The Climate Change Lobby
While President Obama's team readies to take on the global warming challenge, the special interests that seek to derail, blunt, or tailor any new climate policy to their narrow agendas have already gathered in staggering numbers. A Center for Public Integrity analysis shows that more than 770 companies and interest groups hired an estimated 2,340 lobbyists to influence federal policy on climate change in the past year, as the issue gathered momentum and came to a vote on Capitol Hill. That's an increase of more than 300 percent in the number of lobbyists on climate change in just five years, and means that Washington can now boast more than four climate lobbyists for every member of Congress.
Although some see the proliferation of voices engaged on the issue as a positive, the lobbying onslaught has caused growing alarm among some advocates of climate action.
In his address to a joint session of Congress, President Barack Obama pledged nothing less than a transformation in the way America uses energy in order to “save our planet from the ravages of climate change” and reinvigorate a troubled economy.
But what challenges will he and Congress face as they prepare to debate climate and energy policy in the months ahead? The Center for Public Integrity brings you the answers in The Climate Change Lobby, a newly-released investigative series on the explosion of companies and special interests groups registered to lobby on climate change.
Wind Power the Clear Winner in Review of Alternative Energy Sources
A new study ranks alternative energy sources in terms of their overall impact on the environment and human health. The report offers guidance for policy makers making decisions on which emerging technologies to support.
Substantial investment in development of alternative energy sources is needed in order to meet greenhouse gas emissions targets. But policymakers must make tough choices when deciding which energy sources and emerging technologies to support. The study, Review of solutions to global warming, air pollution, and energy security, assesses energy technologies not only for their ability to deliver energy, but also for overall performance in eleven different weighted categories, the most heavily weighted categories being CO2 emissions, mortality, resource abundance, footprint (land area required) and water consumption.
Wind power emerges as a clear winner in the study, with other renewable technologies, including solar, geothermal and tidal power finishing ahead of nuclear power and coal combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS). Ethanol-based biofuels fared poorly.
In addition to solutions designed to meet general energy needs, the study also considers twelve different combinations of energy sources and vehicles to meet transport needs. Vehicle types considered are: battery-electric, hydrogen fuel cell and flex-fuel (able to run on a blend of petrol and ethanol). According to the results, wind, whether being used to power battery-electric or hydrogen fuel cell cars, offers the best all round solution. In theory, all road vehicles in the US could be powered by less than 100,000 5 million watt (MW) wind turbines, resulting in dramatic reductions of up to a third in carbon emissions, as well as vehicle related air pollution deaths.
Wind power is an 'intermittent' energy source and therefore the study also recommends combining a variety of other energy sources, such as solar and wave power, to ensure that supply meets hour-by-hour demand. In addition, well-informed grid planning and highly interconnected transmission systems could help avoid disruptions. Implementing the necessary changes will require cooperation at multiple levels of government.
Nuclear power performed badly in the study, ranking alongside coal combined with CCS in all the heavily weighted categories. But biofuels performed even worse - ethanol has a large land footprint and therefore reduces the land available for food crops, thus increasing mortality due to soaring food prices.
Energy and vehicle options, from best to worst, according to study's calculations:
Best to worst electric power sources:
1. wind power
2. concentrated solar power (CSP)
3. geothermal power
4. tidal power
5. solar photovoltaics (PV)
6. wave power
7. hydroelectric power
8. a tie between nuclear power and coal with CCS
Best to worst vehicle options:
1. wind-BEVs (battery electric vehicles)
2. wind-HFCVs (hydrogen fuel cell vehicles)
3. CSP-BEVs
4. geothermal-BEVs
5. tidal-BEVs
6. solar PV-BEVs
7. wave-BEVs
8. hydroelectric-BEVs
9. a tie between nuclear-BEVs and coal-CCS-BEVs
10. coal-CCS-BEVs (tied with nuclear-BEVs)
11. corn-E85 (ethanol)
12. cellulosic-E85 (ethanol)
New renewables to power 40 per cent of global electricity demand by 2050
With adequate financial and political support, renewable energy technologies like wind and photovoltaics could supply 40 percent of the world's electricity by 2050, according to findings from the International Scientific Congress "Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges & Decisions." However, if such technologies are marginalized, its share is likely to hover below 15 percent.
