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Global Warming facts

The bone of contention


HindustanTimes.com
October 23, 2009
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Though a post-Kyoto agreement may not be reached at the COP15 meeting, it is to be seen whether the developed Annex I countries, which have emitted the major portion of the human-induced carbon dioxide currently in the atmosphere, agree to cuts on greenhouse gas emissions.

The European Union, part of the Annex I countries, has displayed more willingness to take action to control climate change. However, the Umbrella Group nations, such as, the United States, Canada and Australia, have not played very cooperating role.

Particularly, the United States has refused to make binding commitments. They need major developing economies, such as India and China, to be included in an agreement.

The developing nations most actively represent the G-77 block and have indicated a willingness to cut omissions. Their demand is that the developed countries should take a leadership role.

They contend that early action only by developed countries will not be enough to prevent climate change.

Green bonus for saving forests

The Centre will give Himalayan states — from Jammu and Kashmir in the north to Sikkim in the Northeast — a “green bonus” from next fiscal for conserving forests that act as carbon sinks.

The environment ministry in August estimated that forests, which cover 25 per cent of the country’s area, could absorb up to 11 per cent of India’s green house gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

The “green bonus”, announced by Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday, will strengthen India’s proposal of seeking funds from the rich countries for conserving forests under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) at the Copenhagen climate change conference in December.

Till now, the mechanism enables developing countries to get fund for offsetting green house gas emissions through use of cleaner technologies.

“We may start with a small amount to begin with,” the minister said at end of a conclave of the Himalayan states.

“My concept is that the states which are conserving ecology... should be compensated.’’

The 13th Finance Commission will decide the amount of the bonus. It is expected to submit its report by December. It would be left to the states to distribute the “green bonus” to the stakeholders.

Methane climate impact: Worse than we thought


Jacob P Koshy , Hindustan Times
New Delhi, October 30, 2009
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The potency of methane, a greenhouse gas, has been underestimated by nearly a third in global climate agreements like the Kyoto Protocol, say scientists at Columbia University and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, US.

That miscalculation occurred because climate modelling studies — the scientific basis for limiting certain gases — have not accounted for the role of aerosols — fine particles suspended in the air — in driving global warming.

The findings are significant because scientists and experts in India say that including the effects of aerosols in global warming projections could make it tougher for Indian negotiators at climate talks. To be sure, this would impact India only if the terms of debate on climate change — arrived at in Kyoto, Japan, in 1990 — are altered to allow for the finding that aerosols increase the potency of methane.

India’s problem

A NASA study has raised the global-warming potential of methane by 30 per cent.

Dependence on agriculture, transport and industry make India a significant methane emitter.

Methane emissions have been rising in India, falling in the US.

But the NASA study revealing the methane miscalculation will have to be admitted into negotiations. It isn't yet

Today’s issue of Science reports that the scientists used computer model simulation to calculate, for the first time, the impact of various aerosols such as nitrous oxide emissions and sulphates, and raised methane’s global warming potential by about 30 per cent from current estimates.

Policy experts involved with global climate change negotiations say that attempts, especially by the European Union, to link aerosols and greenhouse gas have been on the rise for three years. “That's an emerging tactic and will undoubtedly spill over into future climate negotiations,” said Prodipto Ghosh, distinguished fellow, The Energy Research Institute, New Delhi, and former secretary to the environment ministry.

Ghosh said the link was tenuous because the effect of aerosols is short-lived and can’t be compared to that of lingering greenhouse gases. “But these debates are going to surface repeatedly.”

Negotiations to allocate fresh pollution limits are expected to begin in December at Copenhagen, Denmark. India, facing international pressure on its current no-emission-cut-without-finance stance, has indicated significant policy shifts over the last few months and committed to do its bit to keep the global temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius by 2050.

Global warming potential indicates the role of a gas in heating up the atmosphere over time, relative to carbon dioxide (CO2). For instance, methane’s heat trapping, or so-called radiative forcing, abilities are 72 times greater than carbon dioxide over 20 years, but only 25 times as strong over a century. Contrastingly, nitrous oxide stokes global warming 289 times over 20 years and 298 times over 100 years, indicating a larger, long-term impact compared with methane.

Though CO2’s radiative forcing abilities may seem insignificant, it’s the most threatening as it is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.

Methane, in spite of being the second most prevalent greenhouse gas, is only about 0.4 per cent by volume of the total carbon dioxide present.

The inter-governmental panel on climate change puts methane’s radiative forcing at 0.48 watt per metre, or less than half the new estimates.

