The Major Economies Forum released it's statement on energy and climate change, announcing a belief that global temperatures should not rise above 2 degrees Celsius about pre-industrial levels. The statement mentions that climate change must be addressed in a way that does not compromise economic or social development. In the statement, a global emissions reduction of 50% by 2050 is proposed, including an 80% reduction by industrialized nations. The statement also calls for roadmaps of plans from now to 2020 be presented by November 15, 2009.
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The House of Representatives narrowly passed the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act. This bill would put a cap on US carbon dioxide emissions, set up a market for the trading of emissions allowances, and encourage investment in clean energy and energy efficiency technologies.
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The latest version of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (the US cap and trade bill) to be discussed in the House of Representatives removed provisions that would've created standards for aviation greenhouse gas emissions.
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The contribution of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), used in refrigerators and air conditioners, to global warming by 2050 is projected to be more than that of current global CO2 emissions from houses and office buildings. These gases are substitutes for ozone-depleting gases, but they are also strong greenhouse gases. Their contribution to global warming is currently small, but can increase to the equivalent of 9-19% (CO2-eq. basis) of projected global CO2 emissions in business-as-usual scenarios by 2050.
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A recent report has found that one in six homes in England are in danger of flooding, and that number is expected to increase dramatically as climate change brings higher sea levels, more rainfall in the Winter, and stronger storms.
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The UK Climate Projections 2009 report released last week addresses the aspects of climate change the UK is already likely to face, and those that still have the possibility of being avoided. On average, it estimates that the UK will see between 2 and 6 degree C temperature increases by 2080 along with an average of over 20% less summer rain and much of the country seeing increases in winter rain by 20%. Areas in the south of the UK, which are already water stressed are expected to see even greater decreases in summer rain than the average.
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A new US government report analyzing climate change research has found that without reductions in emissions, the US will be facing drastic changes in our climate. It looks at the effects we have already seen and those we can expect to see 10, 50, and 100 years from now. It also talks about the effects we can expect in different regions. For example, the Southwest and Southeast are expected to see continued and more drastic water shortages. The Northeast will likely lose its multibillion dollar winter sports industry and food industries like apple and maple syrup production. The Pacific Northwest is expected to lose cold water fishing industries, such as the salmon industry. Florida could see sea level rise that floods much of the Everglades and the Keys.
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Thousands of people have rallied all across Australia demanding more aggressive action from their government on climate change issues. Australia is one of the worst per capita emitters, in large part due to their vast reserves of coal.
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Todd Stern, America's chief climate negotiator, has said that he believes it is morally right for rich nations to help poorer ones deal with climate change. His statement expressed support for the billions of dollars the US cap and trade bill being debated in Congress would potentially provide to developing countries to deal with climate change. He also commended China on their attempts to reduce the growth in their emissions, despite the explosion of their economy.
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The US Energy Information Administration reported that world energy consumption is expected by grow by 44% and CO2 levels would grow by 39% between now and 2030 if action weren't taken to slow the increases.
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Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs released a brief outlining the need for higher, stable energy prices in order to meet clean energy, oil security, and climate change goals.
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The US Department of Energy has started testing to figure out where to put captured carbon dioxide from carbon capture and sequestration plants. The Fort Nelson natural gas plant is expected to produce 2 million tons of CO2 a year that will need to be stored.
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A panel of 12 retired generals and admirals has just released the latest in a series of reports warning that climate change is a matter of national security for more than just oil issues. They report that volatility in prices as a result of energy markets causes military, diplomatic, and economic vulnerabilities.
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Stanford Professor Mark Jacobson urged the EPA to include black carbon in its endangerment finding, claiming that it can be the single largest factor to slowing Arctic warming if controlled now. Black carbon, or soot, is released from the burning of fossil fuels and has accounted for 12.5-15% of gross global warming. US black soot emissions account for more global warming than methane or nitrous oxide, which are in the endangerment finding, according to the reports cited by Professor Jacobson.
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The Cap and Trade bill in the House, HR 2454, includes provisions to increase transportation energy efficiency, including from heavy duty vehicles and airplanes as well as provisions for increasing electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
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The DOE released a report showing where carbon could potentially be stored under millions of acres of federal lands.
