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June 2, 2014
In Speech at West Point, President Obama Frames Climate Change as Security Issue
In a commencement address delivered on May 28 to graduates at West Point Military Academy, President Obama called the issue of climate change, as well as climate change deniers, threats to national security. According to Obama, climate change is “a creeping national security crisis that will help shape [the graduates’] time in uniform, as [they’re] called on to respond to refugee flows, natural disasters, and conflicts over water and food.” He also went on to briefly mention the steps that the United Nations is taking to address climate through the annual Conference of the Parties, and that the United States should lead by example, as we “can’t call on others to make commitments to combat climate change if a whole lot of our political leaders deny that it is taking place.” Obama’s speech was delivered just days before the release of the Environmental Protection Agency’s emissions standards for existing power plants, which is set for official release on June 2.
For more information see:
National Journal, Full Speech (Washington Post)
House Passes Amendment Barring Defense Department from Preparing for Climate Change
On May 22, the House passed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization bill that would prohibit the Department of Defense (DoD) from taking action on climate change or researching its implications for national security. The amendment would also bar the DoD from using information from the National Climate Assessment or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Congressman David McKinley (R-WV) proposed the amendment to avoid “divert[ing] funds from the mission of our military and national security.” However, the DoD has already begun integrating climate change into its future planning, as stated in the Department’s Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap: “the effects of climate change are already evident at Defense Department installations in the United States and overseas, and DoD expects climate change to challenge its ability to fulfill its mission in the future.” The amendment was passed largely along party lines, with only four Democrats voting in favor of it. Democratic members of the House, including Congressmen Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Bobby Rush (D-IL), are calling the amendment “irresponsible.” The Senate will pass its own version of the National Defense authorization bill, most likely without a similar amendment.
Huffington Post, West Virginia Gazette, Amendment
EPA Adds Four New Climate Change Indicators to Report
On May 28, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the third addition of the Climate Change Indicators report, naming four new indicators of climate change: Lyme disease, warmer and cooler days, wildfires, water level and temperature of the Great Lakes. The report also contains new features which connect data to local communities and areas of interest, such as the dates of the cherry blossom bloom in Washington, DC, or loss of land along the mid-Atlantic coast. In the report, EPA said the climate indicators are "observed long-term trends related to the causes and effects of climate change." They were selected based on data from government agencies, academic institutions and other organizations. With the addition of these four, the report now contains 30 indicators that show how climate change is impacting the environment in the United States. Janet McCabe, acting administrator for the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, stated in a press release, "These indicators make it clear that climate change is a serious problem and is happening now here in the United States and around the world."
The Hill, News Release, EPA Report
600 State and Local Officials Write to Support White House Climate Action Plan
On May 22, more than 600 state and local officials sent a letter to President Obama in support of his climate change action plan. The signatories pledged to work with President Obama and assist his efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change in their communities. They pledged to take the necessary steps to reduce their local carbon emissions, invest in renewable resources and create adaptation plans to protect resources and infrastructure from the changing climate. Signatories include state representatives, mayors and city and town counselors from 21 states, including New York, Michigan, Florida and Nebraska. The letter comes as President Obama is preparing to announce his administration’s potentially controversial new climate policy, which will regulate greenhouse gases emissions from existing power plants. The letter reads, “Under your leadership, we can help you achieve the key pillars of your plan to reduce carbon pollution. Especially the first-ever national limits on carbon pollution from power plants, increases in the energy efficiency of our built environment, and smarter investments in our country’s renewable energy infrastructure.”
For More Information See:
Governors Wind Energy Coalition, Eco Watch, Environment America, Letter
Governor Brown of California Says Climate Change Is “Devastating” State
On May 19, Governor Jerry Brown commented about climate change’s devastating effects on California while addressing scientists at a conference about the drought’s impacts on the state’s agricultural sector. “We have to adapt because the climate is changing,” said Governor Brown. “Now there’s no doubt that the evidence has been strong for quite a while, and it is getting even stronger.” Brown has focused on the impacts of climate change throughout his tenure, traveling to China to promote greenhouse gas emissions reductions, pushing to continue California’s cap-and-trade program, and criticizing Congress for failing to coordinate federal measures to combat climate change. Washington Governor Jay Inslee, who recently signed an executive order to create a cap-and-trade program and updated his state’s emissions limits, said, “This is not a hypothetical thing for governors on the West Coast — this is fire alarms and floods. It’s not a next-century issue. This is a next half-hour issue.” Eight states have passed legislation aimed at reducing carbon emissions and ten states, including California, have adopted cap-and-trade policies. “We have to get other states and other nations on a similar path forward,” Governor Brown said, “and that is enormously difficult because it requires different political jurisdictions, different political values, to unite around this one challenge of making a sustainable future.”
