Biochar: Black is the new green

Locking carbon up in soil makes more sense than storing it in plants and trees that eventually decompose:

To meet the challenges of global climate change, greenhouse-gas emissions must be reduced. Emissions from fossil fuels are the largest contributor to the anthropogenic greenhouse effect, so a reduction in fossil energy use is a clear priority1. Yet, because some emissions will be unavoidable, a responsible strategy also means actively withdrawing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

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Companies signed agreement to develop biggest Concentrated Solar Power Project ever

Munich – 12 companies today signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Munich to establish a DESERTEC Industrial Initiative (DII). The objective of this initiative is to analyse and develop the technical, economic, political, social and ecological framework for carbon-free power generation in the deserts of North Africa. The DESERTEC concept, developed by the TREC Initiative of the Club of Rome, describes the perspectives of a sustainable power supply for all regions of the world with access to the energy potential of deserts. The founder companies of the DII, whose regional focus is on Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), will be:

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Harvesting agricultural carbon in Kenya

The BioCarbon Fund of the World Bank has identifi ed large untapped greenhouse gas mitigation (GHG) potential in the smallholder agricultural sector in East Africa based on the adoption of SALM practices, which can contribute to climate change mitigation, generate revenue streams from carbon payments for environmental services, and maintain agrobiodiversity, while reducing farmers’ vulnerability to climate change. Carbon revenues have the potential to lower barriers to the adoption of SALM practices.br>

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More credibility for african projects

Voluntary carbon offsets certainly have much greater potential since many of the inhibiting transaction costs of CDM are avoided. The increasing awareness of climate change, and growing tendency towards ethical investments from individuals and businesses in the world’s “richer communities”, ...

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