Between cuts to solar incentives and rising global emissions, it hasn’t been the best of times for climate-related news in the UK recently. But here at 10:10 we don’t like to dwell on the negatives so, to spread some Christmas cheer (I know, I know, it’s only November but those adverts are getting to me), we’re bringing you some positive climate change news stories from across the globe!

A lighter footprint in China

China has pledged to completely phase out its use of incandescent light bulbs over the next five years. Following similar policies in the EU and Australia, the government has announced a three-step plan to get rid of the energy-sapping bulbs starting in October next year and set to end in 2016.

This really is big news. Last year China produced a whopping 3.85 billion incandescent light bulbs, one billion of which were sold domestically. It's likely that they'll still produce old-style bulbs for export, but the huge spike in demand for energy-saving models should drive down prices and speed up technological improvements all over the world.

This move will save 48 billion kilowatts hours of power per year

Xie Ji, the deputy director of the country’s environmental protection department, reckons that this move will save 48 billion kilowatts hours of power per year – that’s equivalent to 48 million tonnes of CO2.

The beginning of Australia’s clean energy future

Australia has passed a huge milestone by finally putting a price on carbon. The landmark decision, which follows more than 10 years of heated debate, prompted jubilant celebrations from Julia Gillard, the Australian Prime Minister who promised to clamp down on climate change when she came to power a year ago.

The new measures will see the country introduce a comprehensive carbon tax system from 2012 which will go a long way to stemming the flow of climate change in a country with the developed world’s highest (per capita) emissions.

This is a really exciting turn of events and it has truly global implications just as world leaders are preparing for the upcoming climate talks in Durban. Julia Gillard, we salute you!

Historic week for aviation in the United States

Now, we generally don’t wax lyrical about one of the most carbon-intensive industries in the world, but this week it deserves a bit of attention.  Last Monday saw the first ever commercial biofuel flight in the USA – a United Continental flight from Houston to Chicago. The world’s largest air carrier, piloting (ahem) a new program called ‘eco-skies’, used a cocktail of jet fuel (60%) and an algae based fuel (40%) from American renewable energy company Solazyme.

Not to be outdone, Alaska Airlines also flexed its green muscles on Wednesday by launching its own biofuel experiment.  Over the next few weeks they will fly 75 flights on a mixture of conventional fuel (80%) and a cooking-oil based biofuel (20%.) The people at Alaska Airlines say that using biofuel for these flights will have the same environmental impact as taking 26 cars off the road for a year.

So-called ‘first generation’ biofuels – mostly made from things like corn and soya – have come in for criticism for pushing up food prices and driving rainforest destruction, prompting a move towards the algae and waste oil-based fuels trialled last week.

It’s not earth-shattering news (this has already been tried  in Europe) and only time will tell if it evolves from a PR stunt into real change but this flurry of activity is certainly a big step in the right direction from the frequent flying nation.

BT breakthrough

BT seems to be getting serious about climate change. Their energy use currently makes up 0.7% of the national total, but a pair of major energy-saving projects promises to bring the total right down. They’re trialling an innovative new idea for their broadband systems that that would stop us wasting energy when we’re not surfing the web. With ‘Cool Broadband’ the broadband line would go to ‘sleep’ when not in use (it would still be able to receive phone calls), switching back on whenever we wanted to use it.

this will save £13m and cut 5% from their emissions

They have also announced that they are going to fit their buildings with over 22,000 smart meters to help manage their offices more efficiently, something they think will save £13m and cut 5% from their emissions. This goes hand in hand with their aim to source a quarter of their energy from renewables by 2016.

Solar powered pop-up school

Samsung has recently launched a new project that they hope could offer a solution to a major problem affecting rural communities in Africa. They showed off their first ‘Solar Powered Internet School’ in South Africa last month, unveiling a 12 foot shipping container that has been given a new lease of life as a mobile classroom.

The classroom can fit 21 students and is fully equipped with an electric board, internet-enabled laptops, cameras ( basically all the technological paraphernalia a classroom could ever dream of) and best of all: it’s solar powered. The panels installed on the roof generate 9 hours of electricity a day – more than enough to power all the fancy gadgets.

Samsung hope that these schools will help rural communities who struggle to find a stable supply of electricity for their classrooms. They plan to expand the initiative to other regions in Africa.

One more reason to take public transport…

Now we know that this doesn’t really qualify as game-changing international news but it’s such a nice story, and we do like spreading a bit of cheer, we’ve put it in anyway.

An undercover choir treated a carriage full of unsuspecting passengers to a rendition of Bill Wither’s ‘Lovely Day.’ As with all good flashmobs, it began when one unassuming passenger burst into song, prompting other clandestine singers to join in and before too long the carriage was alive with music.  The music then stopped and a young man dropped to his knees and proposed to his girlfriend.  She said yes, everyone started singing again and a Youtube sensation was born.

We can’t guarantee that this will happen every time you travel on public transport but we can assure you that it won’t happen in your car.