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Global Warming Data Affected By Land-Use Change, Study Says
Guelph - Land-use modifications for urbanization and agriculture have affected climate change data more than previously thought, according to new research by a University of Guelph professor.
In a paper published online this week in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmosphere, economics professor Ross McKitrick says the resulting discrepancies may be leading to an overstatement of the role of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In fact, the study concludes that skewed data could account for as much as half the post-1980 warming trend over land.
"Much of the temperature data used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to measure global warming comes from places where people have modified the land surface for economic activity, as well as from low-income countries where there are few resources for maintaining continuous climate records," McKitrick said.
"To identify climate changes due to greenhouse gases, scientists have to make adjustments to the data to remove biases created by these kinds of influences."
For the study, McKitrick and co-author Patrick Michaels, a meteorologist with the Cato Institute, a non-profit public research centre in Washington, D.C., examined how the pattern of warming and cooling trends around the world compares with the patterns of population growth, economic development, coal consumption and other socio-economic indicators.
According to standard assumptions, trends in adjusted global climate data should not be correlated with patterns of economic activity, McKitrick said.
“But we found large, statistically significant correlations exist, indicating that the climate ‘signal’ in a commonly used scientific database remains contaminated with sources of bias that were supposed to be removed at the adjustment stage.”
The researchers applied a series of tests to check their results. For example, they looked at data measured by weather satellites in the lower atmosphere.
"We found that the correlations with economic activity pretty much vanishes even though the effects of greenhouse gases should be similar at the two layers," McKitrick said. "That tells us there is a unique problem in the surface data.”
They also determined that the effects were especially strong in regions where economic growth is faster, which also points to local socio-economic development as the culprit, he said.
The scientists used their results to simulate what worldwide trends would look like if the contamination were removed.
“Our estimate is that the measured warming over land since 1980 would go down by nearly half, which implies that these data problems are larger than is currently supposed," McKitrick said.
This is the second study on this topic by the two researchers. In 2004, they examined part of the Earth’s land surface and found similar results. For the new study, they extended their coverage to all available land regions.
McKitrick said the findings may affect current interpretations of global climate data, including how much warming is happening and what is causing it.
"The IPCC and other users of climate data need to consider the possibility that the basic data being used to study global warming are contaminated.”
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Australia's New Government Ratifies Kyoto Pact
“Australia's new prime minister, Kevin Rudd, took the oath of office on Monday and immediately signed documents to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, ending his country's decade of opposition to the global climate agreement.
The move isolates the United States, which will now be the only developed nation not to ratify the agreement which sets binding limits on developed countries to curb the carbon emissions blamed for global warming. … Under UN guidelines, full ratification takes place 90 days after the United Nations receives the formal Instrument of Ratification, meaning Australia will be a full member of the Kyoto club by the end of March. The way is now clear for Rudd to play a stronger role at the UN climate talks in Bali, which opened negotiations on Monday on new carbon emission targets for beyond 2012. …” [Reuters (12/02)/Factiva]
AFP adds that the “11-day conference, held under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and attended by more than 180 nations, comes as evidence mounts of the havoc rising sea levels and extreme weather patterns are set to wreak on world ecosystems and humankind. Under the new pact, industrialized countries will be pressed to massively reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases from the end of 2012, when the current phase of the Kyoto Protocol expires. …” [Agence France Presse (12/03)/Factiva]
Meanwhile, the FT reports that “The United Nations tried [Sun]day to tackle the most contentious obstacle to a global deal on climate change by prioritizing mechanisms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions rather than setting emission cut targets. … Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change … listed likely mechanisms as incentives for developing countries, the expansion of carbon trading schemes, taxes and opportunities for industrialized nations to co-operate with developing nations. Despite the rhetoric, targets, and particularly the extent to which they should be binding and for which countries, are set to be widely discussed in the fortnight of negotiations on the Indonesian resort. …” [The Financial Times (12/03)]
WSJ reports that “… The big question now is how to structure a carbon-trading system that's palatable to the US and to developing countries such as China. … The broader question is whether a cap-and-trade system targeting industry is enough to meaningfully curb greenhouse gases. … The World Bank has put together some of the biggest emissions-reduction projects. Karan Capoor, a senior financial specialist at the World Bank, says ‘it's expecting too much’ to think the Kyoto treaty could significantly curb fossil-fuel consumption without long-term caps and the participation of big countries such as the US. …” [The Wall Street Journal (12/03)/Factiva]
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Greenpeace to Harper: Get serious about Kyoto; stop the tar sands and forest degradation
TORONTO - As the United Nations Climate Change Conference opens this hour in Bali, Indonesia, Greenpeace is calling on the Canadian government to honour its Kyoto commitment and enact new legislation requiring mandatory emission cuts to prevent dangerous climate change at home and around the world.
"Canada's challenge is to transform itself from the one of the world's
worst in the global warming fight, to one of the world's best. We have heard a
lot of talk about climate change from the Harper government, but action speaks
louder than words," said Dave Martin, Greenpeace Energy and Climate Campaign
Coordinator.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, Canada agreed to reduce its greenhouse gas
emissions by six per cent below 1990 levels by 2008-2012. However, emissions
actually increased 25 per cent by the end of 2005. Canada currently ranks
seventh from the bottom amongst 41 industrialized nations in terms of emission
changes since 1990.
Rather than take immediate, decisive action to combat global warming,
Prime Minister Harper has discouraged support for Kyoto and opposed the
extension of binding greenhouse gas emission targets for industrialized
nations after the end of the first Kyoto commitment period in 2012.
Harper and Canadian environment minister John Baird have also undermined
Kyoto at the G8, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and most
recently at the Commonwealth meeting. Harper has tried to supplant Kyoto by
joining the United States' Asia-Pacific Partnership, which promotes the use of
coal, and relies only on voluntary measures for control of greenhouse gas
emissions.
"Canada is the only Kyoto signatory to openly abandon its commitment to
reduce emissions. Contrary to his claim, Stephen Harper is not a leader on
global warming. He is a laggard and the last unabashed climate apologist for
George Bush among western industrialized nations," said Martin.
Greenpeace is also calling on the Canadian government to take action on
the Alberta tar sands, which contain oil reserves second only to those of
Saudi Arabia. Because of their dramatic growth, the tar sands are the most
serious threat to progress in Canada's fight against global warming.
Action is also needed to protect the world's boreal forests, which stores
more carbon dioxide than any other land-based ecosystem on Earth. Logging
releases greenhouse gases and increases the forest's vulnerability to fires.
If current trends continue, degradation of Canada's Boreal Forest and rising
global temperatures could lead to massive releases of carbon into the
atmosphere. Less than 10 per cent of Canada's Boreal Forest is protected from
industrial development.
The United Nations climate conference in Bali is the 13th conference of
the 192 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(COP 13), and the third meeting of the 176 countries that have ratified the
Kyoto Protocol (CMP 3), which entered into force in February 2005.
Greenpeace is calling for completion in 2009 of formal negotiations on
binding emission reduction targets for a second five-year phase of the Kyoto
Protocol 2013-2017. Countries such as the United States, Australia and Saudi
Arabia have opposed the extension of binding emission reduction targets and
tried to derail progress on negotiations. However, the recent defeat of the
Howard government in Australia has deprived Bush of an important ally. The
government of Kevin Rudd has already committed to have Australia join the
Kyoto Protocol.
Demonstrations calling for action on climate change are taking place in
Canada and around the world on Saturday, 8 December.
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Kyoto for Canada!
When Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol in December 2002, it agreed to
reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by six per cent below 1990 levels by
between 2008 and 2012. However, GHG emissions were not reduced. By the end of
2005, they had actually increased by 25 per cent above the 1990 level, and a
third above our Kyoto target, placing Canada among the worst countries in the
world in terms of reducing emissions.
Canada ranks seventh from the bottom amongst the 41 industrialized nations
that agreed to specific reduction targets under Kyoto. When carbon emissions
from land use and forestry are calculated in, Canada ends up the third worst
with an increase of 54 per cent from 1990 to the end of 2005. The increase in
emissions was lower in the United States, which has not even ratified the
Kyoto Protocol.
Greenpeace is calling for Canada to honour its Kyoto commitment and then
move on to further deep emission reductions - 30 per cent from 1990 levels by
2020 (to 417 Mt) and 80 per cent by 2050 (to 119 Mt).
The Harper Government: Planning for Climate Disaster
- Harper's targets allow emissions to increase - The Harper government
has committed to reducing Canada's total GHG emissions by 20 per cent
based on 2006 levels by 2020 and by 60 per cent to 70 per cent by 2050.
These targets, however, would actually allow emissions to increase to
598 megatonnes (Mt) a year from the 563 Mt that would have been
achieved by 2012 under Kyoto.
