Environmental Defense Fund lists 'high quality' carbon offsets on new Web site

(Photo of methane capture in landfill from Flickr and photographer meaduva.)

News Update: Thinking about buying carbon offsets to make yourself carbon neutral? After thorough examination, the Environmental Defense Fund has approved 11 projects that offer real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The projects, listed on carbonoffsetlist.org, are an effort by ED to provide “high quality offsets” for businesses and individuals who want to counter their carbon footprint by purchasing offsets in the $50 million unregulated carbon market that is often unreliable and sometimes fraudulent. The list is the result of hours of investigation and examination of reams of paperwork and features projects such as capture and combustion of landfill methane. No wind or forest projects are included, perhaps because of the difficulty of measuring the exact savings of GHG. ED said other projects will be added in the future. (Sources: ClimateWire, The Daily Green, Environmental Defense)

Will China become a Green Dragon when it comes to clean energy to fight climate change?

(Photo of wind power in China from Flickr and photographer drs2biz/David Schroeter)


Weekly Angst: All eyes are on China this week. That’s because of the Olympics, but there’s a far more important reason to China-watch. As the world’s fastest-growing economy it has great power for good or evil – when it comes to global warming.

China has passed up the U.S. as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, releasing 24% of the world’s total, and it’s building an average of one coal-fired power plant a week. That’s scary.

At the same time, it’s leading the world in hydropower, is a major producer of photovoltaic solar panels, and will likely soon lead in making wind turbines.

Its autos are required to have 40% greater fuel economy than ours and it has mandated 15% renewable energy by 2020 – something our own Congress failed to pass.

A report released Aug. 1 by The Climate Group, an independent nonprofit, pulls together information about “China’s Clean Revolution”:
* It leads the world in total installed capacity of renewable energy.
* It is second to Japan in solar photovoltaic production.
* It is likely to be the largest exporter of wind turbines by 2009.
* It has 60% of the world market in solar water heaters.
* It’s the third largest ethanol producer.
* It leads the world in hydroelectric power and is 5th in wind power.
* It spent $12 billion on clean energy last year, second only to Germany, which spent $14 billion (they have similar-sized economies) and more than the United States. For shame.

In 2005, China enacted fuel-economy standards for autos and new-building efficiency design codes that would cut energy use in half. In 2006, in passed a Renewable Energy Law, mandating the purchase of wind, solar and biomass for power plants, and a tax of up to 20% on SUVs.

Seizing green economic advantage
“China’s beginning to unleash a low-carbon dragon,” said Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group, which advises government and businesses on how to combat climate change, and co-author of the report.

Clean-energy demand has given the Chinese economy an opportunity and they are forging ahead of us. Tens of thousands of companies are making everything from solar panels to electric bicycles to energy-efficient appliances to wind turbines. The 6 largest solar companies have a market value of $15 billion.

One city, Rizhao, has set out to become a carbon-neutral showcase and is half-way there, according to a recent story on ClimateWire. Highrise buildings will collect solar power during the 260 days of sunshine in the oceanside city, which plans to close down cement, paper and steel businesses that use coal. Rizhao shares this goal with a small number of other cities: Arendal, Norway; Vancouver, Canada; and Vaxjo, Sweden.

Coal still main energy source
All is not blue skies though. Fossil fuels provide most of the power, and if trends continue, 70% of China’s new electric power by 2030 will come from coal, the Climate Group report said. So by that year China will be adding an estimated 4 billion tons of CO2 to the atmosphere, more than the European Union’s total now.

But China realizes it can’t sustain the kind of dirty industrial development the West had and must look for a better, cleaner way. Motivation comes from the enormous air-pollution problem and shortage of natural resources in a country trying to lift its population (one-fifth of the world) out of poverty.

China depends heavily on imports, and the high cost of fuel has made renewable energy far more attractive, The Climate Group’s China director, Changhua Wu, told the BBC.

“In China we are concerned about the speed of growth of emissions. It’s really scary,” Wu said. The government wants to stabilize emissions by 2020, mainly through efficiency, renewable energy and electric cars, she said, but more policy incentives are needed.

As a growing world power, and leading emitter of greenhouse gases, China will be one of the most important countries in seeking an international solution to climate change. But China has taken the position that the developing world, which was responsible for the overwhelming majority of greenhouse gases until recently, must show its sincerity and ability to cut its own GHG before expecting new economies to do likewise.

“If they are not able to do it with the technology available to them, then is it reasonable to expect China and India to do it?” asked Wu.
(Sources: The Climate Group, BBC News, ClimateWire, Reuters)

Climate Counts site ranks companies’ commitment to curbing global warming emissions

(Photo of Google logo from Flickr and photographer Douglas Porter.)

News Update 4: Nonprofit Climate Counts has released its second annual ranking of 56 consumer companies’ commitment to going green. Criteria are measurement of emissions, plans to reduce them, and disclosure. Google, with its target of becoming carbon neutral, moved up 38 points to 55. Most companies showed some improvement, but the average is still just 40 out of a possible 100. See the scorecard at climatecounts.org to check out the companies whose products and services you use. (Sources: Greenwire, New York Times, Climatecounts.org)

Antarctic ice no longer safe

News update: Ice sheets in Antarctic, once thought to be unaffected by global warming, are melting at an increasingly rapid rate, says a study in Nature Geoscience. It was known ice was melting on a peninsula jutting toward South America, but not elsewhere on the huge ice cap that contains 90% of the world’s ice. A warming circumpolar current is thought to be causing the problem, as it eats away at the ice 200 yards below the ocean’s surface. The annual Antarctic ice loss, at 132 billion metric tons a year, is getting close to that in Greenland in scope, the researchers said The melting suggests sea levels could rise much higher than expected. East Antarctic has so far been unaffected and surface temperatures on the continent remain stable. (Source: Washington Post)

Western governors eye efficiency to avoid 100 new plants
The Western Governors Assn., made up of 19 states and 3 Pacific islands, is encouraging energy conservation in homes and commercial buildings to save 48,000 megawatts of power, 1.8 trillion gallons of water and $53 billion over 15 years. In a new report, they call for stronger building codes, separating utility sales from profit, and increasing incentives for energy efficiency. If the states adopt the recommendations, the need for new power could be cut 75% in 15 years, the equivalent of 100 power plants. (Source: Greenwire)

Germany leads world in renewable energy growth
Renewable sources provided 14% of power consumed in Germany in 2007, up from a little under 12% in 2006. Wind was responsible for much of the increase, the German Renewable Energy Federation said last week. But plans to reduce government support may slow growth in the future, as happened with biofuels last year. (Source: PlanetArk)

UK to build five towns that have zero carbon emissions
Britain plans five carbon-neutral “eco-towns” of 5,000-20,000 homes, that will be powered by wind or solar and designed to minimize car and water use. By 2016, all of Britain’s new homes will have to be carbon neutral. (Sierra magazine)

Mini-cities in Florida, New York have common green destiny
Developers are building two sustainable cities outside Disney World in Florida and Syracuse, N.Y. Both named “Destiny,” the cities aim for LEED certification from the U.S. Green Buildings Council. In N.Y., plans include a renewable energy plant, horizontal elevators to take people around the car-less city and a monorail to the Syracuse airport and downtown. In Florida, on the cite of the old Yeehaw Junction (maybe you’ve seen the turnpike signs), plans include an eco-industrial park for clean-energy businesses, canals and lakes for drainage, solar panels and a reservoir to catch rainwater. Jobs close to home will be a key. (Source: Greenwire)