Climate
Hong Kong officials must explain how they will reach anti-pollution goals
The Environment Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR government has published the “Hong Kong Climate Change Report 2015”. It says, “This document updates the actions the government has taken so far in order to set the stage for considering further actions in the future”.
It is a very well put together report and it is a good read. Everybody in Hong Kong should get hold of a copy and read it carefully. It is about the long-term future for our children.
The report exposes some common confusions and illusions of the subject matter.
To start with, the messages from principal officials read as if one has already accomplished. However, when I refer to the figure about the greenhouse gas emission trends for Hong Kong 1990-2012 in the report, I can see that from the point of view of the earth, little has been achieved to ease the pain the planet has suffered in the last 23 years. There is a long way to go.
Games of smoke and mirrors have been played. The best example is how one accounts for our carbon emission: absolutely, on a per capita basis or by this metric called carbon intensity. We may pick our own cherries, but from the earth’s point of view, which one is more relevant?
As an architect, I am particularly interested in the built environmental aspects of the report. To aim for an 80 per cent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, 90 per cent of which are from our buildings, over the next few decades as recommended in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, I wonder if the Development Bureau will say how that can be achieved.
I hope this report will be followed, maybe shortly after the COP21 global summit on climate change, by corresponding reports from each of our bureaus. This must be our government’s policy. Useful targets, action plans and road-maps, and a transparent, accountable monitoring and reporting mechanism must be provided.
Most dear to me is the part on vulnerable groups, such as our elderly, outdoor workers, and poor families in windowless rooms. The most-at-risk group is also the most-in-need group.
Professor Edward Ng, school of architecture,Chinese University of Hong Kong
Source URL: http://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1879280/hong-kong-officials-must-explain-how-they-will-reach-anti-pollution
Rising sea levels set to displace 45 million people
Rising sea levels set to displace 45 million people in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tianjin if earth warms 4 degrees from climate change
Rising sea levels will swallow up land if nothing is done to stop it, study by US-based group says
Some 45 million people in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tianjin will be displaced as the cities slip under the waves when global temperatures rise 4 degrees Celsius if nothing is done to curb climate change, according to a study released on Monday.
The displaced population could be cut to 23.4 million if an upcoming climate summit limited global warming to 2 degrees, scientists at the US-based group Climate Central said.
Under the 4-degree scenario, China would be the country most affected, with Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tianjin among its cities hardest hit. Globally, land occupied by more than 600 million people would be submerged.
A 2-degree rise in temperatures would affect areas with some 280 million people globally.
“Warming of 2 degrees Celsius will pose a long-term existential danger to many great coastal cities and regions,” said lead author Ben Strauss, vice-president for sea level and climate impacts at Climate Central.
Sea level rises corresponding to the 2-degrees and 4-degrees scenarios – at 4.7 metres and 8.9 metres respectively – could unfold in 200 years, but would more likely occur over many centuries, perhaps as long as 2,000 years, according to the research.
While the 2-degree scenario was also grim, limiting warming to that extent would spare China and other nations of more misery, said Strauss. “There is a world of difference between 2 degrees and 4 degrees, which threatens more than double the damage. We have a very large choice ahead of us,” he said.
Capping the temperature rise to 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels by cutting greenhouse gas emissions is the core goal of the upcoming, 195-nation UN climate summit. The talks will be held in Paris from November 30 to December 11.
There is a world of difference between 2 degrees and 4 degrees, which threatens more than double the damage. We have a very large choice ahead of us
Ben Strauss, vice-president for sea level and climate impacts at Climate Central
More than 140 countries have filed their national plans to tackle climate change, and their collective efforts could limit the global temperature increase to 2.7 degrees by 2100, according to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Climate Central study found that 145 million people were living in Chinese cities and coastal areas that would become submerged if global temperatures rose by 4 degrees.
Limiting the warming at 2 degrees would spare some 81 million people across China, according to the report.
Asia is home to 75 per cent of populations that today reside within zones that would no longer be classified as land in a climate-altered future.
Some 34 million people in Japan, 25 million in the US, 20 million in the Philippines, 19 million in Egypt and 16 million in Brazil also presently live on land that will become sea if the earth warms by 4 degrees.
