Oct 2nd 2010
China
China hopes 'eco-city' will prove a model
alternative
Tianjin, China (AFP) Oct 2, 2010
For now, the ambitious "eco-city" covering 30
square kilometres (11.6 square miles) of nonarable salt pans and former fishing villages has
more cranes than wind turbines and will not be
finished for at least another decade.
But its developers hope the settlement near the
port city of Tianjin will serve as an ultraefficient alternative to ill-planned and heavily
polluting mega-cities not only elsewhere in the
country, but around the world.
The governments of China and Singapore have combined their expertise and finances to
develop the future city, which has a planned population of 350,000 and includes schools,
medical facilities and business districts.
Foreign companies such as Japan's Hitachi and Dutch electronics giant Philips will provide
green technology for the development, where buildings will be insulated and have doubleglazed windows to increase energy efficiency.
Top leaders in Beijing also hope the project will serve as a model for a long-term solution to
the country's ballooning urban population, which is putting enormous pressure on already
strained water and energy resources.
But it is a long way from the miniaturised model on display in the exhibition hall, which
shows hundreds of high-rise buildings surrounded by 1,500 hectares of parks and wetlands,
broken up by crystal-clear waterways.
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/China_hopes_ecocity_will_prove_a_model_alternative_999.html
EU & US
Oct 3rd 2010
China
China's bear bile industry slowly dying
2010-10-03 20:39:32
CHENGDU, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- In a tranquil patch of woods in Chengdu, southwest China,
107 bears rest after a life of agony and incarceration.
The special cemetery of the Moon Bear Rescue Center, built by Animals Asia Foundation
(AAF) in Sichuan Province, is for bears once farmed for their bile.
Liver cancers and organ failures, a result of years of painful bile extraction, finally claimed
them, said Wang Fan, bear carer with the center.
By the end of 2009, bear farming was still legal in 13 of Chinese mainland's 31 provinces,
municipalities and autonomous regions, and bear-bile products can still be seen across China.
Actually, over 50 herbal and synthetic substitutes have been proved to have the same medical
effect and are much cheaper than bear bile, many practitioners of traditional Chinese
medicine (TCM) have said.
In 2000, government officials signed an agreement with the AAF on cooperation in bile bear
rescues, the first of its kind signed between the Chinese government and international animal
charities.
The Chinese authorities also agreed to issue no new licenses and work towards ending bear
farming in the remaining 13 provinces where such practices are still allowed.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-10/03/c_13541379.htm
EU & US
Oct 4th 2010
China
Stalled UN climate talks to resume in China
Tianjin, China (AFP) Oct 4, 2010
Thousands of environment experts were set to gather in China on Monday in a bid to kick-
start stalled UN talks on climate change, amid warnings that time was running out to broker a
deal.
The six days of talks in the northern port city of Tianjin, due to begin at 10:00 am (0200
GMT), are part of long-running efforts through the United Nations to secure a post-2012
treaty on tackling global warming.
The talks are the first time China has hosted a major international climate change conference
or a UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting.
Little progress has been made since world leaders failed to broker a deal in Copenhagen last
year and the talks are being seen as crucial in rebuilding trust ahead of another UN climate
summit in Cancun, Mexico next month.
The final goal of the process is a treaty aimed at curbing the greenhouse gases that scientists
say cause global warming, which in turn could have catastrophic consequences on the world's
climate system.
The treaty would then potentially be clinched late next year at a UN summit in South Africa,
in time to replace the Kyoto Protocol that expires at the end of 2012.
In Tianjin, the roughly 3,000 delegates from governments, industry groups, non-government
organisations and research institutions are expected to focus on preparing potential deals on
specific issues so they can be signed in Cancun.
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Stalled_UN_climate_talks_to_resume_in_China_999.html
China calls for balanced way to tackle climate
change, ensure development
TIANJIN, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday said developing countries' right to
development must be guaranteed in order to achieve a positive progress in tackling with
climate change problems.
As a developing country which is experiencing rapid growth, China will continue to fulfill its
due responsibilities in reducing greenhouse gases emissions, said Chinese State Councilor
Dai Bingguo.
He suggested the negotiations should stick to the basic framework of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol and the mandate
of the Bali Roadmap and follow the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities."
The developed countries should set the targets to take the lead in reducing greenhouse gas
emissions and arrangements should be made to provide adequate financial and technological
support to developing countries, he said. As a responsible developing country, China will
continue to play an active and constructive role in the climate talks, Dai said.
