The Global Pulse Blog!

An explosive news story indeed:

Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% - far more than previously estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian.

The damning unpublished assessment is based on the most detailed analysis of the crisis so far, carried out by an internationally-respected economist at global financial body.

The figure emphatically contradicts the US government’s claims that plant-derived fuels contribute less than 3% to food-price rises. It will add to pressure on governments in Washington and across Europe, which have turned to plant-derived fuels to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and reduce their dependence on imported oil.

With rising food prices pushing more than 100 million people worldwide below the poverty line, and with food riots breaking all over the world, the leaders of the G8 industrialised countries better realize the gravity of the situation, and work towards real solutions.

From a couple of days ago, though definitely worth it. From the Guardian:

One in four British homes could be fitted with solar heating equipment and 3,500 wind turbines could be erected across Britain within 12 years as part of a green energy revolution to be proposed by the government next week.

The long-awaited renewable energy strategy, a copy of which has been seen by the Guardian, will say Britain needs to make a £100bn dash to build up its clean power supply if it is to reach its EU-imposed target of producing 15% of the country’s energy from renewable sources by 2020.

The UK could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 20% and reduce its dependency on oil by 7% within 12 years if it conducts the massive overhaul of energy production and consumption outlined in the strategy document, according to the government.

So far, so good. The E.U. has taken the lead on responding to climate change - what will it take for other countries to do the same?

The proposals include:

- New powers to force people to improve the energy efficiency of their homes when they renovate them;
- A 30-fold increase in offshore wind power generation;
- New loans, grants and incentives for businesses and households;
- An area the size of Essex to be planted with trees and other crops to produce biomass energy;
- Forcing people to replace inefficient appliances such as oil-fired boilers.

[…] In what would be the most ambitious change of energy policy in 50 years, the government says 30-35% of all electricity generated in the UK will have to come from renewable sources to meet the 15% renewable energy target set by Europe to try to stem the effects of climate change.