Top Stories
Food prices soar in Russia after drought.—reliability
high.
"Prices of basic foodstuffs like buckwheat and flour have soared in
Russia over the past month as the effects of its worst ever drought hit
supplies, statistics showed Wednesday. ... 'The most acute problem is
with buckwheat because last year's stock is not big and the forecasts
are bad,' said Mikhail Susov". See Grist
from AFP. [Buckwheat
is a staple in Russia, although China is the biggest producer. If
Russian consumers connect price spikes in buckwheat, bread and milk
with climate change they may pressure politicians to do something. To
shift the anger at inflation politicians will be tempted to shift the
blame to the drought. The question is whether the drought is regarded
as an aberration, and "act of god", or blamed in turn on climate
change.]
Australia's capital sets 40 percent carbon
cut law.—reliability high.
"The Australian Capital Territory, which includes the capital Canberra
also ruled by Labor, said its Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Bill 2010 would set a target of cutting carbon emissions by
40 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels. The cut would rise to 80 percent
by 2050, with the aim of the territory of nearly 400,000 people
becoming carbon neutral by 2060." From Reuters.
[On a national
level climate action has been paralyzed by parliamentary politics, but
on this local level Labour can act freely. This may also be a signal to
kingmaking independents and greens that Labour is serious about climate
and deserves their support in forming a government.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Supermarkets miss plastic bag goal for a
second time.—reliability high.
"The UK's leading supermarkets have once again missed a voluntary goal
to halve the number of single use carrier bags handed out, despite
cutting usage since last year, new figures have shown. The
government-backed Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) confirmed
today that the total number of carrier bags issued by the UK's leading
supermarkets has fallen 41 per cent since figures were first recorded
in 2006." From BusinessGreen.
But
in another take on the same data: Plastic bag use
plummets in supermarkets
since 2006.—reliability high.
"Customers at the UK's leading supermarkets used 43% fewer carrier
bags in 2009-10 than they did in 2006, when figures were first
recorded, with 6.1bn single-use bags used in 2009-10 against 10.7bn
four years earlier. ... But figures for the month of May suggest that
since the voluntary agreement ended, the supermarkets' performance has
dipped." See The
Guardian.
Scotland’s offshore wind sector to
contribute £7.1bn to economy.—reliability high.
"Scotland’s offshore wind sector may contribute £7.1bn of investment
to the economy and by 2030 renewable energy could meet up to 143 per
cent of its projected annual electricity demand, according to separate
reports." More highlights and links to reports. See NewNet.
[Scotland has
"cleaned up", if that is the right term, from the North
Sea offshore oil bonanza, which is now fading. Wind, and maybe tidal,
energy may provide a second act.]
Apple blocks iPhones from green ranking
scheme.—reliability high.
"Apple has refused to allow its iPhones to be included in the UK's
first-ever green ranking scheme for mobile phones. .. Launched in
partnership with sustainability advisers Forum for the Future, the
green ranking scheme scores handsets on the ecological impact of their
raw materials, the manufacturing process, packaging, how long they are
likely to last, energy efficiency and how easy they are to reuse or
recycle." From The
Guardian.
Government and
Regulation
California Approves First New U.S. Thermal
Solar Plant.—reliability high.
"California regulators on Wednesday approved a license for the
nation’s first large-scale solar thermal power plant in two decades.
The licensing of the 250-megawatt Beacon Solar Energy Project after a
two-and-a-half-year environmental review comes as several other big
solar farms are set to receive approval from the California Energy
Commission in the next month." From New
York Times Green blog.
EU sees limit on industrial projects in CO2
scheme.—reliability high.
"The European Union's top climate official proposed on Wednesday new
limits on the use of carbon offsets from industrial gas projects, under
fire by green groups, in the EU's emissions trading scheme after 2012.
'The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has been successful in some
aspects but has also given rise to criticism, e.g. with regard to
environmental integrity,' said Connie Hedegaard, Commissioner for
Climate Action, in a statement. ... 'I have asked my services to
prepare a proposal for a measure to introduce further quality
restrictions on the use of credits from industrial gas projects in the
post-2012 EU ETS,' Hedegaard said." From Reuters.
[So there could be
approved CERs that would not be legal as offsets in the EU? This will
complicate the carbon market. Ideally such derivatives should be
commodities to minimize transaction costs.]
[shared from Daily
Green Brief]
