A new report from the Joint Research Council (JRC) says that man-made global greenhouse gas emissions increased by 15% between 2000 and 2005, a sharp increase in the expected rate of growth. It also shows that global annual emissions of greenhouse gases increased from 24 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents in 1970 to 33 billion tonnes in 1990 and 41 billion tonnes in 2005.
The new report takes its figures from EDGAR (the 'Emission database for global atmospheric research'), a joint project between the JRC and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL).
EDGAR is a detailed overview of 35 years (from 1970 to 2005) of greenhouse gas emissions by country and emission sector. It covers not only carbon dioxide but also other groups of chemical compounds known to have a detrimental effect on the environment, such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs).
EDGAR used the latest international statistics and data on greenhouse gas emissions to model emissions for every country in the world. It reports on energy production and consumption, industrial manufacturing, agricultural production, disposal of waste materials and the burning of biomass. It also provides data on greenhouse-gas emissions for the 20 years preceding the 1990 Kyoto protocol.
The EDGAR database shows conclusively that greenhouse gas emissions have been rising faster in developing countries than in industrialised ones since 2004, even though developing countries emit lower levels of the gases. Levels of emissions in developing countries are now 3 times higher than they were in 1970 (from 7 billion tonnes in 1970 to approximately 21 billion tonnes in 2005). At the same time, man-made emission levels from industrialised countries have slowed down.
Carbon dioxide showed the greatest growth, but levels of gases such as methane and nitrous oxide have also increased. Emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases (such as hydrofluorocarbons, which are extremely powerful and long lasting in the atmosphere) have increased by up to 40%.
The EDGAR database fills a gap in current greenhouse gas statistics as it gives consistent information on both industrialised and developing countries. Previous versions of EDGAR have been used for the past 15 years, but information on emission rates in developing countries has been inconsistent in terms of both amount and quality.
The EDGAR statistics will be used to provide a global perspective on worldwide trends in greenhouse gas emissions at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15), which will take place in Copenhagen in December 2009.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
India asked to cut greenhouse gas emissions 15-30 percent
By Joydeep Gupta, New Delhi, May 31 : India is under pressure from industrialized countries to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 15-30 percent by 2020.
India's negotiators are meeting their counterparts from G77 countries and China throughout this weekend in Bonn to formulate a joint response.
The mandatory GHG emission reduction target has been included in the negotiating text that has been put on the table by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for its meet that begins in Bonn Monday. It's the second of three preparatory meetings on way to the climate summit in Copenhagen in December.
'This is the first time a mandatory emission reduction target has been officially proposed in UN draft,' said a veteran Indian negotiator here. He expected India to oppose it strongly, though his erstwhile colleagues now in Bonn said they were still 'formulating a joint response with the G77 and China, so that we're not singled out later'.
The proposed reduction target for developing countries, which is still in brackets - which in UN jargon means there's no agreement on it - is 15-30 percent by 2020, measured from a 2000 baseline.
For industrialised countries, the proposed target is a 25-40 percent reduction by 2020 and 75-85 percent by 2050, measured from a 1990 baseline. All that is in brackets as well.
Industrialised countries have pledged to reduce their emissions by five percent from 1990 by 2012 though it is unclear how many of them will meet this mandatory target.
Japan has already called 40 percent reduction 'unrealistic' while the US has indicated its inability to meet it, pointed out Sunita Narain, head of the Centre for Science and Environment.
'The ball is in the court of the industrialised countries,' Narain told IANS. 'And given the way some of these countries are reacting, I don't know what, if anything, will come out of Copenhagen. But it's still early days in the negotiating process; you'll see these figures changing many times.'
Srinivas Krishnaswamy, policy adviser to Greenpeace India, told IANS:
'Developing countries are bound to get irritated if mandatory reduction targets are suggested in this manner, but just a little deviation from business as usual will achieve a 15 percent reduction in emissions.
'All you have to do, for example, is to reduce coal-based power generation by about 15,000 megawats a year, and make this up through solar power and energy efficiency measures. In the process, you are also improving your own energy economy in the long run.'
India has so far stoutly refused to commit to any mandatory GHG emission reduction target, arguing that most of the extra GHG in the atmosphere today has been put there by industrialised countries, so these countries must reduce their GHG emissions further.
Emissions of GHG - mostly carbon dioxide - are leading to climate change, which is turn is affecting farm output, causing more frequent droughts, floods and storms, and raising the sea level. India is among the worst affected countries.
To a large extent, reducing GHG emissions means moving away from generating energy from coal, a step that runs counter to India's plans. Indian negotiators have pointed out that it is unfair to ask a country to move away from the cheapest generation source, when over 400 million of its people are still not connected to the electricity grid.
But industrialised countries have pointed out that India is already the world's fourth largest GHG emitter - China is first and the US second - and climate change cannot be controlled without more effort on the part of large developing countries like China and India.
The Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Climate Change Shyam Saran has said:
'India has declared that even as it pursues its social and economic development objectives, it will not allow its per capita GHG emissions to exceed the average per capita emissions of the developed countries. This effectively puts a cap on our emissions, which will be lower if our developed country partners choose to be more ambitious in reducing their own emissions.'
Indian negotiators have also said there can be no question of developing countries agreeing to reduce or even cap GHG emissions unless industrialized countries fulfill their commitment to help them do so - by providing money and transferring technology.
Kim Carstensen, leader of the Global Climate Initiative of the NGO World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), said: 'The negotiating text needs to strengthen and flesh out an adequately financed and new institutional set up under UNFCCC that provides the support needed for emission cuts and adaptation to climate impacts in the developing countries.'
India's negotiators are meeting their counterparts from G77 countries and China throughout this weekend in Bonn to formulate a joint response.
The mandatory GHG emission reduction target has been included in the negotiating text that has been put on the table by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for its meet that begins in Bonn Monday. It's the second of three preparatory meetings on way to the climate summit in Copenhagen in December.
'This is the first time a mandatory emission reduction target has been officially proposed in UN draft,' said a veteran Indian negotiator here. He expected India to oppose it strongly, though his erstwhile colleagues now in Bonn said they were still 'formulating a joint response with the G77 and China, so that we're not singled out later'.
The proposed reduction target for developing countries, which is still in brackets - which in UN jargon means there's no agreement on it - is 15-30 percent by 2020, measured from a 2000 baseline.
For industrialised countries, the proposed target is a 25-40 percent reduction by 2020 and 75-85 percent by 2050, measured from a 1990 baseline. All that is in brackets as well.
Industrialised countries have pledged to reduce their emissions by five percent from 1990 by 2012 though it is unclear how many of them will meet this mandatory target.
Japan has already called 40 percent reduction 'unrealistic' while the US has indicated its inability to meet it, pointed out Sunita Narain, head of the Centre for Science and Environment.
'The ball is in the court of the industrialised countries,' Narain told IANS. 'And given the way some of these countries are reacting, I don't know what, if anything, will come out of Copenhagen. But it's still early days in the negotiating process; you'll see these figures changing many times.'
Srinivas Krishnaswamy, policy adviser to Greenpeace India, told IANS:
'Developing countries are bound to get irritated if mandatory reduction targets are suggested in this manner, but just a little deviation from business as usual will achieve a 15 percent reduction in emissions.
'All you have to do, for example, is to reduce coal-based power generation by about 15,000 megawats a year, and make this up through solar power and energy efficiency measures. In the process, you are also improving your own energy economy in the long run.'
India has so far stoutly refused to commit to any mandatory GHG emission reduction target, arguing that most of the extra GHG in the atmosphere today has been put there by industrialised countries, so these countries must reduce their GHG emissions further.
Emissions of GHG - mostly carbon dioxide - are leading to climate change, which is turn is affecting farm output, causing more frequent droughts, floods and storms, and raising the sea level. India is among the worst affected countries.
To a large extent, reducing GHG emissions means moving away from generating energy from coal, a step that runs counter to India's plans. Indian negotiators have pointed out that it is unfair to ask a country to move away from the cheapest generation source, when over 400 million of its people are still not connected to the electricity grid.
But industrialised countries have pointed out that India is already the world's fourth largest GHG emitter - China is first and the US second - and climate change cannot be controlled without more effort on the part of large developing countries like China and India.
The Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Climate Change Shyam Saran has said:
'India has declared that even as it pursues its social and economic development objectives, it will not allow its per capita GHG emissions to exceed the average per capita emissions of the developed countries. This effectively puts a cap on our emissions, which will be lower if our developed country partners choose to be more ambitious in reducing their own emissions.'
Indian negotiators have also said there can be no question of developing countries agreeing to reduce or even cap GHG emissions unless industrialized countries fulfill their commitment to help them do so - by providing money and transferring technology.
Kim Carstensen, leader of the Global Climate Initiative of the NGO World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), said: 'The negotiating text needs to strengthen and flesh out an adequately financed and new institutional set up under UNFCCC that provides the support needed for emission cuts and adaptation to climate impacts in the developing countries.'
ADB calls for low-carbon transport systems
ANILA (AFP) – The Asian Development Bank Saturday called on its Asian government borrowers to design mass transport systems in a way that would slow the rapid growth of their greenhouse gas emissions.
While developed countries still account for the largest share, transport sector emissions from developing countries, particularly in Asia, were growing rapidly, the Manila-based lender said in a statement.
Transport-related carbon dioxide emissions are expected to rise 57 percent over the 25 years to 2030, the ADB said. Those from developing countries were expected to contribute about 80 percent of this increase as car and truck ownership becomes more widespread.
The bank's borrowers include China and India, which together account for nearly half the world's population.
Governments must reduce the need for travel through better integration of land use and transport and more effective use of carbon-finance mechanisms to fund environment-friendly transport policies, it said.
They should also convince their peoples to recognise the benefits of low-carbon transport in reducing air pollution, noise, congestion and road accidents, it added.
The bank earlier sponsored a May 12-16 meeting in Bellagio, Italy, to help build consensus on transport sector policies ahead of the United Nations climate change meetings in Copenhagen in December.
"The Bellagio meeting will greatly help ADB to develop its Sustainable Transport Initiative, which aims to help Asian countries change their transport investment patterns and secure a low-carbon, sustainable transport future," said Um Woo Chong, director of the bank's energy, transport and water division. cgm/bsk
While developed countries still account for the largest share, transport sector emissions from developing countries, particularly in Asia, were growing rapidly, the Manila-based lender said in a statement.
Transport-related carbon dioxide emissions are expected to rise 57 percent over the 25 years to 2030, the ADB said. Those from developing countries were expected to contribute about 80 percent of this increase as car and truck ownership becomes more widespread.
The bank's borrowers include China and India, which together account for nearly half the world's population.
Governments must reduce the need for travel through better integration of land use and transport and more effective use of carbon-finance mechanisms to fund environment-friendly transport policies, it said.
They should also convince their peoples to recognise the benefits of low-carbon transport in reducing air pollution, noise, congestion and road accidents, it added.
The bank earlier sponsored a May 12-16 meeting in Bellagio, Italy, to help build consensus on transport sector policies ahead of the United Nations climate change meetings in Copenhagen in December.
"The Bellagio meeting will greatly help ADB to develop its Sustainable Transport Initiative, which aims to help Asian countries change their transport investment patterns and secure a low-carbon, sustainable transport future," said Um Woo Chong, director of the bank's energy, transport and water division. cgm/bsk
Toyota Prius sales boom in Japan despite slowdown
TOKYO – Orders in Japan for Toyota's new Prius hybrid have topped a booming 110,000, a major dealership chain said Saturday, in what is turning out to be a rare bright spot in the gloomy auto market.
The third-generation Prius officially rolled out in Japan just two weeks ago. But dealers are already flooded with orders, including some placed weeks in advance, according to the dealership.
Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest automaker, said two weeks ago that it received 80,000 advance orders, and has not updated that number.
But the Toyota Tokyo Corolla dealer said Saturday that nationwide orders at Toyota dealerships in Japan, including those of rivals, have soared to 110,000. Dealers tally their customer orders differently from the way manufacturers do.
But any way you slice it, the Prius is a hit. Toyota has set its monthly sales target for Japan at 10,000 new Prius cars — a figure that should make it the top-selling car in the country.
As the orders stack up, the company looks on track to meet or even surpass its goal and take that crown — an astonishing accomplishment for a hybrid, although the Prius is fighting competition from another new hybrid, Honda Motor Co.'s Insight.
Hybrids are in demand partly because the Japanese government began offering tax exemptions for the cars to encourage their sales earlier this year.
Parliament gave consumers added incentive Friday when it approved a cash-back rebate for trading in cars 13 years or older for greener cars.
Hybrids also promise savings on gas. In Japan, where frequent stop-and-go traffic lowers the fuel efficiency of gas-engine cars but actually raises it in hybrids, the Prius is promising nearly 90 miles per gallon (38 kilometers per liter). In heavy traffic, hybrids rely on their electric motors and thus burn no gas.
The overall Japanese auto market has been languishing for years, with vehicle sales falling to their lowest level in more than three decades last year. Demand has worsened since the U.S. financial crisis sent this nation into a recession.
Toyota, which also makes Lexus luxury models and the Camry sedan, has said it is increasing Prius production to meet demand.
But it is still expecting a 550 billion yen ($5.7 billion) loss for the fiscal year through March 2010, its second straight year in the red, because of the global auto slump and the unfavorable exchange rate in a strong yen.
The third-generation Prius officially rolled out in Japan just two weeks ago. But dealers are already flooded with orders, including some placed weeks in advance, according to the dealership.
Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest automaker, said two weeks ago that it received 80,000 advance orders, and has not updated that number.
But the Toyota Tokyo Corolla dealer said Saturday that nationwide orders at Toyota dealerships in Japan, including those of rivals, have soared to 110,000. Dealers tally their customer orders differently from the way manufacturers do.
But any way you slice it, the Prius is a hit. Toyota has set its monthly sales target for Japan at 10,000 new Prius cars — a figure that should make it the top-selling car in the country.
As the orders stack up, the company looks on track to meet or even surpass its goal and take that crown — an astonishing accomplishment for a hybrid, although the Prius is fighting competition from another new hybrid, Honda Motor Co.'s Insight.
Hybrids are in demand partly because the Japanese government began offering tax exemptions for the cars to encourage their sales earlier this year.
Parliament gave consumers added incentive Friday when it approved a cash-back rebate for trading in cars 13 years or older for greener cars.
Hybrids also promise savings on gas. In Japan, where frequent stop-and-go traffic lowers the fuel efficiency of gas-engine cars but actually raises it in hybrids, the Prius is promising nearly 90 miles per gallon (38 kilometers per liter). In heavy traffic, hybrids rely on their electric motors and thus burn no gas.
The overall Japanese auto market has been languishing for years, with vehicle sales falling to their lowest level in more than three decades last year. Demand has worsened since the U.S. financial crisis sent this nation into a recession.
Toyota, which also makes Lexus luxury models and the Camry sedan, has said it is increasing Prius production to meet demand.
But it is still expecting a 550 billion yen ($5.7 billion) loss for the fiscal year through March 2010, its second straight year in the red, because of the global auto slump and the unfavorable exchange rate in a strong yen.
Ecuador wants billions to not drill in biosphere reserve
QUITO (AFP) – President Rafael Correa on Saturday said that he wants the world to pay Ecuador some 5.2 billion dollars in exchange for not drilling for oil in the Yasuni National Park, a UNESCO world biosphere reserve.
Until now, the government had asked for 350 million dollars a year for not drilling in Yasuni, where there are some 920,000 barrels of untapped crude.
The figure is half of the profits expected from extracting the oil.
However Correa on Saturday changed gears, saying that he wants Ecuador to receive 5.2 billion dollars instead -- taking into consideration the pollution that would be avoided.
According to Correa, the international community should compensate Ecuador for "prevented contamination," maintaining biodiversity and fighting poverty in the area.
"Calculating the tonnes of carbon that we will avoid sending into the atmosphere, because we are not going to drill for oil in Yasuni, we consider that ... we could or should receive close to 5.195 billion dollars," he said.
The oil deposits, located in the Yasuni Biosphere Reserve and National Park, have presented a dilemma for the Correa administration, which on one hand advocates strong ecological policies, but on the other depends on revenue from oil sales and is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Yasuni is located 300 kilometers (186 miles) southeast of Quito and is 950,000 hectares (2.3 million acres) large.
Ecuador in 2008 produced on average 506,000 barrels a day.
Until now, the government had asked for 350 million dollars a year for not drilling in Yasuni, where there are some 920,000 barrels of untapped crude.
The figure is half of the profits expected from extracting the oil.
However Correa on Saturday changed gears, saying that he wants Ecuador to receive 5.2 billion dollars instead -- taking into consideration the pollution that would be avoided.
According to Correa, the international community should compensate Ecuador for "prevented contamination," maintaining biodiversity and fighting poverty in the area.
"Calculating the tonnes of carbon that we will avoid sending into the atmosphere, because we are not going to drill for oil in Yasuni, we consider that ... we could or should receive close to 5.195 billion dollars," he said.
The oil deposits, located in the Yasuni Biosphere Reserve and National Park, have presented a dilemma for the Correa administration, which on one hand advocates strong ecological policies, but on the other depends on revenue from oil sales and is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Yasuni is located 300 kilometers (186 miles) southeast of Quito and is 950,000 hectares (2.3 million acres) large.
Ecuador in 2008 produced on average 506,000 barrels a day.
Climate change: 'Bali Road Map' seeks compass
PARIS (AFP) – Gruelling efforts to craft a pact on climate change enter a crucial phase on Monday when the 192-nation UN forum takes its first look at a draft text for negotiations.
The 12-day huddle in the German city of Bonn under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) means that, after 18 months of swapping visions, the process will at last get down to the gritty stuff.
