Climate Change News - December 16, 2013

John Podesta Appointed as White House Advisor, Will Work on Climate Change

On December 10, the White House announced that John Podesta will act as advisor to President Obama on the Affordable Care Act, climate change, the economy and executive actions. Podesta, who previously acted as an outside advisor to the President on his 2008 re-election bid, will join the White House at the end of December for a year’s term. Podesta served as President Clinton’s Chief of Staff, was a member of the National Security Council, and currently serves as the Director of the Center for American Progress (CAP). White House aides have confirmed that Podesta will recuse himself from the President’s decision on the pipeline due to his participation in outside activities opposing the project. Environmental groups celebrated his appointment, seeing Podesta as the successor to the president’s former energy and climate ‘czar,’ Carol Browner, who left the White House three years ago. Gene Karpinksi, president of the League of Conservation Voters, commented, “he’s well versed on a range of issues, and he shares the president’s values on issues like climate change.”

For additional information see: Politico , LA Times , National Journal , Washington Post

EPA to Cut Back on Inspections, Focusing on Pollution Prevention

On November 19, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its draft strategic plan for 2014 through 2018, stating the agency’s plan to reduce the amount of power plant emissions inspections in the next five years. The agency plans to reduce inspections by one-third, relative to the last fiscal year’s 20,000 inspections. It plans to conduct 2,320 civil enforcement cases a year, a 23 percent reduction from last year’s 3,000 cases. The EPA explains that they are not stepping away from enforcement, but acting out of pressure from a tightened budget and their own shifting priorities. Under the new “Next Generation Compliance” program, EPA will prioritize prevention and new technologies as well as real-time emissions monitoring. The agency asserts that the move will lead to a decrease in the number of enforcement actions, since real-time monitoring will lead to increased compliance. According to the strategic plan, EPA "recognize[s] that preventing problems is both cheaper and more effective than taking action after they happen; however, our traditional metrics do not adequately account for work to prevent pollution.” The move has been criticized by environmental groups, who point out that EPA is already below the legally mandated minimum number of enforcement officers and that industry has long resisted real-time emissions monitoring. Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project and a former director of the EPA Office of Civil Enforcement, said, “They want to get at prevention, but the government in general is measured by what it does, and that is enforcement.”

For additional information see: LA Times , E&E News

Supreme Court Considers EPA Cross-State Air Pollution Rules, Governors Coalition Petitions EPA

On December 10, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding the EPA’s regulation of cross-state air pollution rules (CASPR), also known as the Clean Air Act’s “good neighbor” provision. If upheld, the law could require older coal-fired power plants to either install new technologies or shut-down. Under CASPR, part of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) effort to control power plant emissions, 28 Midwestern states would be required to cut power plant emissions of ozone-forming compounds including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter that become airborne and travel into neighboring states downwind. According to the EPA, exposure to ozone and particulate matter is accountable for one in 20 U.S. deaths, 200,000 nonfatal heart attacks, 90,000 hospital admissions and contributes to 2.5 million cases of childhood asthma. EPA estimates that CASPR would save $280 billion annually in healthcare costs and avoid 34,000 premature deaths a year. Fifteen states filed suit against the law, and in August of 2012 the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia vacated the law, stating that regulations were too costly and arbitrary. In related news, a coalition of eight Democratic governors filed a petition on December 9 with the EPA to require nine upwind states to reduce emissions that contribute to respiratory diseases. The coalition is made up of the governors of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont, who have been critical of their western neighbors' use of coal-fired power plants. According to the coalition, their states have spent billions to reduce air pollution, but cannot reduce pollution traveling from other states. The coalition said that across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, 70 to 98 percent of ozone originates in upwind states. According to Gov. Jack Markell (D) of Delaware, “while [our] in-state sources are well controlled . . . this is simply not true of our upwind neighbors. As a result, Delaware pays more for healthcare resulting for respiratory illnesses and our industries are forced to do more than those in those states causing the pollution."

For additional information see: New York Times , USA Today , The Hill , The Washington Post , The New York Times

European Parliament Approved Rescue Plan for Its Carbon Market

On December 10, the European Parliament passed a rescue plan for the European Union’s Emission Trading System (EU ETS), by a vote of 385 in favor and 284 against. The plan will delay or “backload” the release of the carbon permits that had been previously scheduled to be allocated in the next three years, returning them to the market at the end of this decade. It is expected to drive up the price of carbon allowances and incentivize pollution reduction and low-carbon investments. The carbon market reacted modestly to the approval, with the price of carbon allowance rising about 10 euro cents to 4.90 euros ($6.74) per ton carbon dioxide (CO2) before falling back to about 4.80 euros ($6.60). Two alternatives were submitted for consideration of withholding 900 million allowances for the current phase of the ETS. The first is to withhold 400 million, 300 million and 200 million respectively in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and the second is a two-year backload period with 400 million delayed from 2014 and 500 million from 2015. The backloading legislation was first announced in July 2012 and was rejected in the previous Parliament vote in April 2013, at which time the carbon price fell to a record low of 2.46 euros ($3.38) per ton. The European Union’s Climate Change Committee will vote on the plan after 16, once EU ministers decide on the market fix amendment. The plan may not be formally adopted until April or May 2014.

