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ARB Newsclips for December 16, 2015. 
This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office
of Communications.  You may need to sign in or register with
individual websites to view some of the following news articles.

CAP AND TRADE

California's International Model for Climate Success. The ongoing
COP21 international climate agreement negotiations should be
guided by California’s experience.  While our transition is
ongoing, smart policy and bipartisan leadership have reduced
emissions and increased renewable energy while creating economic
growth. California has decoupled economic growth from greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions.
http://www.theenergycollective.com/energy-innovation-llc/2299636/californias-international-model-climate-success
 

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.
http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-court-pollution-idUSL1N11V2CZ20151215


New Diesel-Gulping SUVs Banned in Delhi to Fight Toxic Air. Big
fat diesel-guzzling SUVs are becoming an endangered species in
New Delhi as India’s capital grapples with hazardous air
pollution. The nation’s Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily
banned the registration of larger diesel vehicles in the city…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-16/india-court-temporarily-bans-some-new-diesel-vehicles-in-delhi


China Suspends Fuel Price Cuts to Curb Oil Demand, Pollution.
China suspended fuel price adjustments as the world’s biggest
energy consumer tries to curb demand growth and cut pollution to
help improve air quality. Shares of the country’s biggest energy
producers surged. Keeping domestic fuel rates stable, while oil
price continue to fall…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-16/china-suspends-fuel-price-adjustments-to-curb-demand-pollution


Harbor-area residents demand better oversight of port operations.
Harbor-area residents and environmentalists on Tuesday urged the
city to appoint an independent body to oversee the Port of Los
Angeles, saying it cannot be trusted to fulfill air
pollution-cutting requirements at one of its busiest shipping
terminals. The demands follow the port's disclosure in September
that it has failed to carry out…
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-1216-port-hearing-20151216-story.html


ALISO CANYON
Workers wary of igniting natural gas as they try to stop leak
near Porter Ranch. California regulators are taking precautions
so that crews do not ignite leaking methane gas as they work to
plug a defective well north of Los Angeles, the state’s oil and
gas supervisor said Tuesday.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-workers-wary-of-igniting-natural-gas-20151215-story.html


LA County declares state of emergency over Porter Ranch gas leak.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday declared a
state of emergency over a Southern California Gas Co. leaking
well site above Porter Ranch that has pumped up to 1,200 tons of
methane into the atmosphere.
http://www.dailynews.com/environment-and-nature/20151215/la-county-declares-state-of-emergency-over-porter-ranch-gas-leak


Two Months In, Much Remains Unknown About Calif. Gas Leak. Almost
two months after the discovery of a natural gas leak at a storage
site near Los Angeles, the company responsible says it can’t
identify the cause or how much methane has been released.
Southern California Gas Company updated legislative staff at the
state Capitol Monday.
http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/12/15/two-months-in,-much-remains-unknown-about-calif-gas-leak/

CLIMATE CHANGE

UK should put carbon limit on back-up plants to meet climate
goals. Britain needs to put a carbon emissions limit on power
plants bidding for back-up capacity contracts as an auction last
week laid bare the contradiction between support for dirty
emergency power stations and ambitions to tackle climate change.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-energy-climatechange-idUSKBN0TZ1FE20151216?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews


U.S. spending bill does not block climate fund payment. The U.S.
State Department will be able to deliver its first payment of
$500 million to the United Nations Green Climate Fund, after
lawmakers agreed on a federal fiscal deal that does not include
language to block it.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-congress-idUSKBN0TZ2ED20151216


Investors put pressure on miners to respond to climate change. 
An alliance of around 100 investors is calling on mining
companies Anglo American Glencore and Rio Tinto to show that they
are working to lessen the impact of climate change on their
businesses.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-investment-mining-idUSKBN0TZ1BS20151216