Source URL: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1877284/rising-sea-levels-set-displace-45-million-people
Trans-Pacific Partnership Ignores Climate, Asks Countries to Volunteer to Protect the Environment
http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/11/05/breaking-trans-pacific-partnership-ignores-climate-asks-countries-volunteer-protect-environment
In March, the White House was touting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on its blog stating:
“Through TPP, the Obama administration is doubling down on its commitment to use every tool possible to address the most pressing environmental challenges.”
Reviewing the environment section of the just-released TPP, one thing becomes quite clear. Climate change is not considered one of the “most pressing environmental challenges.”
In the summary of the environmental section posted by the US government it doesn’t mention the climate but does mention the “energy revolution” under the heading of “Transition to a Low-Emissions Economy”.
TPP countries recognize that the world is in the midst of an energy revolution. The agreement includes commitments to cooperate to address issues such as energy efficiency; the development of cost-effective, green technologies; and alternative, clean and renewable energy sources.
And when it comes to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) the language promises “reinforcements” to these commitments even though they “may lack binding enforcement regimes.”
TPP countries are signatories to many MEAs covering a wide range of environmental issues. However, these agreements may lack binding enforcement regimes. By requiring MEA implementation, TPP provides valuable reinforcements to these commitments.
And, of course, there is the part about encouraging companies to volunteer to protect the environment.
The Environment chapter includes commitments to encourage companies to voluntarily adopt corporate social responsibility policies, and to use mechanisms, such as public-private partnerships, to help to protect the environment and natural resources.
So, it appears that the TPP doesn’t consider climate change an important issue but as the world continues its “energy revolution” that countries can volunteer to protect the environment.
As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, Matthew Rimmer, Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation Law at the Queensland University of Technology, told Fairfax Media it looks like US trade officials have been “green-washing” the agreement.
“The environment chapter confirms some of the worst nightmares of environmental groups and climate activists,” Dr Rimmer said.
Jake Schmidt, International Program director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, concurred in a statement:
“This trade agreement would allow foreign corporations to challenge our health, safety and environmental protections in a foreign tribunal outside our legal system, and it would weaken those bedrock safeguards in the United States. While there are some positive conservation measures, the agreement’s substantial shortcomings should lead Congress to reject it.”
Climate change missing from full Trans-Pacific Partnership text
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/details-of-transpacific-partnership-finally-released-20151105-gkrivo.html
The final text of a huge 12-country trade agreement has confirmed the “worst nightmares” of environmental groups, with no mention of climate change in its lone environment chapter and weak enforcement mechanisms, Australian academics say.
The text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement was finally released on Thursday, with Trade Minister Andrew Robb saying the deal will deliver “substantial benefits for Australia” in the rapidly growing Asia Pacific.
The TPP is the biggest global trade deal in 20 years, involving 12 countries in the Pacific region which collectively represent over 40 per cent of world GDP.
Last month, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called the deal “a gigantic foundation stone” for the economy which will deliver jobs and growth while avoiding aspects that would have seen increased costs to the taxpayer for medicines.
But this is the first time Australians have had a chance to see what the federal government has been negotiating on their behalf for over five years.
Matthew Rimmer, Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation Law at the Queensland University of Technology, told Fairfax Media it looks like US trade officials have been “green-washing” the agreement.
“The environment chapter confirms some of the worst nightmares of environmental groups and climate activists,” Dr Rimmer said.
“The agreement has poor coverage of environmental issues, and weak enforcement mechanisms. There is only limited coverage of biodiversity, conservation, marine capture fisheries, and trade in environmental services. The final text of the chapter does not even mention ‘climate change’ – the most pressing global environmental issue in the world.”
Controversially, the deal includes a clause giving foreign companies the right to sue Australian governments if they introduce laws they say have harmed their investments.
Dr Patricia Ranald from the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network said the “safeguards” Mr Robb claimed he had won to prevent foreign tobacco companies suing Australian governments for pursuing anti-smoking policies do not appear strong enough.
“The general ‘safeguards’ in the text are similar to those in other recent agreements which have not prevented cases against health and environmental laws,” Dr Ranald said.
