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"Climate aid said focused too heavily on C02
cuts"—reliability high.
"Under the non-binding Copenhagen Accord agreed at a U.N. summit in
December 2009, donors agreed that money to give a quick push to efforts
to slow climate change from 2010-12 would have a 'balanced allocation
between adaptation and mitigation.' But only 11 to 16 percent of the
money promised so far will go to adaptation actions such as building
sea walls and promoting new farming practices, according to the report
by the London-based International Institute for Environment and
Development (IIED)." From Reuters.
IIED press release here.
Access the report here. [Of course
rich-nation funding of mitigation (reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions) might help the whole world, including those rich nations. On
the other hand funding for adaptation (dealing with the local effects
of global warming) has mainly local benefits in the poor nations
themselves. There may also be a bias toward technological fixes where
some of the technology bought with the funding will be supplied by the
donor nations. This is an old foreign-aid trick.]
"Report: India faces major climate changes by
2030"—reliability high.
A recent study by the Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment
says that t average temperatures in India could climb 2 degrees C (3.6
F) within two decades, with even higher temperatures projected for some
coastal regions. "'There is no country in the world that is as
vulnerable, on so many dimensions, to climate change as India is,'
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said in a statement released with
the report on Tuesday. 'We must continue this focus on rigorous climate
change science.'" Some highlights of the report. See The
San Francisco Chronicle. More highlights of the report are here.
PDF of the report here.
[The India press
had a range of reactions to the report, even claiming such warming
would be a "blessing" to some states. Google it. The message for the
nation, however, is that it will have to come up with lakhs of crores
of rupees annually for adaptation.]
"Climate change and disease will spark new
food crisis, says UN"—reliability high.
The FAO's latest Food Outlook Report warns of projected increase in
prices for staples in 2011. "Price hikes of 41 per cent in wheat, 47
per cent in maize and a third in sugar are foreseen". "Climate change,
speculation, competing uses such as biofuels and soaring demand from
emerging markets in East Asia are the factors that will push global
food prices sharply higher next year, claims the FAO." More highlights
of report. In particular it notes "an expansion in food production is
the potentially more lucrative use of crops for biofuels and non-grain
or non-food crops such as sugar, cotton and soya" and "the FAO
explicitly acknowledges climate change as a factor in jeopardising food
supplies." It says, "adverse weather effects are undoubtedly a primary
driver of wheat production shortfalls and, with climate change, may
increasingly be so". From The
Independent. PDF of the Food Outlook Report here.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
"Pacific Northwest's Puralytics Wins National
Cleantech Open"—reliability high.
Oregon-based Puralytics, a developer of photochemical water
purification products, has been awarded the Cleantech Open's national
business competition top prize. It will receive "the national prize of
$250,000 -- comprised of $100,000 cash and $150,000 in-kind startup
services." See Marketwire.
[In addition to its
LED-phochemical water purification machine, Puralytics also displayed a
portable plastic pouch with an enclosed pad embodying its photochemical
system, where the light can be provided by the sun, enabling
purification of a couple of liters of water in two hours. Impressive
technology.]
"New Study Shows Wind Energy Supply Chain
Means Manufacturing Jobs and Corporate HQs for Illinois"—reliability
high.
"The Environmental Law and Policy Center has released a new study of
Illinois’ wind energy supply chain showing more than 100 Illinois
companies with a total of over 15,000 employees." The report notes that
while most nacelles are assembled domestically many of their components
are imported. However, "domestic production of subcomponents such as
bearings, electrical components and hydraulic systems" are increasing
in Illinois. From Environmental
Law and Policy Center. PDF of report here.
"IT to Drive Vehicle Energy Efficiency"—reliability
medium.
John Gartner posts about the many ways information technology will
become more integrated into vehicle management and lead to greater
transportation efficiency. Computers and communication technology
increasingly transfer information between vehicles, drivers, and
transportation infrastructure. Gives examples. See CleanTechies
blog.
Government and
Regulation
"A Call to Action on Ocean Acidity"—reliability
medium.
John Rudolf posts that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has
declared in a memo that states bordering water bodies that are becoming
more acidic from the absorption of carbon dioxide should list them as
impaired under the Clean Water Act. "The E.P.A.’s declaration, which
also urges states to gather data on ocean acidification in their
coastal waters, is a result of a successful lawsuit by the Center for
Biological Diversity, an environmental advocacy group. Under the Clean
Water Act, states that list bodies of water as impaired must take
action to curb the pollution responsible for the impact." See New
York Times green blog.
"'Green stealth tax' carbon reduction scheme
delayed"—reliability high.
The UK government has "announced it would delay the implementation of
a scheme to encourage businesses and organisations to save energy,
after controversially changing the programme last month into what
critics described as a "green stealth tax"." The program has required
large carbon emitters to register would have required them to buy
allowances for their emissions. The revenues from sale of allowances
was to have been returned to participating emitters according to a
formula that would reward those minimizing their emissions. Recently
the government had announced that it would instead just keep the
revenues from sale of allowances. Now "the government will delay the
implementation of the scheme, so that the first sale of permits to
cover energy use will not take place next year, but in 2012." See The
Guardian.
"Norway climate deal to drive Indonesia
reform"—reliability high.
"A $1 billion dollar deal with Norway to save Indonesia's forests and
cut planet-warming carbon emissions will trigger a much-needed shake up
of Indonesia's notorious bureaucracy, a top official said on Thursday."
Discussion of implementation of red-tape-and-corruption-reducing
efforts connected with the vast foreign aid and forest protection
program. From Reuters.
Science and
Economics
"USAID Study Says Climate Impact on Himalayas
Remains Unknown, but Worrisome"—reliability high.
.Highlights of a recent report by the U.S. Agency for International
Development that calls attention to uncertainties on impacts of melting
of glaciers in "High Asia". "The agency says more information about the
glaciers' behavior is needed to help communities adapt to climate
change-driven changes in glacier melt and the region's water cycle. ...
'it is important to start looking now at how to make communities more
resilient,' said Kristina Yarrow, a health adviser to the agency's Asia
and Middle East bureaus." At The
New York Times from ClimateWire.
