North America will map carbon-intensive industries

At the North American Leaders' Summit last week, a new type of atlas was unveiled. The "North American Carbon Atlas" will pinpoint carbon-intensive industries and locate underground sites for carbon capture and storage in the US, Canada and Mexico. The partnership will also explore ways to collaborate on research, development and demonstration. "It will be important for the database to follow changes from year to year," says Diana Liverman of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford according to the New Scientist. If the project is well done, it could be the basis for carbon trading, she adds

COP15 – the crucial conference

The ambition of the Danish government is that the COP15 conference in Copenhagen will result in an ambitious global agreement incorporating all the countries of the world.
Ministry of Climate and Energy of Denmark
At the time of the adoption of the Bali Action Plan, the Danish, Polish and Indonesian governments agreed to strive to ensure that the COP15 conference in Copenhagen in 2009 would be absolutely crucial for the work of the next many years towards a better climate. The background to this decision was partly the increased focus on quick action in the latest report from the IPCC. It was also partly an acknowledgement of the fact that 2009 represents more or less the last chance to achieve an agreement, if this agreement is to be approved and ratified in time for it to come into force after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
The UNFCCC’s history shows that countries can quickly move forward together, but also that they risk coming to a standstill because of internal disagreement. The ambition of the Danish government is that the COP15 conference in Copenhagen will result in an ambitious global agreement incorporating all the countries of the world.
Developments in the world since the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in 1997 show that a new agreement is needed. China has replaced the USA as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and the price of oil has soared. This is a reminder of the fact that fossil fuels do not merely pollute; they are also a source of energy whose reserves are constantly being reduced. The aim of the Danish government is to achieve an agreement that both reduces the total quantity of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and is supported by as many countries as possible.

Solar power brings light to Bangladesh villages

With state-owned and private sector fossil-fuel power plants only capable of delivering up to 3,800 megawatts of electricity a day against a demand of 5,500 megawatts, solar energy systems offer some relief to millions of villagers in Bangladesh."Life has become much easier now," said Kulsum Begum, a mother of four whose husband and son work abroad and who lives in Pritomoddi, some 60 km (40 miles) southeast of the capital Dhaka.Begum installed a 40-watt solar system on the roof of her house. The system powers four light bulbs, one television and also recharges her lifeline: the mobile phone."Whenever I need something, I call my husband or son on the cell phone. I am so happy now," she said.The solar energy systems offered to Bangladesh villagers are heavily subsidized by the World Bank and run by the state-owned Infrastructure and Development Company Limited (IDCOL).Prices of a solar system span from 9,500 taka ($135) to 68,000 taka ($970) depending on capacity but the villagers usually pay in installments. Prices are also set to fall after the government lifted import duties on solar panels last month.Grameen Shakti, a non-profit organization linked to the Nobel Prize winning micro credit agency Grameen Bank, works with the World Bank and IDCOL to spread the technology throughout the impoverished country."Right now 2.5 million people are benefiting from solar energy and we have a plan to reach 10 million people by the end of 2012," said Dipal Chandra Barua, Managing Director of Grameen Shakti.Since June, Grameen Shakti has installed more than 250,000 solar home systems, accounting for some 66 per cent of the total of solar-powered households. Barua said around 10,000 new solar home systems are being fitted every month.

Youths from 110 countries inspire climate action

The biggest-ever youth conference on climate change began Monday, as 800 young environmental activists from 110 countries gathered in the central South Korean city of Daejeon.The week-long conference is aimed at giving young people a chance to demand action on global warming ahead of the pivotal UN climate change conference in Copenhagen in December.The youth climate conference "is a gathering of the generation that will inherit the outcome of the decisions taken in December and beyond,” said Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) which is organizing the event.The 800 participants aged between 10 and 24 years were chosen from thousands of applicants due to their outstanding green projects, the UN body said.Among these are a rap video by two Canadian teenagers on how people can reduce their environmental footprint, a drive to distribute 500 low-energy light bulbs in Nepal, a car pooling initiative in Samoa, a recycling project in Sierra Leone and a river clean-up in Russia.

Ocean temperature breaks the record

Once again, the world sets new temperature records. According to an analysis by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, USA, the planet’s ocean surface temperature in July has broken the previous high mark from 1998. The global ocean surface temperature for July was 0.59 degrees C (1.06 degrees F) above the 20th century average of 16.4 degrees C (61.5 degrees F). All in all, the planet was warmer than normal, though July ranked “only” fifth-warmest since world-wide records began in 1880. The combined average global land and ocean surface temperature for July 2009 ends at 0.57 degrees C (1.03 degrees F) above the 20th century average of 15.8 degrees C (60.4 degrees F). According to the federal scientists, it was hotter than usual in Europe, Northern Africa and a large part of Western North America. Across these regions, temperatures were about 2-4 degrees C (4-7 degrees F) above average. However, Southern South America, Central Canada, the Eastern United States and parts of Western and Eastern Asia experienced cooler than average conditions, where region-wide temperatures were nearly 2-4 degrees C (4-7 degrees F) below average

