15.03.2002 | FridayUK firms bid in auction to cut 4 mln T of
Britain said this week 34 organisations
: This exceeded expectations and will be over five percent of the UKs planned reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2010, the government said. Leading firms, including British Airways, BP, Shell and Barclays, bid in a competitive auction for 215 million pounds (03.2 million) of government incentive money, given to those who pledge to cut the most emissions. This is the first trading scheme of its kind and demonstrates the UKs commitment to fully meeting its obligations under international climate change agreements, said British Environment Minister Michael Meacher in a statement. The government said last week it had a likely budget of 150-200 million pounds (13.2-84.2 million) over five years for the scheme, though the full budget of 215 million was used. This was because the government had got value for money, with its objective to obtain the maximum level of reductions for the incentive pot, a Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokeswoman said. The government had expected companies to pledge to cut around 2.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, she said. Many scientists blame carbon dioxide emissions for global warming and climate change, including increased risk of droughts and storms. STRONG COMPETITION FOR INCENTIVE In the descending auction, the cash given per tonne of carbon dioxide reduction progessively dropped through nine rounds from 100 pounds (41) to a closing price of 53.37 pounds (5.27) per tonne. At the end of each round, the auctioneer determined whether the lowest price times the quantity of emission reductions bid was more than the budget of 215 million pounds - whether there was sufficient money to pay for all the bid reductions offered. If this was greater than the budget, another round started. The auction ended when the price times the total quantity of reductions bid used up the incentive pot. The companies that were still prepared to cut their emissions at the closing price won the incentive. It exceeded expectations - the competitive price shows there is demand for this sort of market, the spokeswoman said. Forty-six companies had signed up for the auction though 38 entered it, with a few dropping out as the level of government cash versus the costs of cutting their emissions was not profitable, she added. There is a cap at 20 percent of the yearly incentive fund for any one company. The scheme is designed to significantly cut the cost for British firms of complying with the Kyoto Protocol, with the government target to cut emissions by 23 percent on 1990 levels by 2010. Under the terms of the voluntary trading scheme, due to begin on April 2, participants agree to cut greenhouse gas emissions, either in-house or by buying and selling carbon allowances. Companies with the lowest cost of reducing emissions will be able to sell surplus pollution permits to those with the highest cost of reducing emissions. It will give UK companies invaluable experience of emissions trading at a national level. This will put the UK in a good position when global trading starts, Meacher said. Nearly 6,000 more companies are expected to join the scheme later this year, but were not eligible for incentive cash in the auction as they already hold climate agreements to cut a fixed amount of emissions. This gives them tax advantages, the spokeswoman said. They will also be able to sell credits into the scheme if they cut emissions by more than their targets.(PlanetArk) .
13.03.2002 | WednesdayRussia will benefit from ratifying Kyoto climate treaty
Both Russia's economy and the health of its
: The Russian government is due to discuss ratification of the Kyoto treaty at its meeting on Thursday 14 March. If the government backs the treaty, Russian industry could benefit significantly from a provision in Kyoto known as 'joint implementation.' Under this, other industrialised countries would make new investments in emission reduction projects in Russia. Russia would gain cleaner technology while the funders would count the pollution saved against their own Kyoto targets. As well as reducing global warming pollution, this would cut other harmful air pollutants that cause health problems and contribute to the low life expectancy in Russia. With Kyoto in force, the Russian economy is also likely to benefit from an expected increase in demand from the European Union for Russia's low-pollution natural gas. 'WWF wants a clear statement of support for Kyoto from the Russian government this week,' said Alexey Kokorin, WWF Russia's Climate Expert. 'Now that the EU has put its weight behind Kyoto, there is no reason for Russia to hesitate.' The European Union formally decided last week in favour of ratifying Kyoto by 1 June. With Japanese politicians saying they want their country to ratify the treaty before the current session of the Japanese Diet closes at the end of June, Russian ratification is the next major step in turning Kyoto into international law this year. Russia accounted for 17.4 per cent of the carbon pollution that industrialised nations pumped out in 1990 - the 'base year' that will be used for calculating emission cuts. With the EU, Russia and Japan on board, Kyoto's entry into force as the world's first treaty for cutting global warming pollution would then depend on backing from either Canada or Poland to exceed the threshold of participation required from the major emitters. The main nations supporting Kyoto are striving to have the treaty become law before their political leaders gather for August's World Summit on Sustainable Development, in order to avoid being harshly judged for having wasted a decade in tackling the world's greatest environmental problem. Russian Federation President, Vladimir Putin, has already announced his intention to participate in the Summit.(WWF)
05.03.2002 | TuesdayNew satellite will
A ?1.4bn environmental monitoring
: A ?1.4bn environmental monitoring satellite the size of an articulated lorry was today launched from a base in French Guiana. Designed in part by researchers at the Leicester University space centre, Envisat will record information on environmental changes, including global warming, ozone layer depletion, earthquakes, volcanoes and floods. For the next five years it will send back data enabling scientists to work out whether long-term changes to the Earths climate are already under way and also to make predictions on what will happen in the future. The environment secretary, Margaret Beckett, said the government contributed ?11m to the funding of one of the 10 instruments on board. With the aid of these results governments will be better placed to make informed decisions about their environmental policies, she added. The government-sponsored instrument will help scientists assess the long-term global trends in the surface temperature of the sea. David Llewellyn-Jones, professor of earth observation science at Leicester University, said the satellite could have a huge impact on the way in which environmental changes were monitored. The satellite will measure the temperature of the Earths surface very precisely and continuously, so we can detect global warming, determine its magnitude and see how it is distributed, including those parts of the world that are becoming cooler as a result of global warming, he said. The project has been backed by the European Space Agency and Canada and will allow data to be continuously relayed to scientists across Europe. (Guardian Unlimited)
04.03.2002 | MondayAustralia denies deal with US risks
Australia said a bilateral agreement with
: Environmental groups have accused Australia of jeopardising the Kyoto pact by signing a climate action partnership with the United States, which has already rejected the 1997 protocol and drawn up a domestic alternative. But Foreign Minister Alexander Downer denied the agreement with Washington, signed last week, indicated Australia was backing away from the Kyoto deal to reduce greenhouse gases which are believed to contribute to rising global temperatures. This is an agreement for Australia and the United States to work together on the science of dealing with the climate change issue, Downer told a news conference. Contrary to the suggestions of some people that this is an attempt to torpedo the Kyoto protocol, this is actually an attempt to work with the United States, which has enormous scientific sophistication, to ensure from a scientific point of view, not just from a political point of view, issues of greenhouse gas emissions are addressed. But opposition politicians and environmentalists said the partnership was another example of Australias unwillingness to crack down on its own rising greenhouse gas emissions. The Australian government is under pressure from the carbon-intensive industries like mining to back away from the pact which commits developed nations to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, by an average of 5.2 percent from 1990 levels by 2012. Australia, the worlds largest coal exporter, won the right to increase its emissions by eight percent above 1990 levels but the government has not yet said if it will ratify the treaty, arguing it will not work without including all major industrialised nations, such as the United States. President George W. Bush last year shunned the Kyoto pact, saying it would hurt the economy, but presented a voluntary rather than mandatory plan in mid-February to slow the growth of heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming. Australia, while not abandoning the Kyoto protocol, argues it has a lot in common with Washington in wanting to find practical approaches to climate change which will not harm developed nations economies. A key U.S. and Australian criticism of the Kyoto treaty is that it does not impose reduction targets on developing nations. (PlanetArk)
01.03.2002 | FridayBlair, Howard in greenhouse dispute
BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair has admitted to a disagreement with Australia
: Mr Blair said he expected the issue to be raised at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting this weekend. I think it is important that we get general international agreement, he told ABC television, in a transcript of the full interview released in London. This is an area where we obviously have a disagreement with the United States. Asked if the disagreement was also with Australia, Mr Blair said: Yes. But I simply say to people, obviously it is for individual countries to state their own position. Australia yesterday formally joined the United States on climate change, cementing a policy partnership outside the formal Kyoto Protocol world agreement, which was designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions and curb global warming. Under the agreement, businesses, scientists and governments in both countries will work together to battle greenhouse gas emissions. US President George W Bush has rejected the UN-sponsored Kyoto protocol designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions on the grounds it could harm the US economy, which is responsible for one quarter of global man-made greenhouse gas emissions. But Mr Blair said he was not sure the Kyoto protocol went far enough. The more I read about climate change, the more concerned I become about this issue, he said. In London, the Australian High Commission was picketed by a handful of environmental protesters urging Australia to ratify the Kyoto convention. Friends of the Earth International climate coordinator Kate Hampton said Prime Minister John Howard was hiding behind Bushs rejection of the convention to avoid taking action on climate change. Global warming is already destroying the Great Barrier Reef and threatens many of Australias important wildlife features and tourist sites, she said. Howard should use the Commonwealth meeting to show responsibility in the fight against climate change and commit to ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. (CICERO)
25.02.2002 | TuesdayEconomy Can Grow While Carbon Emissions Are Cut
A new report by the Center for a Sustainable Economy
: A new report by the Center for a Sustainable Economy (CSE) and the Economic Policy Institute concludes that the U.S. economy can grow under policies that tax carbon dioxide emissions while promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy. The study used a sophisticated macroeconomic model to examine the effects of these policies. Included in the model were policies to help energy- intensive industries that would be hurt by a carbon tax and policies to help workers that would be displaced from carbon-intensive industries, such as the coal industry. The model also assumed that most of the revenues from the carbon tax would go towards a cut in income tax. The study found that under this set of policies, U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) would grow 0.6 percent by 2020, while carbon dioxide emissions would drop by 50 percent. Along the way, a net 1.4 million jobs would be created, after- tax wages would rise, and household energy bills would fall. And oil imports, currently projected to increase by about 40 percent by 2020, would instead stay essentially level.(EREN)
21.02.2002 | ThursdayPresident Bush Unveils U.S. Global Warming Initiative
President Bush unveiled a new U.S. initiative for addressing
: President Bush unveiled a new U.S. initiative for addressing global climate change last week. Rather than focusing on the absolute amount of greenhouse gases emitted each year, the Bush administrations plan emphasizes greenhouse gas intensity, that is, the amount of greenhouse gases produced per dollar of gross domestic product (GDP). The initiative sets a goal of reducing the U.S. greenhouse gas intensity by 18 percent in the next ten years -- from 183 metric tons of emissions per million dollars of GDP to 151 metric tons of emissions per million dollars of GDP. The initiative relies on a combination of voluntary emissions reductions, advances in energy technologies, and tax credits for renewable energy installations, energy efficient vehicles, and other energy technologies. President Bush also announced a new initiative for cutting power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury. The Clean Skies initiative proposes a system of tradable emissions credits that will lead to lower emissions, similar to the system already in place for sulfur dioxide emissions. If enacted into legislation, the initiative will mark the first time that power plant emissions of mercury have been regulated.(EREN)
18.01.2002 | FridayStudy: Growth of greenhouse emissions slowing
The growth of so-called greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere continues, but a new report funded by NASA s
: The outlawing of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) chemicals, and a decline in the growth rate of methane emissions in the atmosphere are primarily responsible for the slower increase, according to the study. CFCs and methane are secondary contributors to the greenhouse effect -- theorized by most climate scientists as being responsible for at least part of a noticeable increase in global temperatures in recent decades. The main contributor to the greenhouse effect is carbon dioxide (CO2), which is emitted in the burning of fossil fuels and other sources. The growth rate of CO2 emissions has not slowed, the report says. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of 2,500 climate scientists, has predicted that if the warming continues, climate change could bring dramatic changes in weather patterns and storm frequency in this century. CFCs are primarily known for a different environmental threat, the thinning of the Earths protective ozone layer. But they also contribute to the greenhouse effect, combining with atmospheric CO2, methane, soot and other substances to trap heat near the Earths surface -- theoretically warming the air and oceans. While some CFCs are still in illicit use, they largely disappeared after the enactment of the Montreal Protocol, a 1980s treaty that banned the manufacture and sale of the chemical. Methane gas is produced when bacteria break down plant and animal matter. Garbage dumps, farms and forests all produce methane. The NASA study says its not clear why the growth rate of methane emissions has declined. (CNN)
17.01.2002 | ThursdayGerman 2001 wind power market up 59 pct, rosy outlook
The number of installed wind turbines in Germany, the worlds largest wind power market, surged 59 percent in 2001 and activity is seen unchanged in the coming years, the German wind en
: In total Germany installed wind turbines generating 2,659 megawatt last year, up from 1,668 megawatt in 2000, Bundesverband WindEnergie (BWE) said. Accumulated wind energy capacity in Germany totalled around 8,750 megawatt by end-2001 and accounted for almost 3.5 percent of Germanys electricity need. The boom in wind energy will continue in the coming years, BWE said in a statement. Further installation of onshore turbines generating 5,000 megawatt seems realistic by the end of 2004, it said. Germany is by far the largest wind power market in the world ahead of Spain and the United States. Wind energy is a fast growing market worldwide as countries try to bring down green house gas emissions, which scientists say cause global warming. Installed wind turbines in the U.S. generated 1,694 megawatt last year, up from 732 megawatt the year before, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said this week. German private-owned wind turbine maker Enercon held 28.5 percent of the market of installed megawatt last year, up from 27.4 percent in 2000. The worlds leading turbine maker Danish Vestas Wind Systems gained terrain in Germany where its market share rose to 19.5 percent from 13.2 the previous year. German-Danish Nordex share increased to 10.4 percent from 8.8 percent, while Enron Wind, a unit of troubled U.S. energy group Enron , lost market share to 10.9 percent from 14.9 percent the year before. Danish NEG Micons advanced marginally to 11.4 percent last year. (REUTERS)
10.01.2002 | ThursdaySpain Says Climate a Priority of its European Presidency
Spain took over the rotating presidency of the European Union on New Years day at the start of a six month period likely to see lots of activity on the
: In March, heads of government will use the spring European Council in Barcelona to review for the first time the European Union (EU) sustainable development strategy they agreed in Gothenburg last year. The Spanish presidency will also coordinate much of the work to develop the EUs position for the World Summit on Sustainable Development set for Johannesburg, South Africa in August and September. (Environment News Service)
31.12.2001 | MondayJapanese fight Kyoto agreement
JAPANESE industry groups have forced the government to drop mandatory restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, making it unlik
: JAPANESE industry groups have forced the government to drop mandatory restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, making it unlikely Tokyo will be able to meet its reduction targets. The decision by an environment ministry policy board, under pressure from corporate lobbies, to impose only voluntary limits on carbon dioxide emissions may block Japan's goal of a 6 per cent reduction, the Yomiuri newspaper said. The newspaper quoted an unidentified member of the panel, which is drafting Japan's strategy to fight global warming, as saying there is nothing in its report that directly commits companies to cut back on polluting. Reducing emissions by 6 per cent from the benchmark year of 1990 will be all the more formidable for Japan because the nation's CO2 levels have risen about 17 per cent over the past decade.(THE SCOTSMAN)
12.12.2001 | WednesdayState of Pennsylvania Makes Large Green Power Purchase
Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker announced lastweek that Pennsylvania will buy enough electricity fromrenewable energy sources to meet 5 percent of the stategovernments power needs for the next two years.
: Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker announced last week that Pennsylvania will buy enough electricity from renewable energy sources to meet 5 percent of the state governments power needs for the next two years. The state awarded a contract to Community Energy Inc. for the purchase of 100 million kilowatt-hours of green power from the start of 2002 through the end of 2003. Twenty percent of this green power purchase will be supplied by the new Exelon-Community Energy wind facilities in Fayette and Somerset counties (thereby using 5 percent of the output from those facilities), and the remainder will be generated from hydroelectric sources, landfill gas power plants, and solar power.
17.11.2001 | FridayU.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Increased 3.1 Percent in 2000
U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide increased 3.1 percent in 2000 -- well above the average growth rate of 1.6 percent for last decade, according to DOEs Energy Information Administration (EIA).
: U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide increased 3.1 percent in 2000 -- well above the average growth rate of 1.6 percent for last decade, according to DOEs Energy Information Administration (EIA). Energy production and use is responsible for 98 percent of the U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, which in turn make up 80 percent of the U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The report, released last week, showed the increase to be distributed among electric power production and energy used for residences and for transportation. However, despite a 4.1 percent growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), there was no growth in energy-related carbon dioxide emissions from industry. (EIA)
23.10.2001 | TuesdayIPCC Releases Synthesis Report on Climate Change
In late September, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approved the final volume of its Third Assessment Report, which is IPCCs third effort to gather all known scientific information about climate change and compile a consensus re
: In late September, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approved the final volume of its Third Assessment Report, which is IPCCs third effort to gather all known scientific information about climate change and compile a consensus report about the state of the science. Previously released are the three main volumes of the report, which look at the scientific basis for climate change, the anticipated impacts of climate change, and potential mitigation strategies. The new Synthesis Report summarizes the findings of the previous three volumes in a straightforward question-and-answer format. Although the full report will not be available until year end, a 26-page Summary for Policymakers is now available. Accompanying the summary is a set of 11 color figures that illustrate key points from the Synthesis Report. (IPCC)
10.10.2001 | WednesdayGovernments to finalize procedures making Kyoto Protocol fully operational
The worlds governments are to converge on Marrakech, Morocco, at the end of this month to finalize the procedures and institutions needed to make the Kyoto Protocol fully operation
: Gathering for the seventh Conference of the parties to the Convention on Climate Change from 29 October to 9 November, the participants will aim to translate the political principles reached at a meeting in Bonn last July into a detailed operational rulebook. They will also address how to increase the flow of financial and technological support to developing countries under the Convention. The work of translating the Bonn Agreements into a detailed operational rulebook must be completed here in Marrakech, said Michael Zammit Cutajar, the Conventions Executive Secretary. Certainty about the Kyoto Protocols rules will further motivate businesses and other economic actors to create the low-carbon economy of the future, he said. It will also clear the way for governments to ratify the Protocol and bring it into force. Marrakech should be turning point that enables the Protocol to move into high gear. With the new funding and rules in place, the Parties to the Convention could start discussing the political issues that are likely to dominate the next few years, including the widespread desire to re-engage the United States in emissions limitation, the second period for emissions cuts under the Protocol (on which negotiations should start by 2005) and the prospects for expanding the group of countries with emissions targets, the UNFCCC said. The Kyoto Protocol will enter into force and become legally binding after it has been ratified by at least 55 parties to the Convention, with industrialized countries representing at least 55 per cent of the total 1990 carbon dioxide emissions from this group. So far, 39 countries have ratified, including one industrialized country, Romania. Back to top UN special envoy for human rights in Myanmar arrives for 10-day visit 9 October - A United Nations special envoy arrived today in Myanmar for a 10-day visit to look at the human rights situation in that country. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the Geneva-based Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, is scheduled to meet with a number of government officials, judicial authorities, and religious dignitaries as well as representatives of different social organizations and members of civil society. The Rapporteur will also meet with heads of the diplomatic missions accredited to Myanmar, representatives of the UN and its agencies and members of international non-governmental organizations during his visit, which is scheduled to run through 20 October. Mr. Pinheiro will travel to a number of provinces in Myanmar in his quest to address the situation of human rights in the country. His trip comes at a time when Myanmar has been taking steps in the past few months towards an important dialogue both inside and outside of the country in the search for peace and national reconciliation. The Rapporteur has already submitted his interim report to the current session of the UN General Assembly following his first visit to the country last April. He will also present his preliminary observations on this mission to the Assembly.(UNFCCC)
05.10.2001 | FridayEuropean gas emission trading due to begin in 2005
The European Union would have the first international market place for trade in the gases responsible for global warming under proposals to be unveiled by the
: The emissions trading plans would impose quotas on the amount of carbon dioxide that could be pumped out by power stations, oil refineries and iron and steel works, as well as the cement, glass, ceramics and pulp and paper industries. Those industries would be forced to buy additional permits to pollute if they exceeded their allowances. Emissions trading is seen as a crucial element in helping European companies reduce the costs of meeting the EUs ambitious target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 8 per cent from 1990 levels by 2012, as set out in the Kyoto climate change protocol. The Commission calculates that participating sectors could cut their compliance costs by as much as a third. The flexibility offered by Community-wide emissions trading would enable costs of emissions reductions to be reduced substantially, as these will take place wherever in the Community it is cheapest to make them, the paper says. However, following intensive lobbying from industry, the Commission has made a number of changes to an earlier draft of the plan. European businesses are worried that the EUs determination to press ahead with Kyoto will put them at a disadvantage compared to US companies after President George W. Bush withdrew from the protocol in March. The plan would set up an EU-wide emissions trading system from 2005, limiting the amount of carbon dioxide companies could release into the environment. If they exceeded these quotas, they would be forced to buy permits from other companies or face fines. Until 2008, countries would have the option of exempting particular plants from the scheme as long as they were making equivalent efforts to cut emissions. Governments could also award companies extra permits to pollute if market conditions justified this, subject to Commission approval. The Commission has cut its proposed fines to an initial level of E50 (6) per tonne of carbon dioxide, rising to E100. And in the initial three-year pilot phase, governments may not charge for issuing emission permits. Europia, the European oil industry association, said emissions trading could be a useful tool, but only if you accepted that there had to be constraints on carbon output. Were also concerned about the level of flexibility in the draft. Itll inevitably be applied inconsistently. (FT)
04.10.2001 | ThursdayKyoto Protocol: Because were worth it
A key objection raised by opponents of the Kyoto Protocol is that compliance to the target of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 5.3% by 2012 would impose an unacceptable economic burden.
: A key objection raised by opponents of the Kyoto Protocol is that compliance to the target of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 5.3% by 2012 would impose an unacceptable economic burden. Based on an analysis of alternative scenarios for electricity generation over the next ten years, De Leo et al. conclude that if the costs in terms of damage to human health, material goods, agriculture and the environment caused by greenhouse gas emissions are included in the equation, the economic argument against Kyoto is untenable. (CICERO)
27.09.2001 | ThursdayBEF and The Climate Trust Buy A Decade of Green Power
The Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) and The Climate Trust agreed early this month to jointly buy 00,000 worth of green power over the next ten years -- an amount totaling 36,500 megawatt-hours.
: The organizations will actually buy green tags from DOEs Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which serves the Pacific Northwest. BPA will produce the power at a wind project in Oregon, then will sell the electricity as part of its standard electricity supply. The green tag purchase will cover the added cost of producing the power from wind energy, and the two organizations will end up owning the environmental attributes of that clean power: credits for avoiding the production of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and other pollutants. Those credits, which could potentially be sold to a power plant to offset its emissions, will instead be retired by the two organizations.(EREN)
19.09.2001 | WednesdayGerman credit bank proposes emissions trading funds
German state-owned credit institution KfW said yesterday it plans to introduce two funds to encourage carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions trading to help the country meet its target to cut 45 million
: The target is part of a wider commitment under the UN-sponsored protocol agreed in Kyoto in 1997 to help industrialised countries cut greenhouse gases which have been linked to climate change. The traditional environmental and political support instruments alone are no longer enough to be able to counter global climate change, KfWs economics expert Klaus Oppermann told Reuters. One of the most interesting further instruments to use is trading in emissions credits and rights, he added. Germanys exisiting environmental tools include a voluntary commitment by the energy industry to cut emissions and a renewable energy law that supports producers of electricity from green fuels such as wind, solar and biomass. The first fund will help companies finance environmental projects in developing countries as part of the Kyoto-suggested Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Companies will be able to pay back the financing for CDM projects by submitting the credits they receive for CO2 reductions to the fund for sale to other firms, Oppermann said. The role of the government in the fund will be to provide a guarantee for the investment, while the actual financing will be drawn from capital markets. The fund could issue bonds that guarantee a minimum return, in addition to variable renumeration from the sale of the credits, Oppermann added. A second fund would aim to encourage small to medium sized firms to take part in emissions trading in a Europe-wide company cap and trade system, which the EU plans to launch in 2005. The scheme is likely to be mandatory for larger firms, while other instruments are suggested for smaller ones, such as a climate change levy. Smaller firms are effectively excluded from the planned cap and trade scheme because the administrative costs could be too high for them, Oppermann said. But by opting into the fund, they can avoid the levy by paying its equivalent in exchange for emissions rights, allocated according to their historical emissions levels. KfW has not yet put a time-frame on the introduction of the funds. (PlanetArk)
17.09.2001 | MondayNew poll finds global warming opinion polarized by party
Most Americans believe that global warming is real and approve of international agreements to limit greenhouse gases linked to global warming. But less than half those who answered a new Harris poll think the U.S. government was wrong not t
: A nationwide telephone survey of 1,017 adults taken by the Harris pollsters between Aug. 15 and Aug. 22, found that only a modest 46 to 42 percent plurality thinks the United States should have accepted the climate agreements reached in Kyoto and Bonn. Most Republicans, by 64 to 22 percent, believe the administration is right -- that the agreements are not based on sound research and would damage the U.S. economy. At the same time, paradoxically, a 54 to 40 percent majority of Republicans say they approve of these international agreements. Under the Kyoto Protocol, an addition to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 38 industrialized nations agreed to cut their emissions of six greenhouse gases linked to global warming. Thirty-nine countries were to be governed by the original agreement signed in Kyoto, Japan in December 1997, but the Bush administration in March said that the United States would not ratify the protocol. In Bonn on July 23, delegates from 180 nations gave themselves a standing ovation as they reached a broad political agreement on the operational rulebook for the Kyoto Protocol. The protocol will not take effect until it is ratified by 55 percent of the nations responsible for at least 55 percent of the heat-trapping emissions. The countries who ratify must reduce emissions of carbon dioxide to an average of 5.2 percent below 1990 levels during the five-year period 2008 to 2012. The emissions of developing nations will be controlled by subsequent negotiations under the climate treaty. Since the United States emits roughly 20 percent of all greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere, ratification by the United States had been considered essential to entry into force of the protocol. But the Bush administration says that it cannot accept the Kyoto and Bonn agreements because, in the Presidents words, they are fundamentally flawed. Bush said in a definitive statement of American policy in June, No one can say with any certainty what constitutes a dangerous level of warming, and therefore what level must be avoided. The Harris poll found that the great majority of the American public, 88 percent, says they have heard about the theory of global warming and by 75 to 19 percent most of these people believe it. But the 61 percent majority of Republicans who believe it is well below the 88 percent of Democrats and 74 percent of Independents who believe it, the Harris survey found. Humphrey Taylor, chairman of The Harris Poll, Harris Interactive, says attitudes toward the administrations non-acceptance of the Kyoto and Bonn agreements, among those who have heard about them, are heavily polarized by party. Most Democrats, by 66 to 25 percent, and Independents, by 52 to 39 percent, think the administration is wrong. Most Republicans, by 64 to 22 percent think the president was right. Some greenhouse gases that trap the heat of the Suns rays close to the Earth occur naturally in the atmosphere, while others result from human activities. Naturally occuring greenhouse gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Certain human activities add to the levels of most of these naturally occurring gases. Carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas, is released to the atmosphere when solid waste, fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and coal, and wood and wood products are burned. Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil. Methane emissions also result from the decomposition of organic wastes in municipal solid waste landfills, and the raising of livestock. Nitrous oxide is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, as well as during combustion of solid waste and fossil fuels. Very powerful greenhouse gases that are not naturally occurring include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), which are generated in a variety of industrial processes. Each greenhouse gas differs in its ability to absorb heat in the atmosphere. HFCs and PFCs are the most heat-absorbent. Methane traps over 21 times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide absorbs 270 times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide. (ENN)
10.09.2001 | MondayClimate change has already arrived - Science Editor Dick Ahlstrom reports from the Festival of Science in Glasgow
We dont have to wait for climate change - it has already arrived. It can be seen in the plants and animals around us as they adjust to the gradual rise in temperatures. Almost all sets of data we are looking
