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March 2003In this issue: Archives of Past Issues
| Subscribe Stop Press!New Chief for Australian Greenhouse Office The Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Dr David Kemp, and the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Mr Ian Macfarlane today announced Mr Howard Bamsey will be appointed the new Chief Executive of the Australian Greenhouse Office. "I am very pleased to announce Mr Bamsey will take up this important leadership role. As Acting Chief Executive of the Australian Greenhouse Office, Mr Bamsey has demonstrated the energy, commitment and strategic skills that are essential in this very complex area," Dr Kemp said. Full story: http://www.ea.gov.au/minister/env/2003/mr01apr03.html CRC NEWSNew Light on Plants and Carbon
Dioxide Australia to lead the way in Carbon Budgeting with funding
boost Dr Roger Francey, from CSIRO Atmospheric Research, has been awarded an Australian Research Council Federation Fellowship to develop “New methods assisting the detection, monitoring and attribution of changes in the greenhouse effect”. The Fellowship is valued at over $1 million over the next five years. New scientific tools to manage the global environment are an international priority. New Australian technology has the potential to revolutionise the measurement and management of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the single largest human-caused contributor to greenhouse warming. The project will use the CSIRO “LO-FLOW™” CO2 analyser to measure, more efficiently, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Dr Francey will explore a number of critical applications including: early detection of predicted increases in Southern Ocean carbon dioxide emission; indefinite low cost monitoring of regional carbon flux changes over continental Australia; and improved international standards for CO2 measurement. The project will also increase the scope for commercialising new ways of measuring the presence of trace-gases. More on Federation Fellowships: http://www.arc.gov.au/pdf/ff-project-summaries-20.03.031revised.pdf
AUSTRALIAN NEWSMaking Money From Greenhouse Cutting greenhouse emissions could become a reliable way to bolster industry profits, based on new research emerging from Australia's Co-operative Research Centres. Farmers could save tens of millions of dollars while at the same time slashing greenhouse emissions in a new win-win approach to fertiliser use. A consortium of CRCs is exploring scope to change the management of nitrogen fertilisers to limit leakage into the atmosphere, soil and water. "We estimate that the application of improved management techniques could reduce greenhouse emissions in the grains, dairying and cotton industries by the equivalent of 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 a year," says CRC for Greenhouse Accounting chief executive Dr Chris Mitchell. "These three industries account for 40 per cent of Australia's agriculture and deliver $12 billion in export earnings a year. "The new fertiliser management technologies - which we will develop over the next three years - could save farmers around 120,000 tonnes of nitrogen and cut production costs by $116 million. At the same time it could earn up to $30m in greenhouse credits." Full story: http://www.greenhouse.crc.org.au/crc/ecarbon/CRCAMediaRelease110303.pdf Cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 50% Australia's world leading scientists are on a mission to make deep and long lasting cuts into carbon dioxide emissions from Australia's power plant and gas fields by capturing and storing the greenhouse gas deep underground. As part of the GEODISC program of the Australian Petroleum Cooperative Research Centre, Geoscience Australia, with the cooperation of the University of New South Wales, has completed an analysis of Australia's potential to geologically store carbon dioxide. Full story: http://www.ga.gov.au/media/releases/2003/10032003_carbon.jsp Scientists Discover Climate And Environmental Secrets From
Ocean Australian scientists on the AUSCAN scientific voyage across the Great Australian Bight have retrieved a core sample from the Murray Canyons that contains information on Australia's climate over the last 250,000 years. "Taken aboard the French research vessel, Marion Dufrense, this finding has been described as the best sedimentary core sample retrieved in Australian waters because of the important information it provides about the climate," Dr Kemp said. Full story: http://www.ea.gov.au/minister/env/2003/mr05mar203.html Business moves to middle ground on Kyoto Business support for the Federal Government's hardline position on climate change is crumbling, with the Business Council yesterday scrapping its outright opposition to the Kyoto protocol. Despite the move, the