For additional information see:
The New York Times
Chamber of Commerce Releases Report Lambasting An As-Yet Unreleased EPA Draft Regulation
On May 28, the Chamber of Commerce released a report saying the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) upcoming greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations on existing power plants will cost $50 billion annually and eliminate 224,000 jobs annually through 2030, as well as decrease coal-fired energy by a third. In addition, the report projects slower economic growth, fewer jobs, less disposable income, and higher electricity prices. White House advisor John Podesta immediately tweeted out, “@USChamber wrong before, wrong again on pollution,” and the EPA published a blog in response, to “set the record straight.” The EPA argues that the Chamber of Commerce report is “nothing more than irresponsible speculation,” as the regulation has not yet been released. Additionally, the EPA blog states that three-fourths of the cost estimate of the regulation from the Chamber of Commerce is due to the cost of using carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) for natural gas plants, which the EPA says it does not require. Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman also commented on the report in a New York Times op-ed, “what the Chamber of Commerce is actually saying is that we can take dramatic steps on climate – steps that would transform international negotiations, setting the stage for global action – while reducing our incomes by only one-fifth of 1 percent. That’s cheap!” Global energy and economics firm IHS performed the modeling and analysis for the Chamber of Commerce report. The Chamber of Commerce based its report on a framework for the EPA regulation offered by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in December 2012 and updated in March of this year.
For more information:
The Hill, The Hill, The New York Times, EPA Blog, Study
NRDC Releases Report on New EPA Regulation of Existing Power Plants
On May 29, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a report which stated that soon-to-be released Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions regulations for existing power plants will save American businesses and households $37.4 billion in electric bills in 2020. NRDC also predicted the regulation would create more than 274,000 jobs, and support energy efficiency investments. The regulations are also expected to offer more than $50 billion in health benefits and environmental benefits. “Most Americans support curbing dangerous carbon pollution from power plants because it’s the right thing to do,” commented Daniel Lashof, the COO at NextGen Climate America and a senior fellow at NRDC. “Cleaning up dirty power plants can be a bonanza for public health and a boon for energy efficiency jobs – and save Americans [money] on their utility bills.” NRDC’s study was conducted by ICF International, a firm which studies electricity markets under industry and government contracts. ICF International based their estimates on a December 2012 NRDC proposal, updated this past March, which is thought to have strongly influenced the EPA’s rulemaking.
PR Newswire, NRDC Press Release
China Announces New Plan to Cut HFCs and Scrap 6 Million Old Cars
On May 26, China announced it would make fast cuts to hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) equivalent to 280 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) by the end of 2015, and would also scrap almost 6 million high-emissions vehicles from the road during 2014. HFCs are the fastest growing greenhouse gas and are hundreds to thousands of times more potent in their warming impact than carbon dioxide. Eliminating millions of “yellow label” vehicles – the oldest, most polluting diesel vehicles – has the three-fold benefit of reducing CO2, HFCs from old leaky car air conditioners, and black carbon soot, a short-lived but powerful climate pollutant. China’s announcement follows two HFC agreements President Obama and President Xi negotiated last year, including an agreement to launch formal negotiations to reduce production and consumption of HFCs under the Montreal Protocol. The two new climate protection measures were released by the State Council in the 2014-2015 Energy Conservation, Emissions Reduction and Low-Carbon Development Action Plan and are part of a suite of measures promoting environmentally responsible economic growth in China. “China should be congratulated for aggressively targeting HFCs and old cars generally. They are setting a powerful example for the rest of the world to get on with the job of phasing out HFCs with high global warming potential,” stated Dr. Stephen O. Andersen, former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) liaison to the Department of Defense (DoD) for climate and ozone, and former co-chair of the Technology & Economic Assessment Panel of the Montreal Protocol. “China’s aggressive HFC cuts make it increasingly inevitable that HFCs will be phased down under the Montreal Protocol, and soon.”
