Blogs at Worldwatch

Each blog features regular contributions from Worldwatch researchers and outside experts on the global issues that the Institute tracks, from climate change negotiations to how to feed a growing population. We invite you to engage our bloggers in dialogue on the latest news and developments in their respective research areas.

Growing Pains: Unclear Progress Towards the EU 2020 Renewable Energy Targets

The European Union (EU) has undoubtedly been one of the global leaders in spurring the advanced development and deployment of renewable energies worldwide. The vision set forth by the Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC – a directive setting continent-wide targets for all EU-27 member states to increase their share of renewable energy in the...

Just One Word: Plastics

In the March online issue of Nature, a group of scientists argued plastic should be treated as hazardous waste. They specifically urge the biggest producers—USA, Europe and Japan—to take measures to modify the current production and consumption trends. In the US, the EPA estimates 45 percent of plastics are used as containers and packaging, and [...]

Camu Camu: A Little Fruit that Packs a Big Punch

By Eleanor Fausold Sometimes the best things come in small packages. Camu camu (Myrciaria dubia) is a tiny fruit native to the Amazon region of South America that is rising in popularity, as both an element in local treats and a main component in dietary supplements. Although its high level of acidity once made it [...]

State of the World 2013 Launch and Seminar Report

by Katerina Batzaki Copenhagen On the day that Worldwatch Institute launched State of the World 2013: Is Sustainability Still Possible? 69,578 cyclists crossed the Dronning Louise Bridge into the centre of Copenhagen providing a very simple answer to that very weighty environmental question. Of course sustainability is possible, if we make sustainable choices. In the [...]
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Growing Pains: Unclear Progress Towards the EU 2020 Renewable Energy Targets

The European Union (EU) has undoubtedly been one of the global leaders in spurring the advanced development and deployment of renewable energies worldwide. The vision set forth by the Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC – a directive setting continent-wide targets for all EU-27 member states to increase their share of renewable energy in the national...

Kenya’s Solar Lamp Market: Illuminating and Overcoming Institutional Voids

Starting and running a solar lamp retail business in a developing country like Kenya is no small feat. Kenya lacks strong transportation infrastructure for product distribution, and the bureaucratic red tape is not only tedious but can be opaque to foreigners. Meanwhile, the customers who need and want solar portable lamps most are those who can least afford it.
Solar portable...

Hundreds of Billions Now Flowing to Clean Energy

Having just returned from my second clean energy finance summit this year, I was relieved to find that despite the rumors, the renewable energy industries aren’t dying—indeed they’re booming.
Source: Michael Liebreich BNEF Summit Keynote, 23 April 2013
In 2012, according to...

No “LAC” of Leadership: Conference Highlights Renewable Energy Success in Latin America and Caribbean

Globally, new investment in renewable energy fell 11 percent in 2012. But in Latin America and the Caribbean (not including Brazil), it grew at a remarkable rate of 127 percent, totaling US$4.6 billion. This was the opening context for the 3rd Annual Renewable Energy Finance Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean (...

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Camu Camu: A Little Fruit that Packs a Big Punch

By Eleanor Fausold
Sometimes the best things come in small packages. Camu camu (Myrciaria dubia) is a tiny fruit native to the Amazon region of South America that is rising in popularity, as both an element in local treats and a main component in dietary supplements. Although its high level of acidity once...

EU Bans Class of Pesticides Thought Harmful to Bees

By Laura Reynolds
On April 29, the European Union voted to largely ban the use of neonicotinoids, a type of pesticide, for two years beginning in December 2013. The ban had 15 member state supporters, including France, Germany, and Poland; eight opponents, including...

Emissions from Agriculture and Livestock Continue to Grow

By Laura Reynolds
In 2010, global greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector totaled 4.7 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent, up 13 percent over 1990. Agriculture is the third largest contributor to global emissions by sector, following the burning of fossil fuels for power and heat, and transportation. In 2010, emissions from electricity and heat production reached 12.5 billion tons, and emissions from transport totaled 6.7 billion...

Global Food Prices Continue to Rise

By Sophie Wenzlau
Continuing a decade-long increase, global food prices rose 2.7 percent in 2012, reaching levels not seen since the 1960s and 1970s but still well below the price spike of 1974. Between 2000 and 2012, the World Bank global food price index increased 104.5 percent, at an average annual rate of 6.5 percent.
...

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Getting to One-Planet Living

Worldwatch Institute’s State of the World 2013 explores new ways to measure sustainability and live within our planet’s boundaries
Mobility for the human body, not the car. Photo courtesy of Jennie Moore.
Washington, D.C.—As the world continues down the path of unmitigated and unsustainable development, it is becoming...

Just One Word: Plastics

In the March online issue of Nature, a group of scientists argued plastic should be treated as hazardous waste. They specifically urge the biggest producers—USA, Europe and Japan—to take measures to modify the current production and consumption trends. In the US, the EPA estimates 45 percent of plastics are used as containers and packaging, and that only 12 percent of these are recycled. In...

State of the World 2013 Launch and Seminar Report

by Katerina Batzaki
Copenhagen
On the day that Worldwatch Institute launched State of the World 2013: Is Sustainability Still Possible? 69,578 cyclists crossed the Dronning Louise Bridge into the centre of Copenhagen providing a very simple answer to that very weighty environmental question. Of course sustainability is possible, if we make sustainable choices. In the Danish capital, hundreds of thousands...

Drawing a Truer Picture of Carbon Emissions

In 2011 the United Kingdom pledged to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent by the year 2025, the most ambitious target by any industrialized country. Due to an increase in coal-generated power, the UK saw a 3.5 percent increase in CO2 emissions in 2012. This slight...

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