The environment in the news
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- Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Daily Planet (USA): Building a healthy, green rural economy
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_________________________________________________________________ Huffington Post (UK): Climate Pragmatism or Climate Illusion? 3 August 2011 With the Republican Party and a good many Democrats currently opposed to sanctioning any meaningful reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, United States climate policy, at least at federal level, appears stagnant at the moment. So it is perhaps welcome that a new pamphlet called 'Climate Pragmatism: Innovation, Resilience and No Regrets' seeks bipartisan progress on measures to tackle climate change. The authors of the pamphlet propose a new approach by the United States which they claim values "pluralism over universalism, flexibility over rigidity, and practical results over utopian ideals". Unfortunately, while their advice on some aspects of climate policy does make good sense, and its upbeat, 'can do' tone is very refreshing, its overall analysis is fundamentally flawed. The paper advocates increasing expenditure on energy technology innovation and on resilience to extreme weather events, in line with sensible policy-making. But like its earlier sister publications, the Hartwell Paper and Post-Partisan Power, it ducks the major challenge of how to stop the rise in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. 'Climate Pragmatism' fails on two major points. First, it surrenders the most powerful and market-friendly weapon available to policy-makers by calling for the introduction of a "small carbon charge" in order to fund greater research and development on alternative energy sources, but only at a level low enough not to significantly impact fossil fuel prices. The aim, say the authors, should be to decarbonise the energy system by making alternatives to fossil fuels cheaper, rather than making the use of oil, coal and gas more expensive. While this may seem laudable, increasing investment in alternative energy on its own does not adequately address the fundamental problems that are holding back progress at the moment, and the authors overlook the importance of markets in driving or halting climate change. As the Stern Review pointed out nearly five years ago, climate change is the result of a number of market failures, the largest of which arises from the fact that the prices of products and services involving emissions of greenhouse gases do not reflect the true costs of the damage caused through impacts on the climate. In essence, there is a subsidy for emitters of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases because the polluted, rather than the polluter, picks up the tab. All serious economic analyses of how to tackle climate change identify the need to correct this market failure through a carbon price, which can be implemented, for instance, through cap and trade schemes or carbon taxes. The primary purpose of the carbon price is to remove the subsidy for greenhouse gas pollution, creating a disincentive against emissions, so that 'dirty' fuels, such as oil, coal and gas, compete on a more level playing field with 'cleaner' energy sources, such as wind and solar power. Removing the subsidy for 'dirty' fuels also increases the rewards from improvements in energy efficiency. The introduction of a carbon price does not in principle mean that any revenues raised have to be used in any particular way, as long as they are not used to remove the disincentive to emit carbon dioxide. Indeed, it is possible for the revenues to be fiscally neutral by being used to reduce other taxes. However, it is clear that environmental economic instruments can both improve pollution control and raise revenue, as has long been acknowledged by the Congressional Budget Office, among others. A carbon price that effectively and efficiently controls greenhouse gas pollution would take into account both the potential costs that need to be avoided from climate change and the costs of reducing emissions. It would provide a pervasive incentive to adopt low-carbon technologies (in the home as well as in industry), pursue innovation, and improve energy efficiency, while avoiding pork-barrel politics and arbitrary discrimination between businesses. A carbon price can be usefully supplemented by improvements in innovation policies, but it needs to be at the core of action on climate change, as this paper by Carolyn Fischer and Richard Newell points out. Setting the right level for such a price is not easy, but economic models that give some guidance abound - and the pricing system can be adjusted as more is learnt about the technological options, the operation of carbon markets, and the magnitude and timing of the likely future impacts of climate change. Yet the authors of 'Climate Pragmatism' ignore the role of a carbon price in creating market incentives to control emissions and limit the rise in atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. Instead they seek only the revenue from a charge that will be hardly noticed by businesses and households, and hope that investing it in developing alternative sources of energy will lead to decarbonisation and therefore eventually limit atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases to an unspecified 'safe' level. It offers no guarantee that the research effort will be great enough to rise to the innovation challenge, nor that the