The USA's Securities and Exchange Commission has ruled that publicly-listed companies should warn investors of any serious risks that global warming might pose to their businesses. Although the agency has long required companies to reveal possible financial or legal impacts from a variety of environmental challenges, it has never specifically cited climate change as bringing potentially significant business risks or rewards.
John Broder in the New YorkTimes reported that the SEC, on a party-line 3-2 vote, issued “interpretive guidance” to help companies decide when and whether to disclose matters related to climate change. The commission said that companies could be helped or hurt by climate-related lawsuits, business opportunities or legislation and should promptly disclose such potential impacts. Banks or insurance companies that invest in coastal property that could be affected by storms or rising seas, for example, should disclose such risks, the agency said.
SEC chairwoman, Mary L. Schapiro, who was appointed by President Obama, said that the commission was not creating new legal requirements for companies, nor did it intend to endorse any particular scientific or policy view of global warming. She said that including climate risks among other disclosures was a logical step.
“It is neither surprising nor especially remarkable for us to conclude that of course a company must consider whether potential legislation — whether that legislation concerns climate change or new licensing requirements — is likely to occur,” Ms. Schapiro said. “Similarly, a company must disclose the significant risks that it faces, whether those risks are due to increased competition or severe weather. These principles of materiality form the bedrock of our disclosure framework.”
According to an SEC staff paper, the new guidance urges companies to consider, for example, whether any new law or international treaty limiting carbon dioxide emissions might increase operating costs and prompt a disclosure requirement.
Ms. Schapiro and the commission staff were careful to avoid expressing an opinion on the issue of global warming itself. Ms Schapiro emphasized that “we are not opining on whether the world’s climate is changing; at what pace it might be changing; or due to what causes. Nothing that the commission does today should be construed as weighing in on those topics.”
Showing posts with label climate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label climate. Show all posts
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
UK's chief scientist calls for climate change honesty
The impact of global warming has been exaggerated by some scientists and there is an urgent need for more honest disclosure of the uncertainty of predictions about the rate of climate change, according to the British Government's chief scientific adviser. John Beddington was speaking to The Times in the wake of an admission by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that it grossly overstated the rate at which Himalayan glaciers were receding.
Professor Beddington said that climate scientists should be less hostile to sceptics who questioned man-made global warming. He condemned scientists who refused to publish the data underpinning their reports. He said that public confidence in climate science would be improved if there were more openness about its uncertainties, even if that meant admitting that sceptics had been right on some hotly disputed issues.
"I don't think it's healthy to dismiss proper scepticism. Science grows and improves in the light of criticism. There is a fundamental uncertainty about climate change prediction that can't be changed," he said.
Professor Beddington said that the false claim in the IPCC's 2007 report that the glaciers would disappear by 2035 had exposed a wider problem with the way that some evidence was presented.
"Certain unqualified statements have been unfortunate. We have a problem in communicating uncertainty. There's definitely an issue there. If there wasn't, there wouldn't be the level of scepticism. All of these predictions have to be caveated by saying, `There's a level of uncertainty about that'."
Professor Beddington said that particular caution was needed when communicating predictions about climate change made with the help of computer models. "It's unchallengeable that CO2 traps heat and warms the Earth and that burning fossil fuels shoves billions of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. But where you can get challenges is on the speed of change.
"When you get into large-scale climate modelling there are quite substantial uncertainties. On the rate of change and the local effects, there are uncertainties both in terms of empirical evidence and the climate models themselves."
He said that it was wrong for scientists to refuse to disclose their data to their critics: "I think, wherever possible, we should try to ensure there is openness and that source material is available for the whole scientific community ... There is a danger that people can manipulate the data, but the benefits from being open far outweigh that danger."
Professor Beddington said that climate scientists should be less hostile to sceptics who questioned man-made global warming. He condemned scientists who refused to publish the data underpinning their reports. He said that public confidence in climate science would be improved if there were more openness about its uncertainties, even if that meant admitting that sceptics had been right on some hotly disputed issues.
