CRC for Greenhouse Accounting news

Young Scientists Award

Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting scientist Dr Evelyn Krull has won the John Philip Award for the Promotion of Excellence in Young Scientists.

The award is to enable promising young scientists to accelerate their careers through a brief period at a prestigious overseas researching centre. The award for her proposal, Assessing chronological and compositional changes in soil carbon during vegetation change in Australia’s grazed woodlands, will enable her to spend time next year with Dr Gerd Gleixner at the Max-Planck Institute in Germany undertaking further analysis of Queensland soils in areas of grass-tree transitions.

The work on soil carbon dynamics and processes being undertaken by the CSIRO and the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting has also attracted international interest. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the US is joining the collaboration to advance understanding of the age and chemistry of protected carbon pools in soil.

Under the collaboration, the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory will undertake Accelerator Mass Spectrometry of 50 soil samples which will be collected and analysed in Australia by scientists of the CRC for Greenhouse Accounting and the CSIRO.

The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory has joined the project under its charter to support proposal which push the frontiers of science.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by the University of California for the US Department of Energy - http://www.llnl.gov/

Remote sensing partnership

The Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting has formed a partnership with CSIRO and the Bureau of Rural Sciences to acquire, process and distribute remote-sensing products to underpin a wide range of research concerned with monitoring land cover dynamics, dynamic carbon modelling, and resource mapping.

Through the project, the partners will acquire both archived and near-real- time MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) remote sensing products from the Terra satellite launched in December 1999.

The project has been developed from substantial in-kind resources from participating institutions and funds from CRC Greenhouse Accounting, CSIRO Earth Observation Centre and CSIRO Land and Water Sentinel Mk II project.

The MODIS products will be delivered via an Earth Observation Centre data portal to researchers in CSIRO, the CRC Greenhouse Accounting and Bureau of Rural Sciences. The partners propose to validate MODIS derived products and assess their utility for Australian applications. Initial work will concentrate on archived products but a capacity to acquire and process near-real-time data will be built over time.

The MODIS sensor is one of the ‘next generation’ global monitoring system satellites with improved signal detection and higher spectral and spatial resolution than the AVHRR sensor used previously for earth observation.

The availability of large data volumes necessitates purpose-built data storage and processing facilities. To this end a 20 terabyte Linux computer cluster facility is being constructed at CSIRO Earth Observation Centre to house and process data. This facility will be expanded over time to incorporate direct broadcast data which will extend system capabilities into seasonal vegetation monitoring and yield forecasting for crop production.

Australian News

Land clearing report
(ABC radio, 25 November 2003)

A consortium of 420 scientists has endorsed a body of evidence on the impact of land clearing to be presented to the federal and Queensland governments.

Details: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s996616.htm
Transcript of World Today interview: http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2003/s997028.htm

Solar array

(Environment News, 21 November 2003)

A new 241 kilowatt solar array in the Northern Territory resort of Kings Canyon, built with $1.76 million of federal government support, will reduce greenhouse emissions by saving about 158,000 litres of diesel fuel consumption a year.

Media release: http://www.deh.gov.au/minister/env/2003/mr18nov203.html

Further reports: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s991655.htm

Largest wind farm

(ABC, 21 November 2003)

The southern hemisphere’s largest wind farm was officially opened in Victoria in November.

Details: http://www.abc.net.au/news/australia/vic/westvic/reghor-21nov2003-3.htm

and http://www.pacifichydro.com.au/articles/files/0311_Challicum_opening.pdf

See also: http://www.pacifichydro.com.au/articles/files/0310_Challicum_open_day.pdf

Climate change research

(Environment News, 7 November 2003)

Members of the Polar Research Institute of China and a scientist from NASA in the United States has joined Australian scientists in Antarctica to research how to predict the effects of global climate change more accurately. They are to study the interaction between ocean water, temperatures and the underside of ice shelves to gain a better understanding of change processes.

Details: http://www.deh.gov.au/minister/ps/2003/psmr03nov203.html

Coal producers urged to recognise cost of greenhouse

(The Age, 25 November 2003)

Coal producers and suppliers should start to recognise the costs of the upcoming introduction of the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions, a coal conference heard.

