The California Air Resources Board (CARB) unanimously passed a package of vehicle polices to reduce the state’s overall greenhouse gas emissions by putting more electric and hybrid cars on the road. According to the new rules, one in seven new cars in California will be a zero emissions or plug-in hybrid car by 2025. In addition, emission standards for all new cars sold in California were strengthened, making them the toughest in the nation. By placing 1.4 million alternative fuel cars on the road, CARB board members expect the rules to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 34 percent and smog by 75 percent. “These robust, zero-emission vehicle standards will provide the market assurance automakers and the energy industry need to transform the electric vehicle into a mass-market success,” said Don Anair, senior engineer with the Union of Concerned Scientists, Clean Vehicles program. While the new fuel-efficient technologies will increase the cost of the vehicle by almost $2,000, owners are expected to recoup over $6,000 in fuel savings over the lifetime of the car.

For additional information see: Reuters, Los Angeles Times, Union of Concerned Scientists, Mercury News, Sustainable Business

Scientists in Louisiana are attempting to mitigate global warming and restore wetlands by creating a new carbon storage industry. Tierra Resources and Louisiana State University have developed a technique for measuring the amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere and stored in soils and plants. Accurate measurement of stored carbon could improve opportunities for carbon emitting industries to obtain carbon credits which offset pollution. Some companies have been “banking” credits for the last decade predicting mandatory federal regulation. “Our service territory is in the unique position of being at risk of the effects of climate change, including the loss of parts of our service territory, our customers and our assets,” said Entergy executive Steve Tullos.

For additional information see: The Times-Picayune

Insurance companies will be required to disclose their climate change response plans under new requirements in California, New York and Washington State. “We are asking insurers to share their views of the risk of climate change so that we can be sure that the industry and regulators are appropriately prepared,” said Robert H. Easton, a lead insurance regulator in New York. The industry has been attempting to assess climate risks that are not reflected in the historical insurance payouts to help prepare them for climate change impacts. The information is from a voluntary survey created by CERES, a Boston-based nonprofit, that showed in 2011 only 11 in 88 responding companies in 2011 had formal climate change policies. The survey now will be mandatory for companies writing policies valued at more than $300 million nationwide, covering 90 percent of the entire insurance market.

For additional information see: New York Times, CA Press Release

According to a study at the University of California, Davis, providing information about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions increases companies’ stock value. The study, “Going Green: Market Reaction to CSR Newswire Releases,” assessed 172 corporate stock prices two days before and two days after green practices were released and found an increase of just under a half percent. Small companies saw a stock price increase of 2.32 percent, while companies not disclosing their practices saw no statistical change in stock value. “When a company makes a voluntary disclosure of this kind, it signals to the investment community that this is a firm that is environmentally responsible,” UC Davis Professor Paul Griffin said. “Investors are saying they would prefer to invest in an environmentally responsible firm.”

For additional information see: The Daily Climate, Market Watch

The record statewide drought in Texas has forced residents in Spicewood to truck water from neighboring aquifers. Numerous communities across Texas, including Houston, have had to travel further distances to find suitable water for their residents. Ryan Rowney, manager of water operations for the Lower Colorado River Authority, said, “If we need to haul every day, we will. This will probably go on for several more months.” Though many areas of Texas have seen some rainfall over the winter months, numerous towns are still not meeting their daily water supply. Rowney said that Spicewood would need much more than just a few rain showers to replenish their aquifers, “We’re talking about rainfall events of 20 inches plus. Huge, huge flood events to bring the lake levels up.”

In related news, NASA scientists have said that climate change caused the 2011 heat waves in Texas and Oklahoma, and contributed to the statewide drought. Using 50 years of temperature data, NASA scientist Dr. James Hansen found that the heatwaves and resulting drought in Texas were “a consequence of global warming because their likelihood was negligible prior to the recent rapid global warming.” A panel of climate scientists from Columbia University expect the drought in Texas will continue and intensify. Richard Seager, an expert on North American droughts, said that the drought in Texas is part of a “host of problems out there that we’re creating for ourselves.” Seager said the United States should expect drought in the Southwest to intensify. He also stressed that by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases released in the atmosphere, we can actively lower the level of intensity of the drought.

