In the US, notwithstanding gains made by natural gas in the last decade, coal is still king. Approximately 49% of US electricity is powered by coal, down only 2% in the last 10 years despite the lower marginal cost of additional gas-fired generating capacity, and a number of initiatives at a state and federal levels to encourage renewables, reduce SOx and NOx emissions and cap CO2 emissions. The popularity of coal as an energy source for power generation is due to its relatively low cost as a commodity and its abundance – there are enough identified coal reserves globally to last another 130 years at current extraction rates, over a quarter of which lie in the US.
The recent announcement by the US National Academy of Sciences that coal is also inflicting upon wider US society $62 billion worth of damages annually, will not be viewed as good news by the industry. But, ironically, this may justify arguments for funding further research into ‘clean coal’ technology in order to avoid some of the immediate negative health and environmental impacts of traditional coal burning technology. This would give the national energy mix time to become less reliant on coal as an energy source while mitigating the immediate negative consequences of coal-fired generation. In the interest of the US taxpayer, it may even justify US Government support in order to do so.
Desperate Times, Desperate Measures
The UK’s Parliamentary Committee on Climate Change concluded in its first annual report in October that a “step change” was needed in the pace of emissions reductions in order to meet Government’s targets. Although the economic recession has helped dampen emissions, the UK does not appear to be on track to meet its longstanding 20% greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target for 2010, or the EU-imposed 15% renewable energy target by 2020.
To add to the gloom, the upcoming Copenhagen Summit looks unlikely to produce a concrete deal on a post-2012 framework to reduce global emissions for at least another year. So overall nothing appears to be entirely on track when it comes to carbon. However, any sense that the UK Government is back-pedalling on this issue would be misplaced. There are a number of important initiatives that might begin to put us back on track to meet the targets outlined above.
Although the amount of funding being ceded to the Carbon Trust (£18m over the next 12-18 months) appears unlikely to produce the ‘step change’ required on its own, the Government has pledged a total of £120 million in investment in wind energy technology over the next two years. This in turn is part of over £900m worth of new funding to be provided over the next five years to hasten an offshore wind revolution and kick-start solar power.
In addition, the recently finalised Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme, which starts in April 2010, and the creation of ‘feed in’ tariffs that would encourage distributed generation (also expected in April 2010), will provide additional regulatory support, as will legislation to require pervasive commercial and residential smart metering by 2020.
And the UK has further committed to injecting £4 billion of new capital into the European Investment Bank to help green schemes overcome lack of project finance due to the credit crunch.
At face value, these commitments appear to signal a serious push to mitigate carbon in the short to medium term. Let’s now all hope for some serious results.
£18 million investment boost for UK clean tech sector
The Carbon Trust announced on October 19 that it will inject up to £18 million ($29.34 million) in funding for the UK’s clean technology sector. The additional funds have been provided by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and will be invested in the next 12 to 18 months to help bridge the financing gap that many early-stage UK clean energy businesses face. The funding constitutes over a quarter of the UK’s entire venture capital clean energy investment last year, which was £66.5 million, the lowest figure in more than five years. The UK is developing a range of renewable energy technologies including fuel cells, photovoltaics, marine and wind power, as well as new energy efficiency and demand management solutions such as smart grid technology. Analysis by the Carbon Trust estimates that the UK could generate up to £70 billion for the economy and in the region of 250,000 jobs by 2050. Investment will focus on organisations that offer strong commercial returns and on technologies where the UK has natural strength and the possibility of becoming a world leader. Contact: The Carbon Trust www.carbontrust.co.uk
Coal plants do billions of dollars of damage a year to US environment
According to a report, ‘Hidden costs of energy: unpriced consequences of energy production and use’ released by the National Academy of Sciences on October 19, US coal-fired power plants do more than $62 billion in environmental damages a year in hidden costs, such as adverse affects on crop and timber yields, buildings and materials as well as the impact on human health including the cost of illnesses and premature deaths. The study examines 406 coal plants in 2005 (the latest year for which data was available) and found that a relatively small number of these plants, 10% of the total accounted for 43% of the financial damage. The report also estimated that the damage is likely to much worse in 2030 than the present day; even if total annual emissions remain the same, the damage done by each tonne of coal will increase by 50-80%. Contact: National Academy of Sciences www.nationalacademies.org
