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newsclips -- ARB Newsclips for December 15, 2015

Posted: 15 Dec 2015 16:46:18
This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office
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individual websites to view some of the following news articles.

CAP AND TRADE

Calif. explores how to mesh cap and trade with federal rule.
California regulators are wading through the details of how to
connect their landmark cap-and-trade system to U.S. EPA's
regulations for power plants. At the top of the regulators'
agenda is how to preserve their own program, which has been in
place since 2012. As the only state with an economywide carbon
cap…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/12/15/stories/1060029514

AIR POLLUTION

US appeals court leaves Obama mercury air pollution rule in
place.  A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday said that an Obama
administration rule that regulates mercury and other toxic
pollutants can remain in effect while the government revises it
in response to a recent Supreme Court ruling. In a brief order,
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
said the rule could remain in effect…
http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-court-pollution-idUSL1N11V2CZ20151215


EU parliament panel rejects car pollution rules as too lax. he
European parliament's environmental committee voted on Monday
against new car pollution rules they say are too lenient in the
light of the Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) scandal which exposed
loopholes in existing emissions tests. The new rules agreed in a
closed-door committee in October would allow vehicles to carry on
spewing out…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-eu-idUSKBN0TX25B20151215


Hazardous smog hits Shanghai as China's bad air spreads. Smog in
Chinese metropolis Shanghai hit its highest level since January
on Tuesday, prompting schools to ban outdoor activities and
authorities to limit work at construction sites and factories as
polluted air spreads around the country.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-idUSKBN0TY0MN20151215


China again promises to clean up air ahead of 2022 Games.  China
promised again on Tuesday to take steps to reduce air pollution
in the run-up to the 2022 Winter Olympics, to be held in Beijing
and a nearby city, after a choking pall of smog prompted the
Chinese capital's first ever red alert last week.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-china-idUSKBN0TY14620151215


Shanghai Warns People to Stay Indoors on ‘Severe’ Air Pollution.
Shanghai warned children and elderly to remain indoors and
everyone else to avoid physical activity outdoors as air
pollution levels worsened. The city’s air was classified as
“severely polluted,” the worst level of a 6-grade scale, as the
air quality index hit 315…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-14/shanghai-warns-people-to-stay-indoors-on-severe-air-pollution

In China, Diners Pay for Clean Air With Their Entrée. Has clean
air become such a luxury in China that restaurants can charge
patrons for it? That question raged on Tuesday after Xinhua, the
state news agency, reported that a restaurant in the eastern
province of Jiangsu was doing just that.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/16/world/asia/china-air-restaurant-clean-charge.html?_r=0


The Port of L.A. rolled back measures to cut pollution -- during
its 'green' expansion.  Shortly after the Port of Los Angeles
agreed to require air quality improvements at one of its busiest
terminals seven years ago, top port officials privately began
rolling back pollution-cutting measures they promised, government
records obtained by The Times show.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-port-pollution-20151215-story.html


Porter Ranch gas leak could be declared local emergency by
supervisors. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is
expected Tuesday to vote to proclaim a local state of emergency
due to a natural gas leak above Porter Ranch. If the proclamation
is approved, it will be sent to the Governor’s Office of
Emergency Services…
http://www.dailynews.com/environment-and-nature/20151214/porter-ranch-gas-leak-could-be-declared-local-emergency-by-supervisors


Leak At Natural-Gas Field Now One-Quarter Of All CA Methane
Emissions. For half a century, California has been at the
forefront of reducing emissions and cleaning up air pollution.
And the state has made breathtaking progress since the days of
early-Seventies technicolor photochemical smog alerts. But then
bad things happen--and a leak at a single natural-gas well shows…
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101414_leak-at-natural-gas-field-now-one-quarter-of-all-ca-methane-emissions


CLIMATE CHANGE

India worries it compromised too much on climate treaty. As the
world celebrates reaching an unprecedented global climate treaty,
India praised nations' willingness to compromise for the good of
the planet. But many in the country - which had been among the
most strident during the negotiations - worry they had to
compromise the most.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_INDIA_CLIMATE_TREATY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
 

