Mohali
(India), 9 April 2010 - The Punjab Cricket
Association (PCA) will host cricket's first-ever
carbon neutral match on 9 April at the Mohali
Stadium in Punjab, India.
The green game will
be organized by the Indian Premier League
(IPL) as part of the 'Batting for the Environment'
initiative, which was launched in March
in partnership with the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP).
Punjab Cricket Association
has ensured that the carbon footprint from
the game is kept as low as possible by offsetting
an estimated 580 tonnes of match-related
CO2 emissions. Approximately US$10,150 will
go towards supporting an internationally
recognized residual biomass project in Rajasthan,
India.
The power generation
project will not only reduce emissions of
CO2, SO2 and soot, it will also contribute
to sustainable development by generating
income for regional farmers selling agricultural
residues.
Speaking at a press conference
on Friday, Kings II Punjab Captain Mr. Kumar
Sangakkara said: "I am proud to be
a part of this exciting environmental initiative,
and I look forward to participating in many
more climate neutral cricket matches in
the future."
Mr I.S. Bindra, the
Head of the Punjab Cricket Association,
said: "The PCA is proud to be hosting
and funding the first-ever climate neutral
cricket Game, and we are delighted to be
part of this new green era for the great
game of cricket."
Mr. Viswajeet Khanna,
the Secretary, Environment, Government of
Punjab and Vice President of the Punjab
Cricket Association, said: "We welcome
this partnership with UNEP and we look forward
to helping raise green awareness among millions
of cricket fans."
Talking about the initiative,
IPL Chairman Lalit Modi said: "The
IPL is conscious of its environmental obligations.
Due to this, we are working with the UN
Environment Programme in efforts to green
the IPL and encourage our fans, franchises
and partners to take care of our planet."
In calculating the amount
of emissions that will be generated from
the match, UNEP and the PCA have taken into
account the travel, accommodation and food
consumption of all the players, officials
as well as local fans travelling to the
venue.
Other simple measures
put in place to minimize waste and emissions
from the game include the prominent distribution
of waste bins throughout the stadium and
the recycling of all waste water.
The Mohali match, which
will see the Kings XI Punjab play the Mumbai
Indians, will be the first of five climate-neutral
games being played across India under the
'Batting for the Environment' initiative
which pledges to increase environmental
awareness among millions of cricket fans
and the wider public.
As part of the 'Batting
for the Environment' initiative, 'Green
Tips' are flashing across giant screens
in stadiums and are being announced by commentators
daily during the course of the 45-day tournament,
advising cricketers and fans on how to play
a part in limiting greenhouse gas emissions
and caring for the environment.
Notes to Editors:
The Indian Premier League
(IPL) launched the 'Batting for the Environment'
initiative in March 2010 in partnership
with UNEP.
UNEP is assisting the
IPL and looking at ways to save energy,
water and lessen waste from the matches.
This means looking at a variety of elements
including stadium lights, transport and
refreshments.
UNEP is advising the
IPL on calculating its greenhouse gas emissions,
and then looking at how the IPL can reduce
them. The IPL's vision is to go 'climate
neutral', meaning that cricket matches will
have a neutral effect on the climate. Unavoidable
greenhouse gas emissions will be compensated
by investment in climate protection projects.
The IPL will also ensure
that any new cricket stadiums in India are
built to sustainable standards.
Team captains are taking
a pledge to reduce their teams' environmental
impact - a critical act during 2010, which
has been declared the UN International Year
of Biodiversity.
All players, sponsors
and partners will be more mindful of their
footprint.
And to inspire everyone
associated with the IPL to take positive
environmental action, cricket legend Sachin
Tendulkar has been appointed a UNEP Goodwill
Ambassador.
http://www.unep.org/sport_env/IPL.asp
or http://www.iplt20.com/unep.php
+ More
Climate scientist Hansen
wins $100,000 prize
OSLO
Wed Apr 7, 2010 10:26am EDT
James Hansen, director of NASA Goddard Institute
for Space Studies, smiles before the Climate
Change Copenhagen Congress March 11, 2009.
OSLO (Reuters) - U.S. climate scientist
James Hansen won a $100,000 environmental
prize Wednesday for decades of work trying
to alert politicians to what he called an
unsolved emergency of global warming.
Hansen, born in 1941,
will visit Oslo in June to collect the Sophie
Prize, set up in 1997 by Norwegian Jostein
Gaarder, the author of the 1991 best-selling
novel and teenagers' guide to philosophy
"Sophie's World."
"Hansen has played
a key role for the development of our understanding
of human-induced climate change," the
prize citation said.
Hansen, director of
the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
since 1981, testified to the U.S. Congress
as long ago as 1988 about the risks of global
warming from human activities led by the
burning of fossil fuels.
"We really have
an emergency," Hansen said in a video
link with the prize panel in Oslo about
feared climate changes such as a thaw of
ice sheets on Greenland or Antarctica or
a loss of species of animals and plants
in a warming world.
"The United States
is not taking a path which is going to solve
the problem," he said, adding that
other nations were also doing too little.
Legislation to cap U.S. greenhouse gas emissions
is stalled in the Senate.
A Copenhagen Accord
agreed at a U.N. climate summit in December
fell short of many nations' hopes by setting
a non-binding goal of limiting warming to
below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit),
without spelling out how.
Hansen said that world
temperatures were on a rising trend despite
what he called a "well orchestrated
campaign" in the past year to discredit
scientific findings about global warming.
He did not say who he reckoned was behind
the campaign.
Sceptics have cast doubt
on the science after the U.N. panel of climate
experts corrected an error in a 2007 report
that exaggerated the thaw of Himalayan glaciers
while e-mails hacked from a British university
showed some climate experts were dismissive
of alternative views.
Hansen said his granddaughter
was called Sophie, a name directly inspired
by Gaarder's book.
After years focused
on science, he said he started speaking
out more about risks of global warming in
2004, reckoning his grandchildren would
not forgive him if he stayed silent. His
latest book is called "Storms of My
Grandchildren."
For Reuters latest environment
blogs, click on: blogs.reuters.com/environment/