emissions reductions will be big enough and soon enough. This exposes the other major failing of 'Climate Pragmatism' - it avoids any discussion of what level of climate impacts, and therefore of greenhouse gas concentrations, should be avoided, and so provides no sense of how much mitigation effort is required. But by implication, a small carbon charge that creates little or no disincentive against emissions will result in rising concentrations of greenhouse gases, probably to much more than double pre-industrial levels by the end of the century, and significant risks of severe economic and societal impacts due to potential global warming of 4°C or more. In fact, all countries that have signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change agreed last December in Cancún, Mexico, that a warming of more than 2°C should be avoided if possible. But that goal will only be realised if the actions of every country collectively add up to sufficient reductions in global annual emissions - current commitments and plans do not. While one can argue about the challenges of reaching agreement about ambitious national emissions targets, there is no way of circumventing the brutal reality that each country's emissions contribute to the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases. As the authors of the paper point out, it is proving difficult to reach an international agreement about the division of mitigation effort among countries, even though 42 developed countries and 48 developing countries have now made commitments and plans to bring down their annual emissions by 2020. Yet the authors of 'Climate Pragmatism' suggest giving up on what they call "unenforceable emissions targets and timetables". However, they offer a false choice between agreeing national targets and delivering national emission reductions, failing to recognise that the two complement and reinforce each other, and that neither is sufficient on its own. It would be wonderful if 'Climate Pragmatism' did offer a new and easier way for the United States to show international leadership on climate change. But all it has really attempted to do is to create the illusion that climate change risks could be effectively managed without tackling the massive market failure caused by the subsidy for greenhouse gas pollution from fossil fuels. Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Daily Planet (USA): Building a healthy, green rural economy 2 August 2011 Budget cutters and political neophytes in Congress are taking aim at federal farm and renewable energy policies. This is not a debate over best uses of federal funds, such as diverting more of the USDA budget to rural economic development or food aid for the needy at home and abroad. It is only about cuts; consequences be damned. Experienced voices on both sides of the Atlantic point out the dangerous consequences and lost opportunities the current federal budget battles present. In part one, long-time House Agriculture Committee member Collin Peterson reviewed how the federal farm program is both a safety net for an important and vulnerable segment of America’s economy—the farm sector—while it is also an investment in infrastructure for the broader economy. What troubles the Northwestern Minnesota policymaker is that farm and renewable energy policies, developed over the decades by bipartisan cooperation, are under threat by new members of Congress who are only committed to the tax avoidance interests of a well organized and affluent minority. Current budget proposals moving in Congress would cut the varied farm and food budgets by 25 percent while federal budgets in general would be trimmed by about eight percent. These cuts are catching the attention of journalists on and off the ag beat. Public policy journal AGRO Washington highlighted the debate in its latest semi-annual issue because it appeared the USDA budget was coming under attack, according to publisher Nick Kominus. A veteran agricultural observer north of the border reports how this year’s Canadian elections are altering farm and trade policies; the director of the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America warns how Washington’s budget battles threaten food safety; and another experienced Washington ag journalists, former Assistant Agriculture Secretary, James Webster provides a profile on Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the new chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and looks at what that might mean to trade policy. But with all due respect to Shakespeare, who found something “rotten” in Denmark, an especially important article was crafted by Henrik Steen Steensen, minister counselor for food and agriculture at the Royal Danish Embassy in Washington. In “The Danish Partnership Between Agriculture and Renewable Energy,” Steensen summarizes what is working with farm, food and energy policies in Denmark and leaves it to us to see how rotten things have become in Congress. Steensen recalls how Denmark was 99 percent dependent on foreign energy sources in the 1970s. From that time onward, Denmark has become energy independent, created a new, what most people call a “green” economic business sector that has created 3,450 jobs in rural communities, and Denmark’s economy has grown by 78 percent. This has largely resulted from Denmark linking farm and renewable energy policies that include wind generation along with biofuel and biomass development. Straw, wood and biodegradable wastes are key ingredients of this energy development. Steensen wrote that use of