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Discovery article about the history of the Great Lakes. Recent research has shown that in the past, despite recent consistency, the Great Lakes have experienced changes in rainfall that resulted in a 20 foot drop in level, making connections between the lakes impassable.
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Article from Time Magazine about the potential food crisis we face if climate change continues as expected. According to the article, there is a 90% chance that the average temperature in the growing system by 2100 will be hotter than our hottest days currently, causing severe damage to crops.
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Researchers in every field of "Big Science" are more and more frequently turning to a legion of "citizen scientists"--average people, interested in science, who commit to gathering mountains of detailed data to assist in the process of answering big, long-term science questions.
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Half the world's population could face a climate-induced food crisis by 2100, a new report by US scientists warns. This article describes the problems climate change poses for our staple food crops and debunks the myth that we can just move crops north as the world warms.
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Columnist Charles Krauthammer writes about the once-in-a-generation opportunity we have to significantly increase the gas tax and correspondingly cut the payroll tax to lower demand for petroleum without costing consumers anything and without increasing or decreasing the size of the government.
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Environmentally conscious farmers are looking to capture and use greenhouse gases produced by the animals in order to reduce the overall impact of eating meat.
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Barack Obama faces conflicting views among his top advisers on the balance between the environment and the economy.
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The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday awarded a $66.9 million, eight-year grant to a research partnership headed by Montana State University to test new methods of using coal and other fossil fuels without contributing to global climate change.
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Editorial supporting a carbon tax system, but that warns against using the money for the government to try to select the next renewable energy technology through subsidies.
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There are many who believe that the coal industry is not investing enough in CCS to actually make a meaningful change.
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The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative had its second auction of permits for carbon emissions. Polluters in 10 Northeastern states will be required to posses these permits by the time the program starts.
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Report on a study that interviewed graduate students at MIT and showed how little even they understood about climate change and the need for action. The article makes the argument that scientists can not just hope to solve the problem without the rest of the general public understanding what the problem is and what needs to be done.
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Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have released theirdraft legislation to cap greenhouse gas emissions. The proposal is modeled after the Senate bill that was introduced, debated, but not voted on earlier this year.
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This mini power plant is a pilot project for carbon capture and storage (CCS) - the first coal-fired plant in the world ready to capture and store its own CO2 emissions.
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A California company is looking to take CO2 from a natural gas power plant to create concrete.
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This article discusses the amount of money that is potentially going to come out of any carbon taxing system and the potential winners and losers at the state level.
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Article on how businesses can prepare for the impending reality of a carbon tax or cap and trade system.
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Interesting story from Treehugger discussing how a global cap and trade system would bring out the hidden environmental impacts of processes like natural gas flaring and would actually benefit Middle Eastern oil because it tends to be the cleanest and least energy intensive.
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Doosan Babcock will modify its unique Multi Fuel Burner Test Rig at Renfrew to accommodate Oxyfuel firing on pulverised coal with recycled flue gas and demonstrate the operation of a full scale 40 MW burner for use in coal-fired boilers, suitable both for new power plants being built around the world and for retrofit applications.
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Province is first jurisdiction in North America to have consumer-based carbon tax.
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Policy paper discussing the need in the short to medium term for a cap and trade system in the United States. The proposed cap and trade system includes an upstream cap on CO2 emissions with gradual inclusion of other greenhouse gases, a gradual downward trajectory of emissions ceilings over time to minimize disruption and allow firms and households time to adapt, and mechanisms to reduce cost uncertainty. This proposed program would initially give away half of its permits for free and auction off the other half.
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The European cap-and-trade permit auction system, in effect since 2005, has resulted in an “administrative nightmare” and imposed huge, unintended costs on businesses and the loss of some jobs, reports Open Europe, a UK think tank.
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Global Research Technologies, LLC (GRT), a technology research and development company, and Klaus Lackner from Columbia University have achieved the successful demonstration of a bold new technology to capture carbon from the air. The "air extraction" prototype has successfully demonstrated that indeed carbon dioxide (CO2) can be captured from the atmosphere. This is GRT’s first step toward a commercially viable air capture device.
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As lawmakers on Capitol Hill push for a cap-and-trade system to rein in the nation's greenhouse gas emissions, an unlikely alternative has emerged from an ideologically diverse group of economists and industry leaders: a carbon tax.
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