Little more than six months are left before the "Bali Road Map", launched in Indonesia in 2006, reaches its supposed destination at a Copenhagen summit: an accord that will transform global warming from a monster into a manageable problem.
On the table is a small mountain of paper whose notable feature is curly brackets, denoting discord among scores of submissions.
Despite the sprawling range of proposals, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer said he hoped that the draft will be endorsed as a workable basis for talks over the coming months.
"There will be a negotiating text on the table for the first time," he told AFP.
"I hope it will be well received, that it will be seen as a balanced representation of the different ideas that countries have come with."
The big goal is to slash emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 compared to 1990 levels.
But that's where consensus largely ends. Exactly how deep should be the cut be? How can it be achieved? And who should shoulder the burden?
In their proposals, many developing countries say rich countries, which bear historical responsibility for today's warming, should take the lead by cutting their emissions by 25-40 percent by 2020.
China has led the charge, demanding a cut of "at least" 40 percent.
But only the European Union (EU), which has set its own reduction of 20 percent by 2020, deepened to 30 percent if other advanced economies play ball, is anywhere near such a figure.
After eight long years of vilification, the United States is now being warmly embraced in the climate arena as Barack Obama bulldozes George W. Bush's policies.
But Washington is also warning that the world cannot expect miracles.
A bill put before Congress would cut US emissions by 17 percent by 2020 over 2005 levels using a cap-and-trade system of the kind Bush loathed.
This approach would translate to a reduction of only four percent compared to the 1990 benchmark, but it would also ratchet up to 83 percent by 2050, the top US climate change negotiator, Todd Stern, said in Paris last week.
"We are jumping as high as the political system will tolerate," said Stern, characterising China's demand of a 40 percent cut by 2020 as "not realistic".
Just as unresolved is what the emerging giant countries should do.
The draft should at least "call for those wealthier, more capable countries to take actions," said Stern's deputy, Jonathan Pershing.
China is now the world's No. 1 polluter, and Brazil and India have also leapt up the emission ranks as their economies have grown.
Yet all refuse binding emissions targets of the kind that apply only to rich countries under the Kyoto Protocol, the UNFCCC treaty to be superseded from 2013 by the Copenhagen accord.
Then there is how to muster finance to help poor countries adapt to the impacts of climate change, and how to transfer clean technology so that they avoid becoming the greenhouse-gas villains of the future.
Keya Chatterjee, deputy director of the climate change programme with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said emerging countries were thirsting for the energy switch.
"It's sort of a green arms race where everybody wants to have access to clean-energy industry," she said. "That's a pretty huge change in the negotiations that will affect the dynamics."
Even so, she said, developing countries were suspicious. "This lack of trust comes from a long tradition of industrialised countries not living up to their obligations."
These are just a few of the many obstacles besetting the Bali Road Map.
The complexity is such that many experts now predict Copenhagen will not be a complete treaty but, at best, a good deal on the main points.
"I think that what we are looking at in Copenhagen is a deal that will lock in some specific emission reductions goals, will create commitments both for investment and adaptation and then... the details will have to be filled in later," said Angela Anderson of the US Climate Action Network (CAN).
The 12-day huddle in the German city of Bonn under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) means that, after 18 months of swapping visions, the process will at last get down to the gritty stuff.
Little more than six months are left before the "Bali Road Map", launched in Indonesia in 2006, reaches its supposed destination at a Copenhagen summit: an accord that will transform global warming from a monster into a manageable problem.
On the table is a small mountain of paper whose notable feature is curly brackets, denoting discord among scores of submissions.
Despite the sprawling range of proposals, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer said he hoped that the draft will be endorsed as a workable basis for talks over the coming months.
"There will be a negotiating text on the table for the first time," he told AFP.
"I hope it will be well received, that it will be seen as a balanced representation of the different ideas that countries have come with."
The big goal is to slash emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 compared to 1990 levels.
But that's where consensus largely ends. Exactly how deep should be the cut be? How can it be achieved? And who should shoulder the burden?
In their proposals, many developing countries say rich countries, which bear historical responsibility for today's warming, should take the lead by cutting their emissions by 25-40 percent by 2020.
China has led the charge, demanding a cut of "at least" 40 percent.
But only the European Union (EU), which has set its own reduction of 20 percent by 2020, deepened to 30 percent if other advanced economies play ball, is anywhere near such a figure.
After eight long years of vilification, the United States is now being warmly embraced in the climate arena as Barack Obama bulldozes George W. Bush's policies.
But Washington is also warning that the world cannot expect miracles.
A bill put before Congress would cut US emissions by 17 percent by 2020 over 2005 levels using a cap-and-trade system of the kind Bush loathed.
This approach would translate to a reduction of only four percent compared to the 1990 benchmark, but it would also ratchet up to 83 percent by 2050, the top US climate change negotiator, Todd Stern, said in Paris last week.
"We are jumping as high as the political system will tolerate," said Stern, characterising China's demand of a 40 percent cut by 2020 as "not realistic".
Just as unresolved is what the emerging giant countries should do.
The draft should at least "call for those wealthier, more capable countries to take actions," said Stern's deputy, Jonathan Pershing.
China is now the world's No. 1 polluter, and Brazil and India have also leapt up the emission ranks as their economies have grown.
Yet all refuse binding emissions targets of the kind that apply only to rich countries under the Kyoto Protocol, the UNFCCC treaty to be superseded from 2013 by the Copenhagen accord.
Then there is how to muster finance to help poor countries adapt to the impacts of climate change, and how to transfer clean technology so that they avoid becoming the greenhouse-gas villains of the future.
Keya Chatterjee, deputy director of the climate change programme with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said emerging countries were thirsting for the energy switch.
"It's sort of a green arms race where everybody wants to have access to clean-energy industry," she said. "That's a pretty huge change in the negotiations that will affect the dynamics."
Even so, she said, developing countries were suspicious. "This lack of trust comes from a long tradition of industrialised countries not living up to their obligations."
These are just a few of the many obstacles besetting the Bali Road Map.
The complexity is such that many experts now predict Copenhagen will not be a complete treaty but, at best, a good deal on the main points.
"I think that what we are looking at in Copenhagen is a deal that will lock in some specific emission reductions goals, will create commitments both for investment and adaptation and then... the details will have to be filled in later," said Angela Anderson of the US Climate Action Network (CAN).
Energy from pig slurry helps fight climate change
STERKSEL, Netherlands – The 2,700 pigs on the farm that John Horrevorts manages yield more than ham and bacon. A biogas plant makes enough electricity from their waste to run the farm and feeds extra wattage into the Dutch national grid.
He even gets bonus payments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
As the world struggles to reduce pollution causing climate change, attention has focused on the burning of fossil fuels in factories, power stations, and vehicles. But U.N. scientists says farming and forestry account for more than 30 percent of the greenhouse gases that are gradually heating the earth. Much of that pollution comes from cattle, sheep and pigs that belch or excrete methane, a heat-trapping gas more than 20 times as potent as carbon dioxide, the most common global warming gas.
Negotiators from 190 countries have been working to reach a new climate change agreement in December on ways to reduce emissions and help countries adapt to changes in climate. They will reconvene June 1 in Bonn, Germany, for another two-week session.
Yet it is uncertain whether cutting agricultural emissions will be part of the agreement expected to emerge at the final meetings in Copenhagen, Denmark. The subject is complex, emissions are difficult to measure, and the whole question is politically sensitive, touching on the distrust between the world's rich and poor countries.
Scientists say it is too important to be left out.
"It would be absolutely nuts to ignore agriculture and forestry in any future climate deal," said Pete Smith, professor of soils and global change at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.
U.N. studies say agriculture is the main source of income for one of every three working people. It also is a growing source of pollution, as the global population increases and living standards rise in developing countries where more people are eating meat.
The latest research by the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization says animal husbandry accounts for 18 percent of all greenhouse gases, when taking into account the grassland and forests that are cleared for raising livestock.
When the FAO report came out in 2006, "people in the livestock sector were shocked because they thought they did a good job," says Akke van der Zijpp, a professor of animal husbandry at Wageningen University, a premier Dutch technical facility. Now they "are becoming slowly aware that this problem has to be solved."
One way to deal with it is to reduce the methane animals produce by changing their diet or through breeding.
Another is to make use of it and burn it.
Horrevorts says Wageningen University's Praktijkcentrum, or Sterksel Research Center, creates 5,000 megawatts a year, enough to power 1,500 homes. The farm uses the electricity it needs and feeds the rest into the national grid, for which the government pays up to euro177 ($238) per megawatt as a green energy subsidy.
Pigs can be remarkably house-broken animals. Here, they drop their waste through slats on the floor in the middle of the barn while spending most of their time in open stalls to the side. The slurry is channeled into three 4,000 cubic meter (141,250 cubic feet) tanks, then mixed into a thick goo with other organic waste like low-quality grain and carrot juice to increase the methane potential. Bacteria break down the material in a digester tank and the gas is siphoned off into a generator to produce electricity.
Horrevorts says a group including his operation and four other commercial farms avoids methane emissions equivalent to 40,000 tons of carbon a year. Dozens of private or nonprofit companies known as offset providers will "buy" those tons as a way of supporting renewable energy or other projects that reduce carbon emissions, then resell the credits to individuals or companies who want to shrink their carbon footprint.
Last year, Horrevorts said, a British offset provider paid euro5 ($6.70) per ton for people wanting to neutralize plane travel or rock concert tickets. This year, the farm was negotiating with a Dutch company seeking to become carbon neutral to promote a green image.
Though operating expenses for the biogas plant are considerable, the combination of electricity savings, power production and carbon credits makes it profitable, Horrevorts says.
Horrevorts, who is a biological researcher rather than a professional farmer, says that with financial incentives through electricity subsidies, it could become standard practice for ordinary farmers. About 50 commercial biogas plants operate on farms in the Netherlands, and the practice is spreading across industrial livestock farms around the world.
"I think in the future every pig farm will have a biogas plant," he says.
But at euro1 million ($1.3 million) for a big plant like Sterksel's, it's a rich man's answer to climate change.
About 70 percent of the world's agriculture is on small land holdings in the developing world, which complicates climate politics, says Antonio Hill of the nonprofit group Oxfam International.
"It sounds like a big pot," Hill said, but dealing with farming is tougher than with industries. "You're talking about tens of thousands of sources of industrial emissions in rich countries. That's a lot more manageable than hundreds of millions of agricultural operations."
Measuring and verifying carbon reductions from soil conservation, grassland management and livestock is complicated, and those reductions may not be permanent. Trees planted to soak up carbon from the air, for example, can always be cut down and burned.
In the past year, much effort has gone into quantifying emissions from deforestation in the tropics and ways to compensate countries like Brazil or Indonesia for protecting their rainforests. But no comparable effort has gone into accounting for the vast farming sector.
Another obstacle to an agreement in the U.N. talks is the suspicion that rich countries will meet a large part of their emissions reductions by buying credits on the international carbon market rather than constraining their own industries. In other words, they would buy credits from farmers to reduce their carbon footprint, in the same way the offset company bought credits from the Sterksel pig farm.
"If the idea is that rich countries will do most of their reductions through offsets, a lot of developing countries have a big problem with that," says Hill, speaking from his home base in Bolivia.
Hill says he expected nothing more in the Copenhagen agreement than "place holders," or general statements that can be filled in later with details. But Smith, the scientist from Aberdeen who co-wrote the agriculture section in the 2007 report by the U.N's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says including agriculture in the Copenhagen agreement would provide a source of capital from rich countries to poor ones.
"It would be a desperate shame if it were blocked for political reasons," he says.
He even gets bonus payments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
As the world struggles to reduce pollution causing climate change, attention has focused on the burning of fossil fuels in factories, power stations, and vehicles. But U.N. scientists says farming and forestry account for more than 30 percent of the greenhouse gases that are gradually heating the earth. Much of that pollution comes from cattle, sheep and pigs that belch or excrete methane, a heat-trapping gas more than 20 times as potent as carbon dioxide, the most common global warming gas.
Negotiators from 190 countries have been working to reach a new climate change agreement in December on ways to reduce emissions and help countries adapt to changes in climate. They will reconvene June 1 in Bonn, Germany, for another two-week session.
Yet it is uncertain whether cutting agricultural emissions will be part of the agreement expected to emerge at the final meetings in Copenhagen, Denmark. The subject is complex, emissions are difficult to measure, and the whole question is politically sensitive, touching on the distrust between the world's rich and poor countries.
Scientists say it is too important to be left out.
"It would be absolutely nuts to ignore agriculture and forestry in any future climate deal," said Pete Smith, professor of soils and global change at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.
U.N. studies say agriculture is the main source of income for one of every three working people. It also is a growing source of pollution, as the global population increases and living standards rise in developing countries where more people are eating meat.
The latest research by the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization says animal husbandry accounts for 18 percent of all greenhouse gases, when taking into account the grassland and forests that are cleared for raising livestock.
When the FAO report came out in 2006, "people in the livestock sector were shocked because they thought they did a good job," says Akke van der Zijpp, a professor of animal husbandry at Wageningen University, a premier Dutch technical facility. Now they "are becoming slowly aware that this problem has to be solved."
One way to deal with it is to reduce the methane animals produce by changing their diet or through breeding.
Another is to make use of it and burn it.
Horrevorts says Wageningen University's Praktijkcentrum, or Sterksel Research Center, creates 5,000 megawatts a year, enough to power 1,500 homes. The farm uses the electricity it needs and feeds the rest into the national grid, for which the government pays up to euro177 ($238) per megawatt as a green energy subsidy.
Pigs can be remarkably house-broken animals. Here, they drop their waste through slats on the floor in the middle of the barn while spending most of their time in open stalls to the side. The slurry is channeled into three 4,000 cubic meter (141,250 cubic feet) tanks, then mixed into a thick goo with other organic waste like low-quality grain and carrot juice to increase the methane potential. Bacteria break down the material in a digester tank and the gas is siphoned off into a generator to produce electricity.
Horrevorts says a group including his operation and four other commercial farms avoids methane emissions equivalent to 40,000 tons of carbon a year. Dozens of private or nonprofit companies known as offset providers will "buy" those tons as a way of supporting renewable energy or other projects that reduce carbon emissions, then resell the credits to individuals or companies who want to shrink their carbon footprint.
Last year, Horrevorts said, a British offset provider paid euro5 ($6.70) per ton for people wanting to neutralize plane travel or rock concert tickets. This year, the farm was negotiating with a Dutch company seeking to become carbon neutral to promote a green image.
Though operating expenses for the biogas plant are considerable, the combination of electricity savings, power production and carbon credits makes it profitable, Horrevorts says.
Horrevorts, who is a biological researcher rather than a professional farmer, says that with financial incentives through electricity subsidies, it could become standard practice for ordinary farmers. About 50 commercial biogas plants operate on farms in the Netherlands, and the practice is spreading across industrial livestock farms around the world.
"I think in the future every pig farm will have a biogas plant," he says.
But at euro1 million ($1.3 million) for a big plant like Sterksel's, it's a rich man's answer to climate change.
About 70 percent of the world's agriculture is on small land holdings in the developing world, which complicates climate politics, says Antonio Hill of the nonprofit group Oxfam International.
"It sounds like a big pot," Hill said, but dealing with farming is tougher than with industries. "You're talking about tens of thousands of sources of industrial emissions in rich countries. That's a lot more manageable than hundreds of millions of agricultural operations."
Measuring and verifying carbon reductions from soil conservation, grassland management and livestock is complicated, and those reductions may not be permanent. Trees planted to soak up carbon from the air, for example, can always be cut down and burned.
In the past year, much effort has gone into quantifying emissions from deforestation in the tropics and ways to compensate countries like Brazil or Indonesia for protecting their rainforests. But no comparable effort has gone into accounting for the vast farming sector.
Another obstacle to an agreement in the U.N. talks is the suspicion that rich countries will meet a large part of their emissions reductions by buying credits on the international carbon market rather than constraining their own industries. In other words, they would buy credits from farmers to reduce their carbon footprint, in the same way the offset company bought credits from the Sterksel pig farm.
"If the idea is that rich countries will do most of their reductions through offsets, a lot of developing countries have a big problem with that," says Hill, speaking from his home base in Bolivia.
Hill says he expected nothing more in the Copenhagen agreement than "place holders," or general statements that can be filled in later with details. But Smith, the scientist from Aberdeen who co-wrote the agriculture section in the 2007 report by the U.N's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says including agriculture in the Copenhagen agreement would provide a source of capital from rich countries to poor ones.
"It would be a desperate shame if it were blocked for political reasons," he says.
Friday, May 29, 2009
CDM EB blocks 8 projects, approves new guidelines
The UN has rejected eight CDM projects, bringing the total to 112.
The executive board of the clean development mechanism (CDM), which administers how emission reduction projects in developing countries get carbon credits, blocked the projects at its 47th meeting in Bonn.
The UN-appointed panel gave the thumbs down to four hydropower projects, all of them in China.
The projects, which are all under 30 MW, are small by the standards of many Chinese hydro schemes.
They were blocked from moving through the CDM pipeline because they were judged likely to have happened without carbon finance.
The board also refused to approve two projects that use biomass to cut emissions from the use of fossil fuels at small power plants, one in Brazil, and one in Israel.
Another Israel-based project, which aims to earn carbon credits by using cleaner-burning liquefied natural gas also fell foul of the executive board's rules on additionality.
The board also nixed a wind power project in China.
The UN panels placed 13 projects under review, meaning that the participants in the projects and auditors will have to resubmit evidence before the projects can be registered.
Of the 13 projects to be put under the EB's microscope, eight are in China, including three wind power projects, two hydro and others including energy efficiency fuel switch and cogeneration.
