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		News Archive     29/07/2008 07:00 AM Alaska forests hit with more wildfires, infestations as climate changes Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: It was just getting cool when Glenn Juday went out to see his trees. The leaves were still on the birch and aspen, and the summer growing season was lingering. But it was already October, and gathering data would be much harder once it snowed. So Juday had to hurry. "I'll work till dark," he had declared that morning in his office at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he teaches forest ecology. "We're seriously behind." Now Juday was about 20 miles from the university – ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Japan adopts action plan against global warming Agence France-Presse: Japan's cabinet on Tuesday adopted a plan to slash carbon emissions up to 80% by 2050 by starting carbon trading and stepping up research on carbon-capture technologies. "Japan must continue showing leadership on the issue of environment," Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told the cabinet meeting. "To lead the world, Japan must take the initiative by achieving a low-carbon society." Japanese industry leaders, particularly steelmakers and the power industry, have strongly opposed ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Oil: Campaigners seek an end to production of CO2-intensive 'unconventional fuels' Guardian: Shell, BP and other oil companies at the centre of the tar sands revolution in Canada are facing a backlash from the Co-operative and other members of the ethical investment community determined to bring a halt to these operations for environmental reasons. A joint report from Co-operative Investments and the wildlife charity WWF released today will be followed up in September by a meeting of the UK Social Investment Forum (UKSIF) to press for an end to this carbon-intensive ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Australia: A heated grab for climate control Sydney Morning Herald: It's not often that the media is more interested in the policy, or potential policy, of an opposition rather than a government. Especially when the government in question is not even a third of the way through its inaugural term. However, this seems to be the case in the lead-up to today's shadow cabinet deliberations and tomorrow's meeting of the Coalition parties. These get-togethers have been given greater attention due to the success (so far) of the merger of the Liberal and National ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Australia's shaky hold on greenhouse infamy Australian: IT is not a list you want to top, but the reality is set out in the Garnaut report: Australia is the largest per capita emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. However, the title is misleading. Australia does top the emissions table, excluding land-use change and forestry emissions. But include that measure and the Republic of the Congo is propelled right out in front, followed by Malaysia, Canada and then Australia. It is also apparent that a year or two can change these ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM China: Beijing Shrouded in Haze 11 Days Before Olympics Reuters: Olympic host city Beijing was shrouded in haze on Monday 11 days before the Games begin, raising anxieties about whether it can deliver the clean skies promised for the world's top athletes. The city's chronic pollution, a sometimes acrid mix of construction dust, vehicle exhaust and factory and power plant fumes, has been one of the biggest worries for Games organisers. Beijing has ordered many of its 3.3 million cars off roads and halted much construction and factory ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Australia: Don't wait for world on climate: poll Australian: AS the Coalition meets in Canberra today to forge a climate change policy that would delay an emissions trading scheme beyond 2010, it will be confronted with evidence that most Australians support the Rudd Government's position. Brendan Nelson is expected to adopt a policy with his shadow cabinet colleagues that opts to delay an ETS until greenhouse gas giants such as India and China act to cut their emissions. But the latest Newspoll survey has confirmed widespread public ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Suppressed climate change report turns up heat on US lawmakers Business Green: Details of a suppressed US government report on the effects of climate change surfaced last week, just days after the agency that wrote it published another damning report linking carbon emissions to detrimental effects on human health. California Senator Barbara Boxer, chairing the Senate Environment Committee, was allowed to see a draft report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that had been submitted to the White House in December. According to Boxer, who was not ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Australia: Wong stands by 2010 carbon trading start-up Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Climate Change Minister Penny Wong says the Federal Government remains committed to its election commitment of a 2010 start-up date, despite the likelihood of tough opposition in Parliament when the laws are introduced. The laws will face tough opposition in the Senate from those who do not support any start-up date before 2012. Senator Wong has told Lyndal Curtis on ABC Radio's AM the issue demands attention by all governments. "Obviously these are matters which ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Athletes Face Mental Problem With Pollution Says Coach Reuters: Athletes competing at the Beijing Olympics will face bigger mental issues than physical problems coping with China's pollution, Netherlands soccer coach Foppe De Haan said on Monday. De Haan told a news conference his players had undergone a rigorous training programme to get themselves in the best physical shape to handle the heat and humidity. But