Tag: carbon

WWF states Affluent Singapore had the largest carbon footprint per head in the Asia-Pacific in 2010, conservation group WWF said Monday.The environmental advocacy group said Singapore's 2010 per capita gross domestic product of more than $40,000 -- one of the highest in the region -- fuelled exorbitant consumption habits.But the group also fingered the corporate sector and in particular the construction industry for crowning the tiny city-state as the region's top per capita carbon emitter.Precise figures for various nations in the Asia-Pacific will be released together with the WWF's Asia Footprint Report in June.But WWF president Yolanda Kakabadse revealed Monday that Singapore topped the list."Every member of the population in relation to the size of the country is consuming a lot in food, in energy," she said."Singapore... is a society that maybe is one of the best examples of what we should not do."Singapore emitted 43,454 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide from combustion of fossil fuels in 2010, official statistics showed.But Kakabadse said it could atone for its excessive carbon footprint by sharing its energy-efficient technologies with the world."It has a tremendous capacity to contribute with technology. Technology for energy, technology for water management, technology for whatever, even for food production ...

China is firmly opposed to the EU's unilateral legislation on carbon tax China on Thursday called on the European Union (EU) to take seriously the concerns of the international community on its carbon emissions charges, warning the 27-nation bloc not to complicate the matter.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the appeal at a regular press briefing in response to a question regarding the EU Commission's plan to impose carbon emissions tax on sea transportation from June this year. "China, like many other countries, is firmly opposed to the EU's unilateral legislation on carbon tax," Hong said. "The truth is that the unilateral move is unpopular, and is unlikely to meet the EU's expectations."He said the carbon tax issue on air and sea transportation should be solved within a multilateral framework through thorough consultation." should not be separated from the legal framework of the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Meanwhile, it should not violate the principle of 'common but differentiated responsibilities' and fair spirit," the spokesman said.Hong urged the EU side to commit itself to solving the matter instead of complicating it.On Jan. 1 this year, the EU began charging airlines using EU airports ...

IMarEST and ICCT provide authoritative definition of BC The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), in association with the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), has defined Black Carbon and presentation it definition at a recent IMO Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLG). While BC is claimed to be second only to CO2 in terms of climate change until now there had been no definition, making it it difficult to introduce any measure to reduce BC emissions.Black Carbon (BC) is the name given to solid particles emitted during incomplete combustion and is also referred to as 'soot', 'elemental carbon' and 'graphite carbon'. BC contributes to climate change in two ways - first, in the atmosphere where it absorbs sunlight and re-emits the energy as heat. Secondly, when deposited on ice or snow, in addition to warming the surface and air directly, it reduces the surface reflectivity (albedo), causing it to absorb more sunlight.It is believed that, because it is short-lived, remaining in the atmosphere only a few weeks, reducing BC emissions could have a very rapid and significant effect on the rate of warming.IMarEST's Chief Executive, David Loosley said: "The definition arrived at by IMarEST and ICCT ...

IMO BLG 16/15/4 IMO issues document which proposes a definition of Black Carbon, identifiespotential measurement methods, offers evaluation criteria to compare measurement techniques, and suggests an appropriate measurement method for international shipping, based on expert guidance and scientific review.The information provided contributes to the current discussions on Black Carbon by identifying the state of the art for its definition and measurement.For more information, click here.Source: IMO

The Filipino Shipowners Association (FSA) has joined the global call The Filipino Shipowners Association (FSA) has joined the global call for the reduction of greenhouse emissions from international shipping."The Philippines, being the leading provider of nearly 30% of the world's maritime professionals, has a huge stake in any talks affecting the shipping industry. Climate change is an issue that concerns not onlythe shipping industry, but everybody in this planet as well," said Ambassador Carlos C. Salinas, FSA chairman. "The FSA and our members offer our full support for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in its continued efforts in regulating the shipping industry's carbon emissions and we remain positive in our industry's role in addressing the global problem of climate change," said Salinas.As one of the leading and oldest maritime associations in the country, the FSA holds a pivotal role in the development of both the local and overseas shipping sector and the involvement of the Philippines in international maritime affairs.In over 60 years, the FSA has promoted the highest environmental protection standards among its members and sought to cultivate a culture of social responsibility within the country's maritime sector.FSA has joined other internatinal organizations such as Oxfam, the World Wildlife ...

