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Comprehensive Four-Year Study Finds Black Carbon Second Biggest Climate Pollutant Behind Carbon Dioxide

Posted by admin on January 15th, 2013

Double previous climate change estimates

Even stronger in Arctic, darkening snow and ice
and accelerating warming; may also change Asian Monsoons

Diesel engines best mitigation targets,
followed by residential cook stoves, brick kilns, other sources

Washington, DC 15 January 2012 – Black carbon is the second most powerful climate pollutant behind only carbon dioxide, according to a landmark four-year assessment lead by T.C. Bond, S. J. Doherty, D. W. Fahey, and P. Forster, and a multinational team of 27 other experts, including prominent scientists from China and India. The results, Bounding the role of black carbon in the climate system, are scheduled to be published online Tuesday in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.

The direct effects of black carbon are nearly double the 2007 IPCC’s Fourth Assessment, according to the assessment, confirming select earlier studies once considered outliers such as Ramanathan and Carmichael (2008). “This study confirms and goes beyond other research that suggested black carbon has a strong warming effect on climate, just ahead of methane,” said co-lead author David Fahey from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“The potential to slow warming by cutting black carbon is even more important than previously understood,” added Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, who served as a reviewer of the assessment.

Reducing diesel black carbon emissions along with other key sources including brick kilns and residential solid fuel burning will quickly reduce warming, according to the assessment.

The assessment also calculates that BC causes significantly higher warming over the Arctic and other vulnerable regions, and can affect rainfall patterns in areas where emissions are high, such as the Asian Monsoon system, confirming earlier studies by Ramanathan et al. (2005) and Meehl et al. (2007). In addition, the assessment establishes that black carbon is a significant cause of the rapid warming in the Northern Hemisphere at mid- to high-latitudes, including the northern United States, Canada, northern Europe, and northern Asia.

“This new research provides further compelling evidence to act on short-lived climate pollutants, including black carbon,” said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Environment Programme Executive Director. “I would urge more countries, companies and organizations to join the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, which is leveraging several key pathways and new partnerships to manage down these climate, health and crop-damaging emissions.” The Coalition is already pursuing projects to reduce black carbon emissions from heavy-duty diesel vehicles and engines, brick production, and municipal waste disposal, and is considering several new initiatives, including for residential cook stoves.

Since its founding February last year, the Coalition has grown from six to 25 State partners from both developed and developing countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Bangladesh, Mexico, Norway, Japan, and the U.S. In May the G8 countries agreed to join, and commissioned the World Bank to prepare a report on ways to integrate reduction of near-term climate pollutants into their activities. Pending completion of the report, the World Bank has already pledged significant increases in funding to reduce black carbon and the other short-lived climate pollutants. Other members include the UN Environment Programme, which houses the Coalition’s Secretariat, the UN Development Programme, and the European Commission, as well as several NGOs, bringing the total membership to 49.

“The Coalition is the first global effort to address black carbon and the other short-lived climate pollutants and is an essential platform for action,” said Romina Picolotti, former secretary of environment for Argentina. “States interested in doing more to reduce their black carbon emissions should not miss the opportunity to join.”

“Black carbon is not only more important for climate than we thought, it also kills over a million people every year who contract deadly respiratory diseases by breathing air polluted by black carbon,” said Zaelke. “That number could be up to 3.6 million deaths by 2050. This is bad for development, which depends on a healthy population.”

Over the past decade “the speed of Arctic climate change and glacial melt has increased the demand for mitigation options which can slow near-term warming,” according to the assessment, and reducing black carbon along with other short-lived climate pollutants, “especially methane and tropospheric ozone (O3), could quickly decrease positive climate forcing and hence climate warming.”

Black Carbon is one of the short-lived climate pollutants targeted by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, along with methane, and HFCs. Fast action on black carbon and methane has the potential to cut the rate of climate change in half for the next several decades, reduce air pollution-related deaths by as much as 2.4 million a year, and annual crop losses by 30 to more than 100 million tonnes, according to a previous assessment of black carbon and tropospheric ozone by UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization.

The new assessment is being released at the same time as the US’s draft third climate assessment report by 240 scientists, which concludes that climate change is already a major threat, “largely because society and its infrastructure were designed for the climate of the past, not for the rapidly changing climate of the present or the future,” with longer periods of extreme heat in summer, longer wildfire seasons in the Western US, increasing coastal erosion, and more frequent flooding.