Pope's comments on global warming top notable quotes list. Pope
Francis' comments that human activity is mostly to blame for
global warming top a list of the most notable quotes of 2015, as
compiled by a Yale Law School librarian who also included several
sound bites from the U.S. presidential campaign.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_QUOTES_OF_THE_YEAR?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Climate deal typo hiccup solved 'in a small room,' France says. A
last minute dispute over an apparent typing error in last
weekend's global climate deal in Paris was solved "in a small
room" and thanks to trust established during the talks, French
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Tuesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-summit-error-idUSKBN0TY1CS20151215


Look Who's Hiring a Climate Researcher (It's Exxon).  An oil
giant needs a climate scientist, offers competitive compensation
and benefits. ExxonMobil is looking for a PhD engineer,
scientist, or economist who can “lead research in areas such as
Earth systems science and the role of technologies and systems in
managing the risks posed by global climate change.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-14/look-who-s-hiring-a-climate-researcher-it-s-exxon-


Greenland May Seek UN Climate Deal Opt-Out Amid Emissions Goal.
The ink hasn’t yet dried on the UN climate accord and one of the
territories most at risk from global warning is already demanding
an opt-out. “We still have the option of making a territorial
opt-out to COP21," Kim Kielsen, the prime minister of Greenland,
said during a visit to Copenhagen on Monday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-14/greenland-may-seek-un-climate-deal-opt-out-amid-emissions-goal


Climate change activists are just warming up. Even as it became
clear that a historic climate agreement could be reached in
France, activists were organizing protests deep into next year,
some liberal political leaders were pledging to go beyond
whatever goals the agreement might yield and diplomats,
scientists…
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-sej-climate-after-paris-20151215-story.html

An Unusual Tech Bet Could Slow Climate Change. Ethanol, saltwater
and fermentation all get involved. Corn is king in the U.S.
Midwest, and few companies in the field are larger than Archer
Daniels Midland. The agribusiness giant runs a corn processing
plant in Decatur, Ill. that turns tons of golden kernels into
thousands of liters of alcohol, food chemicals, even syrup.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/an-unusual-tech-bet-could-slow-climate-change/


Study: Climate change slowing the Earth's rotation. Earth's spin
is slowing down by one millisecond per day. File this under
Things You May Not Have Known: Climate change, scientists say, is
slowing Earth's rotation ever so slightly. It's not a new idea.
In fact, scientists have been looking at the relationship among
melting glaciers, rising sea levels and a slowing Earth for
years.
http://www.wmur.com/national/climate-change-is-a-drag-on-earth-study-says/36974066


UN CLIMATE TALKS

France: Expect pressure to stick to climate pledges. France's
foreign minister says the nearly 200 countries that signed up to
a global climate deal should expect heavy pressure to fulfill
their promises to reduce emissions and fight global warming.
Laurent Fabius on Tuesday recounted the "extremely difficult"
climate talks that ended Saturday…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_FRANCE_CLIMATE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Businesses get climate certainty they wanted; now for action.
With the new global climate deal, businesses around the world got
the long-term certainty that they had been clamoring for - now
they need to back up the shift to a greener world with cold hard
cash. Many business leaders have praised the climate deal reached
Saturday in Paris…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_CLIMATE_COUNTDOWN_BUSINESS_IMPACT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Paris Paves Way for Global Carbon Price, Ex-Australia PM Says.
The Paris climate accord will pave the way for carbon markets in
Asia, Europe and the U.S. to link and form a global emissions
price, according to Kevin Rudd, the former Australian prime
minister whose climate policies helped cost him his job. “It’s
easier for emissions-trading schemes…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-14/paris-paves-way-for-global-carbon-price-ex-australia-pm-says


Goldman Sachs to launch climate-focused ETF. Goldman Sachs Group
Inc said in a filing on Monday it would launch a new
climate-focused index-tracking exchange-traded fund (ETF). Launch
of the Goldman Sachs S&P 500 Environmental & Socially Responsible
ETF comes on the heels of the recent landmark agreement on
climate change at the global climate summit in Paris.
http://in.reuters.com/article/goldmansachs-etf-idINL3N14450E20151215


Scientists See U.N. Climate Accord As A Good Start, But Just A
Start. Climate scientists who scrutinized the U.N. accord are
urging citizens to keep a sharp eye on each nation's leaders to
make sure they follow through on pledges to reduce emissions.
Climate scientists who scrutinized the U.N. accord are urging
citizens…
http://www.npr.org/2015/12/15/459693015/scientists-see-u-n-climate-accord-as-a-good-start-but-just-a-start

