Research Theme I: The low carbon emissions economy
Most companies fail when reporting GHG inventories, report says
May 1, 2013. Regulatory and market pressures are forcing more companies to measure, disclose, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, new research from the Environmental Investment Organization (EIO) finds that the level of public disclosure of GHG emissions among the world’s largest 800 companies is unacceptably poor. Its Environmental Tracking Carbon Rankings
report, which examines the greenhouse gas emissions and transparency of these 800 companies, found that just 37 percent reported their full emissions inventories and correctly adopted the principles of emissions reporting. In total, only 21 percent of the Global 800 had their data externally verified. Only one firm, German chemical company BASF, reported emissions across its entire value chain, earning the top spot in the 2013 rankings. US based First Energy and Edison International rank at the bottom of the list with no publicly reported emissions data. Of the Canadian firms involved in the study, 41 percent reported complete data, and just over half of that group verified those data.
In 2010, BC emitted 62 million tonnes of GHG emissions, a 4.5 percent reduction in emissions from 2007 to 2010. Legislation requires facilities that emit 10,000 tonnes or more greenhouse gases each year must report those emissions, and those with emissions of 25,000 tonnes or greater must have their emissions reports verified. While there is no requirement for smaller businesses to report emissions data, Climate Smart
is a Vancouver based social enterprise that provides training and tools to enterprises interested in reducing their climate impact. The Climate Smart program teaches businesses to identify and calculate their GHG emission inventories and then helps them develop strategies to reduce these emissions. To date, Climate Smart has helped over 550 businesses collectively measure more than 790,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Research Theme II: Sustainable communities
Adaptation strategies underway in Europe
May 6, 2013. The European Environment Agency (EEA) recently released a report
discussing climate change adaptation in Europe. Highlights from the study show that while half of the 32 EEA member countries have national adaptation strategies and some are starting to take action, all countries still have a lot of work to do. The effects of climate change are already being felt through fiercer storms, heatwaves, and changing levels of rainfall. The report outlines a series of key challenges to adaptation planning in Europe including maintaining flexibility, ensuring policy coherence and effectiveness, and obtaining wide stakeholder engagement. The report goes on to recommend a combination of adaptation measures including “grey” technological solutions; “green” adaptation of natural systems; and “soft” policy type approaches. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach and adaptation must respond to local conditions,
keeping in mind the urgency of the response required. While the cost of adaptation may be high, the report emphasizes the overall savings when events such as flooding are avoided.
Adaptation measures from the report are being undertaken to some degree in British Columbia by various government departments, organizations, community groups, and institutions that recognise that climate change is already affecting BC communities. For example, dikes are presently under construction in the Cowichan Valley, promising to provide 200-year protection against rising sea levels. In the “green” category, permaculture initiatives are springing up around the province and represent community efforts to adapt to a changing climate. Roberts Creek
has planted edible native plants in traditionally ornamental gardens thus adding to local food security and providing resilience. O.U.R EcoVillage on Vancouver Island is another such example of adaptation of natural systems. Finally, one such example on the policy side is the Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction, and Response Network (MEOPAR), which is working to model ocean currents and create an early warning system for storm surge in the Strait of Georgia.
Research Theme III: Resilient ecosystems
Carbon dioxide levels reach historic 400ppm threshold
May 2, 2013. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography has been recording the increasing atmospheric concentration of CO2 at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii since March 1958. Average concentrations are published in an iconic graph known as the Keeling Curve, and made available on the Scripps Institution website, while @keeling_curve
tweets the daily average. In 1958 the concentration was about 315 ppm (parts per million) but on May 13, 2013, the daily average (400.07 ppm) exceeded the 400 ppm threshold for the first time in at least 800,000 years. While surpassing that threshold is only symbolic, it sends a message to humanity that is incontrovertible: human activities are fundamentally pushing up the heat-trapping properties of the Earth’s atmosphere. Research suggests that the last time the CO2 concentrations exceeded 400 ppm
was between three and five million years ago, and the rate of change then was not nearly so rapid. The current rate of increase is worrying to many scientists, especially because it shows no signs of slowing. Ralph Keeling, who manages the Mauna Loa record, says, “I wish it weren't true, but it looks like the world is going to blow through the 400 ppm level without losing a beat.”
