Editorial
Note: EESI’s Climate Change News will not be
published the week of
Thanksgiving. The next issue will be published on December 1.
Zogby Poll: Climate Concerns Influenced Midterm
Electoral Vote
According to a recent Zogby
International post-election survey, half of Americans who voted
in the mid-term elections said concern about global warming made
a difference in who they voted for on Election Day 2006.
Eighty-five percent of these voters who felt global warming was
important cast their votes for Democratic Congressional
candidates, including 48 percent of Independents and 7 percent
of Republicans.
In the post-election survey, a solid
majority (58 percent) of voters agreed their elected officials
“should make combating global warming a high priority.”
Three-quarters (75 percent) of Americans who voted in the
mid-term elections say the “U.S. Congress should pass
legislation promoting renewable and alternative energy sources
as an effective way to reduce global warming pollution.”
The national Zogby Interactive poll,
commissioned by the National Wildlife Federation, surveyed
19,356 adults between November 7 and November 10.
Democrats Urge Bush to Pass Mandatory GHG Legislation
On November 15, three Democratic
senators who are to lead powerful environmental committees in
Congress sent a letter to President Bush urging him to work with
Congress to combat climate change by putting mandatory limits on
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The Senators are the incoming chair
of three important Senate committees
on global warming: Sen. Boxer (D-CA) is the incoming chair
of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee; Sen.
Bingaman (D-NM) is the incoming chair
of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; and Sen.
Lieberman (D-CT) is the incoming chair
of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee.
The letter said, "...we
seek your commitment to work with the new Congress to pass
meaningful climate change legislation in 2007. The U.S. must
move quickly to adopt economy-wide constraints on domestic GHG
emissions and then work with the international community to
forge an effective and equitable global agreement... Scientists
are now warning that we may be reaching a "tipping
point" beyond which it will be extremely difficult, or
perhaps impossible, to avoid the worst consequences of climate
change."
According to Reuters, on
the same day, Paula Dobriansky,
the Bush administration's representative at the Nairobi
talks on global warming, rejected pleas by U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the United States to rejoin the
Kyoto Protocol setting limits for participating countries on GHG
emissions.
Colorado Institutes First US Carbon Tax
Voters of Boulder,
Colorado have approved the Climate Action Plan Tax,
making it the first municipal government to impose a carbon tax
on residents' electricity usage to tackle global warming. The
average household will pay $1.33 per month and an average
business will pay $3.80 per month towards the tax. The carbon
tax will generate about $1 million annually through 2012,
when it is set to expire. The proceeds from the tax collected by
the local electric utility company will be used to fund the
city's Climate Action Plan approved earlier this year.
The city gets most of its
electricity from coal-based power plants. Residents opting for
wind power will not be required to pay the tax. The carbon tax
measure won about 58 percent of the votes, according to Sarah
Van Pelt, Boulder's environmental sustainability coordinator.
Yael Gichon of Boulder's environmental affairs office said that
the tax would fund energy efficiency efforts, energy audits and
enhance the use of wind and solar power.
UK Introduces Binding Targets for 2050 on Climate Change
A
climate change bill was included in Queen Elizabeth's speech on
November 15 opening the new session of British Parliment. The
bill will make the UK's long-term goal of reducing carbon
dioxide emissions by 60 percent by 2050 a legally binding
target. A carbon committee will be set up to ensure that the
target is met, but the bill does not set any annual targets. The
legislation is likely to include interim targets, according to
UK Prime Minister
Tony Blair.
Canadians Sue US EPA to Reduce Smog and GHG Emissions
from Power Plants
Canadian municipalities representing
over five million people formally petitioned the US EPA to
reduce contaminant emissions from 150 coal-fired power plants in
seven Midwestern states. The petition was filed by Sierra Legal
on behalf of cities such as Toronto, Windsor, and Halifax. A
Sierra Legal media release says, "The petition focuses on
emissions from the plants - among the oldest and dirtiest in the
United States - that cause smog and climate change impacts in
Canada." Under the U.S. Clean Air Act, EPA must require
emission reductions when there is evidence of harm to Canadians
from American sources. The emission of contaminants can be
reduced by 90 percent or more using available pollution-control
equipment. This reduction does not include greenhouse gases
(GHGs). The release also
says that these plants emit about the same quantity of GHGs as
all of Canada, including
transportation, industry, and Alberta's tar sands.
Global Warming Causes Species Extinctions
A synthesis study by Dr. Camille
Parmesan of University of Texas shows that global warming has
already caused species extinctions in the most sensitive
habitats and that the
trend will continue over the next 50 to 100 years. She reviewed
more than 800 scientific studies on climate change impacts on
thousands of wild species across the world. "Earlier
syntheses were hampered
from drawing broad conclusions by the relative lack of studies.
Because there are now so many papers on this subject, we can
start pulling together some patterns that we weren’t able to
before," said Parmesan, associate professor of integrative
biology, and co-author of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change 2001 report.
