Tag Archives: change
UK Ignores Land Change In Biomass Criteria
By Dave Keating – 27.08.2013 draft proposalcirculated by the European Commission’s energy department earlier this month. The criteria would ensure that the extraction of energy from biomass, largely wood from forests, is not causing more emissions through land displacement than it abates. Under the UK proposal, published on Thursday (22 August), large biomass energy plants would have to demonstrate that they are emitting 66% less carbon than fossil fuel in order to qualify for renewable energy subsidies from 2014. This would rise to 72% in 2020 and 75% in 2025. The threshold is stricter than the 60% suggested by the Commission’s energy department. But like the energy department’s draft, the UK criteria would not factor in indirect land use change (ILUC), which would include such phenomena as loss of carbon storage potential for trees or the increased use of land for displaced food crops. The 2008 renewable energy directive obliged the Commission to come forward with sustainability criteria for biomass and biofuel, but these have been long delayed. A proposal put forward last year to factor ILUC into decisions about which biofuel can receive renewables subsidies and meet fuel objectives has encountered huge resistance from the biofuel industry, which says the restrictions would destroy their business. Environmental campaigners are angry that the draft proposal circulated within the Commission does not include ILUC, saying the Commission has backed off because it wants to avoid the same level of controversy it has encountered with the biofuel proposal. There is conflict with other Commission departments which want to include ILUC and carbon debt, according to Commission sources. However the biomass industry maintains that biomass does not cause ILUC in any significant way and comes from land that would not be used to grow food crops. The Commission is expected to put forward its proposal in October. © 2013 European Voice. All rights reserved. Continue reading
Impact Investor and Advocate Discusses Sustainable Farming and the Mitigation of Climate Change
Philippe van den Bossche, an impact investor and advocate, discusses how sustainable farming practices can mitigate climate change. New York, NY (PRWEB) July 24, 2013 On July 24, impact investor and advocate of sustainable agriculture, Philippe van den Bossche, discusses how sustainable farming can lessen climate change . According to a July 17, 2013 article published on TreeHugger.com, entitled, “More research shows sustainable agriculture can mitigate climate change,” one third of greenhouse gasses being produced by humans in the past ten years can be attributed to poor crop cultivation, animal production and deforestation. However, new research is showing that improving crop yields – growing more food in a set amount of space – could reduce the emissions we release into the atmosphere by “12 percent per calorie.” The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, found that “sustainable farming approaches can accomplish both goals of reducing emissions and providing more food.” Hugo Valin, an IIASA researcher who led the study, elaborates: “The most efficient way to ensure sustainable intensification on the crop side is to rely on practices and technologies that are not more fertilizer-demanding, such as new varieties, improved rotations, integrated crop-livestock practices, and precision farming.” United Nations Special Rapporteur, Olivier De Schutter, recently told the UN Rights Council about the impact that “small-scale” sustainable agriculture can have on food production and the possibility of alleviating poverty in certain developing nations. “To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques available. Today’s scientific evidence demonstrates that agro ecological methods outperform the use of chemical fertilizers in boosting food production where the hungry live especially in unfavorable environments.” Philippe van den Bossche, an impact investor and advocate for sustainable agriculture, comments on the recent findings: “Today’s conventional farming practices saturate farmlands with toxic pesticides and fertilizers, strip soil of nutrients and contribute to desertification. Utilizing sustainable, organic agriculture is one way to get our environment back into a healthy state.” Philippe van den Bossche is an impact entrepreneur, impact investor and Chairman/ Owner of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA), a leading organic agricultural consulting and manufacturing company located in Middlefield, Ohio. AEA provides consulting services and specialty nutritional materials to farms throughout the United States and Canada. Mr. van den Bossche is an advocate for organic farming and agriculture. ##### Continue reading
Free Market Is Best Way to Combat Climate Change, Study Suggests
July 15, 2013 — The best way to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change is through the use of market forces, according to a new study. Researchers who monitored the effectiveness of the European Climate Exchange (ECX) — the world’s biggest carbon trading platform — found it to be as efficient as Europe’s two biggest exchanges, the London Stock Exchange and the Euronext Paris. Using free market platforms like the ECX to combat climate change could provide the basis for the introduction of a mandatory emissions cap and trade scheme worldwide. The report found that the value of the trades on the ECX were higher after the market closed, a sign of growing sophistication within platforms. It means that trades were made with greater confidence based upon increasingly detailed information. Researchers said there are also signs of maturity based on increased liquidity — the immediate availability of a party to trade with — and price efficiency, which means all available information is incorporated into prices so they are traded in a relatively transparent manner. The ECX was created by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) in 2005 to help the European Union (EU) achieve its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce carbon emissions. The EU set limits and issued permits for how much carbon firms could emit into the atmosphere. If companies exceed their limit, they incur regulatory penalties. To avoid this, the EU-ETS allows firms with high emissions to buy the permits of other companies on platforms such as the ECX. By creating a market, it gave firms a financial incentive to reduce their carbon emissions. Researchers said that changes are needed to ensure the EU-ETS survives Europe’s economic downturn. Since the study appears to confirm the ECX’s effectiveness, researchers say the EU-ETS should be allowed to self-adjust emission caps in reaction to changes in the Eurozone’s fortunes and industrial production. Gbenga Ibikunle, from the University of Edinburgh Business School, said: “While individual responsibility for combating climate change is important, much needs to be done to incentivise companies — especially those who emit most of the world’s carbon — to cut back too. This study shows that free market mechanisms such as the EU-ETS can be effective in doing that. Several other schemes around the world are already learning from this and adopting it as a model.” The paper is published in the International Journal of the Economics of Business . Continue reading