"I don't think it's healthy to dismiss proper scepticism. Science grows and improves in the light of criticism. There is a fundamental uncertainty about climate change prediction that can't be changed," he said.
Professor Beddington said that the false claim in the IPCC's 2007 report that the glaciers would disappear by 2035 had exposed a wider problem with the way that some evidence was presented.
"Certain unqualified statements have been unfortunate. We have a problem in communicating uncertainty. There's definitely an issue there. If there wasn't, there wouldn't be the level of scepticism. All of these predictions have to be caveated by saying, `There's a level of uncertainty about that'."
Professor Beddington said that particular caution was needed when communicating predictions about climate change made with the help of computer models. "It's unchallengeable that CO2 traps heat and warms the Earth and that burning fossil fuels shoves billions of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. But where you can get challenges is on the speed of change.
"When you get into large-scale climate modelling there are quite substantial uncertainties. On the rate of change and the local effects, there are uncertainties both in terms of empirical evidence and the climate models themselves."
He said that it was wrong for scientists to refuse to disclose their data to their critics: "I think, wherever possible, we should try to ensure there is openness and that source material is available for the whole scientific community ... There is a danger that people can manipulate the data, but the benefits from being open far outweigh that danger."
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
How Bangladeshis are adapting to climate change - chicken farmer now raises ducks
According to Ngoc Nguyen of New America Media, Mohammed Khan was a child when the "deadliest cyclone ever recorded" struck Bangladesh - at the time East Pakistan - in 1970, killing as many "as half a million people." Khan, 51, who now lives in Queens, New York, has a daughter and more than 200 family members in Bangladesh. He’s worried about how his large extended family will fare when the next cyclone strikes and he fears climate change will worsen such disasters.
“America as a leader should help all the poor and affected countries, including Bangladesh,” Khan says. “Affected families are dying without food, without a roof over their heads. We should provide financial assistance and even bring them here.”
Hasan Rahim, a software engineering consultant based in San Jose, California, says Al Gore’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, was a wake-up call for him and many Bangladeshis in Silicon Valley.
Bangladeshis have already had to adapt to higher sea levels, Rahim says. “People who raised chickens are now raising ducks,” he says, and farmers are experimenting with “floating seed beds” to save crops during floods.
Queens (NY) resident Sheikh Islam says there’s more recognition now that climate change is the cause of refugees pouring into the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. “They thought the migrants who came to the city were just jobless and landless. Now, the government is mentioning that they are jobless and landless because of climate change,” he says.
Islam says there’s also a growing perception that Western developed countries bear more responsibility for the problem because they contribute the most to carbon emissions blamed for global warming.
“America as a leader should help all the poor and affected countries, including Bangladesh,” Khan says. “Affected families are dying without food, without a roof over their heads. We should provide financial assistance and even bring them here.”
Hasan Rahim, a software engineering consultant based in San Jose, California, says Al Gore’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, was a wake-up call for him and many Bangladeshis in Silicon Valley.
Bangladeshis have already had to adapt to higher sea levels, Rahim says. “People who raised chickens are now raising ducks,” he says, and farmers are experimenting with “floating seed beds” to save crops during floods.
Queens (NY) resident Sheikh Islam says there’s more recognition now that climate change is the cause of refugees pouring into the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. “They thought the migrants who came to the city were just jobless and landless. Now, the government is mentioning that they are jobless and landless because of climate change,” he says.
Islam says there’s also a growing perception that Western developed countries bear more responsibility for the problem because they contribute the most to carbon emissions blamed for global warming.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Forest Carbon Markets 'Likely Grew' in 2009
Steve Zwick, Managing Editor of the Ecosystem Marketplace, writes that the United Nation's December 2009 Copenhagen Accord yielded agreement on the need to develop financing mechanisms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. However, for the UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD) to work, " investors will have to be on board – and for that to happen, the forestry markets will have to become more transparent and trustworthy."
