Portugal Ratifies Kyoto Protocol:
Xinhua
News Agency
LISBON, Dec 19, 2001
The Council of Ministers of Portugal ratified on Wednesday
the Kyoto Protocol which aims at an effective
control
over climate change worldwide, an official communique
said.
A spokesman of the Environment Ministry
said the ratification does not have
to be confirmed
by parliament.
The council said Portugal approved
the protocol six months ahead of the
deadline fixed
by the European Union (EU), which is committed to reducing
greenhouse gases by eight percent by 2008-2012.
Under
the Kyoto Protocol, emissions of polluting gases in
Portugal in 2012
must not surpass 27 percent of
the 1990 level.
Local scientists said if the greenhouse
effect is not under control, the
temperatures in
Portugal could increase by nine degrees Celsius in summer
between 2080 and 2100. The sea level could rise somewhere
from 25 to 110
centimeters.
British Antarctic survey: Report on risk assessment of ice sheet collapse
see also http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/News/Press_Releases/2001/20011228.html
PRESS RELEASE 28 December 2001 PR Number 15/2001
There has been much speculation that global warming may cause sea levels to rise due to the melting of ice sheets. For the first time scientists have worked out the likelihood of Antarctic ice sheet collapse using engineering risk-analysis techniques. They conclude that there is a 5% chance of major sea level rise (1 metre per century) due to disintegration of the ice covering West Antarctica, a report in January 2002 Climatic Change reveals. This study gives a realistic assessment of differing scientific opinions in a useful way for policy makers.
This novel study pooled the opinions of international experts to assess the probability of the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), which contains 13% of all the ice on the Antarctic continent. Currently this ice sheet is anchored to the rock beneath, much of which is below sea level. However, in past warm periods, the ice sheet thinned and disintegrated into floating icebergs. If the WAIS completely disintegrated, it would raise global sea levels by about 5 metres over several centuries. The stability of this ice sheet has been hotly debated since the 1960s.
The risk assessment was carried out by a partnership between scientists from the British Antarctic Survey and risk assessment specialists Det Norske Veritas for the UK Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). They conclude that the scientific community does not know enough to reliably predict the future of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Overall, scientists are 95% convinced that the ice sheet will not collapse completely, but there remains a 5% chance that collapse will occur in the next 200 years, enough to double present estimates of sea level rise.
Dr David Vaughan, the principal scientist said: "Although this study shows that the scientists gave a low probability of complete ice sheet collapse, there's a huge health warning attached. The potential impacts of a major change in the West Antarctic ice sheet are severe - sea level rise will be fantastically expensive for developed nations with coastal cities and dire for poor populations in low-lying coastal areas"
John Spouge, co-author of the report, added: "We normally base risk assessment on experience of accidents in the past. In the case of the West Antarctic, this was impossible, and instead we tried to describe the diversity of current scientific opinion about the issue in a way that would be helpful for policy makers. Until we have done more research, no-one can be certain whether the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will disintegrate or not, and so we have to live with the possibility that it might happen. Our results show we can't ignore it."
ENDS
Issued by British Antarctic
Survey
Press enquiries to: British Antarctic Survey
Press Office:
Linda Capper (w) 01223 221448, (h)
01480 880302, (m) 07714 233744.
Alison George (w)
01223 221414, (m) 07740 822229
Athena Dinar (h)
01223 513298
For more information contact:
Dr. David Vaughan, British Antarctic Survey. Tel: (m)
07785 975244, (w) +44 (0)1223 221643
John Spouge,
Det Norske Veritas, Technical Consultancy +44 (0)207
716 6557
Dr. Simon J. Brown, UK Department of the
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Tel: +44 (0)207
944 5210
Notes for Editors:
Risk Estimation
of Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet by David
Vaughan and John Spouge, is published in Climatic Change
January 2002, Volume 52, page 65-91.
Ice sheet
The Antarctic ice sheet is the layer of ice up
to 5000 m thick covering the Antarctic continent. It
is formed from snow falling in the interior of the Antarctic
which compacts into ice. The ice sheet slowly moves
towards the coast, eventually breaking away as icebergs
which gradually melt into the sea.
The ice sheet covering East Antarctica is very stable, because it lies on rock that is above sea level and is thought unlikely to collapse. The West Antarctic is less stable, because it sits on rock below sea level.
If the ice sheet does collapse, it is more likely to be part of a natural collapse cycle, or as a response to climatic change that occurred many thousands of years ago, rather than a response to current climatic change.
British Antarctic Survey is responsible for most of the UK's research in Antarctica. It is a component of the Natural Environment Research Council.
Det Norske Veritas is a Norwegian organisation whose objective is safeguarding life, property and the environment. Their website is: www.dnv.com
Picture editors: Photographs of Antarctica
and ice sheet research being carried out are available
from the BAS Press Office.
2001 set to be second warmest year on record
New
Scientist, 19 December 01
Nicola Jones
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991710
2001 is set to be the second warmest year on record,
according to the World Meteorological Organization in
Geneva, Switzerland.
Researchers say this adds further weight to the reality of a global warming trend. The last decade holds nine of the 10 warmest years since 1860, with the hottest being 1998.
"It is a significant trend," says David Parker of the Hadley Centre for climate prediction in Berkshire, England. "We suspect that greenhouse gases are a major player, though natural variations certainly play a part too."
The planet averaged an even 14.0 °C between 1961 and 1990. While not all of the data for 2001 is in yet, researchers predict the average temperature will be 14.42 degrees.
"And that's without an El Niño Pacific warming," says Parker. El Niño, the reversal of usual ocean and wind currents in the Pacific Ocean, did occur in 1998, when the annual average hit 14.57 degrees.
Blowing hot and cold
Average temperatures have risen by more
than 0.6 degrees over the past 100 years, though the
rise has not been continuous. While these differences
may seem tiny, they can have a big effect on climate.
For example, if the annual temperature in the UK rises
0.6 degrees, an extra week can be added to both ends
of the growing season.
Global averages are calculated by analysing temperatures from more than 1000 land-based stations, 7000 ships and 1000 buoys. Areas not covered by the global spread of instruments are filled in by computer estimates. The average offers a clear way to compare years says Parker, "but obviously it sweeps a lot of other things under the carpet".
Most of the temperature increase this year happened in central Canada and Eurasia, while some parts of the globe, like North West Australia and Kamchatka, were unusually chilly. Rainfall was also affected unevenly around the globe, with Afghanistan suffering from a bad drought and Indonesia plagued by torrential rainfall that triggered massive landslides. "It is patchy," says Parker.
Some
scientists worry that many of the land-based temperature
readings are biased because they pick up heat from urban
centres and incorrectly assume a larger area is the
same high temperature. But Parker says this would at
most make for an error of 0.05 degrees in a global average.
Back
to CNE latest news
Norway: No sinks. Official position
18th Dec 2001
commentary
from: Tore Braend, Energy Campaigner
Norges Naturvernforbund/Friends
of the Earth Norway
Norway's official position is "no use of sinks by Norway". This was confirmed by the Norwegian Minister for Environment, Mr. Boerge Brende in his statement about about the Marrakech agreement in the Norwegian Parliament on the 29th of November 2001, the same day as the Swedish environmental minister Kjell Larsson made a similar statement in Sweden.
Mr. Boerge Brende confirmed the previous statement by the former Labour government and said that Norway had no plans for using forest management in its implementation of the Kyoto committments. Mr. Brende was supported by the Labour party (social democrats), which is the biggest opposition party.
Statement in the Parliament by Mr. Boerge Brende: (in Norwegian)
http://odin.dep.no/md/norsk/aktuelt/taler/innlegg_stortinget/022021-090019/index-dok000-b-n-a.html
Mr. Brende said in Marrakech that he "believe a broad system for domestic emissions trading, linked to the Kyoto mechanisms, is the best tool we can use to ensure compliance with the Kyoto Protocol. We will introduce this system already in 2005 in order to gain experience. We want to co-operate with other countries in this effort."
Statement from Marrakech in English:
http://odin.dep.no/md/engelsk/aktuelt/taler/022021-090017/index-dok000-b-n-a.html
This is confirmed at later occasions: a white paper
to introduce a domestic emission trading system will
be presented by the government during spring 2002, and
is said to be in force by 2005.
