Weekly Angst I: The Energy Bill is half-full
Half an energy bill was signed by the president today, after final House approval Tuesday (314-100). Gone are the mandate for renewable energy and money to support it. Left in are increased auto fuel economy and biofuel production.
The bill was stripped down after the Senate failed last week by just one vote to approve cloture (avert a filibuster) and send a stronger bill to the floor for passage. My question about that is: Where was McCain? His was the lone missing vote and could have made the difference. That’s the Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who championed Global Warming legislation for the past three years. He’s also the same John McCain who’s trying to get the Republican nomination for president – so perhaps that weakened his resolve. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) reportedly was absent too, but gave her proxy to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and recorded a yea vote.
Press Secretary Dana Perino said Tuesday the White House should get much of the credit for the bill that passed, because it had pushed for both higher fuel economy and alternative fuels.
What we got … and didn’t
So, what did we get from the energy bill finally approved 86-8 by the Senate last week and then by the House Tuesday?
* Corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards of 35 mpg by 2020 (though actually a credit for flex-fuel cars brings it down just below 34 mpg). This is the first increase in 30 years.
* A renewable fuels standard (RFS) calling for 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022, with 21 billion in “advanced” fuels such as cellulosic, which is much cleaner than corn ethanol.
* Energy efficiency standards for buildings and appliances; phase-out of incandescent light bulbs.
* Training for “green jobs” and enhanced research into carbon capture.
The bill will reportedly cut oil use by 2.8 million barrels a day by 2020.
What we didn’t get was a requirement that investor-owned utilities get 15% of their power from renewable sources such as wind, solar and geothermal by 2020 (though actually it was only 11% because they could buy credits for 4%). We also didn’t get a $22 billion tax package, with $13 billion in new taxes for Big Oil and incentives for renewable sources of power and plug-in hybrids. Clearly the loss of those provisions will be a drag on the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy, which now provides just a tiny part of our power. Thankfully, about 20 states now have their own RES. It’s time for others to step up and fill in the gap. And Dem leaders say they will try again with RES and the tax package after the first of the year.
If you want to read the bill, go to http://www.thomas.gov and search by the number of the bill, which is H.R.6.EAS2.
Weekly angst II: Bali agreement half-empty
Well, we showed ‘em. We didn’t let those bullying Europeans and Chinese make us commit to industrialized countries aiming for a cut in greenhouse gases of 25-40% by 2020 and 50% by 2050. In the end, the agreement simply said everyone agreed there should be “deep cuts” in GHG emissions. But in return for that concession, we agreed – after being booed and hissed at by developing countries – to stop demanding a stronger commitment by those countries at this time. U.S. delegates made the decision under pressure, without checking with Washington.
By the next day, U.S. Press Secretary Dana Perino was backtracking. She said the administration had “serious concerns” about the global consensus reached by the 190 participating countries at the Bali conference, and that the largest developing countries (read China and India) must be willing to do far more if there is to be an international agreement in 2009. Those countries look for the developed countries to make the biggest cuts and to help them with technology.
At the conference, which went into overtime to craft any agreement at all, the U.S. delegation was joined by Canada, Japan and Russia in its desire to avoid specific targets and a specific timetable. In the final hours, amid boos, tears and threats, a Harvard-educated delegate from Papua New Guinea won applause when he told the United States to lead or “get out of the way.”
The administration position was countered at the conference by three American VIPs who called for stronger action – Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) (is he running or not?) and former VP Al Gore (D), fresh from picking up his Nobel Peace Prize. Gore told the conference the U.S. position would change with the next election, so to work around President Bush over the next year.
What was accomplished?
There was general agreement at Bali that:
• A successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol would be completed by 2009.
• There must be deep cuts in GHG emissions.
• Rich countries would provide money for adaptation to climate change in poor countries.
• Money would also go to preventing deforestation, cause of 20% of GHG emissions.
• New technologies would be transferred to developing countries to help them cut emissions.
(Weekly angst sources: E&E Daily, E&E News PM, Sunday Telegraph UK, The Guardian UK, New York Times, Sierra Club)
Take Action
Contact your Senators and either thank them for voting for cloture in order to try to pass a strong energy bill with clean energy tax incentives or express displeasure at their voting against cloture. All Democrats except Mary Landrieu (La.) voted for cloture, which would have blocked a filibuster and allowed the bill to go forward. Republicans voting for cloture were Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Richard Lugar (Ind.), Charles Grassley (Iowa), Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (both Maine), Norm Coleman (Minn.), Gordon Smith (Ore.), John Thune (S.D.), and Orin Hatch (Utah). All other Republicans voted against it, except McCain, who was absent. Snowe, Collins, Coleman, Smith and Thune also voted for cloture the first time, when RES was included in the bill, so they deserve special thanks. Go on their individual Web sites or call the Congressional Switchboard at (202)224-3121.
News in brief
Earth may have reached a tipping point, NASA scientists say
Arctic summer ice may be gone by 2012, and the world’s ice sheets are now thawing so fast they may have reached a tipping point where significant melting and rising seas are inevitable, two NASA scientists told the American Geophysical Union last week. NASA data show Arctic summer ice shrank to less than half what it was last year and the Greenland ice sheet melted nearly 19 billion tons more than the previous record. There is also evidence of large-scale melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet. “If we stopped adding greenhouse gases today, we would still get large climate impacts, including a substantial sea level rise,” warned NASA’s James Hansen. NASA’s Josefino Comiso agreed, “It’s likely the tipping point for perennial ice has been reached.” A third scientist, Richard Alley of Penn State, was not sure a tipping point had been reached, but said it was not far off. (Sources: Greenwire, AP, International Herald Tribune)
Dem candidates lead Republicans in environmental voting
With the primaries looming, the League of Conservation Voters has released its 2008 candidates’ scorecard. Barak Obama leads, with a rating of 96 for his lifetime voting record on the environment, followed by Dennis Kucinich with 92; Hillary Clinton, 90; Joe Biden 84; Bill Richardson, 82; Chris Dodd 77, and John Edwards 59. Edwards was the first to come out with a strong Global Warming plan, however. Among Republicans, Ron Paul scored 30, John McCain 26, and Fred Thompson 12. Other candidates doing well in national polls -- Rudolph Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee -- have no voting record on the environment. Obama, Clinton, Edwards and Richardson discuss environmental issues on a daily basis with voters, as does McCain, said LCV president Gene Karpinski. To learn more about the candidates’ views, go to http://www.lcv.org/voterguide. (Source: PlanetArk)
DOE raises questions about FutureGen project in Illinois
Tuesday morning, Mattoon, Ill., was named site of the long-awaited FutureGen project to test whether coal can produce power without pollution. Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Energy – which was absent from the press conference where industry partners announced the site – said it would have to reassess the project because its cost had exploded to $1.8 billion from $1 billion at the time DOE committed to paying 74% of the tab. Implicit was the possibility the private partners might have to pick up more of the cost. The demonstration plant is scheduled to use a gasification system, with resulting CO2 liquefied and pumped deep underground. FutureGen’s main goals are to see if the CO2 can be safely kept underground and to find ways to reduce the cost, estimated at 20-40% above standard coal-burning. Mattoon was chosen because of its geological qualities and ample water resources. FutureGen was scheduled to start operating in 2012 and would power 150,000 homes. DOE concerns, however, may cause more delays for the project. The Sierra Club called for no new coal-fired plants until FutureGen proves coal can be used cleanly. (Source: E&E News PM, Chicago Tribune, Sierra Club)
Xtreme weather watch
The decade ending in 2007 is warmest yet, a UN group reports.
The years 1998-2007 make up the hottest decade yet recorded, the World Meteorological Organization said last week. Another report, from the UK’s Met Office, said 11 of the past 13 years were the world’s hottest on record. (Greenwire, PlanetArk)
2007 is on track to have the most natural disasters, which have increased nearly 20% over last year. As of mid-October, 410 disasters had been recorded, “consistent with the trend of rising numbers of climate change-related disasters,” the Red Cross said. There were 427 disasters in all of 2006, that number a 70% increase over 2 years earlier, 2004. Disasters in the past decade exceeded those in the previous decade by 40%, while deaths doubled to 1.2 million, the report said. (Agence France-Presse, Greenwire)
An unusual December storm caused death and destruction in the Caribbean last week.Tropical storm Olga caused flash floods, killing at least 19 in the Dominican Republic, with scores missing and 35,000 left homeless. Tropical storms are unusual in December, because they feed on warm water. (PlanetArk)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL!
