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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brought to you by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute EPA Denies California Limit on Auto Tailpipe GHG Emissions On December 19, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen Johnson denied California's petition to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cars and trucks, overruling the unanimous recommendation of the EPA's legal and technical staffs. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger immediately announced plans to fight EPA’s decision. “It is completely absurd to assert that California does not have a compelling need to fight global warming by curbing greenhouse gas emissions from cars,” California Attorney General Jerry Brown said. “There is absolutely no legal justification for the Bush administration to deny this request — Gov. Schwarzenegger and I are preparing to sue at the earliest possible moment.” "By refusing to grant California's waiver request for its new motor vehicle standards to control greenhouse gas emissions, the administration has ignored the clear and very limited statutory criteria upon which this decision was to be based," said William Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, which represents officials in 48 states. "Instead, it has issued a verdict that is legally and technically unjustified and indefensible." A total of 18 states, representing 45 percent of the nation's auto market, have either adopted or pledged to implement California's proposed tailpipe emissions rules, which seek to cut vehicles' GHG emissions by 30 percent between 2009 and 2016. Click on the following links for more information:
Survey of Candidates Positions on Climate Change On December 18, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), a nonpartisan environmental group, released its 2008 Presidential Primaries Voter Guide. The report and related Web site are based on the contenders’ responses to an environmental questionnaire — and also whether they’ve made public a plan to address climate change. According to the survey, the top Democratic presidential candidates and Republican John McCain (R-AZ) are leading on the issue of energy security and climate change. LCV's president, Gene Karpinski, said it is important that candidates articulate their positions on global warming on the campaign trail, "so whoever gets elected and goes into the White House in 2009 will have a clear mandate from the voters to take action --immediately upon taking office." The environmental journalism website Grist has compiled a similar listing of candidate responses to climate and energy-related questions. Click on the following links for more information:
Agreement Reached at Bali Climate Talks On December 15, delegates from nearly 190 nations announced that a compromise had been made regarding a Bali “roadmap” which will guide further UN-sponsored climate change negotiations through 2009. Despite heated debate and several setbacks in the negotiating process, members of the conference ultimately adopted a plan which creates a new pact to address climate change that would succeed the Kyoto Protocol, set to expire in 2012. Some of the key elements of the agreement include a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from developed nations that are “measurable, reportable, and verifiable,” which may or may not include quantified, binding targets. Additionally, developing nations agreed to “measurable, reportable, and verifiable” actions to reduce emissions with the technological and financial help of industrialized nations. This represented a breakthrough in the position of the United States as well as rapidly developing nations like China, India and Brazil. Among other elements of the Bali roadmap are pledges to address deforestation and adaptation measures, especially as they pertain to developing nations. Click on the following links for more information:
Biodiversity Crucial to Climate Decision Makers A survey of 1,000 climate senior government officials and scientists, business and civil society leaders from 105 countries conducted by GlobeScan, the World Conservation Union, IUCN and the World Bank in the two weeks leading up to the Bali Climate Conference found that protection of Earth's diverse forms of life is more important to climate decision makers than cost effectiveness. While most decision makers rate climate change as a key factor influencing their professional activities, only 27 percent think a post-Kyoto agreement by 2009 is likely or very likely. With regard to climate negotiations, 92 percent said an inclusive agreement is essential or important, and 77 percent said that legally binding targets for each signatory country are essential or important. When rating the potential role of 18 specific technologies "in reducing atmospheric carbon over the next 25 years without unacceptable side effects," majorities give high marks only to solar, wind and co-generation, the term for combined heat and electricity. Capture and storage of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide emitted by the burning of coal, oil and gas is not seen as central to the control of global warming, the survey found. Click on the following links for more information:
Coral Reefs Worldwide Imperiled by Climate Change According to a new study published in the December 14 issue of Science, global climate change may push the Great Barrier Reef and other coral colonies past a fatal tipping point, imperiling fisheries and tourism-dependent economies of many developing nations. Researchers warn that rising global temperatures and increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere may cause irreversible damage from mass coral bleaching, disease and mortality. “It’s vital that the public understands that the lack of sustainability in the world’s carbon emissions is causing the rapid loss of coral reefs, the world’s most biodiverse marine ecosystem,” says Drew Harvell, Cornell professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. “Coral reefs have already taken a big hit from recent warm temperatures, but rapid rises in carbon dioxide cause acidification, which adds a new threat: the inability of corals to create calcareous skeletons,” said Harvell. “Acidification actually threatens all marine animals and plants with calcareous skeletons, including corals, snails, clams and crabs. Our study shows that levels of CO2 could become unsustainable for coral reefs in as little as five decades.” Click on the following links for more information:
Seas Could Rise Twice as High as Predicted The world's sea levels could rise twice as high this century as UN climate scientists have predicted, according to researchers who looked at the last interglacial period, some 124,000 to 119,000 years ago, when Earth's climate was warmer than it is now. Experts at the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have suggested a maximum 21st century sea level rise--a key effect of climate change--of about 32 inches. But researchers said in a study appearing in the December 16 issue of the journal Nature Geoscience that the maximum could be twice that, or 64 inches. In the last interglacial period Greenland was 3-5°C (5.4-9°F) warmer than now--which is similar to the warming period expected in the next 50 to 100 years, said lead author Dr. Eelco Rohling of Britain's National Oceanography Centre in Southampton. Click on the following links for more information:
Illinois to Host Advanced Coal Plant with Carbon Sequestration Illinois won out over Texas in a bid to host a showcase advanced coal research project. The $1.5 billion coal-fired power plant is expected to produce 275 megawatts of electricity by turning coal into gas, thereby removing impurities including CO2, and burning the resulting pure gas to turn turbines to produce power. Some of the power generated would be used to compress the CO2 and pump it deep underground to be permanently stored in saline aquifers. The goal is to break ground in 2009 and be operational in 2012. The so-called "FutureGen" power plant has struggled with delays and mounting costs as the materials to build such a power plant become more expensive. The FutureGen Alliance decided to announce the siting of the proposed plant over the objections of its primary government backer, the US Department of Energy (DOE). "Projected cost overruns require a reassessment of FutureGen's design," said James Slutz, the department's principal deputy for fossil energy. Slutz said the department would provide more details in January on plans to restructure the FutureGen initiative. Click on the following links for more information:
Climate Change Causing Species Disappearance in Mountain Areas On December 11, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said higher temperatures from climate change are affecting mountain ecosystems and their populations, as melting glaciers increase short term water availability but also raise the likelihood of flooding, species migration and long term water shortages. “As glaciers disappear and snowlines move upwards, river flows are likely to change and lack of water may lead to conflict and affect hydropower generation, forestry and agricultural-based livelihoods,” said Alexander Müller, FAO Assistant Director-General for Natural Resources. In Bhutan, for example, glaciers are now retreating 20-30 meters a year with devastating effects downstream as a result of flooding, leading to loss of life, crops and pasture lands. The ice cap once known as the “sleeping lion” in the Andes of Peru has completely disappeared, resulting in intermittent or dry drainage channels causing herders to move grazing herds and increased concern for the future of irrigation, electricity generation and mining. Click on the following link for more information:
Events January 16, 2008 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 "Emerging Capital Sources for Renewables." The event takes place on Wednesday, January 16 from 12:00-1:30 pm ET. There is a $25.00 fee to participate. For more information see:
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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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