Government is adamant it will not officially endorse the protocol and its raft of measures to combat global warming. Full story: http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2003/02/28/1046407749965.htm Beyond Kyoto - Climate Change Conference The Federal Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Dr David Kemp, has opened a national conference in Melbourne on climate change, presenting the case for a truly global response to greenhouse and reiterating the Howard Government's commitment to climate change action. Around 150 business leaders, government officials and academics have gathered at the conference to explore alternatives to the Kyoto Protocol to limit greenhouse gas emissions on a world-wide basis. Presented by the Institute of Public Affairs, and sponsored by the Government, "Beyond Kyoto: Economic Impacts and Alternative Mitigation Strategies" focused on technological-based solutions in exploring alternative approaches to greenhouse gas abatement. "The projected impacts of climate change for Australia are far reaching, touching most sectors of the community," Dr Kemp said. "Australia needs an effective global response to help Australia manage the risks posed by climate change." Full story: http://www.ea.gov.au/minister/env/2003/mr28feb203.html Increase In Number Of Companies Reporting Emissions "Labor's environment spokesman, Kelvin Thomson, has taken the results of the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) completely out of context and has wrongly claimed air pollutants in Australia's cities are increasing," Dr Kemp has said. Full story: http://www.ea.gov.au/minister/env/2003/mr19feb303.html
WORLD NEWS
GeneralU.K. Minister claims greenhouse gain The government today hails signs that its climate change strategy is producing results, with carbon dioxide emissions falling 3.5% over the past 12 months after rises over the previous two years. That appears to put Britain on target for cutting greenhouse gases ahead of the timetable agreed at Kyoto. The figure will be announced by energy minister Brian Wilson alongside £82m of public money for wind projects. Full story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,3605,922029,00.html Russia set to sign Kyoto Protocol Labor's Environment Spokesman, Kelvin Thompson, says he has met the Russian ambassador in Canberra to show Labor's support for Russian plans to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Mr Thompson says the ambassador has told him the protocol will be signed at a conference on climate change in Moscow later this year. Full story: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s811071.htm Landfill gas will fuel electricity production Construction will begin soon on three plants that will convert landfill gas into electricity. The plants will be the first of their kind in Kentucky. Instead of coal, they will burn methane and other landfill gases to generate electricity. East Kentucky Power Cooperative will build the plants at the Bavarian Landfill in Boone County, the Laurel Ridge Landfill in Laurel County and the Green Valley Landfill in Greenup County. Each of the 5,000-square-foot plants will cost $4 million and generate a combined 10 megawatts of power. That's enough, East Kentucky Power says, to supply power to all the homes in two cities the size of Shelbyville. The gas is produced by decaying trash. It now escapes into the atmosphere, where it becomes a greenhouse gas and possibly contributes to global warming. Full story: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/5417703.htm Researchers Say U.K. Risks Missing Emissions Casting doubt on Prime Minister Tony Blair's pledge that the United Kingdom will go beyond Kyoto Protocol requirements by seeking to cut greenhouse gas emissions 60 percent by 2050, Cambridge Econometrics released a study today indicating the country is unlikely to meet its existing targets. Full story: http://www.unfoundation.org/unwire/util/display_stories.asp?objid=32306 US PolicyCongressman considers tax breaks for cyclists It's a paradox that has long puzzled cyclists. Commuters who burn a precious resource - oil - to drive to work get a tax break. Those who use their own muscle power to pedal bikes to the office do not. With the war in Iraq and gas prices soaring, cycling advocates think they have found an answer that both parties can embrace: give bikers a tax break. Full story: http://www.adn.com/24hour/politics/story/822668p-5812610c.html Bush climate change plan lacks focus, scientists say WASHINGTON — The Bush administration's plan for research into global climate change lacks a "clear and consistent" focus to guide officials in setting U.S. policy, a National Academy of Sciences panel said on Tuesday. The panel reviewed the draft plan at the request of the White House and described it as "a good start" that needed revisions to clarify its priorities and goals. At first glance, members said, it appeared the administration's proposed budget for fiscal 2004, which begins Oct. 1, left funding for climate change research relatively unchanged -- despite important new initiatives that are proposed in the draft plan. Full story: http://www.enn.com/news/2003-02-27/s_2984.asp CLIMATE CHANGE: U.S. Scientists Say White House Plan Is
