Climate change is one of the key challenges of this century. Specifically, balancing climate change mitigation and increased energy needs in developing countries poses a serious dilemma that can only be reconciled with new and improved clean energy technologies.

Transport volumes and structures in China change drastically as a result of economic and social development in the country. These changes are associated with increasing energy consumption and negative impacts on the environment, e.g. emissions of greenhouse gases and toxic air pollutants affecting not only the micro and macro climate but also health.

Cities worldwide are promoting environmentally "green' roofs to mitigate several urban problems. Ground cover, shrubs and other flora planted across a building's roof can reduce storm water runoff, easing the burden on local sewers and water treatment systems. And the vegetation can keep the roof cooler in summer, lowering interior air-conditioning costs and therefore peak demand on area power plants.

Power generation as well as the production of fuels for transportation requires water, and the supply of high-quality freshwater is energy intensive. A growing population and climate change will increase the pressure on both resources.

By improving energy efficiency - using less energy to perform the same tasks - global ener- gy demand could be reduced by 12 per cent by 2030, saving $766 billion in building new energy infrastructure. For every $1 invested in improving energy efficiency, we would save more than $2 in infrastructure investment BY NOELEEN HEYZER

Rich nations, including the US and UK, are planning to push rapidly industrialising nations like China and India into accepting "back door" limits on their greenhouse gas emissions. They want climate negotiators to agree global technical standards on "dirty" manufacturing industries like aluminium, iron and steel, cement and chemicals - standards that would apply equally to factories in the US, Italy or India, for example. This strategy emerged last week in meetings at the Royal Society in London to discuss the successor to the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today exhorted the residents to make rational use of water and electricity .The use of recycled water for gardening would go a long way in saving drinking water. The water-harvesting scheme would be introduced in 205 schools and an amount of Rs.40 crore has been earmarked. The Delhiites have bought around five lakh CFLbulbs .The use of these bulbs would help save 1200 MW.

Paharpur Business Centre and Software Technology Incubator Park jointly organised a function to celebrate the Earth Day today in the Capital. Issues like

Just three days after Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal launched the Rs 80-crore energy saving scheme, designed to provide free compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) to all domestic consumers, Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board has called the country's top CFL manufacturers to work out modalities for the scheme's implementation.

Patrick Getreide is an entrepreneur with a big ambition: to build the world's greenest office block. Energy Plus, his projected 70,000 square metre Paris block, will be carbon neutral and generate more electricity than it uses, saving tenants

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