“Fast cuts to black carbon and other short-lived climate pollutants are critical for both mitigation and adaptation,” said Zaelke, “because they can quickly reduce the rate of warming by half and reduce impacts significantly over the next several decades.” “Success also builds the momentum and confidence we need to address carbon dioxide from energy production, which is essential for a safe climate,” he added.

The new assessment and the Coalition are clear that cuts in black carbon and the other short-lived climate pollutants alone cannot alone protect the Planet and its people from dangerous levels of climate change over the 21st century unless aggressive reductions are also made in carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas.

The assessment will be available Tuesday 15 January at 13:00 GMT here.

A Primer on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (2012) by IGSD is here.

Wallack, J. S., & Ramanathan, V., The Other Climate Changers: Why Black Carbon and Ozone Also Matter, Foreign Affairs (2009), is here; and Clare, D., Pistone K., & Ramanathan V., Getting Rid of Black Carbon, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (2010) is here.
The following are major findings of the scientific assessment, generally presented as quotes:

BC Second Only to CO2

Black carbon is the “second most important human emission …; only carbon dioxide is estimated to have a greater forcing…” (Abstract)

The total climate forcing of black carbon is 1.1 W m-2, with the high end of the range at 2.1 W m-2, which would put black carbon far above carbon dioxide, which is 1.7 W m-2.

The “direct radiative forcing of +0.88 W m-2 … is similar to the +0.9 W m-2 given by Ramanathan and Carmichael [2008].” (Section 9.6.28.2)

“[T]otal climate forcing of black carbon is greater than the direct forcing given in the fourth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.” (Section 0.2.3.2)

[This is also higher than the direct forcing estimates from the 2011 UNEP&WMO Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Tropospheric Ozone, which calculated direct forcing from BC between 0.3 and 0.6 W m-2.]

Stronger Regional Warming in Arctic and Over Ice and Snow

Black carbon has an even more powerful effect in some regions, including the Arctic, where deposition on snow and ice causes positive climate forcing. This is true even for aerosol sources that have high co-emitted cooling aerosols; even these “can produce positive climate forcing in the Arctic because of their effects on snow and ice.” (Section 0.2.6.1)

“The best estimate of climate forcing from black carbon deposition on snow and sea ice in the industrial era is +0.13 W m-2”, although at the high end, it could be as much as +0.33 W m-2. (Section 0.2.6.2)

“Black carbon forcing concentrates climate warming in the mid-high latitude Northern Hemisphere.” [This includes the northern US, Canada, Northern Europe, and Asia.]“It is also likely to be one of the causes ofArctic warming in the early 20th century.” (Section 0.2.12.2)

In particularly vulnerable regions, direct radiative forcing from BC can be more than ten times greater that the global average, “on the order of +10 W m-2, for example, over regions of East and South Asia.” (Section 5.1.2)

BC May Shift Monsoons

“Regional circulation and precipitation changes may occur in response to black-carbon climate forcings. These changes include a northward shift in the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone and changes in Asian monsoon systems where concentrations of absorbing aerosols are large.” (Section 0.2.7.2)

BC Emissions Have Been Underestimated in Many Vulnerable Regions

“Black-carbon emission rates from both energy-related combustion and biomass burning currently appear underestimated. Underestimates occur largely in Asia andAfrica.” (Section 0.2.9.3)

Diesel and Residential Best Mitigation Targets

Some black carbon sources co-emit cooling aerosol pollutants, and the best climate mitigation opportunities are generally those with the highest black carbon ratio.

“Mitigation of diesel-engine sources appears to offer the most confidence in reducing near-term climate forcing. Mitigating emissions from residential solid fuels also may yield a reduction in net positive forcing. The net effect of other sources, such as small industrial coal boilers and ships, depends on the sulfur content, and net climate benefits are possible by mitigating some individual source types.” (Section 0.2.11.2)

“In prioritizing potential black-carbon mitigation actions, non-science factors, such as technical feasibility, costs, policy design, and implementation feasibility play important roles.” (Abstract)

BC Harms Public Health

“Regardless of net climate forcing or other climatic effects, all BC mitigation options bring health benefits through reduced particulate matter exposure.” (Section 12.1.2)

Contact Info: Durwood Zaelke, (202) 338-1300, [email protected]

Nathan Borgford-Parnell, [email protected]

