Climate Change Summary Newsletter and Commentary - October 18, 2009

Climate Change Summary Newsletter and Commentary

October 18, 2009

Steven L. Hoch
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP

The Feel Good Move of the Week

UPS Customers to Offset Carbon Emissions
Brown goes green?

UPS is introducing an option for customers to offset the carbon dioxide emissions from their package transportation within the United States by giving them the option of paying a small fee to calculate and offset the climate impact for each of their packages. To encourage customers to participate in this flat fee program, UPS has offered to match the offset purchases, effectively doubling the offsets purchased in 2009-2010, up to $1 million.

Bush Leftovers

EPA Releases Bush-Era Endangerment Document
It’s all the fault of those guys in the black robes… otherwise, who would know?

U.S. EPA released a document showing the George W. Bush administration had concluded in December 2007 that greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles were endangering public welfare and needed to be regulated under the Clean Air Act. The EPA analysis - labeled “Deliberative, Do Not Distribute” – discussed -through the climate-changing effects that heat-trapping gases have on air pollution, precipitation patterns, sea-level rise, glacial melting and wildlife patterns. The 2007 EPA document was prepared as part of the Bush administration's response to the Supreme Court's April 2007 decision in Massachusetts v. EPA.

SEC Reviewing Bush-Era Ban on Climate Risk Disclosure
Do not arouse the wrath of the great and powerful Oz. I said come back tomorrow!

The SEC is responding to a growing push to lift Bush administration restrictions on climate risk disclosure that any “evaluation of risk” is not permitted. The SEC is re-examining shareholder concerns that companies are sidestepping requirements to disclose the climate-related liability they face from greenhouse gas emissions, regulations, rising commodity prices, potential property damage and the long-term costs associated with replacing equipment and infrastructure. Two options appear to be on the table. One option could be a rulemaking to set specific rules for disclosing climate risks, and the other is to issue a reinterpretation of Form 10-K disclosure rules requiring companies to comment on operations tied in with mitigating climate-change risks.

Regulation

TV to Be Regulated in California
To save power, you can only watch Oprah every other day.

The California Energy Commission will change its rules to reduce energy use, save money for consumers and eliminate the need for new power plants. The rules would set benchmarks: TVs would have to enter standby mode after 15 minutes of inactivity, and standby power usage would be no more than 1 MW, down from 3 MW now. Manufacturers would also have to slap power-consumption labels on the sets. The electronics industry group is urging the commission to use the federal government’s voluntary Energy Star standards for televisions, but commissioners say voluntary standards won’t get needed energy savings. The commission estimates overall savings up to $18.48 per year. The proposed standards should also save 6,515 gigawatt-hours of energy after all consumers get new models, as well as 876.5 metric tons of criteria pollutants and 3.1 million metric tons of greenhouse gases per year.

EPA Will Create New Fuel-Economy Rating For Plug-In Vehicles
Miles per what watt?

EPA is developing a rule to establish metrics for defining the fuel economy of plug-in hybrid vehicles intended to update consumer labeling requirements to more accurately reflect mileage claims by manufacturers of some plug-in vehicles. The agency is reviewing options for providing consumers with one or more new metrics to best inform their decisions on purchasing plug-in hybrids, which in some cases can get 100 miles per gallon (MPG) or more, in addition to statutory requirements to present all vehicles’ fuel economy in a MPG format. The traditional MPG approach presents efficiency based on how far vehicles can drive on one gallon of fuel. A consumption-based metric would present fuel economy for plug-in hybrids in a format of how many gallons of fuel are necessary for the vehicles to travel 100 miles.

Going Nuclear
This time the environmentalists need a time out for fibbing.

Environmentalists are calling on senators to reject any proposal to “streamline” the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing process for new nuclear power plants. The environmentalists argue that any effort to expedite the licensing process “would fatally undermine public confidence in the safety of U.S. reactors.” The outcry from environmentalists marks a significant moment in the drafting of Senate climate change legislation, as activists appear ready to part with their industry allies on cap-and-trade proposals over measures to reinvigorate the nuclear power industry. The brewing battle also signals the difficulties lawmakers face in trying to hash out the details of a federal climate program.

