Climate Change News - October 7, 2013

Government Shutdown Stops EPA Work on Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Due to failure to pass a short-term funding bill, the federal government shut down on October 1, potentially delaying high-profile EPA regulations on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions standards for new power plants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the proposed new emissions standards on September 20, 2013. A 60-day public comment period is currently in effect before finalizing the standards. The shutdown will delay the agency’s work in processing these comments. EPA was one of the hardest hit federal agencies by the shutdown, with 94 percent of its employees furloughed. EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, responsible for writing and implementing air pollution rules, is almost entirely closed. The shutdown will postpone the EPA’s work on 2014 biofuel targets and the 2014 renewable fuel volume standards required by the Renewable Fuel Standard. “People are not going to be working on these rules at home,” explained Dina Kruger, an environmental regulation consultant who worked as a climate change program director at EPA during the 1996 government shutdown. Depending on the length of the shutdown, Kruger predicted that EPA should still be able meet their 2014 deadline for rules under President Obama’s Climate Action Plan.

For additional information see: Reuters , Environmental Leader

DOE’s Better Buildings, Better Plants Programs Save 11 Million Tons of CO2

On September 25, at the World Engineering Congress in Washington, D.C, the Department of Energy (DOE), recognized those manufacturers and building owners who have signed the Better Buildings and Better Plants Programs. The Better Buildings and Better Plants Programs are from President Obama’s Better Building Initiative, a plan launched in 2011 and aimed at making commercial properties and manufacturing plants at least 20 percent more energy efficient over a ten year period. In the Better Plants Program, manufacturers voluntarily pledge to reduce energy intensity 25 percent over a ten year period. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency Kathleen Hogan praised the efforts of more than 120 manufacturers who have saved $1 billion in energy costs and 11 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), stating that “these manufacturers are leading by example – demonstrating the promise of energy efficiency, increasing competitiveness in the private sector and reducing harmful carbon pollution.” Through the Better Buildings Project, state, local, and university leaders commit to a 20 percent energy reduction target. To date, 110 groups that make up 2 billion square feet of commercial space have joined the initiative. Better Buildings Challenge partners have cut energy use by 2.5 percent in the first year. David Danielson, assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, commented on the early successes of the program stating, "Through the Better Buildings Challenge, our partners are breaking through barriers to reducing energy intensity and achieving lasting results that save money and create jobs."

For additional information see: Department of Energy , Cape Gazette

Public Backs Power Plant Emission Curbs, Says Poll

On September 26, Pew Research Center released a new poll that found 65 percent of Americans favor stricter limits on power plant greenhouse gas emissions. The poll also found that Americans favor the completion of the Keystone pipeline by the same margin: 65 percent for and 30 percent against. A majority of Americans (58 percent) also said that developing alternative energy is a priority and are opposed to natural gas fracking, while 34 percent favored increasing production of oil, coal and natural gas. Young adults under the age of 30 were among the most supportive (73 percent) of developing alternative energy sources. The survey was conducted on September 4 through 8, and sampled 1,506 Americans aged 18 and up. The margin of error was 2.9 percentage points above or below the given results.

For additional information see: LA Times , Pew Research Center poll

Wisconsin County Investing $1 Million for Climate Change Adaptations

On September 30, Dane County Wisconsin revealed its 2014 budget, which includes a $1 million allocation for infrastructure upgrades to handle some of the impacts anticipated from climate change in Wisconsin. Scientists from the University of Wisconsin have predicted that these changes may include increases and shifts in precipitation patterns, an increase in summer days exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and increased drought. These impacts are also discussed in Dane County’s report “Climate Change and Emergency Preparedness.” Adaptation measures included in the 2014 budget include updates to culverts that handle storm water and the creation of an emergency sandbag fund for potential floods. In addition to the $1 million for adaptation, $3.8 million has been appropriated for measures that will reduce the county’s carbon footprint: energy efficiency improvements in county buildings and investing in a more fuel efficient vehicle fleet by converting some county vehicles to compressed natural gas, using the biogas produced from a nearby landfill. County Executive Joe Parisi commented on the 2014 budget, stating “we’re looking at warmer and wetter weather and preparing for the potential challenges.”