- Intensity targets disguise emissions - For industry, the Harper
government has set targets based on intensity or how much greenhouse
gases are emitted per unit of economic activity. It is a misleading
yardstick that can actually allow emissions to increase. For instance,
between 1990 and 2005, the amount of energy used in production
decreased nearly 18 per cent, but because total production increased,
emissions actually rose by 25 per cent. Thus, intensity-based targets
can be used to disguise a worsening trend in emissions.
- Government ignores climate science - Canadian Environment Minister John
Baird said that "the science of climate change is clear", but he
refuses to acknowledge the implications of that science. There is broad
consensus that dangerous climate change can be avoided only by keeping
the global average temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius. In
order to do that, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
recently concluded that industrialized countries must reduce their
emissions by 25 to 40 per cent by 2020. However, the Harper
government's target would allow an increase of emissions in 2020 from
1990 levels.
- Technology fund equals non-compliance - Instead of actually reducing
emissions, the Harper government's climate policy allows corporations
to contribute to a technology fund at a rate of $15 to $20 per tonne of
carbon produced. By under-pricing these contributions, the Harper
government virtually guarantees that these corporations will not
contribute their fair share to the reduction of the country's
emissions.
- New base year rewards inactivity - The Harper government's use of 2006
as the baseline for emission levels and economic activity has the
perverse result of rewarding some polluters and penalizing others. Some
companies have already achieved significant reductions since 1990, yet
receive no credit for doing so. Meanwhile, other companies, notably the
oil and gas sector, have dramatically increased their emissions, but
will receive credit for reductions going forward. Thus, companies that
have delayed action for 15 years will be rewarded, while companies that
have already reduced emissions will effectively face a competitive
penalty in second-phase reductions, which are typically more expensive.
- 'Credit for Early Action' benefits big oil, gas and electric
companies - The Harper government will allocate, on a one-time basis,
credits to companies that reduced GHG emissions from 1992 to 2006.
However, those credits have been capped at 15 Mt, despite estimates
that 100 Mt were reduced, thus again rewarding companies that did
nothing and penalizing those which took action. Credits should equal
actual reductions, and an equal amount of reductions should be included
in the targets for the real culprits in Canada's climate crisis - the
oil and gas corporations and the electricity industry.
Kyoto for Canada: The Energy (R)evolution
The Harper government continues to claim that Canada's Kyoto target is
unachievable, and if pursued, would result in economic disaster. Neither is
true. Greenpeace's report, Energy (R)evolution, detailed how GHG emissions can
be cut in half by 2050, with no coal or nuclear power, while allowing
increased energy consumption and economic growth. Canada can still meet its
Kyoto commitment by aggressively encouraging green energy technologies and
efficiency measures, and by discouraging the burning of fossil fuels.
Stop the Tar Sands
GHG emissions from the tar sands and upgrading are about five times higher
than conventional oil production, making them the single largest contributor
to the growth of emissions in Canada. The tar sands have other devastating
environmental impacts, including:
- Water use - To produce a single barrel of oil from the tar sands takes
three to five barrels of fresh water, most of which ends up in toxic
tailing ponds that already cover more than 50 square kilometers.
- Destruction of the Boreal Forest - Tar sands leases threatens
3000 square kilometres of Boreal Forest.
- Air pollution - Cumulatively, the tar sands have made Alberta the
industrial air pollution capital of Canada, with one billion kilograms
of emissions in 2003.
- Resource use - Tar sands operations use enough natural gas every day to
heat more than three million homes.
- Reclamation - Despite promises, not a single site in the tar sands has
been certified as reclaimed.
High oil prices have made the tar sands more competitive. It is estimated
that oil production will increase by more than 150 per cent by 2011, and more
than 300 per cent by 2020. This rapid expansion will swamp any emission
reductions achieved by improved energy intensity.
Stop Deforestation & Forest Degradation
Deforestation, or the permanent conversion of forest to other land uses,
is responsible for about one-fifth of GHG emissions worldwide. But greenhouse
gas emission are even higher when those caused by industrial logging and other
types of forest degradation are included. While tropical rainforests have been
a central focus of international climate negotiations, protecting Canada's
Boreal Forest is essential for regulating global climate as well. The Boreal
stores more carbon in its trees, soils, and peatlands than any other
land-based ecosystem in the world.
Canada's Boreal Forest is being logged at a rate of 900,000 hectares
per year. This logging not only releases carbon directly into the atmosphere,
but it also decreases the forest's ability to resist and recover from forest
fires, insect outbreaks, and other disturbances that cause carbon to be
released. Already, forest fires in Canada's Boreal have become more frequent
and more intense. If current trends continue, forest degradation combined with
rising global temperatures could lead to a massive release of carbon into the
atmosphere. Less than 10 per cent of Canada's Boreal Forest is protected from
industrial development.
>>
(C) Greenpeace Canada - November 2007
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Canada under fire for flouting federal global warming law
Ottawa - Just days before Canadian Environment Minister John Baird leaves for the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Canada is facing a second legal challenge for missing a key deadline under global warming legislation passed into law earlier this year. The government was served late yesterday with a second Application for Judicial Review for violating the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act (KPIA), the Canadian federal law that requires reductions in greenhouse gas emissions according to the Kyoto Protocol commitment.
The application was filed on behalf of Friends of the Earth Canada by Chris Paliare of the firm Paliare Roland Barristers and Ecojustice (formerly Sierra Legal). The application alleges that the federal Minister of the Environment and the Governor in Council, consisting of federal cabinet ministers, are ignoring the rule of law by failing to comply with yet another requirement of the KPIA.
The federal government was legally required to publish draft regulations by October 20, 2007 that would enable Canada to meet the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol. By failing to do so, it is out of compliance with the KPIA, thus triggering the second legal challenge.
"This new application, while relevant to climate change, is all about holding the Government of Canada accountable under Canadian law," says lawyer Chris Paliare. "Despite a clear requirement to publish draft regulations, no action whatsoever has been taken. Once again, we are simply asking the court to require the government to comply with its legal obligations."
"Missing this deadline demonstrates that Canada continues to be missing in action on global warming," says Ecojustice lawyer Hugh Wilkins. "We cannot sit idly by while the government drags its feet and flouts our laws. The government must be held accountable to the will of the Canadian people and the will of Parliament."
"The Canadian Government is ignoring its obligation to uphold its own laws, while seeking to undermine global negotiations on the defining issue of our lives," says Friends of the Earth Canada Chief Executive Officer Beatrice Olivastri. "Canadians must insist on enforcement of the KPIA, our domestic law, so that we lead by action, rather than bullying other nations."
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For Canada's Low-Carb Diet to Work, Emissions Cannot be Free: C.D. Howe Institute
TORONTO - Concerns about climate change and human-produced greenhouse gases (GHGs) have intensified in recent years, yet uncertainty and confusion remain over the appropriate policy response. In Designing Canada's Low-Carb Diet: Options for Effective Climate Policy, released today by the C.D. Howe Institute, professor and author Mark Jaccard clarifies the issues for Canada and sets out the options for GHG emissions reduction.
Professor Jaccard, a leading policy thinker in the field, is a Research
Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute, Professor in the School of Resource and
Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University, and a member of Canada's
National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy. Using economic models
developed by him and his research team at SFU, Jaccard is able to simulate how
the economy might respond to different public policies.
<<
Among his conclusions:
- Canadian governments have set targets and implemented policies for
GHG emissions reduction for two decades with little effect. These
policies failed because of the assumption that voluntary policies
(information programs and subsidies) are a substitute for compulsory
policies (financial penalties, regulations).
- As long as our policies continue to allow free dumping of emissions
into the atmosphere from many current and future sources, significant
reductions will not be achieved.
- If Canadians are serious about minimizing the economic impacts of GHG
reduction, they should adopt an economy-wide carbon tax. Experiences
with carbon taxes in other countries have shown that with careful
design, negative impacts on the economy can be minimized.
- This tax should be implemented immediately, albeit at a modest level
that would ramp up at a rate consistent with the success of
international negotiations toward a broad international effort at
global emissions reduction.
>>
In the absence of the political will in Canada to implement a carbon tax,
policies should be modified to ensure that they approximate the effectiveness
and economic efficiency of such a tax, says Jaccard. For example,
cap-and-trade schemes that applied to only part of the economy would be only
partially effective. And flexibility provisions in such cap-and-trade systems
that allowed subsidies to flow from regulated to unregulated parts of the
economy would not be effective.
Evidence suggests, he says, that well-designed policies could keep costs
over the coming decades to a level that most Canadians would be willing to
accept as a necessary burden for reducing the climate change risk - provided
this was part of a global effort with a good probability of success. But for a
global effort to have any chance of success, countries like Canada must show
leadership in incurring some costs now, even before developing countries take
action. Thus far, Canada has been anything but a leader, as some countries
have had carbon taxes in place for 16 years in addition to other significant
regulations.
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More Than 1 Billion Trees Planted In 2007-U.N.
