news20091119gdn1

[News] from [guardian.co.uk]

[Environment > Copenhagen climate change congerence 2009]
Green technologies in peril as rich nations dither on climate deal
Uncertainty over investing in green technologies more dangerous than lack of Copenhagen treaty says Achim Steiner, the head of the UN environment programme
Damian Carrington
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 18 November 2009 21.27 GMT Article history

Vital business investment in clean technology to tackle climate change is being threatened by delays and doubts over the Copenhagen deal on climate change, senior figures have told the Guardian.

Without urgent progress which will stimulate funding for renewables, nations could be locked into high-carbon energy and transport technologies for decades, inflating another unsustainable economic bubble, they fear.

Achim Steiner, the head of the UN environment programme, said: "Far more worrying [than formally ratifying a treaty] is that every month we delay we send a ambiguous signal into the world economy, the markets, investors and R&D." The markets had not yet had that strong signal, said economist Lord Nicholas Stern of the London School of Economics. "That's what we can give in Copenhagen with a strong political agreement. If we get nothing then it would be very damaging to confidence." He told the Guardian: "Could we make a huge step forward in Copenhagen? Yes. Will we certainly do it? No."

All participants have accepted that it is impossible to seal a legally binding climate treaty at next month's summit. The question now is whether leaders will be able to set firm "politically binding" targets for carbon emission reductions and the funding that rich nations need to provide for poorer nations to cope with global warming and develop green technologies.

"Delinking GDP from emissions is premised on the fact that developed countries will assist developing countries," said Steiner. He said the funding figures on the negotiating table were "exploratory" and "not transfomative and on a magnitude that would send a major signal to the market" on clean technologies. The EU has adopted Gordon Brown's figure of $100bn (£60bn) a year by 2020, but Stern said: "This is right at the bottom end of enough and will not be credible unless there is $50bn by 2015."

The danger of uncertainty over clean technology investments was an immediate problem, according to Steiner: "Many countries have to make decisions right now where they are going to invest in, say, coal-fired power stations or renewable energy sources which have a premium up front, and these decisions are being influenced certainly by uncertainty on a price on carbon."

"Take a country like South Africa, which is planning on investing billions in new energy infrastructure over the next 10-15 years – you can't put those decisions off ad nauseam," he added. There was a "real risk" that countries, especially developing ones, would invest in existing "off-the-shelf" technologies that would lock in high carbon emissions for 20-30 years, he said. "Furthermore, a delay in investment is obviously the worst piece of news you can have in terms of getting out of a recession."

Stern argued that Copenhagen was the moment to begin the transition to a low-carbon sustainable economy, which would be cleaner, quieter and more secure. "We could by wise investment and policies now set the world on a course where we would see arguably the most dynamic period of technologically driven growth in economic history – probably bigger than the railways or electricity."

"We might see Asia leading the charge on this new technology and China is certainly seeing this as the big growth story of the next 2-3 decades." The risks of missing the opportunity were great, Stern added: "Let's set ourselves on a path of growth that has a real future and not just high carbon growth and a new bubble, because high carbon growth will kill itself, firstly on the high price of hydrocarbon [fuels], and secondly on the extremely hostile physical environment it creates."

Business-as-usual scenarios created a 50% chance of a 5C temperature rise by the next century, Stern said: "We haven't been there for 300m years. It would redraw shores, patterns of rivers, where deserts are, most of the reasons why we live and work where we do. There would be huge migrations and conflicts that would be global, prolonged and severe.

Stern acknowledged that electricity prices would go up by 20-30%, but said that would be "a very reasonable price to pay" for the reduction in climate risk such green energy would deliver, given appropriate price protection for poorer consumers. Figures released by UNEP in June showed that in 2008, clean technologies attracted $140bn of investment compared with $110bn for gas and coal for electrical power generation. But investment has fallen significantly in 2009, with green technologies suffering disproportionately.

Nonetheless Angus McCrone, of analysts New Energy Finance, remained upbeat on the clean technology investment picture, if not the broader one: "There are a lot of positive things going on [in relation to Copenhagen]. But whether that's enough to deal with climate change is another question."

news20091119gdn2

[News] from [guardian.co.uk]

[Environment]
Newcastle-upon-Tyne takes top spot as Britain's greenest city
Industrial revolution power house shakes off dirty image with high scores on recycling, green space and tackling climate change
Martin Wainwright
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 19 November 2009 Article history

A city once wreathed in smoke and deafened by shipyard steel-hammers, has transformed itself into the greenest in Britain, according to the country's most comprehensive sustainability audit.

Millions of pounds and a communal push for cleaner, brighter surroundings have returned Newcastle upon Tyne – almost - to the days when Thomas Bewick made his countryside engravings in the city centre and commuted home through meadows.

"We hope this inspires other cities to redouble their efforts," said Peter Madden of Forum for the Future, whose annual rankings show the Geordies leap-frogging more "apparently green" cities such as Bristol, which came top last year, and the 2007 winner Brighton & Hove. For the second year running, Hull propped up the bottom of the table.

"Anywhere with an industrial heritage faces genuine challenges, but Newcastle's success shows how it is possible to overcome the legacy of the past. In all our categories – environment, quality of life and future-proofing, the city scores really well," said Madden.

Tyneside's triumph drew on improvements in air quality, biodiversity in public parks and open spaces and the best salmon run on a English river. The audit shows the city performing well on waste collection, extending green space, life expectancy and the local strategy for tackling climate change.

Its ratings took it from fourth place last year after a similar climb from eighth in 2007. The accolade follows plaudits for the local universities and hospitals, and a year as unofficial European City of Culture; pipped by Liverpool for the actual title, Newcastle and its neighbour Gateshead went ahead with a marathon arts programme as if they had won.

The council's Liberal Democrat leader John Shipley picked out transport innovation as one of the city's distinctive green projects, with curbs on cars and emission cuts on public transport. The Tyneside Metro is also one of the biggest underground services outside London.

"We reckon to be leading the way in transport which reduces CO2 emissions and helps to prepare us for a low carbon economy," he said. "Economic growth must not be achieved at the expense of the environment. Sustainability is at the heart of our vision for a socially just future.


"The city has also become the electric car capital in a government-backed experiment, which will see 1,000 charging points installed in Newcastle and Gateshead over the next two years."

The silver and bronze in the Forum for the Future audit went to Bristol and Brighton & Hove, with organisers saying that the final figures were "very close". Bristol came first in the quality of life and Brighton had the strongest economy, but slipped back on environmental performance.

Fourth place went to a newcomer in the top five, Leicester, which scored best in future-proofing thanks to climate change measures, recycling progress and a very high number of allotments. London was fifth while another northern contender, Leeds, shot up from 13th to sixth place.

Hull's lowly place at the bottom of the league for the second year running followed a collapse of conservation management on the 97 local biodiversity sites, and a slip down the economic table because of job losses. But the Yorkshire port scored its best-ever rating on future-proofing. Glasgow fell back badly in the same category, with a fall in recycling to only 14.5%of waste.

Madden said that the jostle for top positions showed how almost all the country's major cities were raising their green game, with performances so good in many sectors that a slight lapse could forfeit half-a-dozen points. A third northern city with a major legacy of heavy industry, Bradford, drops to 16th place this year, after winning the environment section in 2007, largely because of a fall in local recycling.

The report is a "detailed snapshot" rather than a comprehensive analysis according to the forum, which uses 13 indicators to reach the results. Cities are chosen rather than more mixed areas, largely because of the greater power of their local authorities to affect "green" statistics.

Newcastle's victory was the greater because of the city's continuing prosperity, Madden said, with the data placing it ninth in economic performance. He said: "Our findings vindicate the council's sustainable community strategy for 2008-2011, which commits Newcastle to 'economic growth but not at the expense of the environment'."

The city's victory may come as more of a surprise outside the region than on Tyneside itself, where the quality of life – and landscape – has been a given for years. Newcastle has some of Britain's finest Georgian architecture and the Town Moor, within easy walking distance of the centre, is an "urban lung" bigger than Hampstead Heath and Hyde Park combined.