: We dont have to wait for climate change - it has already arrived. It can be seen in the plants and animals around us as they adjust to the gradual rise in temperatures. Almost all sets of data we are looking at are showing a clear signal of climate change, said Prof Chris Thomas of the University of Leeds. He was addressing a session on the ecological impact of climate change yesterday at the British Association for the Advancement of Sciences annual Festival of Science, which is being held in Glasgow. Rising temperatures are melting away many of the worlds great glaciers and mountain ice. The ice caps are also under pressure. Closer to home, however, are the small indications of change provided by fauna and flora. Literally hundreds of species of butterflies, birds and plants are either changing the way they grow or where they live in response to higher average temperatures, Prof Thomas said. It is happening now and it is going to happen more and more. One of the most dramatic changes will occur in the oceans with the rapid extinction of tropical corals, according to Dr Rupert Ormond of the University of Glasgows and the University of Londons marine research station on the Isle of Cumbrae. He predicated that within decades, rising ocean temperatures will destroy the corals. I find it very hard to avoid the conclusion that most coral will be lost in 30 to 50 years, he said. The evidence that it is temperature is overwhelming. The result is bleaching, where warm water and sunlight break down the symbiotic relationship between corals and photosynthesising algae, eventually wiping out the coral. Dr Noranne Ellis of Scottish National Heritage said beech trees were leafing about two-and-a-half weeks earlier than they did in the 1940s, a response to temperature. Species in the uplands, such as the snow bunting, might be driven from their habitat and out of Scotland entirely. Climate change, she said, was even beginning to have an effect on the chemistry of both soil and water. Heavier winter rainfalls were also disturbing river beds, in the process interfering with breeding patterns of fish and other species. Prof Thomas, who specialises in butterflies, said species such as the speckled wood and silver spotted skipper were colonising new areas, extending their range northward. The skipper, which in the past only occupied the southern slopes of hills near south coasts, can now be found even on north-facing slopes. The big concern is not in Britain, he said, but in those countries with clouded forests and rainforests. Warming temperatures have driven the golden toad out of the Monteverde rainforest in Costa Rica, he said. There will be nowhere for the rainforest species to go if climates change in these habitats. Prof Andrew Watkinson of the University of East Anglia painted a picture of what our climate might be like in a few decades time. What we are predicting is more rainfall in the winter and less in the summer. He said there would be far fewer winter days with temperatures below zero by the end of the century. This will have consequences for organisms, he said. (FT)
04.09.2001 | TuesdayRice May Hurt the Climate
Man-made climate change has been a global concern for several years, but as industrial emissions of some greenhouse and ozone-depleting gases drop, scientists are finding new sources to worry about. Among them is rice, the w
: Man-made climate change has been a global concern for several years, but as industrial emissions of some greenhouse and ozone-depleting gases drop, scientists are finding new sources to worry about. Among them is rice, the world's most important wetland food crop. At first glance, rice production--a practice that is several thousand years old--might seem environmentally sound. But the world population is growing fast, and the rice fields needed to feed it emit so-called hydrocarbons, which are partly responsible for global warming and expanding the ozone hole. According to a new study in todays Science, rice cultivation may begin to take a serious toll on the world's climate. The study, led by Ralph J. Cicerone and Kelly R. Redeker of the University of California, Irvine, examines the emissions of hydrocarbons in California rice paddies over several seasons. In particular, they monitored methane and methyl halides, including methyl iodide, methyl bromide and methyl chloride. While it has long been known that rice fields emit significant amounts of methane, this study is the first to look at methyl halide emissions there. Although all of the substances the team studied work as catalysts--facilitating the breakdown of ozone into oxygen--the methyl halides are most effective, meaning that even in comparatively small quantities, they pose a significant threat to the ozone layer. Indeed, their increased production as the result of human activity, along with increased emissions of other ozone-depleting substances (ODS), is tipping the balance: ozone molecules in the stratosphere are being broken up faster than they are formed. What the California researchers found was that the methyl halides apparently form in different ways, independent from methane production. (Methane forms as a by-product of anaerobic bacterial decomposition of organic matter in the soil and reaches the atmosphere through the roots and stems of the rice plants.) Like methane emissions, methyl bromide and methyl iodide are affected by growth stages, the organic content of the soil and flooding events. It is unclear, though, whether the plants or the soil are the source. In contrast, methyl chloride emission levels didn't fluctuate, leading the researchers to believe that the paddy environment--and not necessarily the rice--released the gases. Based on the data, the scientists conclude that worldwide rice production is responsible for [about] 1 percent of atmospheric methyl bromide and 4 percent of atmospheric methyl iodide and that methyl iodide emissions from rice paddies provide a sizable terrestrial source to the global budget.(Scientific American)
03.09.2001 | Monday'Alternative' view offered on battling climate change
A grandfather of the global warming theory argues in a new study that more attention needs to be paid to lesser-known greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide is still a major culprit in global wa
: 'OUR ESTIMATES of global climate forcings, or factors that promote warming, indicate that it is the processes producing non-CO2 greenhouse gases that have been more significant in climate change,' said NASA scientist James Hansen. In the study in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Hansen and colleagues at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies noted that CO2 emissions have been fairly stable in the last 25 years, even with economic expansion around the world. If that's the case, what else might explain the increase of 0.9 degrees in global surface temperatures since then? The researchers concluded it's the combination of non-CO2 greenhouse gases - particularly smog-forming ozone, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, and the soot from diesel and coal. 'GOOD NEWS' REPORT Hansen and several co-authors are not arguing that nations abandon efforts to reduce CO2 emissions, but that they place more attention on the other gases. Advertisement 'The good news is that the growth rate of non-CO2 greenhouse gases has declined in the past decade, and if sources of methane and tropospheric ozone were reduced in the future, further changes in climate due to these gases in the next 50 years could be near zero,' said Hansen, who was one of the first scientists to sound the alarm about global warming two decades ago. 'If these reductions were coupled with a reduction in both particles of black carbon (soot) and CO2 gas emissions,' he said, 'this could lead to a decline in the rate of climate change,' reducing the danger of dramatic global warming.(NBC)
31.08.2001 | FridayActivists highlight firms' rifts on Kyoto global-warming treaty
AT FORD MOTOR Co., Coca-Cola Co. and other global giants, European and U.S. executives are struggling over what position to take with consumers in the debate over climate
: At least two environmental groups are highlighting the rifts, and at least one is urging boycotts. Their hope: to embarrass big companies into pledging support for the treaty, in turn exerting pressure on the Bush administration to reverse its opposition to the pact. The intracorporate disagreements mirror the divide between European governments and the White House over the Kyoto treaty, which calls for industrial nations to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Hatched at an international conference in 1997, the treaty got a boost last month when a United Nations convention on climate change approved rules for implementing it, without the support of the U.S. President Bush's decision to reject the Kyoto accord has the support of a group called the U.S. Council for International Business, whose more than 300 members include multinationals like Ford and Coke. Some of those companies now are targets of a guerrilla public-relations assault waged by Greenpeace and a tiny London upstart called Families Against Bush. At Ford, the groups have seized on a debate between executives at the auto maker's U.S. headquarters and its Volvo Car unit in Sweden. Volvo Car, which prides itself on Scandinavian values of environmental stewardship and attention to safety, had publicly supported the Kyoto document before being acquired by Ford in 1999. Ford, on the other hand, has publicly expressed opposition to the treaty partly on the grounds that it has different standards for cutting emissions for developing and industrialized nations. Advertisement Greenpeace put Volvo Car on the spot. Earlier this summer, it contacted the car maker to ask whether it supports Kyoto. A Volvo Car spokesman said the company's stance hadn't changed. Greenpeace quickly noted the apparent disagreement between Volvo Car and its U.S. parent on its Web site. Kirsty Hamilton, Greenpeace's coordinator in the U.S. for corporate affairs on climate change, says Volvo Car's position undercuts Ford's argument that the treaty's demands on U.S. companies are too severe. 'If it's a bottom-line issue for Ford, how come it's not a bottom-line issue for Volvo?' she says. The Volvo Car spokesman was worried about the incident and telephoned his boss, Olle Axelson, who was on vacation. Mr. Axelson, in turn, phoned the chief executive of Volvo Car, who also was vacationing. 'You see the complexity here,' Mr. Axelson says. 'We are coming out of a completely Scandinavian environment with AB Volvo, our former parent, and now moving into a different one, maybe, with Ford.' Mr. Axelson says Volvo Car and Ford executives are trying to figure out how to resolve this difference. 'We need to see what we have done and which position we are supposed to take,' Mr. Axelson says. 'We need to have a dialogue on this internally.' Find company symbol at CNBC on MSN Money Data: CNBC on MSN Money and S&P Comstock 20 min.delay A Ford official who asked to remain anonymous says executives are working at reconciling different attitudes toward the Kyoto treaty at Volvo Car, at Ford's Dearborn, Mich., headquarters and at Ford's European subsidiary, based in Germany. The Greenpeace campaign is one factor intensifying those talks. The official says the company sees the campaign as a 'canary in the mineshaft,' possibly signaling that consumers themselves are starting to care more about the issue. A similar situation played out at Coke, whose position is that it supports the 'general objectives' of Kyoto despite belonging to the council that shares President Bush's opposition to the treaty. The company doesn't take a position on whether governments should ratify the treaty, but in April, when it came time to respond to a Greenpeace inquiry, Coke's subsidiary in Spain did just that in a letter to the environmental group. 'We are in line with the general idea of the Kyoto Protocol,' says Pedro Antonio Garcia, the Spanish unit's strategic planning director. 'You cannot operate if you are against the Kyoto Protocol in a European context,' he adds. 'It's the price of entry.' Families Against Bush, founded several months ago in London, trumpets the internal tensions at Ford and Coke on its Web site. Volvo Car is on the site's green 'buy' list of companies supporting Kyoto. Ford is on the red 'don't buy' list of companies that oppose it. Coke is on the red list, but with a little green mark noting that its Spanish subsidiary 'supports the Kyoto Protocol.' Chris Rose, a founder of Families Against Bush and former Greenpeace official, recalls that when he heard President Bush's statement of opposition to Kyoto, he took his family to march with placards outside the U.S. embassy in London. But soon, he decided to set his sights on multinationals. 'They've got so much influence in society,' he says. 'They can't just stand back and say, 'We don't have an opinion on this.' ' And so the divide-and-conquer strategy was born. It reflects a growing tendency among environmentalists to pursue political goals indirectly, by pressuring companies, rather than lobbying governments directly. 'What you're seeing is a certain level of sophistication in the targeting,' says John Elkington, chairman of SustainAbility Ltd., a London environmental-issues consulting firm, whose clients include Ford. Environmentalists see that the most effective way to force governments to change their policies is 'through the most sensitive bits of the system, which are major corporations that have brands and images to protect.' Many multinationals are feeling the heat, says Eileen Claussen, president of the nonpartisan Pew Center on Global Climate Change, a group of companies concerned about global warming. 'That is pushing [them] into this funny position. Many of them would like to be supportive, but they're a little reluctant ... because of where the administration is.'
29.08.2001 | WednesdayNew England, Eastern Canada Sign Climate Change Pact
New England governors and eastern Canadian premiers agreed Monday to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their region.
: New England governors and eastern Canadian premiers agreed Monday to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their region. The governors and premiers adopted a Climate Change Action Plan that includes measures to increase energy efficiency in the region, increase the use of renewable energy, and decrease the impact of transportation. It also sets the groundwork for exploring a regional system of trading emissions credits for greenhouse gases. The agreement was adopted at the annual Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers. The regions Climate Change Action Plan sets a short-term goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2010, and sets a mid-term goal of reducing the emissions to at least 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. The short- term goal is less restrictive than the Kyoto Protocol, which calls for a U.S. reduction of greenhouse gases to 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. The plans long-term goal, which has no specific timeframe, is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 75 to 85 percent below current levels.(EREN)
27.08.2001 | MondayKyoto begins at home
Although the US government refuses to endorse the Kyoto protocol, people could sign up to the treaty at an individual level, a
: David Reay of the University of Edinburgh has calculated that simple lifestyle changes and home improvements could go a long way towards achieving ones own private Kyoto. The time is ripe for a bottom-up approach to climate change, he says: Since the Bonn summit, there have been more and more questions from the public - people want to know how they can do their bit. The United States currently produces 6.6 tons (6.7 metric tonnes) of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide per citizen per year. To meet the Kyoto protocols 1997 targets, the country would need to cut these emissions by 16% by 2010. Reay has worked out how a hypothetical US family of four with a four-wheel-drive sports utility vehicle might achieve this. Most room for improvement is in transport. Swapping the gas-guzzler for a mid-sized family car that produces less than half as much carbon dioxide would go almost halfway to meeting this familys Kyoto commitment. Better insulation, solar panels, and energy-efficient fridges and washing machines would release less greenhouse gas. Planting trees in the garden could soak up carbon dioxide. Households could also exploit the protocols clean development clause. This allows signatory nations to trade emissions with developing countries or to fund clean technology overseas. At a local level, this could mean helping your neighbours to plant trees or to insulate their loft. Even going round with a loudhailer (presumably on foot) to encourage energy efficiency would make a difference, says Reay. Together, Reays suggestions add up to roughly a 13% reduction in emissions per person. People think theyre not going to make a difference, he says. If they knew that walking to the shops instead of driving might save half a kilogram of greenhouse gas, they might stop and think. Those without big cars, houses and families can help out in other ways, such as by catching fewer planes, he adds. Drop in the ocean? Expressing energy efficiency in Kyoto-like terms might motivate consumers, agrees David Doniger of the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC), a New York-based environmental campaigning and research organization. The NRDC is helping to design mortgages that reward energy-efficient houses and people who live near their work. But consumer responsibility, Doniger adds, doesnt get government off the hook: Individual action is not going to add up to enough without societal action. The US Environmental Protection Agency calculates that only about one-third of the countrys greenhouse-gas emissions comes from houses and transport, the rest being from industry and agriculture. Even meeting the Kyoto targets might do little to reverse climate change - the UK government estimates that emissions cut may eventually need to be as much as 60 per cent on 1990 levels. But youve got to start somewhere, says Reay: Its about encouraging a state of mind, rather than saying job done.
14.08.2001 | TuesdayJapan needs to play key role to advance Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol neared completion at the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn.
