Latest news with #carbonneutral
The Independent
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Italy OKs Vatican plan to turn Rome field into solar farm to meet Vatican City's electricity needs
Italy agreed Thursday to a Vatican plan to turn a 430-hectare (1,000-acre) field north of Rome, once the source of controversy between the two, into a vast solar farm that will generate enough electricity to meet the needs of Vatican City and turn it into the world's first carbon-neutral state. The Vatican foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, signed the agreement with Italy's ambassador to the Holy See, Francesco Di Nitto. The Italian parliament must approve the arrangement, since the territory enjoys extraterritorial status that must be extended. The Santa Maria Galeria site has long been the source of controversy because of electromagnetic waves emitted by Vatican Radio towers located there since the 1950s. The once-rural site some 35 kilometers (20 miles) north of Rome is dominated by two dozen short- and medium-wave radio antennae that transmit news from the Catholic Church in dozens of languages around the globe. Over the years as the area became more developed, residents began complaining of health problems, including instances of childhood leukemia which they blamed on the electromagnetic waves generated by the towers. The Vatican denied there was any causal link but cut back the transmissions. Pope Francis last year tasked the Vatican to study developing the area into a vast solar farm, hoping to put into practice his preaching about the need to transition away from fossil fuels and find clean, carbon-neutral energy sources. Pope Leo XIV visited the site in June and affirmed that he intended to see Francis' vision through. Leo has strongly taken up Francis' ecological mantle, recently using a new set of prayers and readings inspired by Pope Francis' environmental legacy. The agreement signed Thursday stipulates that the development of the site will preserve the agricultural use of the land and minimize the environmental impact on the territory, according to a Vatican statement. Vatican officials have estimated it will cost under 100 million euros to develop the solar farm, and that once approved by Italy, the contracts to do the work can be put up for bids. In the 1990s at the height of the controversy, residents sued Vatican Radio officials, claiming the emissions exceeded the Italian legal limit, but the court cleared the transmitter. In 2012, the Vatican announced it was cutting in half the hours of transmission from the site, not because of health concerns but because of cost-saving technological advances in internet broadcasting. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Associated Press
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Italy OKs Vatican plan to turn Rome field into solar farm to meet Vatican City's electricity needs
ROME (AP) — Italy agreed Thursday to a Vatican plan to turn a 430-hectare (1,000-acre) field north of Rome, once the source of controversy between the two, into a vast solar farm that will generate enough electricity to meet the needs of Vatican City and turn it into the world's first carbon-neutral state. The Vatican foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, signed the agreement with Italy's ambassador to the Holy See, Francesco Di Nitto. The Italian parliament must approve the arrangement, since the territory enjoys extraterritorial status that must be extended. The Santa Maria Galeria site has long been the source of controversy because of electromagnetic waves emitted by Vatican Radio towers located there since the 1950s. The once-rural site some 35 kilometers (20 miles) north of Rome is dominated by two dozen short- and medium-wave radio antennae that transmit news from the Catholic Church in dozens of languages around the globe. Over the years as the area became more developed, residents began complaining of health problems, including instances of childhood leukemia which they blamed on the electromagnetic waves generated by the towers. The Vatican denied there was any causal link but cut back the transmissions. Pope Francis last year tasked the Vatican to study developing the area into a vast solar farm, hoping to put into practice his preaching about the need to transition away from fossil fuels and find clean, carbon-neutral energy sources. Pope Leo XIV visited the site in June and affirmed that he intended to see Francis' vision through. Leo has strongly taken up Francis' ecological mantle, recently using a new set of prayers and readings inspired by Pope Francis' environmental legacy. The agreement signed Thursday stipulates that the development of the site will preserve the agricultural use of the land and minimize the environmental impact on the territory, according to a Vatican statement. Vatican officials have estimated it will cost under 100 million euros to develop the solar farm, and that once approved by Italy, the contracts to do the work can be put up for bids. In the 1990s at the height of the controversy, residents sued Vatican Radio officials, claiming the emissions exceeded the Italian legal limit, but the court cleared the transmitter. In 2012, the Vatican announced it was cutting in half the hours of transmission from the site, not because of health concerns but because of cost-saving technological advances in internet broadcasting. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nearly half of carbon goals behind schedule
Nearly half of Jersey's goals to become carbon neutral are behind schedule, according to a new report from the government. The island's Carbon Neutral Roadmap (CNR) was published in 2022 and set out 32 policy areas designed to help the island prepare for net zero, with phase 1 due to be completed by the end of 2025. With six months to go, 13 of Jersey's CNR goals are behind schedule or at risk, with one further target cancelled altogether. Environment Minister Deputy Steve Luce said things were moving "in the right direction" but "the pace of this change must accelerate if we are going to meet our goals within the agreed timeframe". 'Stark reminder' Luce said the report served as "a stark and important reminder that there is still a long way to go in tackling the climate emergency". He said "subsidies and incentives alone" would not be sufficient to keep the island on track to reach net zero emissions by 2050. "Decisive action such as restricting the importation of fossil fuel vehicles and heating systems" was needed, he added. More news stories for Jersey Listen to the latest news for Jersey The CNR goals measure progress on initiatives in areas such as transport, heating and emissions. The roadmap does not measure Jersey's progress on reducing carbon emissions themselves. Jersey is aiming to cut emissions by 68% compared to 1990 levels by 2030 and to net zero by 2050. But emissions had only fallen 48% by 2023 - putting the 2030 target at risk, the report said. Other delayed areas included home-heating incentives, carbon offsetting and updating by-laws. Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to More on this story More action needed to hit net zero by 2050 Net zero plans making good progress, minister says Jersey carbon neutral plans progressing well Related internet links Government of Jersey Carbon Neutral Roadmap progress report
BBC News
19 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Nearly half of Jersey's carbon goals behind schedule
Nearly half of Jersey's goals to become carbon neutral are behind schedule, according to a new report from the island's Carbon Neutral Roadmap (CNR) was published in 2022 and set out 32 policy areas designed to help the island prepare for net zero, with phase 1 due to be completed by the end of six months to go, 13 of Jersey's CNR goals are behind schedule or at risk, with one further target cancelled Minister Deputy Steve Luce said things were moving "in the right direction" but "the pace of this change must accelerate if we are going to meet our goals within the agreed timeframe". 'Stark reminder' Luce said the report served as "a stark and important reminder that there is still a long way to go in tackling the climate emergency".He said "subsidies and incentives alone" would not be sufficient to keep the island on track to reach net zero emissions by 2050."Decisive action such as restricting the importation of fossil fuel vehicles and heating systems" was needed, he added. The CNR goals measure progress on initiatives in areas such as transport, heating and roadmap does not measure Jersey's progress on reducing carbon emissions is aiming to cut emissions by 68% compared to 1990 levels by 2030 and to net zero by emissions had only fallen 48% by 2023 - putting the 2030 target at risk, the report delayed areas included home-heating incentives, carbon offsetting and updating by-laws.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Bristol not expected to meet its own 2030 net zero target
Bristol City Council is not predicted to meet its target for the city to be carbon neutral by 2030, despite making faster progress towards net zero than other areas of the goal was set when the authority became the first in the country to declare a Climate Emergency in November 2018.A report to the council's Environment and Sustainability Policy Committee said that emissions from the city were on track to be half what they were two decades emissions per head have been lower than similar UK cities for almost 20 years, and had continued to reduce faster than the average. The report said people in more affluent areas had a higher consumption of carbon, because of travel habits, heating, and buying more goods and in Hartcliffe and Withywood produced on average 36% fewer emissions than those in Redland, for air pollution in the city came from cars, vans and gas the report said that increasing the use of green electricity would be "the most significant driver" of cutting carbon between now and 2030. After declaring a Climate Emergency, the council also committed to cutting its own emissions to net zero by this year, another goal that would not be "direct emissions" included those from council-owned buildings and vehicles. which were forecast to have been reduced by 88% between 2016 and 2025."This is well ahead of any other major UK local authority", the report Martin Fodor, Chair of the Environment and Sustainability committee, said the city's efforts were "bearing fruit" towards carbon neutrality, which he described as "one of the most ambitious and important endeavours we've ever set out to achieve".But he added, "whilst we can allow ourselves a moment to celebrate the positive progress made to date, we cannot linger long if we're to meet the national target set in law."UK law sets a date of 2050 for the whole of the UK to be carbon neutral.
