CLIMATE WATCH THE BULLETIN OF THE GLOBAL CLIMATE COALITION Volume 1 Issue 10 October 993 RECENT STUDY LAUDS U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD August, the EOP Group, a DC- based economic consulting firm, released a report entitled ?The United States versus the European Community.? The new report concluded that ?the United States is outpacing coun- tries of the European Community (EC) in setting tough environmental standards, spending on environmental protection and achieving significant environmental improvements.? The study shows that the United States 5 much tighter limits on automobile emissions, as well as more stringent test- ing procedures and stricter controls on specifications for automobiles. Addition- ally, the United States is the only nation with mandatory motor vehicle fuel econ- omy standards. The study also found that, under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the United States has a more stringent pro- gram for regulating $02 and emis- sions than the EC. Similarly, the United States has a more comprehensive regula- tory program for hazardous waste man- agement. As a result of these policies, the United States exceeds the EC in actual environ- mental performance, with better water quality, lower $02 emissions and higher levels of municipal wastewater treatment. The United States allocates 1.7 percent of its GDP to environmental protection 40 percent more than the EC allocates from its GDP. The study also reports that the EC has icted that it will fall short of its goal stabilizing C02 emissions by the year 2000. 0 Single copies of the report are available by calling the Global Climate Coalition at 202/637-3 I58. EDISON SHELVES PROGRAM fter much research and debate, Southern California Edison (SCE) Company has shelved its Green-Pricing Pilot Project. Through this program, customers voluntarily would have paid an extra amount on their bills, which the utility company would have, in turn, invested in renewable energy technologies. To help design program, an advisory board comprising utility regu- lators, consumer advocates, the renew- able energy industry and environmen- talists surveyed customer focus groups to gauge customer interest, as well as to obtain input on what would make such a program appealing. Participants could not agree on an acceptable amount for a green-price but did say that it would be important to see a positive return on their ?investment." However, showing such a return may prove difficult for utility companies. The focus group research revealed that customer knowledge about electric- ity generation is extremely limited. Many participants did not know the source of their electricity. Others did not understand the term ?renewable energy,? and some customers regarded coal as a ?renewable resource coming out of the ground." This confusion perhaps explains some consumers? ?strongly held but some- what inconsistent beliefs regarding wind and solar technologies,? including the belief that since the wind and sun are free, energy derived from these sources should be free once the proper equip. ment is in place. Participants also had trouble discerning ?the relative benefits and costs of using renewable energy Canning-gimme he Adaptation Branch of the Environmental Protection Agency?s Climate Change Divi- sion (Of?ce of Policy, Planning and Evaluation) is supporting more than 40 studies under its Benefits Assessment Program to assess the socio-economic impacts of potential climate change. According to early research, if a dan- gerous warming should occur some- time late in the next century, the com- bined impacts could lead to price increases in all sectors of the U.S. economy, as well as an overall decline in aggregate U.S. consumption. Even so, these changes are not expected to EPA STUDIES ECONOMICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE constitute a large percentage of GNP. The Adaptation Branch began work on the assessment program one year ago and expects to produce a prelimi- nary Bene?ts Assessment by Decem- ber 1993. Early indications are that permit trading and carbon taxes will be recommended as ?least cost? com- mand and control measures. Policy makers will have to weigh the eco- nomic impact of the recommenda- tions against the questionable impact they might have on global emissions levels. 