For additional information see: Madison County , The Cap Times

Yosemite’s Lyell Glacier Is Melting

Yosemite National Park is home to two glaciers, the Lyell and the Maclure glacier. Recently a park geologist, Greg Stock, noticed that the Lyell glacier had shrunk visibly when he observed the glacier in 2012. Over the last 100 years, the Lyell glacier has lost 62 percent of its mass and 120 vertical feet. The glacier also has stopped moving, and no longer qualifies as a glacier, "Lyell glacier is stagnant — a clear sign it's dying,” said Stock. “The changes in Yosemite's landscape reflect a global trend of disappearing glaciers,” continued Stock, "Great ice sheets are dwindling, prompting concerns about what happens next to surrounding ecological systems after perennial rivulets of melted ice disappear.” For the Lyell glacier, Stock estimates it has only another 20 years of existence left. Based on surveys of western states' glaciers, the melting is caused by warming temperatures and less precipitation. A study by Ken Macloed finds that, if carbon dioxide (C02) levels continue to rise, the earth will eventually be ice-free. Although the park’s other glacier, Maclure, continues to move, it is half the size it was a century ago. Stock added, "the rate of glacier retreat has accelerated since about 2000."

For additional information see: Los Angeles Times

New National Research Center to Address Transportation and Climate Change

On September 23, the University of California Davis, Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis) was selected to lead a two-year, $11.2 million, federal research consortium for the U.S. Department of Transportation. The new National Center for Sustainable Transportation will develop real-world strategies for mitigating the transportation system’s greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts. The center will also help prepare U.S. transportation infrastructure for climate change, and keep the system functioning during future extreme weather events. The National transportation system accounts for a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions. "The goal of the national center is to transform the transportation system to improve environmental sustainability nationwide," said Dan Sperling, director of the ITS-Davis and Executive Director of the new national center. The research will be focused in four main areas: zero-emission vehicle and fuel technologies; low-carbon infrastructure and efficient system operation; low-impact travel and sustainable land use; and institutional change. Other members of the consortium include University of California, Riverside; University of Southern California; California State University, Long Beach; University of Vermont; and Georgia Institute of Technology.

For additional information see: UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis) press release , The Sacramento Bee

Airlines Push for UN Framework for Industry’s CO2 Emissions

On September 23, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) a group representing approximately 200 airlines urged a United Nations (UN) aviation group to support mandatory global measures to reduce airline carbon emissions. The EU has said that curbing the aviation industry’s carbon emissions is essential to meeting climate goals.  

For additional information see: Reuters , The Guardian, Article 1 , The Guardian, Article 2

Australia Hit Hardest by Climate Change

A recent study compiled by HSBC found that Australia is the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change among the countries that make up the G-20; with its exposure worsening more rapidly than any other major economy. Australia's cost of natural disasters was second only to China's, having spent 0.24 percent of its GDP on recovery. Of the G-20 countries, Australia and Saudi Arabia are experiencing the worst deterioration during 2012 of water resources. For Australia, this has meant a 6.8 percent drop in water resources per capita in the last two years. In their recent report, the IPCC projected a six degree Celsius temperature increase for Australia, on its warmest days, by 2100. However, the effects of higher temperatures, demonstrated by the early arrival of wildfire season, are already being seen this spring. During the last weekend of September, 60 wildfires were reported across the state of New South Wales, with summer still more than two months away. Although climate change alone cannot be blamed for the wildfires, it has increased their likelihood of starting. Beyond having catastrophic effects on the landscape, climate change also poses a threat to the national economy. Nathan Fabian, CEO of the Investor Group on Climate Change, said, "Our research has also shown that key sectors which Australia invests in, such as mining and minerals, manufacturing and transport, all have significant physical vulnerabilities which we expect to be more severe by 2030". For Australian companies to adapt, Fabian stresses the criticality of joining the conversation on climate change and taking an active role in protecting themselves against climate change.

For additional information see: Guardian , Time

India Opens Door for Montreal Protocol Negotiations

On September 27, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India and President Obama agreed to convene discussions of phasing down HFCs(hydrofluorocarbons) under the Montreal Protocol. Their agreement follows the Prime Minister’s commitment in the G20 Leaders’ Declaration earlier in September to use the Montreal Protocol to phase down HFCs, refrigerants know as super greenhouse gases because of their powerful impact on global warming. President Xi Jinping of China also reached an agreement with President Obama on the margins of the G20 to start formal HFC negotiations under the Montreal Protocol (see September 9 issue.) President Obama and Prime Minister Singh stated that they “supported complementary initiatives [to the UNFCCC], through multilateral approaches that include using the expertise and the institutions of the Montreal Protocol to phase down the production and the consumption of HFCs, based on the examination of economically viable and technically feasible alternatives. . . and to include HFCs within the scope of UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol for accounting and reporting of emissions.” In an Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) press release, Durwood Zaelke, president of the IGSD, stated, “It’s increasingly certain that we will cut production and consumption of HFCs under the Montreal Protocol. It’s the biggest, fastest, and cheapest piece of climate mitigation available to the world today, with the potential to avoid up to 0.5 degree C in global warming by the end of the century and the damaging impacts that would cause. It also has the potential to build critical political momentum for other ‘international complementary initiatives’ and for a successful UN climate agreement in 2015.”

For additional information see: The White House U.S.-India Joint Statement , The Economic Times , IGSD Press Release

Climate Change Top Priority for General Assembly President

October 1 concludes the week of the United Nation’s 2013 General Debate. John W. Ashe (Antigua and Barbuda), newly elected President for the 68th session of the General Assembly, is concerned about the small island nations, which are experiencing the devastating effects of climate change. Pacific islands are facing the possibility of being completely flooded, while for Caribbean islands, including Antigua and Barbuda, hurricanes are becoming one of the biggest dangers.

For additional information see: Al Jazeera America , United Nations

Study Finds Warming Fastest in First Ten Years of Rapid GHG Increase

On September 30, a new study published in the Environmental Research Letter uncovers the pattern of global warming following an increase of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a relatively unaddressed issue. Led by Ken Caldeira, Carnegie Institution of Science, and Nathan Myhrvold, Intellectual Ventures, the study brings together 20 different world-leading climate models under 50 different scenarios for the Climate Model Intercomparison Project, Phase 5 (CMIP5). They find that half of the warming occurs within the first decade following rapid GHG increases, and a quarter of the warming occurs more than a century afterwards. Although there are quantitative disagreements regarding the ultimate amount of warming and the pace of it across models, nonetheless, Caldeira states, “There is little uncertainty in the basic outlook.” Caldeira said, “If we continue increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations with emissions from the burning of coal, oil, and gas, the earth will continue to get hotter.”

For additional information see: Carnegie Institute of Science , Study

Study Finds 30 Percent Reduction of Livestock GHG Emissions Achievable

On September 26, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released a report, Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock, that assessed livestock’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and its mitigation potential. The FAO study found that livestock accounts for 14.5 percent of human-caused GHG emissions, within which 65 percent is caused by cattle. After performing a detailed analysis across stages of livestock supply chains, the study identified feed production and processing, as the main source of emissions, contributing 45 percent of the total emissions. The livestock sector could reduce its GHG emissions by up to 30 percent within current production systems through wider adoption of best practices in feeding, health and husbandry, and manure management, along with greater use of existing technologies such as biogas generators and energy-saving devices.

For additional information see: The Guardian , FAO , Report

Oct 16 Webinar: 40th Anniversary of the Oil Embargo

Join EESI Executive Director Carol Werner, former CIA Director R. James Woolsey, Scott Sklar, and other expert speakers for an October 16 webinar on the 40th anniversary of the oil embargo and its significance. Forty years ago, the Oil Embargo evidenced how dependent the United States was on foreign energy sources. It is imperative that we, as a nation, learn from the past and continue to expand, diversify and invest in our energy supply portfolio. The webinar will demonstrate the advances made since 1973, and highlight how renewables and energy efficiency are the competitive, economical and sustainable global building blocks for the 21st century as we also address climate change. Wednesday October 16 - 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Eastern

To register, click here.
Please note that there is a $45.00 administrative fee to participate ($30.00 for ACORE members).