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US-Canada pact eases Arctic fears

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Low oil prices have reduced pressure to exploit Arctic fossil fuels and boosted hopes that the region’s fragile environment and indigenous people may be better protected.

By Valerie Brown

OREGON, 20 April, 2016 − A joint pledge by the US and Canada to reduce methane emissions for oil and gas activities in the Arctic and limit fossil fuel extraction is putting pressure on Russia to follow suit.

The pledge was in response to increasing concern across the world at the intention of the eight nations with territorial claims in the Arctic to exploit its resources, even though this risks making climate change far worse.

At the poles, the Earth is warming twice as fast as the global average. In the Arctic, this is disrupting the way of life of about 13 million people – including about 10 per cent who are indigenous – and adversely affecting countless other organisms.

#états-unis #canada #arctique #énergie #climat

Nuclear costs in uncharted territory

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Nuclear costs in
uncharted territory

As some governments press on with new nuclear installations to address climate change, a multi-billion dollar industry will be needed to make safe old power plants and their hazardous waste.

By Paul Brown

LONDON, 18 April, 2016 − If you want a job for life, go into the nuclear industry – not building power plants, but taking them down and making them safe, along with highly-radioactive spent fuel and other hazardous waste involved.

The market for decommissioning nuclear sites is unbelievably large. Sixteen nations in Europe alone face a €253 billion waste bill, and the continent has only just begun to tackle the problem.

Among the many difficulties the industry faces is lack of trained people to do the highly-paid work. Anyone who enters the business is likely to be sought after for the rest of their career because the job of decommissioning Europe’s nuclear sites alone will take more than 100 years – even if no new nuclear power stations are ever built.

#nucléaire

Call for Saudis to be a solar power

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Call for Saudis to be
a solar power

Saudi Arabia says it plans to be less dependent on oil revenues in future – but will it grasp the opportunity to become a world leader in solar energy?

By Kieran Cooke

LONDON, 13 April, 2016 − The announcement by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia sent tremors through global energy markets.

He said that the desert kingdom – the world’s biggest oil exporter – would, within 20 years, no longer be dependent on oil revenues and plans to use an estimated US$2 trillion in assets to diversify the country’s economy and invest in companies and projects around the globe.

#arabie_saoudite #énergie #énergie_solaire