Climate change puts Venezuelan amphibians at risk of extinction.
Venezuelan frogs and toads are in critical danger due to climate
change as rising temperatures complicate reproduction and spread
a deadly fungus, say scientists, who liken the species to
canaries in a coalmine warning of imminent danger. Scientists
studying global warming have warned that rising temperatures…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-environment-idUSKBN0TY2M020151216

Japan, South Korea stick to coal despite global climate deal.
Less than a week since signing the global climate deal in Paris,
Japan and South Korea are pressing ahead with plans to open
scores of new coal-fired power plants, casting doubt on the
strength of their commitment to cutting CO2 emissions.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-summit-coal-idUSKBN0TY2TG20151216


Climate policy intact though agency funding stays flat. The
omnibus fiscal 2016 spending deal unveiled by congressional
leaders last night would allow the Obama administration to go
forward with a key international climate policy while keeping
U.S. EPA's budget level. The bill would not explicitly prohibit
the United States from funding the Green Climate Fund, a
U.N.-launched fund to provide…
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/12/16/stories/1060029603

NOAA reports 'rapidly evolving' effects from Arctic warming.  The
Arctic continued to set records or near-records in 2015 that
highlighted the severe effects of warming across the region,
according to a new analysis led by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. The average air temperature over the
Arctic's land was the highest since records began in 1900, or
about 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/12/16/stories/1060029565 

DROUGHT

California drought regulators back off controversial
salmon-rescue plan. California drought regulators on Tuesday
backed off a controversial plan to withhold water from farms and
cities next year in an effort to preserve an endangered species
of salmon, instead choosing a more flexible approach they said
still could do the trick.
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/nation-world/national/article50010365.html#storylink=cpy


After drought and warmer weather, local farmers are taking time
off. Four years of drought and unusually warm weather have
exhausted the patience and the resources of many local farmers,
and the result is empty farm stands at Southern California
farmers markets. For the first time in 30 years, farmers Jerry
Rutiz of Rutiz Family Farms in Arroyo Grande and Chris Caldwell
of Tutti Frutti Farms in Lompoc are taking time off.
http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-drought-farmers-20151214-story.html


Visalia, Cal Water tiptoe toward truce in dispute over drought,
rates. The city of Visalia and California Water Service Co.
appear to be moving toward a truce in their escalating war over
control of the Visalia waterworks. The water system is owned by
Cal Water, a publicly traded company, and the city set off alarm
bells last month by ordering an appraisal of the company’s
Visalia operation…
http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article49970935.html#storylink=cpy


Los Angeles, San Diego Reshaping California Drought Strategy.
Southern California’s two great cities, Los Angeles and San
Diego, are pursuing different but equally cutting-edge solutions
to the state’s epic, four-year drought. The extreme dry spell,
called a 500-year event, follows previous droughts in the early
1990s that galvanized local…
http://www.voanews.com/content/los-angeles-san-diego-reshaping-california-drought-strategy/3104927.html


Burning Amazon forests and a rain-drenched Calif. are likely to
come with El Niño – researchers. The Amazon forests of Central
and South America are at increased risk of fires in 2016 due to
the ongoing El Niño, according to NASA scientists. This El Niño,
which has helped trigger more than 100,000 fires in Indonesia and
spewed an estimated 1.75 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide
equivalents into the atmosphere…
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/12/16/stories/1060029584 

Feinstein touts 'progress' on drought bill. Sen. Dianne
Feinstein's (D-Calif.) quest to introduce a bill addressing
California's drought continued yesterday when she sat down with
federal officials responsible for ensuring compliance with the
Endangered Species Act. Negotiations with California House
Republicans fell apart late last week…
http://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2015/12/16/stories/1060029569 

DIESEL ACTIVITIES

Shipping industry split on how to curb GHGs. The shipping
industry is debating how to reduce carbon emissions after being
left out of the international climate deal struck in Paris over
the weekend. In a voluntary pact, countries agreed to set targets
to curb emissions within their borders, which doesn't cover ships
and aircraft that carry goods around the world.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2015/12/16/stories/1060029559 

