By SAURABH CHATURVEDI
NEW DELHI – Lending support to demands from developing countries for an extension of the Kyoto Protocol, the European Union Tuesday said it favored the continuation of the global pact that is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"The Kyoto Protocol should be extended for some time, but I can't say what that sometime would be," E.U. Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik told a news conference. He didn't give any reason for the E.U.'s proposal for continuing with the pact.
Mr. Potocnik's comments come ahead of the ministerial-level United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, scheduled for November in Durban. The Kyoto Protocol expires at the end of 2012 with no new treaty in the near horizon.
Developing countries including India have demanded an extension of the Kyoto Protocol and are opposed to any legally binding emissions cut. An extension of the Kyoto Protocol would help fill the vacuum until a new agreement is in place.
Several rich countries aren't in favor of extending the pact until the U.S. and China agree to binding emission cuts. The U.S. and China, two of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases, aren't signatories to the Kyoto Protocol.
Environment ministers of various countries met in Pretoria last month to prepare grounds of negotiations between developed and developing nations on issues such as legally binding caps on emissions, extension of the Kyoto Protocol and funding of green energy projects in developing countries--all aimed at reducing global warming.
Mr. Potocnik also said that discussions on climate change are unlikely to be affected by the current financial crisis in Europe.
"I don't see the prevailing crisis in Europe and elsewhere impacting the Durban talks," he said. "The global climate crisis is bigger than the financial crisis."
He said that the E.U. won't change its policy that mandates all flights by non-E.U. carriers to and from an airport in the territory of an E.U. member state to be in its emissions trading system.
"If you don't comply, you have to pay," he said.
India and 25 other nations including the U.S. and China are opposed to the E.U.'s plan to include airlines in its system to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
"We are willing to talk about it but there is no question of going backward," he said.
The potentially costly system of limiting emissions requires all airlines, from Jan. 1, 2012, to hold permits that allow them to emit carbon dioxide during any flight landing at or taking off from an E.U. airport.
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Oil sands imports could be banned under EU directive
Fuel from oil sands projects face effective ban under EU proposals, though UK may oppose green plan
Fiona Harvey
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 4 October 2011 19.31 BST
Oil from controversial and environmentally destructive tar sands is likely to be all but banned from Europe after a decision on Tuesday. The move also casts doubt on the future of other controversial energy sources such as shale gas.
Tar sands (also known as oil sands) have been a target of green campaigners for several years, as the extraction of low quality oil from sands – chiefly in Canada to date – produces far greater greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil drilling operations, and requires vast quantities of water. The exploitation of tar sands has also led to the destruction of swaths of forest and is blamed for water and air pollution.
In a victory for Connie Hedegaard, the EU's climate change commissioner, the commission has decided to back a new directive on fuel quality. This will set minimum environmental standards for a range of fuels, including tar sands, coal converted to liquid and oil from shale rock.
Hedegaard said: "With this measure, we are sending a clear signal to fossil fuels suppliers. As fossil fuels will be a reality in the foreseeable future, it's important to give them the right value.''
Franziska Achterberg, EU transport policy adviser for Greenpeace, said: "Today's move by the commission is good news. Tar sands extraction is a very dirty business for the climate, polluting rivers, lacing the air with toxins and turning forests into wasteland. Despite coming under intense pressure from oil lobbyists and Canada, the commission is doing the right thing by wanting to keep tar sands out of Europe to protect the climate."
The proposals have now been sent to EU member states who will meet in four to six weeks to vote on the proposal. It will then go to the European parliament for final approval.
If the proposed standards are accepted, they will all but rule out imports of tar sands, unless producers can clean up their acts. The commission has proposed that tar sands be ascribed a greenhouse gas value of 107 grams per megajoule of fuel – this compares with 87.5 grams per megajoule for ordinary crude oil, on average. Producers will also have to cut the carbon footprint of their fuels by 6% in the next decade.
Although gas from shale is not yet included, because the proposed directive is focused on transport fuels, the acceptance that fuels must meet minimum environmental standards makes it much more likely that it too could fall foul of legislation in the future. Shale gas has come under the spotlight as vast sources in the US have proved a cheap source of fuel there, but allegations of widespread pollution caused by the shale gas projects has led green groups to call for a moratorium. Europe is beginning to exploit its own newly discovered reserves, but campaigners have called for a halt while the environmental consequences are studied. In the UK, drilling work has begun at sites in Lancashire.
