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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for July 12, 2016

Posted: 12 Jul 2016 15:56:12
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

Why are the world’s cap-and-trade markets struggling to keep
prices up?
The cost of sending a ton of greenhouse gas emissions into the
air isn’t what it used to be, at least not in the handful of
markets that are putting a price on climate change. Similar to
California’s weak May auction for carbon credits, the world’s two
other greenhouse gas cap-and-trade markets are notching falling
prices this year. One in Europe is still adjusting to a glut of
emission allowances it handed out before the recent recession
drove down energy use.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article88972202.html


RGGI should be 'trading-ready' with other states – report. The
nine-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative should leave the
door open to trading carbon allowances with other states under
the Clean Power Plan, according to a report from consultants at
the Analysis Group Inc. Paul Hibbard, a co-author of the paper,
said RGGI states would benefit from lower costs under a broader
trading system…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/07/12/stories/1060040094 

AIR POLLUTION

EU set to impose stricter air pollution limits.
Plans for tighter national caps on the levels of dangerous air
pollutants in EU member states have moved a step closer to
fruition, after a compromise deal was passed by the European
Parliament's Environment Committee (ENVI) and member states. The
ENVI today voted in favour of a new deal on the National
Emissions Ceiling Directive (NECD), which aims to cut the number
of premature deaths from air pollution by around half across
member states by 2030 by setting limits on the emissions of
several hazardous pollutants, including sulphur dioxide, nitrogen
oxides and fine particulates.
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2464570/eu-set-to-impose-stricter-air-pollution-limits


CLIMATE CHANGE

California governor looks to extend climate-change efforts.
California Gov. Jerry Brown has launched a campaign to extend
some of the most ambitious climate-change programs in the country
and ensure his environmental legacy when he leaves office in two
years. The centerpiece of the push is a cap-and-trade program
that aims to reduce the use of fossil fuels by forcing
manufacturers…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_JERRY_BROWN_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Trump's denial of climate science at odds with world leaders. If
elected president, Donald Trump would be the only head of state
in the world to contend that climate change is a hoax, according
to a study. The Sierra Club compiled public statements from the
leaders of the 195 nations recognized by the State Department. An
advance copy of the group's report…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CAMPAIGN_2016_TRUMP_CLIMATE_CHANGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Adviser says EPA undecided whether to finish model carbon trading
rule. One of U.S. EPA's top legal advisers said yesterday the
agency has not decided whether to finalize a model rule for
carbon trading that states could use under the Clean Power Plan.
"At this point, we still have not made a decision, given the
pendency of the stay, what our next step is going to be…
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/07/12/stories/1060040095 

Figueres' rivals for secretary-general ring in on climate change.
Former U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres isn't the only
contender for secretary-general who has already made climate
change a central theme of her vision for the United Nations'
future. The Costa Rican diplomat and Paris climate deal architect
last week joined the 11 candidates already angling for the United
Nations' top job…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2016/07/12/stories/1060040093 

DROUGHT

California Drought, Marine Heat More Likely With Warming.
A persistent wash of warm waters off the West Coast, which caused
wildlife die-offs and blocked drought-quenching storms from
reaching California last year, was caused by the happenstance
interplay of natural ocean cycles, research findings published
Monday show. The findings also suggested that while the drought
and the blob of warm water were the result of the natural whims
of the weather, climate change could make such events more likely
and intense in the future. To a small extent, it’s already doing
so.
http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2016/07/11/california-drought-marine-heat-more-likely-with-warming/


El Nino-Hit Southern Africa Seeks $2.7 Billion in Drought Aid.
Southern African countries will start an appeal for $2.7 billion
to cope with the effects of the region’s worst drought in more
than three decades that’s left 23 million people in urgent need
of humanitarian assistance.
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-OA6YZ26JTSEB01-5JE7B1STSEV946C4QM8HHMEV7B


VOLKSWAGEN

Volkswagen’s Diesel Fix Increases NOx Emissions, Euro Consumer
Group Says.
Volkswagen received some good news and some bad news regarding
its tainted Dieselgate scandal. The good news: Germany won’t fine
the automaker for its cheating diesel device. The bad news: A
consumer group in Europe says VW’s technical software fix spews
out 25 percent more NOx after the removal of the defeat-device
software. NOx (nitrogen oxide) is a family of poisonous gases
formed when fuel is burned at high temperatures.
http://www.hybridcars.com/volkswagens-diesel-fix-increases-nox-emissions-euro-consumer-group-says/