Bewick, whose work is in the highest canon of portrayals of the English countryside, had no doubts himself. After a spell in the capital in 1776 he wrote with relief on returning home: "The numerous shows to be seen in London may give a momentary satisfaction, but cannot afford me half the pleasure which I always feel in my excursions through the pleasant woods to Eltringham."

2009 rankings
(2008 ranking in brackets)

1 (4) Newcastle
2 (1) Bristol
3 (2) Brighton and Hove
4 (8) Leicester
5 (9) London
6 (13) Leeds
7 (6) Edinburgh
8 (10=) Nottingham
9 (7) Sheffield
10 (5) Cardiff
11 (14) Coventry
12 (3) Plymouth
13 (12) Sunderland
14 (15) Manchester
15 (17) Liverpool
16 (10=) Bradford
17 (19) Birmingham
18 (16) Wolverhampton
19 (18) Glasgow
20 (20) Hull

news20091119gdn3

[News] from [guardian.co.uk]

[News > World news > Kenya]
Kenya evicts thousands of forest squatters in attempt to save Rift valley
Tourism, tea and energy industries threatened after a quarter of huge Mau forest destroyed in 20 years
Xan Rice in Nairobi
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 18 November 2009 22.48 GMT Article history

Several thousand people who had settled illegally in Kenya's most important forest have left their homes at the beginning of an eviction plan designed to end rampant environmental degradation in the Rift valley.

Security officers this week entered the Mau forest, the country's largest water catchment basin, in the first stage of a government operation that will eventually see up to 30,000 families leave. More than a quarter of the 400,000-hectare forest has been lost because of human activity over the past 20 years, threatening Kenya's crucial tourism, tea and energy sectors and the livelihoods of millions of people reliant on the Mau ecosystem.

"We have no time to waste here," said Christian Lambrechts, a United Nations environment programme expert seconded to the government's Mau Secretariat. "The ecological services must be restored."

The dozen or so rivers that originate in the montane forest complex feed the Masai Mara Reserve and Lake Victoria, as well as the lush tea fields of Kericho. But in recent years the river flows have decreased or stopped during the dry season. At Lake Nakuru, Kenya's most visited national park, wildlife officials were forced to pump in water to supply the animals this summer when all the feeder rivers dried up.

A serious drought that has led to water and power shortages across the country was a contributing factor. But human destruction of the once-thick Mau Forest, which has caused its aquifer levels to fall significantly and seen soil erosion increase, played a major part. At its root, as so often happens in Kenya, is politics and corruption. Before the 1990s, the forest was a protected area. But then senior officials in President Daniel arap Moi's government grabbed large plots of the highly fertile land for themselves – Moi still owns a large tea farm in the Mau – profiting from the timber they cleared. They also removed protection from other parts of the forest where thousands of their supporters were allowed to settle and begin farming. Many of the plots were subdivided and then illegally sold on, sometimes to unwitting buyers.

Amid warnings that the entire ecosystem in the Rift valley and western Kenya was in danger due to the rapid deforestation, Kenya's government has made saving the Mau its number one environmental priority. A task force formed by the prime minister, Raila Odinga, last year recommended that all settlers in the forest be removed and that cleared areas be rehabilitated through mass tree planting. Only genuine titleholders – many of the titles in circulation are fictitious – are to be considered for compensation.

Some politicians from Moi's Kalenjin ethnic group, among them large beneficiaries of the land grab, have opposed the plan, describing it as an attack on their community. They have demanded alternative land for the nearly 1,700 families – about 8,000 people – identified as illegal squatters without title who are being targeted in the first phase of the operation. About 3,500 of them had left the Mau by this morning after being served with eviction notices. Some have complained they have nowhere else to go.

The next round of relocations, due in the next few months, will focus on those people with some sort of title to the land. The trickiest part will be dealing with the large landowners, including the politicians, who are unlikely to give up their farms without a fight.

It is likely that some forest dwellers, including a few thousand members of the Ogiek ethnic group who have lived in the Mau for generations, will be allowed to remain.


[Environment > Travel and transport]
The greener car park alternatives to America's asphalt jungle
With car parks accounting for up to 10% of land in US cities, measures to make them more environmentally friendly are urgent
Mark Harris
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 18 November 2009 20.00 GMT Article history

In the 40 years since Joni Mitchell sang about paving paradise, putting up parking lots remains an American obsession. Scientists estimate that up to 10% of land in US cities is now devoted to car parks, causing environmental damage whether they are used by Humvees or hybrids.

Stormwater run-off from roads, drains and parking dumps the equivalent of more than a dozen Exxon Valdez tankers of oil directly into US rivers each year, in addition to dangerous levels of heavy metals, pesticides, bacteria and industrial pollutants. Traditional car parks also encourage sprawl, contribute to urban heat islands and offer little biodiversity.

Now the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided that it's time to turn grey car parks green. It has begun road-testing alternative paving materials that allow water to slowly filter back into the ground rather than rush down the drain.

For the test, a 4,000 sq m asphalt car park at an EPA facility in Edison, New Jersey, is being replaced by three different types of permeable surfacing and a variety of rain gardens.

Research has already shown that gardens and swales can capture up to 90% of nitrogen and heavy metals from water, but the EPA is hoping to develop new systems that can perform even better – and deal with contaminants like leaking oil.

The shift to greener car parks has its roots in the energy crises of the 1970s, when Californian cities passed laws requiring half of all parking spaces to be shaded by trees. Although the aim was to reduce temperatures in parked cars and cut demand for air conditioning, the trees had an unexpected side-effect: improving air quality. The US Department of Agriculture says that heavily shaded car parks absorb smog-producing ozone, cut overall hydrocarbon emissions from vehicles by 2% and reduce run-off by more than 175 gallons per tree.

Some sunny car parks are even getting a 21st-century twist. Photovoltaic "solar trees" provide more shade than real trees, while simultaneously generating clean electricity. The Solar Grove at Kyocera International's headquarters in San Diego consists of 25 power-generating solar trees shading 186 parking spaces.

The panels produce over 430,000 kWh a year (see daily figures online), used to power the offices, provide lighting without light pollution and, soon, recharge plug-in electric vehicles. While the artificial trees can't soak up water or pollutants, run-off flows into swales where organic and inorganic filtration yields clean water at the drain.

Such innovations are welcome, but there's still a lot of ground to cover. A recent Purdue University survey estimated that car parks in US cities take up three times as much room as parks for people, and the EPA surface research is expected to last a full 10 years.

It doesn't look as if America is going to be pulling up parking lots and replanting paradise any time soon.

news20091119bbc1

[One-Minute World News] from [BBC NEWS]

[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 06:30 GMT, Thursday, 19 November 2009
Obama urges North Korea to change
{Barack Obama: "North Korea must live up to its obligations"}
US President Barack Obama and his South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung-bak, have urged North Korea to return to international nuclear negotiations.

The two leaders, speaking at a joint press conference in Seoul, promised the North major economic aid in return.

They also agreed to make progress on a free trade agreement signed in 2007, which has still not been ratified.

The meeting came on the last day of Mr Obama's Asian tour, which was designed to revive US diplomacy in the region.

He has already visited Japan, Singapore and China.

Close co-ordination

Mr Obama described Mr Lee as his "good friend" and said his welcome to South Korea had been "spectacular".

The BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul says the visit stressed the close, warm relationship between the conservative Mr Lee and Mr Obama.

{Mr Obama said his welcome to South Korea had been spectacular}

The US president was greeted by friendly roadside crowds and given a Tae Kwon Do uniform and honorary black belt. He said he was looking forward to a Korean barbecue lunch.

The two leaders reaffirmed their unity of view and approach on the North Korea issue.

They said they were seeking to break the pattern whereby the North would raise tensions, agree to talks and then back off without making progress.

"The thing I want to emphasise is that President Lee and I both agree that we want to break the pattern that existed in the past, in which North Korea behaves in a provocative fashion, and then is willing to return to talk... and then that leads to seeking further concessions," Mr Obama said.

