Climate Change News - September 24, 2012

The House Votes to Limit EPA’s Power to Regulate Carbon Dioxide

As its last act before Congress recesses until after the November election, the House voted 233-175 to approve the Stop the War on Coal Act (H.R. 3409) on September 21. The H.R. 3409 package includes five bills which excise or inhibit a number of Department of Interior and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that some Representatives claim harm the coal industry. Title II of the Stop the War on Coal Act blocks the EPA from regulating carbon dioxide (CO2) by declassifying it as an air pollutant. This would prevent the EPA from finalizing its regulation which sets a maximum greenhouse gas emissions level per unit of energy for new power generation facilities. Title II previously was passed by the House as H.R. 910 in April 2011 (see April 11, 2011 issue). The White House has threatened to veto the legislation if it ever reaches the President.

For additional information see: The Hill , San Francisco Chronicle

Senate Votes to Exclude U.S. Airlines from European Cap and Trade System

In the early hours of September 22, the Senate passed legislation through unanimous consent which shields U.S. airlines from being charged for their carbon emissions. The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011 (S. 1956) introduced by Senator John Thune (R-SD) designates the U.S. Secretary of Transportation authority to prevent U.S. airlines from complying with the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for aviation. Since January, the EU ETS has charged airlines for carbon emissions released during flights in and out of EU airports. S. 1956 passed with amendments which require U.S. Secretary of Transportation to reconsider the ban if the EU ETS is modified, the International Civil Aviation Organization implements a global aviation emissions trading system, or if the United States passes carbon legislation. The House passed a similar but slightly different bill in October 2011 (see October 31, 2011 issue). The differences in the legislation could be worked out in a conference committee after the November election, or the House could choose to accept the Senate bill without modifications.

For additional information see: The Guardian

EU to Finance China Carbon Emissions Reduction

On September 20, the European Union (EU) and China reached a financial agreement which will augment China’s efforts toward environmental sustainability, establishing a low-carbon economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The EU will provide China with $32 Million and assistance on three carbon-reduction projects over four years. This comes as part of a broader Chinese initiative to establish an emissions trading scheme (ETS) to assuage ramifications of climate change. The EU’s return on investment would be a boost to its own ETS, which has seen carbon prices plummet. EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs comments on broader returns saying, “The results of these projects will benefit all of us and contribute to our common objective: a sustainable development of the planet.” The deal is significant given China’s distinction as the world’s largest carbon emitter and, more specifically, because China has refused to heed the EU’s imposition of a carbon tax on airlines using European airports.

For additional information see: Reuters , Platts

French President Calls for 40 Percent Reduction of EU Carbon Emissions by 2030

At an environmental conference in Paris on September 14, French President Francois Hollande announced France’s commitment to reducing worldwide carbon emissions. President Hollande recommended that the European Union raise carbon emissions reduction targets to 40 percent by 2030 and 60 percent by 2040; a significant increase from the current goal of 20 percent by 2020. The President also advocated action at the global level stating, “Our goal is to reach a global climate agreement in 2015. France is fully committed to achieving this.” Hollande added that France would be happy to host the 2015 UN Conference of the Parties climate change discussions.

For additional information see: Scientific American , Responding to Climate Change

The Montreal Protocol Turns 25

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, often hailed as the world's most successful international environmental treaty for setting a path to prevent the destruction of the protective ozone layer, celebrated its 25th anniversary on September 16. The treaty has nearly phased out about 100 ozone depleting chemicals, and put the ozone layer on the path to recovery by 2065, saving more than $4 trillion in projected health costs in the United States alone. Because many of the same chemicals also contribute to climate change, phasing them out has produced climate mitigation equivalent to eight billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, equal to the emissions of some 1,900 power plants, according to the World Bank. "The Montreal Protocol is the world's best climate treaty, so far, and can do the equivalent of another 8 billion tonnes of CO2 mitigation per year by phasing down HFCs," said Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, noting that, "HFCs are now the fastest growing greenhouse gas in the United States and other countries."

For additional information see: United Nations Environmental Programme

El Salvador Feeling the Impacts of Climate Change

Rising sea levels due to climate change are threatening the livelihood of many communities around the world, including El Salvador. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that global sea levels have been steadily rising throughout the last century by about 1.7 millimeters per year and are expected to accelerate to around 4 millimeters per year. El Salvador's Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources predicts that the country will lose between 10 and 28 percent of its coastal territories in the next century due to rising sea levels. Since 2005, the village of La Tirana has lost 1000 feet of mangroves – which are crucial ocean buffers and animal habitats – due to receding coast lines. Also diminishing due to rising sea levels are punche crab populations, a major part of local subsistence. Coupled with rising sea levels, major deforestation (only 2% of El Salvador's original forests remain) has left natural drainage systems unable to cope with increased rainfall leading to flash flooding that devastates homes and harvests. Dr. Ricardo Navarro, director of the El Salvador chapter of Friends of the Earth, commented, "There is no doubt that the deforestation has left El Salvador even more vulnerable to climate change and the storms it is increasingly bringing."