For additional information see: Associated Press, Houston Chronicle, Inside Climate News, Study

A new multi-department committee in Boulder, Colorado, will “begin an evaluation and planning process that will engage the Boulder community around a vision for future (greenhouse gas) emissions reductions.” The city council is debating whether to extend the city’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) tax, set to expire in March 2013. The CAP tax collects over $1 million per year from city utility bills, and is redistributed towards city programs that focus on mitigating climate change. Boulder’s Environmental Advisory Board wrote a letter to the city council asking to extend the CAP tax. Board member Stephen Morgan said, “I think (climate change) is a huge issue that’s facing us, not just in Boulder but the whole country,” he said. “We can’t shy away from big problems because they’re big. I think difficult problems have answers, and it’s for the best and the brightest to stand up and find out what those answers are.”

For additional information see: The Daily Camera

On January 26, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for a new National Forest System (NFS) Land Management Planning Rule which includes climate change considerations. The new rule applies to 193 million acres of forest that are in the NFS, and replaces the current plan developed in 1982. The proposed planning rule would incorporate new administrative procedures for land management plans, and identifies eight significant issues including, “ecosystem restoration, watershed protection, diversity of plant and animal communities, climate change, multiple uses, efficiency and effectiveness, transparency and collaboration, and coordination and cooperation beyond National Forest System boundaries.” The plan takes into consideration alternative views of climate change and proposes that the learning and planning cycle should, “Assess conditions and stressors, including climate change, on the NFS unit and in the context of the broader landscape.”

For additional information see: Colusa County Sun Herald, News Release, Study

A recent map published in Nature Climate Change actively measures the various biomass and carbon storage potential of tropical forests and vegetation in Africa, Asia, and South America. Scientists from Woods Hole Research Centre, Boston University, and the University of Maryland used remote sensing and field data to produce the map. In addition to cataloging carbon storage of forests, the researchers were able to catalog the various levels of emissions produced during deforestation. “For the first time we were able to derive accurate estimates of carbon densities using satellite LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) observations in places that have never been measured,” said Alessandro Baccini, assistant scientist at Woods Hole. According to the map, 32 million acres of forests are cut each year, releasing over 1.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the air.

For additional information see: Forbes, Study, Times of India

France’s ecology minister, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, said more than 100 countries support the proposal to create a World Environment Organization at the Rio +20 Summit. The agency would assist in implementing international environmental standards, including climate change adaptation, international pollution standards, and deforestation. More than 30 European countries and 54 African countries, as well as Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal, Chile and Uruguay support formation of a World Environment Organization. The United States has not yet stated its support of the proposal.

For additional information see: AFP

On January 31, the first annual report from the Climate Change Commission for Wales made 30 recommendations, including improving air quality and using low-carbon technology. Peter Davies, chairman of the Climate Change Commission, said, “the Welsh Government is already demonstrating that it is on the right path towards tackling climate change and annual reduction targets are comparable with the more ambitious reduction plans globally. However, it is essential that we not only ensure these targets are delivered, but that the ambition levels of these targets are kept under review.”

For additional information see: Wales Online

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a study implicating climate change in the death of up to 70 percent of Yellow Cedar trees in Alaska and British Columbia. According to Paul Hennon of USDA’s Pacific Northwest Research Station, “The cause of tree death, called yellow-cedar decline, is now known to be a form of root freezing that occurs during cold weather in late winter and early spring, but only when snow is not present on the ground. When present, snow protects the fine, shallow roots from extreme soil temperatures. The shallow rooting of yellow-cedar, early spring growth, and its unique vulnerability to freezing injury also contribute to this problem.”

For additional information see: UPI, Science Daily, USDA Press Release

Subsistence farmers in Mozambique are changing their farming practices, or moving, to survive increased flooding and droughts. Almost 80 percent of Mozambican families are subsistence farmers, and in Caia, a vast floodplain, floods in 2000 killed 700 people, displaced 100,000 and crop destruction cost 1.5 percent of gross domestic product. “In the past, it happened every five years, now we have annual emergencies, which shows that the situation has changed,” said Belem Monteiro, Director of the National Institute for Disaster Management. Aid groups and local governments have partnered to assist families with improved farming techniques, to diversify incomes or to resettle on higher ground. Farmer Rui Alberto Campira received a grant to build a new farm and install an irrigation system that will enable him to farm in the dry season. “It’s good. Especially for tomatoes. Tomatoes, onions, cabbage, collard greens. That’s what we usually plant here. There we only plant maize. Maize and sweet potatoes,” said Campira.

For additional information see: Public Radio International

Russian industries are planning future growth from increased shipping traffic and energy development in the Arctic Ocean. Warmer temperatures caused arctic ice to cover its second-smallest recorded area in 2011, allowing the Northeast Passage, also known as the Northern Sea Route, to stay open a record 141 days, a month longer than normal. The region is believed to hold as much as 25 percent of the worlds untapped fossil fuels, and businesses are planning on growing profits by building drilling platforms and support ships as well as through increased port traffic. The shipping route is being touted because it bypasses the Suez Canal. “It’s a very promising region and an interesting shipping lane that almost halves the distance between Europe and the Far East,” said Fazil Aliyev, a ship owner and captain.

For additional information see: Montreal Gazette

Climate change will cause changes in both the geographic occurrence of malaria and intensity of transmission over the next 50 years, according to Dr. Andrew Morse from the University of Liverpool, one of the authors of the study published in Environmental Health Perspectives. The study combined simulations of mosquito bite rates and transmission rates with a climate model to forecast malaria infection across Africa. Increases in surface temperature and decreased rainfall will reduce malaria infection in many tropical areas, but in the sub-Sahara Sahel region and East Africa, transmission rates will increase. Malaria is most common in warm, humid environments, and an increase of 2°Celsius may cause epidemics in areas currently free of malaria.

For additional information see: Planet Earth Online

Other Headlines

Writers: Alison Alford and Justin Jones

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The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative plans to eliminate an oversupply of 67 million unsold carbon allowances. The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast-based cap and trade system requires electric power providers to pay for emissions by purchasing carbon allowances equal to one ton of carbon dioxide emissions. Unused allowances can be sold by the companies to other emitters of pollution. The move to remove unused allowances will increase prices and lead to a decrease in CO2 emissions. According to Ashley Lawson, a senior analyst with Thomson Reuters Point Carbon, while the program has proved itself successful, the oversupply of allowances created a lower price for them, easing the pressure on electricity providers to emit less. While the prices have been lower than expected, almost $1 billion in revenue has been generated for the 10 original states, most of which has gone to energy efficiency programs.

For additional information see: New York Times

The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently released its Annual Energy Outlook 2012 report, citing that the United States consumed less coal and imported oil in 2011 than it did in 2005. While current emission levels are not on target to reduce U.S. carbon emissions by 17 percent by the year 2020, EIA’s forecast shows that new fuel-economy standards are helping Americans reduce their daily oil consumption. The report states, “Over the next 25 years, the projected coal share of overall electricity generation falls to 39 percent, well below the 49 percent share seen as recently as 2007, because of slow growth in electricity demand, continued competition from natural gas and renewable plants, and the need to comply with new environmental regulations.”

For additional information see: Reuters, Report

The US Department of Agriculture has updated the Plant Hardiness Zone Map to reflect climate change. The map is used by gardeners to determine which plants will grow in each location based on the average annual minimum temperature. Plants are able to thrive farther north because the coldest days of the year are now warmer and spring is arriving earlier. “People who grow plants are well aware of the fact that temperatures have gotten more mild throughout the year, particularly in the winter time,” according to Boston University biology professor Richard Primack. “There’s a lot of things you can grow now that you couldn’t grow before.” The new map is based on temperature data from 1976 to 2005 and reflects a two-thirds of a degree increase in average temperatures from the previous map.

For additional information see: ABC, AP, Plant Map

Hawaii State Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R, 50th District: Kailua, Kaneohe Bay) introduced H.B. No. 2330 to require planning agencies in each county to address sea level increases when reviewing development plans. Projected higher sea levels will threaten Hawaii’s infrastructure, tourism and overall economy. Thielen stated, “If Hawaii’s Legislators and other governmental officials do not take steps to adapt to anticipated sea level rise, scientists predict increased sea levels will inundate our islands negatively impacting their infrastructures.” According to the Center For Island Climate Adaptation and Policy sea levels will increase one foot by 2050.

For additional information see: KITV

The UN’s Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June will have sustainable development as its major focus, not climate change. According to Ambassador Andre Correa do Lago, Brazil’s chief negotiator, the shift to sustainability is deliberate because, “Climate change is an (issue) that has very strong resistance from sectors that are going to be substantially altered, like the oil industry.” The conference will attempt to address policies that allow growth and development in a sustainable manner, not just environmentally but economically and socially as well.