{{NUCLEAR CRISIS}
> Oct 2006 - North Korea conducts an underground nuclear test
> Feb 2007 - North Korea agrees to close its main nuclear reactor in exchange for fuel aid
> June 2007 - North Korea shuts its main Yongbyon reactor
> June 2008 - North Korea makes its long-awaited declaration of nuclear assets
> Oct 2008 - The US removes North Korea from its list of countries which sponsor terrorism
> Dec 2008 - Pyongyang slows work to dismantle its nuclear programme, after a US decision to suspend energy aid
> April 2009 - Pyongyang launches a rocket carrying what it says is a communications satellite
> 25 May 2009 - North Korea conducts a second nuclear test
> 5 August 2009 - Former US President Bill Clinton visits to help secure the release of two detained US journalists
> 6 October 2009 - North Korea tells China it may be willing to return to six-party talks}

"I hope that by accepting our proposal, the North will secure safety for itself, improve the quality of life for its people and open the path to a new future," said Mr Lee.

Mr Obama said his nuclear envoy, Stephen Bosworth, would be visiting North Korea on 8 December.

The two men also spoke of trade tensions and the need to move forward in their economic relationship.

Both Mr Obama and South Korean officials have said obstacles to a yet-to-be ratified free trade agreement must be addressed.

"If automobiles are a problem, we are in a position to discuss them again," Mr Lee said, in a shift from a previous refusal to renegotiate the biggest free trade pact involving the US for years.

"I told President Lee and his team that I am committed to see the two countries work together to move this agreement forward," Mr Obama said.

South Korea deployed 13,000 police and soldiers for Mr Obama's visit, but pro-US demonstrators heavily outnumbered protesters in central Seoul.

Many of the protesters who did turn out urged the US president to do more about North Korea's human rights record.

In October North Korea said it was willing to return to multi-party negotiations on its nuclear programme, but it has said it wants direct negotiations with the US first.

The US has said it is willing to engage directly with North Korea, but only as part of a return to six-party forum that Pyongyang pulled out of in April.

The six-party talks involve the two Koreas, China, the US, Russia and Japan.

Tensions have risen in recent months after North Korea launched a series of missiles and conducted an underground nuclear test - drawing UN sanctions in response.


[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 11:43 GMT, Thursday, 19 November 2009
Cambodia takes over Thailand-run company as row deepens
{New turbulence has hit the Thai-Cambodian relationship}
Cambodia has taken over the running of the country's Thai-owned air traffic control firm, in a deepening row between the two neighbouring countries.

Cambodia also barred all Thai employees from turning up for work and put a Cambodian national in temporary charge.

The move comes a day after a Thai engineer working for the firm in Phnom Penh was formally charged with spying.

It is said he passed on details of last week's flight to Cambodia by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Mr Thaksin, who is wanted in Thailand to serve a jail sentence for corruption, spent five days in Cambodia in his new role as an economic adviser.

'Seizing firm'

On Thursday, the government in Phnom Penh appointed a senior Cambodian civil servant in temporary charge of Cambodia Air Traffic Services (Cats) - a Thai-owned and Thai-operated firm.

It also suspended all Thai nationals from performing their duties.

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya urged Cambodia to respect bilateral deals, regulating the running of Cats.

"The ministry is waiting for reports from the Thai embassy and we will also have to get clarification from the Cambodian government. If it violates bilateral agreements, then we will find way to proceed," the minister told reporters.

"Cambodia is a market economy. Just seizing (a firm) would not seem right," he added.

Internal politics

Phnom Penh's move is said to be temporary pending the outcome of a legal case against a Thai engineer who works for the company, the BBC's Rachel Harvey in Bangkok reports.

Siwarak Chothipong, 31, a Cats employee, was on Wednesday charged with spying.

He is currently under arrest, accused of passing the flight details of Mr Thaksin to a Thai diplomat.

Mr Thaksin's presence across the border infuriated the Thai government, which claims he should have been extradited to serve a two-year jail term.

The former Thai prime minister was ousted in a coup in 2006, and subsequently found guilty in absentia on conflict of interest charges.

Local newspaper reports in Thailand suggest the current Thai government and Mr Thaksin are now competing to offer help to the detained engineer and his family, our correspondent says.

Rachel Harvey adds that this is an indication that the row is as much about the internal politics of Thailand as it is about cross-border rivalries.


[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 11:50 GMT, Thursday, 19 November 2009
Philippine President Arroyo quits as ruling party head
{Mrs Arroyo has survived four impeachment attempt in four years}
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has stepped down as leader of the largest party ahead of elections next May.

At a rally of the Lakas-Kampi party, she said she was handing over control to defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro.

He has already been named as the governing coalition's candidate for the presidential election in May.

One of his main challengers will be the opposition Liberal Party candidate Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, the son of former President Corazon Aquino.

Party defections

The rivals are second cousins.

"I am relinquishing [my post] today as national chairperson and handing over the reins of the party's top leadership to the brilliant, young standard bearer selected by our national executive committee, Gilbert Teodoro," Mrs Arroyo told several thousand Lakas-Kampi members.

She is due to step down next year after serving more than nine years in office.

There had been speculation that Mrs Arroyo might try to change the constitution and stay in power beyond her current six-year term to maintain immunity from possible corruption charges the opposition has threatened to launch against her.

It is now thought she may seek a seat in congress next year.

Lakas-Kampi has kept a tight grip on national and local government for the last 15 years, helping Mrs Arroyo fend off four impeachment motions in Congress since 2005.

But the party has been hit by a series of defections and Mr Teodoro's popularity rating remains low in opinion polls.

His cousin and rival, Senator Benigno Aquino, is heading the polls, capitalising from the outpouring of sympathy for his mother, who died in July.

{Fellow presidential contender Benigno Aquino is Mr Teodoro's second cousin}

She became a democracy icon for leading the revolt that toppled Ferdinand Marcos.

Mr Teodoro, 45, is from the wealthy, well-established Cojuanco clan which has long been split on ideological and business grounds.

He entered national politics in 1998 and served as the elected representative of Tarlac - as two uncles, a great uncle, his great-grandfather and his mother did before him.

The seat is currently occupied by his wife.

Filipinos will vote next May in presidential, congressional and local elections.

news20091119bbc2

[One-Minute World News] from [BBC NEWS]

[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 07:15 GMT, Thursday, 19 November 2009
Sony aims to return TVs to profit
{Sony is the world's second largest maker of LCD TVs}
Sony has said it aims to make its LCD TV operations profitable in the financial year starting next April.

Sony said it had been integrating its businesses and would eventually aim for a 20% share of the LCD TV market in the year starting April 2012.

The electronics giant has been moving ahead with plans to cut costs and boost earnings as it seeks to weather the economic downturn.

Last month, Sony reported its fourth consecutive quarterly loss.

Global LCD TV shipments jumped 38% to a record 37.5 million units in July-September, industry research has shown, driven by government stimulus measures boosting consumer spending in China and Japan.

Sony also said it aimed to make its game operations profitable next year by cutting costs and expanding both hardware and software sales.


[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 07:44 GMT, Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Australia mulls Scientology probe
{The Church of Scientology in Sydney is currently undergoing renovation}
The Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has said he will consider calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the Church of Scientology.

But he said the evidence must be looked at carefully before proceeding.

Senator Nick Xenophon launched a scathing attack on Scientology, citing letters from former followers alleging extensive criminal activity.

Scientology spokesman Cyrus Brooks said the senator's attack had been an abuse of parliamentary proceedings.

Senator Xenophon tabled seven letters from former Scientologists who he said were willing to co-operate with New South Wales and Australian federal police.

"The letters received by me which were written by former followers in Australia, contain extensive allegations of crimes and abuses which are truly shocking," he said, citing other letters from people who prefer to stay anonymous.

{Kevin Rudd says many Australians share concerns about Scientology}

Senator Xenophon said their correspondence implicated the organisation in a range of crimes, including forced imprisonment, coerced abortions, physical violence and blackmail.

"In my view, this is a two-faced organisation," he told the Senate.

"There is the public face of an organisation... that claims to offer guidance and support to its followers and there is the private face of an organisation that abuses its followers and viciously targets its critics, and seems largely driven by paranoia.

"These victims of Scientology claim it is an abusive, manipulative, violent and criminal organisation," said Senator Xenophon.

