Brazil full steam ahead

Posted on Thursday, 3 May 2012 by admin

According to the latest statistics, there are 780 million light passenger vehicles circulating on the planet, and oil, the energy that drives this global transportation system, is under suspicion. The accusations are both strategic and environmental in nature. Oil is becoming increasingly more costly, scarcer, and is one of the major causes of global warming.

The developed world does not want to slow down and has found a green alternative to crude oil in ethanol. Brazil leads the way with success and economic viability in the use of biofuels for the transportation sector. Although Brazil’s climate conditions and resources cannot be recreated exactly in other countries, the case of ethanol provides a point of reference worldwide for economies that have added biofuels to their energy agendas.

In the ’30s, Brazil, with more sugar than the country could really use, made the decision to allocate part of its sugar production to making ethanol. However, this biofuel took its first big step forward following the “oil price shock” in the ’70s. The crisis doubled expenditure on oil imports and the government was compelled to consider alternative energy sources in order to lower its dependence and spending on fossil fuels. With this in mind, the government unveiled the National Alcohol Program (Pro-Álcool) in 1975 to step up the production of ethanol as a gasoline replacement.

Following a period of stagnation from the mid ’80s to the Asian Crisis, the ethanol industry recovered in 2001, showing growth rates similar to those of the ’70s. Fluctuations are fundamentally the result of the evolution of oil prices and political changes taking place in the international environment. Today, the ethanol industry is a key factor in this country’s development, energy policy and employment policy. Brazil is currently the world’s leading ethanol producer and exporter, and its industry generates between 3.5 and 4 million jobs and accounts for 3.5% to 4% of the nation’s GDP.

The policies and mechanisms drawn up by institutions at the first stage led to the success of biofuels in Brazil. Incentives aimed at sugar cane producers to turn out large quantities and allocate a portion of production to bioethanol generation; incentives for car builders to design automobiles running on biofuels; and, finally, incentives for consumers intended to promote the use of ethanol instead of gasoline. Altogether, this has spurred ethanol’s success today in Brazil through a market that has already been deregulated, and is the product of discovering the opportunities that unfolded within a context of the high cost of a barrel of oil and the widespread use of flexible fuel vehicles (FFV).

FFV vehicles, which in 2006 already accounted for 80% of Brazil’s new vehicles, are designed to use the consumer’s gasoline and ethanol blend of choice. This lowers risks associated with price fluctuations, and the end consumer needs only to choose the best combination of ethanol and gasoline for his or her wallet. Thus, if current rates hold, over 40% of Brazil’s motor vehicle fleet could be made up of flex-fuel vehicles by 2015.

The report titled “Sustainable Bioenergy: A Framework for Decision Makers”, published by the United Nations in 2007, asserts that biofuels are the only short-term alternative for substituting gasoline in the transportation sector. Given this data, the prospect for the future is that the international demand for Brazilian ethanol will rise as the result of heightened environmental awareness and tougher policies with respect to emissions. Countries like Japan, with a lack of potential for ethanol production, already view Brazil as their chief energy ally. Likewise, other countries, including India, China, the U.S. and part of Europe, may experience difficulties in producing enough ethanol to reach their environmental targets, and Brazil has the potential to become a significant strategic partner and renewable fuel power.

In 2005, world ethanol production totaled 9.66 million gallons, 45.2 percent of which was produced by Brazil and 44.5 percent by the United States. This is good news if we take into account the fact that a gasoline blend of 85 percent bioethanol (E85) can enable a 45 to 70 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for each kilometer driven. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that temperatures will rise by 1.4ºC to 5.8ºC by 2100, entailing catastrophic effects for the planet, if steps are not taken to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

The ethanol industry is backed by over 30 years of expertise and experience in Brazil and now spearheads the nation’s energy policy. For the time being, ethanol is the only clear alterative to oil, demonstrating that its benefits go beyond being a cleaner source of energy. Brazil has proven that investment in clean energies constitutes medium- and long-term economic profit. Brazil’s vision of an energy future based on biofuels has earned the country a privileged position in the energy share to become an essential component in future energy agreements undertaken as the product of what Brazil calls its “green solution” to global warming.

