September 2010

The Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA)

LEAP is now being used by the State of Massachusetts to develop a new energy and climate mitigation plan for meeting its ambitious 2020 and 2050 goals for GHG reductions.  Access the MASS DEP web site here.

New Version of LEAP for Windows 7

A new version of LEAP that is compatible with Windows 7 has been released. The new version also includes new chart types such as GHG mitigation wedge charts and bar charts showing energy or emissions avoided in a mitigation scenario compared to a baseline scenario.  See example charts below.  The new version also supports UNICODE so provides better support for Asian and other complex character set languages.  Download LEAP here.

New LEAP-Related Applications Described on the Applications Page

The applications page now includes descriptions of additional applications that make use of LEAP.   They include:

• The Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA). LEAP is now being used by the State of Massachusetts to develop a new energy and climate mitigation plan for meeting its ambitious 2020 and 2050 goals for GHG reductions.
   
  
• CASINDO: CApacity development and strengthening for energy policy formulation and implementation of Sustainable energy projects in INDOnesia.  A collaboration between eight Indonesian partners and the Dutch Governmentfor building capacity among national and regional agencies for energy planning.
   
  
• Europe’s Share of the Climate Challenge: A major new report by SEI that analyzes how Europe can embark on a domestic transition to a low GHG future, while meeting its international obligations to assist the world’s developing nations do the same. Main report, summary and press materials available here.
  
  

• A CO₂ Neutral Copenhagen by 2025: The Danish consulting company, RAMBOLL, used LEAP to help create a plan for the city of Copenhagen to become CO₂ neutral by 2025. This formed the basis for Copenhagen setting a target of a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2015 compared to 2005 and for becoming first capital in the world to be completely CO₂ neutral by 2025.

• China Economics of Climate Change: a technical analysis by SEI of how China’s energy systems might be altered over the coming four decades to allow China to meet its development goals while making a transition to a low GHG future.
   
  
• MEDEC: Low-carbon Development for Mexico: A new study by the World Bank that evaluates the potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Mexico over the next 20 years.
  
  
• New Zealand’s EnergyScape: An initiative of the New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) designed to help its citizens understand the flow of energy in New Zealand.
  
  
• Economics of Climate Change For Central American Countries: a study by ECLAC on the economics of climate change in Central American countries (Panama , Costa Rica , Nicaragua , Honduras , El Salvador , Belize and Guatemala).
   
• Capacity Building, Energy Planning and GHG Mitigation Assessment in Latin America and the Caribbean: A summary of the many recent LEAP-related initiatives of Fundacion Bariloche (FB) throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
  
  
• Promising GHG Mitigation Options in China, Mexico, India, Brazil, South Africa, and South Korea: A report by SEI to the U.S. EPA that identifies promising GHG mitigation options in six of the largest developing countries.