In today’s edition: Bloomberg reports “Germany Sees ‘Intensive’ EU Carbon Talks in September, October,” while The New York Times reports “Steep Fuel Prices Driving Push for Efficient Aircraft.” Chicago Tribune writes “Ill. EPA to rethink pollution permit for Downstate coal-to-gas plant.”
Quote of the Day:
“Well I don’t believe that [ETS] is a different question because it will act as a reverse tariff. If it’s a unilateral carbon tax or a unilateral emissions trading scheme, it puts up our prices vis-a-vis our competitors, it hurts jobs in this country and effectively protects jobs in other countries.”
–Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott in an ABC interview.
Lead Stories
Germany Sees ‘Intensive’ EU Carbon Talks in September, October
Bloomberg
Germany plans talks with other European Union countries about the bloc’s long-term climate goals and expects “intensive” discussions on the EU carbon-cut pathway in autumn, Environment Minister Peter Altmaier said.
http://jlne.ws/Meat1K
The world is abandoning emissions trading: Abbott
ABC
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says the world is moving away from carbon taxes and emissions trading schemes.
http://jlne.ws/L4Rbe8
JPMorgan Probe Shows FERC Priority Policing Energy
Bloomberg
The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s probe of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) demonstrates a renewed focus on market manipulation as the agency beefs up its oversight of the multibillion dollar energy-trading business.
http://jlne.ws/NgByni
New inventory of black carbon emissions from China finds 2007 levels higher than previously reported
Green Car Congress
New inventory of black carbon emissions from China finds 2007 levels higher than previously reported. A new black carbon (BC) emissions inventory from China found BC emissions levels in 2007 of 1,957 Gg BC—higher than reported in earlier studies. The inventory also forecasts that BC emissions in China in 2050 will be 920–2,183 Gg/yr under various scenarios, with the industrial and transportation sectors standing to benefit the most from technological improvements.
http://jlne.ws/LDoITd
Cities are leading the charge on climate action
Climate Progess/Grist.org
Cities are leading the charge on climate action. While many national governments struggle to take comprehensive action on climate change, major cities around the globe are acting on their own. The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) recently released a report tracking initiatives cities are taking to address their greenhouse gas emissions. Many of these municipal governments — plagued by heat waves and flooding — recognize the urgent need to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Cities account for 70 percent of global emissions while occupying just 2 percent of dry land.
http://jlne.ws/Mcye9w
THE REPORT:
Measure for Management: C40 Cities
Carbon Disclosure Project
http://jlne.ws/L9LC37
Steep Fuel Prices Driving Push for Efficient Aircraft
The New York Times
Europe’s effort to make international air carriers pay for their greenhouse gas emissions has infuriated other nations and set off a headline-grabbing trade dispute. But unless the cost it imposes on airlines jumps significantly, experts say, the continent’s carbon trading program is unlikely to have much effect on the industry’s climate-warming pollution. That is because a far more powerful driver is already pushing aircraft manufacturers to increase the efficiency of planes — the high and volatile price of fuel.
http://jlne.ws/Lc4gau
Opinion: Climate change: Global warming is a fact
Washington Post’s Achenblog
Saturday night I hung out in my sauna. Actually I just sat on the front porch. It was 101 degrees at 8:15 p.m., according to the Post website; while weather.com reported that it was 99 degrees. In such situations I prefer the front porch because of the veneer of civilization suggested by the street, the cars, the other houses. The back porch views nature, which, we now know, is not our friend.
http://jlne.ws/Nlut5a
**RKB – Don’t align with this view? Several opinion pieces below that span the political and geographical spectrum.
Opinion: What price clean air?
