Book Release
Good News Bad News
Clearing the air in Indian cities
Join us for an assessment of the cities – including the four metros — of India and how they fare on parameters such as air pollution, public transport, walkability and parking policies, among other things.
Day and Date: Thursday, September 26, 2013
Time: 5.00 PM
Venue: Jacaranda Hall, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi
- Book release by Harish Salve, senior advocate, Supreme Court of India and amicus curiae on environmental cases
- Presentations by Sunita Narain, director general, CSE and Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), CSE
The release will be preceded by a day long South Asian media and stakeholders conclave on clean air and sustainable mobility
The programme schedule is attached for your reference. For details contact Souparno Banerjee at souparno@cseindia.org/09910864339
PROGRAMME SCHEDULE
Day 1 : September 26, 2013
8:45 am – 9:30 am Registration
9:30 am – 10:00 am: SETTING THE AGENDA: CLEAN AIR AND SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY
- Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment(CSE), New Delhi
- Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, (Research and Policy Advocacy), CSE
10:00 am to 11:15 am: MANAGING URBAN AIR QUALITY TO ACHIEVE CLEAN AIR
- Arun Baroka, secretary, Department of Environment, Government of NCT of Delhi, New Delhi
- B. Nagappa, scientific officer, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, Bangalore
- Randeep Guleria, professor, Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi*
- Manas Ranjan Ray, senior scientific officer, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata
TEA BREAK: 11:15 am – 11:30 am
11:30 am to 1:00 pm: INCLUSIVE TRANSPORT-WALKING AND CYCLING
- Ashok Bhattacharjee, director (Planning) and member secretary, Unified Traffic and transportation infrastructure (planning & engineering)centre (UTTIPEC)- Delhi Development Authority, New Delhi
- Vikram Kapur, principal secretary and commissioner, Corporation of Chennai, Chennai* nbsp; &n sp; &n sp; &n sp; &n sp; &n sp;
- Arvind Kumar, principal resident commissioner, Government of Sikkim, Gangtok
- Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, secretary, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Kathmandu, Nepal
LUNCH BREAK: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
2:00 pm to 3:15 pm : PROMOTING PUBLIC TRANSPORT TO REDUCE AUTOMOBILITY
- Puneet Kumar Goel, principal secretary and commissioner, Transport Department, Government of NCT of Delhi, New Delhi*
- Rajeev Verma, chairperson and managing director, Delhi Transport Corporation, NCT of Delhi, New Delhi*
- C. G. Anand, chief mechanical engineer, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Bangalore
- N. Manjunatha Prasad, managing director, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, Bangalore
- Shrikar Keshav Pardeshi, commissioner, Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, Pimpri-Chinchwad*
- S.S. Bajaj, vice chairperson, Naya Raipur Development Authority, Raipur*
TEA BREAK: 3:15 pm – 3:30 pm
3:30 pm to 4.30 pm: CAR RESTRAINT MEASURES
- Debasis Kumar, member-mayor in Council, Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Kolkata
- Jalaj Shrivastava, chairperson, New Delhi Municipal Council, New Delhi *
- Arvind Kumar, principal resident commissioner, Government of Sikkim
- Don S. Jayaweera, director general, Department of Development Finance, Ministry of Finance and Planning, Colombo, Sri Lanka
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Briefs from the globe
25092013Kerry and Lavrov hold ‘constructive’ meeting over Syria at the UN
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have held a “constructive”meeting Tuesday at the UN General Assembly in New York seeking to resolve existing disputes over a plan to destroy Syrian chemical weapons under international supervision. “We had a very constructive meeting” Kerry told reporters after meeting his counterpart. No more information was shared with the press after the almost two-hour long discussion.
20:53
Pentagon could cut thousands of jobs without compromising US military strength – report
The US Defense Department can afford to cut 60,000 more soldiers and 50,000 civilian workers already planned to be cut without risking the nation’s defense capabilities, four former members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday in a new Pentagon assessment on military spending. The report authors recommended nearly $50 million in budget cuts, the largest being a $22.4 billion saving that would eliminate civilian employees, headquarters staff, and contractors, among other areas. Barry Blechman, one author of the study and a member of the Stimson Center global security think-tank, said in a Capitol Hill conference that “the Defense Department is not a jobs program” despite the number of lawmakers who have “stood in the way” of necessary cuts because it would mean lost jobs for their constituents. Military officials already plan to cut the Army from 570,000 troops to 490,000 by 2017. The study’s authors suggested an Army force of 450,000 soldiers.
20:27
Obama, Rouhani will not meet at United Nations General Assembly – report
US President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will not meet Tuesday during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to senior White House officials. Obama administration sources said they offered to have “an encounter,” or an informal discussion, with Rouhani during the General Assembly, but Iranians said Tuesday that would be “too complicated” for the delegation at this point. In his remarks to the General Assembly, Obama said Rouhani’s election earlier this year was “encouraging,” and that the administration is pursuing diplomatic inroads to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.
13 killed as mudslide hits bus, van in Bolivia
At least 13 people have died and 26 other were injured as mudslide hit a bus and a van in Bolivia, state ABI news agency reports. The incident occurred on Monday afternoon some 200 kilometers from La Paz on the highway linking the capital with the city of Caranavi. The mudslide buried the van and caused the bus to plunge into a 40-meter deep ravine. Ten of the bus passengers and three people in the van died. 26 others in both vehicles were injured and taken to hospitals in nearby towns of Caranavi and Coroico.
Syrian patriarch calls for help for Christians trapped in Maalula monastery
The Greek-Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, Yohanna X Yazigi, has called for Red Cross and other international charities to rescue the approximately forty Christians shut off in the Saint Takla Monastery in the Syrian city of Maalula. The monastery inhabitants, mostly nuns and orphans, have been caught between the battle lines since early September, as rebels and government forces have wrestled for control of the city.
US to sign arms trade treaty – diplomats
US Secretary of State John Kerry is to sign the first worldwide treaty aimed at regulating the $80 billion annual trade in conventional weapons, according to a US official. The Arms Trade Treaty aims to plug the flow of weaponry used in brutal uprisings and genocides, and was adopted earlier in the year by the UN to regulate – among other weaponry – the trade in attack helicopters, missiles and small arms. “Following congressional notifications today, tomorrow Secretary Kerry will sign the treaty on behalf of President Obama and the United States of America,” a senior State Department official told AFP. The treaty has been in the pipeline for years and was only adopted following lengthy negotiations. While it has now been endorsed by the US, Congress has yet to ratify it. It will be the first major arms agreement since the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The treaty comes after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s comments at the UN, urging world leaders to get their “priorities right” and “invest in people, instead of wasting billions of dollars on deadly weapons.”
25 dead in Iraq clashes
Armed attacks in Iraq left 25 people dead Tuesday, following gunfire and clashes between security forces and militants across the country. Twenty of the dead were killed in two incidents alone. Seven police officers and the brother of a local official were killed after militants carried out an attack on two police stations and the official’s house in the towns of Rawa and Aana, around 350 km northwest of Baghdad. Six of the militants were later killed by security forces. Meanwhile, in Hamreen, north of the capital, six were killed, including two soldiers, leaving a further nine injured during a standoff with militants, officers told AFP. Militants regularly target officials and government employees. Over 4,450 people have been killed in Iraq since the beginning of the year, according to AFP’s estimates, signifying a higher level of violence in the country at any time since 2008. The bloodshed, 18 months after the last US troops pulled out, has led to concerns that Iraq is slipping into a renewed civil war.
Netanyahu unconvinced by Iran’s diplomatic drive
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed Iran’s newly conciliatory stance on its nuclear program as a ruse designed to buy the Islamic Republic more time. “Iran thinks that soothing words and token actions will enable it to continue on its path to the bomb,” Netanyahu told reporters in New York. Israeli representatives planned to boycott the Iranian speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, as it is their custom to do.
Bahrain hits back at Hezbollah chief over ‘oppression’ jibe
Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid al-Khalifa branded Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah a “criminal,” following Nasrallah’s criticism of the treatment of Bahrain’s Shiite opposition by the Sunni government. “The people of Bahrain are above being addressed by a criminal whose hands are stained by the blood of innocents in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq,” al-Khalifa posted on Twitter. On Monday, the Lebanon-based leader of the Shiite Hezbollah called Bahraini leaders “dwarves whose oppression will get them only disappointment.”