The continued increase in CO2 concentrations does not bode well for the official UN goal to keep levels under 450 ppm, and reflects our current global failure to effectively reduce GHG emissions. BC’s official emissions did decrease by 4.5% percent from 2007 to 2010, but this rate will still fall well short of the stated goal to be 33% below 2007 levels by 2020. In BC, critics point
to the planned production of large amounts of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a major barrier to meeting GHG emissions targets. With the upcoming BC election, the economic and climate policies of each party have come under close scrutiny. All parties, with the exception of the Green Party, support the development of LNG, and the Pembina Institute has stated that the Greens and NDP are the leaders on climate policy. The obvious need for more ambitious and effective climate policy has been an influence in the current election campaign.
Research Theme IV: Social mobilization
Political parties release climate platforms as British Columbians go to polls
May 7, 2013. British Columbians head to the polls today (May 14th), and the decision that voters make will determine the future course taken by the province to curb climate change. In a report released May 7th by the Pembina Institute
- a non-profit think tank focused on energy and climate issues - it suggests that of the front runner parties, the BC New Democratic Party’s (NDP) platform, which promises an expansion of the BC carbon tax to include process emissions from the oil and gas sector and opposition to further pipeline development, would offer “significant steps forward for the climate”. This position comes despite the NDP’s support for liquefied natural gas (LNG) development. The institute assessed the platforms of BC’s four political parties against four climate-implicated election issues that will effect the province’s ability to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets
– namely, oil pipelines, green jobs, the carbon tax, and LNG.
In a poll
conducted by Oraclepoll Research and released on May 9th, the BC NDP was found to have a 4-point lead over the BC Liberal Party, with 41% and 37% of respondents supporting each party, respectively. Approximately 12% of decided voters indicated they support the BC Green Party, while 10% indicate support of the BC Conservatives. According to Pembina’s analysis, the BC Green party platform is the only platform that substantively addresses the four climate-related election issues it identified. The Green Party platform is additionally the only of the four likely to put the province on a pathway toward meeting its legislated emissions reductions targets of 33% GHG emissions reductions, by 2020. The research institute further acknowledges that the BC Conservative party has indicated support for LNG development, expansion of oil pipelines, and a repeal of the BC carbon tax. The BC
Liberal Party has indicated they will freeze the tax rate of the BC carbon tax for five years.
Research Theme V: Carbon management in BC forests
Urban trees provide billions in economic value
May 7, 2013. According to
the United States Forest Service (USFS) urban trees across the US take up 21 million tonnes of carbon per year, generating an implied economic value of $1.5 billion. Researchers looked at 28 cities in six states to estimate the carbon uptake value for the entire nation. Their findings are critical, because urban areas in the US are growing quickly – from 2.5% of land area in 1990 to 3.1% in 2000. Recognizing the value of urban trees also highlights an important challenge – more urbanization does not necessarily translate to more urban trees. The US is also losing 20,000 acres per year in urban tree cover. Putting a dollar value on the carbon in those trees might help managers and politicians preserve urban trees.
Carbon storage is not the only value generated by urban trees. In a similar study, scientists working in Tennessee found that urban forests in the state generated $683 million in value each year. Of that, $350 million was sequestered carbon, $204 million came from removing ozone from the air, and $66 million was the result of reduced energy bills due to the shade and cooling provided by trees. The extent and value of urban forests in Canada and BC is poorly understood in comparison, perhaps due to the enormous natural forests adjacent to our cities. Nonetheless, 19% of
annual deforestation in Canada is caused by urbanization, the creation of transportation corridors, and recreation, second only to agriculture as a driver of land-use change.
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