The proposed fuel quality directive may also face a tough ride from some member states. In Britain, Norman Baker, minister for transport, stated in a letter dated 26 September that the government will oppose inclusion of a tar sands value and will "continue to have discussions with colleagues in other member states to ensure all heavy crudes are dealt with, not simply oil sands".
The commission appears to have finessed this objection by including other fuels – such as coal converted to liquid and oil from shale, both of which have been assigned far higher carbon values than oil from tar sands – but it is not certain ministers will accept this. There has been fierce lobbying from the Canadian government in particular over the past year on this issue.
Canada has warned that banning oil from tar sands will raise energy prices for Europe, as tar sands are probably the world's biggest reserve of oil after Saudi Arabia. The exploitation of the hard-to-reach resources is only economically viable because of the high oil price.
Paul Morozzo from Greenpeace UK said the benefits of ruling out tar sands and other high-carbon fuel sources were clear: "This proposal is absolutely the right recommendation. The key question now is what will the UK government do – will it be, as David Cameron once claimed, the greenest government ever and support the ban or will the government adopt the George Osborne approach, as outlined in his speech [at the Conservative party conference], where carbon emissions and the destruction of the environment seems to be a price worth paying."
Fiona Harvey
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 4 October 2011 19.31 BST
Oil from controversial and environmentally destructive tar sands is likely to be all but banned from Europe after a decision on Tuesday. The move also casts doubt on the future of other controversial energy sources such as shale gas.
Tar sands (also known as oil sands) have been a target of green campaigners for several years, as the extraction of low quality oil from sands – chiefly in Canada to date – produces far greater greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil drilling operations, and requires vast quantities of water. The exploitation of tar sands has also led to the destruction of swaths of forest and is blamed for water and air pollution.
In a victory for Connie Hedegaard, the EU's climate change commissioner, the commission has decided to back a new directive on fuel quality. This will set minimum environmental standards for a range of fuels, including tar sands, coal converted to liquid and oil from shale rock.
Hedegaard said: "With this measure, we are sending a clear signal to fossil fuels suppliers. As fossil fuels will be a reality in the foreseeable future, it's important to give them the right value.''
Franziska Achterberg, EU transport policy adviser for Greenpeace, said: "Today's move by the commission is good news. Tar sands extraction is a very dirty business for the climate, polluting rivers, lacing the air with toxins and turning forests into wasteland. Despite coming under intense pressure from oil lobbyists and Canada, the commission is doing the right thing by wanting to keep tar sands out of Europe to protect the climate."
The proposals have now been sent to EU member states who will meet in four to six weeks to vote on the proposal. It will then go to the European parliament for final approval.
If the proposed standards are accepted, they will all but rule out imports of tar sands, unless producers can clean up their acts. The commission has proposed that tar sands be ascribed a greenhouse gas value of 107 grams per megajoule of fuel – this compares with 87.5 grams per megajoule for ordinary crude oil, on average. Producers will also have to cut the carbon footprint of their fuels by 6% in the next decade.
Although gas from shale is not yet included, because the proposed directive is focused on transport fuels, the acceptance that fuels must meet minimum environmental standards makes it much more likely that it too could fall foul of legislation in the future. Shale gas has come under the spotlight as vast sources in the US have proved a cheap source of fuel there, but allegations of widespread pollution caused by the shale gas projects has led green groups to call for a moratorium. Europe is beginning to exploit its own newly discovered reserves, but campaigners have called for a halt while the environmental consequences are studied. In the UK, drilling work has begun at sites in Lancashire.
The proposed fuel quality directive may also face a tough ride from some member states. In Britain, Norman Baker, minister for transport, stated in a letter dated 26 September that the government will oppose inclusion of a tar sands value and will "continue to have discussions with colleagues in other member states to ensure all heavy crudes are dealt with, not simply oil sands".
The commission appears to have finessed this objection by including other fuels – such as coal converted to liquid and oil from shale, both of which have been assigned far higher carbon values than oil from tar sands – but it is not certain ministers will accept this. There has been fierce lobbying from the Canadian government in particular over the past year on this issue.