This research was presented at a press conference by Peter Lund of the Helsinki University of Technology's Advanced Energy Systems in Espoo, Finland, ahead of the scheduled congress session titled, "Renewable Energies: How Far Can They Take Us?"
"Our findings demonstrate that with global political support and financial investment, previous notions that the potential for renewables was in some way limited to a negligible fraction of world demand were wrong," said Lund. "If we prioritize and recognize the value of renewable energy technologies, their potential to supply us with the energy we need is tremendous."
Previous projections put renewables' share at only 12 percent by 2030. Other research within the same congress session further supports the viability of renewables, examining closely the limitations and potential of wind, biomass and biofuels.
According to Erik Lundtang Petersen of Risoe DTU's Wind Energy Department in Roskilde, Denmark, in order for the wind sector to deliver its full potential, it must focus on efficiently delivering, installing and connecting large amounts of wind power to the grid, with strong concern for reliability, availability and accessibility of the turbines.
"We have identified specific areas of priority for the wind sector to effectively deliver the overall objective of cost reductions," said Petersen. "Research areas including turbine technology, wind energy integration and offshore deployment will be crucial to maximizing future growth."
Within biofuels and biomass, research conducted by Jeanette Whitaker of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Lancaster, UK found that second generation biofuels, such as ethanol from woody crops/straw, had substantially lower energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions than first generation biofuels, such as ethanol made from foodstuffs, for example wheat and sugar beet.
"These findings are important and relevant, as the current biofuel debate has centered on the issue of the competing need for crops to be used for food versus fuel," said Whitaker.
Stockholm and Hamburg awarded European Green Capital Award
Stockholm and Hamburg have been crowned the first Green Capital Cities of Europe as part of an award by the European Commission. Stockholm will hold the title for 2010 and will then pass it on to Hamburg for 2011. European Environment Commissioner, Stavros Dimas made the announcement at the first European Green Capital Awards Ceremony on 23 February in Brussels.
Eight cities were shortlisted: Amsterdam, Bristol, Copenhagen, Freiburg im Breisgau, Hamburg, Münster, Oslo and Stockholm. These cities have all a long standing, international recognised, environmental track record.
The evaluation panel was made up of a group of internationally recognized experts in the environmental field, while the jury, which finally selected the winners, included representatives the European Commission, the European Environment Agency, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E), the Union of Capitals of the European Union and the Committee of the Regions.
Stockholm impressed the evaluation panel with its holistic vision, which combines growth with sustainable development. Its plans for the future include becoming fossil free by 2050 and the city has put strong green programmes and measures in place across the board. The city has a long tradition of fighting climate change. In 2006, it hosted the conference “A Future with Zero CO2 Emissions”, calling for all committed communities to join forces and commit themselves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at a local level. The Swedish capital has also introduced a pioneering Congestion Charging system resulting in reduced car use and reduced emissions.
The city of Hamburg was commended for its many comprehensive approaches, policy commitment and for having a strong green vision. The city has set ambitious climate protection goals and has put the infrastructure in place to carry them out. It also contributes to its inhabitant’s quality of life by having an excellent transport system with almost 100 percent of citizens within 300 meters of high class public transport.
The European Green Capital Award, a European Commission initiative, was conceived to promote and reward these efforts, to spur cities to commit to further action, and to showcase and encourage exchange of best practice among European cities.
Transpose
The consumption of electricity is continuously increasing in German households. This development has consequences for the environment and supply guarantee. Research findings have shown that there is much potential for saving electricity in households. Yet, why are these possibilities so rarely considered seriously? Are the consumers acting irrationally? Do they not care about the climate? Aren't they aware of electricity saving potentialities?
