environmental stories to watch in 2011
TRANSCRIPT
Environmental Stories to Watch: 2011
Jonathan LashWorld Resources Institute
January 6, 2011
Global Vision for a Sustainable EarthPractical Solutions for People
Twitter Hashtag: #stw11 - www.wri.org/storiestowatch
NASA satellite image of the ice island (top-left quadrant of image) that recently broke off the floating ice shelf of the Petermann Glacier in northwest Greenland. Credit: NASA.
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/energy_in_brief/foreign_oil_dependence.cfm
Petroleum Products:
Source: EPA, http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usinventoryreport.html
http://theblindedeye.wordpress.com/2008/10/29/the-mccain-palin-generational-challenge-clean-burning-coal/
Coal-Fired Power PlantGas-Fired Power Plant
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2008/07/la-regions-powe.html
Solar Power Station
http://www.solar-green-wind.com/archives/tag/photovoltaic-power-plant
Nuclear Power Plant
Transportation Sector (29% US Emissions)• New post-2017 standards for cars and light trucks• First-ever standards for medium- and heavy-duty
trucks to be finalized in 2011
Electric Power Sector (34% US Emissions)• Pre-construction permitting program applies BACT to
new large GHG pollution sources• Performance standards for existing power plants will
be proposed byJuly 26, 2011; finalized by May 26, 2012
Industry (15% US Emissions)• Performance standards for existing refineries to be
proposed by December 15, 2011; finalized in November 15, 2012
WATCH THE U.S. EPA
Total Global Liquid Biofuel Production (megatonnes), 1980-2008
Source: International Energy Agency, Online Data Services, 2010, http://data.iea.org/.
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10
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1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008
Other
Biodiesels
Biogasoline
Projected Increase in Global Fertilizer* Consumption
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150
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250
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030
mil
lion
met
ric
ton
s
Source: FAO data cited in Selman, M. and S. Greenhalgh. 2009. Eutrophication: Sources and Drivers. Water Quality: Eutrophication and Hypoxia Policy Note Series No.2. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute *Fertilizer consumption includes nitrogen, phosphates, and potash.
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Pollution to rivers is increasing
source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
% Increase in nitrogen flows in rivers since the mid-1990s
Source: USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service, Commodity Intelligence Report: http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/highlights/2009/03/Indonesia/
A soybean shipment at a farm in Brazil. The new link between Brazil and China marks a profound shift in world agricultural trade. Once the biggest bilateral food trade flowed between the United States, the world's largest food exporter, and Japan. But countries with vast arable land for expansion, particularly Brazil, are now racing to meet demand in China.
Lalo de Almeida for The New York Times
Source: Oedekoven, 1980 (in Williams 2006)
More than a billion hectares of degraded forest landscapes offer opportunities for restoration
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petrol/diesel renewable electricity
natural gas @ 55% efficiency
diesel @ 30% efficiency
black coal @ 35% efficiency
brown coal @ 27% efficiency
gram
s C
O2
-e p
er
km
gram
s C
O2
-e p
er
km
Relative Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Petroleum vs Electric Vehicles
Passenger car
City bus
Source: Andrew Simpson
By 2012, China
will have more
kms of HSR
than the rest of
the world
combined.
Photo by Philip Roeland
EMBARQ’s
projects have
served more
than a billion
passengers.
Cumulative results:
129.3kilometers of high-capacity
transit built
720,000tons of CO2 reduced
1.1 billionpassengers served
39%travel time reduced per trip
355
millionhours saved
SOURCE: EMBARQ
Global
Impact
Photo by SUM-Turkiye.
http://allworldcars.com/wordpress/?p=11866
Sao PauloRio de Janeiro
http://allworldcars.com/wordpress/?p=11866
Issue Provisions Next step
Targets •Developed country targets and developing country actions to be documented under UNFCCC
•Parties to submit information on their targets
Transparency
•More frequent and better reporting for majoreconomies•An international review ofcountries climate actions
•Create an international registry
Fund •A Green Climate Fund •Deliver fast-start funding and identify other possible long-term sources of funding
REDD+ •A commitment and framework to reduce pressures on forests
•Agree definitions and rules•Make the safeguardsoperational
Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang (L) speaks at a seminar on drawing up China's 12th Five-Year (2011 to 2015) Plan in Ningbo City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 7, 2010.
(Xinhua/Liu Weibing)