Not all countries have optimal conditions for generating surplus sugar cane, but they do enjoy other sources, whether it be the sun, waves, the sea or the wind, which can be employed to form their energy mix in accordance with new economic and environmental scenarios that arise. Most of the world’s nations have the right conditions to come up with their own “green solution”; what is needed is for institutions, like what took place in Brazil, to think medium- and long-term and invest in solving the problems of tomorrow which, furthermore, may act as catalysts of activity and economic development. Developing clean, renewable energies is a commitment of the first order to energy independence, employment and the environment.

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Knowledge-Driven Energy

Posted on Friday, 20 April 2012 by admin

Physicist Steven Cowley wrote that a time would come when 100% of the energy sources we use would be renewable and that accomplishing this would only require sufficient knowledge to be able to create and build systems with the capability of harnessing the energy afforded us by atoms, the wind or the Sun.

World population is projected to rise from 7 to 9 billion people by 2050. Coupled with better living conditions, this increase could entail significant growth in energy needs, and if we want this development to be sustainable over time, we need to meet these needs through renewable energy. Accordingly, solar power is taking shape among the energies with the greatest prospects. We only need the technology and knowledge required to turn solar power into one of the main energy sources in the present and future global energy scenario.

Since the dawn of humanity, human beings have known how to make use of and benefit from the different resources the Earth has to offer in order to adapt to change and facilitate existence. During industrialization and up until today, oil and gas have been the preeminent sources of energy, helping humanity to achieve progress and making daily living easier. However, the utilization of these sources over decades has led to overexploitation of the planet’s resources, which has brought about the urgent need to pursue more sustainable alternatives for progress in order to prevent energy dependence, skyrocketing prices and fossil resource depletion and to put a stop to the environmental crisis in which we are immersed. Unsustainable development puts human knowledge to the test in discovering ways to adapt to the growing demand for energy.

Just days ago, humanity awoke to the images of a spectacular solar storm. The sun is now more intense than ever, and this serves as a reminder to us that turning its radiation into electricity is one of the best alternatives known to fulfill current energy needs.

Concentrating solar power technology makes it possible to capture the radiation the sun casts down onto the Earth in a disperse manner and redirect it using large mirrors (heliostats) which make the Sun’s rays converge onto a single point, where a receiver turns the concentrated radiation into thermal energy and subsequently into water vapor to drive a turbine. This mature and reliable technology represents a qualitative leap in the development of renewable energies and a clean alternative to hydrocarbons.

Today’s concentrating solar power (CSP) technology can generate up to 100 times more electricity than the current demand corresponding to southern Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA), and, thanks to power stations that include storage capability, it can help provide energy to the system even when solar radiation is unavailable.

Furthermore, because it is clean and renewable, CSP technology is highly useful towards reaching the European target of moving to a low-carbon economy in 2050, upholding the European Commission intention of achieving a 20% cut in greenhouse emissions by 2020, or even better still, achieving a commitment to an abatement of 30% by 2020, which would boost economic growth and contribute decisively to mitigating the consequences of climate change.

In under a decade, tremendous technological progress has been made to turn concentrating solar power into one of the best alternatives to fossil fuels. Knowledge will empower human beings to adapt to new energy needs and secure a totally renewable future. As Charles Darwin once said, it is not the strongest of the species that survives, but the one that is the most adaptable to change.

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Security and Climate Change

Posted on Wednesday, 4 April 2012 by admin

Just a little over 40 years ago, the Aral Sea was a blue spot on every geographic map, representing the fourth largest inland sea in the world. But cotton was needed throughout Russia, and human interference, fertilizers and pollution did the rest. Today, that blue spot and the life of what was once a coastal fishermen’s town are a legend for the new generations that live in Muynak, a village that is now surrounded by desert, with hardly any resources whatsoever.

Lurking behind many ecological and humanitarian tragedies are man’s doing and irresponsible development. Although there may be plenty of cotton today, the Aral Sea region is now one of the most contaminated places on the planet; the fishing industry has vanished and arable land is in short supply. In addition to the problems resulting directly from climate change, we now have to factor in the indirect effects climate change entails in terms of the security and stability of populations, countries and regions.