"Scientology is not a religious organisation, it's a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs," he said.

A Scientology statement said the allegations were "about as reliable as former spouses are when talking about their ex-partner".

{{ Many people in Australia have real concerns about Scientology}
Kevin Rudd
Australian Prime Minister}

It described the former members' statements as constituting a "propaganda campaign that would suit a totalitarian regime, not Australia, a country that recognises freedom of religion".

Mr Rudd said he would consider Senator Xenophon's call for a parliamentary inquiry, noting he had made "grave allegations".

"Many people in Australia have real concerns about Scientology," he told reporters.

"I share some of those concerns. Let us proceed carefully and look carefully at the material he has provided before we make a decision on further parliamentary action."

"I don't want to rush into any judgement on this," the prime minister added.

The Church of Scientology has provoked controversy since it was founded by science fiction author L Ron Hubbard in 1953.

Given religion status in many countries, it enjoys tax-free privileges - but revelations from former followers have sparked huge legal battles in Europe where in several countries it is deemed a sect, not a religion.

Last month, a French court convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud.

news20091119nn1

[naturenews] from [nature.com]

[naturenews]
Published online 18 November 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.1094
News
Antarctic temperature spike surprises climate researchers
Polar region was unexpectedly warm between ice ages.
Quirin Schiermeier

{{Is Antarctica more sensitive to global warming that we thought?}
Getty}

During the warm periods between recent ice ages, temperatures in Antarctica reached substantially higher levels than scientists had previously thought. This conclusion, based on ice-core studies, implies that East Antarctica is more sensitive than it seemed to global warming.

Previous estimates suggested that peak temperatures during the warmest interglacial periods — which occurred at around 125,000, 240,000 and 340,000 years ago — were about three degrees higher than they are today. But a team led by Louise Sime of the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, UK, concludes that Antarctica was actually around six degrees warmer.

The team based its analysis on ratios of oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in ice cores drilled in East Antarctica. Warmer air temperatures cause more water containing the heavier isotopes oxygen-18 or deuterium to evaporate from the surrounding ocean. Once it falls on inland Antarctica and packs into ice, it gives climate researchers a proxy of local temperatures at that time.

Climate reconstructions usually assume a simple linear relationship between these isotope ratios and temperature. But Sime's team says that although that relationship holds up for the cold glacial periods, it does not work so well during the warmer interglacials.

The scientists measured the isotope ratios in three ice cores from across East Antarctica, each of which dates back to at least 340,000 years ago. They then compared those results with predicted isotope distributions derived from a global climate model.

They found that higher average temperatures were required to reconcile observations and model experiments. "The available evidence only fits together if we assume peak temperatures around six degrees above current values," says Sime. "We didn't expect this at all."

The team believes that the relationship between temperature and the isotopic composition of water vapour changes as climate warms. For example, the isotopic signatures of ice cores depend on the seasonal distribution of precipitation. A change in the time of year when most snow falls could lead to biases in temperature reconstruction, says Sime, whose team reports its findings in Nature ¹.

Six degrees of trouble

Unlike the rapidly warming Antarctic Peninsula, mainland Antarctica has so far been relatively resilient to climate change. But if past responses to warming are a guide to the future, this could change. "We don't know if the present state of the climate system might allow for a six-degree warming in East Antarctica," says Sime, "but it is not impossible."

At the height of the last interglacial, when greenhouse-gas levels were roughly similar to current values, the global sea level was 4–6 metres higher than it is today². Temperatures in East Antarctica would still have been too cold to cause any glacier melting there. But because the surrounding ocean would have been warmer, and stabilizing sea ice less abundant, the massive East Antarctic ice sheet may have contributed to higher sea levels by flowing more quickly towards the ocean.

The findings are impressive, says Gerhard Kuhn, a marine geologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, Germany, and Germany's representative in ANDRILL, an international sediment-drilling project in Antarctica.

Although scientists know that the tools for reconstructing past climates at polar latitudes are far from perfect, he says, pinning down the relationship between isotope ratios and temperature is essential.

Sime adds that scientists still know too little about what happened in Antarctica during warm climates similar to ours. "We'd be better off if we did."

References
1. Sime, L. C., Wolff, E. W., Oliver, K. I. C. & Tindall, J. C. Nature 462, 342-345 (2009). | Article
2. Overpeck, J. et al. Science 311, 1747-1750 (2006). | Article | PubMed | ChemPort |


[naturenews]
Published online 18 November 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.1096
News
Curbing population growth crucial to reducing carbon emissions
Access to contraception could tackle global warming, says United Nations.
Natasha Gilbert

{Can slowing population growth cut climate change?}

M. Swarup / AP PhotoProviding access to contraception for 215 million women, mainly in developing countries, would help to stabilize population growth and significantly reduce the effects of climate change, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says in a report1 today.

The State of the World Population 2009 report says that population levels will affect countries' abilities to adapt to the immediate effects of climate change, although the longer-term influence of population growth on climate change will depend on future economic, technological and consumption trends.

The study says that if the world's population grows from 6.8 billion to 9 billion people by 2050 — the UN's "medium-growth" scenario — an extra 1-2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide is likely to be emitted each year, compared with a "low-growth" scenario that leads to 8 billion people by 2050. In comparison, the burning of fossil fuels produced about 8.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide globally last year2.

But despite the influence of population on climate, the link has barely featured in scientific and diplomatic discussions, the report says.

Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of the UNFPA, says that countries are probably shy of talking about this link because they fear that the discourse will turn to population control. "We understand these fears," she says, "but if contraception and family planning were made available to all those who want it, this would slow population growth and have a huge impact on climate change."

Economic growth is generally believed to be one of the key drivers of lowering fertility rates, but Obaid argues that education and access to family-planning services are more influential on population levels.

Paul van Gardingen, professor of international development at the University of Edinburgh, UK, agrees that the role of education and contraception "is stronger than the relationship between GDP [gross domestic product] and fertility. This is not to say that GDP is not important, but to say it is the thing that will reduce overall fertility and stabilize the global population is a bit tenuous," he says.

"Until we get population dynamics integrated into our understanding of climate change and our responses to it, both will be ineffective," he says.

The report also calls for greater attention to be paid to the different impacts of climate change on women compared with men. It argues that women are more vulnerable than men because they tend to earn less money, are less well educated, and have fewer resources to buffer the effects of global warming. It also cites a lack of research and reliable data in the area. "Women suffer most," says Obaid. "They must be included in discussions for adaptation programmes to succeed."

Obaid hopes that the report will influence negotiations at the Copenhagen climate summit in early December.

References
1. United Nations Population Fund State of the World Population 2009 available at http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2009/ (UNFPA, 2009).
2. Le Quéré, C. et al. Nature Geosci. advance online publication doi:10.1038/ngeo689 (2009).

news20091119nn2

[naturenews] from [nature.com]

[naturenews]
Published online 18 November 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.1095
News
Gene-makers form security coalition
Latest salvo in the gene-synthesis 'standards war' sees firms set up a competing code.
Erika Check Hayden

{{Dangerous DNA: synthetic-biology companies are trying to ensure that their products are not misused.}
Alamy}

A new coalition of synthetic-biology companies, named the International Gene Synthesis Consortium (IGSC), has created its own set of guidelines that are intended to lessen the risk that gene-synthesis technology could be misused.

The development is the latest in a synthetic-biology 'standards war' over just how rigorous companies should be when screening incoming DNA orders for their potential to create dangerous pathogens. A rift in the industry opened in August, when two of the companies that are now part of the new consortium — Geneart of Regensburg, Germany, and DNA2.0 of Menlo Park, California — said that they would break with an effort by the International Association of Synthetic Biology (IASB) to develop gene-synthesis screening standards. But despite the break, the new consortium's standards are similar to those of the Germany-based IASB.

The IASB's code of conduct commits its member companies to checking all incoming orders against the Genbank sequence database. Any 'hits' for sequences that might be hazardous are referred to human screeners, who determine whether the customer is legitimate and whether the order should be filled. These same principles are enshrined in the 'harmonized screening protocol' of the new consortium, which commits companies to screening orders against both a large sequence database and a database of government-regulated pathogenic genes, currently being developed. This marks a change from the earlier position taken by Geneart and DNA2.0, which was that no human follow-up would be necessary after an automated database screen.

