Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. plans to sell a new type of external building material that generates power from sunlight beginning in fiscal 2013, it has been learned.

Unlike conventional solar panels, whose installation sites are limited to roofs and other specific places, the new material can be used for walls of buildings and other structures in sunny locations.

Surrounded by seven hills, high above lush green forests is the temple town of Tirumala.

The crown jewel is the dazzling gold-plated temple of Lord Venkateshwara. Located in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, this is not just one of Hinduism's holiest shrines, but also one of the richest.

Solar power has always had a reputation for being expensive, but not for much longer. In India, electricity from solar is now cheaper than that from diesel generators. The news - which will boost India's "Solar Mission" to install 20,000 megawatts of solar power by 2022 - could have implications for other developing nations too.

WASHINGTON, D.C. /eNewsChannels/ — The U.S. Department of State, in close collaboration with the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, will hold a three day conference, Rio+2.0: Bridging Connection Technologies and Sustainable Development, at Stanford, February 2-4, 2012. This unique gathering of more than 400 global policymakers, development practitioners and technology innovators will be the principal U.S. Government event to prepare for the June United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20.

There is a bright side to the plunge in solar panel prices that has brought down some U.S. and German manufacturers which relied too heavily on subsidies for green energy - solar power costs have fallen faster than anyone thought possible.

The falls in prices for photovoltaic components, pushed down by economies of scale and fierce competition from China, have made solar nearly as cheap as conventional sources in Germany's electricity grid.

WWF yesterday welcomed a call from the UN High-Level Panel for Global Sustainability, recommending a radical redesign of the global economy, in order to create a healthy environment and improve people’s well-being.

Porto Alegre. Agriculture is part of the solution to the world's environmental challenges and must play a key role at next June's Rio summit on sustainable development, the Brazilian head of the UN food agency said here this week.

At Davos, the prime minister David Cameron and London mayor Boris Johnson declared that the 2012 Olympics will be the greenest held to date. This is the year the UK showcases its sustainable credentials across a range of different areas, from low carbon construction to land decontamination techniques deployed in building the Olympic park to minimise use of resources whilst ensuring the buildings achieve high standards in energy efficiency.

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) works towards fulfilling its vision of 'working towards global sustainable development, creating innovative solutions for a better tomorrow', through its flagship event the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS).

The DSDS has been held annually in New Delhi since 2001, tackling key developmental issues of the times, having emerged as the only forum on global sustainability issues, with an accentuated thrust on problems relating to the developing world.

PARIS — The world can no longer afford to ignore the environmental cost of economic growth and must redefine the very concept of national wealth, a UN panel of heads of state and environment ministers said Monday.

The panel challenged leaders to recognise that "current global development is unsustainable."