NEWSLETTER ISSUE 71 - JANUARY 2014
GREEN EYE ON THE EU'S CLIMATE EFFORT
- Carbon capture and storage technology - not the solution to Europe's fossil fuel addiction
- CO2/ vans: Too little ambition for climate and consumers
- EU Commission protects the interests of a handful of fossil fuel companies rather than EU citizens’ interests
- Future 2030 energy & climate package - ENVI & ITRE MEPS support three binding 2030 targets
ROUND-UP - CLIMATE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
- Climate change far worse than previously thought
- European development bank turns its back on dirty coal
- Climate change imperils Peru’s effort to end poverty
- Drought 'biggest danger' of global warming
WHAT'S ON
- Calendar of some key events in January
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Follow us on 
Facebook and Twitter!
GREEN EYE ON THE EU'S CLIMATE EFFORT
Carbon capture and storage technology - not the solution to Europe's fossil fuel addiction
On Tuesday 14th January Members of the European Parliament voted with a clear majority to support a controversial own-initiative report on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology. Carbon capture and storage (CCS), is an uncertain, expensive, energy intensive technology which aims to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fuel combustion, transport it to a storage site and deposit it underground.
The Greens - who have consistently called for three ambitious binding targets on energy efficiency, renewable energies and greenhouse gas emissions reductions - had submitted amendments which state that no public support should go to CCS in the power sector, and to amend the provisions to limit CCS to industrial sectors, where the technology may have a role to play if it is first proved effective. Unfortunately these amendments were rejected by the pro-CCS Parliament... Read more.
See our Green Q&A on CCS
CO2/ vans: Too little ambition for climate and consumers
In Strasbourg, MEPs voted on the CO2 emission limit for new light commercial vehicles sold in the EU. The CO2 limit of 147 g/km by 2020 had already been set in 2011, but needed to be confirmed by the current decision. The targets were however based on incomplete information and proved to be very unambitious after real emissions had been reported.
The Greens have severely criticized the insufficient limits and regret that the compromise also does not foresee a long term target for 2025. The lack of ambition is bad for the environment, jobs and the wider economy. Stronger targets would have stimulated innovation towards cleaner and more efficient vans, acted in favour of citizens and SMEs who would have been able to save money, and reduced the climate-damaging emissions from these vehicles.
EU Commission protects the interests of a handful of fossil fuel companies rather than EU citizens’ interests
On 22nd January the European Commission is to present a proposal for legally binding regulations for the shale gas industry. However, the leaked document suggests it has ditched the plans. The guidelines - to be released as part of the 2030 climate and energy package - claim to ensure the safety of fracking and provide consistent regulations across member states. They include risk assessments of new fracking sites, restrictions in flood and seismic-prone areas and the monitoring of fracturing fluids and methane emissions. Member states will be asked to publish a scoreboard of compliance, and legislation could follow in 2015 if the guidelines prove ineffective.
However, the Greens and environmentalists are extremely critical of the non-binding guidelines, which ignore the studies the Commission published in the past and fail to protect Europe’s citizens from the health and environmental risks of unconventional and dirty fossil fuels. NGOs have accused the Commission of caving into the interests of corporations and some fossil fuel-fixated governments such as the UK and Poland. In mid-January UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced that he is determined to push for fracking across the country, this despite the growing indignation of local citizens.
The Greens continue to warn that continued investment in fossil fuels is risky as well as senseless and urgently call for massive investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. The group is now calling on the Commission to strengthen the proposal on fracking but also to support strong targets on greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy and energy efficiency within the future 2030 energy and climate package to be presented next week.
Future 2030 energy & climate package - ENVI & ITRE MEPS support three binding 2030 targets
This week the EU Commission is to release its 2030 climate and energy package. While some governments such as the UK have been pushing for a single GHG emissions reduction target only, other EU states wrote to the EU commission arguing in favour of supporting an additional energy target in order to speed up the transition to a green economy and phase out fossil fuels.
On 9th January Members of the EU Parliament’s environment and energy committee voted in favour of three binding targets on emissions reductions, renewable energy and energy efficiency: MEPs support a target for 40% emissions reductions, a target of a 30% renewable energy share and most notably an energy reduction target of 40% by 2030.
