Catherine King: What's Being Done?

Although it can seem that things move slowly at the COP, and that the slow gears of bureaucracy never seem to move, there are some projects going on around the world that make things seem a little better. There are countries that have implemented policies to help deal with emissions, and research being done into carbon sequestration and renewable energy possibilities.

Groups such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (which includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the Sultanate of Oman), the UNDP (United Nations Development Program), and the United States Department of Energy have been working towards renewable energy possibilities

·         In Saudi Arabia, there is currently a new desalination plant that is to be powered completely by solar power.

·         In Indonesia, sustainable microhydro power plants are being installed to power rural areas, rather than power from fossil fuels.

·         In the US, the DOE has been working on pilot projects for CO2 sequestration where CO2 is being injected underground and monitored.

So even though it can sometimes be discouraging to see all the disagreements about climate change and the reluctance to make a change, there is movement and momentum is gaining. There is a lot of research going into sustainable energy, carbon sequestration, and the implementation of these technologies.

More information can be found:

http://kacstwatertech.org/eng/presentatoins/Day1/Session_1_1/Turki.pdf

http://www.undp.or.id/programme/environment/

http://energy.gov/fe/science-innovation/carbon-capture-and-storage-research

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