Website : Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development

ENN Network News – ENN

England is lagging behind with new growth

Posted by admin on July 3rd, 2012

Damian blog on forestry sell off : Worcestershire Wyre Forest woodland , Worcestershire

Wyre Forest Wyre Forest in Worcestershire. Rates of new woodland planting in England are far lower than in Wales and Scotland. Photograph: Jason Friend/Alamy

England’s woodlands have had a rough time recently. At the beginning of last year, government plans to sell off the public forest estate were only abandoned after a public outcry. Around the same time, large numbers of trees were felled to prevent the spread of Phytophthora ramorum, more commonly known as sudden oak death. And in March this year, the Woodland Trust reported that a loophole in planning laws had already lead to the loss of 100 ancient forests over the past decade.

Last month the Forestry Commission published its tree-planting statistics and they show that England is some way behind the rest of the UK, not to mention the rest of Europe, in expanding its woodland areas. It appears the government requires a plan for growth in the more traditional sense.

England is lagging behind with its woodland creation strategy, with a steady decline in the number of trees planted dating back to the 1970s. Scotland and Wales have shown a significant commitment to expanding their existing wooded areas, with increases on 2010 planting figures of 233% and 250% respectively. Over the same period, England has planted just 13% more trees than it did two years ago.

The decline in the planting of new trees over the last 30 years has been partly attributed to a change in policy from the Forestry Commission, the body responsible for the UK’s woodlands. A spokesperson from the commission saidthere has been “a change in focus that looked at improving what we’ve already got, rather than adding more”.

The Forestry Commission says that the drop in woodland creation (not woodland area) in the 1970s is most likely explained by the reduction of land purchasing and planting. The increase from the 1980s shows the beginning of the farm woodland premium grant scheme and the decline in the early 2000s reflects the emphasis on improving existing woodlands rather than creating new ones, it said.

As part of the Queen’s jubilee celebrations, the Woodland Trust launched a challenge to plant 6m trees by the end of this year.

Hilary Allison, policy director at the trust, said:

“These figures just aren’t good enough – they are far lower than what’s needed to achieve the benefits the natural environment can offer in terms of both ecosystem function and the economy. We hope to see the forestry panel [an independent forestry panel to advise ministers on England's woodlands] make clear recommendations around woodland creation in its final report and we continue to call on government to set clear targets as part of an overall expansion of woodland in England. We need to be planting 10,000ha a year in England. It’s vital we plant now in preparation for the changes ahead.”

The slow rate of planting also has knock-on effects beyond the local value of woods, as the government’s climate advisers noted last week.

“Projections from the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology suggest that this sector will turn from being a net carbon sink to a carbon source from around 2012. This is largely a result of the sharp decline in tree planting rates from the late 1980s onwards following large-scale afforestation schemes in the previous three decades, which is reducing the strength of the forest carbon sink.”

The independent panel on forestry’s final report, commissioned by the government after it changed its mind about plans to sell-off the forests, is due to be published on Wednesday. It will address the government’s policies towards increasing woodland by examining tree-planting rates, types of trees to be planted and the use of instruments, such as carbon markets, to support increased planting. The key question will be whether England can match its neighbours in terms of woodland creation, maintenance and protection.

Environment news, comment and analysis from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk

Parliamentarians to Consider the Science behind Bioenergy

Posted by admin on June 25th, 2012

An event in Westminster on Tuesday 10th July will allow parliamentarians, and other interested individuals, to consider the science behind bioenergy. Organised by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST), and sponsored by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), this two hour meeting will consider the positive and potential negative consequences of the expansion of biofuels in the UK and abroad.

Speakers at the two-hour meeting are Caroline Season, Senior Policy Adviser for Bioenergy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC); Professor Joycle Tait, Chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics’ working party on biofuels; Ian Tubby, Principal Adviser for Business and Markets for forest services at the Forestry Commission; and Jo Howes, Strategy and Emerging Issues Adviser at BP Biofuels.

Speakers will consider developments in the recent science behind assessments of the sustainability of biofuels. In addition, the seminar will consider the opportunities and challenges anticipated as bioenergy markets and technologies grow.

To attend, please email [email protected] or telephone 020 7219 8377.

