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July 14, 2014
EPA Releases Proposal for Methane Landfill Emissions
On June 30, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released proposed updates to its air standards to reduce methane emissions from new municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. The move to a stricter standard was outlined in March in the President's Climate Action Plan- Strategy to Cut Methane. Under the rule, new landfills will be required to capture two-thirds of all methane and air toxin emissions by 2023, which is a 13 percent increase from current capture levels. The EPA estimates that the net annual nationwide cost for compliance with this rule would be $471,000. On the same day, the EPA issued an Advanced Notice of Public Rulemaking (ANPR) seeking public comment on if and how emission standards should be updated for existing landfills, stating that significant changes have occurred in the landfill industry since the guidelines were published in 1996. Methane has a global warming potential 28 times more powerful than that of CO2 over a hundred years (according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment), and U.S. landfills are the third largest domestic source of methane emissions, behind oil and gas production and livestock. “Reducing methane emissions is a powerful way to take action on climate change,” said Administrator Gina McCarthy. “This latest step from the President’s methane strategy builds on our progress to date and takes steps to cut emissions from landfills through common-sense standards.”
For more information see:
Biomass Magazine, Climate Central, Recycling Portal
EPA Proposes Ban on Super Greenhouse Gases, HFCs
On July 10, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposal to ban the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) where climate-friendly alternatives are available, starting with mobile air conditioners, food refrigeration systems, foam blowers, and aerosol propellants, as industry leaders have successfully developed and implemented alternatives in these sectors. The EPA’s bans will cut the equivalent of 31 to 42 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), in the period from 2016 to 2020. This is the second major step in the EPA’s continued effort to reduce HFCs, referred to as “highly potent greenhouse gases,” under President Obama's Climate Action Plan. It follows a complementary proposal two weeks ago to approve new climate-friendly alternatives under EPA’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program. The U.S. is pursuing aggressive action to phase down HFCs internationally as well, including proposing a global phasedown of HFCs under the under the Montreal Protocol. “The more the U.S. does to reduce HFCs at home, the more credibility it has when it asks the rest of the world to follow its lead,” said Durwood Zaelke, president of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development. “The EPA bans will knock out a major part of the HFC problem in the US, and demonstrate to other countries that superior alternatives are already available.”
For more information:
EPA Fact Sheet, EPA Press Release, IGSD Press Release, Climate Action Plan, Environmental Leader
US and China Sign Eight Partnerships to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions
On July 8, the United States and China signed eight partnership agreements to cut greenhouse gases, including deals on carbon capture, usage and storage, hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) reduction, and the development of low-carbon cities and a low-carbon model for the cement industry. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said, "The significance of these two nations coming together can't be understated. We are working hard to find a solution together that can have an impact on the rest of the world." One of the highlights of the partnership is an agreement to share information on technology for “clean coal” power generation between China’s Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute, a state-owned power company, and Washington-based Summit Power Group. “We will be sharing expertise, years of development experience and non-proprietary technology on both projects, all while making giant steps forward for the world's environment," said Laura Miller, a former mayor of Dallas who now manages the Texas Clean Energy Project. Xie Zhenhua, Vice Chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), also said, “Developing countries are most concerned that they get funds and technological support from developed countries. On this issue, we are still having great difficulties and we have to put forth more effort." China and the United States are the world’s two largest emitters of greenhouse gases.
Reuters, Xinhua News
City of Oxnard Votes to Delay Power Plant Construction to Take Rising Sea Levels into Account
On July 2, the city of Oxnard voted to block the construction of a proposed replacement NRG Energy power plant along the coast at the site of its aging plants, due to threats from rising sea levels. California law requires that agencies consider climate change implications in planning state, county, and local projects. David Knox, communications director for NRG, said "We've looked at the predicted sea level rises and where the units are going to be and there's not an issue during the life of these plants." However, models by the Nature Conservancy disagree, projecting that the plant site, slated to be located the same place as the plants they will be replacing, would be under water by 2020 or sooner. Carmen Ramirez, the Mayor Pro Tem of Oxnard, said, “If you want the grid to be safe and not vulnerable, to the kinds of flooding that is happening now and will occur with more severe storms, you want to get all these critical facilities off the coast.” The moratorium is not binding, as it must be renewed in 45 days and the final word on the proposed project may lie with the California Energy Commission.
