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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for December 11, 2015.
Posted: 11 Dec 2015 14:00:05
ARB Newsclips for December 11, 2015. This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office of Communications. You may need to sign in or register with individual websites to view some of the following news articles. CAP AND TRADE RGGI navigates the risks of expanding its carbon market. Participants in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative are worried that their carbon trading system could experience growing pains from linking with other states under U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan. The nine-state Northeast cap-and-trade program requested comments from stakeholders about how it might fit in with other potential trading markets… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/12/11/stories/1060029373 AIR POLLUTION China's capital to increase smog monitoring after 'red alert'. China's capital will step up air quality monitoring, a senior city official said, after recent severe pollution prompted authorities to issue a first smog "red alert". Rapid industrial growth and car ownership have led to surging levels of air pollution in major urban areas… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-idUSKBN0TU1E920151211#UDrUbYHrA6PuRw6e.99 A view of Paris from a hot air balloon: putting pollution on the climate agenda. Beijing may hit headlines, but European cities such as Paris also regularly exceed safe limits for pollutants such as NO2, with impacts on health and climate change. John Vidal takes to the skies to get a clearer picture. The air quality is officially “good”, 400ft above Paris in a balloon at rush hour. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/10/view-paris-from-hot-air-balloon-putting-pollution-on-climate-agenda European Commission takes Poland to court over poor air quality. The European Commission has decided to take Poland to court over its failure to address its poor air quality, the EU's executive said on Thursday. The use of coal and, sometimes, garbage to heat houses makes Poland's air the most polluted in Europe, according to local government data. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-poland-environment-idUSKBN0TT1RF20151210#1DC3sBOtjleFSWqg.99 China Faces Balancing Act in Slowing Business to Reduce Pollution. Beijing’s pollution red alert highlights the country’s dilemma of sacrificing economic activity to clamp down on pollution. As Chinese authorities lifted Beijing’s “red alert” on smog, businesses were assessing the impact of 2½ days of pollution shutdown and grappling with the prospect of more. http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-faces-balancing-act-in-slowing-business-to-reduce-pollution-1449747175 430,000 Deaths Per Year In Europe Due To Long-Term Exposure To Air Pollution. A new report from the European Environment Agency has revealed that long-term exposure to common air pollution is responsible for over 430,000 deaths a year in Europe, according to recent reports. It was found by the researchers involved that most urban-living people in Europe are exposed to levels of air pollution that are known… http://cleantechnica.com/2015/12/11/430000-deaths-per-year-in-europe-due-to-long-term-exposure-to-air-pollution/ CLIMATE CHANGE Plants may not battle climate change as much as previously thought. Plants might not be quite the climate change combatants scientists have thought they were. A new study in Nature Climate Change suggests that plant growth will have a harder time keeping up with increases in global carbon emissions than previously thought. That means that plants will be taking less carbon out of the atmosphere… http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/12/11/stories/1060029374 Climate change may boost groundwater supply in tropical nations – study. The United Nations' leading scientific body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has long projected tropical nations would be hit hard by climate change. Increased temperatures, rising seas, stronger hurricanes and typhoons, and longer droughts are all threats. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/12/11/stories/1060029368 Residents of historic Va. island may become the first U.S. climate 'refugees'. For Tangier Island, Va., lifelong resident Claudia Parks, climate change is a direct threat to her golf cart. As flooding and erosion have worsened on the Chesapeake Bay island in recent decades, the tour director with a broad smile avoids certain saturated roads at least 15 times in the spring and fall during tidal events on her regular work route. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/12/11/stories/1060029371 UN CLIMATE TALKS How Paris may succeed where Copenhagen failed. The final Friday night of the United Nations' climate talks in Copenhagen six years ago saw the process in disarray. No one knew where the text of an agreement was or if there was even a text. Delegations were angry because they felt the Danish presidency was limiting their access to information and mismanaging the process. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/12/11/stories/1060029405 Global climate deal in sight though finance, timing gaps remain. The chairman of global climate talks in Paris said on Thursday negotiators were on the cusp of an agreement, despite persistent differences on key issues dividing rich and developing countries in nearly two weeks of talks. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-summit-deal-idUSKBN0TT1HI20151211#TF3lPCSLIhqDtObI.99 French Foreign Minister says never been better momentum to get climate deal. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Friday there had never been a better time to get an ambitious, global climate deal and the responsibility was on national governments to make necessary compromises. "All the conditions are in place to have a universal, ambitious final deal," he told reporters. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-summit-fabius-idUSKBN0TU2D320151211#LwxAGp7exBUghdIV.99 Climate draft puts temperature limit out of reach: scientists. A deal to slow climate change being thrashed out in Paris fails to map out steep enough cuts in carbon dioxide emissions to limit global warming to the target of at least "well below" 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), scientists said on Friday. Negotiations on the draft agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-summit-emissions-idUSKBN0TU21E20151211#8BTlwKuml4wpFB4c.99 Red lines, condoms and the Arc de Triomphe: Climate activists step up protests. From storming the Arc de Triomphe in central Paris to handing out condoms to bureaucrats in the suburbs, climate change activists stepped up public stunts on Friday in a last-ditch bid to get negotiators to agree a powerful accord. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-summit-protests-idUSKBN0TU21V20151211#DgT1iLHw5X4SUzAe.99 Global climate talks stumble near finish line, Fabius optimistic. Efforts to craft a global accord to combat climate change stumbled on Friday with China and many other nations refusing to yield ground, forcing host France to extend the U.N. summit by a day to overcome stubborn divisions. Despite the delay, many expressed hope the 195 nations meeting in Paris would grasp the strongest agreement… http://www.reuters.com/article/climatechange-summit-idUSKBN0TU0KA20151211#bzEW1Fj8LEbMlMV8.99 Compromises Make Global Climate Deal More Possible. New draft shows breakthrough on emissions cuts, but developing countries remain at odds with EU, U.S. on other issues. Nations moved closer to a global climate deal that has eluded them for more than 20 years, as compromise emerged on some of the most controversial issues facing negotiators at a summit here, even as other problems remain unresolved. http://www.wsj.com/articles/developing-nations-hesitant-to-embrace-global-warming-limits-1449768622?mod=WSJ_article_EditorsPicks_1 Billions in climate aid pledges have ‘wild west’ accounting. There’s a lot of money in climate financing. Six years ago, rich nations pledged that by 2020 they would provide $100 billion a year in aid, loans and private money to help poorer nations cope with climate change and wean themselves off fossil fuels. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/billions-in-climate-aid-pledges-have-wild-west-accounting/2015/12/11/7454626a-a00b-11e5-9ad2-568d814bbf3b_story.html Key to Success of Climate Pact Will Be Its Signals to Global Markets. As diplomats here work through the final points of a sweeping new climate change accord, experts said the ultimate measure of success of the agreement will be whether it sends a clear signal to global financial investors that they should move money away from fossil fuels and toward clean-energy sources such as wind and solar power. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/world/europe/key-to-success-of-climate-pact-will-be-its-signals-to-global-markets.html?_r=0 'Finishing Line' in Sight at Paris Climate Summit. Negotiators hope to reveal a final draft of an accord shortly, but disagreements remain. The end is in sight at the U.N. climate summit in Paris, but there's still a long night ahead for negotiators who have spent the past two weeks working to achieve an international first: a worldwide agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions… http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/12/11/finishing-line-in-sight-at-paris-climate-summit Amid disputes, critical Paris climate talks continue for an extra day. High-stakes climate talks outside Paris are dragging into an extra day as diplomats try to overcome disagreements over how — or even whether — to share the costs of fighting climate change and shift to clean energy on a global scale. http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/environment-and-nature/20151211/amid-disputes-critical-paris-climate-talks-continue-for-an-extra-day More time for Paris climate change negotiations. With a historic, planetwide pact on the line, hundreds of diplomats in Paris are preparing to extend the U.N. climate change conference