The Chinese government made clear-cut goals before the Copenhagen climate talks in late
2009, including cutting the intensity of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 by
40 to 45 percent, compared with 2005 levels. China also said it would increase the share of
non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 15 percent and have 40 million
more hectares of forest by 2020.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-10/04/c_13542189.htm
China eyes some agreements despite
divergence at UN climate talks in Mexico
TIANJIN, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- China said on Monday that although nations still have
significant differences over how to respond to global climate change, some agreements are
achievable on financing and technology transfers, giving hope that the year-end summit in
Cancun, Mexico would bring more concrete results if they are not legally-binding.
The Cancun meeting is expected to produce a more balanced and comprehensive result. On
issues of fast and long-term financing, technology transfer mechanisms and forest protection,
agreements are still attainable, Xie Zhenhua, vice minister of the National Development and
Reform Commission, said.
Christiana Figueres, the UN's chief climate change negotiator, said developed nations had
honored their pledge to raise 28 billion U.S. dollars, of the total 30 billion U.S. dollars, for
poorer nations by 2012.
Xie Zhenhua, however, said only a small part of this money is new, while the rest are "oldpledges". Further, the negotiations should proceed in line with the guidance from the Kyoto
Protocol and Bali Road Map, he said.
At the end of 2009, China announced plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP
by 40 to 45 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels. Nationwide, efforts have been made to meet
the target of improving energy efficiency by 20 percent from 2005 to 2010. Also, the
government has been stepping up closures of outdated production capacity, which have been
blamed for pollution and hindering the upgrading of industries.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-10/04/c_13542543.htm
EU & US
As world warms, U.N. lowers emissions cut
goal
David Fogarty
SINGAPORE | Mon Oct 4, 2010 9:14am EDT
(Reuters) - In a strategic shift, the United Nations has stopped urging
nations to commit to tougher pledges to curb carbon emissions, fearing
further debate could derail already fraught talks on a more ambitious
climate pact.
It is better to start with pledges already offered and build from there, officials say, given the
short time left to hammer out a pact that broadens the existing Kyoto Protocol by signing up
all major emitters to fight climate change.
This effort is critical to ensure there is no gap after the end of Kyoto's first phase in 2012, to
assure certainty to investors in the $2.7-billion U.N. carbon market.
"These pledges fall short of expectations but are not likely to change in the short run," senior
U.N. climate official Halldor Thorgeirsson said in a speech late last month. "Continuing to
negotiate ambition delays delivery of action."
The comments recognize that the talks risk stalling over the bitter issue of sharing the
emissions-cutting burden between rich and poor nations and the lack of trust between major
players, such top emitters China and the United States.
One senior climate negotiator called the move damage control.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6932UG20101004
Britain still committed to carbon capture:
minister
Nina Chestney
LONDON | Mon Oct 4, 2010 6:49am EDT
(Reuters) - Britain is still committed to developing carbon capture and
storage (CCS) technology as part of its efforts to reduce carbon emissions,
Britain's energy and climate change minister said on Monday.
CCS may cut the contribution of coal- and gas-fired power plants to global warming by
trapping and burying the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, but it is as yet untested on a
commercial scale.
"With a new coal-powered plant opening in China every week, our ability to develop carbon
capture and storage on a commercial scale makes business sense," said Chris Huhne at a
carbon conference in London.
Those who view CCS as a "sticking plaster solution" to the problem of increasing emissions
are mistaken, he added.
Britain hopes to be able to export the technology to big coal burners like China and India, but
some industry observers say China could develop its own CCS equipment more rapidly and
cheaply.
Last week, the budget for a CCS facility at the Statoil refinery in Mongstad, Norway, was
estimated to have risen to 6 billion crowns from the original 700 million crowns forecast in
2006.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6931VI20101004
UK backs EU plan for controversial
'beyond A' energy labels
Monday 4 October 2010
BusinessGreen: EU proposes to revamp energy label system and boost efficiency with
controversial grades of A+, A++ and A+++
The EU plans to score the efficiency of washing machines with a new 'beyond A' labelling
scheme. Photograph: Getty Images
The UK government has promised to work with businesses to ensure customers understand
new and potentially confusing "beyond A" energy labels for fridges, freezers, dishwashers
and washing machines.
The EU Commission outlined plans last week to reform energy label ratings for so-called
"wet" appliances, with the introduction of three new "beyond A" grades: "A+", "A++" and
"A+++".
Energy labelling for electrical appliances has proved hugely successful since the scheme's
inception in 1992. However the EU is now seeking to raise the bar for the top grades because
improvements in energy efficiency over the past decade mean 90 per cent of appliances sold
in the EU are currently in class "A" – the best existing grade.
Supporters of the changes claim the new labels could have a significant impact on household
energy consumption because appliances covered by the new regulations represent about a
third of a household's annual electricity bill.
The EU energy label that manufacturers want to see introduced
However, critics have warned the "beyond A" labels would confuse customers, and allow
firms to continue to label products that are no longer among the most energy efficient
available as A-rated.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has welcomed the
proposals however, and said it is already in the early stages of working with retailers to
ensure customers understand the new labels when or if they are introduced.
"We feel this label is an improvement from the current label and will help consumers to find
the products which are genuinely efficient by adding additional classes as necessary rather
than the majority of products being classed A," a spokesman from Defra told
businessGreen.com.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/04/uk-eu-a-energy-labels
Oct 5th 2010
China
EU & US
White House goes green with solar panels
Tuesday 5 October 2010
As of spring 2011, Barack Obama and family will be making their morning toast via solar
photovoltaic panels
In this June 20, 1979, file photo President Jimmy Carter, center, is surrounded by reporters
and photographers as he inspected new White House solar hot water heating system located
on the roof of the West Wing of the mansion, over the Cabinet Room. Photograph: Harvey
Georges/AP
Solar panels will be installed on the White House roof a quarter of a century after they were
removed by Ronald Reagan, the Obama administration said today.
A mix of solar thermal and photovoltaic panels will be fitted in spring 2011 to generate hot
water and renewable electricity, said Nancy Sutley, chair of the Council on Environmental
Quality, and energy secretary Steven Chu at a conference on how federal government can
green up.
It will be the first time since 1986 that panels have sat on the White House, since Reagan
removed a solar thermal system installed by Jimmy Carter. In 1979 Carter held a conference
on the rooftop, showing off the 32 solar panels and his desire to reduce America's
dependence on oil.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/05/white-house-green-solar-panels
Government energy usage goes online in
real time
Tuesday 5 October 2010
David Cameron committed central government to a 10% carbon cut, now you can see
whether each department is keeping to that pledge
Photograph: Linda Nylind
It was one of the proudest moments yet for the 10:10 climate campaign to cut carbon
emissions by 10% in 2010. Within days of coming to office, David Cameron committed the
entire central government estate to a 10% reduction in emissions within a year.
As part of that pledge, Cameron said that all departments would be installing live energy
meters, enabling staff and the public alike to easily track their progress.
Five months later, these meters are now in place (not bad going for a public-sector
technology project) and the government's data website has started publishing a league table of
the various departments' progress, allowing everyone to see which are doing best and worst in
their quest to save energy. The league table draws on data from GovSpark, a website that
aggregates the various departmental energy feeds and ranks them according to the month-tomonth increase or decrease.
There were bound to be teething problems however, and for now the website doesn't give
meaningful data at the beginning of a month – ie right now. The problem appears to be the
fact that the system doesn't yet adjust for the ratio of weekdays to weekend days at the
beginning of a month. Because the weekend fell at the start of this month, as I write this
every department appears to have made major savings, which isn't likely to be true. I'll check
back in next week when the numbers should have settled to see how the various departments
are doing.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/05/government-department-energy-use
Oct 6th 2010
China
"Climate Change in China" exhibition held in
Tianjin
Photo taken on Oct. 5, 2010 shows the Tianjin exhibiting area during the UN Climate
Change Conference held in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Oct. 5, 2010. The
development in building a eco-friendly city with new energy in Tianjin was shown in the
area.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90783/91300/7157887.html
China's Global Dominance in Green Jobs
Growing, Report Says
Wed Oct 6, 2010 3:51pm EDT
China is prevailing in the global race for green jobs in sectors from solar panels to advanced
lighting, and appears to be on an unstoppable upward path, an annual report by cleantech
research firm Clean Edge said on Wednesday.
The Chinese government spent $34.6 billion last year to propel its low-carbon economy,
more than any other nation and almost double what the U.S. invested. The country is now
headquarters for six of the biggest renewable energy employers—up from three in 2008—
according to Clean Tech Job Trends 2009.
