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"Water is fundamental to human life and survival-our most fundamental instinct. Because of the forecasted challenges around sourcing adequate quantities of quality water, some feel future wars will be fought over water and not oil. Other challenges are related to the increasing population concentrations and climate-related weather events. This article considers water-related challenges arising out of urbanization and looks at how policies and technology can help make transition to more sustainable use of water work. "

"That's according to energy policy group REN21's just-released Renewables 2015 Global Status Report, which attributes this stabilization to "increased penetration of renewable energy and to improvements in energy efficiency.""

"The battery energy storage system (BESS) market is poised to enter a period of dynamic growth on a global level. In the markets for utility-scale grid-connected solutions, commercialisation will begin to accelerate after 2017 with the subsequent years bringing huge opportunities for companies that have the technological capabilities to compete. Rapid growth in variable renewable energy generation and new regulatory policies governing performance criteria for their interconnection with the grid are driving the demand for grid-modernisation, with BESS being a key enabler of growth due to its flexibility and versatility. The period of study is 2014 to 2024."

"Engaging with government: finding new ways to communicate and collaborate - Strategies to counter regulatory uncertainty include working to build better government relationships, becoming more vocal in both industry association and through social media, measuring social impact, helping to set the policy agenda, and better leveraging mobile technologies."

Unless there is a shift in world energy policies, global energy demand is set to accelerate, putting increasing strain on the world economy and the environment.

This main report is intended for government policy makers and organisations considering installing small wind turbines at their sites, but will also interest other readers.

The way electric power is generated and distributed will change substantially over the next two decades. Power will be democratized, as small-scale production at the individual and community level moves from niche to normal. The resulting "electron-democracy" will still have centralized power plants, but power grid activity will increasingly be dominated by innumerable incremental energy flows between small producers and consumers. This is likely to happen whether or not public policy mandates a shift away from dependence on fossil fuels.

"In the near term, the Chinese economy is pausing for breath. China is not completely insulated from an OECD recession and we will see an impact on Chinese exports. However, the near term slowdown of growth is substantially due to tightening of monetary policy introduced by the Chinese government last year in order to tackle inflation. Furthermore, we expect third quarter economic data to show an exaggerated slowdown, reflecting the postponement of projects during the Olympics. Looking further out, Chinese GDP will remain largely driven by the domestic economy and we expect industrialisation and urbanisation to continue apace with strengthening demand across a range of Rio Tinto products.

The Policy Brief for a Global Green New Deal, developed by economists and the UN ahead of the G-20 meeting of world leaders in London in early April, highlights the benefits of investing a significant amount of the $3 trillion-worth of global stimulus packages in five areas. According to a news release issued by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), these areas include raising the energy efficiency of old and new buildings, as well as renewable energies including wind, solar, geothermal and biomass.

The Chinese government is supporting the copper industry by eliminating taxes on copper concentrate imports and finished copper products exports. China is the world's top copper consumer and according to Antaike Chinese copper consumption in 2009 will grow by 2.1%, revised down from its previous forecast of more than 6%. The duty-free trading policies will benefit copper smelters and fabricators, however, weak global demand will continue to take its toll on Chinese exports.

The State Administration of Taxation in China announced that it will increase its export tax rebates on copper foil, plate and tube from 1st April. The policy was announced on 27th March and it aims to boost Chinese exports. Copper plate's export tax rebate will rise from 5% to 9%, copper foil's from 5% to 13%, and copper tube's from 9% to 13%. It is expected that the measure will support the copper semis market.

Zhejiang Hailiang Co. Ltd., a Chinese copper processor, will construct a copper tube project in Vietnam. The investment will amount to US$47.2 million and will have production capacity if 71,000 tonnes per year, as a new 36,000-tonne facility will be added to the existing 35,000-tonne that has been relocated. It is anticipated that the project will be operational in 2010. The new project will benefit from the Vietnamese favourable investment policies as well as lower production costs.

But unless policy makers can find ways to improve the balance between energy supply and demand, the current slackness in energy markets will last no longer than it takes for the global economy to recover. That scenario will eventually impose significant costs on consumers and businesses in the form of higher energy prices.

Antaike reported that sales income from the 'traded in' home appliances policy reached 150B yuan by the end of 2nd March 2011. In addition, volume of new and old appliances amounted to 40M and 41M sets respectively. Appliances included in the policy are TV sets, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and computers. The scheme has triggered a considerable consumption volume of copper semis, such as copper commercial tube used in the manufacturing of refrigerators and air conditioners.

Car sales have dropped by 67.1% in Beijing after city authorities imposed a car purchase limit policy at the start of 2011. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), sales were down from 283,000 vehicles in Q1 2010 to 93,000 in the same period this year, with new cars accounting for 66% of sales. Automotive production is closely linked to copper demand, with the industry having an estimated 6.9% market share of world copper consumption.

"1. Chinese smelters are jointly calling on the government to scrap the 15% export tax on aluminium ingots, as they hope to benefit from a global market deficit. Yet many market participants cast doubts on the proposal as it is against Beijing's industrial policy on the light metal. 2. Beijing has cancelled approval requirement for aluminium smelting projects, but it continues to keep tight control over the sector, ordering local governments not to register new aluminium smelting..."