US Secretary of State to sign arms trade treaty
US Secretary of State John Kerry will sign the Arms Trade Treaty regulating the international trade in conventional arms, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing diplomats from two countries. He will sign the treaty on Wednesday on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly in New York, they said. The assembly adopted the treaty on April 2, including the US. Votes against the treaty were cast by Iran, North Korea and Syria.
US citizen jailed for 10 years for attempted murder in Bahrain
A Bahraini court sentenced a US citizen of Arab origin to 10 years in prison Tuesday for attempting to murder policemen last year. Taqi al-Meydan, 25, was also convicted of burning a police vehicle and taking part in a street protest, AFP quoted his lawyer Mohammed al-Jishi as saying. Two other defendants were also jailed for 10 years on similar charges. Meydan, born in the US in 1988 to a Saudi Arabian father and a Bahraini mother, was arrested in October 2012 during a demonstration in a Shiite village near Manama. Al-Meydan pled not guilty to the charges and will appeal the verdict.
Several killed, wounded as blast hits Syrian capital – reports
An explosion in southern Damascus killed and wounded several people on Tuesday, Syrian state television said. The explosion hit the neighborhood of Tadamon, which has been a battleground between rebel forces and the Syrian Army for months, Reuters reported. The TV report said “terrorists” were behind the blast, a term commonly used to refer to rebels.
Iranian diplomats’ meeting with world powers at UN to start ‘new era’
A meeting between Iran’s top diplomats and world powers at the UN this week will start a “new era” in efforts to end the dispute over the disputed nuclear program, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif would join a meeting of Britain, France, China, Russia, the US and Germany to discuss the nuclear issue. The meeting due on Thursday is expected to include US Secretary of State John Kerry, Reuters reported. It would be the highest-level encounter involving the two states since relations were severed in 1980.
French appeals court upholds Sarkozy vote funding probe
A French appeals court ruled on Tuesday an investigation could proceed into former president Nicolas Sarkozy on accusations in the ‘Bettencourt Affair’. The decision could lead to a trial in the long-running scandal over L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt donating election campaign funds and complicates any political comeback by Sarkozy, Reuters said. Sarkozy denies any misconduct. The ruling will be appealed to the Cour de Cassation, the country’s highest appeals court.
Monsoon rains kill 36 in Vietnam, Cambodia
Heavy monsoon rains have pounded parts of Vietnam and Cambodia, killing at least 36 people, authorities said Tuesday. Parts of Southeast Asia have seen a worsening of their annual rainy season, despite not being directly hit by Typhoon Usagi, which barreled through the Philippines and China in recent days, AFP reported. Central and southern Vietnam have been hit by bad weather since early last week, with 24 dead and six missing. In Cambodia, at least 12 people have died in the deluge.
Militants attack 2 Iraqi police stations, 8 killed
Eight people, seven of them policemen, were killed as militants attacked two police stations and a local official’s house northwest of Baghdad on Tuesday. The attacks occurred in the towns of Rawa and Aana near the highway to Syria in Anbar province, and also killed the brother of a local official, AFP reported. More than 610 people have been killed in September and over 4,400 since the beginning of the year, according to security and medical sources.
Journalist for Spain’s El Periodico abducted in Syria
A special correspondent for the Spanish newspaper El Periodico has been kidnapped in Syria, the paper said.“Journalist Marc Marginedas abducted in Syria,” the headline in the online edition said late Monday. Marginedas has been “in the hands of a rebel group since September 4, the last day he was in contact with editors in Barcelona,” according to the paper. The reporter “was traveling by car with the driver… when he was stopped by jihadist fighters on the outskirts of the city of Hama,” it added.
Russian investigators open criminal case against Greenpeace activists
The Russian Investigative Committee (SK) has opened a criminal case against Greenpeace activists on charges of piracy, after they were accused of attacking an oil platform in the Barents Sea. The incident took place in the water area of where the Russian oil prospecting platform ‘Prirazlomnaya’ was operating. The FSB border guard service for the Murmansk Region had provided documents to SK about its inquiry into an incident, SK spokesman Vladimir Markin said. The criminal case into elements of crime punished by the Russian Criminal Code “for piracy committed by an organized group,” he said.