Drew Shindell, lead author of the study, said that though carbon dioxide is the big villain, methane’s much higher contributions can’t be ignored. “Aerosol impact on carbon dioxide is insignificant, but our study says methane’s contribution to warming, to date, is two-thirds of CO2,” he said in response to an email questionnaire from Mint. “A stronger effect of methane emissions means that if future emissions go up, warming will be faster than projected, but if they go down, warming will be slower.”

However, the authors didn’t quantify the increase in global temperatures over time as a result of methane’s increased contribution. “That would depend on the scenario,” said Shindell. “However, with current aerosol levels, warming would be faster where methane and carbon monoxide emissions increase.”

India’s dependence on agriculture and limited fuel efficiency norms for transport and industry make it a significant emitter of methane as well as aerosol pollutants such as diesel, sulphate and nitrate particulate matter.

According to latest estimates from the environment ministry, methane emissions from the agriculture sector — the biggest source — rose 16 per cent between 1994 and 2000.

Other scientists, however, said more models were needed to validate the implications of the study. “Over the past few years, there have been other studies that have tried to link aerosols and global warming. Most have been simplistic and so require several more analyses for validation,” said J. Srinivasan, professor, Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

India's stand at Copenhagen

India's stand at Copenhagen is clear. It is based on the “polluter pays” principle. India makes it clear that what is being negotiated at Copenhagen is not a new international framework for climate change and it is also not a post-Kyoto treaty.

India maintains that what will be negotiated in Copenhagen is fresh emission reduction target for the developed nations along with a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol. An Action Plan would enable more effective implementation of the UNFCCC objectives.

GOI on Climate related stuff

CountryPolicy NameTypeTargetStatusY
IndiaEnergy Conservation Awards•Education and Outreach In force
IndiaGovernment Assistance for Small Hydropower Stations•Incentives/Subsidies
•Financial
•Energy ProductionIn force
IndiaGovernment Assistance for Wind Power Development•Incentives/Subsidies
•Financial
•Energy ProductionIn force
IndiaGeneration based incentives for wind power•Incentives/Subsidies•Energy ProductionIn force2008
IndiaNational Action Plan on Climate Change•Policy Processes•Framework PolicyIn force2008
IndiaSolar Power Generation Based Incentive•Incentives/Subsidies•Energy ProductionIn force2008
IndiaEnergy Conservation Building Code•Regulatory Instruments•BuildingsIn force2007
IndiaEthanol Production•Incentives/Subsidies
•Policy Processes
•Regulatory Instruments
•TransportIn force2007
IndiaPre-Payment Electricity Metering•Regulatory Instruments•Buildings
•Multi-sectoral Policy
In force2007
IndiaIntegrated Energy Policy•Policy Processes In force2006
IndiaTariff Policy 2006•Incentives/Subsidies
•Regulatory Instruments
•Energy ProductionIn force2006
IndiaAsia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate•Education and Outreach
•Policy Processes
•RD & D
In force2005
IndiaNational Electricity Policy•Policy Processes In force2005
IndiaCentral Financial Assistance (CFA) for Biogas Plants•Education and Outreach
•Financial
•Policy Processes
•Regulatory Instruments
•Incentives/Subsidies
•Energy ProductionIn force2004
IndiaElectricity Act 2003•Regulatory Instruments In force2003
IndiaEnergy Conservation Act•Education and Outreach
•Regulatory Instruments
•Framework PolicyIn force2001

Assessment Reports

IPCC Fourth Assessment Report

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

IPCC
Assessment reports:
First (1990)
1992 sup.
Second (1995)
Third (2001)
Fourth (2007)
Fifth (2014)
UNFCCC | WMO | UNEP

Climate Change 2007, the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), is the fourth in a series of reports intended to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change, its potential effects, and options for adaptation and mitigation. The report is the largest and most detailed summary of the climate change situation ever undertaken, involving thousands of authors from dozens of countries, and states in its summary,

  • "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal."
  • "Most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations."

Some criticisms of the Report have been made.

Climate Change 2007: Report Overview

The Fourth Assessment Report (Climate Change 2007)[1] is released in four distinct sections:

For each section, the IPCC will release the main report and a summary version, known as the Summary for Policymakers. Full reports and summaries of Working Groups I-III have been released, plus a summary of the Synthesis Report.

The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), will be the fifth in a series of such reports. The IPCC was established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change, its potential effects and options for adaptation and mitigation.

The IPCC is currently starting to outline its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) which will be finalized in 2014.