George F. Will in Washington Post
The federal government is a bull that has found yet another china shop, this time in Arizona. It seems determined to inflict, for angelic motives and progressive goals, economic damage on this state. And economic and social damage on Native Americans, who over the years have experienced quite enough of that at Washington’s hands. The gain from this pain? The most frequently cited study says “research to date” is inconclusive as to whether” there would be “any perceptible improvement in visibility at the Grand Canyon and other areas of concern.”
http://jlne.ws/NfGGc5
Opinion: Was Climate-Change Poll Biased?
Washington Post’s Omblog
Was climate-change poll biased? Was a Washington Post poll published last week that asked Americans how they felt about major environmental problems biased in a global-warming direction? A sharp-eyed reader raised that question after pointing out that Jon Krosnick, the Stanford University professor who has helped The Post conduct its polling on environmental issues, sat on the board of a group called Climate Central. Climate Central began in 2008 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that brought together news professionals and scientists whose main goal was to disseminate straightforward climate data and studies to the public.
http://jlne.ws/Me7sUq
Opinion: The Price of Green Virtue
The Wall Street Journal
When California’s economy was booming in 2006—remember that?—Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and many Californians wanted to show their environmental virtue by becoming the first state to pass a comprehensive climate change law. And so they did, for which the bill is starting to come due.
http://jlne.ws/NkMld3
Events
Carbon Forum North America
October 1-2, 2012
Washington, DC
http://jlne.ws/zDe43B
Sustainability Summit – Innovation Challenge
October 9, 2012
New York
http://jlne.ws/wKbX7U
Carbon
“Our Land is not a Carbon Toilet” – Indonesian community statement on climate and REDD
Friends of the Earth
On June 19 2012, Dayak Ngaju peoples in Katunjung, Indonesia held a protest to coincide with the global United Nations Rio+20 conference in Brasil – photos on this page. Local organisation Petak Danum Kalimantan Tengah released the statement below, calling on the Australian Prime Minister to act immediately to stop the REDD KFCP pilot project in Central Kalimantan.
http://jlne.ws/Me8Pm0
Five reasons the fixed price will stay
Climate Spectator
The media has been rife with conjecture and opinion about the government dropping the fixed price period and carbon price floor altogether. Amidst all this noise it’s hard to know exactly what’s going on. But irrespective of all of this, the reality is the government would encounter great difficulty and would be incredibly unwise to try to drop either of these features.
http://jlne.ws/NcLrko
Natural Gas/Coal
Coal reigns in emerging market countries
Emerging Money on Nasdaq.com
Coal usage is the United States is approaching the lowest level in recorded history for utility plants. It is likely to go much lower.
http://jlne.ws/PD6txj
Ill. EPA to rethink pollution permit for Downstate coal-to-gas plant
Chicago Tribune
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will reconsider an air pollution permit it granted to Tenaska Inc. in April for a coal-to-gas plant proposed for Taylorville near Springfield.
http://jlne.ws/MW6eMB
Pennsylvania Fracking Can Put Water at Risk, Study Finds
Bloomberg
Hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in Pennsylvania may contaminate drinking-water supplies, a study by Duke University professors concluded.
http://jlne.ws/LbYhlT
Fracking Did Not Sully Aquifers, Limited Study Finds
The New York Times
A new study enters the debate over the safety of hydraulic fracturing: researchers report that naturally occurring paths in the rock bed in northeastern Pennsylvania allowed some contaminants to migrate into shallow drinking aquifers. They found no direct connection between the contamination and shale-gas drilling operations in the region, however.
http://jlne.ws/MTsqrh
Patriot Coal Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
Wall Street Journal
Patriot Coal Corp.filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a move that comes as the company faces a challenging market for coal.
http://jlne.ws/MWgFjt
Power
Florida Legislature Out of Step with Voters on Key Renewable Energy Policies
Florida Renewable Energy Association Press Release
A noticeable disparity between public interest in renewable energy development and Florida’s current legislative policy was evident from a recent poll of registered voters conducted for the Florida Renewable Energy Association (FREA). Strong support was shown for policies that have become common place in a broad portion of the country yet have largely been ignored by Florida lawmakers.