The Greens welcome the support for three targets, which now clearly puts a lot of pressure on the European Commission. However, they do call on EU institutions to go beyond and set higher targets. They will continue pushing for robust targets of 60% greenhouse gas emission reductions, 45% renewable energy share and 40% energy savings, warring that boosting the 2030 targets is of “vital importance” not only to help decarbonise Europe and support investment in clean energy across the continent, but also to add much needed momentum to international climate negotiations for a global treaty due at the end of 2015.
The resolution will be put to a vote early in the February plenary session in Strasbourg.
See why having three ambitious binding targets does matter
ROUND-UP - CLIMATE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Climate Change far worse than previously thought
Recently, a new study published in Nature suggests that climate change is even worse than scientists had previously anticipated. According to the study's authors, temperatures are currently snared in an upward spiral: As earth gets hotter, the heat prevents sunlight-reflecting clouds from forming, trapping more heat and further exacerbating the problem. The result could be a temperature climb of 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100.
Experts also warn that drought will become the biggest danger of global warmingInternational Business Times UKJanuary 2, 2014 11:48 AM GMT. The report found that over two billion people will live with water shortages within 100 years. Experts predict that up to 2.2 billion people worldwide will be living with inadequate supplies of water by 2100 and that a fifth of the global population will be living on less than 500 cubic metres of water per year – a threshold signifying absolute water scarcity. The south of the US as well as the Mediterranean countries are predicted to be the worst affected.
This alarming news follows a recent report on climate science by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which confirmed that humans are almost indubitably the drivers of climate change. International effort on mitigation should be seriously strengthen towards the climate negotiations of Paris 2015 so the final deal will enable the world to avoid a "catastrophic" increase of global heat.
See our Green booklet on the IPCC report on climate science (Sep 2013)
European development bank turns its back on dirty coal
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has, today, become the latest public financial institution to say goodbye to old-fashioned dirty energy. The announcement - which was cautiously welcomed by NGOs and environmentalists - represents a major shift for the EBRD: Between 2006 and 2011 the EBRD increased its coal funding by €60 million - with 48% of its total energy financing going to fossil fuels and just 11% to renewable energy.
With this decision the EBRD joins ranks of financial institutions such as the World Bank and the European Investment Bank that recently made similar moves. These three banks represent the world’s largest public finance institutions with a combined annual lending pot of €130 billion.
If implemented properly, these decisions could see a phase out of coal projects.
Climate change imperils Peru’s effort to end poverty
Peru - Which will host the UN climate conference at the end of this year - has recently earned a rather disappointing distinction. According to the latest human development country report of the UN Development Program (UNDP), in 2012 the Peruvian Amazon became for the first time a net emitter of carbon dioxide rather than oxygen. The Amazon rainforest has always acted as a carbon sink, absorbing atmospheric CO2 rather than releasing it. Scientists think this change results from the droughts in the western Amazon in 2005 and 2010 and shows Peru’s vulnerability to climate change.
Peru, which managed to more than halve its poverty rate in the last decade (from 48.5 percent in 2004 to 25.8 percent in 2012) could well see its progress undermined by this change and transition to a more general warming climate. With an increase of average temperature in the Andes of 0.7°C between 1939 and 2006, Peru has already lost 39 percent of its tropical glaciers. Temperature rises of up to 6°C are expected in many parts of the Andes by the end of this century. The report´s authors also warn that the country´s growth does not come from education or health, but from destructive but lucrative resource extraction and mining, illegal gold mining and logging- rather than via health or education.
Climate change could cost Peru between 8 percent and 34 percent of its GDP, depending on the effort made at international level to maintain global warming below the 2°C target. A report by the Inter-American Development Bank has said the entire Latin American and Caribbean region will face annual damages from global warming of about $100 billion by 2050.
WHAT'S ON
22 Jan - EU to propose robust new laws to protect public from risks of fracking
22 Jan - EU Commission White Paper on 2030 climate and energy package
4 Feb - Plenary vote on the EP 2030 energy and environment report