El Nuevo Diario Sandy, un huracán entre un 5% y un 10% más fuerte debido al cambio climático

The 175 turbines will produce enough power to supply over 470,000 UK homes with electricity.

Laura Sandys, MP Thanet South, said: “Locally we are extremely pleased that London Array is now producing energy for homes across the South East. We are very proud that London Array is based in Thanet and that we are host to the largest offshore wind farm in the world. To have a world class wind farm maintained from Ramsgate is great for the local community and local business. We very much hope that the company will be able to realise its plans to develop Phase Two adding an additional 240MW”

Benj Sykes, Wind UK Country Manager at DONG Energy, said: “With its 630 MW the London Array project will be the first of the next generation of larger offshore wind farms and we are pleased to have reached first power. Being able to efficiently develop large offshore wind farms and harvest the scale advantages in both construction and operation is an important element in our continuous efforts to bring down costs of energy of offshore wind.”

Dr. Tony Cocker, CEO of E.ON UK, said: “This is not only a very important milestone for the London Array development but also a major landmark for the global renewables sector. We firmly believe that electricity from renewable sources has a vital part to play in helping us to deliver energy in a way that is sustainable, affordable and secure and this is why we are aiming to reduce the costs of offshore wind by 40% by 2015.”

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, said: “The London Array offshore wind project is a landmark achievement for Masdar, its partners and the United Kingdom. We are proud to be making a significant contribution to the UK’s renewable energy portfolio and targets. The London Array development is an example of the true potential and commercial viability of renewable energy. It is also a model of the collaboration and action required to implement large-scale clean energy projects in an effort to sustainable meet our growing energy demands.”

London Array is being built around 20km off the coasts of Kent and Essex. The wind farm will be installed on a 245km2 site and will be built in two phases. Phase One will cover 90km2 and include 175 turbines with a combined capacity of 630MW. The consortium plans to complete the first phase by the end of 2012. If approved, the second phase will add enough capacity to bring the total to 870MW.

The project consortium partners have the following shareholdings: DONG Energy owns 50%, E.ON has 30% and Masdar has a 20% stake

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi will host the annual general meeting of the World Future Council (WFC) as the event comes to the Middle East for the first time next month.

Prominent personalities from across the globe will lend their voices to the forum which advocates the interests of future generations in sustainable policy-making,

The meeting titled ‘Securing Our World: The Crucial Next 5 years’ will be held from November 21 to 25.

WFC has successfully inspired several governments to frame legislations and policies to conserve natural resources.

The organisation’s annual Future Policy Award appreciates policies that create better living conditions for current and future generations. It is the first award that celebrates policies rather than people on an international level, helping raise global awareness for exemplary policies and speed up policy action towards just, sustainable and peaceful societies. The award, for instance, highlighted a food security programme in Brazil in 2009 while in 2011 it drew global plaudits for Rwanda’s national forest policy.

The World Future Council (WFC) consists of 50 respected personalities from five continents including actress Daryl Hannah who is also an advocate for a sustainable world and Youssou N’Dour, the tourism and culture minister of Senegal and a musician in his own right.

Francisco Whitaker, co-founder of the World Social Forum and Dr Vandana Shiva, a scientist and environmental activist from India, are expected to attend. Among delegates from the UAE will be Dr Rafis Gobash, former president of the Arab Gulf University.

The WFC says it tries to make politicians aware that they have an ethical responsibility to assess every decision-making process on the basis of how it will affect future generations. “In close collaboration with civil society groups, members of parliament, governments, businesses and international organisations, we research future just policies and legislation. We then advise political decision-makers, offer them tried and tested courses of action and support them in the concrete implementation of new policies,” a WCF statement said.

The lifestyle in industrialised countries has led to people using up natural resources at a threatening pace, the statement noted. “Consequently, our environment is being destroyed and the unequal distribution of wealth and natural resources is increasing. Mankind today is living and consuming at the price of future generations. Our aim is to pass on a healthy planet and just societies to our children and grandchildren,” it added.

Dubai: Shopping centres will soon be provided with municipality approved containers to segregate waste as part of the authority’s aim to promote recycling in the emirate.

“We have to intensify our efforts to promote the culture of recycling and reuse, and have many technologies to recycle things and reduce overall waste generation,” said Abdul Majeed Saifaie, director of Waste Management Department at Dubai Municipality.

“The segregation of waste should be done from its very origin to help in the collection and recycling procedures,” he asserted.

Currently more than 80 per cent of the waste that is generated goes to landfills. The civic body has plans to recycle 100 per cent of all waste by 2030.

He said the move to recycle waste has been implemented in line with the strategic vision of Dubai. It is aimed at reducing the quantity of waste and to provide a clean environment and pollution-free atmosphere.