: he Kyoto Protocol neared completion at the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn. Opposition to the U.S. refusal to accept it gave rise to unexpected progress. Negotiating over global warming is a frustratingly slow process that has already lasted a decade. The only way to advance is for the more than 100 countries involved to narrow their differences and reach a consensus. Even though fighting global warming is a costly undertaking, what supports the negotiations is the rather ideological cause to protect the Earths future. The meeting in Bonn highlighted the widening gap between a multilateral effort to achieve a common goal and U.S. unilateralism. In an article published before the U.S. presidential election, Condoleeza Rice, now national security adviser to U.S. President George W. Bush, criticized the Bill Clinton administration. She said it signed agreements that run counter to U.S. national interests out of an eagerness to resolve problems by multilateral cooperation and cited the Kyoto Protocol as a typical example. The current U.S. policy reflects such a view. Yet, most countries showed a willingness to protect the fruit of painstaking negotiations. United Nations-centered cooperation shot back at the superpower, which keeps behaving selfishly in foreign affairs and international economy. Still, it would be extremely difficult to achieve the goal without U.S. participation. One setback was the concessions concerning reduction targets that drastically cut back on the absorption of carbon dioxide by forests. That development weakened preventive measures against global warming. The protocol also has a system for industrialized and developing countries to jointly implement reduction projects. Latin American countries that were counting on the United States as a partner in such projects must be greatly disappointed. Another serious problem is the growing sense of unfairness among participating countries. The most difficult question in international negotiations to fight global warming is how to make countries share the burden in a fair way. The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change is based on the principle of common responsibility with a difference. Based on this idea, industrialized countries took the initiative to decide regulations. Developing countries are also set to consider how to institute regulations. The United States ignored this process and declared its withdrawal. In the future, other industrialized countries may show reluctance to strengthen reduction measures. Developing countries are also expected to complain that it is unfair for them to be required to meet reduction targets when the United States, the largest producer of greenhouse gases, has no such obligations. I am worried whether the agreement, carefully built on a fragile base aimed at fairness, can hold. The United States appears set to strengthen its negative influence. Amid such circumstances, the rest of the world must join hands to patch up the hole in the pact. To do so, we need to maintain enough distance with the United States. Japan, in particular, has an important role. Up to now, Japan sided with the United States. At the Bonn meeting, it prolonged the agreement, flashing its trump card that without Japan there would be no protocol. For Japan to win international trust, it must be a leading player to advance multilateral cooperation and not to stall it.(Asahi)
10.08.2001 | FridayBush Approves Limited Stem Cell Research
CRAWFORD, Texas, August 10, 2001 (ENS) - In a nationwide televised address from his ranch Thursday night, President George W. Bush delivered his long awaited position on the use of federal funds
: In a nationwide televised address from his ranch Thursday night, President George W. Bush delivered his long awaited position on the use of federal funds for stem cell research. He will permit federal monies to be used for research on existing stem cell lines, but not to create new lines. Bush will establish a Presidents Council on Bioethics to monitor the controversial research. Stem cell research, which could grow a variety of complete body parts from the cells of embryos, could eventually help people suffering from diseases such as Parkinsons and juvenile diabetes. The most promising stem cells are harvested from fertilized eggs, embryos, that are destroyed in obtaining the stem cells. Current research uses embryos slated for the disposal in in vitro fertilization laboratories. President George W. Bush (Photo courtesy the White House) Ethical considerations concerning the use of cells that could become human beings have divided the country between those who believe such use is immoral and those who believe in the importance of relieving the suffering of the living. The President said, Research on embryonic stem cells raises profound ethical questions, because extracting the stem cell destroys the embryo, and thus destroys its potential for life. Like a snowflake, each of these embryos is unique, with the unique genetic potential of an individual human being. As a result of private research, President Bush said, more than 60 genetically diverse stem cell lines already exist. They were created from embryos that have already been destroyed, and they have the ability to regenerate themselves indefinitely, creating ongoing opportunities for research. I have concluded that we should allow federal funds to be used for research on these existing stem cell lines, where the life and death decision has already been made. Federal funds will only be used for research on existing stem cell lines that were derived with the informed consent of the donors; from excess embryos created solely for reproductive purposes; and without any financial inducements to the donors. In order to ensure that federal funds are used to support only stem cell research that is scientifically sound, legal, and ethical, the National Institutes of Health will examine the derivation of all existing stem cell lines and create a registry of those lines that satisfy this criteria. More than 60 existing stem cell lines from genetically diverse populations around the world are expected to be available for federally funded research. No federal funds will be used for the derivation or use of stem cell lines derived from newly destroyed embryos; the creation of any human embryos for research purposes; or the cloning of human embryos for any purpose. Bush made his decision after weeks of consultations with a wide range of scientists, religious leaders, and medical experts. Leading scientists tell me research on these 60 lines has great promise that could lead to breakthrough therapies and cures, the President said. This allows us to explore the promise and potential of stem cell research without crossing a fundamental moral line, by providing taxpayer funding that would sanction or encourage further destruction of human embryos that have at least the potential for life. Bush pointed to the scientific progress that can be made through aggressive federal funding of research on umbilical cord placenta, adult and animal stem cells which do not involve the same moral dilemma. In 2001, the federal government will spend 50 million on this research. Bush will name a Presidents council to recommend appropriate guidelines and regulations, and to consider all of the medical and ethical ramifications of biomedical innovation, he said. The council will be chaired by Dr. Leon Kass, a biomedical ethicist from the University of Chicago. It will include scientists, doctors, ethicists, lawyers, and theologians. This council will keep us apprised of new developments and give our nation a forum to continue to discuss and evaluate these important issues, the President said. As we go forward, I hope we will always be guided by both intellect and heart, by both our capabilities and our conscience. The President was under pressure from both sides in the debate. Do No Harm; The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics sent 140,000 petitions to the White House that said, I do not want my tax dollars used for research that destroys some human lives for the sake of others. Please revoke the National Institutes of Health guidelines that encourage killing human embryos for their stem cells. Instead, please support increased funding for adult stem cell research and other morally acceptable alternatives. On the other side, Dr. Ted Peters, a Lutheran minister and Gaymon Bennett, a Wesleyan Theologian, are speaking in favor of stem cell research. Both work at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley, California, but are speaking independent of their affiliation with the center. It is our considered judgment that not only is this research morally permissible, but that there is an ethical and theological mandate to actively support it, the two theologians said. To do otherwise, we have concluded, would be negligent. In short, to not support stem cell research is unethical. (Environment News Service)
09.08.2001 | ThursdayKyoto Protocol frustrating for Koizumi
The issue of curbing global warming is becoming a big headache for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who has assumed a pro-U.S. posture since taking office in April.
: The issue of curbing global warming is becoming a big headache for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who has assumed a pro-U.S. posture since taking office in April. At the Group of Eight summit held in the heavily guarded Palazzo Ducale in Genoa, Italy, on July 21, Koizumi failed in his attempt to broker a compromise between the United States and the European Union on implementation of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on curbing global warming, and the talks broke down. The G-8 leaders got nowhere after discussing the divisive issue for more than an hour. Koizumi was particularly embarrassed by French President Jacques Chiracs obstinacy in the course of discussions concerning the protocol. Chirac repeatedly pounded on the table, calling for ratification of the Kyoto protocol, and finally agreed to disagree, after U.S. President George W. Bush reiterated the U.S. position that though it shares the spirit of the Kyoto accord, it cannot ratify the treaty because it excludes developing countries and would damage the U.S. economy. Bushs explanation failed to persuade Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and other European leaders, who insisted on ratifying the protocol even if the United States does not participate. Chiracs posture is likely due to the fact that the French presidential election is set for March next year. As if trying to please everyone, Koizumi suggested that the G-8 countries make maximum efforts to ratify the protocol in the target year of 2002, while at the same time trying to persuade the United States to come on board. He stopped short of clarifying whether Japan would ratify it. Koizumi was pushed into a tighter corner after the sixth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP6) to the U.N. Frame Convention on Climate Change, held in Bonn on July 23. At the meeting, Japan was forced to accept a compromise proposal worked out by the European Union and developing countries. The Bonn accord means that if a draft for the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol is completed at COP7, to be held in Morocco in late October, all countries participating in the protocol will have to start domestic procedures for ratifying it. Japan will then have to take measures to ratify the protocol at the next regular session of the Diet, to be convened in January 2002, if Koizumi is to keep his pledge to have the protocol take effect in 2002. If Washington fails to change its mind, will Japan ratify the protocol? Koizumi will have to make a crucial decision. Torn between the conflicting interests of the United States and the EU, the Japanese government finds itself in a helpless position. At a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in Tokyo on July 24, Koizumi urged U.S. ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, saying that Japan is still leaving the door open for the United States to join. Yet Japanese officials, who have been opposed to ratifying the Kyoto protocol without the United States, are pessimistic about U.S. participation and are becoming critical of U.S. actions. Now that a procedure for implementing the Kyoto Protocol was agreed on in Bonn, it is too late to change the whole framework for the sake of the United States. Washington should be blamed for failing to establish a strategy for dealing with global warming. If Washington had submitted an alternative proposal, the situation would have been different, one official complained. U.S. officials who attended the Bonn COP6 conference as observers merely reiterated the position that the United States would not support the protocol and that it was too early to present an alternative proposal. According to European diplomatic sources, Washington was not optimistic about reaching an agreement at the Bonn meeting, and U.S. delegates were thus not given any mandate. Even so, the Bush administration is reportedly beginning to worry about the current situation and is considering a response. Bushs public approval rating is falling, with his environmental and energy policies criticized as too friendly to big business. With next years congressional election in mind, the Democratic Party is launching an offensive against the president. In a departure from the conventional congressional custom of taking a suprapartisan stance on foreign policy, Democratic leaders, as well as former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, are taking Bush to task for his unilateralism. Andrew Carr, presidential chief of staff in charge of political affairs, and other Bush aides are reportedly holding consultations with environmental officials to consider a possible U.S. response that would address global warming issues. Koizumis last hope is that the Bush administration will present an alternative proposal before the COP7 conference and persuade the EU and developing countries to accept it. But there is little possibility of Washington presenting an alternative proposal acceptable to the EU, since the Bush administration is under the influence of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and other diehard conservatives opposed to the setting of greenhouse gas reduction targets. Koizumi will probably have to continue his tightrope diplomacy regarding the Kyoto Protocol. As a last resort, he may offer a two-pronged plan to: -- Seek U.S. participation while preparing for ratification of the protocol. -- Promote bilateral global warming prevention efforts between Japan and the United States. When Bush visits Japan in late October, immediately before the COP7 conference, the worlds attention will be focused on the two countries response to the Kyoto Protocol, rather than on the strengthening of the Japan-U.S. alliance. (Daily Yomiuri)
08.08.2001 | WednesdayLimiting greenhouse gases in India and China
A series of studies conducted by Daniel Sperling, PhD, of the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) at the University of California at Davis is pinpointing inexpensive ways to curb heat-trapping emissions from the transportation sect
: The control of greenhouse gas emissions from developing countries has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks to the mastery of global warming. The United States backed out of the Kyoto climate protocol in part because the Bush administration is not willing to submit to limitation of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions if those from populous developing countries such as India and China are not cut. Sperling and his teams of researchers in India and China found that by 2020 transport-related greenhouse gas emissions could rise as much as fourfold in Delhi, and sevenfold in Shanghai if no action is taken to reduce them. One of the greatest challenges we face in addressing climate change is helping developing countries forge cleaner, more sustainable paths to development, said Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, an independent U.S. based organization which funded the studies. These reports identify ways that fast growing cities like Delhi and Shanghai can meet the demand for high quality transportation while easing congestion, improving air quality, and protecting the global climate, she said. In Delhi, India, Sperling and his team found, an aggressive effort to encourage environmentally friendly forms of travel could reduce the projected fourfold increase to a doubling. For the Delhi study, Sperling worked with Ranjan Bose of the Tata Energy Research Institute who led the team of Indian researchers. By 2000, said Sperlings team, Delhi had about 2.6 million motor vehicles - 200 for every 1,000 inhabitants, a rate far higher than most cities with similar incomes. Now inhabited by about 13 million people, Sperlings team estimates that the population will rise above 22 million by 2020. Motor vehicles, including cars, trucks, and motorized two- and three-wheelers, are expected to grow at an even faster rate. The domestic auto industry is predicting car sale increases of 10 percent per year, they say. Sperling and his teams suggested low cost policy options that include building and maintaining more sidewalks, and bicycle and bus lanes, improving public transit, and expanding charter bus services. Delhi should also replace the inefficient, polluting engines in scooters and motorcycles and improve the fuel efficiency of cars, the study said. The authors also recommend fundamental changes that could have longer term impacts such as integrated land use planning and faster introduction of advanced vehicle and information technologies. The Shanghai team was led by Sperling with Hongchang Zhou of Tongji University in Shanghai, Chinas largest city. The report estimates Shanghais metropolitan population at more than 13 million people. Shanghais transportation sector currently generates extremely low levels of greenhouse gas emissions for a city of its size and affluence, the report says. The city currently devotes little land to roads and has only 650,000 cars and trucks, a number well below virtually all cities of similar income, Sperling and Zhou report. Even with this small number of vehicles, Shanghai already suffers from serious transport induced air pollution and traffic congestion, they write. While the Shanghai population is not growing quickly, the economy is, and the emission of greenhouse gases is predicted to grow sevenfold by 2020. City planners project a quadrupling of the number of cars and trucks in operation by 2020, says Sperlings report Zhou and Sperling outline Shanghais transportation future plans. Once built, they say the investments will improve the citys transportation system, but are costly and threaten greater energy use and air pollution. Shanghai plans expansion of the new airport, construction of a deep water harbor, three new bridges and tunnel river crossings, completion of a 165 mile modern rapid transit rail system, expansion of suburban highways, and construction of 1,240 miles of new and upgraded urban roads. The city is investing in rail and bus transit and intelligent transportation technologies, the report says. To the extent Shanghai can restrain motorization and emissions, it may serve as a model for other cities in the developing world. Zhou and Sperlings team suggest that to reduce greenhouse gases, a specialized infrastructure be built for smaller vehicles and bicycles. More and better express bus service would help, as would promotion of clean, efficient motorcycles and scooters, small cars and cleaner engine technologies in conventional vehicles. The Shanghai city government is already moving in that direction. To reduce polluting emissions by the year 2002, all of the 40,000 taxis in Shanghai plus 3,000 buses will be using cleaner fuels - compressed natural gas for buses and liquefied petroleum gas for cars. Shanghai is a model city in producing environmentally friendly vehicles and I hope it will become the nations first city where the blue skies are not covered by grayish auto emissions, said Xu Guanhua, vice minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology. The Delhi and Shanghai reports are the first in a series of five examining transport related greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries. Case studies of Chile and South Africa, and an overview report, will be released later this year. Government and industry both recognize that new mobility systems must be carefully researched and designed to ensure clear social benefits from future transportation systems, Sperling said. Sperling serves as co-director of the New Mobility Center, with Susan Shaheen, Ph.D. The New Mobility Center aims to be an international leader in research, development, and evaluation of innovative new approaches to delivering new mobility such as intermodal transportation, smart car-sharing and dynamic ridesharing, and instant access services. (ENN)