The board blocked registration of all of the projects that were placed under review or had been subject to a request for review at previous meetings.
Programme of activities
The meeting provided new or clearer guidelines relating to CDM programmes, which aim to cut emissions at multiple locations, such as replacing old, energy-guzzling lightbulbs with more energy efficient fluorescent ones.
Developers of programmes of activities (PoA) and companies that could audit them have long complained that the rules are too complex, confusing or difficult to apply in practice.
The board decided to limit the scale of liability on auditors for loss of carbon credits resulting from any part of a PoA that fails to live up to emissions reductions promised in design documents.
However some form of liability remains, according to observers.
Liability
Auditors will now have to chew over the EB's new guidelines before they will be comfortable in checking the mountains of paperwork associated with CDM programmes.
DOEs had refused to take on auditing work for programmes lest they have to pay out on credits blocked at any stage by the board.
The board also allowed developers of programmes to use multiple methodologies, a key demand as single methodologies could severely limit the number of credits issued.
However, developers will only be able to use more than one methodology if they get the blessing of the board on a case-specific basis.
Also, programmes that started early and submit a request for validation (auditing under the CDM process) can retroactively claim CERs.
Programmes have been heralded as a possible solution to the relatively low investment in CDM projects in sub-Saharan Africa and pockets of Latin America and Asia where investment does not reach.
It is also seen as a more “democratic” version of the CDM because it cuts emissions on a grassroots or household level in developing countries, rather than the project-based approach, which tends to focus on individual power plants, factories and farms.
The executive board of the clean development mechanism (CDM), which administers how emission reduction projects in developing countries get carbon credits, blocked the projects at its 47th meeting in Bonn.
The UN-appointed panel gave the thumbs down to four hydropower projects, all of them in China.
The projects, which are all under 30 MW, are small by the standards of many Chinese hydro schemes.
They were blocked from moving through the CDM pipeline because they were judged likely to have happened without carbon finance.
The board also refused to approve two projects that use biomass to cut emissions from the use of fossil fuels at small power plants, one in Brazil, and one in Israel.
Another Israel-based project, which aims to earn carbon credits by using cleaner-burning liquefied natural gas also fell foul of the executive board's rules on additionality.
The board also nixed a wind power project in China.
The UN panels placed 13 projects under review, meaning that the participants in the projects and auditors will have to resubmit evidence before the projects can be registered.
Of the 13 projects to be put under the EB's microscope, eight are in China, including three wind power projects, two hydro and others including energy efficiency fuel switch and cogeneration.
The board blocked registration of all of the projects that were placed under review or had been subject to a request for review at previous meetings.
Programme of activities
The meeting provided new or clearer guidelines relating to CDM programmes, which aim to cut emissions at multiple locations, such as replacing old, energy-guzzling lightbulbs with more energy efficient fluorescent ones.
Developers of programmes of activities (PoA) and companies that could audit them have long complained that the rules are too complex, confusing or difficult to apply in practice.
The board decided to limit the scale of liability on auditors for loss of carbon credits resulting from any part of a PoA that fails to live up to emissions reductions promised in design documents.
However some form of liability remains, according to observers.
Liability
Auditors will now have to chew over the EB's new guidelines before they will be comfortable in checking the mountains of paperwork associated with CDM programmes.
DOEs had refused to take on auditing work for programmes lest they have to pay out on credits blocked at any stage by the board.
The board also allowed developers of programmes to use multiple methodologies, a key demand as single methodologies could severely limit the number of credits issued.
However, developers will only be able to use more than one methodology if they get the blessing of the board on a case-specific basis.
Also, programmes that started early and submit a request for validation (auditing under the CDM process) can retroactively claim CERs.
Programmes have been heralded as a possible solution to the relatively low investment in CDM projects in sub-Saharan Africa and pockets of Latin America and Asia where investment does not reach.
It is also seen as a more “democratic” version of the CDM because it cuts emissions on a grassroots or household level in developing countries, rather than the project-based approach, which tends to focus on individual power plants, factories and farms.
EU emissions drop for third consecutive year
EU greenhouse gas emissions fell for the third straight year in 2007, according to the latest inventory.
Greenhouse gas emissions in the 27-member bloc fell 1.2 per cent from 2006 to 2007, putting overall EU emissions 9.3 per cent below 1990 – the Kyoto protocol baseline year.
That represents a 59 million tonne drop in CO2 equivalent compared to 2006.
Countries in the EU-15, the original members of the bloc, are now 5 per cent below their Kyoto baseline.
The EU 15 has committed to reducing its emissions collectively by 8 per cent between 2008 and 2012 compared to 1990 levels. The EU 27 does not have a common Kyoto reduction target.
The inventory, compiled by the European Environment Agency, found that between 2006 and 2007, warmer weather and more expensive fuel drove a reduction in emissions.
It also found that the drop in emissions in the EU-27 since 2005 stemmed from a decline in the use of oil and gas in households and services.
Most of the decline came from lower fossil fuel use in German households, the report said.
The agency noted that those sectors are not covered by the EU emissions trading system (ETS).
Seventeen out of the 27 EU members reduced their greenhouse gas emissions in 2007 from the previous year.
Of the original 15 members, only Spain and Greece did not reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenhouse gas emissions in the 27-member bloc fell 1.2 per cent from 2006 to 2007, putting overall EU emissions 9.3 per cent below 1990 – the Kyoto protocol baseline year.
That represents a 59 million tonne drop in CO2 equivalent compared to 2006.
Countries in the EU-15, the original members of the bloc, are now 5 per cent below their Kyoto baseline.
The EU 15 has committed to reducing its emissions collectively by 8 per cent between 2008 and 2012 compared to 1990 levels. The EU 27 does not have a common Kyoto reduction target.
The inventory, compiled by the European Environment Agency, found that between 2006 and 2007, warmer weather and more expensive fuel drove a reduction in emissions.
It also found that the drop in emissions in the EU-27 since 2005 stemmed from a decline in the use of oil and gas in households and services.
Most of the decline came from lower fossil fuel use in German households, the report said.
The agency noted that those sectors are not covered by the EU emissions trading system (ETS).
Seventeen out of the 27 EU members reduced their greenhouse gas emissions in 2007 from the previous year.
Of the original 15 members, only Spain and Greece did not reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
US project developers push for change to climate bill
Project developers are fighting a section of the House climate bill that could cut offset supply.
According to an analysis of the Waxman-Markey bill by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), methane emissions from landfills, coal mines and natural gas systems would be regulated under the “new source performance standard,” making it much harder for developers to generate offset credits by capturing those emissions.
The bill, which cleared a House energy committee vote last week, will now be reviewed by other House committees before an expected full House vote in late June.
If the bill's language goes unchanged, it would knock out 45 per cent of potential domestic offset supply and increase allowance prices by 9 per cent, said Roger Williams, vice president of BlueSource, a major US project developer.
“There’s definitely a push in the offsets community to pick up this issue and advocate for a different outcome here,” Williams said.
Williams said the best opportunity for a change will come either when the bill is reviewed by the House agriculture committee next month, or in the Senate companion to the bill, which has yet to be introduced.
Confident
He said that the offset community is fairly confident they’ll prevail in getting the language changed, but said the longer it stays in, the more market uncertainty it creates.
“Unfortunately, it will end up stifling investment from private sector sources to get some of these projects done if there isn’t clarity that they’ll have enough run time to get a payback,” Williams said.
On the other hand, it could create an “early action gold rush” as developers rush to quickly implement projects, according to Aimee Barnes, senior manager of US regulatory affairs for Ecosecurities, a major offset project developer and aggregator.
Williams said that while the language is a concern, he also doesn't think people should overreact.
"There are still many steps along the way until we have signed legislation,” Williams said.
If the bill becomes law, the cap-and-trade system would begin in 2012.
Popular
Methane reduction projects from landfill, coal mines and natural gas systems are popular because of the huge volume of credits they can generate.
Because the methane from those projects is often of a low quality, the offset projects mostly destroy the emissions, as opposed to using the gas for energy purposes.
Methane accounted for roughly 8 per cent of US greenhouse gas emissions in 2007, around 585 million tonnes of CO2e. A significant portion of those emissions stemmed from landfills, coal mines and natural gas systems.
Short supply
The current pipeline of domestic offset credits is already unlikely to be able to meet the demand expected to be generated under the Waxman-Markey bill.
The bill allows for 1 billion offset credits per year to be used by covered entities, but the US is only expected to produce 15 million credits in 2012, according to Point Carbon Research’s Carbon Project Manager North America.
According to an analysis of the Waxman-Markey bill by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), methane emissions from landfills, coal mines and natural gas systems would be regulated under the “new source performance standard,” making it much harder for developers to generate offset credits by capturing those emissions.
The bill, which cleared a House energy committee vote last week, will now be reviewed by other House committees before an expected full House vote in late June.
If the bill's language goes unchanged, it would knock out 45 per cent of potential domestic offset supply and increase allowance prices by 9 per cent, said Roger Williams, vice president of BlueSource, a major US project developer.
“There’s definitely a push in the offsets community to pick up this issue and advocate for a different outcome here,” Williams said.
Williams said the best opportunity for a change will come either when the bill is reviewed by the House agriculture committee next month, or in the Senate companion to the bill, which has yet to be introduced.
Confident
He said that the offset community is fairly confident they’ll prevail in getting the language changed, but said the longer it stays in, the more market uncertainty it creates.
“Unfortunately, it will end up stifling investment from private sector sources to get some of these projects done if there isn’t clarity that they’ll have enough run time to get a payback,” Williams said.
On the other hand, it could create an “early action gold rush” as developers rush to quickly implement projects, according to Aimee Barnes, senior manager of US regulatory affairs for Ecosecurities, a major offset project developer and aggregator.
Williams said that while the language is a concern, he also doesn't think people should overreact.
"There are still many steps along the way until we have signed legislation,” Williams said.
If the bill becomes law, the cap-and-trade system would begin in 2012.
Popular
Methane reduction projects from landfill, coal mines and natural gas systems are popular because of the huge volume of credits they can generate.
Because the methane from those projects is often of a low quality, the offset projects mostly destroy the emissions, as opposed to using the gas for energy purposes.
Methane accounted for roughly 8 per cent of US greenhouse gas emissions in 2007, around 585 million tonnes of CO2e. A significant portion of those emissions stemmed from landfills, coal mines and natural gas systems.
Short supply
The current pipeline of domestic offset credits is already unlikely to be able to meet the demand expected to be generated under the Waxman-Markey bill.
The bill allows for 1 billion offset credits per year to be used by covered entities, but the US is only expected to produce 15 million credits in 2012, according to Point Carbon Research’s Carbon Project Manager North America.
CDM process to streamline, challenges remain
The CDM pipeline will become more streamline but challenges remain, an industry event heard today.
Lex de Jonge, chair of the clean development mechanism (CDM) executive board, told Carbon Expo that the UN panel had made many improvements that should speed up the process of getting carbon credits.
De Jonge listed a string of measures the EB has either taken or will take.
These include:
• Doubling the number of approved verifiers;
• A launch of a standard manual for auditors;
• An improvement in consultations with stakeholders; and
• A streamlining of procedures for reviewing projects.
The latter point referred specifically to transferring some checks when reviewing projects from the board to the UN secretariat.
This relates to the “completeness check” procedure.
Blind eye
But the most controversial of the board’s proposals is a measure adopted only this week by the UN panel.
In principle this agrees to turn a blind eye to minor changes to CDM projects after they have been registered - but only if this alteration is judged to be sufficiently small.
Historically, this has been a bone of contention for developers, who claim their projects can be held up for months over very minor issues.
“We have agreed in principle, but we are not sure where to draw the line. We will come back to this,” de Jonge said.
One developer sitting on the panel with the EB chair said she welcomed the changes, but that some issues remained unresolved, namely the lack of an appeal procedure for EB decisions.
“We do not have an appeal process that is strong enough to address our concerns,” Susanne Haefeli of Swedish carbon fund Tricorona told the event in Barcelona.
Copenhagen
A reform of the CDM and the offset market is one of the major debates to be held at UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December this year.
But participants at the conference voiced the view that future demand for offsets could overwhelm supply and doubted the CDM was the right tool to deliver billions of credits each year.
The US cap-and-trade bill, currently working its way through Congress, could spur demand for up to 2 billion carbon credits per year, the same number of credits that the CDM is likely to supply over five or six years, de Jonge said.
But it is not just concerns over potential supply that may deter the US from accepting the credits in a federal carbon market.
Criticism
The mechanism, which is the Kyoto protocol’s main tool to help developing countries cut emissions, came under fire last December from US lawmakers, who questioned the environmental integrity of the scheme.
But in response to US criticism, de Jonge acknowledged the CDM was not perfect, but nowhere near as bad as many policymakers in the US think.
“Perhaps up to six per cent of projects that were automatically approved should have gone through the (CDM) review process,” he said.
“Some things were not working in the early years and not everything was as rigorous as it is nowadays,” he said.
Lex de Jonge, chair of the clean development mechanism (CDM) executive board, told Carbon Expo that the UN panel had made many improvements that should speed up the process of getting carbon credits.
De Jonge listed a string of measures the EB has either taken or will take.
These include:
• Doubling the number of approved verifiers;
• A launch of a standard manual for auditors;
• An improvement in consultations with stakeholders; and
• A streamlining of procedures for reviewing projects.
The latter point referred specifically to transferring some checks when reviewing projects from the board to the UN secretariat.
This relates to the “completeness check” procedure.
Blind eye
But the most controversial of the board’s proposals is a measure adopted only this week by the UN panel.
In principle this agrees to turn a blind eye to minor changes to CDM projects after they have been registered - but only if this alteration is judged to be sufficiently small.
Historically, this has been a bone of contention for developers, who claim their projects can be held up for months over very minor issues.
“We have agreed in principle, but we are not sure where to draw the line. We will come back to this,” de Jonge said.
One developer sitting on the panel with the EB chair said she welcomed the changes, but that some issues remained unresolved, namely the lack of an appeal procedure for EB decisions.
“We do not have an appeal process that is strong enough to address our concerns,” Susanne Haefeli of Swedish carbon fund Tricorona told the event in Barcelona.
Copenhagen
A reform of the CDM and the offset market is one of the major debates to be held at UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December this year.
But participants at the conference voiced the view that future demand for offsets could overwhelm supply and doubted the CDM was the right tool to deliver billions of credits each year.
The US cap-and-trade bill, currently working its way through Congress, could spur demand for up to 2 billion carbon credits per year, the same number of credits that the CDM is likely to supply over five or six years, de Jonge said.
But it is not just concerns over potential supply that may deter the US from accepting the credits in a federal carbon market.
Criticism
The mechanism, which is the Kyoto protocol’s main tool to help developing countries cut emissions, came under fire last December from US lawmakers, who questioned the environmental integrity of the scheme.
But in response to US criticism, de Jonge acknowledged the CDM was not perfect, but nowhere near as bad as many policymakers in the US think.
“Perhaps up to six per cent of projects that were automatically approved should have gone through the (CDM) review process,” he said.
“Some things were not working in the early years and not everything was as rigorous as it is nowadays,” he said.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Spain won’t revise offset plans until 2011: minister
Spain will stick with plans to buy 159 million emission rights or offsets, at least until 2011.
Although the economic slump will mean Spain's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will be lower than previously forecast, the government will wait before it considers any changes to plans on buying carbon offsets or emissions rights, said Teresa Ribera, Spain’s climate change minister.
“Our emissions will probably be a little bit lower over the first commitment period, but we will maintain a prudent attitude and not consider any changes before 2011,” she told Point Carbon on the sidelines of the Carbon Expo in Barcelona.
The government said in 2006 it plans to buy 159 million offsets and government emission rights to meet its target set by the Kyoto protocol.
The Kyoto pact requires Spain to limit GHG emissions growth to 15 per cent above a 1990 baseline between 2008 and 2012.
Rapid economic development drove Spain’s emissions to around 50 per cent over the 1990 level by 2007.
But a sharp downturn in the Spanish economy over the past 12 months has prompted lower emissions forecasts as power demand falls and factories cut output.
The most recent estimate reckons Spain's emissions are around 43 per cent over the Kyoto baseline level.
The government has yet to outline what proportion of the 159 million tonnes will be project-based, UN-backed offsets, and how much of the remainder will be government emission rights, also known as assigned amount units (AAUs).
Ribera insisted the focus of government buying would consist of carbon offsets under the UN’s clean development mechanism (CDM), credits known as certified emissions reductions (CERs).
But the minister added that limited CER supply had forced the government to enter the AAU market to meet its buying needs.
Based on funds committed so far, Spain is Europe's biggest government buyer of UN-backed offset credits.
In addition, the government has signed a contract to buy more than 6 million AAUs from Hungary, and is understood to be in negotiations with other central and eastern European countries to buy more.
Although the economic slump will mean Spain's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will be lower than previously forecast, the government will wait before it considers any changes to plans on buying carbon offsets or emissions rights, said Teresa Ribera, Spain’s climate change minister.
“Our emissions will probably be a little bit lower over the first commitment period, but we will maintain a prudent attitude and not consider any changes before 2011,” she told Point Carbon on the sidelines of the Carbon Expo in Barcelona.
The government said in 2006 it plans to buy 159 million offsets and government emission rights to meet its target set by the Kyoto protocol.
The Kyoto pact requires Spain to limit GHG emissions growth to 15 per cent above a 1990 baseline between 2008 and 2012.
Rapid economic development drove Spain’s emissions to around 50 per cent over the 1990 level by 2007.
But a sharp downturn in the Spanish economy over the past 12 months has prompted lower emissions forecasts as power demand falls and factories cut output.
The most recent estimate reckons Spain's emissions are around 43 per cent over the Kyoto baseline level.