For additional information see: Bloomberg , New York Times

New York State Court Rules to Continue Participation in Greenhouse Gas Cap-and-Trade Program

On December 5, the New York Court of Appeals ruled in favor of New York State’s continued participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Implemented in 2005 as the United States’ first legally binding cap-and-trade system, RGGI allows states to cap annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at power plants, and utilities to sell extra allowances. The revenue is invested in energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. RGGI is currently in place in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. Three small business owners had sued New York, arguing that RGGI had “levied a tax on ratepayers without legislative authorization,” since the RGGI program was approved by former Governor Pataki and did not go through the state legislature for approval. The court ruled in favor of the State, stating that the plaintiffs had not filed the case within the statute of limitations. Since RGGI’s inception, the nine participating states have cut electricity sector emissions by at least 40 percent; economists have valued the economic benefit of RGGI at $1.6 billion and estimate that the program will provide $1.3 billion in consumer utility savings. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that a nation-wide cap-and-trade program would cut the federal deficit by $19 billion between 2011 and 2020, and carbon allowance auctions would raise revenues by $751 billion. New York Attorney General Schneiderman commented, “I will continue to use the full force of my office to vigorously defend RGGI and other sensible efforts that reduce climate change pollution and, thereby, protect the health and welfare of New Yorkers.”

For additional information see: Think Progress , Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

Quebec’s First Carbon Emission Permit Auction Sells Credits at Minimum Price

On December 3, Quebec held its first auction for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions permits for its emission cap-and-trade scheme. Nineteen companies, including ArcelorMittal Montreal, Transcanada Energy, HydroQuebec and Glencore Canada, participated in the auction, according to a statement from the Quebec government on December 6. Of the 2.97 million 2013 permits offered, 1.03 million were auctioned at a price of C$10.75 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent, in line with the floor price from the Quebec government. Participants also bought 1.7 million out of 6.31 million permits for the rights of GHG emissions in 2016, also at the minimum price of C$10.75. “The auction generated revenues of more than C$29 million (US$27.2 million), which is consistent with our expectations. The market works, and it works well,” (Quebec’s minister of sustainable development, environment, wildlife and parks,) Yves-Fracois Blanchet, said in a statement, “We are very satisfied with the results of this first auction and confident that the remaining units will be sold at the upcoming auctions.” The first compliance period will end December 31, 2014. Companies will have opportunities for four other auctions in 2014, with the next auction to be held Tuesday, March 4, 2014, with registration to start January 3, 2014. In addition, Quebec will join the California carbon market on January 1, 2014, and might hold joint auctions which are expected to stimulate the carbon market and generate revenues of more than three billion dollars by 2020.

For additional information see: Bloomberg , Reuters , French Press Release

Climate Change Will Double Australia’s Need for Firefighters, Says Report

On December 9, the Australian Climate Council released a report entitled “Be Prepared: The Changing Climate and Australia’s Bushfire Threat," that finds that climate change will continue to increase the severity and number of forest fires in Australia. The report compiles research findings on Australian forest fires and concluded that climate change is making heat waves longer and drought-prone areas drier, therefore increasing the duration and severity of forest fire seasons. Report co-author, Dr. Lesley Hughes, professor of Biological Sciences at Macquarie University, said “we’ve had since the 1960s . . . a doubling in the number of extreme hot days . . . and when we get extreme hot days the risk of bushfires is greater." Since many Australian population centers are located in dry areas, fire adaptation is a crucial aspect of disaster risk reduction. The report finds that by 2030 the number of firefighters in Australia will have to double compared to 2010 levels to meet increased fire risk and increased population needs. The report closes by calling for better fire risk management in the short-term but also states that long-term, “Australia must strive to cut emissions rapidly and deeply to join global efforts to stabilize the world’s climate and to reduce the risk of even more extreme events . . . this is the critical decade." The Climate Council is a privately-funded group that was created in response to the closing of the publicly-funded Climate Commission.

For additional information see: The Guardian , The Age , Report

China Says It Is Not Equipped to Handle Climate Change Impacts

On December 9, the Chinese government’s National Development and Reform Commission released a report that, among other things, details China’s lack of preparedness for the impacts of climate change. While China has taken steps to mitigate climate change, according to the report, much basic work in both mitigation and adaptation has yet to be done. “The mission to deal with climate change is very arduous, but knowledge in society and ability to do this are weak across the board”, according to the Commission. In the past several years, China has experienced more extreme weather, with severe droughts in the north, an earlier typhoon season, and the loss of wetlands as well as sea level rise. According to the Commission, 2,000 Chinese people die a year in natural disasters, and the threat engendered from climate change will increase those numbers. The report also details several potential mitigation steps for China, including the construction of additional reservoirs, increasing forest and wetland protections and better, advanced weather reporting systems, in addition to ambitious renewable energy targets that are already in place. Meanwhile, emissions from China are expected to rise slightly over the next decade, due primarily to population increase and continued reliance on coal-fired power plants. The Commission concludes that despite these obstacles to action on climate change, “in the future the rising trend of temperatures will become even more obvious, there will be even more unfavorable impacts (from climate change), and if effective measures are not taken the losses from disasters caused by extreme weather will be even more serious.”