“Public health groups have influenced governments to include in the text the option of more clearly excluding future tobacco control laws from ISDS cases, which is important and has angered the tobacco lobby. But this also begs the question of how effective are the general ‘safeguards’ for other public health and environmental laws.”
Dr Rimmer also criticised the investment chapter, saying it was one of the most “labyrinthine” in the agreement.
But he also said the general exceptions chapter provided the opportunity for countries to carve out tobacco from the ISDS regime for tobacco control measures.
“That will be significant given Australia’s pioneering plain packaging of tobacco products,” he said.
Mr Robb has issued a statement heralding the deal, saying Australians now have a chance to examine the text for themselves.
“Along with the landmark North Asian bilateral trade agreements we have concluded with China, Japan and South Korea, the TPP forms a transformational series of agreements that will contribute substantially to the diversification of our economy in this critical post-mining boom phase,” Mr Robb said.
However, the text is still missing some important documents. Many of the side letters with details of last-minute bilateral deals between particular governments have not been released.
Dr Ranald said these side letters are likely to favour the largest economies with greater bargaining power, “and should have been released for public scrutiny with the main text.”
Mr Robb said as these side letters are finalised they will be made available to the public.
Bryan Clark, the Director of Trade and International Affairs at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said he was “very pleased” the text had finally been released because industry will have a chance to review it.
“Now we can scrutinise it, and engage in the public discussion over its content,” he said.
The text shows 98 per cent of all tariffs will be eliminated across everything from beef, dairy, wine, sugar, rice, horticulture and seafood through to manufactured goods, resources and energy.
It has also removed barriers to Australian goods exports, services and investment abroad in the region.
Global trade officials hope the deal will establish a ‘model’ for future trade agreements, by setting commonly-agreed rules and promoting transparency of laws and regulations.
Its open architecture allows for other members – such as China – to join in the future.
`Perfect storm’ coming in 85 years
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=4&art_id=162898&sid=45508430&con_type=1&d_str=20151105&fc=7
A “perfect storm” could see sea levels surge by six meters and flood the Cross-Harbour Tunnel by the end of the century.
Hong Kong-based World Green Organisation made the claim yesterday and said this situation would cripple the SAR’s infrastructure.
While Hong Kong has been able to dodge most super typhoons in recent years, rising sea levels, high tides with heavy rain and storm surges make for a perfect storm.
“We have constructed a perfect storm scenario, which is possible by the end of the century,” said WGO chief executive William Yu Yuen-ping.
Their prediction is based on the fifth assessment report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations-backed international organization for climate change assessment.
“As the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air has almost reached a level that makes the temperature increase by two degrees, this climate change may lead to extreme weather around the world,” Yu said.
Using Tai Po Kau as an example, if a storm similar to 2013’s Typhoon Usagi hit Hong Kong at the end of the century, the sea level will rise six meters, flooding the Cross-Harbour Tunnel.
If there is a storm similar to Typhoon Haiyan which killed 6,000 people in the Philippines in 2013 sea levels could rise by eight meters.
This would exceed the drainage capacity of infrastructure such as gasworks and power plants. Fifteen percent of Hong Kong is considered lowland area. This includes Sheung Wan, Tai O and Sai Kung. These places will be more prone to flooding in the future, Yu said.
He said according to Hong Kong Observatory data, Typhoon Hagupit in 2008 caused sea levels to rise 3.53 meters at Victoria Harbour a situation that occurs once in 50 years.
However, this may drop to once in five years during the middle of this century and even every year at the end of the century.
Cities, not nations, will lead fight against climate change, international expert says in Hong Kong ahead of crunch talks
It is cities, not nations, that will play a bigger role in preventing the world’s temperatures from rising more than two degrees following landmark climate talks in Paris, according to an official from a global network on climate change.
Government leaders and representatives from around the world will meet in the French capital at the end of this month and into December with hopes of producing a legally binding agreement to cap global warming.
“The mayors of the world are those in the best position to take the actions needed, and they [already] are,” said Zachary Tobias, head of sustainable communities at the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, which involves more than 80 cities worldwide. He was speaking on the sidelines of the World Green Building Council Congress in Hong Kong last week, which focused on sustainable city development.