The government has yet to outline what proportion of the 159 million tonnes will be project-based, UN-backed offsets, and how much of the remainder will be government emission rights, also known as assigned amount units (AAUs).
Ribera insisted the focus of government buying would consist of carbon offsets under the UN’s clean development mechanism (CDM), credits known as certified emissions reductions (CERs).
But the minister added that limited CER supply had forced the government to enter the AAU market to meet its buying needs.
Based on funds committed so far, Spain is Europe's biggest government buyer of UN-backed offset credits.
In addition, the government has signed a contract to buy more than 6 million AAUs from Hungary, and is understood to be in negotiations with other central and eastern European countries to buy more.
Online poll: Lower gas prices beat lower greenhouse gases
WASHINGTON — Asked to choose between lower gasoline prices and reduced greenhouse-gas emissions from gasoline, 66 percent of Americans in a new online survey chose lower gas prices and the rest said that reducing the emissions that cause climate change was more important.
The survey also found that 56 percent of Americans think that the federal government should stop subsidizing ethanol production because they're afraid that it boosts food prices, while the rest said that the subsidies should continue. When they were asked to choose between government subsidies for food crops or for ethanol, 82 percent chose food and the rest chose ethanol.
However, when the respondents were asked whether energy independence or lower food prices were more important, 55 percent said energy independence and the remainder said lower food prices.
About 90 percent of U.S. ethanol is made from corn, according to the Department of Energy . Government and private industries have been researching ways to use nonfood plants instead by breaking down cellulose, the structural part of plants' leaves, stalks and husks. The potential advantages of cellulosic ethanol are lower greenhouse-gas emissions and less competition for agricultural land.
The nonpartisan polling group Ipsos conducted the online survey May 19-25 from a national sample of 1,266 people ages 18 and older. The sample was weighted to reflect the composition of the national population. It wasn't a scientific random sample, however, but the equivalent of a large focus group.
The survey also found that 57 percent of those surveyed said that demand rather than government subsidies should drive ethanol production, while 6 percent disagreed and 37 percent said they neither agreed nor disagreed. About half of those sampled, 51 percent, said that the industry should focus more on producing ethanol from nonfood crops, while 4 percent disagreed and 45 percent neither agreed nor disagreed.
Asked whether ethanol is the most promising way to create U.S. energy independence, 25 percent agreed, 30 percent disagreed and 45 percent said they neither agreed nor disagreed.
METHODOLOGY:
Because this was an online poll, it has no statistical margin of error. It was based on samples drawn from opt-in online panels. The sample was weighted to reflect the makeup of the population, but it wasn't a random sample that mirrors the population within a statistical probability ratio.
The survey also found that 56 percent of Americans think that the federal government should stop subsidizing ethanol production because they're afraid that it boosts food prices, while the rest said that the subsidies should continue. When they were asked to choose between government subsidies for food crops or for ethanol, 82 percent chose food and the rest chose ethanol.
However, when the respondents were asked whether energy independence or lower food prices were more important, 55 percent said energy independence and the remainder said lower food prices.
About 90 percent of U.S. ethanol is made from corn, according to the Department of Energy . Government and private industries have been researching ways to use nonfood plants instead by breaking down cellulose, the structural part of plants' leaves, stalks and husks. The potential advantages of cellulosic ethanol are lower greenhouse-gas emissions and less competition for agricultural land.
The nonpartisan polling group Ipsos conducted the online survey May 19-25 from a national sample of 1,266 people ages 18 and older. The sample was weighted to reflect the composition of the national population. It wasn't a scientific random sample, however, but the equivalent of a large focus group.
The survey also found that 57 percent of those surveyed said that demand rather than government subsidies should drive ethanol production, while 6 percent disagreed and 37 percent said they neither agreed nor disagreed. About half of those sampled, 51 percent, said that the industry should focus more on producing ethanol from nonfood crops, while 4 percent disagreed and 45 percent neither agreed nor disagreed.
Asked whether ethanol is the most promising way to create U.S. energy independence, 25 percent agreed, 30 percent disagreed and 45 percent said they neither agreed nor disagreed.
METHODOLOGY:
Because this was an online poll, it has no statistical margin of error. It was based on samples drawn from opt-in online panels. The sample was weighted to reflect the makeup of the population, but it wasn't a random sample that mirrors the population within a statistical probability ratio.
Pelosi appeals for China's help on climate change
BEIJING – U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Beijing on Thursday to cooperate on climate change, calling a safe environment a basic human right.
Speaking at Beijing's elite Tsinghua University, Pelosi continued the theme of her five-day China trip — that combating global warming represented a new challenge that both governments must tackle jointly.
"We are all in this together," Pelosi said. "The impact of climate change is a tremendous risk to the security and well-being" of our countries.
Pelosi's trip comes as U.S. President Barack Obama's administration has emphasized climate change as a new area where the two governments can broaden already wide-ranging engagement. The two countries are the biggest emitters of the carbon gases that are causing warming temperatures. Both governments are staking out positions ahead of a meeting late this year in Copenhagen that will try to forge agreement on targets and steps to reduce carbon emissions.
In a meeting Wednesday, the head of China's national legislature, Wu Bangguo, told Pelosi that climate change was a common challenge and that Beijing stood ready to work with Washington.
Pelosi's trip has been notable for skirting human rights and the fierce public criticisms she has frequently leveled at the authoritarian government. Turning her usual criticisms around, Pelosi linked global warming to environmental justice, saying the right to a clean environment is also a human right.
"I do see this opportunity for climate change to be ... a game-changer," she said at Tsinghua. "It's a place where human rights — looking for out for the needs of the poor in terms of climate change and healthy environment — are a human right."
Speaking at Beijing's elite Tsinghua University, Pelosi continued the theme of her five-day China trip — that combating global warming represented a new challenge that both governments must tackle jointly.
"We are all in this together," Pelosi said. "The impact of climate change is a tremendous risk to the security and well-being" of our countries.
Pelosi's trip comes as U.S. President Barack Obama's administration has emphasized climate change as a new area where the two governments can broaden already wide-ranging engagement. The two countries are the biggest emitters of the carbon gases that are causing warming temperatures. Both governments are staking out positions ahead of a meeting late this year in Copenhagen that will try to forge agreement on targets and steps to reduce carbon emissions.
In a meeting Wednesday, the head of China's national legislature, Wu Bangguo, told Pelosi that climate change was a common challenge and that Beijing stood ready to work with Washington.
Pelosi's trip has been notable for skirting human rights and the fierce public criticisms she has frequently leveled at the authoritarian government. Turning her usual criticisms around, Pelosi linked global warming to environmental justice, saying the right to a clean environment is also a human right.
"I do see this opportunity for climate change to be ... a game-changer," she said at Tsinghua. "It's a place where human rights — looking for out for the needs of the poor in terms of climate change and healthy environment — are a human right."
Green industry demands low-carbon dollars
COPENHAGEN, May 26 (Reuters) - Top executives from companies likely to
win from climate change policies demanded on Tuesday that governments
turn away from fossil fuels when they sign a new climate pact, expected
in December.
Seven months before the world meets to try and thrash out a new global
treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, executives and investors called
for tough targets to slash carbon emissions at a green business
conference in Copenhagen.
win from climate change policies demanded on Tuesday that governments
turn away from fossil fuels when they sign a new climate pact, expected
in December.
Seven months before the world meets to try and thrash out a new global
treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, executives and investors called
for tough targets to slash carbon emissions at a green business
conference in Copenhagen.
Transpower sets up offshore wind farm converter
VLISSINGEN, May 26 (Reuters) - A new type of converter station for wind
power that enables electricity to travel over long distances is set to
be installed near the site of an offshore wind farm in the North Sea in
the next few days.
On a barge in the Dutch harbour of Vlissingen, waiting to be pulled out
to sea, the 60 metre-high base towered over workers soldering, hammering
and carrying equipment into the 3,500 tonne electricity converter
station it will support.
power that enables electricity to travel over long distances is set to
be installed near the site of an offshore wind farm in the North Sea in
the next few days.
On a barge in the Dutch harbour of Vlissingen, waiting to be pulled out
to sea, the 60 metre-high base towered over workers soldering, hammering
and carrying equipment into the 3,500 tonne electricity converter
station it will support.
Neste Oil sees firm longterm demand for biofuel
AMSTERDAM, May 26 (Reuters) - Finnish refiner Neste Oil will press ahead
with plans to build Europe's biggest biodiesel plant in Rotterdam
despite the sector's recent woes as demand is seen picking up long term,
its chief executive said.
CEO Matti Lievonen said on Tuesday the company was in a healthy position
for financing the 800,000 tonne plant in Europe's biggest port, which is
due to come onstream in 2011 and will cost about 670 million euros ($936
million).
with plans to build Europe's biggest biodiesel plant in Rotterdam
despite the sector's recent woes as demand is seen picking up long term,
its chief executive said.
CEO Matti Lievonen said on Tuesday the company was in a healthy position
for financing the 800,000 tonne plant in Europe's biggest port, which is
due to come onstream in 2011 and will cost about 670 million euros ($936
million).
Ontario introduces cap-and-trade act
Ontario unveiled a bill to put in place cap and trade, permitting its participation in the WCI.
Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal party was scheduled to introduce the bill in the provincial legislature Wednesday.
McGuinty told reporters the Canadian province is moving ahead with a cap-and-trade system because it can no longer wait for Ottawa and Washington to put together a similar plan to fight climate change, according to press reports.
The bill would allow Ontario to put in place a cap-and-trade scheme necessary for it to take part in the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), a multi-sector carbon trading programme consisting of seven US states and four Canadian provinces.
Ontario joined the WCI in July last year as part of its goal to cut absolute greenhouse gas emissions 6 per cent below 1990 levels by 2014, 15 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, and 80 per cent below them by 2050.
The WCI members together have pledged to reduce their cumulative greenhouse gas emissions 15 per cent below 2005 levels by the year 2020 through a regional cap-and-trade system.
The timing of Ontario’s introduction of cap-and-trade legislation closely follows the actions of Quebec, also a member of WCI, which introduced its own cap-and-trade bill in its legislature on 12 May.
Highly-populated Ontario is the second-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in Canada.
Its greenhouse gas emissions per capita are 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Road transportation accounts for 25 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions, industry accounts for 21 per cent and the electricity sector accounts for 15 per cent.
Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal party was scheduled to introduce the bill in the provincial legislature Wednesday.
McGuinty told reporters the Canadian province is moving ahead with a cap-and-trade system because it can no longer wait for Ottawa and Washington to put together a similar plan to fight climate change, according to press reports.
The bill would allow Ontario to put in place a cap-and-trade scheme necessary for it to take part in the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), a multi-sector carbon trading programme consisting of seven US states and four Canadian provinces.
Ontario joined the WCI in July last year as part of its goal to cut absolute greenhouse gas emissions 6 per cent below 1990 levels by 2014, 15 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, and 80 per cent below them by 2050.
The WCI members together have pledged to reduce their cumulative greenhouse gas emissions 15 per cent below 2005 levels by the year 2020 through a regional cap-and-trade system.
The timing of Ontario’s introduction of cap-and-trade legislation closely follows the actions of Quebec, also a member of WCI, which introduced its own cap-and-trade bill in its legislature on 12 May.
Highly-populated Ontario is the second-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in Canada.
Its greenhouse gas emissions per capita are 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Road transportation accounts for 25 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions, industry accounts for 21 per cent and the electricity sector accounts for 15 per cent.
Global CO2 emissions set to swell 40%
Worldwide carbon dioxide emissions are projected to rise almost 40 per cent by 2030.
If no action is taken to curtail them, carbon dioxide emissions from energy use worldwide will climb from 29 billion tonnes in 2006 to over 40 billion tonnes in 2030, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistics arm of the US energy department, said Wednesday.
Much of the increase in emissions is projected to occur among developing countries, the EIA said.
In 2006, GHGs from the developing world exceeded GHGs from the US and other rich countries by 14 per cent.
By 2030, however, GHGs from developing countries like China and India will be 77 per cent higher than those of the developed world, the EIA said in its annual report on energy consumption.
That’s due to the EIA projection of strong economic growth among developing countries, which will continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels as a greater percentage of their populations enter the middle class.
If current laws and policies remain unchanged throughout the projection period, total world energy demand will grow 44 per cent between 2006 and 2030, the EIA said.
Nations outside the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are expected to outpace developed countries in energy consumption.
Liquid fuels
Liquid fuels are expected to remain the world’s dominant energy source through 2030, given their importance in the transportation sector.
The world will need to produce an additional 22 million barrels of oil per day than it did in 2006 to meet the growth in worldwide demand.
To meet it, production of oil from “unconventional” sources like tar sands, biofuels, coal-to-liquids and gas-to-liquids are expected to rise sharply.
“Particularly strong growth in biofuels consumption is projected for the US, where production of biofuels will increase from 0.3 million barrels per day in 2006 to 1.9 million barrels per day in 2030,” the report says.
Coal
In the absence of national policies or binding international agreements that would limit GHG emissions, world coal consumption is projected to increase from 127 quadrillion Btu in 2006 to 190 quadrillion Btu in 2030, the report says.
Much of that increase will come from the non-OECD Asia region, which accounts for nearly 90 per cent of total world increase in coal use from 2006 to 2030.
If no action is taken to curtail them, carbon dioxide emissions from energy use worldwide will climb from 29 billion tonnes in 2006 to over 40 billion tonnes in 2030, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistics arm of the US energy department, said Wednesday.
Much of the increase in emissions is projected to occur among developing countries, the EIA said.
In 2006, GHGs from the developing world exceeded GHGs from the US and other rich countries by 14 per cent.
By 2030, however, GHGs from developing countries like China and India will be 77 per cent higher than those of the developed world, the EIA said in its annual report on energy consumption.
That’s due to the EIA projection of strong economic growth among developing countries, which will continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels as a greater percentage of their populations enter the middle class.
If current laws and policies remain unchanged throughout the projection period, total world energy demand will grow 44 per cent between 2006 and 2030, the EIA said.
Nations outside the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are expected to outpace developed countries in energy consumption.
Liquid fuels
Liquid fuels are expected to remain the world’s dominant energy source through 2030, given their importance in the transportation sector.
The world will need to produce an additional 22 million barrels of oil per day than it did in 2006 to meet the growth in worldwide demand.
To meet it, production of oil from “unconventional” sources like tar sands, biofuels, coal-to-liquids and gas-to-liquids are expected to rise sharply.
“Particularly strong growth in biofuels consumption is projected for the US, where production of biofuels will increase from 0.3 million barrels per day in 2006 to 1.9 million barrels per day in 2030,” the report says.
Coal
In the absence of national policies or binding international agreements that would limit GHG emissions, world coal consumption is projected to increase from 127 quadrillion Btu in 2006 to 190 quadrillion Btu in 2030, the report says.
Much of that increase will come from the non-OECD Asia region, which accounts for nearly 90 per cent of total world increase in coal use from 2006 to 2030.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Climate change: Progress seen on funding problem
PARIS (AFP) – The world's biggest carbon polluters made headway in talks here Tuesday on how to beef up funding to help poor countries in the firing line of climate change, senior officials said.
The so-called Major Economies Forum (MEF) advanced on one of the key issues troubling negotiations for a new global treaty due to be crafted in Copenhagen in December, they said.
"We made progress on a major subject, which is finance and financial architecture. It's not final, but one feels that there is a real consensus," said French Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo at the end of the two-day MEF meeting.
Todd Stern, the US special envoy for climate change, agreed.
"We had quite constructive discussions, candid, frank," Stern told a press conference.
"We made particularly good progress on the area of financing, which I would say is one of the two biggest issues in the Copenhagen negotiations."
The Copenhagen accord would take effect from 2012, after the current commitments of the UN's Kyoto Protocol expire.
The marathon process resumes in Bonn next Monday with talks aimed at hammering out a negotiation blueprint.
But developing and industrialised economies are far apart about how much money should be raised to help poor countries most exposed to the impacts of changing weather patterns.
Another stumbling block is how far countries will vow to cut their emissions of heat-trapping carbon gases in the coming decades. Scientists say swingeing reductions are needed to stave off potential catastrophe.
Both Borloo and Stern said the MEF environment ministers showed interest in a so-called "Green Fund" proposed by Mexico last year.
Contributions to the fund would be based on a country's gross domestic product (GDP) and its share of the world's carbon pollution.
"I don't have any objections to it," said Stern.
"We have to go through the details of it and look at it carefully so I am not signing on to every jot and tittle, but (we thought it was) a general good idea and a highly constructive contribution."
The MEF, launched by US President Barack Obama last month on the back of an initiative by his predecessor, George W. Bush, aims at speeding the search for common ground among countries that together account for around 80 percent of annual greenhouse-gas emissions.
It then intends to hand this consensus for approval by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the sprawling 192-nation global arena.
The MEF's participants include Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and the United States, as well as the European Union.
The forum's next meeting will be in Mexico on June 22-23, ahead of likely summit-level talks at the Group of Eight gathering in Italy in July.
Stern defended Washington from criticism that Obama, despite scrapping most of Bush's climate policies, could do more.
China has demanded rich countries reduce their annual emissions by at least 40 percent by 2020 compared with 1990 levels.
The European Union is unilaterally targeting a 20-percent cut by 2020 over 1990 and is offering to deepen this to 30 percent if other advanced economies follow suit.
By comparison, a bill making its way through Congress would reduce America's emissions by 17 percent by 2020 compared with their 2005 level, which Stern said was equivalent to a reduction of four percent over 1990.
But, he argued, the United States was probably the only country to put forward "a hard mandatory policy" of targeted cuts all the way to 2050, when its greenhouse-gas levels would be 83 percent less than in 2005.