For additional information see: Reuters , Blue and Green Tomorrow , Futures

Climate Change May Have Contributed to Conflict in Syria

On December 9, scientists presented new findings at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union which suggest that climate change likely made a long drought more severe, crucially contributing to the civil war in Syria. The study authors determined that the three-year drought leading up to the civil war was outside the bounds of observed natural variability in precipitation, based on their study of a century of rainfall patterns and high air pressure over the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Study co-author Colin Kelley at the University of California Santa Barbara explained, “We don’t have any observed evidence to support a 100-year trend in precipitation that we would describe as being natural. We can only assume that the trend is anthropogenic.” In 2012, the Center for Climate and Security reported that in the period from 2006 to 2011, up to 60 percent of Syria underwent one of the worst droughts in recorded history, leading to the loss of around three-quarters of Syria’s crops and 85 percent of Syria’s livestock. The Center for Climate and Security report says, “Syria’s current social unrest is . . . a reaction to a brutal and out-of-touch regime . . . however, that’s not the whole story. The past few years have seen a number of significant . . . climatic changes in Syria that have eroded the social contract between citizen and government . . . and irreparably damaged the legitimacy of the el-Assad regime.”

For additional information see: Live Science , Blue and Green Tomorrow , The Center for Climate and Security

Greenhouse Gas 7,100 Times More Potent than CO2 Discovered

On November 27, the discovery of a new and highly potent greenhouse gas, perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA), was released in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The researchers found that over a hundred year span, one molecule of PFTBA warms the climate as much as 7,100 equivalent molecules of carbon dioxide (CO2). “We claim that PFTBA has the highest radiative efficiency of any molecule detected in the atmosphere to date,” said study co-author Angela Hong at the University of Toronto. The current concentration of PFTBA in the atmosphere is 0.18 parts per trillion in the Toronto area, far below CO2 levels of 400 parts per million. Hong commented, “PFTBA’s atmospheric concentration does not significantly alert (sic) the phenomenon of climate change . . . the biggest culprit is CO2 from fossil fuel emissions.” PFTBA is a man-made compound that has been used in electrical equipment for its heat transference ability since the mid-20th century. Its discovery in the atmosphere raises questions about other industrial chemicals which may have warming impacts, but are unregulated by current climate policy. The study was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

For additional information see: The Guardian , Science Daily , University of Toronto Press Release

Climate Mitigation Strategies Should Target CO2 and Short-Lived Climate Pollutants

On December 12, a paper published in the journal Science described the importance of reducing both carbon dioxide (CO2) and short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) to achieve near- and long-term climate protection, as well as associated health and food security benefits. The authors said cuts to SLCPs should not be traded off for increased emissions in CO2, but instead, parallel strategies to cut both CO2 and SLCPs are needed to keep warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-Industrial levels through the end of the century. The report states, “There are real opportunities to reduce emissions of SLCPs without distracting from other mitigation efforts focused on CO2.” Authors include two Harvard professors, Julie Shoemaker and Daniel Schrag, and two professors from the University of California, San Diego, V. Ramanathan and Nobel Laureate Mario Molina. The paper found that cutting SLCPs provides long-term mitigation, continuing to contribute 40 percent of total mitigation even by 2200. Durwood Zaelke, president of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, commented, “Maximum mitigation of SLCPs, using existing technologies, can cut the rate of warming in half and sea level rise by a quarter. The ability to slow the rate of warming makes fast mitigation of SLCPs one of the best adaptation strategies for vulnerable societies and ecosystems.”

For additional information see: IGSD Press Release

Study Finds Rivers and Streams Release Five Times the Greenhouse Gases of All Lakes and Reservoirs

Published in Nature on November 20, a new study revealed the role of inland water in the global carbon cycle, and suggested that 70 percent of the carbon flux from inland water occurs in 20 percent of the planet’s land surface. A team of researchers from Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany and the United States calculated the rate at which water bodies release carbon dioxide (CO2), or evasion rate. They found that the global CO2 evasion rate from rivers and streams, which cover 624,000 square kilometers, was 1.8 billion tons of carbon per year, three times as high as previous estimates and even greater in smaller streams. In comparison, the 12 million square kilometers of lakes and reservoirs release only about 0.32 billions tons of carbon annually, lower than previous estimates. The study also identified “hotspots” in Southeast Asia, the Amazon, and Central America, where the evasion rate was highest. “Inland waters are biogeochemical hotspots. They are also a critical global resource,” said lead author Professor Peter Raymond of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. “A continued effort is needed to map inland waters and understand how they impact global processes such as the carbon budget, species habitat, and production of clean drinking water.”

For additional information see: Science Daily , Nature World News , Yale News , Study