Climate change is a multiplier of threat, tension and instability. The progressive decline in arable soil, as well as water scarcity, food shortage, floods and droughts intensify situations that are already extreme by nature, adding fuel to some conflicts and sparking many others. In 2007, the United Nations had already estimated that of all its appeals for urgent humanitarian aid, only one of them was unrelated to climate change.

One fifth of the world’s population lives in coastal zones. Higher sea level and the rise in the number of natural catastrophes, furthermore, pose a social and economic threat to these regions. The eastern coasts of China and India, the Caribbean and Central America would be particularly affected. Increased occurrences of humanitarian catastrophes and crises would give rise to heavy pressure on countries donating humanitarian assistance and weaken response capability in carrying out emergency operations.

Receding coastlines and submergence of major coastal plains can bring about significant changes to the world geopolitical map. The United Nations predicts that by 2020 millions of migrations will have occurred due to environmental causes. Such migrations will put debilitated nations and those in different phases of disintegration to the test when attempting to augment their capacity to deal with new social and geographical challenges. A nation’s inability to address the new needs of its population may unleash strife among ethnic and religious groups and lead to processes of political radicalization.

Doing nothing to change the current situation with respect to climate change could entail a cost of up to 20 % of world GDP per year, whereas taking action to mitigate the effects of climate change could mean spending just 1 %. Furthermore, apart from economic costs and the resulting costs in terms of human security, many of the problems related to the impact of climate change clearly have global consequences and require international action and engagement.

We are so highly interconnected and interdependent in matters of international politics that, as meteorologist Edward Lorenz would say, the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in one part of the world can have unimaginable consequences in the opposite part of our planet. To give an example, fulfillment of many of the goals of the United Nations favoring development would be in a position of considerable risk given that climate change, if left unmitigated, could render years of effort in the struggle for progress useless.

The impact of climate change is no longer an issue to be dealt with tomorrow. Climate models are undergoing transformations and temperature changes are noticeable around the world. The first step we need to take is to increase our knowledge and evaluate our capabilities for dealing with the consequences of climate change. Investment in impact attenuation to prevent or mitigate these situations and the pursuit of strategies to adapt to the unavoidable should be guided by national, regional or global preventive security policy. Climate change is already a key component of international relations and will continue to gain ever-increasing importance, encompassing its security-related dimension as well, in the coming years. Acknowledging this reality is essential to drawing up present and future maps of political relations that are consistent with a common underlying thread and the protection of our common future.

Legend tells that the Aral Sea has dried up three times and that it has reemerged three times. Taking action to promote sustainable development through the pursuit of clean and environmentally-friendly means of achieving progress is the only alternative for mitigating the global risks of climate change and advocating for climate security. It is indeed the only way for us to someday make it possible for Muynak to once again see the break of waves of the Aral Sea.

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Renewable Energies, Employment and Development

Posted on Friday, 23 March 2012 by admin

The Spanish power tariff deficit is the difference between what we pay as consumers for electricity and what it actually costs electric companies to produce it. This deficit occurs because the price set by the government is lower than the cost to produce electricity recognized by the government. Thus, in order to prevent a rise in electricity prices, for years (since the introduction of Law 54/1997) the system has been selling electricity below cost, and the accumulation of debt has turned into an economic problem in need of urgent revision and adjustment.

The beginning of the deficit dates back to 2000, and has its structural origin in the unsuitable regulation instituted in 1997. At the beginning of the 21st century renewable energies accounted for just 5 % of total electrical power generation, and therefore blaming them for the total sum of the deficit is simply erroneous. We need only to compare the current debt of 24 billion euros with the 605 million euros obtained from solar thermal technology up until 2011 to see that renewable energies, particularly solar thermal power, have little influence on the deficit and a lot to do with giving a major boost to a sector with tremendous prospects for the future.

Implementation and promotion of renewable energies leads to important environmental and economic benefits. Renewables attract private investment and foreign capital, generate employment–150,000 jobs in 2010 and double this figure by 2020–, reduce dependence on foreign energy sources and spending on fossil fuel imports, and prevent the release of tons of CO2, achieving savings on emission rights totaling 467 million euros in 2010.