07.08.2001 | TuesdayNorway says will not use Kyoto sink loophole
Norway said yesterday it would not use existing carbon sink loopholes in the Kyoto climate pact to bump up its current allowance of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
: I can confirm that we will not consider using the planting of trees to reach our Kyoto target until we have gained more knowledge either before or after the next step of the agreement is in place, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Environment told Reuters. We are concerned with real qualitative emissions reductions, not fictitious ones that are just on paper, she said. Under todays United Nations Kyoto Treaty framework, which was hammered out in July in Bonn, Norway has promised to limit a rise in emissions of greenhouse gases to one percent by 2008-12 from 1990 levels. But a loophole to the treaty - where countries can earn credits to offset against their emission targets by planting trees that soak up CO2, so-called carbon sinks - could help Norway reach its target without actually cutting emissions at home. The announcement met with a guarded welcome from environmentalists. The move from the government is positive, but I dont think it is something we should be beating ourselves on the chest over, Frederic Hauge, head of Norwegian environmental group Bellona, told Reuters. After the Kyoto talks, this is the least we should expect. SEEING THE WOOD FOR THE TREES Another environmentalist greeted the ministrys statement more positively, reckoning it would dampen the building of planned gas-fired power plants in Norway. This will make it much harder for the state to build polluting gas-fired plants, because it will not be able to use trees as window dressing for its climate balance sheet, Lars Haltbrekken, leader of the joint campaign against gas-fired power plants told Reuters. He said the building of just one gas-fired plant in Norway would up the countrys CO2 emissions by between 5-6 percent from 1990-levels, making it difficult to reach its Kyoto target. But the ministry said it had no intention of scrapping plans to build gas-fired plants, which have long been a source of political tension in the country. If building a gas-fired power plant increases CO2 emissions, than we will have to reduce emissions somewhere else, so that we comply with the Kyoto agreement, the spokeswoman for the ministry said. Norway produces most of its energy from hydropower, but burgeoning electricity demand and shrinking supply have prompted plans to build polluting gas-fired plants in the country. Norway also said in June that it aimed to seek new technology to eliminate CO2 emissions from gas-fired power plants. (Planet Ark)
06.08.2001 | MondayUPDATE - UK green power scheme set for early 2002
LONDON - Britain plans to launch early next year a scheme to give green energy a billion-pound (.4 billion) boost and help curb the countrys emissions of greenhouse gases, the governm
: Under the Renewables Obligation, previously expected to start in October, electricity companies will have to produce 10.4 percent of their output from green energy sources by 2011, up sharply from around 2.8 percent now. The government expects this requirement to unleash a flurry of investments in renewable energy projects such as wind farms, solar power plants and biomass sites, and to improve the economics of existing green energy projects. The scheme would also cover hydro-electric power stations. This government will back the generators who invest in green power plants, said energy minister Brian Wilson in a statement. Harmful greenhouse gases must be driven down...these policies will encourage generation from truly renewable energy sources, minimising all harmful emissions, he said. In the longer term, even more ambitious targets could be set. The scheme, which is subject to parliamentary approval and clearance from the European Commission, would form a framework for the development of Britains green energy up until at least 2027, the government said. AMBITIOUS TARGETS ON EMISSIONS The move is crucial to the governments targets on cutting emissions of greenhouse gases, cited by many scientists as a major contributor to global warming. The governments Climate Change Strategy, announced in late 2000, aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 23 percent on 1990 levels by 2010. This is almost double the target of 12.5 percent to which the UK is committed under the Kyoto protocol. The UK in 1999 produced emissions of carbon dioxide equivalent of 654 million tonnes, according to the latest government data. Environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth weclomed Fridays announcement but said the scheme did not go far enough. The group has called for a doubling of the governments target on use of green energy to 20 percent. Colin Palmer, director of Bristol-based windfarm developer Wind Prospect Ltd, said the initiative would ease financial pressures on his business exerted by new wholesale electricity trading arrangements (NETA), launched earlier this year. This should transform our business into something worthwhile, rather than an unprofitable business, he told Reuters. Under NETA times are hard, we are relying on the Renewables Obligation. Critics of NETA say it penalises green power producers because their output of electricity is less predictable than that of large utilities. And on the development side, we will have a clear mechanism for funding, Palmer added. Fridays move comes as energy regulator Ofgem prepares to publish the results of a survey of the impact of NETA on small, green generators during the first two months of NETA. The survey was ordered by Peter Hain, Wilsons predecessor. Earlier this week, the government said it was setting up a working group to push through industry recommendations on removing barriers to the development of green energy projects. The role of renewable energy is under scrutiny in a root-and-branch review of Britains future energy policy, launched by the government in June. The review comes amid concerns over how Britain can juggle the need to cut emissions while maintaining secure energy supplies as North Sea reserves of oil and gas start to dwindle.(Planet Ark)
03.08.2001 | FridayGlobal trade in CO2 emissions reaches 00mn - study
LONDON - Companies around the world trading in greenhouse gas emissions have done deals nominally worth about 00 million since the market emerged in 1996-97, says a study commissioned by the World
: The study, prepared by brokerage Natsource, says at least 60 trades between companies covering 55 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent emissions reductions have already gone through and the market is poised for further growth. The UK in 1999 created emissions of CO2 equivalent of 654 million tonnes, according to the governments most recent figures. As more domestic emissions trading markets emerge, along with other opportunities for trading government-recognised emissions permits, the markets growth looks set to continue despite continuing uncertainty surrounding international climate change policy, the study says. Trading in emissions of greenhouse gases, which are cited by many scientists as a major contributor to global warming, is promoted in the Kyoto protocol on climate change, modified at a meeting of environment ministers last month in Bonn. Deutsche Bank has predicted the global emissions trading market could eventually be worth 50 billion a year. Emissions trading allows companies polluting below their legal allowance to sell their remaining allocation to a company exceeding its permitted level. The allowance, which entitles the holder to emit a limited quantity of greenhouse gases, is denominated in tonnes of CO2 equivalent. The study says most deals have involved Verified Emission Reductions (VERs), which are audited by a third party such as engineering or accountancy firm. Nominal prices for VERs have ranged between sh.60 and .00 per tonne of CO2 equivalent since trading started, the study said. But interest is shifting to government-issued emissions permits because these are regarded as superior instruments for hedging regulatory risk. The UK is developing an emission trading scheme which should be finalised in early August. Trading is expected to start next year and brokers say forward prices are already being discussed in the market. Other schemes are being studied in Denmark and the Netherlands and the UK government says it is open to bilateral recognition once trading rules are in place. The European Commission is working on a draft directive for an emission trading scheme that will harmonise national schemes and lead to cross-border trading and a single price for carbon across Europe.(CICERO)
26.07.2001 | ThursdayJapan may ratify Kyoto pact: Kawaguchi
Japan may ratify the Kyoto Protocol to reduce global warming even if the United States does not, Environment Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi indicated Monday.
: Japan needs to prepare for ratification of the pact independently of the presence of the United States, Kawaguchi told reporters after the U.N. climate conference reached an accord on core elements governing the implementation of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Kawaguchi stopped short of making a straightforward commitment, saying, We still have to work on details of the agreement we made today. However, a senior government official in Tokyo admitted that momentum for ratifying the pact will increase rapidly with the latest accord. Japan will no doubt come under greater pressure to ratify the pact because, as another ranking official noted, the deal was clinched after European participants made major concessions to Japanese demands. In Tokyo on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda dropped a similar hint during a regular afternoon news conference. Asked whether the government will submit the necessary legislation to the Diet during the regular session that will begin next January to put the protocol into effect in 2002, Fukuda said, We will take steps in time for that. But Fukuda also repeated that Japan will continue to try to bring Washington back into the Kyoto pact process. Not all negotiations have been completed. Our position is to continue persuading the United States and persuading the European Union, if necessary, to seek a way that will enable everyone to participate, the governments top spokesman said. Kawaguchi said Japan will start studying the possibility of ratification after examining operational details of the Kyoto pact, which have to be fixed in future negotiations, and enacting domestic measures to guarantee domestic greenhouse gas reductions. The environment chief gave full marks to the Bonn agreement, which was reached after four days of intense talks among ministers, saying every country made concessions to reach a deal. The Kyoto Protocol was thrown into jeopardy in March when U.S. President George W. Bush rejected it. Since then, Japan has been trying to persuade Washington to return to the pact through bilateral talks and other channels. Tokyo, while saying it wants the Kyoto pact enforced by the target year 2002, has indicated reluctance to ratify if the U.S. remains outside the pacts framework. The EU meanwhile has been stepping up pressure on Tokyo to ratify, since Japanese participation is crucial to putting the Kyoto pact into force without the U.S. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi attracted criticism from EU members when he remarked before the climate talks that the Bonn conference would not produce an agreement.( The Japan Times Online)
23.07.2001 | MondayKyoto or not, US group to trade greenhouse gases
s diplomats weigh the future of the ailing Kyoto global warming pact in Bonn through next week, a group of US-based traders in the heartland aims to help cut greenhouse gas emissions b
: Chicago Climate Exchange (CCE), headed by former Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) economists, is building the worlds first market for greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane. Greenhouse gases, released by burning fossil fuels, are thought by many scientists to cause global warming. Currently, there is little official incentive for companies to cut greenhouse gas emissions since no major industrialized country has yet set limits on them. But regardless of the outcome of the Kyoto pact, which seeks to reduce greenhouse emissions of industrialized nations by 5.2 percent of 1990 levels in 2008-2012, the European Union will begin restricting greenhouse gases in 2004. And some European countries, such as Denmark, will restrict as early as next year. Multinational firms that operate in countries where limits will soon be adopted, regardless of whether Kyoto will pass, want to be prepared, said CCE founder Richard Sandor. To help them get ready, CCE is slated to begin trading in seven Midwestern states-and Brazil-in the third quarter of 2002. So far, CCE has signed on 33 corporations and nongovernmental organizations. Its more than just aligning themselves, Sandor said of those groups, because they say in their letters that if the exchange fits their strategy, and we reach consensus, they will trade. He said the companies have signed up to get first movement advantage in trading emissions. There is more concern about being pro-active in environmental areas because of shareholder value. The (stock) market is beginning to take a serious look at companies that take early action, and presumably they will get rewarded in that way, he said. BP Plc, which launched an internal carbon trading program last year, is a CCE participant. We are lending our experience and knowledge on our carbon dioxide trading systems to the exchange, said BP spokeswoman Sarah Howell. She said conservation and reducing flaring at refineries has allowed BP already to meet halfway its goal of cutting emissions 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2010. (PlanetArk)
21.07.2001 | MondayMinisters get down to detail at climate talks
World climate talks continued in Bonn, Germany, today. The prospects for a deal on the Kyoto protocol remain uncertain, but a mood of optimism continued following unexpected progress during the first few days of technical discussions.
: World climate talks continued in Bonn, Germany, today. The prospects for a deal on the Kyoto protocol remain uncertain, but a mood of optimism continued following unexpected progress during the first few days of technical discussions. Ministers this afternoon sat down to tackle the first of four key areas on which the meeting is hoping to find agreement: how to fund efforts to counter climate change-induced impacts in developing countries. Before they leave Bonn on Sunday, they will discuss forest sinks, the protocols flexible mechanisms, and compliance regimes. Much of today was taken up with deciding procedure: a group of 35 ministers, representing the main negotiating blocs at the talks, has been set up to try and forge deals to be presented to the conferences plenary sessions of 180-or-so countries. However, much of the progress is expected to come from unofficial bilateral meetings between the EU and elements of the US-led umbrella group - principally Japan, Australia and Canada. These have yet to start, and any final deal is not expected before late Sunday evening. Belgian energy minister Olivier Deleuze, who heads the EU delegation, said that a lack of bitter arguments during the early procedural discussions was in itself a reason for optimism. They had presented a very good opportunity to block everything, he said, but had gone smoothly. Environmental groups had been suggesting that Australia and Canada would try to slow down the process to prevent an agreement. Meanwhile, heads of state from the worlds most powerful countries will discuss climate change tomorrow at their G8 summit in Genoa, Italy. Negotiators in Bonn expressed hope today that outstanding issues could be resolved without their intervention. If we can do it without the help of the G8 then wed be happy, said Marc Pallemaerts of the Belgian presidency of the EU. Perhaps they can be of help towards the end. (Environment Daily )
29.06.2001 | FridayUK greenhouse gas emissions fall to 10-year low
Britains emissions of greenhouse gases, blamed by many scientists for global warming, have fallen to a 10-year low mainly as a result of a drop in pollution from power stations, the government said
: Emissions from the electricity industry dropped after new clean-burning gas power stations replaced older plants fuelled by coal and oil - both big producers of carbon dioxide, the main gas blamed for climate change. Gas use in generation has grown from nothing in 1990 to around 30 percent. The downward trend is well established in Britain. It shows countries can adopt a series of measures with little or no cost to the economy to meet their Kyoto targets, said Kate Hampton, a spokesperson for environmental group Friends of the Earth. The National Statistics Office said while emissions from industry fell between 1990 and 1999, pollution from households rose because of increased energy use at home. Emissions of greenhouse gases by the non-domestic sector of the UK economy, weighted by global warming potential, fell by 16.5 percent. However, emissions from households increased by 6.5 percent over the same period. Pollution from road transport increased by eight percent between 1990 and 1999, mainly from commercial vehicles, despite a fall of 0.5 percent in the most recent year. The Kyoto climate change protocol calls for industrialised states to cut their carbon dioxide emissions by an average five percent from 1990 levels by 2020. Scientists say if countries do not curb air pollution, then the climate will be affected with temperatures rising in coming decades, leading to higher sea levels and big changes in weather patterns.(Planet Ark)
29.06.2001 | FridayJapan May Propose Kyoto Pact Revisions to U.S.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will present to President Bush a draft of possible revisions to the Kyoto treaty on global warming when they meet on Saturday, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said.