Tags: Bioenergy, Biofuels, POST

This entry was posted on Monday, June 25th, 2012 at 1:59 pm and is filed under DECC, Energy, Event, Renewable Energy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

BES Ecology & Policy Blog

Study reveals mystery behind bat disease

Posted by admin on April 11th, 2012

Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent

The recent paper confirms scientists’ belief that the fungus killing off North American bats is from Europe. Photograph: Joe Mcdonald/Getty Images

A mysterious disease that has devastated North America’s bat population was traced on Tuesday to a killer fungus imported from Europe, probably by an unsuspecting tourist.

Since it was first detected in New York state in 2006, the disease known as white nose syndrome has spread to 19 states and four Canadian provinces.

It has wiped out entire bat colonies, killing as many as 6.7m animals, in the worst wildlife crisis in recent memory.

The fungus strikes when the bats are hibernating for the winter, leaving a white fluffy deposit on the animals’ muzzles and causing lesions on their wings.

Now a team of researchers led by the University of Winnipeg have established the origins of the fungus, and determined how it kills – by rousing the bats during their winter hibernation season.

“The fungus somehow causes the bats to warm up from hibernation too often,” said Craig Willis, a biologist at the University of Winnipeg who oversaw the study by US and Canadian scientists.

The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

The extra effort, shaking bats from their torpor, exhausted the animals’ fat stores far too early in the hibernation season, causing them essentially to starve to death.

The most likely source of the fungus was human. The fungus, which has been identified, as Geomyces destructans, is known to have existed for years in Europe, but it does not kill bats there. In North America, however, the disease has wiped out entire bat colonies and spread as far south as Alabama.

The disease poses no threat to humans but it has knocked out a crucial part of the ecological chain. The average bat eats up to 1,000 of insects a year. Their loss could cost US farmers up to $ 3.7bn a year.

“A reasonable hypothesis is that a tourist tracked it into a cave in New York state on their boots or on their clothing,” Willis said. “It is possible a person who had the inclination to visit a cave in Europe picked up something on their shoes and then accidently introduced it into New York.”

The scientists collected 54 little brown bats from a cave in Manitoba. Eighteen were infected with spores collected from a New York cave, and 18 with spores from a cave in Europe. A third group was not infected.

The scientists monitored the bats’ response with infrared cameras. After several months, both groups exhibited the tell-tale symptoms of white nose syndrome: the fluffy white substance on their muzzles and the lesions on the wings.

Both groups were roused four or five times more often than is typical from their winter torpor, burning through their fat stores.

Because the symptoms among both infected groups were similarly severe, the researchers concluded the fungus originated in Europe. A mutant version of a native North American fungus would have produced deadlier symptoms.

The findings were seen as an important step to unravelling the mystery of the bat deaths.

“We were all sort of suspecting that the fungus was from Europe. We knew it existed there, but this paper has demonstrated that the fungus is of European origin,” said Ann Froschauer, spokesperson for the white nose syndrome team at the US fish and wildlife service.

“The most likely scenario is that it was accidentally introduced by a human traveller.”

The study offers no immediate fix. It is not clear how or why European bats developed resistance to the fungus or how it can be better contained. Researchers are not yet able to track the fungus to a particular country or cave in Europe.

Environment news, comment and analysis from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk

Federal Agencies Must Protect America’s Pacific Island Monuments from Illegal Fishing Now NOAA and Fish and Wildlife Service now three years behind schedule on banning commercial fishing

Posted by admin on February 22nd, 2012

Washington, DC (February 22, 2012) – Today, Marine Conservation Institute filed a formal petition to the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce, asking them to prohibit commercial fishing in America’s sensitive and pristine Pacific Island marine national monuments, a ban that President George W. Bush declared when he established the monuments over three years ago.

In January 2009, President Bush established three marine monuments in the central Pacific and prohibited commercial fishing in them because they are incredibly rich marine ecosystems that have been damaged by commercial fishing in the past. Collectively, the monuments cover 193,000 square miles, an area larger than the state of California. These are the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (a collection of isolated coral island possessions), the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument in American Samoa, and the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. The three monuments wrap around a number of National Wildlife Refuges, most of which existed prior to the creation of the monuments.

William Chandler, Vice President for Government Affairs at Marine Conservation Institute, said, “When President Bush designated these magnificent areas for preservation, he specifically directed that commercial fishing be prohibited in them immediately. But now, over three years later, the fishing ban and associated penalties for illegal fishing within the monuments have yet to be put into place. As a result, and despite evidence of illegal fishing in the monuments, the Coast Guard won’t enforce the ban. This is inexplicable. We’re just trying to get the Administration to do what the presidential designation documents say. There is simply no justification for delay.”