"We are actually quite close to being on the same page," he said of European countries.
And he suggested the way forward lay in a tailored agreement that abandoned a simple like-for-like comparison of national pledges of emissions cuts.
"The notion that the European Union might have a target of X and we might have a target of Y, as long as they are both quite strong targets, that can be accommodated in an agreement depending on how you structure the agreement," he said.
The so-called Major Economies Forum (MEF) advanced on one of the key issues troubling negotiations for a new global treaty due to be crafted in Copenhagen in December, they said.
"We made progress on a major subject, which is finance and financial architecture. It's not final, but one feels that there is a real consensus," said French Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo at the end of the two-day MEF meeting.
Todd Stern, the US special envoy for climate change, agreed.
"We had quite constructive discussions, candid, frank," Stern told a press conference.
"We made particularly good progress on the area of financing, which I would say is one of the two biggest issues in the Copenhagen negotiations."
The Copenhagen accord would take effect from 2012, after the current commitments of the UN's Kyoto Protocol expire.
The marathon process resumes in Bonn next Monday with talks aimed at hammering out a negotiation blueprint.
But developing and industrialised economies are far apart about how much money should be raised to help poor countries most exposed to the impacts of changing weather patterns.
Another stumbling block is how far countries will vow to cut their emissions of heat-trapping carbon gases in the coming decades. Scientists say swingeing reductions are needed to stave off potential catastrophe.
Both Borloo and Stern said the MEF environment ministers showed interest in a so-called "Green Fund" proposed by Mexico last year.
Contributions to the fund would be based on a country's gross domestic product (GDP) and its share of the world's carbon pollution.
"I don't have any objections to it," said Stern.
"We have to go through the details of it and look at it carefully so I am not signing on to every jot and tittle, but (we thought it was) a general good idea and a highly constructive contribution."
The MEF, launched by US President Barack Obama last month on the back of an initiative by his predecessor, George W. Bush, aims at speeding the search for common ground among countries that together account for around 80 percent of annual greenhouse-gas emissions.
It then intends to hand this consensus for approval by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the sprawling 192-nation global arena.
The MEF's participants include Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and the United States, as well as the European Union.
The forum's next meeting will be in Mexico on June 22-23, ahead of likely summit-level talks at the Group of Eight gathering in Italy in July.
Stern defended Washington from criticism that Obama, despite scrapping most of Bush's climate policies, could do more.
China has demanded rich countries reduce their annual emissions by at least 40 percent by 2020 compared with 1990 levels.
The European Union is unilaterally targeting a 20-percent cut by 2020 over 1990 and is offering to deepen this to 30 percent if other advanced economies follow suit.
By comparison, a bill making its way through Congress would reduce America's emissions by 17 percent by 2020 compared with their 2005 level, which Stern said was equivalent to a reduction of four percent over 1990.
But, he argued, the United States was probably the only country to put forward "a hard mandatory policy" of targeted cuts all the way to 2050, when its greenhouse-gas levels would be 83 percent less than in 2005.
"We are actually quite close to being on the same page," he said of European countries.
And he suggested the way forward lay in a tailored agreement that abandoned a simple like-for-like comparison of national pledges of emissions cuts.
"The notion that the European Union might have a target of X and we might have a target of Y, as long as they are both quite strong targets, that can be accommodated in an agreement depending on how you structure the agreement," he said.
GE says it has reduced greenhouse emissions
WASHINGTON – Industrial conglomerate General Electric Co. says it has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions and is making a growing amount of money from its environmentally conscious business plan launched in 2005.
In the annual report of GE's "ecomagination" program, GE said its emissions of greenhouse gases from company operations were 13 percent lower than in 2005, reductions that came from initiatives like using alternative energy sources.
The Fairfield, Conn.-based company, one of the largest industrial producers in the world, acknowledged that some of the reason for fewer emissions was linked to the economic downturn, which has sapped factory production globally. But the company said that it still met its goal of reducing greenhouse gases even when economic conditions were factored in.
GE attributed $17 billion in revenue last year to the ecomagination program, composed largely of business lines that it deems to be environmentally conscious. That includes energy-efficient light bulbs, more fuel-efficient train locomotives and wind power turbines. Those results were 21 percent higher than when the program began. GE has now expanded ecomagination to include about 80 products and services.
That revenue is still a small share of the $183 billion the company took in overall last year. But GE has made a push recently to tap environmental markets, including what it estimates is about $400 billion worth of stimulus spending devoted to environmental projects worldwide.
In the annual report of GE's "ecomagination" program, GE said its emissions of greenhouse gases from company operations were 13 percent lower than in 2005, reductions that came from initiatives like using alternative energy sources.
The Fairfield, Conn.-based company, one of the largest industrial producers in the world, acknowledged that some of the reason for fewer emissions was linked to the economic downturn, which has sapped factory production globally. But the company said that it still met its goal of reducing greenhouse gases even when economic conditions were factored in.
GE attributed $17 billion in revenue last year to the ecomagination program, composed largely of business lines that it deems to be environmentally conscious. That includes energy-efficient light bulbs, more fuel-efficient train locomotives and wind power turbines. Those results were 21 percent higher than when the program began. GE has now expanded ecomagination to include about 80 products and services.
That revenue is still a small share of the $183 billion the company took in overall last year. But GE has made a push recently to tap environmental markets, including what it estimates is about $400 billion worth of stimulus spending devoted to environmental projects worldwide.
Australia to vote on carbon trade this year: PM
The government will not delay parliamentary vote on the carbon pollution reduction scheme (CPRS).
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd today dismissed calls from the opposition coalition to delay the vote until next year, when the outcome of UN negotiations on climate change is known.
He told reporters the vote must go ahead in order to provide business certainty over the future of the scheme, and for Australia to have a position at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen in December.
The vote is expected to take place in June.
Green backing
The government was backed today by the Greens, who also said the future of the scheme should be decided as soon as possible.
But unlike the government the Greens want to see the proposed emissions trading scheme defeated.
"We want to see this 'agreement to fail' rejected and get Australia moving with real action," Greens Senator Christine Milne said today.
Without the support of the Greens or the coalition the Labor government faces an uphill battle to see the CPRS through the Senate.
If parliament turns down the CPRS, Labor could call a new election, which – according to recent polls – could pave the way for a new parliamentary situation that could see Labor and the Greens push through a stricter scheme.
Jobs
Meanwhile, The Climate Institute today presented a new report saying that planned investment as a result of the CPRS would create more than 26,000 new jobs.
Most of the new jobs, 15,000, would be in construction, it said.
The study was conducted by consultancy McLennan Magasanik Associates.
Last week the Minerals Council of Australia said the sector would lose 66,000 jobs by 2030 if the carbon trading scheme is adopted in its current version.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd today dismissed calls from the opposition coalition to delay the vote until next year, when the outcome of UN negotiations on climate change is known.
He told reporters the vote must go ahead in order to provide business certainty over the future of the scheme, and for Australia to have a position at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen in December.
The vote is expected to take place in June.
Green backing
The government was backed today by the Greens, who also said the future of the scheme should be decided as soon as possible.
But unlike the government the Greens want to see the proposed emissions trading scheme defeated.
"We want to see this 'agreement to fail' rejected and get Australia moving with real action," Greens Senator Christine Milne said today.
Without the support of the Greens or the coalition the Labor government faces an uphill battle to see the CPRS through the Senate.
If parliament turns down the CPRS, Labor could call a new election, which – according to recent polls – could pave the way for a new parliamentary situation that could see Labor and the Greens push through a stricter scheme.
Jobs
Meanwhile, The Climate Institute today presented a new report saying that planned investment as a result of the CPRS would create more than 26,000 new jobs.
Most of the new jobs, 15,000, would be in construction, it said.
The study was conducted by consultancy McLennan Magasanik Associates.
Last week the Minerals Council of Australia said the sector would lose 66,000 jobs by 2030 if the carbon trading scheme is adopted in its current version.
Update: Ukraine to sign world’s largest carbon deal
Ukraine is to sell 150 million government emission rights in the world’s largest carbon deal.
The government’s cabinet of ministers yesterday published an order allowing the National Environmental Investment Agency to sell the assigned amount units (AAUs) to two private companies.
Geneva-based financial services company Dighton Carbon is in negotiations to buy 100 million AAUs, while New Zealand-based Tawhaki International may buy 50 million.
The price was not given for the credits, but rumours suggest they were in the range of €7-10 per AAU.
Ukrainian government sources refused to comment at press time.
The National Environmental Investment Agency will also sign a deal with the UK arm of Japanese Bank Nomura International, where Nomura will act as the facilitator for government purchases by Japan from Ukraine.
Controversial
Selling government emission rights to private companies is controversial as deals are often opaque and it is questionable whether funds paid are earmarked for any environmental benefit.
A trader with Dighton Carbon, a subsidiary of Dighton Services, told Point Carbon that the cash would “eventually” go toward some environmental benefit, but would not be drawn on the details.
The source at the company, which only set up its carbon business in the last 12 months, said that it was not acting as an intermediary on behalf of anyone, but was working on its own and planned to sell the rights on at a profit.
The deal, which could be valued as high as €1 billion depending on price, is huge for Dighton, which last year had just $200 million under management.
“We are working with some companies for sure and let’s just say we are open to work with any partner that is interested,” said the trader, who asked not to be named.
The company is listed as having owners located in Russia and Monaco.
No contacts could be found for Tawhaki International and the company did not show up on the New Zealand’s companies register.
Last year
The deal is only the second public transaction involving the sale of AAUs to a private company.
In a controversial transaction last year Slovakia agreed to sell 10 million rights to a US-based shell company called Interblue for a price of around €6.00 per AAU.
The deal was not backed by any green investment scheme and the minister involved subsequently lost his job.
It is unclear where the AAUs ended up but one source in New Zealand claimed to have been offered the AAUs.
Observers say only companies in countries with a Kyoto cap and some form of corporate target, such as in Australia, Japan, New Zealand or Switzerland, would have an interest in buying the rights as they are used mainly by countries to comply with emission caps.
Post-2012
One observer told Point Carbon that these types of deals could threaten the integrity of governmental emissions trading and could have an impact on negotiating a new post-2012 global climate deal in Copenhagen in December.
“Some of the proposals for 2012, like no-lose sector targets, could work out quite similar to the GIS. It is the government that is trading and not business,” said Kristian Tangen, a consultant in Point Carbon’s advisory services.
“But if you can’t track where the AAUs are going and you can’t see that the money is being spent, then you could expect that this way of thinking with government deals could come under scrutiny and negotiators would focus on facilitating business to business deals instead.”
Tangen said that if there is a perception that deals are not transparent or liquid enough it “could raise the question in negotiations whether this is a model that is worthwhile following post-2012 as well.”
“If the market is not functioning and giving reductions then why keep it post-2012?”
One trader at an investment bank agreed.
“One question I have is how the money from this deal will be spent? Governments insist on money going towards a GIS, but in this sense why would private companies care?”
“You have these things sell them at a profit and you don’t care. I cannot believe they are going to hold this long position for around one billion euros,” one trader at an investment bank said.
The government’s cabinet of ministers yesterday published an order allowing the National Environmental Investment Agency to sell the assigned amount units (AAUs) to two private companies.
Geneva-based financial services company Dighton Carbon is in negotiations to buy 100 million AAUs, while New Zealand-based Tawhaki International may buy 50 million.
The price was not given for the credits, but rumours suggest they were in the range of €7-10 per AAU.
Ukrainian government sources refused to comment at press time.
The National Environmental Investment Agency will also sign a deal with the UK arm of Japanese Bank Nomura International, where Nomura will act as the facilitator for government purchases by Japan from Ukraine.
Controversial
Selling government emission rights to private companies is controversial as deals are often opaque and it is questionable whether funds paid are earmarked for any environmental benefit.
A trader with Dighton Carbon, a subsidiary of Dighton Services, told Point Carbon that the cash would “eventually” go toward some environmental benefit, but would not be drawn on the details.
The source at the company, which only set up its carbon business in the last 12 months, said that it was not acting as an intermediary on behalf of anyone, but was working on its own and planned to sell the rights on at a profit.
The deal, which could be valued as high as €1 billion depending on price, is huge for Dighton, which last year had just $200 million under management.
“We are working with some companies for sure and let’s just say we are open to work with any partner that is interested,” said the trader, who asked not to be named.
The company is listed as having owners located in Russia and Monaco.
No contacts could be found for Tawhaki International and the company did not show up on the New Zealand’s companies register.
Last year
The deal is only the second public transaction involving the sale of AAUs to a private company.
In a controversial transaction last year Slovakia agreed to sell 10 million rights to a US-based shell company called Interblue for a price of around €6.00 per AAU.
The deal was not backed by any green investment scheme and the minister involved subsequently lost his job.
It is unclear where the AAUs ended up but one source in New Zealand claimed to have been offered the AAUs.
Observers say only companies in countries with a Kyoto cap and some form of corporate target, such as in Australia, Japan, New Zealand or Switzerland, would have an interest in buying the rights as they are used mainly by countries to comply with emission caps.
Post-2012
One observer told Point Carbon that these types of deals could threaten the integrity of governmental emissions trading and could have an impact on negotiating a new post-2012 global climate deal in Copenhagen in December.
“Some of the proposals for 2012, like no-lose sector targets, could work out quite similar to the GIS. It is the government that is trading and not business,” said Kristian Tangen, a consultant in Point Carbon’s advisory services.
“But if you can’t track where the AAUs are going and you can’t see that the money is being spent, then you could expect that this way of thinking with government deals could come under scrutiny and negotiators would focus on facilitating business to business deals instead.”
Tangen said that if there is a perception that deals are not transparent or liquid enough it “could raise the question in negotiations whether this is a model that is worthwhile following post-2012 as well.”
“If the market is not functioning and giving reductions then why keep it post-2012?”
One trader at an investment bank agreed.
“One question I have is how the money from this deal will be spent? Governments insist on money going towards a GIS, but in this sense why would private companies care?”
“You have these things sell them at a profit and you don’t care. I cannot believe they are going to hold this long position for around one billion euros,” one trader at an investment bank said.
UN issues 16 CDM projects with carbon credits
Sixteen GHG-cutting projects received around 1.6 million carbon credits from the UN last week.
The bulk of the credits issued between 18-25 May were delivered to a Chinese clean development mechanism (CDM) project to destroy the potent waste gas HFC 23.
The Zhejiang project, whose partners include Japanese trading house Marubeni, received just short of 1 million certified emission reduction (CER) credits.
The project is expected to deliver around 5.8 million CERs a year.
The only other project to receive more than 100,000 CERs last week was Chinese wind power project Huitengxile.
The project, which is backed by Spanish utility Endesa, was issued with 216,000 CERs.
Of last week’s CDM issuances, nine were from projects in India, four in China and three in Brazil.
Lagging behind
The amount of issued credits is a huge increase on a week earlier, when only 142,000 credits were doled out.
But the issuance rate still lags way behind the average weekly rate of 5.8 million CERs which would be necessary to deliver the 1.343 billion credits expected by the UN by the end of 2012.
Around 288 million CERs have been issued by the UN to date.
Last week, Point Carbon reported project developers were requesting issuance less often mainly due to higher administration costs and historically low CER prices.
Four registered
Meanwhile, four CDM projects were registered by the UN last week, but only two are expected to deliver more than 100,000 credits annually.
The Duerbote wind farm project, which is partnered by the UK’s Carbon Resource Management Ltd, is expected to generate around 120,000 CERs a year.
Another was a project to avoid methane gas emissions at a waste treatment plant in Ghazipur, India, which is expected to generate around 112,000 CERs a year.
The other two CDM projects to gain UN approval last week were much smaller scale activities in China and Malaysia.
CDM projects must be registered by the UN before they can request to be issued with any carbon credits.
The bulk of the credits issued between 18-25 May were delivered to a Chinese clean development mechanism (CDM) project to destroy the potent waste gas HFC 23.
The Zhejiang project, whose partners include Japanese trading house Marubeni, received just short of 1 million certified emission reduction (CER) credits.
The project is expected to deliver around 5.8 million CERs a year.
The only other project to receive more than 100,000 CERs last week was Chinese wind power project Huitengxile.
The project, which is backed by Spanish utility Endesa, was issued with 216,000 CERs.
Of last week’s CDM issuances, nine were from projects in India, four in China and three in Brazil.
Lagging behind
The amount of issued credits is a huge increase on a week earlier, when only 142,000 credits were doled out.
But the issuance rate still lags way behind the average weekly rate of 5.8 million CERs which would be necessary to deliver the 1.343 billion credits expected by the UN by the end of 2012.
Around 288 million CERs have been issued by the UN to date.
Last week, Point Carbon reported project developers were requesting issuance less often mainly due to higher administration costs and historically low CER prices.
Four registered
Meanwhile, four CDM projects were registered by the UN last week, but only two are expected to deliver more than 100,000 credits annually.
The Duerbote wind farm project, which is partnered by the UK’s Carbon Resource Management Ltd, is expected to generate around 120,000 CERs a year.
Another was a project to avoid methane gas emissions at a waste treatment plant in Ghazipur, India, which is expected to generate around 112,000 CERs a year.
The other two CDM projects to gain UN approval last week were much smaller scale activities in China and Malaysia.
CDM projects must be registered by the UN before they can request to be issued with any carbon credits.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Voluntary market continues to grow: observers
The voluntary carbon market will continue to grow this year, despite the weak economy.
Carbon market participants said at the launch of a new report on the state of the voluntary market Wednesday they expect the market to grow in 2009, albeit at a slower pace than 2008.
The value of the voluntary carbon market doubled to $705 million in 2008 from the previous year, with over 120 million credits transacted, according to a report released last night by Ecosystem Marketplace and New Carbon Finance.
