“Climategate” organised by Russian KGB? 6 December, 2009
Posted by Willy De Backer in Climate change, Global Warming.add a comment
O, the irony of history! Are the climate deniers, who have been celebrating the leaked emails of UK climate experts, being manipulated by the Russian secret service?
The Mail on Sunday has this story today which really throws another interesting light on the “scandal” which was supposed to derail the Copenhagen summit.
Remember: these same climate policy opponents have on several occasions claimed that global warming efforts are nothing more than a communist Trojan Horse to undermine our beautiful and just capitalism.
Copenhagen: is biggest taboo the cheapest solution? 4 December, 2009
Posted by Willy De Backer in Climate change, Copenhagen, Global Warming, Population growth.add a comment
According to the UK’s Optimum Population Trust, the cheapest solution to climate change is population control: “The cost-benefit analysis commissioned by the trust claims that family planning is the cheapest way to reduce carbon emissions. Every £4 spent on contraception, it says, saves one tonne of CO2 being added to global warming, but a similar reduction in emissions would require an £8 investment in tree planting, £15 in wind power, £31 in solar energy and £56 in hybrid vehicle technology.” (see The Guardian 3 December). The full report and press release of the Trust are available via their website.
Save the planet – let Copenhagen fail! 3 December, 2009
Posted by Willy De Backer in Climate change, Copenhagen, Global Warming.add a comment
Now there is a man with guts 
Climate scientist James Hansen says it would be better for the planet and for future generations if the Copenhagen summit would fail. Read the arguments of one of the strongest warriors to REALLY save the planet in the Guardian.
Another thought along the same lines. If we look at the ecological footprint of all the global meetings of the Copenhagen climate diplomacy (staying polite here) in the last years, and compare it to what will likely be the flawed compromise result, should we not ask the question: was it worth it? And why are more than 60 members of the European Parliament going to be in the Danish capital? What added-value do they bring which compensates for the carbon impact of their flights and stay? And these are the same people who tell us today that we can save the world if we would not eat meat one day per week 
Sustainability alerts 30 November 2009 30 November, 2009
Posted by Willy De Backer in Climate change, Development policy, Nuclear, Peak oil, sustainable development.add a comment
- The Economist (“Fuelling Fears”) as well as MIT’s Technology Review (“The Coming Nuclear Crisis”) have excellent coverage of the critical report of Michael Dittmar (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich) on the “renaissance” of the nuclear industry. Conclusion: “countries that rely on uranium imports such as Japan and many western countries will face uranium .shortages, possibly as soon as 2013.”
- The UK’s New Economics Foundation has a new important publication: “Other worlds are possible. Human Progress in an Age of Climate Change”. The study is a remedy against our fixation on quantitative economic growth. To be read together with Tim Jackson’s “Prosperity without growth” .
- Colin Campbell and Walter Ryan-Purcell have a great historical overview of the social, economic, political and financial impacts of peak oil. A must-read for anyone concerned about more than climate change.
“ClimateGate” overshadows alarming climate report or the REAL climate cover-up 29 November, 2009
Posted by Willy De Backer in Climate change, Global Warming.add a comment
It is clear that the climate deniers (who are politically motivated and have very little real interest in the science) are winning the communication war on global warming. One need only compare the media attention last week for the “leaked emails” of some climate scientists (see my blog post “The Great Climate Email Swindle?”) with the alarming update of recent climate science by the Copenhagen Diagnosis.
Let me therefore guide my readers to some of the better coverage of this Copenhagen Diagnosis which indicates that the IPCC’s fourth assessment report (the next one is set for 2013) has seriously underestimated the speed of global warming:
- Environment 360 (Yale University): The Copenhagen Diagnosis: Sobering Update on the Science
- Scientific American: Climate change cover-up? You better believe it
The conclusion of the Scientific American article is worth quoting: “There is, in fact, a climate conspiracy. It just happens to be one launched by the fossil fuel industry to obscure the truth about climate change and delay any action. And this release of emails right before the Copenhagen conference is just another salvo—and a highly effective one—in that public relations battle, redolent with the scent of the same flaks and hacks who brought you "smoking isn’t dangerous."
