'Big shift' to rail urged for UK - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website - The UK needs a "modal shift" from road to rail if greenhouse gas emissions from transport are to be curbed, a report concludes. - 4 March 2008.
Biofuel trial flight set for 747 - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - Air New Zealand says it plans to mount the first test flight of a commercial airliner partially powered by biofuel. - By Richard Black - Environment correspondent, BBC News website - BBC Science/Technology News - 28 September 2007.
Biofuels 'are not a magic bullet' - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website - Biofuels may play a role in curbing climate change, says Britain's Royal Society, but may create environmental problems unless implemented with care. - 14 January 2008.
Biofuels 'need strict standards' - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - By Tim Hirsch Environment reporter, Brasilia - Biofuels should only be produced if they meet strict environmental standards, an international group of lawmakers have concluded. - The legislators said the fuels also had to deliver significant savings of greenhouse gas emissions. - 22 February 2008.
Biomethane.org - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - Biomethane for Transport. - Biomethane for Transport is a networking community of organisations from the private and pubic sectors with interests in the development of biomethane as a road transport fuel. - The group developed from a study and subsequent conference during 2006. This concluded that a significant proportion of the UK's road transport fuel needs could be supplied by biomethane formed from the anaerobic digestion of organic waste. As additional benefits the process could reduce waste sent to landfill and also produce potentially valuable by-products.
Bristol named first cycling city - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - BBC Science/Technology - Bristol has become England's first "cycling city" in a £100m government scheme aimed at encouraging cycling. - The city intends to double the number of cyclists over the next three years with a series of innovations. - Sharing the funding will be York, Stoke, Blackpool, Cambridge, Chester, Colchester, Leighton Buzzard, Southend, Shrewsbury, Southport and Woking. - Among the features in Bristol will be the UK's first major bicycle rental network, modelled on a scheme in Paris. - The government is giving Bristol £11.4m to transform cycling by creating dedicated cycle lanes, better facilities and more training for children. - 19 June 2008 - Cycling in England's Amsterdam (with hills) - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - Bristol has just been named England's first cycling city. - Novice Tom Geoghegan saddles up and takes to some of the city's infamous inclines. - 19 June 2008.
Bristol University - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - In our opinion... Science in the public spotlight - Man's role in causing climate change has been a topic of much interest over the past 30 years. It is a primary focus of UK and international scientific strategy and a political issue that guides public policy. It may also decide elections. As with all such issues, a major arena for debate is the media but, just as there are many sensible articles discussing climate change and, in particular, global warming, there are just as many that distort and misrepresent the science. Dr Rich Pancost, Professor Paul Valdes and Ian Ross, on behalf of the University's Global Change Initiative, put their side of the argument. - 22 June 2007.
Britain 'facing energy shortfall' - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - BBC Science/Nature - By Richard Black - Environment correspondent, BBC News website Britain is likely to face a shortfall in electricity generation within five to seven years, a report concludes. - 27 January 2008.
Building an effective carbon credits market to reduce deforestation - Science for Environmental Policy - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - Deforestation in tropical countries is often driven by the economic reality that forests are worth more dead than alive. But a new study conducted by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and its partners in three major tropical forest regions has found that the emerging market for carbon credits could radically alter that equation. In most areas studied, the various ventures that prompted deforestation, such as clearance for agricultural purposes, rarely generated more than 5 US dollars for every ton of carbon dioxide equivalent they released and frequently returned far less than 1 US dollar. Meanwhile, European buyers are currently paying 23 Euros - about 35 US dollars - for an offset tied to a one-ton reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. - 24 January 2007.
Business chiefs urge carbon curbs - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website - A coalition of 99 companies is asking political leaders to set targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and to establish a global carbon market. - Their blueprint for tackling climate change is being handed to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda ahead of next month's G8 summit in Japan. - Companies involved include Alcoa, British Airways (BA), Deutsche Bank, EDF, Petrobras, Shell and Vattenfall. - They argue that cutting emissions must be made to carry economic advantages. - 20 June 2008.
Call for redesign of 'eco-towns' - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - By Tom Warren BBC News, England - Environmental groups have called for a major redesign of England's proposed "eco-towns". - They are meant to set new green standards in house building. - The government hopes they will become a shining example of how to to tackle a chronic housing shortage at the same time as climate change. - But a report by experts scrutinising the plans said some resembled traditional housing estates with green elements "added on". - 25 June 2008.
Call to abandon biofuels targets - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - The EU should abandon its biofuels targets because they are damaging the environment, a committee of MPs says. - By Roger Harrabin - BBC Environment Analyst - 21 January 2008.
Call to tackle UK business waste - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website - The government needs to step up efforts to reduce waste from business, according to a parliamentary committee. - The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee recommends using variable VAT rates to cut unsustainable consumption of raw materials. - Its report says pressure has so far concentrated on householders, who account for only 9% of the UK's waste. - Environment minister Joan Ruddock said the government does have measures that are inducing businesses to cut waste. - Those measures include the landfill tax escalator under which the tax on landfill will rise by £8 per tonne each year until 2011. FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME - 19 August 2008.