The report said clean energy is spawning millions of high-paying green jobs worldwide, even
as the global economy continues to sputter.
Total jobs surpassed three million in 2009, recent data from global research group REN 21
finds. China accounted for 700,000 of that amount, due in large part to measures that promote
solar heating.
The authors said the findings should dispel naysayers' claims that green jobs merely displace
employment in other sectors and add no new net jobs.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS218091533820101006
EU & US
Pioneering study examines the role of patents in combating climate change
6 October 2010
Brussels, Six countries – Japan, the United States, Germany, Republic of Korea, France and
the United Kingdom – are the source of almost 80 percent of all innovations developed
worldwide in the field of clean energy technologies (CETs). This is one of the key findings of
a patent-based study, jointly conducted by the European Patent Office (EPO), the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Centre for Trade and
Sustainable Development (ICTSD), on the emergence and distribution of these technologies
across the globe and their impact on climate change.
Some 400,000 patent documents identified from a pool of 60 million patents at the
international level form the basis of the study, “Patents and clean energy: bridging the gap
between evidence and policy” which examines the effect of patents on the worldwide transfer
of CETs, such as solar photovoltaic (PV), geothermal, wind, and carbon capture. The study
also contains the first-ever survey on licensing, which provides insights into the licensing
practices of technology holders in this area.
The main objective of the study is to provide facts in an area where there has previously been
very little empirical data.
http://www.ttkn.com/science-environment/pioneering-study-examines-the-role-of-patents-incombating-climate-change-5090.html
Sun's role in warming the planet may be
overestimated, study finds
Wednesday 6 October 2010
The discovery could help explain why Europe can have cold winters while the world as a
whole is heating up
The sun's role in warming the planet may be exactly the opposite to what scientists previously
thought. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA
Researchers have found that the waxing and waning of the sun affects our planet's
temperature in exactly the opposite way scientists had thought. The work suggests,
counterintuitively, that when the sun is at the dimmest point of its 11-year solar cycle, as it
was in December 2009, it warms the Earth most, and vice versa.
"When I first saw the results I thought we had done the calculations wrong," said the
physicist Prof Joanna Haigh, at Imperial College London, who led the research published
today in Nature. While they only have three years of satellite data so far, Haigh said the
discovery could have far-reaching consequences. "If further studies find the same pattern
over a longer period of time, [then] we may have overestimated the sun's role in warming the
planet," she said. The re-think comes from a better understanding of how the mixture of light
emitted by the sun changes as its intensity shifts.
The revelation also helps explain some seemingly strange regional climate phenomena, such
as how Europe can have very cold winters at a time when the world as a whole is warming.
Some climate change sceptics have suggested the changes in the sun's brightness can explain
the global warming seen over the past century. But Haigh said: "It does not give comfort to
climate sceptics at all." If the sun warmed the Earth less when it was at the solar maximum,
then the reverse was also true, she said: "You can't have it one way and not the other."
In addition, she said, the warming influence of rising greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,
emitted by human activities, was at least 10 times greater than changes in the strength of the
sun.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/oct/06/sun-role-warming-planet
UK retailers in talks to join government's
'green deal'
Wednesday, October 6
Tesco, B&Q and M&S among companies that could sell loft insulation and home energy
improvements as part of the coalition's flagship energy efficiency programme
The government could sell loft insulation and other home energy improvements through UK
retailers. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian
Some of the UK's biggest and best-known retailers are in talks with ministers about the
opportunity to sell loft insulation and other home energy improvements under the
government's "green deal".
Tesco, the country's dominant supermarket, home improvement chain B&Q, and high-street
stalwart M&S are among the companies which could end up marketing the coalition's
flagship programme to encourage home energy efficiency improvements alongside frozen
food, pots of paint or underwear.
Ministers believe that around 14m of the country's 27m homes could be fitted with energy
saving measures in the next decade, along with offices and other buildings owned by small
and medium-sized companies. The scheme is projected to create between 200,000 and
250,000 jobs.
It has emerged that ministers are considering how to persuade most of the country's 27m
homeowners to take part in the flagship scheme - which could lead to incentives such as a
rebate on council tax or stamp duty.
