already, a series of peaceful sit-in at MP's offices have been staged by groups of people in three Canadian cities (Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto)with the promises of more to follow.

Eriel-Tchekwie Deranger, an indigenous youth climate activist hopes that this video will help connect the youth voice with politicians, “I just returned from a UK speaking tour about the dirty, dangerous environmental, climate and Indigenous and human rights impacts of the Tar Sands. It’s clear that people across the world and leaders in the International community are beginning to understand that Canada has actively been blocking international progress to develop collective emission target agreements.” Deranger points out: “There’s one main reason they are unwilling to join the rest of the world to meet these targets: the Tar Sands.

Despite the growing climate crisis, the Harper Government is doing everything in its power to sabotage global problem-solving efforts," said Mike Hudema Climate and Energy campaigner with Greenpeace, Canada. "By endangering and blocking progress on an international climate agreement and prioritizing the tar sands over the health of people on this planet Harper is further jeopardizing the lives of millions that will die or become displaced due to the climate crisis. This government's behaviour is unacceptable, we need governmental leadership for climate justice now."

The Canadian government announced recently it was leading its biggest campaign to expand the Tar Sands, Canada’s fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions and responsible for making it one of the world’s top 10 polluters. Canada has refused to take any international climate action in climate negotiations and has been repeatedly accused of bullying others

The latest International Energy Agency report showed that by the end of the century the planet is on target to be 6 degrees hotter. The result would be a disaster.

The UK does not have the necessary skills to make the transition to a low-carbon economy

The UK does not have the necessary skills to make the transition to a low-carbon economy at the pace required to meet mandatory targets - or the training arrangements in place to fill the gap.

This is one of the key findings of a new report from the Aldersgate Group, a strategic coalition of businesses, NGOs, think tanks and individuals, who believe that high environmental standards are essential for future economic growth and competitiveness.

The report, 'Mind the Gap - Skills for the transition to a low carbon economy', which was launched at the House of Commons on Thursday 19th November, finds that, despite the UK's commitment to a rapid transition to a low-carbon, resource efficient economy, the Government's skills strategy is inadequate to meet these needs. It is now imperative that ambition and delivery are accelerated.

John Edmonds, Former President of the TUC and Aldersgate Group Project Chair for the report said: "The skills gap in the UK economy is well documented, with one in three firms already hampered by a shortage of skilled staff, from those needed to install new technology to scientists and engineers. Investment in low-carbon skills is vital if the UK is to build a more resilient and sustainable economy. In the next two years a commitment to green training will accelerate the growth of new jobs and help us out of recession. It is encouraging to hear both main parties now talk of their commitment to a 'green revolution'. Our report will help them identify the key issues and barriers that such a commitment must address."

The skills shortage comes at a time when demand for engineers for major infrastructure projects is increasing as the UK attempts to address expansion in offshore and onshore wind, carbon capture and storage, nuclear power, flood defences, high speed rail and upgrading the water infrastructure.

Two of the Government's most recent high profile energy announcements, over nuclear power and carbon capture and storage (CCS), have been made at the same time that roughly 30% of British Energy's workforce is due for retirement within ten years creating significant loss of expertise, and with the UK having seen no investment in new coal-fired power for a generation. In the short term the nuclear industry capacity gap will be filled by importing skills from countries such as France, while jobs in CCS are more likely to go to competitors in China and the US.

"Many of the required skills identified in the report are not unique to a low carbon economy - it is a shortage of precisely these skills that has held back the UK economy for decades. In this respect, re-skilling for a low carbon economy involves a policy of no regrets. The UK needs to fix these skill shortage problems in order to prosper in the modern world." Edmonds added.

The report highlights that the most significant driver for low carbon skills is a robust industrial policy that encourages investment in low carbon technology and resource efficiency. Germany has shown how an active industrial and skills policy can help stimulate widespread economic growth and job creation. Responsibility for progress must be shared between government, businesses, trade unions, professional bodies and the workforce.

A major recommendation of the report is that all major environmental policies - such as increased subsidies for offshore wind or the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme - should be accompanied with a corresponding skills strategy to drive investment in new capacity and supporting infrastructure in order to succeed. The Government cannot rely on the market to respond to low carbon targets at the required scale and urgency.

This principle of complementary policies should be driven by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with a high degree of transparency, accountability and engagement with business, trade unions, professional bodies and the general public.

Peter Young, Chairman of the Aldersgate Group, said: "This report shows that our training institutions must be able to look beyond our current industrial and business structures and plan for the skill requirements of the future. Most of our recommendations are aimed at Government because business members said they needed certainty from Government if they are to invest. They want to see more evidence of whole Government action joining up capacity building, skills and regulatory policies to make the commitments and pace of change to a low carbon economy credible to business."

"If the UK is going to compete with the likes of Germany in global low carbon markets, a key compo

2009 Copenhagen Conference sparks interest amongst ‘Green’ businesses For The Sustainable City Awards

Reports today show an increased interested from UK organisations keen to be a part if the international climate change agenda, generated by the approach of the 2009 Copenhagen conference. In response to this the City of London Corporation extends the deadline for the prestigious Sustainable City Awards.

