Coming a few years earlier than expected, China has beaten the US to the Title of no. 1 emitter of CO2.

According to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, soaring demand for coal to generate electricity and a surge in cement production have helped to push China’s recorded emissions for 2006 beyond those from the US already. It says China produced 6,200m tonnes of CO2 last year, compared with 5,800m tonnes from the US. Britain produced about 600m tonnes.[source]

From CNET.

Philippine President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, ordered Dept of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Sec. Angelo Reyes to create a taskforce that will tackle the issue of Climate Change in the Philippines. This is hot on the heals of a UN report, last Feb 2, 2007, that states that humans are the major cause of global warming.

Initial Members of the taskforce will be the Secretaries of the Dept of Science and Technology(DOST) and the Dept. of Energy (DOE.) There was also the possibility of the output of this taskforce be presented to the ASEAN council where the Philippines is currently the chairing country. Hence the need to draft a plan that will not only be applicable to the Philippines but also to the entire ASEAN region as well.
Read the rest of this entry »

Richard Branson announced that he was sponsoring a $25 Million contest with a goal to develop technologies that can help scrub a billion tons of CO2 from our atmosphere.

Present along side him when he made the announcement were Former US VP Al Gore and former UK diplomat Crispin Tickell. The contest will be judged by a panel comprising of Branson, Al Gore, Crispin Tickell, U.S. climate scientist James Hansen, James Lovelock and Environmentalist Tim Flannery.
Read the rest of this entry »