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Commentary
In a potentially influential settlement with the New York Attorney General, a major US electric power company, Xcel Energy, agreed to disclose its CO2 emissions; projected increases in emissions; strategies for reducing, offsetting, limiting or otherwise managing CO2 emissions and expected reductions; and corporate governance actions related to climate change . . . Aid over emissions trade? In international talks in Ghana, developing countries stood together in their traditional negotiating bloc to call on developed countries to provide funding equivalent to 0.5 to 1% of GNP for low-carbon technologies.
Presidential Politics
- Democratic Platform Calls for Global Climate Response; GOP Version Said to Eliminate All References to Climate Change. This week, both major parties introduced their platforms as a part of the national convention process. The Democratic platform, which was introduced on Monday, calls for an economy-wide cap-and-trade program for the reduction of GHG emissions and further development of solar, wind and geothermal technologies. In addition, the document promises the pursuit of a "global response to climate change that includes binding and enforceable commitments to reducing emissions, especially for those that pollute the most – the United States, China, India, the European Union, and Russia." The final version of the GOP platform on climate change, which is yet to be released, is said to have undergone several revisions. In the reworked version, Republicans have reportedly dropped all mention of "global warming" and hope to avoid a conflict between the official GOP stance on climate change and that of Senator John McCain, who has long been a supporter of carbon emissions reduction legislation.
- Obama Convention Speech Proposes $150 Billion Investment in Renewables. In his speech to the Democratic National Convention, Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama highlighted a policy initiative that would greatly increase investment in domestic renewable energy resources. While the Senator's speech provided few energy policy details, it did include a proposal to invest $150 billion over the next ten years in wind and solar power, and next generation biofuels. Sen. Obama also expressed support for expanded development of domestic natural gas reserves, investment in clean coal technology, and the development of advanced nuclear power technologies.
- Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama Chooses Sen. Biden as Running Mate; Potential to Highlight Climate Change as a National Security Issue. Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) has consistently been a proponent of climate change legislation, introducing the first bill to address climate change in 1986 and co-sponsoring stringent cap-and-trade legislation with Sen. Obama in 2007. Sen. Biden has stated that "climate change threatens not just our environment, but our economy and our national security" and that climate change has the potential to create worldwide instability that could force the United States into conflicts over natural resources.
- Republican Presidential Nominee John McCain Chooses Alaska Governor Palin as Running Mate. As Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin has formed a Sub-Cabinet committee to develop a state strategy on climate change. She also had made the state an observer in the Western Climate Initiative. Governor Palin is an advocate for drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. She also has sued the Interior Department for listing the polar bear as a "threatened species" on account of effects of climate change.
- Republican Vice Presidential Choice Sarah Palin, Current Governor of Alaska, Details Views on Climate Change. During an interview with Newsmax.com for publication in September she acknowledges that Alaska could be affected "because of its location" but adds, "I'm not one, though who would attribute it to being man-made."
States and Cities
- States Sue EPA Over Failure to Regulate Refinery Emissions. A group of states and cities sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to regulate GHG emissions from petroleum refineries. The lawsuit alleges that EPA violated the Clean Air Act by failing to add greenhouse gas emissions to revised new source performance standards for refineries issued in June. The group, which consists of twelve states, New York City and the District of Columbia, filed the lawsuit in the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
- Maryland Climate Commission Recommendations Include Emissions Targets. The Maryland Commission on Climate Change released a Climate Action Plan with a set of 42 recommendations for addressing climate change. The Plan includes emissions targets that would reduce statewide GHG emissions 10 percent from 2006 by 2012, 25-50 percent by 2020, and 90 percent by 2050. The Plan recommended that the state achieve the emissions targets through a GHG emissions cap-and-trade program, a renewable portfolio standard, an energy efficiency resource standard, improved transportation technologies, and a variety of other emission reducing policies. Maryland is already a member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a regional GHG cap-and-trade program composed of 10 northeastern states.
Studies and Reports
- CRS Report Concludes that a Price on CO2 Is Necessary to Speed Use of CCS. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) found that a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade program, both of which would establish a price for CO2 emissions, would be more likely to spur the commercial deployment of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) than federal subsidies for research and development. The CRS report stated that without "market or regulatory signals determining appropriate standards and cost-effectiveness criteria," it is difficult to justify private investment in CCS. The report also favored a carbon tax over a cap-and-trade program, stating, "[a] carbon tax is the most stable price signal, providing a clear and transparent signal of the value of any method of greenhouse gas reductions."
Industry
- Xcel Energy Agrees to Disclose Climate Risks Under Settlement with New York State. In September 2007, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D) issued subpoenas under the state's securities law to the company and four other utilities claiming that they had failed to disclose the increased "financial, regulatory, and litigation risks" posed by coal-fired power plants. Under the settlement, Xcel will disclose on its Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-K an analysis of risks presented by climate change regulation, both present and future, litigation, and physical impacts. The company also must disclose its CO2 emissions; projected increases in emissions; strategies for reducing, offsetting, limiting or otherwise managing CO2 emissions and expected reductions; and corporate governance actions related to climate change.
International
- Developing Nations Call for Climate Contribution From Developed Nations. Over 100 developing nations, including India and China, have proposed that developed countries with emissions targets under Annex I of the Kyoto Protocol provide funding for developing nations to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The proposal would have developed nations donate 0.5-1 percent of their Gross National Product to developing nations to deploy low-carbon technologies. Based on 2005 figures, this would provide developing nations with over $30 billion in climate assistance. In issuing the proposal, the developed nations noted that Article 4.3 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (a treaty to which the United States is a party) obligates developed nations to provide financial assistance for clean development in developing countries.
- New Zealand Trading Scheme Receives Parliamentary Report. A GHG emissions cap-and-trade bill proposed by New Zealand's government received the support of several minority parties, giving the bill enough support to win passage through Parliament. The trading program would cover the electricity sector beginning in 2010, with transportation added in 2011 and agriculture in 2013. The bill also includes $1 billion in residential energy efficiency incentives.
- Ghana Climate Talks Draw Closer to Draft Text of Climate Treaty. Nations from around the world participated in UN-sponsored climate talks that saw some progress in developing a draft text for a climate treaty to supersede the Kyoto Protocol upon the Protocol's expiration in 2012. The talks, which took place in Accra, Ghana, focused on reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), reform of the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism, and a sectoral approach to emission targets. The developments at the Accra talks support future negotiations on a climate treaty that will take place in Copenhagen in late 2009.
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