"I'm quite happy, because the whole document looks very similar to the code of conduct that we finalized," said Markus Fischer, a member of the IASB board. "The thing that irritates me a little bit is that since it is so similar, they could have signed up to the code of conduct and achieved the same result."

Market force

The four companies that make up the IASB have signed its code of conduct, as has Shanghai Generay Biotech in China, along with a consultancy run by Joseph Kittle, chairman of the Synthetic Biology Industry Association, a US-based equivalent to the IASB. Fischer says that the IASB is in talks with other companies, including large pharmaceutical firms such as AstraZeneca, which has supported the process of developing the code.

{{“The whole document looks very similar to the code of conduct that we finalized.”}
Markus Fischer
International Association of Synthetic Biology}

The IGSC, which in addition to Geneart and DNA 2.0 includes the gene-synthesis firms Blue Heron Biotechnology of Bothell, Washington; GenScript of Piscataway, New Jersey; and Integrated DNA Technologies of Coralville, Iowa, contends that its large market share gives it the experience to decide on workable screening measures. "I think what the IASB is doing is great, but we do have a perspective about the scale of the gene-synthesis industry, which helps us to decide what are practically implementable solutions," said Jeremy Minshull, president of DNA2.0. The group says that it represents 80% of the global gene-synthesis industry, although it is not possible to verify that number because most of the companies are privately held.

Now, other companies in the industry will need to decide whether they will sign up to either standard, or devise their own. Opting out completely is not seen as a viable solution — it is widely expected that the US government, which is developing its own screening guidelines, will ask gene-synthesis companies to take steps to deal with biosecurity risks. The government's standards are expected soon, and will be discussed at the 3 December meeting of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity in Bethesda, Maryland, according to Elleen Kane of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

One difference between the two standards that could influence other companies' decisions is how open each group is to public discussion of its standards. The IGSC contends that its large market share will pull companies to its standard, but Fischer points out that smaller companies may prefer to join a consortium with a standard that is more responsive to their concerns.

But no matter what other companies do, Fischer says the fact that the industry is converging on similar practices to deal with security risks is encouraging. "We've taken a lot of the risk out of gene synthesis, and we can now say that we're conducting this business responsibly," Fischer says. "This could prevent the sorts of public perception problems that Europe has had, for instance, with the GMO [genetically modified organism] debate in the past, and that's a good thing for the whole community, including the scientists."


[naturenews]
Published online 19 November 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.1090
News
South Korean R&D budget to soar
Materials science and green technology should win large funding increases.
David Cyranoski

{President Myung-bak Lee is promising increased research and development investment in South Korea.}

South Korean researchers are celebrating promises by the government that the science budget will be dramatically increased to 5% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

Choi Kyung-hwan, minister of knowledge economy, announced the 5% target on 16 November in a speech at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials in Daejeon. The target supports the campaign promises to raise the country's level of technology made by President Lee Myung-bak, who was elected in February 2008.

South Korea's research and development (R&D) budget already accounts for 3.37% of the country's GDP, one of the highest rates in the world. Choi said the government planned an annual 15% increase in R&D spending in an attempt to reach the final target by 2013. But because government funding accounts for only about a quarter of the R&D budget — the rest comes from industry — it might be difficult to mandate such an increase.

"It is possible, but I'm not very confident it will be achieved," says Oh Se-Jung, a condensed matter physicist at Seoul National University. "It will depend a lot on companies' R&D spending. With the current world economy, I'm not sure companies will spend so much on R&D, unless the government provides a lot of incentives."

Whether or not it hits the target, more money will flow into research. "The government considers R&D the only way to achieve international competitiveness at this stage," says Oh.

Green push

How this money will be spent has not been decided. South Korea focuses on familiar priority fields: information technology including semiconductors and display; energy and environment-related green technology; nanotechnology; and biotechnology. The environment has been an important issue for the young cabinet of Lee, former chief executive of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, and the government recently announced a plan to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 4% from 2005 levels by 2020 — some 30% below what would be expected by 2020 under a 'business as usual' model.

"Consequently, I would say green technology will benefit most," says Hyeon Taeghwan, director of the National Creative Research Initiative Center for Oxide Nanocrystalline Materials at Seoul National University.

Materials research will get a boost too. In this week's speech, Choi unveiled plans for a 1 trillion won (US$865 million) programme to support research in "world premier materials". The goal is to create 10 such materials that will secure more than 30% of their total markets. Twenty candidate materials will be selected in January 2010, and 200 billion won rolled out to develop them over the next 3 years.

The move is meant to bolster some of South Korea's most powerful industries. Samsung and LG are world leaders in semiconductors, display screens and mobile phones, for example, and Hyundai is a prominent vehicle manufacturer.

But Yu Young Moon, a researcher at the Korea Photonics Technology Institute in Gwangju, says that South Korea's level of technology in materials science is still overshadowed by Japan. "We are in the situation of import excess," he says.

"The major trade imbalance between Korea and Japan comes from parts and materials," says Hyeon. "Eventually we would like to supply Korean-made parts and materials to Korean companies."

news20091119reut1

[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
Israel water tech thrives in weakened economy
Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:52am EST
By Ari Rabinovitch

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel's water technology sector has prospered despite the global financial crisis, largely due to global stimulus packages and penetration in developing countries, officials said on Wednesday.

Though affected by a slowdown in spending in the country and throughout the world, Israel's Ministry of Industry and Trade said there is an "opposite and strong trend" in the demand for water technologies that will generate growth in companies.

At least half of Israel's water industry leaders will present sales growth in 2009 despite the global crisis, the ministry projected at its annual WATEC conference in Tel Aviv.

Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer said this week Israel's economy is recovering faster from the financial crisis than many countries, due in part to strong exports in Israel's high-tech sector.

But this year, for the first time, a water recycling company holds the spot of Israel's fastest growing technology company.

"In this regard, cleantech has surpassed high-tech for the first time," Oded Distell, director of Israel's national water technology programme, told Reuters.

Israel expects to export $2.5 billion in water technology annually by 2011, Distel said.

Water recycling company Aqwise, whose system breeds bacteria to break down organic waste, saw its sales increase 50 percent in 2009, said Chief Executive Officer Elad Frenkel, capping five years of growth that put it at the top of the list.

Frenkel said Aqwise, founded in 2000, increased revenue by investing resources in Latin American and Asian markets while more developed regions, like Europe, were still hurting from the gloomy economic climate.

Ori Yogev, a top economic advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Reuters that water companies took a hit in the last quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2009.

"But the damage was less than in other sectors, largely thanks to increased spending by governments," Yogev said, adding that water companies benefit from both infrastructure and cleantech spending, both cornerstones of stimulus packages.

Yogev in 2006 founded Whitewater, a technology group that deals with water management, security and treatment. He expects Whitewater to post more than 10 percent sales growth in 2009.

Irrigation company NaanDan Jain, a unique venture owned by the Israeli agricultural commune Kibbutz Naan and India's Jain Irrigation Systems, has also increased its revenue with strong sales in areas like Central Asia and South America.

Company CEO Avner Hermoni said NaanDan Jain, estimated by Israeli media reports to have annual sales of $100 million, has seen a rise of 10 percent since 2008.

(Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)


[Green Business]
Weak dollar opens slight U.S. ethanol export window
Wed Nov 18, 2009 11:25am EST
By Inae Riveras and Karl Plume - Analysis

SAO PAULO/CHICAGO (Reuters) - The weak dollar and tight Brazilian cane-ethanol supplies may open the door for exports of U.S. corn-ethanol into markets such as Europe or even northern Brazil, but volumes would likely be minimal.

Thirty-year highs for sugar prices -- which induce Brazilian cane mills to favor sugar rather than ethanol production -- excess rain during harvest and strong demand from the local flex-fuel car fleet have taken the world's largest exporter of the biofuel off the seaborne market for the next few months.