The Great Climate Email Swindle? 24 November, 2009
Posted by Willy De Backer in Climate change, Copenhagen, Global Warming.1 comment so far
The blogosphere is boiling with the enthusiasm of climate deniers who have finally found their “smoking gun” to alarm us good citizens that all IPC-believing climate researchers are just communist fraudsters. They are cherry-picking some hacked emails to prove their case: these scientists are manipulating their data and preventing honest climate-sceptical scientists to publish their papers. They are talking about “climategate” (remember Watergate?) and the “global warming conspiracy”.
Of course, the reality is that:
- climate change science is now highly politicised which makes things very difficult for critical scientists (pro or contra strong global warming policies);
- most climate scientists have their own doubts about the climate models but fear that they are erring on the side of underestimating the speed of global warming (confirmed by most of the recent science BTW). Some of them fear of getting “hijacked" by the climate deniers when they publish more critical positions;
- citizens (who fear having to change their lifestyles) tend to believe those who bring them arguments which question the science and therefore are becoming increasingly doubtful (also because all these policies they hear off, does not really seem to make a difference – they do not see positive change);
- climate deniers will do anything to make sure the Copenhagen climate summit fails.
For some excellent coverage of this blown-up “climate swindle scandal”, read Wired, Real Climate or Joe Romm’s blog.
Sustainability alerts 20 November 2009 20 November, 2009
Posted by Willy De Backer in European Union.add a comment
- Former US secretary for Labour Robert Reich explains on his blog why our global economy is heading for a second recession dip (“The great disconnect between jobs and stocks”). To use a quote from Nouriel Roubini: “…few Americans believe that what walks like a duck and quacks like a duck is actually the phoenix of recovery”.
- François Leveque (Ecole des Mines in Paris) had an excellent post about the “nuclear renaissance” on the EU Energy policy blog recently. Cost overruns and delays in on-going construction of EPRs could undermine the competitiveness of nuclear power (“Nuclear generation costs – revisiting estimates”).
Sustainability alerts 6 November 2009 6 November, 2009
Posted by Willy De Backer in Climate change, Natural Gas, Trade policy, carbon trading.add a comment
- Interesting speech by WTO boss Pascal Lamy: “Climate first, trade second”. Talks about border adjustment tax and carbon leakage.
- New French report on the impacts and costs of climate change: billions of euros will be needed to deal with the negative effects on water, health, biodiversity, energy systems, agriculture and forestry and tourism. For a synthesis (in French), see CDurable.info.
- Bad news for gas producers? The International Energy Agency predicts that the demand for gas will peak by 2020 and there will be overcapacity and under-utilisation of pipeline capacity. Read the article in the Financial Times.
- Is carbon trading the next subprime? Yes according to a new report by Friends of the Earth. Bankers and speculators, not the planet, are the real winners of the carbon market. The green group advocates a carbon tax instead of cap and trade. Good coverage in the Guardian and The Ecologist.
Sustainability alerts 4 November 2009 4 November, 2009
Posted by Willy De Backer in Climate change, Nuclear.add a comment
- Meltdown for nuclear renaissance? The nuclear safety authorities of three countries (France, Finland and the UK) have called into question the safety of Areva’s third-generation (EPR) nuclear plants. See and the reactions from Areva and Greenpeace.
- The Potsdam Institute for Climate Research, WWF and Allianz presented a new cost analysis of climate policies. Main conclusion: the costs are manageable (only a one year GDP-loss by 2050) and Europe can even afford to go it alone.
- The Guardian’s Environment Network has an interesting comment on the growing skepticism of public opinion about global warming.
Sustainability alerts 29 October: More EU climate rhetoric; Deutsche Bank on peak oil 29 October, 2009
Posted by Willy De Backer in Climate change, Peak oil.add a comment
- The EU’s announcement that it will back carbon emission reductions up to 95% for the developed world by 2050 is no more than cheap rhetoric. These hollow commitments are meaningless when they are not backed up with clear and detailed plans on how to effectively implement such promises. Moreover, the political leaders who try to impress, will not be the ones who will have to face the evaluation come 2050.
- Deutsche Bank’s top oil analyst Paul Sankey says the oil price will go to 175 dollars a barrel by 2016 and he predicts the end of the oil age as transport will go electric. Excellent coverage of this story in Barron’s (with interview of Sankey) and investor’s website Seeking Alpha.