The Guardian, Reuters, Investor Ideas, IGSD, China’s State Council
Germany and Jamaica Partner to Create Climate Change Park
On May 23, the municipality of Portmore, Jamaica and the city of Hagen, Germany announced that they would be building a 15-acre climate change-themed park in Jamaica. The new park, which is part of the Municipal Climate Partnership Programme, is meant to be a “poster child” in the fight against climate change and will feature examples of climate adaptation and mitigation efforts, including rainwater harvesting, solar and wind power, and underground wastewater treatment plants, while also leaving space for recreational activities and natural spaces. One hundred trees have already been planted at the site of the park as part of the climate mitigation strategy. According to environment and climate change minister Robert Pickersgill, "from the adaptation standpoint, the park will be a major green area in the municipality in which the citizens within and beyond the community will be able to go and relax while engaging in recreational and educational activities.” An announcement with further details on the park is expected at the end of this year or January 2015.
Jamaica Observer
Insurance Leaders Call for Urgent Actions Against Climate Risks
On May 16, 66 CEOs of the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance companies issued the “Climate Risk Statement of the Geneva Association,” expressing their concerns about the consequences of extreme climate change, and calling for urgent climate mitigation actions by policymakers and other bodies. The CEOs, whose companies have assets totaling nearly $15 trillion, said they were willing to support the development of low carbon energy projects through specially designed insurance products. They also stated their commitment to research climate risks, as well as to implement sustainable practices, such as energy efficiency building codes. The statement was finalized during the annual meeting of the Geneva Association in Toronto, Canada. Al Gore, former Vice-President of the United States, spoke during the Geneva Association’s meeting, commenting, “The insurance industry has long ago taken the initiative on climate risk, and with this statement commits to do even more. . .our world is facing the gravest risks it has ever faced, [and] should turn to insurers for advice.”
Climate Risk Statement of the Geneva Association, Business Wire
Industry Protests EPA Ozone Proposal
On May 27, the American Petroleum Institute (API) issued a letter asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to include the option of preserving current national ozone standards in the new proposed National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) ozone standards, open for public comment this fall. Both API’s letter, and another released by a group of industry bodies, argue that the standards will cost up to $90 billion annually by 2020, that 94 percent of the United States will not be able to comply with the strictest standards option, and the changes will provide minimal gains. The proposal aims to lower acceptable ozone levels from 75 parts per billion (ppb) to between 60-70 ppb, which the EPA estimates would result in reduced child exposure, lower hospitalizations and mortality rates, and reduced risk to lower lung function. Ozone levels are expected to increase under climate change conditions, as heat speeds up ozone formation, decreasing air quality and agricultural capacity, and contributing to further warming. Ozone in the troposphere is an air pollutant which contributes to global warming, and is formed by air- and climate-pollutants such as vehicle emissions and methane. The EPA plans to release its final ruling on December 1, 2014. “The EPA’s decision to improve ozone standards is another significant step forward in the global effort to rid the world of damaging climate pollutants and to help develop environmentally superior technology,” said Durwood Zaelke, president of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development. “Cutting tropospheric ozone and other short-lived climate pollutants, including methane, hydrofluorocarbons, and black carbon, is the fastest way to save millions of lives a year and cut the rate of global warming by half in the mid-term and beyond.”
The Hill, Energy Global, Journal of Geophysical Research, LA Times
Report Says Deforestation in ASEAN Countries Will Continue to Contribute to Climate Change
On May 24, a report from the Regional Community Forestry Training Center (RECOFTC) found that the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, were ‘doing little’ to curb the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions created by heavy deforestation. According to the report, ASEAN forest lands have already experienced an overall decline of 6 percent over the past three years, which alongside land-use changes has accounted for approximately 75 percent of the total GHG emissions for the region. The report said Cambodia’s forest loss was the second largest of ASEAN, with about 92,000 hectares of forest lost annually. Since 1960, Cambodia has experienced a rise in the country’s temperature by almost one full degree Celsius, as well as increased flooding and drought. Healthier forests can help to improve the ASEAN countries’ mitigation against climate change. According to Tin Ponlock, Deputy Climate Change Director for the Ministry of the Environment, “We all understand the consequences of deforestation and forest degradation, but individuals continue with short-term profit because there is no good preservation alternative that can compete.”
Phnompenhpost.com, Study
Headlines
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1. President Obama Set to Announce New Climate Power Plant Regulations
2. Fiji Focusing on Climate Adaptation Efforts
3. 1 of 107 Republicans Running for Senate Touts Belief in Global Warming
4. Navajo Nation Struggling with Climate Change
5. Sunday’s Episode of Cosmos Will Feature Climate Change
Writers: Jenifer Collins, Claire Phillips, Katherine Lynn, Emily Jackson, and Amanda Kastrinos
Editor: Laura Small
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