“The world has surpassed a UN goal of planting 1 billion trees in 2007 to help slow climate change, led by huge forestry projects in Ethiopia and Mexico, the UN Environment Program (UNEP) said on Wednesday. …
UNEP said Ethiopia appeared to be the runaway leader with 700 million trees planted in a national reforestation drive. Only 3 percent of Ethiopia is now forested, down from 40 percent centuries ago. Other top planters were Mexico with 217 million trees, Turkey 150 million, Kenya 100 million, Cuba 96.5 million, Rwanda 50 million, South Korea 43 million, Tunisia 21 million, Morocco 20 million, Myanmar 20 million and Brazil 16 million, it said. …
UNEP says it checks planting pledges, which now cover 1.5 billion trees, to see if they sound credible but does not ensure all are planted. It said the totals were still being collated.” [Reuters/Factiva]
AFP adds that “… ‘An initiative to catalyze the pledging and the planting of one billion trees has achieved and indeed surpassed its mark. It is a further sign of the breathtaking momentum witnessed this year on the challenge for this generation - climate change,’ UNEP Chief Achim Steiner said in a statement. …
Although the figure could not be verified, it sends a powerful message ahead of the December 3-14 meeting in Bali of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change…” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]
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Stantec buys engineering firms in Toronto, Victoria
The Canadian Press
EDMONTON - Engineering company Stantec Inc. says it has acquired engineering firms in Toronto and Victoria for an undisclosed price.
Stantec said yesterday it had bought Toronto's Murphy Hilgers Architects Inc., a 55-person firm specializing in health care, justice, and retail-commercial buildings.
In addition, the Edmonton company has acquired Moore Paterson Architects Inc., a 17-employee firm in Victoria.
Financial details of the acquisitions were not revealed.
The deals will expand the workforce of Stantec's architecture business to more than 750 people.
"The addition of Murphy Hilgers adds further depth to our health care design expertise to strengthen our position as a leading North American practice and when combined with our existing practice in Toronto will create one of the largest architecture firms in the city at over 100 staff,'' said Tony Franceschini, Stantec's president and chief executive.
Moore Paterson Architects, one of Vancouver Island's largest architecture firms, provides architectural, planning and project management services to Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.
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Plants 'could withstand' warming
Liverpool, UK - Crops could be developed to withstand the impact of global warming, Edinburgh University scientists have said. A five-year study aims to gain a greater understanding of how warmer winters and summers and changing season lengths affect crop yields.
The £6m project will also look at how climate change impacts on forests, woodlands, heaths and moors.
It will combine theory, computer modelling and experiments to study temperature and plant growth.Dr Karen Halliday, of the university's School of Biological Sciences, said: "We hope to be able to influence the survival of crops, as well as their quality and biodiversity."
The project, which is expected to get fully under way in the spring, will also draw on the expertise of scientists at the Universities of York and Liverpool and mathematicians from the University of Warwick.
Their findings may lead to the development of more robust crops.
Dr Halliday said even very small changes in temperature can have dramatic effects on plant development.
"We're interested in how temperature affects the behaviour of the proteins that control plant growth and development," she said.
"I would anticipate that some of the results we get would be directly useful.
"Many crops are susceptible to temperature change. There will certainly be a strong incentive to produce crops that are more robust to temperature change and can withstand warmer temperatures."
The project is part of a £30m UK-wide investment in biology research, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
Copyright: BBC MMVII
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China's renewable energy program
Translated by Yuan Fang
China - China's Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly launched the International Science and Technology Cooperation Program on New and Renewable Energy.
New and renewable energy, as clean and sustainable energy sources, provides a key solution to future energy supplies for all of humanity. In order to advance the development and application of new energy sources in China and around the world, fight against global climate change, conserve energy, realize a sustainable development of economy and society and build a harmonious world, China has formulated the International Science and Technology Cooperation Program on New and Renewable Energy (hereinafter referred to as the Program), aiming to strengthen international science and technology (S&T) cooperation in this field. New and renewable energy mentioned in the Program refers to solar energy, wind power, biomass energy, geothermal energy, ocean energy, hydrogen energy and natural gas hydrates.
Background
Nowadays the world mainly relies on fossil fuels for its energy supply, with 74 percent of the total energy consumption being coal, oil, natural gas and other fossil fuels. Their use has promoted the development of modern society while exhausting energy sources. Excessive use of fossil fuels has also caused serious environmental pollution and climate change. In view of this, countries all over the world are all focusing on the development of new and renewable energy as an integral part of their future energy strategy. So far, over thirty developed nations and more than ten developing ones have set goals for the advance of renewable energy.
It is now widely recognized by all countries that the energy problem is a global issue and requires the joint efforts of the whole international community. Therefore, closer international S&T cooperation regarding the development of new and renewable energy has become a common choice for all nations seeking to increase energy supply, reduce energy consumption, guard energy security, cut greenhouse gas emission, develop a low-carbon economy and realize sustainable development. The Tokyo Protocol and its Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) proved to be a strong impetus for international collaboration in this field.
As the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change receives better comprehension and wider acceptance, the development of new and renewable energy will win increasing support from more countries and international organizations.
In order to propel the development of new and renewable energy, the Chinese government has promulgated a package of policies, laws and regulations, including the Renewable Energy Law, the National Mid- and Long-term Program Outline on Sci-tech Development (206-2020), and the Mid- and Long-term Development Program for Renewable Energy. These measures serve to create a favorable policy environment for the development of new and renewable energy and also for international cooperation in this field.
Aim
The Program aims to demonstrate to the whole world, through international S&T cooperation, China's commitment to relying on sci-tech innovations to develop new and renewable energy, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and building a resource-conservative and environmental-friendly society, and also highlights its efforts to work with other countries to solve global energy problems. Moreover, it aims to identify more channels for China to introduce overseas cutting-edge technologies and facilitate the transfer of these technologies from developed countries to developing ones and among developing countries. At the same time, it will support Chinese advanced technologies to enter the global market. The Program is expected to promote the overall development of new energy technologies and expedite the convergence of technologies from different countries.
The Program also aims to help China to bring in overseas talents in the new and renewable energy field to improve the country's basic research capacities and solve key sci-tech problems.
It will also strive toward the growth of a new and renewable energy industry to raise energy utilization efficiency, expand scale application and reduce cost.
A dialogue, consultation and exchange mechanism between China and foreign governments, enterprises and research institutes will be set up.
Tenets
Mutual Benefits. China will develop bilateral and multilateral cooperation in line with the advantages and characteristics of new and renewable energy sources in different countries to achieve win-win results.
IPR Protection. In the international sci-tech cooperation for new and renewable energy, the Program will beef up protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) for advanced technologies that advance sci-tech progress and innovation and rev up the commercialization, application and promotion of sci-tech achievements.
Sharing of advanced technologies. On the basis of IPR protection, the Program will intensify international exchanges and cooperation for basic research, technological development, demonstration and application in the field of new and renewable energy. It will encourage advanced Chinese new energy technologies to enter the international exchange platform and share with other countries their respective technologies and resources.
Integration of strength. Through "bringing in", "going out" and other approaches, China hopes to utilize both the international and domestic resources to improve technological levels and innovation capacities of its new and renewable energy industries and contribute to the promotion and application of new energy technologies throughout the world.
Technological innovation. The Program aims to promote the development of efficient and environmental-friendly energy utilization technologies, raise the overall energy utilization levels and optimize the energy structure through international sci-tech cooperation.
Objectives
The Program aims to seek new modes of international exchange and cooperation, combine the complementary strengths of all countries and set up a technological cooperation platform. It will help China to introduce cutting-edge technologies from foreign countries and at the same time support Chinese technologies to disseminate abroad. It will further China's sci-tech cooperation with other developing countries.
The Program will make a technological guide for international exchange and cooperation on new and renewable energy and support China's participation in the formulation of international standards and criteria for new and renewable energy technologies. It will also help China in technological introduction, absorption and further innovations and help it to build advanced technologies application demonstration projects with other countries.
The enterprise-centered cooperation between industry, universities and research institutes will be intensified to accelerate the commercialization of research findings. Some large demonstration projects will be built to rev up technological innovation; international sci-tech cooperation bases will be set up in line with local conditions to promote a harmonious scale development of new and renewable energy.
The Program will also nurture high-caliber professionals in the field of research and development of new and renewable energy.
Priority areas
Research of basic sciences and applicable technologies in the following areas will be given priority.
1) Solar power generation and building-integrated solar energy
Solar thermal and photovoltaic electric power generation system; thin film and other new types of solar cells; the integrated application of solar energy in building; low-cost and low-polluting technologies for the production of solar high-pure silicon materials; industrial application of solar thermal utilization technologies.
2) Biomass fuels and biomass power generation
Non-food energy crops; cellulose ethanol; energy producing forestry plants; bio-diesel; biomass briquettes; biomass gasification, methane and power generation.
3) Wind power generation
Wind power resources evaluation; large-scale and high-efficient wind power generating units; construction of offshore wind power generating units and wind power plants.