Earthling Angst will return in 2008. (It’s getting closer to 2012, 2020 and all those other targets, isn’t it?)
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Global Warming win short-lived
Weekly angst: The victory in Congress didn’t last very long. A comprehensive energy bill to curb Global Warming passed the House on a 235-181 vote Thursday afternoon. But by Friday morning, opponents had defeated a cloture motion in the Senate, and negotiations were under way to strip the bill of some of its main provisions in order to get the 60 votes needed for passage and have a prayer of getting the president’s signature.
Likely to survive are the 35 mpg corporate fuel economy (CAFE) standards and the biofuels section (though that may be changed). Most likely to go are the requirement for private power plants to get 15% (actually just 11%) of their power from renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass by 2022 and the shift of $21 billion in tax breaks from oil and gas to renewable energy development and efficiency.
But without those provisions, how the devil will we make the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy quickly enough to prevent catastrophic warming? Big oil, coal and power plants won this round and we lost. The fossil fuel economy is barely dented.
The cloture vote, which showed the votes aren't there to prevent a filibuster, put most Democrats on the right side of the issue and most Republicans on the side of fossil fuels. There were some exceptions. GOP Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (Maine), Norm Coleman (Minn.), Arlen Spector (Pa.), Gordon Smith (Ore.) and John Thune (S.D.) voted with the good guys. (Collins, Coleman and Smith have tough re-election campaigns against Democrats next year). And Dems Evan Bayh (Ind.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Richard Byrd (W.Va.) voted with the bad guys. If you live in any of their states, let them hear from you.
What was in the House bill
In addition to the 35 mpg CAFE standard for cars and light trucks combined in 2020, and the 15% RES for large investor-owned electric power plants (4 percentage points of which could come from buying offsets) the same year, the bill included:
• A nearly 5-fold increase in biofuels, to 36 billion gallons in 2022, with 21 billion from “advanced” (mostly cellulosic) fuels that cut GHG 50-60% (as opposed to corn, which cuts very little).
• A $21 billion tax package with $13 in new taxes (or eliminated tax breaks) for oil and gas, and incentives for energy efficiency in buildings, appliances, furnaces and lighting, renewable energy sources and plug-in hybrid cars.
• Increased testing of carbon capture and sequestration, the main hope for “clean” coal.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was credited with tough negotiations (mainly with fellow Democrats) to get such a strong bill approved.
The importance of CAFE
The 35 mpg CAFE standard would cut oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels a day in 2020, or the equivalent of taking 28 million cars off the road. This is the first move to raise mileage standards since the oil crisis of the 1970s. In fact, by 1988, with the crisis behind us, the auto companies were building larger cars again and were allowed to meet a 27.5 mpg standard, not the scheduled 28.5. That, of course, didn’t include SUVs, which are classified as light trucks and have a 22 mpg standard. Why is CAFE politically acceptable this year? We can probably thank the lofty price of oil. People are ready to save money at the pump. And the auto industry and UAW were won over by concessions granted to their champion, House Energy Chair John Dingell (D -Mich.), in the form of flex-fuel credits and money to retool.
Efforts to salvage renewables and taxes
Sen. Energy Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Friday they would negotiate through the weekend in an effort to find some middle ground and salvage the RES and tax portions of the bill – at least partially. They need an additional 7 votes. While 20 states already have their own renewable electricity standards, the Southeast and some Midwest states are concerned they don’t have enough wind to meet the standard. One GOP Senator suggested a much smaller tax package might be OK’d. A chief opponent, the retiring and ill Sen. Pete Domenici (N.M.), ranking member of the Energy Committee, wants nuclear loan guarantees in the bill and reportedly prevailed on fellow Republicans to oppose the bill passed by the House.
Bush veto threat
A final concern, of course, is a presidential veto. Bush doesn’t like the $13 billion in oil and gas taxes or the renewable fuels provision. He wants to include coal-based transportation fuels (which release more CO2 than gasoline) and to pre-empt state laws on alternative fuels. Many in Congress would like to see CAFE standards and energy efficiency, at least, signed into law.
Next step
The aim is to come up with a bill that can pass the Senate with at least 60 votes, and has some chance of getting the president’s signature. Once passed by the Senate, it will have to go back to the House for a vote. Leadership wants to accomplish this before the planned Congressional recess on Dec. 22.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Greenwire, E&E News PM, The End of Nature by Bill McKibben)
Congressional round-up
Lieberman-Warner bill passed out of Boxer's committee
In another milestone this week, the Senate passed its first mandatory cap-and-trade bill out of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-Calif.) Environment and Public Works Committee by an 11-8 vote. The compromise bill, which most environmentalists think is too weak, and opponents think is too strong, will now go to the floor for what promises to be a lively debate, though no one is saying when. The bill covers 80% of the economy, mandating 70% in GHG cuts by 2050. The vast majority of allowances would be given to industries that will be affected, with only a small portion auctioned. Fee credits will be phased out by 2031.
News in brief
Green economy will result in more jobs, studies say
The move from a fossil-fuel to a “green” economy will have a net worldwide job gain, according to a new UN report. In addition to “green collar” jobs, there will be construction, transportation, engineering, manufacturing and sustainable agriculture and forestry jobs, the report said. In Brazil, the ethanol business has created a half-million jobs, and in China 150,000 are employed in solar heating. The jobs will more than make up for layoffs in old fossil-fuel industries, showing a small net gain, the report said. A second study, by the American Solar Energy Society, estimates that in the U.S., policies favoring renewable energy sources and energy efficiency could produce 40 million new jobs and $4.5 trillion in new revenue by 2030. Most of the jobs, 32 million, would be in efficiency measures such as retrofitting buildings, while 8 million would be in the renewables sector, with solar, wind, ethanol and hydrogen cells seeing the most growth. (Source: Greenwire)
Tropical zones expanding as the Earth gets warmer
Tropical regions are pushing north and south toward the poles at a rate much faster than expected. In the past 25 years, they have moved 2.5 degrees latitude, or 140-330 miles, according to a study in the journal Nature Geoscience last week. Climate models had predicted it would take 100 years to move just 2 degrees. The expansion brings with it a shift in high-altitude wind and rain patterns, and affects agricultural zones and water availability. (Source: Greenwire)
Skiers, marchers, bikers protest against climate change
Protestors called attention to Global Warming Sunday in 50 cities around the world. In Berlin, a sculptor carved a polar bear in ice at the Brandenburg Gate. In Auckland, 350 formed “Climate SOS” by lying in the grass at a park. In Taipei, 1,500 marched with signs saying “No carbon dioxide.” In Manila, hundreds rallied with windmills on their heads. In Helsinki, 50 skied on asphalt streets saying, “Give us our snowy winters back.” And here in the U.S., 50 took a polar bear plunge into Walden Pond. (Source: Associated Press)
News from Bali
Climate scientists lose patience, plead for radical action
More than 215 leading climate scientists, some of whom have taken no stance up to now, petitioned the delegates at the Bali UN climate conference to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The petitioners come from more than 2 dozen countries. “The science community is basically fed up,” one signer from Canada told the Associated Press.
Other headlines this first week of the Dec. 3-14 190-nation conference:
* Saving rainforests is a high priority but one about which there is disagreement. The conference is likely to launch pilot projects trying two approaches – trading on the carbon market and using a fund to compensate countries for stopping slash-and-born. Deforestation was not in the Kyoto Protocol but causes 20% of GHG worldwide. Many want it in the next international treaty.
* Carbon capture is not on the Bali agenda. The technology is still unproven and would cost about $1 billion per plant, though ultimately it may be the answer to low- or no-carbon use of coal. Perhaps carbon capture and storage will be part of future talks, Yvo de Boer, top UN climate official, told Reuters.
* The U.S. delegation continues to oppose mandatory cuts of GHG, and made light of the passage of the first cap-and-trade bill from committee onto the Senate floor last week. The National Environmental Trust blasted U.S. greed and waste, saying the country is responsible for 27.8% of cumulative Global Warming.