: If Bush, who has termed the current treaty fatally flawed, responds positively, Koizumi plans to present the draft to British and French leaders to get their approval when he meets with them next week, the paper said on Friday. We have one or two proposals, the Nikkei quoted sources close to Koizumi as saying. The revisions that Koizumi will propose would extend the target date for emissions reductions by several years from the current 2010, lower the reduction rate, and set back the base year to 2000 from 1990, the Nikkei said. Kazuhiko Koshikawa, the prime ministers spokesman, said the report was little more than speculation. Japan is thinking of many things, as are other countries, he said. What Koizumi is going to do will be try to exert persuasion on Bush as a fellow leader -- no more, no less. Tokyo is caught between Bushs decision to abandon the treaty and Europes pressure to ratify the pact even without the United States. Japan previously negotiated alongside the United States to get flexible rules on cutting greenhouse gases. Its ambitions to bring Washington back on board are considered hopeless by most officials in Europe. Japanese Environment Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, in an interview with the BBC on Wednesday, repeated that Japan would try to bring the United States back into the treaty, but did not say whether Tokyo will back the deal without the participation of Washington. However, she did say Japan was in accord with the European Union and other nations in trying to make the protocol legally binding next year. (CICERO)
28.06.2001 | ThursdayLittle light emerges from Kyoto pre-talks
An informal meeting of world environment ministers to prepare for next months Bonn summit to finalise the Kyoto climate protocol has seen little movement on the key remaining contested issues while reaffirming the USAs isolation in opposing the deal
: An informal meeting of world environment ministers to prepare for next months Bonn summit to finalise the Kyoto climate protocol has seen little movement on the key remaining contested issues while reaffirming the USAs isolation in opposing the deal outright. Ministers are considering a series of detailed legal texts drafted by talks chairman Jan Pronk and published last earlier this month. The texts are designed to form the basis of an eventual agreement on Kyoto at Bonn (Environmental Daily)
26.06.2001 | TuesdayEU climate trading scheme set to emerge
The European Commission is close to proposing rules for an EU-wide carbon dioxide emission trading scheme, it has emerged. Circulated internally by the Commissions environment directorate, the draft directive would establish a highly flexible tradin
: The European Commission is close to proposing rules for an EU-wide carbon dioxide emission trading scheme, it has emerged. Circulated internally by the Commissions environment directorate, the draft directive would establish a highly flexible trading regime from 1 January 2005. If it passes this next test, the directive could be formally proposed before international talks to finalise the Kyoto protocol resume in Bonn next month. Its emergence would mark a huge about-turn in EU attitudes to emission trading since the protocol was agreed in 1997 and provide an important signal reaffirming its determination to implement it. According to the draft text, which has been seen by Environment Daily, the scheme would cover only carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and would initially be restricted to certain installations under IPPC legislation, such as oil refineries, coke ovens, smelters, cement kilns, pulp and paper mills, and iron and steel furnaces. Chemical plants would be excluded. Also covered would be any combustion or power plant with a thermal capacity of over 20 megawatts, with the exception of waste incinerators. The directorate estimates that this scope would cover up to 5,000 installations EU-wide, responsible for 40% of total CO2 emissions. Member states would be able to propose other sectors for inclusion in the scheme. EU governments would allocate emission allowances, expressed in tonnes of CO2 equivalent, to firms covered by the scheme. They would be free to choose the amount allocated, in line with their own Kyoto emission reduction commitment, and to choose the allocation method, though all allocations would have to comply with EU state aid rules. Firms would have to keep within their allowance by reducing emissions or buying emission rights from other companies. Failure to do so would make them liable to fines of euros 200 per tonne. The directorate says this is ten times the anticipated market value of carbon allowances. Cross-border trades would result in appropriate adjustments to national emission reduction targets. The scheme would initially run for three-years. During this time firms would be able to bank allowances from one year to the next. Whether they could carry them forward into a second phase from 2008 would be at member states discretion. In subsequent five-year allocation cycles they would have unrestricted rights to bank allowances. The directorate proposes no central body to organise a carbon exchange. It says it is convinced that market structures will arise once the obligations are clear, and should be left open to solutions driven by the private sector. The proposal as a whole is as simple as it can be, it concludes. (ENDS)
26.06.2001 | TuesdayCycle lock causes quick change New model hints El Nio may explain rapid climate change.
The processes that produce El Nio events may also cause abrupt shifts in global climate, according to new research. This could explain why the
: Amy Clement and colleagues of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York, are challenging conventional wisdom about the reasons for the Younger Dryas event, a return to near-ice-age conditions that took place about 11,500 years ago. Clements group provide a new explanation for the sudden shifts in temperature that can occur across the globe. Evidence for global cooling during the Younger Dryas, when the Earth was warming up after the last ice age, has been found throughout the world. The prevailing explanation for the cold snap invokes the melting of the great ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere. Fresh water from the melting ice sheets was discharged into the North Atlantic. Being less dense than salt water, it stopped the ocean water from sinking as it flowed northwards. Sinking water in the North Atlantic drives a giant circulation of ocean water, bringing heat from the tropical regions towards the poles. If this circulation shuts down, the North Atlantic region cools, affecting global climate. There is some evidence that the Younger Dryas might have been triggered in this way; but it is not incontrovertible. Clement and her co-workers point out that some studies of climate patterns at that time dont fit the ocean circulation explanation. They now have an alternative explanation: El Nio events. These events bring warm, wet weather to South America and drought to Australia and Indonesia. They are manifestations of the El Nio/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon. ENSO, Clements team says, can interact with changes in Earths orbit to trigger rapid changes in climate. ENSO occurs roughly every two to seven years as a result of heat and energy moving between the atmosphere and the oceans. Over tens of thousands of years, periodic changes in the shape of Earths path around the Sun and the tilt of its axis are thought to cause climate shifts such as the ice ages. These orbital variations are very gradual, but they trigger feedbacks in Earths climate system that lead to global temperature shifts. Orbital variations can alter ENSOs pulse, say the researchers, locking it in step with the yearly cycle of seasons. El Nio events can then virtually disappear for centuries. During such a deadlock, average temperatures across the globe fall significantly. The changeover from normal to locked ENSO behaviour happens in a matter of decades. Very few climate phenomena are known to be able to produce such a big change so quickly. The current ENSO cycle seems to be in a phase close to that in which these sudden switches can occur. The researchers support their claims with computer simulations of the global climate system that show the cooling effect. But it will be difficult to distinguish this effect in climate records from the effect of the ocean-circulation system. (CICERO)
22.06.2001 | FridayEnglish localities urged to act on climate
Local government representatives from across England met today to discuss how they could help tackle climate change. Environment minister Michael Meacher told them that the UK central government was relying on local authorities to deliver significa
: Local government representatives from across England met today to discuss how they could help tackle climate change. Environment minister Michael Meacher told them that the UK central government was relying on local authorities to deliver significant cuts in buildings carbon dioxide emissions by favouring greater energy efficiency. He added that his department would soon launch a review of local authority implementation to date of the national climate change programme. We need to learn lessons about why there is such a huge gap in performance between local authorities, he said. Also addressing the conference was Londons new mayor Ken Livingstone. He emphasised the capitals vulnerability to the effects of climate change, drawing attention to the river Thames barrier that can be raised to protect the city from high tides. It has been used only 63 times since it was built in 1984, 24 of which have been since last November. (ENDS)
22.06.2001 | FridayThe Norwegian government today launched its white paper on climate policy with a reaffirmation of its commitment to the Kyoto protocol.
Responding to recent media reports that it was planning to postpone ratification, the environment ministry said in a statement: The government wants Norway to ratify the Kyoto protocol, and Norway will cooperate closely with the EU and with other co
: Responding to recent media reports that it was planning to postpone ratification, the environment ministry said in a statement: The government wants Norway to ratify the Kyoto protocol, and Norway will cooperate closely with the EU and with other countries so that the Kyoto protocol will come into force. The white paper emphasises research and development, in particular of profitable technology [for] CO2-free gas-fired power stations, and implementation of a broad quota system with a ceiling on emissions in respect of which the government sees itself as an innovator. In the shorter term, it recommends: continuation of existing CO2 taxes pending implementation of the quota system; collaboration with industry; measures to reduce or limit non-industrial sulphur hexafluoride emissions, as well as emissions of HFCs and PFCs; use of natural gas as fuel for buses, ferries and vessels serving the offshore oil sector; and local and regional climate projects. Norway is committed under Kyoto to a maximum 1% increase in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels in 2008-2012, and to demonstrating clear progress by 2005. The focus on CO2-free gas technology is something of a U-turn for the government, as plans for several conventional gas-fired power stations are already well advanced. According to the white paper, the aim is now to build a CO2-free pilot plant by 2005. Some commentators are convinced that this would mean scrapping the current projects. In the industrial sector, the government will rely on voluntary agreements to achieve reductions and/or stabilisation. In the aluminium industry, for example, new figures released yesterday show that the sector has cut greenhouse gas emissions by 52% over the past ten years. Much of that reduction - equivalent to 4% of the national total - stems from a voluntary agreement drawn up in 1997. (ENDS)
21.06.2001 | ThursdayBelgian climate chief calls for clarity on Kyoto
BRUSSELS - The man who will represent the European Union at climate change talks next month has challenged the other nations involved to say exactly where they stand on the Kyoto global
: Belgian Energy Minister Olivier Deleuze said yesterday countries should state, ideally by next week, whether or not they will push ahead with the 1997 global warming deal, which the EU backs but the United States opposes. Europe is clear...I think we now need clarity from the other partners, Deleuze said in an interview with Reuters. Kyoto commits developed countries to cut emissions over the coming decade of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. Deleuze, a Green party member of Belgiums Liberal-Socialist - Green coalition, will head the EU delegation at make-or-break talks on the Kyoto protocol in Bonn next month. When the United States rejected Kyoto the EU said it would push ahead regardless. But the European bloc can only salvage the deal with the support of other countries which have yet to say if they will stay on board without the Americans. Japan, seen by diplomats as a crucial player, said yesterday it still hoped to persuade the United States to back Kyoto. The EU is set to pay diplomatic visits to Japan and Canada to discuss it ahead of the Bonn meeting. THE BASIS FOR BONN Deleuze said he also hoped diplomats meeting in The Hague next week would clarify what they hoped to achieve at Bonn, which is supposed to finalise the rules on Kyoto. Not just Japan, although Japan of course has a totally crucial role. Its necessary that the international community makes clear on what basis we are going to Bonn, he said. Countries should say whether or not they thought the latest compromise paper issued by the climate talks chairman, Dutch Environment Minister Jan Pronk, was a fair basis for negotiations, Deleuze said. Do we agree to negotiate on the basis of the Pronk paper? Will these negotiations bring us to an agreement that will fulfil the conditions (required to bring the deal into force)? Were not going to go to Bonn knowing nothing. The EU is keen to avoid a repeat of similar talks in The Hague last November where differences between Europe and the United States - which under the Clinton administration still backed Kyoto - prevented a final deal. The European Union must show its ready to compromise, Deleuze said, But thats not a renegotiation of the protocol - it was negotiated in 1997 and signed by countries, including the United States. Deleuze declined to say which areas the EU was prepared to move on, but acknowledged what had been the most problematic points for the United States and for its allies including Japan, Canada and Australia. Everyone knows the sensitive points, Deleuze said. The main ones were how much could countries use flexible mechanisms such as buying the right to pollute, and how much their forests and farmlands could be considered sinks that soak up carbon and reduce the need to cut emissions, he said. (PlanetArk)
20.06.2001 | WednesdayU.S. Catholic Bishops Call For Action On Global Warming
Environmental Defense Praises Leadership From Bishops In Protecting Earth
: Environmental Defense praised an announcement today by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops calling for action now to mitigate global climate change. The announcement was issued at the National Conference annual meeting being held this week in Atlanta. The announcement notes that most experts agree that something significant is happening to the atmosphere, and calls it prudent not only to continue to research and monitor this phenomenon, but to take steps now to mitigate possible negative effects in the future. The Bishops announcement notes the United States because of the blessings God has bestowed on our nation and the power it possesses has a special responsibility in its stewardship of Gods creation and to shape responses that serve the entire human family. This statement by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops comes at a crucial moment in the climate change debates and for the Earth, said Environmental Defense executive director Fred Krupp. Environmental Defense appreciates the leadership of the Catholic Bishops in calling for prudent action to protect Earth when much of the debate over what to do about global warming is so polarized. Environmental Defense also believes the U.S. has a special obligation to take the lead on reducing the greenhouse gases that are warming the planet and threatening our future, said Krupp. Yet so far, the Bush administration has failed to show that leadership. Environmental Defense will continue to call on the Bush administration and other leaders to stop the rancorous debate and take real action now to slow global warming. Climate change is the most serious threat our planet now faces; we at Environmental Defense hope that the compassion and leadership shown by the Catholic Bishops and others can move the world beyond politics and toward real action to protect the planet. (CICERO)
18.06.2001 | MondayEU provisionally sets 2001 deadline for Kyoto
European Union leaders on Saturday provisionally agreed to have a Kyoto ratification document ready before the end of 2001 so members could rapidly sign up to the landmark treaty on li
: According to draft conclusions of an EU summit, the leaders decided to ensure the widest participation of industrialised nations in the 1997 treaty. The commission will prepare a proposal for ratification before the end of 2001 making it possible for the union and its member states to fulfil their commitment to rapidly ratify the Kyoto protocol, the document said. The European Union will work to ensure the widest possible participation of industrialised countries in an effort to ensure the entry into force of the protocol by 2002. (PlanetArk)
13.06.2001 | WednesdayPronk injects new life into Kyoto protocol
Dutch environment minister Jan Pronk has issued what could become the basis for world agreement - though without America at least - on how to implement the UN Kyoto climate protocol.
