Three states to require insurers to disclose climate-change response plans.
New York Times 02 Feb
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Other NewsEditorialsCan Californians afford cleaner cars?California's history-bending rules will do what they are designed to do - reduce pollution and cut greenhouse gases - only if the public buys the clean cars in the volumes predicted. That's the big uncertainty. Modesto Bee 03 Feb Buyers will be key to state goal of cleaner cars.The California Air Resources Board has pushed the envelope yet again. But the history-bending rules will do what they are designed to do – reduce pollution and cut greenhouse gases – only if the public buys the new clean cars in the volumes predicted. That's the big uncertainty. Sacramento Bee 01 Feb Bullet train becoming 'Moonbeam Express.'In a brazen denial of the obvious, Gov. Jerry Brown now insists the proposed California high-speed rail can be built for much less than its own business plan stipulates, and wants to use anti-global-warming carbon taxes to underwrite the proposal, whose price tag has nearly tripled in the three years since voters approved it. Orange County Register 01 Feb Germany's solar crack-up.Germany enjoys, if that's the right word, a thriving solar-energy industry. But the cost of this success, to taxpayers and electricity users alike, has risen to astronomical levels. Wall Street Journal 26 Jan No reason to rush decision on pipeline.It will take far more than the short 60-day limit Congress irresponsibly imposed for deciding whether some version of the project can be done without inflicting unacceptable and irreversible damage to the environmnent. Philadelphia Inquirer 20 Jan A good call on the pipeline.President Obama has properly rejected, at least for now, the Keystone XL oil pipeline that would run from Canada to the Gulf Coast. He rebuffed the demand of House Republicans that the controversial project be decided in haste under an election-year deadline. New York Times 19 Jan Obama's Keystone rejection is hard to accept.There are far fairer, far more rational ways to discourage oil use in America, the first of which is establishing higher gasoline taxes. Environmentalists should fight for policies that might actually do substantial good instead of tilting against Keystone XL, and President Obama should have the courage to say so. Washington Post 19 Jan Obama's pipeline decision delays energy security.The administration made itself vulnerable to being hogtied on this issue. What's really going on here, of course, is the most craven sort of election-year politics. Environmental groups made the pipeline a key test of their support for the president. Republicans hoped to embarrass Obama, and they succeeded. USA Today 19 Jan OpinionCo-operation in a world of scarce resources.From competition among hunter-gatherers for wild game to imperialist wars over precious minerals, resource wars have been fought throughout history; today, however, the competition appears set to enter a new - and perhaps unprecedented - phase. Al Jazeera 06 Feb Carbon bubble: Bank of England's opportunity to tackle market failure.The depth of the financial system's exposure to high carbon and environmentally unsustainable investments could be a systemic risk that threatens economic security. The Guardian 06 Feb Cut emissions, boost health.Reducing greenhouse gases would save billions in health care costs. Policy makers should take note. European Voice 02 Feb In climate fight, tracking the line between diagnosis and treatment.The last few days have seen frenzied volleys in the fight over climate science and policy. Most of the authors in both camps are scientists. It will be economic pressures, not scientific findings, that largely determine what the world’s nations do, or don’t do, to limit the flow of heat-trapping carbon dioxide from fuel burning. New York Times 02 Feb Fight against climate change is uphill ride.To combat combat change requires people, business, government and international bodies to work together to make changes that will safeguard our planet's resources and enable our economies to produce sustainable growth and new green jobs. Jewish Chronicle 02 Feb Clean-energy hostages."Let the fossil fuels go, or the wind industry gets it in the wallet." That’s the threat congressional Republicans need to convey to their colleagues across the aisle to stop the Obama war against fossil fuels. Washington Times 01 Feb Are natural gas vehicles a good idea?On Thursday, President Obama traveled to Las Vegas to pitch a few new energy policies — including tax breaks for firms that buy natural gas-powered trucks. T. Boone Pickens, for one, has argued that fueling vehicles with natural gas is the best way to curtail oil use. Is it? Washington Post 27 Jan Climate change topics recede in a more conservative political climate.Obama's reluctance to use words like "climate change" and "carbon emissions" in his state of the union speech reflects a weakened position in Congress and a resurgence of conservative voters. Reuters 26 Jan |
China bars its airlines from paying EU carbon tax.China announced Monday it will prohibit its airlines from paying European Union charges on carbon emissions, ratcheting up a global dispute over the cost of combatting climate change. Associated Press 06 Feb Bill Gates backs climate scientists lobbying for large-scale geoengineering.A small group of leading climate scientists, financially supported by billionaires including Bill Gates, are lobbying governments and international bodies to back experiments into manipulating the climate on a global scale to avoid catastrophic climate change. The Guardian 06 Feb Carbon tax only a good start: report.A carbon price alone will not be enough for Australia to meet its target of a dramatic cut in greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century, an analysis by the Grattan Institute has found. Sydney Morning Herald 06 Feb 100 Tories call for wind-farm subsidy cuts.The Scottish Government has launched a robust defence of its flagship green energy policy after concerns were raised by more than 100 Tory politicians about the cost of subsidies paid for onshore wind farms. Edinburgh Scotsman 06 Feb China 'bans' airlines from joining EU carbon tax scheme.China has "banned" all airlines in the country from joining the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme aimed at cutting carbon emissions. BBC 06 Feb China bans airlines from paying EU carbon charges.China said Monday it has banned its airlines from complying with an EU scheme to impose charges on carbon emissions opposed by more than two dozen countries including India, Russia and the United States. Agence France-Presse 06 Feb China bans airlines from joining EU emissions scheme.The Chinese government said on Monday it has barred the country's airlines from joining a European Union scheme to charge for carbon emissions from flights into and out of Europe and prohibit airlines from charging customers extra because of the EU plan. Reuters 06 Feb Wind farm subsidy cut urged by British conservatives.More than 100 Conservative MPs have written to the prime minister urging him to cut subsidies for wind turbines. BBC 05 Feb Carbon tax only a good start for Australia, report says.A carbon price alone will not be enough for Australia to meet its target of a dramatic cut in greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century, an analysis by the Grattan Institute has found. Sydney Morning Herald 05 Feb Car deal criticized as hurting green sales.When California’s air regulators approved new car-pollution rules to cut down on smog and global warming, they included a provision that critics described as a loophole that could substantially reduce the number of electric vehicles sold in the state in coming years. San Francisco Bay Citizen 05 Feb Debate over jobs spills into U.S.-China solar spat.A long-running dispute about whether China's cheap solar panels are good or bad for the U.S. solar industry is now, too, becoming about jobs—tens of thousands of them, according to a new analysis. Inside Climate News 04 Feb India, EU try to break logjam over airline carbon tax.The European Union is willing to consider whether India's efforts to reduce carbon emissions could qualify for waivers under an EU law that charges airlines for polluting, the 27-nation bloc's climate chief said on Friday. Reuters 04 Feb Renewable energy costs are starting to come down.The price of renewable power contracts signed by California utilities more than doubled from 2003 through 2011 but has now started to plunge, according to a long-awaited state report issued Friday. San Francisco Chronicle 04 Feb Solar power incentives lose their shine.In England, the fledgling solar industry has been flourishing, but the halving of government subsidies has thrown it into confusion. The Telegraph 04 Feb How the Sierra Club took millions from the natural gas industry — and why it stopped.Mainstream environmental groups have struggled to balance local concerns about traditional pollution with planet-sized worries over climate change, and how to work with corporate America without being seen as selling out. Time Magazine 03 Feb Cheap natural gas jumbles energy markets, stirs fears it could inhibit renewables.For the past three years, promoters of shale gas and environmentalists opposed to coal-fired power plants have hailed the sudden abundance of U.S. natural gas as a bridge to a renewable-energy future. Washington Post 03 Feb How the stimulus revived the electric car.One success the Obama administration can duly claim is the rebirth of the electric-car industry in the United States. The question is: Will it last? ProPublica 03 Feb India's panel price crash could spark solar revolution.In India, electricity from solar is now cheaper than that from diesel generators. The news - which will boost India's "Solar Mission" to install 20,000 megawatts of solar power by 2022 - could have implications for other developing nations too. New Scientist 03 Feb Oil industry sees no threat from electric car.The biggest oil companies in the world have calculated that few, if any, of today's drivers will see electric cars outnumber gasoline and diesel models in their lifetimes. Reuters 03 Feb Town turns off wind, opts for solar energy.At a time of accelerating production of both wind and solar energy, Duxbury officials have decided to buy solar energy produced elsewhere and take their own wind project off the table. Boston Globe 03 Feb |
