CRC for Greenhouse Accounting news
Conference of the Parties
The ninth Conference of the Parties (CoP9) to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the nineteenth
sessions of the CoP’s Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice
(SBSTA) and Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) were held in Milan, Italy,
from December 1 to December 12, 2003.
More than 5000 participants from 166 governments, four observer
States, 312 intergovernmental, non-governmental and other
observer organizations, and 191 media outlets were in attendance.
Throughout the meeting, Parties convened in several contact
groups and informal consultations, as well as in plenary sessions
of the SBSTA, SBI and CoP. At CoP9, Parties adopted numerous
decisions and conclusions on various issues, including: definitions
and modalities for including afforestation and reforestation
activities under the Clean Development Mechanism; good practice
guidance on land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF);
the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF); and the Least Developed
Countries (LDC) Fund. Three ministerial high-level round-table
discussions were held.
The Chief Executive of the Cooperative Research Centre for
Greenhouse Accounting, Dr Chris Mitchell, attended the conference.
Read his notes at: http://www.greenhouse.crc.org.au/crc/ecarbon/CoP9.pdf
For other news from the Conference of the Parties see:
The official CoP9 home page, with details of decisions and
announcements: http://unfccc.int/cop9/index.html
Concluding media release: http://unfccc.int/press/prel2003/pressrel121203_1.pdf
Summary of the conference by the International Institute for
Sustainable Development: http://www.iisd.ca/vol12/enb12231e.html
Associated Press coverage in the New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/science/AP-UN-Climate-Conference.html
Australian-led
proposals to improve global climate monitoring systems and access to information
on climate change were accepted by CoP9, reflecting “Australia's role as a valued
and supportive contributor in the international climate change arena,” according
to the Minister for Environment and Heritage.
Minister’s media release: http://www.deh.gov.au/minister/env/2003/mr12dec03.html
Other CRC News
Award for Victorian team
The Victorian Department of Primary Industries team working
within the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting have won a
major prize within their Department, the DPI Primary Elements Innovation
Award in the Sustainability category, for their efforts towards ensuring a
sustainable and viable agricultural industry in Victoria.
The win is a great credit to program leader Dr Richard Eckard
and his team.
Joint newsletter of the Greenhouse and Climate Change in
Victorian Agriculture Project and the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting's Non-CO2
Greenhouse Emissions from Agriculture Program: http://www.greenhouse.unimelb.edu.au/NewsletterNov03.htm
Global dimming
A paper by two CRC for Greenhouse Accounting scientists
published in Science a year ago has stimulated new debate in the mass
media on the growing recognition that less radiation from the sun is reaching
the surface of the earth.
The paper in Science last year by Dr Michael Roderick
and Professor Graham Farquhar concluded that pollution and clouds are diffusing
sunlight before it reaches the surface of the earth, and that this is why the
rate of evaporation from pans across the planet has been decreasing on average
over the past 50 years. Dr Roderick and Professor Farquhar are senior
scientists from the Australian National University working with the CRC for
Greenhouse Accounting.
Their work was highlighted in recent weeks with the
publication in the Guardian of a feature discussing the growing
acceptance of the evidence that less light is reaching the earth. This prompted
an interview with Dr Roderick broadcast on the ABC current affairs program PM
on 19 December.
Abstract of the article in Science: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/298/5597/1410
Full text (subscription required): http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/298/5597/1410
Guardian article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,1108853,00.html
Transcript of ABC interview:
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2003/s1013859.htm
Global Carbon Project
After a 3-year process of community consultation and
participation, the Global Carbon Project has published the Science Framework
and Implementation Strategy that will guide project activities over the coming
years.
The Global Carbon Project aims to develop a complete picture
of the global carbon cycle, including both its biophysical and human dimensions
together with the interactions and feedbacks between them.
A member of the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting, Dr Mike
Raupach, has been among the leaders of the editorial team.
Details: http://www.globalcarbonproject.org/science_plan_and_implementation.htm
Australian News
Climate Change: An Australian Guide to the Science and
Potential Impacts, paints a picture of an Australia experiencing more
heatwaves, fewer frosts, areas of reduced rainfall, more-frequent and
more-severe droughts, less-secure water supplies, threats to the survival of
some native animal and plant species, more-intense tropical cyclones, floods
from more-intense rainfall and higher sea levels, a greater frequency of
extreme winds and fires, and greater spread of diseases such as dengue fever
and Ross River virus.
It also raises the possibility that just as Australian
farmers face the challenge of maintaining productivity despite severe weather
events becoming more common and more severe, they may also face increased
competition and lower commodity prices because of increased agricultural
production in the mid-to-high latitudes of the northern hemisphere.