http://jlne.ws/Mhdpfu
Blowing in the right direction: Two big wind projects are moving forward
Grist.org
As we continue to retire aging dirty coal plant after aging dirty coal plant nationwide (we just hit 112 coal plants secured to retire), we are also pushing hard to replace them with clean energy, and as little natural gas as possible. That’s why we were excited this week to see two very large clean energy announcements from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
http://jlne.ws/MWi1KR
Energy Week Ahead: House Republicans Push ‘No More Solyndras’
Bloomberg
The House Energy and Commerce Committee this week takes up the “No More Solyndras Act” — a measure presumably designed to keep the U.S. from wasting money, especially on shaky start-ups based outside Republican congressional districts.
http://jlne.ws/LZbVrX
First Solar Bonds Financing $4.6 Billion U.S. Panel Boom
Bloomberg
Underwriters from Bank of America Corp. (BAC) to Credit Suisse AG and Citigroup Inc. (C) for the first time are close to converting sunlight into cash to pay bond investors.
http://jlne.ws/NaWrS3
Ming Yang Says It’s Not in Talks to Purchase Vestas Wind
Bloomberg
China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Ltd. (MY), the nation’s third-largest wind-turbine maker, denied being in talks to buy Vestas Wind Systems A/S. (VWS).
http://jlne.ws/MTnSkW
HSBC Advising on Renewable-Energy Acquisitions as Prices Decline
Bloomberg
HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), Europe’s largest bank, is advising on potential acquisitions of renewable-energy companies as an oversupply of equipment in the wind and solar industries drives down prices.
http://jlne.ws/RRyEad
GE Suspends Solar Factory Plans as Rival Manufacturers Struggle
Wall Street Journal
General Electric Co. (GE) has stopped construction of a solar-panel factory in Colorado in the latest sign of the U.S. solar manufacturing industry’s decline. GE initially planned to make thin-film solar panels at a factory in Aurora, Colo., using a cadmium telluride technology developed by PrimeStar, which GE acquired in 2011. GE planned to use the panels in solar farms that it would develop, or sell them to other developers.
http://jlne.ws/MTrUcT
CleanTech
Big Data Goes Green
Renewable Energy World.com
Cloud computing, where software is delivered as a service to end users over the internet, is currently receiving a lot of attention. The term describes data-processing operations that are outsourced to server farms, instead of being powered on-site. These range from websites and remotely hosted networks, to digital storage spaace and individual documents.
http://jlne.ws/Me6kee</>
Reports
Measure for Management: C40 Cities (July 9, 2012)
Carbon Disclosure Project
http://jlne.ws/L9LC37
Characterizing Pivotal Sources of Methane Emissions from Unconventional Natural Gas Production (Posted June 4, 2012)
API, ANGA
http://jlne.ws/M6RzMQ
Vulnerability of US and European electricity supply to climate change (Posted June 4, 2012)
Nature Climate Change
http://jlne.ws/L3Slcb
Developing Dimension: State of the Voluntary Carbon Markets 2012 (Posted May 31, 2012)
Ecosystem Marketplace
http://jlne.ws/JQ18Bv
Tackling exposure: placing disaster risk management at the heart of national economic and fiscal policy (Posted May 22, 2012)
http://jlne.ws/JArFwf
Fossil fuel price shocks and a low carbon economy (Posted May 21, 2012)
Oxford/DECC
http://jlne.ws/JgVKG9
Using the Allowance Value from California’s Carbon Trading System: Legal Risk Factors, Impacts to Ratepayers and the Economy (Posted May 17, 2012)
Next10
http://jlne.ws/KEYcW5.
Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathways to Sustainable Development (Posted May 9, 2012)
World Bank
http://jlne.ws/IJXP8B
Meeting Canada’s 2020 Climate Change Commitments (Posted May 8, 2012)
Office of Auditor General
http://jlne.ws/K9Lxvd