Spain is currently at the forefront of a growing sector that is committed to innovation and clean development. It has the technology and capability to export the technology and thereby become the indisputable leader at a particularly sensitive time for the planet and the energy future. Constructing and upholding policy to back renewable energies represents a step forward towards the future, economic growth, and independence from foreign energy sources.

Felipe Benjumea, chairman of Abengoa, analyzes the power tariff deficit problem in depth, including its origins and possible solutions, and expounds upon supporting an industry which he himself spearheads in the article titled “Renewable Energies, Employment and Development”, published by Spain’s daily newspaper ABC. We have reproduced the article here due to its interest and relevance.

Renewable Energies, Employment and Development

“Attributing the power tariff deficit to solar thermal energy is simply erroneous; attempting to avoid future deficit by putting a stop to this activity, a grievous mistake”

The energy model currently in existence in Spain cannot be sustained over a long period of time. It is based on an 80% contribution from fossil energies — oil, coal and gas- , practically all of which are imported. This dependence on foreign energy sources represents a serious burden for the trade balance and security of the energy supply and therefore poses a threat to national security. We depend on a handful of highly unstable countries that manipulate production and prices according to interests far removed from our own. And while these reasons alone are solid enough to bring about a change in the model, even more powerful is the fact that fossil fuels are the cause of most of the greenhouse gas emissions that give rise to global warming and climate change. Failing to combat the causes behind Earth’s rise in temperature would have a serious effect on the species that inhabit our planet, entailing economic costs far beyond the measures needed to mitigate this impact.

For all of these reasons, the European Union has embarked upon the path towards a renewable energy-based energy system. Spain has undertaken a commitment to obtain 20% of its energy from renewables with respect to total consumption by 2020, which means doubling the present share. Likewise, in its “Energy Roadmap 2050”, the European Commission has defined a level of penetration of renewable energies of 25% by 2030 and 55% by 2050. These objectives go hand in hand with the increasing role of electricity, of which between 65% and 97% should come from renewable sources by 2050. We need to double production of renewables during this decade and further increase production up until 2050.

There are two approaches to addressing the necessary evolution towards a renewable energy model. One option, the most prevalent in our history, is to wait for others to develop the technology and then acquire it from them. The other possibility, which has historically turned the most developed countries into leaders, would be to capitalize on the tremendous opportunity to boost the economy and generate employment posed by participating at the front line of development and exporting technology, systems and projects to others. The conditions are right at this time for taking the latter tack. For the first time in its history, Spain occupies a position of leadership in a major technological-industrial sector of growing importance worldwide. In our country, the renewables sector directly employs over 120,000 people, generates 1% of GDP, and invests 2.67% of its contribution to GDP towards R&D, which represents more than double the national average. The level of this Spanish leadership varies according to the different technologies. We are among the most advanced nations in wind power development, and we are the global leaders in solar thermal technology. Recognition of this leadership can be found in numerous international journals and even in speeches delivered by the U.S. president.

Leadership in thermoelectric solar technology is the result of factors such as: a high level of solar radiation, sound R&D policy, well-constructed regulation, and companies that took the risk to invest in this technology. The solar thermal industry employs 25,000 people in Spain, with the vast majority of jobs found in regions with higher unemployment rates; it enabled a reduction in imports in 2010 totaling 150,000 tons of oil equivalent, an amount that will be ten times higher by 2015; and in the same year prevented the release of more than 300,000 tons of CO2. Spanish companies are building more solar thermal plants abroad than inside Spain. This leads to the virtuous circle of maintaining higher value-added activity in our own country with the resulting development in other sectors, payment of the corresponding taxes, job creation, and the exportation of cutting-edge technology.

An intense debate has arisen in recent weeks around the “Tariff Deficit” of the electrical system. That is, the accumulation of debt contracted with major electrical power generation companies due to the difference between estimated electrical system costs and the revenues obtained from commercial operation. The sum total of the accumulated deficit, – over 24 billion euros- underscores the magnitude of the problem and the pressing need for a general revision of electrical system costs and revenues. In light of the situation, some, out of self-interest, have accused renewable energies, especially solar thermal power, of being the cause of the problem. Nothing could be further from reality. The power tariff deficit has been running since the year 2000, when renewable energies accounted for 5% of production. If we compare the 24,000 M€ deficit with the 605 M€ that came from solar thermal power up until the year 2011, we can see that attributing the abovementioned deficit to solar thermal energy is utterly absurd. And equally preposterous is attempting to solve the problem by looking at the array of renewables whose total revenues represent only 15% of the total costs of the electrical system.