Coca Cola Hellenic opens new energy saving plant
Coca Cola Hellenic and the power development company ContourGlobal have opened an energy saving power plant in Romania as part of initiatives to reduce carbon dioxide emissions across 80 of Coca Cola’s production plants. The combined heat and power (CHP) plant is the first of 15 to be introduced in 12 countries, including eight European Union member states. The plant will result in a 20% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. The development of the plant in Ploiesti follows a pilot project conducted in Hungary in 2006 which reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 43% which is equivalent to a 20% reduction across all of Coca Cola’s 80 beverage production plants. The CHP plant provides very efficient, clean electricity as well as heating and cooling for the company’s production facility. The electricity produced is also delivered to the local grid, providing energy efficient power for the surrounding community in the region. Contact: Coca Cola Hellenic www.coca-colahellenic.com
Tesco announces zero carbon plans and 100% biomass powered import warehouse
Tesco’s CEO Sir Terry Leahy announced on October 16 that Tesco is aiming to become a zero carbon business by 2050. At the launch of the report ‘Consumers, business and climate change’, published by Manchester University’s Sustainable Consumption Institute Tesco will introduce a range of initiatives in order to meet the aim, including a ‘Buy one, get one free – later’ offer to discourage waste as well as a range of measures to help consumers and the company’s suppliers to reduce their carbon emissions. Tesco also announced on October 14 that is it entering into an agreement with MGT Power, a biomass project developer to supply 100% of its power requirements for its Teesport import warehouse. The Tees Rewewable Energy Plant aims to enter commercial operation in 2012 and will produce the same amount of renewable electricity over a year as a 1,000MW wind farm. Contact: Tesco www.tescoplc.com MGT Power www.mgtpower.com
Environmental Defence Fund’s Climate corps identifies $54 million in savings at leading corporations
The Environmental Defence Fund (EDF) announced the results of its Climate Corps programme from summer 2009 on October 14. Over thirty students from across the US joined EDF’s Climate Corps programme to help Fortune 500 and other leading organisations including eBay Inc., Cisco Systems, Della and Sony Pictures Entertainment. The students identified energy efficiency projects which would constitute net savings of over $54 million over the lifetime of the projects. These improvements could also reduce the use of energy by over 160 million kilowatt hours (kWh) a year; enough to power 14,000 homes and avoid more than 100,000 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over the course of a year. EDF’s Climate Corps trains business students to analyse energy efficiency opportunities at host companies. Last years Climate Corps students identified projects that could save 120 million kWh per year of energy. To date, projects that account for 97% of this total have either been installed or in the process of being implemented at the host organisations. Contact: Environmental Defence Fund www.edf.org
Eco travel agent ditches carbon offsetting
Responsibletravel.com announced on October 16 that it plans to remove the carbon offsetting facility it offers to customers on the website. The organisation was one of the first travel companies to introduce carbon offsets in 2002 and is now one of the first to stop offering them for environmental reasons. The company stated that the travel industry’s priority should be to reduce carbon emissions, rather than simply offset and that offsetting distracts travellers from the need to reduce their emissions. Responsibletravel.com has used Friends of the Earth to produce a list of hints and tips for tourists on ‘carbon caution’ such as taking holidays closer to home, flying less or opting for ‘land only’ routes to their destination. Contact: Responsible Travel www.responsibletravel.com
The world’s first osmotic power plant opens
The world’s first osmotic power plant was opened in Norway on November 24. The plant generates power by using the energy available when fresh water and seawater are mixed, producing a renewable and emissions free energy source. The plant is a prototype, created by StatKraft, a renewable energy company that develops and produces hydropower, wind power and district heating as well as marine energy and other innovative energy sources. The plant has been in development for over a year, it will have limited production capacity and is intended to be used mainly for testing and development, with the ultimate aim of constructing a commercial osmotic power plant within a few years. The worldwide potential for osmotic power is estimated to be 1,600 to 1,700 TWh a year, which equates to 50% of the EU’s total power production. Osmotic power plants can theoretically be situated wherever fresh water runs into the sea, produce no noise or polluting emissions and can be integrated into exiting industrial areas, such as the basements of industrial buildings. Contact: Statkraft www.statkraft.com