Research by the leadership group – which started with 40 cities a decade ago but has since grown to a network of 80 including Hong Kong – shows that cities have increased the rate at which they are tackling climate change by a scale of “260 per cent since 2011”. Those actions will be delivered over the next five years.
“This is critical as actions made from the treaty made at COP21 in Paris won’t kick in till 2020,” he added. The organisation advises and provides technical support to cities on how to achieve their sustainable goals and replicate successes of other cities.
“Cities are very much action-oriented. Mayors get elected and re-elected on whether garbage is picked up in their cities. National governments are not, for the most part.”
Tobias pointed to the “carbon locked-in effect”, which refers to investments or policy decisions being made to date that “locked-in emissions” which had consequences for the future.
Scientists have found that to keep global warming within two degrees – the pre-industrial average that experts claim is necessary to stave off the most serious effects of warming – total global carbon emissions cannot exceed 1,000 gigatonnes.
As of 2012, about 80 per cent of this budget has already been committed by policy decision in infrastructure globally, Tobias said. About a third of the remaining 20 per cent will be locked in by infrastructure decisions made in urban areas in the net five years, largely in the “global south”, or developing cities of the world.
“Based on the business as usual trajectory, the remaining 20 per cent of the carbon budget will be locked-in based from decisions that will be made in the next five years,” he said. “The carbon locked-in effect means that mayors are in a position today to impact what is going to happen tomorrow. The decisions made today re going to be much cheaper than in the future.”
“By choosing low-carbon objectives, power, buildings, industry and transportation sectors over less efficient technologies in the near term, the investment cost needed would four times less over the long-term.”
And the built environment will naturally be the area where local governments could focus their efforts on – particularly in existing private buildings – given that the entire sector is responsible for around 30 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, said Bruce Kerswill, chairman of the World Green Building Council.
“With the right government incentives,” said Kerswill. “It’s been recognised that the biggest impact can be made with the lowest cost in the least amount of time”. The council has set a target for all newly constructed buildings to be “net zero” in emissions by 2050.
Source URL: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1875147/cities-not-nations-will-lead-fight-against-climate
Report: Waste Sector GHG Emissions Significantly Underestimated
http://waste-management-world.com/a/report-waste-sector-ghg-emissions-significantly-underestimated
The waste sector has a key role to play in the development of a low carbon economy and the reduction of greenhouse gases, according to a report published by Zero Waste Europe today.
The report, The potential contribution of waste management to a low carbon economy, was commissioned by Zero Waste Europe, in partnership with Zero Waste France and ACR+ and prepared by Eunomia Research & Consulting’s Ann Ballinger and Dominic Hogg.
It’s key finding is that the role waste prevention and improved waste management can play in reducing GHG emissions and the development of a low carbon economy has previously been significantly understated.
ZWE noted that in December, delegates from across the world will gather in Paris to negotiate a new climate agreement aimed at replacing the Kyoto Protocol. The parties to the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are progressively publishing their pledges in terms of GHG reductions which are supposed to limit global warming to under 2°C.
Among the many possible climate change mitigation solutions that are emphasised, according to the report’s authors, one that is consistently underestimated is the significance of waste management strategies.
One reason for this is said to be that the ‘waste’ section of the national inventories to the UNFCCC does not take into account most of the emissions from this sector. Emissions reported under this section mainly concern methane emissions from landfills. All the emissions related to the transport of waste and incineration with energy recovery are respectively reported under the transport and energy sections.
According to Zero Waste Europe (ZWE), the report also provides an accurate examination of the true impact of waste management on climate change and carbon emissions. It confirms that actions at the top of the waste hierarchy – including waste prevention initiatives, reuse and recycling – have considerable scope to reduce climate change emissions.
It is stated in the report that: “A climate friendly strategy, as regards materials and waste, will be one in which materials are continually cycling through the economy, and where the leakage of materials into residual waste treatments is minimised”. For example, recycling 1 tonne of plastic packaging can be a saving of 500 kg CO2 eq, whereas using one tonne less plastic packaging results in avoiding 6 times more emissions (3 tonnes CO2 eq).