Marine Conservation Institute actively supported the designation of the Pacific Remote Islands National Monument, and remains an advocate for conservation of natural resources within all of the Pacific monuments. Illegal fishing within the monuments threatens these relatively pristine marine ecosystems and their populations of corals, rare reef fish, overfished tuna, sea turtles, whales, and seabirds.

Chandler said, “It is hard to believe a clear directive of the president has gone unimplemented for so long. The responsible federal agencies have had three years to establish fishing rules that ban commercial fishing and leave recreational and indigenous intact, but they have not yet delivered. Without such a ban, these unique ecosystems with their sensitive populations could be damaged by fishermen or their vessels. The world’s largest population of giant clams, nesting sea turtles, and areas of tremendous biological diversity are all at risk.”

The full text of the Marine Conservation Institute petition to the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce is available at: www.marine-conservation.org

About Marine Conservation Institute

“Saving wild ocean places, for us and future generations”

Marine Conservation Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving our living oceans. We work with scientists, politicians, government officials and other organizations around the world to protect essential ocean places and the wild species in them. We use the latest science to identify important marine ecosystems around the world, and then advocate for their protection, for us and future generations.

Find Marine Conservation Institute online at www.marine-conservation.org, Twitter, Facebook and on the blog Marine Conservation News.

About the Pacific Islands Monuments

On January 6, 2009, President George W. Bush proclaimed the Pacific Remote Islands (PRIM), Rose Atoll, and Marianas Trench to be Marine National Monuments with Presidential Proclamations 8335, 8336 and 8337 (collectively, “the Proclamations”). This designation of the three Pacific Monuments extended protection to nearly 200,000 square miles of unique natural resources and was the largest act of marine conservation in history. The President’s designation of the Pacific Monuments recognized their ecological, scientific and cultural importance, biological diversity and other unique characteristics, and the need to protect them.

The Proclamations invoke the authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906, which authorizes the President of the United States to designate lands and waters of the United States as National Monuments. Exercising this authority, President Bush established the Pacific Monuments, prohibited commercial fishing, and delegated management authority to the Departments of the Interior and Commerce. Subsequently, FWS and NOAA have affirmed their management authority for the Monuments.

For the PRIM, DOI, through FWS, has responsibility for management of the Monument (including out to 12 nautical miles (“nmi”) from the mean low water lines of Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, Johnston, Palmyra, and Wake Atolls, and Kingman Reef) and the National Wildlife Refuges contained therein, pursuant to the Proclamation, the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. § 668dd-668ee) (“National Wildlife Refuge System Act”), and other applicable legal authorities. Commerce, acting through NOAA, has primary management responsibility seaward of 12 to 50 nmi with respect to fishery-related activities pursuant to the Proclamation, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (“MSA”), and other applicable legal authorities.

For the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, management responsibility was assigned to the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce. NOAA was assigned primary management responsibility for fishery-related activities in the Monument’s marine areas located seaward of the mean low water line of Rose Atoll, pursuant to the MSA and other applicable authority.

For the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, has responsibility for management of the Monument; except that the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, has primary responsibility for management with respect to fishery-related activities regulated pursuant to the MSA, the Proclamation, and other applicable legal authorities.

Acorpora and Pocillopora Coral Reefs in Palmyra Atoll waters within the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. Source: J.E. Maragos, US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Bluefin Trevally (Caranx melampygus) and Humphead Wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) in Palmyra Atoll waters within the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. Source: J.E. Maragos, US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Contact Info: William Chandler

Marine Conservation Institute, DC Office

+1 202.546.5346 (cell +1 703.851.9931)

[email protected]

Website : Marine Conservation Institute

ENN Network News – ENN

New Video Captures Action and Inspiration Behind Major Northwest Dam…

Posted by admin on February 16th, 2012

Portland, OR (PRWEB) February 15, 2012

American Rivers, American Whitewater and the Hydropower Reform Coalition released a short film today that tells the story of historic dam removal successes on Washington’s Elwha and White Salmon rivers. The 7-minute film premiered at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival in January and is the final installment in the “Year of the River” series by Andy Maser.

It is available at http://vimeo.com/34169308.

“People are hungry for positive news, and these river restoration stories are so inspiring,” said Amy Kober, senior communications director for American Rivers. “Our goal with the video was to share the good news and celebrate healthy, free-flowing rivers.”

