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Legislation

Climate talks about turn

Prospects for a new global climate treaty appear to be receding after the latest round of talks in Bonn, Germany failed to make meaningful breakthroughs. EU negotiators and NGO representatives did not disguise their frustration after the meeting, telling journalists that the talks appeared to be moving backwards. Only one further meeting in China is scheduled before the Cancun summit in December.

Peter Wittoeck, representing the Belgian Presidency of the EU, said progress on issues such as accounting rules for land use and forestry was overshadowed by a retreat to entrenched positions dating from before the Copenhagen summit last December. The draft text had seen an “explosion” of additions including new wording on monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) and a re-opening of the largely agreed section on deforestation, Mr Wittoeck explained. “Countries seem to be distancing themselves from the [Copenhagen] Accord,” he added.

The meeting was overshadowed by the failure of a climate bill in the US Senate, which served to deepen the distrust within the developing world about the intentions of the United States and other industrial countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The rift between rich and poor nations has widened after the disappointment of Copenhagen, which produced only a brief document of political intentions rather than a binding agreement.¹ This latest move “plays into the same old fault lines,” according to Kelly Dent, of Oxfam International. It has “let down developing countries that had looked to President Barack Obama's administration to seize the leadership in climate negotiations”, she added.

EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said one of the EU's conditions for signing up to a second round under the Kyoto protocol, namely that all other major economies take on their fair share of the carbon reduction effort, appeared to be sliding further out of reach. Gordon Shepherd, head of WWF's Global Climate Initiative, said the mitigation discussion was becoming “more polarised”.

The Mexican government, which is hosting December's Cancun summit, has suggested that the process could ultimately result in three separate climate treaties: one covering industrialised countries with Kyoto commitments, a second essentially dealing with US emissions, and a third for developing countries.

Areas where there was progress in Bonn included the tabling of concrete options on land use and on the clean development mechanism (CDM). New UNFCCC chief Christiana Figueres said it was essential that countries started making choices at the next meeting in Tanjin, China, in October.

UNFCCC: http://unfccc.int/; CAN-Europe: http://climatenetwork.org; Friends of the Earth Europe: http://www.foeeurope.org/; WWF: http://wwf.panda.org/

New rules target mercury emissions

New rules issued by EPA are predicted to cut emissions from the cement industry by over 90%. The rules target emissions of mercury, particle pollution and other harmful pollutants from Portland cement manufacturing, the third-largest source of mercury air emissions in the United States.

EPA's action sets the first federal limits on mercury air emissions from existing cement kilns, strengthens the limits for new kilns, and sets emission limits that will reduce acid gases. It also limits particle pollution from new and existing kilns, and sets new-kiln limits for particle and smog-forming nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.

When fully implemented in 2013, EPA estimates the annual emissions of mercury and particulate matter will each be reduced by 92%, and total hydrocarbons by 83%. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson hailed the move as an “historic step” that would “cut the risk of asthma attacks and save lives.” The rules are expected to yield US$7 to $19 in public health benefits for every dollar in costs.

Mercury can damage children's developing brains, and particle pollution is linked to a wide variety of serious health effects, including aggravated asthma, irregular heartbeat, heart attacks, and premature death in people with heart and lung disease.

Talks on a global treaty on mercury are on-going.²

EPA: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t3pfpr.html

NGOs police HFC commitments

Green groups say they are having to be increasingly vigilant in policing commitments by governments and corporations to cut back on HFCs.

Campaigning group CDM Watch has criticised the UN body in charge of Kyoto's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) for failing to combat the greenhouse gas HFC-23. “Vested interests” within the board had prevented it from tackling “perverse incentives”, the group said. Some members of the CDM Executive Board are defending climate mitigation projects that benefit their governments, the group claims.

Allegations of abuses surfaced earlier this year and a UN panel subsequently called for an investigation. Carbon reductions from certain industrial gas projects may have been overestimated, it said, adding that the HFC-23 crediting methodology should be improved.

According to CDM Watch, Japanese, Chinese and Indian board members are keen to continue several HFC-23 projects despite evidence that some factories are producing more of the gas than necessary. This allows those countries to get additional credits for destroying it. In their defence, the Japanese, Chinese and Indian delegations said that a revision of the HFC-23 methodology was neither necessary nor legitimate.

Claudia Filzmoser, CDM Watch Director called the situation a “scandal”. “Allowing decisions to be based upon interventions from members with clear conflicts of interest puts the credibility of the CDM at risk,” she added.