straw, wood chips, forest waste, wood pellets, biogas, wood and biodegradable waste had increased by 400 percent between 1980 and 2006. Now, he added, liquid fuels are being made from biomass sources such as animal and vegetable oils. Biodiesel and ethanol have not been widely used in Denmark, but that is changing with new capabilities, which he calls “second generation technologies.” The latter are especially important for accessing wastes from Denmark’s large pork production and processing industries. The farmers themselves did much of the early investment in “green” agro-energy, or together in new, small cooperatives, Steensen said in an interview with Minnesota 2020, and it was encouraged by national public policy. Now, however, new enterprises have been formed with municipal and regional utilities that are similar to our rural electric and telephone cooperatives as the size of these projects grow larger and need more partners and capital. All this has significant implications for rural economic development on both sides of the Atlantic. Steensen said he’s always amazed that Americans only get serious about renewable fuels when world crude oil prices climb above $100 a barrel … and how quickly this interest disappears when oil prices come down. He’s not alone. Congressman Peterson sees the ethanol plants built by Minnesota farmers as the initial infrastructure for energy development for whenever science can find better wastes and biodegradable inputs to replace corn as bioenergy’s primary feedstock. That may be years or decades ahead. It will require public research funds as well as public policies that encourage such developments. But the benefits of such rural economic development are already apparent in both Minnesota and in Denmark. Benefits going forward can be even greater when conscientious lawmakers return to solving real problems and finding alternatives to crude oil. That’s what makes the current budget battles so dangerous. Turning our backs on what would make an even more “green” agriculture would really be rotten. Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ NG News (Canada): Maritime Steel owner gets temporary environment permit 2 August 2011 The new owner of Maritime Steel has been granted the environmental approval required to operate the New Glasgow foundry on a temporary basis at least. The approval will allow Abbas Jafarnia to operate the business for one year, but also contains strict environmental conditions that requires impact studies on air quality, soil and ground and surface water. Penny McLeod, district manager for the Pictou Environment office, explained Tuesday that the one-year environmental approval will give the department time to gather the necessary information to make a long-term decision. Typical environmental approval can be as high as 10 years at a time, but when Maritime Steel went bankrupt last Christmas, the Environment Department was dealing with a “breach of approval” issue with the foundry, McLeod said. “We were dealing with them about that when they went into receivership,” McLeod said. The key aspect of the requirements focuses on air quality. A Facility Emissions Study will look at three areas – what Maritime Steel is emitting from every stack and vent; an air quality dispersion model to determine where the emissions are going; and validation of the dispersion model. The results of that study can only be done when the plant is up and running, McLeod said, and the final results must be sent to the Environment Department by Dec. 1. “We’re giving very tight time frames, we’re not just going to let something go on and on,” she said, but added that the operator can asked for a variance provided he has a “very good reason.” Jafarnia will also be required to file a pre-test plan before the study gets underway. “With the air, if they do meet the requirements, they’re fine, good to go. If they don’t comply, they’ll have to provide us with a plan on how they’re going to meet them,” McLeod said, adding that an inspector will be assigned to the file and will be watching the situation carefully. The ground water and soil testing will build on tests of the site done before the purchase of the foundry, when Jafarnia drilled wells to look at possible pollution at the site. There are no conditions in the environmental requirements for Jafarnia to do any improvements, McLeod said, but he will be required to provide the department with a schedule for monitoring and report annually. The third requirement focuses on surface water of the nearby East River. Prior to the bankruptcy of Maritime Steel, there were no discharge issues since it all went into municipal sewer and no changes to that are expected. Over the next year, the approval also requires a facility relocation study – due next June – and a ventilation assessment and emissions reduction plan. Typically, relocation studies aren’t required, but it was included in the approval in part in response to the vocal opposition from New Glasgow council and through an offer by Jafarnia. The study will include consultation with the town, McLeod said. The approval isn’t contingent on actually moving the foundry, however. Maritime Steel must also record any complaints it receives from the public, along with other pertinent details such as the weather at the time, as well as any possible reasons that might have caused the complaint. After the year, McLeod said, further approval will depend on “how they get along on all their studies, we’ll look at this as things go in.” In making the announcement