Climate Change News - February 25, 2013

Kerry Addresses Climate Change in First Speech as Secretary of State

In his first speech as Secretary of State on February 20, John Kerry emphasized the implications of a failure to tackle climate change. In his address, held at the University of Virginia, Kerry warned, “If we waste this opportunity, it may be the only thing our generation –generations – are remembered for. We need to find the courage to leave a far different legacy.” The former Senator also indicated that he would work to accelerate green energy innovations that could be the “next great revolution in our marketplace.” “We need to commit ourselves to doing the smart thing and the right thing and to truly take on this challenge, because if we don’t rise to meet it, then rising temperatures and rising sea levels will surely lead to rising costs down the road,” he said. “Ask any insurance company.” One of the first issues facing Secretary Kerry is whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.

For additional information see: The Hill, Transcript

 

 

California Holds Second Auction of Carbon Permits

On February 19, California held its second auction of carbon permits under its cap and trade program, which begin January 1. The carbon allowances sold for $13.62 per tonne, more than a dollar above the expected price, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance analysts. The auction was administered by the Air Resources Board, which auctioned 22 million allowances at a minimum bid of $10.71 per tonne of carbon. The last auction, held in November, raised almost $300 million and carbon permits sold for $10.09 (see November 26, 2012 issue).

For additional information see: Bloomberg

 

 

Gov. Inslee Wants Washington State to Lead on Climate Change

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is calling on the state to lead the fight on climate change. On February 19, Inslee gave a short speech to hundreds of environmental activists gathered in the Capitol rotunda in Olympia. There, he cited many measures to cut state greenhouse gas emissions, stating that Washington “will lead the world in an energy revolution.” Measures include cutting carbon emissions from the state transportation system, increased electric vehicle charging stations, and a thorough review of a proposal to bring coal trains through the state. The following day, Inslee urged state Senators on the Energy, Environment, and Telecommunications Committee to help him move forward on the issue of climate change. He cited the negative impacts that warming temperatures and ocean acidification could have on the state economy, affecting industries such as downhill skiing, winemaking, and oyster cultivation. The governor pushed state lawmakers to commission a report on how other states and countries are tackling the issue, to be completed in October by an outside group. Gov. Inslee told the committee, “I believe we in Washington ought to be optimistic in our ability to whip climate change.”

For additional information see: Seattle Times, The Olympian, AP

 

 

China Considering Implementing a Carbon Tax

According to Jia Chen, head of the Ministry of Finance’s (MOF) tax policy division, the Chinese government will implement a carbon tax. In a report published February 19, Jia states that China will “actively promote environmental tax reform, existing sewage charges to the environmental protection tax, and carbon dioxide emissions into the scope of the collection, and collecting authorities be changed by the environmental protection department of the local tax authorities.” Details about the price and date of implementation of the tax have not yet been released. In 2010, the MOF recommended a carbon tax of 10 yuan ($1.60) per tonne of carbon dioxide commencing in 2012 and increasing to 50 yuan ($8) per tonne by 2020. It is also uncertain how a carbon tax would interact with the pilot cap and trade programs that will be enacted this year in two Chinese provinces and five cities, including Shanghai and Beijing (see October 15, 2012 issue).

For additional information see: Xinhau, Washington Post, Responding to Climate Change

 

 

European Parliament Votes to Reduce Number of GHG Emissions Permits

The European Parliament's Environment Committee (EPEC) voted on February 19 to reduce the number of carbon permits that will be offered in the European Union’s (EU) greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme (ETS) over the next three years. With the economic recession, European carbon emissions fell and the ETS cap proved to be too high. Between 2008 and 2013, the price of a tonne of carbon fell from €30 to under €5. In January 2013, the permit price reached a low of €2.80. The plan will delay the auction of 900 million permits currently scheduled for 2013-2015 until 2019-2020. Stig Schjoelset, head of carbon analysis at Thomson Reuters Point Carbon, a market research firm in Oslo, described the vote as “a lifeline for the carbon market and for emissions trading as a policy tool for curbing emissions.” Having passed the EPEC, the plan will next need to be approved by the EU Parliament and the governments of the individual member states.