To promote that transparency and trustworthiness, Ecosystem Marketplace spent the past year speaking with more than 100 market participants – 65 of whom develop forest protection and restoration projects, primarily in rainforest nations, and 37 of whom act as intermediaries. These participants accounted for 230 projects generating credits across 40 countries over the past 20 years.
The result is State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2009: Taking Root & Branching Out (download pdf of Executive Summary), published with support from the World Bank BioCarbon Fund, Biological Capital, Ecosystem Restoration Associates and Baker McKenzie, as well as funding from USAID, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development and the Surdna Foundation.
Respondents documented the impact of carbon finance on more than two million hectares of forests over the past 20 years. That impact has resulted in the capture of nearly 70 million tonnes of carbon (MtCO2) in trees – although the bulk of this can be attributed to one massive project in the early 1990s that captured 47 MtCO2.
The findings also indicate substantial shifts in growth patterns over the past three years, during which these markets have matured substantially.
From 2007 through the first half of 2009 alone, forest carbon markets have funneled roughly $100 million into forestry conservation projects around the world, transacting 20.8 million MtCO2 in the process. In dollar terms, this period represents 67% of the market value of all forest carbon offsets, due to higher volumes and prices associated with emerging interest in the voluntary carbon markets overall, along with maturing standards and infrastructure.
During this same period, the dominant source of forest carbon credits in the developing world appears to have shifted from Latin America to Africa, although globally North America appears to have been the top region for sourcing carbon credits in 2008, generating 42% of the volume transacted that year, followed by Africa and Latin America with 26% and 21% respectively.
According to Zwick, the survey results signal robust and growing belief in the ability of ecosystem markets to help reverse climate change. These findings were compiled before the Copenhagen Accord, which explicitly stated the need to develop mechanisms that will reward sustainable land-use practices that capture carbon in trees.
"Overall, prices for forest carbon credits ranged from $0.65/ tCO2 to more than $50/ tCO2. Over time, the volume-weighted average price was $7.88/ tCO2. The compliance markets have commanded the highest prices overall, with a volume-weighted price average of $10.24/ tCO2 over time, followed by the voluntary OTC market at $8.44/ tCO2 and the CCX at $3.03/ tCO2.
"In 2008, the voluntary OTC market took the lead at $7.12/ tCO2, but was surpassed in June, 2009, by the compliance market, which had reached the highest volume-weighted price average across markets and over time at $12.31/ tCO2," he pointed out.
OTC projects made up 90% of the total number of projects, with an additional 6% under the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). Only 4% of projects transacting credits (including ex-ante sales) were from regulated markets; half of these were from NSW GGAS and half from Kyoto-related afforestation/reforestation projects.
The total historical market value tracked through the first half of 2009 was $149.2 million, of which $137.6 million arose from the voluntary market and $11.6 million from the regulated market.
To promote that transparency and trustworthiness, Ecosystem Marketplace spent the past year speaking with more than 100 market participants – 65 of whom develop forest protection and restoration projects, primarily in rainforest nations, and 37 of whom act as intermediaries. These participants accounted for 230 projects generating credits across 40 countries over the past 20 years.
The result is State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2009: Taking Root & Branching Out (download pdf of Executive Summary), published with support from the World Bank BioCarbon Fund, Biological Capital, Ecosystem Restoration Associates and Baker McKenzie, as well as funding from USAID, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development and the Surdna Foundation.
Respondents documented the impact of carbon finance on more than two million hectares of forests over the past 20 years. That impact has resulted in the capture of nearly 70 million tonnes of carbon (MtCO2) in trees – although the bulk of this can be attributed to one massive project in the early 1990s that captured 47 MtCO2.
The findings also indicate substantial shifts in growth patterns over the past three years, during which these markets have matured substantially.
From 2007 through the first half of 2009 alone, forest carbon markets have funneled roughly $100 million into forestry conservation projects around the world, transacting 20.8 million MtCO2 in the process. In dollar terms, this period represents 67% of the market value of all forest carbon offsets, due to higher volumes and prices associated with emerging interest in the voluntary carbon markets overall, along with maturing standards and infrastructure.