FUELS

RPT-Cheap gas spurs SUV sales and puts U.S. climate goals at
risk. Surging demand for trucks and SUVs fueled by cheap gasoline
is holding back improvements in U.S. fuel economy and greenhouse
gas emissions, a government report due out on Wednesday is
expected to show. The disconnect between consumer demand for
larger, less efficient vehicles…
http://www.reuters.com/article/autos-emissions-idUSL1N14504420151216


Pickup, SUV Revival Stalls U.S. Automaker Fuel Economy Progress.
Americans have flocked back to pickups and SUVs as gasoline
prices have fallen and that’s slowing U.S. automakers’ progress
on fuel economy targets, according to new data released by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The U.S. fleet of passenger
cars and light trucks averaged 24.3 miles per gallon in 2014,
increasing only slightly from 24.1 mpg in 2013.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-16/pickup-suv-revival-stalls-u-s-automaker-fuel-economy-progress
.

Canadian Oil Sands' Greatest Asset Now Worst With Carbon Curbs.
Canadian oil-sands producers like Suncor Energy Inc. like to tout
the long life of the world’s third-largest crude reserves as
their greatest asset. That longevity may now be their biggest
liability with a new global agreement to curtail carbon
emissions. Alberta is one of the costliest -- and most carbon
intensive -- places in the world to produce oil.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-15/canadian-oil-sands-greatest-asset-now-worst-with-carbon-curbs


U.S. on verge of lifting 40-year oil export ban. The United
States appears on the brink of ending a four-decade ban on most
exports of crude oil, which would end a years-long fight brought
about by a boom in domestic shale output that contributed to a
supply glut and depressed prices.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-oilexports-idUSKBN0TZ1QZ20151216

http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-push-to-end-oil-export-ban-puts-china-in-slippery-situation-1450271641


Shell fights to keep Arctic drilling leases.  Royal Dutch Shell
is fighting the Obama administration’s decision not to extend its
drilling rights leases in the Arctic Ocean. Shell filed an
administrative appeal of the decisions Tuesday with the Interior
Department, which in October rejected the company’s pleas to
pause its leases that are due to expire in 2017 and 2020.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/263290-shell-fights-to-kep-arctic-drilling-leases


VEHICLES

German lobby group says excess emissions detected in Mercedes
model. German environmental lobby group DUH turned on carmaker
Daimler on Wednesday, saying test results had shown nitrogen
oxide emissions from one of its Mercedes diesel models far
exceeded European legal limits. Daimler (DAIGn.DE) described the
results from a Mercedes C-Class 200 CDI as "questionable"…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-daimler-emissions-idUSKBN0TZ17F20151216


Tesla rival NextEV hires former Cisco tech chief Padmasree
Warrior. Chinese electric car company NextEV has hired Cisco
Systems Inc's former tech head, Padmasree Warrior, as its chief
development officer and the chief executive of its U.S. unit.
Warrior, a tech industry veteran who featured in Forbes
magazine's "World's 100 Most Powerful Women" list thrice…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nextev-moves-developmenthead-idUSKBN0TZ28V20151216


India to allow ethanol-only vehicles; response to be muted. India
will soon allow automakers to manufacture vehicles that can run
entirely on ethanol, but adoption is likely to be slow as the
country has not been able to source the sugarcane by-product even
for its current low gasoline-blending targets. Transport minister
Nitin Gadkari's announcement to push the cleaner-burning fuel
came…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-ethanol-idUSKBN0TZ1B320151216
http://www.wsj.com/articles/indian-court-bans-registration-of-some-diesel-vehicles-in-delhi-over-pollution-1450269657
 

Ford driverless car to hit California roads.  Add Ford to the
growing list of car companies fielding autonomous vehicles on the
West Coast. The Detroit auto giant has received a permit to begin
operating a driverless car on public streets as part of the
California Autonomous Vehicle Testing Program. Ford executives
say a Ford Fusion hybrid is already being tested in a
closed-course setting in the Palo Alto area.
http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-ford-driverless-car-to-hit-california-roads-20151215-story.html