For additional information see: Reuters, NPR

The British Environment Agency released a report highlighting 700 threats to the United Kingdom by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced. The Climate Change Risk Assessment addresses the economic impacts of flooding, disruption of international supply chains, droughts, species impacts, soil erosion, deforestation and refugees from climate-related conflicts. “If I had to pick one particular issue, I think the flooding issue is the most dominant,” said Sir Bob Watson, chief scientific adviser at the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs. Between 1.7 million and 3.6 million people are expected to be at risk of flooding by 2050 and up to £10bn a year in damage by 2080. “Without an effective plan to prepare for the risks from climate change the country may sleepwalk into disaster,” said Lord John Krebs, chairman of the adaptation committee of the independent advisory group, Committee on Climate Change.

In related news, river flows in England and Wales may be reduced up to 80 percent by 2050, according to the British Environment Agency. A warming climate is expected to bring dryer summers, reducing water supplies, while increasing population growth will increase demand for water. “The problem is not just that average summer temperatures could rise by two or three degrees in Britain over the coming decades,” said Trevor Bishop, the head of water resources at the Environment Agency. “It is also forecast that the population of England and Wales is likely to rise by more than 9 million. That will only add to the burden that we are placing on our water supplies.” The report forecasts a loss in important habitats for fish species that depend on fresh water supplies such as Atlantic salmon and brown trout, which will then affect other species such as otters and eagles.

For additional information see: AP, Business Green, The Guardian, The Guardian, Report

Droughts caused by climate change are increasing the amount of arsenic found in the Laguna Region’s dwindling water levels. “From 1992 to 1999 [in the Laguna Region] we suffered intense droughts and 2010 was the driest (year) in 100 years,” explained Francisco Valdes Perezgasga, researcher at La Laguna Technological Institute. Less rain means the region’s aquifers are not replenished with fresh water, and the Laguna region’s 1.5 million residents are drawing on distant aquifers contaminated with heavy metals and arsenic, increasing the chance of lung, kidney and liver cancer. “We have confirmed an increase in the incidence of certain types of cancer, such as skin and gallbladder, and cases of genetic damage due to arsenic,” said Gonzalo Garcia Vargas, a professor at Juarez.

For additional information see: AlterNet

On January 20 in Science, researchers published a report urging policymakers to include agriculture in global actions against climate change. Led by John Beddington, Britain’s chief science adviser, the paper states, “Global agriculture must produce more food to feed a growing population, yet scientific assessments point to climate change as a growing threat to agricultural yields and food security.” Climate change-related weather events wipe out large crops of available food worldwide, and raise the overall price of remaining supplies. Farmers and scientists have begun to work together to find solutions to the food shortage. In Israel researchers have developed a way to use satellite images to assist farmers with harvests, relaying climate data to farmers that tell them when to plant seeds, when to harvest crops and which crops work best for each square kilometer of land. In Africa, farmers are using agroforestry to mix crops and livestock with shrubbery and trees in order to reduce deforestation and use available animal manure to fertilize the crops.

For additional information see: CNBC, NPR, Reuters, Time, Report

A recent poll from AlertNet found climate change and urbanization are shaping organizations’ response to disasters. The survey polled global aid organizations, including Oxfam, Save the Children, CARE, and Red Cross, about predictions of future humanitarian needs and challenges when delivering aid. AlertNet found non-profits and aid organizations are investing more time and money in disaster prevention and are spending more money when coming to the aid of people affected by climate change-related floods, storms, and droughts. “The rising trend in the number of disasters over the past five years shows no sign of slowing down. Year on year, we are responding more frequently and on a larger scale to increasing numbers of disasters,” said Gareth Owen, of Save the Children UK. The majority of the agencies polled said spending more resources on disaster risk reduction would greatly increase individuals’ ability to survive natural disasters, yet the organizations are having trouble raising the necessary funds. “Funding for disaster risk reduction and disaster preparedness is not very ‘sexy’ for donors—global, domestic and private,” said Jouni Hemberg, of FinnChurchAid.

