Sweden, which has just taken over the EU presidency for a six-month stint, is trying to convince its European partners to follow its example and impose a carbon tax. Adopted in 1991, it has proved efficient on a national level, reports Olivier Truc for Le Monde. "A carbon tax affects a lot more emissions than the carbon trading scheme does," affirms Andreas Carlgren, Swedish environment minister. "But never fear," adds ministry spokesman Mattias Johansson, "it's not a European tax. Each country would retain control. There would be a minimum rate, and the tax would be charged by each State, the way VAT works." It's all of 18 years since the Swedes established a carbon tax on energy consumption. Whenever sceptics claim the tax kills growth, its proponents whip out its track record: since the tax was introduced, Swedish greenhouse gas emissions have dropped 9%, while the economy has grown 48% since then. "So this tax doesn't slow growth in the least," concludes Mr Johansson. What is more, the carbon tax annually puts 15 billion Swedish crowns (€1.4bn) in the public coffers. When it was first launched back in 1991, the rate was €27 per metric ton of CO2. Now it is €108/ton.
Sweden, which has just taken over the EU presidency for a six-month stint, is trying to convince its European partners to follow its example and impose a carbon tax. Adopted in 1991, it has proved efficient on a national level, reports Olivier Truc for Le Monde.
"A carbon tax affects a lot more emissions than the carbon trading scheme does," affirms Andreas Carlgren, Swedish environment minister. "But never fear," adds ministry spokesman Mattias Johansson, "it's not a European tax. Each country would retain control. There would be a minimum rate, and the tax would be charged by each State, the way VAT works."
It's all of 18 years since the Swedes established a carbon tax on energy consumption. Whenever sceptics claim the tax kills growth, its proponents whip out its track record: since the tax was introduced, Swedish greenhouse gas emissions have dropped 9%, while the economy has grown 48% since then. "So this tax doesn't slow growth in the least," concludes Mr Johansson. What is more, the carbon tax annually puts 15 billion Swedish crowns (€1.4bn) in the public coffers. When it was first launched back in 1991, the rate was €27 per metric ton of CO2. Now it is €108/ton.
Yahoo! today said it will no longer purchase carbon offsets for its operations, focusing its climate strategy on reducing the energy used by its data centers.... n a blog post, [David] Filo also committed the company to reduce the carbon intensity of its data centers "by at least 40% by 2014," stating, "We'll get there through a combination of innovative data center design, improving how we utilize our servers, cloud computing, and locating our data centers in areas where cleaner energy is available." Yahoo! also announced that it would build a state-of-the-art data center near Buffalo, N.Y. -- beating out sites in Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania -- that would take advantage of the region's hydropower and climate [!]. Among other things, the data center will operate without any chillers, utilizing a natural cooling system supplied entirely by the cool air coming off Lake Erie. Chillers are among the most energy-intensive parts of a data center.... Data centers account for more than half of the company's carbon footprint, says Page, including its global office operations, employee commuting, and air travel. The new Buffalo data center is expected to have a high efficiency rating -- called PUE, or power usage effectiveness, in industry parlance -- of 1.1 or better, according to Page. To date, the most efficient data center, built by Google, has a PUE of 1.12.
n a blog post, [David] Filo also committed the company to reduce the carbon intensity of its data centers "by at least 40% by 2014," stating, "We'll get there through a combination of innovative data center design, improving how we utilize our servers, cloud computing, and locating our data centers in areas where cleaner energy is available."
Yahoo! also announced that it would build a state-of-the-art data center near Buffalo, N.Y. -- beating out sites in Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania -- that would take advantage of the region's hydropower and climate [!]. Among other things, the data center will operate without any chillers, utilizing a natural cooling system supplied entirely by the cool air coming off Lake Erie. Chillers are among the most energy-intensive parts of a data center.... Data centers account for more than half of the company's carbon footprint, says Page, including its global office operations, employee commuting, and air travel.
The new Buffalo data center is expected to have a high efficiency rating -- called PUE, or power usage effectiveness, in industry parlance -- of 1.1 or better, according to Page. To date, the most efficient data center, built by Google, has a PUE of 1.12.
The G8 countries will this week announce a "food security initiative", committing more than $12bn for agricultural development over the next three years, in a move that signals a further shift from food aid to long-term investments in farming in the developing world....The G8 initiative underscores Washington's new approach to fighting global hunger, reversing a two-decades-old policy focused almost exclusively on food aid. Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, and Tom Vilsack, the agriculture secretary, have both highlighted the shifting emphasis in recent speeches....Washington's shift could prove contentious in the US, as its farmers are the largest exporters of several crops, including soyabean and corn. The US is the world's largest donor of food aid - mainly crops grown by US farmers, costing more than $2bn last year. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a think-tank, estimates that Washington spends 20 times more on food aid than on long-term schemes in Africa to boost local food production. US annual spending on African farming projects topped $400m in the 1980s, but by 2006 had dwindled to $60m, the council said in a report this year.
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The G8 initiative underscores Washington's new approach to fighting global hunger, reversing a two-decades-old policy focused almost exclusively on food aid. Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, and Tom Vilsack, the agriculture secretary, have both highlighted the shifting emphasis in recent speeches.
Washington's shift could prove contentious in the US, as its farmers are the largest exporters of several crops, including soyabean and corn. The US is the world's largest donor of food aid - mainly crops grown by US farmers, costing more than $2bn last year.
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a think-tank, estimates that Washington spends 20 times more on food aid than on long-term schemes in Africa to boost local food production. US annual spending on African farming projects topped $400m in the 1980s, but by 2006 had dwindled to $60m, the council said in a report this year.
