December

COP15 Outcomes

The terms of the agreement reached in a three-page document, released on Saturday 19^th of December, were met with disappointment by many state representatives and the representatives of the environment organisations who attended the conference. The end agreement was widely recognized as falling short of the much anticipated Copenhagen Accord.

The concluding agreement included the world leaders from five different countries: the United States, Brazil, South Africa, China and India. The main outcome has been that developing countries agree to provide $30 billion over the next three years for climate aid to developing countries and up to a potential $100 billion a year by 2020. However, no clear targets were agreed regarding the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions nor a date by which a legally-binding agreement would be made.

Future plan for 'green IFSC'

18th December

A new government plan to create a ‘green IFSC’ (International Financial Services Centre) in Dublin could create up to 20,000 jobs over the next ten years.

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Mr Eamon Ryan TD stated that the IFSC could widen its scope to include green fund administration, investments, carbon-trading and ‘green bond’ markets.

Mr Ryan expects a project team to begin a development plan in the New Year, which would be led by the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) together with the Department of Enterprise, trade and Employment.

Launch of global biodiversity database

18 December

Preserving and encouraging biodiversity is extremely important in today’s world of global warming. People from all over the world will now be able to access over 177 million of records on biodiversity thanks to the development of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).

The bulk of the information on GBIF focuses on three countries – the United Kingdom (UK), Sweden and America – although 52 countries and international organisations have also published data on GBIF.   It is hoped that range of data will expand with further funding and policy changes that address the issue of intellectual property rights.

Please see the GBIF website for further information.

CSS Plans in Finland

Finnish companies Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) have joined forces with part of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group to further develop Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).

CSS is a new technology whereby CO2 emissions are stored in natural facilities such as old oil and gas fields. The companies aim to share a CSS site in a depleted oil and gas field in the Danish Sea, making a saving of 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 per year.

At COP15, a committee under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change had been considering including CSS under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) this year. However, as concerns were raised about long-term reliability of CSS, the matter has been postponed and will be reviewed again next year at COP16 in Mexico.

New EPA Report

A new report was published today, 16^th December 2009, by the Environmental Protection Agency. ‘Water Quality in Ireland 2007-2008’ provides an overview of the most recent water quality assessments, focusing on the top twenty most important indicators of water quality.

The report shows increases in sea pollution and fish kills, as well as a decrease in the number of bathing areas that reach European standards. It also shows that since 1987, the rivers sampled that had a high ecological value has dropped by 13%.

The full report is available on the EPA website.

New animal by-product regulations

New European Union (EU) regulations regarding animal by-products have been published. While these will replace the Regulation of 2002, it is expected that they will not be introduced for at least one more year.

A PDF of the new regulation is available here.

Positive figures on steel packaging recycling in Europe

The Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging (APEAL) has published their latest figures which show that 70% of steel packaging is recycled in Europe . This figure, based on the year 2008, represents a saving of 3.9 million tonnes of CO2.

The figures were published on December 10th, 2009.

New predictions on rising sea levels

A new study conducted by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) makes dramatic new predictions on the rise in sea levels. The report is entitled ‘The Greenland Ice Sheet in a Changing Climate: Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic’ and was presented at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen today, Monday 14^th December 2009.

In 2007 the United Nation’s (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated that the sea level would rise by 18-59 cm by 2100. In contrast to this report, the AMAP study estimates that the rise in sea level will be almost doubled this figure by 2100.

The report is available to download from the AMAP website.

New performance benchmarks for recycling

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has established performance benchmarks for recycling that will help local authorities see how their recycling schemes are performing in comparison to other, similar schemes. These benchmarks were the result of analysis of the Government’s WasteDataFlow.

COP 15 Development

On Friday 11^th December, European Union Member States have today agreed to reduce their carbon emissions by 30% by 2020 compared to the 1990 levels in an effort to combat climate change. Previously, the EU had only committed to a 20% reduction in carbon emissions with the promise of a further 10% reduction depending on other developed nations pledges. 

The EU has also pledged to commit €2.2 billion annually until 2012 towards a climate adaptation fund. This will help poor countries that are suffering the most from global warming. This announcement marks further progress of yesterday's talks, when an initial commitment of just €1.8 billion had been agreed.

Third carbon budget

Minister John Gormley delivered the third carbon budget in the Dáil on Friday 11th December 2009. The carbon budget will serve to further integrate climate change issues into government budgetary policy. Minister Gormley has committed Ireland to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions in Ireland by 2050.

The Framework for Climate Change Bill 2010 is available online at http://www.scribd.com/doc/23976384/Framework-for-Climate-Change-Bill-2010 

Mr Gormley will travel to Copenhagen to join the United Nations Climate Conference (COP15) next week. The summit began on Monday, 7^th December and continues until Friday 18^th December.

