Khaleej Times: Solar Panels on All Dubai Roofs by 2030

Billions of dirhams will be spent by Dubai on generating clean energy, the government said on Saturday, aiming to have solar panels installed on the roofs of all buildings by 2030.

The Dubai government will encourage building owners to place solar panels on their roofs and link them to a network of the local power utility, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said while launching the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which aims to make Dubai a global center of clean energy and green economy.

The authorities plan to establish a Dh100 billion ($27 billion) fund to provide low-cost loans for investors in Dubai's clean energy sector.

Climate Wire: Bill Gates Preps Biggest Clean Energy Fund 'in History'

Technology giant Bill Gates will unveil the world's largest clean energy research and development partnership on Monday, joining in Paris with other billionaires and world leaders, according to several sources.

The multibillion-dollar announcement will come at the opening day of landmark U.N. climate change negotiations in the French capital, and is expected to inject significant momentum to the talks.

According to government and business officials knowledgeable about the announcement, a group of developing and developed countries -- including the United States and India -- will agree to double their research and development budgets for clean energy and form a coalition to conduct joint work.

CBS: Police, Protesters Clash in Paris Amid Terrorism Worries

Police fired tear gas and clashed with demonstrators on Paris' Place de la Republique square in an early test of the authorities' determination to ban public demonstrations during international climate negotiations.

An organizer of the climate change rallies, Avaaz, said that early estimates of marchers around the globe show 570,000 people marched in 175 countries.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in central Paris Sunday and formed a human chain along the route of a long-planned protest march that was banned by France's Socialist government in a security crackdown following attacks by Islamic extremists earlier this month.

The Economist: Hot and Bothered

Looking back from the early 24th century, Charlotte Shortback suggests, half-jokingly, that modern human history can be split into distinct periods. The most exciting was the Accelerando, from about 2160 to 2200, when human lifespans were greatly extended and the terraforming of Mars was completed. That was followed by the Ritard, when the people of Mars lapsed into isolationism. Long before, though, came a strange spell, from 2005 to 2060, when people understood the science of climate change but did little to prevent it; nor did they try to colonize other planets. She dubs it the Dithering.

Charlotte Shortback is a character in 2312, a science-fiction novel by Kim Stanley Robinson -- one of an oddly small band of authors who have written imaginatively and precisely about climate change.

Bloomberg: California to Miss Deadline in Setting Home Solar Payments

California utility regulators won’t meet a year-end deadline about deciding how much residents should be paid for power from their rooftop solar panels, the state’s chief regulator said.

The California Public Utilities Commission is weighing extensive comments and proposals before issuing a proposed decision, agency president Michael Picker, 63, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s San Francisco office on Thursday. While that initial decision may be made before the end of the year, a final one won’t meet the deadline, he said, citing the contentiousness and litigious nature of the case.