Michael Wood's list

The U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, Michael Wood, released in 2007 a comprehensive list of Swedish alternative-energy companies interested in either American partners or investors. The list has now expanded to at least 48 companies. What makes the list and Michael Woods important, for that matter, is that they provide Swedish cleantech companies an opportunity to get funding from the US. After all, the Swedish people have the ideas but the main capital funding is found in the US. The Minister of Enterprise of Sweden, Maud Olofsson, said that:

'The Ambassador has meant incredibly much for Swedish-American relations. He has also shown a genuine commitment to green technology and renewable energy"

Indeed, has this only led to an increase of confidence for the new President Barack Obama, which has already shown his eagerness to fight for the environent. One need only look at the amount of money that has been set a side for renewable energy sources in the new Stimulus Package. Actually, "$70 billion in tax and spending provisions is set aside for energy-related programs" (US news.com)

Therefore, the Swedish energy companies could hope for some futur investment. Some companies has already been chosen for further co-operation, e.g., Chemrec in Pitea.

A list of the current chosen companies are:
Ageratec AB, Biodiesel processors, Norrköping
Bioprocess Control AB, Biogas production optimizer, Lund
Catator AB, Catalytic cleantech, Lund
Chematur Engineering AB, Bioethanol production technology, Karlskoga
Chemrec AB, Black liquor gasification, Stockholm/Piteå
ChromoGenics Sweden AB, Smart windows, Uppsala
ClimateWell AB, Solar cooling system, Hägersten
Compower AB, Energy efficient boilers, Lund
Cortus AB/Woodroll, Biomass gasification, Sollentuna
EarthSun Technology AB, Solar thermal energy systems, Finspång
EcoHeater AB, Energy efficient engine heater, Luleå
Ecoil AB, 2nd generation biofuel technology, Kungsör
Econova AB, Waste to energy solutions, Åby
Effpower AB, Bipolar batteries for HEVs, Hisings Backa
Electric Line AB, Electrical vehicle propulsion system, Uppsala
Exergy Engineering & Consulting AB, Biomass dryer technologies, Göteborg
Första Närvärmeverket AB, Sustainable energy solutions, Solna
HB Transfer Stockholm, Energy efficient heat exchanger, Sollentuna
Hotab Gruppen, Combustion plants for solid Biofuels, Halmstad
Karlskoga Biofuels AB, Efficient biogas production method, Karlskoga
Kockums AB, Concentrated solar power, Malmö
Lignoboost AB, Lignin-to-biofuel technology, Stockholm
Läckeby Water Group, Cleantech technology, Lund
Midsummer AB, Thin-film solar cells, Järfälla
Morphic Technologies AB, Renewable energy systems, Karlskoga
Neova AB, Biofuel plant technology, Jönköping
NIBE Heating AB, Heat pumps, Markaryd
Nilar International AB, Membrane battery technology, Täby
Norstel AB, Silicon carbides for HEVs, Norrköping
Opcon AB, Energy efficiency systems, Åmål
Parans Solar Lighting AB, Fiber optic solar lighting, Göteborg
Picoterm AB, Thermoacoustic engine technology, Kista
REAC Fuel AB, High efficiency biofuel technology, Lund
Rehact AB, Energy efficient ventilation, Enskede
Scandinavian Biogas Fuels AB, Biogas production method, Uppsala
Seabased AB, Wave power solutions, Uppsala
SEEC AB, Energy storage systems, Sollentuna
SEKAB, Bioethanol, cellulosic ethanol, Örnsköldsvik
SkyCAB AB, Rapid transit systems, Stockholm
Stridberg Powertrain AB, Hybrid systems for vehicles, Bandhagen
Svensk Rökgasenergi AB, Flue gas condensation, Stockholm
Swedish Biofuels AB, 2nd generation biofuels, Stockholm
Swedish Biogas International AB, Biogas process and production solutions, Linköping
Swedish Vertical Wind AB, Wind turbines, Uppsala
TD Light Sweden AB, Low energy lighting, Nyköping
TranSic AB, Bipolar power transistors, Kista
Xylophane AB, Biobased packaging solutions, Göteborg
ÄFAB, Bioenergy consultant, Lidköping


Michael Wood was the US ambassador to Sweden from 2006-2009 (Jan 20).

Understanding the Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions .These amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012. The major distinction between the Protocol and the Convention is that while the Convention encouraged industrialised countries to stabilize GHG emissions, the Protocol commits them to do so. Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.”

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005. 184 Parties of the Convention have ratified its Protocol to date. The detailed rules for the implementation of the Protocol were adopted at COP 7 in Marrakesh in 2001, and are called the “Marrakesh Accords.”

The Kyoto mechanisms

Under the Treaty, countries must meet their targets primarily through national measures. However, the Kyoto Protocol offers them an additional means of meeting their targets by way of three market-based mechanisms.

The Kyoto mechanisms are:

• Emissions trading – known as “the carbon market"
• Clean development mechanism (CDM)
• Joint implementation (JI).

The mechanisms help stimulate green investment and help Parties meet their emission targets in a cost-effective way.

Monitoring emission targets

Under the Protocol, countries’actual emissions have to be monitored and precise records have to be kept of the trades carried out.

Registry systems track and record transactions by Parties under the mechanisms. The UN Climate Change Secretariat, based in Bonn, Germany, keeps an international transaction log to verify that transactions are consistent with the rules of the Protocol.

Reporting is done by Parties by way of submitting annual emission inventories and national reports under the Protocol at regular intervals.

A compliance system ensures that Parties are meeting their commitments and helps them to meet their commitments if they have problems doing so.

Adaptation
The Kyoto Protocol, like the Convention, is also designed to assist countries in adapting to the adverse effects of climate change. It facilitates the development and deployment of techniques that can help increase resilience to the impacts of climate change.

The Adaptation Fund was established to finance adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The Fund is financed mainly with a share of proceeds from CDM project activities.

The road ahead

The Kyoto Protocol is generally seen as an important first step towards a truly global emission reduction regime that will stabilize GHG emissions, and provides the essential architecture for any future international agreement on climate change.

By the end of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012, a new international framework needs to have been negotiated and ratified that can deliver the stringent emission reductions the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has clearly indicated are needed.

Source: http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php