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Climate Change News

Brought to you by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute
Carol Werner, Executive Director
May 9, 2008
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Investment in Renewable Energy Reaches $100 Billion

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) says that new data in its report "Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2007" presents a positive message from and to the world’s financiers: "investments in sustainable energy are rapidly increasing to meet the need for a low-carbon society." The report shows that investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency industries set a new record of more than $100 billion worth of transactions in 2006. In 2007, the upward trend continues, with capital investments occurring in sectors and regions previously considered too risky and too illiquid to merit the attention of the institutional investment community.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said, "It is a powerful market signal to the arrival of an alternative future for today’s fossil-fuel dominated energy markets. This is full-scale industrial development, not just a tweaking of the energy system. These signals are particularly important for governments beginning to consider the next round of climate negotiations. The data in this report clearly shows that the finance sector believes the technologies of today can and will “decarbonize” the energy mix."

For more information see:
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=52397
http://www.unep.org/pdf/SEFI_report-GlobalTrendsInSustainableEnergyInverstment07.pdf

Greenpeace: Carbon Capture and Storage More Than 20 Years Away

On May 5, Greenpeace International released a 44-page report entitled "False Hope: Why Carbon Capture and Storage Won’t Save the Climate," finding that carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology will be deployed too late to avoid the worst effects of climate change. The report, based on peer-reviewed independent scientific research, finds that the earliest deployment of CCS at utility scale is not expected before 2030. According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, global greenhouse gas emissions have to start falling by 2015. The report says that CCS is energy-intensive, using 10-40 percent of the energy produced by a power station. Further, the report says that "wide-scale adoption of CCS is expected to erase the efficiency gains of the last 50 years and increase resource consumption by one-third."

The Greenpeace report says, "Safe and permanent storage of CO2 cannot be guaranteed. Even very low leakage rates could undermine any climate mitigation efforts. . . CCS could lead to a doubling of plant costs, and an electricity price increase of 21-91%. . . Money spent on CCS will divert investments away from sustainable solutions to climate change."

Greenpeace Australia Pacific said, "If CCS ever becomes a mature technology it will be too late to play a role in combating climate change over the crucial next few years, or even decades. Futile investments in CCS are starving existing renewable energy technologies of much-needed funds.”

For more information see:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ac7F31eClT9U
http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/resources/reports/climate-change/false-hope-why-carbon-capture

Majority of Americans Want Next President to Act on Climate Change

On April 30, a poll was released showing that two-thirds of all US adults (66 percent) believe it is important that the next US president have a policy which addresses climate change, 44 percent believe it is extremely or very important and 14 percent believe it is not at all important. Sixty-three percent say it is important that the new president initiates strong action to address global warming and climate change soon after taking office. The survey, conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of The Presidential Climate Action Project (PCAP), found that more women than men want a president with such a policy (69 percent versus 63 percent) and that the importance of the next president having a climate change policy is significantly stronger in the Northeast (74 percent), followed by the West (68 percent).

The poll reported that of people planning to vote, 22 percent believe that Sen. Obama (D-IL) is the candidate who offers the strongest policy on climate change, 21 percent believe it is Sen. Clinton (D-NY) and 8 percent believe it is Sen. McCain (R-AZ). However, the poll also reported that of those absolutely certain to vote, almost half (49 percent) do not yet know which candidate has the strongest climate policy. Bill Becker, PCAP’s executive director, said, “Here the poll identifies a clear disparity. The overwhelming majority of Americans want a strong, urgent climate change policy, but in the voters’ minds, none of the presidential candidates has yet emerged as the leader on climate change issues. A clear need exists for candidates to make the issue of climate change and their policies more prominent in the current race.” The survey was conducted online from April 9-11 among 2,092 US adults.

For more information see:
http://sev.prnewswire.com/environmental-services/20080430/LAW54630042008-1.html
http://www.climateactionproject.com/harris_poll.php

US Could Meet All Electricity Needs with Large-Scale Solar Power Plants

On May 8, Environment America released a report showing that the United States could meet all of its current electricity needs with large central concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. The report, “On the Rise: Solar Thermal Power and the Fight Against Global Warming,” finds that these solar thermal power plants, covering a 100 by 100 mile area in the Southwest--slightly more than what’s already been excavated in the United States for coal strip mining--could power the entire nation while cutting global warming emissions. The report says that solar thermal energy storage can help solar power replace traditional energy sources like coal, natural gas and nuclear power, because the storage that CSP plants can incorporate allows electric generation even when the sun is not shining.

