More than a hundred countries now support a French proposal to create a “World Environment Organization” at the upcoming 20th anniversary conference of the Rio Summit, France’s ecology minister said, quoted by Agence France Presse.

Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, French Environment Minister

“More than 100 countries have now associated themselves with the proposal,” Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet said at a conference in Paris aimed at stimulating ideas for June 20-22 global gathering.

The idea is to beef up the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which critics say lacks clout and resources for dealing with the world’s worsening environmental crisis.

Kosciusko-Morizet said the new agency was a key to the success of the June 20-22 conference, designed to assess the 20 years that have passed since the 1992 Rio Summit that nailed the environment to the political agenda.

It should be part of a rethink of the world’s economy, in which green issues and social questions should be placed alongside the search for profit.

“The new capitalism which emerges from the crisis has to be environmental, or it won’t be new,” she said.

The Paris conference gathered several hundred representatives from national and local government, think tanks and civil society with the declared aim of gingering up a programme, called “draft zero,” that is being hammered out for Rio.

Prispa (Romania) and Odoo (Hungary) are the Eastern European representatives at the Solar Decathlon, green building exhibition in Madrid, Spain, this year.

Prispa, Romania

The Romanian project has been rather linguistically inspired. In Romanian, “the PRISPA in front of your house is like a magic strip, an intermediary space between the interior and the exterior, which protects you from wind, from very brutal temperature changes, from sun that’s too strong, and it manages to do all this by design. Being such a control element, filtering the light and blocking or alleviating temperature alterations, it guarantees some of the energy efficiency.” So reads the webbie of the Romanian project, mainly lead by the Architecture School “Ion Mincu” in Bucharest.

Odooproject is also inspired by the local Magyar folk, however it plays joyfully with the in-living and the outside. “Our plans interpret the house-court relationship, which comes from the traditional Hungarian folk architecture. Because of the climatic conditions a closed building was needed, so “out” and “in” were sharply separated from each other. The house is a project of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics.

Odoo, Hungary

At the beginning of September 2012, the houses will be assembled at the Casa de Campo in Madrid, will be open to the public some days later, while they compete on the ten contests of the competition. After kick-off, the European Solar Decathlon will rank and evaluate the houses according to:

1. Architecture
2. Engineering & Construction
3. Energy Efficiency
4. Electrical Energy Balance
5. Comfort Conditions
6. House Functioning
7. Communication and Social Awareness
8. Industrialization & Market Viability
9. Innovation
10. Sustainability

The first international edition of the Solar Decathlon was held in 2002 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. A large number of visitors came to see the solar houses, participate in educational workshops and discover the potential of renewable energies. It continued in 2005, 2007, 2009, its popularity constantly raising. In 2010, the city of Madrid organized the first edition of Solar Decathlon Europe (SDE). This first experience was a success and called for more. The city of Madrid won the organization of SDE 2012. France was chosen for the next European event in 2014. Furthermore, US Department of Energy announced recently a new partnership with China, who will have its own event in 2013.

SDE 2012 is organized by the Secretary of State for Housing and Urban Development at the Spanish Ministry of Public Works in collaboration with Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and the support of the US Department of Energy. In addition, SDE counts with the collaboration of the Madrid City Council and Spanish Energy Saving Energy Agency IDAE, and the sponsorship of Saint-Gobain (main sponsor), Schneider Electric, Rockwool, Kömmerling and FCC.

2Celsius and Earth Day Network have covered past editions of the solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C. Enjoy some photos taken at the editions of 2008 and 2009 of the SD. (Pictures belong to 2C Photography under Creative Commons; please reference when copy)

The secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has launched a new online tool that showcases how businesses and communities can adapt to the inevitable effects of climate change. The new Adaptation Private Sector Initiative database on the web site features climate change adaptation activities pioneered by leading private companies, reads an UNFCCC press release.

Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Levi’s, Nestle and Starbucks are among a slew of large multinational companies who are sharing details of successful, business-friendly practices via the database, alongside a host of other household names. The database contains details of activities both on how companies can make profits or savings, or prevent losses through adaptation-related activities.

“By showcasing private sector adaptation success stories, we intend to help both communities and businesses become more climate-resilient and to put the benefits and business sense of adaptation
firmly on the agenda of the private sector. Climate risks which affect communities around the world are always also business risks,” UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos.

In 2011, ninety percent of the recorded natural catastrophes were weather-related. According to the UNís top climate change official, climate disasters such as extensive drought in Africa or massive
floods in South East Asia can have enormous impacts on the operation of any local or global business and consequently on its revenue stream, and both businesses and governments at all levels need to prepare.

There are currently around 100 examples of adaptation actions listed in the UNFCCC Private Sector Initiative database, which are both practical and in many cases scalable. The activities are undertaken either alone or in partnership with other stakeholders, from a wide range of regions and sectors, and also cover activities such as the development of climate friendly goods and services and
climate proofing the supply chains of companies. Examples of best practices include efforts to make drinking water clean and safe in developing countries and efforts to improve the yield of coffee beans in regions that are particularly vulnerable to climate change.

“Governments can take heart from and be inspired by these private-sector initiatives. We have seen good decisions on adaptation emerging from the recent UN Climate Change Conference in Durban
last year, including a decision to launch an Adaptation Framework and a Committee which will provide high-level guidance on adaptation action, as well as a new Technology Mechanism, which will boost cooperation on adaptation technologies,” the UNís top climate official Ms. Figueres said.

“At the same time, the initiatives detailed in the database both show how the private sector can secure early advantages by adapting without waiting for absolute policy certainty at the international
level, and how governments and the private sector can work together to respond to climate change now. Public-private partnerships and cooperation with a wide range of stakeholders is becoming increasingly important to ensure successful implementation,” she added.

In addition to the new database, the UNFCCC secretariatís Momentum for Change Initiative provides a platform to showcase successful public-private partnership at all levels that have led to real
benefits for both people and the climate.

See: <http://unfccc.int/secretariat/momentum_for_change/items/6214.php>