0 For more information, call U.S. EPA Adaptation Branch Chief loel Scheraga, ZOMWOZQ Executive Director's Column PRESIDENT CLINTON RELEASES CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION PLAN By John Shlacs October President lin- ton released his Climate (?hange Action Plan. a St)- page blueprint outlining him his administration plans to rt-duc LES greenhouse gas emissions to I?l?ifi le\ - c'ls by the year .3000. \s as invited to the White House ceremony where President (?linttm explained that the goal Will be "ac com- plishc-d primarily by harnessing prit ate market torc es and by establishing new public -pri\ate partnerships to bring out our best research and our best ter hnologies." The (ilobal Climate (?oalition sup- ports the president's reliance on busi- ness-government partnerships and vol- untary initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. has always felt that the nation's climate policy should be on the of America's leadership role in energy effic iencv and environmental protection rather than rely on more government man- dates. Now that the plan is out, Industry and companies can make their own review to evaluate the impacts of the presrdent's program on their ability to remain globally competitive and sus- tain jobs and economic growth. The November issue of Climate Watch will include an analysis of President Clin- ton's Climate Change Action Plan. The agreement by some industries to undertake efforts to become even more energy efficient follows a 15-year period during which the energy inten- sity (amount of energy consumed per dollar of value added) of U.S. manu- facturing declined by 50 percent. This was the largest reduction in manufac- turing energy intensity among the major industrialized countries. During this period, lapan reduced its intensity by 49 percent, and Germany reduced its by 32 percent. As a result, from 1974-1988 the US. manufacturing sector reduced carbon dioxide emis- sions bs 4| percent per unit oi otitptil these sa\ ings have been the result or strong industrs initiatu es and im est- ments in nets tec hnologies. mantiiac - ll"an processes and operating meth- ods and procedures Moreover, these sat ings haw been attainecl ith a 5'1 pert ent increase In production. Progress in the Units-cl States has come during a period or phenomenal growth in environmental regulation EPA's mm estimates project that US. industn spends over $100 billion a year on the em ironment, whic h, when added to the estimates for US govern- ment expenditures. overall year- lv em ironmental costs to $140 billion. The United States goes far beyond many other countries, including EC countries, in regulating the environ- ment. It makes sense for industries to become more efficient and more com- petitive. Encouraging business-govemment relationships can result in industrial programs that can increase efficiency and reduce emissions, as well as pro- vrde multiple benefits for those who have determined that they can market products and earn a return on invest- ment that will provide them with capi- tal for future investment and growth. However, when evaluating the compli- cated issues related to climate change, there are several factors to keep in mind. The reason that industries must closer examine initiatives in the area of energy ef?ciency is that their deci- sions must make economic sense for the future viability of their companies especially since views on whether we face catastrophic warming are uncertain. Further, we must recognize the structural and economic differ- ences between the United States and our major trading partners, otherwise we could give away real competitive advantage. We also must recognize the progress the l'tillt?tl States but made In rr't t?nt \t'ais In energy on. i lt?lit and make sure our entironmon tal commitment is on ogiult'd when \w are ompaied other nations finally perhaps the greatest chal- lenge tor 5 industry is the lac that the oi greenhouse emissions ill comr- trom dewloping countries that are dependent on fossil- and carbon-based tuels and whose ec onomies and populations expe- rienc tremendous growth during the neu quarter century. Some studies indicate that they Will be tor pers ent of worldwule sions by the year 202$. A US. industry has been called upon by the president and the government to help deal With this growmg challenge overseas. It will take an economically strong and technologically vibrant US. economy to work With these countries and provtde the innovation and tech- nology they will need. As we continue environmental improvement at home the real challenge will be global. Edison's Green?Pricing Program (ommuedirompagel sources in place of nuclear, coal 0r nat- ural gas." Desplte customer ambiguity, Edison proposed a preliminary green-pricing program to the advisory board, where it met with resistance from all sides. Consumer advocates feared that envi- ronmental benefits would be used to justify shifting some program costs to nonparticipants. Despite some enthusi- asm among renewable energy interests, there were concerns that green-pricing might be used to displace other renew- able energy programs, while California utility regulators thought that the pro- ject would jeopardize their upcoming supply-side auction and other proc ings. Faced with such dissention, SCE shelved the plan. 0 Form lm oonuctkobln Waltherat Southern