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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brought to you by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute First US Climate Emissions Control Bill Heads to Senate Floor On December 5, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee passed a bill (S.2191) to address climate change by a vote of 11-8. The bill would establish a national cap-and-trade system to limit the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 70 percent of 2005 levels by 2050. “This is a historic moment for this committee and for this country,” said Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chair of the EPW Committee. “What happened here today will not go unnoticed. The whole world is watching.” The bill was passed following almost ten hours of discussion on over 40 amendments. While several of the amendments offered by Democrats attempted to strengthen the bill, Republicans submitted amendments to expand the use of domestic fossil fuels and nuclear energy, as well as provide an option to sunset the bill if it hurts the economy. All Democrats and Independents on the committee voted in favor of passing the bill, while Senator John Warner (R-VA), a co-sponsor of the bill with Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT), was the lone Republican to support the measure. “The United States simply has to lead on this issue,” Senator Warner told colleagues. “We are the superpower in the world and we've got to use our status.” The bill now moves to the Senate floor, with floor action most likely to take place early next year. Click on the following links for more information:
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee approved three bills on December 4 that address climate change and ocean acidification from carbon emissions. Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) said that the bills “would improve how the United States addresses climate change and ocean acidification.” He added, “The time has come for the United States to show the world that it is serious about curbing the effects of global climate change.” The Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act (S. 1581) provides for a coordinated federal research program on ocean acidification, while the Global Climate Change Research Improvement Act (S. 2307) improves the basic research and products that the federal government develops on climate change and its impacts. The third bill, the Climate Change Adaptation Act (S. 2355), calls for the federal government to develop a strategic plan for dealing with the effects of climate change. Click on the following link for more information: Nations Gather for Climate Talks in Bali On December 7, top US climate negotiator Harlan Watson said that the United States is open to all options for future climate negotiations, possibly even mandatory GHG emissions cuts. “We want to launch a process that will be open and doesn't preclude any options,” Watson said. When asked if the United States, the world's top emitter of greenhouse gases, might agree to binding emissions caps for the long term, Watson said, “That could be the end point of what occurs in 2009. I cannot predict the outcome.”
US Seeks Alliance with China and India to Block Climate Protection While US representatives in Bali have officially declared their intention to help create a climate protection “road map,” Spiegel Online reported that the Bush administration is trying to work with China and India to block binding cuts in carbon emissions. A source familiar with the White House’s Bali strategy said that members of the Bush administration are discreetly making contact with representatives of the Chinese and Indian governments in an attempt to curb progress on climate protection initiatives. “Bush's people don't want to make any real progress in the next two weeks,” the source for Spiegel Online said. “But they also don't want to be severely criticized internationally again. So now the White House is seeking discreet ways of preventing binding limits on emissions.” The intention is to have representatives from both nations announce that they will not agree to mandatory cuts in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions unless the United States agrees to the cuts as well, or developed nations provide more financial assistance for climate initiatives. This could prevent the United States from remaining the one nation holding out on binding emissions cuts, the source said. With Australia ratifying the Kyoto Protocol on December 3, the United States remains the last developed nation not agreeing to mandatory reductions on GHG emissions. Click on the following link for more information: Australian Prime Minister Ratifies Kyoto Protocol Tropical Zones Expanding with Climate Change Toll of Climate Change on World Food Supply Could Be Worse Than Thought In the December 6 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences, three different reports warn that a 1-5ºC increase in global temperatures in the coming decades could cause catastrophic effects on agriculture not yet considered. In order to keep pace with the world population, global grain production will have to double by 2100, a task the authors argued will be difficult to accomplish with the changing climate and agricultural conditions. Authors from the reports also said that much of the previous work is oversimplified, leaving the potential for bigger, more rapid problems in the world’s food supply. “The projections show a smooth curve, but a smooth curve has never happened in human history,” said Francesco Tubiello, a physicist and agricultural expert at the NASA/Goddard Institute of Space Studies who coauthored all three papers. “Things happen suddenly, and then you can't respond to them.” Some of these events have already taken place on a small-scale, Tubiello said, referring to droughts that have taken place in Africa and Europe in recent years. Click on the following link for more information: Dramatic Shift in Treeline Predicted A study led by Canadian scientists in the December 2007 issue of BioScience has predicted dramatic shifts in treelines across North America in the coming century. The result could be increased diversity in tree species in southern Canada, while portions of the United States would see a decline in the number of tree species as regions become warmer and drier. “Alaska, the northern Prairie provinces, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes are predicted to experience future climate that is favorable for a wide variety of tree species,” the authors wrote. “Conversely, by the end of the century, the climate in much of the southern United States will not be within the current known climatic tolerances for most of the 130 species in this study.” However, Canadian Forest Service landscape analyst and lead author Daniel McKenney cautioned that it is difficult to make exact predictions because other factors, such as soil conditions and inter-species competition, can impact where tree species will appear. Click on the following link for more information: US, EU Propose Trade Plan to Counter Climate Change In a recent round of talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United States and the European Union have proposed removing trade barriers for climate-friendly technologies. In an effort to help reduce the effects of climate change, the proposal calls for all WTO members to remove tariffs on 43 climate-friendly technologies recognized by the World Bank. US trade officials said that global trade in environmental goods covered in this new proposal totaled about $613 billion in 2006. The World Bank has estimated that removing tariffs and other barriers on climate and clean energy technologies