The TRANPOSE research project assumes that there are a number of barriers, complicating the way in which rationally acting consumers can economically and efficiently deal with electricity. So far, these barriers have only inadequately been discussed and examined. However, there are many useful options available to the consumer, in order to benefit from efficiency potentialities — i.e. informative electricity bills, internet-based tools adverting to the most energy efficient appliances or neighborhood initiatives for saving electricity. Also, on the consumer environment level (electricity suppliers, appliance manufacturers, retail, etc.), policy instruments, such as White Certificate Trading, adjusting performance standards to the so-called “top runners“ or manufacturer-consumer dialogues, can help develop a promising framework for electricity saving behavior. Still, which of these options is the most effective? One common approach is to search for “good practices“ in other countries. By doing so, a lower electricity consumption often leads to the adoption of instruments, too hastily, just as the premature idea of simply assigning these instruments to different national contexts.
TRANSPOSE questions both of these assumptions. When evaluating electricity consumption, other relevant aspects such as economic growth and the size of households should be considered. Whether a specific political decision has an actual effect on the electricity consumption, or not, has to be evaluated, empirically.
The same empirical requirements apply to the transfer conditions to Germany: Approaches, which turn out to be successful in Japan or Australia, are perhaps only successful due to country-specific characteristics — which can range from cultural aspects, over the structure of the energy markets, to particular administrational structures. Before continuing, it should be evaluated whether the same policy would be as successful in Germany. Based on these findings, certain adjustments may have to be made when trying to transfer the successful policies to Germany.
From the empirical results in these sectors TRANSPOSE develops political strategies to facilitate sustainable consumption in Germany. In doing so, the purchase of products as well as their usage shall be considered. After all, the ambition of TRANSPOSE is to initiate a political process together with the stakeholders, which increases the probability of implementing the recommended strategies (transfer catalysis).
From identifying the most relevant potential savings to the final transfer catalysis, the project partners of TRANSPOSE act upon four steps:
- framework analysis: identifying electricity saving potentials, working out a portfolio of policy instruments, locating price elasticity deduction and identification of effective policy instruments;
- developing an integrated psycho-sociological action model conducting a quantitative policy-analysis by means of country comparison;
- micro funding: conducting qualitative case studies for reconstructing the effects of policy instruments;
- transfer conditions and policy import: Bringing policy innovations into German Politics
Choosing the Best Eco-Design Technique
Eco-design is an approach to product design which takes special consideration of the environmental impacts of the product. It is increasingly viewed as an important approach to sustainable and improved product development. A recent study, Adopting and applying eco-design techniques: a practitioners perspective, explores the adoption of eco-design techniques for a new product in a specific company. It identifies three key eco-design techniques and provides manufacturers with guidelines on how to choose the best eco-design approach for them.
The small-scale study took place in a light manufacturing company in the UK which had expressed an interest in eco-design. The researchers developed a short-list of eco-design tools which included checklists, guidelines, environmental effect analyses and Material Energy and Toxicity (MET) matrices. A MET matrix evaluates the environmental impacts of a product in terms of its materials, energy use and toxicity over its life-cycle.
A focus group within the company identified the top three tools in terms of their merits and their compatibility with the company. A product was chosen on which to test these tools, a chemical detector, and the tools were then 'translated' into the common language of the company and applied to the product development process.
The top three eco-design tools as ranked by the focus group were checklists, guidelines and Material, Energy and Toxicity (MET) matrices. Checklists were generated for most stages of the new product development process. Examples of items on the lists included avoidance of hazardous substances and design for minimum energy use. The company reported that these were useful and a good first tool for the adoption of eco-design.
A number of existing guidelines were also applied which again proved useful, but it was reported that their adoption did require some caution. For example, design for disassembly guidelines were less suitable for this company because it focused on producing products with a long life. This meant that there was little short term need for the products to be disassembled and the environmental impact of disassembly was not considered an immediate priority. MET matrices proved successful in identifying the environmental impact at each stage of a product's lifecycle, but it was thought they could be enhanced by including eco-indicators to provide detailed and quantified environmental impacts.
