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CARB Business
Public Workshop on the Funding Agricultural Replacement Measures for Emission Reductions (FARMER) Program
The California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) invites you to participate in a public workshop to discuss the Funding Agricultural Replacement Measures for Emission Reductions (FARMER) Program for fiscal year (FY) 2018-19.
DATE: Tuesday, December 18, 2018
TIME: 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
LOCATION: San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District
Central Regional Office
1990 E. Gettysburg Avenue
Fresno, California 93726
The public can also attend this Central Valley workshop by video conference at the air district’s Modesto and Bakersfield offices:
LOCATIONS: Modesto Office
4800 Enterprise Way
Modesto, California 95356
Bakersfield Office
34946 Flyover Court
Bakersfield, California 93308
CARB staff will be present at all three locations. Staff’s presentation will be posted on the FARMER Program website prior to workshop.
Contact
If you have questions regarding the workshop, please contact Mr. Evan Powers, Air Pollution Specialist, at (916) 323-8967.
Big polluters could curtail California’s climate goals. State authorities gave major polluters a boost lastweek as they tweaked California’s hallmark climate law, while offering a rare acknowledgment that the cap-and-trade system for cutting greenhouse gases may not deliver the required reductions. Meeting Thursday in Sacramento, the California Air Resources Board set its plan for implementing a 2017 law that extended the cap-and-trade program through 2030. https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/12/17/big-polluters-get-help-from-the-state-renewing-doubts-about-californias-climate-goals/
California Sets Rules for Post-2020 Cap-and-Trade Program. California today unanimously adopted amendments to the cap-and-trade program that set major market rules after 2020. These amendments update the program based on AB 398 (E. Garcia), which was passed by the Legislature in 2017 and directed state regulators to extend the cap-and-trade program until 2030. https://www.edf.org/media/california-sets-rules-post-2020-cap-and-trade-program
N.J. sets CO2 limits to rejoin cap-and-trade program. New Jersey once again established limits on its carbon-dioxide emissions on Monday, six years after former Gov. Chris Christie made the controversial decision to exit from a regional cap-and-trade program. The Department of Environmental Protection proposed two rules to re-enter New Jersey into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/n-j-sets-co-limits-to-rejoin-cap-and-trade/article_43377fa2-b6d0-52dc-8c4d-68eb6a39e782.html
Air Pollution
EPA hears competing views on proposed wood-stove rule. EPA officials heard clashing views this morning about a proposed rule to ease application of its 2015 emissions standards for some new wood-burning heating systems. On one side were representatives of state agencies who argued against the proposal to grant a partial reprieve for manufacturers of two types of systems… https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/12/17/stories/1060109881
Enviros sue EPA again over Alaska soot. Environmental groups have taken EPA back to court over alleged foot-dragging in confronting Fairbanks, Alaska's long-standing soot problem. "Sadly, we have no choice but to once again proceed with a lawsuit to force the EPA and state to comply with the law,"… https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/stories/1060109751
Georgia-Pacific to pay fine, spend on upgrades in settlement. An Arkansas paper mill would pay a $600,000 fine and spend about $4.7 million on environmental projects and plant upgrades to reduce air pollution under the terms of a proposed settlement. The proposal with Georgia-Pacific in Crossett was filed Friday in federal court in Little Rock by EPA and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2018/12/17/stories/1060109825
Climate Change
Nations at UN climate talks back universal emissions rules. After two weeks of bruising negotiations, officials from almost 200 countries agreed Saturday on universal, transparent rules that will govern efforts to cut emissions and curb global warming.
