Schwarzenegger Implements Low Carbon Standards for
Utilities and Transportation Sector
This month, California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger has once again set forth legislative
initiatives to address carbon emissions in his state – the
Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and the Emissions Performance
Standard (EPS). Both of these measures stem directly from
the passage of Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32) – a comprehensive,
market-based bill addressing greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions –
which the Governor signed into law last September.
The LCFS calls for a 10 percent
carbon intensity reduction by 2020 and is an unprecedented
initiative to address emissions in the transportation sector.
This is particularly notable because 40 percent of
California’s GHG emissions are attributable to the
transportation sector and 96 percent of the state’s
transportation needs rely on petroleum-based fuels. The
LCFS requires fuel providers to ensure that the mix of fuel they
sell into the California market meets, on average, a declining
standard for GHG emissions measured in CO2-equivalent gram per
unit of fuel energy sold.
In addition, the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) recently passed the EPS which bars
utilities from signing long-term baseload power contracts with a
power source whose average emissions exceed the emissions of a
modern gas plant. Because California has no coal-fired
power plants, the EPS is specifically aimed at coal-fired power
stations operating outside California and exporting power to the
state. The CPUC estimates that about 20 percent of the
electricity used in California comes from coal-fired plants that
will not be able to meet this standard. Both the LCFS and
the EPS are expected to spur growth and investments in renewable
energy technologies.
UN Climate Change Panel to Release Report February 2
The Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC)—a group established in 1988 to assess
scientific, technical and socio-economic information on climate
change from around the world—is set to release its fourth
assessment summing up the latest research on global warming.
The report, to be released publicly on February 2, has been
called the ‘smoking gun’ by top US climate scientist Jerry
Mahlman. This 1600-page first segment of the four-segment
report will most likely identify human sources as the strongest
influence affecting global warming due to burning fossil fuels.
According to the Associated Press, this first segment
was written by 600 scientists and reviewed by another 600
experts and edited by bureaucrats from 154 countries. The
second part of the international climate panel's report—to be
released this coming April—is expected to feature a crucial
chapter on how global warming is already changing health,
species, engineering and food production, said NASA scientist
Cynthia Rosenzweig, author of that chapter.
Industrialized Countries Call for Emerging Economies to
Embrace Climate Change
With global warming becoming more
and more of a pressing issue, senior United Nations officials
are calling on both industrialized and developing countries to
find ways to resolve this problem. Unfortunately, the two
sides remain at a stalemate: industrialized countries fear
unwillingness on the part of their developing country
competitors to act and are, therefore, reluctant to take the
first step while developing countries fear that a new round of
climate change negotiations would impose obligations that would
hurt their economic goals.
Although the United States—the
largest CO2 emitter in the world—has been the primary focus of
attention after refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, the
spotlight is now beginning to shift towards developing nations
such as China and India. According to the International
Herald Tribune, China and India represent a combined population
of 2.3 billion and both economies growing at a pace of about 9
percent a year. Taking these numbers into consideration,
industrialized countries assert that if emerging economies such
as India and China address climate change and implement measures
to reduce GHG emissions, the effects could be dramatic.
Alternatively, lack of action by developing countries could have
significant consequences.
Some experts believe a solution may
already exist. The Kyoto Protocol—a climate change
treaty signed in 1992—does offer a flexible component known as
the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The CDM allows
industrialized countries to invest in emission reduction
projects in developing countries and generate emission credits
for themselves. Ironically, the United States was
instrumental in writing the Protocol, however, President Bush
withdrew from the agreement citing reasons similar to those
above.
Arctic Ocean Pack Ice Disappearing
The Arctic Ocean's pack ice is expected to disappear entirely in
the coming decades and will bring unforeseeable changes to the
region according to international experts meeting this week in
Norway. "Last time something like that happened was a
million years ago. It is a tremendous change," said
University of Manitoba researcher David Barber. Melting ice
sheets—equivalent to some 70,000 square kilometers (27,000
square miles) a year—as well as sharp rises in temperatures
since the end of the 1990s, and the failure of sea ice to
recover ground lost during the summer months all characterize
changes in the region.
These changes are affecting Arctic
wildlife. “The winters are getting warmer, the vegetation is
changing and it has consequences for the reindeer that graze in
winter ... they cannot reach lichen," the speaker of the
Sami parliament Aili Keskitalo said. "Insects are
more numerous, worms are eating the birch leaves, all this
because we did not experience in the last winters ... the
(typical) temperatures of minus 35 to 40°C (minus 31 to 40°F),"
she added.
Click the following link for the
full news story: TerraDaily
Chairman Boxer Calls for Senators' Perspectives on
Global Warming
On January 18, Senator Barbara Boxer
(D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works
(EPW) Committee, sent a "Dear Colleague" letter to her
fellow Senators offering them the chance to present their views
on global warming in an EPW hearing to take place January 30.
Boxer urged Members to lay out their views on global warming
generally, as well as to discuss any climate legislation they
have introduced or are working on. The hearing is scheduled from
9 am to 5 pm, and Senators are limited to ten minutes each.
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Can Significantly
Cut GHGs
A report by Greenpeace USA and the
European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) entitled
"Energy Revolution: A Blueprint for Solving Global
Warming," shows that it is not only economically feasible,
but also economically desirable, to cut U.S. CO2 emissions by
almost 75 percent within the next 43 years. This would be
accomplished with increased energy efficiency to cut energy
demand and greatly increased use of renewable fuels and power.
