U.S. Climate Envoy Seems to Shift Position on Timetable for New International Talks
(December 8, 2011)
New York Times
The chief American negotiator at the Durban Climate Talks has firmly denied that the US is dragging its feet in an effort to put off climate change action. He was put on the defensive by a narrative developing at the conference that the US is opposed to any further action to address global climate disruption until after 2020, when the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, a primary United Nations climate agreement, and voluntary programs negotiated more recently have run their course. He then seemed to endorse, but remained non-committal, to a European Union “roadmap” for future discussions leading to a formal climate change treaty to be completed by 2015 and to take effect in 2020.
Seeing REDD: Forest Program May Be Only Success of Climate Talks
(December 7, 2011)
Voice of America
With deadlock on major initiatives at the Durban, South Africa Climate Conference, one of the few potential successes could be with progress on the REDD+ Forestry Program (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation). REDD provides financial value for carbon stored in trees, allowing developed countries to invest in standing forests in developing countries to offset their own carbon emissions. The program has been protested at the conference by indigenous groups, representing those people that live in and use the forest resources.
New estimate boosts permafrost contribution to climate change
(December 1, 2011)
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
“An international group of researchers believes greenhouse gases from thawing permafrost will be released at a much faster rate- 1.7 to 5.2 larger than previously estimated, which could have significant implications for climate change projections.”
New plant reflects optimism on biofuel: Enzyme producer thrives as political support falls
(November 21, 2011)
Delaware Online/ Associated Press
“The leading maker of the enzymes used to produce biofuels says the declining political support for ethanol subsidies hasn’t diminished the long-term prospects for the industry making fuel from plants.”
A Quiet Push to Grow Crops Under Cover of Trees
(November 17, 2011)
New York Times
The Department of Agriculture began an initiative this year to encourage agroforestry, the science of incorporating trees into traditional agriculture. Depending on the species, trees make all sorts of contributions to agriculture, experts say, in a science that goes back many centuries around the world. “A major hurdle to widespread adoption of agroforestry, though, might be conventional thinking about trees,” with farmers traditionally expending significant energy to remove trees in order to establish agriculture.
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Adds 16,000 Jobs and $1.6 Billion in Value to Northeast Economies, Study Finds
(November 15, 2011)
Climate Progress
“A new report finds that America’s first mandatory, market-based carbon cap and trade system added $1.6 billion in value to the economies of participating states, set the stage for $1.1 billion in ratepayer savings, and created 16,000 jobs in its first three years of implementation.”
Studies:
Cellulosic ethanol won’t reach first-generation price until 2020
(November 21, 2011)
E&E Publishing via Governors’ Biofuels Coalition
“Even with subsidies, ethanol made from crop waste or wood chips won’t be competitive with fuel made from corn until 2020 at the earliest, which is at the tail end of the most optimistic industry predictions, a new study said this week”:
“So-called second-generation ethanol faces significant extra costs due to the need for pre-treatment of the sturdy, cellulose-rich raw materials, as well as the more complex enzymes employed, says the study by the Department of Wood Science at the University of British Columbia.”Production requires significant cost reductions and at least the same level of financial support that was given to the first-generation systems if second-generation ethanol is going to be fully competitive by 2020,” said the study’s lead author, Jamie Stephen.Cellulosic ethanol’s potential appears to be enormous. With over 1.3 billion tons of biomass available for ethanol production, the United States could in theory replace all gasoline made from imported oil with ethanol.”
Observed increase in local cooling effect of deforestation at higher latitudes
(November 17, 2011)
Nature
While planting trees has been widely touted as a strategy for controlling climate change, this research provides concrete evidence that in some locations, trees do not prevent warming, and in fact, deforestation leads to cooling temperatures. This “albedo effect” only happens at northern latitudes, and occurs through altered biophysical processes in response to ground cover and air movement changes from deforestation on a local level.