For additional information see: Report, Poll Results

In the journal Nature Climate Change, two recently released reports highlighted both the positive and the negative effects of geoengineering. In the first study, led by Julia Pongrantz of the Carnegie Institution for Science, scientists used computer models to test the results of deflecting solar rays by scattering sulfur compounds into the atmosphere. Pongrantz found that altering the sun’s rays to deflect the majority of incoming light would increase global crop production, while having limited effect on overall global rainfall. Conversely, a second study, led by Peter J. Irvine at the University of Bristol in Britain, found that only a rapid and aggressive decrease of global air temperature would have a positive effect on sea-level rise, and plants and organisms would not have the time needed to adjust to the rapid cooling temperature. Both groups of researchers concluded that the best way to limit global warming is to immediately and drastically reduce the world’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

For additional information see: New York Times, Science Daily, Crops and Geoengineering Report, Sea Temperatures and Geoengineering Report, Press Release

Barley appears to be able to adapt to increased carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and drought, according to Anabel Robredo, a biologist at the University of the Basque Country. In her thesis, “Physiological Response Mechanisms of Barley to the Impact of Drought and Elevated CO2: Adaptation to Climate Change,” Robredo analyzed drought-exposed barley grown in a CO2 concentration equal to current levels and in twice current levels. While barley plants exposed to elevated CO2 concentrations and drought are harmed by using water more slowly, the plant is able to grow over a longer time period. Robredo cautioned against extrapolating these results to other species, “You have to be very careful because plant species often respond very differently, even displaying the opposite [response]. But, what we can say is that most plant species tend to use water more efficiently in conditions of elevated CO2 and drought, and that they grow more.”

For additional information see: Science Daily

In a recent study, British scientists discovered that the volume of fresh water in the western Arctic sea has increased by at least 10 percent since 2002. Using satellite data to measure the height of the sea surface, researchers found that surrounding ground snow and glacier ice are melting at a faster pace than usual, raising the sea surface of the Arctic by roughly 6 inches. If current wind patterns shift over the Arctic, the pool of fresh water could infiltrate the Atlantic Ocean, slowing down the Gulf Stream and significantly cooling Europe.

For additional information see: Reuters

EESI’s work, including this free newsletter, is made possible by financial support from people like you. Please help us continue to make it available by making a secure, online donation today by clicking here or mailing a check to Environmental and Energy Study Institute; 1112 16th St NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036. Please contact Susan Williams at (202) 662-1887  or see www.eesi.org/donate to find out more. Thank you for your support!

On January 19, the Obama administration, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies released a draft national strategy to prepare for the impacts of climate change. The paper proposes strategies to mitigate climate change over the next five years, and provides a road map to manage wildlife habitats. “The impacts of climate change are already here and those who manage our landscapes are already dealing with them,” said Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes. “The reality is that rising sea levels, warmer temperatures, loss of sea ice and changing precipitation patterns – trends scientists have definitively connected to climate change – are already affecting the species we care about, the services we value, and the places we call home. A national strategy will help us prepare and adapt.” The strategy is available for public review and comment through March 5, 2012.

For additional information see:Proposal, NOAA Press Release, National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy Website

Teachers in some states are facing opposition to teaching climate science from parents, school boards and other groups. Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee and Oklahoma have introduced legislation or educational standards that give climate denial time in the classroom. Resolutions denying climate change passed in the South Dakota and Utah legislatures. “Teachers are getting hammered for teaching climate change, the same way they are for teaching evolution,” said Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE). NCSE is offering tools and support to parents and teachers in effectively teaching climate science to students. Climate science is typically taught in middle school earth science or high school environmental science classes. In December, new national science standards for K-12 will be released and are expected to include climate change.

For additional information see: Forbes, Los Angeles Times

The United States Department of Agriculture is spending $308 million to assist agricultural communities in recovering from floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and wildfires in 2011. According to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, last year was unique because 55 million acres of farmland in “virtually every part of the country” were impacted. Vilsack said the money is filling a gap left by the $8.6 billion in crop insurance already paid in 2011. Missouri and Utah are receiving the majority of funds — a combined $110 million — to help repair flood damage. New York will receive $41.8 million for damage from tropical storms Irene and Lee. Alabama has been allocated over $6 million for tornado-associated poultry losses. State and local agencies are required to pay 25 percent of the cost of the projects.

For additional information see: Washington Post

According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the global average surface temperature in 2011 was the ninth warmest since 1880 and the 10 hottest years on record all occurred in the past 20 years. Separately, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported the average temperature in the United States during 2011 was the 23rd warmest year in their historical records. The average temperature for 2011 for the U.S. was 53.8 degrees, 1 degree warmer than the 20th century average. “We know the planet is absorbing more energy than it is emitting,” said James E. Hansen, NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), “So we are continuing to see a trend toward higher temperatures.” According to NASA, the increased temperatures are a result of increased greenhouse gasses, especially CO2.

