Fiscal woes could delay climate change efforts

[sunny_aus]

Fiscal woes could delay climate change efforts


The financial crisis and a deepening economic downturn are threatening to delay efforts to deal with another pressing global crisis: climate change.

Hopes for action had been running high since both Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama had pledged to make cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions a top priority. But environmentalists now fear that the next president may be more focused on reviving a flatlining economy, and Congress could be wary of supporting any measures that might slow growth or raise energy prices for consumers.

"The truth is there is a very large question mark hanging over the idea that Congress would take economywide action on global warming with the economy in such anemic shape," said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch.

In the short term, a declining global economy could reduce the growth in greenhouse gas emissions as consumption of goods and energy usage drops. But world leaders warn it could also undermine efforts to find long-term solutions.

European Union leaders are discussing delaying planned emissions cuts in response to the financial crisis. United Nations officials worry that wealthier nations may cut back on commitments to help poorer countries invest in clean energy or adapt to the impacts of warming, which is seen as crucial in getting a global deal to reduce emissions.

"You can't pick an empty pocket," Yvo de Boer, the United Nations' top climate official, told the Associated Press last week.

The scientific evidence of the need for action on climate change continues to mount. Last month, scientists announced that man-made carbon dioxide emissions rose by 2.5 percent last year, four times faster than a decade ago and faster than the worst-case modeling had predicted. The rise was fueled by rapid growth in emissions from fast-developing nations such as China and India.

U.N. climate scientists have said that global emissions must peak by 2015 and drop by at least 50 percent by 2050 to limit the temperature rise to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the threshold where some of the most extreme impacts could begin.


Warming a serious threat

But the growing consensus in the United States that global warming is a serious threat has not been matched by a consensus in Washington over how to solve the problem. All of the proposed solutions would require broad changes in the economy and how Americans use energy, and all carry significant costs.

Neither presidential candidate has backed away from his pledges to tackle global warming. Both men appeared at former President Bill Clinton's Global Initiative conference in New York last month to reiterate their commitments to cutting emissions. At last week's presidential debate, both candidates said investments in clean energy could help revive the economy.

"It can be an engine that drives us into the future the same way the computer was the engine for economic growth over the last couple of decades," Obama said.

But translating those pledges into legislation that can pass Congress could prove politically difficult.

Obama and McCain have backed bills to create a cap-and-trade system, which would cap emissions and allow major emitters like power plants to trade credits to emit greenhouse gases. The plan mirrors the scheme approved by the California Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, which requires cuts in emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.


Cap-and-trade plans

The goal of cap-and-trade plans is simple: Put a price tag on carbon dioxide and other gases to pressure industry to reduce the use of fossil fuels. By auctioning off credits, the government could raise hundreds of billions of dollars in revenues to support investments in renewable energy and other programs.

But a Senate cap-and-trade bill was pulled from the floor last year before a final vote after most Republicans and some Democrats, especially from Midwest and Southern states that rely heavily on coal, raised concerns that it could slow economic growth or raise energy costs. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that the bill would reduce gross domestic product by 0.2 to 0.6 percent by 2030, and could raise electricity prices by 11 to 64 percent and gas prices by 22 to 49 cents.

Scott Segal, who lobbies on the climate issue for electric utilities, said those arguments could be even more powerful if the economy continues its decline.

"The prospects for rapid action on climate change have been slowed by the economy," Segal said. But he added that McCain or Obama could still achieve a breakthrough on climate change if they push a package that limits costs to the economy and guarantees that U.S. businesses are not put at a disadvantage to competitors India and China.

In a sign of where the debate may be headed, two key House Democrats, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., and Rick Boucher, D-Va., released a long-anticipated "discussion draft" of a new cap-and-trade bill. The bill proposes less aggressive short-term cuts in emissions than this year's Senate bill - a 6 percent reduction from 2005 levels by 2020 - but deeper cuts in later years to reach an 80 percent reduction by 2050.

Environmentalists are suspicious about parts of the bill, including a provision to pre-empt efforts by California and other states from moving ahead with their own cap-and-trade systems, and to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from using its existing authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases.

Bill called sign of progress
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said she doesn't support everything in the new bill, but called it a sign of progress. She also believes the coming elections, where Democrats are favored to win seats, could improve the odds in the Senate of passing a climate bill.

"We could have 58 or 59 Democrats, maybe 60 Democrats. We will have many more voices in the Congress on this," she said.