The origin of the deficit is found in the unsuitable regulation derived from the 1997 Electric Power Act, which has allowed a gap between market prices and the recognized costs of the system. Power generation companies at the time agreed to defer their revenues in a context of highly favorable regulatory and deficit financing conditions. Since then there are a number of payments regulated under the ordinary electricity generation regime that are much more significant than the premiums for renewable energies and which are the main causes of the deficit. Noteworthy among these are the “Costs of Transition to Competitiveness” recognized for electric companies at the time and which were passed onto them with an overrun in excess of 3,000 M€ that has never been repaid. And then there are the major windfall profits that go each year to nuclear and hydraulic facilities whose production is paid at a price that is far higher than their costs given that infrastructure investment had already been recovered by companies featuring the mechanisms established under the aforementioned Act. And there are also the extraordinary revenues obtained by these facilities derived from the system of CO2 emission-based payments.

Electrical power generation as a whole comes from a variety of sources in our country as the result of decisions and commitments undertaken within the European Union. Each technology should be compensated according to its costs and degree of maturity. Paying prices like those obtained by nuclear or hydraulic power, far above their costs, amounts to an unjustified subsidy. In spite of owners’ investment recovery, the Spanish nuclear industry still receives 42% more than its French counterpart and 62% more than estimates shown for Germany before discontinuing its nuclear program. Hydraulic power generation harnesses its energy from public channels through concession agreements that are extended without any compensation whatsoever.

Within this context, renewable energies are lowering their costs by rapidly moving up the learning curve, which, in just a few years, will enable them not only to generate indirect benefits that compensate for their higher costs, but will also drive these costs below those of energy obtained from fossil fuels that set the market price. According to a report published last November by the European Association of Academies of Sciences, thermoelectric power generation will achieve costs that are lower than those of fossil-based energy by the next decade. This fact is spurring a host of nations to promote the construction of these types of power plants, and has led the way for Spanish companies to carry out many of these projects. In order for us to continue to make the most of this opportunity to create jobs and boost development, regulation enabling construction in Spain of plants through which our companies can demonstrate their technological advancements is essential. The development of renewable energies embodies a top-level commitment to present and future employment, the environment, the trade balance, and to our independence. Attributing the power tariff deficit to renewable energies is simply erroneous; attempting to avoid future deficit by putting a stop to this activity, a grievous mistake.

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Water, a resource in short supply

Posted on Monday, 19 March 2012 by admin

No one questions the fact that access to clean drinking water is a right to which every human being is entitled; however, approximately 5,000 children perish each year as the result of preventable diseases brought on by a lack of water and inadequate sanitation.

Since 1990, 1.7 billion people have gained free access to drinking water, but there are still 884 million people around the world who do not have such access. Drought affects some of the poorest nations in the world, and intensifies hunger and malnutrition. By 2050, at least one in four people will most likely live in a country affected by a constant reoccurring lack of fresh water. Climate change, the escalating rise in temperatures and the lack of precipitation further exacerbate this situation.

For the time being, technological advancements do not allow us to return the seasons as our predecessors knew them to our planet, nor do they make it rain enough in winter and spring, but they do indeed help us adapt and look for solutions.

Oceans take up three quarters of our planet’s surface and contain 97% of the water on Earth. Only 3% of the water in existence is fresh water, which makes it an essential resource that is in short supply, in either quantity or quality, in particular areas. However, technologies such as desalination can enable us to obtain water that is apt for consumption and thereby increase and improve accessibility to this resource in populations close to the sea.

Desalination basically consists of eliminating the salts dissolved in water in order to render it potable or at least suitable for use in industry, agriculture, etc. The desalination process has been practiced since ancient times, when small amounts of drinking water were obtained (and continue to be obtained in this fashion) using rudimentary evaporators and solar energy. Today’s technological development enables large-scale production of water apt for agricultural and industrial use from sea water and other types of brackish water.