Businesses see boost for carbon trading in climate accord text.
The climate accord in Paris does not put a price on carbon
dioxide, which many big businesses had been asking for, but does
include language laying the groundwork for more emissions
trading.
The binding section of the deal allows countries to use
"internationally transferred mitigation outcomes…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/12/15/stories/1060029502 

DROUGHT

Environmental group gives California mixed marks for drought
management. More than four years into a drought, California's
efforts to manage the crisis have produced mixed results,
according to a report card issued Monday by a leading
environmental nonprofit organization. The state received high
marks from the Natural Resources Defense Council for its urban
conservation and water recycling…
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-drought-nrdc-20151215-story.html

http://www.kfbk.com/articles/kfbk-news-461777/california-gets-low-grades-for-drought-14204015


FUELS

Gasoline Nearing $2 Seen Spurring Record U.S. Holiday Travelers.
U.S. travelers over the year-end holiday season will surge to a
record 100.5 million as cheap fuel makes trips more affordable.
About 91.3 million people will drive to holiday destinations 50
miles (80 kilometers) or more from home, an increase of 1.4
percent over last year, according to Heathrow, Florida-based AAA,
a national federation of motor clubs.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-15/gasoline-nearing-2-seen-spurring-record-u-s-holiday-travelers

China's NDRC plans domestic fuel pricing reform amid low crude.
China plans further reforms of its retail fuel pricing system,
the country's central economic planning commission said on
Tuesday, part of efforts to make prices more market-driven. The
world's second-largest oil consumer has taken big steps this year
in reforming the oil and gas sector.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-fuel-prices-idUSKBN0TY18I20151215


The Worst Gas Leak in California’s History Isn’t Close to Being
Fixed. A massive natural gas leak in California is still
releasing huge amounts of methane into the environment almost two
months after it began, driving over a thousand families from
their homes and prompting the FAA to create a no-fly zone over
the area. The Aliso Canyon gas storage facility near the Porter
Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles started leaking massive amounts
of methane into the San Fernando Valley area on Oct. 23.
http://time.com/4149170/california-natural-gas-methane-leak/?xid=homepage


Between Cheap Gas And Carbon Caps, Oil Sands Face Uncertain Fate.
Canada has the world's third-largest oil reserve, and it's worth
hundreds of billions of dollars. Nearly all of that crude is
contained in Alberta's oil sands. Getting the oil from
underground and into your car requires an extraordinary mining
effort that has significant effects on the environment and is
expensive.
http://www.npr.org/2015/12/14/459336339/between-cheap-gas-and-carbon-caps-oil-sands-face-uncertain-fate?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news


Study quantifies impact of fuel composition on PM emissions from
gasoline direct injection engines. Researchers from Tsinghua
University and Peking University have investigated the effects of
fuel properties on particulate emissions gasoline direct
injection engines (GDI). The study results, reported in the
journal Fuel, demonstrated that the fuel composition has a
significant on particulate emissions from GDI engines.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/12/20151214-gdipm.html 

VEHICLES

Europe Car Recovery to Slow After Fastest Growth in a Decade. The
European car market’s growth is set to slow from its fastest pace
in at least 10 years as consumers increasingly choose
alternatives to owning a vehicle, sapping a recovery from a
two-decade low. New-car registrations in Europe are set to rise 8
percent this year to more than 14 million vehicles for the first
time since 2009.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-15/europe-car-recovery-to-slow-after-fastest-growth-in-a-decade


South Korea Plans Big Jump in Fuel-Cell Vehicles. South Korea
wants one in 10 of every new cars sold in the country to be a
fuel-cell model by 2030. South Korea is honing plans to put more
hydrogen-powered vehicles on its roads, as auto makers around the
globe look to develop technologies to cut greenhouse-gas
emissions.
Korea aims to drastically increase the number of fuel-cell cars
on its streets…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/south-korea-plans-big-jump-in-fuel-cell-vehicles-1450152058


