2Sustain

The French government has launched a major renewable energy investment program targeting emerging clean energy technologies, such as solar, marine and geothermal energy, carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects and advanced biofuel development.

The new program will offer €450m ($572m) in subsidies and a further €900m in low-interest loans to cutting-edge technology projects. About €190m ($241m) will be invested before the end of the year 2010, with €290m set aside over the next 4 years up to 2014. All told, the program, called Démonstrateurs et plates-formes technologiques en énergies renouvelables et décarbonées et chimie verte, will provide €1.35bn ($1.7bn) of financial support to the renewable energy sector over the next four years.

According to analysts, this move may signal a shift in strategies for France, which has traditionally favored more established alternative energy technologies, such as nuclear and wind. (more…)

The first “green shoots” signaling what could become an energy technology revolution are now visible across the globe, according to the new study, Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP) 2010,  recently released by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The IEA report says that these early signs of low-carbon future include: (more…)

Building on the success of the program it introduced in the US last fall, UPS has expanded carbon neutral shipping to 35 countries and territories across Europe, Asia and the Americas.

That means, starting this week, millions more UPS customers now have the option of paying a small fee to calculate and offset the carbon emissions associated with their shipments. (In the United States, the small fee ranges from $0.05 for a ground package and $0.20 for an air package to $0.75 for an international package. Outside the United States, UPS says the small flat fee will vary slightly by country depending on the type of service selected and the origin and destination of the shipment.) (more…)

Believe it or not, it has already been ten years since Sun Microsystems launched “Open Work,” a platform that allows Sun employees to work from almost any location –- provided that they can access the internet.

(more…)