Climate Change News - July 30, 2012

Scientists Report Unprecedented Greenland Surface Ice Melting

Over a four day period in July, the surface of the Greenland ice sheet melted at a rate never before seen by scientists in 30 years of satellite observation. In an average summer, about half of Greenland’s surface ice will melt. But from July 8 to July 12, surface melt went from covering 40 percent of the ice sheet to covering 97 percent, confirming earlier predictions (see July 9 Issue). The melting spread so rapidly that climate scientists first thought there was a problem with the satellite data. “I started looking at the satellite imagery and saw something that was really unprecedented,” said Thomas L. Mote, a climate scientist at the University of Georgia. Melting on the Greenland ice sheet is significant because it reduces the ice sheet’s ability to reflect the sun’s rays away from the Earth, which in turn can accelerate future melting. The melting occurred as a dome of unusually hot air moved over Greenland in early July. Scientists cautioned that while the rate of the melting was faster than any previously observed, the extent of the surface melt was not abnormal by historical standards. Core samples of Greenland’s ice sheet, which is nearly two miles thick at its center, show that a similar large-scale melting last occurred in 1889. This news comes only a week after an iceberg twice the size of Manhattan broke away from the Petermann Glacier in northern Greenland (see July 23 Issue).

For additional information see: New York Times , Guardian , Washington Post

Annual Global Carbon Emissions Increase in 2011

Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions rose to 34 billion tons in 2011, up three percent from the previous year, according to a report from the European Union’s Joint Research Center. According to the report, global emissions must be less than 1,500 trillion tons of CO2 between 2000 and 2050, in order to limit global temperature increase to the United Nation’s goal of 2 degrees Celsius by 2050. "If the current global trend of increasing CO2 emissions continues, cumulative emissions will surpass this limit within the next two decades," said the report. As reported last week, China’s emissions increased nine percent in 2011 (see July 23 Issue), while the United States cut its emissions by two percent.

For additional information see: Scientific American , Report

Seven Countries Join U.S.-Led Initiative to Limit Soot, Methane Emissions

On July 25, seven countries joined a U.S.-led initiative that focuses on limiting soot, methane and other short-lived climate pollutants. Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and Jordan joined the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), bringing the total number of members up to 21 since the initiative was launched in February. "If we are able to do this, we could really buy time in the context of the global problem to combat climate change," said Jonathan Pershing, U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change. Soot can darken polar ice, leading it to absorb more heat and melt faster, while methane is a more efficient greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (CO2). Both pollutants are short lived in the atmosphere when compared to CO2. The United States is trying to attract more nations to join the plan, including China and India. The United Nations reports that success of the initiative could reduce the projected rise in global temperatures by 0.5 degrees Celsius (0.9 Fahrenheit) by 2050. “Pursuing the CCAC’s goals will build the sense of urgent optimism and confidence that we need to continuously strengthen ambition to undertake the problem of CO2, which is essential to limiting the Planet’s long-term temperature increase to an acceptable level,” said Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, one of the first non-governmental organizations to join the coalition.

For additional information see: Agence French-Presse , Reuters , Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development Press Release

Environmental Group Targets Republicans who Question Climate Change

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) launched a $1.5 million campaign July 24 aimed at preventing the re-election of five House Republicans who question the connection between climate change and human activity. The LCV, an environmental group that tracks politicians’ environmental voting records, is targeting to defeat Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY), Rep. Dan Benishek (R-MI) and three other yet-unnamed House Republicans because of their stance on global warming. Both Rep. Buerkle and Rep. Benishek have questioned whether anthropogenic emissions have contributed to climate change in the past. “There’s still a debate about how to address these issues, but Americans expect their politicians to be informed and to accept basic science,” said Navin Nayak, LCV Senior Vice President for Campaigns. “Independents are with us. All of these members are in places where they have to win a majority of independent voters to win reelection.”

For additional information see: Washington Post , Press Release

Boulder Looks to Reduce Energy Use through Commercial Building Tracking Program

This September, Boulder, Colorado will launch a pilot program as part of their Climate Action Plan to measure and report energy use in commercial buildings. The pilot will include 28 city-owned facilities and hopes to attract at least 50 businesses with various building uses, sizes and types. City officials hope a tracking program will help link energy efficiency measures to building performance and encourage businesses to adopt efficiency improvements. Industrial and commercial buildings account for 83 percent of the city's energy use. The city plans to scale-up the program to all commercial buildings by the end of 2013.

For additional information see: Daily Camera

United Nations Reaffirms Market for Carbon Offset Credits

On July 19, Maosheng Duan, the Executive Chairman of the United Nations (UN) Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), confirmed that even though recent carbon prices are at a record low, there is still a market for UN certified emissions reductions. The price of UN carbon credit reductions have decreased by 70 percent over the past year as a result of poor economic activity, but Duan said in a statement, "The CDM is a mature mechanism that has proved its worth. One could easily predict an expanding role for the CDM as a provider of quality offsets to the several emerging emissions trading systems in various parts of the world.” Analysts report that the UN carbon offset market will abate an estimated 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide through 2012.

For additional information see: Chicago Tribune

Aviation Emissions Talks Stall between European Union and China

Progress has stalled in talks between China and the European Union (EU) over the EU’s policy of taxing aviation emissions as part of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. The EU began charging international airlines that use airports within the EU for their carbon emissions at the beginning of 2012, with the first payment due in April 2013. China is one of 30 nations, along with the United States, Russia and India, that opposes the tax and wants the issue to be resolved as part of a global emissions framework under the International Civil Aviation Organization. The EU is seeking a bilateral agreement with China, rather than a larger, multilateral accord. According to estimates, the aviation tax could cost Chinese airlines $124 million in 2012 and $580 million in 2020. The EU has stated that countries which take steps to reduce aviation emissions will be exempted from the tax, though the exact magnitude of emission reduction and tax exemption have not yet been defined.

