Cement, Energy and Environment

Climate Change & Global Warming CHINA OUTPERFORMED CLIMATE GOAL: UN United Nations, 16 1 h Nov: Noting that as countries were pushing ahead with their national agendas to combat climate change more intensely than setting international obligations, China was leading in combating the problem domestically, UN climate chief Christiana Figueres has said. Figueres pointed out that Beijing had "outperformed" the climate goal set in its 11th fifth year plan and was already designing climate legislation for the 1 ih plan to include clear targets for energy efficiency and renewable energy. 'There is no doubt the historic performance China has had on the 11th five year plan," Figueres told journalists during a press conference in Bonn, which was web-cast live. "They have not just performed to the level of their target but they have outperformed and it is well to think they will out perform again," she added. Two weeks ahead of the annual meet on climate change, to be held in Cancun, Mexico, the UN climate chief observed that there is "optimism for the planet" since countries are taking climate change seriously at home. Besides China, the top UN official referred to small countries like Maldives and Costa Rica that had taken a pledge of carbon neutrality and were designing national mitigation action plans. These plans, she said , "would help them achieve that neutrality by the second decade." At the same time, Figueres noted that political differences and the inability to compromise were blocking progress on the international stage. "Climate is a global problem and ultimately can only have an ultimate global solution," Figueres said, noting that the agreement reached on biodiversity in Nagoya indicated that multilateral forums could be successful. The contentious climate meeting, last year yielded the non-binding Copenhagen Accord , which called for limiting rise of global temperature to 2 degrees, 100 billion dollars in long term finance to developing countries and 30 billion dollars in short-term finance to the poorest and most vulnerable countries. Courtesy: The Statesman, Nov. 17, 2010 P13. RE-ENGINEERING THE WORLD Why we should discuss the next big thing to fight climate change. Nicholas Robinson The writer is an assistant professor at Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat Rank depression had set in following last year's UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, which many believed had provided the world its best opportunity yet to craft a global plan to limit carbon emissions. No binding agreement was reached; a meeting of environment ministers later this month in Cancun is also not expected to yield much progress, especially after the recent Republican victory in the US mid-term elections. At the same time, many scientists believe that even if countries agreed to a plan to significantly decrease carbon emissions, it may be too late. 2010 is well on its way to being the warmest year on record, and the earth could have already passed a tipping point after which serious disruption to our climate and, in turn, our economic and political systems, becomes inevitable. In the face of these political failures and mounting concerns in the scientific community, many are looking to a "Plan B" in which humans actively intervene to control the earth's climate - or geoengineering. Although geoengineering is still rarely discussed in India, it should not be ignored. India, like much of the world, may soon find itself alternatively looking to geoengineering for salvation and as a potential threat. Although it may sound fanciful, congressional and parliamentary committees in both the US and Britain are encouraging further study of geoengineering and have agreed that "consideration for the[ir] regulatory arrangements needs to start now." Indeed, "serious" scientists, like Nobel prize-winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen, think geoengineering might be our best hope to avoid climate calamity. Last year, a prominent panel of economists, including three Nobel Prize winners and A panel with three Nobef winners and Bhagwati have ranked geoengineering options by costs and benefits. Jagdish Bhagwati, ranked geoengineering alternatives on the basis of costs and benefits, and recommended immediate research into several of them. There are two commonly proposed types of geoengineering options. The first involves removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Its proponents advocate alternatives like spreading special plankton in the ocean to soak up carbon at a far faster rate than plant life on the planet currently can. The second form 51