Zero emission? Carbon neutral? Carbon negative? What does it mean to achieve 'net-zero' emissions?
The Paris Agreement on climate change, signed on Dec. 12, 2015, by almost 200 states, was hailed as the turning point to keep global warming in check. Progress, however, has been insufficient.
(UNclimate change/flickr)
The Paris Agreement set countries on a path to limit global warming. Five years on, some progress has been made, but not enough. Decarbonizing the economy will take leadership and imagination.
Indonesia can tap into its microorganism resources for potential renewable energy development.
Research by author and her students about palm oil waste water processing using Microbial Fuel Cells at the Faculty of Biotechnology, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia
Energy Minister Angus Taylor is this week expected to release the government's first Low Emissions Technology Statement. It's likely to include ways to remove CO₂ from the air – but do they work?
Edenderry peat-burning power station in Co Offaly (note the peat top left) already partly burns biomass.
Niall Carson/PA
Charles Pignon, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
In the eastern reaches of Siberia, scientists discovered plants with exceptional cold tolerance that could be the key to sustainable bioenergy production.
A fan of fuel blends that contain as much as 85 percent ethanol.
AP Photo/Jim Mone
Vehicles made before 2001 could suffer fuel system or engine damage if they're run on E15.
Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Sequestration, known as BECCS, is one of the technologies we may need to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.
from www.shutterstock.com
Delays on climate action to reduce emissions means that we may have to consider technologies that strip carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But that will come at a cost.
Enviva’s wood pellet plant in Ahoskie, NC.
Marlboro Productions
Deriving fuel from trees costs more than wind and solar power and it emits more carbon than coal. There are many heated debates about this kind of energy, known as forest or woody biomass.
New research calculates the huge cost of 'negative emissions' technologies that will be required to avoid dangerous climate change.
An excavator clears land for a palm oil plantation in southern Sierra Leone for a Lichtenstein-based a company. Such projects are criticised by some as ‘land grabs’.
Reuters/Simon Akam
International development banks are supposed to ensure adherence to human rights in the projects they fund. Instead, their practices provide fertile ground for human rights abuses.
An ancient form of energy: a wood pellet manufacturing facility in upstate New York.
thewildcenter/flickr
Tim Baye, University of Wisconsin Colleges and the University of Wisconsin-Extension
The future of two key energy policies – the EPA's Clean Power Plan and Renewable Fuel Standard – will decide whether bioenergy will continue to grow in US or not.
A biogas plant in Queensland.
NH Foods Oakey Beef Exports
The government has issued a draft direction to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in "emerging" clean energy such as bioenergy. But what are the prospects for bioenergy?
Biomass will help meet Australia’s renewable energy target.
David Cootes
When we think of renewable energy, it’s easy to picture spinning wind turbines or rooftop solar panels. But what about bioenergy? While wind and solar are now well established – in South Australia wind…
Fill ‘er up… with biological burnt offerings.
Mejidori
Bioenergy and biofuels have an important role to play in lowering the use of carbon-intensive fossil fuels – a point underscored by the IPCC report which confirmed the need for further research to improve…
Frustrated by battery drain? A new superfast charger is still a couple of years off … but it’ll be more environmentally friendly than the toxic batteries we use today.
rpavich/Flickr
If you’re one of the thousands of smartphone users experiencing battery drain, you’d have been pleased to read that Tel Aviv-based start-up StoreDot recently unveiled a prototype charger that fully charges…
Deforestation must be balanced with biofuel demands.
mauroguanandi
Biofuels have come under scrutiny in the latest IPCC report, which outlines some of the emergent risks associated with their production. In principle, biofuels seem to be an ideal solution to reducing…
Harnessing the energy in wood may help wean Australia off fossil fuels.
Flickr/chriscardinal
With Australia trying to meet renewable energy targets and reduce emissions wherever possible, we should be considering bioenergy. Bioenergy can be made by burning biomass in a variety of forms, including…
Whether more power stations should switch to burning wood or biomass is debatable.
David Cheskin/PA
Many countries have turned to the planet’s forests to meet their need for renewable energy, burning wood chips and pellets produced at home or abroad in power stations to generate electricity. But a report…