Insufficient The Bush administration's plan to study climate change over the next 10 years drew criticism yesterday from scientists asked to advise the White House, who said the research proposal was inadequate to deal with global warming threats that require concrete environmental measures. Full story: http://www.unfoundation.org/unwire/util/display_stories.asp?objid=32247 Blair unveils global warming plan, says U.S. must do more LONDON — Prime Minister Tony Blair announced ambitious plans Monday to combat global warming, saying the Kyoto treaty to reduce greenhouse gases did not go far enough and criticizing the United States for failing to back it. Blair vowed Britain would seek to reduce its emissions of harmful carbon dioxide by 60 percent by 2050 and said President Bush was wrong to claim fighting warming will slow economic growth. Full story: http://www.enn.com/news/2003-02-25/s_2782.asp Emissions TradingApproval of CDM projects one step closer Registration of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects could now take place by the autumn of this year, following the latest meeting of the CDM Executive Board. "I hope the first projects will land on our table by the autumn," Hans Jürgen Stehr, the Executive Board chairman, told Environmental Finance. The board will then have to either approve them, or initiate a review, within eight weeks. Stehr was speaking after the Board's 19-20 March meeting in Bonn, where decisions were made on the required contents of the crucial project methodologies, which underpin CDM projects. Under the terms of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, investors in these projects will earn 'carbon credits' to the extent to which they reduce or avoid emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Full story: http://www.environmental-finance.com/onlinews/21marcdm.htm Netherlands Announces First Trading Projects Under Kyoto
Pact The Netherlands announced yesterday that it had approved its first overseas emissions trading projects to cut greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol, saying it aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 16 megatons. The Dutch Environment Ministry said in a statement that it will purchase emission credits through 18 projects in Bolivia, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Jamaica and Panama that focus on sustainable energy and clean technologies. It did not say how much money will be invested in these projects. Full story: http://www.unfoundation.org/unwire/util/display_stories.asp?objid=32603 Report Indicates Companies Ignore Warming Threat Investment advisers Innovest said last week that the financial sector is not taking climate change seriously enough, even though global warming poses one of the most tangible risks to companies' financial performance. Full story: http://www.unfoundation.org/unwire/util/display_stories.asp?objid=32541 Selling Smoke When Dawn Schrepel, an environmental and energy consultant in Washington, wanted to thank her 10 interns for a job well done, she bought each of them an unusual gift — a ton of carbon dioxide. "They were pretty surprised," she says, laughing. "And it took a little explanation." Schrepel, 33, bought the carbon dioxide not in giant tanks but on paper, through Natsource, an energy brokerage based in New York City. Full story: http://www.time.com/time/insidebiz/article/0,9171,1101030310-428067,00.html U.K.: Study Questions Effectiveness Of Emissions Trading
Scheme British estimates about the effectiveness of a U.K. emissions trading scheme may be overrated, according a study cited by the Financial Times yesterday. Under the program, companies would be allowed to buy and sell emissions allowances in an effort to reduce overall emissions in the United Kingdom. But the study, done by the consulting group Enviros, said projections about the plan's ability to actually curb emissions were overly optimistic because a "substantial portion" of the 34 companies that volunteered to participate in the program had already been reducing their emissions anyway. Enviros study: http://www.enviros.