Click on the headline (link) for the full text.
Many more articles are available through the Energy Bulletin homepage
US Seeks Alliance with China and India to Block Climate Protection
Gregor Peter Schmitz , Der Spiegel
Officially, the US government says it wants to push in Bali for a climate protection “road map.” But SPIEGEL ONLINE has learned that this may not be true. US government officials are already attempting to coordinate with China and India to prevent binding emissions limits.
… In the run-up to the Bali Climate Conference that opened Monday, the administration of US President George W. Bush established contact with representatives of the Chinese and Indian governments in an attempt to curb progress on climate protection initiatives, SPIEGEL ONLINE has learned from a source familiar with the White House’s Bali strategy.
According to the source, Washington is hoping that the two greenhouse gas emitters will openly declare during the conference that they are unwilling to accept any binding limits on emissions of greenhouse gases — at least not as long as the US is unwilling to do more or if the Western industrial nations do not provide them with more financial aid for climate protection initiatives. If successful, the US could use the tactic to prevent itself from becoming an isolated scapegoat if negotiations in Bali end in a stalemate.
(3 December 2007)
Government hiding damaging climate report, critics charge
Mike De Souza, CanWest News Service
A new federal report is warning of an international scramble for oil and minerals under melting Arctic ice and water scarcity in the Great Lakes, but the Harper government is keeping the study on the shelf, CanWest News Service has learned.
Authors of the Natural Resources Canada report, called From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a changing climate 2007, say many of the findings are consistent with recent international reports. They are baffled that the government has delayed its release, which was expected last month.
Jim Bruce, a founding member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, said one of the chapters he wrote concluded that changes in Canada’s North could generate more conflict over the oil and minerals under the ice, as well as additional environmental damage.
(3 December 2007)
Cool dress code at Bali climate conference
Catherine Brahic, New Scientist
The conference that everyone involved in climate change science and politics has been waiting for has officially begun. And delegates are being invited to not dress to impress.
This week and next over 10,000 delegates are descending on the southern tip of the Indonesian island of Bali to discuss the next Kyoto protocol.
I can’t count the number of times that I’ve been told in the past few weeks that it is ridiculous that this many people should fly around the world to take part in a climate change conference. (To give you a scale of the event: flights were already booked up a month ago, and you can forget finding a hotel room anywhere near the district of Nusa Dua, where the conference is taking place.)
Personally, I would say that several thousand government representatives and policy makers flying around the world to meet in one place is reasonable. A large part of the decisions made at conferences happen in the corridors, as parties meet informally, and in side meetings. Video conferencing is great, but in this setting face to face interaction is irreplaceable.
Charles Clover writes in The Daily Telegraph today that delegates will emit the equivalent of more than 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide flying to the meeting. The figure sounds large, and Clover says it is “on a par with the annual emissions of the African state of Chad”.
The trouble with the comparison is, Chad’s annual emissions are small.
(3 December 2007)
Not a very convincing argument from the jet-setting climate conference delegates. Isn’t it time to get serious about air travel, and find better ways to network? -BA
China, India urged to curb energy use
Robin McDowell, Associated Press
Coal-burning power plants belch pollutants into the air in China, contributing to global warming that experts say has destroyed billions of dollars in crops.
In India, melting Himalayan glaciers cause floods, while raising a more daunting long-term prospect: the drying up of life-sustaining rivers.
The two economic giants are becoming increasingly aware of the effects of rising temperatures. But though they are among the biggest contributors to the problem, both say they will not sign any climate change treaty that would slow the pace of their development.
Meanwhile, the United States, which has pumped more carbon into the atmosphere over time than any other country, says it will continue to oppose mandatory reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, especially if China and India refuse to budge.
(3 December 2007)
Environmental group claims responsibility for bogus USCAP release
Elizabeth Souder, Dallas Morning News
An environmental group called Rising Tide North America put out a fake press release on Monday stating that members of U.S. Climate Action Partnership had agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to stop building coal-fired power plants.
A story using the release was published on dallasnews.com.
USCAP, a group of industrial companies including NRG Energy, said later that it never made such commitments.
“Neither USCAP nor its member organizations were involved in the development of this Web site or the distribution of today’s announcement. This fraudulent Web site has been shut down,” the real USCAP said in a statement.
Rising Tide opposes the use of fossil fuels and promotes “community based solutions” to climate change. According to the group’s Web site, members seek to “spark a nationwide uprising against the fossil fuel industry that not only disrupts business as usual, but inspires widespread resistance.”
Jessica Starr, an organizer for the group, said the fraudulent press release was meant to draw attention to climate change and the idea of cutting emissions substantially.
(4 December 2007)
Bad idea. When truth and open communication are in one’s favor, it’s bad strategy to muddy the waters. -BA
UPDATE (Dec 4)
More from The Guardian:
Internet hoax raises pressure over emissions
Faking it