Sealing gas leaks could be first step to reduce methane
Can’t blame this one on the cows.

Regulations are being sought to - Acting to curb the loss of methane from wells which could substantially cut GHG emissions while bigger issues are being tackled. There are few current restrictions on such leaks and at least 3 trillion cubic feet of methane seep into the air every year, with Russia and the United States the leading sources, according U.S. EPA estimates. While some gas drillers are taking steps on their own, many are not. Various industry actions are taking place voluntarily while non-industry groups are calling for regulation.

Air Travel

Qatar Airways Makes First Natural Gas-Powered Flight
Coffee, tea, natural gas?

Qatar Airways said it has completed the world’s first commercial passenger flight using kerosene derived from natural gas, a positive step for an airline industry looking for alternative fuels to protect it from volatile oil prices. The airline used an Airbus A340-600 aircraft on Monday’s flight from London Gatwick to Doha, Qatar, fueled by a mixture of synthetic gas-to-liquids, or GTL, kerosene and conventional oil-based kerosene fuel developed by Royal Dutch Shell PLC. The question remains as to whether the fuel will make an impact, considering the cost and energy required to produce it. No analysis has been performed yet on that point.

Climate Change Summary Newsletter and Commentary

Climate Change Summary Newsletter and Commentary

October 12, 2009

Steven L. Hoch
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP

Studies of the Week

British Fliers Turn Their Collective Nose Up At GHG Reductions
I’d rather drink tea. Thank you very much chap.

A study from Loughborough University found fewer than one in five people are trying to reduce the number of flights they take for environmental reasons. The “Propensity to Fly” study also reveals the vast majority of the British public would rather cut energy use at home than go without flying for a year. Asked what increase in air fares would deter them from flying short-haul, nearly four in five (79%) said a £50 ($80) rise would make them fly less often.

Green Roofs Save On Carbon Overheads
Who paid for this study and why?

A Michigan State University study examined 12 existing green roofs and grew their own Sedum-covered roof. They found that the roofs absorbed up to 375 grams per square meter over the two years of their study. If a city the size of Detroit, Michigan, with around a million inhabitants, were to switch to green roofs, it would remove as much carbon from the atmosphere as taking 10,000 mid-sized SUVs and trucks off the road for a year. There’s a catch, though: starting a garden on the roof won’t immediately lower your carbon footprint. Greening conventional roofs requires special materials, which come at a carbon cost. It takes seven years for the roof to offset the carbon used for its building materials and become truly carbon negative.

The Feds Make (Lame) Excuses

Agencies Want Flexibility to Set GHG Targets
What a crock of bureaucracy!

President Obama issued an Executive Order to lower the government’s carbon footprint. But instead of doing it, it turns out many agencies opposed the order because the agencies lacked data on their current emissions levels. Because the federal government is the nation’s largest energy consumer and occupies nearly 500,000 buildings, operates more than 600,000 vehicles, employs more than 1.8 million civilians, and purchases more than $500 billion per year in goods and services, the agencies said there was not way to reduce emissions before they would know their baseline emissions levels, says one federal source.

Biofuels

EPA’s Regulations Re Biofuels Uncertain, Causing Frustration
There is no “home on the range”.

EPA’s plan to use “uncertainty bands” to describe a range of possible GHG footprints of biofuels, rather than a single number, is raising frustration among petroleum refiners who fear it will hamper their ability to meet blending mandates under the agency’s renewable fuels standard (RFS). Industry says that the more uncertainty they put in the program, the less likely it is that certain biofuels will pass muster. Under the 2007 energy law, Congress set a volumetric fuel standard that vastly increased the amount of biofuels that must be blended. Lawmakers also mandated that in order to qualify for credit under the RFS, biofuels had to be at least 20 percent less GHG intensive over their entire lifecycle than conventional petroleum, taking into account both direct and indirect impacts. However, lawmakers also exempted existing corn ethanol facilities from the GHG requirement.