: Dutch environment minister Jan Pronk has issued what could become the basis for world agreement - though without America at least - on how to implement the UN Kyoto climate protocol. In the first of two major advances, the ministers team has replaced hundreds of contested options denoted by square brackets with a single, coherent proposal. Mr Pronk has also offered new political concessions to Japan and central and eastern European (CEE) countries that might persuade them to follow the EUs lead and ratify without the USA. Minister Pronks paper follows months of preparation after talks meant to finalise the Kyoto protocol collapsed in the Netherlands last Autumn, including a high-level session this spring (ENDS Daily 23 April). More negotiations will take place at the end of this month before the full COP6 conference is resumed in Bonn from mid-July. Little reaction has yet emerged from world governments due to the complexity of the 178-pages of legalistic text. But an informed EU source told ENDS Daily that it was a tremendous achievement for Mr Pronk to have produced a single, internally consistent text without square brackets. No one expected so much progress, the official said. Key political elements in the text, according to a spokesperson for Mr Pronk and the EU source, are concessions to Japan regarding carbon sinks and to Russia and central and eastern European countries regarding payments into a proposed adaptation fund. Under a new formula, Japan would have extra ability to count carbon absorption by forestry sinks against its commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Japans relatively low potential to exploit sinks compared with larger, less densely populated regions, has been one of its major objections to previous proposals. The new proposal regarding countries in transition from Communism to a market economy essentially concerns money. All will have to pay into the protocols adaptation fund, but an only half the rate of other annex 1 industrialised countries. Lurking behind Mr Pronks proposals is the threat to Kyoto posed by Americas rejection of the protocol. For it to enter into force, annex 1 countries that emitted 55% of industrialised countries 1990 carbon dioxide emissions must ratify. The EU alone cannot achieve this. The barrier can be breached, however, if both Japan and Russia and the CEE countries are persuaded to join in. Tough talking will undoubtedly continue on these and tens of other issues, with a particular flash-point likely to be continuing developing country concerns over the limited scale of financial assistance being offered by the industrialised world.
11.06.2001 | MondayBush Pushes Research on Global Warming
President George W. Bush plans to tell European allies this week that he wants to spend millions of dollars on research into the causes of global warming and the technologies
: President George W. Bush plans to tell European allies this week that he wants to spend millions of dollars on research into the causes of global warming and the technologies to reduce it, but he will not back down on his opposition to mandatory controls on emissions of greenhouse gases, administration officials say. The research and technology initiatives, which the president plans to outline in a speech on Monday before leaving Washington for Europe, constitute the administrations first detailed response to the criticism from Europe and Asia that followed Mr. Bushs decision to abandon the Kyoto global warming treaty. White House officials said Mr. Bush plans to emphasize how seriously he regards the problem of global warming, even as he remains adamant in his rejection of the 1997 accord reached in Kyoto, Japan. That agreement committed the United States and 167 other nations to the first binding limits on carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases that scientists say may cause catastrophic changes in the planets climate. Although the Kyoto treaty was never ratified by the United States - or any other major industrialized country - most European allies have rejected any alternate approach relying on voluntary measures. The proposals that Mr. Bush plans to carry with him to Europe seem certain to fall far short of allied demands. Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have not accepted an appeal from several cabinet members, including Secretary of State Colin Powell and the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Christie Whitman, for consultations with U.S. companies on a mandatory reduction effort, administration officials said. Ms. Whitman has argued that most countries are shocked and angry at Mr. Bushs approach to global warming, while General Powell has contended that the United States must put forth a serious solution to a serious problem, officials said. But others in the administration, notably Mr. Cheney, say mandatory limits would cause many utilities to switch from oil- and coal-fired generators to natural gas, which could lead to steep increases in natural gas prices and threaten to spread power shortages such as the kind being experienced in California, officials said. In his speech Monday, the president plans to outline a research initiative on the causes of global warming, officials said. The objective will be to strengthen coordination among climate research institutes in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Japan. The president also will propose a national technology initiative that would finance research on ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as improving measurement and monitoring of global warming. Ms. Whitman, General Powell and others have argued for an approach closer to the European model - specific long-term targets for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases while still allowing major industrial polluters to pay their nonpolluting counterparts for the use of their pollution allotment. Under the Kyoto protocol, the United States by 2012 would have had to reduce its emissions to 7 percent less than its 1990 levels. Mr. Bush has argued that the Kyoto treaty would have had a devastating effect on the U.S. economy and unfairly excluded developing countries, including India and China. The Europeans, however, point out that voluntary efforts have failed. They also frequently note that the United States is responsible for 25 percent of the planets carbon dioxide emissions while representing just 4 percent of its population. Although the administration has not taken steps to reduce emissions voluntarily, officials said Mr. Bushs cabinet working group is examining that possibility. In a memo delivered to congressional Republicans on Friday, the administration said the Kyoto protocol is fatally flawed in fundamental ways and, while the administration rejects the accord, We do intend to take a leadership role in addressing climate change. It said Mr. Bush will offer a status report, not a final report to the allies this week. Mr. Bush plans to tell the Europeans that the United States will be eager participants in United Nations climate talks when they resume next month in Bonn. But Mr. Bushs proposals seem unlikely to alter the pessimism that several European diplomats have expressed about the likelihood of a breakthrough at the meeting.The president leaves Monday evening for a six-day European trip, his first presidential journey outside North America. Mr. Bush spent the weekend at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, where he was getting briefings from Condoleezza Rice, national security adviser and one of his chief advisers on climate issues. On Wednesday, the president is to address a NATO summit in Brussels, where his plan for a missile defense shield will be a major issue. On Thursday, he will attend a European Union meeting in Goteborg, Sweden. Ms. Rice acknowledged this week that the administration mishandled its withdrawal from the Kyoto pact, aggravating the rift with Europe over the issue. In retrospect, perhaps the fact that we understood that we had already said this was not immediately observable to everybody, and it might have been better to let people know again, in advance, including our allies, that we were not going to support the protocol, Ms. Rice said. The acknowledgment came as the National Academy of Sciences issued a report requested by the administration that concluded the Earths surface temperature has been rising. The reports authors, who included former skeptics of global warming, said the changes are likely because of human activities, for the most part, although the panel said the exact amounts attributable to humans is not known. (CICERO)
07.06.2001 | ThursdayItalys outgoing govt to approve EU Kyoto protocol
talys outgoing centre-left government will approve in full a European Union draft declaration backing the 1997 Kyoto protocol on global warming, Environment Minister Willer Bordon said this week.
: Bordon, a Green, was quoted by Italian news agency ANSA as saying he had told Prime Minister Giuliano Amato that a top official at the environment ministry had voiced reservations about the protocol. But Bordon said he intended to approve the declaration at an EU environment ministers meeting on Thursday. The declaration - due to be released by EU environment ministers this week - would commit the 15-nation bloc to ratifying the 1997 global warming treaty by the end of 2002. The ministrys director-general, Corrado Clini, had asked our representatives (in Brussels) to express reservations...on the draft text put forward by Sweden, Bordon was quoted as saying. I informed Prime Minister Amato and together we agreed that these reservations should be removed. Amatos government is acting as a caretaker administration after the centre-left lost a general election on May 13 to the centre-right led by media magnate Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi was expected to present his government to President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi possibly by Friday and be sworn in this week as head of Italys 59th government since 1945. Until that time, Amatos cabinet is mandated to carry on running the country. Berlusconi could countermand decisions, such as on the Kyoto protocol, once in power. In March, he endorsed the decision of new U.S. President George W. Bush, a fellow conservative, to reject Kyoto.
06.06.2001 | WednesdayNo Kyoto Alternative Seen From Bush on Europe Trip
- President Bush is likely to give his views on international efforts to fight global warming when he visits Europe next week but is unlikely to offer a detailed alternative to the Kyoto climate treaty he rejected, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.
: President Bush is likely to give his views on international efforts to fight global warming when he visits Europe next week but is unlikely to offer a detailed alternative to the Kyoto climate treaty he rejected, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. Youll see some outlines, outlining the approach, giving a sense of where were coming from, said a U.S. official familiar with policy on the issue. However, he said, youre not going to see some finely detailed plan on this stage. The official, traveling with Bush to Virginia for dedication of a D-Day memorial, spoke on condition of anonymity. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush had yet to make any decisions on what U.S. policies would be. European leaders are concerned about U.S. policy following Bushs abandonment of the 1992 Kyoto treaty, which obligates industrial nations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases thought to cause global warming. This concern has put the treaty at the top of many leaders agenda when Bush makes his first trip to Europe as president. Bush has named a cabinet-level group to develop a new U.S. global warming policy. Bush had earlier expressed hope to have an alternative to Kyoto ready for next weeks trip, officials said, but they cautioned that he also had no intention of rushing the work of the global warming group, which met again on Tuesday. What we now are working toward is being able to say what we are for, U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said in a Wall Street Journal article on Wednesday. If there was a problem (with European perceptions caused by U.S. rejection of the treaty), it was perhaps that we didnt say what we were for. Another U.S. official said the United States intended to participate in a Bonn meeting in July on implementing the Kyoto treaty. Our plans are to be in Bonn and participate. What we are going to have to say, I dont know, the official said. Separately, the White House received a study it requested a month ago from the National Academy of Sciences to help analyze the threat of global warming. The study, which reviewed existing scientific data, said greenhouse gases were accumulating in the atmosphere and would raise the average global temperature between 2.5 and 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of this century. During the 20th century, the average surface temperature rose about 1 degree Fahrenheit, the panel said. That data was based on analyzes of tree rings and of ice cores drilled in Antarctica. We dont know precisely how much of this rise to date is from human activities, but based on physical principles and highly sophisticated computer models, we expect the warming to continue because of greenhouse gas emissions. said study chairman Ralph Cicerone, chancellor of the University of California at Irvine. Some of the most worrying data from ice cores that showed carbon dioxide did not rise much above 280 parts per million by volume (ppmv) until the Industrial Revolution. By the end of the 20th century, it had reached 370 ppmv, with an average increase in the last two decades of 1.5 ppmv a year, the science panel said. The panel called for more basic research, computer climate modeling and the creation of a global climate observation system. It did not make any policy recommendations in the report. (CICERO)
01.06.2001 | FridayPro-Kyoto business lobby gets underway
An international business initiative to support the Kyoto protocol was launched this week by a European industry group promoting action to combat climate change.
: An international business initiative to support the Kyoto protocol was launched this week by a European industry group promoting action to combat climate change. The group, which hopes to attract at least 55 companies to its cause, intends to lobby delegates at Julys UN climate talks in Bonn to take clear political decisions. The e-mission 55 group (also known as E55) has been formed by the European Business Council for a Sustainable Energy Future (E5), whose members have signed up to a broad charter to tackle climate change. The groups name derives from the percentage of emissions from industrialised countries required to ratify the 1997 Kyoto accord to allow it to enter into force. An official at the organisation told ENDS Daily that about 10 companies had signed up this week since the campaign kicked off on Monday, including Swiss bank Sarasin, German renewable energy firm SolarWorld and US environmental consultancy First Environment. He said that the purpose of the group was to counter the impression that business was anti-Kyoto and send a visible signal that would help break the deadlock in negotiations. (ENDS)
29.05.2001 | TuesdayU.S. denies new energy plan fuels global warming
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - The United States Tuesday rejected criticism that its new energy plan to boost the use of oil, coal and nuclear power would fuel global warming and lacked serious measures to increase energy efficiency.
: STOCKHOLM, Sweden - The United States Tuesday rejected criticism that its new energy plan to boost the use of oil, coal and nuclear power would fuel global warming and lacked serious measures to increase energy efficiency. From an environmental point of view, it in fact is a very good document, Environmental Protection Agency Director Christine Todd Whitman said. When asked if the plan unveiled by President Bush Friday would raise emissions of greenhouse gases and thus contribute to global warming, she replied, Oh, not at all, not at all. The head of the U.N. forum on climate change, Jan Pronk, has denounced the plan as a disastrous development, and said it would contribute to rising world temperatures. Kjell Larsson, the environment minister of Sweden, which holds the rotating EU presidency, also lashed out Tuesday during a U.N. conference in Stockholm outlawing toxic chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants. He said the U.S. plan made it clear that Washington would not be able to work with the international community on the 1997 Kyoto pact to cut greenhouse gas emissions and curb global warming. Bush abandoned the Kyoto deal in March. Im very disappointed that we cant continue to work globally with the Kyoto process, Larsson told a news conference. (ENN)
28.05.2001 | MondayChirac says Europe to keep up pressure on Kyoto
PARIS - French President Jacques Chirac on Friday said Europe would continue to push for the Kyoto treaty on global warming to come into force despite Washingtons withdrawal from the 1997 deal.
: Europeans must assert their determination to implement the Kyoto Protocol, Chirac said during talks with environmental pressure groups ahead of the European Union summit in Gothenburg, Sweden, next month. EU leaders are expected to raise the global warming issue at a scheduled meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush on June 14, the eve of the Gothenburg talks. Washington caused an outcry in Europe in March by abandoning the Kyoto treaty, which aims to cut emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, blamed for causing global warming. It said the protocols provisions would put an unacceptable burden on the U.S. economy. (Planet Ark)
25.05.2001 | FridayForest Growth Cant Keep Up With CO2 Emissions
Researchers have found that although higher CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere do increase forest growth, that growth is limited by soil fertility. As a consequence, more plant growth wont compensate-as some had hoped-fo
: Researchers have found that although higher CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere do increase forest growth, that growth is limited by soil fertility. As a consequence, more plant growth wont compensate-as some had hoped-for higher CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels. When we exposed trees in low-nutrient soil to elevated CO2, they maintained growth increases only with added nutrients, explains investigator David Ellworth of the University of Michigan. While CO2 initially acts as a stimulus to the trees physiology, our experiments suggest that short-term increases in growth are not sustainable over the long term in low-nutrient environments. Ellsworth and his colleagues, who published their findings in todays Nature, looked at two low-nutrient spots: the moderately fertile Duke Forest of Duke University and the infertile sand hills of North Carolina. In both places they exposed maturing loblolly pine trees to CO2 levels equivalent to what the earths climate may contain 50 years from now. At the first site, they compared the growth of the test plants with that of normal trees nearby. For the first three years, the test plants grew 34 percent more than the others. In the following four years, though, their added growth dropped to 6 percent. They also found that fertilized plants grew much faster. At the infertile site, extra CO2 led to virtually no additional growth, whereas extra fertilizer did. Plants given both fertilizer and more CO2 grew by 74 percent. Trees can sustain increases in biomass only as long as they find enough water and nutrients in their ecosystems, Ellsworth concludes. I dont think we can assume existing forests, with their fertility limitations, will completely offset rising CO2 without soil amendments. We will more likely find solutions in measures such as burning less fossil fuel and planting more trees with high-nutrient soils. -Harald Franzen. (CICERO)
21.05.2001 | MondayAnnan slams Bush on global warming
The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has directly challenged President George W Bushs climate policy.
