The UN Sustainable Development Goals aim to end global poverty, but poorer countries are struggling to hit them. More help from richer countries is crucial, writes Mazdak Rafaty.

Asia outstrips the world for tourist arrivals and is still experiencing growth. Constant maintenance and upgrade are essential to maintain this lead.

A report that examines statements about rolling blackouts made by regional grid operator ISO-New England, shows that sustained growth of renewables, and not more gas, will boost reliability of New England’s electric power system.

The world must invest $2.4 trillion in clean energy every year through 2035 and cut the use of coal-fired power to almost nothing by 2050 to avoid catastrophic damage from climate change, according to scientists convened by the United Nations.

New state energy goals and innovative utility program offerings have been making headlines in recent months. These types of regional policies and incentives are important, especially as we face challenges ranging from grid constraints and fluctuating electricity prices to environmental concerns, but significant portions of the country are outside of the direct influence of energy use mandates and incentives.

A $2 trillion push in the U.S. to blend renewable energy into the power supply and fortify transmission lines against extreme weather means that Americans must act more like Europeans to keep their power costs down.

As the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) of Zambia and Zimbabwe seeks to secure funding for the 2,400-MW Batoka Gorge hydroelectric facility, the region is experiencing rolling blackouts based on reduced inflow to existing hydroelectric generating facilities. 

Italy must more than double its capacity to store electricity if it wants to slash pollution from burning fossil fuels, the head of the nation’s power transmission network said.

Presentation by Jeff Duce of Boeing

The European Union needs an ambitious emissions-reduction goal, targets for energy- efficiency and renewables as well as tools to foster investment under its planned 2030 policies, an advisory panel to 14 ministers said.

The UN climate conference in Lima set the stage for Paris in 2015. Next year’s accord is to provide a working, albeit not a final, answer to the question: Is it possible to keep global warming at or below the 2 degree Celsius limit? This limit is considered the boundary beyond which the negative climatic, economic and social consequences of climate change are thought to become intolerably severe and potentially irreversible.

A $2 trillion push in the U.S. to blend renewable energy into the power supply and fortify transmission lines against extreme weather means that Americans must act more like Europeans to keep their power costs down.

In 1984, when this year’s POWER-GEN 2015 Woman of the Year Kim Greene started engineering school, about 16 percent of her class was made up of women. Today, more than 30 years later, that number has jumped to just 18 percent.

Greene, the Chief Operating Office of Southern Company was one of three finalists for the 2015 Woman of the Year award during Power Generation Week and on Tuesday December 8, she took part in a panel discussion with her co-finalists: Terry Jester, CEO and Chairman of Silicor Materials and Roxann Laird, Director of the National Carbon Capture Center, during the Women in Power luncheon.

The fact that women only make up 18 percent of engineering students is an alarming statistic and was the topic of discussion for much of the panel. To combat it, Greene believes that everyone should be encouraging young women to study engineering. “Fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts, school teachers,” she said, explaining that it should be important to all of us to encourage girls to pursue education in technical fields that will (hopefully) ultimately lead to careers in the energy industry. Laird explained that she does simple things in her household, such as conducting science experiments at birthday parties for her daughter.

Also important is persistence, said Greene. Girls may need a bit of extra encouragement when they do poorly on a test or fail a class. If a mentor can offer words of encouragement like “keep your chin up” and “you can do this,” that may be all that is needed to keep a girl motivated who may otherwise have become discouraged.

As far as rising through the ranks of an organization, Jester believes it isn’t about being the smartest person in the room or always making the right decisions. Women just need to believe that they are capable of being charge. If you make a mistake, own it and move on, said Greene. It’s ok to admit you are wrong, don’t dig in your heels.

Panelists were also asked for tips on how to re-enter the workplace after a hiatus or after switching careers and all agreed on one thing: “don’t apologize for the gap.” Jester believes that someone who has re-dedicated herself to the workplace makes for an excellent employee.

At the end of the day “engineers solve problems,” said Laird adding, “it’s a fun industry.” Jester said that there are misperceptions in the industry that engineers are stuck in a cube or an office doing very boring jobs but it is not like that. Those of us in the industry know its fun.

Robynn Andracsek, an engineer with Burns & McDonnell and member of the Women in Power committee led the panel discussion during the luncheon.

The purpose of the Women in Power committee is to provide role models to inspire young women to pursue careers in energy. Anyone in the energy industry can nominate a woman for the Woman of the year award. Nominations are open from April to August each year.

In order for wind energy power purchase agreements (PPAs) to see sustained uptake in central Europe, sellers need to take a lead in managing long-term risks including power price forecasting, covenant strength and buyer inexperience.

As plans for wind farms across New England’s waters progress, fishermen continue to express concerns about the impact of the burgeoning offshore wind industry on their livelihoods.

How do you install a wind turbine almost the size of the Chrysler building in the open ocean? Just get a boat with deck space larger than a football field and a crane that can lift the weight of 1,100 Chevy Suburban SUVs.

Bitcoin will “halve” for the third time next week, slowing down the discovery of new bitcoins and preventing disruptions from new miners. Read more...

The EU's disease prevention agency says more funds will be needed to shore up surveillance of infectious diseases, which it wants to make less reliant on humans.

The European Union needs an ambitious emissions-reduction goal, targets for energy- efficiency and renewables as well as tools to foster investment under its planned 2030 policies, an advisory panel to 14 ministers said.