Saifaie pointed out that the Municipality will start distributing recycling bins to shopping centres shortly and from February next year, the initiative will cover all the shopping centres in the emirate.

He said residents should also be encouraged to recycle as on an average each resident generates about 2.7 kilograms of waste, that adds up to almost 1,000 kilograms per person a year.

“A special team from the Waste Management Department of Dubai Municipality will carry out inspections to ensure the new directions are properly carried out and that all participants are adhering to the required standard,” he said.

Municipality officials also added that a manual was handed to shopping centres late last week to guide them through meeting the required standards of segregating waste, and that experts in recycling will also assist commercial establishments in producing useful materials from waste

We, the heads of states and ministers of the United Nations member states, together with the representatives of international organizations, civil societies, academies and leaders from the private sector gathered at World Energy Forum 2012 during October 22-24.

We commend the host country the UAE for its Vision 2021 for a green economy, its emergence as a global champion for sustainable energy, responsible development and the efficient use of hydrocarbon resources and Dubai as a role model for its vision, innovations, and achievements in energy efficiency.

In recognition of the critical role that energy plays in human, economic, and social development:

We hereby reaffirm our united commitment to the goal of delivering safe, accessible, and sustainable energy to all nations and peoples.

We recognise the need for national energy polices which reflect a harmonious global perspective so as to promote international collaboration between developed and developing nations.

We seek to promote policies that will implement structures and mechanisms by which developed nations may make and fulfill financial and technological commitments to alleviate energy poverty in developing nations.

We support the mobilisation of expertise across borders in order to nurture the development of human capacity in a true spirit of pursuit of the common good of humanity.

We recognise the need for continuing role of responsible use of fossil fuels, while seeking the acceleration of an affordable transition to renewable energy, which we believe is critical for the support of economic growth and the mitigation of climate change.

We recognise that improving energy efficiency is an environmentally sound and cost effective approach towards energy sustainability, and we support policies that address the issue of increasing efficiency by widening the implementation of energy efficient transportation networks, industrial processes, buildings, power grids and to broaden the incorporation of energy efficiency and sustainability measures in urban and regional planning.

We recognise the need to adapt existing, and in some cases create new international market structures, regulations, and policies in order to promote increased investments in sustainable energy by private and public capital with the use of public private partnerships to stimulate and enable actions and the need to maintain attractive and non-discriminatory legislative environments for investors in the energy sector.

Therefore, we declare our support for the World Energy Day October 22 to be commemorated worldwide annually to raise grassroots awareness and inspire creativity and imaginative thinking.

We declare our support for energy access as a fundamental Human Right of every person.

We declare our support for worldwide Smart Energy Movement (SEM) with the participation by all to build a new energy paradigm that can advance global economic and social development towards a New Energy Civilisation of Accessible and Sustainable Resources for All.

We declare our support for the African Energy Summit to be convened under the auspices of World Energy Forum annually and encourage other regional group of nations to organise similar Summits.

We declare our support for the First Ladies Summit for Sustainable Development to be convened under the auspices of World Energy Forum annually that enhances women’s roles and contributions to sustainable development. We declare our support for annual World Energy Forum to review actions undertaken for the implementation of Dubai Declaration and to chart future progress.

The Sahara Forest Project will reveal its multi-faceted Qatar plant that will grow cucumbers while producing other useful resources using a synergy of green technologies, according to the COP18 official website.

The plant will have three basic components that are integrated and feeding one another to create a truly sustainable and possibly profitable complex.

Both the new outside vegetation and the greenhouse structures will reduce dust and create cool zones for plant growth. Saltwater will be used to cool the CSP, increasing the power production.

The Sahara Forest Project, which has applied to hold a side-event within the UN precinct in Doha during the sessions, will offer tours to visitors who wish to see the facility while in Qatar.

About 55 teams are in the fray for the Environment Society of Oman (ESO)-organised student public speaking competition with an environmental theme, according to a press release.

The society conducted road shows at colleges and universities in Muscat and Nizwa to make students aware of the contest in which each team will have four members, who will have a chance to be named Oman’s brightest young environmentalists.
The winning team will also earn a place in the regional competition, organised annually by the UAE’s Emirates Environmental Group (EEG). ESO is running the Omani round of the competition for the first time this year, with the aim to continue the competition in Oman on an annual basis to give Omani students the opportunity to further their environmental knowledge.

The entrants from the 55 teams are students at 13 colleges and universities in Muscat and Nizwa. Each teammust research and prepare a presentation on one of the approved subjects for the competition Each team must research and prepare a presentation on one of the approved subjects for the competition which are focused on water conservation, climate change, consumerism and its effects on the environment. which are focused on water conservation, climate change, consumerism and its effects on the environment and how social media can contribute to conservation.

The competition will be held at Safeer Hall at Zakher Mall on November 4.

ENVIRONMENT NEWS FROM THE

31 October 2012