4) Hydrogen energy and fuel cells
Hydrogen production, storage and transportation technologies; new types of fuel cells and the application of fuel cells in cars.
5) Natural gas hydrate
Prospecting, exploration, storage and transportation and application technologies of natural gas hydrates.
Major tasks
1) Basic research
The Program will encourage Chinese universities and R&D institutes to take part in international cooperation and exchanges and carry out basic theoretical research of new technologies to markedly enhance China's overall research capacities in the basic sciences and frontier technologies and also attempt to discover some globally far-reaching findings of various scientific theories.
2) Industrialization demonstrations
The Program will closely track, introduce and research advanced technologies that can facilitate the development of new and renewable energy at low cost and in large scale; it will also back up research and development on systematic evaluation of energy resources and on complementary system of various distributed new and renewable energy sources.
As new and renewable energy is a new sector based on modern manufacturing technologies, therefore, the Program will promote international cooperation for equipment design and manufacturing technologies and set up an internationalized test center.
3) Scale application
The Program will support China to take part in the formulating of international and regional technical norms regarding new and renewable energy sources. It also aims to improve China's legal and managerial systems for new and renewable energy by referencing foreign experiences.
4) "Go-out" strategy
The Program will encourage Chinese enterprises, research and development institutes and universities to go out and participate in large-scale domestic and international cooperation projects revolving around new and renewable energy as well as set up R&D centers and bases. They are also encouraged to establish long-term cooperative partnerships with other countries. The Program will also promote technological transfers from developed countries to developing countries and among developing countries.
5) International exchanges
The Program will set up dialogue mechanisms for international science and technology cooperative projects for new and renewable energy among various countries to exchange ideas and experiences on energy exploration and utilization and jointly find a solution to the development bottleneck. China's exchanges with foreign governments, enterprises, and research institutes are expected to be intensified in the forms of forums, seminars and policy dialogues.
6) Nurturing high-caliber professionals
The Program will nurture high-caliber professionals on new and renewable energy via an international sci-tech cooperation platform such as joint research projects, joint research centers and demonstration projects.
Organization and management
Organizational setup
The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will set up a steering committee on international cooperation by coordinating other government bodies, international organizations and prestigious research institutions to guarantee the smooth implementation of the Program.
MOST and NDRC will also send invitations to senior experts worldwide to establish an expert consultation committee,which could offer suggestions on priority areas, major tasks, and cooperation patterns of the Program to the steering committee.
Special funds
Special funds will be earmarked for the launch of The Program. Capital from foreign governments and international organizations will also be attracted. Equal attention will also be given to soliciting capital from the business sector, especially the international energy giants.
Copyright © China.org.cn
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The Government of Canada acts to protect important land under the new Natural Areas Conservation Program
ESSEX COUNTY - Canada's Environment Minister John Baird, and Jeff Watson, Member of Parliament for Essex, today joined representatives from the Nature Conservancy of Canada and residents of Pelee Island in announcing one of the first achievements under the Government of Canada's $225 million Natural Areas Conservation Program - the future conservation of globally significant habitat on the renowned Pelee Island in southwestern Ontario.
"The Government of Canada is taking real action to protect Canada's
natural treasures," said Minister Baird. "Earlier this year, Prime Minister
Harper committed $225 million to support the work of the Nature Conservancy of
Canada and other conservation organizations in preserving priceless parts of
our great country. Today's announcement to set aside precious lands of Pelee
Island is just one more example that this government is taking aggressive
action to preserve our natural heritage."
The lands, totaling 524 acres and worth more than $7 million, are home to
a variety of globally rare species and ecosystems, including one of only two
known occurrences of Chinquapin Oak Nodding Wild Onion Savanna in the world
and one of Canada's last populations of the endangered Blue Racer Snake.
"Gifts such as this land on Pelee Island are priceless in terms of the
benefits they provide to our endangered species and their habitat," said
Mr. Watson. "Through our Natural Areas Conservation Program, the federal
government is playing a lead role in conserving and protecting our environment
for the benefit of all Canadians."
The Natural Areas Conservation Program, announced by Prime Minister
Stephen Harper earlier this year, is an important on-the-ground initiative
that takes real action to preserve Canada's environment and conserve its
precious natural heritage for present and future generations. The Program is
expected to result in the long-term protection of up to half a million acres
of ecologically sensitive land across southern Canada.
<<
Natural Areas Conservation Program
In March 2007, as part of its commitment to conserve and protect our
natural environment, the Government of Canada invested $225 million in the new
Natural Areas Conservation Program. The Program helps non-profit,
non-government organizations secure ecologically sensitive lands to ensure the
protection of our diverse ecosystems, wildlife, and habitat.
In order to carry out the objectives of the Program, the Government of
Canada entered into an agreement with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. As
part of that agreement, the Nature Conservancy of Canada will partner with
non-government conservation organizations such as Ducks Unlimited Canada and
other qualified land trusts. These organizations must provide matching funds
for each federal dollar received.
Using a science-based process, the Nature Conservancy of Canada and its
partners work to acquire ecologically sensitive lands through donation,
purchase or stewardship agreements with private landowners.
Under the Program, priority is given to lands that are nationally or
provincially significant, that protect habitat for species at risk and
migratory birds, or that enhance connectivity or corridors between existing
protected areas such as National Wildlife Areas, National Parks and Migratory
Bird Sanctuaries.
The Natural Areas Conservation Program complements the Government's other
important conservation initiatives and investments, including:
- $110M for the work under the Species at Risk Act;
- 10M for the Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy;
- $30 million for the Great Bear Rainforest;
- $3 million for Stanley Park in Vancouver and Point Pleasant Park in
Halifax;
- the Habitat Stewardship Program, which has invested $19M for the last
two years to support over 350 local projects for the protection of
species at risk and their habitat;
- Environment Canada's Canadian Wildlife Service Protected Areas Network,
made up of 51 National Wildlife Areas and 92 Migratory Bird
Sanctuaries; and
- the Ecological Gifts Program, which provides tax incentives to land
owners who donate land title or place a conservation easement on
ecologically sensitive land. In its May 2006 budget, the Government of
Canada increased the incentive for land donations by reducing the
taxable capital gains inclusion rate for certified ecological gift
donations from 25 per cent to zero.
The Natural Areas Conservation Program is an important on-the-ground
initiative that takes real action to preserve our environment. It is expected
to result in the long-term protection of up to half a million acres of
ecologically sensitive land across southern Canada.
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Biofuels on the farm
By Patrick Mazza
While growing biofuels feedstocks on farms is becoming commonplace, actually making biofuels on the farm is fairly rare. Pacific Northwest efforts to develop advanced technologies for farm-scale production illustrate significant potential to produce fuels from local feedstocks for local use.
An agricultural residues project is being developed by Farm Power, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting farm-scale bioenergy production, partnered with USDA Agricultural Research Service. In a federal bioenergy research complex heavily focused on large-scale technologies, ARS is a welcome oasis for community-based bioenergy development.
ARS has conducted some first-order studies looking at biofuels potential of Northwest residues. But the challenge is that these feedstocks have low energy density and a certain amount must be left on the soil to preserve fertility. So ARS is interested in smaller-scale technologies that are less hungry.
The Farm Power project at Rockport, Washington a few miles south of Spokane fits the bill. It employs technology developed at ARS Western Research Institute using heat to convert biomass into energy gas. The project aims to make this a commercially replicable technology while assessing the agronomic and economic practicalities of using residues. The gasifier will be fed with residues from Kentucky bluegrass seed. This is a significant crop in the area, and farmers who can no longer burn fields due to air pollution restrictions need to find new ways to dispose of the residue.
"Within five miles there are 5,000 acres of Kentucky bluegrass," notes project manager Jack Zimmer. "That's plenty of straw to keep this thing going. When we have this unit done, it can feed itself from a 2,000-acre farm."
"Huge projects are fine," Zimmer adds. "But there are lots of biomass materials that can be used to produce energy that are readily available and do not have to be moved long distances. If you are not having to haul feedstock from 20-40 miles away, it becomes more viable."
Farm Power plans to place the gasifier on line by the end of 2007, process around 2,400 pounds of biomass per day and use the gas to run an electrical generator. Inland Power has agreed to take the surplus.
These projects underscore how biofuels production at the farm and community scale generates many environmental and economic benefits.
Community benefits
Corporate ownership of biofuels plants by large agribusiness corporations has raised criticism about who is gaining most of the benefits from this growing industry. While biofuels plants at any scale generate local economic benefits, local ownership keeps more of the money circulating closer to home. In developing nations, where concerns whether small farmers will actually benefit from bioenergy are greatest, farm-scale technologies could be hugely important.