Carbon Group at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory The Carbon Group at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) works to advance our scientific understanding of the ocean carbon cycle and how it is changing over time. PMEL's research includes documenting the evolving state of the ocean carbon chemistry with high quality measurements on ships and autonomous platforms, studying the ocean's role in the global carbon cycle and the processes involved, and investigating how rising atmospheric CO2 and climate change affect the chemistry of the ocean and its marine ecosystems.PMEL's efforts support NOAA's commitment to improve the Nation's ability to anticipate and respond to climate impacts, and to conserve and manage healthy oceans, coastal ecosystems, and marine resources.

Global carbon tax on bunker fuels for the international aviation and shipping industries South Africa could be negatively affected by the proposed global carbon tax on bunker fuels for the international aviation and shipping industries, but there are methods of alleviating this which the government is exploring as part of its negotiating position at the COP17 climate summit.This was revealed by Deputy Minister of Transport Jeremy Cronin, who was speaking at a panel discussion at the launch of a WWF-SA report, "Towards a Green Economy: Envisaging success at COP17" - one of numerous side events at the summit this week.The carbon tax has been proposed as one of the major funding sources for the UN's Green Climate Fund which is designed to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. It is supposed to reach $120 billion by 2020."This (proposed transport tax) has been heavily caucused by WWF, and rightly so," Cronin noted.Although the tax would have negative impacts on some countries like South Africa, Chile and Argentina which had to send their exports long distances to primary markets, there could be a rebate system for developing countries, he suggested."And in our (COP17) negotiating position, we're ...

Countries commit to reduce emissions The U.N.'s top climate official said she expects governments to make a long-delayed decision on whether industrial countries should make further commitments to reduce emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases.Amid fresh warnings of climate-related disasters in the future, delegates from about 190 countries were gathering in Durban for a two-week conference beginning Monday. They hope to break deadlocks on how to curb emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants.Christiana Figueres, head of the U.N. climate secretariat, said Sunday the stakes for the negotiations are high, underscored by new scientific studies.Under discussion was "nothing short of the most compelling energy, industrial, behavioral revolution that humanity has ever seen," she said.Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a hero of the movement that ended apartheid in South Africa, led a rally at a rugby stadium later Sunday urging negotiators to be more ambitious during what were expected to be difficult talks. Unseasonably cold, windy weather kept the crowd to a few hundred spectators.Tutu, dressed in ecumenical purple robes, he said the struggle to end the racist regime in his homeland is now followed by a fight against "another huge enemy, and no country can fight this particular enemy on its own."He chided ...

Even very small changes in the ocean's surface temperature can have an enormous impact elsewhere A new study suggests that the rate of global warming from doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide may be less than the most dire estimates of some previous studies -- and, in fact, may be less severe than projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report in 2007.Authors of the study, which was funded by the National Science Foundation's Paleoclimate Program and published online this week in the journal Science, say that global warming is real and that increases in atmospheric CO2 will have multiple serious impacts.However, the most Draconian projections of temperature increases from the doubling of CO2 are unlikely."Many previous climate sensitivity studies have looked at the past only from 1850 through today, and not fully integrated paleoclimate date, especially on a global scale," said Andreas Schmittner, an Oregon State University researcher and lead author on the Science article. "When you reconstruct sea and land surface temperatures from the peak of the last Ice Age 21,000 years ago -- which is referred to as the Last Glacial Maximum -- and compare it with climate model simulations of that period, you get a much ...

Sustainable development is a top priority The United Nations today launched a campaign ahead of its major conference on sustainable development (Rio+20) in June next year, inviting governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and people everywhere to engage in a global conversation about the communities they want to see in the future."Sustainable development is a top priority for a simple reason - it cuts across all the challenges and priorities," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a press briefing this morning. "We know that what we face - food insecurity, water scarcity, energy shortages, climate change, increasing carbon emissions and unhealthy oceans - all these are the priority challenges which we have to address."The campaign - Rio+20: The Future We Want - aims to encourage people to envision how societies can build a future that promotes prosperity for everyone without degrading the planet's natural environment, and to contribute their ideas through various mediums - photos, letters, essays and drawings - which will be combined to form an exhibit at the conference next year, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil."Opportunities like Rio+20 do not come along often," Mr. Ban said. "The Rio+20 conference offers us a unique chance to discuss the challenges which ...