Details: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/25/1069522594356.html

World News

Conference of the Parties

The ninth session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP 9) will open in Milan on Monday, 1 December and close on Friday, 12 December. The Conference of the Parties, an association of all countries that are Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is the highest decision-making authority of the Convention.

The nineteenth sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 19) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 19) will be held in conjunction with CoP 9. The Subsidiary Bodies advise the Conference of the Parties.

Details: http://unfccc.int/

Latest updates: http://unfccc.int/cop9/index.html

CoP 9 provisional Agenda: http://unfccc.int/cop9/latest/cop9_ag.pdf

SBI 19 provisional Agenda: http://unfccc.int/cop9/latest/sbi19_ag.pdf

SBSTA 19 provisional Agenda: http://unfccc.int/cop9/latest/sbsta19_ag.pdf

Issues in the negotiating process: http://unfccc.int/issues/index.html

Side events and exhibits: http://regserver.unfccc.int/seors/new/finalreport/report.html  

Guide to the Climate Change Convention Process: http://unfccc.int/resource/process/guideprocess-p.pdf

Regional groupings likely

(UN Wire, 21 November 2003)

The political landscape at the December meeting on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (CoP9) could reflect a growing number of regional groups committed to forging their own paths toward emissions control, according to an environmental policy expert at the World Resources Institute.

Details: http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20031121/449_10649.asp

Kyoto and emissions

Methane stabilises

(New York Times, 23 November 2003 and ABC, 25 November 2003)

After a 200-year rise driven mainly by human activities, atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gas methane have stopped growing, scientists from the Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Netherlands National Institute for Space Research report in Geophysical Research Letters. But they are unable to say whether the atmospheric methane burden has peaked, or if we are only observing a persistent, but temporary pause in its increase.

Details: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/23/science/23METH.html

and http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2003/s996753.htm

Abstract: http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/gl0319/2003GL018126/

Emissions forecast to rise dramatically

(Reuters through CNN, 19 and 20 November 2003)

ExxonMobil expects annual global carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 to be 50 per cent higher than they are now.

Details: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=1&u=/nm/20031120/sc_nm/environment_warming_dc

and

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/11/20/climate.gas.reut/index.html  

Reinjection under seabed

(CNN through Point Carbon, 20 November 2003)

Norwegian oil and gas group Statoily has been reinjecting 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide beneath the bed of the North Sea every year since 1996.

Details: http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/11/19/greenhouse.gas.reut/

Search for consensus

(Earthbeat, ABC Radio National, 15 November 2003)

The Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change argues that the critical question “that we need to ask and perhaps find consensus on is what is the level at which we must stabilise the concentration of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere.”

Details: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/earth/stories/s986598.htm

Free insulation

(Guardian Unlimited, 24 November 2003)

About a million of Britain's 26 million electricity customers are to be offered cheaper boilers, free home insulation and lower bills under a government-sponsored scheme to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing energy efficiency.

Details: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1091853,00.html

Little effect from US initiative

(UN Wire, 11 November 2003)

Reducing emissions intensity does not necessarily reduce emissions: the US General Accounting Office finds that one of the goals of US Global Climate Change Initiative — to cut greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 18 percent between 2002 and 2012 — would reduce intensity just 4 percentage points more than if no action were taken.

UN Wire summary: http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20031110/449_10259.asp

Full report: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04146r.pdf

NZ negotiations

(Point Carbon, 15 November 2003)

The Government of New Zealand is to enter into negotiations with four New Zealand companies for Negotiated Greenhouse Agreements.

Details: http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=2769&categoryID=147

Canada’s new plan

(Ottawa Citizen, 21 and 24 November 2003, Globe and Mail, 24 November 2003, and Point Carbon, 6 November 2003)

The Canadian government has presented its updated plan to implement the Kyoto climate change treaty, assuring Canadians they will not be hurt financially by efforts to cut greenhouse gases.

Details: http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=558125ba-2135-4b0e-bab7-e8f2aeb94928

The chief executive of Petro-Canada hopes incoming prime minister Paul Martin will slow Canada's implementation of the Kyoto accord.