EPA Fears Ethanol Waiver Approval Will Boost GHG Emissions
Why all the discussion? As long as we stick with the uncertainty bands, there won’t be enough. Problem solved!

EPA officials fear that approving a pending ethanol industry request to increase the amount of ethanol allowed in gasoline up to 15 percent (E15) will result in higher GHG emissions. But the air act prevents the agency from considering increases in GHG emissions as a factor in whether to approve or deny a waiver request. The statute limits EPA to only considering whether a new fuel blend will harm emissions control devices, and requires a decision with 270 days of receiving a request to waive the existing fuel blend limits that prohibit the sale of ethanol blends above E10. EPA faces tremendous political pressure to approve the waiver sought by Growth Energy to allow blends of up to E15 in gasoline, including from President Obama, who has stated his support for expanding biofuels and reducing dependence on foreign oil.

Karnack the Magnificent Couldn’t Do Better

Browner: No GHG Law In 2009
Kept in a mayonnaise jar on Funk and Wagner’s porch…..

Carol Browner, President Obama’s climate and energy czar, has said Congress will not pass comprehensive climate legislation this year, likely the most direct statement from the White House on the chances for final passage of a bill in 2009. Browner has stated: “Obviously, we’d like to be through the process, but that’s not going to happen. I think we would all agree the likelihood that you’d have a bill signed by the president on comprehensive energy by the time we go in December is not likely.”

Agriculture

EPA Urges California to Seek GHG Cuts From Agriculture Industry
Agriculture, the new environmental demon. I’ll take my eggs scrambled, easy on the carbon please.

EPA Region IX officials are urging California to overhaul in farming practices to significantly lower GHG emissions. The EPA is concerned that farming operations should be more fully scrutinized in the 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy California’s draft adaptation plan. But agriculture groups are strongly challenging provisions already contained in the draft and likely would vigorously protest the further additions being recommended by the EPA officials and environmentalists. Also, the industry representatives oppose dozens of sections of the report that recommend farmers take actions to reduce GHG emissions, saying these are “mitigation measures” that have no place in a climate change adaptation report.

Climate bill to have 'negligible' farm impact – report
If this is true, why is the agriculture industry all upset?

The climate bill passed by the House this summer will have a "negligible" impact on U.S. farming income, taking a toll far less than that of climate change, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) said in a report released yesterday. The EWG report says cost increases from the climate bill would be "so small they would be lost in the background noise" of farm income fluctuations due to changes in yield, commodity prices and input costs.

Developing Nations

Developing Countries Say Wealthy Nations ‘Conspiring’ to Shift Responsibility for Climate Change
If we screwed it up so badly, why would you want to copy us? Isn’t this a GLOBAL issue?

Developing countries Oct. 5 accused wealthy nations of plotting a “conspiracy” against them, arguing that plans in discussion at the latest round of United Nations-sponsored climate change talks are designed to shift too much responsibility for the changing climate to the developing world. In an impromptu briefing from members of the Group of 77 countries and China, the group reiterated its opposition to any kind of binding commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from poor countries and countries with economies in transition. About a dozen senior delegates from countries in the Group of 77 developing nations walked out of United Nations-sponsored climate change negotiations Oct. 7, protesting proposals that would require all countries to take on binding commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to contribute to a fund aimed at helping the poorest nations to adapt to the changing climate.

How best to reduce carbon

EPA struggles to define best carbon-reducing technologies
Let’s get ready to rumble!!!!!!!

The Clean Air Act permits for new industrial facilities that release more than 25,000 tons of emissions a year would require what's termed "best available control technology" (BACT) to limit their greenhouse gas releases. But with carbon capture and sequestration still years from commercial viability, how BACT will be defined is up in the air. There's no add-on, magic technology widget thingy that controls CO2," said David Bookbinder, the Sierra Club's chief climate counsel. Ultimately, experts agreed, the agency's first pass will be fought in the courts.