Nissan To Launch Range-Extended Electric Vehicle In 2016: Report.
The Nissan Leaf is now firmly established as the bestselling
electric car in history. Nissan expects to deliver its 200,000th
Leaf sometime next month. And Nissan managed to achieve that
without offering a gasoline range extender, as some other makers
do with their battery-electric models.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101409_nissan-to-launch-range-extended-electric-vehicle-in-2016-report


VW RECALL

VW European sales growth screeches to near-halt.  Volkswagen
sales growth in Europe screeched to a near-halt in November
compared with both its mass-market and premium competitors as the
German carmaker was penalized for its involvement in a diesel
emissions-cheating scandal. Sales of the core Volkswagen brand
grew in November by just 2.8 percent, compared with nearly 14
percent for the industry as a whole…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_EUROPE_CAR_SALES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


OTHER RELATED STORIES
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-15/vw-s-europe-market-share-narrows-most-since-emissions-crisis


Chinese environmental group sues Volkswagen over emissions
scandal.  A Chinese environmental group said it has sued
Volkswagen AG over its use of software to rig emissions tests, in
what state-owned media calls the first public interest lawsuit
over the scandal in the German company's biggest global market.
http://www.reuters.com/article/volkswagen-emissions-china-idUSL1N1440LJ20151215


U.S. brands tap European auto recovery as Volkswagen left behind.
European car sales rose 13.7 percent in November, according to
industry data published on Tuesday, with U.S. brands recording
strong gains as Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) continued to pay the price
of its diesel emissions test-rigging scandal. Registrations rose
to 1.12 million cars last month from 989,758 a year earlier…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-carsales-idUSKBN0TY0JY20151215?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews


VW to end contracts of 600 temp workers at Zwickau next year.
Volkswagen will terminate contracts of about 600 temporary
workers next year at a plant in Zwickau, Germany as it battles
the costs of its diesel emissions test-rigging scandal, the
carmaker's labour representatives said on Tuesday. Jobs of more
than 10,000 core workers at VW's three eastern German sites in
Zwickau…
http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFF9N13D02520151215


Bosch Role in VW Diesel Scandal Reviewed by German Prosecutors.
Prosecutors in Stuttgart said they are investigating whether
Robert Bosch GmbH employees helped Volkswagen AG rig software to
cheat on emissions tests. The probe is looking at corporate staff
at the car-parts maker, which provided VW with the software, but
no suspects have been identified…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-15/bosch-role-in-vw-diesel-scandal-reviewed-by-german-prosecutors


GREEN ENERGY

W.House urges Congress to invest in renewable energy in spending
bill. U.S. President Barack Obama would like to see Congress make
investments in renewable energy in its omnibus spending bill,
though final details of the funding measure would be up to
lawmakers, the White House said on Monday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fiscal-whitehouse-energy-idUSW1N12Z00V20151214


Paris climate pact sinks coal stocks, lifts renewable energy.  A
landmark deal to curb global warming dented shares of fossil fuel
companies and lifted renewable energy stocks on Monday, although
some price swings were muted by the non-binding nature of the
pact. The deal forged at the Paris climate summit is widely seen
as the most important climate agreement since the 1997 Kyoto
Protocol.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-summit-stocks-idUSKBN0TX22A20151214


China's Senyuan Starts Building $1.55 Billion Solar Farm. Henan
Senyuan Group Co., a Chinese electrical power equipment maker,
started construction of a 10 billion-yuan ($1.55 billion)
photovoltaic power project in central China’s Henan province. The
1 gigawatt Yuzhou project will be capable of generating 1.3
billion kilowatt-hours of electricity…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-15/china-s-senyuan-starts-building-1-55-billion-solar-farm
 

Canada expected to triple solar PV capacity in the next 5 years.
While considerably smaller than in the United States, Canada's
solar market is riding a growth trajectory similar to that of its
southern neighbor, with developers looking to nearly triple the
country's solar photovoltaic capacity by 2020, from 2,400
megawatts to roughly 6,300 MW.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/12/15/stories/1060029499 

MISCELLANEOUS

Australian court tosses out Adani coal mine challenge. An
Australian court on Tuesday rejected a bid to stop India's Adani
Enterprises (ADEL.NS) building one of the world's biggest coal
mines, saying the project should go ahead provided the firm
complies with a host of environmental measures. The ruling by the
Land Court of Queensland sets Adani back on track to proceed…
http://www.reuters.com/article/adani-ent-australia-coal-idUSKBN0TY0L020151215