But already in the first few months of 2009, “volumes have gone down considerably,” said Milo Sjardin, head of carbon services for North America at New Carbon Finance.
Maturing
Nonetheless, Sjardin said the voluntary market is “maturing rapidly,” with infrastructure expanding, transparency improving, and project design standards to ensure the environmental integrity of carbon credits “consolidating.”
Despite evidence of a drop off in buying of voluntary carbon credits in the first half of the year, Helen Robinson, CEO of environmental markets registry TZ1, said she has seen a dramatic increase in voluntary market activity.
“Since January, there has been a monumental increase in participation in the voluntary carbon market,” Robinson said, noting a surge of activity from North American clients.
She said she has seen six times the number of issuances of voluntary carbon credits at the start of 2009 compared to last year, giving her a “very positive outlook for next year.”
“This year we will see a continuation of a real marketplace as compared to more a ‘do we get into this or don’t we’ type of market,” she said.
Speculators enter
The maturation of the voluntary carbon market has become apparent to intermediaries, such as brokers, who have witnessed a shift in the types of buyers active in the market.
“If you compare this year’s report to last year’s – the shift in the buyers is now towards speculative interest,” said Andrew Kruger, a director at Evolution Brokers.
Last year, he pointed out, voluntary market activity was dominated by pre-compliance buyers looking to acquire credits that can be used in a future mandatory carbon trading programme early.
Despite the poor economy, Kruger pointed out that over-the-counter transactions of carbon credits still grew by 26 per cent.
“The key thing to realise is that markets are becoming much more educated,” he said.
Carbon market participants said at the launch of a new report on the state of the voluntary market Wednesday they expect the market to grow in 2009, albeit at a slower pace than 2008.
The value of the voluntary carbon market doubled to $705 million in 2008 from the previous year, with over 120 million credits transacted, according to a report released last night by Ecosystem Marketplace and New Carbon Finance.
But already in the first few months of 2009, “volumes have gone down considerably,” said Milo Sjardin, head of carbon services for North America at New Carbon Finance.
Maturing
Nonetheless, Sjardin said the voluntary market is “maturing rapidly,” with infrastructure expanding, transparency improving, and project design standards to ensure the environmental integrity of carbon credits “consolidating.”
Despite evidence of a drop off in buying of voluntary carbon credits in the first half of the year, Helen Robinson, CEO of environmental markets registry TZ1, said she has seen a dramatic increase in voluntary market activity.
“Since January, there has been a monumental increase in participation in the voluntary carbon market,” Robinson said, noting a surge of activity from North American clients.
She said she has seen six times the number of issuances of voluntary carbon credits at the start of 2009 compared to last year, giving her a “very positive outlook for next year.”
“This year we will see a continuation of a real marketplace as compared to more a ‘do we get into this or don’t we’ type of market,” she said.
Speculators enter
The maturation of the voluntary carbon market has become apparent to intermediaries, such as brokers, who have witnessed a shift in the types of buyers active in the market.
“If you compare this year’s report to last year’s – the shift in the buyers is now towards speculative interest,” said Andrew Kruger, a director at Evolution Brokers.
Last year, he pointed out, voluntary market activity was dominated by pre-compliance buyers looking to acquire credits that can be used in a future mandatory carbon trading programme early.
Despite the poor economy, Kruger pointed out that over-the-counter transactions of carbon credits still grew by 26 per cent.
“The key thing to realise is that markets are becoming much more educated,” he said.
Norway to buy 6 million CERs
Norway has signed various contracts to buy six million UN carbon credits, it emerged today.
The so-called certified emission reductions (CERs) are expected to come from Norway’s investments in several emission-cutting projects in China, Chile, Tanzania and South Africa.
Some 5 million of the credits were contracted for investments in wind farm projects in China, where the renewable energy will replace fossil-fuel burning coal, Norway’s finance ministry said in a statement today.
A ministry spokesman told Point Carbon the credits still needed final approval from the clean development mechanism (CDM) executive board.
The remaining credits are expected to come from a tree-planting project in Tanzania, a methane-cutting project in Chile and a biomass project in South Africa.
The Kyoto protocol’s CDM allows governments and companies in rich nations to invest in carbon-cutting projects in developing countries in return for CERs.
The CERs, once registered by the CDM executive board, can be used for trading or Kyoto compliance during the period 2008-2012.
Earlier this week, data from Statistics Norway showed the country’s 2008 emissions amounted to 53.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Norway’s average annual cap under Kyoto is 50.1 million tonnes, meaning the country must pay for emission reductions abroad in order to comply.
Including the latest CER contracts, Norway to date has agreed to buy 9.3 million CERs for delivery through 2012 – or about 30 per cent of its purchasing needs, the ministry said.
Norway’s Finance Ministry has also entered into contracts to buy some 2 million CERs for delivery after 2012.
The so-called certified emission reductions (CERs) are expected to come from Norway’s investments in several emission-cutting projects in China, Chile, Tanzania and South Africa.
Some 5 million of the credits were contracted for investments in wind farm projects in China, where the renewable energy will replace fossil-fuel burning coal, Norway’s finance ministry said in a statement today.
A ministry spokesman told Point Carbon the credits still needed final approval from the clean development mechanism (CDM) executive board.
The remaining credits are expected to come from a tree-planting project in Tanzania, a methane-cutting project in Chile and a biomass project in South Africa.
The Kyoto protocol’s CDM allows governments and companies in rich nations to invest in carbon-cutting projects in developing countries in return for CERs.
The CERs, once registered by the CDM executive board, can be used for trading or Kyoto compliance during the period 2008-2012.
Earlier this week, data from Statistics Norway showed the country’s 2008 emissions amounted to 53.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Norway’s average annual cap under Kyoto is 50.1 million tonnes, meaning the country must pay for emission reductions abroad in order to comply.
Including the latest CER contracts, Norway to date has agreed to buy 9.3 million CERs for delivery through 2012 – or about 30 per cent of its purchasing needs, the ministry said.
Norway’s Finance Ministry has also entered into contracts to buy some 2 million CERs for delivery after 2012.
Recession cuts BA's emissions
British Airway’s emissions will fall over the winter as the carrier parks 16 aircraft.
The iconic British airline has cut four per cent of its capacity in the wake of a £401-million pre-tax loss in the year to the end of March – its worst performance since privatisation in 1987.
But the carrier’s longer-term carbon abatement measures may also be threatened by the losses.
BA was planning to replace some of its Boeing 747 fleet with 24 new Boeing 787 aircraft between 2012 and 2016, and 12 Airbus A380s between 2012 and 2014.
The two new fuel efficient aircraft types can cut the carrier’s carbon emissions by up to 30 per cent compared to using an old Boeing 747.
“We have got committed finance up to the end of 2012, but we are looking at our capital expenditure and talking to our manufacturers and our suppliers,” said a spokesperson.
Aviation will join the EU’s emission trading scheme in 2012, when airlines flying in and out of the EU will have to cut their emissions by 3 per cent compared to levels between 2004 and 2006.
The next year, 2013, airlines will have to cut their emissions by 5 per cent under historical levels.
BA, which emitted 16 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2005, plans to halve its emissions by 2050.
The iconic British airline has cut four per cent of its capacity in the wake of a £401-million pre-tax loss in the year to the end of March – its worst performance since privatisation in 1987.
But the carrier’s longer-term carbon abatement measures may also be threatened by the losses.
BA was planning to replace some of its Boeing 747 fleet with 24 new Boeing 787 aircraft between 2012 and 2016, and 12 Airbus A380s between 2012 and 2014.
The two new fuel efficient aircraft types can cut the carrier’s carbon emissions by up to 30 per cent compared to using an old Boeing 747.
“We have got committed finance up to the end of 2012, but we are looking at our capital expenditure and talking to our manufacturers and our suppliers,” said a spokesperson.
Aviation will join the EU’s emission trading scheme in 2012, when airlines flying in and out of the EU will have to cut their emissions by 3 per cent compared to levels between 2004 and 2006.
The next year, 2013, airlines will have to cut their emissions by 5 per cent under historical levels.
BA, which emitted 16 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2005, plans to halve its emissions by 2050.
Friday, May 22, 2009
China: rich nations must cut emissions by 40 pct
SHANGHAI – Wealthy nations, as history's biggest polluters, should cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, China says in a policy document on climate change. The government also rolled out fresh help for solar power and other "green energy."
The reductions China is calling for are based on the principles of "historical responsibility and fairness," the position paper says, and set a hard line ahead of international negotiations on addressing global warming.
A U.N. conference set for December in Copenhagen aims to draft a new agreement on controlling carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases that scientists say are causing the Earth to warm. Delegates will meet in Bonn, Germany, next month to begin discussing the text of that agreement.
China's position paper was posted Thursday on the Web site of the National Development and Planning Commission, the country's main economic planning agency.
Meanwhile, the government announced new support for solar and wind power and other renewable energy sources.
In a meeting Thursday with provincial officials, the Ministry of Finance promised 38 billion yuan ($5.6 billion) in subsidies to promote wider use of wind and solar power and encourage the use of energy efficient cars and appliances, state-run media reported Friday.
China, which relies on heavily polluting coal for about three-quarters of its electricity, has sought to spotlight its efforts to improve energy efficiency and cut emissions, but has not committed to specific targets in climate talks.
The policy document issued this week gave no specific targets for China or other developing countries, but instead reiterated demands for technology transfers and other support.
Rich countries should provide at least 0.5 percent to 1 percent of their annual gross domestic product to help developing countries upgrade technology, cut emissions and adapt to the consequences of climate change, the document said.
China has welcomed President Barack Obama's commitment to tackle climate change and re-engage in the international negotiations to come to an agreement in December.
But despite that shift, "the developed world has yet to do its due part in tackling climate change," the official newspaper China Daily said Friday in a commentary.
"No solution to fight global warming will be genuine enough, and thus practical enough, if developed countries keep glossing over their historical responsibility on this issue," it said.
The U.S. — which also has not issued targets for reducing emissions — has said that any agreement to combat global warming should require developing countries like India and China to reduce emissions.
Together, the U.S. and China are the world's two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, accounting for 40 percent of the global total.
While visiting Prague this week, Premier Wen Jiabao shrugged off pressure from the European Union for China to commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, though he backed EU efforts to reach a new global climate change accord to replace the U.N. Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
The EU says it will reduce emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and will go to 30 percent if major world nations will make similar cuts.
Experts say emissions must peak in 2015 and then fall by half by 2050 to limit global warming.
The reductions China is calling for are based on the principles of "historical responsibility and fairness," the position paper says, and set a hard line ahead of international negotiations on addressing global warming.
A U.N. conference set for December in Copenhagen aims to draft a new agreement on controlling carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases that scientists say are causing the Earth to warm. Delegates will meet in Bonn, Germany, next month to begin discussing the text of that agreement.
China's position paper was posted Thursday on the Web site of the National Development and Planning Commission, the country's main economic planning agency.
Meanwhile, the government announced new support for solar and wind power and other renewable energy sources.
In a meeting Thursday with provincial officials, the Ministry of Finance promised 38 billion yuan ($5.6 billion) in subsidies to promote wider use of wind and solar power and encourage the use of energy efficient cars and appliances, state-run media reported Friday.
China, which relies on heavily polluting coal for about three-quarters of its electricity, has sought to spotlight its efforts to improve energy efficiency and cut emissions, but has not committed to specific targets in climate talks.
The policy document issued this week gave no specific targets for China or other developing countries, but instead reiterated demands for technology transfers and other support.
Rich countries should provide at least 0.5 percent to 1 percent of their annual gross domestic product to help developing countries upgrade technology, cut emissions and adapt to the consequences of climate change, the document said.
China has welcomed President Barack Obama's commitment to tackle climate change and re-engage in the international negotiations to come to an agreement in December.
But despite that shift, "the developed world has yet to do its due part in tackling climate change," the official newspaper China Daily said Friday in a commentary.
"No solution to fight global warming will be genuine enough, and thus practical enough, if developed countries keep glossing over their historical responsibility on this issue," it said.
The U.S. — which also has not issued targets for reducing emissions — has said that any agreement to combat global warming should require developing countries like India and China to reduce emissions.
Together, the U.S. and China are the world's two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, accounting for 40 percent of the global total.
While visiting Prague this week, Premier Wen Jiabao shrugged off pressure from the European Union for China to commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, though he backed EU efforts to reach a new global climate change accord to replace the U.N. Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
The EU says it will reduce emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and will go to 30 percent if major world nations will make similar cuts.
Experts say emissions must peak in 2015 and then fall by half by 2050 to limit global warming.
Spain's GHGs fell 6.5% in 2008: panel
Spain’s economic slump largely caused a 6.5 per cent fall in 2008 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Figures released today said the sharp recession, a fall in power demand and a greater share of generation from renewable sources had all contributed to the big decline in Spain’s emissions last year.
The data, which was presented by Comisiones Obreras, a working group which sits on a panel that advises the government on climate change, showed that Spain remains far behind its emissions target under the Kyoto protocol.
Even after the fall in 2008, Spain’s emissions are 42.7 per cent above its baseline year, the panel said.
The 1997 global climate pact limits emissions growth in Spain to 15 per cent above 1990 levels on average between 2008 and 2012.
Credit-buying
Earlier this year, the country reiterated its intention to buy 159 million government emissions rights and offset credits to help it meet its Kyoto target.
GHG emissions are likely to bounce back up again when the economy recovers, Comisiones Obreras said in a press release.
However Spain, which is the midst of its worst economic slump in generations, will experience a further shrinkage in GDP this year, according to the country’s central bank.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund reckons Spain will have to wait until 2014 before it will post GDP growth of above 2 per cent.
Figures released earlier this year showed Spain’s emissions from sectors covered by Europe’s emissions trading scheme were down 12.4 per cent last year compared with 2007.
Figures released today said the sharp recession, a fall in power demand and a greater share of generation from renewable sources had all contributed to the big decline in Spain’s emissions last year.
The data, which was presented by Comisiones Obreras, a working group which sits on a panel that advises the government on climate change, showed that Spain remains far behind its emissions target under the Kyoto protocol.
Even after the fall in 2008, Spain’s emissions are 42.7 per cent above its baseline year, the panel said.
The 1997 global climate pact limits emissions growth in Spain to 15 per cent above 1990 levels on average between 2008 and 2012.
Credit-buying
Earlier this year, the country reiterated its intention to buy 159 million government emissions rights and offset credits to help it meet its Kyoto target.
GHG emissions are likely to bounce back up again when the economy recovers, Comisiones Obreras said in a press release.
However Spain, which is the midst of its worst economic slump in generations, will experience a further shrinkage in GDP this year, according to the country’s central bank.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund reckons Spain will have to wait until 2014 before it will post GDP growth of above 2 per cent.
Figures released earlier this year showed Spain’s emissions from sectors covered by Europe’s emissions trading scheme were down 12.4 per cent last year compared with 2007.
Carbon nudges higher in early trade
Carbon was edging higher in early trade on Friday after further gains in crude oil.
By 9.00 CET, the 2009 EUA was trading at €15.18, up €0.08 on Thusrday’s close.
The benchmark permit opened at €15.55, but then fell back to a low of €15.06 in a volatile first hour of trade.
July Brent crude oil pushed up to around $60.50/bbl, up around $0.50 on last night’s close.
In the CER market, the 2009 contract was bid at €12.40 and offered at €12.59, after closing at €12.30 yesterday.
By 9.00 CET, the 2009 EUA was trading at €15.18, up €0.08 on Thusrday’s close.
The benchmark permit opened at €15.55, but then fell back to a low of €15.06 in a volatile first hour of trade.
July Brent crude oil pushed up to around $60.50/bbl, up around $0.50 on last night’s close.
In the CER market, the 2009 contract was bid at €12.40 and offered at €12.59, after closing at €12.30 yesterday.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
City chiefs seek bigger say in UN climate summit
SEOUL (AFP) – Leaders of the world's biggest cities called for a bigger say in upcoming UN climate change talks as they wrapped up a three-day summit on ways to combat global warming.
"The fight against greenhouse gas emissions will be won or lost in cities," said Toronto Mayor David Miller, chair of the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in the South Korean capital.
The leaders in a summit declaration stressed that half the world's population lives in cities, which account for 75 percent of global energy consumption and 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.
"In the run-up to the... UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009, the leading role of cities in the global effort against climate change must be recognised," the declaration said.
The conference in the Danish capital is meant to approve a new treaty for the period after 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol's obligations to cut carbon emissions expire.
Miller told a press conference that all C40 member cities decided to have "a strong presence" in Copenhagen. Representatives from 36 smaller cities, in addition to the biggest 40, also attended the Seoul summit.
"If countries wish to succeed, they have to include cities," Miller said.
The Toronto mayor strongly urged national governments to engage, empower and resource the world's cities so they can successfully combat climate change.
"We occupy only two percent of the area of the world but represent 80 percent of the emissions," he added.
"You must resource cities. So, help us have the tools and financing necessary because that's how to defeat the climate change in those areas. That's what we'll be saying in Copenhagen."
In their declaration, the city leaders "set a common goal of transforming themselves into low-carbon cities" by cutting emissions and making themselves less vulnerable to climate change.
Mayor Gilberto Kassab of Sao Paulo in Brazil, which will host the next C40 summit in 2011, said his city can show the way.
Kassab said Sao Paulo is successfully turning 15,000 tons of its garbage into energy every day -- enough for 700,000 people.
He said it has shifted from one of the most polluted cities into "one of the cleanest cities -- visually speaking -- of the world."
On Tuesday former US President Bill Clinton warned that if the world fails to cut emissions by 80 percent by 2050, it would pay a high price in food shortages, drought and public health dangers.