Why Electric Cars Make Sense Even When Gas Is $2 A Gallon.
Whenever gas prices fall, there's always much speculation about
how they will impact electric-car sales. That's because, for some
consumers, one of the primary selling points of an electric car
is the money saved by avoiding gas stations.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1101430_why-electric-cars-make-sense-even-when-gas-is-2-a-gallon


VW RECALL

European Parliament set to hold inquiry into VW emissions
scandal. The European Parliament plans to set up a committee to
investigate Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) emissions scandal and
determine whether regulatory oversight of the car industry was
too lax. Members of the European Parliament will vote on the
issue on Thursday, but lawmakers said that was a formality after
leaders of the various political groups decided on Wednesday to
establish the committee.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-eu-idUSKBN0TZ2AT20151216


VW gets go-ahead to repair diesel cars affected by emissions
scandal. Volkswagen recall will begin in 2016 with 2-litre cars,
as German firm promises to compensate customers for any fall in
residual value of their vehicle. Volkswagen has secured
regulatory approval to repair diesel cars affected by the
emissions scandal and will begin work in January. The German
Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) has…
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/16/vw-gets-go-ahead-to-repair-diesel-cars-affected-by-emissions-scandal


Emissions scandal result of series of errors from 2005, says
Volkswagen Tri-County. "It was not a one-off error, but an
unbroken chain of errors", said the company's supervisory board
chief Hans Dieter Poetsch. To prevent this happening again,
Volkswagen intends to hand over all future emissions testing to a
third-party independent auditor.
http://thevillagessuntimes.com/2015/12/16/emissions-scandal-result-of-series-of-errors-from-2005-says/
 

GREEN ENERGY

Samsung SDI team up in energy storage push. Germany's top utility
E.ON and South Korea's Samsung SDI have entered a partnership in
the field of energy storage, aiming to take advantage of an
expected boom in battery demand following Tesla's push into the
market. Both groups signed a memorandum of understanding to
develop "profitable energy storage solutions and…
http://www.reuters.com/article/e-on-samsung-sdi-batteries-idUSL8N1451SW20151216


Norway's Statkraft ceases new offshore wind investments.
Norwegian utility Statkraft will cease investing in new offshore
windfarms, including the world's biggest project off the coast of
Britain, so it can continue paying dividends to its government
owners despite a slump in Nordic power prices.
http://www.reuters.com/article/statkraft-windfarm-idUSL8N1450Q920151216


Iberdrola to list 18.5 percent of U.S. grids and renewables unit
Avangrid. Spanish utility Iberdrola will list an 18.5 percent
stake in its new U.S. grids and renewables unit Avangrid in New
York on Thursday, its chief executive told Reuters, as it looks
to raise finance for its multi-billion dollar investment plans.
CEO Ignacio Galan declined comment on Avangrid's likely
valuation…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iberdrola-avangrid-idUSKBN0TZ1IQ20151216


U.K. Solar Industry Braces for Government Decision on Subsidies.
U.K. solar companies are bracing for the results of a public
consultation on subsidies to photovoltaic installations, with the
future of the industry hinging on whether ministers go ahead with
their plan for a cut of as much as 87 percent. The proposal made
in August would reduce feed-in tariffs for solar power by 62
percent to 87 percent…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-16/u-k-solar-industry-braces-for-government-decision-on-subsidies


China's State Power Buys Clean-Energy Unit From IFM Investors.
State Power Investment Corp. of China agreed to acquire Pacific
Hydro Pty, a renewable energy company with assets in Australia,
Chile and Brazil, from IFM Investors Pty. Pacific Hydro has 19
hydro-electric and wind assets with capacity of 900 megawatts,
IFM and State Power said in a statement Wednesday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-16/china-s-state-power-buys-clean-energy-unit-from-ifm-investors