FUELS

Why Obama’s top scientist just called keeping fossil fuels in the
ground ‘unrealistic’.
White House science adviser John Holdren’s comment Monday that it
was “unrealistic” to halt fossil fuel extraction altogether in
the U.S. may have seemed like stating the obvious. But it has
further highlighted the tensions that exist even among top
American policy makers and environmental advocates concerned
about curbing the rate of climate change. Bernie Sanders and his
followers, influential green movement leaders like Bill McKibben
and powerful organizations like the Sierra Club, have been
pushing a “keep it in the ground” approach. For these advocates,
a future strongly dependent on wind, solar  and batteries can’t
come fast enough. And they have led campaigns not only to oppose
fracking for natural gas but also to block — successfully — the
Keystone XL pipeline.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/07/12/why-obamas-top-scientist-just-called-keeping-fossil-fuels-in-the-ground-unrealistic/


Biofuels compliance credits rally amid battle over U.S. mandates.
Prices in the niche market for biofuels compliance credits jumped
to three-year highs on Monday as traders fretted about supplies
because of higher U.S. government mandates to increase the use of
biofuels next year. Trading in the opaque market for Renewable
Identification Numbers (RIN) - the paper credits that can be
bought…
http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-biofuels-credits-idUSL1N19X1GW


Could Obama’s signature fuel efficiency standards stall? The
Obama administration’s fuel efficiency standards for passenger
cars and light trucks are about to undergo a major reassessment —
something that could end up unraveling one of the president’s
signature achievements.  After weeks of wrangling, the
Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration are ready to release a report about the
economic…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obamas-signature-fuel-efficiency-standards-could-stall/2016/07/11/2d08513c-4777-11e6-bdb9-701687974517_story.html

Future of Natural Gas Hinges on Stanching Methane Leaks. In the
energy business, natural gas is supposed to be one of the good
guys — the cleaner-burning fossil fuel that can help wean the
world from dirty coal during the transition to a low-carbon
future.
But when natural gas escapes unburned, as it often does during
production and distribution, it is a big troublemaker.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/12/business/energy-environment/future-of-natural-gas-hinges-on-stanching-methane-leaks.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=1&utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=ecc70cc10f-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-ecc70cc10f-327747457


Renewable fuels industry urges Californian lawmakers to back low
carbon fuel standard. Around 60 producers and providers of clean
fuels – ranging from electricity to biofuels – signed a joint
letter urging state policymakers to sustain California’s low
carbon fuel policy. The industry leaders say the tool is a
“critical” part of the plan to reduce California’s greenhouse
gases and that it is already driving in-state investment.
http://biofuels-news.com/display_news/10730/Renewable_fuels_industry_urges_Californian_lawmakers_to_back_low_carbon_fuel_standard/


Republican platform declares coal is clean. The Republican
platform committee met in Cleveland the week before the
Republican National Convention to hammer out the party’s policies
in a Trump era. Not to be outdone by Democrats, who approved the
party’s strongest platform language yet on climate change this
weekend, Republicans have gone as far as possible in the other
direction — by endorsing coal as clean.
http://grist.org/election-2016/republican-platform-declares-coal-is-clean/?utm_source=Inside+Climate+News&utm_campaign=ecc70cc10f-Today_s_Climate12_10_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_29c928ffb5-ecc70cc10f-327747457
 

For one buyer, LNG must compete with 'other clean energy'. The
world is full of expensive liquefied natural gas, but there's a
market for LNG if it comes cheap from reliable suppliers,
according to a representative for a potential buyer who drew a
hard line on the conditions that markets will bear. Speaking for
PetroChina International (America) Inc., a subsidiary of the
state-owned China National Petroleum Corp.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2016/07/12/stories/1060040110 

GREEN ENERGY

Hawaii's popular rooftop solar incentives winding down. Hawaii is
a national leader in rooftop solar power, but despite the state's
ambitious goal of using only renewable energy by 2045, people are
being shut out of solar incentive programs because of limits set
by the state.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ROOFTOP_SOLAR?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Cutting the cable: Kangaroo Island eyes switch to 100% renewable
energy. Australia’s third-biggest island could combine wind,
solar, PV and battery storage to fuel own electricity needs – and
set a blueprint. Kangaroo Island is one of the great icons of
Australian tourism. As Andrew Boardman, the chief executive of
the Kangaroo Island council, says: “You can’t buy a name like
that.”
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/jul/11/cutting-the-cable-kangaroo-island-eyes-switch-to-100-renewable-energy


MISCELLANEOUS

Southern California gets a big, fat $0 from Feds for freight,
road improvements. Southern California transportation agencies
were shocked Monday to learn they were getting zero dollars from
the federal Department of Transportation in the first round of a
newly approved freight-movement grant program. Instead, the DOT
gave out $759 million for 18 projects from Seattle to Louisiana
but nothing for projects…
http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20160711/southern-california-gets-a-big-fat-0-from-feds-for-freight-road-improvements




California is in a drought emergency.
Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.

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