In the US, meanwhile, BeyondHFCs (another campaigning group) has criticised a decision by car maker General Motors to use HFC-1234yf, rather than a CO₂-based refrigerant, in mobile air conditioning (MAC) systems. General Motors has said it will use it in its US-built models from 2013. In May, German trade body VDA announced its members would also be adopting HFC-1234yf despite an earlier commitment to the CO₂-based substance R744. In the EU, the MAC directive requires carmakers to stop using refrigerant HFC-134a from 2011. BeyondHFCs argues that HFC-1234yf is not a safe alternative to HFC-134a, although the European Commission has decreed that it is.³

CDM Executive Board: http://cdm.unfccc.int; CDM Watch: http://www.cdm-watch.org/; GM: http://media.gm.com/

Environmental quality

Human response will compound climate change

The way that humanity reacts to climate change may do more damage to many areas of the planet than climate change itself unless we plan properly, an important new study by a group of leading scientists has concluded. The group, led by Conservation International's Will Turner, looked both at efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and potential action that could be taken by people to adapt to a changed climate and related impact on global ecosystems.

One-fifth of the world's remaining tropical forests lie within 50 km of human populations that could be inundated if sea levels rise by 1 m, the group notes. These forests would make attractive sources of fuel-wood, building materials, food and other key resources and would be likely to attract a population forced to migrate by rising sea levels. About half of all Alliance for Zero Extinction sites—which contain the last surviving members of certain species—are also in these zones.

“There are numerous studies looking at the impacts of climate change on biodiversity” said Dr Turner, “but very little time has been taken to consider what our responses to climate change might do to the planet. If we don't take a look at the whole picture, but instead choose to look only at small parts of it, we stand to make poor decisions about how to respond that could do more damage than climate change itself”.

Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by constructing dams for hydropower generation can cause substantial damage to key freshwater ecosystems as well as to the flora and fauna in the flooded valleys, the scientists say. They also criticise the “generally bogus concept” that biofuels reduce carbon emissions, which is still being used as a justification for the felling of large swathes of biodiverse tropical forests [see separate item below].

There are many ways of ensuring that the human response to climate change delivers the best possible outcomes for both society and the environment, the paper concludes. Maintaining and restoring natural habitats are among the cheapest, safest, and easiest solutions at our disposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help people adapt to unavoidable changes.

“Providing a positive environmental outcome is often the best way to ensure the best outcome for people”, explained Dr Turner. “If we are sensible, we can help people and nature together cope with climate change. If we are not it will cause suffering for people and serious problems for the environment.”

Elsewhere, EPA has denied ten petitions challenging its 2009 determination that climate change is real, is occurring due to emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities, and threatens human health and the environment.⁴ The petitions came in the wake of the so-called ‘Climategate’ controversy earlier this year.⁵ They challenged EPA's Endangerment Finding on the grounds that climate science cannot be trusted, and asserted a conspiracy that invalidates the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and others.

After “serious consideration”, EPA said it could find no evidence to support these claims. In contrast, the Agency's review shows that “climate science is credible, compelling, and growing stronger”. The petitions were based on “selectively edited, out-of-context data and a manufactured controversy”, said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. They provided no evidence to undermine “findings based on years of science from the US and around the world”.

EPA: www.epa.gov/climatechange/endangerment/petitions.html; Will R. Turner, et al. “Climate change: helping nature survive the human response”, Conservation Letters, Wiley-Blackwell, DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-263X.2010.00128.x

Europe's mountains under threat

Mountain ecosystems, which cover over a third of the European continent, are facing severe threats from intensifying agriculture, unsustainable exploitation and climate change, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Around 40% of Europe's mountain habitat is forested. Compared with lowlands, the variation in altitudes, temperatures and precipitation have resulted in a richer variety of plant and animal species in mountains. But a shift toward intensive farming is damaging mountain ecosystems, the Agency says, while construction of motorways and over-exploitation of timber are harming biodiversity.

Mountain ecosystems are essential for regulating our climate and water cycles. Already average temperatures in the Alps have increased by 2 degrees since the late nineteenth century, twice the average rate in the Northern hemisphere. The resulting decrease in glacier volume and snowfall will cause many mountain plant species to become extinct by 2100, EEA predicts.

EEA's assessment indicates that managing mountains sustainably relies on effective policies and actions at regional and local levels. The report highlights a need to protect cross-border links between ecosystems, and calls for international frameworks to deal with climate adaptation in mountainous regions. UN agreements covering the Carpathian mountains and the Alps are already in place.