Full details of the initiative, under which companies would install energy efficiency products
and the homeowner would pay them back over up to 20 years - though savings in energy bills
- are due to be announced in a bill later this autumn.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/06/green-deal-uk-retailers
Oct 7th 2010
China
China's carbon intensity pledge serious:
U.S. environmental group
TIANJIN, Oct. 7 (Xinhua)
China pledged to cut its carbon intensity by 40-45 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels last year,
but some observers continue to debate whether the goal is ambitious enough. The NRDC,
however, disagreed.
"Our view is China's carbon intensity target represents a concrete, new commitment. It's not
easy to achieve it," Barbara Finamore, NRDC's China program director, told a news
conference.
On the basis of the analysis, which considered three emission growth scenarios and results
from other studies, the paper concluded that "China will only be able to limit the growth of its
emissions in accordance with this target through proactive policymaking and substantial new
investments similar to those undertaken between 2006 and 2010."
If China fulfilled only the commitments that were in place before 2009, without extending its
energy intensity policies beyond 2010, it would only reduce carbon intensity by 37 percent
from its 2005 levels by 2020, the paper said.
As a result, jumping to conclusions that "no additional effort" was needed failed to
"recognize the significance of China's actions" and to make such claims would be "to
penalize China for taking early action," it said.
"Overall, China's commitment ... is a valuable contribution to the international effort to avert
the worst threats of climate change."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/sci/2010-10/07/c_13544856.htm
Host China plugs its climate efforts at UN
talks
Tianjin, China (AFP) Oct 7, 2010
China has seized on its hosting of UN climate
talks this week to showcase its efforts to curb
carbon emissions, and environmentalists say
the top greenhouse gas polluter is making
huge progress.
China's phenomenal economic growth has
made it the biggest source of greenhouse gases
blamed for global warming, and those
emissions will continue to soar due to its
dependence on carbon-belching coal.
But amid US-led pressure to do more, China has outlined an array of measures to curb
emissions that environmentalists say helps its bargaining position in United Nations
negotiations on a global warming treaty.
And while China was blamed by some rich nations for the failure of a climate summit in
Copenhagen last year, few are developing clean energies as aggressively, say experts at the
week-long talks in the city of Tianjin.
If China can hit its target of improving its energy efficiency this year, it would have
avoided emitting about 4.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from 2006-2010.
China's clean energy policies however still attract criticism because its emissions will
continue to rise for years as its expanding economy gobbles up energy, 70 percent of which
comes from coal. The United States and other developing nations also remain frustrated over
China's refusal to commit through the UN process to emission reduction targets.
She said Beijing was expected to announce further aggressive steps for the next five years in
2011.
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Host_China_plugs_its_climate_efforts_at_UN_talks_999.
html
Beijing smothered in smog during UN
climate talks
Beijing (AFP) Oct 7, 2010
China's capital Beijing on Thursday shared
the title of most polluted
city in the country, as delegates from around
the world worked in nearby Tianjin towards a
deal to combat global warming.
The China Environmental Monitoring Centre
rated both Beijing and the central city of
Zhengzhou as having "slightly polluted" air -a rating of III2 on scale from I (excellent) to
V (hazardous).
The US embassy in Beijing, however,
qualified the air as "hazardous" in its own
measurements made available on the popular microblogging site Twitter
(http://twitter.com/beijingair).
The pollution level could not be attributed to Beijing's infamous traffic jams, as the capital's
roads were mainly clear on the last day of a week-long national holiday.
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Beijing_smothered_in_smog_during_UN_climate_talks_i
n_China_999.html
EU & US
Farmers next to GM fields benefit from
pest reduction, study shows
Thursday 7 October 2010
US study finds reduced numbers of crop-damaging pests on corn farms that adjoin those
growing GM crops
The research examined farms in the US corn belt. Photograph: Charlie Neibergall/AP
Farmers growing conventional corn next to GM crops can benefit from the reduction in cropdestroying pests without paying the premium for GM seeds, a new study has shown.
The research, published today in the journal Science, examined 14 years of records in the top
US corn-producing states of Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin, looking at
the prevalence of the European corn borer, a moth whose caterpillars eat into corn stalks and
topple the plants.