Greek public sector workers go on 2nd strike in week
Greek public sector workers went on a 48-hour strike for the second time in a week on Tuesday. Schools were shut and hospitals left with skeleton staff, Reuters reported. ADEDY, the public sector umbrella union which organized the walkout, described government efforts to reduce the 600,000-strong civil service as “the most merciless plan” to eliminate workers’ rights. Meanwhile, the EU, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank representatives were due to visit Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday to check if Greece was meeting its bailout targets.
Gunmen kill second Yemeni air force colonel
A Yemeni air force officer was shot dead by gunmen in Sanaa on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry said, the second such incident in as many days. Gunmen riding a motorbike opened fire on Colonel Ali Dilmi in front of the military hospital, killing him instantly, Reuters reported. On Monday, gunmen shot dead Colonel Abdul Wahab Azzam at an intersection while he was driving his car in Sanaa. Dozens of Yemeni security and military officers have been assassinated in the past two years.
Pussy Riot’s Tolokonnikova moved to safe cell in penal colony
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a convicted member of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot, has been transferred to a safe cell in Mordovia’s Penal Colony No. 14, Gennady Morozov, chairman of the republican social supervisory commission, told Interfax. “Tolokonnikova was moved to a safe location inside the penal colony on Monday,” he said. Tolokonnikova earlier said that she was receiving threats from other inmates and prison administration officials.
4 men in Delhi gang rape appeal death sentences
Lawyers for four men sentenced to death for raping and murdering a young woman on a New Delhi bus challenged the convictions and death sentences at a High Court hearing Tuesday. “I am challenging this verdict,” said AP Singh, who has defended all four men at various times. The High Court will begin hearing prosecution arguments Wednesday, while the defense lawyers file their appeals. It could take weeks or months for the court to hear arguments. The attack in December sparked fury over sexual violence faced by women in India.
Navy Yard gunman’s 2004 shooting arrest not disclosed in security check – Navy
The US Navy denied Monday any knowledge that Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis was arrested in 2004 for shooting out a man’s car tires. The 2007 background check that granted Alexis a security clearance said that he “deflated” car tires after a dispute with a construction worker, a senior Navy official told Reuters. The source said the background check, which was conducted by the same company that vetted NSA leaker Edward Snowden, did not include any mention of firearms or gunshots. A Seattle police report indicated that Alexis went into a rage-filled “blackout” triggered by perceived “disrespect” from a construction worker. Alexis would go on to kill 12 people in a mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, an area he was allowed to enter only because of his security clearance.
02:58
Three small planes diverted from UN air space during General Assembly
At least three small planes violated restricted air space over the United Nations building in New York City Monday afternoon, requiring US military fighter jets to escort them to nearby airports. A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said F-16 fighters intercepted the planes, which were then met and checked by law enforcement at local airports. The FAA said none of the incidents appeared related to terrorism. Air space over the UN is restricted this week for the ongoing United Nations General Assembly, which US President Barack Obama is attending.
02:57
Two charged in Chicago shooting that wounded 13, including 3-year-old
Two men were charged Monday for a mass shooting in a Chicago neighborhood which left 13 people, including a three-year-old boy, injured on Thursday night. Byron Champ and Kewane Gatewood have each been charged with three counts of attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm. The pair shot 16 bullets onto a Cornell Square Park basketball game using an AK-47 assault rifle. All injured parties are expected to survive. The three-year-old boy, shot through the cheek, was walking, talking, and eating on Monday, The Chicago Tribune reported.
01:15
Bank of America fined $2.2 million for discrimination, must offer jobs to 10 African-Americans
A federal judge ordered Bank of America to pay $2.2 million to 1,000 African-American job applicants after they were denied entry-level positions in a Charlotte, North Carolina branch based on their race. The administrative law judge ruled that Bank of America used “unfair and inconsistent selection criteria” when rejecting qualified black candidates in 1993, then again between 2002 and 2005. The bank must offer jobs to at least 10 of the employees originally denied work, the Labor Department has said, although it did not mention how those candidates would be notified. The ruling states that 1,034 applicants who were rejected in 1993 will split a $964,033 settlement, and 113 people denied between 2002 and 2005 will split approximately $1.2 million. Media agencies
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Pak Awaran district quake toll rises to 220
25092013
Balochistan government spokesman Jan Mohammad Buledi Wednesday morning confirmed that 216 people have died in the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that flattened almost everything in the Awaran district, while 8 persons perished in Turbat of Balochistan, Geo News reported.