EEA: http://www.eea.europa.eu

Europe to miss biofuel target

The EU is likely to miss its self-imposed target for the use of biofuels this year. A survey by green energy group Eurobserver predicts EU biofuels use will reach 15 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 2010, or 4.8% of all transport fuels. This is below a non-binding 5.75% target. Biofuels consumption would need to increase by a further 3 Mtoe this year to meet the goal, which is equivalent to about 18 Mtoe, the group says.

Biofuels use reached 12 Mtoe in 2009, up by 18.7% compared with the previous year. This is a lot less than the 30.3% increase between 2007 and 2008. Biodiesel now accounts for 79.5% of total biofuel use compared with 19.3% for bioethanol.

Eurobserver gives a cautious welcome to the new sustainability criteria for biofuels.⁶ These could help strengthen biofuels trade with South America in particular, but there could also be conflicts with other countries.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has launched an investigation into allegations that US biodiesel is being imported into the EU via third countries such as Canada and Singapore to evade anti-dumping duties introduced last year. The investigation follows a complaint from European biodiesel association EBB, which warned of “widespread trafficking”.⁷ EBB cites the case of a shipment from Canada seized in Italy, which it claims was of US origin. The investigation is expected to take around nine months.

The Commission is also consulting on a series of recent studies on the indirect land-use change (ILUC) impacts of biofuels to find out whether the work produced so far is sufficient to assess the problem. Stakeholders are invited to comment on four studies, including one on the global trade and environmental impact of Europe's biofuels policy. The Commission also wants to know if, based on the studies' findings, EU action is needed to tackle ILUC impacts. A recent study by CE Delft called for ILUC to be factored into GHG calculations for biofuels.

Eurobserver: http://www.eurobserv-er.org/pdf/baro198.pdf; EBB: http://www.ebb-eu.org/; ILUC consultation http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/consultations/

Atlantic plan under the spotlight

Parties with an interest in the Atlantic Ocean are being consulted on a possible integrated EU-level strategy to manage all aspects of this geographical area, including environmental protection and economic activities.

The European Commission sets out its thinking on an integrated policy for the Atlantic in a series of policy documents. The good environmental status of the region is only possible if Member States cooperate, the Commission points out. In particular, there is an “urgent” need for more cooperation in case of major disasters caused by natural hazards or shipping accidents. This regional approach has already been applied to the Baltic, Mediterranean, and Arctic Seas.

A key question is how to define the geographical scope of the EU's vast Atlantic region. The Commission wants to know whether the plan should cover the whole Atlantic or only individual basins or even smaller areas. The strategy would also seek to provide a framework for the economic development of the region and more harmonised governance.

European Commission:

Global panel ponder sustainability

A panel of political worthies appointed by UN chief Ban Ki-Moon is to report on global sustainability. The panel, co-chaired by Finnish president Tarja Halonen and Jacob Zuma of South Africa, will make recommendations on a new blueprint for sustainable development.

Its 21 members include EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard as well as Kevin Rudd and Gro Harlem Brundtland, former prime ministers of Australia and Norway. A final report will be published by the end of 2011, ahead of 2012's climate summit in South Africa and the ‘Rio + 20’ conference on sustainable development.

United Nations: http://www.un.org/apps/news/; UNCSD Conference (‘Rio + 20’): http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/rio20/

Chemical hazards

EPA launches chemical action plans

Action plans issued under EPA's programme to strengthen and reform chemical management address the potential health risks of three common chemicals—benzidine dyes, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs). The chemicals are widely used in both consumer and industrial applications, including dyes, flame retardants, and industrial laundry detergents.

The plans identify a range of actions the Agency is considering under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). These include adding HBCD and NPE to EPA's new Chemicals of Concern list, and issuing significant new use rules for all three chemicals. For HBCD and benzidine dyes, the Agency is to impose new reporting requirements and potentially ban or limit the manufacture or use of the chemicals. Greenpeace recently accused authorities in Europe of dragging their feet in taking action against nonylphenols.⁸

In addition to EPA's efforts, the Textile Rental Services Association, which represents 98 percent of the industrial laundry facilities in the US, has committed to voluntarily phase out the use of NPEs in industrial liquid detergents by 2013 and in industrial powder detergents by 2014.

In a separate but related move, the Agency is also proposing several actions to improve general reporting on chemicals under TSCA. The Inventory Update Reporting Rule enables EPA to collect and publish information on volumes of chemical production, manufacturing facility data, and how the chemicals are used. In addition, EPA is proposing to increase the frequency and transparency of reporting, including a requirement for manufacturers to submit information electronically.

