As world's view of Washington worsens, corporate America pushes White House to tackle climate change
A Globescan/BBC/PIPA global opinion poll [*.pdf] shows that the world's view of American leadership is going from bad to worse. Some 60 to 80% of the 26,000 people questioned in 25 countries now disapprove of the way Washington deals with major international issues. Obvious geopolitical failures (Iraq, the Israelo-Palestinian conflict and the crisis in Lebanon, nuclear proliferation) are the main cause. The Globescan survey also included a series of questions on climate change, the most pressing and serious of global challenges. And once again, the participants think the U.S. is out of sync with reality and should do much more to combat global warming. After all, the U.S. is the world's largest polluter and responsible for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions.
Surprisingly, on the latter issue, major forces within the U.S. now seem to agree with world opinion. On the eve of President George W. Bush's State of the Union address, a new alliance of NGOs and major US corporations has launched an appeal for mandatory action to reduce greenhouse gases.
The corporations (including DuPont, BP, GE, Alcoa and others) and four environmental groups (Environmental Defense, Natural Resources Defense Council, Pew Center on Global Climate Change and the World Resources Institute) presented the new US Climate Change Action Partnership (USCAP) on 22 January 2007. In its report, "A call for action" [*.pdf] the USCAP urges the federal US government to come up with strong legislation to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The alliance proposes to set mandatory caps on emissions with the aim of reducing them by 30% over the next 15 years.
President Bush is not expected to give in to this new climate-change lobbying when he gives his annual State of the Union speech on 23 January. According to US media, he will put energy security once more at the heart of his policies and embrace ethanol as the miracle solution to fight America's energy dependency.
Since the president rejected the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, the US has come to be seen by many Europeans as the leader of the "axis of climate-change evil". With the US on the sidelines, the European Union has claimed world leadership in efforts to combat global warming and turned its greenhouse-gas emissions trading scheme - despite all its weaknesses - into a model solution:
bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: climate change :: global warming :: greenhouse gas emissions :: Kyoto Protocol :: cap-and-trade :: carbon caps :: leadership :: European Union :: United States ::
But, under pressure from European industry's fears of loss of competitiveness, the EU is struggling with its leadership role. Although the Commission promised unilateral emission reductions of 20% by 2020 in its recent energy-climate change package, it has difficulties finding a compromise between its climate change strategy and its economic growth and competitiveness (Lisbon Agenda) objectives, once more precise policies are on the table, as suggested by the Commission's internal fighting over CO2 emissions from passenger cars. A proposal to replace the current voluntary agreement with car producers and introduce binding legislative targets was postponed on 23 January 2007 due to heavy lobbying from industry and the Commission's Enterprise directorate.
In the meantime, US energy ideology is undergoing a climate-change shift, with only the federal government still hesitant to make a similar U-turn. In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has become the champion of climate-change activists, introducing measures for a 25% reduction of emissions by 2020 and a low-carbon standard for automotive fuels.
The new Democrats majority in the US Congress has also put climate change high on its agenda. In its first 100 hours, House speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the establishment of a new select committee on climate change and introduced legislation on energy security. In the US Senate, Republican senator and possible 2008 presidential candidate John McCain is inviting a group of more than 80 global legislators to Washington to discuss climate change.
The new USCAP coalition is a clear signal that big business in the US has woken up to the climate-change issue and could have a major influence on the next presidential election campaign.
More information:
European Commission, Directorate-General of the Environment: Climate Change
United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP): Press release "Major businesses and environmental leaders unite to call for swift action on global climate change" - Jan. 22, 2007
United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP): USCAP web site
L'Expansion: Climat : des multinationales font pression sur Bush, Jan. 22, 2007
BBC News: Bush 'must fight climate change' - Jan. 22, 2007
Bloomberg: Bush rejects carbon cap; will stress alternative fuel, Jan. 22, 2007
On the Globescan poll:
BBC News: View of US's global role 'worse' - Jan. 23, 2007
Globescan: World View of US Role Goes From Bad to Worse - Jan 23, 2007.
Article continues
Surprisingly, on the latter issue, major forces within the U.S. now seem to agree with world opinion. On the eve of President George W. Bush's State of the Union address, a new alliance of NGOs and major US corporations has launched an appeal for mandatory action to reduce greenhouse gases.
The corporations (including DuPont, BP, GE, Alcoa and others) and four environmental groups (Environmental Defense, Natural Resources Defense Council, Pew Center on Global Climate Change and the World Resources Institute) presented the new US Climate Change Action Partnership (USCAP) on 22 January 2007. In its report, "A call for action" [*.pdf] the USCAP urges the federal US government to come up with strong legislation to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The alliance proposes to set mandatory caps on emissions with the aim of reducing them by 30% over the next 15 years.
President Bush is not expected to give in to this new climate-change lobbying when he gives his annual State of the Union speech on 23 January. According to US media, he will put energy security once more at the heart of his policies and embrace ethanol as the miracle solution to fight America's energy dependency.
