Global Warming Today articles from December 2003

Global Warming Today archives from December 2003

CEC Approves New Building Standards for Energy Efficiency.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The California Energy Commission (CEC) recently announced its adoption of updated building standards for energy efficiency in residential and non-residential construction, noting that the new rules are expected to help reduce the state's peak...

NOAA to Commission New Climate Monitoring Network.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced that the U.S. Climate Reference Network (CRN), a new, high-tech climate monitoring network designed by NOAA scientists to "keep tabs on the nation's temperature and...

U.K. Urges Companies to Apply for Carbon Trading Permits.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The U.K. Environment Agency recently urged companies to start planning their permit applications for the upcoming European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Directive scheduled to begin in 2005. According to the agency, companies affected by...

Steelmakers Launch Effort to Reduce CO2 Emissions.(American Iron and Steel Institute announced the launch of a North American research initiative designed to develop new steelmaking technologies)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) recently announced the launch of a North American research initiative designed to "develop new steelmaking technologies with little or no [carbon dioxide (CO2)] emissions." According to AISI,...

FMO Announces Plans to Become Carbon Neutral.(Netherlands Development Finance Company)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) recently announced plans to neutralize carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from its operations through the acquisition of CO2 certificates under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism. ...

SEI Awards Funding to Dublin Energy Refurbishment Effort.(Sustainable Energy Ireland)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2003... Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) chief executive David Taylor recently announced that funding of 500,000 euros (about $598,500) has been granted to the city council of Dublin to assist in "the energy efficiency refurbishment of 100 Dublin city...

DOE Releases Proposed Guidelines for Voluntary GHG Reporting.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the release of proposed guidelines for the voluntary reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data and reduction efforts. According to DOE, the proposed guidelines, which are designed to...

Canada Funds Forest Plantation Initiative.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) recently announced that the federal government has contributed $20 million Canadian (about $15.3 million U.S.) to the Forest 2020 Plantation Demonstration and Assessment initiative, which focuses on the use of...

U.S. Official Lambastes Kyoto Protocol.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2003... U.S. undersecretary of state for global affairs Paula Dobriansky recently referred to the Kyoto Protocol in the Financial Times as "an unrealistic and ever-increasing regulatory straitjacket," maintaining that the Bush administration's...

Russian Official Says Country Will Not Ratify Kyoto.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Russian presidential economic adviser Andrei Illarionov recently asserted that the country will not ratify the Kyoto Protocol on the grounds that the treaty would prove economically harmful to the nation. "In its current form, this protocol...

METI to Launch Mock CO2 Emissions Trading.
December 4, 2003... The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) recently announced plans to launch mock trading of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission rights next month in order to assist in the establishment of trading regulations. According to...

EEA Says EU Unlikely to Meet Kyoto Targets.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... The European Environment Agency (EEA) recently announced the release of new projections which indicate that the European Union (EU), as a whole, and its individual member states, with the exception of Sweden and the United Kingdom, will "fail...

Pew Center Considers International Approach to Climate Change.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... The Pew Center on Global Climate Change recently announced the release of a new report, titled "Beyond Kyoto: Advancing the International Effort Against Global Climate Change," which indicates that "an effective international response to global...

Researchers Study Effects of Climate Change on Ski Resorts.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently announced the release of a new study, titled "Climate Change and Winter Sports: Environmental and Economical Threats," which indicates that "many low-altitude ski resorts face economic...

WWF Warns Melting Glaciers May Lead to Water Shortages.(Brief Article)
December 5, 2003... The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) recently announced the release of a new paper on climate change and global glacier decline which warns that unless governments take urgent action to prevent global warming, "billions of people worldwide may face...

Scientists Maintain Human Activity Affects Global Climate.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) recently announced the publication of a new study in the journal Science...

Russian Officials Present Contradictory Views on Kyoto.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... Russian presidential economic adviser Andrei Illarionov late last week reaffirmed the statement he issued earlier in the week regarding the government's purported intention not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, despite conflicting comments from...

World Bank Reports on State of Carbon Market.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... The World Bank recently announced the release of a new report, titled "State of the Carbon Market 2003," which indicates that although carbon trading has risen to 70 million tons as of November 2003, up from 30 million in 2002 and 13 million in...

NASA Creates New Map of Atmospheric Water Vapor.
December 9, 2003... NASA recently announced that a team of agency scientists has created "the first detailed map of water, containing heavy hydrogen and heavy oxygen atoms, in and out of clouds, from the surface to some 25 miles above the Earth," to better...

New Zealand, Forest Industry to Conclude Climate Change Pact.(Brief Article)
December 9, 2003... The government of New Zealand, together with the New Zealand Forest Industries Council (NZFIC), the New Zealand Forest Owners Association and the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association, recently announced plans to conclude a Forest Industry...

Book Says Disappearing Ice Sends Warning for Global Climate.(Brief Article)
December 9, 2003... Greenpeace, together with glaciologists Jonathan Barber and Anthony Payne, recently announced the publication of a new book, titled "Mass Balance of the Cryosphere," the findings of which indicate "radical implications" for future global...

New Zealand Awards Kyoto Credits to 15 Projects.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... The New Zealand government recently announced the awarding of Kyoto Protocol carbon credits to 15 projects, "including wind farms, hydroelectricity schemes and industrial heat plants," for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. ...

NEF Advocates Kyoto Protocol Trade Sanctions.(New Economics Foundation calls for sanctions against the U.S.)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... U.K.-based independent think tank the New Economics Foundation (NEF) recently called on the European Union (EU) to introduce trade sanctions for countries, specifically the U.S., that have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol. According to NEF...