”One of our objectives with this series of films was to highlight the different individuals who have a personal connection to these rivers,” said Thomas O’Keefe, Pacific Northwest Stewardship Director for American Whitewater. “These two projects have been decades in the making, and we are thrilled to celebrate the success of river restoration from the perspective of those who are out enjoying these rivers.”

“As a paddler and adventure filmmaker, having the chance to witness and document these dam removals has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career,” said filmmaker Andy Maser. “My hope is that these films will continue to build momentum for more dam removals and support the efforts of people on the ground working hard to restore free-flowing rivers.” Maser is also working on a long-term timelapse project documenting the removal of Condit Dam and the restoration of the White Salmon River and surrounding ecosystem.

The removal of two dams on the Elwha River — the largest dam removal project in history — began in September and is expected to take two to three years. Demolition of the White Salmon River’s Condit Dam began with a dramatic blast in October and will take one year.

The rivers are already beginning to restore themselves. Once the dams are completely removed, salmon and steelhead will have access to upstream habitat for the first time in 100 years. The Klallam people on the Elwha and the Yakama on the White Salmon will have vital parts of their culture and heritage restored. The free-flowing rivers will also create new fishing, paddling, and other recreation opportunities.

The film features advocates who were instrumental in taking down the dams, and people connected to the rivers who will benefit from dam removal. The characters include Phyllis Clausen of Friends of the White Salmon; Heather Herbeck, a White Salmon whitewater guide; Rob Elofson, River Restoration Director for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe; Shawn Cantrell of Seattle Audubon; Rick Rutz of the Mountaineers; and Bruce McGlenn, a fly fisherman and conservation advocate.

Filmmaker Andy Maser is a National Geographic Explorer based in Portland, Oregon. Visit http://www.andymaser.com.

Music for the video was generously provided by US Royalty and Blind Pilot.

###

Environment

Moves to stop corrupt politicians and criminals from hiding behind anonymous U.S. shell companies welcomed

Posted by admin on November 16th, 2011

Global Witness applauds Representatives Maloney (D-NY), Frank (D-MA) and Lynch (D-MA) for introducing legislation that would tackle corporate secrecy. If passed into law, the Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act (H.R. 3416), a companion bill to the Senate’s bipartisan S. 1483, would require companies to disclose their ultimate owners when the company is set up. This would make it much harder for corrupt politicians, tax dodgers, drug traffickers, terrorists and other criminals to form and hide behind anonymous U.S. shell companies.

Global Witness’ research has revealed that corrupt foreign politicians and pariah regimes such as Iran exploit the secrecy provided by anonymous American shell companies to access the U.S. financial system. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has also exposed how easy it is for foreign officials to mask their identity behind U.S. front companies so they can stash their ill-gotten gains in American banks. A recent World Bank report found that the U.S. was the favorite destination of corrupt politicians trying to set up shell companies.

“This legislation is crucial in the fight against corruption and organized crime,” said Stefanie Ostfeld, Global Witness Policy Advisor. “Swift passage of this bill will stop dictators, terrorists and drug traffickers from being able to legally hide their identities, and therefore their dirty money, behind anonymous American shell companies.”

Corporate secrecy fundamentally undermines U.S. laws to combat money laundering and tax evasion, as well as U.S. efforts to tackle global corruption. Once corrupt and other illicit funds have been moved through an anonymous corporate vehicle into the financial system, it is much harder to track them down. By shining a light on the ultimate owners of companies, this bill would make it easier for law enforcement to do its job. Eight law enforcement organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police and Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, have already endorsed it.

The Obama Administration, through the U.S. Open Government Partnership Action Plan and its Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime, also supports legislation to stop states from allowing secretive front companies to be set up.

“This effort to stop the U.S. from being a haven for the proceeds of corruption, tax-evasion and drug trafficking must be given the support it needs to be swiftly brought into force,” said Ostfeld. “The longer we wait, the more leeway we give dictators, criminals and terrorists to carry on their activities that destabilize countries and destroy lives.”

/Ends

Contacts:

Washington, DC: Stefanie Ostfeld, +1 202 621 6674

London: Robert Palmer, +44 20 7492 5860

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Centre for Public Integrity: China-based corporate web behind troubled Africa resource deals

Posted by admin on November 14th, 2011

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10th November 2011

For centuries, wave after wave of colonists and foreign investors have swept through Africa, looking for profits from the continent’s abundant reserves of oil and prized minerals, write Beth Morrissey, Himanshu Ojha, Laura Rena Murray and Patrick Martin-Menard from the Centre for Public Integrity.

