March 2016 Climate Change Simmary Report

“Trump, Cruz Would Reverse Obama’s Work on Climate and Energy — Conservative Group”

March 31, 2016: The Wall Street Journal reports: “The top leading Republican candidates for president are advocating conservative energy and environment agendas that would unwind virtually everything President Barack Obama has done in that realm over the last eight years, according to answers they offered in a survey released Wednesday by a conservative interest group. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and businessman Donald Trump offered some of their most detailed views on a range of energy and environmental policy issues when responding to a series of questions posed by the American Energy Alliance, a conservative interest group. The candidates’ answers were similar in most instances: They called for the review and possibly elimination of most environmental regulations and opposed a carbon tax.”

“Enviros Push Obama To Halt Offshore Drilling Forever”

March 30, 2016: Law360 (subscription required) reports: “Nearly 50 environmental and indigenous groups representing major coastal regions of the U.S. filed a petition Tuesday that calls on President Barack Obama to issue an executive order ending all new oil and gas leasing auctions in federally controlled oceans. Led by the Center for Biological Diversity, the groups said that such an order would align U.S. energy policy with Obama’s own climate goals and would be a step toward limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, consistent with the 2015 Paris Agreement.”

“Climate Policy’s Advocates Take Page From Same-Sex Marriage Playbook”

March 30, 2016: The New York Times reports: “Two months ahead of a federal court hearing on President Obama’s signature climate change rule, a coordinated public relations offensive has begun — modeled after the same-sex marriage campaign — to influence the outcome of the case. A national coalition of liberal and environmental advocacy groups, state attorneys general, mayors and even some businesses are adhering to the strategy that a network of gay rights and other advocacy groups began in the months before the Supreme Court heard arguments in the same-sex marriage case, Obergefell v. Hodges, last year. Those advocates cannot be certain, but they said they believed it had influenced the opinions of the justices, who ruled in June that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage.”

“Sucking wind in the fight for renewable energy”

March 29, 2016: An op-ed in The New York Post by Manhattan Institute senior fellow Robert Bryce states: “Gov. Cuomo wants New York to be getting 50 percent of its electricity from “renewables” by 2030. But if the ongoing battle over the proposed Lighthouse Wind project is any indication, Cuomo and his green allies are in for a long fight upstate. Three New York counties — Erie, Orleans and Niagara — as well as the towns of Yates and Somerset are all opposing the 200-megawatt Lighthouse project. If approved by state regulators, the project would install dozens of 500- to 600-foot-high turbines on about 20,000 acres in Niagara and Orleans counties, both of which abut Lake Ontario. In January, the Town Board of Yates voted unanimously to oppose the project.”

 

“Blue States Have Been the Slowest To Go ‘Green’”

March 28, 2016: The Daily Caller reports: “Democrat-voting states have been slow to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions compared to states that vote Republican, according to an analysis of federal emissions data by The Daily Caller News Foundation. The amount of U.S. CO2 emissions per dollar of economic output has declined 28 percent since 1990, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The decline hasn’t been evenly distributed throughout the country, and traditionally Republican states have been the quickest to reduce emissions. Red state economies, which The DCNF defined as mostly voted Republican during the past six presidential elections, saw larger drops in the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than blue state economies. Those states made up seven of the top 10 states ranked by how much they reduced CO2 emissions, The DCNF found.”

“Todd Stern on Paris, the future and learning from the past”

March 28, 2016: E&E News reports: “Todd Stern says struggling through Kyoto, Japan, and Copenhagen, Denmark, helped teach him what a climate deal would need to succeed. The State Department’s top climate diplomat entered the world of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as a negotiator in 1997 — the same year the world reached its first deal to contain global warming. He remembers the summit in the ancient Japanese capital that year and the next in Buenos Aires, Argentina, focused on implementation, as ‘sprawling’ and ‘quite political’ affairs — even more so than when he returned to the process a decade later. It produced an agreement with what Stern described as a ‘sharp, bright line’ running through the middle of it — dividing the legally binding commitments demanded of a few wealthy nations from the voluntary actions the vast majority of countries were invited to take.”

“Republicans Won’t Woo Swing Voters on the Environment”

March 25, 2016: Morning Consult reports: “The Republican Party has a wolf by the ears when it comes to climate change, at least according to a pro-clean energy Republican who lost re-election largely thanks to his positions on the environment. Former Rep. Bob Inglis of South Carolina, who lost to fellow Republican Trey Gowdy in a 2010 primary, said Thursday that Republicans tend to lose primaries if they support policies cutting greenhouse gases. But there’s a problem: They can’t win over the national population if they make scientifically tenuous arguments denying humans’ role in climate change. ‘They’re trying to figure out how to shimmy back to the trunk of the tree of science,’ Inglis said. ‘They’re way out on a limb.’”