* Host country Indonesia planted millions of trees to offset the estimated 47,000 tons of carbon dioxide caused by the 12-day conference. The estimate includes air transport to and from Bali. Hosts also eliminated cars from the conference site and provided 200 bicycles for ministers to use if they didn’t want to walk. (Sources: PlanetArk, AP, India Times)
Xtreme weather watch
Rainfall and snowstorms are now more severe. Since 1948, the number of intense storms has increased between 22-26% in the U.S., a new report from Environment America shows. New England and the mid-Atlantic states have been hit the worst. Mass., R.I., Vt., N.Y. and La. have all seen an increase of more than 50%. Climate scientists say this is consistent with Global Warming because warm air holds more moisture. For more, see http://environmentAmerica.org. (New York Times)
Did a cyclone just hit the Northwest? Heavy rain and hurricane-force winds of up to 129 mph hit Oregon and Washington in back-to-back storms last Sunday and Monday. In Bremerton, Wash., rainfall was recorded at 11.78 inches. The storms, which washed out roads, caused mudslides, and resulted in at least 5 deaths, were among the worst in memory. More than 100,000 people were without electricity. One Portland resident noted, “This was really a hurricane – or cyclone – and we never get those here.” (AP)
The cyclone that swamped low-lying Bangladesh last month left a huge humanitarian crisis, the UN said last week. Some 2 million residents need immediate help to save their lives. They need food, shelter, drinking water and sanitation. A total of 8.5 million were affected, more than a half-million homes were completely destroyed and 1.5 million livestock were wiped out. Cyclone Sidr hit with 155 mph winds and a 5-foot storm surge Nov. 15. International aid so far tops $143 million. (PlanetArk)
Take Action
In this season of packages and bags and wrapping paper, think green. Carry one or more canvas or reusable bags with you to put your purchases in. Tell store clerks to keep their paper and plastic bags. Use recycled wrapping paper. And when possible re-use packaging that comes to you from online or catalog items.
Make a year-end donation to environmental groups that do research and fight the good fight for all of us – in Congress, statehouses, elections and courts. They include the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, League of Conservation Voters, Environmental Defense, World Wildlife Federation and Union of Concerned Scientists. And that doesn’t exhaust the list, if you have another favorite. Without them, there would be little, if any, progress.
Likely to survive are the 35 mpg corporate fuel economy (CAFE) standards and the biofuels section (though that may be changed). Most likely to go are the requirement for private power plants to get 15% (actually just 11%) of their power from renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass by 2022 and the shift of $21 billion in tax breaks from oil and gas to renewable energy development and efficiency.
But without those provisions, how the devil will we make the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy quickly enough to prevent catastrophic warming? Big oil, coal and power plants won this round and we lost. The fossil fuel economy is barely dented.
The cloture vote, which showed the votes aren't there to prevent a filibuster, put most Democrats on the right side of the issue and most Republicans on the side of fossil fuels. There were some exceptions. GOP Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (Maine), Norm Coleman (Minn.), Arlen Spector (Pa.), Gordon Smith (Ore.) and John Thune (S.D.) voted with the good guys. (Collins, Coleman and Smith have tough re-election campaigns against Democrats next year). And Dems Evan Bayh (Ind.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Richard Byrd (W.Va.) voted with the bad guys. If you live in any of their states, let them hear from you.
What was in the House bill
In addition to the 35 mpg CAFE standard for cars and light trucks combined in 2020, and the 15% RES for large investor-owned electric power plants (4 percentage points of which could come from buying offsets) the same year, the bill included:
• A nearly 5-fold increase in biofuels, to 36 billion gallons in 2022, with 21 billion from “advanced” (mostly cellulosic) fuels that cut GHG 50-60% (as opposed to corn, which cuts very little).
• A $21 billion tax package with $13 in new taxes (or eliminated tax breaks) for oil and gas, and incentives for energy efficiency in buildings, appliances, furnaces and lighting, renewable energy sources and plug-in hybrid cars.
• Increased testing of carbon capture and sequestration, the main hope for “clean” coal.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was credited with tough negotiations (mainly with fellow Democrats) to get such a strong bill approved.
The importance of CAFE
The 35 mpg CAFE standard would cut oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels a day in 2020, or the equivalent of taking 28 million cars off the road. This is the first move to raise mileage standards since the oil crisis of the 1970s. In fact, by 1988, with the crisis behind us, the auto companies were building larger cars again and were allowed to meet a 27.5 mpg standard, not the scheduled 28.5. That, of course, didn’t include SUVs, which are classified as light trucks and have a 22 mpg standard. Why is CAFE politically acceptable this year? We can probably thank the lofty price of oil. People are ready to save money at the pump. And the auto industry and UAW were won over by concessions granted to their champion, House Energy Chair John Dingell (D -Mich.), in the form of flex-fuel credits and money to retool.
Efforts to salvage renewables and taxes
Sen. Energy Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Friday they would negotiate through the weekend in an effort to find some middle ground and salvage the RES and tax portions of the bill – at least partially. They need an additional 7 votes. While 20 states already have their own renewable electricity standards, the Southeast and some Midwest states are concerned they don’t have enough wind to meet the standard. One GOP Senator suggested a much smaller tax package might be OK’d. A chief opponent, the retiring and ill Sen. Pete Domenici (N.M.), ranking member of the Energy Committee, wants nuclear loan guarantees in the bill and reportedly prevailed on fellow Republicans to oppose the bill passed by the House.
Bush veto threat
A final concern, of course, is a presidential veto. Bush doesn’t like the $13 billion in oil and gas taxes or the renewable fuels provision. He wants to include coal-based transportation fuels (which release more CO2 than gasoline) and to pre-empt state laws on alternative fuels. Many in Congress would like to see CAFE standards and energy efficiency, at least, signed into law.
Next step
The aim is to come up with a bill that can pass the Senate with at least 60 votes, and has some chance of getting the president’s signature. Once passed by the Senate, it will have to go back to the House for a vote. Leadership wants to accomplish this before the planned Congressional recess on Dec. 22.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Greenwire, E&E News PM, The End of Nature by Bill McKibben)
Congressional round-up
Lieberman-Warner bill passed out of Boxer's committee
In another milestone this week, the Senate passed its first mandatory cap-and-trade bill out of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-Calif.) Environment and Public Works Committee by an 11-8 vote. The compromise bill, which most environmentalists think is too weak, and opponents think is too strong, will now go to the floor for what promises to be a lively debate, though no one is saying when. The bill covers 80% of the economy, mandating 70% in GHG cuts by 2050. The vast majority of allowances would be given to industries that will be affected, with only a small portion auctioned. Fee credits will be phased out by 2031.
News in brief
Green economy will result in more jobs, studies say
The move from a fossil-fuel to a “green” economy will have a net worldwide job gain, according to a new UN report. In addition to “green collar” jobs, there will be construction, transportation, engineering, manufacturing and sustainable agriculture and forestry jobs, the report said. In Brazil, the ethanol business has created a half-million jobs, and in China 150,000 are employed in solar heating. The jobs will more than make up for layoffs in old fossil-fuel industries, showing a small net gain, the report said. A second study, by the American Solar Energy Society, estimates that in the U.S., policies favoring renewable energy sources and energy efficiency could produce 40 million new jobs and $4.5 trillion in new revenue by 2030. Most of the jobs, 32 million, would be in efficiency measures such as retrofitting buildings, while 8 million would be in the renewables sector, with solar, wind, ethanol and hydrogen cells seeing the most growth. (Source: Greenwire)
Tropical zones expanding as the Earth gets warmer
Tropical regions are pushing north and south toward the poles at a rate much faster than expected. In the past 25 years, they have moved 2.5 degrees latitude, or 140-330 miles, according to a study in the journal Nature Geoscience last week. Climate models had predicted it would take 100 years to move just 2 degrees. The expansion brings with it a shift in high-altitude wind and rain patterns, and affects agricultural zones and water availability. (Source: Greenwire)
Skiers, marchers, bikers protest against climate change
Protestors called attention to Global Warming Sunday in 50 cities around the world. In Berlin, a sculptor carved a polar bear in ice at the Brandenburg Gate. In Auckland, 350 formed “Climate SOS” by lying in the grass at a park. In Taipei, 1,500 marched with signs saying “No carbon dioxide.” In Manila, hundreds rallied with windmills on their heads. In Helsinki, 50 skied on asphalt streets saying, “Give us our snowy winters back.” And here in the U.S., 50 took a polar bear plunge into Walden Pond. (Source: Associated Press)
News from Bali
Climate scientists lose patience, plead for radical action
More than 215 leading climate scientists, some of whom have taken no stance up to now, petitioned the delegates at the Bali UN climate conference to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The petitioners come from more than 2 dozen countries. “The science community is basically fed up,” one signer from Canada told the Associated Press.
