The environment in the news thursday 11 September 2008
Download 223.04 Kb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- Other Environment News
- Environmental News from the UNEP Regions ROLAC RONA Other UN News
- UNEP and the Executive Director in the News Africa News: Global warming: A call for action
- Costly fruits of inaction
- Economic interests and alternative energy
- Contribution of green house gases
- One earth but different worlds
- Counting costs and not walking the talk
- Act now to prevent future disaster
- Back to Menu ______________________________________________________________________
- Back to Menu ______________________________________________________________________ Sun Media Corporation: Branch out and plant a tree;
- Back to Menu ============================================================= Other Environment News
- Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Reuters: FACTBOX - Carbon Trading Schemes Around the World
- Story Date
- Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Reuters: Political parties seen failing on climate
- Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________
THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE NEWS Thursday 11 September 2008 UNEP and the Executive Director in the News
Other Environment News
Environmental News from the UNEP Regions
Other UN News
UNEP and the Executive Director in the News Africa News: Global warming: A call for action Posted on Wednesday 10 September 2008 - 18:30 AfricaNews editor Emmanuel Koro, AfricaNews reporter in Johannesburg, South Africa
Global warming induced floods continue to hit Southern African countries, especially Zimbabwe (600 people left homeless in less than a week in December 2007), in South Africa millions of United State dollars worth of property and agricultural crops destroyed in November and December 2007 alone and in Mozambique 200,000 people affected in December 2007 alone. Fed up with the ongoing and harrowing worldwide effects of global warming which recently led South Africa’s Environmental Affairs Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk to tell the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, “There is no longer any excuse for any country to ignore climate change and South Africa will contribute its fair share.” Schalkwyk called for an urgent global action to significantly reduce harmful emissions - global warming causing carbon fuels. In a welcome show of commitment to reduce climate change, Schalkwyk exposed some developed countries’ convenient excuse for their inaction on climate change; that they would not act as long as developing countries did not also show commitment to address climate. “Some of our partners say that we will not get a climate change deal without developing countries. Let’s be clear on that; as a developing country we will take ambitious mitigation action.” World scientists agree that Africa’s contribution to climate change is minimal. But the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a scientific body established in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Progromme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to assess the scientific, technical and socioeconomic information relevant for the understanding of the mankind caused and also mankind threatening climate change recently said that Africa is the most vulnerable continent to climate change as its widespread poverty makes it unable to adapt to climate change. Africa and other poor continents continue to suffer from poor agricultural produce caused by climate-change induced floods and droughts. They neither have the cash or technology to lessen the pain and suffering caused by climate change. Added to this suffering are diseases such as malaria, which have claimed our loved ones. Costly fruits of inaction When one’s house starts burning panic and fear naturally grips the owners, making them take immediate action to stop the disaster. But not so with global warming whose global effects threaten not only to destroy mankind and wild species’ habits but our lives. Scientists worldwide have already proved that global warming worsens poverty levels and also negatively impacts on human health. Dr. Paul Epstein of the US- based Centre for Health and Global Environment at the Harvard Medical School recently explained that warmer and wetter weather caused by global warming create conducive environments for disease-carrying insects such as mosquitoes to thrive. Good examples of global warming-linked malaria being experienced in high altitude and relatively cold environments where it did not previously exist include the mountains of Ethiopia and cities such as Nairobi, Kenya and Harare, Zimbabwe. The floods that hit Mozambique in 2000 resulted in a five-fold increase in malaria. The floods provided breeding grounds for insects and drove rat populations into sources of drinking water, effectively polluting the water supply. Sewerage systems and long-drop toilets also burst due to flooding and sewage was introduced into sources of drinking water in both urban and rural areas. Common stand needed Whatever the cause of inaction to reduce global warming, it is clear that we need to take a common stand to fight global warming and reduce its impacts. However, our responsibilities to do that will certainly be different, those who are largely responsible for ‘causing global warming’ should take a lead role towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions which cause global warming. More than before, we need to “think globally and act locally” leaving no room for selfish economic interests in order to avoid a disastrous future that scientist have already predicted to hit us if we do not act collectively and meaningfully to reduce the impacts of global warming. The impacted, voiceless and faceless communities worldwide continue to suffer from global warming effects. The good news is that we could lessen the suffering, if we act collectively and cooperatively as a global community. The IPCC scientists say it is possible to halt global warming if the world’s greenhouse gas emissions start to decline before 2015. But when will action be taken? It is sad to note that the international environmental organization WWF, previously known as the Worldwide Fund for Nature was recently quoted saying that government officials representing countries opposed to taking radical and meaningful action to address global warming were instrumental in removing vital facts from the IPCC report that highlighted a disastrous future for the planet earth - as long as world governments continue to fail to address the problem of global warming. Wither to planet earth? Economic interests and alternative energy Economic growth interests have been singled out as the major reason why developed countries such as the USA and Australia refused to support the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 and again the 1997 Kyoto Protocol when it was signed and ratified by other world governments. An extension of the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol legally commits industrialized countries that signed and ratified it to cut down their global warming causing emissions. However, it has been argued by other schools of thought that reducing emissions does not mean a direct reduction in industrialization as cleaner technologies such as solar and hydroelectric power should be used to substitute carbon fuels as a way of reducing global warming. The planting of trees, which act as carbon sinks that continuously absorb global warming gases from the atmosphere, is also another solution towards reducing global warming. Contribution of green house gases Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are among the well-known greenhouse gases. These gases are introduced into the atmosphere through burning them, in order to generate electricity, power engines and motor vehicles and other related machines. The ongoing accumulation of these gases in the atmosphere and their non-removal or reduction creates an almost permanent gaseous blanket over the earth. This blanket prevents heat sent to earth from the sun from escaping back into the atmosphere. This creates cumulative heat on the earth, resulting in global warming. Since the beginning of industrialization about 150 years ago, greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere has increased by about 25 percent. Scientist also observed that for the past 20 years, 75% of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere was generated from human-made carbon dioxide through the ongoing burning of fossil fuels to drive industrial development worldwide. Highly industrialized countries such as the United States of America, China, Japan and Australia are known to be the largest contributors to global warming. In the US, greenhouse gas emissions come mostly from energy use. These are largely driven by economic growth (electricity generation and powering vehicles and other related machinery). One earth but different worlds Elsewhere worldwide other communities were enjoying the festive season but not so for their counterparts in Southern Africa and of course in Thailand where they were commemorating the sad loss of thousands of their loved ones who departed the earth following the 2004 global warming induced tsunami waves that flooded and destroyed living and non-living matter along coastal areas. The tsunami waves were a sad reminder of how the world continues to foolishly ‘nurse’ a growing problem of global warming. The UN Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change has already predicted more severe impacts of global warming in the not too distant future. The IPCC said in its November 2007 Climate Change Report; “Almost a third of world will face extinction if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. The IPCC also warned that if global temperature increases by more than 2 degrees Celsius before 2050, twenty percent of the world’s population would face greater risk of drought. Without being pessimistic or alarmist, one wonders if rich nations have adequate financial and technological resources to feed more than one billion people who will undoubtedly be affected by the predicted droughts, let alone costs for conserving wild plants and animals. Former United States Vice President Al Gore’s work on global warming that culminated in him sharing the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize is yet another international admission that climate change is a problem that we can only ignore at our own peril as a global community. Globally, some have already paid the ultimate price of losing their lives in climate change induced impacts while some are waiting fearfully for that time when they might lose their habit, life-time earnings or the ultimate price of losing one’s loved ones through climate change. In 2000 and years that followed destructive floods swept away people’s homes, killed and maimed innocent and poor communities in Asia and Africa. Though few of these communities in Asia and especially in Southern Africa where I write from have the opportunity to tell the world that they need to be rescued from ongoing poverty and diseases that come with global warming linked floods and drought, the story of their frustration and helplessness shows clearly in the endless poverty, deaths and diseases such as malaria – all linked to global warming. Sad memories of a Mozambican woman giving birth in a tree that separated her from the swirling and deadly flood waters below her are still fresh in this writers’ mind. Indeed all television viewers and newspaper readers worldwide saw this harrowing image in 2000. What a sad way of starting the new millennium. Added to this was the wildlife habitat loss through out southern Africa in countries such as Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa’s Limpopo Province. Southern Africa is also among the few regions worldwide that has been hit by the twin evils of global warming – drought and floods. Counting costs and not walking the talk As mankind and wild species continue to suffer the onslaught of global warming, the situation is worsened by the very fact that the Kyoto Protocol, international framework that was put in place to address climate change expires in 2012. Is it not an irony that the Kyoto protocol was made to expire and yet it was primarily established to address a seemingly endless global problem of climate change whose impacts as we now know better; can only be reduced and not terminated permanently. As the world continues to slowly ‘burn’ from global warming effects, we are disappointed by the news