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=13.1&id=15 Science Reports – Impacts of climate changeSki resorts get creative to battle global warming LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Ski resorts across the country are launching a new campaign to highlight the impact of global warming on winter recreation and the opportunities both resort operators and their guests have to start solving the problem. Full story: http://www.enn.com/news/2003-03-19/s_3227.asp Developing countries vulnerable to climate change The three-day International Expert Conference on "Climate Change and Sustainable Development" of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded in Colombo on Friday with a Public Symposium where the highlights of the consultation was shared with the public. The experts meeting noted that poorer developing countries would suffer more from the impacts of extreme weather events and that developing countries like Sri Lanka was highly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman IPCC addressing a media briefing before the concluding sessions said that the meeting was in the process of developing the Fourth Assessment Report which would encompass within its structure integration of key linkages between climate change and development (including poverty and equity issues). Full story: http://www.dailynews.lk/2003/03/10/new15.html Warmer climates accelerate life cycles of plants, animals Ever since the winter solstice last Dec. 22, the days have been getting longer in the Northern Hemisphere and the noonday sun has climbed higher in the sky. These are nature's biggest cues that spring is nigh. As warmth gradually returns to the northern temperate latitudes, so do the birds that migrated south last autumn. Once back, they establish territories, make their nests, breed, and fledge their young. Meanwhile, bulbs and seeds sprout, trees bud, and insects emerge and start consuming the tender foliage. Plankton proliferates in lakes and ocean shallows, whereupon larval fish and seabirds begin their feeding frenzies. Thus the cycle of life begins anew, but with a recent trend toward global warming, the cycle is changing. Phenologists, who study organisms' responses to seasonal and climatic changes, have noted that the annual cycles for many creatures are beginning earlier on average, as global temperatures rise. Also, some heat-loving plants and animals have taken advantage of a warmer climate to expand their ranges toward the north and south poles or upslope toward higher elevations. Some organisms that thrive only in cooler climes have retreated from the heat. Full story: http://www.sciencenews.org/20030308/bob9.asp Extreme weather on the rise, likely to get worse, says
report LONDON — The world has experienced unusually extreme weather in recent decades, and economic losses from storms and other catastrophes have increased tenfold, an independent research group reported Thursday. The World Water Council said more intense rainy seasons, longer dry seasons, stronger storms, and rising sea levels had helped cause an increasing number of disastrous floods and droughts. Global warming is causing the changes in weather patterns, while growing populations and migration to vulnerable areas is increasing the cost of each disaster, said William Cosgrove, vice president of the World Water Council. "The forecast is that it's going to continue to get worse unless we start to take actions to mitigate global warming," he said. Full story: http://www.enn.com/news/2003-02-28/s_3052.asp Science Reports – Issues related to greenhouseStudy suggests greenhouse gases affect atmospheric pressure Greenhouse gas increases already blamed for global warming also may be shifting wind and rainfall patterns in the Northern Hemisphere by changing the atmospheric pressure, according to a new study. The research suggests that pressure changes account for increased rainfall in the Pacific Northwest and Britain, warmer winters in France, and drier weather in Spain. "It will probably make winters milder in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere," said Nathan Gillett of the University of Victoria in British Columbia, who led the study published Thursday in the journal Nature. Full story:http://www.enn.com/news/2003-03-20/s_3469.asp Pine trees may help create smog, acid rain Rather than being a global warming solution, pine trees may be inducing smog and acid rain by releasing vast amounts of nitrogen oxide into the air, researchers have discovered. Under some circumstances, needles from Scots pine trees can release nitrogen oxides directly into the atmosphere, according to a report in today's issue of the journal, Nature. Full story: http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s804613.htm