Tuesday, Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau said, “We’ve heard the concerns of the community and ensured they were reflected in this approval. We have asked for more information so we can be confident the facility is operating in a way that protects public health and the environment.” Jafarnia, who is currently travelling to New Glasgow as part of his move back to Pictou County, said he was very happy the approval was in place. “It’s good news, I’m happy, but I was quite sure, based on what I’d been told, that I would get the working permits,” he said. Jafarnia officially takes possession of the plant on Aug. 9 and intends to spend a few weeks doing maintenance before opening. He says he’s already begun the process of hiring back workers. “This removed all the barriers,” said Jafarnia, who hasn’t been through all of the documents because he is on the road. “I think I can meet all the requirements – they’ve given me a year, I have work to do.” Jafarnia adds that he hopes he can work closely with the Town of New Glasgow to ensure the success of the foundry. “We need to finish the fight over this and need to start working together to help the people in the Pictou County area,” he said. “We cannot go ahead without co-operation. I’d like them to be more co-operative – together, we can do something for the people of this town.” New Glasgow Mayor Barrie MacMillan issued a statement Tuesday saying that while the town had been informed of the approval, they weren’t told exactly what the conditions were yet. “We will be obtaining the conditions, assessing them to determine they are appropriate and conducting ongoing monitoring to ensure compliance with the conditions to protect the health and safety of the citizens of New Glasgow,” MacMillan said. "The Town of New Glasgow has been very forthcoming throughout this process that our council’s concerns have always been of an environmental nature." Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Mail (Ghana): Oil sector must not compromise environment 2 August 2011 Out of 8.3 million hectares of high forest in the country in the early 1900s, only 1.6 million hectares remain. Forest cover declined at an average rate of 1.7 per cent between 1990 and 2005, which amounts to about 70,000 hectares annually. These dire figures on Ghana’s environment were disclosed by Ms. Sherry Ayittey, Minister of the Environment, Science and Technology when she spoke on the “State of the Environment in Ghana and the Role of Women in Nation Building”, at a durbar to climax activities commemorating the 10th Anniversary Celebration of Obonu FM in Tema. The theme of the celebration was “Our Culture, Our Development.” She said with the country’s developing oil industry, the need for a sustainable oil sector that would not compromise the country’s environment was therefore essential. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), she said was collaborating effectively with the Ministry of Energy to ensure that the best practices were applied by operators in the sector to ensure sustainable development. She said the government had rolled out a number of capacity-building programmes to enable Ghanaians to participate in the expatriate-dominated oil and gas sector by making scholarships available to students to study oil and gas-related subjects. Ms. Ayittey said that the Ministry of Energy and its related agencies were developing a land use planning scheme for the Western Region to ensure efficient and sustainable use of land. She said: “Other sector Ministries such as the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, are working assiduously to streamline land acquisition processes and to ensure transparency and sustainable land administration.” Ms. Ayittey said the nation would be making progress towards environmental sustainability, if collectively Ghanaians took steps to address issues that impacted negatively on the environment. She said that to effectively implement environmental policies, there should be improved coherence between sectoral government policies, improved law enforcement, enhanced capacity, especially at the decentralized levels, to implement policies. She said the underlying causes were the expansion of land for plantations (especially cocoa, rubber, coffee, and palm oil), as well as logging, most of which were illegal, besides firewood exploitation and forest fires. Ms. Ayittey said the situation had brought about the fragmentation of Ghana’s forest landscape, loss of wildlife corridors, and forest connectivity: degradation of biodiversity and the ecosystem. She gave the assurance that Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology was collaborating with the Ministry of Lands and Forestry to replant lost forest cover and also guard the existing ones, to avert this worrying trend. Ms. Ayittey said regulations and mining Laws were currently under review to ensure better environmental stewardship, as well as improve the human rights situation in the mining communities. On the role of women in nation building, the Minister said the relevant policies for women’s economic empowerment needed to be strengthened, to help address inequalities affecting women and girls at all levels as regards access to education, age, poverty, geographical location, language, ethnicity and disability among others. She also stressed the need to ensure that women and girls also had full and equal access to quality formal, informal, and non-formal education and vocational training at all levels. Ms. Ayittey called for increase in the enrolment and retention rates of girls in schools, by ensuring that sufficient budgetary allocation was made to education authorities to effectively execute this mandate. Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ WAM (UAE): Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi Urges Developers to Protect the Mangrove Tree 2 August 2011 As part of its mandate to conserve and protect biodiversity, the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) is urging developers to remember their responsibility to protect the Mangrove tree. On the occasion of Mangrove Action Day, which the international community recently observed, EAD is promoting the importance of this unique tree species in reducing climate change, acting as a buffer against extreme weather events and as a nursery to the emirate's fish stocks. Mangroves are a natural habitat for 75% of all tropical juvenile commercial fish species. They act as a nursery ground offering them shelter and food. Other species such as mud crabs, shrimps, as well as some waterbirds and waders depend on the mangroves. However, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the mangrove species is threatened by the loss of habitat throughout its range, primarily due to extraction and coastal development. There has been an estimated 21% decline in mangrove area within this species range since 1980. In 2003, Mangrove Action Project (MAP) - a non-governmental organization run by a global network with a mission to save mangroves - introduced Mangrove Action Day to help raise awareness on the species, its benefits, and what factors are causing it to be constantly threatened. EAD is marking this day by urging residents not to litter around mangroves, especially as plastic bags can interfere with mangrove growth by smothering them and may release pollutants which could affect the health of the mangrove. EAD is also calling on developers to protect this vulnerable species by considering the environment in the early planning stages of their development. Back in the late 1970s, massive mangrove plantation programmes put in place by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan substantially contributed to the increase of mangrove plantation over the past decades. Today, out of the 110 square kilometres of mangrove forests that exist in the UAE, 64% occur in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Presently, EAD is rehabilitating, conserving and protecting mangrove forests in seven main sites across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi: Saadiyat Island, Jubail Island, the Marawah Marine Biosphere Reserve (where Bu Tinah lies), Bu Syayeef Protected Area, Ras Gharab, the Eastern Mangroves and Ras Ghanada. The Agency is proactively supporting several mangrove planting programmes as part of alleviation measures to strengthen these mangrove habitats. Such planting schemes help alleviate the effects of dredging, as well as mitigate the loss of habitat that occurs when mangroves are removed. The most recent successful mangrove planting project took place in February 2011, when EAD successfully planted 800,000 mangroves on the coast of Saadiyat and Jubail Islands. Mangrove forests grow in areas between the high tide and the low tide mark, and substantially contribute to the preservation of the environment. They prevent coastline erosion caused by waves and ocean currents. In addition to being a major source of food and fuel, mangrove wood was used in the past for building houses and ships because of its rigidity and high resistance to rot and termites. Mangroves are a resilient shelter for wildlife and nature's way of lessening the impacts of global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide and keeping it locked away in a thick organic layer in the soil. However, mangroves remain a species under threat. Today, development poses many challenges to these conditions and consequently threatens the health of mangroves. Thabit Al Abdessalaam, Director of Biodiversity Management Sector at EAD, said: "The Mangrove plays an integral role in the marine ecosystem, providing a habitat for aquatic and terrestrial fauna and flora, as well as offsetting carbon emissions which help reduce the effects of climate change. It is essential that each one of us assume responsibility for the conservation of this species, as it is a treasured part of our natural heritage. We live on this blessed land and we are all responsible for preserving it for our children and grandchildren." He added: "The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is developing at a rapid rate; it is important for us to ensure that our surrounding land and marine habitats are not disrupted as a result. By working together towards the same goal, we can preserve the natural habitats for the Emirate's precious flora and fauna for years to come." According to an EAD report, Bu Tinah Island, the Eastern Mangroves, Ras Gharab and Ras Ghanada have been identified as sites with dense mangrove occurrence. Bu Tinah Island lies within the Marawah Marine Biosphere Reserve - the region's first and largest UNESCO marine reserve - and is the only contender from the Gulf region in the international New 7 Wonders of Nature competition. Its mangrove forests, which lie in intertidal areas (between the low and high tide lines), are high in biodiversity value and are attracting mud crabs and shrimps as well as various species of birds. Back to Menu Directory: cpi -> briefs briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news Download 390.25 Kb. 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