"It is absolutely certain (that) if we let the worst happen, then the consequences will be so severe that we won't be able to save the planet for our grandchildren unless we are willing to undertake enormously expensive projects which can now be avoided," he told the Seoul summit.
"The fight against greenhouse gas emissions will be won or lost in cities," said Toronto Mayor David Miller, chair of the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in the South Korean capital.
The leaders in a summit declaration stressed that half the world's population lives in cities, which account for 75 percent of global energy consumption and 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.
"In the run-up to the... UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009, the leading role of cities in the global effort against climate change must be recognised," the declaration said.
The conference in the Danish capital is meant to approve a new treaty for the period after 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol's obligations to cut carbon emissions expire.
Miller told a press conference that all C40 member cities decided to have "a strong presence" in Copenhagen. Representatives from 36 smaller cities, in addition to the biggest 40, also attended the Seoul summit.
"If countries wish to succeed, they have to include cities," Miller said.
The Toronto mayor strongly urged national governments to engage, empower and resource the world's cities so they can successfully combat climate change.
"We occupy only two percent of the area of the world but represent 80 percent of the emissions," he added.
"You must resource cities. So, help us have the tools and financing necessary because that's how to defeat the climate change in those areas. That's what we'll be saying in Copenhagen."
In their declaration, the city leaders "set a common goal of transforming themselves into low-carbon cities" by cutting emissions and making themselves less vulnerable to climate change.
Mayor Gilberto Kassab of Sao Paulo in Brazil, which will host the next C40 summit in 2011, said his city can show the way.
Kassab said Sao Paulo is successfully turning 15,000 tons of its garbage into energy every day -- enough for 700,000 people.
He said it has shifted from one of the most polluted cities into "one of the cleanest cities -- visually speaking -- of the world."
On Tuesday former US President Bill Clinton warned that if the world fails to cut emissions by 80 percent by 2050, it would pay a high price in food shortages, drought and public health dangers.
"It is absolutely certain (that) if we let the worst happen, then the consequences will be so severe that we won't be able to save the planet for our grandchildren unless we are willing to undertake enormously expensive projects which can now be avoided," he told the Seoul summit.
EU carbon extends 4-day rally
Front-year carbon allowances surged past €15 Wednesday amid stronger oil and power.
By 17.30 CET, the 2009 EUA was trading at €15.15, up €0.45 on Tuesday’s close, and its highest closing position since 8 May.
Prices have now rallied 8 per cent since last Friday’s close.
July Brent crude oil pushed past $60/bbl, and traded $1.80/bbl higher than its settle last night.
German power firmed to €54.20/MWh, up €0.90 on Tuesday’s close.
“It is the same story as yesterday,” said a trader.
“We are following oil and macroeconomic news at the moment.”
High volumes of spot allowances traded. Some 12 million changed hands directly on the Bluenext exchange.
This was the highest volume of spot allowances seen this month amid a general upturn in spot trading.
An average daily volume of 8.9 million spot EUAs have been traded directly on the Bluenext bourse so far in May.
Overall, some 33 million allowances traded through the day, of which exchanges saw 21 million and brokers handled 12 million.
“I think a lot of utilities were buying the spot ahead of the long holiday this weekend,” said a trader.
In the secondary CER market, the 2009 contract closed at €12.55, up €0.50 on the previous close.
Prices in the offset market remain relatively flat further along the curve.
The 2012 CER closed only €0.65 higher than the 2009 CER.
By 17.30 CET, the 2009 EUA was trading at €15.15, up €0.45 on Tuesday’s close, and its highest closing position since 8 May.
Prices have now rallied 8 per cent since last Friday’s close.
July Brent crude oil pushed past $60/bbl, and traded $1.80/bbl higher than its settle last night.
German power firmed to €54.20/MWh, up €0.90 on Tuesday’s close.
“It is the same story as yesterday,” said a trader.
“We are following oil and macroeconomic news at the moment.”
High volumes of spot allowances traded. Some 12 million changed hands directly on the Bluenext exchange.
This was the highest volume of spot allowances seen this month amid a general upturn in spot trading.
An average daily volume of 8.9 million spot EUAs have been traded directly on the Bluenext bourse so far in May.
Overall, some 33 million allowances traded through the day, of which exchanges saw 21 million and brokers handled 12 million.
“I think a lot of utilities were buying the spot ahead of the long holiday this weekend,” said a trader.
In the secondary CER market, the 2009 contract closed at €12.55, up €0.50 on the previous close.
Prices in the offset market remain relatively flat further along the curve.
The 2012 CER closed only €0.65 higher than the 2009 CER.
EU carbon dips in early trade
Carbon prices were a shade down early on Thursday, reversing brief gains at the open.
By 09.00 CET, the EUA contract for December delivery was valued at €15.10, down 0.70 per cent from its settlement on the European Climate Exchange (ECX) on Wednesday.
After a firm opening at €15.30, the front-year contract slid to a morning floor of €14.85 – slightly above yesterday’s bottom trade of €14.81.
Still, trading volume was relatively thin, with just 370,000 allowances changing hands in the December 2009 contract during the first hour of business.
At the back end of the carbon curve, the December 2012 EUA was valued at €17.50, a loss of 0.70 per cent from the Wednesday’s settlement.
In key energy markets, the front-month Brent crude oil contract was last trading at $60.25/bbl, down $0.34 from yesterday’s settlement on the Intercontinental Exchange.
Earlier, the July crude oil product was trading as low as $59.93/bbl.
In the CER market, the December 2009 contract was valued at €12.30 on the ECX at 09.10 CET, down 2.0 per cent from the close on Wednesday.
By 09.00 CET, the EUA contract for December delivery was valued at €15.10, down 0.70 per cent from its settlement on the European Climate Exchange (ECX) on Wednesday.
After a firm opening at €15.30, the front-year contract slid to a morning floor of €14.85 – slightly above yesterday’s bottom trade of €14.81.
Still, trading volume was relatively thin, with just 370,000 allowances changing hands in the December 2009 contract during the first hour of business.
At the back end of the carbon curve, the December 2012 EUA was valued at €17.50, a loss of 0.70 per cent from the Wednesday’s settlement.
In key energy markets, the front-month Brent crude oil contract was last trading at $60.25/bbl, down $0.34 from yesterday’s settlement on the Intercontinental Exchange.
Earlier, the July crude oil product was trading as low as $59.93/bbl.
In the CER market, the December 2009 contract was valued at €12.30 on the ECX at 09.10 CET, down 2.0 per cent from the close on Wednesday.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Canada details fund for carbon capture, clean energy
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – The Canadian government announced details on Tuesday of the C$1 billion ($860 million) clean energy fund it promised in February, with the lion's share of the cash going to support the development of carbon capture and storage projects.
Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt said in a statement C$650 million has been earmarked to help pay for large-scale carbon capture and storage demonstration projects as the government looks to follow through on agreements made during U.S. President Barack Obama's February visit to Canada.
The remaining cash will be directed to paying for smaller-scale renewable and alternative energy projects and a C$150 million fund for researching clean energy technologies.
The Conservative Party government is looking to keep up with U.S. initiatives to stem climate change and to offset criticism of Canada's environmental record and of carbon-intensive oil production from the country's oil sands.
The fund was one of clean energy initiatives detailed by the government during Obama's visit to Ottawa in February.
The cash for the fund comes from the two-year, C$40 billion economic stimulus plan announced earlier this year in Canada's federal budget.
"This additional stimulus creates high-quality jobs for Canadians at a time when they are most needed," Raitt said in the statement.
Canadian governments have already moved to support carbon capture programs that would cut carbon-dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants and oil sands operations.
Last year the federal government earmarked C$240 million to aid plans for a carbon capture program at a power plant in Saskatchewan while the Alberta government has a C$2 billion fund to support CCS programs in that province.
($1=$1.16 Canadian)
Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt said in a statement C$650 million has been earmarked to help pay for large-scale carbon capture and storage demonstration projects as the government looks to follow through on agreements made during U.S. President Barack Obama's February visit to Canada.
The remaining cash will be directed to paying for smaller-scale renewable and alternative energy projects and a C$150 million fund for researching clean energy technologies.
The Conservative Party government is looking to keep up with U.S. initiatives to stem climate change and to offset criticism of Canada's environmental record and of carbon-intensive oil production from the country's oil sands.
The fund was one of clean energy initiatives detailed by the government during Obama's visit to Ottawa in February.
The cash for the fund comes from the two-year, C$40 billion economic stimulus plan announced earlier this year in Canada's federal budget.
"This additional stimulus creates high-quality jobs for Canadians at a time when they are most needed," Raitt said in the statement.
Canadian governments have already moved to support carbon capture programs that would cut carbon-dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants and oil sands operations.
Last year the federal government earmarked C$240 million to aid plans for a carbon capture program at a power plant in Saskatchewan while the Alberta government has a C$2 billion fund to support CCS programs in that province.
($1=$1.16 Canadian)
Obama unveils 'historic' car efficiency standards
WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama has unveiled "historic" efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for US cars, forging a rare moment of unity between auto firms and environmentalists on climate change.
"For the first time in history, we have set in motion a national policy aimed at both increasing gas mileage and decreasing greenhouse gas pollution for all new trucks and cars sold in the United States," Obama said Tuesday.
The president gathered 10 auto industry chiefs, from crippled US firms to foreign giants, plus union bosses and environmentalists, to celebrate the deal forged by his administration in secret talks over the past few weeks.
Automakers will be forced to dramatically boost the efficiency of cars and light trucks by 2016, in a move that will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil and achieve cuts of 900 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
The fleet average fuel consumption for US vehicles will be raised to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016 (15.44 kilometers per liter) from the current 25 miles per gallon -- four years sooner than required by current US law.
Most passenger cars must reach 39 miles per gallon by 2016 and light trucks must satisfy fuel consumption regulations of 30 miles per gallon.
The program, which begins with car models made in 2012, boosted Obama's new climate change policy and represented early vindication for his political creed of change, unity and coalition building.
"In the past, an agreement such as this would have been considered impossible," said Obama.
"At a time of historic crisis in our auto industry... this rule provides the clear certainty that will allow these companies to plan for a future in which they are building the cars of the 21st century."
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who led a fuel efficiency drive in his own state that was thwarted by auto giants, paid tribute to Obama's deal-making skills.
"Very quietly, he had everyone negotiate and everyone stay quiet and things move forward, and he was very successful," he said. "This has been a huge victory for the state of California."
The announcement, greeted with delight by environmental campaigners, coincides with an effort by the White House and Obama's Democratic allies in Congress to pass a landmark bill aimed at combating global warming.
Cars will be more expensive because of the new regulations -- by up to 600 dollars per vehicle on top of the 700-dollar price hike expected with the latest Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rules already passed by Congress.
However, drivers will likely be able to recoup the cost as they will have to buy less fuel over the vehicle's lifetime.
The new policy will give more certainty to struggling automakers like Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, which have been battered by the financial crisis and are working to refit vehicles by streamlining the regulatory process.
Ford CEO Alan Mullaly said he was "absolutely pleased" with the new regulations, which he said would help drive development of sustainable vehicles which run on new generation energy sources.
Harmonizing various regulatory standards "will benefit consumers across America," said new GM CEO Fritz Henderson.
"Energy security and climate change are national priorities that require federal leadership and the president's direction makes sense for the country and the industry."
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs denied that the billions of dollars the government is doling out in bailout money to GM and Chrysler had forced them to accept government demands to sign up to the program.
The tough new standards represent "one of the most significant efforts undertaken by any president, ever, to end our addiction to oil and seriously slash our global warming emissions," said Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope.
Ten car firms and the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) signed up for the deal, on the grounds it would provide a nationwide and industry-wide standard for auto efficiency requirements.
The high-powered guest list at the White House event included Mulally, Toyota's US arm president Jim Lentz, GM's Henderson, American Honda Motor Co. executive vice president John Mendel, Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli, Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger.
"For the first time in history, we have set in motion a national policy aimed at both increasing gas mileage and decreasing greenhouse gas pollution for all new trucks and cars sold in the United States," Obama said Tuesday.
The president gathered 10 auto industry chiefs, from crippled US firms to foreign giants, plus union bosses and environmentalists, to celebrate the deal forged by his administration in secret talks over the past few weeks.
Automakers will be forced to dramatically boost the efficiency of cars and light trucks by 2016, in a move that will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil and achieve cuts of 900 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
The fleet average fuel consumption for US vehicles will be raised to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016 (15.44 kilometers per liter) from the current 25 miles per gallon -- four years sooner than required by current US law.
Most passenger cars must reach 39 miles per gallon by 2016 and light trucks must satisfy fuel consumption regulations of 30 miles per gallon.
The program, which begins with car models made in 2012, boosted Obama's new climate change policy and represented early vindication for his political creed of change, unity and coalition building.
"In the past, an agreement such as this would have been considered impossible," said Obama.
"At a time of historic crisis in our auto industry... this rule provides the clear certainty that will allow these companies to plan for a future in which they are building the cars of the 21st century."
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who led a fuel efficiency drive in his own state that was thwarted by auto giants, paid tribute to Obama's deal-making skills.
"Very quietly, he had everyone negotiate and everyone stay quiet and things move forward, and he was very successful," he said. "This has been a huge victory for the state of California."
The announcement, greeted with delight by environmental campaigners, coincides with an effort by the White House and Obama's Democratic allies in Congress to pass a landmark bill aimed at combating global warming.
Cars will be more expensive because of the new regulations -- by up to 600 dollars per vehicle on top of the 700-dollar price hike expected with the latest Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rules already passed by Congress.
However, drivers will likely be able to recoup the cost as they will have to buy less fuel over the vehicle's lifetime.
The new policy will give more certainty to struggling automakers like Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, which have been battered by the financial crisis and are working to refit vehicles by streamlining the regulatory process.
Ford CEO Alan Mullaly said he was "absolutely pleased" with the new regulations, which he said would help drive development of sustainable vehicles which run on new generation energy sources.
Harmonizing various regulatory standards "will benefit consumers across America," said new GM CEO Fritz Henderson.
"Energy security and climate change are national priorities that require federal leadership and the president's direction makes sense for the country and the industry."
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs denied that the billions of dollars the government is doling out in bailout money to GM and Chrysler had forced them to accept government demands to sign up to the program.
The tough new standards represent "one of the most significant efforts undertaken by any president, ever, to end our addiction to oil and seriously slash our global warming emissions," said Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope.
Ten car firms and the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) signed up for the deal, on the grounds it would provide a nationwide and industry-wide standard for auto efficiency requirements.
The high-powered guest list at the White House event included Mulally, Toyota's US arm president Jim Lentz, GM's Henderson, American Honda Motor Co. executive vice president John Mendel, Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli, Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Australia to build world's largest solar energy plant: PM
Australia plans to build the world's largest solar power station with an output of 1000 megawatts in a A$1.4 billion (US$1.05 billion) investment, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Sunday.
The plant would have three times the generating capacity of the current biggest solar-powered electricity plant, which is in California, Rudd said during a tour of a power station.
Tender details will be announced later in the year, and successful bidders will be named in the first half of 2010. Rudd said the project was aimed at exploiting the country's ample sunshine, which he called "Australia's biggest natural resource."
It was also aimed at helping the country become a leader in renewable, clean energy, he said.
"The government plans to invest with industry in the biggest solar generation plant in the world, three times the size of the world's current biggest, which is in California," Rudd said.
"Why are we doing this? We are doing it in order to support a clean energy future for Australia, we're doing it to boost economic activity now and we're doing it also to provide jobs and much needed opportunities for business as well."
The project should eventually lead to a network of solar-powered stations across the country, Rudd said, with locations chosen to fit in with the existing electricity grid and ensure good access to sunshine.
"We don't want to be clean energy followers worldwide, we want to be clean energy leaders worldwide." Rudd said.
The A$1.4 billion dedicated to this project was part of a wider A$4.65 clean energy initiative by the government, he said.
Rudd also said Australia would become a full member of the International Renewable Energy Agency, which will have its first global meeting in June.
The plant would have three times the generating capacity of the current biggest solar-powered electricity plant, which is in California, Rudd said during a tour of a power station.
Tender details will be announced later in the year, and successful bidders will be named in the first half of 2010. Rudd said the project was aimed at exploiting the country's ample sunshine, which he called "Australia's biggest natural resource."
It was also aimed at helping the country become a leader in renewable, clean energy, he said.
"The government plans to invest with industry in the biggest solar generation plant in the world, three times the size of the world's current biggest, which is in California," Rudd said.
"Why are we doing this? We are doing it in order to support a clean energy future for Australia, we're doing it to boost economic activity now and we're doing it also to provide jobs and much needed opportunities for business as well."
The project should eventually lead to a network of solar-powered stations across the country, Rudd said, with locations chosen to fit in with the existing electricity grid and ensure good access to sunshine.
"We don't want to be clean energy followers worldwide, we want to be clean energy leaders worldwide." Rudd said.
The A$1.4 billion dedicated to this project was part of a wider A$4.65 clean energy initiative by the government, he said.
Rudd also said Australia would become a full member of the International Renewable Energy Agency, which will have its first global meeting in June.
Constellation supports House climate change bill
BALTIMORE – Constellation Energy says it supports the climate change bill introduced Friday by the House Energy Committee.
Constellation Energy Group Inc. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Mayo Shattuck said in a statement Sunday that the bill outlines needed steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy security, and usher in new low-emission power generation.
Shattuck noted that renewable, nuclear and efficiency technologies that can cut emissions already exist. A national policy is needed that will allow for rapid, large-scale deployment of these technologies, he said.
The bill would cap emissions and distribute permits for those emissions. However, it would not auction off only 15 percent of the permits, with the rest distributed to a variety of industries, including power producers.