During this same period, the dominant source of forest carbon credits in the developing world appears to have shifted from Latin America to Africa, although globally North America appears to have been the top region for sourcing carbon credits in 2008, generating 42% of the volume transacted that year, followed by Africa and Latin America with 26% and 21% respectively.
According to Zwick, the survey results signal robust and growing belief in the ability of ecosystem markets to help reverse climate change. These findings were compiled before the Copenhagen Accord, which explicitly stated the need to develop mechanisms that will reward sustainable land-use practices that capture carbon in trees.
"Overall, prices for forest carbon credits ranged from $0.65/ tCO2 to more than $50/ tCO2. Over time, the volume-weighted average price was $7.88/ tCO2. The compliance markets have commanded the highest prices overall, with a volume-weighted price average of $10.24/ tCO2 over time, followed by the voluntary OTC market at $8.44/ tCO2 and the CCX at $3.03/ tCO2.
"In 2008, the voluntary OTC market took the lead at $7.12/ tCO2, but was surpassed in June, 2009, by the compliance market, which had reached the highest volume-weighted price average across markets and over time at $12.31/ tCO2," he pointed out.
OTC projects made up 90% of the total number of projects, with an additional 6% under the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). Only 4% of projects transacting credits (including ex-ante sales) were from regulated markets; half of these were from NSW GGAS and half from Kyoto-related afforestation/reforestation projects.
The total historical market value tracked through the first half of 2009 was $149.2 million, of which $137.6 million arose from the voluntary market and $11.6 million from the regulated market.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Antarctic seawater shows 'no sign' of warming
Sea water under an East Antarctic ice shelf showed no sign of higher temperatures despite fears of a thaw linked to global warming that could bring higher world ocean levels, first tests have indicated. According to Reuters, sensors lowered through three holes drilled in the Fimbul Ice Shelf showed the sea water is still around freezing and not at higher temperatures widely blamed for the break-up of 10 shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula, the most northerly part of the frozen continent in West Antarctica.
"The water under the ice shelf is very close to the freezing point," Ole Anders Noest of the Norwegian Polar Institute wrote after drilling through the Fimbul, which is between 250m and 400m thick. "This situation seems to be stable, suggesting that the melting under the ice shelf does not increase," he wrote of the first drilling cores.
Antarctica holds enough water to raise world sea levels by 57m if it ever all melted. Climate Change scientists have generally raised estimates for sea level rise - the United Nations spoke in late 2009 of a maximum 2m rise by 2100, up from 18-59cm estimated by the IPCC in 2007 that excluded any possible acceleration from Antarctica. The break-up of ice shelves does not in itself contribute to raising sea levels since the ice is already floating.
The Norwegian Polar Institute said the water under the Fimbul was about -2.05C. Salty water freezes at a slightly lower temperature than fresh water. And it was slightly icier than estimates in a regional model for Antarctica, head of the Institute's Center for Ice, Climate and Ecosystems, Nalan Koc, said.
"The important thing is that we are now in a position to monitor the water beneath the ice shelf. If there is a warming in future we can tell." She said data collected could go into a new report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, due in 2013-14. The last IPCC report, in 2007, did not include computer models for sea temperature around the Fimbul Ice Shelf.
"The water under the ice shelf is very close to the freezing point," Ole Anders Noest of the Norwegian Polar Institute wrote after drilling through the Fimbul, which is between 250m and 400m thick. "This situation seems to be stable, suggesting that the melting under the ice shelf does not increase," he wrote of the first drilling cores.
Antarctica holds enough water to raise world sea levels by 57m if it ever all melted. Climate Change scientists have generally raised estimates for sea level rise - the United Nations spoke in late 2009 of a maximum 2m rise by 2100, up from 18-59cm estimated by the IPCC in 2007 that excluded any possible acceleration from Antarctica. The break-up of ice shelves does not in itself contribute to raising sea levels since the ice is already floating.