For additional information see: New York Times, Daily Climate

 

 

UNEP: Melting Arctic Needs Protection

On February 18, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released its Year Book 2013 that calls on member countries to protect the Arctic as melting ice leads to a rush for resource extraction. The report was presented at the opening of UNEP’s 27th Governing Council and Global Ministerial Forum in Nairobi, attended by officials and environmental leaders from over 150 countries. It is estimated by the U.S. Geological Survey that 30 percent of undiscovered natural gas and 15 percent of undiscovered oil is contained in the Arctic. “As the UNEP Year Book 2013 points out, the rush to exploit these vast untapped reserves have consequences that must be carefully thought through by countries everywhere, given the global impacts and issues at stake,” stated UNEP Executive Director and UN Under-Secretary-General Achim Steiner. The UNEP report emphasized that the Arctic Council, made up of eight countries including the United States, has a responsibility to see that these resources are used responsibly, while leaving the region’s populations and ecosystems intact. Additionally, UNEP called on governments to work with local communities and interested parties to plan for the long-term impact of climate change on the Arctic. As Steiner points out, "What we are seeing is that the melting of ice is prompting a rush for exactly the fossil fuel resources that fuelled the melt in the first place."

For additional information see: Reuters, UNEP Year Book 2013

 

 

The International Effort to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Celebrates First Year Successes

The Climate & Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC) celebrated its first anniversary on February 16 (see February 20, 2012 issue). The CCAC is dedicated to reducing emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) including black carbon, methane, tropospheric ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Reducing SLCPs can cut the rate of climate change in half, slowing global temperature rise by up to 0.5 degrees Celsius by 2050, and provide substantial economic and human health benefits, including avoiding as many as 2.4 million pollution-related mortalities. To address these pollutants, the CCAC has developed seven initiatives: reducing methane from urban landfills and from the oil and gas industry; reducing black carbon emissions from brick kilns and from heavy duty diesel vehicles and engines; promoting alternatives to HFCs; scaling up financing to reduce all SLCPs; and developing SLCP National Action Plans. The Coalition is also developing additional proposals to address open burning of biomass and pollution from cookstoves.

In the course of a year, the CCAC grew from six initial country partners and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), to 56 partners, including 28 countries – with the recent addition of Kenya – the European Commission, World Bank, UN Development Programme, UN Industrial Development Organization, and 18 non-governmental organizations (NGOs). “The success of the CCAC shows that more and more countries are now recognizing the multiple, cost-effective benefits that swift, coordinated action on SLCPs can deliver,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. Durwood Zaelke, president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, a CCAC member organization, added, “In its first year the Coalition has been brilliant in developing a spirit of urgent optimism for solving the fast half of climate change. And it's already working on plans for taking its strategies to the scale it needs to meet the bold challenge of cutting the rate of warming in half for the next 40 years, with the World Bank pledging billions of new dollars for their efforts. The Coalition is a rare climate success story.” EESI and UNEP organized a Congressional briefing about the CCAC on February 1 (see EESI website for more information).

For additional information see: Africa Science News, UNEP Press Release, IGSD Press Release

 

 

Sea Level Rise Will Be Distributed Unevenly, Study Shows

Future sea level rise will be distributed unevenly across the globe, according to a study published in Geophysical Research Letters. The study modeled the impacts of climate change on ice melt and sea levels through the year 2100 and found that different regions of the world can expect different effects, with sea levels likely to rise the highest in the tropical Pacific region, but possibly decreasing in some polar areas. The researchers found that three major factors will play a role in sea level distribution: shifting earth mass, ocean currents, and the amount of ice melt in Antarctica and Greenland. Lead author Giorgio Spada, associate professor of physics at University of Urbino, said, "In the paper we are successful in defining the patterns, known as sea level fingerprints, which affect sea levels. This is paramount for assessing the risk due to inundation in low-lying, densely populated areas. The most vulnerable areas are those where the effects combine to give the sea-level rise that is significantly higher than the global average."