Mr. Brende also said that the government will start now to prepare for greater reductions than 5,2 % in future commitment periods. This is new in Norway, as we have abandoned all "national targets" in the past, and only focused on the first period commitments.
He also confirmed previous promises that Norway will ratify the Kyoto Protocol in the spring of 2002, and in this way contribute to the implementation of the Protocol before the WSSD in September of 2002.
In his statement Mr. Brende confirmed Norway's promise to contribute to the sum of 410 million dollars per year from 2005 to help the developing countries with technology transfer, capacity building and adaptation to climate change. Norway will also seek active cooperation with the developing countries.
Tore
Braend
Energy Campaigner
Norges Naturvernforbund/Friends
of the Earth Norway
P.O. Box 342 Sentrum
0101
OSLO
NORWAY
Visiting adress: Skippergata 33,
Oslo
Telephone No: + 47 22 40 24 13 (direct)
Telephone No: + 47 91 68 53 17 Mobile Phone
Telephone
No: + 47 22 40 24 00 (Operator)
Telefax No: + 47
22 40 24 10
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to CNE latest news
-------------------------
France launches climate talks with industry
Environment
Daily, 19/12/01
-------------------------
French ministers met yesterday with leaders of 18 large
energy-intensive or energy producing firms to discuss
creating
voluntary agreements for "significant"
cuts in carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions. Industry
minister Christian Pierret and environment minister
Yves Cochet said the session was designed to gauge companies'
"willingness to engage constructively".
The
meeting is the latest in a series of developments that
have pushed
plans for an energy or emissions tax
off the political agenda and moved
the debate towards
industry's preferred alternative of voluntary
agreements
An energy tax developed by former environment
minister Dominique
Voynet was due to take effect
in January before being ruled
unconstitutional at
the last minute
Mr Cochet's attempts to revive
the proposal have been unsuccessful,
although he
reiterated yesterday that there was no reason why a
climate
change-related tax could not supplement
voluntary agreements. Business
confederation Medef
praised the government for pursuing voluntary
agreements
and once again expressed opposition to taxation.
The
negotiations are due to run until the end of February.
Voluntary
agreements will initially run from 2002
to 2004, the government said,
after which they will
be adapted to ensure compatibility with the EU
emissions
trading regime.
Agreements will be based on companies
committing to measurable and
independently verifiable
emission cuts, the government added. Some type
of
"proportionate" sanction scheme will be put
in place to deal with
companies that fail to meet
their emission reduction targets.
All remaining
details have yet to be decided, including the issue
of
whether targets should be based on absolute emission
levels or on
emissions relative to production. The
18 companies singled out for
voluntary agreements
together account for more than two-thirds of
France's
total industry and energy-related CO2 emissions.
Follow-up:
French industry ministry press release
http://www.industrie.gouv.fr/cgi-bin/industrie/sommaire/comm/comm.cgi?COM_ID=1283&_Action=200;
Back
to CNE latest news
-------------------------
Portugal optimistic on climate gas cuts
Environment
Daily, 19/12/01
-------------------------
The Portuguese government expects to be able to comply
with its Kyoto
protocol obligations without resorting
to carbon trading or other
external mechanisms,
according to its draft national climate change
programme
unveiled yesterday.
Presenting the document, environment
minister Jose Socrates gave an
upbeat assessment
of Portugal's situation and made a commitment to be
ready to ratify the protocol before the end of the year.
His optimism
contrasts with greenhouse gas emissions
figures for 2000 which show
Portugal already breaching
its Kyoto target of a 27% increase on 1990
emissions
by 2008-12.
The draft programme states that compliance
will require a reduction of
11.3m tonnes of carbon
dioxide (CO2) and that two-thirds of this can be
achieved using measures already in place or about to
be announced.
These include raising the share of
electricity production from
renewable sources to
39% by 2010 and revising vehicle duties upwards,
especially on petrol-driven cars.
Additional measures
are proposed, including a 10% rise in fuel prices,
an expansion in forestry cover and better traffic management
techniques. The emphasis on measures designed to reduce
vehicle
emissions reflect the 70% growth in CO2
emissions from transport in
Portugal between 1990-1999
which, it is calculated, will rise to 135%
by 2010.
The document describes the transport sector as "critical
for
compliance with emissions targets".
The
draft programme, which will undergo two months of public
consultation before being finalised in the spring, does
not include
analysis of the burden these measures
will place on the Portuguese
economy. However the
government anticipates any costs will be offset by
savings through improved energy efficiency.
The
draft programme has been welcomed by environmental NGOs.
According
to Jose Paulo Martins of Quercus it is
"a good declaration of
intentions". But
he stressed that greenhouse gas reduction measures
"must not conflict with protection of soils, landscape
and
biodiversity". He also warned that the
recent resignation of Portugal's
prime minister
and possible general elections make the final outcome
of
any climate proposals "difficult to predict".
Follow-up:
Portuguese environment ministry
http://www.ambiente.gov.pt/
http://www.quercus.pt/
Back
to CNE latest news
-------------------------
MEPs defy ministers over buildings efficiency
Environment
Daily, 19/12/01
-------------------------
Members of the European parliament's energy committee
have signalled a
potential tug-of-war with energy
ministers over entry-into-force of a
key EU law
intended to cut energy consumption in non-industrial
buildings. The outcome could decide how influential
the law is in
meeting the EU's international greenhouse
gas reduction commitments.
The committee yesterday
voted for the law to come into force by the
end
of 2003. This is five years earlier than the latest
date - end
2008 - foreseen under an accord reached
by energy ministers at their
first reading earlier
this month. The MEPs' choice was also the
proposal
of the European Commission, which has backed all parts
of the
ministerial deal apart form the later phase-in
date
If the full parliament confirms the committee
opinion and backs the
Commission when it produces
its own first reading opinion on the
directive next
year, ministers will only be able to reinstate their
preferred date by voting unanimously for it.
This
scenario could well come about as rapporteur MEP Alejo
Vidal-Quadras Loca is a member of the same Spanish political
party as
the EU commissioner with lead responsibility
for the draft directive,
Loyola de Palacio. Sources
suggest he is under instructions to
persuade MEPs
to follow the Commission line as far as possible.
Greenpeace
climate campaigner Michel Raquet welcomed yesterday's
vote:
"We cannot accept 2008 - [this directive]
could be crucial for the
Kyoto protocol process."
This echoes complaints from the energy
efficiency
products and services industry, which said the later
entry-into-force would effectively remove the directive
from the effort
to meet the EU's targets under the
global climate gas reduction
treaty.
In a
second challenge to the ministers' first reading position
the
committee also voted to reinstate a Commission
proposal for energy
performance certificates drawn
up under the directive to be renewed
every five
years. Ministers opted for a 10-year renewal cycle.
But
MEPs rejected a bid to amend the law so that
a greater number of
buildings would have to meet
new-build efficiency requirements when
renovated.
Follow-up:
European Parliament energy committee,
http://www.europarl.eu.int/committees/itre_home.htm,
where the result of yesterday's vote will be posted
under
"adopted reports".
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-------------------------
EU finally adopts Energy Star ecolabel
Environment
Daily, 18/12/01
-------------------------
The EU has formally adopted the Energy Star ecolabel
for energy
efficiency in office equipment. Originally
developed by the US
environmental protection agency,
the scheme requires producers using
the label to
adhere to standards for maximum power consumption in
both
operating and stand-by modes.
A year
ago the EU and USA reached an accord on joint administration
of
the scheme plus the criteria for granting labels
(ED 15/12/00
http://www.environmentdaily.com/articles/index.cfm?action=article&ref=8976).
In a regulation agreed last month and now published
in the official
journal the EU has now finally agreed
to give legal effect to the deal
in Europe. Firms
will be able to apply to use the voluntary label from
mid-January.
An official in the European Commission's
energy directorate said the
move marked the end
of a "long and hard" six-year process to expand
the
label into the EU. The European parliament had
little influence over
the label criteria but nevertheless
tried unsuccessfully to use its
codecision powers
when the draft regulation came before it to toughen
standards and administration procedures, he said (ED
02/02/01
http://www.environmentdaily.com/articles/index.cfm?action=article&ref=9232).
An
EU computer industry source told Environment Daily the
criteria had
been supported by most leading firms
and could be seen as a "good
example of a voluntary
agreement" since industry had been strongly
involved in setting the criteria.
Follow-up: Energy
Star regulation
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/dat/2001/l_332/l_33220011215en00010006.pdf,
and of the criteria
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/lif/dat/2001/en_201A0626_01.html.
-------------------------
Danish report finds reasons to be cheerful
Environment
Daily, 17/12/01
-------------------------
Denmark's national environmental research institute
(DMU) has
published a state-of-the-nation report
suggesting that recent
government initiatives seem
to be working. In particular, the
institute points
out a series of areas in which pollution is being
decoupled from economic growth.
Chief amongst
these is that gross energy consumption is virtually
unchanged since 1972, despite economic growth of 20%
in the past ten
years alone. Trends in atmospheric
pollution from energy production as
well as nutrient
emissions from industrial and household waste are
singled out as especially promising.
In the energy
sector, fuel consumption patterns have shifted away
from
coal and towards natural gas and renewables,
a trend that is expected
to continue. Sulphur dioxide
emissions are down markedly since 1985 and
nitrogen
oxides (NOx) are "close to being brought under
control".
A national target of reducing carbon
dioxide 20% below 1998 levels by
2005 is expected
to be met. However, "further initiatives"
are
required in order to fulfil the country's Kyoto
commitment to cut
greenhouse gas emissions by 21%
from 1990 levels by 2008-12. Meeting
longer-term
targets will be tougher still, the report says
Road
traffic, which has increased by about 3.5% annually
over the past
ten years, is now expected to fall
by 1.6% over a similar period as a
result of petrol
taxes. Transport-related NOx emissions are expected
to
drop 60% against 1988 levels by 2010.
Follow-up: press release http://www.dmu.dk/1_Nyt/2_Presse/63.asp.
-------------------------
German nuclear phase-out law approved
Environment
Daily, 17/12/01
-------------------------
Germany's controversial plan to abolish nuclear power
passed its last
major legislative hurdle on Friday
with approval in the Bundestag, the
lower house
of parliament. The Bundesrat, in which Germany's states
are represented, has still to scrutinise the law but
has no power of
veto. Centre-right opposition parties
again pledged to reverse the law
if they win next
year's general election.
One of the "Red/Green"
coalition government's signature environmental
policies,
the nuclear phase-out has been driven by the Greens,
with
tortuous negotiations finally resulting in
a deal with industry in June
The draft law
provides legislative backing for the agreement, under
which reactors can each operate for up to 32 years and
generate a set
amount of electricity. Output quotas
can be transferred from older to
newer plant but
not vice versa. Germany's last station is expected to
shut by around 2021.
Further elements include
a ban on new nuclear power stations and
prohibition
from 2005 of spent fuel reprocessing and of any associated
transport of nuclcear materials. Power stations are
to be subject to
more stringent safety checks.
Environment
minister Jürgen Trittin welcomed the vote as marking
the
end of "disastrous" old energy policies,
but opposition party
environment spokesperson Klaus
Lippold warned that he was "rejoicing
too soon".
Environmental groups complained that power station
operating permits should have been immediately withdrawn
and that the
government was ignoring the threat
of terrorist attack.
Environment Council conclusions. 12th December 2001
First
part on ratification is in French,
but the conclusions
on the ECCP further down
are in English.Final section on Emissions
Trading is again in French
To get the whole doc go to http://ue.eu.int/en/summ.htm
On ratification,
it says roughly:
The Council affirms its intention
to ratify the protocol by the WSSD
Intends to adopt
decision on ratification at next Environment Council
,
March 2002 after consultation with Parliament
Burden-sharing agreement to remain intact
CHANGEMENTS CLIMATIQUES
- SUITES DE LA COP7 A MARRAKECH ET RATIFICATION DU PROTOCOLE DE KYOTO
Le Conseil
s'est félicité du succès de la
7e Conférence des Parties (COP) à
la Convention-cadre des Nations-Unies sur les changements
climatiques qui a
eu lieu à Marrakech du
29 octobre au 9 novembre 2001, en ce qu'elle a permis
de transcrire dans des textes juridiques l'accord politique
trouvé à la COP6
bis à Bonn
au mois de juillet, et qu'elle ouvre ainsi la voie à
la
ratification et à l'entrée en vigueur
du Protocole de Kyoto de 1997, un
objectif poursuivi
depuis longtemps par l'Union européenne. Les
ministres
ont particulièrement remercié
la Présidence et la Commission pour les
efforts
déployés en vue de parvenir à un
accord.
Le Conseil a réaffirmé son
intention de ratifier le Protocole de Kyoto - au
niveau des Etats membres et au niveau de la Communauté
- à temps pour le
Sommet mondial sur le développement
durable de Johannesbourg en septembre
2002, les
instruments de ratification devant être déposés
début juin 2002,
90 jours avant la prise
d'effet.
Dans ce contexte, le Conseil a pris note
d'une information de la Présidence
sur l'état
des travaux concernant la ratification du Protocole
de Kyoto par
la Communauté européenne.
Les travaux sur la proposition de décision de
la
Commission relative à l'approbation, au
nom de la Communauté, du Protocole
de Kyoto,
ont déjà commencé au niveau du
groupe préparatoire du Conseil. Le
but est
d'adopter la décision au Conseil Environnement
du mois de mars 2002
après la consultation
du Parlement européen.
Le Conseil a souligné
à ce sujet que l'accord sur le partage de la
charge
totale souscrite par la Communauté
dans le cadre du Protocole de Kyoto qui a
été
décidé en juin 1998 ("burden sharing
agreement") reste intact. Il a
également
rappelé son engagement quant au respect de l'effort
de réduction
des gaz à effet de serre
souscrit au niveau international (-8 %).
- PROGRAMME EUROPEEN SUR LE CHANGEMENT
CLIMATIQUE - Conclusions
Le Conseil a adopté
les conclusions suivantes sur la mise en œuvre
de la
première étape du Programme
européen sur le changement climatique et la mise
au point de politiques et de mesures communes et coordonnées
pour lutter
contre le changement climatique :
"The Council
RECALLING that the European
Community is a Party to the United Nations
Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and thus is required
to
formulate, implement, publish and regularly update
programmes containing
measures to mitigate climate
change;
RECALLING that the Community is a
signatory to the Kyoto Protocol and that
the Commission
has submitted a proposal for a Council decision with
a view
to the conclusion of this Protocol by the
Community in time for its entry
into force by the
World Summit on Sustainable Development;
NOTING that, according to the terms of the Kyoto Protocol,
the use of the
Kyoto mechanisms is supplemental
to domestic action, which in a Community
context
includes action at Community level, and that decision
5/CP.6 of the
Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC
further specifies that domestic
action shall constitute
a significant element of the effort made to meet the
quantified emission limitation and reduction commitments
under article 3.1
of the Protocol;
RECALLING
all its conclusions stressing the need to develop and
implement
common and coordinated policies and measures
by the Community;
REAFFIRMING in particular its
conclusions of 16/17 June 1998 which confirmed
that
early and substantial progress on effective common and
co-ordinated
policies and measures is essential
in order to assist Member States to meet
their commitments
under the EU burden sharing and urged the Commission
to
take forward, with a view to early adoption by
the Council, a number of
common policies and measures;
RECALLING the adoption by the Gothenburg Council of
a strategy for
sustainable development, which adds
an environmental dimension to the Lisbon
strategy
identifying Climate Change and Clean energy as one of
its
environmental priorities, and the recommendations
of the Broad Economic
Policy Guidelines, which emphasise
inter alia the need to intensify the use
of economic
instruments to curb greenhouse gas emissions;
RECALLING also its common position with a view to the
adoption of a Decision
laying down the Sixth Community
Environment Action Programme (6EAP), which
emphasises
climate change as an outstanding challenge of the next
10 years
and beyond and recognises that measures
to reduce emissions of greenhouse
gases can be implemented
without a reduction in levels of growth and
prosperity,
and identifies as a priority action the examination
of the
results of the European Climate Change Programme
and the adoption of
effective common and coordinated
policies and measures on its basis, as
appropriate,
for various sectors complementary to domestic actions
in the
Member States;
STRESSING the importance
of improving the coherence of Community actions,
enhancing synergies between climate change policies
and other policies and
intensifying efforts to integrate
environmental protection requirements,
including
climate concerns, into the definition and implementation
of other
Community policies and activities, in accordance
with Article 6 of the EC
Treaty:
1. CONSIDERS
that it is necessary that the EU adopt further policies
and
measures, complementary to domestic actions
in the Member States, which have
a significant effect
on greenhouse gas emissions without delay, with a view
to achieving the 2008/2012 emission reduction commitment
by the Member
States and the Community as a whole
and showing demonstrable progress by
2005, as is
also required by the Kyoto Protocol.
