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June 1, 2015
On May 26, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan regulation on power sector emissions would reduce carbon emissions to roughly 1,500 million metric tons a year by 2025 — about a 35 percent drop from 2005 levels. This graph shows the draft Clean Power Plan as the "Base Policy," the "Reference case" as the business as usual energy sector without the Clean Power Plan, and the "Policy extension" displays emissions under the Clean Power Plan with additional targets post-2030. Image courtesy of the EIA.
On May 25, officials representing the United States, Canada, and Mexico announced a new partnership to address climate and energy concerns. This new ministerial-level working group aims to synchronize environmental policies of the three North American powers and tackle a range of topics, including low-carbon grids, energy efficiency, emissions regulation, carbon-capture, and climate change adaptation. Though devoid of any binding targets, the collaboration marks the onset of increased cooperation and climate change policy discourse between the countries, according to Canadian Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford.
For more information see:
Reuters, Financial Post
On May 28, President Obama held a discussion about climate change via twitter during a tour of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. Swedish political activist Zebulon Carlander tweeted a question to the president asking why climate change is a national security issue. President Obama tweeted in response, “more severe weather events lead to displacement, scarcity, stressed populations; all increase likelihood of global conflict.” The president also gave brief remarks to media at National Hurricane Center, stating, “The best climate scientists in the world are telling us that extreme weather events like hurricanes are likely to become more powerful. When you combine stronger storms with rising seas, that’s a recipe for more devastating floods.”
The Washington Post
On May 26, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan regulation on power sector emissions would reduce carbon emissions to roughly 1,500 million metric tons a year by 2025 — about a 35 percent drop from 2005 levels. The analysis projects that the EPA rule will result in a rush of coal plant retirements before 2020. EIA added that carbon emissions have the potential to rise after 2025 and continue rising after 2030, stating, “Because the emission rate standards stay constant after 2030, coal-fired generation can grow beyond 2030 as long as energy efficiency or renewable generation also grows, and the same average emissions rate is maintained.”
E&E News, EIA, EIA, The Hill
On May 20 and 21, during a two-day United Nations-backed Business & Climate Summit in Paris, international business leaders representing over 2,000 companies pushed for governments to sign a global climate agreement to achieve net-zero emissions. The initiative calls for science-based carbon targets and a high price on carbon, enforced through a trading system or a tax. Carbon emissions-intensive companies such as Glencore, RWE, Total and Czech CEZ Group voiced their favor for carbon pricing. “There was one thing everyone has agreed on, and it’s a price, a price, a price – a big fat price with which to hit carbon on the head with,” said Angel Gurria secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
E&E News, Business & Climate Summit
On May 21, Tony Hayward, infamous for being the chief executive officer of BP during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, said subsidies for fossil fuels must be phased out so the world can combat climate change. Hayward added that rich developed countries should also give financial assistance to developing countries, to support efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and install renewable energy. Hayward is now the chairman of Glencore Xstrata, the largest commodity trading group in the world. He made his comments at the United Nations Business & Climate Summit in Paris.
The Guardian
On May 27, shareholders from U.S. oil companies Exxon and Chevron voted against several environmental proposals, including an initiative to add members with climate expertise to their boards and plans to set greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets. Preliminary polls at both the Chevron and Exxon Mobil Corp annual meetings show the proposal to include independent climate change experts on the board was supported by roughly 20 percent of shareholders at each company. Milwaukee-based Catholic friar Michael Crosby, whose church owns about 300 Exxon shares, sponsored the proposal at Exxon. Crosby stated, “If they had done something 20 years ago we could have a different world right now.”
Reuters, U.S. News, Business Insider
On May 26, United Nations (UN) climate chief Christiana Figueres asserted that countries are sure to strike a global climate deal at the much anticipated United Nations conference on climate change this December. “Governments are actually very well on track . . . there is no doubt that this agreement will be forged in Paris,” Figueres said. At present, only 37 of 196 U.N. member states have submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). INDCs are country plans to mitigate climate change, and are considered fundamental to an international deal. Figueres said many more INDCs are expected in the near future, with a “large crop” to be released before Paris.
Reuters, FirstPost
On May 27, a new report by the World Resources Institute (WRI) found that the United States can meet its emissions reduction target of a 26 to 28 percent cut in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from 2005 levels by 2025, without introducing any new policies or relying on nonexistent technologies. The study says U.S. targets can be met or exceeded by fully implementing the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan (CPP), along with strengthening some current and proposed policies. Without the CPP, WRI warns the United States would fall significantly short of its promised goals. The report noted that in the long term Congressional action is still critical to achieve further carbon reductions and spur the technological innovations needed.
The Christian Science Monitor, Report
On May 27, the European Geosciences Union (EGU) published a study in their journal, The Cyrosphere, forecasting 70 to 99 percent reductions in glacier volume within the Everest region of the Himalayas by the end of the century. The study was conducted by an international team of researchers in the Dudh Kosi basin in Nepal, where Mt. Everest is located. “The signal of future glacier change in the region is clear: continued and possibly accelerated mass loss from glaciers is likely given the projected increase in temperatures,” said study lead author Joseph Shea. According to researchers, the rate of melting is heavily dependent on future greenhouse gas emissions.
International Business Times, Study
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1. CIA Shuts Down Its Climate Change Research Project
2. World Bank Sets Floor Price for Methane Credits
3. Sen. McCain Says President Obama Should Focus on ISIS, Not Climate Change
4. Study Finds 32 Energy Companies Release One-Third of All Greenhouse Gas Emissions
5. EU Carbon Market Prices Will Rise in 2016
6. Catholics Promote Pope’s New Climate Stance
7. NOAA Offers $9 Million for Coastal Climate Adaptation
===================== 1. How Can States Comply with the Clean Power Plan? State Officials Working Together to Identify Options Friday, June 5 10:30 am - 12:00 pm 2168 Rayburn House Office Building C Street and South Capitol Street, SE The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing examining the breadth of options available for states to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan, which will be finalized later this summer. The Plan will set rules limiting carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants. Each state will be given a different target for emissions reductions, based on its specific circumstances. States will then have to submit plans to the EPA outlining how they will achieve their targets.
Please RSVP to expedite check-in A live webcast will be streamed at 10:00 AM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
2. Future Fuels: Can Biofuels Make Gasoline Cleaner, Cheaper? *TBA* Friday, June 12, 2015 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM 334 Cannon House Office Building The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Governors' Biofuels Coalition invite you to a briefing examining the current state and potential future of the transportation fuel supply. While combustion engines are more efficient and cleaner than ever, the transportation sector is still responsible for 27 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as half of all toxic emissions in the United States. Researchers from Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), and Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) are conducting coordinated studies to address the opportunities and challenges to deploying a high octane mid-level ethanol blend to the passenger vehicle fleet. They found such fuels, which blend between 25 to 40 percent ethanol and 60 to 75 percent conventional gasoline (instead of the current 10 to 90 percent ratio), could lead to greater fuel efficiencies and lower overall GHG emissions.
Please RSVP to expedite check-in Live webcast (connection permitting) will be streamed at: www.eesi.org/livecast
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