Other headlines this first week of the Dec. 3-14 190-nation conference:
* Saving rainforests is a high priority but one about which there is disagreement. The conference is likely to launch pilot projects trying two approaches – trading on the carbon market and using a fund to compensate countries for stopping slash-and-born. Deforestation was not in the Kyoto Protocol but causes 20% of GHG worldwide. Many want it in the next international treaty.
* Carbon capture is not on the Bali agenda. The technology is still unproven and would cost about $1 billion per plant, though ultimately it may be the answer to low- or no-carbon use of coal. Perhaps carbon capture and storage will be part of future talks, Yvo de Boer, top UN climate official, told Reuters.
* The U.S. delegation continues to oppose mandatory cuts of GHG, and made light of the passage of the first cap-and-trade bill from committee onto the Senate floor last week. The National Environmental Trust blasted U.S. greed and waste, saying the country is responsible for 27.8% of cumulative Global Warming.
* Host country Indonesia planted millions of trees to offset the estimated 47,000 tons of carbon dioxide caused by the 12-day conference. The estimate includes air transport to and from Bali. Hosts also eliminated cars from the conference site and provided 200 bicycles for ministers to use if they didn’t want to walk. (Sources: PlanetArk, AP, India Times)
Xtreme weather watch
Rainfall and snowstorms are now more severe. Since 1948, the number of intense storms has increased between 22-26% in the U.S., a new report from Environment America shows. New England and the mid-Atlantic states have been hit the worst. Mass., R.I., Vt., N.Y. and La. have all seen an increase of more than 50%. Climate scientists say this is consistent with Global Warming because warm air holds more moisture. For more, see http://environmentAmerica.org. (New York Times)
Did a cyclone just hit the Northwest? Heavy rain and hurricane-force winds of up to 129 mph hit Oregon and Washington in back-to-back storms last Sunday and Monday. In Bremerton, Wash., rainfall was recorded at 11.78 inches. The storms, which washed out roads, caused mudslides, and resulted in at least 5 deaths, were among the worst in memory. More than 100,000 people were without electricity. One Portland resident noted, “This was really a hurricane – or cyclone – and we never get those here.” (AP)
The cyclone that swamped low-lying Bangladesh last month left a huge humanitarian crisis, the UN said last week. Some 2 million residents need immediate help to save their lives. They need food, shelter, drinking water and sanitation. A total of 8.5 million were affected, more than a half-million homes were completely destroyed and 1.5 million livestock were wiped out. Cyclone Sidr hit with 155 mph winds and a 5-foot storm surge Nov. 15. International aid so far tops $143 million. (PlanetArk)
Take Action
In this season of packages and bags and wrapping paper, think green. Carry one or more canvas or reusable bags with you to put your purchases in. Tell store clerks to keep their paper and plastic bags. Use recycled wrapping paper. And when possible re-use packaging that comes to you from online or catalog items.
Make a year-end donation to environmental groups that do research and fight the good fight for all of us – in Congress, statehouses, elections and courts. They include the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, League of Conservation Voters, Environmental Defense, World Wildlife Federation and Union of Concerned Scientists. And that doesn’t exhaust the list, if you have another favorite. Without them, there would be little, if any, progress.
Global Warming win short-lived
Weekly angst: The victory didn’t last very long. A comprehensive energy bill to curb Global Warming passed the House on a 235-181 vote Thursday afternoon. But by Friday morning, opponents had defeated a cloture motion in the Senate, and negotiations were under way to strip the bill of some of its main provisions in order to get the 60 votes needed for passage and have a prayer of getting the president’s signature.
Likely to survive are the 35 mpg corporate fuel economy (CAFE) standards and the biofuels section (though that may be changed). Most likely to go are the requirement for private power plants to get 15% (actually just 11%) of their power from renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass by 2022 and the shift of $21 billion in tax breaks from oil and gas to renewable energy development and efficiency.
But without those provisions, how the devil will we make the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy quickly enough to prevent catastrophic warming? Big oil, coal and power plants won this round and we lost. The fossil fuel economy is barely dented.
The cloture vote, which showed the votes aren't there to prevent a filibuster, put most Democrats on the right side of the issue and most Republicans on the side of fossil fuels. There were some exceptions. GOP Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (Maine), Norm Coleman (Minn.), Arlen Spector (Pa.), Gordon Smith (Ore.) and John Thune (S.D.) voted with the good guys. (Collins, Coleman and Smith have tough re-election campaigns against Democrats next year). And Dems Evan Bayh (Ind.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Richard Byrd (W.Va.) voted with the bad guys. If you live in any of their states, let them hear from you.
What was in the House bill
In addition to the 35 mpg CAFE standard for cars and light trucks combined in 2020, and the 15% RES for large investor-owned electric power plants (4 percentage points of which could come from buying offsets) the same year, the bill included:
• A nearly 5-fold increase in biofuels, to 36 billion gallons in 2022, with 21 billion from “advanced” (mostly cellulosic) fuels that cut GHG 50-60% (as opposed to corn, which cuts very little).
• A $21 billion tax package with $13 in new taxes (or eliminated tax breaks) for oil and gas, and incentives for energy efficiency in buildings, appliances, furnaces and lighting, renewable energy sources and plug-in hybrid cars.
• Increased testing of carbon capture and sequestration, the main hope for “clean” coal.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was credited with tough negotiations (mainly with fellow Democrats) to get such a strong bill approved.
The importance of CAFE
The 35 mpg CAFE standard would cut oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels a day in 2020, or the equivalent of taking 28 million cars off the road. This is the first move to raise mileage standards since the oil crisis of the 1970s. In fact, by 1988, with the crisis behind us, the auto companies were building larger cars again and were allowed to meet a 27.5 mpg standard, not the scheduled 28.5. That, of course, didn’t include SUVs, which are classified as light trucks and have a 22 mpg standard. Why is CAFE politically acceptable this year? We can probably thank the lofty price of oil. People are ready to save money at the pump. And the auto industry and UAW were won over by concessions granted to their champion, House Energy Chair John Dingell (D -Mich.), in the form of flex-fuel credits and money to retool.
Efforts to salvage renewables and taxes
Sen. Energy Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Friday they would negotiate through the weekend in an effort to find some middle ground and salvage the RES and tax portions of the bill – at least partially. They need an additional 7 votes. While 20 states already have their own renewable electricity standards, the Southeast and some Midwest states are concerned they don’t have enough wind to meet the standard. One GOP Senator suggested a much smaller tax package might be OK’d. A chief opponent, the retiring and ill Sen. Pete Domenici (N.M.), ranking member of the Energy Committee, wants nuclear loan guarantees in the bill and reportedly prevailed on fellow Republicans to oppose the bill passed by the House.
Bush veto threat
A final concern, of course, is a presidential veto. Bush doesn’t like the $13 billion in oil and gas taxes or the renewable fuels provision. He wants to include coal-based transportation fuels (which release more CO2 than gasoline) and to pre-empt state laws on alternative fuels. Many in Congress would like to see CAFE standards and energy efficiency, at least, signed into law.
Next step
The aim is to come up with a bill that can pass the Senate with at least 60 votes, and has some chance of getting the president’s signature. Once passed by the Senate, it will have to go back to the House for a vote. Leadership wants to accomplish this before the planned Congressional recess on Dec. 22.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Greenwire, E&E News PM, The End of Nature by Bill McKibben)
Congressional round-up
Lieberman-Warner bill passed out of Boxer's committee
In another milestone this week, the Senate passed its first mandatory cap-and-trade bill out of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-Calif.) Environment and Public Works Committee by an 11-8 vote. The compromise bill, which most environmentalists think is too weak, and opponents think is too strong, will now go to the floor for what promises to be a lively debate, though no one is saying when. The bill covers 80% of the economy, mandating 70% in GHG cuts by 2050. The vast majority of allowances would be given to industries that will be affected, with only a small portion auctioned. Fee credits will be phased out by 2031.