For additional information see: The Independent

As Greenland Ice Melts, Global Powers Look to Profit from Revealed Bounty

Global superpowers are turning their attention to regions north of the Arctic Circle, where a changing climate and receding ice caps are leaving deposits of precious natural resources accessible for exploration and exploitation. Experts estimate that over 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas reserves are hidden beneath ice coverage in the Arctic. As the ice melts on Greenland’s surface, opportunities to discover oil, gas, and mineral reserves are becoming more feasible. All eyes are on China which has taken a keen interest in Greenland, sending high-level diplomats to visit Arctic countries, lobbying for observer status on the Arctic Council, and investing in local companies. Although China lacks territorial rights to Greenland, it plans to use business and investment strategies to become a regional stakeholder. In addition to resource opportunities, Arctic ice melt also opens polar shipping lanes, offering shorter and cheaper routes for Chinese vessels. The first trial Chinese cargo crossing took place this past August. Although Xinhua News, a state-controlled agency claims, “China’s activities are for the purposes of regular environmental investigation and investment and have nothing to do with resource plundering and strategic control,” western nations fear that China could leverage its wealth. As an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland is a poor nation suffering high youth unemployment and few opportunities for higher education. Greenland’s Vice Premier Jens Frederiksen remarked, “We are treated so differently than just a few years ago. We are aware that it is because we now have something to offer, not because they’ve suddenly discovered that Inuit are nice people.” The growing importance of the Arctic was exemplified by Secretary of State Clinton’s first visit to the region in 2011 and later articulated by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Thomas R. Nides, who stated that the Arctic is “a new frontier in our foreign policy.”

For additional information see: New York Times

Water Utilities Need to Adapt to Changing Climate

The Water Research Foundation (WaterRF), a nonprofit organization that provides research to utilities and public agencies, issued a report September 12 suggesting environmental regulations are restricting water utilities seeking to adapt to climate change. Climate change causes precipitation and temperature patterns to shift, data which water providers rely on for supply projections. WaterRF Executive Director Rob Renner argues, “These types of climate issues are important to water utilities because their planning horizons are so long. Because of the length of time it takes to determine future water needs, they identified climate issues a relatively long time ago as something they need to adapt to.” WaterRF predicts that due to federal regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including those that limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for new power plants, electricity prices could increase 10 percent on average for water utilities. Water treatment to achieve contaminate levels mandated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Water Act, and Clean Air Act requires high inputs of energy, and thus utilities could find themselves facing tough economic realities. To lower costs, meet EPA water quality standards, and reduce GHG emissions, WaterRF suggests that water utilities should be allowed some flexibility in achieving required contaminant levels, or consider using new technologies, such as reuse of wastewater. However, U.S. Water Alliance President Ben Grumbles, cautions that, "Flexibility doesn't have to be a rollback in public health protections. We need to follow up with rich research."

For additional information see: Environment and Energy Publishing

U.S. Carbon Emissions Expected to Rise in 2013 Due to Increased Coal Use

According to a report released September 11th by the Energy Information Agency (EIA), many electricity plants that have been using natural gas for power production will switch to coal in 2013. Due to an expected 20 percent rise in the cost of natural gas, coal-fired power generation is expected to increase 9.3 percent in 2013. As a result, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from petroleum and natural gas are expected to remain flat in 2013, but coal emissions will increase 8.5 percent. Overall, U.S. GHG emissions from fossil fuels are expected to rise 2.8 percent. “This is a function of price, plants that have the capability to switch fuels are doing so,” said Carol Raulston, senior vice president at the National Mining Association. Sarah Forbes, a senior associate at the World Resources Institute, believes this shift to coal-fired generation does not represent a change in the long-term transition towards cleaner energy as the EIA reports that about 8.5 percent of U.S. coal-fired generation capacity will be retired by the end of 2016.