Brazilian ethanol prices have risen nearly 40 percent since August and typically continue to rise as the main crop enters the interharvest period that runs from December to March.

"Our prices are not viable for exports. We have neither ethanol available nor competitiveness on the global market," said Julio Maria Borges, director at Job Economia, who actually sees imports in the next few months more likely than exports.

The 36 percent appreciation of the Brazilian real against the dollar since January 1 has helped keep the cane-based biofuel from flowing to the ports.

"At least until the end of the season (March 2010), we'll see hardly any new sales," he added.

The absence of Brazilian exports may leave a fledgling global biofuel markets wanting and give the United States, the world's largest producer of ethanol from corn, a window of opportunity to ship to Europe or Asia, especially with the weak dollar that makes U.S. exports more competitive abroad.

On Tuesday, analyst Jonathan Kingsman said Brazilian ethanol exports were forecast to drop by around a third year-on-year to 2.8 billion to 3.0 billion liters in marketing year 2009/10.

Ethanol output in the center-south, which accounts for 90 percent of Brazil's cane crop, should total 23.8 billion liters, down from 25.1 billion liters in 2008/09, the Cane Industry Association said in its latest review of the season.

US EXPORTS?

But if the United States carves out any of the seaborne market share held by Brazil, it will likely be small and fleeting due to U.S. corn prices and softer international demand for the biofuel than in 2008.

U.S. ethanol makers' profits are tied largely to corn prices. Stronger demand from the biofuels sector would likely quickly erode margins by causing prices of the grain to rise.

"When you increase your export sector substantially, you're going to increase your (corn) usage which will in turn tighten up the balance sheet in corn," said Shawn McCambridge, analyst with Prudential Bache Commodities.

Farmers in the United States are currently harvesting what is projected to be the second-largest corn crop on record.

"If we start to support $4.50 or $5.00 (a bushel) corn, the economics change as to whether you can export corn-based ethanol into some of these other markets," he said.

Corn futures prices have risen steadily from $3 a bushel in September to over $4 this week.

U.S. ethanol makers are expected to use 4.2 billion bushels of corn in the 2009/10 marketing year, which would produce nearly 12 billion gallons of ethanol. U.S. law requires that 12 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol be blended into the nation's fuel supply in 2010.

BRAZIL IMPORTS?

There was market talk recently about U.S. ethanol being shipped to Brazil. No deal has been confirmed, only inquiries, but the buzz was enough to boost ethanol prices in the U.S. market, closing the window for deals, trade sources said.

For imports to be feasible, ethanol prices have to be high in Brazil and low in the United States to cover freight costs and the current import tariff of 20 percent.

The appreciation of the real against the dollar has helped to fuel expectations that import deals could happen in the coming months, especially to Brazil's northeast.

The United States is often the largest destination for Brazilian ethanol exports, via processing plants in the Caribbean.

Lower Brazilian ethanol exports this season coincided with an increase in production in the United States and Europe, said Plinio Nastari, president at Datagro consultants.

"Global demand for imports was lower this year, and Brazilian supplies were not enough to boost consumption in external markets," Nastari said, adding the amount of ethanol traded globally totaled 3.2 billion liters this year, down from 5.7 billion liters in 2008.

"I would expect a gradual increase in trade. Volumes in 2010 won't repeat 2008's level, but we could see something close to 6 billion within two to three years," Nastari said.

(Writing by Reese Ewing; Editing by Christian Wiessner)


[Green Business]
Power prices weak due to coal, gas, not oil: E.ON
Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:03pm EST
By Martin Roberts

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Power prices in northwestern Europe have remained weak, despite a recent oil market rally, due to low prices for fuels such as coal and gas, the chief executive of E.ON Energy Trading said on Wednesday.

On Thursday, benchmark oil contracts were trading at around $80 a barrel, up from $70 at the end of September.

During that period, German baseload power for 2010 delivery -- a market benchmark -- has been flat at about 47 euros per megawatt-hour.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Emart energy gathering of European energy traders in Barcelona, Tony Cocker said demand for power was also weak due to the recession, and that supply had increased due in part to growth in renewable energy sources.

"Therefore you've seen (power) prices coming off and bouncing back, and they're hovering in a range at the moment," Cocker said in an interview.

"Coal has decoupled a little bit from oil, and also gas has uncoupled somewhat from oil. Once those recouple, then the power price will recover," he added.

Cocker noted that signs of economic recovery in Germany, France and Britain could help drive power prices, but he could not say how long that may take.

"Industrial demand will start to increase, but you have to put that against the fact that it dropped a lot, so a small percentage of growth from a low base is not enough to bring us back to where we were," he said.

(Reporting by Martin Roberts)

news20091119reut2

[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
Odds stacked against new German power stations
Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:08pm EST
By Vera Eckert - Analysis

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany faces higher electricity prices and power supply shortfalls if the economic downturn prevents enough new power plants being built.

Power generators looking to expand must also grapple with public opposition to coal over its carbon emissions, and delays to a defined future for nuclear energy's as the new government starts to work out its energy policy.

The problem has been put off in the short term as big companies like E.ON and RWE are not eager to spend money in the face of slumping demand. Industrial consumer purchases of power in the year to September slumped by seven percent in Europe's biggest economy.

But as signs of a German recovery appear, so too are projections for rising power demand and fears there could be supply gaps and crippling prices, if the slowdown in investments is not halted.

"We could easily risk running into power capacity bottlenecks in the coming years when the economy recovers and electricity demand rises again," said Florian Haslauer of the A.T. Kearney consultancy.

"This is because projects are being delayed as cash flows ease when consumption and prices sink, and as credit conditions are unfavorable."

"Then maybe five years down the line those years without investment we see now will be missing and cannot be repeated," Haslauer said.

He added that spending on new generation plants in Germany this year and next was probably 20 percent below what had been planned prior to the finance crisis.

DELAYS

Energy agency Dena that reports to the government on power use and efficiency has renewed warnings of possible power supply shortfalls by 2020 at the latest and figures from energy lobby BDEW also point to project delays.

The capacity of new coal and gas plant projects seen due to open by the year 2012 has now shrunk to 10,000 megawatts from 14,000 MW six months ago, BDEW data show.

According to this, the missing 4,000 MW may be made up in the 2013 through 2016 period, adding to 9,000 MW of known projects penciled in to materialize in those years.

But a large number of those may face long-drawn out controversies due to local opposition to coal as a dirty fuel.

RWE executives last week said they have had to put on hold plans for a 450 MW coal plant at Huerth, which was meant to be using a novel carbon capture and storage (CCS) process by 2014.

It cited an unsure legal framework for CCS, which if resolved would ensure coal burning will continue, as it separates off CO2 and buries it underground.

"It is chic to be against technological innovations if it comes in the shape of big industrial projects," RWE CEO Juergen Grossmann said last week in reference to anti-coal campaigners.

"One thing is clear: tight supply cannot contribute to sinking prices," he added.

Sector peer E.ON has also cited uneconomic conditions as a reason for putting off some European projects. But it kept its choices open and stressed that delays may not mean cancellations.

"A decisive factor for all projects that are not yet under construction today is more than ever the right timing," CEO Wulf Bernotat told reporters last week.

Germany's debate over long-term energy strategy within the new center-right/liberal government provides the backdrop to the issue.

"Maybe partly the discussion about a looming supply gap is meant to speed along the decisions in favor of allowing nuclear plants to run longer," said Manuel Frondel, energy specialist at the RWI research institute in Essen.

(Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by William Hardy)


[Green Business]
Russia makes emissions pledge, confusion on WTO
Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:15pm EST
By Oleg Shchedrov and Timothy Heritage

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Russia set a new target for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions at a summit with the European Union on Wednesday but failed to clear up confusion over its plans to join the World Trade Organization.

The EU said the promise to make further reductions to those planned was a boost for climate talks in Copenhagen next month, and the good atmosphere at the meeting was a sharp contrast to previous EU-Russia summits that have been marred by disputes.

The EU also welcomed Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's commitment to join the WTO quickly but he failed to answer their questions about whether Moscow would join as a separate state or as part of a customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan.