News in brief
Green economy will result in more jobs, studies say
The move from a fossil-fuel to a “green” economy will have a net worldwide job gain, according to a new UN report. In addition to “green collar” jobs, there will be construction, transportation, engineering, manufacturing and sustainable agriculture and forestry jobs, the report said. In Brazil, the ethanol business has created a half-million jobs, and in China 150,000 are employed in solar heating. The jobs will more than make up for layoffs in old fossil-fuel industries, showing a small net gain, the report said. A second study, by the American Solar Energy Society, estimates that in the U.S., policies favoring renewable energy sources and energy efficiency could produce 40 million new jobs and $4.5 trillion in new revenue by 2030. Most of the jobs, 32 million, would be in efficiency measures such as retrofitting buildings, while 8 million would be in the renewables sector, with solar, wind, ethanol and hydrogen cells seeing the most growth. (Source: Greenwire)
Tropical zones expanding as the Earth gets warmer
Tropical regions are pushing north and south toward the poles at a rate much faster than expected. In the past 25 years, they have moved 2.5 degrees latitude, or 140-330 miles, according to a study in the journal Nature Geoscience last week. Climate models had predicted it would take 100 years to move just 2 degrees. The expansion brings with it a shift in high-altitude wind and rain patterns, and affects agricultural zones and water availability. (Source: Greenwire)
Skiers, marchers, bikers protest against climate change
Protestors called attention to Global Warming Sunday in 50 cities around the world. In Berlin, a sculptor carved a polar bear in ice at the Brandenburg Gate. In Auckland, 350 formed “Climate SOS” by lying in the grass at a park. In Taipei, 1,500 marched with signs saying “No carbon dioxide.” In Manila, hundreds rallied with windmills on their heads. In Helsinki, 50 skied on asphalt streets saying, “Give us our snowy winters back.” And here in the U.S., 50 took a polar bear plunge into Walden Pond. (Source: Associated Press)
News from Bali
Climate scientists lose patience, plead for radical action
More than 215 leading climate scientists, some of whom have taken no stance up to now, petitioned the delegates at the Bali UN climate conference to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The petitioners come from more than 2 dozen countries. “The science community is basically fed up,” one signer from Canada told the Associated Press.
Other headlines this first week of the Dec. 3-14 190-nation conference:
* Saving rainforests is a high priority but one about which there is disagreement. The conference is likely to launch pilot projects trying two approaches – trading on the carbon market and using a fund to compensate countries for stopping slash-and-born. Deforestation was not in the Kyoto Protocol but causes 20% of GHG worldwide. Many want it in the next international treaty.
* Carbon capture is not on the Bali agenda. The technology is still unproven and would cost about $1 billion per plant, though ultimately it may be the answer to low- or no-carbon use of coal. Perhaps carbon capture and storage will be part of future talks, Yvo de Boer, top UN climate official, told Reuters.
* The U.S. delegation continues to oppose mandatory cuts of GHG, and made light of the passage of the first cap-and-trade bill from committee onto the Senate floor last week. The National Environmental Trust blasted U.S. greed and waste, saying the country is responsible for 27.8% of cumulative Global Warming.
* Host country Indonesia planted millions of trees to offset the estimated 47,000 tons of carbon dioxide caused by the 12-day conference. The estimate includes air transport to and from Bali. Hosts also eliminated cars from the conference site and provided 200 bicycles for ministers to use if they didn’t want to walk. (Sources: PlanetArk, AP, India Times)
Xtreme weather watch
Rainfall and snowstorms are now more severe. Since 1948, the number of intense storms has increased between 22-26% in the U.S., a new report from Environment America shows. New England and the mid-Atlantic states have been hit the worst. Mass., R.I., Vt., N.Y. and La. have all seen an increase of more than 50%. Climate scientists say this is consistent with Global Warming because warm air holds more moisture. For more, see http://environmentAmerica.org. (New York Times)
Did a cyclone just hit the Northwest? Heavy rain and hurricane-force winds of up to 129 mph hit Oregon and Washington in back-to-back storms last Sunday and Monday. In Bremerton, Wash., rainfall was recorded at 11.78 inches. The storms, which washed out roads, caused mudslides, and resulted in at least 5 deaths, were among the worst in memory. More than 100,000 people were without electricity. One Portland resident noted, “This was really a hurricane – or cyclone – and we never get those here.” (AP)
The cyclone that smacked low-lying Bangladesh last month left a huge humanitarian crisis, the UN said last week. Some 2 million residents need immediate help to save their lives. They need food, shelter, drinking water and sanitation. A total of 8.5 million were affected, more than a half-million homes were completely destroyed and 1.5 million livestock were wiped out. Cyclone Sidr hit with 155 mph winds and a 5-foot storm surge Nov. 15. International aid so far tops $143 million. (PlanetArk)
Take Action
In this season of packages and bags and wrapping paper, think green. Carry one or more canvas or reusable bags with you to put your purchases in. Tell store clerks to keep their paper and plastic bags. Use recycled wrapping paper. And when possible re-use packaging that comes to you from online or catalog items.
Make a year-end donation to environmental groups that do research and fight the good fight for all of us – in Congress, statehouses, elections and courts. They include the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, League of Conservation Voters, Environmental Defense, World Wildlife Federation and Union of Concerned Scientists. And that doesn’t exhaust the list, if you have another favorite. Without them, there would be little, if any, progress.
Likely to survive are the 35 mpg corporate fuel economy (CAFE) standards and the biofuels section (though that may be changed). Most likely to go are the requirement for private power plants to get 15% (actually just 11%) of their power from renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass by 2022 and the shift of $21 billion in tax breaks from oil and gas to renewable energy development and efficiency.
But without those provisions, how the devil will we make the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy quickly enough to prevent catastrophic warming? Big oil, coal and power plants won this round and we lost. The fossil fuel economy is barely dented.
The cloture vote, which showed the votes aren't there to prevent a filibuster, put most Democrats on the right side of the issue and most Republicans on the side of fossil fuels. There were some exceptions. GOP Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (Maine), Norm Coleman (Minn.), Arlen Spector (Pa.), Gordon Smith (Ore.) and John Thune (S.D.) voted with the good guys. (Collins, Coleman and Smith have tough re-election campaigns against Democrats next year). And Dems Evan Bayh (Ind.), Mary Landrieu (La.) and Richard Byrd (W.Va.) voted with the bad guys. If you live in any of their states, let them hear from you.
What was in the House bill
In addition to the 35 mpg CAFE standard for cars and light trucks combined in 2020, and the 15% RES for large investor-owned electric power plants (4 percentage points of which could come from buying offsets) the same year, the bill included:
• A nearly 5-fold increase in biofuels, to 36 billion gallons in 2022, with 21 billion from “advanced” (mostly cellulosic) fuels that cut GHG 50-60% (as opposed to corn, which cuts very little).
• A $21 billion tax package with $13 in new taxes (or eliminated tax breaks) for oil and gas, and incentives for energy efficiency in buildings, appliances, furnaces and lighting, renewable energy sources and plug-in hybrid cars.
• Increased testing of carbon capture and sequestration, the main hope for “clean” coal.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was credited with tough negotiations (mainly with fellow Democrats) to get such a strong bill approved.
The importance of CAFE
The 35 mpg CAFE standard would cut oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels a day in 2020, or the equivalent of taking 28 million cars off the road. This is the first move to raise mileage standards since the oil crisis of the 1970s. In fact, by 1988, with the crisis behind us, the auto companies were building larger cars again and were allowed to meet a 27.5 mpg standard, not the scheduled 28.5. That, of course, didn’t include SUVs, which are classified as light trucks and have a 22 mpg standard. Why is CAFE politically acceptable this year? We can probably thank the lofty price of oil. People are ready to save money at the pump. And the auto industry and UAW were won over by concessions granted to their champion, House Energy Chair John Dingell (D -Mich.), in the form of flex-fuel credits and money to retool.
Efforts to salvage renewables and taxes
Sen. Energy Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Friday they would negotiate through the weekend in an effort to find some middle ground and salvage the RES and tax portions of the bill – at least partially. They need an additional 7 votes. While 20 states already have their own renewable electricity standards, the Southeast and some Midwest states are concerned they don’t have enough wind to meet the standard. One GOP Senator suggested a much smaller tax package might be OK’d. A chief opponent, the retiring and ill Sen. Pete Domenici (N.M.), ranking member of the Energy Committee, wants nuclear loan guarantees in the bill and reportedly prevailed on fellow Republicans to oppose the bill passed by the House.
