Summary
In today’s edition, the EU green transport target ‘may have increased greenhouse gas emissions’ (in the Carbon section). Why? Because the dirtiest biofuels produce three times the emissions of diesel oil, according to the most complete EU analysis yet carried out. Also in the Carbon section, France wants to modify the EU carbon market’s Market Stability Reserve to introduce a “soft collar” for allowance prices because it says existing reforms fall short, a senior French government source told Carbon Pulse. And politics is never far, with (in the Natural gas / coal section) Hillary Clinton, who says she’ll “put a lot of coal companies and coal miners out of business”.
Quote of the day
“We need to rapidly accelerate the phase-out of first generation biofuels. Biodiesel is a big elephant in the room. It accounts for three quarters of the biofuel we use in the EU and this report pinpoints that its emissions are much worse than fossil fuels.”
Jos Dings, director of the green think tank Transport and Environment (T&E), in the Guardian’s story EU green transport target ‘may have increased greenhouse gas emissions’ (in the Carbon section)
Lead stories
Sanders, Clinton, Rubio, and Kasich answer climate debate questions
By Dana Nuccitelli – The Guardian
Last week, the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates participated in debates in Florida.
http://bit.ly/1WlnpHD
Climate change and the 2016 election
By Richard C. J. Somerville and Catherine Gautier – Bulletin of Atomic Scientists
As this is written, all four remaining candidates in the race for the Republican presidential nomination vehemently reject the fundamental findings of modern climate science.
http://bit.ly/1S0h03F
Major green groups back Dem in Illinois Senate race
By Timothy Cama – The Hill
Three major environmental groups are backing Illinois Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D) in her bid to unseat Sen. Mark Kirk (R).
http://bit.ly/1MiMbm6
***LB: Also in this story “The League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Action Fund and the Sierra Club on Monday said they trust Duckworth most to push legislation to fight climate change and maintain strong air and water pollution standards.”
Clean Development Mechanism to have evolving role in international climate action
UN Press Release
The Board that oversees the United Nation’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is looking for innovative ways to support the international response to climate change.
http://bit.ly/1V7fQpL
How a Voluntary Carbon Fee is Helping Microsoft and the Planet
By Tamara “TJ” DiCaprio – Huffington Post (blog)
At the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21) this past December, 196 nations reached a global climate deal that sent a strong signal to the world–now is the time to prepare for the low-carbon economy of the future.
http://huff.to/1V7g6Fl
Heat Waves, Droughts and Heavy Rain Have Clear Links to Climate Change, Says National Academies
By Gayathri Vaidyanathan – ClimateWire
Scientists can now say with confidence whether heat waves, such as the one that struck Russia in 2010 and caused 55,000 deaths, are linked to climate change.
http://bit.ly/1pHhdiN
Ancient Ice Could Help Explain Why Earth’s Climate Is Warming
By Brian K Sullivan – Bloomberg News
It could be a key to unlocking a mystery about the world’s climate: a piece of ice so old it formed when ice ages were more frequent, about a million years ago.
http://bloom.bg/1SNwM3S
Events
Northeast RECs Regional Thought Leader Round Table
March 23, 2016
Environmental Markets Association
Office of Dentons, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York
http://jlne.ws/1mg7iOT
Navigating the American Carbon World (NACW) 2016
Climate Action Reserve
May 4-6, 2016
San Diego, California
http://goo.gl/Ah5s1I
CARBON EXPO 2016
Global Carbon Market Fair and Conference
May 25-27, 2016
Cologne
http://jlne.ws/1mg8bqR
Cleantech Innovate Scotland
June 9, 2016
http://jlne.ws/1mg6nOG
Carbon
EU green transport target ‘may have increased greenhouse gas emissions’
By Arthur Neslen – The Guardian
European Union renewable energy targets may have increased greenhouse gas emissions because the dirtiest biofuels produce three times the emissions of diesel oil, according to the most complete EU analysis yet carried out.
http://bit.ly/1LmNgi6
“We can’t wait any longer”: France floats EU ETS price support proposal
Carbon Pulse
France wants to modify the EU carbon market’s Market Stability Reserve to introduce a “soft collar” for allowance prices because it says existing reforms fall short, a senior French government source told Carbon Pulse.
http://bit.ly/1LmOee8
Natural gas / coal
Do giant gas bubbles explain the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle?
The Guardian
Researchers say methane rising to the surface of the ocean could explain the sudden loss of ships in the western North Atlantic. And anywhere else, for that matter.
http://bit.ly/22gk7cq
Natural gas from Russia’s veins increasingly flows into Europe’s heart
Pravda.Ru
Many in Russia believe that what is good for Gazprom is bad for the country. This is not quite true. Yet, what is bad for Gazprom, is bad for Russia on the whole, as Gazprom plays a huge role in Russia’s economy.
http://bit.ly/1MiQA8R
Clinton Says She’ll “Put a Lot of Coal Companies and Coal Miners Out of Business”
By Tim McDonnell – Mother Jones
Just one day after Hillary Clinton issued a lengthy apology for a controversial comment she made about Nancy Reagan’s contribution to the fight against AIDS, the Democratic front-runner made another unforced error during a CNN town hall event on Sunday night.
http://bit.ly/1YSmEaB
Hillary Clinton’s Mistake On Fracking For Natural Gas
By Jude Clemente – Forbes
“By the time we get through all of my conditions, I do not think there will be many places in America where fracking will continue to take place,” Hillary Clinton, March 6, 2016.
http://onforb.es/1pq0noO
Power
Solarcentury clinches deal to deliver flagship Kenyan solar PV project
By Jocelyn Timperley – BusinessGreen
Solarcentury has continued its push into the fast expanding African renewable energy market, after signing a deal to build three new solar PV systems in Kenya.
http://bit.ly/1Risaxg
Experts: Final Clean Power Plan Is A Trojan Horse For American Natural Gas
By Michael Krancer – Forbes
It was widely acknowledged that the Clean Power Plan (CPP), the Obama administration’s program to cut greenhouse emissions, was hard on coal.
http://onforb.es/1pq0vF5
Portable power with solar panels you can roll up
By Anmar Frangoul – CNBC.com
U.K company Renovagen is looking to harness the power of the sun – wherever it shines – with “rollable” solar arrays that can be rapidly deployed in a variety of locations.
http://cnb.cx/1pjM9p5
Analyzing the Global Market for Concentrated Solar Power 2016 – Research and Markets
Business Wire
Business and Markets has announced the addition of the “Analyzing the Global Market for Concentrated Solar Power 2016” report to their offering.
http://bit.ly/1pjMvMc
Clean tech
Toyota Partners in Making Wind-Power Hydrogen for Fuel Cells
By Yuri Kageyama – AP
Toyota Motor Corp. is responding to the main criticism of fuel cell cars, that making the hydrogen for the fuel is not clean, with plans to help make the hydrogen using wind power.
http://abcn.ws/1XqRwO6
Water
Rising Sea Levels May Disrupt Lives of Millions, Study Says
By Tatiana Schlossberg – The New York Times
Sea-level rise, a problem exacerbated by greenhouse gas emissions, could disrupt the lives of more than 13 million people in the United States, three times more than most current estimates, according to a study published Monday.
http://nyti.ms/1pHeNAL
Key Flint figures come to Congress
By Timothy Cama – The Hill
In a pair of hearings at the House Oversight Committee, top officials involved in the Flint, Mich., drinking water crisis are slated to discuss the causes and aftermath of the lead contamination.
http://bit.ly/1pjIAPx