The so-called Bt GM corn varieties were first planted in 1996 and produce toxins taken from
a soil bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis, which is deadly to the pest. In GM fields, the
pest is eradicated, but the data showed that in neighbouring non-GMO fields the pest
populations shrank by 28-78%, depending on how much GM corn was being grown in the
surrounding area.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/07/gm-corn-farming-pests
Weathermen May Dent $500 Billion Coal Market
With Improved Wind Forecasts
By Jeremy van Loon - Oct 7, 2010
Xcel Energy Inc. is shutting down some of its coal-fired power plants for hours or days and not
because environmental pressure or legislation mandate it. Instead, Xcel has a new tool: more
accurate wind forecasts.
The readings are part of a project that the Minneapolis- based company, the largest U.S. windpower producer, is working on with Colorado’s National Center for Atmospheric Research.
NCAR feeds data from satellites, weather stations and aircraft into supercomputers to figure
when Xcel can turn off coal-burning plants and substitute electricity from hundreds of wind
turbines deployed across the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Bloomberg Businessweek reports
in its Oct. 11 issue.
Fitting irregular streams of wind power generated by tens of thousands of turbines in the U.S.,
Europe and China into electricity grids that need to keep supply and demand in close balance is a
complex challenge for utilities. Using a constant energy source like coal is easier. Power surges
from wind must be balanced in the grid and can make pricing volatile.
“With better forecasts you will get better dispatching of power, and that means much greater
efficiency for the whole system,” says Olav Hohmeyer, an energy researcher at the University of
Flensburg, Germany. “That means the potential for using much less coal and gas.”
If more accurate readings lessen the $500 billion-plus spent on burning coal each year, utilities
could benefit since in many countries coal, one of the cheapest energy sources, is becoming or
expected to become more costly. Wind power is almost as cheap, but unpredictable.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-07/weathermen-to-dent-500-billion-coal-marketwith-wind-forecasts.html
Indiana still awaits Obama's promised
green recovery
Thurs Oct 7
More than a year after the president visited to announce a new era of green jobs, the grant he
promised has not materialised and unemployment is high
President Barack Obama addresses residents at a school in Elkhart, Indiana, in February 2009
Photograph: Charles Ommanney/Getty Images
One summer morning when he had been out of a job for 17 months, Kelvin Jacobs turned on
the television to watch Barack Obama touring the factory that once belonged to his former
company.
It was a strange experience. By the time of Obama's visit in August 2009, Jacobs had spent
three months in a homeless shelter. Around him, Elkhart county was in economic freefall.
His old company, which made RVs – "recreational vehicles", or mobile homes – like just
about every other factory around, had gone bankrupt. One in five people were out of work,
one of the highest jobless rates in the country.
And here was Obama offering a way out with his multibillion-dollar economic recovery plan.
Posing in front of the sleek contoured glass of an electric delivery van, the president
announced a $39m grant to jump-start a new green era of manufacturing jobs that would
replace the lumbering, gas-guzzling RVs.
"Just a few months ago, folks thought these factories might be closed for good," Obama told
a carefully selected audience of factory workers. "But now they're coming back to life."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/07/indiana-awaits-obamas-green-recovery
Port cuts 'to cost 60,000 green jobs'
Thursday Oct 7
Thanet Offshore Wind Farm on the Kent coast but there are question marks over further
projects. Photograph: Frank Baron for the Guardian
Plans to build three new factories to make thousands of giant offshore wind turbines that
would create an estimated 60,000 jobs are set to become the latest casualty of the spending
review, it has emerged.
The previous government had pledged £60m to upgrade ports, mainly in the north-east, to
enable them to handle the next generation of giant turbines for installation off the UK coast.
Siemens and General Electric have announced plans to invest £180m in two new
manufacturing facilities in the UK, but say this is conditional on the necessary work on
nearby ports. Mitsubishi is also interested in building a third factory.
But the Guardian has learned that the competition inviting ports to bid for the funds is likely
to be scrapped. Officials at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), which is
to provide half the £60m required, are still fighting for the funds. However, they have little
support from the Department for Business, which would have to find the other half, or from
the Treasury.
The energy secretary, Chris Huhne, is understood to be determined to set up a Green
Investment Bank, which will have to take public funds for existing renewable and low-carbon
schemes, such as the ports, to have sufficient capital.