Since the president rejected the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, the US has come to be seen by many Europeans as the leader of the "axis of climate-change evil". With the US on the sidelines, the European Union has claimed world leadership in efforts to combat global warming and turned its greenhouse-gas emissions trading scheme - despite all its weaknesses - into a model solution:
bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: climate change :: global warming :: greenhouse gas emissions :: Kyoto Protocol :: cap-and-trade :: carbon caps :: leadership :: European Union :: United States ::
But, under pressure from European industry's fears of loss of competitiveness, the EU is struggling with its leadership role. Although the Commission promised unilateral emission reductions of 20% by 2020 in its recent energy-climate change package, it has difficulties finding a compromise between its climate change strategy and its economic growth and competitiveness (Lisbon Agenda) objectives, once more precise policies are on the table, as suggested by the Commission's internal fighting over CO2 emissions from passenger cars. A proposal to replace the current voluntary agreement with car producers and introduce binding legislative targets was postponed on 23 January 2007 due to heavy lobbying from industry and the Commission's Enterprise directorate.
In the meantime, US energy ideology is undergoing a climate-change shift, with only the federal government still hesitant to make a similar U-turn. In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has become the champion of climate-change activists, introducing measures for a 25% reduction of emissions by 2020 and a low-carbon standard for automotive fuels.
The new Democrats majority in the US Congress has also put climate change high on its agenda. In its first 100 hours, House speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the establishment of a new select committee on climate change and introduced legislation on energy security. In the US Senate, Republican senator and possible 2008 presidential candidate John McCain is inviting a group of more than 80 global legislators to Washington to discuss climate change.
The new USCAP coalition is a clear signal that big business in the US has woken up to the climate-change issue and could have a major influence on the next presidential election campaign.
More information:
European Commission, Directorate-General of the Environment: Climate Change
United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP): Press release "Major businesses and environmental leaders unite to call for swift action on global climate change" - Jan. 22, 2007
United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP): USCAP web site
L'Expansion: Climat : des multinationales font pression sur Bush, Jan. 22, 2007
BBC News: Bush 'must fight climate change' - Jan. 22, 2007
Bloomberg: Bush rejects carbon cap; will stress alternative fuel, Jan. 22, 2007
On the Globescan poll:
BBC News: View of US's global role 'worse' - Jan. 23, 2007
Globescan: World View of US Role Goes From Bad to Worse - Jan 23, 2007.
Article continues
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Brazil boosts biofuels sector: €6.2 billion investments, 123 new plants, pipelines by 2010
Minister Silas Rondeau said Brazil's ethanol output would grow by 40% to 23.3 billion liters from the current 16.7 billion by 2010 and biodiesel production would grow to 3.3 billion liters from the roughly 800 million liters now.
An advisor to the minister said the figure was a forecast of investment from the public and private sectors combined and that no Treasury funds were included. Government investment would come through the state-run oil and gas company Petrobras. The new investments in Brazil's biofuels sector will result in the following, impressive numbers and projects:
- ethanol: the construction of 77 new ethanol plants has been confirmed, which will produce about 40% more ethanol in four years time than the roughly 17.5 billion liters of ethanol the country is expected to produce in its 2006-07 sugarcane season (May-April).
- biodiesel: the country is on track to produce four times more biodiesel by 2010, compared to the roughly 840 million liters of biodiesel that local companies are set to deliver to Petrobras by the end of this year. 46 new biodiesel plants will be built by 2010.
- H-bio: Petrobras plans to invest 150 million reais (€54/US$70 million) to make its innovatie, vegetable oil-diesel blend called H-Bio in four refineries in the states of Minas Gerais, Parana, Rio Grande do Sul and Sao Paulo in 2007 (more on H-Bio).
- dedicated pipelines: two ethanol pipelines spanning a combined total of 1,150 kilometers will be built by Petrobas. The first of these pipelines is a pipe running from the center-south state of Goias to Sao Sebastiao port in Sao Paulo state. Its construction has already begun (earlier post). The second is a proposed pipeline that would carry both ethanol and biodiesel. It would begin in the Mato Grosso state capital of Cuiaba and run to the country’s No. 2 port of Paranagua in the southern state of Parana. Both pipelines must serve the expanding global market for biofuels.
"These are projects that are confirmed - they have either started construction already or have the financing all set" a ministry spokesperson said:ethanol :: biodiesel ::biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: infrastructure :: biofuel pipeline :: biofuel exports :: Brazil ::
In addition to these pipelines, Petrobras has also committed to investing 570 million reais (€201/US$266 million) in three biodiesel plants with the combined capacity of producing 150,000 tons of biodiesel per year, with additional plants possibly underway.
"We're still negotiating with the private sector," said Jose Sergio Gabrielli, president of Petrobras. "The share (of the company's investment) is not predetermined."
Brazil has one of the world's most developed biofuels markets with over 30,000 filling stations offering motorists cane-based fuel ethanol. The country is also about to make a 2 percent biodiesel blend mandatory nationally in 2008.
The country currently has over 300 sugarcane mills that can produce ethanol, as well as a handful of biodiesel plants. It is also one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of biofuels, principally of sugarcane-based ethanol.
Last week, the president of Brazil's Cane Industry Association (Unica), Eduardo Pereira de Carvalho, said that current investments in cane milling and distillation capacity were estimated at €11/US$15 billion dollars. This figure includes sugar refining as well.
Article continues
posted by Biopact team at 4:25 PM 0 comments links to this post