For additional information see: Reuters , Report

Seabed Fracture near Carbon Capture and Storage Project Adds to Cost

ECO2, a European Union (EU) research program, has discovered a three kilometer long fracture near Norway’s sub-seabed carbon storage project in the North Sea. The 200 meter deep and 10 meter wide fracture is 25 kilometers away from Statoil’s Sleipner carbon capture and storage (CCS) site and poses little risk for the escape of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas already stored. However, the findings released by ECO2 have raised concerns over the technological feasibility of CCS projects and will force future CCS projects to conduct more extensive and expensive mapping of the sea floor and subsea structures to ensure their viability for CCS. Klaus Wallman, a project coordinator at ECO2 stated that the cost increase for more detailed seabed screening “would be in the region of several million euros.” Wallman continued, “This discovery [of the fracture] shows that there are still surprises awaiting us as we further investigate the seabed, even in waters we think we know well.” The findings have not put a halt to Statoil’s operations, which will continue to pump one million tonnes of CO2 per year into the Sleipner reservoir until 2025, which at the current cost of greenhouse gas emissions under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, represents a savings of $100,000 per day.

For additional information see: Reuters

Arctic Sea Ice Melt May Increase Extreme Weather in United States and Europe

Scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) announced that on September 16 the record melting of the Arctic sea ice stopped for the year. The previous record since measurements began in 1979, set in September 2007, was surpassed August 26 (see September 3 issue) and melting conditions continued into September. Satellite images show that at the minimum, sea ice covered 1.32 million square miles, or only 24 percent of the Arctic Ocean, 18 percent lower than the previous record. Mar Serreze, the director of NSIDC said, “We are now in uncharted territory. . .While we've long known that as the planet warms up, changes would be seen first and be most pronounced in the Arctic, few of us were prepared for how rapidly the changes would actually occur.” “The only strategy – short of geo-engineering – that can have any impact on our future Arctic ice melt is the strategy to reduce black carbon Short-Lived Climate Pollutants,” said Durwood Zaelke, President for the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development.

For additional information see: New York Times , The Guardian – 1 , The Guardian – 2 , Los Angeles Times

New Study Questions Government Assessment of Carbon Emission Cost

On September 12 the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences published a study that re-assesses the social cost of carbon emissions. The study challenges a government assessment conducted by 12 government agencies that determined the unpriced, societal cost of carbon emissions to be $21 per ton and that the discount rate for future costs should be three percent. However, the authors of the new study contend that the social cost is significantly higher – somewhere between 2.6 and 12 times ($55-$266) that calculated in the earlier government study – and the discount rate should be two percent or less. The authors assert that by using a high discount rate, the governmental assessment fails to consider economic damages of carbon emissions on future generations. Dr. Laurie Johnson, co-author of the study and chief economist in the climate and clean air program at the Natural Resources Defense Council says, “With approximately 40 percent of all carbon emissions in the United States coming from power plants, the economic advantages of clean electricity sources are significant.” The authors come to the conclusion that investing in wind and solar, rather than natural gas and coal, is more cost-effective in the long run when the social costs of carbon are included.

For additional information see: New York Times , National Resources Defense Council , Science Daily

Prestigious Heinz Award Given to Climate Change Champion

On September 12th, climate champion and policy innovator KC Golden received the prestigious $250,000 Heinz Award. The Heinz Family Foundation recognized Golden for his work “encouraging cities, businesses, and utilities to tackle climate change.” Golden is currently the policy director for Climate Solutions, an environmental non-profit where he works to research and advocate for practical and profitable solutions to global climate change. Teresa Heinz, chairman of the Heinz Family foundation, said of Golden, “The practical and profitable solutions to global warming that he has pioneered prove that strong climate action builds both economic vitality and healthy communities, building on the sort of mutual shared interest that is at the heart of all good policy.”

For additional information see: The Seattle Times , Press Release

Friday, September 28: Weatherization: A Success Story

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the National Association for State Community Services Programs (NASCSP) invite you to a briefing co-sponsored by the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition that will discuss what has made the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) such a success story, and what policies will ensure that WAP can continue to help low-income families save money, improve America's energy security, and create skilled jobs that cannot be outsourced. One million low-income households will have benefited from the federal Weatherization Assistance Program's (WAP) Recovery Act funding by the time October rolls in, with a total of 7.4 million homes weatherized since the program’s inception 35 years ago. The benefits from this federal investment have been both immediate and long-lasting: housing made more affordable and more comfortable, as well as lessening of the carbon footprint through energy retrofits and the creation of new skilled jobs. This event will be held Friday, September 21, 2012, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in Congressional Meeting Room North in the Capitol Visitor Center. This briefing is free and open to the public. No RSVP required. For more information Click Here