Climate Change News - February 22, 2010

16 Lawsuits Filed to Challenge EPA's Decision to Regulate Greenhouse Gases

On February 16, 16 lawsuits were filed challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) endangerment finding for greenhouse gases (GHG). By declaring GHGs a danger to public health and welfare, the EPA is obligated to regulate these gases under the Clean Air Act. The recent lawsuits came from a variety of groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the states of Texas, Alabama and Virginia. The challenges do not directly test the science of EPA's decision to find GHGs a danger to public health and welfare, but rather the agency's process of doing so. Many industry groups and states have argued that forthcoming EPA regulations will have devastating economic consequences, while the agency has argued that it is required by law to begin regulating greenhouse gas emissions under a Supreme Court ruling in 2007. The agency plans to finalize new GHG rules for automobiles and large stationary sources by next month.

For additional information see: New York Times , AP , , Los Angeles Times , Detroit News , Wall Street Journal , Bloomberg

Yvo de Boer Resigns as Top UN Climate Official

On February 19, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Yvo de Boer announced his resignation from the position he has held for four years. The resignation of the Netherlands native will be effective July 1, five months before 193 countries convene in Cancun, Mexico for another summit aimed at reaching a binding international climate change agreement. De Boer was most recently responsible for overseeing the December UNFCCC negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark. Of those negotiations he said, “We were about an inch away from a formal agreement. It was basically in our grasp, but it didn't happen . . . so that was a pity.” De Boer's position often made him arbiter of disagreements between developing and developed nations regarding differing views on emissions reduction responsibilities. He announced plans to take a consultant position on climate and sustainability issues for KPMG, a global accounting firm.

For additional information see: AP , BBC , Washington Post , New York Times

U.S. Climate Envoy Holds Briefing to Discuss Copenhagen Accord

On February 16, U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern spoke with press to answer questions about the Copenhagen Accord and the U.S. position on climate negotiations. Regarding recent efforts by climate skeptics to question scientific evidence, he commented, “What you do see sometimes is that people who have an agenda that is directed toward undermining action on climate change grab whatever tidbit they can find and say, look, there’s no climate change . . . that kind of stuff is nonsense.” Responding to questions about China and India’s unclear commitment to the accord he explained, “[T]hey have all submitted their proposed actions and there’s nothing ambiguous about that.” While the two counties have not formally associated with the accord, Stern said their positions will be clarified in the coming weeks. When asked about the U.S. position, Stern reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to emission reductions under the accord even if China or India does not formally associate with the process.

For additional information see: U.S. State Department Transcript , AFP , Reuters , UPI , Bloomberg

Three Big Firms Drop Out of Climate Partnership

On February 16, the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a coalition of more than two-dozen companies and environmental groups lobbying Congress to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, announced that ConocoPhillips, Caterpillar Inc. and BP America had left the partnership. In interviews, officials from the three companies said that legislation pending in Congress, including the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) passed by the House of Representatives in June, does not do enough to promote natural gas consumption as a hedge against climate change. USCAP, which was launched in early 2007, has not endorsed specific legislation. The group's blueprint supports an economy-wide program to reduce U.S. GHG emissions 80 percent from 2005 levels by 2050. Spokespeople for both ConocoPhillips and BP said the companies still support legislation to reduce GHG emissions, but believe they can accomplish more working outside USCAP's umbrella. Caterpillar said it plans to focus on commercializing green technologies.

For additional information see: New York Times , Wall Street Journal , Reuters

UN Forms Finance Panel for Climate Funds

On February 12, the United Nations (UN) announced the launch of a high-level panel to design and oversee a $100 billion annual fund for climate mitigation and adaptation financing for developing countries, a key component of the Copenhagen Accord. The Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing will design a mechanism to channel cash from developed nations to projects aimed at protecting agriculture and infrastructure from rising seas and weather extremes in the developing world. The group would also propose strategies for boosting renewable energy and clean technology investments in poor nations in an effort to move stalled international negotiations forward. The panel will be led by two prime ministers - Great Britain's Gordon Brown and Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi - with membership split between developed and developing nations. Preliminary results of the group's negotiations are expected by May or June; the goal is to have a final plan in place by the December 2010 meeting of the Conference of Parties in Cancun, Mexico.

For additional information see: New York Times , Reuters , Financial Times , AP , IPS

Report Shows Economic Potential for Clean Energy in Wisconsin

On February 18, the Center for Climate Strategies released a macroeconomic analysis of the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA), recently proposed legislation in Wisconsin. The measures in CEJA were drawn from the Governor’s Global Warming Task Force Report created under an executive order. Over the next 15 years, the report projects that the bill would create more than 16,200 new jobs in the state. The the legislation would also boost the state's economy by $4.85 billion (in net present value) over the 2011-2025 period. The analysis focused on nine specific proposed policy actions that address clean and renewable energy, energy efficiency, industrial processes, transportation and agriculture.

For additional information see: Center for Climate Strategies' Macroeconomic Analysis of the Wisconsin Clean Energy Jobs Act , Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel

Canada's Permafrost Rapidly Deteriorating

On February 17, a study published in the journal Permafrost and Periglacial Processes detailed a very substantial reduction in permafrost in the James Bay region of Quebec. Lead author Serge Payette of Laval University, Quebec City, explained that the study tracked a 130 kilometer northern migration in the region’s permafrost line over the course of 50 years. He stated, “If the trend continues, permafrost in the region will completely disappear in the near future.” The authors followed the presence of red-tinged lichen-covered hills common in frozen peat bogs as indicators of regional climate change. The scientists said they believe global climate change to be the most likely culprit, but cannot state this with full confidence due to a lack of long term climate data from the area. However, the researchers did find the average temperature in the area increased by 2°C in the last 20 years. If such trends continue, methane emissions from thawing biomass normally trapped under the permafrost will very likely continue to accelerate. Methane is a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The scenario represents what could happen in regions such as the Yukon, Alaska and Siberia, which have much denser concentrations of methane in their permafrost.