A $2 trillion push in the U.S. to blend renewable energy into the power supply and fortify transmission lines against extreme weather means that Americans must act more like Europeans to keep their power costs down.

New Crane Wharf Freehold Ltd v Jonathan Mark Dovener [2019] UKUT 98 (LC) A lease covenant requiring the tenant defendant, Mr Dovener, to “permit” its landlord “…at al...

The Government has published advice on meeting the regulatory requirement to obtain a valid Energy Performance Certificate (“EPC”) prior to marketing a property during the Coronavirus outbreak. By way of reminder, the Energy Performance ...

The current riots/disturbances in cities across England raise a number of issues in relation to construction sites. These will include fundamental health and safety issues but it also raises important considerations in relation to any damage or...

MLS (Overseas) Limited v The Secretary of State for Defence [2017] EWHC 3389 (TCC) Summary In a recent judgment following a challenge to a competitive procurement process run by the Ministry of Defence (“MoD”) (MLS (Overseas) Limited v T...

Unexpectedly, the Government has issued regulations which will require trustees to make further changes to their Statement of Investment Principles (SIP) from 1 October 2020. They will also require additional disclosures in relation to investment pr...

Trustees and providers of pension schemes face ever increasing and changing legal duties to have policies on and disclose how they deal with stewardship and environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. This article pulls the new rules together...

The Pensions Regulator has published the first of its long awaited consultations on a new DB Funding Code. This consultation covers the principles underpinning the Regulator’s approach. A second consultation will follow later in the ...

On 18 February 2018, the EU added the Cayman Islands to its list of noncooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes (“Annex 1”). This has come as a surprise, but is unlikely to have any immediate impact on Cayman-domiciled funds. In this b...

By Tim Brown and Wiwat Peerapatanapokin HONOLULU (September 17, 2019)—In 2018, roughly 6 million people were living with HIV in Asia and the Pacific, and 310,000 were newly infected, according to UNAIDS estimates. Despite these troubling numbers, financial support for the fight against AIDS is stagnant, and international resources for HIV programs in the region are declining. Given the continued HIV infection levels and limited funds for halting the epidemic, it is more important than ever for prevention efforts to achieve maximum impact with the resources available. This means that programs need to target the key populations most at risk of contracting HIV. In Asia, these key populations are female sex workers and their clients, people who inject drugs, and men who have sex with men....

This is a summary only. Click the title for the full article, or visit www.EastWestCenter.org/Research-Wire for more.

Tanzania gets Madagascar's anti-coronavirus drink disputed by WHO.

The post Coronavirus: What you need to know today appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.

Level 4 lockdown arrived and while greeted with much jubilation, also sadly demonstrated just how much homo sapiens residing in South Africa have not changed at their core.

Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers 1. The Supreme Court, on Friday nullified the conviction of former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu over N7.16 billion fraud by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on December 5. Justice Amina Augie who led a seven-man panel of Justices held that the […]

Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know this Saturday morning

Some people think that skin whitening is just for beautification purposes, but this is not always the case as it is also a great means of maintaining skin health. And... Read more >

Donald Tusk, the head of the European People's Party and the former president of the European Council, says the coronavirus crisis could spell the end for the EU. He urges Germany to show more solidarity with weaker countries and hopes to prevent Hungary from becoming a dictatorship.

After nine years pursuing her claim against her employer, Michelle Alabaster walked away with an award of just £204.53.  However, the impact of the decisions of the ECJ, and now the Court of Appeal in the maternity pay case of Ala...

More revelations have been uncovered from the Government's coronavirus document dump, while new cases remain low as Cabinet prepares to decide when to move to alert level 2. Get all the important news and read the full stories in...

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As we have recently reported, a number of competition authorities and governments are in the process of assessing whether their competition enforcement tools are fit for the digital economy. In the UK, on 13 March 2019 a specially commissioned panel...

In the time of the coronavirus, churches across Hartford are learning to hold their congregations close over livestreams and ease growing levels of hunger, isolation and homelessness in their communities — and they’re doing it without the help of full collection plates on Sundays. Sixty-five percent of U.S. churches report giving is down since the pandemic began, according to an April survey from the National Association of Evangelicals, called the State of the Plate. About 1 in 10 respondents said giving was down at least 75%. Advertisement In Hartford, a number of congregations shared how they’re weathering loss of revenue even as need has increased dramatically due to the pandemic. As...

By Gabriela BaczynskaBRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU states should guarantee vouchers for travel cancelled during the coronavirus pandemic and start... ......

Germany and other member states...

There is no cyber-security threat looming on the horizon, the truth is that the storm is already here. An arms race, unseen, digital and all too little understood, is raging. The UK’s Head of Armed Forces, General Sir Nick Carter, recently sta...

A more equitable and fair society, able to conquer the effects of pandemics, starts with debt-free education and skills development

The post Young people need a bailout: Cancel student debt held by national banks appeared first on The Mail & Guardian.

Winnie Byanyima* is the Executive Director of UNAIDS

The post Coronavirus Proves Need for Free Healthcare for All– Now appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Kristalina Georgieva is the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The post A Global Crisis Like No Other Needs a Global Response Like No Other appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Most candidates won’t work, but it’s essential to be ready to mass-produce the one that does.

With footfall having dropped dramatically at Japan's live music venues, many are turning to crowdfunding. But whether this will help mid-sized spaces remains to be ...

A sea change in shopping habits amid the new coronavirus outbreak could impact marketing and distribution across the country for years to come.