AP Exclusive: Aid from top donors drops even as need soars JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A new snapshot of the frantic global response to the coronavirus pandemic shows some of the world’s largest government donors of humanitarian aid are buckling under the strain:... AP NEWS

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A new snapshot of the frantic global response to the coronavirus pandemic shows some of the world’s largest government donors of humanitarian aid are buckling under the strain: Funding commitments, for the virus and otherwise, have dropped by a third from the same period last year.

CLICK HERE - THE STATE OF BIODIVERSITY IN THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY - A Review of Progress Towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets (120 page .PDF report)

caricom.org - October 30, 2018

The publication provides key information given the relative lack of baseline data and related time-bound objectively quantifiable targets for the sub-region, and is of particular value given the dependence on natural resources for livelihoods and well-being, and thus exposure to disruption and environmental disasters, of communities in many SIDS and developing countries in the region. The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and UN Environment stand behind the CARICOM Secretariat and its partners in the regional ACP MEA initiative, and we hope that this assessment provides a basis for actions to protect biodiversity as it underpins the sustainable development of the Caribbean region.

Cristiana Pa ca Palmer, PhD – Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity

Gay, Destine & Rogers, Tom & Shirley, Rebekah, 2018. "Small island developing states and their suitability for electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid services," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 69-78.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2018.09.006

sciencedirect.com - 19 September 2018

Abstract

Small Island Developing States (SIDS), while at the forefront of international climate action, face a number of development challenges linked to their historic, geographic and socio-economic characteristics. Small populations and limited energy demand cap the penetration of renewable energy technologies. Electric vehicles (EVs) offer solutions for electricity storage, grid services, reduced fuel imports, and reduced pollution with associated health benefits. This paper provides a comprehensive review of literature on island applications of electric vehicles, making the case for SIDS as an area of opportunity for further exploration, and presenting the southern Caribbean island of Barbados as a case study.

CLICK HERE - Small island developing states and their suitability for electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid services

CREDIT: U.N. and BNEF

CLICK HERE - REPORT - United Nations and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) - GLOBAL TRENDS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY INVESTMENT 2017 (90 page .PDF report)

The world built more renewables for far less money last year, report UN and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

thinkprogress.org - by Joe Romm - April 6, 2017

Stunning drops in the cost of wind and solar energy have turned the global power market upside down . . .

 . . . Unsubsidized renewables have become the cheapest source of new power — by far — in more and more countries, according to a new report from the United Nations and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

In just one year, the cost of solar generation worldwide dropped on average 17 percent, the report found. The average costs for onshore wind dropped 18 percent last year, while those for offshore wind fell a whopping 28 percent.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Patrick Schnell, a participant in the Brooklyn Microgrid, with solar panels on his roof in Gowanus.
Credit Kevin Hagen for The New York Times

nytimes.com - by Diane Cardwell - March 13, 2017

 . . . In a promising experiment in an affluent swath of the borough, dozens of solar-panel arrays spread across rowhouse rooftops are wired into a growing network. Called the Brooklyn Microgrid, the project is signing up residents and businesses to a virtual trading platform that will allow solar-energy producers to sell excess-electricity credits from their systems to buyers in the group, who may live as close as next door.

The project is still in its early stages — it has just 50 participants thus far — but its implications could be far reaching.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

coastalresilience.org

Nature holds some of the world’s best and most practical solutions to climate change, solutions that keep nature and people healthy, safe, and secure.

The goal of this project is to work alongside the governments and communities of small island states to enhance their resilience to climate change by protecting, restoring, and managing marine and coastal ecosystems and strengthening local capacity for adaptation.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Image credit: Flickr user 10 10

utilitydive.com - by Herman K. Trabish - March 14, 2017

Beyond simply contracting for solar, utilities are increasingly investing in the sector to ‘position themselves to be the utility of the future'

Solar energy is becoming a generation resource so ubiquitous that utilities are looking beyond simply contracting for new capacity and are increasingly moving into the sector themselves.

Solar added a record-breaking 14,762 MW of capacity in 2016, nearly doubling its 2015 growth. The resource added 39% of all new U.S. generation capacity in the year, making it the leader among all resources for the first time.

Growth was dominated by utility investment in 2016, a trend that’s expected to continue, according to a new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Grenada's Pledged Greenhouse Gas Reductions to UNFCCC
http://www4.unfccc.int/Submissions/INDC/Published%20Documents/Grenada/1/Grenada%20INDC.pdf

Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) as Communicated by Parties
http://resiliencesystem.org/intended-nationally-determined-contributions-indcs-communicated-parties