Constellation Energy Group Inc. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Mayo Shattuck said in a statement Sunday that the bill outlines needed steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy security, and usher in new low-emission power generation.
Shattuck noted that renewable, nuclear and efficiency technologies that can cut emissions already exist. A national policy is needed that will allow for rapid, large-scale deployment of these technologies, he said.
The bill would cap emissions and distribute permits for those emissions. However, it would not auction off only 15 percent of the permits, with the rest distributed to a variety of industries, including power producers.
London bids to be world's greenest by 2012: mayor
SEOUL (AFP) – Mayor Boris Johnson outlined plans to make London "the cleanest, greenest city on earth" by the 2012 Olympics and called for commitments from other world cities at a climate change conference.
Leaders of the world's 40 largest cities, plus 17 affiliate municipalities, are meeting in Seoul this week for a summit on combating global warming -- the third to be held since 2005.
"What we should do in Seoul is agree that we will stop the endless addiction of mankind to the internal combustion engine," said Johnson.
He told a press conference the world's cities consume 75 percent of its energy and produce 80 percent of the emissions which cause climate change.
"The problem of our planet is an urban problem," Johnson said, calling for "serious results" in Seoul.
"I don't want to walk away with a communique which contains nothing but warm words and hot air... it's important we agree some specific measures."
He said the British capital wants to use the Olympics "to drive the greening and the improvement of our city" and noted that London is committed to reduce carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2025.
Johnson said the key measure was addressing the problems relating to domestic and commercial buildings, which accounted for 70 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in London.
This involved retrofitting -- installing lagging -- in large numbers of public buildings.
Johnson proclaimed himself a "passionate cyclist" and said he would push ahead with cycle super-highways around London.
He also called for "real progress" by cities worldwide towards the electrification of municipal fleets and other vehicles. "That's one of the things we are hoping to achieve in Seoul."
London's air quality problem, he said, was caused by vehicle emissions from 8,300 antiquated diesel buses which could be replaced by low-carbon vehicles.
There were also 32,000 taxis running on diesel fuel which could be replaced by electric vehicles.
Johnson said there would be a substantial programme in the next few years to produce a "cleaner, greener" bus for his city. "The age of the diesel-emitting bus has got to be over in London."
Leaders of the world's 40 largest cities, plus 17 affiliate municipalities, are meeting in Seoul this week for a summit on combating global warming -- the third to be held since 2005.
"What we should do in Seoul is agree that we will stop the endless addiction of mankind to the internal combustion engine," said Johnson.
He told a press conference the world's cities consume 75 percent of its energy and produce 80 percent of the emissions which cause climate change.
"The problem of our planet is an urban problem," Johnson said, calling for "serious results" in Seoul.
"I don't want to walk away with a communique which contains nothing but warm words and hot air... it's important we agree some specific measures."
He said the British capital wants to use the Olympics "to drive the greening and the improvement of our city" and noted that London is committed to reduce carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2025.
Johnson said the key measure was addressing the problems relating to domestic and commercial buildings, which accounted for 70 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in London.
This involved retrofitting -- installing lagging -- in large numbers of public buildings.
Johnson proclaimed himself a "passionate cyclist" and said he would push ahead with cycle super-highways around London.
He also called for "real progress" by cities worldwide towards the electrification of municipal fleets and other vehicles. "That's one of the things we are hoping to achieve in Seoul."
London's air quality problem, he said, was caused by vehicle emissions from 8,300 antiquated diesel buses which could be replaced by low-carbon vehicles.
There were also 32,000 taxis running on diesel fuel which could be replaced by electric vehicles.
Johnson said there would be a substantial programme in the next few years to produce a "cleaner, greener" bus for his city. "The age of the diesel-emitting bus has got to be over in London."
Friday, May 15, 2009
EU stimulus package gets green light
EU parliament today backed a stimulus package that funds energy projects.
The vote paves the way for €3.98 billion ($5.26 billion) to be allocated to gas and power infrastructure, offshore wind and carbon capture and storage (CCS).
The money will be spent on these projects over the two years.
Some €1.05 billion of the package will be spent on developing CCS technology.
Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK will each receive €180 million, while Italy will receive €100 million and France €50 million.
A further €565 million will go towards offshore wind projects.
Lobby group Greenpeace were dismayed at the news, pointing out that coal-fired power generation will receive twice as much money as renewables.
“The EU talks about creating green jobs and stimulating green recovery, but the truth is it has earmarked twice as much funding for fossil fuel projects than for renewables, and nothing for efficiency," said Frauke Thies, Greenpeace EU energy policy campaigner.
"The coal industry will get €1 billion for carbon capture and storage, an expensive and unproven technology,”
The vote paves the way for €3.98 billion ($5.26 billion) to be allocated to gas and power infrastructure, offshore wind and carbon capture and storage (CCS).
The money will be spent on these projects over the two years.
Some €1.05 billion of the package will be spent on developing CCS technology.
Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK will each receive €180 million, while Italy will receive €100 million and France €50 million.
A further €565 million will go towards offshore wind projects.
Lobby group Greenpeace were dismayed at the news, pointing out that coal-fired power generation will receive twice as much money as renewables.
“The EU talks about creating green jobs and stimulating green recovery, but the truth is it has earmarked twice as much funding for fossil fuel projects than for renewables, and nothing for efficiency," said Frauke Thies, Greenpeace EU energy policy campaigner.
"The coal industry will get €1 billion for carbon capture and storage, an expensive and unproven technology,”
Poor nations need $1-2bn now for climate fight: report
Poor nations need funding now to cope with climate change, said a new report submitted to the UN.
“As a first step, donors are urged to immediately mobilise $1-2 billion to assist vulnerable, low-income countries that already suffer from climate change impacts,” concluded a report by the International Commission on Climate Change and Development.
The commission presented its final report to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York on Thursday.
Gunilla Carlsson, Sweden’s minister for international development cooperation and chair of the commission, said in a statement that fighting climate change and poverty were “inseparable and have to be addressed together”.
The report comes as world climate negotiators are trying to reach a new international agreement on climate change, which is meant to be cemented at an annual UN summit in Copenhagen in December.
A key element of the agreement is how rich nations will assist the most vulnerable countries in coping with the immediate effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels and severe drought.
Funding
The commission said the immediate mobilisation of adaptation money must be in addition to official development assistance.
It also urged countries to agree on a “flexible” funding mechanism “with democratic and efficient governance”.
“At the national level, countries must be able to receive and allocate funds from multiple sources with a minimum of transaction costs. And local government and organisations must have access to the resources they need,” it said.
“While more work is required to better estimate adaptation needs, there are promising options proposed to raise funds,” the report said, adding that some could bring between $5-15 billion of additional funding a year – which is in the lower range of estimated needs.
Last month, a group of African nations said that by 2020 developing countries would need $67 billion per year in funding for adaptation measures.
The commission, set up by the Swedish government, is a group of 13 international climate change and development experts.
“As a first step, donors are urged to immediately mobilise $1-2 billion to assist vulnerable, low-income countries that already suffer from climate change impacts,” concluded a report by the International Commission on Climate Change and Development.
The commission presented its final report to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York on Thursday.
Gunilla Carlsson, Sweden’s minister for international development cooperation and chair of the commission, said in a statement that fighting climate change and poverty were “inseparable and have to be addressed together”.
The report comes as world climate negotiators are trying to reach a new international agreement on climate change, which is meant to be cemented at an annual UN summit in Copenhagen in December.
A key element of the agreement is how rich nations will assist the most vulnerable countries in coping with the immediate effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels and severe drought.
Funding
The commission said the immediate mobilisation of adaptation money must be in addition to official development assistance.
It also urged countries to agree on a “flexible” funding mechanism “with democratic and efficient governance”.
“At the national level, countries must be able to receive and allocate funds from multiple sources with a minimum of transaction costs. And local government and organisations must have access to the resources they need,” it said.
“While more work is required to better estimate adaptation needs, there are promising options proposed to raise funds,” the report said, adding that some could bring between $5-15 billion of additional funding a year – which is in the lower range of estimated needs.
Last month, a group of African nations said that by 2020 developing countries would need $67 billion per year in funding for adaptation measures.
The commission, set up by the Swedish government, is a group of 13 international climate change and development experts.
Spain approves first JI project
Spain has approved its first JI project, a plan to modernise a steel mill in Ukraine.
The letter of approval was announced yesterday following a meeting of Spain’s designated national authority, which issued positive reports on five new emissions-cutting projects under the Kyoto protocol.
The so-called joint implementation (JI) project, presented by the World Bank for the Spanish Carbon Fund, involves the revamping and modernisation of the Alchevsk steel mill in Ukraine.
The project, estimated to cut on average 906,269 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent per year, has also received a letter of approval from the Netherlands.
Other projects to get letters of approval come under the Kyoto protocol’s clean development mechanism (CDM), which aims to cut emissions in developing countries.
The largest CDM project is a landfill gas scheme in Mexico, presented by Hera-Holding S.L. and Hera-Amasa S.A., with an estimated annual emissions reduction of 137,735 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Spain's DNA approved the SML WHRB CPP Asia-Pacific Carbon Fund project in India, where electricity generated from waste heat at iron kilns is expected to cut emissions by an estimated 101,666 tonnes per year.
Approvals were also given to two smaller projects: a BioCarbon Fund afforestation project in China and a small hydroelectric scheme in Colombia for Union Fenosa.
The five projects in total have an average annual emissions reduction capacity of 1.24 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Spain’s DNA has now given letters of approval to 94 CDM and JI projects, which are estimated to cut emissions by 128.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent during the period 2008-2012
The letter of approval was announced yesterday following a meeting of Spain’s designated national authority, which issued positive reports on five new emissions-cutting projects under the Kyoto protocol.
The so-called joint implementation (JI) project, presented by the World Bank for the Spanish Carbon Fund, involves the revamping and modernisation of the Alchevsk steel mill in Ukraine.
The project, estimated to cut on average 906,269 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent per year, has also received a letter of approval from the Netherlands.
Other projects to get letters of approval come under the Kyoto protocol’s clean development mechanism (CDM), which aims to cut emissions in developing countries.
The largest CDM project is a landfill gas scheme in Mexico, presented by Hera-Holding S.L. and Hera-Amasa S.A., with an estimated annual emissions reduction of 137,735 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Spain's DNA approved the SML WHRB CPP Asia-Pacific Carbon Fund project in India, where electricity generated from waste heat at iron kilns is expected to cut emissions by an estimated 101,666 tonnes per year.
Approvals were also given to two smaller projects: a BioCarbon Fund afforestation project in China and a small hydroelectric scheme in Colombia for Union Fenosa.
The five projects in total have an average annual emissions reduction capacity of 1.24 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Spain’s DNA has now given letters of approval to 94 CDM and JI projects, which are estimated to cut emissions by 128.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent during the period 2008-2012
Hungary pledges to divert AAU cash to green projects
AAU cash will be spent on cutting emissions rather than easing budget woes, the new cabinet said.
The pledge from Hungary’s reshuffled government, including a newly-installed prime minister and finance minister, comes amid repeated warnings from green groups about how the proceeds from last year’s sale of government emission rights will be spent.
Hungary raised around HUF 30 billion ($133.8 million) after selling 8.6 million assigned amount units (AAUs) to Belgium and Spain.
“We will spend all the (AAU) revenues on carbon dioxide reduction-related projects,” a spokesman with the Ministry of Finance told Point Carbon.
Earlier this week, Hungarian pressure groups called on new Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai to scrap plans made by his predecessor to freeze AAU spending and urged him to start funding carbon-cutting projects.
WWF Hungary said that plugging national budget holes with AAU money and delaying spending plans would discredit Hungarian climate efforts.
Too much to spend
The government spokesman said spending will start “soon” and there will not be any freezing of AAU revenue.
Earlier plans for withholding AAU revenue applied only to proceeds expected this year, and not to any of the money already cashed in, he said.
“It would be beyond the impossible to spend more money than the HUF 30 billion already raised, so there would be no point in freezing anything,” the spokesman added.
Ongoing projects
Green groups warned it is not enough to ensure money is put towards emission reductions but also that funding must be additional to business-as-usual plans.
The NGOs fear the cash-strapped government may replace national funding with AAU cash in ongoing projects in a bid to keep its budget deficit low.
The spokesman admitted the government will channel part of the money to ongoing projects, such as an energy-efficiency programme for residential buildings.
But that does not mean it will not be additional, because national funding of ongoing programs already had to be reduced due to budget cuts made amid the country’s economic crisis.
“With the economic crisis business as usual scenarios have been altered everywhere around the world,” he said.
Government officials with the Hungarian environment ministry said even if the government decides to top up funding for projects lacking national funding with AAU cash, there are regulations in place to prevent allocating more than 15-20 per cent of this money towards ongoing projects.
The pledge from Hungary’s reshuffled government, including a newly-installed prime minister and finance minister, comes amid repeated warnings from green groups about how the proceeds from last year’s sale of government emission rights will be spent.
Hungary raised around HUF 30 billion ($133.8 million) after selling 8.6 million assigned amount units (AAUs) to Belgium and Spain.
“We will spend all the (AAU) revenues on carbon dioxide reduction-related projects,” a spokesman with the Ministry of Finance told Point Carbon.
Earlier this week, Hungarian pressure groups called on new Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai to scrap plans made by his predecessor to freeze AAU spending and urged him to start funding carbon-cutting projects.
WWF Hungary said that plugging national budget holes with AAU money and delaying spending plans would discredit Hungarian climate efforts.
Too much to spend
The government spokesman said spending will start “soon” and there will not be any freezing of AAU revenue.
Earlier plans for withholding AAU revenue applied only to proceeds expected this year, and not to any of the money already cashed in, he said.
“It would be beyond the impossible to spend more money than the HUF 30 billion already raised, so there would be no point in freezing anything,” the spokesman added.
Ongoing projects
Green groups warned it is not enough to ensure money is put towards emission reductions but also that funding must be additional to business-as-usual plans.
The NGOs fear the cash-strapped government may replace national funding with AAU cash in ongoing projects in a bid to keep its budget deficit low.
The spokesman admitted the government will channel part of the money to ongoing projects, such as an energy-efficiency programme for residential buildings.
But that does not mean it will not be additional, because national funding of ongoing programs already had to be reduced due to budget cuts made amid the country’s economic crisis.
“With the economic crisis business as usual scenarios have been altered everywhere around the world,” he said.
Government officials with the Hungarian environment ministry said even if the government decides to top up funding for projects lacking national funding with AAU cash, there are regulations in place to prevent allocating more than 15-20 per cent of this money towards ongoing projects.
Companies overspend on carbon allowances
EU companies could have saved up to a €1 billion by using more carbon offset credits last year.
Data released by the EU today showed factories and companies regulated by the region’s cap-and-trade market used 81.7 million certified emission reduction (CER) credits last year.
But the installations could have used another 201.1 million CERs to meet their carbon targets for 2008, the first year of phase two of the EU emission trading scheme (ETS), which runs until 2012.
Instead, companies appear to have preferred to use EU allowances for compliance needs, which were more expensive than their CER counterparts in 2008.
Missing out
“It does seem some companies are missing out on an opportunity,” said Mark Lewis, an analyst at Deutsche Bank.
“But if industrial sectors were not convinced about buying CERs in the first half of 2008, when they were €6-8 cheaper than EUAs, then what’s going to force them to get out there now?” he added.
At last night’s close, the difference between spot EUAs and CERs was €2.25 in the cleared broker market.
The difference between the 2008 EUA and 2008 CER contracts last year was an average of around €5.15, according to Point Carbon News estimates.
Swapping limits
Companies can swap EUAs for CERs to meet a certain amount of their ETS cap.
Limits vary between member states, but an average of 13.4 per cent of national caps are allowed to be met using the credits, Point Carbon data showed.
German and Spanish installations represented a little over half of all surrendered CERs among 29 nations covered by the cap-and-trade scheme.
Germany, the biggest greenhouse gas polluter in the EU, used the highest volume of CERs last year.
The country’s installations surrendered 23.7 million CERs to meet carbon caps, which was 26 per cent of the 90.6 million CERs they were entitled to meet their caps with.
Meanwhile Spanish installations surrendered almost 18.3 million carbon credits to meet targets.
Data released by the EU today showed factories and companies regulated by the region’s cap-and-trade market used 81.7 million certified emission reduction (CER) credits last year.
But the installations could have used another 201.1 million CERs to meet their carbon targets for 2008, the first year of phase two of the EU emission trading scheme (ETS), which runs until 2012.
Instead, companies appear to have preferred to use EU allowances for compliance needs, which were more expensive than their CER counterparts in 2008.
Missing out
“It does seem some companies are missing out on an opportunity,” said Mark Lewis, an analyst at Deutsche Bank.
“But if industrial sectors were not convinced about buying CERs in the first half of 2008, when they were €6-8 cheaper than EUAs, then what’s going to force them to get out there now?” he added.
At last night’s close, the difference between spot EUAs and CERs was €2.25 in the cleared broker market.
The difference between the 2008 EUA and 2008 CER contracts last year was an average of around €5.15, according to Point Carbon News estimates.
Swapping limits
Companies can swap EUAs for CERs to meet a certain amount of their ETS cap.
Limits vary between member states, but an average of 13.4 per cent of national caps are allowed to be met using the credits, Point Carbon data showed.
German and Spanish installations represented a little over half of all surrendered CERs among 29 nations covered by the cap-and-trade scheme.
Germany, the biggest greenhouse gas polluter in the EU, used the highest volume of CERs last year.
The country’s installations surrendered 23.7 million CERs to meet carbon caps, which was 26 per cent of the 90.6 million CERs they were entitled to meet their caps with.
Meanwhile Spanish installations surrendered almost 18.3 million carbon credits to meet targets.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