Boxer said she also thinks the next president will be able to make the case that a weak economy demands a new energy and climate policy.

"We have to become a leader in alternative energy to get out of this economic malaise," she said. "You're not going to get out of it just by doing business as usual."


Climate options for the next president

Both Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama have pledged to make tackling climate change a priority, but a weakening economy could lead Congress and the next president to put off immediate action. Here are some options the next president could consider:

Cap and trade: McCain and Obama support "cap-and-trade" proposals that would cap emissions at a certain date, gradually reduce them over time and allow industry to trade credits to emit greenhouse gases. But the plan's critics warn that it could raise energy costs, and it's not clear that a majority in the House and Senate will back the idea - even if Democrats gain seats this fall.

Let the states lead: The Bush administration rejected efforts by California and at least 17 other states to set tough limits on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. Both McCain and Obama have said they would have granted California's request. Doing so would allow the next president to signal a shift in climate policy.

Regulate under the Clean Air Act: The U.S. Supreme Court said the EPA has the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases. The next president could decide to begin regulating emissions - effectively bypassing Congress and setting limits through administrative action.

Energy bill: With a cap-and-trade bill possibly tough to pass quickly, the next president and Congress might have better odds of passing an energy bill with tax incentives and federal research money for clean energy. McCain has stressed the need to build new nuclear plants, while Obama has focused more on wind and solar power.


Fiscal woes could delay climate change efforts

 

[sunny_aus]

UN: crisis must not stop climate change action
Tue Oct 14


WARSAW, Poland – Environment ministers agreed Tuesday that the world financial crisis must not halt efforts to combat global warming, the top United Nations climate official said.

Officials from the U.S., China, Canada, India, the European Union and more than 30 other countries met for two days of informal talks in Warsaw ahead of a climate conference in December.

"There was a very strong consensus that the current financial turmoil should not be an excuse to slow down action on climate change," U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer told The Associated Press after the talks.

"Many ministers said that addressing climate change can deliver important economic benefits that are important in the light of the current financial situation as well," de Boer added.

Scientists say the emission of carbon and other greenhouse gases, mostly from fossil fuels, must peak within 10 to 15 years and then drop sharply to avoid potentially catastrophic changes in the climate.

The discussions in Warsaw were aimed at laying the groundwork for a major U.N. climate change conference in December in Poznan, Poland that will include delegates from more than 190 countries. The conference will work out the details of a climate change accord to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

The U.S. rejected the Kyoto accord, arguing it would harm American business and that it made no comparable demands on emerging economies. China, India and other large developing countries refused to accept a binding arrangement that they said would limit their development and their declared mission to ease poverty at home.

De Boer said a number of ministers at the Warsaw meeting pushed for industrialized nations to lead the way by setting specific targets for cutting emissions by 2020.

"That is the kind of clarity that the private sector also needs in terms of taking investment decisions in these difficult times," he said.

A debate similar to the one in Poland is also under way in the EU before its two-day summit beginning Wednesday. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has urged EU leaders to keep their promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions, despite worries that the economic slowdown will make it harder for governments and businesses to shoulder the extra costs.

"Saving the planet does not disappear because of the financial crisis," Barroso said in Belgium on Tuesday.

The 27-nation bloc's year-old deal would reduce emissions by 20 percent by 2020. However, the package faces opposition from a number of members — including Poland — who fear it will curb economic growth.

Polish Environment Minister Maciej Nowicki called the plan "unacceptable" saying it was plagued by a "slew of shortcomings." He did not provide specifics, but said the problems could still be weeded out in further negotiations.

Nevertheless, he said Poland, which is heavily dependent on coal for its energy needs, "does not fear" cutting emissions by 20 percent by 2020. "We could even go beyond that level of emission reductions," Nowicki said.

A final deal to succeed the Kyoto Protocol is expected to be signed in Copenhagen at the end of 2009.


UN: crisis must not stop climate change action - Yahoo! News

 

[sunny_aus]

China warns on emissions control


China has admitted that controlling greenhouse emissions is a "difficult task" and warned that there is little prospect of an early improvement.

In its first policy paper on climate change, Beijing acknowledges for the first time that its greenhouse gas emissions are equal those of the US.

China's reliance on coal to ensure economic growth makes pollution control difficult, the paper says.

It adds that the developed world should do more on the issue.