The full report: http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/science/guide/pubs/science-guide.pdf
Minister’s media
statement: http://www.deh.gov.au/minister/env/2003/mr10dec03.html
ABC coverage: http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1006547.htm
and http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1007283.htm
Australia’s approach to climate change
Speaking at a side-event to the Ninth Conference of the
Parties, the Minister for the Environment and Heritage Dr David Kemp outlines
Australia’s approach to climate change.
Details: http://www.deh.gov.au/minister/env/2003/sp09dec03.html
Minister’s statement on Australian delegation’s role at
CoP9: http://www.deh.gov.au/minister/env/2003/mr04dec03.html
Cheaper solar panels
(Canberra Times, 9 December
2003)
An Australian invention pioneered by scientists in Canberra
is set to revolutionise the world's solar power industry by dramatically
cutting the cost of solar panels and creating potential new uses such as solar
window panes, architectural cladding and solar powered aircraft.
Details: http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&story_id=272723&category=General+News&m=12&y=2003
WA launches draft strategy
The Western Australian State Government has released a Draft
Greenhouse Strategy for public comment.
Minister’s media release: http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/media/media.nsf/news/52a5490778b2db0b48256df900241143?opendocument
Draft Greenhouse Strategy: http://www.greenhouse.wa.gov.au/
News item: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8138102%255E30417,00.html
Call for trade sanctions
(BBC, 6 December 2003)
Countries refusing to cut their emissions of greenhouse
gases should face trade sanctions, according to a British independent
think-tank the New Economics Foundation. With a focus on the US,
Russia and Australia,
the report notes that the EU is Australia’s
third largest export market.
BBC coverage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3296819.stm
The report itself: http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/uploads/nld2s2juqs2t34mdhr3l235506122003192037.pdf
Australia-NZ joint projects
The Australian Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Dr
David Kemp, and Convenor of New Zealand's Ministerial Group on Climate Change, Mr
Pete Hodgson, have announced details of the first projects to be undertaken
under the Australia-New Zealand Bilateral Climate Change Partnership.
Joint media release: http://www.deh.gov.au/minister/env/2003/mr11dec03.html
World News
Kyoto and emissions
Global register
The World Economic Forum is encouraging companies join a
Global Greenhouse Gas Register to facilitate the disclosure and management of
their worldwide climate emissions. The Register is intended to create a transparent,
internationally consistent framework for the disclosure of emissions
inventories and reduction targets.
Details: http://www.weforum.org/site/homepublic.nsf/Content/Global+Greenhouse+Gas+Register
and http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=2938&categoryID=147
Solutions being implemented
(Grist Magazine, 19 December
2003)
Kyoto-supporting countries have begun implementing
climate-change solutions “so logical and effective that it seems inevitable
that they will catch on worldwide” – a Grist Magazine column summarises
national and international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Details: http://www.gristmagazine.com/powers/powers121903.asp?source=daily
Geological sequestration
(Yahoo, 18 December 2003)
Entergy becomes the first US utility to seek carbon
emissions credits from a geological sequestration project.
Details: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031218/dath003_1.html
Is Russia in or out?
(Various)
Russia’s mixed signals.
Environmental News Network: http://www.enn.com/news/2003-12-05/s_11044.asp
Washington
Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31935-2003Dec3.html
New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/04/international/europe/04CLIM.html
UN Wire: http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20031204/449_11010.asp
Point Carbon: http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=2903&categoryID=147
and http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=2901&categoryID=147
Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=3937786
The Australian: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8071706%255E30417,00.html
Moscow Times: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/12/05/042.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti: http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=3727425&startrow=1&date=2003-12-21&do_alert=0
Italy plans to help finance projects in Russia to reduce
greenhouse gases and to demonstrate to President Vladimir Putin the economic
benefits of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol.
Details: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/12/08/042.html
Aid for poor
(UN Wire, 8 December 2003)
Countries
of the EU and Canada, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland have
confirmed an earlier undertaking to establish a $US410-million fund to
help poor countries combat climate change.
Details:
http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20031208/449_11087.asp
Energy
Wind farm plan
(The Guardian, 19 December
2003)
Shell has announced trials for a potential £1billion scheme
to build a 300-turbine offshore wind farm to produce up to
1,000 MW of power for London.
Details: http://www.guardian.co.uk/renewable/Story/0,2763,1110077,00.html
Solar panels
(Fresno Been through Daily
Grist, 8 December 2003)
Fresno City
Council on the west coast of the US is to spend $4.125 million on solar panels
and $600,000 on energy efficiency measures in its buildings to reduce its power
bill.
