Thursday, July 17, 2008
Group of Eight wants broad United Nations deal to halve emissions
T he G8 rich countries said on July 8 they want to work with the nearly 200 states involved in U.N. climate change talks to adopt a goal of at least halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The final climate communique agreed by the Group of Eight leaders at a summit in northern Japan also said mid-term goals would be needed to achieve the shared goal for 2050, but gave no numerical targets.
The statement puts the focus of fighting global warming on U.N.-led talks to create a new framework for when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, and papers over differences inside the G8 itself. The U.N. talks are set to conclude in Copenhagen in December 2009.
The careful wording of the statement -always the most contentious part of summit negotiations -- was also unlikely to satisfy those seeking much more specific targets.
Last year, the G8 club of rich nations -Japan, Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Russia and the United States -- agreed merely to "seriously consider" a goal of halving global emissions by mid-century.
The European Union and Japan have been pressing for this year's summit to go beyond that, and Brussels wanted clear interim targets as well.
But U.S. President George W. Bush has insisted that Washington cannot agree to binding targets unless big polluters such as China and India rein in their emissions as well.
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To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
The final climate communique agreed by the Group of Eight leaders at a summit in northern Japan also said mid-term goals would be needed to achieve the shared goal for 2050, but gave no numerical targets.
The statement puts the focus of fighting global warming on U.N.-led talks to create a new framework for when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, and papers over differences inside the G8 itself. The U.N. talks are set to conclude in Copenhagen in December 2009.
The careful wording of the statement -always the most contentious part of summit negotiations -- was also unlikely to satisfy those seeking much more specific targets.
Last year, the G8 club of rich nations -Japan, Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Russia and the United States -- agreed merely to "seriously consider" a goal of halving global emissions by mid-century.
The European Union and Japan have been pressing for this year's summit to go beyond that, and Brussels wanted clear interim targets as well.
But U.S. President George W. Bush has insisted that Washington cannot agree to binding targets unless big polluters such as China and India rein in their emissions as well.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: Canada, emissions, France, G8, Germany, greenhouse gas, india, Italy, Japan, President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UN deal, United Nation, United states
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Japanese invent car that runs on water
Tired of petrol prices rising daily at the pump? A Japanese company has invented an electric-powered and environmentally friendly car that it says runs solely on water.
Genepax unveiled the car in the western city of Osaka on June 12, saying that a liter of any kind of water -- rain, river or sea -- was all you needed to get the engine going for about an hour at a speed of 80 km (49.7 miles).
"The car will continue to run as long as you have a bottle of water to top up from time to time," Genepax CEO Kiyoshi Hirasawa told local broadcaster TV Tokyo.
"It does not require you to build up an infrastructure to recharge your batteries, which is usually the case for most electric cars," he added.
Once the water is poured into the tank at the back of the car, a generator breaks it down and uses it to create electrical power, TV Tokyo said.
Whether the car makes it into showrooms remains to be seen. Genepax said it had just applied for a patent and is hoping to collaborate with Japanese auto manufacturers in the future.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Genepax unveiled the car in the western city of Osaka on June 12, saying that a liter of any kind of water -- rain, river or sea -- was all you needed to get the engine going for about an hour at a speed of 80 km (49.7 miles).
"The car will continue to run as long as you have a bottle of water to top up from time to time," Genepax CEO Kiyoshi Hirasawa told local broadcaster TV Tokyo.
"It does not require you to build up an infrastructure to recharge your batteries, which is usually the case for most electric cars," he added.
Once the water is poured into the tank at the back of the car, a generator breaks it down and uses it to create electrical power, TV Tokyo said.
Whether the car makes it into showrooms remains to be seen. Genepax said it had just applied for a patent and is hoping to collaborate with Japanese auto manufacturers in the future.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: batteries, electric cars, Genepax, Genepax CEO Kiyoshi Hirasawa, generator, Japan, Japanese invent car, manufacturers, Osaka, runs, Tokyo, TV Tokyo, water
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