According to the plan, these reductions can be achieved without
nuclear power, and while virtually ending U.S. dependence on
coal. The 92-page report, commissioned by the German Aerospace
Center, finds that America's oil use can be cut by more than 50
percent by 2050 by using much more efficient cars and trucks,
increased use of biofuels and a greater reliance on electricity
for transportation through technologies including plug-in hybrid
vehicles. The report also finds that with its plan, carbon
dioxide emissions can be reduced 50 percent globally by 2050.
Maryland Considers Adopting California's Vehicle
Emission Standards
Under the "Clean Car"
proposal, Maryland would join 10 other states in adopting
California's vehicle tailpipe emissions standards, requiring
automakers to reduce their fleetwide emissions of such
pollutants as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone and benzene
by 2011. Gov. Martin O'Malley made the initiative one of his
legislative priorities last week, adding significant momentum to
a process that has been going on for over three years. Senate
President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael E.
Busch have also signaled their support, co-sponsoring the bill
in their respective chambers of the General Assembly. By 2016,
when the changes would be fully phased in, carbon dioxide
emissions would be reduced by about 30 percent, supporters
predict.
Carbon Tax Center Announces Launch
The Carbon Tax Center (CTC), based
in New York City, announced its launch on Thursday, January
25th. The CTC’s mission is to give a voice to Americans
who believe that taxing emissions of CO2 is a useful way to help
mitigate the effects of global warming. Specifically, the
group aims to educate and inform policymakers, opinion leaders,
and the general public about the perceived benefits of taxes on
carbon emissions from fossil fuels.
The Carbon Tax Center was co-founded
by Charles Komanoff and Daniel Rosenblum, who collectively bring
six decades of experience in economics, law, public policy, and
social change. CTC believes a carbon tax system would be
superior to a cap-and-trade system on the merits of
predictability, immediacy, transparency, universality, and
equity. CTC specifically advocates the implementation of a
carbon tax as far “upstream” as possible which would allow
for trickle down economics in the marketplace.
EESI
Briefings
DVD’s
Available: Copies of DVD's
are available of EESI's recent climate
briefings: "Agriculture
and Climate Change: Threats and Opportunities," May
24, 2005; "What
Does Climate Change Mean for the Arctic? How is Alaska Being
Affected?,"
March 15, 2005; "Perspectives
on Climate Change: Business Initiatives to Reduce Greenhouse
Gas Emissions," November
18, 2004; “State
and Local Government Climate Change Efforts,” September
28, 2004; “Climate
Change Post 2100,” September 21, 2004; “Abrupt
Climate Change,” September 15, 2004; and
“Discussing Climate Change: A Multi-faceted View
of the Climate Stewardship Act,” June 3, 2004.
The discs are $20
ea. (incl. shipping/handling) plus tax 5.75%
(DC residents only). Click on the following link to
order a DVD: EESI
Climate Change DVD's
EVENTS
January 30, 2007
Senators' Perspectives on Global Warming
The full Committee on Environment
and Public Works will conduct a hearing entitled,
"Senators' Perspectives on Global Warming." The
purpose of the hearing is to hear from each Senator about his
or her views on global warming, and what the Senator believes
the nation's response should be to the issue. The hearing will
be held on Tuesday, January 30, beginning at 09:00 AM in Room
406 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building. Click the following
link for more information: Senate
EPW
January 31,2007
The Scientific Case for Global
Warming and its Causation
The American Meteorological
Society hosts a Congressional Briefing entitled "Multiple
Lines of Evidence: The Scientific Case for Global Warming and
its Causation." It will address the questions: What is
the scientific case for global warming and its causation? Is
the scientific case for global warming built upon multiple
lines of internally consistent evidence, or is the evidence
thin and contradictory? How significant is the role of humans
in global warming and what is the evidentiary basis for this
claim? The briefing will be held Wednesday, January 31 from
12:00 - 2:00 pm in Room SD-G11 of the Dirksen Senate Office
Building, Washington, DC. Click the following link for more
information: AMS
February 4-5, 2007
George Washington
University Climate Conference
A conference entitled
“Implementing Solutions to Climate Crises: Strategic Actions
for the Businesses, Communities, and Citizen/Consumers” will
be held on February 4th and 5th in the George Washington
University Elliott School of International Affairs City View
Room and the Marvin Center Continental Ballroom and 3rd Floor
Breakout Rooms, Washington, D.C. Click the following link for
more information: Climate
Conference
February 5, 2007
Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change
The DoD Under Secretary for
Acquisition, Technology and Logistics and the Office of Force
Transformation are pleased to invite you to attend a
conversation about our national addiction to energy. This
dialog explores the central role energy plays in achieving
both national and program goals. The speaker is Justin Mundy,
Senior Advisor on Climate Change to the Foreign Ministry of
the UK, who will discuss the Stern Review on the Economics of
Climate Change. The event will be held Monday, February 5 from
6:00-8:30 PM at the Doubletree Hotel, 300 Army Navy Drive,
Crystal City, VA. Click the following link for more
information: Energy
Conversation lecture series
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.
This newsletter and EESI's other
valuable work in energy, climate change, agriculture,
transportation and smart growth are made possible through
financial support from people like you. Please donate
now. Your tax-deductible contribution
will help EESI develop innovative policy solutions for a
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For more information, visit www.eesi.org
or contact Ruth Lampi at rlampi@eesi.org or
202-662-1887.