he said nothing could prepare them for the psychological challenge of playing under a thick blanket of haze. "This ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Australia must take lead on emissions trading: Lib backbencher Australian Broadcasting Corporation: An Opposition backbencher has spoken out against the plan for the Coalition to make its support for an emissions trading scheme conditional on India and China signing up to a similar scheme. The federal Coalition begins two days of meetings in Canberra today, which will focus on the Opposition's climate change policy. Western Australian Liberal Mal Washer chairs the Coalition's environment committee and says the shadow cabinet should not make any changes without consulting his ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Australian Athletes Free to Withdraw Over Pollution Reuters: Australian athletes will be allowed to withdraw from their events at the Beijing Olympic Games if pollution poses a threat to their health and safety, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) said on Monday. AOC vice president Peter Montgomery said athletes had the freedom to pull out of events if pollution levels remained high but doubted whether anyone would withdraw from their events. "For us the athlete's attitude to the event is paramount," he told reporters. ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Australian carbon costs to hurt food exports: farmers Reuters: Australian food production and exports could be cut when carbon trading starts from mid-2010, Australia's biggest farmers' group said on Tuesday, with the price of carbon to add to already hefty price rises for fuel. The farmers' disquiet follows fears expressed by big business this month that Australian firms, particularly large energy companies, could lose out to global competitors or be forced to shelve projects due to the country's cap-and-trade carbon plan. "Any more ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Australia: Coalition to thrash out climate policy Australian: THE Coalition frontbench will meet in Canberra today to thrash out its climate change policy. The Opposition is hoping to settle a split over whether emissions trading should start by 2012, or be delayed until big-emitting nations take action. Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson is pushing for delay. Shadow cabinet will discuss the issue today ahead of a party room meeting tomorrow. read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Insubstantial Shadows Inter Press Service: Amidst the cacophony of discussions and negotiations within the international climate change caucus, one particular group, the G8, had held out hope for effective implementation -- more than the United Nations Kyoto Protocol (KP), which remains bogged down in various degrees of non-compliance. Currently there is, along with United States' outright rejection of the KP, acrimonious debate on the 'common but differentiated' principle which sets differing emission-reduction targets on ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Japan says to start trial carbon trading in October Reuters: Japan, under pressure to meet emission reduction targets set by the Kyoto Protocol, approved an October start for the trial trading of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming. "We'll set down rules in September on how to take part in (a trial carbon trading scheme) and in October we'd like to get started," Hiroshi Kamagata, director for the cabinet secretariat at Cabinet Office, said at a briefing on Tuesday. Tuesday's cabinet agreement takes forward ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Japan to start trial carbon trading in October Reuters: Japan, under pressure to find other incentives than government spending to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, approved an October start for the trial trading of carbon dioxide, the main gas blamed for global warming. "We'll set down rules in September on how to take part (in a trial carbon trading scheme) and in October we'd like to get started," Hiroshi Kamagata, director for the cabinet secretariat at the Cabinet Office, said at a briefing on Tuesday. Tuesday's ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM More problems from climate than pollution, say Spain Reuters:  Heat and humidity levels will be of more concern to competing athletes at the Beijing Olympics than pollution levels, according to Spanish athletics chief Jose Maria Odriozola. "I was there two years ago at almost exactly the same time as the Olympics will be held for the world junior athletics championships," Odriozola told a news conference on Tuesday after announcing the Spanish athletics team for the Games. "My eyes didn't water and the athletes did not ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM Australia: Solar rebate rules unplug electricians Age: A DOWNTURN in the solar energy market is already clear just two months after the Rudd Government changed the rules over rebates, according to the Electrical Trades Union (ETU). The claims that job opportunities were being "killed off" by the rebate changes were presented to a Federal Parliamentary committee hearing in Melbourne yesterday. Eligibility rules for the $8000 solar panel rebate were tightened in this year's federal budget, meaning that people earning more ... read more 29/07/2008 07:00 AM United States: Truckers sue LA ports over anti-pollution program Reuters:  The American Trucking Associations filed a federal lawsuit in a California court on Monday morning against the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to stop plans intended to reduce diesel fuel pollution. The Arlington, Virginia-based trade group estimates over 10,000 independent truckers will be prohibited from the Los Angeles port, which is banning independent truckers as of October 1 to tighten control over emissions. The ATA charged that the plans are unfair for ... read more News Archive     Back to Homepage
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