Top Stories
"Deutsche Bank: 'Human-Made Climate Change Is
A Serious Long Term Threat'"—reliability medium.
Brad Johnson posts: "Global financial giant Deutsche Bank has crushed
the climate skeptics in a new paper released today". The research
paper, "Climate Change: Addressing the Major Skeptic Arguments", says
"Simply put, the science shows us that climate change due to emissions
of greenhouse gases is a serious problem. Furthermore, due to the
persistence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the lag in response
of the climate system, there is a very high probability that we are
already heading towards a future where warming will persist for
thousands of years. Failing to insure against that high probability
does not seem a gamble worth taking." The paper gives specific
responses to skeptics' arguments. See The
Wonk Room. The DB research paper is available here.
[Though the
skeptics' arguments may confuse the public debate, the science is clear
enough. Companies and investors should rely on it.]
"Chinese Offshore Development Blows Past U.S."—reliability
high.
The Donghai Bridge Wind Farm near Shanghai has become the first
operational offshore wind farm outside of Europe. The article notes
that the U.S. is far behind. More on China's offshore wind plans.
"'What the U.S. doesn't realize,' said Peggy Liu, founder and
chairwoman of the Joint U.S.-China Collaboration on Clean Energy, is
that China 'is going from manufacturing hub to the clean-tech
laboratory of the world.'" See The
New York Times from ClimateWire. ["You don't need a
weatherman . . . ." And note story on European wind power below.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
"Frito-Lay Adds Electric Trucks to Its Fleet"—reliability
medium.
Jim Motavalli posts: "Frito-Lay North America announced on Wednesday
that it would field a fleet of 176 battery-powered delivery trucks made
by Smith Electric Vehicles. In the first wave, five each will be
operated in New York City, Fort Worth and Columbus, Ohio. Six will be
in Canada." Frito-Lay has the nation's third-largest truck fleet with
18,000 vehicles. Mike O’Connell, the national director of fleet
capability, "said the trucks are 'a key component of the sustainability
strategy' at Frito-Lay and PepsiCo, a strategy that would include a 50
percent reduction in fleet fuel use by 2020." From New
York Times Wheels blog.
"U.S. Steps Up Its Effort Against a European
System of Fees on Airline Emissions"—reliability high.
The New York Times reports that authorities from the United States,
Canada and Mexico have urged the International Civil Aviation
Organization to pass a nonbinding resolution asking countries that are
"seeking to implement an emissions trading system that applies to other
contracting states’ aircraft operators" to do so only "on the basis of
mutual agreement." This move targets EU laws requiring airlines flying
in Europe to obtain carbon credits to cover their emissions. U.S.
carriers have objected strongly to the law. At the same time they are
taking steps to comply and obtain credits. More on the controversy. See
The
New York Times.
"Wind power's growth is blowing Europe toward
green goals"—reliability high.
Interview with Christian Kjaer, CEO of the European Wind Energy
Association. Wind already supplies about 5% of Europe's electricity,
but "For the past two years, 40 percent of all new electricity
generating capacity in Europe came from wind turbines. From Spain to
Sweden, so many new turbines are being erected that Europe is on target
to produce 15 percent of its electricity from wind by 2020. By 2050,
half of Europe's electricity is expected to come from wind." Fossil
fuel plants will be retired. Significant increase in jobs. Asian
competition. In The
Guardian from Yale Environment 360.
"The Business Case for Green Leasing"—reliability
medium.
EDF Climate Corps fellow Rich Tesler posts that One of the projects he
is involved in at SunGard Data Systems, Inc. is creating a primer for
its finance and facility managers outlining the business case for
green leasing. "In addition to the many traditional strategies employed
to capitalize on the real estate decision opportunity, integrating
sustainability considerations and sustainability personnel into the
site selection, RFP and lease negotiation processes is increasingly
becoming an industry best practice, and typically leads to cost and
performance benefits." He lists and discusses the three principal
benefits. See Greener
World Media. PDF of green leasing primer here.
Government and
Regulation
"China blacks out factories, homes in drastic
move to meet energy-saving targets"—reliability high.
In China some local government are imposing power cuts to meet
energy-conservation targets imposed by the central government. The AP
piece quotes a spokeswoman for Greenpeace China: "You could say local
governments are trying to blackmail the central government: If you
order me to do something I can't deliver, I will pass on the pressure
to ordinary people." "What they [the central government] are doing now
is relying too much on harsh administrative orders." See Los
Angeles Times from AP. [Of course such
cuts won't reduce the energy intensity of production, since when power
stops production stops. Nobody said
managing energy efficiency improvements by command and control from the
center would be easy. On the other hand,
in most big cities in India such cuts might pass unnoticed.]
"E.P.A. to Study Chemicals Used to Tap
Natural Gas"—reliability high.
The U.S. E.P.A. has sent letters to nine drilling companies requesting
information on the chemicals they use in the hydraulic fracturing
method of natural gas extraction, according to this NYT story. "The
move is part of the federal agency’s preparations for a long-term
scientific study of the effects of the practice ... on drinking water
and public health." More about the controversy over environmental
impact of this increasingly important energy technology. Story at The
New York Times from Climatewire.
"UK government told to cut 2020 biofuels
target"—reliability high.
Britain's Committee on Climate Change has recommended that the
nation's target for biofuels, currently set at 10% of transportation
fuels, be cut back to preserve tropical forests. "This target should be
lowered unless new evidence shows that it can be achieved sustainably,"
it said. It recommended an 8% target. More on the committee's
recommendations. See Reuters
story.