Use of residues
Employing materials that now pose waste disposal problems is one way to increase biofuels production without competing with existing crops and markets. However, collecting enough residues to support a large-scale plant demands a substantial supply. Plants will also likely require fairly consistent material. So residues that exist in smaller quantities may not find a use in large-scale operations, but could readily feed farm-scale technologies. The proximity of farm fields to production has another crucial advantage- byproducts of production containing soil nutrients can be quickly sent back to the land to maintain fertility. Farm Power will do this with gasifier ash.
Transportation
Shipping biofuel feedstocks represents a major share of the energy employed to make biofuels, and thus is a global warming pollution contributor. So shortening transport distances improves the energy and pollution-reduction performance of biofuels.
Unlike the current petroleum-based system, biofuels will not grow in a "one size fits all" fashion. A diversity of feedstocks and markets will characterize biofuel growth, including small local feedstock streams that can readily supply community fuel demands. That is why work being done by outfits like Farm Power and ARS is vitally important to realize the farm-scale opportunity.
© 2007 Eat the State
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UN Calls For Spending $10 Billion A Year To Improve The World's Clean Water And Sanitation.
“The UN proposed Wednesday that nations invest $10 billion a year in supplying clean water and sanitation for the third of the planet's population who lacks them. …
Some 90 percent of the human sewage in developing countries goes untreated and is allowed to pollute the public's water supplies, for lack of sewage treatment plants, according to UN figures. … The money would come from the UN's 192 member nations, international finance organizations, and partnerships with businesses. …” [The Associated Press/Factiva]
Reuters notes that “Lack of proper toilet facilities and sanitation kills almost two million people a year, most of them children, the World Toilet Association said at its first meeting on Thursday. …
About 1.8 million people die every year from diarrhoeal diseases that are mainly blamed on inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene, the World Health Organization’s regional Director for the Western Pacific, Shigeru Omi, told the meeting. The majority of these deaths occur in Asia and 90 percent of the fatalities are children under the age of five, he added. …
The Seoul meeting, which brought together public health officials from around the world and UN agencies, aims to raise funds for sanitation in developing countries. …” [Reuters/Factiva]
AFP writes that “…Studies have shown that better sanitation can reduce diarrhoeal deaths by up to 32 percent and hygiene campaigns such as promoting hand-washing can reduce such deaths by up to 45 percent, Omi said. …
The annual cost, Omi said, is less than one percent of world military spending in 2005. "It is one third of the estimated global spending on bottled water. …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]
In a separate piece, AP adds that “Hoping to launch a global ‘toilet revolution,’ the World Toilet Association kicked off its inaugural conference Thursday with plans to save lives by improving sanitation and break taboos about what happens behind closed bathroom doors. …
The new association aims to provide toilet facilities to impoverished countries, provide for urgent sanitation needs after natural disasters and spread information and technology for improving toilets. …” [The Associated Press/Factiva]
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Biofuel convert sees wooden future
By Jeremy Lovell
LONDON - Biofuel convert Graham Hilton is a man who can see the wood for the trees in the planet's future. The former oil man turned sustainable heating businessman is a biofuels advocate, especially wood pellets, as a key part of the solution to cutting emissions of climate warming carbon gases from burning fossil fuels for heat, power and transport.
"Wood pellets are carbon neutral - burning them only releases carbon that the tree originally sequestered," he told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. "Not only that. But it is technology we can deploy now to meet demand for heat.
"People are fiddling while the planet is burning. I would prefer to deploy a technology now and rip it out in 10 years when another one comes along than wait 10 years to find a better one. There is no time," he added.
About half of Britain's energy demand is for heat and Hilton calculates that, given the right incentives, biofuels could provide about 10 percent of that, thereby cutting demand for the coal and gas currently used.
"That could mean displacing about four million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year," he said, noting the widespread use of wood pellet fuel in Scandinavia and Austria.
But while the fuel is natural and available either as by-product from sawmills or as wood from forestry management, the capital costs of the boilers needed to burn it efficiently are roughly double those of conventional gas appliances.
"While that is a barrier to swift and widespread deployment it is not insurmountable," said Hilton, proposing a subsidy along the lines of the feed-in tariff that electricity utilities must pay for renewable power from private generators.
"What we need is a feed-in tariff. Around 10 pounds per megawatt hour would be enough," added Hilton, who runs his own wood fuel firm, The Energy-Crops Company, and campaigns widely on the whole biofuels issue.
While the British government has made much about renewable energy to produce electricity, barely any mention has been made of renewable heat - despite the large role it plays in energy consumption in most developed nations.
Wood burning plant in Wales
But on Wednesday Energy Secretary John Hutton approved plans for a major wood-burning electricity plant in South Wales that, when completed around 2010, will produce enough power for half the homes in Wales.
At the same time negotiations in the run-up to a meeting of UN environment ministers next month on the Indonesian island of Bali have focused in part on prevention of deforestation, which is a major contributor to climate change.
A major uptake of biofuels - especially wood - as an alternative to burning fossil fuels could be seen as contradictory if it meant cutting down trees.
But it is a contradiction Hilton shrugs off.
"Managed forestry is not at all the same as deforestation," he said. "Managed forestry gives it value."
Wednesday was the start of Britain's National Tree Week, which this year is focusing on deforestation.
Environment Minister Phil Woolas told a conference he expected Bali to make major progress on the issue.
"A key goal of UK policy is to make forestry part of the process in Bali. After intensive lobbying of key countries across the world, we now expect support from China, Brazil and the U.S. that this should be the case," he added.
(Editing by Anthony Barker)
© Reuters2007
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ENTRIES FOR 2008 GLOBE AWARDS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE – NOW OPEN
Vancouver, B.C.: Entries are now being accepted for the seventh annual GLOBE Awards, Canada’s highest profile national acclaim for environmental excellence. The awards identify and showcase companies that have leveraged their commitment to environmental leadership into a competitive advantage. The winners lead the pack with sustainable business strategies, progressive technologies, and services. The awards will be presented at the closing gala of the GLOBE 2008 Conference and Trade fair, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Friday March 14, 2008.
The list of previous winners of the GLOBE Awards includes some of the most celebrated companies in the Canadian environmental business community. Past winners include Teknion Corporation, Interface Flooring Systems (Canada), Inc., Suncor Energy Inc., Earthcycle Packaging Ltd., Ivey International, Mercer Investment Consulting, the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, and The Canadian War Museum.
Businesses with a track record of environmental innovation are encouraged to enter the GLOBE Awards for Environmental Excellence in one of five categories:
The Corporate Award for Environmental Excellence. This award will be presented to a Canadian corporation with a proven record of environmental stewardship that has materially contributed to economic competitiveness through a commitment to environmental excellence that is integrated with a corporate-wide approach to sustainability
The Award for Technology Innovation and Application. This award will be presented to a company or group of companies that have demonstrated outstanding technical ingenuity in the development and/or application of an innovative technology or process with a significant environmental application and/or benefit.
The Industry Award for Export Performance. This award will be presented to an environmental or clean energy, technology or service company that has demonstrated drive, talent and innovative spirit in successfully carving out a place in the global environmental marketplace.
The Award for Sustainable Investment & Banking. This award will be presented to a North American or global fund manager; commercial, investment and private bank; financial/investment broker; asset management company; venture capital firm; or investment advisor who has developed new portfolios, debt or investment structures & instruments, analytical tools and/or targeted funds for Canadian environmental technology, infrastructure, retail or industrial, or clean energy markets.
The Award for Excellence in Urban Sustainability. This award will be presented to a local government, private sector company or consortium which has developed and applied outstanding urban sustainability principles.
Submissions for the seventh annual GLOBE Awards will be judged on both their business expertise and environmental ingenuity by a panel of professionals well known in the Canadian corporate community. Judges in 2007 included Dan Gagnier, International Institute for Sustainable Development; Johanne Gelinas, Samson Bélair / Deloitte & Touche; Toby A.A. Heaps, Corporate Knights; and Bob Page, TransAlta Professor of Environmental Management & Sustainability University of Calgary. Visit the GLOBE Awards website at www.theglobeawards.ca. The deadline for submission is February 1, 2008.
In addition, ECO Canada in partnership with the GLOBE Awards will present their 2008 Environmental Employer of the Year Awards at the GLOBE Awards Gala Dinner. To apply for the Small- to Medium-Sized Company Category or for the Large Company Category, please visit www.eco.ca , log in as an Employer and click on “Awards
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Buyer Beware of the Voluntary Carbon Standard, WWF
GLAND, SWITZERLAND - A new standard for carbon offsets fails to guarantee climate benefits and promote sustainable development, and could further increase insecurity and volatility in the carbon offsets market, says WWF.
The Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS), launched by the Climate Group, the International Association for Emission Trading (IETA), and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), is meant to set a minimum benchmark for the quality of carbon offsets. It is designed to offer the most basic set of rules, focused primarily on lowering transaction costs and carbon prices to consumers.
WWF argues, however, that the VCS cannot guarantee that accredited projects really reduce climate-damaging emissions. Its verification systems are insufficient. Furthermore, by waiving all environmental and social safeguards as well as requirements for stakeholder consultation, the VCS substantially increases the non-carbon risks of VCS projects.