Bush veto threat
A final concern, of course, is a presidential veto. Bush doesn’t like the $13 billion in oil and gas taxes or the renewable fuels provision. He wants to include coal-based transportation fuels (which release more CO2 than gasoline) and to pre-empt state laws on alternative fuels. Many in Congress would like to see CAFE standards and energy efficiency, at least, signed into law.
Next step
The aim is to come up with a bill that can pass the Senate with at least 60 votes, and has some chance of getting the president’s signature. Once passed by the Senate, it will have to go back to the House for a vote. Leadership wants to accomplish this before the planned Congressional recess on Dec. 22.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Greenwire, E&E News PM, The End of Nature by Bill McKibben)
Congressional round-up
Lieberman-Warner bill passed out of Boxer's committee
In another milestone this week, the Senate passed its first mandatory cap-and-trade bill out of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-Calif.) Environment and Public Works Committee by an 11-8 vote. The compromise bill, which most environmentalists think is too weak, and opponents think is too strong, will now go to the floor for what promises to be a lively debate, though no one is saying when. The bill covers 80% of the economy, mandating 70% in GHG cuts by 2050. The vast majority of allowances would be given to industries that will be affected, with only a small portion auctioned. Fee credits will be phased out by 2031.
News in brief
Green economy will result in more jobs, studies say
The move from a fossil-fuel to a “green” economy will have a net worldwide job gain, according to a new UN report. In addition to “green collar” jobs, there will be construction, transportation, engineering, manufacturing and sustainable agriculture and forestry jobs, the report said. In Brazil, the ethanol business has created a half-million jobs, and in China 150,000 are employed in solar heating. The jobs will more than make up for layoffs in old fossil-fuel industries, showing a small net gain, the report said. A second study, by the American Solar Energy Society, estimates that in the U.S., policies favoring renewable energy sources and energy efficiency could produce 40 million new jobs and $4.5 trillion in new revenue by 2030. Most of the jobs, 32 million, would be in efficiency measures such as retrofitting buildings, while 8 million would be in the renewables sector, with solar, wind, ethanol and hydrogen cells seeing the most growth. (Source: Greenwire)
Tropical zones expanding as the Earth gets warmer
Tropical regions are pushing north and south toward the poles at a rate much faster than expected. In the past 25 years, they have moved 2.5 degrees latitude, or 140-330 miles, according to a study in the journal Nature Geoscience last week. Climate models had predicted it would take 100 years to move just 2 degrees. The expansion brings with it a shift in high-altitude wind and rain patterns, and affects agricultural zones and water availability. (Source: Greenwire)
Skiers, marchers, bikers protest against climate change
Protestors called attention to Global Warming Sunday in 50 cities around the world. In Berlin, a sculptor carved a polar bear in ice at the Brandenburg Gate. In Auckland, 350 formed “Climate SOS” by lying in the grass at a park. In Taipei, 1,500 marched with signs saying “No carbon dioxide.” In Manila, hundreds rallied with windmills on their heads. In Helsinki, 50 skied on asphalt streets saying, “Give us our snowy winters back.” And here in the U.S., 50 took a polar bear plunge into Walden Pond. (Source: Associated Press)
News from Bali
Climate scientists lose patience, plead for radical action
More than 215 leading climate scientists, some of whom have taken no stance up to now, petitioned the delegates at the Bali UN climate conference to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The petitioners come from more than 2 dozen countries. “The science community is basically fed up,” one signer from Canada told the Associated Press.
Other headlines this first week of the Dec. 3-14 190-nation conference:
* Saving rainforests is a high priority but one about which there is disagreement. The conference is likely to launch pilot projects trying two approaches – trading on the carbon market and using a fund to compensate countries for stopping slash-and-born. Deforestation was not in the Kyoto Protocol but causes 20% of GHG worldwide. Many want it in the next international treaty.
* Carbon capture is not on the Bali agenda. The technology is still unproven and would cost about $1 billion per plant, though ultimately it may be the answer to low- or no-carbon use of coal. Perhaps carbon capture and storage will be part of future talks, Yvo de Boer, top UN climate official, told Reuters.
* The U.S. delegation continues to oppose mandatory cuts of GHG, and made light of the passage of the first cap-and-trade bill from committee onto the Senate floor last week. The National Environmental Trust blasted U.S. greed and waste, saying the country is responsible for 27.8% of cumulative Global Warming.
* Host country Indonesia planted millions of trees to offset the estimated 47,000 tons of carbon dioxide caused by the 12-day conference. The estimate includes air transport to and from Bali. Hosts also eliminated cars from the conference site and provided 200 bicycles for ministers to use if they didn’t want to walk. (Sources: PlanetArk, AP, India Times)
Xtreme weather watch
Rainfall and snowstorms are now more severe. Since 1948, the number of intense storms has increased between 22-26% in the U.S., a new report from Environment America shows. New England and the mid-Atlantic states have been hit the worst. Mass., R.I., Vt., N.Y. and La. have all seen an increase of more than 50%. Climate scientists say this is consistent with Global Warming because warm air holds more moisture. For more, see http://environmentAmerica.org. (New York Times)
Did a cyclone just hit the Northwest? Heavy rain and hurricane-force winds of up to 129 mph hit Oregon and Washington in back-to-back storms last Sunday and Monday. In Bremerton, Wash., rainfall was recorded at 11.78 inches. The storms, which washed out roads, caused mudslides, and resulted in at least 5 deaths, were among the worst in memory. More than 100,000 people were without electricity. One Portland resident noted, “This was really a hurricane – or cyclone – and we never get those here.” (AP)
The cyclone that smacked low-lying Bangladesh last month left a huge humanitarian crisis, the UN said last week. Some 2 million residents need immediate help to save their lives. They need food, shelter, drinking water and sanitation. A total of 8.5 million were affected, more than a half-million homes were completely destroyed and 1.5 million livestock were wiped out. Cyclone Sidr hit with 155 mph winds and a 5-foot storm surge Nov. 15. International aid so far tops $143 million. (PlanetArk)
Take Action
In this season of packages and bags and wrapping paper, think green. Carry one or more canvas or reusable bags with you to put your purchases in. Tell store clerks to keep their paper and plastic bags. Use recycled wrapping paper. And when possible re-use packaging that comes to you from online or catalog items.
Make a year-end donation to environmental groups that do research and fight the good fight for all of us – in Congress, statehouses, elections and courts. They include the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, League of Conservation Voters, Environmental Defense, World Wildlife Federation and Union of Concerned Scientists. And that doesn’t exhaust the list, if you have another favorite. Without them, there would be little, if any, progress.
Monday, December 03, 2007
Warning to world: Fix climate in 10 years
Weekly angst: In an urgent call to action for the nations meeting in Bali this week, a new UN report says the world must repair its climate in the next 10 years. Unless it does so, we face large-scale human and economic set-backs and ecological disaster, says the UN Human Development 2007 report, released last week. It sets out a road map for the delegates to begin negotiating a successor to the Kyoto Accord.
“The message for Bali is the world can’t afford to wait; it has less than a decade to change course,” said lead author Kevin Watkins of Oxford University.
Rich countries should cut their greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2020 and then 80% by 2050, the report says. Developing countries should cut 20% by 2050, the report said.
The world will need to spend 1.6% of global economic output each year through 2030 to stabilize GHG in the atmosphere and keep temperatures at a safe level of no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) above pre-industrial times, the report said.
Recommendations include:
• Improving the efficiency of cars
• Taxes or caps on emissions
• Trading allowances
• Transfer of carbon-capture technology to China and other countries dependent on coal.
• An international fund of $25 billion to $50 billion a year to help provide low-carbon energy in developing countries.
Many countries have the technical and financial resources they need, but not the political will to act, the report said.
Critical of United States
The report takes a shot at the U.S., not only for refusing to abide by the Kyoto treaty, but for our continuing reliance on coal, the leading source of GHG emissions. About 150 new coal-fired electricity plants are on the drawing board.
