Weekly angst:

Solutions must include China, India … and the U.S.
China will pass up the United States as the top emitter of greenhouse gases in 2009, the International Energy Agency predicted earlier this month.

The U.S. now emits one-quarter of the world’s heat-trapping gases. But China, India and other developing countries with fast-growing economies are expected to produce most of the increase in emissions over the next 25 years.

So, clearly they need to be a party to any global solution – and so do we. The “leader of the free world” and biggest polluter must be willing to restrict GHG emissions or others will balk at making sacrifices and we will get nowhere.

China has resisted limits on its emissions and calls instead for tighter restrictions on industrial countries, which have created most of the greenhouse gases now in the atmosphere. It sticks in China’s craw that the U.S. is not party to the Kyoto Protocol and has not reduced its emissions. And many European countries that are part of Kyoto don’t seem to be on track to meet their targets.

Kyoto, which only includes industrialized countries, expires in 2012. So the U.N. Framework Conference on Climate Change is trying to bring all countries together to take the next steps to reduce global warming after 2012. It isn’t easy. There’s a sharp divide between the developed and developing countries on how to proceed.

Among the developing countries, “there has been a loss of confidence … since the developed countries, and particularly the largest ones, have not done more,” the Indian chairman of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change told the New York Times. ”They’re going to shift the burden on us – that’s the popular view.”

China forges ahead with coal use
Meanwhile China, which is about 70% reliant on coal for energy, is building a new coal-fired electricity plant every week. Worldwide, coal use is on the rise because it is plentiful and cheap. Coal use has increased as much in the past three years as in the previous 23, according to the Times. China accounts for 90% of the increase. India is responsible for 8%, and the U.S. comes in third.

China has made some efforts at energy conservation, in order to limit its reliance on foreign oil and reduce its dangerous level of air pollution. Its fuel economy restrictions on cars are stricter than those in the U.S. China also has started requiring power companies to build fewer and larger coal-powered plants instead of more small ones, to cut down on the need for coal, according to the Times.

At the recent U.N. Framework Conference in Nairobi, China reported progress with renewable and nuclear energy, biofuels and reforestation. But clearly the emissions from China are becoming a serious, if not overwhelming, problem for the world.

At the U.N. conference, there was little agreement regarding future restrictions, as developing countries asked for credits for stopping deforestation, flexibility in their contributions to the global effort, and the buying out of intellectual property rights in order to share in new technologies.l To the latter, the industrial countries said no.

It’s not going to be easy to bring all these countries together to head off the impending climate catastrophe.

Pew Center offers suggestions
The Pew Center for Global Climate Change has offered suggestions for a successful international climate effort. Based on a dialogue among participants from 15 countries and 7 major companies, Pew says it will be necessary to engage the major economies (25 countries account for 83% of GHG); be flexible about allowing different kinds of commitments from different countries; strive for a common long-term goal; help developing countries with aid, investment and access to clean technologies; and help developing countries adapt to inevitable climate change.

A global agreement on climate change will only be possible if each country perceives it as reasonably fair, the Pew report said, ass it offered suggestions for a future international agreement:
• Emissions targets coupled with international trading of credits should remain a core element of the multinational effort.
• International sectors such as power and transportation could negotiate commitments across the globe.
• Countries could commit to broad goals integrating climate and development, then pledge national measures to achieve them.
• Governments could increase support for research and development, and facilitate the use of clean technologies in developing countries.
As a first step, Pew says, leaders of the major economies should convene an informal dialogue, to seek consensus on the general nature and scope of multilateral efforts post-2012.


News update

1. Nations cooperate to build $12.8 billion fusion reactor
The United State, China, the European Union, India, Russia, Japan and South Korea signed an agreement last week to build an experimental fusion reactor in France. Fusion’s advantages are that its basic fuels are readily available, it produces no greenhouse gas or nuclear waste, it doesn’t require transport of radioactive materials and there’s no chance of a meltdown. Some have expressed concern it might release hazardous tritium, however. France will pay 45% of the construction cost. The United States’ bill will be $1.1 billion. The partners hope the reactor will be operational by 2014 and if it is successful, commercial fusion plants could be ready by mid-century. Cost is a consideration. (Source: Greenwire)

2. China announces large solar energy project
China announced last week it will build what it called the largest solar power station in the world. The 100-megawatt project is planned for the town of Dunhuang, which has over 3,000 hours of sunshine a year and access to electricity transmission. The project is expected to take five years. Last month, Australia announced a 154-megawatt solar power plant, which will be operational in 2013. (Sources: Greenwire, Reuters)

3. Chicago City Hall’s not so green-powered, after all
Five years ago, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley pledged to run city government 20% on renewable energy by 2006. He got a lot of attention for that pledge. But after a deal with a wind company fell through and the city cancelled a program of buying landfill (methane) energy, the city is pretty much back where it was in 2001 – fueled by nuclear and coal power. The city hasn’t bought any green energy since 2004. Daley’s office says it still plans to buy wind energy, but it could take until the end of the decade. The earlier deal fell through when the city wanted the wind company to build a manufacturing plant here. Chicago lost out to Philadelphia on that one. (Source: Chicago Tribune)

4. Three environmental groups sue over climate report
Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the Center for Biological Diversity have filed a lawsuit against the Bush Administration, saying it has failed to submit to Congress a report on climate change, as required by law. The suit was filed in federal district court in San Francisco. (Source: New York Times)

5. Texas power company seeks 11 giant coal-powered plants
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has ordered fast-tracking for any new power generation that uses Texas natural resources for “energy diversity.” Under that plan, TXU’s application for 11 new coal-fired plants will get special attention. Texas already is the country’s No. 1 C02 polluter. The amount these new plants would release is the equivalent of 10 million Cadillacs, according to the Environmental Defense Fund. In addition to C02, these plants will add tons of sulfer dioxide and nitrous oxide to the atmosphere each year. Several local organizations are opposing the applications. Hearings are to begin Nov. 27 in the expedited process. Laurie David, producer of “An Inconvenient Truth,” calls the proposed plants “global warming factories” and asks people to write TXU at txuenergy@txu.com and tell them to drop plans for their dirty plants. Or you can sign a petition at www.stopthecoalplant.org. This doesn’t just affect Texas. It affects all of us. (Source: Truthout.com)


Do something
Include one or more environmental groups in your end-of-the-year charity giving. Environmental Defense has someone who will match any gift up to Dec. 5. Environmental Defense, National Resources Defense Fund and the Environmental Law and Policy Center all work with governments and businesses to cut emissions, as well as going to court when necessary to protect us from climate change. You can reach these organizations by clicking on the name in the list down the right side of the page. There are plenty of other good organizations, such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters and Friends of the Earth, doing yeoman work on behalf of the climate, so pick your favorite. Just give. They’re doing our work, so be generous with them this holiday season.