The authors make 11 key recommendations, calling for waste policies to be redesigned in order to prioritise the higher level options of the ‘Waste Hierarchy’ (waste prevention, reuse and recycling) and immediately reallocate climate finance subsidies which are currently supporting energy generation from waste. These recommendations put a strong focus on correcting methodological issues that are currently preventing Member states and the European union from implementing waste policies that are efficient in terms of GHG emissions.
The report said that in the decarbonising economy required to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, technologies such as incineration will become less attractive options and ultimately present an obstacle to a low carbon economy.
Reaction
Mariel Vilella, Zero Waste Europe’s associate director:
“For far too long the climate impact of waste management has been overlooked. Now it’s clear that waste prevention, reuse and recycling are climate change solutions that need to be fully integrated into a low carbon economy. Both at the EU and international level, it is time to shift climate finance support to these climate-friendly options instead of waste incineration, which in fact contributes to climate change and displaces livelihoods of recyclers worldwide.”
Delphine Lévi Alvarès, Zero Waste France’s advocacy officer:
“With France hosting the COP21 in December, it is a real opportunity to raise decision makers’ awareness about the real impact of waste management on climate change and the extent to which Zero Waste strategies have to be put on the agenda of solutions to climate mitigation supported by the French government.”
Françoise Bonnet, Secretary general of ACR+:
“Efficiency and smart waste management is key for a low carbon economy. Still, it is only the tip of the iceberg as a much bigger impact can be achieved through resource efficiency and adopting a life-cycle perspective”.
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Thousands dying in region from ozone pollution caused by warming, Chinese University study finds
ENVIRONMENT
Ernest Kao ernest.kao@scmp.com
Deadly ozone levels rising as emissions of fossil fuels increase, Chinese University study warns
Regional warming in East Asia over the past 30 years has led to a rapid rise in surface ozone pollution that may have led to thousands of premature deaths a year, a Chinese University study found.
The researchers warn the situation is likely to get worse as fossil fuel emissions increase.
Ozone is formed by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) reacting with nitrogen oxides (NOx) from sources such as vehicles. The pollutant can cause breathing problems and serious lung disease.
The study found that summertime temperatures in mainland China and surrounding regions had risen by up to 3 degrees Celsius over the past three decades, intensifying ozone in the lower atmosphere by 2 to 10 parts per billion by volume (ppbv).
This increase was associated with an estimated 5,600 extra premature respiratory deaths per year in East Asia – which includes mainland China and Hong Kong – between 1980 and 2010.
But Professor Amos Tai Pui-kuen of the university’s earth system science programme said increases in human-induced emissions from fossil fuel burning had raised ozone levels to 25ppbv over this period, which may have caused an extra 65,000 ozone-related premature deaths per year.
“Our results show that warming in China, indeed, might have exacerbated air pollution further over the past few decades and had a direct impact on human health,” said Tai. “If we include the health impact of more frequent heat extremes, such as heatstroke, the real costs of climate change might have been even higher.”
The 18-month study analysed historical weather and satellite observations of land cover in computer modelling that simulated atmospheric chemistry and pollutant formation.
Tai said warmer temperatures and carbon dioxide increased the growth of vegetation. Trees and plants emit VOCs naturally and these react with NOx emissions from vehicles and power plants, creating yet more ozone.
“South China and Hong Kong will likely experience more serious ozone pollution due to the ‘double impact’ of climate change and enhanced vegetation growth in the future if background nitrogen oxides from industrial [sources] and vehicles remain high.”
Tai urged regional governments to reduce NOx emissions, especially from vehicles, and to take into account future warming and land use changes in the greater Pearl River Delta region.
Clean Air Network campaign manager Patrick Fung Kin-wai said the findings were in line with his own group’s research, which last year found that ozone pollution in Hong Kong had hit a historic high. VOC emissions in the delta region have long been a problem and even with the Chinese economy slowing, there were no signs of it coming down yet, he said.
According to the Environmental Protection Department, ozone concentrations measured at the city’s air quality monitoring stations have increased by 25 per cent over the past five years.
Hong Kong and other cities in the Pearl River Delta have pledged to reduce VOC emissions by 15 to 25 per cent by 2020 from 2010 levels.