cum Edna, 015002-9653. QUSHING GREEN .1 rec i-itt House lorr-ign Affairs Subcommittee hearing, hairman Sam (ii-jdi-nson ll)- (Ti called on Amt-m an busi- ness to jump into the overseas envtron- mental market. The ommittee investi- gatc-cl to reate an c-ifec tive export promotion strategy for US. c-nvr- ronmental tec hnology. Predicting the creation of American jobs over the next seven years, Gejdenson said he wants to see the United States save )0 percent of the growth expected in the overseas market. Gejdenson also warned that suc ben- efits will come only once the United States has allocated enough resources to promote its expons. In I990, the United States spent $231 million to promote manufacturing exports, while France spent $417 million, Italy $309 million and the United Kingdom $298 million. these figures to remain competi- we. In testimony, the US. Environmental Technology Export Council (ETEC) esti- mated the current value of the interna- tional market for environmental products and services to be at $295 million, and projected a 6 percent growth over the next five years. Although 90 percent of the current market lies in North America, Europe and japan, much of the predicted growth will be outside the industrialized world. The ETEC proposed several ways for the United States to improve its expert promotion efforts, including a larger staff at the US. and Foreign Commer- cial Service, as well as better coordina- tion and cooperation among govern- ment agencies and between government and business. 0 said the United States must at least .\ii of the (lotion l?liot A?l )Sl?ltlleC UPI )A?t l: hile temperatures in the lower atmosphere remained slighlh below average In September. temperatures in the stratos- phc-rc- hit their oldest in at least I'i years, and perhaps their olrk?st sinc t? the IQStis, according to st ?hints at the tint versity oi Alabama at lluntssillr- ll l) and at NASA's Marshall Spat 0 flight (in ter. This old trend in the stratosphere the layer of atmosphere from abrin i7 and )0 miles above the ianh r-ntly one of the last limatir byproducts of the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption Temperatures in the stratosphere were almost 0.75 degrees (?elsius below aver- age in September. and, since September 1992, stratospheric temperatures have is app." Lilli-II about i it l?l\lli\ lhis i oolint: t-tti-ct might bi- ted to List sou-ml visits .It i union; to In Rm \pt-rii er a spat i- st whilst .it tlii larth \c tl?nt it .ib .tt Marshall Spar t? lightt f?nlt?f -\ttr-i tlii- ll hr (hon ('ltllilttit?l but] I \si-rtt oldt-r tor \t?dls until the \olc .Inii' the stratosphi-ru Ii-in pc?ratuu- ri-c ord has been largely intlu t-nc ed by the ll hit hon and Pinatubo anoi?s II has been bet against balloon data (lillt?t ter srni the l?iStis, Spent or said And right no? are has mg the coldest lstralnsiiltmir tt-mjx-raturt-s sini thi- In addition, .nr?ragi- global tempera tures in the lovu-r atmospheri- (l ig ll lin gored lX?lt)? long term averages during September, at circling to 1 'All sc it'niist john (,llfl\l\ . GLOBAL TEMPERATURE REPORT O..- 0? BETTER COOPERATION WITH INDUSTRY he House Committee on Science. Space and Technology?s Subcom- mittee on Technology, Environ- ment and Aviation recently held a hearing in Conc0rd, New Hampshire, on pollution-preventing technology initia- tives. Speakers throughout the hearing iterated the need to improve communica- tion and cooperation between govern- ment and industry. Paul G. Keough, regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, admitted that the has limited experi- ence in pr0viding business assistance," but saw great potential for the agency to 'help industry anticipate the need for environmental improvement in time to identify pollution prevention approaches or design and engineer better pollution control methods.? For example. Keough said, the EPA could work with indusm to shape and implement environmental policies. such as marketable emissions Credit?, that favor developing and using technological solutions. Citing barriers to using new tec hnologv I in the EPA's Site Innovative Technokigy Evaluation tSliEi program, Robert W. Varney, commissioner of the New Hamp I shire Department of Envtronrm-ntal Ser- v' vices. had several suggestions tor the (Mauve Pg 2 Pg! "Hw' ""4,an "vvm'mnh' m' 'm mm mm "mm iniqwu hum a 4mm 'h'x'hxm mm mm>> mm mm w'uxuuw . mu ,uqc Hg nu- m. w. unwn'Mums "mm mm "Hum m' "w \wvu Huldhuwmhnu mm .W um vv'Hhr" mmw'hmm' mum. mm 'lmhum'umum 4W Wm>> mm 'mhm mum Adm mvruwx ,m mmwm("\Vuuksl 101* mm" 'w Hmvm'vl Luna-h a I '1 >ku \'wrm v' mu "mm-m Hm h. a mum>> mummy 'Hmr-rhv erm It OHM Clan-0r mm. mum: "mm human>> and pfluw bummed "mums bum, pan-094mm mo mm and mm. MW (m (mm Mug: m. "(wa chm: mm. In Idflm' ErwvHerum' Dim-m Drew 0mm: \mlc mm mm row rx mom forum Mimi-m, mun- [mum min as mum "Hum 1