Details: http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/7869894p-8750283c.html
Climate and climate change
Venturing into the unknown
(UN Wire, 4 December 2003)
Anthropogenic climate change is likely to continue for
many centuries. We are venturing into the unknown with climate, and
its associated impacts could be quite disruptive, according to scientists from
the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, writing in an article in
Science Magazine.
Abstract: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/302/5651/1719
Flood warning
(The Independent, 7 December
2003)
Measures to fight global warming will have to be at least
four times stronger than the Kyoto Protocol if they are to avoid the melting of
the polar ice caps, inundating many of the world's large cities, including
Sydney, according to a report prepared by the German Advisory Council on Global
Change for the CoP9 in Milan.
News coverage : http://news.independent.co.uk/world/environment/story.jsp?story=470838
Media
release: http://www.wbgu.de/wbgu_sn2003_presse_engl.html
Full report (in English): http://www.wbgu.de/wbgu_sn2003_engl.html
10,000 years of global warming
(BBC, 10 December 2003)
Human agriculture has been putting greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere and warming the atmosphere for thousands of years, according to
University of Virginia scientist William Ruddiman.
Details: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3307891.stm
Abstract: http://www.agu.org/cgi-bin/SFgate/SFgate?language=English&verbose=0&listenv=table&application=fm03&convert=&converthl=&refinequery=&formintern=&formextern=&transquery=au%3d%28william%20ruddiman%29&_lines=&multiple=0&descriptor=%2fdata%2fepubs%2fwais%2findexes%2ffm03%2ffm03%7c1000%7c2890%7cThe%20Anthropogenic%20Era%20Began%20Thousands%20of%20Years%20Ago%7cHTML%7clocalhost:0%7c%2fdata%2fepubs%2fwais%2findexes%2ffm03%2ffm03%7c17557911%2017560801%20%2fdata2%2fepubs%2fwais%2fdata%2ffm03%2ffm03.txt
Climate change at regional scales
The Hadley Centre presents new evidence that human activity
is causing warming on regional, as well as global, scales.
Full report: http://www.metoffice.com/research/hadleycentre/pubs/brochures/2003/global.pdf
Temperature changes in North America from 1950 to 1999 were
unlikely to be due to natural climate variation alone and were consistent with
climate change from greenhouse gases, according to a study published in
Science.
Abstract: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/302/5648/1200
Full text (subscription required): http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/302/5648/1206
2003
continues warming trend
(UN Wire, 17 December 2003)
This
year was the third hottest in nearly 150 years, the World Meteorological
Organization announced yesterday, saying that although the warmer weather could
not be attributed to a single cause, it was part of a global warming trend.
UN
Wire summary: http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20031217/449_11404.asp
WMO statement: http://www.wmo.ch/web/Press/Press702_en.doc
Climate
change a $60 billion disaster
(UN Wire 11 December 2003)
Natural
disasters caused by climate change have cost the world more than $US60 billion
this year, up from about $US55 billion last year, says a report released
by the UN Environment Program's Finance Initiative.
Details:
http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20031211/449_11229.asp
Global warming “ahead of predictions”
(Australian Financial Review,
11 December 2003)
Backed by fresh data from the insurance industry, world
leaders at CoP9 said global warming was already taking effect, years ahead of
most scientific predictions.
Details: http://afr.com/articles/2003/12/11/1071086167055.html
Atlantic current disrupted
Currents in the Atlantic Ocean are being disrupted by
changes in salt levels brought on by climate change, according to a study led
by Ruth Curry of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts and
published in Nature.
Globe and Mail report: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20031218/OCEANS18/TPEnvironment/
Abstract: http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v426/n6968/abs/nature02206_fs.html
Full article (subscription required): http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v426/n6968/full/nature02206_fs.html
UN Wire report: http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20031218/449_11461.asp
Environmental News Network: http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release-m.asp?objid=||D1D1366D000000F985571A1D0FB54E2E
Boston Globe report: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/12/18/saltier_atlantic_may_help_decipher_global_warming/
Role of dust in climate change
Because of the great sensitivity of dust emissions to
climate, future changes in climate could result in large changes in dust
emissions from arid regions of the world, that could in turn lead to impacts on
climate, according to a study published in Science.
Abstract: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/302/5647/1024
Full text (subscription required): http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/302/5647/1024
Pace increasing
(San Francisco Chronicle
through UNFCCC)
Scientists of the American Geophysical Union warn that the
pace of climate change is increasing.