Also, data on the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for calendar year 2009 is now available through the EPA website and the popular tools, TRI Explorer and Envirofacts.⁹ The database contains environmental release and transfer data on nearly 650 chemicals and chemical categories reported to EPA by more than 21 000 industrial and other facilities. The preliminary dataset includes more than 80% of the data expected to be reported for 2009. The full dataset and related analysis will be published later this year.

EPA: http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/; Inventory Update Rule: http://www.epa.gov/iur/; TRI: http://www.epa.gov/tri/

Bayer terminates aldicarb; but resists on bees

EPA has reached agreement with Bayer CropScience to end use of the pesticide aldicarb in the United States. The move follows a new risk assessment based on recently submitted toxicity data which indicated that aldicarb, an N-methyl carbamate insecticide, no longer meets the Agency's rigorous food safety standards.

To address the most significant risks, Bayer has agreed to end aldicarb use on citrus and potatoes and to adopt risk mitigation measures for other uses to protect groundwater resources. Lower application rates will be added to product labels immediately for use on cotton, soybeans, and peanuts. Production of aldicarb will be phased out by December 31, 2014 and all remaining use will end no later than August 2018. Additionally, EPA plans to revoke the tolerances (legal pesticide residues allowed in food) associated with these commodities.

But in Europe Bayer has refuted calls by NGOs for an EU ban on clothianidin and other neonicotinoid insecticides. Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) and the beekeepers association DBIB say the substances are partly responsible for a 25% drop in bee colonies in Germany over the past year. Clothianidin, used against pests affecting canola, corn, sugar beet and other crops, is already banned in Italy. In 2008, Germany and France temporarily suspended authorisations. Bayer CropScience, a producer of the insecticide, insists that it is not responsible for the decline in bee colonies.

EPA: http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/factsheets/aldicarb_fs.html; BUND: http://www.bund.net/; Bayer Crop Science: http://www.bayercropscience.com/

POPs ban extended

Bans on nine chemicals added to a UN list of substances prohibited under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) entered force on 26 August.¹⁰ The chemicals added to the list are: chlordecone, penta-BDE, hexabromobiphenyl, lindane, persistent perfluorinated compounds PFOS, octa-BDE, pentachlorobenzene, alpha-HCH and beta-HCH. Most of them are pesticides and flame retardants.

The bans apply to the 152 countries that signed the treaty, including all EU members. In most the bans took immediate effect but in a few cases, including Slovakia and Slovenia in Europe, the expanded POPs blacklist needs to be ratified by national parliaments first.

The EU is pushing for three further chemicals to be added to the POPs blacklist.¹¹

Stockholm Convention: http://chm.pops.int

Experts question toxin thresholds

Migration limits for 19 chemicals regulated under the EU's toy safety directive have “no clear scientific rationale”, according to a committee of experts.

In an opinion, the EU's Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) questions the directive's limits for six of the chemicals—arsenic, cadmium, chromium VI, lead, mercury and organic tin. These are currently set at 5% of tolerable daily intake (TDI) and were agreed during negotiations between MEPs and ministers. The limits for the other 13 chemicals are less stringent, at 10% of the chemicals' TDI.

In a separate opinion, SCHER found that using diantimony trioxide in pigments in toys does not pose a risk to children's health as long as it is in concentrations of less than 15 mg kg⁻¹. But there is insufficient information to evaluate the risk under various exposure scenarios such as sucking, licking or swallowing the toys.

SCHER: http://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/environmental_risks/

Public & occupational health

New rules for GM maize

The European Commission has approved six new varieties of genetically modified (GM) maize for use in the EU. Notices confirming the measure were subsequently published in the EU's Official Journal. The move follows a legislative proposal in July that would allow Member States to impose national GM bans.¹²

The six GM varieties were given the green light after agriculture ministers failed to reach an agreement in June. The European Food Safety Authority had already issued favourable scientific opinions for each of them.

One of the authorisations is a renewal for the insect-resistant Bt11 maize from Swiss company Syngenta. The new authorisations were for products developed by Syngenta and US chemical firms DuPont, Dow Chemical and Monsanto. They cover import and processing but not cultivation, and are valid for 10 years.

European Commission: Official Journal, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/

Progress on Asian air quality

Recent achievements in improving public health and combating air pollution in Asia are described in the summer 2010 issue of PAPA Progress, the newsletter of the Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA) programme managed by the US-based Health Effects Institute (HEI).

Among the issues discussed are the latest Asian studies on air pollution and health. The autumn 2010 release of HEI's comprehensive review of the Asian science literature will see over 100 new studies added to PAPA-SAN, HEI's comprehensive web based compendium of over 400 Asian studies of air pollution and health.