Calls for climate change minister - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - The Treasury Committee has called for a new ministerial post to co-ordinate the fight against global warming. - A cross-governmental approach to climate change was essential, said MP John McFall, the committee's chairman. - Mr McFall said: "It needs to be headed up by a minister - someone who can become an effective Champion of Climate Change across government." - The committee's recommendation was made in response to the Stern Review into the economic impact of climate change. - 5 February 2008.
CarbonCare - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - CarbonCare implements business energy saving strategies and helps them reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprint. We work for companies and individuals, who want to tackle climate change. Together we promote energy efficiency and the integration of renewable energy sources into residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors.
Carbon emissions show slight fall - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - By Roger Harrabin BBC Environment Analyst. The UK's carbon emissions fell by just 0.1% last year, and the government has admitted it must do more to tackle climate change. - The figures would have been worse if the UK's share of pollution from global flights and shipping had been included. - 31 January 2008.
Can oceans be used for carbon sequestration? - Science for Environmental Policy - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - Using the ocean to sequester carbon, a method proposed for the mitigation of climate change, is now the subject of fierce scientific debate. The hope is that strategies could be developed that would stimulate carbon uptake using natural processes. One such approach involves using ocean-based plants called phytoplankton, which, when they grow and photosynthesise, absorb carbon dioxide. This carbon-rich plant mass then sinks into the deep ocean; a process known as the ocean’s ‘biological pump'. - 31 January 2007.
Canadian Arctic sheds ice chunk - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - BBC Science/Technology - A large chunk of an Arctic ice shelf has broken free of the northern Canadian coast, scientists say. - Nearly 20 sq km (eight sq miles) of ice from the Ward Hunt shelf has split away from Ellesmere Island, according to satellite pictures. - It is thought to be the biggest piece of ice shed in the region since 60 sq km of the nearby Ayles ice shelf broke away in 2005. - Scientists say further splitting could occur during the Arctic summer melt. - 30 July 2008.
Carfree Communities: The Challenge for Ecotowns and Cities - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - One Day Conference, 2 May 2008 - Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel, College Green, Bristol - Keynote Speaker: Rosie Winterton, Minister of State for Transport.
Centre for Research in Environmental Science - UWE - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - CRES promotes multi- and interdisciplinary approaches to research into natural and polluted environments and develops management strategies for remediation of anthropogenically damaged environments and for the sustainable management of natural environments. - Research themes include: water pollution control, management and policy, air quality policy, strategy and management, biofuels, environmental geochemistry and environmental change. - CRES membership is drawn from University academics, research staff and visiting research staff.
Centre for Transport & Society - UWE - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - Our annual research report provides a useful overview of the Centre's activities.
Chemicals industry could cut CO2 emissions using biotechnology - Science for Environmental Policy - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - Industrial scale biotechnology could be used by the chemicals industry to produce bulk chemicals like ethylene, butanol or acrylic acid, which are the basic raw materials used in the production of many materials, such as plastics and electronic components. Currently, these chemicals are made from starting materials that are derived from crude oil and natural gas, using processes which release significant amounts of CO2. New research suggests that industrial biotechnology processes, such as fermentation, that use biomass as a starting material could significantly reduce CO2 emissions from the chemicals industry. - 31 January 2007.
China's 'rapid renewables surge' - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - By Mark Kinver Science and nature reporter, BBC News - China has the world's fifth largest fleet of wind turbines - China's rapid investment in low carbon technologies has catapulted the nation up the global renewable energy rankings, a report shows. - The Climate Group study said China invested $12bn (£6bn) in renewables during 2007, second only to Germany. - However, it was expected to top the table by the end of 2009, it added. - 1 August 2008.
Clean deadline call on coal power - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website - The government should set a deadline for coal-fired power stations to adopt "clean" technologies or close, according to a parliamentary committee. - The Environment Audit Committee says the government is wrong to believe that a carbon market alone will persuade companies to invest in "clean coal". - Its report warns that progress in this area is "extremely disappointing". - A coal-fired station produces about twice as much carbon dioxide as a gas-burning facility of equal power. - The company E.On recently won approval from Medway Council for plans to build new coal-fired plant at Kingsnorth power station in Kent, though a government decision on the project was recently postponed. - 22 July 2008.
Clean is mean for new plane engines - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - BBC Science/Technology News - By Nigel Cassidy - Business reporter, BBC News, at the Farnborough Airshow - For 59 of the last 60 Farnborough International Airshows, nobody really had to worry about the price of aviation fuel. - Yet now, with the underlying cost of oil having doubled since the last Farnborough in 2006, the entire industry is focusing on how to make conventional jets burn and waste less fuel. - Even the military are starting to worry about it and they don't pay a penny in tax on their fuel. - For the commercial sector, part of the answer lies with improving air traffic controls, modifying aircraft handling and fitting 'winglets' to reduce drag. - Yet, a glance round the vast technical exhibition halls at Farnborough confirmed that the focus is now moving more closely onto the features and benefits of the next generation of jet engines that will be available for the plane makers to choose from. - 16 July 2008.]