The deal agreed upon at U.N. climate talks in Poland enables countries to put into action the principles in the 2015 Paris climate accord. https://www.apnews.com/bed944b3b50b43298b58682be83243b4
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-accord/nations-agree-on-global-climate-pact-rules-but-they-are-seen-as-weak-idUSKBN1OE0N9
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-accord-analysis/climate-talks-pass-baton-in-race-to-stop-global-warming-idUSKBN1OF0C1
https://www.wsj.com/articles/negotiators-agree-on-rulebook-to-help-curb-climate-change-11544928096?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=6 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/12/16/climate-change-experts-say-latest-un-deal-good-us/2329190002/
Cacti and credit throw Brazil's drought-parched farmers a lifeline. Farming in the Jacuipe Basin of Brazil’s parched northeast has never been easy. But rising temperatures and a halving of rainfall over the decades mean it now rarely pays. “Everybody is saying the climate is changing (and) it’s getting more difficult to produce,” said Daniele Cesano, a renewable energy developer… https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-brazil-farming/cacti-and-credit-throw-brazils-drought-parched-farmers-a-lifeline-idUSKBN1OG1VL
BoE's Carney says may test banks for climate change impact. Banks in Britain may be tested for their resilience to the impact of climate change on their balance sheets, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Monday. Carney told the Financial Times he was weighing whether the risks and opportunities from climate change should be the focus of the BoE’s “exploratory scenario” test of banks. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-boe-carney-climatechange/boes-carney-says-may-test-banks-for-climate-change-impact-idUSKBN1OG0WN
Climate Change Is Messing With Your Dinner. The world’s dinner tables are seeing the impact of climate change. As cold regions become warmer, and warm places hotter still, farming and fishing are shifting. An evolving climate means big changes for people who grow, catch and rear for a living, and everyone else who buys and eats what they produce. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-climate-crops/?srnd=premium
Climate change activists vow to step up protests around world. Campaigners say they will force governments to act after lack of progress at UN summit. Civil society groups have pledged growing international protests to drive rapid action on global warming after the UN climate summit in Poland. The summit agreed rules for implementing the 2015 Paris agreement, which aims to keep global warming as close to 1.5C (2.7F) as possible, but it made little progress in increasing governments’ commitments to cut emissions. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/17/climate-change-activists-vow-step-up-protests-around-world
Climate change: The massive CO2 emitter you may not know about. Concrete is the most widely used man-made material in existence. It is second only to water as the most-consumed resource on the planet. But, while cement - the key ingredient in concrete - has shaped much of our built environment, it also has a massive carbon footprint. Cement is the source of about 8% of the world's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions… https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46455844
Most Americans want action on climate change. Republicans are the exception: Poll. Americans have reached consensus on the need to act in response to climate change with one conspicuous exception: Republicans. A new NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll identifies that sharp break in the evolving pattern of public opinion as scientists have amplified their warnings of rising global temperatures and linked them to a range of natural disasters. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/17/americans-want-action-on-climate-change-republicans-are-the-exception-poll.html
UN climate accord 'inadequate' and lacks urgency, experts warn. Agreement will fail to halt devastating rise in global temperature, say scientists. The world has been put on notice that its best efforts so far will fail to halt the devastation of climate change, as countries came to a partial agreement at UN talks that failed to match up to the challenges faced. Leading figures in climate science and economics said much more must be done… https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/16/un-climate-accord-inadequate-and-lacks-urgency-experts-warn
Maine Works to Cut Emissions From Transportation Sector. Maine officials are considering ways to cut emissions from cars and trucks. The Portland Press Herald reports the Maine Department of Environmental Protection found that emissions from cars, trucks and other vehicles produced 52 percent of emissions in the state in 2015. However, greenhouse gas pollution… https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/maine/articles/2018-12-17/maine-works-to-cut-emissions-from-transportation-sector
Carbon Dioxide emissions see steep jump in 2018. Scientists say after several years of little growth, global emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide have experienced their largest jump in seven years. World carbon dioxide emissions are estimated to have risen 2.7 percent from 2017 to 2018. That’s according to three studies released Wednesday from the Global Carbon Project, an international scientific collaboration that tracks greenhouse gas emissions. https://www.edf.org/media/california-sets-rules-post-2020-cap-and-trade-program
Diesel Activities
California Requires New City Buses to Be Electric by 2029. California on Friday became the first state to mandate a full shift to electric buses on public transit routes, flexing its muscle as the nation’s leading environmental regulator and bringing battery-powered, heavy-duty vehicles a step closer to the mainstream. Starting in 2029, mass transit agencies in California will only be allowed to buy buses that are fully electric under a rule adopted by the state’s powerful clean air agency. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/14/climate/california-electric-buses.html
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2018/12/14/california-mandates-100-percent-zero-emission-bus-fleet/
https://www.desertsun.com/story/tech/science/greenenergy/2018/12/14/california-require-public-buses-zero-emission-2040/2317970002/
http://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/12/14/breaking-news/california-mandates-100-percent-zero-emission-bus-fleet/
https://www.argus-press.com/news/state_news/article_8ac9808d-3460-5c0b-9ce0-d459724b3031.html
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2018/12/california-transit-agencies-have-21-years-to-build-zero-emissions-bus-fleets/