The Norwegian Polar Institute said the water under the Fimbul was about -2.05C. Salty water freezes at a slightly lower temperature than fresh water. And it was slightly icier than estimates in a regional model for Antarctica, head of the Institute's Center for Ice, Climate and Ecosystems, Nalan Koc, said.
"The important thing is that we are now in a position to monitor the water beneath the ice shelf. If there is a warming in future we can tell." She said data collected could go into a new report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, due in 2013-14. The last IPCC report, in 2007, did not include computer models for sea temperature around the Fimbul Ice Shelf.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Modelling differences between air pollution and climate change policies
A recent study on how policies addressing air pollution and climate change interact warns that climate change measures do little to remove the main cause of air pollution (suspended particulate matter, 'PM'). Climate and air quality-driven scenarios of ozone and aerosol precursor abatement, by Rypdal, K., Rive, N., Bernsten, T. et al, focussed on how measures in one policy area affect emissions and environmental impacts related to the other policy area and quantified ancillary benefits.
Scenarios were applied to the European Union (EU), United States of America (USA) and Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and covered a range of pollutants: primary emissions of PM2.5, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, methane, VOC and carbon monoxide.
In all scenarios the starting point for the pollution reductions was the level of emissions achieved through current legislation. For Europe this largely implies the application of existing EU and national legislation on stationary and mobile sources. Reductions were attained mainly by end-of-pipe measures, such as catalytic converters and other cleaning technologies, and retro-fitted measures, such as replacing household stoves. Fuel switching, for example, from oil to gas, was not considered.
The results indicated that the cost-effective reductions in the climate-focused scenario were similar to the air quality-focused scenarios for certain pollutants such as PM2.5, VOC, carbon monoxide and methane.
For example, in the EU an additional €25 billion per year expenditure would reduce VOC by approximately 1.5 million tonnes for both the climate-focused scenario and the ozone-focused scenario. The same expenditure would reduce primary PM2.5 by about 300,000 tonnes for the climate-focused scenario and the PM focused-scenario.
The response curves are similar to those of Europe and the USA as well as in China. It is noticeable that costs per tonne reduced are generally lower in these regions, and in particular in China.
At all levels of expenditure the climate-focused scenario has only a minor importance for sulfur dioxide and low reductions for nitrogen oxides, due to their small or negative (cooling) impact on the climate. The ozone-focused scenario produced large reductions in nitrogen oxides and the PM-focused scenario produced large reductions in nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.
Scenarios were applied to the European Union (EU), United States of America (USA) and Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and covered a range of pollutants: primary emissions of PM2.5, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, methane, VOC and carbon monoxide.
In all scenarios the starting point for the pollution reductions was the level of emissions achieved through current legislation. For Europe this largely implies the application of existing EU and national legislation on stationary and mobile sources. Reductions were attained mainly by end-of-pipe measures, such as catalytic converters and other cleaning technologies, and retro-fitted measures, such as replacing household stoves. Fuel switching, for example, from oil to gas, was not considered.
The results indicated that the cost-effective reductions in the climate-focused scenario were similar to the air quality-focused scenarios for certain pollutants such as PM2.5, VOC, carbon monoxide and methane.
For example, in the EU an additional €25 billion per year expenditure would reduce VOC by approximately 1.5 million tonnes for both the climate-focused scenario and the ozone-focused scenario. The same expenditure would reduce primary PM2.5 by about 300,000 tonnes for the climate-focused scenario and the PM focused-scenario.
The response curves are similar to those of Europe and the USA as well as in China. It is noticeable that costs per tonne reduced are generally lower in these regions, and in particular in China.
At all levels of expenditure the climate-focused scenario has only a minor importance for sulfur dioxide and low reductions for nitrogen oxides, due to their small or negative (cooling) impact on the climate. The ozone-focused scenario produced large reductions in nitrogen oxides and the PM-focused scenario produced large reductions in nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Indonesian government criticised for climate funding results
Several NGOs have criticised the Indonesian government for not achieving better results for the country at the recent Copenhagen climate conference and have filed a series of complaints with the Deputy Speaker of the national House of Representatives, Pramono Anung.