The Bush administration wants voluntary targets based on “intensity,” the increase in emissions per unit of economic growth. But that won’t work, scientists say. Since 1990, the U.S. has reduced emissions 25% in intensity, but real emissions are up 25%.
The report urges the U.S. to support a new annual global investment fund of $86 billion for adaptation and to help build “climate proof” infrastructure in developing countries. This would cost the northern, industrialized countries 0.2% of GDP.
Damage to poor countries
Even immediate steps won’t have a major impact until 2030, and temperatures will continue rising till 2050, due to accumulation in the atmosphere (CO2 stays around for a century). So climate disasters like droughts and floods will become more frequent and will require adaptation, it said.
Developing countries are most likely to suffer the impact of unrestrained Global Warming, though it will affect us all. (Climate disasters in 2000-2004 affected 262 million people, 98% of them in the developing world.) The report estimates that if the temperature rises 5.4-7.2%, 340 million would be displaced by flooding, and up to 1.8 billions would face a shortage of water.
There’s a large gap between what industrial (rich) countries and developing (poor) countries can do on their own to adapt to or prevent climate catastrophes. For example, the low-lying Netherlands has a system of dikes and has begun building homes that float. In Vietnam, however, the answer has been to hand out life jackets and teach people how to swim, the report said.
“Leaving the world’s poor to sink or swim is morally wrong,” wrote contributor Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner from South Africa.
Wealthy countries have a responsibility to help the poor nations, which have fallen victim to the energy-intensive lifestyles of those in rich countries, the report says. People in the U.S. use 15 times the energy per capita as those in India, it points out. The average air-conditioning unit in Florida uses more energy in a year than a person in Cambodia or Afghanistan uses in a lifetime.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Inter Press Service)
Congressional round-up
Democrats reach deal on energy bill! House to vote Wednesday
Auto state Democrats Rep. John Dingell and Sen. Carl Levin are now onboard for a far-reaching energy bill that will include CAFE standards of 35 mpg by 2020, a 15% renewable electricity standard (RES) for non-public utilities, energy efficiency standards and biofuel production of 36 billion gallons by 2022. The bill will be up for a vote Wednesday in the House and likely the following week in the Senate, with Congressional leadership feeling positive about chances of passage, though many Republicans are opposed. The Senate needs 60 votes to avoid a filibuster. In heavy negotiations, Dingell won some concessions: separate schedules for cars and SUVs (though the corporate average still must be 35 by 2020), and an extension until 2014 of credits for flex fuel vehicles that run on 85% ethanol, which will be phased out between 2014-2020. This is the first change in CAFE standards since the ‘70s. Cars now average 27.5 mpg and trucks and SUVs 22. Some difference of opinion remained this weekend over the RES provision and whether it could sink the bill in the Senate. (Sources: AP, E&E Daily)
Lieberman cap-and-trade bill gets minor changes in committee
A few adjustments have been made in the Lieberman-Warner bill before the attempt to pass it out of committee this week. Natural gas processors were added to the bill, so now it covers 80% of the economy, not 75%. Free credits would start to be phased out in 2031 instead of 2036. And there would be a separate cap on hydrofluorocarbons, an especially potent GHG. The bill still has the target of 63% below 2005 levels in 2050, less than the 80% below 1990 scientists say is needed. The compromise bill is still too weak, many environmental advocates say, especially in the number of credits given away instead of auctioned. Environment Chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) seems confident the bill will be approved by her committee. (Sources: E&E News PM, E&E Daily)
News in brief
‘Dramatic spike’ in thaw of Greenland ice sheet last summer
The ice sheet in Greenland melted at a record pace this past summer, according to research published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Melting started more than a month earlier than usual and topped the record thaw of 1998 by 60%. While the temperature in Greenland this summer was the warmest since modern records began in 1961, that is not the only cause, said researcher Thomas Mote of the University of Georgia. Other possibilities include a warmer winter where less snow and ice accumulated and the overall temperature rise in Greenland for the past three years. Greenland is a concern because a significant meltdown could raise sea levels by many feet. (Source: E&E PM)
Global businesses urge ‘strong, early action’ by Bali delegates
Shell, GE and DuPont are among 150 worldwide corporations that signed a petition urging the participants at Bali to begin taking strong action to prevent climate change. Ambitious restrictions on GHG are good for companies, they said, because Global Warming poses risks for business. Let science decide how much to cut, they said. Other signers included Coca Cola, British Airways and Nestle SA.
In other Bali-related news last week:
• The U.S. and EU proposed a trade plan that removes tariffs and other barriers from "climate-friendly" goods and services like solar panels, wind turbines and nuclear reactor parts. Trade officials from 190 countries will meet in Bali Dec. 8-9 as part of the international conference on climate change.
• India and Brazil both criticized a UN report calling for developing countries to reduce emissions 20% by 2050 (while rich countries cut 80%).
• Countries doing the worst at meeting their goals under the Kyoto Accord will have to pay up to $33 billion. Spain, Portugal and Italy, among the 36 countries committed to reductions by Kyoto, have not paid to convert factories and power plants, so now will have to pay for credits.
• Malaysia had the most rapid increase in emissions, 221% from 1991-2004. (During that period U.S. emissions went up 25%) Malaysia is not committed to reductions under the Kyoto Accord.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Greenwire)
McKinsey report: Much of climate investment will pay for itself
The U.S. can reduce emissions through a portfolio of existing technologies without wrecking the economy, an international consulting firm said last week. More efficient electronics, autos and agriculture would pay for themselves, said the report by McKinsey & Co. Other technologies such as reforestation, carbon capture from coal plants, and efficient cooling of commercial buildings could be accomplished for as little as $50 a ton, the report said. Emissions could be cut by the amount recommended by scientists with a $1.1 trillion investment by 2030, and extra 1.5% over what would otherwise be invested. Public utilities won’t need to build 85% of the 150 or so coal-fired plants planned if efficiencies quell the demand. However, government must provide “strong stimuli and policy interventions,” the report said, because, given the upfront investment, the changes are unlikely to materialize by themselves. (Source: E&E News PM)
Brown on Green: Prime Minister to lead ‘Revolution’ in Britain
New Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently vowed to lead a green “technology revolution” and create hundreds of thousands of new clean-tech jobs. Brown said he is looking at raising the UK’s current 2050 target of 60% GHG reductions to 80%, in line with what scientists say is need to avert a climate disaster. He said he wants to set up a new “green homes” unit and generate 20% of power from renewables by 2020. He also plans talks with supermarkets and retailers about eliminating throw-away plastic bags. (Source: Greenwire)
Xtreme weather watch
2007 is on track to be the warmest year on record in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The previous record was set in 2005. Temperatures from January-October were 1.3 degrees F above normal. Worldwide, those 9 months were the third warmest. (USA Today)
Flooding in Jakarta, Indonesia, was blamed on Global Warming by the country’s environmental minister last week. Rising seas flooded parts of Jakarta, encroaching a mile inland and leaving water 6 feet deep in places. Thousands fled their homes. A flood expert criticized authorities for ignoring warnings about especially high tides and failing to repair barriers breached the previous week. (Greenwire)
Take action
Voting is expected Wednesday on the final energy bill, calling for 35 mpg CAFE standards and 15% renewable electricity standards (RES). This is a huge step in the right direction. Please call the capitol switchboard (202-224-3121) and ask for your Congressman by name. Tell their office staff you want them to vote for the energy bill. It takes just a minute. (If you can, you may want to check in on C-SPAN that day. You may be able to catch the vote taking place.) And Senators will vote either Friday or the following week. We’ll need calls to them also, as 60 votes are needed to avoid filibuster.
For those who are planning to put up Christmas lights but haven’t done so yet, get the energy-efficient LED type that are for sale at Target, Home Depot, Wal-Mart and on the Internet (Google LED Christmas lights).
“The message for Bali is the world can’t afford to wait; it has less than a decade to change course,” said lead author Kevin Watkins of Oxford University.
Rich countries should cut their greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2020 and then 80% by 2050, the report says. Developing countries should cut 20% by 2050, the report said.
The world will need to spend 1.6% of global economic output each year through 2030 to stabilize GHG in the atmosphere and keep temperatures at a safe level of no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) above pre-industrial times, the report said.
Recommendations include:
• Improving the efficiency of cars
• Taxes or caps on emissions
• Trading allowances
• Transfer of carbon-capture technology to China and other countries dependent on coal.
• An international fund of $25 billion to $50 billion a year to help provide low-carbon energy in developing countries.
Many countries have the technical and financial resources they need, but not the political will to act, the report said.
Critical of United States
The report takes a shot at the U.S., not only for refusing to abide by the Kyoto treaty, but for our continuing reliance on coal, the leading source of GHG emissions. About 150 new coal-fired electricity plants are on the drawing board.
The Bush administration wants voluntary targets based on “intensity,” the increase in emissions per unit of economic growth. But that won’t work, scientists say. Since 1990, the U.S. has reduced emissions 25% in intensity, but real emissions are up 25%.
The report urges the U.S. to support a new annual global investment fund of $86 billion for adaptation and to help build “climate proof” infrastructure in developing countries. This would cost the northern, industrialized countries 0.2% of GDP.
Damage to poor countries
Even immediate steps won’t have a major impact until 2030, and temperatures will continue rising till 2050, due to accumulation in the atmosphere (CO2 stays around for a century). So climate disasters like droughts and floods will become more frequent and will require adaptation, it said.
Developing countries are most likely to suffer the impact of unrestrained Global Warming, though it will affect us all. (Climate disasters in 2000-2004 affected 262 million people, 98% of them in the developing world.) The report estimates that if the temperature rises 5.4-7.2%, 340 million would be displaced by flooding, and up to 1.8 billions would face a shortage of water.
There’s a large gap between what industrial (rich) countries and developing (poor) countries can do on their own to adapt to or prevent climate catastrophes. For example, the low-lying Netherlands has a system of dikes and has begun building homes that float. In Vietnam, however, the answer has been to hand out life jackets and teach people how to swim, the report said.
“Leaving the world’s poor to sink or swim is morally wrong,” wrote contributor Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner from South Africa.
Wealthy countries have a responsibility to help the poor nations, which have fallen victim to the energy-intensive lifestyles of those in rich countries, the report says. People in the U.S. use 15 times the energy per capita as those in India, it points out. The average air-conditioning unit in Florida uses more energy in a year than a person in Cambodia or Afghanistan uses in a lifetime.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Inter Press Service)
Congressional round-up
Democrats reach deal on energy bill! House to vote Wednesday
Auto state Democrats Rep. John Dingell and Sen. Carl Levin are now onboard for a far-reaching energy bill that will include CAFE standards of 35 mpg by 2020, a 15% renewable electricity standard (RES) for non-public utilities, energy efficiency standards and biofuel production of 36 billion gallons by 2022. The bill will be up for a vote Wednesday in the House and likely the following week in the Senate, with Congressional leadership feeling positive about chances of passage, though many Republicans are opposed. The Senate needs 60 votes to avoid a filibuster. In heavy negotiations, Dingell won some concessions: separate schedules for cars and SUVs (though the corporate average still must be 35 by 2020), and an extension until 2014 of credits for flex fuel vehicles that run on 85% ethanol, which will be phased out between 2014-2020. This is the first change in CAFE standards since the ‘70s. Cars now average 27.5 mpg and trucks and SUVs 22. Some difference of opinion remained this weekend over the RES provision and whether it could sink the bill in the Senate. (Sources: AP, E&E Daily)
Lieberman cap-and-trade bill gets minor changes in committee
A few adjustments have been made in the Lieberman-Warner bill before the attempt to pass it out of committee this week. Natural gas processors were added to the bill, so now it covers 80% of the economy, not 75%. Free credits would start to be phased out in 2031 instead of 2036. And there would be a separate cap on hydrofluorocarbons, an especially potent GHG. The bill still has the target of 63% below 2005 levels in 2050, less than the 80% below 1990 scientists say is needed. The compromise bill is still too weak, many environmental advocates say, especially in the number of credits given away instead of auctioned. Environment Chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) seems confident the bill will be approved by her committee. (Sources: E&E News PM, E&E Daily)
News in brief
‘Dramatic spike’ in thaw of Greenland ice sheet last summer
The ice sheet in Greenland melted at a record pace this past summer, according to research published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Melting started more than a month earlier than usual and topped the record thaw of 1998 by 60%. While the temperature in Greenland this summer was the warmest since modern records began in 1961, that is not the only cause, said researcher Thomas Mote of the University of Georgia. Other possibilities include a warmer winter where less snow and ice accumulated and the overall temperature rise in Greenland for the past three years. Greenland is a concern because a significant meltdown could raise sea levels by many feet. (Source: E&E PM)
Global businesses urge ‘strong, early action’ by Bali delegates
Shell, GE and DuPont are among 150 worldwide corporations that signed a petition urging the participants at Bali to begin taking strong action to prevent climate change. Ambitious restrictions on GHG are good for companies, they said, because Global Warming poses risks for business. Let science decide how much to cut, they said. Other signers included Coca Cola, British Airways and Nestle SA.
In other Bali-related news last week:
• The U.S. and EU proposed a trade plan that removes tariffs and other barriers from "climate-friendly" goods and services like solar panels, wind turbines and nuclear reactor parts. Trade officials from 190 countries will meet in Bali Dec. 8-9 as part of the international conference on climate change.
• India and Brazil both criticized a UN report calling for developing countries to reduce emissions 20% by 2050 (while rich countries cut 80%).
• Countries doing the worst at meeting their goals under the Kyoto Accord will have to pay up to $33 billion. Spain, Portugal and Italy, among the 36 countries committed to reductions by Kyoto, have not paid to convert factories and power plants, so now will have to pay for credits.
• Malaysia had the most rapid increase in emissions, 221% from 1991-2004. (During that period U.S. emissions went up 25%) Malaysia is not committed to reductions under the Kyoto Accord.
(Sources: PlanetArk, Greenwire)
McKinsey report: Much of climate investment will pay for itself
The U.S. can reduce emissions through a portfolio of existing technologies without wrecking the economy, an international consulting firm said last week. More efficient electronics, autos and agriculture would pay for themselves, said the report by McKinsey & Co. Other technologies such as reforestation, carbon capture from coal plants, and efficient cooling of commercial buildings could be accomplished for as little as $50 a ton, the report said. Emissions could be cut by the amount recommended by scientists with a $1.1 trillion investment by 2030, and extra 1.5% over what would otherwise be invested. Public utilities won’t need to build 85% of the 150 or so coal-fired plants planned if efficiencies quell the demand. However, government must provide “strong stimuli and policy interventions,” the report said, because, given the upfront investment, the changes are unlikely to materialize by themselves. (Source: E&E News PM)
Brown on Green: Prime Minister to lead ‘Revolution’ in Britain
New Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently vowed to lead a green “technology revolution” and create hundreds of thousands of new clean-tech jobs. Brown said he is looking at raising the UK’s current 2050 target of 60% GHG reductions to 80%, in line with what scientists say is need to avert a climate disaster. He said he wants to set up a new “green homes” unit and generate 20% of power from renewables by 2020. He also plans talks with supermarkets and retailers about eliminating throw-away plastic bags. (Source: Greenwire)
Xtreme weather watch
2007 is on track to be the warmest year on record in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The previous record was set in 2005. Temperatures from January-October were 1.3 degrees F above normal. Worldwide, those 9 months were the third warmest. (USA Today)
Flooding in Jakarta, Indonesia, was blamed on Global Warming by the country’s environmental minister last week. Rising seas flooded parts of Jakarta, encroaching a mile inland and leaving water 6 feet deep in places. Thousands fled their homes. A flood expert criticized authorities for ignoring warnings about especially high tides and failing to repair barriers breached the previous week. (Greenwire)
Take action
Voting is expected Wednesday on the final energy bill, calling for 35 mpg CAFE standards and 15% renewable electricity standards (RES). This is a huge step in the right direction. Please call the capitol switchboard (202-224-3121) and ask for your Congressman by name. Tell their office staff you want them to vote for the energy bill. It takes just a minute. (If you can, you may want to check in on C-SPAN that day. You may be able to catch the vote taking place.) And Senators will vote either Friday or the following week. We’ll need calls to them also, as 60 votes are needed to avoid filibuster.
For those who are planning to put up Christmas lights but haven’t done so yet, get the energy-efficient LED type that are for sale at Target, Home Depot, Wal-Mart and on the Internet (Google LED Christmas lights).
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