Southern California Public Radio, Reuters, KEYT News
United Nations Proposes Options for New Climate Deal
On July 7, a policy paper on climate change negotiations was published on the website of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This unofficial document, termed a “non-paper” by the UN, includes different views and proposals to aid in the creation of a draft negotiating text for 2014 UN climate talks, sourced from member statements, submissions, interventions and other inputs. The upcoming draft negotiating text aims to build a replacement for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which put limits on greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries. Amal-Lee Amin, Associate Director of E3G, a British non-profit, commented, “It’s important that everyone feels their vision is incorporated into the text. What it doesn’t reflect is any sense of convergence.” Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said to Bloomberg, “[The document] doesn’t resolve the yawning gaps between positions,” which he considers to be differences of opinion between developed and developing nations on climate finance and other issues.
Bloomberg, UNFCCC
UN Report Says Slowing Climate Change Possible, But Needs Action Now
On July 8, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), established by the United Nations, released a report outlining pathways for countries to take in order to limit the increase in global mean surface temperature to below two degrees Celsius. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned, “We know that we are not on track, and time is not on our side.” The project will require organization and cooperation on the global scale, as well as “technology that is not yet operating at scale . . . and for which scalability is not yet proven,” said Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia University's Earth Institute. The report suggests the employment of tactics such as greater reliance on nuclear power, development of low-carbon technologies, and carbon sequestration. The report also states that additional research is necessary to advance these technologies. Consulting firm Energy + Environmental Economics (E3) in San Francisco led the effort to develop emissions reductions scenarios in the United States, for the UN report. They found four potential pathways for the U.S. to reduce its emissions 85 percent by 2050, with strong economic growth. “People need to understand why decarbonization is necessary. They need to know it is possible. And they need to see that cutting emissions can benefit economics and people’s well-being,” said Ki-moon.
Daily Climate, United Nations, MSNBC, Report
Australia Does Not Pass Carbon Tax Repeal
On July 10, the Australian Senate rejected legislation that would have repealed the country’s carbon tax. While there is a possibility the legislation will be passed as early as next week, it must first pass the lower house of parliament again, which could drag out the process. This is the second failed attempt Prime Minister Tony Abbott has made to repeal the tax on carbon emissions, one of his primary campaign promises. The Palmer United Party, which lead the push for the “no” vote, supports the idea of repealing the carbon tax, but wants it to be done in a way that gives money back to voters rather than businesses. According to Environment Minister Greg Hunt, the carbon tax needs to be repealed “to ensure that the electricity markets are given the outcome they have predicted,” and because, “at the moment, every day is an $11 million cost in power bills to Australian families and businesses.” Australia has one of the highest per-capita carbon emission rates in the world, largely due to its reliance on coal to meet the country’s energy needs.
Reuters, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Australian
Canada Government Releases National Climate Assessment
Last month, Natural Resources Canada, a department in the Canadian government, released the third national assessment of climate impacts in the country. The report shows that the average surface air temperature over land in Canada doubled the global average between 1950 and 2010; average annual rainfall has increased nationally; and the relative sea level on Canadian coasts rose 3 millimeters (mm) a year on the Atlantic and Beauford Sea coasts, and less in some locations. The report stated that climate change will modestly increase food production due to longer and warmer growing seasons, although productivity could be hurt by new diseases and pests, as well as less predictable weather variability. The report was written by 90 authors, included more than 1,000 studies and was reviewed by 115 experts. Blair Feltmate, an associate professor at University of Waterloo, criticized the lack of solutions for industries and communities in the report, stating, “There needs to be one national coordinating entity on adaptation.”
Scientific American, Report
United Kingdom Flood Resilience Inadequate For Climate Change Impacts
A report released July 9th by the Committee on Climate Change in the United Kingdom says three quarters of the nation’s flood defenses are not adequate to protect against future flood threats. Recent budget cuts to the Environment Agency have lessened the available funding for improving flood defenses, leaving much of the country vulnerable to destructive floods, like the ones seen this past winter. The report says that reducing funding from flood resilience and climate change mitigation projects now will only cause greater spending in the future. Other aspects of infrastructure, including utilities, railways and water treatment sites are also not properly prepared to manage extreme weather. “If we are to meet the pressures of climate change, capital and maintenance investment will simply need to increase,” said David Balmforth, senior vice-president of the Institution of Civil Engineers. “Government should commit to a long-term capital and maintenance programme for flood management, which protects funding beyond the current six-year cycle.”
