Rio+20

Volkswagon, Siemens and Deutsche Bank join rallying call at Rio+20 - The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has issued a call for greater collaboration between business and governments in order to maximize the impact of the Rio+20 summit. (John Parnell, RTCC)

Governments Need to Act in Rio for a Sustainable Energy Future - Friday 15 June is Global Wind Day, when thousands will experience the power of wind energy at more than 200 events in at least 40 countries around the world. (Windfair.net)

Why The Rio Earth Summit Matters More Than Ever - From June 13 – 22, an estimated 50-to-100,000 people will be present for the United Nations Conference on Sustainability and Development in Rio de Janeiro, at RioCentro, 20 years after the first Rio Summit in 1992 (hence the name, Rio+20). (Michael Charles Tobias, Forbes)

Getting Down to Business in Rio - For governments in the West, this has been a common refrain of the financial and economic firefighting over the past four years. (Nader Mousavizadeh and Georg Kell, The New York Times)

Scientists urge Rio moves on population and consumption- More than 100 science academies around the world have called on world leaders to take action on population and consumption at the Rio+20 summit. They say past failures on these issues threaten the natural world and prospects for future generations. (Richard Black, BBC)

Road to Rio: Improving energy use key challenge for world’s food systems - Agriculture’s heavy dependence on fossil fuels is undermining the sector’s ability to feed the world, perpetuating poverty and undermining efforts to build a more sustainable world economy, FAO said today. (Odisha Diary)

Renewable energy

The Zayed Future Energy Prize invites submissions for the 2013 award - The Zayed Future Energy Prize is inviting submissions for the 2013 award before the deadline of July 16, 2012, for an opportunity to be awarded with part of a US$4 million fund. (News Blaze)

Renewable energy: Green electricity sector will grow faster when it gets head of wind - High quality global journalism requires investment. At first glance, Poland’s renewable energy sector appears to be doing quite well, and the government’s target of producing 10.4 per cent of the country’s final energy consumption from renewable energy by 2012 has already been exceeded. (Adam Easton, Financial Times)

U.S. Solar Industry Booming Despite China Trade War - The solar industry may be in turmoil, what with the U.S.-China photovoltaic trade war and a growing roster of companies tipping into bankruptcy, but business continues to boom, according to a report released Wednesday. (Todd Woody, Forbes)

Sustainable energy policy

U.S.-India Bilateral Cooperation on Energy and Climate Change - Recalling the 2009 U.S.-India MOU on clean energy, energy efficiency, energy security, and climate change, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Minister of External Affairs S.M. Krishna reaffirmed their countries’ strong commitment to work collaboratively in bilateral and multilateral fora to help ensure mutual energy security, combat global climate change and support the development of low-carbon economies that will create opportunities and fuel job growth in both countries. (Press Release, US Department of State)
UN Urges Africa to Create Green Economy - The United Nations said African countries can avoid the mistakes of early-industrialized countries by growing their societies in an environmentally sound way. (Lisa Schlein, Voice of America)

EU agrees energy savings text, still needs to sign it - European Union negotiators agreed early on Thursday the text of a law designed to make governments and utilities improve energy efficiency and lower the bloc's fuel bills. (Reuters)

Energy efficiency

Deputy Prime Minister Launches ‘Observatoire de l’Energie' - The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Dr Rashid Beebeejaun, proceeded this morning to the official launch of the  ‘Observatoire de l’Energie’ at the seat of the Mauritius Institute of Training and Development House in Phoenix. (Press Release, Government of Mauritius)

Crown Estate study says wind costs could drop by a third – The costs of offshore wind farms could be cut by almost a third by the end of the decade, according to a new study. A report by the Crown Estate said measures such as building bigger turbines and improving design could reduce costs by 30%. (BBC)

Corporate energy conservation effort adds participants - Starbucks and Staples plan today to join the growing ranks of a voluntary Obama administration program to slash energy use at least 20% by 2020. The companies will post their annual power usage and details on their conservation projects on a U.S. Department of Energy website, aimed at becoming a "playbook" for others to follow. (Wendy Koch, USA Today)

Energy access

Africa: Improving Energy Use Key Challenge for World's Food Systems - Agriculture's heavy dependence on fossil fuels is undermining the sector's ability to feed the world, perpetuating poverty and undermining efforts to build a more sustainable world economy, FAO said today. (African Seer)

Welspun Energy to invest $1 billion in wind energy projects - Welspun Energy has decided to develop 1.7 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy with investments exceeding $1 billion (Rs 5675 crore) in the state of Karnataka. (Piyush Pandey, Times of India)

Players bet big on solar water heater business - With India facing electricity shortage coupled with the ministry of new and renewable energy promoting the use of solar energy devices with a 30% subsidy on solar products, water heater companies like Racold Thermo expect solar water heaters to become big growth drivers over the next few years. (Aparna Ramalingam, Times of India)