"This new standard simply lacks credibility," says Julia Langer, Director, Global Threats, WWF-Canada. "Carbon buyers using the VCS will remain exposed to significant risk; the VCS cannot guarantee that credits are real nor projects valuable to host countries. WWF recommends buyers take extra steps to ensure they are acting responsibly."
Foregoing many essential checks and balances in terms of managing both carbon and non-carbon risk, the VCS appears to rely to a considerable degree on the goodwill and integrity of project developers whose commercial success depends on the sales of credits. WWF believes that this approach carries significant potential risk for buyers and the environment.
"The voluntary carbon offset market is becoming like the Wild West. WWF is concerned that bad offset projects will register under the VCS to make a quick buck," says Hans Verolme, Director of WWF's Global Climate Change Programme. "If the VCS Board is serious about its standard they should screen its impact in a very transparent way and show they are ready to make improvements."
Carbon offsetting, if used appropriately, could play a limited part in strategies to reduce carbon emissions and contribute to sustainable development - helping to catalyse the transition globally to a low carbon economy. The voluntary market could also help projects to be undertaken in countries where capacity and expertise in applying Clean Development Mechanism accreditation is lacking; enable small projects to gain access to the carbon markets; and provide a test bed which allows innovation and testing of new technologies and ideas.
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UN Global Warming Report Sternly Warns Against Inaction.
“Global warming is destroying species, raising sea levels and threatening millions of poor people, the UN’s top scientific panel [said]… in a report that UN officials hope will help mobilize the world into taking tougher actions on climate change.
The report argues that only firm action, including putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions, will avoid more catastrophic events. Those actions will take a small part of the world's economic growth but will be substantially less than the costs of doing nothing…” [The Washington Post (11/17)]
AFP notes that “…The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is designed to guide policymakers for the next five years. Delegates to the Nobel-winning scientific authority agreed the draft after night-long negotiations, chief French delegate Marc Gillet told AFP. …
The report …summarizes three massive documents issued this year covering the evidence for climate change; the present and possible future impacts of it; and the options for tackling the peril. …” [Agence France Presse (11/16)/Factiva]
AP reports that “…The report does not commit participating governments to any course of action but it is important because it is adopted by consensus, meaning those countries accept the underlying science and cannot disavow its conclusions. It provides a common scientific base line for the political talks. …
The report describes how climate systems are changing and why, the effects it is having on mankind and ecosystems, and various scenarios of future impacts, depending on how quickly action is taken to slow the trend. …” [The Associated Press (11/16)/Factiva]
FT writes that “…serious disagreements between countries were already surfacing in the wake of the IPCC summary. For instance, the IPCC warned of consequences, such as the extinction of 20 to 30 percent of the world’s plant and animal species, that were likely if global temperatures increased by 2ºC above pre-industrial levels.
Many countries, including the EU, said this showed that 2ºC of warming was the limit of safety for the climate, so policies should be set to avoid that. According to the IPCC, that would require emissions to peak by about 2020. But the US delegation to the meeting said the pinpointing of 2ºC as the limit of safety was a value judgment rather than a scientific conclusion. …” [The Financial Times (11/18)]
NYT notes that “Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, describing climate change as ‘the defining challenge of our age,’' released the final report … on Saturday and called on the US and China to play ‘a more constructive role.’…
Members of the panel said their review of the data led them to conclude as a group and individually that reductions in greenhouse gases had to start immediately to avert a global climate disaster. …UN officials pointed out that strong policies were needed, like increasing the energy efficiency of cars and setting up carbon markets…” [The New York Times (11/18)]
WSJ adds that “The world will have to end its growth of carbon emissions within seven years and become mostly free of carbon-emitting technologies in about four decades to avoid killing as many as a quarter of the planet's species from global warming…
The stark choices laid out Saturday by the IPCC, describe the daunting task if the world is to avoid the consequences of a planet heated up by more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 2 degrees Celsius, since 2000. The panel, which distilled research from about 2,500 scientists, avoided conclusions about how much global warming is too much. …” [The Wall Street Journal (11/19)/Factiva]
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City Invites Residents to Talk About the Environment
KITCHENER - Beginning, Saturday, November 17 and continuing through Monday, December 17, 2007, City residents are invited to take part in a grassroots community discussion about our local environment that will help to shape the City of Kitchener's long-term environmental initiatives.
The citizen feedback obtained during this public consultation process will be used over the next few months to help City staff develop an updated City of Kitchener Strategic Plan for the Environment. The public consultation process begins today and will run through Monday, December 17, at 5 p.m.
This plan, which was first approved by Council in 1992, is periodically updated and is used to guide the development of current and future City environmental activities and initiatives. It is anticipated that the updated strategic plan will be released in the spring of 2008.
''I know that Kitchener residents care deeply about the environment,†said Ward 2 Councillor Berry Vrbanovic who also chairs the City's Environmental Committee. ''They have told us many times in recent years that the environment remains among their top priorities for the future. Through this public consultation process, we're going to talk about what is important to our residents from an environmental standpoint today and then build a strategic plan that reflects our communityâ€'s priorities.''
''This is a great opportunity for residents to get involved and do something that may seem simple, but which will have a wonderful, positive impact on our local environment,'' said Mayor Carl Zehr. ''When people think about environmental issues, they often think that they are global in nature, but I really hope that through processes like this one, our residents will begin to see the environment as a local issue, with local solutions and that every one of us has an important role to play.''
The public consultation process was designed to be as accessible as possible to all residents. There are several ways that residents can get involved and provide their comments regarding the update to the City of Kitchener's Strategic Plan for the Environment.
One of the ways residents can participate and provide their input is through attending public workshops where experts will discuss, along with the public, a variety of local environmental issues.
The City is pleased to announce that Dr. Max Blouw, president and vice-chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University will give the keynote address at the first public workshop on Saturday, December 1, 2007 at Kitchener City Hall.
Beginning his career as a biologist in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Winnipeg, Dr. Blouw went on to teach biology at St. Francis Xavier University and zoology at the University of British Columbia before joining the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC).
His research interests include evolutionary ecology and genetics, fish-forestry interactions and ecological genetics.
Dr. Blouw is well-known on the national scene, and enriches his academic career through volunteer roles that link universities and government. He has had a long-standing involvement with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), acting as an executive council member and as chair of its prestigious award selection committees and committee on grants and scholarships. He was recently reappointed to a second term as the chair of the university advisory group to Industry Canada. Dr. Blouw received the 2005 Science and Technology Champion Award from the BC Innovation Council in recognition of his leadership.
Get Involved:
Workshops
Residents are invited to participate in two workshops about the Strategic Plan for the Environment. To help ensure that we have enough supplies for all of our participants, please pre-register for the workshop sessions by calling 519-741-2602 and leaving a voicemail indicating which workshop you would like to attend and your name and telephone number. Residents can also register on-line at www.kitchener.ca. The workshops will take place:
Strategic Plan for the Environment Workshop #1
Saturday, December 1, 2007
9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Kitchener City Hall
After an address by keynote speaker Dr. Max Blouw, President, Wilfrid Laurier University, residents will discuss topics including: Air, Water, Energy and Environmental Awareness.
Strategic Plan for the Environment Workshop #2
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
7-9 p.m.
Kitchener City Hall
Residents are invited to discuss the criteria for the City['s new Local Environmental Action Fund (LEAF).
On-line Feedback – Coming Soon:
Background information about the City's Strategic Plan for the Environment and an on-line feedback form is available at Strategic Plan for the Environment.
The on-line feedback form will be available to residents early the week of November 19, 2007.
Leave a Voicemail:
Residents who would prefer to call and leave a voicemail message with their comments can do so by calling 519-741-2602. Please remember to leave your name and address.
Send us an Email:
Residents can submit comments to us via email at environment@kitchener.ca
Send Your Comments by Mail:
We are also accepting comments by mail. Comments can be mailed to Strategic Plan for the Environment, c/o Charles Priddle, Student Planner, Kitchener City Hall, 200 King St. W., 6th Floor, PO Box 1118, Kitchener ON, N2G 4G7. Don't forget to mail your comments to that we will receive them by Monday, December 17, 2007 at 5 p.m.
Anyone living or working in Kitchener can participate in the process. To ensure that we receive only one set of comments from each individual, we can only consider comments if they include a name and address. We will not share this information with anyone.
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TOP INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS SECURED FOR GLOBE 2008
Vancouver B.C. – The GLOBE Foundation is pleased to announce that over 50 speakers have already been secured for the 10th event in the renowned GLOBE series, including some of the world’s most prestigious business, government, and social leaders. Roberto Dobles, Minister of the Environment & Energy of Costa Rica (San Jose, Costa Rica), Silla Maizey Head of Corporate Social Responsibility for British Airways (Harmondsworth UK), Olivia Hartridge, Vice President Morgan Stanley (London, UK) and Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Geneva, Switzerland) will all interact with delegates through engaging conference sessions.