For More Information:
Blue and Green Tomorrow, The Guardian, Press Release
France and India to Cooperate More on Climate Change Efforts
On June 30, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius spoke at a discussion on “sustainable development in response to climate change” at the India Habitat Center, shortly before after a meeting with the new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Fabius stated, “I have come to Delhi to deepen our dialogue regarding the climate change global debate . . . [and] ensure that the [UN climate] agreement paves the way for fair access to sustainable development.” To foster greater cooperation between France and India, Fabius proposed a 1 billion Euro line of credit to fund sustainable infrastructure and urban development in India over the next three years, through the French Development Agency. Director General of The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), R.K Pachauri said in a video message, "India for its own sake can go a great deal since we are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. As a country of 1.2 billion plus people, whatever we do is of enormous value to the world. We should raise our level of ambition and lead by an example for the world to follow.” After the talk, Fabius met with Prime Minster Modi, commenting, “We discussed climate change and have been positively impressed by the approach of Prime Minister Modi and his ministers. And we have decided to prepare for the Paris conference together and it is important because India is a major player in that conference.”
Responding to Climate Change, Embassy of France, Business Standard
Report Says New Jersey Urban Poor May Be Most Affected by Climate Change
In June 2014, the New Jersey Climate Adaptation Alliance (NJCAA) released a report outlining how low-income and minority communities (also called “environmental justice communities”) are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The report used the example of hurricane Sandy, which left environmental justice communities without power, drove up rent due to limited housing, and caused storm surges which exposed residents to toxins. The report recommended communities implement specific emergency and preparedness plans that are practiced well in advance of a storm; expand energy efficiency, renewable energy, and smart grid technology; and address the “heat-island effect” through green infrastructure, such as better soil management to help with storm water runoff. As part of the report-writing process, the NJCAA engaged a variety of stakeholders through surveys, meetings, and workshops in order to incorporate their views in the development of climate preparedness and adaptation policy recommendations. This report is part of a series of working briefs discussing anticipated climate and economic impacts and risks, and preparedness practices, for New Jersey.
New Jersey Spotlight, Rutgers
Oxford Report Says EPA Carbon Emissions Reductions Are Below EU Goal
A report released July 7 by the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies concludes that the recently proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) carbon dioxide regulations will not go far enough to curb carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Main author David Robinson said the planned regulations, which the report says will reduce emissions 18 percent from 2012 levels by 2030, are not stringent enough to have a serious impact on the reducing global temperatures. The reductions are not as strict as Europe’s binding target to reduce CO2 levels 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2040. In the report Robinson also comments on how the partisan divide in the U.S. Congress over climate policy has prevented action on climate, and may threaten the EPA regulations in the future. “It will be a long and contested process because of the numerous parties that will have an interest in challenging the process and the specific proposals,” Robinson. “One cannot rule out the possibility that a change in the Senate majority or the arrival of a new president will slow the process further or lead to a change in the EPA standards.”
Bloomberg, Oxford Energy
Most Abundant Creature in World’s Oceans Produces Methane When Stressed
On July 7, a study published in Nature Communications found that the ocean’s most abundant organism, SAR11, releases methane under stressed conditions. Scientists conducting the study say this discovery has at least partially solved the “marine methane paradox.” “Anaerobic methane biogenesis was the only process known to produce methane in the oceans and that requires environments with very low levels of oxygen,” said co-author of the study, Angelicque White. The paradox is the long observed phenomenon whereby oxygen-rich surface waters have been found to be supersaturated with methane relative to the atmosphere – although the only way researchers knew methane to be produced in the ocean was in very low-oxygen environments. The researchers concluded that when SAR11, the smallest free-living cell known, is starved for phosphorus, the organism breaks down methylphosphonic acid instead, leaving methane as a byproduct. The finding helps scientists better understand the Earth’s methane cycle, however more research is required determine just how much of the methane produced in the world’s oceans is due to these organisms.
Nature World News, Science World Report, Study
Headlines
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1. Thousands in Canada Left Without Power After Storm Arthur Hits
2. New Climate Report Looks at Risks to Virginia From Climate Change
3. Ethiopia Hedges Its Bets Against Climate Change-Induced Famine With 18 Seed Banks
4. Incumbent North Carolina Democrat Kate Hagan Faces Attack Ads Over Carbon Tax Support
5. Congressman Says Climate Change is Hoax Because Earth and Mars Are the Same Temperature
6. Members of UK Government Criticize BBC for Giving Climate Change Deniers Equal Time in News As Climate Scientists
7. Top Insurer Warns Insurance Industry Not To Take Warren Buffet’s Advice on Climate Change
8. Study Shows Climate Change May Increase Prevalence of Kidney Stones
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