Tactical change

The paper admits the problems caused by climate change.

"Extreme climate phenomena, such as high temperatures, heavy precipitation and severe droughts, have increased in frequency and intensity," the paper says.

But it says the "coal-dominated energy mix cannot be substantially changed in the near future, thus making the control of greenhouse gas emissions rather difficult".

BBC China editor Shirong Chen says the paper marks a tactical change on the issue for Beijing.

He says that although China has been resisting international pressure over its greenhouse gas emissions, it has now taken the initiative to tell the world that it knows the severity of the problem.

China's top climate change negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, said Beijing would consider limits on its worst polluting industries if rich nations handed over the technology to help clean them up.

China's fast GDP growth in the past 30 years has lifted tens of millions of people out of poverty and economic development is sure to remain its top priority, our editor says.

But Mr Xie added: "There is no other road for China except the road to sustainable development."

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | China warns on emissions control

 

[sunny_aus]

Japan emissions hit record high in 2007/08
Posted Wed Nov 12, 2008 6:29pm AEDT


Japanese greenhouse gas emissions hit a record high in the year that ended in March, the Government said on Wednesday, pushing Japan further away from its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol climate pact.

Wednesday's data may raise fresh questions about the effectiveness of Japan's reliance on voluntary industry steps to curb emissions.

Unlike the European Union, Japan has been reluctant to impose a mandatory cap on companies' emissions because of past efforts by industry to conserve energy.

Under the Kyoto pact, Japan must cut its emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases to 6 per cent below 1990 levels between 2008-12.

That means Japan is targeting emissions of 1.186 billion tonnes a year over the five years that started in April.

Preliminary Government data showed greenhouse gas emissions climbed 2.3 per cent in the year to March, however, totalling a record 1.371 billion tonnes in CO2 equivalent.

To meet its Kyoto goal, Japan must cut emissions by 9.3 per cent to 1.254 billion tonnes a year until 2012, with the remaining reductions to be made up by the Government through other means such as carbon credits.

The data suggests Japan may accelerate its buying of UN carbon offsets by the world's fifth largest emitter to meets its global pledge.

A 2 to 3 per cent rise in emissions last fiscal year after a 1.3 per cent fall the previous year was widely expected as the world's biggest nuclear plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), had to suspend operations after a July 2007 earthquake.

The outlook for Japanese emissions remains unclear as the TEPCO plant remains shut indefinitely, while the global economic slowdown may contain energy use by the world's number five emitter.


Japan emissions hit record high in 2007/08 - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

 

[sunny_aus]

EU global warming limit may not be possible: IEA


LONDON (Reuters) - A European Union target to limit warming of the planet to no more than 2 degrees Celsius may not be technically achievable, the International Energy Agency said in a report to be published next week.

"Even leaving aside any debate about the political feasibility ... it is uncertain whether the scale of the transformation envisaged is even technically achievable, as the scenario assumes broad development of technologies that have not yet been proven," said the IEA's World Energy Outlook.

That analysis referred to a target to limit global warming to no more than 2 degrees.

The implication is that the world may have to accept higher warming limits than targeted at present, for example by the EU since 1996, and prepare for effects which scientists say will include more droughts, floods and rising seas.

A United Nations climate panel said last year that above 3 degrees "hundreds of millions of people (would be) exposed to increased water stress (shortages)."

Stronger action to fight climate change involves rapidly escalating costs, for example to deploy expensive, untested technologies such as carbon scrubbers and even to leave stranded assets -- where high-carbon coal plants, for example, have to be closed prematurely.

"It will be necessary to face up to the reality of the cost of early capital retirement if radical measures are to be taken ... to deliver deep cuts in emissions," the IEA said in its report, due to be published on November 12. The IEA is energy adviser to 28 industrialized countries.

The IEA analyzed two scenarios to limit warming to 2 degrees and 3 degrees, and estimated that these would cost about $180 and $90 per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions respectively.

The present EU carbon price is about 18 euros ($23.20), and accounts for about one fifth of European consumer electricity prices, say analysts.

"The scale of the challenge ... is immense," the IEA said of a 2 degrees target. "The technology shift, if achievable, would certainly be unprecedented in scale and speed of deployment."

The EU Council of Ministers stated in 1996 that it "believes that global average temperatures should not exceed 2 degrees above pre-industrial level."


EU global warming limit may not be possible: IEA | Environment | Reuters

 

[sunny_aus]

2008 set to be about 10th warmest year: expert


OSLO (Reuters) - This year is on track to be about the 10th warmest globally since records began in 1850 but gaps in Arctic data mean the world may be slightly underestimating global warming, a leading scientist said on Tuesday.

A natural cooling of the Pacific Ocean known as La Nina kept a lid on temperatures in 2008 despite an underlying warming trend, said Phil Jones, director of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in England.

"This year is about 10th," he told Reuters in a telephone interview. "La Nina in the Pacific lasted longer than we envisaged."

Jones's unit is one of the main sources of global climate data for the United Nations.

The warmest year on record was 1998, followed by 2005 and 2003, with other years this century closely bunched. Tenth place would make 2008 the least warm since 1999.

The update marginally cools an estimate from January, when Jones's unit and the British Met Office (Britain's meteorological service) estimated that 2008 would be "another top 10 year," near the bottom of the ranking.

The U.N. Climate Panel says human emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly from burning fossil fuels, are blanketing the planet. Rising temperatures will bring more floods, heatwaves, more powerful storms and rising sea levels, it says.

Jones said temperature records may fractionally underestimate warming because of gaps in measurements in the Arctic for 1961-90, the benchmark years for judging change, and problems in verifying ocean temperatures.

"The world is probably a little warmer than we are measuring," he said.


ICE THAWS

Arctic sea ice shrank to a record low in summer in 2007 and almost matched the low again in 2008. U.N. studies say the region may be warming twice as fast as the world average.

Ships are traveling more often in the Arctic and "now there are temperature measurements coming back. But we can't use the data because we don't have the 1961-90 averages," he said.

He said scientists suspected that ocean temperature measurements from buoys, widely deployed since about 1990, underestimated temperature rises perhaps by up to a 0.05 Celsius (0.08 Fahrenheit), compared to previous ship-based readings.

"There's nothing wrong with the land measurements but we might be underestimating the oceans," he said.

Scientists were now scouring records of ships over the past 15 years to try to pin down when they were close to buoys. That would let them compare thermometer readings and see if there was a consistent mismatch.

"It's an awkward thing to try to find them when they were close together," Jones said, adding that the hopes the findings will be published in 2009.

Skeptics about a human cause of global warming say climate change has stopped because 1998 was the warmest year. But Jones said 1998 was warmed by a shift in the Pacific Ocean known as El Nino, the opposite of the La Nina effect.

"1998 was the anomalous year. if you take out the El Nino and La Nina effects we are still warming," he said.

Natural variations such as El Nino or volcanic eruptions that dim the sun accounted for swings of about 0.2 C a year, while global warming was adding about that much per decade.
-- For Reuters latest environment blogs click on: blogs.reuters.com/environment/


2008 set to be about 10th warmest year: expert: ENN -- Know Your Environment

 

[sunny_aus]

Coal regains crown as slump in nuclear output raises fears of power shortages

POWER SUPPLIERS are turning back the clock to use coal-fired plants as their main source of electricity in a bid to avert potential shortages this winter.

Latest figures from the National Grid show that the fuel accounted for 42.5% of all power generation, overtaking natural gas production for the first time in years.

The surge, from a usual level of little more than a third of total output, comes as the major networks seek to fill a gap caused by a slump in nuclear energy output at East Kilbride-based British Energy.

Nuclear power accounted for as little as 10.5% of output during peak times last week. This is roughly half the levels of a couple of years ago and there had been fears that we could see the first power shortages as early as this month.

"Conditions have certainly tightened for November but we have an adequate surplus of supply and expect things to ease as plant comes back on stream after maintenance and updates," commented a National Grid spokesman. "We are not expecting to issue warnings over potential shortages this winter."

The National Grid statistics, which change on an hourly basis, provide little comfort for those who believe that energy from renewable sources can plug the gap at any time in the near future - hydro-electricity from Scottish and Southern Energy accounted for just 1.4% of production and wind power only 1.3%.

By contrast, imported power from France reached a peak of more than 4% last week.

The major power companies stress that the increased use of coal is compatible with the drive for cleaner energy, and ScottishPower is investing heavily in "clean coal" technology at its Longannet and Cockenzie plants which could provide a quarter of Scotland's energy needs.

The development will cut carbon emissions by 20% and has been accompanied by a five-year supply contract with Scottish Coal which could be worth as much as £700 million.

It has been welcomed by first minister Alex Salmond, who says it forms part of plans to exploit Scotland's natural resources along with the development of renewable energy sources.

While the UK as a whole is struggling to meet EU targets to gain 20% of its energy from renewable sources, he believes Scotland could get up to 50% of its own needs from wind farms, tidal energy and biomass as well as hydro-electricity by the same date.

Much, though, depends on infrastructure investment to link the primary sources to the National Grid, which runs the transmission system in England and Wales and oversees operations in Scotland.

The organisation, which also operates networks in the US, is due to update investors on Thursday over its plans to splash out £3 billion a year on capital spending for the foreseeable future.

Analyst Fraser McLaren at Merrill Lynch believes the announcement will be accompanied by news of a dip in first-half profits from £757m to around £520m because of financing costs of US expansion but says the group can afford its ambitious plans because of the secure income base from its regulated activities.

He expects underlying net income to rise from just more than £1bn to around £1.25bn for the full year and says the group's undrawn borrowing facilities of £2.9bn will see it through to March 2010 even if credit markets remain difficult.

In contrast, British Energy chairman Bill Coley will underline the scale of the problems facing the group's new owners at EDF when he produces his own trading update on Tuesday. He will confirm that the continuing problems among the group's eight nuclear power stations led to a 27% slump in output in the opening half of the year despite rising production from its coal-fired plant at Eggborough.

The group's big B21 reactor in Dungeness recently re-opened after four months' closure, but four reactors at Hartlepool and Heysham will remain closed until early next year for boiler repairs.

EDF hopes to complete its £12bn acquisition of BE after gaining regulatory approval early next year and aims to spend about £4bn modernising existing plant in addition to some £10bn set aside to build another four reactors.

Scottish Gas owner Centrica plans to take a 25% stake in the business once the deal goes through.


Coal Regains Crown As Slump In Nuclear Output Raises Fears Of Power Shortages (from Sunday Herald)

 

[sunny_aus]

UNIDO and China to Tackle Climate Change


The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is collaborating with China to address the problem of climate change through agreements to increase clean development mechanism (CDM) clean energy projects and boost the use of hydropower in Africa.

UNIDO Director-General Kandeh K. Yumkella signed an agreement with Chen Huan, Deputy Director-General of the China CDM Fund Management Centre, under which the two bodies will implement various climate change mitigation schemes, such as transitioning to a low-carbon economy, over the next three years. In addition to this agreement, Yumkella entered into an agreement with Chinese and Sierra Leonean officials to build a hydropower plant on the Bankasoka River in Sierra Leone. Construction of the plant is to commence in December 2008 and be completed by the end of 2009. [UN News Release]


CLIMATE-L.ORG: UNIDO and China to Tackle Climate Change

 

[sunny_aus]

Tropical Dead Zones Set to Expand by 50 Percent Under Climate Change


Dead zones are certainly no stranger to these pages. As Matthew quipped in a recent post, stories about the Gulf of Mexico's (in)famous dead zone have a way of turning up on TreeHugger, as if on cue, every summer. And while the general narrative has stayed the same -- large nutrient inputs derived from fertilizer and pesticide run-off turn once vibrant ecosystems into barren, lifeless deserts -- some new science suggests climate change will play a role in exacerbating an already dire situation, expanding the volume of dead zones in tropical oceans by up to 50 percent over the coming century.

As Quirin Schiermeier reports in Nature, a new study published in the journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles has found that higher carbon dioxide levels will accelerate the expansion of "oxygen minimum zones" (OMZ) by fostering the rapid growth of bacterial populations in these waters. Though scientists have long suspected that these oxygen-depleted zones, found at depths between roughly 10 and 1,000 meters, were susceptible to higher CO2 levels, they had not been able to pinpoint the root of the problem.

According to Andreas Oschlies, the study's lead author and an oceanographer at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, the problem resides with decomposing bacteria. As more carbon dioxide dissolves into the water column, phytoplankton are able to increase their rate of photosynthesis, resulting in the production of more dissolved organic matter and the release of various nutrients.

The organic matter that eventually sinks out of the surface waters is decomposed by hordes of hungry decomposers, which consume large amounts of oxygen during the process (see: eutrophication). This deprives other organisms in the surrounding waters of the vital gas, which means they must either leave or, if they can't, die.