The University's press release says
that stronger responses are now being observed in species that
are adapted to very cold areas and where these areas have
experienced strong global warming trends such as the Antarctic
and Arctic regions. The most sensitive species are becoming
extinct and/or shifting their ranges with original habitats
becoming inhospitable. "Some species that are adapted to a
wide array of environments—globally common, or what we call
weedy or urban species—will be most likely to persist. Rare
species that live in fragile or extreme habitats are already
being affected, and we expect that to continue." Pests and
diseases are also shifting northwards like other wild animals,
according to the review published online in the December 2006
issue of the Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and
Systematics.
Another report by WWF based on a
review of over 200 scientific articles finds a “clear and
escalating pattern of climate change impacts on bird species
around the world.” Bird groups such as migratory, mountain,
island, wetland, Arctic and Antarctic, and seabirds are at a
high risk due to climate change. Declines of up to 90 percent
have been observed in some populations. The
WWF report points out that bird extinction rates could be
as high as 38 percent in Europe, and 72 percent in northeastern
Australia, if global warming exceeds 2ºC above pre-industrial
levels (currently, the value is 0.8ºC above pre-industrial
levels).
Weather Disasters Could Cost As Much As $1 Trillion
A UNEP Finance Initiative report
issued at the annual UN climate conference in Nairobi forecasts
annual losses to the tune of $800 billion by 2041 (at 2005
values) due to weather disasters driven by climate change.
Moreover, the report says, "....it seems very likely that
there will be a “peak” year that will record costs of over 1
trillion USD before 2040. In fact, since so much development is
taking place in coastal zones, the figure may arrive
considerably before 2040." The $1 trillion losses, which
include economic, societal and opportunity costs, take into
account the trend that great disasters appear in clusters every
three years, resulting in 50 percent higher costs. In general,
costs double every 12 years. Thomas Loster, Munich Re, said
that in 2005 weather-related damage cost $210 billion,
out of which $120 billion was attributed to Hurricane Katrina.
North Sea Temperature Shows an Increasing Trend
According to a study by the
Hamburg-based Federal Office of Maritime Transport and
Hydrography, the temperature of North Sea waters rose by a
record average of 2.4°C in October compared to the same period
during 1963-1993. October temperatures averaged 14.2°C (57.6°F).
Harald Asmus, marine biologist from the Alfred Wegener Institute,
said in an interview with German press-agency DPA, "....the
water has been getting continuously warmer -- that is the
longest warm period since the records began 130 years ago."
Moreover, the 2006 reading was almost a degree more than the
previous record set last year. The temperature increased 4.1°C
during a heatwave in July in Germany, and since then
exceptionally warm weather in September and October has
prevented it from coming down to its usual levels.
Higher
temperatures may
disturb marine life. For
instance, organisms native to warmer regions of the Atlantic
Ocean, such as the Bay of Biscay, may migrate to the North Sea.
“Certain fish types, like the plaice fish, plunge into deeper
and colder waters, while other types like cod are drawn still
further north,” said Asmus. While exotic organisms such as the
pacific oyster are being observed in the warmer waters, the once
dominating mussels have been displaced. Asmus believes that
rising North Sea temperature is an obvious indication that
climate change is having an effect.
France Calls for
Carbon Tax on Non-Signatories to Post-2012 Agreement
French Prime Minister
Dominique de Villepin has suggested that Europe should consider
imposing a carbon tax on industrial products imported from
countries that stay out of a post-Kyoto international agreement.
Media reports quoted him as saying, “Europe has to use all its
weight to stand up to this sort of environmental dumping....I
would like us to study now with our European partners the
principle of a carbon tax on the import of industrial products
from countries that refuse to commit themselves to the Kyoto
Protocol after 2012.” France is planning to outline specifics
of such a proposal in the first three months of 2007.
Swiss President
Moritz Leuenberger, on the other hand, has proposed introducing
an international tax on carbon dioxide emissions. Each
individual and business should pay the tax and the money should
go towards those suffering from climate change, as well as
towards mitigation measures, he said.
Emissions from Aviation to Be a Part of EU Emissions
Trading Scheme After 2011
The European Commission is seeking
to cap emissions for all flights departing from or landing in
the EU. A draft proposal expected to set emissions limits based
on the average carbon dioxide emissions in 2004-2006 may be
tabled on December 20. The proposal will require foreign
carriers to abide by the EU aviation sector caps on routes
serving European destinations. If other countries adopt similar
measures, the EU will not impose its rules for the return
journey. The plan may only cover carbon dioxide emissions. The
move may raise ticket prices by about $6 - $51, depending on the
distance traveled.
US Ranks 53 Among 56 Countries On a Climate Change
Performance Index
According to a study by Germanwatch,
the United States is among the bottom five in a list of 56
industrialized and rapidly industrializing countries, which
together put out more than 90 percent of global carbon dioxide
emissions. US greenhouse gas emissions grew 0.6 percent last
year according to the
U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The rankings, based on a Climate
Change Performance Index (CCPI), show Sweden at the top, with
the UK closely following at
number 3. However, Christoph Bals, political director of
Germanwatch, emphasized, “There is no winner. The leader,
Sweden, is only the one-eyed king among the blind.” India is
ranked 9th, but China is placed immediately after the US. The
comprehensive index analyzes emission trends and assesses
climate policies at both domestic and international levels
besides looking at emission volumes of each country. "If
the USA....were to exercise an international climate policy
stance as progressive as the UK, it would move up more than 30
places," said Bals.
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
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