Eco-Portal: An Information Gateway Empowering the Movement for Environmental Sustainability

July 09, 2008

• The Daily Five: Wednesday, 10 July, 2008
  

  

  Leaders of the G-8 nations reach an uninspired climate accord; T. Boone Pickens wants your tax dollars; and Honda readies an efficient new concept car.

  Richest Nations Pledge to Halve Greenhouse Gas: The leaders of the G-8 nations announced a watered-down climate accord Tuesday which will cut greenhouse gas emissions fifty percent by the year 2050. Unlike previous agreements, however, the cuts will be based on current emission levels, not the 1990 baseline of earlier accords. It assumes the participation of China and India, who are not G-8 members. On top of those issues, the new accord seems to give a big vote of confidence to so-called “clean coal” technologies — something which will likely prove a non-starter with environmentalists. (New York Times)

  Big Pickens: T. Boone, the Oilman, Ups the Ante in His Wind Bet: Oilman T. Boone Pickens isn’t going to let a little thing like the coming collapse of the petroleum industry stop him from being an energy baron. And he wants you to help pay for it. Pickens is planning a PR blitz between now and election day, touting a plan for energy independence based on windpower and natural gas. But such an ambitious escalation of U.S. windpower — serviced by wind farms owned by Pickens — would require hundred of billion in subsidies footed by American taxpayers. Be ready to be pitched. (WSJ.com)

  EU panel votes to lower controversial biofuel goal: As expected, the European Union has taken its first steps to lower targets for biofuel adoption. Legislators voted Tuesday to scale back the EU’s deployment of biofuels to just 4 percent by 2015. European environmentalists are pressing for the reductions until food-based biofuels are replaced by second generation fuels drawn from methods such as cellulosic conversion. (Reuters)

  Whales And Dolphins Influence New Wind Turbine Design: A study released yesterday explores the the streamlined shapes of dolphins and whales for inspiration on new wind turbine designs. The field — know as Biomimetics — applies biomechanics to complex modern engineering problems. Dr Frank Fish of West Chester University presented a illustration of how vortices formed by sea mammals might delay the stall speed of wind turbines. The demonstration was made at the Society for Experimental Biology’s Annual Meeting in Marseille. (Science Daily)

  Honda will unveil sports car at London show: Honda will be allowing a glimpse of their new Open Study Model (OSM) concept car at the London Auto Show on July 22nd. A Honda press release describes the OSM as an open-top sports car with dramatic, radically aerodynamic lines and a host of fuel efficiency features. It’s unclear if the OSM roadster is related to the CR-Z concept car displayed by Honda last October and scheduled for production as a lightweight hybrid-engine coupe sometime next year. (Automotive News)

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  - about 2 hours
• Bush lauds G-8 leaders for work on environment, trade issues (USA Today)
  President Bush on Wednesday hailed the G-8 summit's move to coalesce behind a global climate change strategy, saying he hopes it will ultimately help nations to be "good stewards of the environment." - about 3 hours
• G8 Agrees on Goal of 50% GHG Reduction by 2050
  

  In the Environment and Climate Change document coming out of the G8 summit in Japan, the leaders of the eight countries agreed to the goal of at least a 50% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with all major economies committing to “meaningful” mitigation actions.

  We are committed to avoiding the most serious consequences of climate change and determined to achieve the stabilization of atmospheric concentrations of global greenhouse gases consistent with the ultimate objective of Article 2 of the Convention and within a time frame that should be compatible with economic growth and energy security. Achieving this objective will only be possible through common determination of all major economies, over an appropriate time frame, to slow, stop and reverse global growth of emissions and move towards a low-carbon society.

  We seek to share with all Parties to the UNFCCC the vision of, and together with them to consider and adopt in the UNFCCC negotiations, the goal of achieving at least 50% reduction of global emissions by 2050, recognizing that this global challenge can only be met by a global response, in particular, by the contributions from all major economies, consistent with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

  Substantial progress toward such a long-term goal requires, inter alia, in the near-term, the acceleration of the deployment of existing technologies, and in the medium- and long-term, will depend on the development and deployment of low-carbon technologies in ways that will enable us to meet our sustainable economic development and energy security objectives. In this regard, we emphasize the importance and urgency of adopting appropriate measures to stimulate development and deployment of innovative technologies and practices.

  Other points in the Environment and Climate Change document include:

  • The G8 reconfirmed the significance of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as providing the most comprehensive assessment of the science and encourage the continuation of the science-based approach that should guide our climate protection efforts. The group said it was committed to the successful conclusion of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process by 2009. “Enhanced commitments or actions by all major economies are essential for tackling climate change.”

  • Achieving the long-term global goal will require mid-term goals and national plans to achieve them, reflecting a diversity of mitigation and adaptation approaches.

    We recognize that what the major developed economies do will differ from what major developing economies do, consistent with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

    In this respect, we acknowledge our leadership role and each of us will implement ambitious economy-wide mid-term goals in order to achieve absolute emissions reductions and, where applicable, first stop the growth of emissions as soon as possible, reflecting comparable efforts among all developed economies, taking into account differences in their national circumstances. We will also help support the mitigation plans of major developing economies by technology, financing and capacity-building. At the same time, in order to ensure an effective and ambitious global post-2012 climate regime, all major economies will need to commit to meaningful mitigation actions to be bound in the international agreement to be negotiated by the end of 2009.

  • Sectoral approaches can be useful tools to improve energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions through dissemination of existing and new technologies in a manner compatible with economic growth.

  • The G8 recognized the importance of “aspirational” goals for energy efficiency, and will maximize implementation of the IEA’s 25 recommendations on energy efficiency.

  • Promotion of clean energy was supported for reasons of both climate change and energy security. The G8 underscored the importance of sustainable biofuel production and use, and committed to continuing research and development of second generation biofuel technologies.

  • Recognizing that a growing number of countries are interested in nuclear power as a means of addressing climate change and energy security, the G8 reiterate that safeguards (nuclear nonproliferation), nuclear safety and nuclear security (3S) are fundamental principles for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Against this background, an international initiative proposed by Japan on 3S-based nuclear energy infrastructure will be launched.

  • Mitigation and adaptation strategies should be pursued as part of development and poverty eradication efforts with developing countries.

  • Recognizing that poorer countries are among the most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change, the G8 will continue and enhance cooperation with developing countries, in particular least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states, in their efforts to adapt to climate change including disaster risk reduction.

  • The G8 will establish an international initiative with the support of the IEA to develop roadmaps for innovative technologies and cooperate upon existing and new partnerships, including carbon capture and storage (CCS) and advanced energy technologies. The G8 strongly supported the launching of 20 large-scale CCS demonstration projects globally by 2010, taking into account various national circumstances, with a view to beginning broad deployment of CCS by 2020.

    To accelerate these and other efforts, we are committed to increasing investment in both basic and applied environmental and clean energy technology research and development (R&D), and the promotion of commercialization including through direct government funding and fiscal measures to encourage private sector investment. In this respect, G8 members have so far pledged over the next several years over US$10 billion annually in direct government-funded R&D. We also agree to take various policy and regulatory measures to provide incentives for commercializing these technologies.

  • While the main sources of finance will be the private sector, the G8 said, public resources are essential to help the poorest and to leverage private resources, notably by financing incremental costs and can be very effective in inducing emissions reduction when national policies provide incentives for low carbon investment.

    In this regard, we welcome and support the establishment of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) including the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the Strategic Climate Fund (SCF), administered by the World Bank. G8 members have thus far pledged approximately US$ 6 billion as an ODA contribution to the funds and welcome commitments from other donors. The CIF will scale up public and private finance. They will have broad-based and inclusive governance mechanisms and, as an interim measure, fill an immediate financial gap for urgent actions until a new financial architecture under the post-2012 regime is effective.

  • The G8 intends to promote market mechanisms, such as emissions-trading within and between countries, tax incentives, performance-based regulation, fees or taxes and consumer labeling in accordance with our national circumstances and share experience on the effectiveness of the different instruments.

  • Efforts in the WTO negotiations to eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barriers to environmental goods and services should be enhanced with a view to disseminating clean technology and skills. Additionally, consideration should be given to the reduction or elimination of trade barriers on a voluntary basis on goods and services directly linked to addressing climate change.

    We also agree to encourage initiatives contributing to climate change mitigation including purchasing and investment policies and practices that promote and support the cleaner and more efficient products and services that can contribute to lower carbon emissions.

  - about 3 hours
• Bush Hails G-8 summit's work on climate change
  

  AP - President Bush on Wednesday hailed the G-8 summit's success in coalescing behind a global climate change strategy, saying he hopes the plan ultimately will help developing nations to become "good stewards of the environment."

  
  - about 3 hours
• Taiwan’s Pihsiang Entering Electric Car Market
  

  CENS. Taiwan-based Pihsiang Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer of electric scooters for the handicapped, has developed three electric car models, which it will debut at major global auto shows in the second half of the year and begin selling in Europe in the fourth quarter. Sales in the US are also planned.

  Pihsiang uses lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄) cells from its subsidiary, Pihsiang Energy Technology Co. Ltd. (PHET). The new electric cars will use battery packs comprising 2,000 18650 LiFePO₄ cells. PHET LiFePO₄ cells have a rate capacity of 1100 mAh and nominal voltage of 3.2V.

  The electric car weighs 500 kg, and has a range of more than 220 km (136 miles). Average recharging of a standard model takes 3.5 hours.

  According to Donald Wu, chairman of Pihsiang, the new EVs were developed in partnership with a French company, which provide the vehicle body while Pihsiang has developed and made all the propulsion system.

  Pihsiang may build the electric cars in-house to sell in mainland China and Southeast Asia in the future, Wu said. If everything goes smoothly, he added, Pihsiang might contract a local automaker to contract supply the vehicle bodies.

  PHET’s LiFePO₄ battery is patented and by customers globally, including Smith Electric Vehicles, according to Wu.

  (A hat-tip to Rick!)

  - about 4 hours

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