PUBLICATIONS - Highlights from recent literatureAsner, G.P., Archer, S., Flint Hughes, R., Ansley, R.J. & Wessman, C.A. (2003). “Net changes in regional woody vegetation cover and carbon storage in Texas Drylands, 1937-1999”. Global Change Biology, 9(3): 316. In this work, a variety of data sources (satellite imagery/aerial photography, traditional survey data, etc) are used to estimate an increase in woody plant dry matter in Texas over the last 60 years. Not surprising to many CRC members is the authors’ conclusion that accounting for veg. thickening is a technically very demanding task. They also note that thickening is amenable to management – again something many CRC members already know. Abstract Mitchell, C.E., Reich, P.B., Tilman, D. & Groth, J.V. (2003). “Effects of elevated CO2, nitrogen deposition, and decreased species diversity on foliar fungal plant disease”. Global Change Biology, 9(3): 438. As every agronomist knows, disease control can be important in determining final yield. However, what effect does it have on C sequestration? Mitchell and colleagues present interesting data which appear to show that elevated CO2 increased pathogen load on C3 grasses, while increasing N fertilisation increased the pathogen load on C4 grasses. Disease is something often not considered but perhaps we should at least think a little more about it. Abstract Schulze, E-D, Mollicone, D., Achard, F., Matteucci G., Federici, S., Eva, H.D. & Valentini, R. (2003). “Making Deforestation Pay Under the Kyoto Protocol?” Science, 299: 1669. In a policy forum article in Science, Schulze and colleagues have argued that perverse incentives have been created by the structure of the Kyoto protocol. In particular, they assert that it may be worthwhile (from a carbon credit perspective) to cut down pristine forests so a country can get reafforestation credits. Abstract Cochrane, M.A. (2003). “Fire science for rainforests”. Nature, 421: 913-919. The importance of fire in the Australian C cycle is demonstrated every few years with spectacular effects (e.g. 2003 Canberra). Cochrane has presented a topical and high-profile review of what is known and what needs to be known about fires and rainforests, with special emphasis on the tropics. Abstract
COMING EVENTSSustain 2003 - The World Sustainable Energy Exhibition & Conference: This event will be held from 13-15 May 2003 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. For more information contact: Marc Sterel; tel: +31-20-549-1212; fax: + 31-20-549-1889; e-mail: sustain2003@rai.nl; Internet: http://www.sustain2003.com International Conference On Energy And The Environment: This Conference will take place from 22-24 May 2003 in Shanghai, China. Organized by the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology and George Washington University, this Conference aims to provide an international forum for discussing clean city energy and related topics. For more information contact: Liu Daoping; tel: +86-21-6568-9564; fax: +86-21-6568-0843; e-mail: dpliu@online.sh.cn; Internet: http://www.gwu.edu/%7Eeem/ICEE/firstpagenew.htm UNFCCC SB-18: This meeting will convene from 1-12 June 2003 in Bonn, Germany. The UNFCCC Subsidiary bodies will meet to continue negotiations on the institutional and implementation aspects of the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol. For more information contact: UNFCCC Secretariat; tel: +49-228-815-1000; fax: +49-228-815-1999; e-mail: secretariat@unfccc.int; Internet: http://www.unfccc.int International Solar Energy Society Solar World Congress 2003: This Congress will convene from 14-19 June 2003 in Göteborg, Sweden. The Congress' scientific programme addresses financial, environmental and policy issues relating to solar energy. There will also be three thematic days covering Solar Buildings, Solar Thermal and Solar Electricity. For more information contact: ISES; tel: +46-31-81-8220; fax: +46-31-81-8225; e-mail: ISES2003@gbg.congrex.se; Internet: http://www.congrex.com/ISES2003/ The Third World Conference On Climate Change: This Conference will take place from 29 September-3 October 2003 in Moscow, Russia. The Conference aims to address key scientific issues and policy responses to the problem of climate change. For more information contact: Conference Secretariat; tel: +95-252-0708; fax: +95-252-0708; e-mail: wccc2003@mecom.ru; Internet: http://www.meteo.ru/wccc2003/econc.htm UNFCCC COP-9: The ninth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will convene from 1-12 December 2003 in Milan, Italy. For more information contact: UNFCCC Secretariat; tel: +49-228-815-1000; fax: +49-228-815-1999; e-mail: secretariat@unfccc.int; Internet: http://www.unfccc.int/.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE
Cartoon by Suzy Becker © 2003, Grist Magazine, Inc. http://www.gristmagazine.com/ha/ha031003.asp?source=daily?source=mailify Planet Slayer! - The World's First Irreverent Environmental
Website! Interesting sections include: Greenhouse Calculator http://abc.net.au/science/planetslayer/greenhouse_calc.htm Greenhouse Q & A http://abc.net.au/science/planetslayer/greenhouse_qa.htm
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