from the just ended Climate Change Conference to wait until 2009 to get a clear picture on commitments to continue with the Kyoto process. Frustrated voices from affected Southern African communities are undoubtedly saying to world leaders “the wait to get decisive global action on climate change is too long and when that time comes, please do not disappoint us again by shifting goal posts. Our lives and those of the unborn are clearly in danger if no action is taken urgently to reduce global warming.” As world governments were meeting in Bali Indonesia in December 2007, the world was told about more horrifying impacts of climate change in that country which includes the predicted disappearance of that country’s many islands and the shifting of the capital Djakarta to another place; due to global warming induced flooding. For how long can we continue to talk about the shifting of cities? Do we all have enough land to shift our capitals when hit by global warming in future? Land is a finite and very scarce resource. Already, there is fierce competition worldwide for land to settle people, keep wildlife and build towns and cities. There is a clear physical and scientific truth that there will soon be no where to run for both humankind and wild species, as long as world governments do not take immediate and meaningful action to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases which are the root-cause of global warming. As things stand, the clock is certainly ticking towards a sad future. We need to act quickly to avoid self-destruction. Act now to prevent future disaster Hit hard by the twin evils of global warming (floods and drought), the message from affected communities worldwide including Southern Africa, which is often conveyed on their behalf to world governments by NGOs is “act now and prevent further disaster”. Indeed many rural residents in Southern Africa are tired of poverty, death and all forms of diseases linked to global warming such as malaria. They are the faceless and voiceless communities who only hit international media headlines when global warming linked floods and droughts as well as diseases have hit them. They have continued to appeal to world leaders to take collective action to address global warming immediately but their appeals have often invited a lot of sympathetic talk and very little action. For the past 15 years, the UN IPCC has been calling for decisive and meaningful action by world governments to reduce the impacts of climate change. Unfortunately, ongoing calls from negatively impacted poor communities worldwide as well as the IPCC scientists are not being taken seriously. Almost 150 years ago, a Red Indian chief, Chief Seattle warned his and future generations against causing environmental disasters: “Contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste.” In the case of global warming, perhaps Chief Seattle would have said cause global warming and you will one-day ‘burn in the fires that you started’. Credited for having delivered one of the most beautiful and profound environmental statements ever made, Chief Seattle also said that “Man did not weave the web of life – he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” With all these words of wisdom from the wise people of the past and the current warnings about global warming from the IPCC scientists and appeals from the almost downtrodden and voiceless and impacted communities, one wonders why world governments seem to be waiting for the predicted disasters to happen, before they can agree to take swift and meaningful action against climate change. Back to Menu ______________________________________________________________________ Eco-Friendly: IPCC Re-Elects Dr. R.K. Pachauri as its Chairman, Celebrates 20 Years of Its Existence The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - a scientific body set up by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and UNEP celebrated twenty years of its existence on the 31st of last month. At its 29th session, the IPCC re-elected by acclamation, its Chairman Dr. R.K. Pachauri to a second term. A new IPCC Bureau and Task Force Bureau were also selected in the process. Last year had been glorious for the IPCC and for climate change research and action. Especially historical was the 10th of December, 2007 when the IPCC (and Albert Arnold Gore Jr.) were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change”. It is thus not too surprising, that the then Chairman has been re-elected, unopposed, for a second term by the IPCC. The IPCC was first established twenty years ago, to provide decision-makers and others interested in climate change with an objective source of information about climate change. It neither carries out research nor monitors real time data. The role of IPCC is to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent basis, the latest scientific, technical and socio-economic literature produced worldwide, relevant to the understanding of the risk of human-induced climate change.
In the climate constrained world of today, such a body is thus needed to play the global role that IPCC has set out to play. The fact that climate change is an issue without borders needs no verification. The fact that the impacts are real and are being faced in the present day do not require any further elaboration either. It is but for governments to accept and act. And to ensure the same, IPCC’s objective and neutral reports are pivotaland critical towards making any national action plan for any country. Because of its intergovermental nature, the IPCC is able to provide scientific, technical and socio-economic information in a policy-relevant, policy-neutral way to decision makers in different governments.
For Dr. R.K. Pachauri - a climatologist from India under whose chairmanship the IPCC received the Nobel Peace Prize, the joy would be even greater. Back home, he has also been conferred the Padma Vibhushan - India’s second highest civilian award by the Government of India, in recognition of his remarkable work in the field of environment science and research. Dr. R.K. Pachauri is also the Director-General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), a dynamic and flexible organization based in New Delhi, India that pioneers in researching and acting on climate change issues.