OPINIONS

Windmills Have Direct Benefits for Farmers. With 98%-99% of
wind-farm land free for other uses, wind has little impact on
farmers and ranchers. Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake
Hurst’s “How Wind Farms Blow Away Rights on Real Farms” (Cross
Country, Dec. 5) ignores the benefits of low-cost wind energy…
http://www.wsj.com/articles/windmills-have-direct-benefits-for-farmers-1450131095


A Global Accord on Climate Change. To the Editor: Re “Nations
Approve Landmark Climate Deal” (front page, Dec. 13): The climate
negotiators in Paris gave us a deal that falls far short of
staving off the worst effects of climate change. They gave us
nonbinding promises to reduce carbon emissions without a
mechanism for verification, leaving room for inaccurate reporting
and cheating.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/15/opinion/a-global-accord-on-climate-change.html


Remember the Paris climate deal when voting in 2016. To the
editor: The Paris climate agreement is a resounding success —
within the context of reduced expectations after 20 years of
failed agreements. ("Nearly 200 nations join together to fight
climate change in historic Paris agreement," Dec. 12) The U.S.
Senate has effectively held the entire world hostage by refusing
to ratify a true legally…
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-want-the-paris-climate-deal-to-succeed-then-vote-accordingly-in-2016-20151215-story.html


Paris pact is more hype than real change. Perhaps the best part
of the United Nations climate change agreement reached in Paris
this weekend is that the hype is much more sweeping than the
actual impact of the accord. Given President Barack Obama’s
determination to secure his legacy by turning back rising
temperatures, Paris could have been disastrous to future economic
growth…
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/12/14/paris-climate-talks-hype-global-warming/77334752/

The Hidden Climate Threat That Gas Companies Noticed, But Rarely
Fixed. World leaders left Paris over the weekend with an
aggressive agreement to cut methane emissions and other so-called
short-lived climate pollutants. Methane doesn’t last as long in
the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, but it’s much more potent.
That’s one reason the city of Los Angeles is suing over the
methane leak from a natural gas well north of L.A. …
http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/12/14/the-hidden-climate-threat-that-gas-companies-noticed-but-rarely-fixed/

BLOGS

Breakdown: Uneven CO2 prices are better than none. A uniform
price on carbon emissions is unlikely to emerge from the United
Nations climate change confab in Paris. There’s plenty of support
for one, but enough opposition that any mention of it in a final
agreement is likely to be vague at best. Here’s a breakdown of
why it’s important – and why the current hodge-podge of local and
ad hoc measures is far better than nothing.
http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/2015/12/15/breakdown-uneven-co2-prices-are-better-than-none
/   

Why the climate change deal works. After years of painstaking
negotiations, the climate change deal struck by leaders of 195
countries on Saturday was a diplomatic success. It represents a
welcome shot in the arm for attempts to tackle global warming
and, crucially, establishes a new set of guidelines for lowering
greenhouse gas emissions.
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/12/14/why-the-climate-change-deal-works/


California's Billion-dollar Drought Plan Draws Ire. Political
leaders in water-starved Southern California are headed for a
confrontation over an innovative but costly plan to build one of
the world’s largest systems for recycling wastewater, VOA has
learned. San Diego officials are casting serious doubt on the
proposal, which advocates say could provide the region…
http://www.voanews.com/content/california-billion-dollar-drought-plan-draws-ire/3097600.html


The hard truths about renewable energy and subsidies.  In a
recent Washington Post article, author Griff Witte laments how
the British government has cut renewable energy subsidies. This
policy change has alarmed some across the world because of
climate change fears. Britain is not, however, casting away a
bright future of renewables; it is facing harsh realities.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/energy-environment/263214-the-hard-truths-about-renewable-energy-and-subsidies


Hazardous Smog Hits Another Chinese City. Smog in Chinese
metropolis Shanghai hit its highest level since January on
Tuesday. Smog in Chinese metropolis Shanghai hit its highest
level since January on Tuesday, prompting schools to ban outdoor
activities and authorities to limit work at construction sites
and factories as polluted air spreads around the country.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/shanghai-smog-china_5670207de4b0fccee16fd089





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