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Carbon Markets to Be a Focus of Poland Climate Talks, Marcu Says
By Mathew Carr – Jun 26, 2013 This year’s climate talks in Poland will attempt to establish a framework for rules governing industry-based carbon markets and non-market programs after 2020, according to the Centre for European Policy Studies. A so-called framework for various approaches would provide flexibility to nations wary of giving control over their domestic energy or greenhouse-gas markets to an international process, said Andrei Marcu, head of the centre’s carbon market forum in Brussels and adviser to Poland, which is hosting the United Nations negotiations in Warsaw starting Nov. 11. 3:17 June 26 (Bloomberg) — Former U.S. Representative Bob Inglis, a Republican from South Carolina, talks about President Barack Obama’s climate policy and immigration law. He speaks with Tom Keene and Sara Eisen on Bloomberg Television’s “Surveillance.” (Source: Bloomberg) The rules would allow nations to run their own programs, market or via government regulations and taxes, and choose whether they want to join the international market, he said yesterday by phone. Otherwise, countries could use their emission reductions domestically to show they are taking action to protect the climate, he said. President Barack Obama yesterday said his administration would “redouble” efforts to help forge an international climate-protection agreement that would govern emissions beyond 2020 and apply to all nations, not just those that have already industrialized. “We need an agreement that’s flexible, because different nations have different needs,” Obama said in a speech in Washington . “And if we can come together and get this right, we can define a sustainable future for your generation.” Using EPA Obama sought to limit U.S. emissions from existing and new fossil-fuel power stations and create free trade in clean-energy goods. His resolve to regulate using the Environmental Protection Agency may prompt the business community to lobby Congress to consider adopting more cost-effective carbon markets, said Anthony Hobley, president of the Climate Markets & Investments Association in London . Obama’s speech also may encourage the UN talks to become more pragmatic during their next few negotiating sessions, focusing on setting principles for domestic programs rather than seeking to impose targets, Hobley said yesterday in a phone interview. “We’ve been a little naive in what we expected international law to do.” To contact the reporter on this story: Mathew Carr in London at m.carr@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lars Paulsson at lpaulsson@bloomberg.net Continue reading
Obama’s Climate Plan Sets Power Plant Emissions Limits
Environmental Leader June 25, 2013 President Barack Obama’s climate plan will restrict carbon emissions from existing coal-fired power plants and boost investment in renewable energy, according to White House documents. The climate plan , which Obama will announce this afternoon, doesn’t set a timeline for the power plant rules. Reuters reports the EPA will issue proposed carbon emissions limits for existing powers plants by June 2014 and finalize the regulations a year later. The federal government will also make up to $8 million available in loan guarantees for energy-efficiency and clean-technology projects for fossil fuel plants. In addition to limiting carbon emissions, the US will work to reduce other potent greenhouse gases , including hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and methane, both domestically and internationally. The plan calls for cleaner-burning fuels for transportation and says the Obama administration will work with the auto industry to develop post-2018 fuel economy standards for heavy-duty vehicles. The federal government will work with the private and public sector to deploy biofuels, advanced batteries and fuel cell technologies for all modes of transportation, it says. In an effort to reduce energy bills for businesses and homes, the White House will set efficiency standards for appliances and federal buildings that will cut carbon pollution by at least 3 billion metric tons by 2030 — equivalent to about half of the carbon pollution from the US energy sector for one year. The plan also sets new renewable energy goals, including installing 100 MW of renewable capacity across federally subsided housing by 2020 and building enough wind and solar projects on federal lands to power more than 6 million homes by the same date. The plan says the federal government will obtain 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. This new goal more than doubles the current target of 7.5 percent. Additionally, the plan focuses on preparing for the impacts of climate change, including establishing a task force to advise on how the federal government can better support climate preparedness and taking measures to improve climate resilience in areas damaged by Hurricane Sandy. It says the White House will launch a “climate data initiative” and a “toolkit for climate resilience” that centralizes access to data-driven resilience tools, services and best practices. Continue reading
‘Climate Bomb’ Warning Over China Coolant Release
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1c273ab0-dbe4-11e2-8853-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2X7AUUxXp By Kathrin Hille in Beijing A “climate bomb” of potent greenhouse gases 15,000 times more damaging to the climate than carbon dioxide is set to be released by some of the world’s leading producers of refrigerants following a ban on climate credits. The companies, the majority of them in China, argue that a ban on trading of climate credits for the incineration of HFC-23 makes it no longer financially viable to destroy the gas, which is a byproduct of a substance used in air conditioners and refrigerators. A warning by the Environmental Investigation Agency in a report to be released on Monday will raise the pressure on China to ban such gases and end economic incentives for their production in multilateral talks. Some 19 factories – 11 in China – making HCFC-22 have been receiving climate credits under the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism for installing and operating incinerators to burn HFC-23 that is created during the manufacturing process, instead of venting it into the atmosphere. Facilities in developing countries can sell emission reduction credits to buyers in developed countries to allow the latter to meet their targets under the Kyoto protocol. However, the European Emissions Trading Scheme, the world’s largest carbon market, banned trading in those credits last month after finding that the financial incentive drove companies to produce more HFC-23 instead of curbing it. Other climate exchanges have said they will follow, causing substantial revenue streams for the producers to dry up. The EIA said an investigation had shown that most of China’s non-CDM facilities were emitting HFC-23 already. “If all of these facilities [under the CDM] join China’s non-CDM and vent their HFC-23, they will set off a climate bomb emitting more than 2bn tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions by 2020,” it said. People involved in the sector in China said this was likely to happen. “If there is no more funding, the CDM plants could start venting as well,” Mei Shengfang, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Fluorine and Silicone Industry, said. He added that authorities were considering offering support. An executive at China Fluoro Technology, one of the largest Chinese CDM plants, said: “Our company is still incinerating the HFC-23 now. If the money is used up, we can stop incineration. We can’t go on doing this, we can’t afford it and we have no duty to do it.” Releasing HFC-23 into the atmosphere is not illegal. China has been blocking proposals for a ban as part of multilateral talks under the Montreal Protocol to phase out hydrofluorocarbons, which continue on Monday in Bangkok. China raised hopes this month when President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama of the US said at a summit that they had agreed to work together to reduce the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons. “This is a reversal of China’s attitude, and all eyes are on China now to see if it’s for real,” said Alexander von Bismarck, executive director at EIA. Additional reporting by Li Wan Continue reading