The scarcity of water resources has a negative influence on nutritional security, options for means of subsistence, and opportunities for education for impoverished families throughout the world. The General Assembly of the United Nations recognizes “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights”. In order to build a sustainable economy and achieve sustainable progress, we need to invest in infrastructures that will enable better access to drinking water, alleviate the negative effects of climate change and achieve water security. Global awareness of the importance of water for health, social welfare and economic development is essential for establishing policies which promote the construction of infrastructure, such as desalination facilities, to mitigate and solve water supply problems.

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The ethanol industry, a protective shield against the crisis

Posted on Friday, 2 March 2012 by admin

Since the outbreak of the global economic crisis in the latter part of 2007, U.S. and world society have seen how people and families have come apart as the result of bankruptcy of the companies where they worked or the demise of the small businesses they once had. Since then, looking for ways out, opening doors to new projects and generating work have become top priorities, putting different governments to the test in an attempt to elude the suffocating crisis.

Within this context, bioethanol brings a ray of light, especially in rural communities where industry and job offers are in short supply. In 2010, the U.S. ethanol industry produced more than 13 billion gallons of ethanol, which gave rise to around four hundred thousand jobs. From among them, upwards of 70,000 were positions directly involved in ethanol production, while the others were indirect jobs created to support production. According to the report titled “Working for the Climate”, renewable energies could be the source of employment for nearly seven million people by 2030, creating three new green jobs for each one of today’s fossil energy-linked jobs.

Apart from creating jobs, biofuel production helps strengthen a nation’s economy by increasing independence from foreign energy sources. Imports of hydrocarbons are concentrated in countries that are unstable in terms of their supplies and policies, and the outlook for the future suggests that these scenarios will become more complicated, leading to highly unfavorable economic consequences.

We must not forget the negative effects which a rise in the price of crude oil can have on a country’s economy. The 1973 oil crisis showed Americans how investment in new sustainable sources of energy and domestic generation can contribute very positively to the nation’s economic growth. According to an article by Gal Luft, director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, in the summer of 2008, when crude oil prices were soaring in the U.S., ethanol was responsible for keeping the cost of oil per barrel 15% lower than it would have been otherwise, thereby alleviating out-of-pocket expenditure for many Americans who were enduring the first symptoms of the crisis. And in 2010, the U.S. ethanol industry managed to reduce crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia, which led to savings of 34 billion dollars.

As Barack Obama, president of the United States, would pronounce in January of last year during the 2011 State of the Union address, “with more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels (…). We need to get behind this innovation (…). So instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s”.

Establishing judicious policies to promote biofuel production and use marks a step forward towards a more economically stable future accompanied by clean and sustainable energy. Through the support of deeply engaged policies, the ethanol industry has the potential to become one of the major sources of employment with the power to alleviate or even prevent future energy and economic crises.

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The Energy of the Future

Posted on Wednesday, 8 February 2012 by admin

For thousands of years man has been exploiting solar energy (light and heat produced by the sun) with the aid of various technologies which have evolved and undergone improvements over time. There is no doubt that solar radiation is our planet’s engine, and also constitutes the largest part of its renewable energy. All known sources of renewable or non-renewable energies are directly or indirectly produced through the rays that the Sun projects onto the Earth. For example, it is estimated that between 1 and 2 percent of the sun’s energy becomes wind. Coupled with the fact that the sun provides most of the energy for the usable part of the earth’s surface, it is obvious then that solar energy remains the best option for solving this difficult puzzle of sustainable development.

Climate change, exhaustion of fossil fuels and the ever-growing demand for energy make it necessary to base future energy models on an appropriate combination of renewable autochthonous resources with a flexible market that permits the business of energy between countries in a bid to satisfy overall needs. We cannot ignore the fact that, to be sustainable, the model must provide both energy security and a reduction of the environmental impacts derived from energy production, transmission, and distribution, especially those relating to climate change.