2. WELCOMES
in this context the Commission Communication on the
implementation of the first phase of the European Climate
Change Programme
(ECCP), which addresses measures,
covering all sectors, which the Commission
intends
to bring forward as part of its work programme for the
coming 24
months, taking into account all relevant
criteria referred to in Article
174(3) of the EC
Treaty.
3. WELCOMES also the presentation
by the Commission of a proposal for a
directive
on establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission
allowance
trading within the Community, which is
being carefully examined by the
Council.
4. On cross cutting issues:
- CONSIDERS that
any envisaged proposal for a directive on linking
project-based mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol to
the proposed EU
emissions trading scheme should
be formulated without undue delay, taking
into account
the respective competencies of the Community and the
Member
States with respect to the Kyoto Protocol
and the consideration by the
Council and the Parliament
of the proposal for a directive on emissions
trading
within the EU, to ensure maximum consistency between
the two
directives and demonstrate the EU's firm
commitment to domestic action;
- STRESSES
the importance of EU initiatives for capacity-building
for the
use of the Kyoto mechanisms in partner countries,
both developing countries
and countries with economies
in transition, and urges the Commission to
develop
such initiatives as a first step towards promoting the
use of these
mechanisms and enabling these countries
to use them;
- WELCOMES the Commission's
intention to propose a revision of Decision
1999/296/EC
in order to improve the effectiveness of the monitoring
of the
implementation of policies and measures.
This revision should also establish
the necessary
framework to ensure compliance by the Community and
the Member
States with the requirements on reporting
and accounting established
pursuant to articles
5 and 7 of the Kyoto Protocol, while specifying the
respective responsibilities of the Community and the
Member States under
those provisions. The Council
calls upon the Commission to prepare the
relevant
proposals as early as possible, in co-operation, as
appropriate,
with the European Environmental Agency,
and to consider how to improve the
quality and accuracy
of reporting on policies and measures and on emissions
and removals of all greenhouse gases, including methodological
aspects;
- STRESSES the importance of accompanying
the measures addressed by the ECCP
and increasing
their effectiveness and visibility with educational,
training
and public awareness programmes reaching
European citizens and stakeholders
and emphasising
how they can contribute to tackling climate change and
welcomes in this context the initiative by Spain to
organise a workshop
devoted to education, training
and public awareness about climate change,
its impacts
and its prevention as a preparation for full EU participation
in
the UNFCCC workshop on this matter in 2002;
- ALSO STRESSES the importance of founding policies
and measures to combat
climate change on the best
scientific, technical and socio-economic
information
available, including by taking into account the results
of
technology assessment, and invites the Commission
to facilitate initiatives
that promote the effective
use of EU research capabilities in support of the
development and assessment of climate change policies
and measures, inter
alia in the context of the European
Research Area and the 6th Framework
Programme on
Research and Technological Development.
5.
On Energy issues:
- STRESSES that measures
to unlock the great potential for energy
conservation
should constitute a cornerstone of the EU strategy for
combating climate change and calls on the Commission
to continue to take
forward the implementation of
the Action Plan on Energy Efficiency taking
into
account the Council conclusions of 30 May 2000 and of
5 December 2000;
- WELCOMES further work
by the Commission on minimum efficiency requirements
for end-use equipment, energy demand management and
the promotion of
combined heat and power, taking
into account the economic and environmental
effectiveness
of such measures and notes that careful Council consideration
of forthcoming proposals will be necessary;
- WELCOMES the proposed initiatives to increase energy-efficient
public
procurement through voluntary guidelines,
and to consider, as appropriate,
the need for additional
initiatives, following a review of the impact of
such guidelines, in order to remove any obstacles to
energy efficient public
procurement in existing
and forthcoming Community legislation;
-
WELCOMES measures to promote effective implementation
of the energy
efficiency provisions and other provisions
aimed at reducing greenhouse gas
emissions of the
IPPC Directive, such as the elaboration and revision
of
technical reference documents (BREFs), but notes
that the ECCP Final Report
identifies additional
measures to enhance energy efficiency in industry
which also merit further consideration;
-
NOTES that the energy efficiency measures envisaged
in the Commission
Communication only constitute
partial implementation of the above-mentioned
Action
Plan and that further action, backed by adequate campaigns
for
take-off and public awareness, will be required;
- STRESSES the importance of continuing Community efforts
building on inter
alia Directive 2001/77/EC to increase
the competitiveness and market share
of renewable
energy sources.
6. On Transport issues:
- GIVES priority to policies and measures which contribute
to a reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions in order
to meet the Kyoto requirements in the
context of
a switch to more efficient and cleaner forms of transport;
NOTES
that the Commission's White Paper on a Common
Transport Policy contains
several proposals for
measures which should contribute to this end and urges
the Commission to develop a balanced package of measures
based on an
integrated assessment of all relevant
environmental and economic aspects;
- WELCOMES
as a basis for discussion the priority actions envisaged
by the
Commission to promote modal shift, stressing
the need to significantly
reduce barriers to modal
shifts while continuing to improve the emission
performance of all transport modes;
- NOTES
that the Commission will propose a framework to ensure
that by 2004
the price of using different modes
of transport better reflects costs to
society, that
this framework will set out the principles and structure
of an
infrastructure-charging system and a common
methodology for setting charging
levels and that
the Commission intends to propose these measures in
addition
to those referred to in the previous indent,
in order to bring about a
significant decoupling
of transport growth and GDP growth;
- RECALLS that, in addition to the planned measures
referred to in the
Commission Communication, it
earlier called on the Commission to study the
possibility
of establishing a reference framework for fiscal incentives
for
fuel efficiency and less polluting vehicles,
including zero or low-emission
vehicles, as a part
of the Community strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from
passenger cars and acknowledges the Commission’s
intention, as announced in
the second annual report
on this strategy (COM(2001)643), to report on
taxation
of vehicles in a Communication in early 2002.
- WELCOMES the Communication of the Commission concerning
the Second Annual
Report on the European Strategy
for the reduction of CO2 emissions from
passenger
cars and the results obtained through voluntary agreements
while
recalling the Council's conclusions of 10
October 2000, affirming that it is
ready, if necessary,
to consider future measures, including those aiming
at
enabling fuel efficient technologies through
enhanced environmental
specifications, for example
introduction of fuel with low sulphur content,
for
the reduction of CO2 emissions from new passenger cars
in order to reach
the Community's established target
of 120 g/km by 2010 and calling for
measures to
promptly reduce CO2 emissions from light utility vehicles
and
calls on the Commission to study and prepare
proposals for such measures in
a timely fashion;
- FURTHER RECALLS the Commission Communication on Air
Transport and the
Environment (COM (1999) 640) and
invites the Commission to consider in a
timely fashion
specific action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from
aviation and from maritime transport, in accordance
with the Council's
common position on the 6th Environmental
Action Programme and its
conclusions of 4 April
2001 and of 29 October 2001.
7. On Fiscal
and Economic Instruments :
- RECALLS that
fiscal measures also have an important role to play
as part
of an appropriate mix of instruments to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
that they should
be designed so as to be complementary to other instruments
and contribute to an improvement of relative prices
in favour of choices
with low or no emissions of
greenhouse gases, taking into account social and
economic considerations;
- NOTES with appreciation
the ongoing work in the framework of the Working
Party on Fiscal Affairs on the Commission's proposal
for a Community
framework for energy taxation;
- INVITES the Commission to consider, in the framework
of the review of the
rules and derogations with
respect to VAT rates, if and how differentiation
in tax levels for energy saving products can be an appropriate
economic
incentive for such products, so as to allow
Member States that so desire, to
provide such incentives
for such products;
- STRESSES the importance
of undertaking as soon as possible an inventory
and review of subsidies that counteract an efficient
and sustainable use of
energy, with a view to gradually
phasing them out.
8. On Industry issues
not covered by other measures:
- WELCOMES
the intention of the Commission, as announced in the
ECCP
Communication, to make a proposal for a Framework
Directive on Fluorinated
gases, including containment
of emissions from stationary and mobile
sources,
monitoring of quantities of fluorinated gases being
placed on the
market as well as marketing and use
restrictions, where appropriate, for
relevant applications
where viable alternatives are available and if
improvement
of containment if not feasible, taking into account
existing
voluntary initiatives by some fluorinated
gases industry sectors, where the
development of
alternatives is still ongoing;
- ALSO INVITES
the Commission to develop means to assist SMEs to adapt,
innovate and improve their performance, as was stipulated
in the 6th
Environmental Action Programme.
9. INVITES the Commission to intensify consideration
of common and
coordinated policies and measures
with the aim of developing appropriate
proposals
as soon as possible which address a number of other
sources of
greenhouse gases, such as:
methane and nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture and animal husbandry.
- nitrous oxide emissions from the chemicals industry and other sources,
- methane leakage from energy production and distribution,
- emissions from waste management activities. "
- SYSTEME COMMUNAUTAIRE D'ECHANGE DE
DROITS D'EMISSION DE GAZ A EFFET DE
SERRE
Sur
la base de questions préparées par la
Présidence en vue d'orienter les
futurs travaux
sur la proposition de directive de la Commission du
23
octobre 2001 établissant un système
d'échange de quotas d'émission de gaz
à
effet de serre dans la Communauté,
le Conseil a tenu un débat politique sur
la manière d'organiser la phase pilote du système
(2005 à 2007) avant la
prise d'effet du Protocole
de Kyoto.
Le Conseil a tout d'abord insisté
sur le fait qu'un tel système d'échange
de
droits d'émission de gaz à effet
de serre est considéré par l'Union
européenne comme un mécanisme complémentaire
à l'effort de réduction à
entreprendre
à travers des mesures et politiques internes.
Quant
à la question de savoir si le sytème d'échange
de quotas d'émission
devait être obligatoire
ou volontaire, deux lignes se sont dégagées
du
débat, la majorité des Etats membres
s'exprimant néanmoins en faveur d'un
système
obligatoire, du moins à partir de 2008. Un système
obligatoire a été
considéré
comme celui permettant la participation du plus grand
nombre
d'industries, présentant la plus grande
viabilité économique et le moindre
risque de distortions de concurrence.
En ce qui
concerne la question de savoir si la méthode
d'allocation des
quotas devait être gratuite
ou s'il fallait retenir un système de mise aux
enchères, une très grande majorité
des Etats membres a défendu les mérites
de la gratuité en tant que facteur de motivation
à la participation. Les
Etats membres ont
généralement plaidé pour l'introduction
d'une méthode
d'allocation et de critères
d'allocation harmonisés, présentant les
meilleures garanties pour prévenir les distortions
de concurrence.
En termes de couverture du système,
la majorité des Etats membres s'est
exprimée
en faveur d'un système qui couvrirait dans un
premier temps
uniquement le CO2, certains Etats
membres n'excluant toutefois pas la
possibilité
de parvenir rapidement à l'extension du système
à d'autres gaz à
effet de serre. Pour
ce qui est des secteurs couverts, la proposition de
la
Commission a été généralement
appuyée, quelques Etats membres souhaitant
néanmoins pouvoir inclure des secteurs supplémentaires,
d'autres soulignant
que cela devait se faire uniquement
sur base de critères harmonisés définis
au niveau communautaire.
Enfin, la grande majorité
des Etats membres a considéré que les
frais d'un
tel système devaient être
imputés aux producteurs d'électricité,
en
application du principe du pollueur-payeur.
La
Présidente a conclu que les positions n'étaient
toutefois pas encore
figées, vu que dans
quelques Etats membres les consultations ne sont pas
encore terminées, et que certains Etats se sont
par conséquent exprimés à
titre
préliminaire. Elle a noté que, du fait
de la phase d'essai, de
nombreux Etats avaient fait
preuve d'ouverture, et que dès lors les
positions
étaient susceptibles d'évoluer, en particulier
en ce qui concerne
la période d'engagement
suivante :
La proposition de la Commission
vise à établir un cadre et un marché
communautaire pour l'échange de droits d'émission.
D'une part, la
proposition vise à la mise
en œuvre du Protocole de Kyoto qui prévoit
pour
l'Union européenne une réduction
des émissions de gaz à effet de serre
de 8%
dans la période 2008-2012. D'autre
part, elle vise le bon fonctionnement du
marché
intérieur et à prévenir des distorsions
de concurrence qui pourraient
résulter de
l'établissement de systèmes nationaux
séparés.
La Commission propose
que le système commence à fonctionner
en 2005 et qu'il
couvre, dans un premier temps,
uniquement les émissions de CO2 en provenance
des grandes installations industrielles et de production
d'énergie. La
proposition envisage d'étendre
le système à d'autres secteurs et gaz
à effet
de serre en 2004.
La proposition
prévoit que les installations couvertes introduisent
auprès
de l'autorité compétente
de leur Etat membre une demande de permis d'émettre
des gaz à effet de serre. Sur la base de ces
permis, les Etats membres
alloueront chaque année
des quotas d'émission à chacune des installations;
les quotas (non-utilisés) pourront faire l'objet
d'échanges. Les quotas
seront réduits
d'année en année afin de réduire
les émissions. La Commission
propose que
les Etats membres alloueront les quotas gratuitement
entre 2005
et 2007, dans la période "pré-entrée
en vigueur" des mécanismes prévus
dans
le Protocole de Kyoto, et qu'une méthode
harmonisée soit établie pour la
période
2008-2012.
-------------------------
EU states divided over climate emission trading
Environment Daily 1123, 13/12/01
-------------------------
Text of the Environment Council
on emissions trading in French
EU ministers
are divided over whether to make an industrial carbon
dioxide emissions trading scheme mandatory or voluntary
for businesses
during a preliminary three-year lead-in
phase from 2005, it emerged
from yesterday's environment
council meeting in Brussels.
Environment ministers
were debating for the first time a key European
Commission proposal to help the EU comply with its greenhouse
gas
reduction targets under the Kyoto protocol.
A formal agreement is not
expected until next year.
"If
you look at the votes, there's a blocking minority"
against the
European Commission's plan for the scheme
to be mandatory from the
start, Belgian environment
minister Magda Aelvoet said after the debate
yesterday.
But she said a "certain majority" still preferred
this
option.
Leading the opposition is the
UK, where the issue has crucial
significance since
its own domestic scheme is planned to be voluntary
until 2007 (ED 28/11/01
http://www.environmentdaily.com/articles/index.cfm?action=article&ref=11121).
The country's environment minister, Michael Meacher,
claimed the
debate was "about evenly balanced"
between the opposing camps.
Setting prescriptive
rules at the outset would be "tricky and not
advisable," he said. "We should be moving
to a mandatory scheme, but
in a pragmatic way."
Also ranged against the Commission is Germany,
where
industry fears the trading scheme could override existing
energy
efficiency agreements. But Commission officials
said Germany's
position was not as negative as they
had expected.
Other elements of the debate were
less divisive and showed broad
support for the Commission's
approach to trading, according to Ms
Aelvoet. These
were that permits should initially be allocated free
of
charge to businesses, that trading should focus
first on just carbon
dioxide emissions, and that
emissions from electricity generation
should be
addressed through obligations on generators rather than
downstream consumers.
Follow-up: EU Council of
Ministers
meeting minutes
http://ue.eu.int/newsroom/LoadDoc.cfm?MAX=1&DOC=!!!&BID=89&DID=68745&GRP=4047&LANG=1;
Abrupt Climate
Change Possibility Needs Attention
Dec. 11
US National Academies
-- The possibility that
abrupt regional or global climate changes might be spurred
by the current global warming trend needs more research,
says a new National Academies report. Recent evidence
shows that periods of gradual climate change in Earth's
past were punctuated in some places by episodes of rapidly
changing average temperatures, as well as severe floods
and droughts.