Native species will become climate refugees: Report

A new report suggests that global warming isn't just going to endanger many of Australia's animals and plants - it's going to force many of those that do survive to migrate.It's Australia's first national assessment of the effects of climate change on the country's biodiversity.The result of two years' scientific work, it warns that some native species will become "climate refugees" as they're forced to move and adapt to rising temperatures.Dina Rosendorff reports.DINA ROSENDORFF: Cassowaries are found in north-eastern Australia, Kingfishers return south when it becomes a little warmer and Australian Bass spawn in estuaries in the cooler months. They're truisms of Australian biology but that may soon change. In fact a new report says Australia's native plants and animals have already started changing their behaviours and patterns to cope with climate change.Professor Will Steffen is the executive director of the Climate Institute at the Australian National University and the report's lead author.WILL STEFFEN: We're starting to see parrots that are basically coastal birds are now over wintering in Canberra because it's warm enough now for them to over winter there. So you're going to see particularly movements of birds into new areas like that.DINA ROSENDORFF: Professor Steffen says climate change is altering the biodiversity of such natural features as the Great Barrier Reef, the Australian Alps and the Kakadu Wetlands.WILL STEFFEN: Australians will need to I think readjust our view of what biodiversity is and how, and the roles it plays and how valuable it is. For example most of us are used to seeing ecosystems in certain places. It's one of the reasons that we have national parks. We're preserving species and ecosystems where they are. But this is shifting already and it's going to shift even more. So species will move, will move out of a region that they're in. New species will move in.DINA ROSENDORFF: And he says rising temperatures will turn some of our most loved native species into climate refugees.WILL STEFFEN: One of the really intriguing questions I think is when does a native species become invasive because we're used to thinking of exotics as invasive species; like feral cats, like foxes, like cane toads and so on. But as our native species try to shift some of them will have to move reasonably long distances to keep within their environmental envelope. As they move they may actually be unwelcome entrants into existing ecosystems or existing areas.DINA ROSENDORFF: Another of the report's authors professor Patricia Werner says rising temperatures are already having major genetic effects on some animal species.PATRICIA WERNER: One of the most interesting ones right now has to do with bird size. We've known for a long, long time that within a species of bird that they're actually closer to the poles and smaller away from the poles. It's called the Bergman Rule.But we're discovering now that that's actually happening even over the last 100 years looking at museum specimens and comparing the sizes of birds from then to now and they're actually getting smaller, which is what you would expect in response to warmer temperatures.DINA ROSENDORFF: Professor Werner says while some species will learn to adapt to climate change, many won't. And she says some of Australia's most iconic species are the most vulnerable.PATRICIA WERNER: The changes are happening so quickly that it's going to be beyond the ability of some of these species to change very quickly. We need to manage in ways that make space and opportunities to allow species to change either disperse or genetic changes to allow communities to reorganise and to allow ecosystems to continue to function to give us vital services that they do.DINA ROSENDORFF: The report commissioned by the Federal Government is the first national assessment of Australia's biodiversity. It's been launched at the 10th International Congress of Ecology in Brisbane today.It makes five recommendations including the need for an national body to oversee biodiversity management.Professor Werner explains.PATRICIA WERNER: For example there's a flying fox, a grey headed flying fox in Queensland that is moving southward toward the pole and there's a black flying fox in New South Wales that is being pressured a little bit by this grey one. When it comes to policy if you're sitting in Queensland it looks like you've got a bat, or a flying fox in trouble. But actually they're doing a natural translocation southward.If you're sitting in New South Wales it looks like you've got an invasive species and actually the poor things are just trying to, you know, adjust.So we talk about a national approach. We mostly lay it out there as a question that needs to be answered I think by Government and governments.DINA ROSENDORFF: The Environment Minister Peter Garrett says the Federal Government is already adjusting its environmental focus to meet some of the demands listed in the report.PETER GARRETT: There's a challenge there for governments at the Federal, the State and the local level and that is to make sure that in their planning, in their decision making and in their support of environmental policies we look at the whole of Australia's environment. That's what this report tells us. It's something we're acting on.DINA ROSENDORFF: The Opposition's climate change spokesman Greg Hunt says he won't comment until he's seen the report.

Plan to cope with climate change on Reef

A new strategy has been launched to cope with the single biggest threat to the Great Barrier Reef - climate change - - - and protect Australia's $5 billion reef tourism industry.
The strategy was unveiled today at the Tourism Futures Conference on the Gold Coast.
It has been compiled by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Queensland Tourism Industry Council and Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority chairman Russell Reichelt said climate change is the single biggest threat facing the reef.
"One of the key features is that it was developed by industry, but with the marine park authority as a combined effort," he said.
The plan covers raising awareness among operators and tourists, reducing the carbon footprint of tourism operators and improving their energy efficiency, monitoring and reporting changes, improving the resilience of the reef itself, and integrating climate change with business operations and planning.
Dr Reichelt said the operators of Lady Elliot Island have shown how positively embracing change can not only reduce the impact on a pristine environment, but also cut costs.
Managing director of Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort Peter Gash said one of the challenges he faced was operating a tourist business in a pristine environment.
"Lady Elliot is unique in that it is a coral cay out at sea so we have to produce everything ourselves," Mr Gash said.
"We manufacture our power ourselves with generators, we desalinate our water and we treat our own sewage."
He said when he took over the island about 500 litres of diesel was being used each day to power the resort.
"We've manufactured a large hybrid solar power structure which is now producing enough power to reduce our diesel consumption by about 400 litres a day," Mr Gash said.
"If you multiply that by a year that's an awful lot of fuel and an awful lot of carbon reduction."