Category: Climate

European report finds emission reductions on course to pass goals for 2020. UPI/Stephen Shaver The commission and the European Environment Agency estimated total greenhouse gas emissions from members of the European Union in 2013 fell 1.8 percent from the previous year. That means 2013 emissions were their lowest since 1990. EU members have agreed to cut emissions by 20 percent of the 1990 benchmark by 2020. The commission said the data show the EU is on pace to surpass the target. EU Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said the emission declines show European climate policies work. "Delivering on 2020 climate goals shows that Europe is ready to step up its act," she said. "And better, still: it shows that the EU is delivering substantial cuts." Members of the European Union agreed last week to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent, increase the renewable energy footprint by 27 percent […]

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European ambition on climate initiatives unmatched, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said. UPI/Anatoli Zhdanov Members of the European Union agreed early Friday to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent, increase the renewable energy footprint by 27 percent and enhance energy efficiency by 27 percent from a 1990 benchmark by 2040. "No player in the world is as ambitious as the European Union when it comes to cutting greenhouse gas emissions," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement. European member states account for about 11 percent of the global emissions. The agreement reached early Friday builds on a package of 20 percent targets for the three measures by 2020. Some member states had balked on protection for certain sectors of the energy industry, arguing economic interests in a struggling eurozone should be considered. ”The EU climate action commissioner is very proud that the 28 EU […]

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U.S. emissions increased in part because of last season’s brutal winter, Energy Department says. (File/UPI/John Angelillo) WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (UPI) — The amount of carbon dioxide emitted from energy use in the United States increased last year because of the brutal winter, the Energy Department said. The department’s Energy Information Administration said energy-related CO2 emissions increased 2.5 percent from 2012 levels. "The 2013 increase was largely the result of colder weather leading to an increase in energy intensity," EIA said in a Tuesday report. PJM Interconnection, a company operating the electric grid for more than a dozen Midwest and mid-Atlantic states, twice broke records for seasonal use early this year during the brutal cold snap brought on by a weather phenomenon known as a polar vortex. The company had called for conservation measures as most states east of the Mississippi River endured temperatures well below the freezing mark for […]

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British government says emissions trading scheme in Europe malfunctioning. UPI/Stephen Shaver LONDON, Oct. 20 (UPI) — British Energy Secretary Ed Davey said Monday the European Union can lead the fight against climate change, but only if certain reforms are enacted. "Europe has the opportunity to show the world how we can cut emissions while creating investment, jobs and growth, but only if we reform the system and reform it fast," he said in a statement. "Otherwise we’re facing increasing costs for businesses, uncertainty for investment and ultimately higher costs for consumers, which isn’t acceptable." Davey said his government was proposing a way to make an emissions trading system work better in the European economy. As it stands, with a skewed trading balance, the system is increasing the overall costs of meeting future carbon reduction obligations , he said. His comments followed criticism from European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso […]

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EU cities get in line behind climate fight, European commissioner says. UPI/Stephen Shaver BRUSSELS, Oct. 16 (UPI) — Cities across Europe are lining up to join the regional effort to combat the threats from climate change, the European climate commissioner said Thursday. Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said 100 European cities have committed to an initiative meant to shore up the resilience to climate change. "Good preparation will be much cheaper than cleaning up afterwards — and it can save lives," she said in a statement. A mayor’s initiative was launched in March. With major population centers vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, the European Union says cities can lead the way in adaptation and in efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The European Union aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions and increase the share of renewable energy on the grid by 20 percent of from a 1990 benchmark […]

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The snow in Siberia is piling up, and if it keeps coming, people in New York may have to bundle up this winter. There’s a theory that the amount of snow covering Eurasia in October is an indication of how much icy air will sweep down from the Arctic in December and January, pouring over parts of North America , Europe and East Asia . Last year, the snow level across Eurasia was the fourth highest for the month in records going back to 1967. In January, frigid temperatures dubbed “the polar vortex” slid out of the Arctic to freeze large portions of the U.S. It was a pattern that repeated itself during the Northern Hemisphere winter and helped make the first three months of this year the coldest in the 48 contiguous states since 1985, according to the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina . With […]

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Houston (Platts)–7Oct2014/638 pm EDT/2238 GMT As the drought in California continues to strain the state’s hydropower resources, natural gas and renewables are locked in competition to determine which will capture the lion’s share of the lost hydropower capacity. As the drought has worn on hydropower generation has decreased and gas-fired generation has risen in an inverse relationship, the US Energy Information Administration said Monday. "On average, hydropower accounted for 20% of California’s in-state generation during the first six months of each year from 2004 to 2013. During the first half of 2014, however, hydropower accounted for only 10% of California’s total generation," the EIA said in a Today in Energy report. The agency added that "monthly hydropower generation in 2014 has fallen well below the 10-year range for each individual month." When monthly hydropower generation dips under 10-year average levels, monthly natural gas generation often rises above its 10-year […]

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Within 30 years, the District and Annapolis can expect to experience tidal flooding nearly every day of the year. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post) Daily flooding caused by high tides will occur in the District and Annapolis within three decades as sea levels continue to rise due to global warming, a new study says. The study by the Union of Concerned Scientists predicts that by 2045 the nation’s capital and the capital of Maryland will experience about 400 floods per year, sometimes twice in a single day, and several other cities and towns on the Atlantic coast will have tidal flooding almost as bad. Miami, Atlantic City, Cape May, N.J., and Lewisetta and Windmill Point, both on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, can expect at least 240 days of flooding by 2045. High-tide floods along the Atlantic coast in Baltimore, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Charleston, S.C., Key West, Fla., and Sandy Hook, […]

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