Details: http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=c9f14cd8-5a6c-4781-9270-73bab064ae1e

and http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031124.wpetrocanada1124/BNStory/Business/?query=greenhouse

The Forest Products Association of Canadian has signed a government agreement which includes a commitment by the pulp and paper industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 15 per cent by the first Kyoto commitment period.

Details: http://www2.ccnmatthews.com/scripts/ccn-release.pl?/current/1106054n.html

‘Kyoto is dead. Prepare for a warmer world’

(Montreal Gazette, 17 November 2003)

Kyoto is dead, and the world is a better place for it. Now world leaders can concentrate on preparing for a warmer world, with all of its variable effects. So argues a Canadian columnist.

Details: http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/editorials/story.asp?id=E144E5F5-8A51-41E3-8988-EDBE40259258

Japan’s emissions rise

(Asahi through Point Carbon, 24 November 2003, Japan Times, 21 November 2003)

Japan’s industries emitted 1.8 percent more carbon dioxide in the 2002 financial year than the previous year.

Details: http://www.asahi.com/english/business/TKY200311240086.html

A senior Japanese Environment Ministry official lashed out at opposition by the Japan Business Federation to a ministry plan to introduce an environmental tax in 2005.

Details: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nb20031121a6.htm

Threat to power companies

(Environmental News Network, 21 November 2003)

Some of the world's largest power companies face a major financial threat if they fail to take steps to prepare for upcoming global warming regulation, according to a new World Wildlife Fund report released at the London Stock Exchange.

Details: http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release-m.asp?objid=||D1D1366D000000F8F9F89F5F1DC37EA3

Efforts ‘inadequate’

(Business Wire through Point Carbon, 21 November 2003)

Experts from the World Resources Institute warned that current efforts by the global community are inadequate to reverse the rapidly rising trends in global emissions.

Details: http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20031120005307&newsLang=en

Energy

Mini-turbine for houses

(The Guardian through Daily Grist, 24 November 2003)

A small Scottish company has launched a wind power system designed to be fitted on almost any roof or wall to supplement electricity from the grid. Priced at £750, it is reported to be capable of providing up to 15 per cent of the annual electricity needs of an average house. 

Details: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1091763,00.html

Power from rubbish

(Business Report, 20 November, through UNFCCC News)

A Durban municipality plans to use gas generated from decomposing rubbish to generate electricity in an innovative project being supported by the World Bank.

Details: http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=561&fArticleId=289566

China sets strict fuel-economy standards

(New York Times, Reuters and AP through Daily Grist and MSNBC, 18 November 2003, Radio Australia, 12 November 2003)

 Intent on reducing its growing dependence on foreign oil, China is set to impose vehicle fuel-economy standards that will be markedly stricter than those in place in the US.

Details: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/18/business/worldbusiness/18AUTO.html

Earlier, GM officials demonstrated fuel-cell prototypes to Chinese officials.

Details: http://www.msnbc.com/news/995001.asp?cp1=1 

The European Union's environment commissioner says China needs to closely monitor and deal with the environmental impacts of its booming economy.

Details: http://www.abc.net.au/ra/newstories/RANewsStories_987856.htm

Climate and climate change

Atmospheric warming confirmed

(New York Times, 18 November 2003 and UN Wire, 20 November 2003)

Scientists re-examining several decades of data from weather satellites have concluded that temperatures are rising in the atmosphere's lower layer at a rate consistent with those of the earth's surface.

Details: http://www.unwire.org/UNWire/20031120/449_10620.asp

Increased fire danger predicted

(Environmental News Network, 13 November 2003)

Fires that charred nearly three-quarters of a million acres of California could presage increasingly severe fire danger as global warming weakens more forests through disease and drought, according to a new study to be published in Climatic Change.

Details: http://www.enn.com/news/2003-11-13/s_10377.asp

Investors urged to look to climate change

(New York Times, China View & UN News Centre through UN Wire, 25 November 2003)

Officials controlling large superannuation funds in the US announced plans to press regulators, public companies and Wall Street to pay more heed to the potential financial upheaval from climate change.

At the same conference UN Secretary General Kofi Annan warned that how and where investors place their portfolios can "greatly affect how people work and live over the coming decades." 

