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Obama’s Cabinet Appointees Discuss Role of Climate Change, Science in Next Administration President-elect Obama’s Cabinet appointees appeared in several Senate confirmation hearings during the week of January 11, many noting the need to address climate change and energy policy quickly upon taking office. Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on January 13, Secretary of State-designate Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) said, “The world is in need of an urgent, coordinated response to climate change and as President-elect Obama has said, America must be a leader in developing and implementing it.” Regarding the upcoming UN climate negotiations scheduled to take place in Copenhagen in December, Clinton said, “We will participate in the upcoming UN Copenhagen Climate Conference and a global energy forum. And we will pursue an energy policy that reduces our carbon emissions while reducing our dependence on foreign oil and gas, fighting climate change and enhancing our economic and energy security.” Dr. Steven Chu, the Nobel laureate scientist chosen by Obama to head the Department of Energy, spoke about the need to focus on energy efficiency before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on January 14. “The more efficient use of energy in the United States is the biggest factor that can reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” he said and later added, “This to my mind is the lowest hanging fruit.” Regarding the use of coal, Chu told the committee that “if the world continues to use coal the way it is using it today, not only in the United States but in Russia, India and China, it is a pretty bad dream.” Chu also added that he would seek and fund research on carbon capture and storage technologies. On January 14, Lisa Jackson appeared before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee as Obama’s choice for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Jackson emphasized the role science will play in the agency. “If I am confirmed, I will administer with science as my guide,” she said. “Political appointees will not compromise the integrity of EPA's technical experts to advance particular regulatory outcomes.” For additional information see:
Industry Leaders Propose Greenhouse Gas Limits to Congress On January 15, the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) presented a detailed proposal to members of Congress calling for a cap-and-trade system that would reduce emissions 42 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. USCAP, a coalition of 26 major corporations, including some of the country’s biggest electric utilities and oil companies, and five environmental organizations, also called for legislation providing incentives for the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology and requiring new coal plants to reduce emissions beginning in 2015. “No one got everything they wanted, but we all got what we feel is needed to ensure a sound climate change policy is created,” said Jim Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy Corp, a member of USCAP. Members hope the proposal can serve as a guide for the incoming administration, and Jim Mulva, CEO of USCAP member ConocoPhillips, said that the company “is ready, eager and willing to work with the new administration,” but cautioned that “we must be realistic about the cost of green energy.” Concerns exist that lawmakers may find subsidies for CCS coal plants to be too costly, and not all environmental groups expressed satisfaction with the proposal’s suggestion to freely distribute initial emissions permits as opposed to auctioning them off. The National Wildlife Federation (NWF), a former member of USCAP, left the organization over its disagreement with the proposal. The NWF will work independently to “enact a cap-and-invest bill that measures up to what scientists say is needed and makes bold investments in a clean energy economy,” the NWF said. For additional information see:
Waxman Promises Quick Action on Climate On January 15, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) announced the goal to send comprehensive climate change legislation to the House floor by Memorial Day. “Our committee will be acting quickly and decisively to reduce global warming and end our dependence on foreign oil,” said Waxman. Present at the first hearing under Waxman’s chairmanship were 14 representatives of the US Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of 31 corporations and environmental groups that endorse a cap-and-trade scheme and an 80 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. “US industries want to invest in a clean energy future, but uncertainties about whether, when and how greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced is deterring these vital investments,” Waxman said. “Our environment and our economy depend on congressional action to confront the threat of climate change and secure our energy independence.” For additional information see:
Bill Paves Way for “Clean Coal” Plant to Advance in Illinois On January 12, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed legislation providing $18 million in state funding for a proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) coal plant near downstate Taylorville. The plant would be the first large-scale CCS plant in the United States, and would inject 50 percent of the carbon emitted underground. “This puts Illinois at the forefront of clean energy,” said state Attorney General Lisa Madigan. “It provides a unique opportunity for Illinois to become the national leader in the effort to build the kind of green economy championed by President-elect Obama.” The legislation requires clean coal plants constructed after 2015 to capture a minimum of 70 percent of emissions and those after 2017 to capture a minimum of 90 percent. It also requires electricity suppliers to purchase 5 percent of their supply from clean coal facilities. The plant is still undergoing a detailed cost report, and must receive final approval from the Illinois General Assembly before construction begins. For more information see:
Halt All Carbon Emissions by 2050, Says New Worldwatch Report On January 13, the Worldwatch Institute released State of the World 2009: Into a Warming World. State of the World, its 26th annual assessment, contends that emissions must be dropped to near zero by 2050, and would have to “go negative” thereafter. The book is based on the most recent scientific assessment by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and provides an extended forecast of the consequences of inaction surrounding global warming prevention and adaptation measures. “Sealing the deal to save the global climate will require mass public support and worldwide political will to shift to renewable energy, new ways of living, and a human scale that matches the atmosphere's limits,” said Worldwatch Vice President for Programs Robert Engelman. He also remarked on the unique opportunity this poses, saying, “We're privileged to live at a moment in history when we can still avert a climate catastrophe that would leave the planet hostile to human development and well-being.” Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, the Chairman of the IPCC and 2007 Nobel Peace Laureate, added that the report “will undoubtedly influence the negotiators from different countries to look beyond the narrow and short-term concerns that are far too often the reason for inaction.” For additional information see:
Ocean Fertilization Experiment Questioned On January 7, a team of German and Indian scientists embarked on a trip to the Antarctic peninsula, with hopes of carrying out a geo-engineering experiment to test the potential of ocean fertilization as a means of addressing climate change. The research expedition, led by a collaboration of Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and India’s National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), plans to assess the “carbon sink” potential of dumping 6 tons of dissolved iron sulfate over 300 square kilometers of ocean surface. It is believed that the fertilization will lead to rapid growth of phytoplankton, which will absorb CO2 and ultimately sink to the sea floor. This would be the largest experiment of its kind, and the researchers contend it would “contribute legitimate and much needed scientific research to the controversial discussions on ocean fertilization . . . and could be an invaluable buffer against global warming." Germany’s Environment Ministry spokesman Matthias Machnig stated on January 13 that its ministry had asked the German Research Ministry to “immediately halt” the experiment and is demanding that an independent assessment into the environmental impacts of the experiments be carried out before the iron filings are dumped in the Southern Ocean. Machnig said the test also runs counter to a global moratorium on ocean fertilization established under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). In a press statement, the AWI said the experiment “is in accordance” with the provisions of the CBD and the London Convention on ocean fertilization “that call for further research to enhance understanding of ocean iron fertilization.” For additional information see:
Sea Absorbing Less CO2, Scientists Discover On January 12, scientists issued a new warning about the ocean’s ability to absorb CO2 as a result of warming temperatures. The study was published in the December 12 issue of Geophysical Research Letters and includes three surveys of the Sea of Japan, taken in 1992, 1999, and 2007. The amount of anthropogenic CO2 taken up by the Sea of Japan between the years 1999 and 2007 was half that absorbed between 1992 and 1999. The suspected reason for the decline is a result of warmer water conditions, which in turn disrupt a process known as “ventilation.” This process reabsorbs as much as 25 percent of the CO2 produced around the world. Kitack Lee, one of the scientists leading the study, told the Guardian that the “result in the East Sea unequivocally demonstrated that oceanic uptake of CO2 has been directly affected by the warming-induced weakening of vertical ventilation” and that it’s unlikely this phenomenon is confined to the Sea of Japan. Lee says the discovery is the “very first observation that directly relates ocean CO2 uptake change to ocean warming.” For additional information see:
Greenland’s Rapid Glacier Retreat May Stall, Scientists Say On January 11, Nature Geoscience released a study by a team of British and American scientists that found the recent acceleration in glacial melt-off in Greenland may only be a temporary phenomenon due to climate change as opposed to a long-term occurrence. Scientists studied the Helheim Glacier on the Greenland coast and discovered rapid melt-off in the first half of the decade was due to a collapse of ice where the glacier meets the ocean, but that the cause was local and melt-off is now slowing. “You cannot maintain these very high rates of peak mass loss for very long. The glaciers start to retreat and settle into a new relatively stable state,” said Dr. Andreas Vieli of Durham University. While the results of the study may apply to other glaciers facing local conditions similar to those of the Helheim Glacier, Dr. Vieli cautioned that the results of the study cannot be applied to estimate future rates of melting for other glaciers in Greenland and ice sheets in Antarctica. The study should not “be taken out of context to suggest that climate change is not a serious threat,” said Dr. Vieli. “It is.” For additional information see:
Researchers Say “Dirty Snow Effect” Magnifies Early Snowmelt On January 11, researchers from the US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) released findings from their recent study on the effects of black carbon on the melting of snowpack in the western US mountain ranges. The study will appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research — Atmospheres. Black carbon is the dark absorbing component of soot and a byproduct of burning fossil fuels and biomass. The study found that soot warmed the snow and the air above it by up to 1.2°F, causing snow to melt up to a month faster than white, untainted snow. The accelerated snowmelt cycle can have significant consequences for particular areas. As scientist Yun Qian states, “Snowmelt can be up to 75 percent of the water supply in some regions.” Black carbon has been observed having an even greater impact in the Arctic. Additionally, black carbon is known to contribute to climate change through atmospheric warming. When combined with other aerosols, it can form atmospheric brown clouds that absorb solar radiation and retain heat in the atmosphere, producing a net effect of warming the climate system. For additional information see:
Plants Not Guilty of Methane Emissions, Study Reports On January 13, a study released by Proceedings of the Royal Society found that plants are not capable of producing methane. In the report, team leader Dr. Ellen Nisbet directly challenges a separate 2006 report which asserts that not only are plants capable of producing methane, but they are likely contributing 10 to 45 percent of global methane emissions. In Nisbet’s study, researchers grew several different varieties of plants, including maize and rice, in media that contained no organic material, thereby eliminating the chances of methane being formed through decay in soil. They found during these experiments, conducted in closed chambers, that the plants produced no methane at all. Nisbet’s findings suggest alternative reasons for attributing methane emissions to plants, including the possibility that unnaturally high levels of UV or temperature exposure may lead to spontaneous plant breakdown which results in methane emissions, or that plants take up and transpire water containing dissolved methane, leading to the observation that methane is released. “I think this does tell us that the vast majority of methane emitted in normal growth conditions is explained by the absorption of methane in the soil water,” said Dr Nisbet. For additional information see:
Study Finds That Earth's Magnetic Field Impacts Climate In the January 2009 issue of Geology, researchers from Denmark reported a “strong correlation between the strength of the earth’s magnetic field and the amount of precipitation in the tropics.” The research supports a theory first published by physicist Henrik Svensmark, who claimed the earth’s climate is heavily influenced by galactic cosmic ray (GCR) particles entering the atmosphere. “If changes in the magnetic field, which occur independently of the earth's climate, can be linked to changes in precipitation, then it can only be explained through the magnetic field's blocking of the cosmic rays,” explained Danish researcher Mads Faurschou Knudsen. The findings of Knudsen and his colleague Peter Riisager could impact mainstream climate science, which names CO2 as the principal agent for climate change. “[T]he climate is an incredibly complex system, and it is unlikely we have a full overview over which factors play a part and how important each is in a given circumstance,” said Riisager. For additional information see:
Other Headlines Researchers Explore Potential to Trap CO2 in Ice-like Hydrate “Cages”
Events January 28, 2009 A Green-Collar Workforce for the New American Economy The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing to discuss the opportunities for green jobs in the United States and the policies needed to support them. The briefing will highlight a new report from the American Solar Energy Society (ASES), and Management Information Services, Inc (MISI), which provides a sector-by-sector analysis of where the opportunities are in the rapidly changing renewable energy and energy efficiency industries. The briefing will take place on Wednesday, January 28, from 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. in 385 Russell Senate Office Building. This briefing is free and open to the public. No RSVP required. For more information, please contact Amy Sauer at asauer [at] eesi.org or (202) 662-1892.
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Amy Sauer 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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