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Obama Calls for Climate Bill in Address to Congress, Includes It in Budget On February 24, in his first speech to a joint session of Congress, President Obama called on Congress to pass climate legislation that includes a cap-and-trade program. “To truly transform our economy, to protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy,” Obama said. “So I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America. That's what we need.” House Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) responded to the President’s message saying, “President Obama asked Congress for legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and we intend to give it to him.” Markey’s subcommittee is expected to play a central role in any House version of an upcoming climate bill. On February 26, Obama released an outline of the FY 2010 budget which includes revenues from a cap-and-trade program that would generate money to finance renewable energy projects and middle-class tax cuts. The blueprint calls for a 100 percent auction of permits for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which would reduce GHG levels to 14 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, and 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. The budget would use $150 billion of the revenues over 10 years beginning in 2012 to pay for new renewable energy, with an additional $65 billion a year to pay for middle-class tax cuts. Any further revenue “will be returned to the people, especially vulnerable families, communities, and businesses to help the transition to a clean energy economy,” the outline said. For additional information see:
US Agencies May Set One Greenhouse Gas Standard for Cars On February 22, Carol Browner, the President’s special adviser on climate and energy issues, announced that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson are collaborating to create one standard for regulating automobile emissions. “We are obviously in difficult times in terms of restructuring that is going on with some of the companies, but the hope is that we will come to a unified approach for the next generation of vehicles,” Browner said. California and 16 other states are currently waiting on a decision from the EPA, which is reconsidering their waiver request to implement a fuel standard of roughly 42 miles-per-gallon (mpg). The current national fuel efficiency standard would set a fleet wide average of 35 mpg by 2020. This move has the support of many auto manufacturers and some environmental groups. When it comes to fuel efficiency, automakers and consumers are seeking “certainty and consistency,” General Motor’s Washington spokesman Greg Martin said. “We've been supportive of a strong national standard, rather than having to comply with the burden of a patchwork of standards state by state,” he concluded. For additional information see:
EPA Set to Move toward CO2 Regulation On February 22, Carol Browner, the President’s special adviser on climate and energy issues, said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is looking at the April 2007 Supreme Court ruling that required the agency to determine whether CO2 endangers public health or welfare. Speaking at the sidelines of the National Governors’ Association meeting in Washington, DC, Browner said the agency “will make an endangerment finding.” Following this, Browner said the next step would be a notice of proposed rulemaking for new regulations on CO2 emissions. Under the Clean Air Act, once the EPA identifies CO2 as a pollutant it has to draw up regulations governing these emissions from coal-fired power plants, refineries, chemical plants, cement firms, vehicles and any other emitting sectors. Administration officials said they would limit the regulations to facilities over a certain size, but critics argue that such regulations would be costly and could create legal challenges. “Once carbon dioxide is regulated, they can no longer contain the Clean Air Act . . . and it would completely shut the country down,” said William Kovacs, a vice president for the US Chamber of Commerce. Browner did not indicate when the EPA will act on the endangerment finding, but EPA Adminstrator Lisa Jackson has said it could be April 2, the second anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling. Despite the EPA moving forward with the rulemaking, Browner said the administration prefers that regulation of greenhouse gas emissions be done through legislation crafted by Congress creating a cap-and-trade program for emissions. For additional information see:
Governors Call for Partnership with Federal Government in Fighting Climate Change, Funding for Clean Coal On February 20, 12 governors called for a partnership with the federal government to fight climate change. The meeting was a follow-up to a letter sent to the president on January 29 by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and 11 other governors calling for greater collaboration to tackle the unique complexity of clean energy and climate challenge issues that will require action at the local, state and federal levels. “I look forward to working hand-in-hand with our federal partners to realize the ambitious clean energy and climate change goals I know we share, and that I know will provide a boost to our nation's economy,” Schwarzenegger said. He and New York Governor David Paterson co-chaired the meeting held with President Obama’s top energy advisors. The states “have been leading the way on clean energy and climate change, and we are thrilled to now have a willing partner in the White House to promote these policies on a national stage,” he said. Also present at the meeting were the governors of Florida, New Jersey, Vermont, Michigan, Washington, Oregon, Maryland, Colorado and Kansas. On February 22, the governors of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah sent a letter to President Obama urging support for clean-coal technology. These technologies include new or retrofitted coal-burning facilities that capture and store CO2 emissions. In the letter, the governors note that section 413 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (PL 109-58) provided for federal cost sharing for a clean coal demonstration project from coal mined in the western United States, but that it has never been funded. “[I]t is clear to us that taking technology from the laboratory bench to commercial-scale demonstration plants simply will not occur without a significant federal commitment of resources,” the letter said. “Therefore, we are writing to urge you to thoroughly consider significant funding for federal-state-private efforts to construct new and retrofit demonstration clean coal facilities that use western coals and are capable of operating at altitude.” For additional information see:
Contrasting Studies Show Future is Uncertain for Price of Carbon Allowances On February 25, a report by corporate finance and equity capital markets adviser Tom Frost of Akur Partners projected that the price for carbon allowances under the current European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) could rise as high as 600 percent higher than the current price before the end of Phase II, scheduled for 2012. The current price for a carbon allowance is approximately 8.4 Euros, but Frost predicts that the price could rise as high as 64 Euros as emission targets are reduced and fewer allowances are given. This also would be compounded by the rule that allows groups to borrow allowances from the next year to meet compliances but not between Phases, meaning there will be no way to borrow allowances between 2012 and 2013. Frost said this could cause a shortage of allowances in 2011 and 2012, driving up prices. On February 24, the market analysis group Point Carbon released a report warning that the value of the carbon trading market could decline by nearly one-third this year as a result of the global economic slowdown. The group, which is owned by Oak Investments, JPMorgan, J-Power, Mizuho, Schibsted and its employees, forecasted that the market will drop from 92 billion Euros (US $117 billion) last year to 63billion Euros this year. The recession has lowered economic activity, resulting in fewer emissions and less demand for EU’s carbon allowances. Point Carbon did point to one positive sign for the global carbon market. In 2008, ten Northeastern states formed the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and began trading carbon allowances in September. Point Carbon forecasts that the volume of carbon traded will increase from 71 million tons last year to 339 million tons this year, giving the RGGI 6 percent of the global market. For additional information see:
NASA CO2 Measuring Satellite Crashes Before Reaching Orbit On February 24, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) failed to reach orbit after launching from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and landed in the Pacific Ocean near Antarctica. The $278 million satellite was the US government’s first attempt to map the CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere from space. The crash is currently attributed to a failure of the protective nose cone to separate as expected. OCO was expected to provide significantly more detailed measurements of the CO2 cycle, from source points to “sinks” such as the ocean and forests. NASA launch director Chuck Dovale said, “For the science community it’s a huge disappointment.” The satellite, built by Orbital Sciences, could have potentially supported policy makers in enforcing national and international climate change pacts. It is unclear if and when the OCO, which took eight years to develop, will be replaced. NASA spokesman Steve Cole said, “We’re not stopping the global warming and carbon dioxide research because of this.” Last month the Japanese launched the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSTAT) to measure carbon dioxide and methane from Earth’s surface. For additional information see:
2008 Was Earth's Coolest Year since 2000, Ninth Warmest Since 1880 On February 23, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Institute for Space Studies announced that the 2008 global average surface air temperature was the coolest since 2000, but the ninth warmest since continuous instrumental records began in 1880. While much of the world was near normal or warmer in 2008 than the base period average temperature from 1951 – 1980, Eurasia, the Arctic, and the Antarctica Peninsula were exceptionally warm, and the Pacific Ocean was cooler than the long-term average. The low temperatures in the Pacific are attributed to a strong La Nina effect that occurred during the first half of the year. La Nina is part of a natural oscillation of the equatorial Pacifica Ocean temperatures, and is typically followed within a year or two by El Nino, which brings a warmer period. Dr. James Hansen, Director of GISS, said, “Given our expectation that the next El Nino will begin this year or in 2010, it still seems likely that a new global surface air temperature record will be set within the next one to two years, despite the moderate cooling effect of reduced solar irradiance.” The sun is currently passing through a “solar minimum” of its 10 to 12 year cycle of electromagnetic activity, when it transmits lower amounts of radiant energy toward Earth. Hansen noted that although “ranking” global temperature by individual years can support some scientific findings such as establishing new records, it “can also be misleading because the difference in temperature between one year and another is often less than the uncertainty in the global average.” For additional information see:
MIT Group Increases Global Warming Predictions In February, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change released a report showing a significant increase in the odds that higher temperatures would occur in both a “no policy scenario” and “policy scenario,” compared to similar studies six years ago. The research was sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as companies from the private sector such as ExxonMobil and Chevron. The MIT Integrated Global Systems Model allowed the researchers to test the likelihood of potential global average surface temperature change over the next hundred years, under different possible scenarios, by incorporating various factors which could better simulate the cycling of heat and carbon dioxide in the climate system. The results showed that feedback systems are a major player in affecting the relationship of CO2 atmospheric concentrations and global temperatures, and that ultimately the odds of temperatures increasing are greater than originally predicted. “It is making the impetus for serious policy much more urgent than we previously thought,” said Ronald G. Prinn, professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at MIT. For additional information see:
Rise in Atmospheric CO2 Levels Accelerates in 2008 On February 25, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that the rate of CO2 levels rising in the atmosphere accelerated in 2008. The global average for CO2 in the atmosphere increased 2.2 parts per million (ppm) from 2007 to 2008, compared to an increase of 1.8 ppm the previous year. NOAA’s data showed the total average estimate of CO2 in the atmosphere in 2008 was 384.9 ppm. This is a level which Malte Meinshausen from the Germany-based Potsdam Institute said is approaching the long-term boundary we have to stay below to have a likely chance of staying below a 2°C increase. “If the change in emissions is only a few percent we're not going to see that in the atmosphere,” due to the ability of natural processes such as forest and oceans absorbing CO2, NOAA climate scientist Thomas Conway said. “For us to see (the impact) in the atmosphere it would take a large drop in emissions, but it hasn't happened yet and that's very clear from this data.” The accelerated annual rate increases over the past decade have been greater than those from the 1980s and 1990s. While much of that increase is attributed to a general increase in emissions, “There is some evidence that a sink in the southern (Antarctic) ocean is not keeping up . . . has been saturated,” stated Conway. For additional information see:
Rich Nations Failing to Meet Climate Aid Pledge On February 20, The Guardian published an article summarizing the failure of developed countries to meet an accumulated pledge of almost $18 billion in climate change support funding to developing countries. Over a seven year period, less than $0.9 billion has been disbursed, with the least developed countries receiving the smallest amounts. Bernarditas Muller, the Phillippines’ chief negotiator for the G77 and China group of developing countries, said, “It's a scandal. The amount the developed countries have provided is peanuts. It is poisoning the UN negotiations.” He added, “It's an insult to people who are already experiencing increasing extreme events.” The pledged funding sources have been through wealthy countries investing in funds administered by the World Bank, the United Nations (UN) Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Least-Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), and through bilateral agreements through individual countries. The GEF has provided the greatest funding, distributing nearly $250 million a year for the past three years for climate change projects. Nearly one-third of this money has gone to China, India, and Brazil, and less than $100 million total has reached the world’s poorest countries. Twelve countries, including the United States, have pledged an accumulated $6.1 billion to the investment funds of the World Bank, but no money has been deposited. The UN estimates that $50 to $70 billion a year is needed to help poor countries adapt to extreme events such as floods, droughts, and heat waves. “Without significant finance you will not get developing country engagement [in negotiations]. Funding is key to unlocking an outcome for the talks,” said Yvo de Boer, head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. For additional information see:
Australia Government Being Challenged on Climate Change Policy On February 23, Malcom Turnbull, Australia’s Opposition Leader and leader of the Liberal Party, indicated he would create a much more ambitious greenhouse gas reduction target than that currently set by the government under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. He also pledged to make amendments to a proposed emissions trading scheme (ETS) scheduled to launch the summer of 2010. In December 2008, Rudd declared a national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of 5 percent of 2000 levels by 2020, and up to 15 percent if other major economies sign up to stronger reductions. Turnbull said, “We are committed to a more ambitious target and a more effective climate change policy. Labor's current model appears too costly, too complex, and it is ineffectual in terms of cutting emissions.” Penny Wong, the government’s Climate Change Minister, suggested his criticism of the ETS was due to deep divisions within the Labor Party. The recent economic downturn and fear of job loss has escalated ETS challengers from industry and lawmakers alike, Wong noted. “Many . . . simply do not want to take action on climate change,” Wong said. For additional information see:
United States and China Pledge Joint Effort on Economy and Climate On February 21, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chinese officials agreed to focus their nations on stabilizing the global economy and combating climate change. Beijing was the last stop for Clinton on her tour of Asia, which included Japan, South Korean, and Indonesia. “The United States and China will build an important partnership to develop and deploy clean energy technologies designed to speed our transformation to low-carbon economies,” Clinton said while touring a General Electric power plant in Beijing with Todd Stern, the US State Department’s climate change envoy. There were no formal commitments made during the visit, but Clinton noted that the two countries agree there is a “shared interest” in negotiating a successful deal during the upcoming UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December. China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said, “The two sides believe that energy and the environment will play an increasingly important role in the growth of bilateral relations.” For additional information see:
Scientists Find Polar Ice Melt Is Bigger than Expected On February 25, the International Polar Year (IPY) announced new evidence that the Antarctic and Arctic regions are warming faster than previously thought. IPY, organized by the International Council for Science and the United Nation's World Meteorological Organization (WMO), included around 10,000 scientists from 63 countries and $1.5 billion to survey the effects of climate change in the polar regions over the past two years. When the survey began in March of 2007, it was believed that ice masses in Greenland and Antarctica were fairly stable and that temperatures across much of Antarctica may even be cooling slightly. Though the final report is still being finalized, the IPY’s “State of Polar Research” concluded, “[I]t now appears certain that both the Greenland and the Antarctic ice sheets are losing mass and thus raising sea level, and that the rate of ice loss from Greenland is growing . . . . New data also confirm that warming in the Antarctic is much more widespread than it was thought prior to IPY.” The IPY also observed “hints of change” in ocean circulation, which it said could have dramatic impacts on the global climate system. David Hik, executive director of the Canadian secretariat of the International Polar Year, said, “The effects of warming are going to be global . . . what happens at the poles will influence all parts of the planet and it’s very evident that we can see rapid changes in sea level associated with changes in the Arctic and Antarctic.” For additional information see:
Other Headlines AP Interview: Reid Pushing for Climate Change Bill This Year Water Vapor Feedback Loop Will Cause Accelerated Warming
Hotter Days Brings Increased Hospitalizations for Respiratory Disease
Events March 2 U.S. Jobs and a Low-Carbon Supply Chain The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) invite you to a briefing discussing the significant potential for US job creation presented by low-carbon technology supply chains. This briefing will focus on a new report – Manufacturing Climate Solutions – prepared by the Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness at Duke University. It will take place Monday, March 2, from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. in 2318 Rayburn House 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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