Buledi said that in all six districts of Balochistan were hit by the earthquake, which included Turbat, Awaran, Panjgor, Chagi, Khuzdar and Gawadar, while of them Awaran witnessed widespread devastations, where in Tehsil Mashkay alone 55 persons died.
The provincial government has declared emergency. Rescue work is underway and the Frontier Corps and the Army are providing aid to the victims.
District Administration and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority are also doing its utmost to provide relief and succour to the suffering people in the area.
Provincial government spokesman Jan Muhammad Buledi said: “We are seriously lacking medical facilities and there is no space to treat injured people in the local hospitals.
“We are trying to shift seriously injured people to Karachi through
helicopters and others to the neighbouring districts.”
The scale of the territory involved is daunting. Awaran district has an
estimated population of around 300,000, scattered over an area of more than 21,000 square kilometres (8,000 square miles).
Officials said the tremors demolished hundreds of mud houses and it was feared that the death toll would increase.
According to the Meteorological Department, the epicentre of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake was 120Km southwest of Khuzdar in Balochistan province at a depth of 23 kilometres. The US Geological Survey measured the earthquake at 7.8.
Tremors were also felt in Quetta, Hub, Khuzdar, Qalat, Sibi, Mastung, Jafferabad, Gawadar, Turbat, Panjgor, Kharan, Jhal Magsi, Noshki and the adjoining areas. However, except Turbat, no loss of life reported in these areas.
Several areas in Sindh including Karachi was also hit by tremors, but its duration being brief, no damage was done.
According to the US Geological Survey,the quake measuring 7.7 on the Richter Scale struck yesterday afternoon at a depth of 20 kilometre in the country’s remote south-west province of Balochistan. Many houses were flattened and thousands of people have spent the night in the open. After the quake, a small island appeared off the coast near the port of Gwadar, witnesses reported. Gwadar Police Chief Pervez Umrani said people gathered on the beach to see the new island, which is about 9 metre high and 100 metre long.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest but least populated province. The region is prone to earthquakes, with at least 35 people killed in a 7.8-magnitude tremor that was centred in south-eastern Iran in April.
Balochistan government spokesman Jan Buledi said helicopters were airlifting the most seriously injured to Karachi while others were being cared for in neighbouring districts. A local government official Abdul Rasheed Baluch said around 90 per cent of houses in the Awaran district had been destroyed in this earthquake.
According to the US Geological Survey,the quake measuring 7.7 on the Richter Scale struck yesterday afternoon at a depth of 20 kilometre in the country’s remote south-west province of Balochistan. Many houses were flattened and thousands of people have spent the night in the open. After the quake, a small island appeared off the coast near the port of Gwadar, witnesses reported. Gwadar Police Chief Pervez Umrani said people gathered on the beach to see the new island, which is about 9 metre high and 100 metre long.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest but least populated province. The region is prone to earthquakes, with at least 35 people killed in a 7.8-magnitude tremor that was centred in south-eastern Iran in April.
Balochistan government spokesman Jan Buledi said helicopters were airlifting the most seriously injured to Karachi while others were being cared for in neighbouring districts. A local government official Abdul Rasheed Baluch said around 90 per cent of houses in the Awaran district had been destroyed in this earthquake.
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Guided City Tours and Excursions in Cologne
25092013
You are here: Guided Tours
Guided City Tours and Excursions in Cologne
Explore Cologne with a group. Benefit from our highly diversified guided tours and excursions.
The cathedral city on the Rhine offers barrier-free tours for disabled visitors.
Families and children or walking impaired will appreciate the mini train.
A traditional city tour or a “Hop-On Hop-Off” tour of Cologne is truly a special experience.
Get acquainted with Cologne on a comfortable tour of the city or an “Hop-On Hop-Off” tour.
Explore Cologne at its best. Get a fantastic panoramic view of the city aboard a ship.