Details: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/22/business/22climate.html

and http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2003-11/22/content_1192798.htm

UN media statement: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=8960&Cr=climate&Cr1=change

‘A great planetary experiment’

(The Guardian, 13 November 2003)

‘This highlights the fact that global warming, for which we have only ourselves to thank, is nothing more nor less than a great planetary experiment, many of the outcomes of which we cannot predict.’ Bill McGuire writes in The Guardian on fears for the Gulf Stream and other ocean currents.

Details: http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/opinion/story/0,12981,1083413,00.html 

Frozen oceans that affect currents such as the Gulf Stream have decreased dramatically, say scientists.

Details: http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1085575,00.html

Trading

New interest in European market

(Point Carbon, 24 November 2003)

The interest in the European Union carbon dioxide emissions trading market is growing stronger, with more companies involved looking for larger volumes.Details: http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=2821&categoryID=147

EU trade

(Point Carbon 25 November 2003)

London based environmental brokerage GT Energy has announced that it brokered a trade in the EU carbon dioxide emissions trading market at €12 per tonne, but the volume and counterparties remained undisclosed.

Details: http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=2835&categoryID=147

UK industry fears

(The Journal, 24 November 2003)

UK manufacturers have warned that plans to strictly implement new EU rules on emissions could seriously harm industry.

Details: http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/0500business/0100local/content_objectid=13656106_method=full_siteid=50081_headline=-Re%2Dthink%2Dplea%2Das%2Dindustry%2Dfears%2DEU%2Demissions%2D%2Drules-name_page.html

Overseas credits the low-cost path

(Point Carbon, 13 November 2003)

The cost of reducing carbon dioxide in Japan by using bio-ethanol fuel will be 52 times higher than purchasing carbon dioxide credits overseas, according to a government study.

Details: http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=2762&categoryID=147

Chicago delay

(Point Carbon, 11 November 2003)

The Chicago Climate Exchange has postponed the start of trading until 12 December to accommodate members who joined since the exchange held its first auction of allowances in early October.

Details: http://www.environmental-finance.com/onlinews/7novccx.htm

Spanish push for flexible mechanisms

(Point Carbon, 15 November 2003)

The Spanish Confederation of Business Associations says the country will not reach its Kyoto target without the use of the flexible mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol.

Details: http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=2771&categoryID=147

Publications

Carbon accounting in forests

(CSIRO Climate News, 27 October 2003)

Carbon Accounting in Forests was the subject of an international workshop held in Canberra in February 2003. A record of the proceedings has now been published by CSIRO with support from Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. 

Download proceedings: http://www.ffp.csiro.au/fap/Carbon%20Accounting%20in%20Forests.htm

JIN workshop on baselines

(International Institute for Sustainable Development, 24 November 2003)

The Foundation Joint Implementation Network held a workshop on 6 and 7 November 2003 on the determination of baselines for Joint Implementation and Clean Development Mechanism projects.

Report and Presentations: http://www.northsea.nl/JIQ/workshop.htm   

Renewable electricity policies

Renewable electricity policies in Europe: Country fact sheets 2003 describes the proportion of renewable energy sources in the present fuel mix and the development of renewable energy sources for every country in the European Union. For each Member State the national renewable electricity targets are given, and an overview of the policy instruments that are in place to promote the use of renewable energy in order to achieve the targets.

Download from: http://www.ecn.nl/library/reports/2003/c03071.html

Emissions Marketing Association

The Summary Report of the Emissions Marketing Association’s 7th Annual Fall Meeting & International Conference held on 21 to 23 September 2003 has been published.

Download: http://www.emissions.org/publications/summary_reports/summaryreport2003_fall.pdf

Conferences:

Carbon Market Insights 2004
(Point Carbon, 25 November 2003)

Point Carbon’s Carbon Market Insights 2004 is to be held in Amsterdam on 20 and 21 April 2004.

Details: http://www.pointcarbon.com/category.php?categoryID=192

Regional greenhouse budget

The European Geosciences Union invites abstracts for the Regional greenhouse gas budget of the terrestrial biosphere session of its first general assembly, in Nice, France, from 25 to 30 April 2004.

Details: http://www.copernicus.org/EGU/ga/egu04/

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/