On June 26, 2008, the European Parliament and EU Member State negotiators agreed to expand the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) to include emissions from civil aviation as of January 1, 2012. The Proposed Directive would include all flights by any airline to and from any EU airport, with limited exceptions. Total EU-wide aviation emissions for 2012 would be capped at 97% of average emissions from 2004-2006, with the cap reduced in successive years. 15% of total aviation emissions permits would be auctioned, and 85% would be allocated for free, although this ratio could also be adjusted in the future.

Last week’s agreement is the product of a series of compromises between the European Commission, the EU Parliament, and EU environmental ministers, resulting from intra-EU negotiations over the past several years. In order to become binding law under the EU’s “Co-Decision” procedures, the Proposed Directive must be supported by the EU Parliament (scheduled to vote on July 9), as well as Member State governments. Generally, these steps are a formality. Read the rest of this entry »

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The U.S. Department of Energy today announced three solicitations for a total of up to $30.5 billion in federal loan guarantees for projects that employ advanced energy technologies that avoid, reduce or sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions. The program will provide up to $18.5 billion to nuclear power facilities; $10 billion for energy efficiency, renewable energy and electric transmission projects; and $2 billion for the “front-end” of the nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium enrichment.

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The Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit denied a petition by Massachusetts seeking EPA action on greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation within 60 days. Yesterday’s decision is part of the longstanding feud between the EPA and a group of states and environmental organizations.

In April 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts v. EPA that the agency must determine whether GHG emissions from automobiles endanger public health and welfare. After one year passed with no action, Massachusetts filed a writ of mandamus in the DC Circuit. Plaintiffs bring a mandamus action to seek the court’s help when a government official refuses to take a required action. The court, however, declined to act on the writ, denying the petition without comment.

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The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced today its draft “scoping plan” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in California to 1990 levels by the year 2020.  Pursuant to the Global Warming Solutions Act, or AB 32, CARB is required to prepare and approve a scoping plan by January 1, 2009.  The draft scoping plan proposes a comprehensive set of actions that would affect virtually every sector of the California economy, including utilities, oil refineries, carmakers, farmers, manufacturers, and forest managers.  Beyond the sweeping impact on California’s $1.7 trillion economy, the plan will likely be seen as a model for other states and the nation as a whole.

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) yesterday announced plans to award $290 million by early December 2008 to advance the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology at coal power plants. This most recent chapter in the “restructuring” of the FutureGen project comes after the Department rejected the billion-dollar, single-site funding model that it had embraced between 2003 and 2007. DOE argues that its shift to multiple smaller grant projects is better for taxpayers and will promote faster commercialization of CCS technology than the larger project.

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A new report identifies end-use electricity efficiency as the most effective and most economical method to bring carbon dioxide emissions back to current levels by 2050. The analysis uses three scenarios - baseline, global stabilization to 2005 levels by 2050 (ACT), and global 50% reduction below 2005 levels by 2050 (BLUE) - to identify the costs and constraints of advancing the technologies needed for reaching a more sustainable energy future.

The 650-page Energy Technology Perspectives: Scenarios & Strategies to 2050 report was developed by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to provide guidance to the world’s energy ministries on setting political, scientific, and financial priorities to bring about a “revolution” in all aspects of energy production and use. Through 17 global “technology roadmaps,” the report seeks to communicate the research, development, and implementation timeframes, the global deployment requirements, and the main areas for policy action and international collaboration needed to guide each technology to its greatest impact potential.

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Following today’s call from climate scientist Dr. James Hansen for policy action before the world reaches a “tipping point,” hearings continue this week with a focus on the relationship between climate change and energy and between climate change and transportation, including:

Tuesday, June 24 at 9:00 AM - OECD host a Breakfast Series on Energy Technology Pathways to Achieving Climate Change Goals, featuring remarks by Dr. Neil Hurst, International Energy Agency, and response by Louis Finkel, House Committee on Science and Technology.