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Categories : Tourism, Uncategorized
Coal Block Auction Methodology approved
25092013| The Government has approved the methodology for auction by competitive bidding of the coal blocks. The methodology provides for auctioning the fully explored coal blocks and also provides for fast tracking the auction by exploration of regionally explored blocks through up gradation of geological data to a reasonable level of certainty.The methodology approved by the Government provides for production linked payment on rupee per tonne basis, plus a basic upfront payment of 10% of the intrinsic value of the coal block. The intrinsic value of coal block will be calculated on the basis of Net Present Value (NPV) of the block arrived at through Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) method. To benchmark the selling price of coal, the international FoB price from the public indices like Argus/Platts will be used by adjusting it by 15% to provide for inland transport cost which would give the mine mouth price. In order to avoid short term volatility the average sale price will be calculated by taking prices during the last 5 years. For the regulated power sector, it has been decided to provide for 90% discount on the intrinsic value for tariff based bidding. This methodology will help in rationalizing the power tariff.
In order to ensure firm commitment, there would be an agreement between Ministry and the bidder to perform agreed minimum work programmes at all stages. There would be development stage obligations in terms of milestones to be achieved such as getting mining lease, obtaining environment/forest clearances etc. The bidder will have to give performance guarantee during the developmental stage. The successful bidder will get 2 years for exploration (for regionally upgraded blocks) and 5 years for development of coal blocks.
The new policy also provides for relinquishment of the block without penalty provided, the bidder has carried out minimum work programme stipulated in the agreement.
Ministry of Environment and Forest will review the details of the coal blocks and communicate its findings before the blocks are put to auction. However, final approval will be subject to the statutory clearances under the law.
Exploration activities in identified coal blocks are at advanced stage and are likely to be completed shortly. Thereafter these blocks would be put to auction under the Competitive Bidding of the Coal Mines Rules, 2012, which were notified on February 2, 2012.
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Categories : Business, CSR, culture, Uncategorized
SUSTAINABLE FUTURE DEPENDENT ON ENERGY INDUSTRY SUPPORT,
25092013
SUSTAINABLE FUTURE DEPENDENT ON ENERGY INDUSTRY SUPPORT, WARNS WORLD ENERGY COUNCIL
- Report’s rankings reveal most countries struggle to balance energy needs
- China is ranked 78th, and USA 15th, in updated Energy Sustainability Index
- Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Spain and the United Kingdom achieve ‘AAA’ ratings under new scorecard system
- World Energy Congress to agree the agenda for change next month in Korea
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 24, 2013 – The global energy industry must play a greater role in the transition to sustainable energy systems if United Nations development goals are to be met, warns a report launched today by the World Energy Council (WEC).
The potential for billions of people benefiting from sustainable energy systems in future decades hangs in the balance without increased private sector support, it says.
The WEC’s 2013 World Energy Trilemma report, “Time to get real – the case for sustainable energy investment”, was produced with global management consulting firm Oliver Wyman. The findings are based on interviews with more than 50 policymakers, including energy and environment ministers, leaders in development banks, governments, IGOs and NGOs, plus experts from more than 25 countries.
The policymakers interviewed expressed concern that the lack of global consensus on climate change and a future energy system framework, coupled with dramatic disruptions caused by emerging technologies and rapidly shifting patterns of energy use and supply, make it difficult to develop and implement long-term energy policies. This results in increased risk for industry and investors, which must be addressed if the much-needed energy transition is to be delivered in the future.
The report also reveals the results of the 2013 Energy Sustainability Index. The Energy Sustainability Index within the report is the world’s most comprehensive ranking of countries energy policies and evaluates how well 129 countries balance the three conflicting agendas involved in achieving energy sustainability – what the WEC has called the ‘energy trilemma’; energy security, energy equity and environmental sustainability.
The Index shows that developed countries with higher shares of energy coming from low- and zero-carbon energy sources supported by well-established energy-efficiency programmes, such as Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden, outperform most countries across all three dimensions of the energy trilemma. Nevertheless, it is clear that all countries still struggle to balance all three aspects of the trilemma’s currently conflicting agendas. Only five countries in the top 10 have been awarded a ‘AAA’ score with Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Spain being the only countries that historically demonstrate their ability to manage the trade-offs between the three competing dimensions equally.
