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Bridge Out: Bombshell Study Finds Methane Emissions From Natural Gas Production Far Higher Than EPA Estimates

A major new study blows up the whole notion of natural gas as a short-term bridge fuel to a carbon-free economy. Natural gas is mostly methane (CH4), a potent heat-trapping gas. If, as now seems likely, natural gas production systems leak 2.7% (or more), then gas-fired power loses its near-term advantage over coal and becomes more of a gangplank than a bridge. Worse, without a carbon price, some gas displaces renewable energy, further undercutting any benefit it might have had. Fifteen scientists from some of the leading institutions in the world — including Harvard, NOAA and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab — have published a seminal study, “ Anthropogenic emissions of methane in the United States .” Crucially, it is based on “comprehensive atmospheric methane observations, extensive spatial datasets, and a high-resolution atmospheric transport model,” rather than the industry-provided numbers EPA uses. Indeed, the Proceedings of the National Academy […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Dustup Grows Over Refinery Byproduct

Mountains of a black, powdery refinery byproduct called petroleum coke are piling up from Chicago to Corpus Christi, Texas, prompting local officials to fight what residents say is a dusty scourge that coats houses, cars and even pets. Chicago’s City Council this week debated a proposed ordinance that would ban pet-coke storage within city limits, after officials said clouds of it blew from a storage site on the city’s South Side into a nearby neighborhood. The dusting from Koch Industries Inc.’s KCBX Terminals Co., which operates the site adjacent to the Calumet River, prompted Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel last week to order the city’s public-health department to draft new regulations governing pet coke. “We will be working actively with our state and federal partners to force these petroleum-coke facilities to either clean up or shut down,” Mr. Emanuel said. Tighter storage rules being drafted include height restrictions for pet-coke […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EU agreement pushes full implementation of 95 g/km CO2 target for cars back 1 year to 2021, expands use of supercredits

EU agreement pushes full implementation of 95 g/km CO2 target for cars back 1 year to 2021, expands use of supercredits The European Parliament (EP) and member state negotiators reached an informal agreement on new rules to achieve the 2020 CO 2 emission target of 95 g/km for new cars. Under the new agreement, which must be approved by both the European Parliament and Council to enter into force, 95% of new cars must meet the 95 g/km mandatory target by 2020, and 100% by 2021. An earlier agreement ( earlier post ), set aside after EU ministers failed to endorse a previous informal deal on it with Parliament, had envisioned full implementation of the 95-gram target in 2020. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Methane Emissions in U.S. Probably Top Estimates: Study

U.S. emissions of methane — a greenhouse gas — are probably 50 percent higher than current estimates show, according to a study published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. The study estimated emissions in 2007 and 2008, using measurements on the ground, in telecommunications towers and from aircraft for a comprehensive inventory of the second most abundant greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. It found that the U.S. now underestimates methane releases from the raising of livestock and the extraction of oil and natural gas. That may mean methane has a bigger role in climate change than now thought, as state officials and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency consider new rules designed to limit emissions that may lead to global warming. “Methane is a powerful climate change pollutant, and the study gives greater impetus to the EPA and states to establish stronger standards to reduce leaks […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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World agricultural output continues to rise, despite predictions of decline

Many say agricultural output is headed for decline, but 2013 continues a 50-year rise. The year 2013 has been a great year for global agriculture. Record world production of rice and healthy production of wheat and corn produced strong harvests across the world. These gains were achieved despite continuing predictions that world agricultural output is headed for a decline. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that world rice harvests for 2012/2013 were a record 469 million metric tons. Corn and wheat harvests were also strong, following record harvests for both grains during the 2011/2012 season. The USDA is now projecting world record harvests for corn, wheat, and rice for 2013/2014. These numbers cap a 50-year trend of remarkable growth in world grain production. Since 1960, global wheat and rice production has tripled, and corn production is almost five times higher. For decades, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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London: Warsaw climate agreement good starting point

British Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey said world leaders have a framework with which to start addressing global warming. “The world now has a work program, with timetables,” he said in a statement Sunday. “While the long negotiations in Poland showed there are many tough talks ahead of us, the determined diplomacy of the U.K. and European Union achieved our aims, building alliances with our friends across the world.” The two-week U.N. Climate Change Conference in Warsaw concluded Saturday with an agreement to work toward a universal climate change agreement by 2015. Parties to the conference also agreed to work on ways to cut emissions and to address damage caused by climate change in developing countries. European Commissioner for Climate Change Connie Hedegaard said the Warsaw conference proved there’s a tough road ahead before the 2015 climate summit in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Pollution Pact From China to India Shows Rift: Carbon & Climate

China and India’s success in weakening the latest global warming agreement created friction with other developing nations that are seeking to step up the fight against climate change. The two countries insisted on single-word changes for a deal at a United Nations conference involving 190 nations on Nov. 23. Instead of making “commitments” to roll back fossil fuel emissions, they signed up for “contributions,” a formulation that allows more flexibility in their action. Those last-minute revisions at a meeting that ran overtime by almost 30 hours underscored the reluctance of China and India to join in the sort of emissions cuts that the European Union is making. It puts the two largest developing nations at odds with their smaller brethren, especially island states and Bangladesh that are the most threatened by rising temperatures. “There’s all sorts of divisions emerging that weren’t there before,” Alden Meyer , who has been […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Pollution Pact From China to India Shows Rift: Carbon & Climate

China and India’s success in weakening the latest global warming agreement created friction with other developing nations that are seeking to step up the fight against climate change. The two countries insisted on single-word changes for a deal at a United Nations conference involving 190 nations on Nov. 23. Instead of making “commitments” to roll back fossil fuel emissions, they signed up for “contributions,” a formulation that allows more flexibility in their action. Those last-minute revisions at a meeting that ran overtime by almost 30 hours underscored the reluctance of China and India to join in the sort of emissions cuts that the European Union is making. It puts the two largest developing nations at odds with their smaller brethren, especially island states and Bangladesh that are the most threatened by rising temperatures. “There’s all sorts of divisions emerging that weren’t there before,” Alden Meyer , who has been […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. and China Find Convergence on Climate Issue

WARSAW — Discord and rivalry between Beijing and Washington have factored in international discussions of global warming since the United Nations climate treaty was established in 1992, contributing to the foundering of the 2009 talks in Copenhagen and much rough sailing since. But with China having recently surpassed the United States as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the countries are finding that their interests increasingly overlap, climate experts and government officials say. The more productive relationship is raising hopes that the friction of recent years may be easing, paving the way for a new global climate change treaty in 2015. International delegates have been meeting in Warsaw to negotiate the provisions of that treaty. The conference is scheduled to end Friday. Zhang Haibin, a professor of international relations at Peking University who has served as an adviser to China’s Ministry of Commerce, said that while climate cooperation […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Supermajors 'worst climate offenders'

The findings of the study by the US-based Climate Accountability Institute reveal the 90 companies have between them generated nearly two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions since the dawn of the industrial age. They are said to have been responsible for 63% of cumulative emissions between 1751 and 2010, amounting to about 914 gigatonnes of CO2 out of a total of about 1450 gigatonnes, according to the newly published report. The list of climate offenders includes 50 investor-owned companies, mainly oil supermajors, as well as 31 state-owned companies such as Statoil, Saudi Aramco and Russia’s Gazprom. ChevronTexaco was the leading emitter among investor-owned companies, causing 3.5% of greenhouse gas emissions, with ExxonMobil not far behind at 3.2%. In third place, BP has caused 2.5% of global emissions, while Statoil was ranked as the 34th largest emitter on the overall list of 90 companies. Nearly 30% of emissions were produced by […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA