Ali al-Nuaimi
OPEC to put carbon capture at heart of new green agenda (click here)
13 hours ago
RIYADH (AFP) — OPEC leaders are set to make carbon capture and storage the centerpiece of their new-found green agenda by urging greater use of the emerging technique to curb carbon emissions, Algeria's energy minister said Friday.
Chakib Khelil, reading from a draft declaration expected to be approved at the end of an OPEC summit, said point three would be "energy and environment: carbon storage could reduce the impact of fossil fuels on climate change and developed countries have the technology on this."
Earlier a source told AFP that the joint communique to be issued by OPEC leaders on Sunday would include a "big announcement on the environment."...
...Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), praised the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries for its attitude to the issue.
"I think the debate here points to a constructive willingness to participate in international dialogue about climate change," he said....
Climate injustice is greatest for those with incomes below Rs 3,000 and least for those with incomes above Rs 30,000
An extract from Hiding Behind the Poor, a report by Greenpeace on climate injustice, shows how the poor will be the biggest victims of global warming
Climate change is man-made. The globe is heating up due to the emission of Greenhouse gases, the most prominent being carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels. Historically, developed countries are the biggest contributors to GHG emissions. However, over the last few decades, emissions of rapidly developing economies like India and China have surged. In fact, China and India are ranked at second and fifth respectively among the world’s biggest emitters.
The next round of negotiations for the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol, covering the period after 2012 should start this December in Bali. Governments are busy debating about who to blame and who must commit to drastic emission cuts to save the world from climate change. But India at this point of time is faced by two sharply contradictory realities. On the one hand, there is a rapidly growing rich consumer class which has made the country the 12th largest luxury market in the world; on the other hand, India is home to more than 800 million poor people who are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change....
Abrupt rise in oil prices possible (click here)
IEA Wednesday, 7 November 2007 22:18
The International Energy Agency has warned that a global oil crisis involving an abrupt escalation in oil prices before 2015 cannot be ruled out.
In its world energy outlook for 2007 the agency says that it is very uncertain whether new oil production in the period up until 2015 will be enough to compensate for the natural fall off in output from existing oil fields and keep pace with the projected increase in demand.
The agency said that the consequences of unfettered growth in world energy demand are alarming.
This is the strongest warning yet from the IEA, which is a sister agency of the OECD based in Paris.
The agency has become alarmed because the pace of global economic growth has quickened, driven mainly by China and India.
It says securing a reliable and affordable supply of oil is going to become a formidable challenge for all because of growing demand.
It says that to satisfy this demand Middle Eastern oil producers would have to invest more $1.1 trillion in oil facilities, and increase their supply of oil by 87% by 2030.
The IEA warns however, that there are growing doubts about the willingness, and ability, of national oil companies to make these investments.
The IEA is calling for vigorous, immediate, and collective policy action by all governments to move the world on to a more sustainable energy path.
Carbon taxes and stringent efficiencies measures, it says, are the fastest and cheapest way to do it.
Polling Shows Growing Support for Carbon Taxes
11/13/2007 by Daniel Rosenblum
New polls are showing increasing support for carbon taxes as concern about climate change grows. We're pleased with these results, but we're frustrated that as yet no polls have included questions that would indicate whether support for revenue-neutral carbon taxes exceeds that for carbon taxes for which the revenue uses are either unspecified or earmarked. While we strongly suspect the answer would be Yes, it would be helpful to have our suspicions confirmed by actual polling data....
Field Poll: Californians See Global Warming as a Serious Threat to State's Overall Quality of LifeAuthor: Field Research Corporation (click here)
Published on Nov 9, 2007, 08:38
According to the results of a special statewide Field Poll commissioned by Next 10, an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization, Californians attach a high degree of importance to the issue of global warming and air pollution and believe actions should be taken now to address the problem. More than four in five see global warming as either a very or somewhat serious threat to the state's overall quality of life. Majorities also say it's a very serious threat to the health of residents living or working in areas with poor air quality, to the relationship between the Sierra snow pack and the state's water supply, to Central Valley farmers, and to California's coastal communities.
The public sees many entities as having the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The four groups seen as being most able to affect change are major corporations, gas and electric utility companies, the general public and the U.S. government, in order of efficacy.
Support for taking action on global warming includes majorities across all regions of the state and among both registered voters and adults not registered to vote. In addition, poll results show that the more people know about global warming, the more likely they are to feel immediate action should be taken about the problem. But, in the face of this pronounced state of concern and apprehension, Californians are bullish about the state's ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while expanding jobs and economic prosperity. Nine in ten Californians say the state can be a leader in new technologies to improve efficiency and reduce global warming.
(Additional survey results will be included in Next 10's California Green Innovation Index, an analysis of the impact of innovation on California's economy and environment, to be released on November 14th.)
Initial findings from the new survey were presented today in Sacramento at the Behavior, Energy and Climate Change conference, a national conference of academic, business, government and environmental leaders whose goal is to accelerate the transition to an energy-efficient and low carbon future. Results are based on a telephone survey conducted August 10-28, 2007 among a random sample of 1,003 California adults in English and Spanish....
