Tiempo Climate Newswatch
Week ending July 5th 2009
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Action point
José Alberto Garibaldi describes his priority for action on global warming. You can play the low bandwidth or the high bandwidth version
Featured sites
The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network works to improve management and conservation of coral reefs by providing manuals, equipment, databases, training, problem solving, and helps with finding funds for reef monitoring.
The Cities for Climate Protection Campaign assists cities to adopt policies and implement quantifiable measures to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and enhance urban livebility and sustainability.
zerocarbonbritain details how Britain can eliminate emissions from fossil fuels in 20 years and break dependence on imported energy.
Plan B, from the Earth Policy Institute, details how to rescue a planet under stress by cutting carbon emissions 80 per cent by 2020.
And finally,
Lorraine Berry was commissioned by the Environmental Change Network to produce a web-based creative work, as Seasons Change, drawing on data and knowledge concerning climate change.
About Newswatch
Tiempo Climate Newswatch is a weekly on-line magazine with news, features and comment on global warming, climate change, sea-level rise and development issues. It is edited by Mick Kelly and Sarah Granich and maintained by Mick Kelly and Mike Salmon. The cartoons are created by Lawrence Moore.
The news stories carried by Newswatch are updated weekly. Comment, features, interviews and other sections of the magazine are updated on a weekly to monthly basis.
Newswatch automatically scans a number of news sites once an hour, searching for a set of keyphrases. The raw news feed can be accessed in standard or PDA format.
Part of the Tiempo Climate Cyberlibrary, Tiempo Climate Newswatch is hosted by the Climatic Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia.
The Tiempo Climate Cyberlibrary is a co-production of the Stockholm Environment Institute and the International Institute for Environment and Development, sponsored by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.
While every effort is made to ensure that information on this site, and on other sites that are referenced here, is accurate, no liability for loss or damage resulting from use of this information can be accepted.
The United States will not accept an emissions reduction target of 40 per cent below the 1990 baseline for the year 2020, which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has suggested might be necessary to avoid serious climate change. "The 40 per cent below 1990 [levels] is something which in our judgment is not necessary, and not feasible given where we're starting from, so it's not in the cards," warned United States climate envoy Todd Stern. Legislation passed on June 26th by the United States House of Representatives, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, should reduce emissions from sources covered by the Act by 17 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020 and by 83 per cent by mid-century.
Stern was speaking at the latest session of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in Mexico. The Major Economies Forum consists of nations responsible for 80 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Its aim is to help generate the political leadership necessary to achieve a successful outcome at the December climate change conference in Copenhagen. There were signs of increasing support at the meeting for Mexico's proposal of a " green fund", with the possibility raised of the inclusion of carbon credits. The draft document tabled at the meeting by the United States and Mexico proposes an "aspirational" global emissions reduction goal of 50 per cent for the year 2050, with developed nations assigned an 80 per cent target. While delegates supported the notion of a long-term goal, there was no agreement on any specific target.
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"Preventing strong growth in hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) use is an important climate mitigation option the world has now," reports Guus Velders of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. The conclusion results from an assessment by an international team of scientists, led by Velders. Because of the projected growth of HFCs, they could represent up to 45 per cent of total global carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 under a scenario that stabilizes carbon dioxide emissions at 450 ppm.
HFCs were adopted as a substitute for ozone-depleting chemicals such as the chlorofluorocarbons(CFCs). Greenpeace developed Greenfreeze in the 1990s, one of a number of hydrocarbon-based refrigerant systems that produce less greenhouse gas. The adoption of Greenfreeze in North America has, however, been held up by concerns over flammability. Ben & Jerry's and General Electric are currently seeking approval for its use.
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Cell phone users in vulnerable regions of Bangladesh will receive advance warning of natural disasters. "This new initiative will mean that people will get an alert on their phones warning them that they are likely to face flooding or a cyclone," said Syed Ashraf of the Disaster Management Bureau. "So they will then be able to take action like evacuate their homes and seek shelter in assigned places."
Instant messages are to be sent to TeleTalk and Grameenphone subscribers in flood-prone north-central Shirajganj district and cyclone-prone Cox's Bazar. The messages will flash automatically on the phone's screen rather than being stored in message boxes so that they are immediately obvious. The initiative is to be piloted over the next six months and the aim is that the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme will then expand it across the whole country.
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Breaking news
- Hopenhagen campaign launched
- The next fossil fuel
- Climate impact on monsoons
- Developing nations need US$100 billion a year to fight climate change
- Australian senator rejects global warming
The Gaunt View
© 2009 Lawrence Moore
Science and development
Sound and vision
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The documentary Violence and Vulnerability discusses the link between conflict and climate impacts in the Kitui District of Kenya. |
On the Web
High bandwidth may be required
Video on demand
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Saleemul Huq of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) talks about the recent climate change talks in Bonn, IIED's work with the Least Developed Countries group and the critical next steps in the run up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, December 2009. |
Weblogs
Have your say
The Road to Copenhagen 2009 gives you a chance to contribute to the climate treaty negotiating process.