Trees near homes have also been found to reduce residential heating costs by as much as 15 per cent from the windbreak they provide. It's for virtues like these that world leaders are now launching campaigns to rebuild what has been lost to clear-cutting bulldozers and short-sighted money schemes. In November 2006, the United Nations Environment Programme launched the Billion Tree Campaign, inspired by the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai. By January of this year, 2.38 billion trees had been pledged and 1.8 billion planted. Trees are both a carbon sink and a carbon source. Scientists forecast a spike in forest fires with the advance of climate change, which would release huge stores of carbon back into the atmosphere. According to Natural Resources Canada, forest fires burn on average 20,000 sq. km of forest each year in Canada. Back to Menu ============================================================= Other Environment News Reuters: EU Lawmakers Propose Lowered Biofuels Target BELGIUM: September 11, 2008 BRUSSELS - European Union lawmakers have proposed cutting the share of traditional biofuels to less than 6 percent of EU road transport fuel by 2020, a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed. The European Commission had proposed that 10 percent of all road transport fuel should come from renewable sources by that date, with biofuels currently the main way of meeting that target. The EU's original 10 percent target has been attacked by environmentalists, who say traditional "first generation biofuels" from food crops contribute to rising food prices and deforestation. The European Parliament's influential industry committee will on Thursday vote on whether to alter that proposal. One amendment backed by three major voting groups proposes that 40 percent of that target should come from renewable sources other than the controversial first generation biofuels. "At least 40 percent of this target shall be met from electricity or hydrogen from renewable sources, energy from waste, residues and ligno-cellulosic biomass or algae produced in vats, or energy from feedstock grown on degraded land with a net carbon benefit regarding land use emissions over 10 years," says the document seen by Reuters. (Reporting by Pete Harrison) Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Reuters: FACTBOX - Carbon Trading Schemes Around the World Companies and governments are turning to emissions trading as a weapon to fight climate change, in a carbon market worth US$64 billion last year. Cap-and-trade schemes force participants -- often energy-intensive industries -- to buy permits to emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which is produced from burning fossil fuels. New Zealand's parliament on Wednesday passed the Labour government's climate change bill, which will introduce emissions trading from 2009. The scheme will eventually cover all emissions from the economy, but critics said it was too slow to phase in the crucial sectors such as agriculture, which makes up around half of the countries total emissions. Australia's leading climate guru Ross Garnaut last week said the Australian government should aim for an emissions cut of at least 10 percent by 2020 (based on 2000 levels), or up to 25 percent if a tougher target is adopted. He also recommended that Aussie carbon prices be pegged at A$20 (US$16) a tonne from 2010, with only marginal increases for the first two years. The 27-nation European Union launched its cap-and-trade scheme in 2005, while Canada is set to launch a market of its own in 2010. US senators in June defeated a proposed federal US climate change bill which included cap and trade. In another type of carbon market, countries and companies can trade carbon offsets under three, UN-led Kyoto Protocol schemes. A full list of established and proposed schemes follows. INTERNATIONAL SCHEMES KYOTO PROTOCOL (United Nations) (1) Launched: 2005 Mandatory for 37 developed signatory countries Target: 5 percent reduction in 1990 emissions by 2008-2012 Contains three sub-schemes to help signatories meet targets: 1- Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): Developed countries can invest in clean energy projects in developing nations 2- Joint Implementation (JI): Rich countries can invest in clean energy projects in former communist countries or "economies in transition" 3- Assigned Amount Units (AAUs): Signatories can trade surplus emissions rights among themselves First commitment period expires in 2012 and governments scrambling to negotiate a successor agreement. EU ETS - European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (2) Launched: 2005 (Phase 1: 2005-2007, Phase 2: 2008-2012, Phase 3: 2013-2020) Mandatory for 27 nations in EU Covers around half of all EU emissions Target: Reduce EU ETS emissions by 21 percent by 2020 compared to 2005 levels Worth US$50 billion in 2007 (3)
PROPOSED NATIONAL SCHEMES UNITED STATES Mandatory cap-and-trade scheme proposed under Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act was rejected by the US Senate in June, but many observers expect either presidential candidate to introduce new climate legislation within first six months of their presidency. CANADA (4) Launch: 2010 Mandatory for all 10 provinces and three territories Target: Reduce 2006 emissions by 20 percent by 2020 Scheme covers 50 percent of Canada's emissions Potential problems: Alberta already has a provincial scheme and several provinces have joined US regional schemes. JAPAN (5) Currently a voluntary scheme (JVETS), and government trialling a mandatory scheme in autumn 2008. Target: Cut emissions by 14 pct below current levels by 2020 JVETS (voluntary scheme) - Launched: 2005 Target: Cut emissions from a 2002-2004 average, using government-subsidised clean energy equipment AUSTRALIA (6) Launch: 2010 Mandatory - to cover 75 percent of Australian emissions Target: First cap (2010-2012) to cut emissions to 8 percent above 1990 levels (Australia's Kyoto target). Medium-term caps could be 10-25 percent below 2000 levels by 2020, while long-term targets "should reflect increasing levels of ambition" and move country towards an eventual goal of reducing 2000 emissions by 60 percent by 2050. NEW ZEALAND (7) Launch: Obligations start in 2008, trading starts in 2009 Mandatory - includes forestry in 2008, electricity in 2010, transport fuels (16 pct of total emissions) in 2011 and agricultural waste (47 pct of total emissions) from 2013. Target: To be announced Participants will receive permits representing 90 percent of 2005 emissions between 2013-2018. Free permits will then be phased out from 2019 to have full auctioning by 2029. Importing HFC and PFC offsets to be restricted until 2013, and using AAUs for compliance will only be allowed between 2008-2012. Auckland's TZ1 exchange has been appointed to be VCS (Voluntary Carbon Standard) registry. Sources: (1) UNFCCC (2) European Commission (3) World Bank (4) Environment Canada (5) Japanese government (6) Australian government (7) New Zealand government, Barclays Capital (Compiled by Michael Szabo; Editing by David Fogarty) Story Date: 11/9/2008 Back to Top ______________________________________________________________________ BBC: Parties 'fail on climate change' Smoke pours from a power station chimney A low carbon economy is essential to avoiding recession, the report says The UK's leading environmental campaign groups have accused the main political parties of failing to prepare for the challenges of climate change. The coalition of nine organisations says Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have switched focus from the green agenda to the economy. Friends of the Earth and the National Trust are among those in the coalition. The government has an incoherent and contradictory approach to green issues, its report says. Waning leadership Their report criticised the Conservatives for an "increasingly alarming" gap between their presentation on green issues and the substance of their policies. The Liberal Democrats' traditional leadership on this issue has waned in the past year, it adds, but the party was also praised for its commitment to making the UK an energy independent and zero-carbon economy by 2050. The coalition said the rise in fuel prices should have been used as a springboard to reduce the UK's dependency on fossil fuels. The need for an ambitious approach to environmental policy has never been clearer Stephen Hale, Green Alliance
Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:29am BST By Jeremy Lovell LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's three main political parties are failing to address climate change as the economic downturn starts to take precedence, the country's leading environmental organisations said on Wednesday. The recent surge in world oil prices -- and with it domestic fuel bills -- proved that now was the time for the country to reduce dependence on imported energy and produce more of its own, clean power, they added. "None of the three main political parties are currently showing the vision and courage to prepare the UK for the challenges ahead," said Stephen Hale, director of the Green Alliance lobby group which is one of the nine signatory organisations to the report. "In a time of rising fuel and food costs, the need for an ambitious approach to environmental policy has never been clearer," he added. The report "Fit For The Future? The Green Standard 2007-08 Review of the Parties" calls on Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to use the upcoming party conference season to recommit to tackling global warming. It said the government's approach was "contradictory and incoherent", putting energy security above climate change and opening the way for new coal-fired power stations without the technology to cut their carbon emissions. This, it said, would undermine the government's own plans in legislation going through parliament to cut national emissions of climate warming carbon dioxide by 60 percent by 2050. The Conservatives had made the right noises under leader David Cameron but failed to produce any concrete plans or policies, the report said. With a general election due within 20 months, the party urgently needed to put flesh on its environmental rhetoric. The Liberal Democrats, traditionally the front-runners on developing environmental policies, had also gone noticeably quiet on the issue in recent months, the report said. It urged the three parties to promise to stick to the country's European Union target of producing 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources like wind and waves by 2020. The government has been trying in recent months to negotiate a relaxation in this tough requirement. The report also called on the government to come up with a major public investment programme for energy efficiency and an improvement in household energy performance, a rejection of unabated coal-fired power plants and no airport expansion. "The party conference speeches by the three party leaders will be an important test of their ability to lead the UK to a low-carbon future," said Hale. The report's signatories are Green Alliance, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, WWF-UK, The Wildlife Trusts, The Woodland Trust, RSPB, The National Trust and CPRE. (Editing by Keith Weir)
Guardian : Not guilty: the Greenpeace activists who used climate change as a legal defence 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 223.04 Kb. Share with your friends:
|