We must bear in mind that by the 21st century energy consumption will be 2.5 times higher than at present, with the subsequent increase in emissions. It is estimated that the reduction of around 20 percent in greenhouse gas emissions (in the event that we continue with the current manner in which we generate electricity) would require the generation of between 40 and 50 percent of the energy from renewable sources, and since not all countries receive the same amount of sunlight during the year, there is a need to seek a suitable energy mix for each zone.

Several studies have been published affirming that covering 1 percent of the hot deserts of the planet with solar panels would be sufficient to meet the entire world’s electric energy needs. Other estimates show that the solar energy available in the deserts is 700 times more than the primary energy consumed worldwide. It is therefore logical to invest in projects to generate energy in deserts. This approach will also contribute to the social development of those regions. Currently, ongoing initiatives, like Desertec, are on the verge of providing sustainable offers of electricity and potable water for Europe, he Middle East and North Africa by 2050 using solar energy captured in the deserts. According to the TRANS-CSP study of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), the principal experts of the sector insist that by 2020 importing sunlight-fuelled electric energy will cost around €0.05/KWh, the same as that powered by coal or gas.

It would seem impossible to enjoy all these advantages if governments fail to render decisive support for the development of new solar energy-applied technologies. The industry and private investors would need an appropriate legal and regulatory framework enabling the existence of a specific renewables market as a guarantee to the investments to be made.

Thus, one of the most successful schemes involves a feed-in tariff, which determines a fixed price for each technology, for the production of renewable energy throughout a plant’s useful life . As time goes on, governments may gradually reduce the tariffs as a way of incentivizing investments in R+D and thereby help to drive down the prices at which new companies entering the market may sell their energy.

If we start today by introducing the changes needed to ensure that our grandchildren enjoy an endless, low-cost supply of clean and renewable energy, the future availability of our energy will be guaranteed.

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Sustainable Energy for All: Utopia or Reality?

Posted on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 by admin

Let us imagine for a moment that we have no washing machines, no electricity, no cell phones, no computers, no motorized transportation, or the endless number of comforts provided to us by access to energy. What would our lives be like? Those of us who live in OECD countries seldom think about or suffer from the energy crisis, and we forget that the other part of our planet, the part that does not share our daily concerns simply because their basic needs go unmet, does not have access to energy. The United Nations seeks to promote energy access as a fundamental element of progress and has declared 2012 the “International Year of Sustainable Energy for All”.

The phrase “for all” is no trivial matter. In developing countries more than 3 billion people depend on traditional biomass as a source of heating or for cooking. 1.5 billion do not have electricity at all and millions of people simply cannot pay for these services even though they may be available. And all of these people are those who suffer most from climate change.

Reducing poverty and improving the standard of living of most of the world population is possible if efforts are made to gain access to modern, affordable and low-pollution energy services enabling sustainable development. This is why the United Nations has made an appeal for renewable energies to yield opportunities to the “non-technological”, for whom, due to their condition, economic development, access to medical and education services, and business opportunities have been rendered impossible.

Greek philosopher Epictetus wisely said that “the Sun gives every human being the energy he or she needs without having to ask for it”. Today we know how to turn this energy into electricity and make use of it, thanks, above all, to solar thermal power. This technology has shown tremendous advances in recent years and enables us to use energy and turn it into electricity during peak hours of electrical power consumption, such as at dusk or nighttime. Furthermore, once the cost of a plant has been recovered, its generating costs are very low. Any delay in implementation and development only means putting the brakes on progress and social justice. There is a pressing need for a worldwide energy change aimed at promoting access to energy and ensuring a sustainable future in order to prevent the destabilization of the planet and its climate. Of paramount importance is investment in access to alternatives for “cleaner, socially acceptable, and ecologically rational energy technology”.

For us, the economic crisis has turned into an overwhelming crisis, and we lose sight of the fact that there is another crisis that affects us all, even those who have done nothing to deserve it. Access to energy, particularly sustainable energy, would make it possible for millions of people to generate income through the use of solar pumps for irrigation or electricity for a small business; it would provide power to community health centers, refrigerators for storing food and medicine; it would cut down on time and heavy labor in gathering wood. It would also enable nocturnal lighting so that youngsters may study, and it would provide cleaner and more efficient alternatives for cooking and generating heat.

