Shades of Green

The executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change spoke recently about the economic importance of curbing greenhouse gas emissions. The secretary said it is even more clear now that public and private money will need to blend in a creative way to achieve this goal.

Senate Republicans blocked a landmark energy bill today with a 53-42 vote. According to The Wall Street Journal, a vote on a new bill is expected as early as next week following negotiations this weekend.  

Republicans opposed measures that would repeal tax breaks for oil and gas companies and require utilities to generate as much as 15% of their power from renewable energy, such as solar and wind power. In general, many Republicans support a measure that would increase vehicle fuel-efficiency standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. Congress hasn’t voted to increase Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards, known as CAFE standards, since the mid-1970s,” the Journal reported.

If you have an online Wall Street Journal account click here to read more.

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer said the first day of the United Nation’s Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia went smoothly, adding a group will be formed to determine “a roadmap into the future.”

In an unexpected turn of events, it appears algae - known to some as oilgae - may soon move past corn as the most sought after source of renewable energy.

According to an article in the International Herald Tribune, scientists have started to study the slimy green organisms hoping to find some savior from skyrocketing oil prices.

Because algae can consist of as much as 50 percent oil, scientists at the University of Minnesota are hoping to convert that oil into biodiesel or jet fuel.

But first, they must find a way lower production cost.

If we can get algae oils down below $2 a gallon, then you’ll be where you need to be. And there’s a lot of people who think you can,” said Jennifer Holmgren in the Herald Tribune article. Holmgren is director of the renewable fuels unit of UOP LLC, an energy subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc.

In the meantime try to imagine flying in a jet soaring 30,000 feet above the ground and running off algae . . . interesting.

The United States will soon stand alone among industrialized nations in its refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, with the new Australian prime minister, Kevin Rudd, having said in no uncertain terms that his country would now ratify it.” Source: New York  Times.

The United States could learn a lesson from the recent political upheaval in Australia, Kevin Rudd certainly has.

 Despite an 11-year run by John Howard, who helped turn Australia’s economy around, a recent Economist article suggests the ouster may be the first time climate change has directly impacted an election.

Mr. Rudd has also learned what many national leader elsewhere will discover in the next few years: that climate change is now an election issue. A few years ago Mr. Howard could get away with his robust refusal to sign up to the Kyoto protocol, to hobnob with Al Gore or do anything that might damage Australia’s booming coal industry. No longer. This may have been one of the first national elections in which global warming was a political issue for big parties. It will not be the last.” Source: The Economist.

The Bush administration is the only government in the world that is opposed to mandatory emissions reductions being included in a new treaty,” said Philip Clapp, the deputy managing director of the Pew Environment Group in a recent New York Times article. “The question is, will they block others from moving forward.”

The Indonesian island of Bali is flooding with politicos and environmentalists today who are determined to reach a consensus on how to update the aging global climate treaty.

The summit falls on the heels of a disturbing report released last month by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which outlined possible side-effects of global warming.

By far, the biggest obstacle to forging a new accord by 2009 is the United States, analysts say. Senior Bush administration officials say the administration will not agree to a new treaty with binding limits on emissions,” the New York Times article states.

The Bush administration vehemently maintains the push to improve global warming can not create a negative economic impact, adding “binding limits on emissions” will do just that.

Learn how to calculate your carbon footprint and how to offset the greenhouse gas emissions you produce everyday.

What we are facing is not only an environmental problem, but has much wider implications: For economic growth, water and food security, and for people’s survival - especially those living in the poorest communities in developing countries,” United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer.

The 13th United Nation’s Climate Change Conference will start Monday in Bali, Indonesia. The UNFCCC has made it clear a breakthrough is necessary at this summit to reduce the looming impacts of global warming.

The goal for this conference is to reach an international agreement “on concrete steps” to follow the end of the Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period in 2012.

Japan, Italy and Spain were the three worst offenders under the Kyoto treaty, according to a recent Bloomberg article. The three countries underestimated “economic growth and future emissions from factories and utilities” and may face up to $33 billion as a result, the article states.

Kyoto Protocol requires countries to reduce the level of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by a certain percentage. If the countries fail to curb enough greenhouse gas emissions they must buy credits in the market.

The cost of a permit to spew a ton of CO2 into the skies surged this year after evidence of global warming mounted and European states reacted by restricting the supply of allowances. The price for a 2008 certified emission-reduction credit rose 14 percent in the three months through Nov. 27 to a record 18.20 euros ($26.85) to release a ton of CO2,” according to Bloomberg

The Associated Press recently released an interesting look at Tuscola, Ill., Mattoon, Ill. and Jewett, Texas – The three towns vying to be the location of the near-zero coal-fired power plant known as FutureGen.

For more Shades of Green postings on FutureGen click here.