: he United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has directly challenged President George W Bushs climate policy. Mr Annan said action to limit climate change was the only way to ensure economic growth. He said conserving energy and using it more efficiently was more than a matter of individual choice. And he insisted that the science of climate change, despite the criticisms of the sceptics, was well-founded. Mr Annan was giving the commencement address at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts, US. His intervention was pointed, particularly since it is only three days since the US administration unveiled its national energy plan. (BBC)
17.05.2001 | ThursdayScience academies back Kyoto
Seventeen national science academies have urged politicians to implement the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
: Seventeen national science academies have urged politicians to implement the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. In a joint statement, they say human activities are worsening the problem. They say the world cannot continue as it is, and everyone should work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And they say they see no reason to doubt the growing agreement on the science of climate change. (BBC)
15.05.2001 | TuesdayClimate change levy triples pace of costs
LABOUR's controversial climate change levy more than tripled the pace of cost increases in Britain's industry after its introduction last month, official estimates have revealed.
: LABOUR's controversial climate change levy more than tripled the pace of cost increases in Britain's industry after its introduction last month, official estimates have revealed. The figures, showing the real impact of the levy for the first time, threw the Government's record on business tax into the general election spotlight, reviving charges that it has dramatically raised the burdens on companies. The first evaluation of the climate levy's effects showed that it added 0.9 per cent to industry's costs in April, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Without the extra charge on business energy use, firms' costs would have risen by just 0.4 per cent in the month. But the levy implied a total rise of 1.3 per cent - more than three times as much. Business leaders last night gave warning that the extra costs from the climate tax, put at up to ?1 billion a year, could break some already hard-pressed manufacturing companies. They renewed their demands for a fresh overhaul of the contentious levy regime after the election. Martin Temple, Director-General of the Engineering Employers' Federation, said that the ONS numbers showed that the climate levy will prove 'highly damaging'. 'This is the most badly designed and ill-conceived economic instrument of recent times,' he said. Digby Jones, the CBI's Director-General, said: 'This adds to fears over the impact of the levy on manufacturing competitiveness. It comes at a time when so many companies are facing uncertainty over the global slowdown.' Ruth Lea, head of policy at the Institute of Directors, added: 'Nearly 1 per cent on input costs is no trivial matter. Business will find this very difficult to cope with.' The costs of the levy add to pressure on firms' profitability. The latest producer price data yesterday underlined a continuing squeeze on bottom lines in manufacturing, which is on the brink of recession. Boosted by sharply rising oil prices, industry's costs rose last month at their fastest this year, climbing at an annual 6.7 per cent - before accounting for the climate levy. But with intense competition preventing firms passing on these costs, output prices for goods leaving factory gates rose just 0.5 per cent year-on-year - the weakest increase for two years. Core output prices, excluding volatile food, drink, tobacco and petrol, fell 0.3 per cent year-on-year. The ONS said its estimates for the climate levy's cost were 'very provisional', and based on data from the Department of Trade and Industry, and Customs and Excise, rather than direct from companies. But after an independent report attacking the DTI's projections as 'ludicrously low', industry groups said the true costs could be even higher. Ministers say that the levy will be 'revenue neutral'. Increased tax paid is meant to be offset by a concessionary 0.3 per cent cut in employers' national insurance bills won after an industry revolt. Business groups argue, however, that these arrangements are riddled with anomalies and penalise the more energy-intensive manufacturing sector. The system means that the biggest gains go to labourintensive service businesses with much larger national insurance costs. 'We have got to get more companies eligible for discounts,' Mr Jones said. (The Times)
14.05.2001 | MondaySweden picks 10 towns for greenhouse gas cuts.
STEM, Swedens state energy agency said it had selected 10 municipalities for a state-subsidised project to cut emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and reduce energy consumption.
: STEM, Swedens state energy agency said it had selected 10 municipalities for a state-subsidised project to cut emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and reduce energy consumption. The project is in line with Swedens goal to curb climate change by cutting CO2 emissions by two percent during 1990-2010 and will stimulate institutions and companies to save energy by increasing efficient energy use, the agency said in a statement. Another goal was to boost the use of renewable energy such as solar, wind, biomass and small hydropower, it said. The agency said it would expand the project which had attracted some 70 applicants, should it prove successful. The project adheres to the Kyoto global climate treaty which calls on most industrialised countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5.2 percent by 2010. Scientists believe that greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels, trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. (BEIDIS)
10.05.2001 | ThursdayGlobal Warming Treaty Could Be Ratified Without US
The Kyoto treaty on global warming, which U.S. President George W. Bushs administration firmly opposes, could be ratified without the worlds biggest polluter - the U.S., the chairman of international climate change talks said Wednesday.
: -The Kyoto treaty on global warming, which U.S. President George W. Bushs administration firmly opposes, could be ratified without the worlds biggest polluter - the U.S., the chairman of international climate change talks said Wednesday. Dutch Environment Minister Jan Pronk said he still hopes the U.S. will join global negotiations on implementing the treaty. But the 1997 agreement could get off the ground with the ratification of 55 countries, excluding the U.S. I want to have an agreement between all countries, even if the United States would not be willing to participate, Pronk told The Associated Press. That is possible. It could be ratified without them. Pronk was chairman of the global conference - the sixth round since Kyoto, Japan - that collapsed in The Hague last November. The world delegations will reconvene in Bonn in July for another attempt to draft details of the treaty on how to control gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. The Hague conference stumbled over the issue of farmland and forest sinks which absorb carbon dioxide, the common greenhouse gas. Pronk said a final agreement may have to give more flexibility than previously considered. In Kyoto, the industrialized countries agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average 5.2% by 2012 from 1990 levels. The U.S. wants to include farm and forest management as credits to meet its targets for cutting carbon dioxide emissions. The E.U. called for limits on such credits, saying their inclusion would excuse countries from actually reducing emissions from factories and car exhausts. The Kyoto process was seriously set back when Bush renounced the treaty in March, saying it would be too damaging for the U.S. economy. Environmental groups were quick to blame Bush for the death of Kyoto. The Bush policy also led to a strain with European leaders. But Pronk told a meeting of scientists and students at the Institute for Social Studies in The Hague that Kyoto isnt dead and that, signals from Washington were not entirely negative. Not one individual country, no matter how big, has the right to declare the Kyoto Protocol dead, Pronk said. Its alive; it just needs an injection.
10.05.2001 | Thursday14 -15 May, in Moscow will be helled the international conference Power and a climate: the Russian - European partnership .
14 -15 May, in Moscow in hotel Sava there will pass the international conference Power and a climate: the Russian - European partnership . The conference is organized by the Ministry of power of the Russian Federation and Committee on ecology of the
: 14 -15 May, in Moscow in hotel Sava there will pass the international conference Power and a climate: the Russian - European partnership . The conference is organized by the Ministry of power of the Russian Federation and Committee on ecology of the State Duma of the Russian Federation at support of Royal institute of the international relations (Great Britain) and the Russian Centre of a power policy. Conference becomes as a matter of fact the first large action which sets as before itself the purpose development of the general approaches of Russia and EU to the Kiot report. In the work of the conference will take part over 30 European politicans and experts and about 40 representatives of power structures and the companies of Russia , the country - chairman heads of Committee of Ecology in the State Duma of the Russian Federation ,the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Ministry for the Power Generating Industry of Russia, Ministry of Atomic Energy of Russia, Mineconomdevelopment of Russia, Federal Hydrometereology and Environmental Monitoring Service of Russia, representatives of foreign departments of some the countries of the Eurounion, the ambassador of Sweden in Russia Swen Herdman, representatives of the European commission, experts of the Ministry of an environment of Germany, the Ministry of ecology of Denmark, the governments of France, Sweden, Norway, representatives of the large Russian and foreign companies of thermal power station (Shell, Alstom Power, the Russian Open Society UES of Russia, Gazprom etc.). (Min. of Energy of Rus)
07.05.2001 | MondayClimate change march a success
Up to 1,000 people took part in a London march to protest at George W Bushs environmental policy.
: Up to 1,000 people took part in a London march to protest at George W Bushs environmental policy. The Campaign Against Climate Change organised the rally, which started at the US embassy and finished at the Maldives embassy. The Maldives could be one of the first nations to be swamped if global warming causes the seas to rise. The CACC group is unhappy President Bush has reneged on the Kyoto agreement to cut greenhouse emissions. March organiser Chris Keene told Ananova: It went very well. There were a lot of people there. It was very good-natured. There were people dressed up as Uncle Sam and someone dressed as the Grim Reaper. It signified the US bringing death to the world, which was very appropriate as that is exactly what he is doing. (CICERO)
04.05.2001 | FridayUK government delays emissions trading scheme
The UK government has delayed issuing rules governing financial incentives for trading emissions of greenhouse gases for at least four mo
: The UK government has delayed issuing rules governing financial incentives for trading emissions of greenhouse gases for at least four months. But it remains committed to an April 2002 start to the scheme despite criticism that the timetable is tight. Brokers fear the delay will both diminish interest in trading emissions while simultaneously angering companies already tied to emission reduction pledges who want as long a period as possible to develop their strategies before trading begins. The delay follows major reservations about the draft scheme that emerged in a consultation process that concluded in January but for which a summary was only published on Thursday. The government had said in November that the rules would be issued in March. On Thursday, they said they would now be issued in July after discussions with external experts. Issues that remain to be resolved include the crucial issue of how to incorporate electricity generators into the scheme. There was disagreement among respondents to the consultation over whether the scheme should cover carbon dioxide alone or all greenhouse gases. Many said the design of the scheme had been constrained by other aspects of government policy. The government aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2010 and has committed ?30m a year for five years to create the incentives to kick start trading. It estimates carbon trading could deliver savings of 7.7m tonnes of CO2 by then, almost as much as will be saved through Climate Change Agreements. Some 1,700 companies are expected to be interested in trading carbon dioxide under the scheme although its models assume only a few tens of participants at first, a level akin to the estimates of industry.
19.04.2001 | ThursdayRussian And European Energy Experts Hold Consultations In Moscow
A meeting of Russian officials and representatives of the European Commission will be held in Moscow on April 19-23 within the framework of the Russian-EU energy dialogue.
: A meeting of Russian officials and representatives of the European Commission will be held in Moscow on April 19-23 within the framework of the Russian-EU energy dialogue. A source in the European Commissions office in Moscow reported that experts will consider ways of interaction between Russia and the European Union at meetings today and tomorrow. Another meeting will be held on April 23. It will be devoted to ecological issues of the development of energy industries. (RBC)
18.04.2001 | WednesdayPollution pressures China to go for gas
A serious urban pollution problem is forcing China to move rapidly on natural gas development.
: A serious urban pollution problem is forcing China to move rapidly on natural gas development. While coal is still the dominant fuel, especially for power generation, says Deutsche Bank energy analyst, Huw Williams, the pressure to develop the natural gas sector is increasing. Williams says demand for gas is coming from Beijing and the fastest growing regions on Chinas east coast. Ordos Basin can supply Beijing for up to 30 years The Ordos Basin, in Chinas south, is seen as a key long-term supplier. According to the Beijing Youth Daily the Ordos Basin holds gas with a reserve capacity of 100 billion cubic meters that can stably and safely supply Beijing with gas for 20 to 30 years. The Canadian exploration company, Drucker Inc, also confirms Chinas vast petroleum and gas resources. It says China ranks fifth in the world for oil production, with proven reserves of 24 billion barrels of oil -- 94 percent of which are onshore.
14.04.2001 | FridayGreens urge boycott of big U.S. oil brands
Green political groups are pushing for a boycott of oil companies Texaco, Exxon and Chevron as a protest against the U.S. pullout from the Kyoto protocol on global warming.
: -- Green political groups are pushing for a boycott of oil companies Texaco, Exxon and Chevron as a protest against the U.S. pullout from the Kyoto protocol on global warming. European Green delegates are leading the drive for a boycott resolution to be adopted at the Global Greens 2001 conference being held in Canberra, Australia. Many Greens believe that the decision by U.S. President George W. Bush to abandon the Kyoto protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was dictated by Bushs connections with, and political backing from, giant U.S. energy companies. All the 800 delegates, representing environmental groups and Green Parties in 70 countries, supported a motion condemning the United States for its refusal to ratify the Kyoto accord on global warming. The Global Greens conference is the largest and most international gathering of Green parties and their supporters since the movements began nearly 30 years ago. Message loud and clear European Green politician Arnold Cassola from Malta told the conference President Bush was not respecting the broader wishes of American voters. The world Greens meeting here today in Canberra will give a very sound and vociferous message to the egoistic behavior of the Bush Administration, Cassola said. Our message is loud and clear. Mr Bush, you must respect the will of the popular vote in America which is definitely against your stand. The Global Greens, and the nearly 3 million Americans who voted Green, will keep on reminding you of this. Netherlands European Union Green Alex de Roo said he believed oil companies Texaco, Exxon and Chevron had influenced President Bush to drop the Kyoto Protocol and urged delegates to adopt a resolution to boycott those companies products. The conference on Sunday is expected to adopt a global Greens manifesto aimed at helping define Green policies and beliefs and provide support for Green movements in developing nations. Australian Greens MP Bob Brown, organiser of the Canberra gathering, said the new global network would try to stop corporations using their financial muscle to dictate the political agenda. The debate at the end of this century is not going to be about whether the market should be regulated centrally, or left free-rein, its going to be about who is in control -- the parliament or the stock exchange, Brown told reporters. Brown proclaimed the emergence of a new political force, a global force, at the start of this century which is going to challenge the older parties.
07.04.2001 | MondayClimate change march a success
Up to 1,000 people took part in a London march to protest at George W Bushs environmental policy.
: Up to 1,000 people took part in a London march to protest at George W Bushs environmental policy. The Campaign Against Climate Change organised the rally, which started at the US embassy and finished at the Maldives embassy. The Maldives could be one of the first nations to be swamped if global warming causes the seas to rise. The CACC group is unhappy President Bush has reneged on the Kyoto agreement to cut greenhouse emissions. March organiser Chris Keene told Ananova: It went very well. There were a lot of people there. It was very good-natured. There were people dressed up as Uncle Sam and someone dressed as the Grim Reaper. It signified the US bringing death to the world, which was very appropriate as that is exactly what he is doing. (CICERO)