Climate news this week: Post-Power Shift edition--3/6

In the aftermath of Power Shift ’09, it’s been a week of some good and some bad news.

Echoing the demands of the 12,000 youth who demanded bold climate legislation last weekend, Todd Stern, the top U.S. negotiator of international climate agreements, urged Congress to pass legislation to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, his support was not as strong as we would have liked.

"It's been a long time now that countries have been looking to the U.S. to lead," Todd Stern, President Barack Obama's special envoy for climate change, said in response to questions from audience members after a speech at a conference on global warming. Mr. Stern acknowledged that passage of climate-change legislation before December would be "an extremely tall order," but added that "nothing would give a more powerful signal to other countries than to see a significant, major, mandatory plan" from the U.S. before the start of international talks that are intended to forge a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which committed many industrialized nations to cutting their emissions.

A road map agreed to by industrialized countries at a 2007 summit in Bali, Indonesia, suggests that industrialized countries to reduce their emissions by between 25% and 40% by 2020. But Mr. Stern said in his speech that it was "not possible" for the U.S. to cut its emissions as quickly as suggested under the Bali road map. Mr. Stern reiterated Mr. Obama's goal of returning U.S. emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020, adding that the U.S. could compensate with swifter reductions in the years beyond 2020. Mr. Obama's recent budget proposal calls for reducing U.S. emissions roughly 80% by 2050 over 2005 levels.

"We need to be very mindful of what the dictates of science are, and of the art of the possible," Mr. Stern said. Referring to the targets called for in the Bali plan, Mr. Stern added "it's not possible to get that kind of number. It's not going to happen."

We’re also disappointed to hear that the recently passed stimulus package will likely fund $1 billion worth of “clean coal” research development in Illinois.

If FutureGen lived up to its promises, it would revolutionize the use of coal. On what is now 400 acres of cornfields in Mattoon, Ill., backers plan to build a commercial-size power plant that would produce 275 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 150,000 homes. Instead of releasing the resulting carbon dioxide emissions into the air as pollution, however, the plant would pump them into deep geologic formations thousands of feet below Earth's surface.

The project's goal is to test and develop affordable technology, on a commercial scale, that can remove 90 percent of emissions produced by coal plants. Chu said he thinks that the plant -- which would be built with a group of private coal and utility companies known as the FutureGen Alliance -- will move forward with some changes that have not yet been determined and will become a part of larger "portfolio" of research plants developed with other countries.

The FutureGen plant is expected to create jobs, and backers are currently pushing it as a stimulus project that could employ as many as 11,000 workers. The alliance must compete for the stimulus funds, but Chu's support adds significant momentum to the effort.

Fortunately, however, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) moved in a much greener direction yesterday when he proposed a new plan for the construction and management of a renewable energy grid.

The Senate's top Democrat on Thursday proposed new federal authority to build special power lines that carry renewable energy — like solar and wind power — from remote places.

The Federal government would be able override states and direct where the lines would go and who would pay for them.

In unveiling the proposal, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said an increased federal role in locating power lines was needed to encourage greater availability of electricity produced from wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable energy sources.

"Reforming our energy policies to build a cleaner, greener national transmission system — an electric superhighway — must be a top national priority," Reid said in a statement.

Meanwhile, South Africa is also moving full steam ahead on national climate legislation, expressing what they believe will be a failure of the international community to reach a full-scale deal in Copenhagen.

“We don't need to wait for the international community to come to some kind of agreement for us to take action," said Deputy Foreign Affairs Director General Sandea de Wet.

Government, unions, industry and environmental groups met at the four-day summit to help shape South Africa's climate change policy framework, to be finalized within a year or two.

"It is prudent to adjust our sails given our own energy needs to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly developmental path without compromising our immediate requirements for poverty alleviation and development," she said.

South Africa, the largest emitter on the continent and 12th in the world, depends on coal for 90 percent of its electricity.

Moves to diversify the energy mix have stalled due to a lack of policy framework and incentives for investors, which the government now hopes to change.

Lastly, Former Vice-President Al Gore, ever the climate pioneer, has lent his support to a new idea for fighting climate change.

A group seeking the creation of a .eco Internet domain to promote environmental awareness has won the backing of former US vice president Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection.

Dot Eco LLC, which has applied to the regulatory Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers for the .eco extension, made the announcement at ICANN's current meeting in Mexico City.

Dot Eco said it has entered into an "integrated partnership" with Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection to secure the .eco domain.

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Dot Eco plans to apply to ICANN for the creation of .eco later this year.

The group said .eco "will be established for individuals to express their support for environmental causes, for companies to promote their environmental initiatives, and for environmental organizations to maintain their websites in a namespace that is more relevant to their core missions."

Proceeds from registration fees would be used to fund research on climate change and other environmentally related areas.

That’s a wrap for this week. Please post any other stories in the shared comments section!