The study demonstrates a simple approach, called 'the applicability framework', for assessing the suitability of eco-design methods. This consists of investigating available tools, analysing their compatibility, adapting the most promising ones and testing them through use on a sample product. Although the study demonstrated that checklists, guidelines and MET matrices were the most appropriate eco-design techniques for this product, the authors stress that there is no universal 'one-size-fits-all' solution, and suggest that the applicability framework could help companies identify suitable eco-design tools for their own use in the future.
EESC calls for SCP Policy Package Tailored to Economic Crisis
During its plenary session on 25-26 February 2009, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted three key opinions on sustainable consumption and production (SCP). It welcomed measures introduced by the Commission’s SCP Action Plan, including a European Eco-label and the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). If implemented properly, the Action Plan could help to revitalise the economy by enhancing efficiency and business competitiveness, whilst promoting sustainable production and consumption.
The Committee adopted a key opinion prepared by rapporteur José María Espuny Moyano (Group I, Employers, Spain) welcoming the sustainability package presented by the European Commission. The 'Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan' includes a range of new proposals, such as extended energy and environmental labelling, as well as the 'greening' of public procurement practices. However the EESC calls attention to the vulnerability of business and especially SMEs at a time of economic and financial crisis and to the imperative need to implement the Action Plan in a way that will promote not only sustainability, but also economic recovery.
While stressing the overall importance of the measures, the Committee was disappointed by the plan's lack of clarity, in both content and scope of application. In particular, it was concerned that a proposed measure called the "Retail Forum" might compromise the interests of small suppliers to the advantage of large retail business. The EESC therefore called on the Commission to involve all economic and industrial sectors concerned.
The Committee also requested that all sustainability requirements imposed on European stakeholders under the plan should also apply to imported products, to prevent the emergence of a system that is discriminatory and damaging to European producers in their own internal market.
Drawn-up by rapporteur Sylvia Gauci (Group I, Employers, Malta) the EESC opinion on the revision of the eco-labelling scheme for products maintained that the scheme "must remain a voluntary instrument", to allow the standards required for the label to remain high in terms of environmental performance. The Committee approved measures such as harmonising with other eco-labelling schemes and simplifying the criteria and procedures involved, while stressing that foodstuffs should only be granted eco-labels if the whole life-cycle of the product is taken into account.
In a third opinion on the Commission's proposal to revise the EU's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) prepared by rapporteur Antonello Pezzini (Group I, Employers, Italy), the EESC expressed its concern that the legislation remained too complex and failed to achieved the stated goal of raising awareness of EMAS and making it more attractive to private and public organisations. The EESC itself is setting up an environmental management system according to the EMAS regulation, reviewing for example its own use of resources like energy or paper.
Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air
David J.C. MacKay, author of Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air:
"I’m concerned about cutting UK emissions of twaddle – twaddle about sustainable energy. Everyone says getting off fossil fuels is important, and we’re all encouraged to “make a difference,” but many of the things that allegedly make a difference don’t add up.
Twaddle emissions are high at the moment because people get emotional (for example about wind farms or nuclear power) and no-one talks about numbers. Or if they do mention numbers, they select them to sound big, to make an impression, and to score points in arguments, rather than to aid thoughtful discussion.
This is a straight-talking book about the numbers. The aim is to guide the reader around the claptrap to actions that really make a difference and to policies that add up.
This is a free book
I didn’t write this book to make money. I wrote it because sustainable energy is important. ...
This is a free book in a second sense: you are free to use all the material in this book, except for the cartoons and the photos with a named photographer, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share-Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales Licence. (The cartoons and photos are excepted because the authors have generally given me permission only to include their work, not to share it under a Creative Commons license.) You are especially welcome to use my materials for educational purposes."
Simple and Painless?
The comfortable perception that global environmental challenges can be met through marginal lifestyle changes no longer bears scrutiny. The cumulative impact of large numbers of individuals making marginal improvements in their environmental impact will be a marginal collective improvement in environmental impact. Yet we live at a time when we need urgent and ambitious changes.