The year 2012 affords a valuable opportunity for society, institutions and governments to become aware of the importance of local, regional, national and international development of renewable energies. The difficult yet feasible challenge: to double the weight of renewable energies in world energy consumption to reach 30% by 2030. It depends on our part of the world for 1.5 billion people to know what it means to live with more energy than that which comes from their own two hands.

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What will the history books say about Durban?

Posted on Wednesday, 18 January 2012 by admin

The Durban Summit is over, but the problems are still there. What remains clear after the arduous negotiations is that we are having a hard time working towards the future, making sacrifices for others, and being accountable for the environmental problems caused by generations of the recent past and that of our own.

In all likelihood, the Durban Summit (South Africa) will go down in history more as a UN success than a key step forward in the struggle against climate change. While some have described it as a “milestone”, certain environmentalist groups or countries like China have criticized the “lack of will” of developed countries. Continuation of the Kyoto Protocol has been under debate since 1995 at the different summits organized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and time after time they can clearly be summed up as being “a lot of talking the talk but little walking the walk”. Albeit with an uncertain fate, the Kyoto Protocol has been extended, but Canada, Japan, Russia and the U.S., which failed to ratify the protocol in 1997, have pulled out. No surprise there. The biggest polluters are therefore excluded, for the European Union and the nations that have signed up to extension of the protocol are responsible for only 15% of pollutant gas emissions. What has been established, however, is the institution of a roadmap, proposed by the EU, towards a legally binding deal by 2015 to cut emissions. In other words, it has been established to come to a decision in the future.

What will the history books say about Durban?

Nevertheless, Durban shall indeed go down in history for turning the city into the birthplace of the Green Climate Fund. This was an issue of great concern to developing nations. The fund will be allocated to help developing countries deal with natural disasters occurring as the result of climate change.

As far as forest protection is concerned, there are no new developments. Gaining momentum, therefore, is the idea of financing for forest protection coming from industrial power plants that would not have to drastically cut their emissions due to the absorption of carbon dioxide.

Those who always lose keep losing and those who do nothing continue to keep their arms folded. However, this is a game we all lose. CO2 emissions entail irreversible global consequences and make no distinctions between the guilty and the innocent. We all suffer the consequences.

There are plenty of reasons why Earth can no longer wait, and we need a legally binding agreement to compel all of us to preserve the world left to us by our predecessors. The only way for us to “save tomorrow today” is to lower emissions through less-contaminating energy generation, promote responsible energy use, make use of the energy sources provided by our planet, and make ourselves aware of the need for immediate change. Political will and awareness must go hand in hand with Qatar in 2015 or we shall once again see a clear example of how our planet continues to suffer while we argue. Imperative, above all, is political will, for Science, with a capital S, has said everything it has to say on the matter.

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The Fight against Desertification

Posted on Thursday, 7 July 2011 by admin

As already discussed in previous articles, the main alternative sources of water are desalination, reuse of wastewater and recovery of contaminated aquifers. These new water sources are potentially of sufficient quality for many different uses, ranging from human consumption to industrial and agricultural processes, thereby helping on many fronts to develop the populations living in areas suffering from desertification.

In the agricultural and rural development sectors, we need to weigh up agro-environmental measures that will enable us to prevent and mitigate processes of land degradation, including incentives to encourage the forestation of marginal areas not suitable for agricultural uses.

In the forestry sector, we urgently need to restore plant cover, manage our forests sustainably, combat fires and roll out actions to defend and protect woodland.

Furthermore, proper management of water resources is pivotal in the fight against desertification. The arrival of new water resources that help prevent the over-exploitation of natural resources is a guarantee of success for the preceding measures. Similarly, rolling out the measures needed to recover over-exploited or contaminated aquifers, coupled with the creation of new resources, will certainly help in the fight against desertification by fostering the recovery of existing natural resources and helping to maintain populations and use of farming land.

Combating desertification, one of the many adverse phenomena undermining local development and plaguing many regions around the world, is essential to ensuring the genuinely sustainable development of arid and semi-arid land and preventing migration and increased pressure on other areas, and also requires proper management of agricultural and water resources.

This daunting task must be a global commitment to be undertaken by institutions and the population as a whole, and requires coordinated leadership among countries. What other measures do you consider appropriate?

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