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China-based corporate web behind troubled Africa resource deals

Posted by admin on November 10th, 2011

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

10th November 2011

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DECC: Who’s lagging behind? Local insulation rates published

Posted by admin on August 5th, 2011

A council by council area breakdown of how many British homes have been insulated by the Government’s energy saving scheme is published today.

Lagging lofts and filling cavity walls can save households over £100 in fuel bills every year.

The figures, published by the Energy Saving Trust (EST), are released on a regional, council and constituency basis. They show how much loft and cavity wall insulation was professionally installed under the Government’s Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) up until 31 March 2011. The CERT places requirements on energy companies to help consumers cut their emissions through energy efficiency.

Energy companies have been told by the Coalition Government to increase the help they make available to people to insulate their homes and save money. A total of 3.5 million homes are set to benefit by December 2012 as a result of a tougher CERT.

Key statistics include:

Over the last year (April 2010 to March 2011), the largest number of insulation measures were installed in Birmingham (12,079); Leeds (11,244); Bradford (9,078); Fife (8,163); Wiltshire (7,872).

The lowest number of insulation measures were installed on the Isles of Scilly (0); Westminster (39); Kensington and Chelsea (177); Hackney (272); Shetland Islands (349).

The top five performing local authorities under the CERT scheme over the past three years, in terms of percentage of housing stock insulated, are Kirklees (24.8%); Isle of Anglesey (22.5%); Carmarthenshire (19.2%); South Ribble (19%); Wyre (18.2%).

The five local authorities that have seen the lowest percentage of the housing stock insulated over the past three years through CERT are City of London (<0.1%); Westminster (0.3%); Kensington and Chelsea (0.8%); Hackney (1.3%); Hammersmith and Fulham (1.6%).

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said:

“With energy prices ramping up people want to know how they can keep their bills down. As well as shopping around for the best energy deal, insulating your home can also save you money straight away.

“We’ve told energy companies to do far more to help consumers cut their bills and while these figures show a mixed picture across Britain, they also show that millions of homes are already benefitting.

“For those who haven’t yet insulated their home, I’d really recommend them to pick up the phone, call the Energy Saving Trust and check out the help available to cut bills.

“To make energy efficiency far easier in the future, from next year we’ll be launching a national energy home improvement programme called the Green Deal. It will make energy efficiency work more affordable, removing the upfront costs and allowing people to repay through savings on their bills.”

People who want advice on insulating their home should call the Energy Saving Trust on 0800 512 012 to find out about the latest local offers on insulation that are available.

Notes for editors

The Energy Saving Trust report summarises where CERT insulation was installed between April 2008 and March 2011. The report is available on the EST website:

CERT is an obligation placed by the Government on gas and electricity suppliers to deliver a reduction in household carbon emissions across England, Scotland and Wales. It aims to help the UK meet its statutory carbon reduction targets. In helping households take up energy efficiency measures, it helps more households benefit from reduced energy bills and increased thermal comfort alongside increased security of supply from reducing energy demand and local air quality benefits.

There are a number of reasons why some regions have benefitted more than others under CERT to date, for example:

The data provides only a snapshot of energy efficiency activity; different regions may benefit under other periods of the scheme.

Some local authorities can attract activity to their areas.

Suppliers will work where it is cheapest – close to where installers are based, where economies of scale exist, and in areas where access is not an issue.

Some areas have a high proportion of properties that are not suitable for standard loft and cavity insulation.

Some areas have large numbers of new homes that are built with better insulation and so do not require ‘CERT’ treatment.

Figures released on 17 June 2011 showed that nearly half of Britain’s homes do not have adequate basic insulation. The figures showed that only 57% of Britain’s lofts had been properly insulated and only 58% of cavity walls had been filled.

Under the Green Deal, households will be able to invest in energy efficiency improvements worth up to £10,000 where an impartial assessment identifies appropriate measures that can be expected to save at least as much money as they cost to install. Major domestic retrofits worth more than £10,000 will also be possible where Green Deal providers can demonstrate a higher level of consumer protection. The Green Deal will also be available to commercial properties.

DECC Ministers have taken a number of other recent steps aimed at ensuring consumers get a better deal:

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