Full
Report
-------------------------
Huge Scottish renewable potential underlined
Environment
Daily, 11/12/01
-------------------------
Renewable energy in Scotland could produce far more
electricity than
the country currently consumes,
according to a study released by the
Scottish executive
yesterday. Environment minister Ross Finnie
welcomed
the findings as "breathtaking," while Friends
of the Earth
said they "sound the death-knell"
for new nuclear capacity.
The study does not forecast
short-term renewables growth, its authors
stress.
All resources predicted to cost under UK£0.07
(euros 0.11) per
kilowatt hour of output by 2010
are included, which is well above
current market
prices. Also, grid upgrades would be required to add
any more than 1 gigawatt (GW) of new capacity, it acknowledges.
Nevertheless,
the potential medium-term growth in renewables is
demonstrated to be huge. By 2025 if not by 2010, the
study says,
Scottish renewable electricity capacity
could be 59GW producing
214,000GWh of electricity
per year. Both figures substantially exceed
Scotland's
current total output or consumption.
Wind and
wave power are the key elements in this future scenario,
with
onshore wind capacity potential put at 11.5GW,
offshore wind at 25GW
and wave power at 14GW. The
only other major contributor would be
tidal stream
power, with a potential capacity of 7.5GW.
Follow-up: report executive summary
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/who/elld/energy/SRS2001ExecSumm.pdf;
FoE Scotland http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/
-------------------------
Renewable energy success factors pinpointed
Environment
Daily, 06/12/01
-------------------------
EU member states that achieved above-average growth
in one or more
renewable energies during the 1990s
were successful because they
introduced the right
combination of legislative, financial and
administrative
incentives, concludes a report published yesterday by
the European environment agency (EEA).
The report
analyses eight instances in four member states over
the
period 1993-99 where output of one type of renewable
energy grew faster
than the EU average and also
contributed at least 10% of the EU-wide
increase.
These
success stories were: photovoltiacs (PV), solar thermal
and
wind energy in Germany; solar thermal and biomass
used for district
heating in Austria; PV and wind
in Spain; and biomass for district
heating in Sweden.
A further 15 smaller-scale successes are also
discussed,
with only the UK, Belgium and Luxembourg failing to
be
singled out for some type of praise.
Key
government actions for success, the EEA concludes, are:
long-established energy policies promoting renewables;
financial
support for capital costs and renewable
generation; good grid access
for renewables; taxes
penalising fossil fuel use and/or tax breaks for
renewables purchase; administrative assistance; priority
to research
and development; and education, information
and training campaigns.
Financial support systems
had a big impact, the report says. It
points out
that three countries that guaranteed purchase prices
of
wind-generated electricity - Germany, Denmark
and Spain - contributed
80% of new EU wind energy
output during the period. This suggests that
feed-in
laws work better than the competitive tendering mechanism
adopted by Ireland and the UK, the report concludes.
Other
success factors include local and regional targets for
renewable
energy uptake, planning guidance for renewable
projects, and revision
of building regulations to
promote PV or solar thermal installations.
Follow-up:
the report
http://reports.eea.eu.int/environmental_issue_report_2001_27/en.
Infringement procedures against eleven Member States for failure to monitor CO2 emissions from passenger cars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commission press release
Brussels, 10 December 2001
Infringement procedures against eleven Member States for failure to monitor CO2 emissions from passenger cars
The European Commission has decided to open infringement procedures against Austria, Greece, Finland, Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Sweden for failing to comply with important elements of a 2000 Decision (1753/2000/EC) on monitoring average specific emissions of CO2 from new passenger cars.
Commenting on the legal action taken, Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström said: "We hope that the Member States concerned will provide us with the required data as soon as possible. It is an important element of the Commission's proposed strategy for reducing CO2 emissions from passenger cars and for improving fuel economy. It also helps Member States achieve the targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that are set in the Kyoto Protocol." The 2000 Decision is aimed at ensuring that minimum data is compiled to enable the proper functioning of a Community scheme to monitor the average specific emissions of CO2 from new passenger cars registered in the EU. Furthermore, it requires Member States to supply the Commission with data when requested, to designate a competent authority to collect and communicate the monitoring information and to report to the Commission on how they intend to implement its provisions. The deadline for information gathering, communicating and monitoring and for reporting on implementation was 28 February 2001.
None of the Member States concerned has reported to the Commission, within the stipulated 28 February 2001 deadline, on how they intend to implement its provisions. None of the Member States concerned, except for Finland, has designated a competent authority to collect and communicate the monitoring information before the given 28 February 2001 deadline. None, except for Finland, has supplied the Commission with the necessary data with regard to CO2 emissions from passenger cars before the 1 July 2001 deadline. It should be mentioned, however, that a few Member States did meet some of these requirements, but this was only after the given deadline had passed, e.g. Denmark and Italy passed the data.
-------------------------
Ministers neuter EU building efficiency drive
Environment
Daily, 05/12/01
-------------------------
EU energy ministers yesterday reached informal agreement
on a new
directive to improve energy efficiency
in buildings. The deal
significantly weakens the
original European Commission proposal and
could
dent the initiative's contribution to meeting the EU's
greenhouse
gas reduction commitment.
Proposed
in April as an early contribution to the EU climate
change
programme, the draft legislation aims to
reduce energy losses from
non-industrial building
stock, the largest single consumer of energy at
over 40%. At its core is a requirement for all building
owners to
provide prospective buyers or tenants
with a certificate of energy
performance (ED 26/04/01
http://www.environmentdaily.com/articles/index.cfm?action=article&ref=9791).
Under
the ministerial accord, however, member states would
have up to
seven years to implement this, five years
longer than proposed by the
Commission. This means
the requirement would not kick in fully until
around
2009, too late to have a strong impact on emissions
in the first
Kyoto commitment period.
Member
states argued that they needed more time to develop
necessary
infrastructure and expertise; the delayed
implementation timetable was
adopted unanimously.
But the Commission has opposed the move, and the
European Parliament is likely to follow suit when it
completes its
first reading in February.
"What
member states have done is knocked out its potential
benefits to
Kyoto," Andrew Warren of EuroAce,
the association of energy efficient
equipment makers
told Environment Daily. "It makes no sense for
anyone
to drag their heels...it's good for the economy
and the environment,"
he said. He also branded
as "ludicrous" the ministers' decision to
require updating of certificates only once every ten
years instead of
the five years proposed by the
Commission.
In other changes, ministers softened
proposed requirements to
introduce regular mandatory
inspections of gas boilers, and amended
plans for
large buildings in public use to display their energy
performance. The new wording makes clear that commercial
buildings
such as supermarkets are excluded from
the requirement.
Under a second major element
of the directive, member states would set
national
minimum efficiency standards for new buildings and apply
them
to existing buildings when these are renovated.
But yesterday
ministers qualified this second requirement,
saying it should apply to
"major" renovations
of buildings only - that is, works costing 25% or
more of the building's value or affecting 25% or more
of the building
shell.
Follow-up:EuroAce http://www.euroace.org/,
tel: +32 2 626 2090.
Dutch
sign CO2 cutting agreement with Panama
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NETHERLANDS: December 6, 2001
AMSTERDAM
- The Dutch environment ministry said yesterday it had
signed an agreement with Panama to buy credits from
clean energy projects there toward meeting its carbon
dioxide (CO2) reductions targets.
The agreement,
part of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) designed
to reduce output of greenhouse gases, will allow the
Netherlands to buy up to 20 million tonnes of carbon
dioxide saved through the construction of cleaner power
sources in Panama, the ministry said.
The CDM was
designed to encourage companies to invest in environmentally-friendly
energy projects in developing states by allowing industrial
nations to buy credits toward pollution reduction targets
laid out in the Kyoto pact.
That pact is an attempt to limit industrialised states' greenhouse gases emissions, which are expected to contribute to warming temperatures, rising sea levels and dramatic shifts in weather patterns in the coming decades.
Companies that invest in environmentally-friendly energy producing technologies in Panama would be eligible to sell carbon credits to the Netherlands, which is not expected to be able to meet its target through domestic action alone.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, the Netherlands must reduce its CO2 output by six percent or 50 megatonnes from 1990 levels by 2012.
