The Rotterdam Taxi Centre announced today that it has concluded an agreement with the Rotterdam Climate Initiative to replace part of its fleet with taxis that run on biofuel. The municipality of Rotterdam (Netherlands) is also planning on replacing its fleet with lower-emissions vehicles over the next 3 - 4 years.

Grist's David Roberts tours biomass installations in rural Austria, looking at the elegance of combined heat and power from locally controlled sources.

In many ways, Amsterdam and other Dutch cities have fostered urban environments that provide a wide range of transportation choices for residents and visitors. The result is vibrant cities and greatly reduced automotive use - not a cure-all for carbon woes, but a great step forward for climate viability and urban livability.

Hilly terrain may deter some from cycling in Stuttgart, Germany. But that obstacle is surmountable: the city is piloting a program a plan that would put electric-assisted bikes in the hands of citizens, and appropriate infrastructure around the city.

A proposed resolution submitted on Feb 26, 2008, to the parliamentary group of Bündnis90/Die Grünen-GAL (the Green Party in Hamburg) after intensive discussions within the Peak Oil Group Hamburg, with the intention of submitting the resolution for approval to the state parliament of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (Bürgerschaft).

In the early years of this decade, cities in Sweden started using an ingenious locally-produced transportation fuel: biogas, created from microbially "digested" human waste. Biogas works in any car that's set up to use compressed natural gas, and is cheaper than gasoline or diesel. The problem is that car manufacturers have stopped making biogas-ready cars in favor of developing for ethanol.

Program Manager Daniel Lerch starts a two week trip to the British Isles at a symposium for local officials, planners, architects and builders in Kilkenny, Ireland.

Energy-efficient houses are the law in Freiburg, Germany; new regulations may require that new houses waste no more than 40kWh/m2 per year. Residents cycle and recycle, and the designs of two eco-developments - Vauban and Rieselfeld - are meant to make personal automobiles unnecessary. Solar panels on roofs bring in income for residents - it's all part of a green ethic built on decades of political will and citizen involvement.

One hopes that the government department responsible for energy to heat homes, power cars and so on would be on top of two key issues - a switch to a low-carbon economy and the possibility that oil might run out sooner than we thought. But the UK's BERR seems to be dropping that particular ball.

Amsterdam may soon join the ranks of European cities with low emission zones in their central cities. The measure, which has yet to be approved by the council, would not only ban vehicles older than 15 years, but also includes several other measures to encourage non-automotive transportation.