Spain Plans First Auction for Renewable Energy in Three Years.
Spain announced that its first auction for renewables in three
years will take place on Jan. 14. Developers may bid to install
500 megawatts of wind energy and 200 megawatts of biomass, the
Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism said in an e-mailed
statement. The wood-burning plants will be located on the Iberian
peninsula.
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-NZGBSV6TTDS001-0FH9UO6V9QD7NG8BJ9SQ3SR0DA


California regulators propose new rooftop solar fees.  Rooftop
solar panel owners could face new fees under a proposal issued
Tuesday, but state regulators rejected several recommendations by
utility companies that threatened the expansion of residential
and commercial solar efforts. Southern California Edison and the
state's other big investor-owned utilities had pushed to charge
more for homes…
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-rooftop-solar-subsidy-20151215-story.html


(POSSIBE KEY STORY???) San Diego Vows to Move Entirely to
Renewable Energy in 20 Years. Last weekend, representatives of
195 countries reached a landmark accord in Paris to lower
planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. On Tuesday, local
leaders in San Diego committed to making a city-size dent in the
problem.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/16/science/san-diego-vows-to-move-entirely-to-renewable-energy-in-20-years.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=sectionfront&mtrref=www.nytimes.com&_r=3


Energy spending would get big boost in omnibus.  A $1.15 trillion
fiscal 2016 spending bill released overnight is being hailed as a
win for energy programs and the nation's national labs, as well
as research into advanced fossil and nuclear technologies. The
Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee portion of the
omnibus includes $37.2 billion, $3 billion above 2015 enacted
levels and more than $1 billion above the president's request.
http://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2015/12/16/stories/1060029604 

MISCELLANEOUS

California reaches $26-million settlement with Comcast over
electronic waste. Cable television giant Comcast Corp. has agreed
to pay the state of California $25.95 million to resolve
allegations that the company unlawfully disposed of electronics,
including remote controls, modems, splitters and routers.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-et-ct-california-ag-harris-comcast-hazardous-waste-settlement-20151215-story.html


OPINIONS

Congress poised to lift the ban on U.S. crude exports: Kemp.
Congressional leaders have reached a deal to lift the 40-year-old
ban on exporting U.S. crude in a symbolically important move that
could give domestic oil producers much more flexibility in
future. There is no immediate prospect of large-scale oil exports
from the United States because domestic refineries…
http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-oilexports-kemp-idUSL8N14530J20151216


Oil makes only one promise and that's volatility: Kemp. Just
about the only thing we know about where oil prices are headed
over the next few years is that most of the forecasts will be
wrong. The oil market has defied every attempt to fix or predict
prices in terms of oil's value to customers, the marginal cost of
production, or the price of available substitutes.

"It was to me an economic aberration that oil remained much
cheaper than Evian mineral water,"…
http://www.reuters.com/article/oil-prices-kemp-idUSL8N1443E920151216


A 19th-Century Glimpse of a Changing Climate. John Ruskin’s
warnings about a “plague-wind” offer one way of looking at the
Paris deal. The first time John Ruskin noticed the gray clouds of
the “plague-wind” was in 1871, decades into the industrial era.
Walking home from work at the University of Oxford one spring
day, the renowned English art critic looked skyward, to the “dry
black veil which no ray of sunshine” …
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/12/ruskin-paris-climate-change/420453/?single_page=true&print=


BLOGS

From the UN to the Market. We have a climate agreement. Now, the
business world has to come with the good solutions. After years
of intense negotiations, the world agreed this weekend on a new
climate agreement in Paris. 186 countries signed on the papers
describing how every country shall bring down their greenhouse
gas emissions. In addition every country has agreed that their
goals must be more ambitious than until now.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erik-solheim/from-the-un-to-the-market_b_8816224.html




California is in a drought emergency.
Visit www.SaveOurH2O.org for water conservation tips.