The Rocky Mountain Institute has calculated that if the 40 least efficient states in the US were to reach the electrical efficiency of the 10 most efficient ones, national electricity use would fall by one third. This would allow 62% of America’s 617 coal-fired power plants to be closed.
Source: Earth Policy Institute, October 2009
The Living Planet City: http://community.wwf.ca/livingplanetcity
10:10 - Cutting 10% of our Emissions in 2010 - a powerful new public engagement initiative form the UK. www.1010uk.org
Scotland has set the world’s highest target for carbon reduction, aiming at a 42% reduction below the 1990 level by 2020, 50% by 2030, and 80% by 2050 (including aviation and shipping). Britain’s goal is 34% below 1990 by 2022. 80% of Scotland’s reductions must be found within Scotland, and no more than 20% can be bought through overseas offsets. More than 21,000 people commented during the consultation on the draft legislation.
Source: BusinessGreen, June 2009
US carbon emissions fell by 9% in 2007 and 2008. Time will tell how much of this is due to the recession, and how much is due to a real low-carbon transition.
Source: Earth Policy Institute, October 2009
New England’s Community Energy Challenge program accepted its 150th participant in September 2009. Municipalities that join the Challenge pledge to reduce the energy consumption in their municipal facilities by at least 10%. Collectively, the participating communities represent more than 30% of New England’s population.
Source: EPA
The world’s aviation industry has pledged to cut its CO2 emissions to half of the 2005 levels by 2050. They are also proposing:
The Japanese ship maker IHI Group is planning to build the word’s first large electric ferry, using batteries to give the boat a range of 120 km (74 miles). The 30 metre boat will carry 800 passengers, and probably cost 60% more than a regular ferry.
Source: AFP, October 2009
In San Francisco, SolarCity is installing solar-powered electric vehicle recharging stations at offices on Highway 101, anticipating a rapid growth in demand. The fast-charge station costs between $2k to $6k to install, and a recharge takes about 3.5 hours, while a commuter is working. SolarCity has installed about 100 charging stations for Tesla customers.
Source: Grist, October 2009
In Stockholm, the initiative to have 5% of vehicle owners driving “clean vehicles” has been a huge success - by October 2008, 35% of the city’s vehicles were clean, and 100% of the city’s buses operated on biogas or ethanol. The number of people cycling has also doubled over the last decade.
Source: Positive News, August 2009