For additional information see: Canwest News Service , Reuters , ScienceDaily , Study Abstract

UN Report Calls for Tax on Livestock Emissions

On February 18, a report published by the UN argued that livestock should be taxed to reduce the contribution made by their flatulence to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The suggestion by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to use taxation came as campaigners focus on the impact on climate change of emissions of methane from cattle, sheep and pigs. "Market-based policies, such as taxes and fees for natural resource use, should cause [livestock] producers to internalize the costs of environmental damages," the FAO said in its annual report, The State of Food and Agriculture. Farming groups and meat industry associations have opposed the introduction of livestock taxes. The FAO's call for reform of the livestock industry comes amid a surge in global meat consumption; the world's per capita meat consumption has increased to 41.2 kilograms (kg) per year, up 37 per cent from 30 kg in 1980.

For additional information see: Financial Times

Bill Gates Discusses Need to Address Climate Change

On February 12, Bill Gates spoke at the TED2010 conference on the need to address climate change, announcing his support for the development of "terrapower," reactors that could be fueled by nuclear waste from disposal facilities or generated by today's power plants. Explaining the departure from his philanthropic work fighting poverty and disease, he said, “Energy and climate are extremely important to [the world’s poor]. The climate getting worse means many years that crops won't grow from too much rain or not enough, leading to starvation and certainly unrest.” He broke down variables in a carbon dioxide-culprit formula, concluding that the answer to the problem is a source of energy that produces no carbon. "The formula is a very straight forward one," Gates said. "More carbon dioxide equals temperature increase equals negative effects like collapsed ecosystems. We have to get to zero." Gates went on to tout terrapower as more reliable than wind or solar, cleaner than burning coal or natural gas, and safer than current nuclear plants. Once the technology is proven, market forces will drive down costs, Gates predicted. Work on terrapower has been done in France and Japan, and there has been interest in India, Russia, China and the United States, according to Gates.

For additional information see: Sydney Morning Herald , AFP

Acidity in Oceans Rising Rapidly

The February 14 edition of the journal Nature Geoscience published a study detailing historical changes in ocean acidification and its connection to the extinction of tiny marine organisms on the bottom of the ocean and the bottom of the food chain. As lead author Andy Ridgewell explained, “Unlike surface plankton dwelling in a variable habitat, organisms living deep down on the ocean floor are adapted to much more stable conditions. A rapid and severe geochemical change in their environment would make their survival precarious.” Ocean acidity plays a critical role in the lifecycles of tiny ocean organisms because of its inhibiting effect on the formation of carbonate shells. They found that as ocean acidification accelerated, mass extinctions of these species occurred, likely endangering entire ancient ocean food chains.

In addition, the study highlighted the fact that current day ocean acidification is rising at a rate much faster than any observed in the study period of about 55 million years ago. Since industrial activity began in the 1700s, ocean acidity has risen 30 percent. This is due almost entirely to atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide which mixes with ocean water to form a weak acid. The study authors expressed worries that without action this effect is going to ultimately endanger human beings who depend on fish stocks that derive their sustenance from these tiny ocean organisms.

For additional information see: Telegraph , Sydney Morning Herald , Vancouver Sun , Bristol University

Climate Change Threatens Fog and Redwoods

In the February 15 online publication of the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, a recent study by University of California, Berkeley scientists found California’s coastal fog has significantly decreased over the past decade, potentially endangering the native redwood trees in the area. “Since 1901, the average number of hours of fog along the coast in summer has dropped from 56 percent to 42 percent, which is a loss of about three hours per day,” said study leader James A. Johnstone. The loss of coastal fog will likely result in a more drought-stressed coastal ecosystem. Redwoods depend on the fog to reduce water loss during summer months. The authors do not expect redwoods to die outright, but rather expect there to be less growth of new trees each year. The authors stated they are still unsure as to whether these changes are result of natural cycles or human-caused climate change, but they stress the significance it will have on the entire coastal redwood ecosystem.

For additional information see: Reuters , San Francisco Chronicle , National Geographic , ScienceDaily

Greenland Ice Loss Driven by Warming Seas

On February 14, a study released in Nature Geoscience found that Greenland's continent-sized icesheet is being significantly eroded by winds and currents that drive warmer water into fjords. Working off of a ship in July and September 2008, a team of scientists led by Fiammetta Straneo of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts found deep water streaming into the Sermilik fjord was 3.0-4.0°C (37.4-39.2°F), warm enough to cut into the base of the glaciers and hasten their fall into the sea. "Our findings support increased submarine melting as a trigger for the glacier acceleration, but indicated a combination of atmospheric and oceanic changes as the likely driver," the researchers said. The ice mass atop Greenland holds enough water to boost global sea levels as much as 23 feet, potentially flooding low-lying coastal cities and deltas around the world.

For additional information see: AFP

February 23: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Budget for FY 2011

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus invite you to a briefing on the Obama administration’s FY 2011 budget request for energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) programs. Cathy Zoi, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for the U.S. Department of Energy, and Fred Sissine, an energy policy specialist with the Congressional Research Service, will give an overview of requested funding levels for various programs, and provide context on how these amounts compare to EE/RE funding in previous years and to the budgets for other energy-related programs. The briefing will take place on Tuesday, February 23, from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. in 345 Cannon House Office Building. This briefing is free and open to the public. No RSVP required. For more information, please contact us at communications [at] eesi.org or (202) 662-1884.