could increase trade in those goods by 7-14 percent a year, while also helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “WTO members have an unprecedented opportunity to address in a concrete and meaningful way the global environmental challenge of climate change,” US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said. “By eliminating tariff and nontariff barriers to environmental goods and services, particularly clean energy technologies, we can lower their costs and increase global access to and use of these important products.” Click on the following link for more information: Leading Asian Utility to Cut Carbon Emissions CLP, one of Asia’s largest power utilities, plans to cut by 4.8 percent the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) it emits with each kilowatt-hour of electricity generated over the next three years, and 76 percent by 2050. To do so, it will increase its investments in nuclear power, natural gas, renewable energy and advanced coal technologies. “We believe that if everyone takes an approach like this, the magnitude of global warming may be limited to approximately 2-3°C so that the most catastrophic effects of climate change may be [held] off,” said Andrew Brandler, the chief executive of CLP Holdings. CLP, of Hong Kong, has large investments in China, Thailand, Taiwan, India and Australia. Setting its limit only in terms of CO2 per kilowatt-hour of electricity also means that CLP is not committing itself to reducing its total carbon output, or limiting the amount of electricity it generates. “If you generate more power, then absolute emissions of carbon dioxide will increase,” said Frances Yeung, an energy campaigner for Greenpeace. Credit Suisse predicts that mainland China’s power consumption would continue growing by 11 to 14 percent a year for the next three to five years. Click on the following link for more information: Nonpartisan Coalition Launches Presidential Climate Action Plan "As most Americans now realize, global climate change is very real," said retired U.S. Sen. Gary Hart, co-chair of the PCAP National Advisory Committee. "It is caused largely by the fossil fuels we burn for energy. The national discussion today is not about if we should reduce greenhouse gas emissions; it is about how much and how fast. PCAP is the first action agenda that focuses clearly on those first days of the new Administration, when the people of the United States and the world will be watching for signs of substantive U.S. leadership." The report calls for a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and independence from Persian Gulf oil. Ray Anderson, chairman of Interface, a company that turns petrochemicals into textiles and a member of the group, said an initiative to reverse global warming would open economic possibilities as well. “Climate action will create opportunities for innovation, new jobs and new businesses the likes of which we have never seen before,” Anderson said. Click on the following links for more information: New Zealand Proposes Ban on New Fossil Fuel Power Plants New Zealand has introduced legislation to ban new power plants that burn fossil fuels and includes a national emissions trading scheme for reducing greenhouse gases. Emission units from the trading scheme would be linked to Kyoto emission units and made available for transfer to offshore buyers. New thermal electricity generation above 10 megawatts whose fuel source is more than 20 percent oil, coal or gas, would be banned under the 10-year plan, Climate Change Minister David Parker said. "This is unprecedented internationally," said Greenpeace climate campaigner Susannah Bailey. "The ban sends a clear message to power generators that fossil fuels have no part to play in New Zealand's future." In early October, Prime Minister Helen Clark unveiled an ambitious plan to halve transport greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 and generate 90 percent of New Zealand's electricity supply from non-carbon renewable resources by 2025. Already 65 percent of the nation's electricity is generated from renewable resources, mainly hydroelectric plants. Click on the following links for more information:
On December 5, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet agreed on a comprehensive package to cut Germany's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 40 percent before 2020. The plan calls for more energy efficiency, a greater use of renewable energy and new insulation standards for buildings. The bill outlines 29 measures to reduce emissions, including a CO2 tax for trucks, rules on traffic and tougher standards for new buildings and refurbishing requirements. German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Germany will help investment in renewable energy sources, with the aim to generate 30 percent of the country's electricity using renewables by 2020 -- double the current level -- and almost half by 2050. The total cost of the new measures is estimated to be around 31 billion euros ($45.5 billion), while energy savings are supposed to amount to around 36 billion euros by 2020. Opposition Green party leader Reinhard Bütikofer called the government's proposals "tepid" and "bogus." Greenpeace has said the German government is not doing enough and criticized the endorsement of over 20 new coal-burning power plants. Click on the following links for more information: Maryland Suggests Cutting GHG Emissions by 90% by 2050 A December 4 draft "Climate Action Plan" from the Maryland Commission on Climate Change calls for Maryland to begin cutting back on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions quickly so that the state total would stand 15 percent below the 2006 level by 2015. It calls for additional goals after that: by 2020, a 25 percent reduction, and a 90 percent reduction by 2050. The report said these goals might be met through a "cap and trade" system, where polluters are allowed to buy and sell unused emissions credits. It also recommended investing in energy efficiency programs and sources of renewable energy. Among the concrete steps suggested in the report are that Maryland lawmakers follow California's example and pass a law requiring a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020. Gov. Martin O'Malley said, "The climate crisis is real, and while it threatens our shorelines today, its causes and symptoms threaten life on our planet in the generations ahead unless we act." State Environment Secretary Shari T. Wilson, who chaired the panel, said Maryland should also do a better job of planning and managing growth to reduce sprawl and the miles people have to drive. Click on the following links for more information: Events December 12, 2007 ABA Renewables Teleconference The American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE), in collaboration with the American Bar Association's (ABA) Renewable Energy Resources Committee will host a teleconference entitled "Renewable Project Tax Structuring and Planning for Developers and Practitioners" where leading tax practitioners share their insights on how to use the tax laws to help finance renewable energy projects. The event takes place on Wednesday, December 12 from 12:00-1:30 pm ET. There is a $25.00 fee to participate. For more information see: Quick Links SUBSCRIBE to our newsletters and other products ARCHIVE: Past issues of the newsletter are posted on our website under "publications" SUPPORT EESI: This newsletter and EESI's other valuable work in energy, climate change, agriculture, transportation and smart growth are made possible through financial support from people like you. Please donate now. 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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