FOE Report Reviews Climate Change Disclosure in SEC Filings.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2003... Friends of the Earth (FOE) recently announced the release of a new report, which is an update of a survey released one year ago, that reviews climate change disclosure in 2002 SEC filings of companies "likely to be impacted by climate change."...

U.S. Official Comments on Planned GHG 'Intensity' Reduction.(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... Dow Jones recently reported that senior U.S. climate negotiator Harlan Watson informed attendees of the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change being held in Milan, Italy,...

TFS Joins CCX as Liquidity Provider.(Tradition Financial Services, Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... London, England-based Tradition Financial Services, Ltd. (TFS), a "leading broker of [over-the-counter (OTC)] inter-dealer physical and derivatives products," recently announced its membership in the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) as a...

EU to Provide Climate Change Grants to Developing Countries.(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... While attending the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Milan, Italy, Italian environment minister Altero Matteoli announced last week that 15 members states of the...

Whirlpool Commits to Reducing GHG Emissions.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... Whirlpool Corporation recently announced a commitment to reducing its global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by three percent from 1998 emissions level, mostly by producing energy-efficient home appliances that the company said "will help to...

U.N. Framework Attendees Agree on Use of GMOs in Tree Planting.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... Delegates from the 180 countries attending the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change being held in Milan, Italy, through today, reached agreement earlier this week on the...

World Economic Forum to Create Global GHG Register.(Brief Article)
December 12, 2003... The World Economic Forum recently announced plans to create a Global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Register designed to "facilitate the disclosure and management by companies of their worldwide climate emissions." "Many firms are being asked by...

Study Cites Adverse Health Impacts of Climate Change.
December 15, 2003... The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners recently announced the release of a new study, titled "Climate Change and Human Health, Risks and Responses," which highlights the health impacts of climate change. "There is growing...

Australia Releases Climate Change Science Guide.(Brief Article)
December 15, 2003... Australian Department for the Environment and Heritage (DEH) minister David Kemp recently announced the release of a new publication, titled "Climate Change: An Australian Guide to Science and Potential Impacts," which is intended to serve as...

EIB Announces Climate Change Initiative.(Brief Article)
December 15, 2003... While attending the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change last week in Milan, Italy, European commissioner for the environment Margo Wallstrom and European Investment Bank...

World Bank Encourages 'All Options' in Addressing Climate Change.(Brief Article)
December 15, 2003... World Bank vice president of sustainable development Ian Johnson recently encouraged the international community to guard against "polemical discourse that sometimes suggests a set of mutually exclusive options in dealing with climate change."...

IBM Joins Chicago Climate Exchange.(Brief Article)
December 16, 2003... The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) recently announced the addition of IBM as a charter member. According to CCX, IBM has voluntarily committed to further reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) by four percent below the average of its...

ICC Official Says Global Warming Threatens Inuit.(Brief Article)
December 16, 2003... While speaking at the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held earlier this month in Milan, Italy, Inuit Circumplar Conference (ICC) chair Sheila Watt-Cloutier reported...

Western Australia Seeks Comments on Draft Greenhouse Strategy.(Brief Article)
December 16, 2003... The government of Western Australia recently announced the release of a draft "Greenhouse Strategy" for public comment. "We are a highly efficient source of many raw materials...and we apply highly developed environmental management...

DOE Launches 'Climate VISION' Website.
December 16, 2003... The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the launch of a new website, located on the Internet at http://www.climatevision.gov, that "will serve as a resource for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) intensity reduction activities by industry...

Australia, NZ Announce Climate Change Partnership Details.(Brief Article)
December 17, 2003... Australia's Department of the Environment and Heritage (DEH) recently announced that minister for the environment and heritage David Kemp and New Zealand's climate change convenor Pete Hodgson have unveiled details concerning the first projects...

C-Clif Climate Center Shuts Down in U.K.(Brief Article)
December 17, 2003... U.K. officials recently reported the closure of The Centre for Climate Change Impact Forecasting (C-Clif), a regional climate change research facility located in southwest England. According to officials the center, a cooperative effort...

e7 Releases Guide to Implementing Projects Under CDM.(Brief Article)
December 17, 2003... The e7, "an organization of nine leading electricity companies," recently announced the release of "The e7 Guide to Implementing Projects Under the Clean Development Mechanism [(CDM)]," a publication that presents "how to" steps for...

OSU Says Methyl Sulfate Has 'Contradictory Effects' on Climate.
December 18, 2003... Ohio State University (OSU) recently announced that studies conducted by university researchers suggest that the atmospheric compound methyl sulfate, which derives primarily from coal combustion, "may have contradictory effects on the Earth's...

Russian Foreign Ministry Comments on Kyoto Ratification.(Brief Article)
December 18, 2003... Recent comments by top Russian officials indicate the nation is still noncommittal about its decision to ratify the Kyoto protocol. According to foreign minister Yuri Fedotov, more work and analysis needs to be completed before any final...

Report Says Global Warming Affects Storms in U.K.(Brief Article)
December 18, 2003... While attending the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held earlier this month in Milan, Italy, officials with the U.K. Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research...

EC President Reaffirms EU Support of Kyoto Protocol.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... In response to critics who questioned the European Union's (EU) support of the Kyoto Protocol, European Commission (EC) president Romano Prodi recently reaffirmed the EC's commitment to the climate change accord. Although Prodi...

Amada Pledges 10,000-ton CO2 Reduction.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... Japanese industry officials recently reported that metalworking machinery manufacturer Amada Company plans to cut its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 10,000 tons during the next decade. To achieve the reduction target, officials said...

Tucson to Host Electric Utilities Environmental Conference.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2003... The 7th Electric Utilities Environmental Conference (EUEC) will be held January 19 through 22, 2004 at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, AZ. According to conference organizers, the objectives of the conference are to "promote the...