Detailed rules for the Kyoto pact were agreed last month in Marrakesh, but the pact will not become legally binding until ratified by 55 countries representing 55 percent of the carbon dioxide output in 1990.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
JAPANESE
POWER COMPANY BEGINS DISMANTLING COUNTRY'S OLDEST NUCLEAR
REACTOR
5th December 2001
A Japanese
power company on Tuesday sealed a 35-year-old
nuclear
reactor, a first step in dismantling the country's
oldest commercial power-generating nuclear plant. Japan
Atomic
Power Co., which took the Tokaimura plant
off line in 1998,
won't begin taking apart the reactor
for another 10 years
because extremely high levels
of radiation remain inside,
said spokesman Eichi
Miyatani. It will completely dismantle
the plant
by 2017 and spend an estimated 92.7 billion yen
(US$748 million), Miyatani said.
Source: Associated Press
http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/12/12052001/ap_45784.asp
EARTH'S
ECOSYSTEMS SLOWED GREENHOUSE GAS BUILDUP IN 1990S,
CLIMATE CHANGES COULD SPEED IT UP AGAIN
Science
Daily
11/22/2001
Internet:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/11/011120050810.htm
BOULDER
-- The earth's land-based ecosystems absorbed all of
the
carbon released by deforestation plus another
1.4 billion tons
emitted by fossil fuel burning
during the 1990s, but we can't rely
on this convenient
uptake to head off global warming in the
future,
according to a new study published this week in the
journal Nature. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary
greenhouse gas
entering the atmosphere from human
activities.
"We could easily see this robust
transfer of carbon out of the
atmosphere and into
land-based ecosystems that occurred in the
1990s
slow down in the future," says the paper's lead
author,
David Schimel, of the National Center for
Atmospheric Research
(NCAR). Fossil-fuel burning,
cement manufacture, and deforestation
gave off
about 7 billion tons of carbon per year during the 1980s
and 8 billion tons annually during the 1990s, about
half of it
ending up in the earth's atmosphere,
according to the study. In
the 1980s the amount
of carbon released to the atmosphere from
deforestation
about equaled that taken up by land ecosystems into
various "sinks." During the 1990s the
balance tipped, and 1.4
billion tons more carbon
ended up in the land-based biosphere than
in the
atmosphere, despite continuing deforestation.
Land-use
changes in the Northern Hemisphere have been partly
responsible for carbon uptake during the 1990s.
In the United
States, trees and other growth expanded
on abandoned agricultural
land, while a reduction
in fires allowed forests to spread.
Enhanced plant
growth spurred by increasing carbon dioxide and
nitrogen deposits -- a process more noticeable in Europe
and Asia
-- also helped clear the air of CO2 buildup.
"Forests can only replace farms for so long,"
explains Schimel.
"Eventually new trees and
grasses reach maturity and soak up less
carbon
dioxide. Similarly, there's a limit to how much forests
can
fill in and spread, even with successful fire
suppression." The
boost in CO2 and nitrogen
fertilization will peak as well, though
at high
levels. Over time the effects of climate change on
ecosystems will probably reduce sinks globally, write
the authors.
Meanwhile, carbon dioxide emissions
are expected to continue to
rise because of human
activities.
An unusually large uptake of atmospheric
carbon in the early 1990s
was due to the climate's
natural variability, researchers suspect.
Globally
there appears to be a net release of carbon into the
atmosphere during warm, dry years and a net uptake
during cooler
years. Recently, evidence has grown
linking changing levels of
atmospheric CO2 to the
El Niño/Southern Oscillation and its
widespread
impacts.
For the tropics, scientists expected
computer models to show a
large increase in atmospheric
carbon dioxide released by
deforestation during
recent decades. In fact, no such increase
emerged,
indicating a potentially large sink in the low latitudes.
Local-scale studies show carbon absorption by a
range of mature
tropical forest types, but the
authors warn that such processes
may not be true
of the entire region, since tropical ecosystems
vary widely. The lack of data, both atmospheric and
ecological,
combined with a complex meteorology,
make estimates of tropical
fluxes highly uncertain,
they caution.
Previous attempts to evaluate carbon
uptake in North America
compared to that occurring
in Europe and Asia have been
controversial. In
this paper, the authors conclude that the 1990s
sink was roughly split between Eurasia and North America,
with
Eurasia slightly leading. Because they used
only atmospheric data
in their analyses, the authors
caution that the resulting
distribution pattern
is highly uncertain. Even so, it appears
consistent
with independent analyses of satellite vegetation data.
The uptake patterns across the continents also
make sense
physically: they appear to be driven
by broad climate patterns
interacting with historic
human management of ecosystems.
Carbon accumulates
at higher rates in intensively managed
ecosystems
and those recovering from disturbance, the researchers
note. For example, Chinese inventory studies of
continental plant
growth show a major carbon sink
resulting from extensive programs
in foresting
and reforesting. Schimel's portion of this research
was funded by NASA and by the National Science
Foundation, NCAR's
primary sponsor. Editor's Note:
The original news release can be
found at
http://www.ucar.edu/communications/newsreleases/2001/carbon.html
OCTOBER 2001 WAS
WARMEST ON RECORD FOR WORLD
CNN
November 22,
2001
Internet:
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/science/11/22/warmest.october/index.html
ASHEVILLE,
North Carolina (CNN) -- October 2001 was the warmest
October on record globally, according to the National
Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Scientists at NOAA's National
Climatic Data Center
in Asheville calculated last month's climate
conditions
using the world's largest weather database. The
globally averaged October temperature was 58.2 degrees
Fahrenheit (14.6 degrees Celsius),
a full degree
above the long-term mean for 1880 through 2000.
October global temperatures have been above average
in 23 of the
past 25 years.
Global year-round
temperatures are going up as well. So far this
year, the Earth's temperature is 0.9 degrees F above
average,
which makes 2001 the second warmest January-October
on record.
Over the past 100 years, global temperatures
have risen by 1.0
degree F, with the rise more
rapid over the past 25 years. In the
United States,
temperatures for October 2001 ranked 38th highest
since 1895, with above average temperatures in the Northeast
and
Southwest, but lower than average temperatures
across the South
and Alaska.
RENEWABLE
ENERGY TARGETS TO DOUBLE
Guardian-UK
December
4, 2001
Internet:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,3605,611630,00.html
Ministers
are planning to deliver a blow to the nuclear industry's
hopes of a major revival by setting a costly target
doubling the
proportion of electricity to be generated
by renewable sources.
The government already has
a target of increasing generation from
renewable
energy sources to 10% by 2010. It is planning that a
fifth of all electricity be generated by renewable
energy sources
by 2020. Patricia Hewitt, the industry
secretary, will today
signal the government's commitment
to a low carbon economy and
renewable energy by
saying that by 2010 up to 10% of all new cars
should
be powered by hydrogen and fuel cells.
The proposed
new target of 20% renewable energy generation would
make Britain one of the most environmentally friendly
producers of
energy in Europe, but might raise
big issues about the siting of
aesthetically unpopular
wind farms on mainland Britain, as well as
offshore.
Ms Hewitt, in a speech to the thinktank the Institute
of
Public Policy Research, is expected to argue
that big progress can
be made with renewable energy,
greater energy resource
productivity and new technology
such as low carbon cars. There had
been suggestions
that the government's current energy review would
propose a massive expansion of nuclear power, with as
many as 10
to 15 new stations commissioned.
But
the review, led by the Cabinet Office performance and
innovation unit and due to be published in the
next few weeks, is
expected to be more equivocal
about requests for tax breaks for
nuclear energy.
Pro-nuclear lobbyists have been arguing that
Britain's
projected imminent reliance on gas imports requires
a
switch to nuclear production to ensure long term
energy security
in the UK, as well as to meet ambitious
targets to cut carbon
emissions.
However,
Ms Hewitt is likely to argue that the energy equation
is
far more complex than a simple switch to nuclear
energy. The
energy review will also conclude that
renewable energy schemes
must be made more acceptable
to local communities, and highlight a
need to ease
the planning process. Under the latest planning
rounds only 40% of requests for planning permission
for large wind
farms (above 1mw) have been granted.
This is twice the normal
rejection rate for other
planning requests.