For additional information see: China Daily

China Looking to Learn from European Emissions Trading Scheme

China plans to implement a pilot Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in seven provinces and cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2013 or 2014. However, the country is keen to avoid the challenges currently facing the European Union (EU) ETS. The value of the EU ETS permits has decreased 80 percent since mid-2008 and 50 percent in the past year. To avoid any similar price fluctuation, China is considering imposing permit price floors and ceilings as part of their ETS. Additionally, permit trading will be restricted to government-approved exchanges, and only spot-trading will be allowed.

For additional information see: Reuters

Pulling Carbon Directly from the Air May Become Economically Feasible

Researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a technique for extracting carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the air using newly-developed adsorbent materials. In a series of papers published this month, the researchers detailed how a CO2 removal unit about the size of a shipping container could extract 1,000 tons of CO2 per year at a cost of $100 per ton. This technique could initially be used to collect carbon for use in biofuels production or advanced oil recovery, but it could eventually be applied on a wider scale to help lower CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. Georgia Tech professor Christopher Jones is collaborating with a startup company to establish a pilot plant to demonstrate the direct air capture technique.

For additional information see: Science Daily Article 1 , Science Daily Article 2

Australian Airlines Agrees to Purchase Offsets under New Carbon-Pricing Mechanism

Australia's new carbon-pricing mechanism, implemented July 1st, requires airline carriers to pay for, or offset, the carbon emissions produced through domestic air traffic. Australian airline Qantas signed a 5-year deal to purchase up to 1.5 million tonnes of carbon credits per year from a project which earns carbon credits through the re-vegetation of cattle pastures. The restoration project will cost $13 million Australian dollars, $9 million of which will be funded by the Australian Government. Currently, Qantas voluntarily purchases 300,000 tonnes of carbon offsets annually, and in addition to its own offsets, Qantas will offer voluntary carbon offsets to travelers who are looking to reduce the impact of their air travel.

For additional information see: Reuters

Ocean Fertilization Shows Promise as a Means to Sequester Carbon

A study published in Nature on July 18, reports that fertilizing the oceans with iron could be a more viable method of sequestering atmospheric carbon than previously thought. Researchers spread iron into the nutrient-poor Southern Ocean to spur the growth of diatoms (a group of algae). The resulting algae bloom pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, then died and sank. At least half of the diatoms sank below 1,000 meters, trapping the carbon at the sea floor. "Iron-fertilized diatom blooms may sequester carbon for timescales of centuries in ocean bottom water and for longer in the sediments," said the report. Previous attempts at ocean fertilization have resulted in the algae being scattered by currents or eaten by crustaceans, but this experiment was carried out in a slowly rotating 60 kilometer-wide eddy that was relatively isolated from surrounding waters, which allowed the algae to sink. A recent modeling study from the Carnegie Institution of Washington estimates that this method of carbon sequestration could be used to counteract about one-tenth of the world’s annual global carbon emissions. However, many scientists argue that the possible side effects of ocean fertilization are still unknown, and further study is needed before being put into practice.

For additional information see: New Scientist , Reuters

American Opinions about Climate Change Unchanged from 2011

The most recent “Global Warming’s Six Americas” study concludes that opinions are relatively unchanged since May 2011. The ongoing study by researchers at Yale University and George Mason University, seeks to understand American opinions toward climate change. The researchers separate respondents in to six groups—alarmed, concerned, cautious, disengaged, doubtful, and dismissive—representing the spectrum of climate change views. The July 18th update which includes polling results from November 2011 and March 2012, finds that 13 percent of Americans are alarmed, 26 percent are concerned, 29 percent are cautious, 6 percent are disengaged, 15 percent are doubtful and 10 percent are dismissive. Overall, the attitudes are mostly unchanged, but the number of “cautious” increased from 24 percent in May 2011 and the number of “disengaged” decreased from 10 percent. The majority of respondents believe that climate change is affecting the weather in the United States, including 93 percent of the “alarmed” group and 92 percent of the “concerned” group. More than half of the study participants (60 percent) said they would vote for a candidate who supports a revenue-neutral carbon tax in which the returns from a carbon tax are used to offset the federal income tax. The March 2012 survey included 1008 adults, the margin of error is plus or minus three percent.

For additional information see: Study Summary , Full Study

Baltic Sea Warming Linked to Bacterial Infections

A study published July 22nd in the journal Nature Climate Change, finds that temperature increases in the Baltic Sea correspond with bacterial outbreaks of Vibrio in adjacent northern European countries. Commonly found in tropical waters, Vibrio is contracted through consumption of raw or undercooked seafood or contaminated seawater. Pathogenic strands can cause gastroenteritis or cholera. Researchers from the United States, Spain, Britain, and Finland found that Vibrio infection increased nearly 200 percent each year the sea temperature increased one degree. The Baltic Sea warmed between 0.063 to 0.078 degrees Celsius annually between 1982 and 2010, higher than the global average surface temperature of 0.17 degrees per decade from 1980 to 2010. Study lead-author, Craig Baker-Austin of the Center for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science in Britain, says “the big apparent increases that we’ve seen in cases during heat wave years. . . tend to indicate that climate change is indeed driving infections.”

For additional information see: Daily Mail , Study