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EPA: Global Warming Threatens Public Health, Welfare On March 20, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a report to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that contained its finding that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are an endangerment to the public’s health and welfare. The issue dates back to an April 2007 Supreme Court ruling that identified CO2 as a pollutant that can be regulated under the Clean Air Act if found to endanger public health and welfare. Though a draft endangerment finding was sent to the Bush Administration in December 2007, the issue remained essentially shelved until now. A summary recently leaked to the media revealed some of its content, including findings that GHG emissions can endanger public welfare through ecosystem and environmental disruptions, and that public health could be endangered by temperature and air quality changes. Pending White House approval, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said she would sign the document by April 16, after which there would be a 60-day public comment period and two public hearings. Once finalized, the EPA would have authority to regulate CO2 under the Clean Air Act. While seen as an important step toward mitigating climate change, President Obama has expressed his desire for Congress to pass energy security legislation that includes a cap on GHGs, rather than relying solely on EPA regulations. EPA spokeswoman Adora Andy said the report does not currently propose requirements on sources of GHG emissions or create new regulatory burdens on any projects. For additional information see:
Obama Highlights Future Climate Bill in Primetime News Conference On March 24, President Obama pledged his support for legislation that includes a national cap and trade program while speaking at a televised news conference. “When it comes to cap and trade, the broader principle is that we've got to move to a new energy era,” Obama said. “That means moving away from polluting energy sources toward cleaner energy sources. That's a potential engine for economic growth. I think cap and trade is the best way, from my perspective, to achieve some of those gains, because what it does is it starts pricing the pollution that's being sent into the atmosphere.” Obama also acknowledged concerns held by lawmakers representing regions that rely heavily on coal and manufacturing. “The way it's structured, it has to take into account regional differences, it has to protect consumers from huge spikes in electricity prices,” Obama said. “So there are a lot of technical issues that are going to have to be sorted through.” In February, Obama sent Congress a budget blueprint that included revenues from a cap and trade program as well as recommendations for distributing the funds and specific greenhouse gas (GHG) emission limits. “Our point in the budget is let's get started now,” Obama said. “We can't wait. And my expectation is that the energy committees, or other relevant committees, in both the House and the Senate, are going to be moving forward a strong energy package. It'll be authorized. We'll get it done. And I will sign it.” For additional information see:
Climate Negotiators to Meet in Bonn Next Week in Lead-up to Copenhagen From March 29-April 6, representatives from over 190 countries will meet in Bonn, Germany, to further discuss goals for a new global treaty to address climate change. Discussions will conclude in December in Copenhagen, where the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) plans to negotiate a global climate change treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012. At Bonn, a new guide for negotiators will be presented which narrows down a list of ideas to about 30 pages from 120 in a text late last year. “It shows that there's an awful lot still to be done. And it also shows what needs to be done,” said Yvo de Boer, the Executive Secretary for UNFCCC. The text states, “There is broad support by parties for a science-based indicative goal for the reduction of greenhouse gases to the middle of the century.” It added, “There is a lack of convergence on the issue of the contribution by different groups of countries to the achievement of the long-term goal and pathways to it.” One of the items to be discussed in Bonn includes how much financial aid developed countries should give to developing nations to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A proposed registry would list “nationally appropriate mitigation actions” by developing countries such as China and India and match them with pledges of financial and technological support by developed nations. The actions by developing nations could include sustainable development policies, low-carbon development plans and industry standards or emissions trading. “There seems to be a growing consensus that nationally appropriate mitigation actions should be captured in some kind of registry,” de Boer said. “The finance is contingent on a solid plan and implementation of that plan.” For additional information see:
EU Delays Decision on Climate Change Aid to Developing Countries On March 20, the European Union (EU) ruled that it would postpone until June a decision on how much money it would offer to developing countries to support adaptation and mitigation measures needed for climate change. The delay by the EU was due in part to the uncertainty of actions by other developed countries. European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said, “We have, before taking a formal decision on our side, to ask other developed countries also to come with us (so that) the United States, Japan and many other contributors also signal what will be their position.” Barroso indicated that the EU will make the decision in the second half of 2009. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk suggested the amount of aid would range between 20 billion and 40 billion euros annually. Some environmental groups called the delay a setback that would hurt the EU's credibility as a leader in combating climate change. “We expect Europe to set the bar on adaptation finance: by remaining silent, there is no pressure on the United States to make a strong offer. This makes it harder for progressive voices in the United States to drive the agenda forward,” said Elise Ford, head of Oxfam International's EU office. For additional information see:
Melting Snow Prompts Border Change Between Switzerland and Italy On March 24, The Independent reported that a section of the border between Switzerland and Italy will be redrawn due to the shrinking of the glaciers, permanent snow cover and permafrost. The border, which has been fixed since 1861, “is moving because of the warmer climate,” said Daniel Gutknecht at Switzerland’s Office of Topography. In addition to glaciers, water courses have also been altered as a result of the warming. The rate of melting has increased substantially in the past five years, particularly during the European heat wave of 2003. The shift in the border will be between a few meters and a hundred meters, but will not impact any communities. The final border will be agreed by a commission of experts from Switzerland's Federal Office of Topography and Italy's Military Geographic Institute. Luca Mercalli, an Italian meteorologist and climatologist, noted, “The mountains are particularly sensitive to change. And they are also areas that teach us a lot: effects of climate change that you don’t notice in the cities are vividly apparent in the mountains.” For additional information see:
Food Shortage Could Be Greatest Challenge of Global Warming On March 23, Dr. Nina Fedoroff, the chief scientist for the U.S. State Department, warned that food shortages will be the greatest challenge posed by increasing temperatures and population growth in the 21st century. Dr. Fedoroff, who advises Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said famines that strike a billion people are quite possible in a world where climate change has damaged food production and the human population has risen to nine billion. In an interview with The Times, she noted the 2003 European heatwave, which killed an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 people and decreased crop productions by 20 to 25 percent, could become a “typical summer” by mid-century based on global warming projections. Dr. Federoff added that genetic modification and other technologies will be crucial to meeting food and water demands across the world. A critical factor will be the ability of scientists to identify genes which enable plants to survive in hot and dry zones so that they can be used to help the most productive crop strains survive and thrive as global warming intensifies, she said. For additional information see:
Great Lakes Ice Cover Diminishing from Warming Climate For additional information see:
Iron Fertilization Experiment in Ocean Shows Modest Results On March 16, scientists conducting an iron fertilization experiment in the Southern Ocean reported modest results in their attempt to reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere. The LOHAFEX, an Indo-German team of scientists from the National Institute of Oceanography and the Alfred Wegener Institute, released four tons of dissolved iron into a 300 square kilometer patch of the ocean to prompt the blooming of phytoplankton, a class of tiny plant algae which take up CO2 from the air and quickly die off, sinking deep into the ocean with the carbon. Dr. Victor Smetacek, co-chief scientist from Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association, said, “To our surprise, the iron-fertilized patch attracted large numbers of zooplankton predators belonging to the crustacean group known as amphipods.” The grazing resulted in a decline of CO2 uptake by the algae, and therefore only a modest amount of carbon sinking out of the ocean’s surface layer. Previous studies were more successful because they occurred in areas where algae were protected by hard shells. “What it means is the Southern Ocean cannot sequester the amount of carbon dioxide that one had hoped,” concluded Smetacek. Ocean fertilization has remained a controversial issue among scientists and environmentalists for its unforeseen consequences in potentially damaging fragile ecosystems. For additional information see:
Earth Hour to Take Place This Saturday to Call for Action on Climate Change Earth Hour is an event led by the World Wildlife Fund that will take place Saturday, March 28, at 8:30 p.m. when hundreds of millions of people around the world turn off their lights in a global “vote” for action on climate change. In 2008, more than 50 million people in 400 cities around the world took part, as the lights dimmed at Sydney’s Opera House, Rome’s Coliseum, the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge. This year, more than 2,400 municipalities in 84 countries are planning to participate. The United Nations is calling it “the largest demonstration of public concern about climate change ever attempted.” The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said, “Earth Hour is a way for the citizens of the world to send a clear message - they want action on climate change.” For additional information see:
Other Headlines Left-out Word Kills Utah Bill Resisting Climate Action
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. Climate Law & Policy Project (CLPP) and Many Strong Voices (MSV) are co-sponsoring a briefing entitled “A Call for Stronger Targets: Protecting the World’s Vulnerable Communities.” The event's focus is the need to secure a global agreement that includes stronger emission reduction targets than those being called for by the Obama Administration as a necessary means to prevent dangerous climate impacts on vulnerable communities in the Arctic and Small Island Developing States. The briefing will take place on Wednesday, April 1, from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m (followed by a light reception) at the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor. Please contact Alyssa Johl (202-298-8333; ajohl@climatelawpolicy.org) or John Crump (613-255-3840; John.Crump@grida.no). For more information about the sponsoring organizations, please visit: www.climatelawpolicy.org and www.manystrongvoices.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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