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Northeast United States to Suffer Most from Future Sea Rise On March 15, the journal Nature Geoscience published a study which found that global warming could cause sea level to rise almost twice as fast along the Northeast United States compared to the global average over the course of this century. Jianjun Yin, lead author of the report and a climate modeler at the Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS) at Florida State, said that warming temperatures could slow down the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), which in turn would lead to the rapid sea level rise on the Northeast coast of the United States. Using data from ten state-of-the-art climate models, the report found that in a “medium greenhouse gas emission scenario,” the New York City coastal area would experience an 8.3 inch rise in sea level above the global average, which based on thermal expansion alone is estimated to be 10.2 inches, researchers said. This estimate did not account for land ice melting, and some recent predictions that included this impact have warned of global sea level rises as high as three feet by 2100. The Northeast US coastal regions could face greater risk for damage from hurricanes and winter storm surges, in addition to submerging low-lying areas, eroding beaches, and hurting estuaries. “The northeast coast of the United States is among the most vulnerable regions to future changes in sea level and ocean circulation, especially when considering its population density and the potential socioeconomic consequences of such changes,” Yin said. For additional information see:
Americans Support Action on Global Warming Despite Economic Crisis On March 17, the results of a survey conducted by researchers at Yale and George Mason Universities revealed that over 90 percent of Americans “said that the United States should act to reduce global warming,” and that 34 percent believe a “large scale effort” was needed regardless of economic costs. The survey included responses from 2,164 American adults in September and October of 2008 and found that while concerns over the economy dwarfed all other issues, global warming remained a “high” or “very high” national priority for majority of Americans. Sixty-seven (67) percent of those surveyed support unilateral action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, regardless of what other countries do, while seven percent said the United States should act only if both developed and developing countries reduce their emissions. Forty-eight (48) percent of those surveyed said companies’ climate change-related activities would be taken into account when making purchases in 2009. The primary concerns for taking action to reduce emissions were that it would lead to increased government regulation (44 percent), raise energy prices (31 percent), and hurt the economy (17 percent). When asked about how to address the problem, 53 percent of those surveyed supported the creation of a national cap-and trade system. “If the president and members of Congress want to pass cap-and-trade legislation this year, they would be wise to quickly take steps to educate the American people,” said contributing author Edward Maibach of George Mason University. For additional information see:
EPA Voluntary Environmental Programs Under Review by Jackson On March 16, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suspended the National Environmental Performance Track program and is evaluating several other voluntary energy- and climate-related programs. Lisa Jackson, the Administrator for the EPA, said in her memorandum that the “initial step will be to complete two major reviews of Performance Track and environmental leadership programs in general.” The decision comes months after an investigation by The Philadelphia Inquirer that found companies carrying suspect environmental records were included in the Performance Track program. The Performance Track was a voluntary program intended to hold member companies to high environmental goals, among them being to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Those who participated in Performance Track were rewarded with reduced environmental inspections and less stringent regulation. An EPA official said the program “wasn’t doing what it was created to do” and ultimately benefited business more than the environment. Following this review, the EPA will have to decide if it will move away from voluntary programs altogether and instead rely on regulations. “Both programs have benefits, voluntary and non-voluntary, and the new administration will be looking to find the best way to realize the benefits of both,” said a statement from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson's office. For additional information see:
Cap-and-Trade Program Unlikely in Washington State Plan On March 17, Washington Governor Chris Gregoire testified before the state’s House Ecology and Parks Committee to urge for creation of a stronger climate change bill than was passed the previous week by the state Senate. The Senate bill effectively removed any cap-and-trade requirements initially pushed by Gov. Gregoire, instead calling for additional studies on the issues of climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation to culminate in a legislative process in 2011. Becky Kelley, campaign director for the Washington Environmental Council, said, “The bill itself accomplishes almost nothing.” A different concern was raised by Sen. Jim Honeyford (R-Sunnyside), the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment, Water and Energy Committee, who said, “This bill takes us one step closer to leveling a huge tax on Washington's employers. . . . This will lead to job losses and business failures.” Though the Governor has pulled back on her push for a cap-and-trade program, she said she is determined to keep the state at the forefront of mitigating climate change. “At the federal level, a greenhouse gas program is coming. If Washington leads, we are at the table shaping the program,” she said. For additional information see:
Insurers Must Disclose Climate Change Exposure For additional information see:
China Seeks Export Carbon Relief On March 16, several leaders from China proposed that countries importing Chinese goods should share responsibility for the emissions created by the manufacturing of those goods. China estimates that about 15 to 25 percent of their emissions come from manufacturing goods for other countries. At a briefing on Capitol Hill, China’s chief climate negotiator Li Gao said, “As one of the developing countries, we are at the low end of the production line for the global economy. We produce products and these products are consumed by other countries. . . . This share of emissions should be taken by the consumers, but not the producers.” Artur Runge-Metzger, who heads the climate strategy and international negotiations unit at the European Commission, said, “I think the issue here is we take full responsibility and we . . . regulate all the emissions that come from our territory.” On March 17, US Secretary of State Stephen Chu testified before the House Science and Technology Committee and said, “If other countries don't impose a cost on carbon, then we will be at a disadvantage . . . [and] we would look at considering perhaps duties that would offset that cost.” In his speech the day before, Gao rejected this idea and said that installing a carbon tariff at borders would be a “disaster” and would not be legal under World Trade Agreements. Xie Zhenhua, head of China's Climate Change and Coordinating Committee, said, “Climate change and charging carbon taxes in imports . . . are two issues in two areas” and should be tackled in separate negotiating forums. Following talks with US climate envoy Todd Stern at the State Department, spokesman Robert Wood said, “There's a willingness, particularly on the Chinese side, to really engage on the subject of climate change, and we welcome that.” For additional information see:
World Water Forum Looks at Role Climate Change Will Play on Water Resources From March 16-22, the World Water Council held its fifth World Water Forum with a particularly strong focus on the interconnectedness of climate change and water issues. The Forum occurs every three years and serves as the world’s largest international event in the field of water with a focus on supporting “deepening discussions” and generating political commitment on water issues in the 21st century. This year, the Forum warned that water-related catastrophes, from severe droughts to destructive floods, will likely increase in rate and magnitude because of global climate change. Avinash Tyagi, director of the climate and water department at the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), said, “Global warming is intensifying these disasters. . . . The projections point to the 21st century as the century of floods or the century of droughts. But it could be a century of floods and drought, a mixture of extremes.” Water managers used to rely on historical records of streamflow, rainfall and snowpack, but those trends are being altered by climate change impacts. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said about half the world's population could be living in water-stressed areas by 2030, not including climate change impacts. Geoffrey Dabelko, director of the Environmental Change and Security Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, said, “There is just this underlying concern now that the future won't look like the past.” For additional information see:
Australian Emissions Trading Scheme Under Heavy Scrutiny On March 16, independents in the Australian Senate joined the Opposition and Green parties in voicing disapproval of the emissions trading scheme (ETS) proposed by the current Labor government, which hopes to pass the legislation by mid-year. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon said, “[I]t should be pretty clear to the government now that in its current form this legislation won't pass the Senate.” The ETS plan, defended by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, would go into effect July 2010 and target about one thousand of the country’s largest polluters with the ultimate goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 5-15 percent below 2000 levels by 2020. The Opposition Leader, Malcolm Turnbull, attacked the Labor’s proposal for threatening thousands of jobs and for costing billions of dollars, particularly for mining giant Xstrata. Turnbull suggested no deal should be made until after the United States and the international community form an agreement at the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen at the end of the year. Greens Senator and Deputy Leader Christine Milne, whose party said it will not accept a reduction in emissions of less than 40 percent, expressed concern that the Labor party may be leveraging an expected rejection of the legislation and said, “It seems to me that the Rudd government is positioning itself to say 'we tried to have an emissions trading system, the opposition blocked it'.” For additional information see:
Maldives Vows to be First Carbon-Neutral Nation On March 15, Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed vowed to make the country carbon-neutral by 2020 and said, “Climate change is a global emergency. . . . Today, the Maldives has announced plans to become the world's most eco-friendly country.” The Maldives consists of nearly 1,200 islands supporting 385,000 people living mainly on lands less than two meters above sea level. The inhabitants are at particular risk from sea level rise due to climate change, which has led the government to consider setting aside funds for purchasing land from other countries to potential relocation. The new declaration to be carbon-neutral in ten years was aided by research from British climate experts Chris Goodall and Mark Lynas. Their plan involves a new transmission infrastructure supporting 155 large wind turbines, half a square kilometer of rooftop solar panels, a biomass plant, and battery banks for back-up energy storage. The estimated cost is $1.1 billion over ten years, and would take roughly 22 years to pay back if current oil prices remained unchanged. Lynas said, “It's going to cost a lot of money but it will also save a lot of money from not having to import oil. . . . The point of doing it is that it is something the Maldives can lead the world in. No rich country has the excuse that it is too expensive and we can't do anything.” For additional information see:
NOAA: Ninth Warmest February for World On March 13, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released data which found that the global land and ocean surface temperature for the month of February were the ninth warmest since records began in 1880. The analysis, based on preliminary data drawn from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina, showed that the global land surface temperature was 39.38ºF, or 1.58º F above the mean for the last century, and global ocean surface temperature was 61.25ºF, or 0.65ºF above last century’s mean. Other highlights from the February analysis include a satellite-based observation showing snow cover extent for the Northern Hemisphere was 17.4 million square miles, which was 0.3 million square miles below the 1966-2009 February average, and that the Arctic sea ice coverage during February 2009 was at its fourth lowest for that month since records began in 1979. NOAA also noted a heat wave in Australia resulting in record temperatures and the country’s “deadliest wildfires in history.” For additional information see:
Fate of Polar Bear Will Depend on Emissions Cuts For additional information see:
Warming Climate Affects Antarctic Ice Sheet Stability On March 19, the journal Nature published several related reports which found that even a slight rise in atmospheric CO2 could affect the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Shelf (WAIS). Two research teams involved in the Antarctic Geological Drilling (ANDRILL) research program used a 4,100-foot-long sedimentary rock core taken from beneath the sea floor to analyze the history of WAIS and its relation to atmospheric CO2 levels dating as far back as five million years ago. Ross Powell, a professor of geology at Northern Illinois University and author of one of the reports, said, “The sedimentary record indicates that under global warming conditions that were similar to those projected to occur over the next century, protective ice shelves could shrink or even disappear and the WAIS would become vulnerable to melting.” The studies show that atmospheric CO2 concentrations of 400 parts per million were present when the ice sheet has collapsed in the past, triggered in large part by oceanic temperature increases. Powell noted, “If the current warm period persists, the ice sheet could diminish substantially or even disappear over time. This would result in a potentially significant rise in sea levels.” For additional information see:
Senate Confirms Lubchenco and Holdren to Science Positions On March 19, the Senate confirmed Jane Lubchenco as the new head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The former Oregon State University marine biologist will oversee ocean and atmospheric research and the National Weather Service. The Senate also confirmed Harvard physicist John P. Holdren as President Obama's top science adviser. For additional information see:
Other Headlines UN-REDD Scheme Provides $18 Million to Five Countries to Slash Emissions, Create Jobs New Government Brochure Explains Climate Science
Events March 30, 2009 Are We Ready for National Carbon and REC Markets? The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and MissionPoint Capital Partners invite you to a lunch briefing to explore environmental market systems. The panel will explore how infrastructure enhances market integrity and credibility by providing transparency and tools to market participants, regulators, and the public. The panel also will address how the emerging carbon market infrastructure and oversight model could improve upon other environmental, energy or financial market structures, and how state and regional REC programs can be integrated within a larger federal program. The briefing will be held on Monday, March 30, in B340 Rayburn House Office Building from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. This briefing is free and open to the public. Lunch will be served. No RSVP required. For more information, contact Laura Parsons at (202) 662-1884 or lparsons [at] eesi.org.
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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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