For additional information see: United Press International, Summit County Voice, Study

 

 

USDA: Climate Change Will Impact U.S. Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a report analyzing and addressing the impacts of climate change on U.S. agriculture. The report states, “Climate change poses unprecedented challenges to U.S. agriculture because of the sensitivity of agricultural productivity and costs to changing climate conditions.” Although farmers should be able to adapt over the next 25 years, mostly by adjusting planting and harvesting times and using drought-resistance strains of crops, longer-term effects will be more severe. According to lead author Jerry Hatfield, a USDA plant physiologist, “We’re going to end up in a situation where we have a multitude of things happening that are going to negatively impact crop production. In fact, we saw this in 2012 with the drought.”

The report suggests that post-2050, uncertain and at times extreme precipitation is likely to reduce crop production. In addition, warmer temperatures reduce crop yields of staples such as wheat. Temperatures over the next 40 years are expected to rise one to two degrees Celsius in the United States, but could rise two to three degrees Celsius in the interior part of the country, where the “breadbasket” is located. Not only will these temperatures be harmful to crops, but they can also be detrimental to livestock. For example, cows in extremely warm weather will be less capable of producing milk, and chickens less able to produce eggs. Compounding this concern, higher temperatures are also conducive to insects and diseases that can harm livestock. The report was written with the input of 56 expert authors from the federal government, universities, the private sector, and other stakeholders. The authors reviewed over 1400 publications on the topic to produce their final report. Also released was a USDA climate change adaptation plan, which is open for a 60 day comment period through April 8.

For additional information see: USA Today, International Business Times, Report, Adaptation Plan

 

 

NASA Study Confirms Arctic Sea Ice Loss

New research published in Geophysical Research Letters that combines ice measurements from NASA’s Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) and the European Space Agency’s CryoSta-2 satellite, concludes that in the last decade, Arctic sea ice volume has fallen by 36 percent in autumn and 9 percent in the winter. From 2003 to 2012, ice volume decreased by 4,300 cubic kilometers from an average of 11,900 to 7,600 cubic kilometers. The winter ice also lot 1,500 cubic kilometers of volume over this period. “It’s important to know because changes in volume indicate changes in heat exchange between the ice, ocean and atmosphere,” said co-author Nathan Kurtz, associate research scientist at NASA Goddard. The arctic ice has acted as a “global air conditioner” reflecting sunlight away from the planet and, therefore, providing a cooling effect. As the ice disappears, more sunlight is absorbed by the ocean, which increases water temperatures and, in turn, causes the ice to melt more rapidly.

For additional information see: NASA, Study

 

 

New Poll: Americans View Climate Change as Priority

A poll by the Pew Research Center and USA Today released February 21, found that Americans view climate change as a priority, after the deficit, immigration, and gun control. Of the 1,504 adults surveyed, a majority support (62 percent) regulation of power plants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nonetheless, the issue remains contentious along party lines. While almost half (47 percent) of Democrats believe that it is “essential” that the president and Congress enact new climate change policies this year, only 15 percent of Republicans think that should be the case. In addition, 54 percent believe that the priority for U.S. energy policy should be to invest in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, up seven points from October 2012. Only 35 percent believe the United States should expand the production of oil, gas, and coal.

For additional information see: The Hill, Survey

 

 

Other Headlines

South Carolina Meteorologist Educates about Climate Change on Air
President Obama Talks Climate in Google Hangout
Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) Says the President Would Have “a Big Battle” on His Hands If EPA Caps GHG Emissions
Sen. Wyden (D-OR) Supports Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency to Reduce GHG Emissions
U.S. Carbon Market Value to Double in 2013 to $2.5 Billion
The New York Times Has Suggestions to Reduce Household Carbon Footprint
NYU Institute Calls on EPA to Use Section 115 of Clean Air Act to Regulate GHG Emissions
Warmer Ocean Temperatures Could Inhibit Mussels’ Ability to Attach to Rocks
Global Warming to Impact the Flow of Cascade Rivers, Streams
Study Finds More Accurate Method for Predicting Impacts from Malaria in Warmer World
People Who Reject Climate Change Science More Likely to Believe in Conspiracy Theories
Senior EPA Regulator See Rules on Climate Forthcoming

 

Writers: Blaise Sheridan, Marguerite Suozzo-Gole, Rachel Pierson, and Ana Valenzuela