Chairman of the Anti Debt Coalition (KAU), Dani Setiawan, said that Indonesia only exploited climate change issues to get more funding.“During the talks, developed countries, such as the United States committed to giving Indonesia US$10 billion from 2010 to 2012. However, 50% of those funds will be considered as foreign debt, which is actually a setback,” he said.
Dani said that Indonesia should have used better diplomatic bargaining skills, such as those employed by Bolivia. “Bolivia used the historical aspects of its diplomatic bargaining with developed countries by securing non-foreign debt schemes,” he said.
According to Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) forest campaigner, Teguh Surya, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono did not raise his government's commitment to protect its natural forest during the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry [Lulucf] discussions.
"Only Africa, Nepal and New Zealand stated their commitment in the Lulufc discussion. This, of course, shows a betrayal of Indonesia’s commitment. The government has reserved 17.91 million ha of natural for development outside of the forestry sector. We must also highlight the planned expansion of palm oil plantations by 26.7 million hectares in 17 provinces, which will convert existing natural forests. "How can all of this happen if the President is serious about reducing emissions?” he told The Jakarta Post.
Chairman of the Anti Debt Coalition (KAU), Dani Setiawan, said that Indonesia only exploited climate change issues to get more funding.“During the talks, developed countries, such as the United States committed to giving Indonesia US$10 billion from 2010 to 2012. However, 50% of those funds will be considered as foreign debt, which is actually a setback,” he said.
Dani said that Indonesia should have used better diplomatic bargaining skills, such as those employed by Bolivia. “Bolivia used the historical aspects of its diplomatic bargaining with developed countries by securing non-foreign debt schemes,” he said.
According to Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) forest campaigner, Teguh Surya, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono did not raise his government's commitment to protect its natural forest during the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry [Lulucf] discussions.
"Only Africa, Nepal and New Zealand stated their commitment in the Lulufc discussion. This, of course, shows a betrayal of Indonesia’s commitment. The government has reserved 17.91 million ha of natural for development outside of the forestry sector. We must also highlight the planned expansion of palm oil plantations by 26.7 million hectares in 17 provinces, which will convert existing natural forests. "How can all of this happen if the President is serious about reducing emissions?” he told The Jakarta Post.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Study shows CFCs, cosmic rays impact on global warming
Cosmic rays and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are responsible for changes in the global climate, a University of Waterloo scientist reports in a new peer-reviewed paper. Qing-Bin Lu, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Waterloo, Canada, shows how CFCs - and cosmic rays - energy particles originating in outer space - are mostly to blame for climate change, rather than carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. His paper, derived from observations of satellite, ground-based and balloon measurements as well as an innovative use of an established mechanism, is published online in the journal Physics Reports.
"My findings do not agree with the climate models that conventionally thought that greenhouse gases, mainly CO2, are the major culprits for the global warming seen in the late 20th century," Lu said.
"My findings do not agree with the climate models that conventionally thought that greenhouse gases, mainly CO2, are the major culprits for the global warming seen in the late 20th century," Lu said.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Protecting India's interests in Copenhagen
India's environment minister, Jairam Ramesh has explained his country's negotiation position at the COP15 (the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference): “I had gone to Copenhagen not to save the world but to protect India's right to development,” he told a press conference at his ministry.
Summing up his experiences at the Dec 7-19 climate summit in the Danish capital, Ramesh said India had ensured there was “no limit on development. We were afraid of this. There had been talk of 2025 being a peaking year for developing country emissions. We have removed the danger for now.”
Summing up his experiences at the Dec 7-19 climate summit in the Danish capital, Ramesh said India had ensured there was “no limit on development. We were afraid of this. There had been talk of 2025 being a peaking year for developing country emissions. We have removed the danger for now.”
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