Pierre Gadonneix, Chairman of the World Energy Council, said:
“I am encouraged that there appears to be a growing consensus among both industry and policymakers on the nature of the challenge and what needs to be done.
“The next vital stage in this dialogue will be our World Energy Congress, to be held in just three weeks’ time in Daegu, Korea. There we will work towards a shared vision and smart, pragmatic solutions to securing a sustainable energy future.”
Joan MacNaughton, Executive Chair of the World Energy Trilemma report, said:
“If countries are to improve the sustainability of their energy systems, they must continue to work hard at identifying and successfully implementing balanced and forward looking policies. A more sophisticated and proactive partnership with the private sector is also necessary to drive the higher level of energy investment now required.
“For its part, the private sector needs to better understand how policy is made and how to contribute to it more effectively. It should also be more proactive in helping to build an informed consensus that moves us away from ad hoc approaches dominated by debate about short-term costs.”
Calling for closer public-private partnership to help overcome these challenges, the policymakers interviewed for the report urge the energy industry to contribute to and promote a long-term energy vision with realistic targets.
Their recommendations include:
- Be more proactive in improving energy policies
To make sustainable energy systems a reality, energy leaders must take the initiative in sharing their knowledge, insights and experiences with policymakers, regulators and other stakeholders.
- Be less risk averse regarding energy investments.
Cash-strapped governments with limited funds look to the energy and financial sectors to take the lead in energy infrastructure and technology investments. The report recommends a better alignment of risk with those best able to bear it and urges the private sector to engage with other stakeholders to identify suitable approaches and mechanisms to achieve a better balance of risk. The crucial role of both the public and private sectors in encouraging the research, development and demonstration (RD&D) of new energy technologies and innovations is also recognised.
- Help developing countries chart a new energy course
The energy industry and other investors must work with public sector stakeholders to identify and lower the barriers that are holding up investment in least-developed, developing and emerging economies. The industry also needs to be more proactive in helping developing countries adopt proven technologies, working with them to reduce the cost of technology transfer and identifying suitable projects that can attract investment.
Roland Rechtsteiner, Partner at Oliver Wyman, said:
“The analysis that we have conducted with the World Energy Council clearly shows where countries and industry must focus their endeavours to deliver results. We identify five key energy profiles – the Pack Leaders, the Fossil-fuelled, the Hydro-powered, the Highly-industrialised and the Back of the Pack – to highlight the common challenges that countries face.”
Hwan-eik Cho, Chairmanof theWorld Energy Congress 2013 Organizing Committee, said:
“This report reminds us that the public and private sectors cannot make the tough choices necessary to secure a sustainable energy future without having a proper dialogue. These discussions, which we will be proud to host in Daegu next month, could not be taking place at a more important time.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- WEC’s 2013 World Energy Trilemma report, “Time to get real – the case for sustainable energy investment”, including the complete Energy Sustainability Index and an executive summary, is available to download atwww.worldenergy.org/publications
- The Energy Sustainability Index is based on an analysis of 60 data sets that were used to develop 23 indicators across 129 countries. The Index provides a comparative ranking and a ‘balance score’ for how countries manage the three core elements of sustainable energy systems – energy security, energy equity, and environmental sustainability. The ranking measures overall performance on the Index while the balance score – for the first time – highlights how well a country manages the trade-offs between the three dimensions.
- This is second in a two-part series of reports prepared in collaboration with global management consulting firm Oliver Wyman to examine the drivers and risks in the development of sustainable energy systems. It follows the 2012 report which described the policies that more than 40 energy industry CEOs and senior executives consider necessary to advance sustainable energy systems.
Enquiries:
World Energy Council:
Stuart Neil/Florence Mazzone/Monique Tsang Tel: +44 (0)20 7734 0616
Oliver Wyman:
Elisabeth Egan Tel: +1 (617) 424-3721
World Energy Congress:
Jamie Robertson/Caroline Podsiad/Francesca Boothby Tel: +44 (0)20 7831 3113
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Quake of M7.4 – PAKISTAN
25092013| Magnitude | 7.4 |
| Date-Time |
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| Location | 27.026N 65.521E |
| Depth | 22 km |
| Distances |
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| Location Uncertainty | Horizontal: 0.0 km; Vertical 4.7 km |
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