One sour note at the talks in Stockholm was a disagreement over human rights, with the EU expressing concern over the situation in Russia. But the sides said they hoped soon to agree a new framework agreement for economic and political ties and avoided any conflict over Russian energy supplies to Europe.

"With the Copenhagen conference starting in just over two weeks, I very much welcome the signal from President Medvedev today of their proposed emissions reduction target of 25 percent. This is indeed very encouraging," Barroso said.

Asked to confirm the figure, Russian officials later said Medvedev had set a target of reducing harmful emissions by 22-25 percent by 2020 compared with the 1990 level. The previous target was 10-15 percent.

The EU is at the forefront of efforts to combat climate change and has urged other countries, including the United States and Russia, to make deeper emissions reductions and to help secure a new deal to fight climate change in Copenhagen.

A legally binding agreement is now thought out of reach in Copenhagen but Barroso, who heads the EU executive, said: "We have made very important progress in our talks with Russia on this very important issue."

NO CLARITY ON WTO ENTRY

Russia, a country with vast natural resources and a population of about 142 million, hopes to win more foreign investment from the EU following the global economic crisis. No direct mention was made of this after talks.

Relations are improving only slowly after the Georgia war in August 2008, which prompted Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt at the time to compare Russia's military intervention to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's invasion of parts of central Europe.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country holds the EU presidency, said the 27-country bloc representing nearly 500 million people had urged Moscow to carry out all the commitments it made at the end of the fighting in Georgia.

"We exchanged views on developments on human rights, the rule of law and democracy in Russia, especially on the situation for human rights defenders in Russia. It's an increasing cause for concern," he added.

There was harmony, however, on energy issues. Both sides welcomed the signing on Monday of a memorandum requiring them to notify each other of any likely disruption to energy supplies and to work together to resolve the problem.

Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine, a route that supplies a fifth of Europe's gas, were halted for more than two weeks in January because of a quarrel between Moscow and Kiev, and fears are growing of a new dispute this winter.

Medvedev said Russia would seek quick entry to the 153-nation WTO but said no decision had been taken on whether to join alone or with Kazakhstan and Belarus, the two former Soviet republics which are part of a customs union with Russia.

"In my opinion both ways are possible," he said. "For us the main thing is speed. Whatever way is faster, we will take it."

Russia's powerful prime minister, Vladimir Putin, said in June Moscow would join the WTO only as part of the customs union, causing concern in the WTO over Russia's commitment to joining the body which would open up Russian markets.

(Additional reporting by Simon Johnson; Editing by Charles Dick)

news20091119reut3

[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
FACTBOX: Climate negotiating positions of top emitters
Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:00pm EST

(Reuters) - Russia toughened on Wednesday its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions, saying it would target a 25 percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2020 compared with a 10-15 percent pledge previously.

Following are the negotiating positions of the top greenhouse gas emitters before a U.N. meeting in Copenhagen in December due to agree a new global climate deal.

1) CHINA (annual emissions of greenhouse gases: 6.8 billion tonnes, 5.5 tonnes per capita)

* Emissions - President Hu Jintao promised that China would cut its carbon dioxide emissions per dollar of economic output by a "notable margin" by 2020 compared with 2005. The "carbon intensity" goal is the first measurable curb on national emissions in China. Hu reiterated a promise that China would try to raise the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to 15 percent by 2020.

* Demands - China wants developed nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 and to promise far more aid and green technology.

2) UNITED STATES (6.4 billion tonnes, 21.2 tonnes per capita)

* Emissions - President Barack Obama wants to cut U.S. emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020, a 17 percent cut from 2005 levels, and to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

* Obama says he wants an accord in Copenhagen that covers all the issues and that has "immediate operational effect.

Legislation to cut emissions by 20 percent from 2005 levels had been approved by a Senate Committee but people few think it can become law before the Copenhagen talks.

* Finance - The United States says a "dramatic increase" is needed in funds to help developing nations.

* Demands - "We cannot meet this challenge unless all the largest emitters of greenhouse gas pollution act together," Obama said.

3) EUROPEAN UNION (5.03 billion tonnes, 10.2 tonnes per capita)

* Emissions - EU leaders agreed in December 2008 to cut emissions by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and by 30 percent if other developed nations follow suit.

* Finance - EU leaders have agreed that developing nations will need about 100 billion euros ($147 billion) a year by 2020 to help them curb emissions and adapt to changes such as floods or heatwaves. As an advance payment, they suggest 5-7 billion a year between 2010 and 2012.

* Demands - The EU wants developing nations to curb the rise of their emissions by 15 to 30 percent below a trajectory of "business as usual" by 2020.

4) RUSSIA (1.7 billion tonnes, 11.9 tonnes per capita)

* Emissions - Cut greenhouse gases by 22-25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. That means a rise from now -- emissions were 34 percent below 1990 levels in 2007.

5) INDIA (1.4 billion tonnes, 1.2 tonnes per capita)

* Emissions - India is prepared to quantify the amount of greenhouse gas emissions it could cut with domestic actions, but will not accept internationally binding targets, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said. [ID:nDEL381436]. India has said its per capita emissions will never rise to match those of developed nations.

* Demands - Like China, India wants rich nations to cut emissions by at least 40 percent by 2020. But Ramesh signaled room to compromise: "It's a negotiation. We've given a number of 40 percent but one has to be realistic.

6) JAPAN (1.4 billion tonnes, 11.0 tonnes per capita)

* Emissions - Cut Japan's emissions by 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 if Copenhagen agrees an ambitious deal.

* Finance - Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told the United Nations that Tokyo would also step up aid.

7) SOUTH KOREA (142 million tonnes, 2.9 tonnes per capita)

* Emissions - Cut emissions by 30 percent below "business as usual" levels by 2020, which is equivalent to a 4 percent cut from 2005 levels.

8) BRAZIL (111 million tonnes, 0.6 tonnes per capita)

* Emissions - Will cut its emissions by between 36.1 percent and 38.9 percent from projected 2020 levels, representing a 20 percent cut below 2005 levels.

9) INDONESIA (100 million tonnes, 0.4 tonnes per capita)

* Emissions - Aims to cut emissions by 26 percent by 2020 below "business as usual" levels.

Taking CO2 from deforestation into account, Indonesia is the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases.


[Green Business]
Copenhagen still "golden opportunity" for CO2 market
Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:00pm EST
By Michael Szabo - Analysis

LONDON (Reuters) - A U.N. summit in Copenhagen next month is unlikely to agree on a new global climate treaty, but carbon market players are urging delegates to seize the opportunity to agree reforms to the $33 billion trade in carbon offsets.

There is a growing global consensus that talks in the Danish capital to forge a successor to the Kyoto Protocol will lead to only a political agreement including emissions cuts by rich countries, with agreement on a full binding treaty in 2010.

As Kyoto is due to expire in 2012, next year is later than the December 2009 deadline some had hoped for. But market players say this presents delegates with a chance to address some key issues surrounding the carbon offset market.

"If everyone is pragmatic and asks 'what can we fix while we're here?', this could be a golden opportunity for addressing all the institutional and architectural reforms which don't require any targets to be undertaken by the U.S.," said Miles Austin of clean energy project developers EcoSecurities.

"This could be a very clear win for Copenhagen."

The summit could agree in principle on major reforms, both scaling up an existing Kyoto scheme which rewards clean energy projects in developing nations and a new deal to pay tropical countries tens of billions of dollars to preserve their forests.

Although major developments on these issues could alter the landscape of the global offset market, observers remain skeptical about the ease of progress for complex trading schemes which may take years to fine tune.

"Even if they go to Copenhagen saying 'we are not going to get a binding agreement but we can put as many bricks into place as possible', delegates still have a lot of work to do," said Alessandro Vitelli, director at advisory firm IDEAcarbon.

A full treaty has been delayed as the U.S. hesitates over committing to 2020 emissions targets, after failing to pass a domestic climate law ahead of the 190-nation Copenhagen summit.

CDM REFORM

Observers cite reform of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), worth $6.5 billion to developing countries, as an area that should be addressed next month.

Under the CDM, companies can invest in clean energy projects in emerging nations, and in return get offsets from the U.N. which can be used toward emissions targets or sold for profit.