For additional information see: Reuters, NOAA Report, NASA Report

China’s prosperity is threatened by flooding, droughts and shifting land-use according to the Chinese government’s “Second National Assessment Report on Climate Change.”  The report states, “China faces extremely grim ecological and environmental conditions under the impact of continued global warming and changes to China’s regional environment.” Chinese emissions will continue to increase until 2030, with few major reductions until 2050.  China’s emissions, which grew 10 percent in 2010, account for a quarter of worldwide C02 emissions.  Imbalances in water distribution will have the greatest impacts, with severe water shortages in 18 provinces and flooding in low lying regions. Changing weather patterns will also affect rice and cotton production.  Up to 2020, Chinese emission reductions will amount to 10 trillion yuan ($1.6 trillion), with half the expenditure for energy efficiency and renewables.

In related news, Beijing publicly announced on January 19 that the capital’s air quality was hazardous in at least two areas of the city.  In response to complaints from residents that the city government was downplaying the pollution as “fog”, officials cancelled flights at the city airport and closed highways because of low visibility.  Surrounded by mountains on the north and west sides of Beijing, smog and soot from heavy traffic and coal plant exhaust hang in the air over the city until weather patterns clear the area.  Beijing officials have announced new steps to improve air quality, imposing regulations to control the release of pollutants from local industries.

For additional information see: Reuters, Washington Post

Norway will invest NOK 1.8 billion ($300 million) per year in nine developing countries to devise a market-based system that limits energy-related emissions and increase access to green energy. Norway will collaborate with United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Switzerland, Netherlands and South Korea to fund projects in Bhutan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Maldives, Morocco, Nepal, Senegal and Tanzania. Norway intends the scheme to help the countries meet their United Nations greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction pledges. To be eligible for funds, recipient countries must demonstrate their ability to provide access to green energy while reducing GHG emissions. The Energy+ Partnership will be launched in June at the Rio+20 summit.

For additional information see:Reuters

A draft European Union (EU) document states that the cost of reaching a 30 percent reduction in emissions by 2020 would be less expensive and more easily attainable than previously thought. The current economic crisis has reduced EU emissions enough to assure the currently agreed to target of 20 percent. According to the document, the costs of reaching 30 percent would be more heavily borne by poorer member states, but those effects could be mitigated through reductions in carbon allowances for rich countries in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). An addition a 6.5 percent cut in non-ETS sectors such as transportation and buildings would be required to meet a 30 percent target. No plan has been proposed, and support has declined due to the ongoing debt crisis and opposition from industry. “Yes, a 30 percent target would help of course, but chances this passes in the short term are very low, given the economic context,” said Emmanuel Fages, an analyst at Societe Generale.

For additional information see: Reuters

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), $409 billion was spent by 37 governments in 2010 to subsidize the price of fossil fuels. “They need to be removed for a healthy energy economy . . . Energy is significantly underpriced in many parts of the world, leading to wasteful consumption, price volatility and fuel smuggling. It’s also undermining the competitiveness of renewables,” according to Fatih Birol, IEA chief economist. The subsidies are provided in developing countries to directly reduce the price of fossil fuels, while in developed countries, they are used for tax breaks or beneficial access to land and infrastructure. Without subsidies, by 2015, 750 million tonnes of CO2 and by 2035, 2.6 gigatonnes of CO2, would be eliminated. This reduction will provide half the needed CO2 emission reduction to limit global warming to 2°C.

For additional information see: The Guardian

Published on January 19 in Nature, scientists reported the Amazon rainforest is transitioning from a carbon sink to a major source of carbon emissions.  Widespread deforestation is expanding the area of the Amazon Basin that experiences a dry season, and is causing the dry season to grow longer. Trees in the southern and eastern portions of the Amazon are affected by longer dry seasons and multiyear droughts, and they are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a faster rate than the surrounding areas can absorb.

For additional information see: Dawn, Scientific American, Monga Bay, Report

CSIRO and Queensland University of Technology scientists studied climate models of Brisbane, Australia, and discovered that, “A two-degree increase in temperature in Brisbane between now and 2050 would result in an extra 381 years of life lost per year [among Brisbane’s population],” said lead researcher Associate Professor Adrian Barnett. The researchers found that any increase in global temperature over 2°C would be catastrophic, with a 4°C increase resulting in an extra 3,242 years of life lost per year.

