Carbon prices to increase

The price of EU carbon emissions futures rose nearly 3% to a three-week high of EUR13.96 (R154) as banks stepped up purchasing activity ahead of the Copenhagen climate change summit, reports Computing.co.uk.

The price of UN-approved Certified Emissions Reduction offset credits also rose 2.77% to EUR12.97 (R143) a tonne.

The banks involved appear to be taking a punt on a deal being reached in Copenhagen, a scenario that is expected to drive up the price of carbon allowances.

An £80 million (R979 million) green data centre under construction in east London will use 9MW of surplus heat created by racks of servers to power residential and business properties in the surrounding area, states BusinessGreen.

The 11-storey facility is being built by data centre specialist Telehouse West and is due to open in March next year. As well as capturing waste heat for re-use, the site will also feature a solar array designed to provide the facility with 6 000kWh of power a year.

The decision to install the waste heat system was in part driven by strict regulations from the Greater London Authority which stipulates that all new buildings of more than 1 000 square metres must generate 20% of their electricity from renewables.

Coca-Cola will eliminate a major greenhouse gas in its new vending machines and coolers, raising the bar for climate-friendly refrigeration in the food and beverage industry, says CNET News.

Coke's chief executive, Muhtar Kent, says the company, which sells everything from soda and juice drinks to water, will replace hydrofluorocarbon, also known as HFC, in its new vending machines and coolers by 2015.

While Coke's 10 million vending machines, coolers and other refrigeration equipment around the world keep its drinks chilled, they also are the biggest contributor to the company's carbon footprint.