Scientist urges carbon tax to help climate

The U.S. scientist who 20 years ago first told Congress that the Earth's climate was warming said on Monday that urgent action was needed to cut greenhouse gases and proposed a tax on carbon emissions.
James Hansen, the director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said at a congressional briefing that a carbon tax would be the most efficient way to cut global warming emissions and encourage non-fossil energy sources.
"We have to level with the public that there has to be a price on carbon emissions," Hansen said. "That is the only way we are going to begin to move toward a carbon free economy."
Hansen said urgent action was needed to cut carbon dioxide emissions that are warming the globe and are already causing arctic ice to melt. He said world leaders had only one or two years to act before the Earth reaches a "tipping point" with major consequences to the global climate and species survival.
"We have reached an emergency situation," Hansen said.
He said the government should not keep the proceeds from any carbon tax, but refund the money to taxpayers to help them pay for more fuel efficient technology.
President George W. Bush has opposed any broad program to curb carbon emissions saying it would hurt the economy and has consistently resisted any tax increases. But global warming is an issue in this year's presidential campaign and is expected to be a major topic of discussion at next month's meeting of leaders of the Group of Eight industrial nations in Japan.
Twenty years ago today, Hansen testified before a Senate committee and told lawmakers that "the greenhouse effect has been detected, and it is changing our climate now."
Hansen's testimony helped spur the first congressional efforts to curb greenhouse gases. The most recent effort, legislation that would have created a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions died in the Senate earlier this month in face of a veto threat from the White House

Link Reuters

U.N. agenda for new global climate deal by 2009

A 190-nation U.N. climate meeting in Bali edged towards a deal on Saturday, after two weeks of talks to launch two-year negotiations on a broad pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol from Jan 1, 2013.
Following are contents of the final draft text, still to be approved by the full conference of ministers and delegates on Saturday, describing the agenda for those negotiations.
LAUNCH OF NEW TALKS
A new U.N. group would supervise work on a new climate deal, to begin "without delay", not later than April 2008, and "complete its work in 2009".
HOW AMBITIOUS?
The level of ambition to guide rich countries' efforts to fight climate change was one of the most contentious issues at the Bali talks.
The United States opposed a European Union-backed range for greenhouse gas emissions cuts by 2020. Earlier drafts had mentioned a goal for rich countries to cut emissions by 25-40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.
The EU backed down and the final draft relegated the emissions range to a footnote, which cited 2 pages in a report on fighting climate change published this year by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Those pages do not specify which one of six emissions-reduction targets countries should aim for. Those goals range from peaking global greenhouse gas emissions in 8 to 80 years time, resulting in long-term global temperature increases after 2100 of between 2 and 6.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
RICH AND POOR
Another contentious item was how far developing countries should match rich nations' efforts to curb emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
The final draft called on all developed countries to consider "quantified emission limitation and reduction objectives", and "nationally appropriate mitigation commitments or actions".
Meanwhile, developing countries should consider "measurable, reportable and verifiable nationally appropriate mitigation actions", with support for efforts to curb deforestation.
The text said "deep cuts in global emissions will be required" to avoid dangerous climate change.

ADAPTATION, TECHNOLOGY, FINANCING
Many countries worldwide are already suffering from climate change, many delegates said. The final text called for "urgent implementation of adaptation actions" including the "immediate needs" of small island states.
The text asked countries to accelerate efforts to transfer technologies which would help developing countries cut their contribution to and adapt to climate change.
The final draft called for more financial resources and investment for developing countries on adaptation, mitigation and technology cooperation, especially for the most vulnerable.

Link Reuters

Clean Climate

The United Nations urged the world to kick its addiction to carbon dioxide on World Environment Day on Thursday, and said everyone must take steps to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change.

Just under half of personal emissions come from things under individuals control, the United Nations said.

It recommends the following for anyone keen to shrink their carbon footprint.

· Wake up with a traditional wind-up alarm clock, not an electronic one: save almost 48 grams (g) of carbon dioxide (Co2) each day.

· Brush witha a non-electric toothbrush; avoid nearly 48 g of Co2 emissions

· Replace a 45-minute workout on a treadmill with a jog in a nearby park; save nearly 1kg of carbon.

· Heat bread rolls in a toaster, not an oven, for 15 minutes; save nearly 170g f Co2.

· Take the train rather than the car to the office: a distance of as little as 8 km can save 1.7kg of CO2.

· Shut down your computer and flat screen during the lunch break and when you leave work: this cuts Co2 emissions generated by these appliances by one-third.

· Install a water-saving shower head. This will save 10 liters of water per minute and halve CO2 emissions of a three-minute hot shower.

· Switch from regular 60-Watt light bulbs to energy saving compact fluorescent lamps.

· Dry clothes on a washing line instead of a tumble dryer: knock 2.3kg of CO2 off your total.

· Pack a light suitcase: world savings of 2million tonnes of CO2 a year are possible if every airline passenger cuts their baggage to below 20kg and buys duty free goods on arrival.

Sources: Reuters, United Nations Environment Programme.