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/12/16/california-mandates-zero-emission-bus-fleet/
https://usaherald.com/california-requires-public-buses-100-percent-zero-emission-2040/
https://www.engadget.com/2018/12/16/california-will-require-zero-emissions-buses-by-2040/
https://www.wnct.com/news/national/california-is-first-state-to-mandate-zero-emission-bus-fleet/1662908898
https://www.trucks.com/2018/12/17/california-transit-agencies-must-convert-zero-emission-buses/
https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-is-first-state-to-mandate-zero-emission-bus-fleet
https://earther.gizmodo.com/california-regulators-vote-to-require-all-transit-agenc-1831135366
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/15/california-says-all-city-buses-have-to-be-emission-free-by-2040/
Fuels
Go West: Pacific Coast LNG plans get fresh look as market shifts. The scramble for new projects to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) is shifting to the Pacific Northwest, where longstanding proposals are getting a renewed look as rising shipping rates make the region’s easy access to Asia more appealing, with gas price shifts sweetening the deal. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lng-americas-west/go-west-pacific-coast-lng-plans-get-fresh-look-as-market-shifts-idUSKBN1OG0GM
Shareholders call on ExxonMobil to set greenhouse gas reduction targets. A number of institutional investors in ExxonMobil Corp (XOM.N) have said they will file a shareholder resolution which calls on the world’s largest oil company to set targets for lowering its greenhouse gas emissions. The call, led by the New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF) and the… https://www.reuters.com/article/us-exxon-mobil-shareholders-climatechang/shareholders-call-on-exxonmobil-to-set-greenhouse-gas-reduction-targets-idUSKBN1OF0T8
Vehicles
Ford was offered Volkswagen for free after WWII — and passed. Henry Ford II passed up the opportunity to get Volkswagen for nothing. After World War II, the victors divided Germany into pieces, and the British found themselves with the region that housed the auto factory. They offered it to the eldest son of Edsel Ford in 1948. “I don't think what we're being offered here is worth a dime,"… https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2018/12/14/ford-volkswagen-broad-partnership/2287604002/
Calif. board OKs Electrify America's spending plan. The California Air Resources Board has been overseeing Electrify America's expansion plans for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the state. Department of Energy. The California Air Resources Board yesterday gave the green light to a plan by a Volkswagen AG subsidiary, Electrify America, to spend $200 million on charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060109645
Green Energy
Verizon Sets 50% By 2025 Renewable Energy Target. American telecommunications giant Verizon has finally bowed to consumer and campaigner pressure and set itself a real renewable energy target of 50% by 2025, a dramatic increase on its current level of 2% and its previously-indicated 4% target. Verizon has been under mounting pressure for its lack of action on clean energy… https://cleantechnica.com/2018/12/14/verizon-sets-50-by-2025-renewable-energy-target/
Weatherwatch: how do we store surplus renewable energy until we need it? We are able to produce more renewable energy than we can use immediately. Now we must find ways to keep it stored until the demand is high. Turbines being assembled in Norway before being moved to the world’s first floating wind farm off north-east Scotland. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/dec/14/weatherwatch-store-surplus-renewable-energy-
Opinions
The Yellow Jackets Are Right About Green Policies. They have distinguished company in questioning the science behind climate-change dogma. Seek out the most basic cause of the French riots and you’ll come to a bizarre answer: carbon dioxide. More specifically, the demonization by political activists of that vital element of the earth’s atmosphere. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-yellow-jackets-are-right-about-green-policies-11544991717?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=5
Why utilities are making a necessary foray into renewables. In 1988, as a young developer at what is now First Solar, I contacted dozens of utilities, trying to persuade them to install a small test facility — 500 kilowatts — of solar energy. Not a single U.S. utility expressed interest. Now, that amount of solar capacity is installed somewhere in the U.S. approximately every 25 minutes… https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/420844-why-utilities-are-making-a-necessary-foray-into-renewables
'Planetary emergency:' After 30 years, leaders are still fighting about basic truths of climate science. Hidden in the 133-page document agreed upon at the UN climate change talks was a compromise that many consider an infuriating distraction. The countries of the world agreed to welcome the fact that a scientific report on the state of global warming had been produced. https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/16/health/sutter-cop24-climate-talks/index.html
New Congress will bring a green wave on climate change. Climate change is the greatest threat facing human civilization. The world is warming at a deadly pace. The science is alarming in its clarity. Recent scientific reports portend a future of global destruction unless we take immediate and transformational action to address this climate crisis, including higher temperatures, rising seas, billions in economic damage, and untold deaths. https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2018/12/17/new-congress-will-bring-green-wave-climate-change/CvXACKCXlZRgLbc3y0Ds1L/story.html
Letter to the editor: Any project that cuts emissions helps us all. It is good news that the renewable energy that Hydro-Quebec proposes to send to Massachusetts through Maine is additional clean energy from excess capacity (“Utility: Line will deliver clean form of energy,” Dec. 7, Page A1). This project will help Massachusetts reduce its consumption of fossil fuels. https://www.pressherald.com/2018/12/17/letter-to-the-editor-any-project-that-cuts-emissions-helps-us-all/
At last, divestment is hitting the fossil fuel industry where it hurts. Trillions of dollars of investments are being taken out of carbon-intensive companies. Governments must now take notice. I remember well the first institution to announce it was divesting from fossil fuel. It was 2012 and I was on the second week of a gruelling tour across the US trying to spark a movement. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/16/divestment-fossil-fuel-industry-trillions-dollars-investments-carbon
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