“N.M. joins states dumping solar subsidies”

March 24, 2016: Climatewire reports: “A state budget crisis in New Mexico could spell the end of the state’s $3 million solar tax credit program. The 10 percent tax credit for rooftop solar expires at the end of the year. Lawmakers recently failed to approve extending it through 2024, and analysts cited a concern over the state’s budget crisis. One Republican lawmaker who has been fighting to keep the credit dismissed concerns that the state could no longer afford the incentive and argued the solar industry has provided nearly 2,000 jobs since 2008.”

“New climate czar charged with making Paris promises a reality”

March 23, 2016: E&E News reports: “Jonathan Pershing, who will become the top U.S. diplomat on climate issues next month, has spent the last three years at the Department of Energy working to make the U.S. commitment in Paris easier to achieve. Since stepping down in 2013 as deputy to outgoing U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern, Pershing has been responsible for helping DOE align its advanced energy research and policy with the Obama administration’s climate priorities. That’s meant supporting everything from U.S. EPA’s Clean Power Plan to the U.S. position at last year’s landmark climate summit in the French capital.”

“McConnell tells states to stop planning for EPA climate rule”

March 22, 2016: The Hill reports: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is telling state officials to stop their work toward complying with the Obama administration’s climate change rule for power plants. In a Monday letter to all of the country’s governors through the National Governors Association, McConnell said the Supreme Court’s decision last month to halt the Clean Power Plan validated his earlier advice for states to ignore the regulation and not try to comply. McConnell told the governors that he’s always felt the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) carbon limits violate the law.”

“New Electric Vehicle Report Card Gives Auto Industry Failing Grades in 2016”

March 22, 2016: MarketWired reports: “With few electric vehicles (EVs) passing key performance benchmarks of driving range and cost, the automotive industry received an overall failing grade for its EV offerings. In the inaugural 2016 edition of Lux Research’s annual “EV Inflection Tracker,” the industry earned just 27 out of a possible 100 rating, mainly because of high costs and limited offerings with a driving range of over 200 miles. Luxury cars earned the highest rating, due to offerings from Tesla, BYD, and Volvo — but three of the five classes received “F” grades, and pickup trucks were incomplete, with no plug-in vehicles available.”

“An obstacle on the way to zero carbon: natural gas”

March 21, 2016: E&E News reports: “The University of California, one of the world’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning, has encountered a seemingly insoluble problem as it sets it sights on being carbon neutral by 2025. The problem isn’t getting clean electricity, like solar power, which has become standardized and often inexpensive. The problem is how to replace natural gas. Four of its 10 campuses and one of its five medical centers run on big cogeneration plants, which produce electricity and use the excess heat to supply campus heating and cooling. They run on natural gas, which has half the emissions of coal but still spews plenty of carbon dioxide. There is no affordable, renewable fuel that can take its place.”

“10 Problems the Anti Coal, Oil, and Natural Gas Movement Must Answer”

March 21, 2016: An op-ed in Forbes by Jude Clemente states: “I’m a firm believer that we must support ALL energy sources because each of them will have a key role to play in the years ahead. Unfortunately, I’ve also come to notice that those in the renewable energy business are much more anti- coal, oil, and natural gas than the latter group is against the former, creating an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality that ignores the fact that ALL energy sources have pros and cons. So, a reality check is in order, especially since there’s a growing and dangerous push to 1) NOT produce more fossil fuels, 2) NOT build more related infrastructure, and/or 3) hurt the companies that produce our coal, oil, and gas.”

“Energy-sector CO2 flat while economy grows – again”

March 18, 2016: E&E News reports: “Global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions held steady for the second year in a row while the economy grew, according to the International Energy Agency. In a simple, two-column spreadsheet released yesterday, IEA showed that the world’s energy sector produced 32.14 metric gigatons of carbon dioxide in 2015, up slightly from 32.13 metric gigatons in 2014. Meanwhile, the global economy grew more than 3 percent. Analysts credited the rise of renewables — clean energy made up more than 90 percent of new energy production in 2015 — for keeping greenhouse gas emissions flat.”

“Trudeau: Climate change is an ‘incredible opportunity’ for Canada”

March 18, 2016: The Hill reports: “Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated Thursday his goal to institute policies in his country to help tackle climate change.  In an interview with Bloomberg News, Trudeau said climate change will ‘impose real challenges on Canada’ while providing an incentive to help create jobs and new industries in the country.  ‘We have large distances and spaces between our communities and lots of natural resources, including energy resources. If any country is going to, in a self-interested

“Ivanpah Solar Plant May Be Forced to Shut Down”

March 17, 2016: The Wall Street Journal reports: “A federally backed, $2.2 billion solar project in the California desert isn’t producing the electricity it is contractually required to deliver to PG&E Corp., which says the solar plant may be forced to shut down if it doesn’t receive a break Thursday from state regulators. The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, owned by BrightSource Energy Inc., NRG Energy Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, uses more than 170,000 mirrors mounted to the ground to reflect sunlight to 450-foot-high towers topped by boilers that heat up to create steam, which in turn is used to generate electricity. But the unconventional solar-thermal project, financed with $1.5 billion in federal loans, has riled environmentalists by killing thousands of birds, many of which are burned to death—and has so far failed to produce the expected power.”

“The economy is growing, but carbon emissions aren’t. That’s a big deal”

March 16, 2016: The Washington Post reports: “Roughly a year ago, the International Energy Agency announced a wonky yet nonetheless significant development. Looking at data for the year 2014, the agency found that although the global economy grew — by 3.4 percent that year — greenhouse gas emissions from the use of energy (their largest source) had not. They had stalled at about 32.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, just as in 2013. The agency called this a ‘decoupling’ of growth from carbon dioxide emissions, and noted that it was the ‘the first time in 40 years in which there was a halt or reduction in emissions of the greenhouse gas that was not tied to an economic downturn.’ For decades prior to 2014, economic growth had pretty much always meant more pollution of the atmosphere, and a worsening climate problem. It now seems like 2014 wasn’t just a fluke — IEA is saying the same thing about 2015.”

“Green: The Status Symbol the Affluent Can Afford That Costs the Poor”

March 16, 2016: An op-ed in Townhall from Marita Noon, the executive director of Energy Makes America Great, states: “Researchers have found that some buyers are willing to pay for environmentally friendly products because those products are ‘status symbols.’ A report in the Atlantic states: ‘Environmentally-friendly behaviors typically go unseen; there’s no public glory in shortened showers or diligent recycling. But when people can use their behavior to broadcast their own goodness, their incentives shift. The people who buy Priuses and solar panels still probably care about the environment—it’s just that researchers have found that a portion of their motivation might come from a place of self-promotion, much like community service does good and fits on a résumé.’ With ‘green’ having become a status symbol, the affluent can afford it. Yet, their desire to ‘broadcast their own goodness’ actually results in higher costs to those who can least afford it.”

 

“EU green transport target ‘may have increased greenhouse gas emissions’”

March 15, 2016: The Guardian reports: “European Union renewable energy targets may have increased greenhouse gas emissions because the dirtiest biofuels produce three times the emissions of diesel oil, according to the most complete EU analysis yet carried out. Biodiesel made from palm oil emits more than three times as much and soybean oil around twice as much, when the crops’ effects on land use are considered, the research by the Ecofys consultancy for the European commission found. Europe’s aim of sourcing 10% of its transport fuel to ‘renewables’ by 2020 – mostly biodiesel – will foster crop cultivation on 6.7m hectares of forests and grasslands, the paper says. When the loss of trees is factored in, such ‘first generation biofuels’ would generate around nearly 1bn tones of CO2 equivalent.”

“Future turbines could be twice as big”

March 15, 2016: Climatewire reports: “Most wind turbines stand over 400 feet tall, but new designs bring their height to greater extremes. A recent design envisions a turbine taller than the Empire State Building, with blades up to 200 meters (656 feet) long. That’s a big increase from today, when the longest blades run well under 300 feet in length. The new towers could rise up nearly one-third of a mile. ‘We call it the extreme scale,’ said Eric Loth, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Virginia. ‘There’s nothing like it.’”

“United Airlines is flying on biofuels. Here’s why that’s a really big deal.”

March 14, 2016: The Washington Post reports: “On Friday, United Airlines will launch a new initiative that uses biofuel to help power flights running between Los Angeles and San Francisco, with eventual plans to expand to all flights operating out of LAX. It’s the first time an American airline will begin using renewable fuel for regular commercial operations, and the occasion is part of a bigger movement when it comes to clean transportation in the U.S. “

“Oops. NOAA determines that fracking, oil drilling not contributing to increased methane emissions”

March 14, 2016: HotAir reports; “Is there anyone at the EPA who has even the foggiest idea how any of this works? On the heels of their carbon and mercury emissions limits which are already tied up in court, the EPA announced this week that they will double down on their incredible record of success and roll out some new methane regulations. The restrictions will apply to all oil and gas wells in the country, despite the industry already having massively reduced extraneous emissions at well sites. The timing turned out to

“GOP chairman: EPA ignoring Supreme Court on climate rule”

March 11, 2016: The Hill reports: “The top senator responsible for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says the agency isn’t following the Supreme Court’s order to hold off on the agency’s climate change rule. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said actions by EPA head Gina McCarthy and others show the agency is still working on some steps to implement the rule, which he said contradicts the Supreme Court. Additionally, Inhofe said he’s worried that the EPA does not plan to push back deadlines for the rule if it is upheld.”

“Obama’s Next Environmental Fight: Methane Emissions”

March 11, 2016: Morning Consult reports: “Natural gas producers immediately cried foul Thursday over a joint statement by the United States and Canada to nearly halve methane emissions over the next decade. Even before any details emerged of the Environmental Protection Agency’s plans, the resolution appeared to foreshadow another environmental legal battle for the Obama administration. The U.S. and Canada will commit to cutting 40-45 percent of methane emissions by 2025, using 2012 levels as a baseline, according to a joint statement released ahead of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to the White House. Methane isn’t emitted as prolifically as carbon dioxide, but it is far more potent in warming the planet’s atmosphere. Oil and gas industry representatives quickly criticized the plan and wouldn’t

“U.S., Canada launch new climate change effort”

March 10, 2016: Washington Examiner reports: “The United States and Canada announced a new partnership aimed at tackling climate change and protecting the Arctic, one the two countries hope can be a model for the rest of the world, the White House announced Thursday. The announcement came during Justin Trudeau’s first visit to the United States as Canadian prime minister. The White House touted the partnership as an improvement on relations between the two nations when it comes to climate change. The U.S. and Canada committed to implementing the Paris Agreement on climate change, which will be signed next month.”

“Obama cuts first check under climate deal”

March 9, 2016: The Washington Examiner reports: “The Obama administration sent the first $500 million to the United Nations’ Green Climate Fund this week, thumbing its nose at Republican opponents who say taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for the money. Critics of the U.S. participating in the fund came out against the president’s actions Tuesday… The payment is part of the climate deal President Obama helped pull together in Paris in December. The $500 million is part of a $3 billion commitment to the fund by the U.S. to help poorer countries cope with the effects of climate change.”

 

“Green energy claims under scrutiny in Illinois”

March 9, 2016: The Chicago Tribune reports: “The large print on the glossy brochures and flashy websites might say ‘Buy green energy,’ but an Illinois utility regulator is considering cracking down on claims of environmental friendliness, saying they can mislead consumers. Two administrative law judges at the Illinois Commerce Commission recently proposed new rules limiting the ability of retail electric suppliers to market renewable energy as ‘green’ and requiring additional disclosures about where the power comes from. The requirements laid out in draft rules on green-energy marketing are ‘a positive step forward,’ the Illinois attorney general’s office said recently.”

 

“Is natural gas a fossil fuel substitute, or does it just crowd out renewables?”

March 8, 2016: An op-ed in The Hill by Rice University professor Daniel Cohen states: “Natural gas is consumed more flexibly than any other fossil fuel. Whereas coal is deployed primarily for electricity generation and oil for transportation, natural gas straddles the energy economy with uses spanning electricity, industry, residential and commercial heating, and transportation. Emerging technologies opening more abundant supplies of natural gas have heightened its importance, while world leaders increasingly seek solutions to climate change. The flexibility of natural gas means that its substitutions for other fossil fuels can impact climate warming emissions upward (via methane leaks and carbon dioxide exhaust) or downward (via reduced use of coal and oil). That’s why Shayak Sengupta and I worked in 2012 and 2013 to compare the net greenhouse gas impacts of various substitutions of U.S. natural gas for other fossil fuels.”

“Forget The Gas Tax, Here’s How Policymakers Make Drivers Pay”

March 8, 2016: Forbes reports: “Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards have increased vehicle fuel efficiency, but new research shows that this gain has raised the price of an average new car by $6,200. Many argue that these standards are ineffective at achieving their stated goals, yet the standards could grow even stricter in the future. The Heritage Foundation’s Salim Furth explains why Americans would be better off if CAFE standards were frozen at current levels—or repealed altogether. Jared Meyer: What are the current CAFE standards and how are they calculated? Are they set to increase in the coming years? Salim Furth: The fuel economy regulations require that each automaker calculate the average gas mileage of its fleet every year. The calculation is very complicated, and cars with larger ‘footprints’ (determined by how far the wheels are spread out) do not count as much against the standard. If automakers fall below the standard, they pay a fine. If they exceed the standard, they get credits for future years.”