Simple and Painless? The Limitations of Spillover in Environmental Campaigning examines whether or not a reliance on ‘spillover’ is a defensible strategy for environmental communicators and campaigners to adopt. This report deepens and extends the analysis started in 'Weathercocks and Signposts' on the effectiveness of 'spillover' and 'foot-in-the-door' approaches to motivating change. It is written jointly by Tom Crompton, Change Strategist at WWF-UK, and John Thøgersen, who is expert in spillover as applied to pro-environmental behaviour change.
Waste Without Borders in the EU?
A new report by the European Environmental Agency (EEA), Waste without borders in the EU examines the increase in cross-border waste shipments and the drivers behind them. It also reveals that the number of reported illegal shipments of waste is increasing. But while the European Union can do better in tracking electronic waste as well as other hazardous and problematic "waste streams", almost all waste generated in the EU that needs to be disposed is in fact disposed within EU borders.
The new EEA report was published in the week that European Ministers for the Environment discussed plans to support waste management and recycling industries. These make a significant contribution to the EU economy and provide an estimated 1.5 million jobs –mostly in small and medium-sized enterprises. The current economic downturn has slowed down demand for recycled materials resulting in a global surplus of waste collected for recycling. At the same time, the increased cross-border waste shipments show that during the last years, a European and global recycling market has developed.
The more we know about the legal shipment of waste, the better we will understand illegal practices and the functioning of the waste management and recycling industries in Europe.
Treaty to Control Global Mercury Pollution Underway
Defying expectations, world environmental ministers at the 25th UNEP Governing Council meeting agreed to begin negotiating a treaty to control global mercury pollution. The decision represents the consensus of the more than 140 countries gathered in Nairobi.
"This consensus is a huge breakthrough," said Elena Lymberidi–Settimo of the European Environmental Bureau and the Zero Mercury Working Group. "The treaty will ensure that the EU and other countries of the world make a serious commitment to reduce global mercury emissions, supply and demand."
The treaty will include actions to reduce mercury supply, its use in products and processes, and atmospheric mercury emissions, which will ultimately reduce human exposure to mercury globally. The preparations for negotiations on the global treaty will start later this year, with discussions beginning in earnest in 2010 with a view to wrapping up by 2013. Developing a treaty is a critical first step towards solving the global mercury crisis.
The agreement was made possible by a dramatic shift in the U.S. position by the Obama administration, which now supports the creation of a legally binding agreement. The Bush administration had stubbornly opposed any legally binding measures.
Civil society groups are optimistic that the global community is now well on its way towards establishing a treaty to control mercury pollution and effectively safeguard the fish we eat from this poison. A recent study released by the Zero Mercury Working Group, Mercury in Fish, a Global Health Hazard, highlighted the dangers from eating mercury-laden fish, now much more widespread than previously thought.
Mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin that makes its way up the food chain into humans, and puts developing foetuses and young children at risk.
Progress in Disarmament to Free Up Resources for Development
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has encouraged nations to break the deadlock that has hindered global disarmament talks in recent years, stressing that making progress in this area will free up vitally important resources for development at a time when the world is facing a financial crunch.
“The international community must advance beyond the stalemate that continues to hinder our work for disarmament and nuclear proliferation,” Mr. Ban said in remarks to the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, which was meeting in New York.
Recent years have witnessed an impasse in the Conference on Disarmament, the world’s only multilateral disarmament negotiating forum, which has not been able to agree on a programme of work for 10 years. The international community must advance beyond the stalemate that continues to hinder our work for disarmament and nuclear proliferation.
The failure of the 2005 review conference of Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the need for new impetus for the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty have also been cited as setbacks by Mr. Ban in the past.
He told the Advisory Board that the global financial crisis is only the latest reminder of the high opportunity costs associated with massive investments in weaponry.
“At a time of fiscal cutbacks and constraints, global military expenditures run to about $1.3 trillion each year,” he stated, adding that a fraction of that amount could help guide the international community out of the food crisis and tackle climate change.
“While disarmament and non-proliferation are urgent goals in their own right, they are also linked inextricably to development, human rights and peace. By achieving progress in disarmament, we free up vast resources to meet other challenges,” the Secretary-General stressed.