For additional information see: Australian News

A recent NASA study concluded that Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, Canada will see major ecological change to local grasslands and forests. This ecological shift will result in fewer wetlands and trees across the majority of the Canadian countryside. “By about 2100, the climate change projections that we have today would suggest that there would be pressure on that grassland so prevalent in [the Canadian Prairies] to move further northward — and at the expense of the forest moving further northward as well,” said NASA climate scientist Duane Walliser. Climate change will also affect plants and animals south of Canada, causing them to migrate north into Canada. Longer and warmer summers are already allowing mountain pine beetles and deer ticks to migrate north into Canada, and biologists are concerned that global warming will open the borders to invasive species.

For additional information see: IFP, CBC News, The Canadian Press

Scientists from the World Agroforestry Centre claim that trees influence changes in weather patterns and might skew climate models if not included in projected measurements. The World Agroforestry Centre stated in a recently published book, “Unfortunately … climate scientists have not made much effort to quantify [the effects of trees]. By not looking at that, we are missing a large opportunity to understand how we can adapt.” The scientists cite that most weather stations world-wide follow the World Meterological Organization’s (WMO) guidelines and collect climate data away from tree coverage. Since these data sets alone are used in future climate modelling, vital information on how trees protect the surrounding area from excessive heat and soil erosion are missing from the model’s projection

For additional information see: Science and Development Network

On December 11, the 194 countries comprising the United Nations Conference of Parties agreed on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action. The Durban Platform calls for a “protocol, or a legal instrument, or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention and applicable to all parties” by 2020, and will hold all major emitters, including the United States, China and India, to the same obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as other industrialized nations. The action plan calls for “an agreed outcome with legal force” involving all countries by 2015, and for the ratification and implementation of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action by 2020. The COP17 meeting also concluded with the extension of the Kyoto Protocol until 2017. The 194 countries also agreed on the Green Climate Fund, a global account comprised of public and private funding that would raise $100 billion a year for aid to go to developing countries to use for climate change adaptation and conversion to clean energy technologies.

Throughout the climate talks, delegates from developing nations and small island states sought a more stringent deal to hold the major emitter countries to tougher reductions. “I would have wanted to get more, but at least we have something to work with. All is not lost yet,” said Selwin Hart, chief negotiator on finance for the coalition of small states. The delegates, along with representatives from leading environmental groups that attended the climate talks, say that the Durban Platform is not enough on its own to slow global climate change. But, overall, the delegates were satisfied that they were able to come to an agreement, “We came here with plan A, and we have concluded this meeting with plan A to save one planet for the future of our children and our grandchildren to come,” said COP17 Chairman and South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.

For additional information see: Politico, New York Times: Article 1, and Article 2, Reuters, The Guardian

On December 12, Canada’s Environment Minister, Peter Kent, announced that Canada will formally pull out of the Kyoto Protocol. The Canadian government cited the $13.6 billion in penalties it would face under terms of the Protocol if it did not cut emissions nation-wide to the required amount by 2012. “As we’ve said, Kyoto for Canada is in the past … We are invoking our legal right to formally withdraw from Kyoto,” said Kent. Many countries, including China, Japan and Mexico, call the decision regrettable, and asked Kent to reconsider the decision. “It is regrettable and flies in the face of the efforts of the international community for Canada to leave the Kyoto Protocol at a time when the Durban meeting, as everyone knows, made important progress by securing a second phase of commitment to the Protocol,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin. “We also hope that Canada will face up to its due responsibilities and duties, and continue abiding by its commitments, and take a positive, constructive attitude towards participating in international cooperation to respond to climate change.” Christiana Figueres, the United Nations Climate Chief stated that, “Whether or not Canada is a party to the Kyoto Protocol, it has a legal obligation under the (U.N. Framework on climate change) convention to reduce its emissions, and a moral obligation to itself and future generations to lead in the global effort.” Canada has agreed to support the Durban Platform agreement, and Kent said that the Platform represented “the way forward.”

For additional information see: Reuters: Article 1, Article 2, and Article 3, Associated Press, Business Green

Alfred Lado Gore, the Minister of Environment for South Sudan, requested assistance for South Sudan during his country’s first appearance at the UN climate meeting. “Climate change in Southern Sudan has very, very serious negative effects. In terms of agriculture, this is really catastrophic,” said Gore. South Sudan, the world’s newest country, is plagued by droughts and infrequent sudden heavy downpours. With thousands of refugees fleeing conflict with Sudan, South Sudan’s citizens are constantly searching for food and water. Gore continued, “People want to cultivate but no longer know when rains come. And when they come, sometimes they are even floods and they destroy the crops. . . .If the crops fail, people have no food. Food security now becomes a threat.”