New studies of air pollution and birth outcomes initiated in Taiwan and Wuhan, China are also described as well as recent workshops in Beijing on air quality standards and climate; in Chandigarh on the HEI Traffic Literature Review; and in Delhi on the Beijing Olympic Games study.

Health Effects Institute: http://www.healtheffects.org/international.htm

Research activities

Polar bears in the frontline of climate change

Polar bears in East Greenland and Svalbard and glaucous gulls in Svalbard are the species most exposed to chemical contaminants carried north from industrialised countries, according to a new study by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

The report, which is part of a comprehensive effort called the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), was co-authored by Bjørn Munro Jenssen, a professor of biology at NTNU, and documents in part his work with polar bears on Svalbard. It is the latest in a series of recent but unrelated studies charting the effects of pollutants in the Arctic region.¹³

While researchers could not document strong evidence that contaminants such as PCBs and DDT were adversely affecting animals throughout the Arctic, other factors, such as the impact of climate change, disease and the invasion of new species will affect the overall exposure that each animal has to pollutants. Climate change, in particular, will affect sea ice distribution and temperatures. This will in turn cause changes in food webs and in nutrition, which led the researchers to list animals at the highest risk from contaminant exposure.

The Arctic wildlife and fish considered to be most at risk are: polar bears in East Greenland, Svalbard and Hudson Bay; killer whales in Alaska and northern Norway; several species of gulls and other seabirds from across the Arctic; ringed seals from East Greenland; and a few populations of Arctic char and Greenland shark.

Science of the Total Environment: “Levels, trends and effects of legacy and new persistent organic pollutants in the Arctic: An AMAP Assessment”, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.10.038

‘Canary’ enhances drinking water protection

An innovative, award-winning software system developed by EPA and the US Department of Energy (DOE) enhances a water system's ability to detect when there has been intentional or unintentional contamination. The system, known as Canary, can help detect a wide variety of chemical and biological contaminants, including pesticides, metals, and pathogens.

Drinking water utilities use the software in conjunction with a network of water quality sensors to rapidly detect contamination and to more accurately assess when and how they need to respond. The software helps to distinguish between natural variation in water quality measurements and hazardous contamination, and sends an alarm to indicate when water utilities should take steps to investigate and respond to potential contamination. In addition to achieving homeland security goals, Canary can be used to enhance day-to-day water quality management, and ensure the safety and security of water for all consumers.

The Greater Cincinnati Water Works was the first utility to pilot the software and has been using Canary to assist in detecting and managing contamination incidents since 2007. The software is currently being evaluated in four other US cities—New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco—and in Singapore.

EPA and DOE received a 2010 “R&D 100 Award” from R&D Magazine for developing Canary. The awards recognise the top high-technology products of the year. As a free software tool, Canary is available worldwide to drinking water utilities striving to provide safe water to their customers. To date the software has been accessed by more than 600 users in 15 countries.

Also, EPA has launched a web-based discussion forum to gather public input on how the Agency can improve protection of drinking water. The forum is open to water professionals, advocates, and others wishing to comment on drinking water quality issues—planning, developing scientific tools, controlling water pollution, and use of resources.

EPA: http://www.epa.gov/nhsrc/news/news122007.html; Drinking Water Forum, http://blog.epa.gov/dwstrat

Libraries bring returns in grant income

Academic libraries are of substantial value to institutions in improving grant proposal and report writing and in helping researchers attract grant income, according to a new international study.

Dr Carol Tenopir, Director of the Center for Information and Communication Studies at the University of Tennessee, led a team of investigators over a 16-month period. Of the 8 institutions participating from around the globe, 6 demonstrated a greater than one-to-one (1 : 1) return in grant funding, with results ranging from 15.54 : 1 to 0.64 : 1. Equally significant is the result that 2 institutions showed a significant positive correlation between an increase in library investment over time and an increase in grant funding to the university.

“Libraries bring value and returns on institutional investments in many ways,” explains Dr Tenopir. “Although the exact monetary amount of the returns in grants varies with the mission of the institution, our research shows that the collections and services of all university libraries help faculty write better grant proposals and articles, and help them do better research.”

“The results reinforce the contribution of libraries and information to the research enterprise,” notes Chrysanne Lowe, Vice President of Customer Development and Engagement at academic publisher Elsevier, which funded the study. “Universities have always known this, but it's useful to see value articulated in terms of grant income ROI as well.”

Elsevier: “University Investment in the Library, Phase II: An International Study of the Library's Value to the Grants Process”, http://libraryconnect.elsevier.com

References

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