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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brought to you by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute
Critics Angry at Bush Climate Plan President Bush drew criticism for recommending voluntary measures to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rather than mandatory cuts at his September 27-28 meeting in Washington, DC, with delegates from the world’s top 16 economies. Bush stressed that each country needs to find the right mix of tools and technology to address emissions cuts without hurting economic development. “We must do it in a way that does not undermine economic growth or prevent nations from delivering greater prosperity for their people,” the President said. Critics of the meeting, however, were disappointed by the President’s continued support of voluntary measures to deal with climate change. John Ashton, the UK Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Climate Change, said, “I think that the argument that we can do this through voluntary approaches is now pretty much discredited internationally.” Following the event, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said that with Bush as President, the chance of climate legislation being passed is “is less likely than not given the position that he's taken in opposition to any mandatory limits on greenhouse gases.” Click on the following links for more information: Legislators in both the House and the Senate said they intend to move forward with climate change legislation calling for mandatory emissions reductions, despite President Bush’s recommendation of voluntary measures to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. On October 3, Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman, and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee Chairman, issued a white paper outlining a cap-and-trade system that would reduce GHG emissions by 60 to 80 percent below current levels. The lawmakers feel a cap-and-trade system should be “the cornerstone of national policy,” but have left open the option of using taxes as well. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee plans to move bipartisan climate legislation quickly in order to be voted on in full committee by December. "Moving global warming legislation is a top priority," Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said in a statement. Many climate bills are being seriously considered, including a cap and trade system proposed by Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John Warner (R-VA). A group of Senators not on the Committee, led by Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, issued a letter October 3 to Senators Lieberman and Warner urging stronger emissions reductions to be included in the bill, along with greater measures to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. Click on the following links for more information:
EPA Says Competing Senate Climate Bills Achieve Same Goal On October 2, the EPA released a report that compares the long-term impacts of three different climate change bills being proposed in the Senate. By the end of the century, the EPA reports, each of the three bills will reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere by 23 to 25 parts per million (ppm). The three bills, one proposed by Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), another by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-VT) and John McCain (R-AZ), and the third by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), each call for a cap on CO2 emissions for cars, industry, and power plants with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 60-65 percent by mid-century. The EPA analysis was requested by Sens. Bingaman and Specter as discussion over climate legislation continues. In response to the report, Sen. Bingaman said that it “shows that inaction is the real danger with regards to climate policy.” The report’s findings were disputed by the World Resources Institute, which said the EPA analysis of federal bills “omits key assumptions.” Click on the following links for more information: Click on the following link for more information: The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has appealed the US District Court’s September 12 decision to uphold the state of Vermont’s adoption of automobile emissions regulations. “Automakers support increasing fuel economy standards and reducing emissions,” Alliance CEO David McCurdy said. “However, this case is not about that. This case centers on the critical issue of whether states can regulate a matter—fuel economy—that the law clearly identifies as a federal, national issue.” McCurdy said the appeal is “urgent as this legislation applies to model year 2009 vehicles, which consumers will start seeing in early 2008—just a few months from now.” Vermont, as well as 10 other states, has adopted California's regulations, which require passenger cars to average 43 miles per gallon by 2016. Click on the following link for more information: California Attorney General Edmund Brown and several environmental groups have petitioned the EPA to regulate emissions from oceangoing ships in US waters. The separate petitions each argue that a Supreme Court decision in spring 2007 allowed the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the Clean Air Act. Worldwide, emissions from container ships, tankers, and cruise ships add as much CO2 into the atmosphere as 130 to 195 million automobiles, argue the environmental groups, which include Friends of the Earth and the Center for Biological Diversity. The petition from the environmental groups suggests ships reduce speeds and use higher-grade fuels as possible ways to reduce GHG emissions. Click on the following link for more information:
Poll: Americans Would Pay Extra to Curb Global Warming Recent polls have found there is a growing concern among Americans regarding global warming, and the majority of people would be willing to pay more in taxes to support local government efforts to help. In a September poll conducted by the Associated Press and Yale University, most Americans said they would be willing to pay more in property taxes, home costs and utility fees to support initiatives to encourage people to use less energy and rely on alternative sources for their energy. Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz, the director of the Yale Project on Climate Change, noted, “Nearly half of Americans now believe that global warming is either already having dangerous impacts on people around the world or will in the next 10 years—a 20 percentage-point increase since 2004. These results indicate a sea change in public opinion.” Click on the following links for more information: Scientists reported this summer’s ice melt in the Arctic Sea exceeded one million square miles beyond the yearly average since satellites began taking measurements in 1979. A new study, published in the October 1 issue of Geophysical Research Letters, details the movement of ice floes due to wind patterns that have been present in the area since 2000, carrying ice from the Arctic Basin south towards Greenland. While proponents of climate change argue this is a result of increased temperatures in recent years, many Arctic experts are quick to state that the causes are not entirely clear. “We used to argue that a lot of the variability up to the late 1990s was induced by changes in the winds, natural changes not obviously related to global warming,” said John Michael Wallace, a scientist at the University of Washington. “But changes in the last few years make you have to question that.” One scientist, Wieslaw Maslowski of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, predicts that summers in the Arctic Ocean will be ice-free by 2013. In a related study, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory found that the amount of thick year-round ice has decreased by 23 percent in the past two winters. A statement released by NASA noted, “This drastic reduction of perennial winter sea ice is the primary cause of this summer's fastest-ever sea ice retreat on record and subsequent smallest-ever extent of total Arctic coverage.” Click on the following links for more information: On October 1, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives released a statement naming climate change as the top priority, calling it “the most pressing and daunting issue” today. Canada’s top CEOs further stated that government involvement will be necessary to cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the statement, issued by the coalition of 150 CEOs, they declared, “We share the goal of slowing, stopping and reversing the growth of global greenhouse gas emissions over the shortest period of time that is reasonably achievable.” The declaration is an effort by the leaders of Canadian businesses to play a more central role in national legislation that is currently being debated by Parliament. Click on the following link for more information: Australia will see a temperature increase of 1°C by 2030 and a decrease in rainfall in the coming years, climate scientists projected at the Greenhouse 2007 conference in Sydney on October 4. These forecasted changes in climate are the result of a rise in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, scientists from Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) reported. Dr. Wenju Cai of the CSIRO said, “There is no longer any doubt that climate change caused by increases in greenhouse gases is influencing seasonal shifts in rainfall patterns.” CSIRO scientist Dr. Penny Whetton reported that rainfall levels could decrease between 20 and 30 percent by 2070 depending on the level of greenhouse gas emitted in the coming years. Click on the following links for more information:
Recent EESI Climate Briefings Click on the following links for the briefing presentations and audio files: The Daily Transit Pass: One of the Most Powerful Weapons to Combat Global Climate Change A Discussion on International Climate and Clean Energy Policy What Does the Stern Review Mean for the UN Climate Change Meeting in Bali? Ecosystem Thresholds and Climate Tipping Points:
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Fredric Beck This EESI publication is a free, weekly electronic newsletter intended to inform interested parties, particularly the policymaker community, of the latest climate change-related news. Permission for reproduction of this newsletter is granted provided that EESI is properly acknowledged as the source. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute is a non-profit organization established in 1984 by a bipartisan, bicameral group of members of Congress to provide timely information on energy and environmental policy issues to policymakers and stakeholders and develop innovative policy solutions that set us on a cleaner, more secure and sustainable energy path. |
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