Originally set to close at the end of the October, the City of London Corporation will be giving businesses an additional week to compete for a ‘Green Gong’. The Awards recognise and reward outstanding achievement across three pillars of sustainable development - the environment, social issues and the economy.

Simon Mills, Head of Sustainability at the City of London Corporation says, “Carbon emissions are the key cause of climate change and businesses are responsible for up to 45 per cent of all carbon emissions in the UK. From the increased interest we have received as result of the Climate Change agenda, it is evident that businesses are recognising the benefits of sustainable business practice.”

Since the foundation of the awards scheme nine years ago, more than 150 organisations have received recognition for their outstanding achievements across three pillars of sustainable development - the environment, social issues and the economy. These organisations span charities to family run firms, and global multinationals to public sector organisations.

Past winners have ranged from household names such as Sainsbury’s, the London Fire Brigade and BT Group, to small and family-run businesses such as Beales Hotels and Chi Low Hub. All have been rewarded for their implementation of sustainability as a central philosophy to their business practice.

The Sustainable City Awards were established in 2001 by the City of London Corporation and are run in partnership with 20 organisations, including livery companies, trade bodies, voluntary sector organisations and businesses. Representatives from each of these organisations join the judging panel to select winners and runners-up across the award categories. Winners will be announced in a prestigious awards ceremony during which exemplary green credentials will be shared with an appreciative audience at Mansion House, the Lord Mayor’s official residence, in February 2010.

POWER STATION SEIGE AS CLIMATE ACTIVISTS SHUT DOWN N-POWER'S FLAGSHIP COAL PLANT

Protesters scale chimney and have supplies to last weeks

Climate campaigners have this morning shut down N-Power's flagship coal plant at Didcot in Oxforshire.

The twenty peaceful protesters rode their push-bikes past security guards at 4.30am this morning before splitting into two groups. One team has shut down the giant coal conveyors which feed the boilers at the plant, while a second group of nine men and women has climbed the inside of the iconic 200m-high chimney and reached the top. They say they have enough food and water to stay in place for 'weeks, not days' - during which time the plant will be unable to operate. Already the activists in the chimney are securing the route behind them to ensure they can't be reached by police and security guards.

The huge coal plant in Oxfordshire is owned and operated by German utility company N-Power, which is building new coal plants across Europe and wants to build the first new coal-fired power stations in Britain in 30 years.

A small amount of coal was in the boilers as the invasion occurred. That will last for several hours, after which the protesters will scale the flues at the very top of the chimney (which would normally emit 1000 tonnes of CO2 an hour) and abseil into them, with some of the activists then living inside the chimney for the duration of their occupation. Activists will remain in the flues until their food and water runs out, preventing the station from re-opening.

"We're a bunch of ordinary people who met at the Climate Camp this summer and were inspired to actually do something about climate change," said Amy Johnson, 20, one of the protesters at the summit of the huge 200m chimney. "We rode our bikes into the power station this morning and now we're on the top of the chimney. To be honest we're quite surprised at how easy it all was. I didn't quite expect to be here."

She continued:

"Since E-ON shelved their plans to build a new coal plant at Kingsnorth this month, we realised N-Power is the new frontline. They haven't dropped their plans to build the dirtiest new power stations in Britain for thirty years, and they're constructing new coal plants right across Europe. We're going to stay here until they say they'll stop building new coal plants. We know that might take a while but we're patient and we've got plenty of supplies to stay up here. We're talking weeks, not days."

Amy Johnson added:

"We decided the most powerful place we could set up a Climate Camp would be at the top of N-Power's most iconic chimney, and that's what we've done. I'd be a liar if said I wasn't scared climbing up this smokestack, but climate change scares me a lot more. We've got people locked on to the coal conveyors and people are going over the top and inside the actual chimney. There's no way we can be reached, we're in control of this power plant and we're not moving any time soon."

The protesters researched today's action carefully, putting the safety of N-Power staff and the activists first. The climbers preparing to abseil into the chimney are fully trained and highly experienced. The activists only shut down Didcot after confirming that their actions would not cause power cuts - there is always slack in the National Grid to cope with generating outages, forced or otherwise. If there is a displacement of emissions from coal to gas (or no generation) it will reduce net CO2 emissions in the course of the occupation by tens of thousands of tonnes.

Amy Johnson said:

"In every country CO2 emissions are linked to economic growth, so in countries like the UK our insatiable hunger for more and more products and consumer goods is driving climate change. The world's finite resources need to be shared more fairly, and the richest countries which got us into this mess need to take the lead in reducing emissions. We're on this chimney to demand climate justice as the world prepares to meet in Copenhagen. We're defending human life and people's property around the world that's in immediate need of protection from the ravages of rising temperatures."

While N-Power claims that new coal is necessary to 'keep the lights on', in reality its push for new coal plants at Tilbury and Hunterston is motivated by profit, with coal-burning being cheaper than other fuels despite its enormous climate impact. Consultants at Poyry - Europe's leading independent energy experts - found that Britain could easily meet its energy demands without resorting to new coal as long as the country hits its renewable and energy efficiency targets.