News
ISEDC and UNDP-GEF to increase research and educational potential in the field of energy-efficient technologies
Issues related to the management of energy consumption and energy efficiency in municipal buildings are the main theme of a joint ISEDC/UNDP/GEF training course for young international specialists, which will be held in July this year.
The crucial changes that took place in the modern world in the recent decades, the rapid development of scientific knowledge and information technologies pose absolutely new problems for the world community. Under these conditions, the role of professional education with the use of practical aspects grows enormously.
‘Investing in forests is an insurance policy for the planet,’ says UN chief
On the International Day of Forests, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on governments, businesses, civil society and other partners to adopt holistic policies and practices to protect, restore and sustain healthy forests.
“Investing in forests is an insurance policy for the planet,” said Mr. Ban in a message on the day, marked annually on 21 March.
A lower limit for future climate emissions
In a comprehensive new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, researchers propose a limit to future greenhouse gas emissions—or carbon budget—of 590-1240 billion tons of carbon dioxide from 2015 onwards, as the most appropriate estimate for keeping warming to below 2°C, a temperature target which aims to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change.
The study finds that the available budget is on the low end of the spectrum compared to previous estimates—which ranged from 590 to 2390 billion tons of carbon dioxide for the same time period—lending further urgency to the need to address climate change.
Antarctic ice sheet is more vulnerable to CO2 than expected
Results from a new climate reconstruction of how Antarctica's ice sheets responded during the last period when atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) reached levels like those expected to occur in about 30 years, plus sediment core findings reported in a companion paper, suggest that the ice sheets are more vulnerable to rising atmospheric CO2 than previously thought.
Details appear in two papers in the current Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Inspired by light: close of the International Year of Light
From the beginning of time, we have been fascinated by light, its magic and beauty. It has inspired many thinkers, scientists, philosophers or artists.
In 2015, the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies celebrated all of its applications, raising awareness of their potential to achieve a sustainable future.
Sustainable energy can ‘save millions of lives,’ Ban tells summit in Abu Dhabi
Millions of lives can be saved by ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed at the World Future Energy Summit taking place in the United Arab Emirates.
“Sustainable energy is the thread that connects economic growth, social equity, and our efforts to combat climate change,” Mr. Ban told industry leaders from around the world attending the week-long conference in Abu Dhabi.
'Renewable energy is limitless and will last forever,' says Ban at global debate
Everyone involved in energy—governments, the private sector, investors and financial institutions, cities, and people everywhere–has understood that we can no longer burn our way to global prosperity, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared today at a debate hosted by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Financial Times.
“We all know that renewable energy is limitless and will last forever,” Mr. Ban said in the United Arab Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi.
Solar power surges – slowly – in regulation-heavy Russia
In late October, Russia opened the first stage of the country’s largest solar power plant.
Located in the Republic of Bashkortostan, between the Volga river and the Ural Mountains in the south of the country, the project will eventually have a 20-megawatt (MW) capacity.