But the scheme is dominated by China and India, and the CDM's executive board - which vets the projects - is blamed for bottlenecks which investors say create long waits for carbon offsets called Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs).

The CDM's board on November 4 submitted recommendations ahead of the U.N. summit which would see reforestation recognized as a project type, push a "more equitable" geographic distribution of projects and streamline approval and issuance processes.

"Success in reforming the CDM would mean the pace of automatic registrations and CER issuances would rise, but these are only things that could be quantified afterwards," said Vitelli, adding that it might be months before results are seen.

Austin suggested examining a sector-based approach, which could scale-up investment by rewarding entire industries like power or steel if they surpass set energy efficiency baselines.

Although details are thin so far on how that European Union-supported idea would work, the CDM board's also recommends it as a way of promoting more investment in the poorest nations.

History shows further talks may be needed to iron out details. Although the Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997, which set the stage for the CDM, it was not until U.N. talks in Marrakech in 2001 that the CDM's operating rules were set out.

Austin said success in Copenhagen could also be defined by a commitment to regulatory reform, through the introduction of three independent bodies, rather than a single one, to split the handling of the CDM's policy and rulemaking, its day-to-day workings and any appeals from stakeholders.

"These are vital first steps to help keep investors from leaving and possibly bring some back," he added.

Approving CDM funding for projects that bury emissions underground, so-called carbon capture and storage (CCS), is another area where a decision has been delayed for years.

"CCS is a tennis ball that's been batted back and forth between the CDM's executive board and policymakers for the past 3-4 years," Vitelli said.

While countries like Saudi Arabia are keen supporters, sensing rewards for burying emissions in disused oil fields, the CDM's board recommended that it should not consider CCS for the scheme "until further guidance is provided."

(Editing by Sue Thomas)

news20091119reut4

[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
California sets tough limits on energy-gulping TVs
Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:10pm EST
By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California regulators gave final approval on Wednesday to the first mandatory U.S. energy curbs on television sets, a growing but often overlooked power drain that accounts for 10 percent of home electric bills in the state.

When fully implemented, California's standards will be the most stringent for new TVs in the world, said Noah Horowitz, a senior scientist for the Natural Resources Defense Council. He said they were far more stringent than standards approved last year by the European Union, "and will transform the market around the world."

Supporters say the measure will save California consumers at least $8 billion over 10 years in electricity costs and enough energy to power 864,000 homes. California, which often leads the way in U.S. environmental initiatives, already boasts the lowest per-capita rate of electricity use in the United States.

The rules require all new TVs sold in California to consume 33 percent less energy than current sets starting with the 2011 model year, and 50 percent less starting with 2013 models.

This is expected to set a new industry standard for TV manufacturers everywhere by virtue of California's size as a consumer market.

The move was sparked in part by the surge in popularity of larger flat-screen televisions that gobble up on average at least 40 percent more electricity than the old-style cathode ray tube sets.

"This is a consumer-protection measure, this is a measure that will protect the environment ... and the benefits to Californians will begin to be felt almost immediately," agency chair Karen Douglas said before the California Energy Commission adopted the rules.

INDUSTRY RESISTS REGULATIONS

The regulations were opposed by some in the consumer electronics industry as unnecessary, costly for TV makers and consumers and at odds with a voluntary nationwide labeling program.

The Consumer Electronics Association has said one quarter of all TV sets for sale today would fall short of the standards and would have to be pulled from the market.

A coalition of small businesses, Californians for Smart Energy, said the rules "will destroy thousands of jobs."

Under pressure from some retailers, the commission scaled back its original proposal and exempted TV screens larger than 58 inches. But those mega-sized screens account for no more than 2 percent of all televisions sold, the commission says.

The rule was adopted against the backdrop of a larger state effort to cut heat-trapping greenhouse gas pollutants by 28 percent by 2020. Public utilities, which backed the measure, estimate it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3 million metric tons over a decade.

Nearly three years in the making, the measure is the latest in a long line of energy efficiency regulations pioneered by California for a wide range of appliances and gadgets -- from refrigerators to cell-phone chargers.

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)


[Green Business]
Australian heatwave in carbon trade battle
Thu Nov 19, 2009 2:43am EST
By Rob Taylor

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's government demanded on Thursday that conservative rivals stop opposing carbon trade laws, citing a heatwave searing the country's biggest cities as evidence of Australia's vulnerability to climate change.

With Australia on bushfire alert, the government said record temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) across three states this week showed the need to act urgently against climate change.

"November this year has seen a long and intense heatwave across much of southern and eastern Australia. The trend is absolutely clear, the climate is warming," Assistant Climate Change Minister Greg Combet told parliament.

The opposition is negotiating changes to the government's carbon trade laws, which will be voted on next week in parliament's upper house Senate, but some opposition members are not convinced that human activity is driving climate change.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said negotiating with the opposition was like dealing with a mediaeval court.

"It is as if we are back into the trial of Galileo or something and they are simply arguing somehow that the science is fiction and that they alone, in their own prejudiced universe, occupy fact," Rudd told parliament.

The government wants carbon trading to start in July 2011, covering 75 percent of emissions in what could become the second domestic trading platform outside of Europe.

The ETS legislation was rejected by the Senate in an earlier vote this year and a second defeat would give Rudd a trigger for a snap election.

Senior conservative lawmaker Ian Macfarlane said he expected a deal with the government by next week, despite up to 30 rebel opposition MPs promising to vote against the scheme.

"I'm negotiating on the basis that by the time the Senate rises at the end of next week, he (Rudd) will have what he is demanding, but it will be on our terms," Macfarlane told radio.

The government, short of a majority in the Senate, has been negotiating changes with the main conservative opposition bloc to secure seven extra votes needed to pass the carbon laws.

The government has already bowed to a key opposition demand to permanently exclude agriculture, which accounts for around 16 percent of Australian emissions, but the opposition also wants more concessions for coal miners.

The government's carbon trading plan would reduce more CO2, create more jobs and produce a budget surplus, compared with opposition plans which carry billions of dollars in fiscal and political risk, said a report by The Climate Institute.

The opposition's scheme, which seeks to increase compensation to major emitters, would result in a deficit of more than A$36 billion ($33 billion) by 2020, while the government's plans would generate a small surplus, said the report released on Thursday.

(Additional reporting by Michael Perry; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

($1=A$1.08)


[Green Business]
Phoenix Solar eyes partner in China
Thu Nov 19, 2009 8:20am EST
By Leonora Walet, Asia Green Investment Correspondent

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Phoenix Solar AG, one of Europe's largest solar power developers, is in talks to partner with a Chinese firm to push its business in China, said a company executive.

The German solar systems builder is also looking for opportunities elsewhere in Asia and may open an office in Malaysia, which recently announced a plan to offer new solar incentives.

"Asia has huge growth prospects because so far it is so underpenetrated," Christophe Inglin, Phoenix's managing director for Asia Pacific, told Reuters on the sidelines of a clean energy conference in Singapore.

"We will definitely open an office in a country like Malaysia if the right conditions are in place," he said.

Malaysia earlier announced a plan to implement a feed-in tariff like Germany to enable users to invest in solar systems and sell excess power to the grid.

Like most in the sector, Phoenix was not immune to the collapse in demand for solar products after funding for projects turned scarce. But the company is set to take advantage of opportunities in growth markets including France and Greece, where state subsidies are driving demand.

That contrasts with Germany, Phoenix's biggest market, which is expected to announce new cuts in solar subsidies next year.

Goldman Sachs expects solar demand in France to expand 125 percent in 2009 after more than doubling last year. In Greece, demand growth is expected at 400 percent, after recording expansion of 900 percent in 2008.

China leads the region, with growth seen at nearly 500 percent this year, said Goldman Sachs.

"In developing markets we have to be opportunistic," said Inglin. "It's very difficult to predict where new markets will crop up."

The company is in talks with a Chinese firm to help boost its business in the mainland.

Asia business currently represents just over 1 percent of total company revenue. But Inglin hopes to grow this to more than 5 percent in three years.

"I see no reason why it can't if you start at a very low base," he said.

(Reporting by Leonora Walet; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)