Wind Energy and renewable energy blog

A week of Controversy in Copenhagen

The mainstream press has been keeping a close eye on the COP15 conference in Copenhagen which was always set to generate a host of strong feelings both outside the conference hall and within.

A week into the conference and it has not failed to deliver the expected controvery. At the end of the first week an unauthorized 40,000 person demonstration yesterday led to 13 people being detained overnight.

The conference kicked off a week ago with the EU promising more money to combat global warming. The EU committed to fund 7.2 billion euro (US $10.5 billion) for tackling global warming over the next three years. The move was described by the UN climate chief as “hugely encouraging” for the climate conference process.

EU leaders also agreed to contribute 2.4 billion euro (US $3.6 billion) a year until 2012 to help poorer countries combat global warming. With the UK contributing one third of this – the average woman on the London street has however been left asking what happened to the contributions from other EU countries.

Offshore Wind Energy Credits Extended

It has been a good financial week for renewable energy with the European Union agreeing to fund 7.2 billion euros for tackling global warming at Copenhagen. Also this week, the UK Government announced further financial help for offshore wind. Thursday’s pre-budget report proposed an extension to the time limit on double credits for offshore wind energy projects.

Offshore wind energy projects operational before 2014 will recieve 2 renewable obligation certificates (ROCs) rather than the 1 ROC onshore wind energy recieves.

The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) welcomed Chancellor Alistair Darling’s Pre-Budget Report commitment to maintain support for offshore wind energy at 2 ROCs per megawatt hour (MWh) to 2014. The UK is the world leader in offshore wind with more projects installed, in planning and in construction than any other country in the world. The BWEA anticipate that by 2020 at least 20,000MW of offshore wind will be installed and operating in UK waters.

The Wave

Tens of thousands of people will be marching through the streets of London tomorrow to demonstrate their support for a deal to stop climate change.

The Wave will call on leaders across the globe to take urgent action to secure an international agreement to stop global warming rising above the ‘danger threshold’ of 2 degrees C. The march is to make a clear statement on climate change, the weekend before the start of Copenhagen United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Organisers of the march, Climate Chaos say that the world’s poorest and most vulnerable are already suffering the impacts of climate change. They are being hit first and worst because we, and other rich countries, created this mess and are making it worse.

Pressure Ramps Up for Global Carbon Caps

The pressure has been stepped up to persuade rapidly expanding economies such as China and India to incorporate climate change committments into their future growth plans.

Developed countries want countries world-wide to agree caps on greenhouse gas emissions and have been making the demands through the United Nations talks on climate change in the lead up to the conference to be held in Copenhagen in December.

The Chairman of the World Bank Commission for Growth and Development has however warned that both the climate and the global economy are threatened if the developed world tries to force countries with growing economies to restrict carbon emissions.