George Hardie, president of
Zilkha Renewables, a US based firm
trying to create
35mw of wind farm energy in the UK, said the
planning
system was hampering the growth of wind farms. He said:
"We spend most of our time trying to win local
planning
permission. Beauty may be in the eye of
the beholder, but I think
wind turbines are beautiful
and very elegant. Yes, they are big,
they have
to have big poles, and they cannot be hidden.
"In
Denmark they are having an intelligent conversation.
They have
reached 15% to 20% of electricity from
wind generation, but in
Britain they have reached
about one-tenth of 1%, and the planning
people
are crying foul. Yet most people when surveyed say they
like wind farms." Government research shows
that the public favour
renewable energy, including
wind energy, but not in their rural
area.
Natural
power
· Renewable energy does not consume
the Earth's finite resources
but instead uses sources
that will not run out: wind, solar, water
(hydro
and waves), and biomass (wood, crops, and waste).
· Renewables supply 14% of the world's energy,
fossil fuel 80%,
and nuclear power 6%.
·
Renewable energy generates 2.6% of the UK's electricity.
Of the
2.6%, only a 10th is wind energy; nevertheless,
the UK has 40% of
Europe's onshore wind resources.
· Worldwide, there are more than 50,000
turbines.
· The UK has 64 wind farms (ranging
from a single machine upwards
) and a total of
878 turbines, including two offshore.
·
Turbines usually have three blades 40m in diameter,
turning at
30 revs per minute; the turbine shaft
drives
NEW ERA
AS CASPIAN PIPELINE OPENS
CNN
November 27, 2001
Internet:
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/11/27/pipeline.caspian/index.html
MOSCOW,
Russia -- A new pipeline which will pump around 600,000
barrels of oil to the west from Central Asia each
day was
officially opened on Tuesday. The $2.6
billion Caspian Pipeline
Consortium (CPC) project
runs from the Tengiz oilfield in western
Kazakhstan
to Russia. U.S. companies have invested around $700
million in the pipeline, and U.S. Energy Secretary
Spencer Abraham
has travelled to Russia for the
official opening in the southern
region of Novorossiisk
-- though he was unable to take part in the
opening
ceremony due to bad weather.
The CPC was established
in 1992 by Russia, the Republic of
Kazakhstan and
the Sultanate of Oman to run a 1,580 kilometre
crude oil pipeline to a Black Sea terminal near Novorossiisk.
The
pipeline has an initial capacity of around
600,000 barrels per day
and has a projected life
of 40 years. Construction began in 1999
and full
completion is expected early next year. The project
promises estimates of around $20 billion in tax
revenues for
Russia and $8.2 billion for Kazakhstan.
Abraham told CNN the project was significant
in that underlined a
U.S. energy policy aimed at
investing in more projects around the
world. He
said Russia was an important trade partner in terms
of
energy, adding: "One of the reasons I am
here in Russia at this
time is to strengthen the
relationships betwen our energy
ministries as well
as to try to expand the opportunities for
investiment."
David O'Reilly, chairman and CEO of Chevron/Texaco,
which has a 15 percent interest in the project,
said it was "world
class." He told CNN:
"The first capacity of this pipeline is about
600,000 barrels a day.
"It will take a number
of years to ramp up production from the
area to
fill that capacity, but ultimately this pipeline will
be
closer to 1.4 million barrels a day, maybe a
decade from now or
fifteen years from now. "This
pipeline is magnificent. It's world-
class, state-of-the-art
technology, environmentally sound and
connecting
a world-class field to the marketplace. "It's one
of
the first major investments in the former Soviet
Union by Western
companies, led by Chevron/Texaco.
"It's a tremendous example of what can be
accomplished in this
part of the world and I think
it's a sign that the former Soviet
Union is now
developing as part of the world economy and should be
treated as such." Analyst Stephen O'Sullivan
of the United
Financial Group told CNN the opening
of the project was a highly
significant development.
He said: "It's the first major field out
of
Central Asia, it's a dedicated pipeline that will allow
them to
increase production quite substantially.
"It's taken a very long time to get on stream.
It's cost a very
large amount of money but it's
finally on stream. All the
difficulties: political,
economic, oil price, security, strategic,
have
all been overcome, and finally oil is leaving the port
of
Novorossiisk." He said non-Middle East
oil was likely to become
more attractive to global
oil consumers, particularly major
consumers such
as the U.S. He said: "An oil region like the
Caspian, that can deliver oil to the Black Sea at Novorossiisk,
the Georgian port of Supsa, or to the Mediterranean,
potentially
with a second line from Azerbaijan
... is an interesting and
potentially attractive
alternative because it doesn't suffer from
the
problems of the Middle East.
"It is the
most cost-effective route to take oil from Tengiz to
Western markets, to deliver it to a port at Novorossiisk.
"There
are potentially other alternatives,
they are more expensive, they
do involve going
through other third party countries." He said
Russian involvement in the project was crucial, but
he adds that
the pipeline is not likely to rival
the Middle East in terms of
oil production. "I
heard an interesting comment that if you
thought
the Caspian was going to be the new Middle East, then
you
should buy a smaller car," he said.
"It's
not a new Middle East. Probably, it could be a whole
new
Kuwait. So it's potentially a medium-sized
Middle Eastern country,
but it's not going to be
an entire Middle Eastern region. "It will
not displace the Middle East as a major oil source for
the world.
It will provide an alternative supply
source in this part of the
world for consumers."
The ceremony to inaugurate the dlrs 2.65
billion
pipeline, the largest foreign investment in Russia to
date, came amid a slump in world oil prices and
demands by the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries that producers cut
back.
Russia,
the world's second largest petroleum producer, announced
last week that it would cut production by just
50,0000 barrels a
day this year -- less than one
percent. OPEC had asked Russia to
join other nonmember
nations such as Mexico and Norway in making
larger
cuts to help shore up prices, which have plummeted nearly
30 percent over the past two months.
See
also-
ENN: http://www.enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/11/11282001/ap_45688.asp
BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1682000/1682116.stm
UNEP
FIGURES CONFIRM 2010 KYOTO TARGETS WILL NOT BE MET
Edie
23/11/2001
Internet:
http://www.edie.net/news/Archive/4924.cfm
Fears
that greenhouse gas emissions will be well above the
2010
Kyoto targets have been confirmed by the latest
global emissions
report from the UN Environment
Programme, UNEP.
Carbon dioxide emissions are
rising
Despite a small reduction in emissions since
1990 from the
countries that are party to the Kyoto
Protocol, the trend is
upwards in the foreseeable
future, predicts UNEP. Reductions in
emissions
from 1990-1995 are now believed to be due largely to
economic collapse in several of the eastern European
countries.
Svein Tveitdal, managing director
at GRID-Arendal, a UNEP
information centre in Norway,
told edie, "Our data shows that 21
out of
35 countries will not reach their targets without further
measures - some of which will need to be radical.
It is extremely
important that we get a reduction
in the Annex 1 outputs, and do
not just rely on
the use the flexible mechanisms in the protocol
to solve the problems. Overall, Annex 1 countries, would
need to
reduce their CO2 emissions by 13.7% to
fulfil Kyoto commitments.
To stabilise CO2 levels
in the atmosphere at 550 ppmv, the
Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, recommends a
global
reduction of more than 50%."
However he
emphasised that this shouldn't diminish the importance
of the agreement reached in Marrakech, last week,
even if the
impact of the agreed reductions on
reducing temperature rises is
minimal. "This
means that every country can ratify the Kyoto
protocol
and start reducing the emissions as agreed," he
said,
adding that a tough compliance system will
be in place. It also
presents new opportunities
for industry in renewable or pollution-
free technology,
he explained.
Norway is one of the countries
facing major challenges to meet its
Kyoto target.
Norway's new Minister of Environment, Boerge Brende
said in Marrakech that a significant part of Norwegian
reductions
should be made internally, such as the
new government's investment
plan for developing
gas-fired power plants, with zero CO2
emissions.
The latest UNEP figures, based on annual emissions
reports from Annex 1 countries and the IEA's 2000 Energy
Outlook,
are now accessible via UNEP's new Climate
Change Portal. UNEP says
the new portal is now
the principal gateway to the most up-to-date
information
on climate change, including graphical presentation
of
emissions by country, and, the latest IPPC assessments.