Details: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/a/2003/12/18/MNGNV3PH9D1.DTL
New
climate monitoring program
(UN Wire, 16 December 2003)
A
new system developed by the US National Climatic Data Center to monitor climate
change in the United States will start working in January, when 47
stations in 26 states will begin recording temperature, rainfall, wind and
solar radiation.
Details:
http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20031216/449_11344.asp
and
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/2003-12-15-climate-change_x.htm
Web
site of the Climate Reference Network: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/uscrn/index.html
Trading
State
of the market
Global
trading in greenhouse gas emissions surged this year to more than 70 million
tons — more than twice the number in 2002 and more than five times
the amount traded in 2001, according to a World Bank report on the state and
trends of the carbon market, released at CoP9 in Milan.
Details:
UN Wire at http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20031205/449_11051.asp
Environmental
News Network: http://www.enn.com/news/2003-12-05/s_11039.asp
Text
of report: http://prototypecarbonfund.org/docs/StateandTrendsofCarbonMarket2003.pdf
or http://prototypecarbonfund.org/router.cfm?Page=Research
and follow the link on the right of the page.
Further
increases predicted
(Point Carbon,
5 December 2003, & Reuters through Moscow Times, 8 December 2003)
The
value of the carbon market is set to increase to $US10 billion in 2007,
according to estimates by Point Carbon.
Details:
http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=2912&categoryID=147
and http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/12/08/253.html
EU
Ministers seek early Kyoto links
(Point Carbon,
22 December 2003)
A
majority of EU Environment Ministers supports linking the EU emissions trading
scheme to carbon reduction projects under the Kyoto Protocol as early as 2005,
rather than 2008 as earlier anticipated.
Details:
http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=3025&categoryID=147
Accounting
standard revised
(Point Carbon,
19 December 2003)
The
International Accounting Standards Board has decided to go ahead with revising
the standard that will govern how emissions credits are accounted for under the
EU emissions trading scheme.
Details:
http://www.pointcarbon.com/wimages/CME_19_december.pdf
JI
tender
(Point Carbon,
8 December 2003)
The
Austrian government has announced a call for tenders from Joint Implementation
projects to sell carbon credits to the country.
Details:
http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=2922&categoryID=147
NZ
credits
(NZ Herald, 8
December 2003)
The NZ
Government has picked 15 winners in its first tender of subsidies (payable in
carbon credits) for projects which reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
Details:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/businessstorydisplay.cfm?storyID=3538102&thesection=business&thesubsection=general&thesecondsubsection=&thetickercode=
They
include a proposed 50-MW wind farm and a small hydro scheme: http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=2995&categoryID=147
and http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0312/S00472.htm
External trading proposed
(Point Carbon, 19 December
2003)
Companies in the EU should be allowed to use carbon credits
from Kyoto Protocol projects outside the bloc in its emissions trading scheme
whether or not the treaty enters into force, according to the International
Emissions Trading Association.
Details: http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=3005&categoryID=147
Netherlands-NZ deal
(Netinform Newsletter, 17
December 2003)
The Netherlands plans to sign a contract to purchase carbon
credits for a wind project in New Zealand.
Details: http://www.netinform.de/startE.asp
CDM enterprise launched
(Point Carbon, 8 & 16 December
2003)
A new enterprise aims to identify, prepare, and supply
investment-ready, small-scale energy projects to committed buyers of certified
emission reductions.
Details: http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=2920&categoryID=147
and http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=2979&categoryID=147
Publications
AETF
Review
The
latest AETF Review includes analysis of the first compliance year of the
UK emissions trading scheme, reports on development of New Zealand’s policy
framework, and details the efforts of the Premier of NSW to move toward a
national emissions trading scheme in Australia.
Details:
http://www.aetf.net.au/ContentStore/pdf/ReviewDecJan2003.pdf
Market
analysis
The
International Emissions Trading Association has published Greenhouse Gas
Market 2003 - emerging but fragmented, an analysis of the evolution of the
market over the past year.
Full
report: http://www.ieta.org/Documents/New_Documents/ggm_2003.pdf
Conferences:
Climate
change and business
Climate
change and business, an
international conference to be held in NZ next year, will explore the business
opportunities arising from climate change. Themes will include developments in
Australian, New Zealand and international policy and how to maximize business
opportunities, and business opportunities in Australia, New Zealand, China and
Japan.
Details:
http://www.climateandbusiness.com/overview.html
More
conferences
For
information on more conferences and workshops or to promote your event see the
Global Change Events Calendar at http://www.greenhouse.crc.org.au/gcec/
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