The report says that with state and federal level leadership and the right policies, putting 80 gigawatts of concentrating solar power in place by 2030, enough to power 25 million homes, is within reach. It says CSP would have the potential to generate between 75,000 and 140,000 permanent jobs and cut global warming pollution from US electric power plants by at least 6.6 percent by the year 2030. Anna Aurilio, Director of Environment America’s Washington DC office, said, “If we are going to get serious about fighting global warming and addressing our nation’s energy woes, solar energy must be part of the solution. Tapping this abundant and clean domestic energy source must be a centerpiece of America’s energy, environmental and economic policies.”

For more information see:
http://www.environmentamerica.org/news-releases/new-energy-future/new-energy-future/report-large-scale-solar-power-plants-could-power-nation-combat-global-warming-and-create-thousands-of-jobs
http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/eco-friendly/solar-thermal-energy-460509

House Hearing Examines Role of Efficiency Policies in Climate Legislation

On May 8, the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming held a hearing entitled “Negawatts: The Role of Efficiency Policies in Climate Legislation.” It examined the potential role of complementary efficiency policies, particularly for the electric power sector, in promoting low-cost emission reductions under a federal greenhouse gas (GHG) cap-and-trade system. The five witnesses stressed the importance and need for the Federal government to bring all states together and to include energy efficiency in any carbon program that is adopted—including a cap-and-trade program. Chairman Edward Markey (D-MA) said, “Many efficiency improvements can already be achieved today at a profit, but are not being implemented because of market barriers. . . Focused policies must be used to reward efficiency. . . It will be critical to include policies that support efficiency.”

George Sakellaris, president and chief executive officer of Ameresco, said, “The United States is presently using approximately 47 million barrels of oil equivalent per day or 17 billion barrels of oil per year. . .we as a nation can save at least 20 percent to 30 percent of our usage. . . at a cost of $100 per barrel, the resulting savings are $340 billion per year. When we achieve these energy savings, we will reduce GHG emissions from the current baseline of 5,890 million metric tons per year and should approach 20 percent [of that] or 1,178 million metric tons per year. . .We recommend that at least 50 percent of the proceeds [from the auction] be dedicated to energy efficiency investments.”

For more information see:
http://globalwarming.house.gov/mediacenter/pressreleases?id=0219

House Hearing Highlights Aviation and GHG emissions

On May 6, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation held a hearing entitled, “Aviation and the Environment: Emissions.” The purpose of the hearing was to examine aviation and environment issues, focusing on emissions. Chairman Jerry Costello (D-IL) spoke of efforts being made domestically and internationally to reduce energy consumption and emissions and stated “they are a perfect example of how improvements are driven by necessity.” He said the implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) also will have positive effects on the environment, including fuel efficient operating procedures, the introduction of new airframe and engine technologies and developing alternative fuels.

GAO Director of Physical Infrastructure Issues Gerald Dillingham submitted a 41-page report (GAO-08-706T) on NextGen as part of his testimony. Dillingham said EPA estimates that aviation emissions account for less than 1 percent of local air pollution nationwide and about 2.7 percent of US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but these emissions are expected to grow as air traffic increases. "According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), this growth in air traffic will continue, with the number of flights increasing 20 percent by 2015 and 60 percent by 2030," said Dillinger. "NextGen technologies and procedures, such as satellite-based navigation systems, should allow for more direct routing, which could improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions."

Daniel Elwell, Assistant Administrator of Aviation Policy, Planning, and Environment for the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), said,  “It is clear today that aircraft emissions impact the climate, are an issue of both domestic and international concern and remain a potential constraint on the future growth of aviation. We have already initiated a number of endeavors. . . that will help us get there. . .We have outlined a significant set of initiatives underway to address aviation emissions.  We have proposals before Congress in FAA’s reauthorization proposal that, if authorized and funded, would accelerate all these efforts.”

For more information see:
http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingDetail.aspx?NewsID=495
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08706t.pdf
http://www.aviationnews.net/?do=headline&news_ID=154490

Airline GHG Emissions Projected to Be 20% Higher than Previously Reported

A report by four government funded research bodies and presented to a conference co-organized by the United States’ Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) found that the aviation industry’s failure to curb its soaring carbon emissions could lead to the “worst case scenario” for climate change. The study, “Trends in Global Noise and Emissions from Commercial Aviation for 2000 through 2025,” reported that airlines are expected to emit 20 percent more CO2 into the atmosphere than IPCC estimates suggest, rising from its current level of 670 million tonnes to up to 1.48 billion tonnes by 2025. This exceeds the previous estimate, made in 2004, of 1.03 billion tonnes by 2025. Jeff Gazzard, a spokesman for the Aviation Environment Federation, said, “Growth of CO2 emissions on this scale will comfortably outstrip any gains made by improved technology and ensure aviation is an even larger contributor to global warming by 2025 than previously thought. Governments must take action to put a cap on air transport's unrestrained growth.”