GLOBE 2008 is expected to host over 10,000 people (including 2,000 conference delegates, 400 exhibitors, 200 speakers) and dozens of international delegations from across the planet. GLOBE 2008 will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia from March 12 to 14, 2008 centering around four main themes; Corporate Sustainability, Energy & Climate Change, Finance & Sustainability, and Building Better Cities.
Roberto Dobles, Minister of the Environment & Energy of Costa Rica, is in charge of Environment, Energy, Water Resources, Mining and Telecommunications for Costa Rica. Dobles is currently President of the Governing Council Bureau for the United Nations Environment Program 2007-2009, President of the Ministerial Global Environmental Forum 2007 and was the Pro Tempore President of the Central American Commission of Environment and Development (CCAD) II Semester 2006. Dr. Dobles has served as the Chairman and CEO of the National Institute of Electricity (ICE), the President of the Administration Council of the National Company of Light and Power (CNFL), Minister of Science and Technology, and Chairman and CEO of the National Refinery Company (RECOPE) in Costa Rica.
Silla Maizey, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility for British Airways. More than a decade ago British Airways became the first airline to set a target for improving fuel efficiency and led the way in advocating carbon trading. The company has set a new goal to improve aircraft fuel efficiency by 25% by 2025. It has also made improvements to the accessibility of the online passenger carbon offset scheme and aims to recycle half of its waste by 2010.
Olivia Hartridge, Vice President, Morgan Stanley, has been responsible for the implementation of several carbon credit and emissions trading programs across Europe and most recently has taken the position as Vice President for financial advising company Morgan Stanley, in charge of their “carbon bank.” The program is the company’s first fully-integrated carbon auditing and offsetting service. Hartridge has also managed the implementation of the EU emissions trading scheme.
Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Dr Pachauri has been at the helm of the IPCC since 2002, and his recent acceptance of the IPCC’s Nobel Peace Prize (jointly with former US Vice-President Al Gore) is a remarkable testament to the dedication and commitment of the thousands of experts who produced the Panel's rigorous and comprehensive assessments of climate change research under his guidance. Dr. Pachauri has a PhD in Industrial Engineering and a PhD in Economics. He has taught at Yale University, West Virginia University, North Carolina State University and the Administrative Staff College of India in Hyderabad. He is the author of 23 books and several journal articles as well as writings in numerous newspapers and magazines.
The GLOBE 2008 Trade Fair will feature the world’s most innovative companies showcasing their innovations and capacity; and allow visitors to learn more about the most cutting-edge advances in environmental technology. The event will allow participants to learn from one another about future prospects in the multi-billion dollar environmental market. Over 75% of exhibit space already spoken for, including large showcases hosted by the provinces of BC, Alberta and Ontario; Austria; Belgium; France; Holland; Korea; the UK; and the USA.
GLOBE 2008 is produced by the GLOBE Foundation, an international consultancy in the business of the environment. GLOBE’s expertise lies in project management, event development, and management and consulting in the fields of environment and energy, urban development, and corporate responsibility. GLOBE is North America’s longest operating producer of environmental business events, having produced the GLOBE series since 1993.
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European Ambassadors to Address the Investment Opportunities of Carbon Emissions at The Canadian Institute Conference
TORONTO - The Canadian Institute opens the doors to its much anticipated 'Seizing the Investment & Compliance Opportunities of Carbon Emissions' conference taking place January 15 - 16, 2008, at the Marriott Bloor Yorkville Hotel in Toronto.
Designed to inform and educate delegates on the investment opportunities
of reducing carbon emissions, this conference will feature an exclusive
Ambassadors' Panel featuring representatives from some of the leading European
countries in emission reduction innovations and trading schemes. In this
panel, the Ambassadors will discuss the latest international efforts to
stimulate investment in emission reduction, and the challenges and solutions
being adopted. Confirmed speakers include:
- H.E. Dorian Prince (Conference Chair), Ambassador and Head of
Delegation, Delegation of the European Commission to Canada
- H.E. Werner Baumann, Ambassador of Switzerland to Canada
- H.E. Anthony Cary, British High Commissioner to Canada
- H.E. Matthias Hopfner, Ambassador of Germany to Canada
- H.E. Ingrid Iremark, Ambassador of Sweden to Canada
- H.E. Poul E.D. Kristensen, Ambassador of Denmark to Canada
With senior executives from Ontario Power Generation, TransAlta,
TransCanada, Nexen, Mondial Energy, EPCOR Utilities, TD Bank Financial Group,
CIBC World Markets, Montreal Exchange, and international industry
participation from Winslow Management Company (U.S.) and Trucost (U.K.) this
conference will be one of the most engaging and relevant conferences for the
investment community on climate change.
All sides of this debate will be presented, making 'Seizing the
Investment and Compliance Opportunities of Carbon Emissions' a must-attend for
anyone with a stake in carbon pricing
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Union of concerned scientists warns for pollution from liquid coal fuels; new biofuels way forward
World - Heightened concern about oil dependence is generating growing support for alternative transportation fuels, but some fuels, like liquid coal and gasoline from tar sands would emit significantly more global warming pollution than gasoline or diesel, according to a new report issued today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
In Biofuels: An Important Part of a Low-Carbon Diet, the UCS offers an overview of the lifecycle emissions of different alternative fuels, and two scenarios for their future role in America's transportation fuel mix. It also stresses the importance of comprehensive lifecycle analyses (LCAs) to take into account the entire emissions profile of alternative fuels.
Transportation is responsible for two-thirds of US oil consumption and nearly 40 percent of the country's global warming pollution on a life cycle basis. To dramatically cut emissions from this sector, a comprehensive solution must include improved vehicle fuel efficiency, smart growth policies that reduce vehicle miles traveled, and clean fuel alternatives.
Liquid coal, for example, can release 80 percent more global warming pollution than gasoline, the report found. Corn ethanol, conversely, could be either more polluting or less than gasoline, depending on how the corn is grown and the ethanol is produced. On average, corn ethanol can reduce emissions about 20 percent, though there is uncertainty due to differing land use practices. The cleanest alternative, cellulosic ethanol from grasses or wood chips, could reduce emissions by more than 85 percent. (Note that the study did not look at first generation biofuels made from tropical crops like sugarcane or sweet sorghum which reduce emissions far more than corn ethanol; for sugarcane ethanol, the reduction is as large as that of cellulosic biofuels.)
Biofuels can quickly become a staple of a low-carbon fuel diet because they integrate well with the existing fuel distribution infrastructure and offer potentially abundant domestic supplies with significant opportunities for growth, the report says. But not all biofuels are the same. There is a wide range in the estimated heat-trapping emissions and other environmental impacts from each biofuel over its life cycle (i.e., from farm to finished fuel to use in the vehicle), depending on the feedstock, production process, and model inputs and assumptions. There are also concerns about emissions and impacts from land conversion and land use associated with biofuel production.
New rules are being developed that will require fuel providers to account for and reduce the heat-trapping emissions associated with the production and use of transportation fuels. For example, both the U.S. Congress and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are considering strategies to promote low-carbon and renewable transportation fuels (including biofuels). California, the nation's largest market for transportation fuel, is developing a Low Carbon Fuel Standard that will require fuel providers to demonstrate reductions in global warming pollution per unit of energy delivered, regardless of fuel source. More state, regional, and federal rules will undoubtedly follow, the UCS writes.
The purposes of the report are two-fold:
1. To ensure that we “count carbs” accurately, by explaining why we need a comprehensive accounting system for carbon emissions-one that measures global warming emissions over a transportation fuel's entire life cycle. An effective accounting system will not only need to be robust enough to encompass the fuel life cycle, but also address uncertainties and allow for changes over time as better assessment tools and methods become available.
2. To “make carbs count” by describing performance-based policies that will reward low-carbon transportation fuels for their performance and help them compete against highly polluting fuels such as liquid coal (gasoline or diesel made from coal). For example, low-carbon fuel standards require a reduction in the average amount of global warming pollution per gallon of fuel.
A market for low-carbon fuels can produce a rare convergence of business, agricultural, and environmental interests that, if pursued wisely, could represent a “win-win-win” opportunity. But the promise of a lower-carbon transportation future can only be realized through federal and state policies that “count carbs and make carbs count.”
Two scenarios
The report evaluated two scenarios for alternative fuels, one carbon-intensive -meaning that it would produce significantly more global warming pollution than burning gasoline - and the other low-carbon - meaning that it would produce significantly less. The analysis assumed that alternative fuels will replace 37 billion gallons of gasoline, about 20 percent of the fuel UCS projects Americans will consume in 2030.