The depletion of already low dissolved oxygen levels causes the volume of the OMZs to grow, disrupting primary producers in this and surrounding ecosystems. While local fisheries may be able to avoid the problem for now -- they can always escape by moving up the water column -- they could begin to suffer if oxygen and nutrient levels continue to plummet. Entire regions of the ocean may eventually be devoid of life; another concern is that the activity of denitrifying bacteria, which are often found in OMZs, could result in the release of more nitrous oxide (N2O), an extremely potent greenhouse gas. (This already seems to be happening in the Arabian Sea, which is home to one of the world's largest OMZs.)

Indeed, as another study published in Geophysical Research Letters a few months ago demonstrated, ocean "deserts," areas of very low productivity, have also been expanding in the region. Unlike Oschlies' study, the authors found that the warming of sea surface waters was largely to blame for the growth of these deserts.


Tropical Dead Zones Set to Expand by 50 Percent Under Climate Change : TreeHugger

 

[sunny_aus]

China Claims to be a "Victim" in Climate Change Debate


The Washington Post reports:

Negotiations on a new treaty to fight global warming will fail if rich nations are not treated as "culprits" and developing countries as "victims," China's top climate envoy said.

The whole world must take action to confront climate change, but developed countries have a "historical responsibility" to do much more because their unrestrained emissions in the past century are responsible for global warming, said Ambassador Yu Qingtai.

"The United States and the developed states as a whole are the countries that created the problem, caused the problem of climate change in the first place. In my view, that's what a culprit means," he said in an interview this week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly debate on climate change.

The United States and China are the world's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

Washington has argued it should not have to cut its emissions to a level that would hurt the U.S. economy while countries like China and India are not required to make similar cuts.

Yu disputed that view, calling China "a victim" of climate change and stressing that its economy only started to grow in the last 25 years.

"It's not logical to ask China ... to cap its emissions or reduce its emissions in the same manner as a developed country is supposed to do," he said.

Yu said the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" for developed and developing countries was accepted in the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.


China Challenges: China Claims to be a "Victim" in Climate Change Debate

 

[sunny_aus]

Obama Affirms Climate Change Goals


President-elect Barack Obama, in strongly-worded remarks to a gathering of governors and foreign officials on Tuesday, said he had no intention of softening or delaying his aggressive targets for reducing emissions that cause the warming of the planet.

Speaking by video to a climate conference in Los Angeles, Mr. Obama repeated his campaign vow to reduce climate-altering carbon dioxide emissions by 80 percent by 2050, and invest $150 billion in new energy-saving technologies.

“Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all,” Mr. Obama said. “Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response.”

Some industry leaders and members of Congress have suggested that Mr. Obama’s climate proposal would impose too great a cost on an already-stressed economy — having the same effects as a tax on coal, oil and natural gas — and should await the end of the current downturn. A bill similar to Mr. Obama’s plan failed to clear the Senate earlier this year, largely because of concerns about its impact on the economy.

Mr. Obama rejected that view, saying that his plan would reduce oil imports, create jobs in energy conservation and renewable sources of energy, and reverse the warming of the atmosphere.

“My presidency will mark a new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process,” Mr. Obama said.

State officials and environmental advocates were cheered that Mr. Obama choose to address climate change as only the second major policy area he has discussed as president-elect. In a press conference and television interview last week he said that his first priority as president will be to revitalize the economy.

The bipartisan summit meeting was convened by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Republican governor of California, who has been a leader in state efforts to regulate greenhouse gases, even when it meant confronting the Bush administration over its more hesitant approach. Attendees included the governors of Illinois, Florida, Wisconsin and Kansas, who have also been in the forefront of actions at the state level to act in the absence of a national climate change plan. Officials from 22 other states, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Brazil, China, India and Indonesia, as well as United Nations aides and environmentalists, also are taking part in the two-day meeting.

Mr. Schwarzenegger announced the meeting in September in part to signal to Washington and the two presidential candidates that the states were serious about moving forward with climate legislation with or without Washington’s blessing.

California enacted a sweeping climate bill in 2007 that would have, among other things, imposed strict mileage and emissions standards on all cars and trucks sold in the state. More than a dozen other states adopted the standards, but they were struck down by the Bush administration last December on the ground that the states did not have the legal authority to regulate greenhouse gases.

“When California passed its global warming law two years ago, we were out there on an island,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said in opening the conference, “so we started forming partnerships everywhere we could.”