“Canada moving closer to carbon pricing agreement”

March 7, 2016: The Hill reports: “Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is working to secure commitments from the country’s 10 provinces on a proposal to put a price on carbon. Trudeau’s government and leaders for the provinces agreed to the mechanisms for a carbon price this week, Reuters reports, agreeing that individual carbon prices would take into account differing circumstances among the provinces. More details will come following further meetings in October.  Trudeau’s Liberal Party secured power last fall with a platform of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the nation. ‘There will be different approaches but pricing carbon is part of the solution that this country and all of its premiers will put forward,’ Trudeau said at a Thursday news conference.”

“The Dirty Little Secret about All-Electric Vehicles”

March 7, 2016: American Thinker reports: “As Elon Musk doubles down with the debut of new and more affordable models of his Tesla all-electric vehicles at the Geneva Auto Show, there is a dirty little secret that once exposed, will burst the mythology of the all-electric car. There is a myth that the all-electric vehicle is more efficient than conventional vehicles and that big oil hates the all-electric niche carved out by Musk and others. The reality is that the all-electric vehicle is less efficient, and has a larger carbon footprint than a Ford F-150.  It is not because the Tesla vehicles are not well engineered; they are superbly engineered. The inefficiency is a function of where the energy for the all-electric vehicle is generated. Let us start at the beginning. There are only two reliable zero emissions methods for generating power. The first is hydroelectric power which generates only 16% of the world’s electricity; the second is nuclear power, which makes up only 11% of the world’s electrical grid capacity. That means that 73% of worldwide electrical generation is from fossil fuels.”

“Future of U.S. solar threatened in nationwide fight over incentives”

March 4, 2016: Reuters reports: “Two sun-drenched U.S. states have lately come to very different conclusions on a controversial solar power incentive essential to the industry’s growth. In California, regulators voted in January to preserve so-called net metering, which requires utilities to purchase surplus power generated by customers with rooftop solar panels. But neighboring Nevada scrapped the policy – prompting solar companies to flee the state. The decisions foreshadow an intensifying national debate over public support that the rooftop solar industry says it can’t live without. ‘Without net metering, it just doesn’t work,’ said Lyndon Rive, chief executive of top U.S. residential solar installer SolarCity Corp.”

“Electric vehicles won’t account for majority of new car sales until at least 2035, study says”

March 4, 2016: Dallas Morning News reports: “Despite heavy pushes by the federal government, plug-in vehicles won’t account for a majority of new-vehicle sales until at least 2035, according to one study. Lux Research says the auto industry is still at least three full model cycles away – an eternity in the industry – from a time when electrics and plug-in hybrids rule the road. The main impediments with the green-mobiles are, of course, price and range. Lux Research says the magic numbers are $35,000 in price and 200 miles of range between recharges – two barriers that General Motors and Tesla Motors claim they will be banging up against with new midsize electrics due over the next year.”

“US, Canada eye joint climate strategy”

March 3, 2016: The Hill reports: “Leaders in the United States and Canada are working toward a North American climate change strategy that would be signed next week. Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s international trade minister, told the Globe and Mail that the climate agreement is one of the main goals for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s planned state visit to the United States next week. ‘The visit is still coming together but I am very hopeful there will be some real accomplishments on the environment and climate change,’ she told the newspaper. ‘We are still 10 days away and negotiations are very intense right now and I am not going to get ahead of where negotiators are.’”

“Carbon-capture: A big test for cleaner air is coming”

March 1, 2016: CBS News reports: “A potential turning point in the fight against global warming could come later this year near Meridian, Mississippi. That’s where a coal-fired power plant owned by Southern Co.’s Mississippi Power will open, equipped with a proprietary system designed to capture carbon emissions before they’re emitted into the atmosphere. Known as the Kemper Project, it’s one of the country’s largest roll-outs so far of technology that advocates say could be instrumental in combating greenhouse gases, which scientists have shown are driving up Earth’s temperature to alarmingly high levels. Designers say the Kemper plant will take the 3.5 million tons of carbon dioxide it expects to emit annually and inject it into oil and natural gas wells, making those resources easier to extract. In the process of injecting the carbon dioxide, some of it comes back up but is reinjected into the ground. Eventually, virtually all the carbon dioxide is permanently stored.”