Greenpeace Calls Noel Kempff Climate Action Project a Carbon Scam
Greenpeace released a report on October 15 which highlights the environmental and financial risks associated with REDD (reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation) offset projects. The report, ‘Carbon Scam: Noel Kempff Climate Action Project and the Push for Sub-national forest offsets’ reviews the Noel Kempff Climate Action Project (NKCAP) in Bolivia which is sponsored by American Electric Power, BP and PacifiCorp. The report states that the project did not result in the promised emission reductions and concludes that REDD offsets are too unreliable to include in cap and trade systems. Greenpeace found that from 1997 to 2009, the estimated emissions reduction of NKCAP fell by over 90%, from approximately 55 million to 5.8 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, also Greenpeace state that project sponsors did not produce robust evidence that deforestation that was avoided did not move to other regions or countries. Greenpeace believes that REDD should be financed from a large, predictable supply of income from pollution permits which would enable funds to be used more efficiently and broadly to put a stop to deforestation across the world, avoiding the issues of forest offsets. Contact: Greenpeace USA www.greenpeace.org
First passenger flight fuelled by natural gas completed
Qatar Airways completed a six hour flight from London to Qatar on October 12, running the Airbus A340-800 used a 50-50 blend of synthetic gas to liquids (GTL) kerosene and conventional oil-based kerosene fuel which was developed and produced by Royal Dutch Shell. The State of Qatar is likely to become the world’s leading producer of GTL kerosene when commercial production of the fuel starts in 2012. The fuel will contribute towards a diversification of aviation fuel sources and burns will lower sulphur dioxide and particulate emissions than standard oil-based kerosene and so may improve local air quality at airports. The aviation industry has come under increasing pressure to reduce its emissions, on September 22 this year The International Air Transport Association (IATA) presented the UN Secretary General’s Summit on Climate Change with a commitment that included the target to cut carbon emissions in half by 2050 compared with 2005 levels. Contact: Qatar Airways www.qatarairways.com The International Air Transport Association www.iata.org
Disney buys $7 million in reforestation offsets, a corporate record
Walt Disney announced on November 3 it would be donating about $7 million to various forest conservation programs, aiming to offset a portion of its emissions. The investment is being made in partnership with NGOs including Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy and The Conservation Fund. Peter Seligmann, CEO and Chairman of Conservation International said “this commitment by Disney represents the largest single corporate contribution ever made to reduce emissions from deforestation and will help build confidence in these activities that generate such compelling climate, local community and biodiversity benefits”. The offsets are directed at; the Tayna and Kisimba-Ikobo Community Reserves in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where 3 million tons of CO2 will be mitigated over 20 years; the Alta Mayo conservation project in Peru, which aims to protect 740,000 acres of forests and prevent 900,000 tons of CO2 over the five-year span of the agreement; reforestation in the Lower Mississippi Delta, where more than 2,000 acres of former forestland will be replanted; and, forest management efforts in North California, where new forestry management practices are being developed to preserve the Redwood forests in Mendocino County. Contact: Walt Disney Corporation corporate.disney.go.com
UK Government needs to take drastic action to tackle climate change
A study by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), released on November 13 has found that the UK Government must start to take action to tackle climate change and the emissions crisis as if it is at war. The authors of the ‘Climate Change, have we lost the battle?’ report call for much tougher tactics and political support for climate change solutions, potentially in the forms of a new Department of Energy and Climate Security to give the UK a chance of achieving its target of an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The report found that if the Government keeps current policies in place, this target it is not likely to be met until 2100, the report predicts that 100,000 artificial trees would need to be built by 2050 to absorb the predicted 333 mT shortfall in carbon dioxide emissions. One of the impacts of the Government’s inaction may include environmental refugees in drought and flood afflicted areas who would migrate to the UK in the midst of possible food and water shortages. IMechE proposes a 100 year approach which would decarbonise the economy at a realistic rate and potentially offer two million new jobs by 2050. Contact: Institute of Mechanical Engineers www.imeche.org
Yohan Hill is a consultant at Corporate Citizenship. Email him at Yohan.hill@corporate-citizenship.com to discuss carbon footprinting, sustainability services and socially responsible investment.
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