Germany and nine other countries agreed to advance the development of an electricity grid in the North Sea to focus on the growing number of offshore wind farms in the region. Together with the EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger the countries declared their cooperation in Brussels, as the Federal Economics Ministry announced in Berlin. At issue is the economic, technical and regulatory coordination.

On the margins of the Cancun climate conference we have talked to Andreas Kohn who consults companies on the issue of emissions trading. He attends the conference to stay up to date on the regulatory and financial issues the COP16 negotiations may entail. The green strategy consultant told GLOBAL IDEAS why a fixation with numbers isn't always the best thing when it comes to saving our climate. Focusing solely on keeping the rise of global temperatures below 2 degrees this century is misleading – if we forget what this actually means in terms of dangerous climate change, he said.  

Our friends @treehugger.com postet a pretty nice and green idea, even if the reason for it was not that nice. The rents in Beijing are very high, so designer Daihai Fei built a wonderful little green house wich we think you should know as well.

 

The house has a bamboo frame, covered with various insulating materials, on top is a layer of stitched bags. These bags are filled with sawdust and grass seeds, that gives the house a grassgreen look and, not to forget, a good protection-system. Inside is everything you need, a bed, a sink & a lamp wich is powered by a small solar panel on top of the house.

The grass is growing, slow, but it does.

The solar panel is nicely integrated into the roof. Daihai Fei built the whole thing for only 6,400 yuan ($960).

(ke)

We talked to Keith Porter who is a member of the official delegation from Jamaica at the Cancun climate talks. A forester in his home country, he is interested in conservation and reforestation issues and their relevance for our climate. In Cancun his special focus is on the problems that climate change poses particularly for small island states like his home country Jamaica.

International climate activists have picked December 7th as a day of action for climate justice. Groups like Via Campesina, Mobilization for Climate Justice and Grassroots Global Justice Alliance are asking people around the world to show solidarity by confronting climate change and mobilizing in their own way–demonstrations, festivals, classes, etc. The motto is "1000 Cancuns" for climate justice. Are you planning to take part? Tell us how!