Tuesday, June 24 at 10:30 AM - Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation holds a hearing on “Climate Change Impacts on the Transportation Sector,” including surface transportation and aviation. Witnesses include Deputy Secretary Thomas J. Barrett, Dept. of Transportation; Dr. James M. Turner, National Institute of Standards and Technology; and Dr. Thomas C. Peterson, Ntl. Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Wednesday, June 25 at 9:30 AM - Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds a hearing to examine the challenges to developing technologies that meet the needs of increased global energy demand, in the context of climate change. Witnesses include Dr. Neil Hirst, International Energy Agency; Dr. Ray Orbach, U.S. Department of Energy; Dr. Thomas Wilson, Electric Power Research Institute; Dr. Raymond Kopp, Resources for the Future; and Karan Bhatia, General Electric Co.

Wednesday, June 25 at 9:30 AM - the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and the Intelligence Community Management Subcommittee hold a joint hearing on “National Security Implications of Global Climate Change.” Witnesses: Dr. Thomas Fingar, National Intelligence Council; Mr. Rolf Mowatt-Larsen, U.S. Department of Energy; Rt. Hon. Margaret Beckett, Former Foreign Minister of the United Kingdom; VADM Paul Gaffney, Monmouth University; Dr. Kent Hughes Butts, U.S. Army War College; Marlo Lewis, Competitive Enterprise Institute; and Lee Lane, American Enterprise Institute.

Thursday, June 26 at 10:00 AM - the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality holds a hearing on “Climate Change: Costs of Inaction” {webcast}. The witness list is not yet available.

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In its annual report to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat, the European Environment Agency (EEA) highlights Member States’ progress greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions. The report reveals that emissions within the EU-27 were reduced by 0.3% in 2006, the most current year for which data is available. EEA estimates that, overall, emissions have fallen 7.7% below 1990 levels.

The report found that the EU-15 Member States cut emissions by 0.8 % in 2006 — 81 % of the total EU reductions — but that some Eastern European countries reported emissions increases over the 2005-2006 time frame. In a press statement, EU’s Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas noted that “a continuous effort will be required by all Member States to achieve [GHG targets].” The 12 newer EU countries “cannot rely on the successes of the past,” he said.

The report seems to point to the need for significant further work for the EU to achieve its proposed “20% by 2020″ target, since much of the reductions originated from incidental shifts in demand. The report revealed that the main contributor to the emissions decrease in the EU-27 was lower consumption of gas and oil in households and services, due to a warmer weather between 2005 and 2006. Other greenhouse gas reductions came from a decreased rate of nitric acid production, mainly in Germany, and from decreased CO2 emissions from manufacturing mainly due to depressions in France’s and Hungary’s chemical industries.

Sectors with substantial increases in GHG emissions in the EU-27 included CO2 from public electricity and heat production, CO2 from road transportation, and CO2 from iron and steel production. These findings suggest that there may be a future increase in regulation of vehicle and truck emissions and building efficiency standards, similar to Germany’s decision this week to “increase truck tolls and raise energy standards for buildings,” as reported by the AP.

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A group of over 100 business leaders issued a call for broad international action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The CEO Climate Policy Recommendations to G8 Leaders was delivered to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in anticipation of next month’s G8 meetings in Japan.

The CEO group recognizes the threat posed by climate change and calls for immediate action to mitigate the risks posed to both the physical and business environments. These leaders request action from “all major economies . . . including the United States, China and India.” They pledge to work with governments under the Bali Action Plan to negotiate, over the next 18 months, a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol.

The group recognizes that “the rapid shift to a low-carbon economy that lies ahead has the potential to drive forward the next chapter of technological innovation.” Developing economies have the most to gain by engaging in the international process because - if designed properly - it “enables the emergence of an international market for carbon [that] can help catalyse the required flows of private capital and clean energy technology to developing nations in the most innovative, entrepreneurial and cost-effective way.”

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On June 26, 2008, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is scheduled to release its initial draft “scoping plan” describing the programs, measures, and approaches that California will use to achieve the greenhouse gas emission reductions required under the Global Warming Solutions Act, or AB 32. The scoping plan, when completed, will serve as California’s policy blueprint for developing direct regulations, alternative compliance mechanisms, monetary and non-monetary incentives, voluntary actions, and market-based mechanisms such as a cap-and-trade system.

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