In both scenarios, conventional biofuels would meet 25 percent of the demand for alternative fuels. In the carbon-intensive scenario, the remaining demand would be met by liquid coal. The carbon-intensive scenario would increase emissions by 233 million metric tons - equivalent to adding about 34 million cars to the road, the number of new cars and light trucks currently sold nationally over a two-year period. By contrast, the low-carbon scenario relies on advanced biofuels to meet 75 percent of the demand. That would cut global warming pollution by 244 million metric tons, akin to taking 35 million of today’s cars off the road.The report calls for a national low-carbon fuel standard that accounts for alternative fuels’ global warming emissions over their entire life cycle-from till to tailpipe - and requires them to emit less pollution than today’s petroleum-based fuels.
At the tailpipe, gasoline, liquid coal and biofuels release about the same amount of global warming pollution. But there are dramatic differences in the amount of pollution emitted by extracting a raw feedstock and refining it into a finished fuel. Biofuels can have an advantage over liquid coal and gasoline because plants capture carbon dioxide, the most common global warming gas, as they grow. But producing biofuels will generate emissions, which at the farm will vary depending on tilling practices, fertilizer use, previous land use, and the fossil fuels used to power farm equipment. At the ethanol plant, emissions will depend on the efficiency of the manufacturing process and the fuel used to power the facility. All of these factors must be considered in a full life cycle analysis.
Life cycle analysis for alternative fuels could help farmers and the biofuels industry, according to Gregg Heide of the Iowa Farmers Union.
Farmers want to help get the country off of oil. Give us some guidelines, tell us where to cut pollution, and we can do it. The coal lobby is active everywhere, even here in Iowa. It would be counterproductive if dirty fuels like liquid coal started muscling out biofuels in the alternative fuels market. - Gregg Heide, Iowa Farmers Union
Congress is now considering an energy bill that includes a renewable fuel standard giving the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to develop life cycle analysis guidelines. To date, the federal government has been promoting both cleaner and dirtier fuels. For instance, Congress has approved funding for research into next-generation ultra-clean biofuels, but it also is subsidizing research into liquid coal processing technology.
Government policies and high oil prices have whetted our growing appetite for all alternative fuels, good and bad alike. With the wrong policy, liquid coal could displace cleaner alternatives. Biofuels can be a staple of our low carbon fuel diet, but only if policies are in place that ‘count carbs’ and ‘make carbs count.’ - Eli Hopson, Washington representative for Clean Vehicles at UCS
At least one state is addressing the problem. In January, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order calling for establishing a state low-carbon fuel standard. The California Air Resources Board is currently developing regulations that would require manufacturers of transportation fuel sold in the state to reduce per gallon emissions of global warming pollution by at least 10 percent. Arizona, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington State are considering similar policies.
Counting carbs
To fully assess the global warming impact of transportation fuels, we must measure their full life cycle emissions per unit of energy delivered. This poses an analytical challenge for a number of reasons. For example, plants capture carbon dioxide (CO2, a potent heat-trapping gas) from the atmosphere during photosynthesis, but the impact of this carbon capture on biofuel emissions varies by feedstock. The global warming pollution produced by farming varies depending on the farming equipment, fertilizers, tillage practices, and perhaps most important, whether forests and grassland are converted into cropland. Even the refining process used to convert biomass into biofuels produces varying amounts of heat-trapping emissions.
Emissions may vary depending on the feedstock and refining process. Liquid coal, for example, can increase emissions more than 80 percent compared with gasoline. Gasoline produced from tar sands can increase emissions about 14 percent. Corn ethanol, depending on how it is processed, can produce higher emissions than gasoline or cut emissions more than 50 percent. Cellulosic ethanol, which is made from woody plants, may be able to reduce emissions more than 85 percent.
Life cycle analysis tools such as the U.S. Department of Energy's Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model have been critical in building understanding of the full impact of transportation fuels. But there is currently no scientific consensus on a single analytical approach, particularly for biofuels. Key areas of debate include the impact of land use changes, fertilizer use and emissions, coproducts, process emissions, and uncertainties or poor data.
While life cycle models typically estimate that today's average corn ethanol cuts global warming pollution about 20 percent compared with gasoline, some researchers estimate that it may actually increase global warming pollution. Similarly, biodiesel is generally credited with a 50 percent reduction in global warming pollution, but there is also research indicating that it may increase emissions as well. In addition, biofuel production could exacerbate deforestation, generating more global warming pollution and a host of concerns about the industry's sustainability.
The key to improving our understanding and quantification of life cycle emissions is to hold transportation fuel providers responsible for their global warming pollution. Our current system provides no incentive for fuel providers to accurately measure or minimize their carbon emissions. In contrast, a system that requires providers to account for their emissions would spur increased research into life cycle analysis and provide a public process for evaluating the benefits and limitations of different analytical methods. By developing emissions standards that are periodically updated using the best data available, the market can steer fuel production toward lower-carbon pathways.
Making carbs count
Without a framework in place to lower the carbon intensity of our transportation fuels, we risk losing a precious opportunity to cut our global warming pollution substantially. We therefore need smart fuel policies such as California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which is slated to take effect as early as 2010. This standard does not “pick winners” by focusing on specific fuels, but instead relies on performance criteria that require each gallon of fuel (on an energy-equivalent basis) to meet a standard for global warming pollution that becomes more strict over time. The standard encompasses the fuel's entire life cycle, promoting carbon reduction along every link in the fuel supply chain.
Low-carbon fuel standards would also create market certainty for cleaner fuels and complement existing vehicle standards by ensuring the fuel industry does its part-along with automakers and consumers-to reduce transportation-related emissions. Other states considering such regulations include Arizona, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.
At the national level, efforts are under way to incorporate heat-trapping emissions requirements into the current Renewable Fuel Standard, and several bills have been introduced in Congress that would establish a separate low-carbon fuel standard. The Bush administration is also preparing rules for reducing gasoline use that would include a low-carbon fuel component.
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UN Chief Praises Brazil on Climate Change Policies
Brazil - “UN chief Ban Ki-moon praised Brazil's commitment to fighting climate change and poverty Monday in a meeting with President President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva he qualified as ‘very good’. The talks in the capital Brasilia were part of Ban's one-week tour of South America and to Antarctica to see the effects of global warming firsthand, and the response by governments in the region.
The UN Secretary General, who has declared the issue one of his top priorities, spoke to Lula of his trip to Antarctica last Friday, during which he inspected the melting polar cap. He also described his visit to a Brazilian ethanol plant upon arrival Saturday. … Ban said he has plans to see the Amazon River basin on Tuesday, where he was scheduled to visit an indigenous village. …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]
Xinhua adds that “… He praised the nation's efforts in developing biofuels, saying that ‘biofuels hold great promise in our common efforts to develop renewable and alternate sources of energy while we are addressing global warming issues.’ …
Ban said Lula had assured him that the country's food supplies will not be affected by the increased cultivation of crops for biofuels, and he also promised efforts to protect the Amazon rainforest. …” [Xinhua (China)/Factiva]
Meanwhile, Reuters adds that “Leaders of the world's largest ethanol production and trade associations issued a joint statement on Monday condemning a United Nations' interim report that called biofuels production a ‘crime against humanity.’ They said the report has many ‘misperceptions’ and ask for its revision, warning that it could threaten the development of the industry in places where biofuels directives are not fully implemented, like in the EU. …
A copy of the joint three-page letter was given to the UN's ambassador in Brazil, Kim Bolduc, on Sunday during Ban's visit to an ethanol mill in Sao Paulo. The document was officially sent to the United Nations on Monday. …” [Reuters/Factiva]
Dow Jones notes that the letter follows a decision last week by “… Members from the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, European Bioethanol Fuel Association, US Renewable Fuels Association and the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association … at the World Ethanol Summit in Europe to create a ‘common agenda’ in the promotion of ethanol. At the heart of the issue is whether ethanol production is taking away grains and land for food production. …” [Dow Jones/Factiva]
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UN Scientists To Hammer Out Final Climate Change Report
“The UN's top climate scientists gathered in the Spanish port city of Valencia Monday to boil down their landmark report on global warming into a summary version for policymakers. ..
The document to be issued in Valencia next Saturday distills its 2,500-page, three-volume assessment - the first since 2001 - into a 25-page synthesis designed to guide government decisions on how to best accomplish this. There will also be a companion technical summary of about 70 pages. …
The more forceful the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)] panel's conclusions, the more pressure it will put on policymakers to adopt measures - some of them politically costly - ranging from carbon taxes and mandatory caps on CO2 emissions to huge investment in renewable energy. …” [Agence France Presse (11/12)/Factiva]
AP notes that “…The report will be the first to include a brief chapter on ‘robust findings and key uncertainties,’ in which the authors pick out what they believe are the most relevant certainties and doubts about climate change. …
Among the uncertainties cited in an early draft obtained by AP: the lack of data from key areas of the world, conflicting studies on the effects of cloud cover and carbon soaked up by oceans, and projections on how planners in developing countries will factor climate change into their decisions. …” [The Associated | |
