Climate Science Links
U.S. Government
International
Academic, Non-Governmental
Crunch Time in Copenhagen on Super Greenhouse Gases
There's a global warming solution of enormous potential on the negotiating table here in Copenhagen. It could deliver reductions of up to 170 billion tons of CO2e over the next 40 years at a total cost of merely $4 billion. It is a fast action solution, something that can be done quickly and whose benefits would be felt almost immediately. And it works by preventing the manufacture of highly potent greenhouse gases, so that they never enter the atmosphere to begin with.
Nobody disputes the science, the negligible cost of action or the universal benefits of deploying the solution, but it has remained mired in the larger negotiating process as a potential pawn for extracting concessions. Now, with the climate talks bogged down as they head into the last day, this solution could play a role in rescuing the talks from failure.
It is yet another example among many at these talks in Copenhagen where the painful tension between global politics and universal morality is on exhibit, where deals and payoffs are needed to allow diplomats working in their own nations' interests to do the right thing for the planet.
"We could act to eliminate one of six greenhouse gases before the end this week," Durwood Zaelke, president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, said. "We're juggling soap bubbles right now."
The opportunity on the table is ridding the world of "super greenhouse gases," a term for hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs. HFCs were developed as replacement gases for ozone-destroying chemicals commonly used as refrigerants. Though HFCs do not harm the ozone, it turns out they are lethal global warming agents, thousands of times more potent than CO2 at warming the planet.
With rising prosperity in developing nations, HFC use is expected to skyrocket. Left unchecked, their build-up in the atmosphere could essentially negate current efforts under consideration to reduce carbon dioxide to safe levels by 2050.
The decision that is needed here to rid the world of HFCs before they are even manufactured is a very simple one. The Conference of Parties needs to officially request another existing UN treaty regime — the Montreal Protocol — handle the phase down of HFCs.
The Montreal Protocol was entered into by Ronald Reagan and ratified by the Senate more than 20 years ago. It has already rid the world of almost 100 different ozone destroying substances, and has a working infrastructure in place in every country on the planet. A phase down of HFCs through the Montreal Treaty would be a slam dunk, veteran negotiators say.
The idea is to create a synergy between the ozone treaty and the climate treaty, between what Zaelke calls "the treaty that's never failed" and "the treaty that has yet to succeed." When the parties to the Montreal Protocol met in November and considered taking on the phase down of HFCs, a proposal supported by the U.S., the Chinese and Indian delegations stood opposed.
Observers said their motivation was largely stoked by financial self-interest. China and India could get paid a lot more for phasing out HFCs under a climate regime negotiated in Copenhagen than one set up through the Montreal Protocol.
"You're looking at a difference of getting $20 a ton under a climate regime and getting 20 cents a ton incrementally under the Montreal Protocol," Mark Roberts, an environmental attorney and international policy advisor for the Environmental Investigation Agency, told SolveClimate at the time.
Attachment Size HFC Fact Sheet.png 451.54 KB
- 1
- 2
- 3
- next page »
|
© InsideClimate News |
sesli sohbet
thank you
Biochar Updates
All political persuasions agree, building soil carbon is GOOD.
To Hard bitten Farmers, wary of carbon regulations that only increase their costs, Building soil carbon is a savory bone, to do well while doing good.
Biochar provides the tool powerful enough to cover Farming's carbon foot print while lowering cost simultaneously.
Another significant aspect of bichar is removal of BC aerosols by low cost ($3) Biomass cook stoves that produce char but no respiratory disease emissions. At Scale, replacing "Three Stone" stoves the health benefits would equal eradication of Malaria.
http://terrapretapot.org/ and village level systems http://biocharfund.org/
The Congo Basin Forest Fund (CBFF).recently funded The Biochar Fund $300K for these systems citing these priorities;
(1) Hunger amongst the world's poorest people, the subsistence farmers of Sub-Saharan Africa,
(2) Deforestation resulting from a reliance on slash-and-burn farming,
(3) Energy poverty and a lack of access to clean, renewable energy, and
(4) Climate change.
The Biochar Fund :
Exceptional results from biochar experiment in Cameroon
http://scitizen.com/screens/blogPage/viewBlog/sw_viewBlog.php?idTheme=14...
The broad smiles of 1500 subsistence farmers say it all ( that , and the size of the Biochar corn root balls )
http://biocharfund.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Item...
Mark my words; Given the potential for Laurens Rademaker's programs to grow exponentially, only a short time lies between This man's nomination for a Noble Prize.
This authoritative PNAS article should cause the recent Royal Society Report to rethink their criticism of Biochar systems of Soil carbon sequestration;
Reducing abrupt climate change risk using
the Montreal Protocol and other regulatory
actions to complement cuts in CO2 emissions
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/10/09/0902568106.full.pdf+html
There are dozens soil researchers on the subject now at USDA-ARS.
and many studies at The up coming ASA-CSSA-SSSA joint meeting;
http://a-c-s.confex.com/crops/2009am/webprogram/Session5675.html
The Clean Energy Partnerships Act of 2009
The bill is designed to ensure that any US domestic cap-and-trade bill provides maximum incentives and opportunities for the US agricultural and forestry sectors to provide high-quality offsets and GHG emissions reductions for credit or financial incentives. Carbon offsets play a critical role in keeping the costs of a cap-and-trade program low for society as well as for capped sectors and entities, while providing valuable emissions reductions and income generation opportunities for the agricultural sector. The bill specifically identifies biochar production and use as eligible for offset credits, and identifies biochar as a high priority for USDA R&D, with funding authorized by the bill.
To read the full text of the bill, go to: http://www.biochar-international.org/sites/default/files/END09F94.pdf.
Senator Baucus is co-sponsoring a bill along with Senator Tester (D-MT) called WE CHAR. Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration Act! It focuses on promoting biochar technology to address invasive species and forest biomass. It includes grants and loans for biochar market research and development, biochar characterization and environmental analyses. It directs USDI and USDA to provide loan guarantees for biochar technologies and on-the-ground production with an emphasis on biomass from public lands. And the USGS is to do biomas availability assessments.
WashingtonWatch.com - S. 1713, The Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration (WECHAR) Act of 2009
Individual and groups can show support for WECHAR by signing online at:
http://www.biocharmatters.org/
Congressional Research Service report (by analyst Kelsi Bracmort) is the best short summary I have seen so far - both technical and policy oriented.
http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/R40186_20090203.pdf .
United Nations Environment Programme, Climate Change Science Compendium 2009
http://www.unep.org/compendium2009/
Al Gore got the CO2 absorption thing wrong, ( at NABC Vilsack did same), but his focus on Soil Carbon is right on;
http://www.newsweek.com/id/220552/page/3
Research:
The future of biochar - Project Rainbow Bee Eater
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/features/20090211-20142.html
Japan Biochar Association ;
http://www.geocities.jp/yasizato/pioneer.htm
UK Biochar Research Centre
http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/sccs/biochar/
My 09 field trials with the Rodale Institute & JMU ;
http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/node/1408
Alterna Biocarbon and Cowboy Charcoal Virginia field trials '09
Carbon to the Soil, the only ubiquitous and economic place to put it.
Cheers,
Erich
Post new comment