into Saturday. The deadline to reach consensus on a climate deal was supposed to be midnight Friday. http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/12/11/56193/more-time-for-paris-climate-change-negotiations/ Climate talks move toward overtime to deal with a few tough issues. Climate change talks have gone into the final stretch, and despite early optimism about completing a global accord early, it now seems the negotiations will need a pair of elastic pants. For the second night in a row, diplomats jousted over phrases well past midnight, this time over a shortened but still-contentious 27-page draft text. http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/12/11/stories/1060029376 Excluding Shipping Emissions from COP Deal Makes 2°C Limit Close to Impossible. The dropping of international aviation and shipping emissions from the draft Paris climate agreement published this afternoon has fatally undermined the prospects of keeping global warming below 2°C, green NGOs Seas At Risk and Transport & Environment (T&E) have said. http://www.marinelink.com/news/impossible-emissions402095.aspx DROUGHT Northwest storms ease drought worries; mudslide risks remain. Fierce storms in the Pacific Northwest sent rivers bursting from their banks, spilled boulders and trees into a major highway and spawned a rare tornado that snapped power poles and battered homes. They've also had one positive effect — easing drought concerns after an unusually dry summer. http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Wild-Northwest-weather-eases-drought-worries-6691072.php GOP blames Feinstein for blocking drought bill for farmers. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and several other California Republicans blamed California Sen. Dianne Feinstein for blocking progress on legislation to bring more water to California's farm belt amid a severe and lengthy drought. Republicans have been hoping to add the bill to the omnibus spending legislation that Congress is aiming to pass before the holidays. http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article49246285.html#storylink=cpy http://www.pe.com/articles/washington-789010-california-drought.html http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/12/11/stories/1060029406 Angry California Republicans call drought bill dead for the year. Angry California Republicans threw in the towel late Thursday, conceding that a California water bill that had divided the state was dead for the year. In a remarkably acrimonious ending to negotiations that once seemed close to bearing fruit, GOP House members acknowledged the bill’s failure… http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article49172085.html#storylink=cpy California Farmers Could Learn Drought Lessons From Israel. California produces half the nation’s fruits, nuts and vegetables. Now that the state is headed into its fifth year of drought, it’s looking at more water-efficient ways to grow food. California may be able to learn some lessons from Israel. The arid country averages less than 25 inches of rain a year and still produces almost all of its food. http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/12/11/california-farmers-could-learn-drought-lessons-from-israel/ http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2015/12/11/wild-northwest-weather-eases-drought-worries Global market, not drought, snips California-grown flower production in Rose Parade. Four years of severe drought haven’t withered supplies of California-grown flowers on Rose Parade floats. That can be blamed on the global economy. Simply put, float builders source everything from roses to orchids from growers across the globe. http://www.sgvtribune.com/lifestyle/20151211/global-market-not-drought-snips-california-grown-flower-production-in-rose-parade Drought forces Pismo Beach to issue building moratorium. The city of Pismo Beach recently issued a tiered building moratorium aimed to conserve water during the state’s historic drought. The first tier is effective immediately — the city will not issue new building permits. Planning and building permits already in the pipeline will move forward and new planning applications will be accepted. http://www.pacbiztimes.com/2015/12/11/drought-forces-pismo-beach-to-issue-building-moratorium/#sthash.KYYsFDlc.dpuf DIESEL ACTIVITIES EPA offers grants to replace, upgrade diesel school buses. School districts and transportation companies will split some $7 million from U.S. EPA to replace or refurbish about 375 older diesel-powered school buses, the agency announced today. Funded through the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA), the program will provide rebates ranging from $15,000 to $25,000 to replace school buses with engines from model year 2006 or earlier, EPA said in a news release. http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/12/11/stories/1060029394 FUELS Oil eyes 11-year low as IEA warns of worse glut, U.S. stays warm. Oil prices extended their freefall on Friday, flirting with 11-year lows, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that global oversupply of crude could worsen next year. Brent and U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell as much as 5 percent on the day and 12 percent on the week as mild pre-winter weather and a plummeting U.S. stock market added to the toll on oil prices. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUSKBN0TU02C20151211#m0OI3t08LiHCawZg.99 Brazil antitrust body assesses Black River sugar mills purchase. Brazil's antitrust regulator CADE is evaluating a request made by U.S.-based Black River Asset Management LLC to approve an acquisition of two local sugar mills, documents seen by Reuters on Friday showed. The request sent to CADE indicates that Black River, controlled by U.S. commodity trader Cargill, and Antonio Ruette Agroindustrial Ltda have agreed on terms for the mills' sale… http://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-sugar-blackriver-idUSL8N13X44120151211#rJVRXTug1kA0xwlZ.99 VEHICLES In smog-choked China, drivers check out electric cars. The heavy smog shrouding Beijing this week has proved to be a boon for China's nascent electric car market, with some dealers saying inquiries about all-electric models are up by almost a tenth. Beijing issued a first 3-day pollution "red alert" on Monday, and set out measures to combat the hazardous smog… http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-autos-idUSKBN0TT08K20151211#psBVEXJzhZsPkGJP.97 VOLKSWAGEN RECALL VW Brand Sales Set to Drop for First Time in More Than a Decade. Volkswagen AG’s deliveries of its namesake brand are set to decline for the first time in 11 years as customers turn away from Golf hatchbacks and Passat sedans tainted by the scandal over diesel emissions cheating. Sales fell 4.5 percent through November to 5.34 million vehicles… http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NZ730R6JIJV501-152S90N7P92EO83OHN86NDNF52 Volkswagen’s World-Wide Sales Fall on Declines in U.S., South America. Sales declined 15% in the U.S. in November, despite overall buoyant demand for new cars. Volkswagen AG ’s world-wide sales shrank in November, hurt by steep declines in the U.S. and South America, illustrating the commercial impact of its emissions-cheating scandal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/volkswagen-sales-fall-showing-commercial-strain-of-emissions-scandal-1449845910 VW Says Emissions Cheating Was Not a One-Time Error. The chairman of Volkswagen said on Thursday that the decision by employees to cheat on emissions tests was made more than a decade ago, after they realized they could not meet United States clean air standards legally. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/business/international/vw-emissions-scandal.html http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2015/12/10/volkswagen-emissions-scandal-investigation/77082362/ Volkswagen Chairman Says Emissions Cheating Sprang From 'Chain Of Errors'. Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal was the result of a "chain of errors," Chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch said Thursday, admitting that the fault extends to the company as a whole, rather than a handful of rogue engineers. The company continues to maintain that only a small group of people were actively involved… http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/12/10/459195558/volkswagen-chairman-says-emissions-cheating-sprang-from-chain-of-errors GREEN ENERGY IKEA to buy 1-2 wind farms to boost renewable energy output. IKEA Group, the world's biggest furniture retailer, will buy at least one or two wind farms in its current fiscal year as it aims to reach by 2020 a target to produce, from renewable sources, as much electricity as it consumes. http://www.reuters.com/article/ikea-energy-renewables-idUSS3N12500720151210#eSl5LMD4UJbwxf4P.99 California and Germany, Opposites With a Common Energy Goal. One is a European country known as “the powerhouse of Europe” that struggles against soggy winters and seemingly endless gray skies. The other is a digitally driven American state, known as “the Golden State,” for its abundant sunshine and year-round growing season. One is determined to lead an energy transformation through carefully drafted laws… http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/world/europe/california-and-germany-opposites-with-a-common-energy-goal.html Critics bash PG&E for plan to raise fee on green energy. Utility company PG&E has filed papers to raise its exit fee for customers transferring to local green energy programs, in some cases as much as doubling the price, a new report says. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that last month the utility quietly filed papers to raise its Power Charge Indifference Adjustment… http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/2015/12/pg-e-eyes-raising-fee-on-green-energy-solar-wind.html Wind energy is a key climate change solution. To curb climate risks, we must cut emissions and deploy low-carbon energy sources like wind. When we think about climate change, it’s easy to focus on reducing emissions in order to maintain a healthy global temperature. But any real progress has to be complemented by a significant increase in clean and renewable energy. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/dec/10/wind-energy-is-a-key-climate-change-solution To store renewable electricity, utilities turn to pumped water. Utilities from Spain to China are increasingly relying on pumped storage hydroelectricity – first used in the 1890s – to overcome the intermittent nature of wind and solar power. In the past decade, wind energy production has soared in Spain, rising from 6 percent of the country’s electricity generation in 2004 to about 20 percent today. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2015/1210/To-store-renewable-electricity-utilities-turn-to-pumped-water Duke Energy Renewables and Green Charge Networks Partner to Increase Savings for Commercial Solar Customers. Duke Energy Renewables is increasing savings for commercial solar customers through an alliance with Green Charge Networks, the country's largest provider of commercial energy storage for retail, industrial and government customers. The agreement provides these customers with "solar firming… http://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=22847 Texas scientists look to save, transport renewable energy. Texas scientists and universities are looking at how to capture, store and transmit energy from their growing wind and solar energy market to the state grid. Intermittent power given by wind turbines or solar panels doesn't make for the constant energy the electric grid needs… http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/12/11/stories/1060029332 OPINIONS Coming clean on corruption’s links to pollution. A common link lies in VW’s emissions cheating and the air-quality alerts in China, India, and Indonesia. Arrogant dishonesty can lead to pollution. As VW now admits, leaders must learn to act with humility. Rarely does the leader of a country or corporation link character virtue with air pollution. http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2015/1210/Coming-clean-on-corruption-s-links-to-pollution It's time to end the ethanol mandate. The Environmental Protection Agency recently set the marker for how much ethanol will have to be blended in your car's gasoline next year. There are two takeaways from this: It could have been worse, and we absolutely have to do away with the whole charade. Setting government requirements for ethanol is simply an… http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-ethanol-epa-fuel-mandate-renewables-20151211-story.html BLOGS U.S. EPA approves the sale of the new 2016 BMW X5 diesel. The EPA and California Air Resources Board approved the sale of the new 2016 BMW X5 diesel. Last month, the Spartanburg plant decided to put a temporary hold on the BMW X5 xDrive35d production for the American market. American customers who have ordered a BMW X5 xDrive35d were advised by U.S. dealers to expect a delay. http://www.bmwblog.com/2015/12/11/u-s-epa-approves-the-sale-of-the-new-2016-bmw-diesel-x5/ Guest post: Cellulosic ethanol holds promise, but can we get it right? This post was written by Loni Kemp, who has been a consultant to NRDC for seven years. She works on agriculture, energy and conservation policy for nonprofits, foundations and government. Previously she was at the Minnesota Project for 29 years. She is the author of the NRDC report, "Cellulosic Ethanol from Corn Stover: Can We Get It Right?" http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/slyutse/guest_post_can_we_get_it_right.html Rainforest: Up to Half the Global Warming Solution. As climate negotiators in Paris struggle to agree on how to avoid the catastrophic consequences of global warming, a big part of the solution is hiding in plain sight: trees, specifically the trees of the rainforest. Conserving tropical rainforest isn't just about protecting spectacular wildlife and unparalleled biodiversity, though that's reason enough. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brett-byers/rainforest-up-to-half-the-global-warming-solution_b_8760622.html The Destination Is 100 Percent Renewable Energy for All. When it comes to prosperity, humans seldom care about the environment. But our planet would not have it and there's evidence at hand: the ten hottest years on record have all occurred since 1998. The year 2014 keeps the highest mark now and it's all but guaranteed already that 2015 will claim the infamous title. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/martin-kaiser/the-destination-is-100-pe_b_8784114.html NSF grant to enhance ‘grass to gas’ biofuel technology. University of Massachusetts Amherst computational chemist Scott Auerbach has been awarded a three-year, $330,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to improve basic understanding and optimize the process of producing fuels such as gasoline from plant biomass instead of from petroleum. http://www.agprofessional.com/news/nsf-grant-enhance-%E2%80%98grass-gas%E2%80%99-biofuel-technology California is in a drought emergency. Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.