Combining data produced by the leading emissions-modeling laboratories in the US, Britain and France, the study found that the number of people seriously affected by aircraft noise will rise from 24 million in 2000 to 30.3 million by 2025, despite the introduction of quieter jets, and that the amount of nitrogen oxides around airports, produced by aircraft engines, will rise from 2.5 million tons in 2000 to 6.1 million tons in 2025. The study was presented last summer to the USA/Europe Air Traffic Management Seminar in Barcelona. It remained unpublished until released to the public on April 24 by the Aviation Environment Federation, the principal UK nonprofit concerned with the environmental effects of aviation.

For more information see:
http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/35983
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2008/2008-05-07-04.asp
http://www.aef.org.uk/uploads/Trends_Assessment_ATM2007_2006_12_12.doc

Off-Road Vehicle Use in California Greatly Impacts GHGs and Public Health

On May 7, a report by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Clean Air Initiative stated that motorized off-road vehicle use in California releases as much greenhouse gas (GHG) as burning500,000 barrels of oil each year. The report, “Fuel to Burn: The Climate and Public Health Implications of Off-Road Vehicle Pollution in California,” assesses the impacts of off-road vehicle use on human health and climate change and says that if left unchecked, emissions from off-road vehicles will continue to increase rapidly. It says that pollution from off-road vehicles in California has doubled in the past 15 years.

The state of California is facilitating this increase in GHG emissions and pollution from off-road recreation by providing financial support and permits to federal land management agencies that encourage off-road recreation on their lands. The report urges the state to address the twin goals of reducing GHG emissions and protecting public health by immediately addressing the emissions from off-road vehicles. Chris Kassar of the Center for Biological Diversity, a co-author of the report, said, “Off-road vehicles release the same GHGs as your car and emit significantly more pollution. Their impact cannot continue to be ignored. To meet its goals of reducing GHG emissions and protecting public health, the state of California must address this growing source of pollution.”

In related news, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), has announced that an oversight hearing on “Off-highway Vehicle Management on Public Lands” will be held June 5.

For more information see:
http://www.enn.com/press_releases/2474
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/protecting_americas_last_heritage_forests/pdfs/WildAtHeartFinalPress3-7-08.pdf
http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=ca2e6111-befb-b64a-8a55-3945b88b484e

US Renewable Energy Leaders Discuss the Urgent Challenge of Climate Change

On May 6, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) hosted a Congressional briefing on the critical role renewable energy electricity generation technologies can play in reducing US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It included a discussion of key federal policies needed to allow renewable energies to achieve their full potential in climate change mitigation in the near and long-term. The speakers were from all renewable electricity sectors, as well as respondents from Congress.

Randy Swisher, Executive Director of the American Wind Energy Association, said that one-fifth of America’s electricity can come from wind by 2030 “if we execute a savvy strategy.” He said achieving 20 percent would essentially end the ever-increasing CO2 emissions from electric generation in the United States. Ana Unruh Cohen, Deputy Staff Director of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence & Global Warming, said “If we don't take real strong action, projects will be managed by European companies.” John Coequyt, Senior Washington Representative in the Global Warming and Energy Program at the Sierra Club, said, “We have to set national goals for these technologies. I don't want you to think that this is going to be easy. But no one should think that renewables are going to be only a small percentage of the future if we decide that is the future we want.”

For more information see:
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=52417
http://eesi.org/briefings/2008/050608_re_climate/050608_re_climate.html
http://eesi.org/briefings/2008/050608_re_climate/ernst_young_summary.pdf

Women Hit Harder by Climate Change

On May 6, Nobel Peace laureates and co-founders of the Nobel Women's Initiative, met to discuss their vision of ‘climate justice’—an approach to climate change that recognizes differential responsibilities for developed and developing countries, and puts the rights of people, especially women, at the center of the climate debate. At the seminar, entitled “Creating a Climate of Change: Women, Nuclear Energy and Justice in a Warming World,” Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner from Kenya, said climate change is harder on women in poor countries, where mothers stay in areas hit by drought, deforestation or crop failure.“Men can trek and go looking for greener pastures in other areas in other countries. . .but for women, they're usually left on site to face the consequences,” Maathai said. "As long as the United States of America doesn't take its leadership position, the rest of the world hides behind her and wants to say, 'she is the greatest polluter, she isn't doing anything, why should I do something?'"

Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace laureate, said she saw climate change as a threat to security and that desertification of former agricultural land has fueled the conflict in Darfur. She said she visited a vast refugee camp in neighboring Chad where water was scarce and women and girls were dispatched to get water from outside the camp.  She said, “Why did the women have to go? Because if the men went, they’d be killed. If the women go, the only—only!—thing they have to face is rape. . . If you don't deal with development and climate, you will have an increasingly insecure world. But if you're going to deal with it, you need to deal with it in terms of climate justice.”

For more information see:
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN0633990420080507
http://www.nobelwomensinitiative.org/index.php/component/option,com_jcalpro/Itemid,41/extmode,view/extid,46/

Sen. Voinovich Proposes Voluntary Climate Action

On May 2, Senator George Voinovich (R-OH), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee, delivered the keynote address at the first statewide Ohio climate change conference, "Managing a Changing Climate: Challenges and Opportunities for the Buckeye State." In his speech, Voinovich floated an idea that would scale back the requirements of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007 (S. 2191), which is scheduled for Senate floor debate in early June. Voinovich is concerned the bill could drive up costs dramatically for Ohio industry.

According to media reports, the Voinovich proposal would wait as late as 2030 for mandatory action if substantial progress were not made voluntarily. Until then, Voinovich proposes using tax credits, loan guarantees and other incentives to develop clean energy. Voinovich does not think carbon sequestration will be ready on a large scale commercially until 2030, though that is 15 years later than some scientists project.

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) immediately criticized the proposal, saying that Voinovich's plan postpones meaningful action on GHG emissions for at least 20 years, because it calls for weak, non-binding emission reduction benchmarks—current levels in 2020 and 1990 levels in 2030. According to EDF, if Voinovich's subsidies fail to reach their goal, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could establish a cap-and-trade system to reduce emissions, along with a five dollar per ton “safety valve” price. The plan would also take away state authority to control global warming pollution. EDF national climate campaign director Steve Cochran said, "Senator Voinovich’s proposal is just an escape route from credible action, and it leads to the same old expensive and ineffective policies that have already failed to curb emissions. It's an attempt to block real action, and it’s only going to raise the price of fixing this problem down the road.”

For more information see:
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1209976330135100.xml&coll=2&thispage=1
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1487876/ 
http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1366282/voinovich_pushes_alternative_on_emissions/ 
http://www.edf.org/pressrelease.cfm?contentID=7874 
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/4/28/145752/895

Philadelphia Phillies to Offset Their Carbon Footprint

On April 30, the Philadelphia Phillies announced a green power purchase of 20 million kilowatt-hours to power their 43,500-seat Citizens Bank Park. The purchase not only places the Phillies as the largest green power purchaser in major league baseball, but also as the overall leader among major US professional sports teams in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership, a voluntary program that encourages organizations to buy green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with purchased electricity use.

The team’s purchase is estimated to avoid the CO2 emissions equivalent of nearly 2,800 vehicles each year. According to the EPA, this is equivalent to the planting of 100,000 trees. Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), said, “The Phillies commitment to renewable energy and ecologically intelligent operations will hopefully set an example for all institutions in Philadelphia and beyond to follow.”

For more information see:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/c05d85b560358ef28525743b00644055?OpenDocument
http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080430&content_id=2614303&vkey=pr_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi

Events

May 13, 2008   Briefing: GHG Cap-and-Trade Programs and the Federal Budget
 
The Climate Policy Center of Clean Air-Cool Planet invites you to attend a briefing by staff of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Greenhouse Gas Cap-and-Trade Programs and the Federal Budget. CBO recently released its estimate of consequences of S.2191 (the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007) for the federal budget. This briefing will explain the rationale and the process CBO uses in estimating the cost of cap-and-trade programs and will include an overview of the cost estimate for S.2191.  The briefing will be held Tuesday, May 13 from 3:00-4:00 PM at Clean Air-Cool Planet, 1730 Rhode Island Avenue, NW Suite 707, Washington, DC. For more information, call (202) 775-5190.

May 21, 2008    Risk Management, Mitigation, and Renewable Energy Technology

The American Council On Renewable Energy in collaboration with the American Bar Association's (ABA) Renewable Energy Resources Committee will host a teleconference with a panel of experts who will discuss varying perspectives on how the current risk management environment is evaluated by participants in the renewable energy sector. The event takes place on Wednesday, May 21 from 12:00-1:30 pm ET. There is a $25 charge for this event.  Click on the following link for more information: http://www.renewableenergyinfo.org

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