Mr. Obama said that although he would not attend a U.N.-sponsored meeting on climate change next month, he has asked members of Congress who are going to report back to him on what the United States can do to reassert leadership on global climate policy.

He also told the state officials: “When I am president, any governor who’s willing to promote clean energy will have a partner in the White House. Any company that’s willing to invest in clean energy will have an ally in Washington. And any nation that’s willing to join the cause of combating climate change will have an ally in the United States of America.”

Governor Jim Doyle, Democrat of Wisconsin, said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles that he had been frustrated by what he said was the Bush administration’s timid approach to climate issues. And he said that despite the current economic crisis, it was important to begin long-term efforts to address global warming.

“I think we all wish the economy was a lot better, but I feel very strongly that we can’t back away from progress we’ve made on really important things like climate change,” Mr. Doyle said. “I’m looking forward to having a federal government and a president who will provide real leadership and bring the United States into the world on this issue.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/us/politics/19climate.html?ref=us

 

[sunny_aus]

Emissions by rich nations up by 10% in 16 yrs


NEW DELHI: The rich countries, which were mandated to cut down on their emissions, are instead on an upward curve that could lead the world to
tipping point.

The global warming causing greenhouse gas emissions of the rich nations have increased by 9.9% between 1990-2006.

The data released by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) comes as a wake-up call to the world with scientists having warned earlier that global emissions needed to be cut by as much as 30-40% from 1990 levels in order to stabilise the temperatures at a bearable point by 2020.

"The data has revealed the doublespeak of rich nations that have been asking India, China and other developing countries to undertake reduction in their already low emission levels even as their own emissions continue to rise," a senior Indian official said.

India's per capita emissions are almost one-twentieth of the US and one-tenth of EU.

The global climate treaty divides the countries into two sets. One set is called the Annex 1 or industrialised countries, which are responsible for most of the accumulated GHG emissions and have been asked to reduce their emissions by 6-8% by 2012. The rest, such as Indian and China, are called non-Annex 1 countries in UN jargon.

Eastern European countries, where the economic meltdown had led to reduced emissions by default, are called `economies in transition' and are taken as a separate sub-category within the Annex 1 list.

The worst offenders in the rich nations list turns out to be Turkey, whose emissions increased by 95% in the 16-year period. Australia's emissions increased by 27.3% and of the US by 14.4%.

However, some industrialised countries have reduced their emissions, such as UK by 15.1% and Germany by 18.2%.

While EU has contended that at least 15 of its members could collectively meet its first phase targets, the battle between nations is heating up with the international panel of scientists demanding much stronger cuts over the next phase (starting from 2012) in order to stabilise temperatures.

The report comes ahead of the meetings of more than 100 countries in Poland in early December to resolve how the emission cuts and its burden should be shared.

The rich nations have been demanding that India and China should also undertake some form of emission cuts whereas the developing nations have been adamant that the accumulated and historical burden lies with the rich nations, which still continue to belch out much more pollution every year. They warn that even though the industrial nations are to blame, it's the poorest in countries like India that could suffer the most if climate change continued unchecked.


Emissions by rich nations up by 10% in 16 yrs-India-The Times of India

 

[sunny_aus]

China's crops at risk from massive erosion


BEIJING (Reuters) - Over a third of China's land is being scoured by serious erosion that is putting its crops and water supply a risk, a three-year nationwide survey has found.

Soil is being washed and blown away not only in remote rural areas, but near mines, factories and even in cities, the official Xinhua agency cited the country's bio-environment security research team saying.

Each year some 4.5 billion tonnes of soil are lost, threatening the country's ability to feed itself.

If the loss continues at this rate, harvests in China's northeastern breadbasket could fall 40 percent in 50 years, adding to erosion costs estimated at 200 billion yuan ($29 billion) in this decade alone.

"China has a more dire situation than India, Japan, the United States, Australia and many other countries suffering from soil erosion," Xinhua quoted the research team saying.

Beijing has long been worried about the desertification of its northern grasslands, and scaled back logging after rain rushing down denuded mountainsides caused massive flooding along the Yangtze in the late 1990s.

But around 1.6 million square km of land are still being degraded by water erosion, with almost every river basin affected. Another 2.0 million square km are under attack from wind, the report said. The survey was the largest on soil conservation since the Communist Party took control of China in 1949.


China's crops at risk from massive erosion: ENN -- Know Your Environment