Canada has warned that banning oil from tar sands will raise energy prices for Europe, as tar sands are probably the world's biggest reserve of oil after Saudi Arabia. The exploitation of the hard-to-reach resources is only economically viable because of the high oil price.
Paul Morozzo from Greenpeace UK said the benefits of ruling out tar sands and other high-carbon fuel sources were clear: "This proposal is absolutely the right recommendation. The key question now is what will the UK government do – will it be, as David Cameron once claimed, the greenest government ever and support the ban or will the government adopt the George Osborne approach, as outlined in his speech [at the Conservative party conference], where carbon emissions and the destruction of the environment seems to be a price worth paying."
Work starts on solar bridge at Blackfriars station
Blackfriars station to host London's largest solar array when it opens next year
• High-speed train gets boost from two miles of solar panels
BusinessGreen, part of the Guardian Environment Network
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 4 October 2011 09.35 BST
Work on the world's largest solar bridge formally begins today as the first of more than 4,400 solar panels are installed above the new Blackfriars station platform.
The historic London site is undergoing a multi-million pound refit, which includes extending the platform along Blackfriars Bridge, a structure built in 1886.
When complete in 2012, the Victorian bridge will play host to some 6,000 square metres of photovoltaic (PV) panels, making it London's largest solar array.
Solarcentury, the UK company managing the installation, expects the panels to generate around 900,000kWh of electricity a year, providing half of the station's energy and reducing annual CO2 emissions by an estimated 511 tonnes.
"Blackfriars Bridge is an ideal location for solar; a new, iconic large roof space, right in the heart of London," said Solarcentury chief executive Derry Newman in a statement.
"Station buildings and bridges are fixed parts of our urban landscape and it is great to see that this one will be generating renewable energy every day into the future. For people to see that solar power is working is a vital step towards a clean energy future."
Other energy saving measures, such as rain harvesting systems and sun pipes for natural lighting, are also being fitted at Blackfriars, as part of Network Rail's plans to reduce carbon emissions by 25 per cent per passenger kilometre by 2020.
Lindsay Vamplew, Network Rail's project director for Blackfriars, said that the refurbishment will make the station a template for green stations around the world.
"The Victorian rail bridge at Blackfriars is part of our railway history," he said. "Constructed in the age of steam, we're bringing it bang up to date with 21st century solar technology to create an iconic station for the city."
One other solar bridge is known to exist, the Kurilpa footbridge in Brisbane, Australia, although 16,000 solar panels were laid on the top of a train tunnel in Belgium earlier this year. The array is capable of powering all of the country's trains for one day a year.
• High-speed train gets boost from two miles of solar panels
BusinessGreen, part of the Guardian Environment Network
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 4 October 2011 09.35 BST
Work on the world's largest solar bridge formally begins today as the first of more than 4,400 solar panels are installed above the new Blackfriars station platform.
The historic London site is undergoing a multi-million pound refit, which includes extending the platform along Blackfriars Bridge, a structure built in 1886.
When complete in 2012, the Victorian bridge will play host to some 6,000 square metres of photovoltaic (PV) panels, making it London's largest solar array.
Solarcentury, the UK company managing the installation, expects the panels to generate around 900,000kWh of electricity a year, providing half of the station's energy and reducing annual CO2 emissions by an estimated 511 tonnes.
"Blackfriars Bridge is an ideal location for solar; a new, iconic large roof space, right in the heart of London," said Solarcentury chief executive Derry Newman in a statement.
"Station buildings and bridges are fixed parts of our urban landscape and it is great to see that this one will be generating renewable energy every day into the future. For people to see that solar power is working is a vital step towards a clean energy future."
Other energy saving measures, such as rain harvesting systems and sun pipes for natural lighting, are also being fitted at Blackfriars, as part of Network Rail's plans to reduce carbon emissions by 25 per cent per passenger kilometre by 2020.
Lindsay Vamplew, Network Rail's project director for Blackfriars, said that the refurbishment will make the station a template for green stations around the world.
"The Victorian rail bridge at Blackfriars is part of our railway history," he said. "Constructed in the age of steam, we're bringing it bang up to date with 21st century solar technology to create an iconic station for the city."
One other solar bridge is known to exist, the Kurilpa footbridge in Brisbane, Australia, although 16,000 solar panels were laid on the top of a train tunnel in Belgium earlier this year. The array is capable of powering all of the country's trains for one day a year.