For additional information see: Associated French Press

Worldwide carbon emissions have risen by almost 50 percent over the last two decades, according to a study by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. This 50 percent increase amounts to an annual average growth of 3.1 percent, despite the Kyoto Protocol’s goal to reduce emissions to below 1990 levels. Scientists leading the study are concerned, given that the year 2020 is considered the necessary peak for carbon emissions in order to limit global average temperature to the 2 degree increase—the amount thought necessary to avoid catastrophic and irreversible climate change. However, with the new climate deal forged in Durban, no new emissions reduction treaty would take effect until 2020. “That would be too late, unless strong actions are taken in the ­meantime,” said Corinne Le Quéré, author of the paper.

For additional information see: Mail and Guardian, The Guardian, Science Daily, Study Abstract

China has announced plans to create a national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory. The new system, to be implemented by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, will monitor and report emissions from both natural and human sources, including energy production and land use change. The inventory will serve as China’s official GHG report, similar to the national inventories that developed countries submit each year as part of the Kyoto Protocol. Current estimates of China’s emissions are calculated outside the country using energy consumption reports and other data. China also announced plans to develop a national system to monitor atmospheric GHG concentrations.

For additional information see: Beijing Review

A San Francisco judge has approved California’s cap-and-trade plans which will make it the largest carbon market in North America and the second largest in the world. The bill was passed in 2006 but has come under fire from opponents claiming that it will destroy jobs and harm the economy. However, in May the court approved the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) authority to implement the program. According to the judge’s ruling last week, the state has adequately studied alternatives to its climate goal and the program is now slated for implementation in 2013. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, the state has received more than $9 billion in venture capital for clean energy technology since the bill was passed.

For additional information see: Forbes, San Francisco Gate, Bloomberg

ExxonMobil predicts carbon emissions will peak in 2030 according to their energy outlook that analyzes global energy trends from 2012 to 2040. The report also predicts that global energy demand will increase by 30 percent by 2040 and that 80 percent of this increase will be comprised of coal, oil and natural gas. Carbon emissions are already falling in North America and Europe, but developing countries like China will more than compensate with 90 percent of the increase in energy demand due to a heavy reliance on fossil fuels. “China’s emissions are expected to begin declining after about 2025, ending decades of very large increases associated with rapid economic development and industrial activity,” ExxonMobil said.

For additional information see: Reuters, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, ExxonMobil Study

People are visiting climate change-affected national parks earlier in the year, according to a study by researchers at the University of North Carolina. For the nine national parks that have experienced significant increases in spring temperatures, peak visitation dates have shifted earlier for seven of the parks by an average of four days. For example, peak attendance at the Grand Canyon was June 24 in 2008 compared with July 4 in 1979. On the contrary, of the 18 parks without significant temperature changes, only three have exhibited shifts in peak attendance. “We can’t say for sure that global warming is causing this swing in visitation trends but this discovery does complement rapidly accumulating evidence showing how other organisms have had to alter their behavior in response to climate change,” said Lauren Buckley, Ph.D. “Visiting parks earlier may not be a big deal, but it may serve as a bellwether for more severe human adjustments required to cope with climate change.”

For additional information see: Science Daily, New York Time, Omaha World-Herald, Study

Warmer temperatures and decreased sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean are causing massive amounts of underwater methane to bubble to the surface, according to findings released at last week’s American Geophysical Union meeting. Methane is rising to the surface and into the atmosphere in large plumes or fountains, some as large as one kilometer in diameter. In a 10,000 square mile area off the northern coast of Siberia, Russian scientists discovered more than 100 methane plumes. The research team has been monitoring the region for nearly two decades and was shocked by the latest results. The destabilization of underwater methane is considered one of the most significant climate change tipping points that will accelerate the rate of warming, as methane is at least 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a one hundred year period.

For additional information see: The Independent

A soon to be released study by Cornell University concludes that using hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas from shale releases as much greenhouse gas emissions as coal. Professor Robert Howarth states, “The [greenhouse gas] footprint for shale gas is greater than that for conventional gas or oil when viewed on any time horizon, but particularly so over 20 years. Compared to coal, the footprint of shale gas is at least 20% greater and perhaps more than twice as great on the 20-year horizon and is comparable when compared over 100 years.” The study also states, “The large GHG footprint of shale gas undercuts the logic of its use as a bridging fuel over coming decades, if the goal is to reduce global warming.”

For additional information see: The Hill, Report, Cornell University Press Release