United Nations Climate Change Conference

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) is currently meeting in Copenhagen to discuss a successor to the Kyoto Protocall and to establish longer term targets, beyond 2012, to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The international conference commenced on Monday, 7th of December and continues until the 18th December 2009. Up to 15,000 people are expected to attend, including An Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, T.D., Irish government ministers, and representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Change Unit. Further information is available at http://en.cop15.dk/.

EEA report shows EU Member States on target for Kyoto Commitments

A report by the European Environmental Agency (EEA) entitled ‘Greenhouse Gas Emission Trends and Projections in Europe 2009’ that was published in November 2009 shows positive results in the EU. This report provides an assessment of the present and future projected progress of EU Member States towards achieving their Kyoto targets as well as the EU emissions reduction target for 2020.

The study shows that all EU Member States, with the exception of Austria, are on track to reach their commitments to limit greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. Up-to-date projections show that the EU-15 will achieve a 13% reduction in emissions during the period 2008-2012 when compared with 1990 levels. This is 4% above their requirement under the Kyoto Protocol.

The full report is available for download on the EEA website.

EPA environmental broadcasts made available

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made a number of environmental video broadcasts available on their website. They include:

• Climate Change lecture series that took place in Dublin this year. Each lecture lasts for about 1 hour.
  
• EPA’s Ireland ’s Environment workshop that took place in 2008. Each talk is about 15 minutes long.
  
• Eco Eye TV series 6 and 7, which examines major environmental issues in Ireland .

Please follow this link to the EPA broadcasts.

European Green City Index released

On Tuesday 8^th December, Siemens released the first European Green City Index which measures environmental sustainability rates of 30 major European cities, each from a different country. In addition, each city’s efforts and dedication to reducing their impact on the environment was taken into account.

The cities were assessed in eight categories: CO2 emissions, energy, buildings, water, waste and land use, air quality, transport, and environmental governance. While all of the cities involved in the study were praised for environmental achievements and strategies for the future, Copenhagen was listed as the ‘greenest’ major city in Europe. It was followed closely by Stockholm, Oslo, and Vienna.

Dublin , however, was ranked amongst the lowest on the list. The study showed that on average, Dubliners consumed considerably higher rates of energy and water than their European counterparts. CO2 emissions for the city were calculated to be almost double that of the other European cities involved.

The findings of the European Green City Index were presented at the United Nations Climate Change (COP15) conference in Copenhagen.

WMO report released

On Tuesday 8^th December the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), a United Nations (UN) agency, reported that this decade is likely to become the warmest since records began in 1850. According to the report, 2009 is estimated to be the fifth warmest year on record.

Extreme heat conditions were experienced in many areas of the world this year, including China , Australia and South America . WMO research has shown that Antarctica is warming at a much higher rate than previously. Only northern United States and Canada experienced cooler average conditions in 2009.

The final statistics for 2009 will be released in January 2010.

Strategy for emission reductions in Irish agricultural sector

A new strategy for reducing the carbon footprint of the Irish agricultural sector has been prepared by experts from the agri-food industry. Currently, the Irish agricultural industry accounts for 40% of domestic emissions. The national target is to achieve at least a 20% cut in domestic emissions by 2020, the timeframe for the next set of emission targets to be agreed upon at the COP15 conference in Copenhagen this month. A substantial cut must be made in the agricultural sector to reach this target.

‘From Farm to Fork – A Sustainability Enhancement Programme for Irish Agriculture’ addresses the considerable challenges that face the agri-food industry in terms of environmental sustainability. This strategy programme sets out practical measures that can be taken to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint at each stage of production: on the farm, during food-processing, and at retail. Literally, ‘From Farm to Fork’.

The full programme is available for download from The Institute of International and European Affairs website.

EU project: Off-shore wind power grid

On the first day of the COP15 conference Monday 7^th December, nine European states, including Ireland, pledged to increase the number of wind power links between EU countries. This follows criticism from wind energy producers that the low amount of connecting pipes between power stations led to a lack of energy efficiency. At present, the wind-generated electricity cannot be transported quickly to where it is needed.

The EU States that have made the pledge to develop an off-shore wind power grid are Ireland, Britain, Germany, France, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Luxemburg and the Netherlands.

This move will help the EU achieve its climate change goals. The EU aim to generate one fifth of all its energy needs from renewable energy by 2020.

United States progress on climate change

On Monday 7^th December, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared that greenhouse gas emissions are harmful and dangerous to human health. This finding paves the way for the EPA to introduce the regulation of greenhouse gases without any new legislation being passed by Congress.

The move by the EPA coincides with the opening day of the COP15 climate change summit that is taking place in Copenhagen over the next two weeks, and should instil some optimism for those involved. President Obama will attend the final two days of the summit when major decisions will be made.