More interactive discussion...
Comment
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"The biggest challenge is not how to reduce deforestation, but how to finance the reduction. " |
In Seeing REDD in the Amazon, Virgilio Viana argues that REDD in the Amazon is a win for people, trees and climate.
In Progress Implementing National Adaptation Programmes of Action, Jessica Ayers discusses vulnerability projects identified by National Adaptation Programmes of Action for the Least Developed Countries.
In On Course to Copenhagen?, Gunnar Boye Olesen discusses issues facing participants in the climate negotiations in Poznań, Poland, December 2008.
On the Web
- George Monbiot wonders why the world's first climate evacuation is receiving so little attention
- Marcos Buckeridge argues that you can grow biofuels without destroying the rainforest
- David Fogarty considers the challenge faced by Asian airlines in paying for their greenhouse gas emissions
Features
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Sivan Kartha describes an innovative scheme for allocating emissions targets that preserves development priorities. |
Agha Ali Akram advocates demand management for optimal adaptation to trends in water resources in the Indus Basin resulting from climate change.
Gwen Young, Barry Smit, Johanna Wandel and Humberto Zavala describe vulnerability to water resources under climate change in the semi-arid Elqui Valley, Chile.
Short reports
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Abhishek Shrestha reports on the role of Nepalese youth in climate change activities. |
The Asia Pacific Mountain Network reports on an e-discussion, held in July 2008, on whether or not natural disasters can improve a national economy.
The 14th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and various related meetings took place in Poznań, Poland, in December 2008. Newswatch editors Mick Kelly and Sarah Granich report.
Interview
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"The main reason India and (to a lesser degree) China state for their resistance of emission caps is that their first priority is to lift those hundreds of millions of poor people out of poverty, not to reduce emissions. But in this approach, their targets would be based only on those people that are not living in poverty." |
In a Newswatch interview, Heleen de Coninck discusses the allocation of national targets based on individual emissions.
Recent e-publications
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Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, from United States Global Change Research Program, summarizes the science and the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future. Published June 2009
Reducing Vulnerability, Enhancing Resilience, from CIDSE and Caritas Internationalis, highlights the need for urgent enhanced action on adaptation technologies, which are key for adapting to climate change, reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development. Published May 2009
Climate Ready Estuaries Program Synthesis of Adaptation Options for Coastal Areas, from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, provides a brief introduction to key physical impacts of climate change on estuaries and a review of on-the-ground adaptation options available to coastal managers. Published January 2009
Current climate
Monthly climate indicators |
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Global surface air temperature courtesy of the
Hadley Centre |
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Webcam skyviewsCreate a mosaic of webcam images to monitor
the weather at selected sites around the world |
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Current emergencies |
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General links |
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El Niño-Southern Oscillation Phenomenon (ENSO) |
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Tropical storms |
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Food security |
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Other events |
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The Final Word
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"For the least developed countries, adaptation is inevitable and, therefore, emphasized as a priority by the Climate Action Network's Southern members. This view is not, however, reflected in the Network's agenda nor in its activities in the negotiations." |
In The Challenge for the Climate Action Network, Astrid Westerlind Wigström tasks the Network with becoming more responsive to developing country interests at international negotiations.
Bright Ideas
New York's Del Posto restaurant no longer supplies bottled water to its customers, citing transportation, packaging and the absurdity of moving water all over the world
The AIRPod, carrying three adults and a child, runs on compressed air at one euro per 200km
The Zero S is a high performance electric motorcycle with half the weight of a normal bike
The E3 electric tricycle is an eco-friendly, sustainable mini-taxi, zero emissions and zero noise
The Save La Mesa Watershed Project has created a 33 hectare public park, a venue for healthful recreation and a true forest experience, a living classroom
The GeoBulb LED light bulb uses 7.5 watts of power to provide as much light as a 60-watt incandescent light bulb and has a lifespan of ten years
Mumbai-based company Crompton Greaves has partnered with Lemnis Lighting to promote LED lighting products in India
Schools in Joondalup, Australia, can participate in dune rejuvenation and protection through the Adopt a Coastline programme
Princess Elisabeth Station, Antarctica, is the world's first zero-emission polar research station
The Canadian city of Kelowna is equipping parks, paths and other public spaces with solar-powered LED lights
The City of Oslo uses waste to generate energy for a district heating system, part of a hierarchical waste management strategy
BioEnergy Solutions provides the infrastructure necessary to create renewable natural gas from animal waste, then shares revenues and carbon credits with the farmer
Tiempo Climate Newswatch
Updated: June 28th 2009