The Guardian has also learned that the nuclear industry has successfully lobbied the
government to safeguard the huge budget to decommission the UK's old reactors, handled by
the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. This year, about 60% of the NDA's budget –
£1.7bn – came from taxpayers via the DECC, making up about 40% of the ministry's entire
spending.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/oct/07/60000-green-jobs-threatened-spending-cuts
Europe's Carbon Choice
Michael Jacobs
Posted: October 7, 2010 11:10 AM
As international negotiators meet in the Chinese port of Tianjin for the final preparatory talks
before next month's UN Climate Change Conference in Mexico, a remarkable debate is
brewing in Europe. Governments and businesses are posing a radical question: should the
European Union simply ignore the international climate change negotiations and move
towards a low carbon economy regardless?
The very idea that Europe might unilaterally push ahead of other countries in reducing its
greenhouse emissions represents a surprising reversal of the received wisdom. This said that,
since curbing emissions was economically expensive, countries or regions could not act
unilaterally: to do so would simply drive industry overseas to less punitive markets. So only a
new international climate agreement could secure the necessary action in individual
countries. When failure at Copenhagen rendered the prospect of such agreement remote,
radical emissions cuts looked set to remain on hold. In Europe's case, this meant that the EU
would retain its agreed target to reduce emissions by 20% (on 1990 levels) by 2020, but no
more.
Yet just a few months later Europe is debating whether or not the EU should increase its 2020
emissions cuts to 30%. Britain, France and Germany lead the countries backing the call. Even
more remarkably, a group of leading European businesses have publicly stated their support.
How is this possible? Three factors have shifted the argument.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-jacobs/europes-carbon-choice_b_752186.html
Oct 8th 2010
China
Shanghai's Air Quality Refreshes History
010-10-08
The air quality in Shanghai was "good" or "fair" on more than 98 percent of the days
between May 1 and Aug 31, the best ever, all thanks to the environmental protection
initiatives taken before and during the Expo 2010 Shanghai.
Figures show that the quality of air on more than 95 percent of the days in the first eight
months of this year was recorded as "good" or "fair," meaning the city's air quality index
reached grade II or better. The city has so far lived up to its aim of witnessing more than 95
percent of days with "fair" air quality this year.
Since the Expo kicked off on May 1, the municipal government has prohibited the burning
of straws in suburban and rural areas, which is considered a major reason for the improved
air quality. Air quality in the city proper has also improved significantly due to the
reduction in automobile exhaust gas.
However, dark smoke released by long-distance buses is still a common phenomenon. All
long-distance bus companies in Shanghai have been required to use the national standard
IV oil, which helps reduce exhaust gas, in all their buses.
The Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau has ordered diesel trucks with a load
capacity of more than 3.5 tons to reach national standard IV by Jan 1, 2011, and all others
by July 1, 2011.
"Trees and grass help purify the air in a more natural way. Besides, they also add to the
beauty of a city," Zhang Quan, director of the bureau said.
http://english.mep.gov.cn/News_service/media_news/201010/t20101008_195294.htm
China's Earlier Emissions Peak Depends on
Developed Nations
2010-10-08
China's top climate change official said on Wednesday that the country's greenhouse gas
emissions would peak at an earlier date if developed countries complied with the international
protocols.
"The more money they provide, or the earlier the money arrives, the sooner we should be able to
pass the emissions peak," Xie Zhenhua, also vice minister of the National Development and
Reform Commission said.
He noted some developed countries, although with a per capita GDP of more than 40,000 U.S.
dollars a year, still were yet to reach their emissions peak as their greenhouse gas emissions
continued to rise.
Xie added that China's emissions peak was unlikely to come before its per capita GDP reached
40,000 U.S. dollars.
http://english.mep.gov.cn/News_service/media_news/201010/t20101008_195293.htm
Shrinking Lake in Silk Road Rings Ecological
Alarm
2010-10-08
Gazing at tourists sitting on the camels disappearing into the distance, Yang Ming from
Dunhuang, a famous tourism city and major stop on the ancient Silk Road in northwest
China's Gansu Province wondered how long he could retain his job. "If the lake is dried
up, there will be no tourists and I will lose my job."
The lake he referred to was called Crescent Lake. Together with the Echoing Sang
Mountain, it draws more than 1 million tourists each year. At this unique site, the lake
has been encircled by the desert for thousands of years.
However, the lake is now dramatically shrinking. The water surface has dropped more
than 3 meters in the past 60 years, and even dried out 3 years ago. Dunhuang is just one
example of the threat of water shortages to the vulnerable ecology in northwest China,
where about 1.7 million square kilometers of territory had been covered by desert.
China has spent nearly 1 trillion yuan on ecological conservation and environmental
protection during the past decade. Also, an additional 200 billion yuan is to be
earmarked to continue the project during the following ten years. Additionally, China
has kicked off an ambitious project to plant a green belt between the country's third and
fourth largest deserts to stop them from converging.
To maintain water levels in Crescent Lake, local government has taken artificial
recharges from an underground aquifer project since 2001. Further, on the east and west
ends of the lake stand two pools with 6 million cubic meters of water injected every year
from the adjacent Danghe River. Water-saving irrigation is also to be promoted, with
124 wells to be closed and 23.4 kilometers of channels to be built.
But neither measures seemed to effectively resolve the problem of Crescent Lake and
Dunhuang, which drew attention from Premier Wen Jiabao.
http://english.mep.gov.cn/News_service/media_news/201010/t20101008_195292.htm
China's Zijin Fined 9.56m Yuan for Water
Pollution
2010-10-08
China's leading gold producer Zijin Mining Co, said Thursday it had received punishment
decisions from Fujian provincial authorities, including a fine of 9.56 million yuan (about $1.43
million) for severe water pollution caused by its subsidiary copper plant.
Receiving the decisions sent on September 30 from Fujian's provincial department of
environmental protection, Zijin said it would "comply with the punishment" in a timely manner.
Two leakages of acidic copper solution at the Zijinshan Gold and Copper Mine copper plant,
occurring on July 3 and July 16 respectively, resulted in material water pollution of the Ting
River, causing a direct economic loss of more than 31 million yuan.
The follow-up investigation showed that the leakage was due to poor maintenance of the
membrane of the plant's tanks, including a sewage one.
http://english.mep.gov.cn/News_service/media_news/201010/t20101008_195291.htm
EU & US
Scotland votes through watered-down
emissions targets
Friday Oct 8
Alex Salmond's administration criticised for not making deeper but politically unpopular cuts
Scotland has voted through a watered-down series of annual emissions targets. Photograph:
David Cheskin/PA
Scotland yesterday voted through a watered-down series of annual targets for cutting carbon
emissions. The vote was won by 72 votes to three after 41 Labour MSPs abstained.
The original yearly targets – designed to help Scotland meet its "world-leading" goal of a 42%
cut in emissions by 2020 – were very narrowly voted down in May, after Labour, the Liberal
Democrats and Greens accused Salmond's Scottish National party government of breaching its
manifesto promise to introduce 3% annual cuts in CO2 emissions.
The revised figures voted through yesterday under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act will
require no cut this year, a cut of 0.5% next year and 0.3% in 2012, compared with originally
offering 0.5% this year, 0.5% in 2011 and 1% in 2012. The annual target will increase sharply
by 9.9% in 2013 when the European emissions trading regime kicks in, then run at between
2.1% and 3% each year to 2022.
The Scottish Green party, which opposed the lower revised targets, accused Salmond's
administration of lacking the stomach for making deeper but politically unpopular cuts in
individuals' CO2 emissions.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/08/scotland-watered-down-emissions-targets
Hungary battles to keep toxic sludge from
polluting Danube
• Fish wiped out as red mud enters Hungarian river
• Breached alumina plant reservoir no longer leaking
Hungarian emergency crews are working to dilute a toxic red sludge that has reached part of the
Danube after it breached an industrial reservoir, killing at least four people.
The Hungarian national disaster unit said there had been no reports of dead fish in the Raba and
Mosoni-Danube rivers reached by the spill, but all fish had died in the smaller Marcal river,
which was contaminated first.
"Life in the Marcal river has been extinguished," said Tibor Dobson, a spokesman for the unit.
"The main effort is now being concentrated on the Raba and the Danube. That's what has to be
saved."
The spill's alkaline content in the Raba and Mosoni-Danube was around pH9 - the normal level
is 6 to 8. Dobson said emergency teams were pouring plaster and acetic acid (vinegar) into the
Raba-Danube meeting point to lower the pH value.
Gabor Figeczky, the Hungarian branch director of the WWF environmental group who visited
the scene, said the impact on the Marcal had been worse than expected, but the level of alkaline
should dilute to safe levels once the sludge reached the Danube, Europe's second longest river.
"Based on our current estimates, it [the sludge] will remain contained in Hungary, and will
reach Budapest with acceptable pH values," Figerczky told Reuters.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/07/hungary-sludge-spill-reaches-danube