ENERGY AND EMISSIONS

1.1. Global warming, local initiatives
10 December 2006 , Los Angeles Times
Unhappy with federal resistance to world standards, communities are curbing their energy use and emissions.
Frustrated with the federal response to global warming, hundreds of cities, suburbs and rural communities across the nation have taken bold steps to slash their energy consumption and reduce emissions of the pollutants that cause climate change.
This outdoorsy college town recently adopted the nation's first "climate tax" — an extra fee for electricity use, with all proceeds going to fight global warming. Seattle has imposed a new parking tax, and the mayor hopes to charge tolls on major roads in an effort to discourage driving — a leading source of greenhouse gas pollution.
Cities not typically associated with liberal causes have also jumped on board. In Fargo , N.D. , Mayor Dennis Walaker swapped out every traffic-light bulb for a light-emitting diode, or LED, which uses 80% less energy. In Carmel , Ind. , a suburb of Indianapolis , Mayor James Brainard is switching the entire city fleet to hybrids and vehicles that run on biofuels (made from plant products rather than petroleum).
"It's quite incredible, the number of things cities are beginning to do. It's very heartening," said Tom Kelly, who directs a national environmental group called Kyoto USA .
Boulder Mayor Mark Ruzzin says skeptics often ask why global warming must be a local priority. He responds by acknowledging the obvious: "Even if Boulder could somehow wish away all of our greenhouse gas emissions, that wouldn't be a drop in the bucket. It would be a drop within a drop."
Then he argues that the city must try anyway — if only to prove to larger communities that they, too, can reduce pollutants without spending huge sums or slowing economic growth.
"Every one of us has the ability, small as it may be, to make change," Ruzzin tells his residents, asking them to substitute a push mower for a gas mower, or at least to turn out the lights when they leave a room. "No one's going to be able to escape the responsibility."
The movement began nearly two years ago, when Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels announced that his city would strive to meet the targets of the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty that aims to control global warming. The treaty requires industrialized nations to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants that hover in the lower atmosphere. In what is known as a greenhouse effect, these pollutants create an invisible shield that keeps the sun's rays from dissipating. Many of the trapped rays are reflected back to Earth, raising temperatures.
Greenhouse gases are directly tied to energy use, because the process of burning fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide. So any measures to conserve energy can indirectly cut greenhouse emissions.
Planting trees can also help, because they absorb carbon dioxide — and several cities have launched campaigns to take advantage of that fact. Denver , for instance, plans to plant an average of 140 trees a day for the next 20 years, while Los Angeles is replacing its famed fan palms with more leafy sycamores and oaks. Chicago encourages the planting of lush rooftop gardens, which have the added effect of cooling buildings, reducing the need for air conditioning.
Fargo acts on climate change more directly by trapping the methane that normally wafts out of its landfill as a byproduct of rotting garbage. The methane — a potent greenhouse gas — is then sold to a soybean processing plant, which uses it in its boilers.
"All these cities are like little laboratories, experimenting with what works. Then we learn from each other," Brainard said.
President Bush rejected the goals of the Kyoto treaty soon after he took office, calling it ineffective and unfair because developing countries such as China and India are exempt. He also argued that it would be enormously expensive for the U.S. to comply.
Determined to prove him wrong, Nickels c to adopt Kyoto 's targets at the local level. He has received more than 330 pledges from mayors representing 54 million people. All have vowed to reduce their cities' emissions below 1990 levels within the next several years.
The nation's biggest urban areas have made the pledge: Los Angeles , San Francisco , New York , Miami , Dallas , Denver . So have Turtle River , Minn. (population 79) and North Pole, Alaska (population 1,778).
Meridian , Miss. , where nearly 30% of residents live in poverty, has signed on to the Kyoto goals. So have Sugar Land , Texas ; Dubuque , Iowa ; and Norman , Okla. Scores of blue-state coastal cities are on the list, including Berkeley and Cambridge , Mass. The industrial Rust Belt town of Gary , Ind. , is also taking part.
Some of the cities that made the pledge have since lost interest. Topeka , Kan. , is on the list, but that's because a former mayor signed up. The current mayor, Bill Bunten, has other priorities: "Our environmental problems in this city are just trying to make it clean and attractive."
But enough cities remain active in the program that the U.S. Conference of Mayors this fall hosted a climate summit. Also this fall, actor Robert Redford invited several dozen mayors to his ranch in Sundance , Utah , to talk global warming. There's even a new website — http://www.coolmayors.org — where city officials can exchange policy ideas.
The 70 cities that reported statistics last year reduced carbon dioxide emissions by an aggregate total of 23 million tons. That's not a huge sum considering that the U.S. would have to eliminate more than 1.6 billion tons to meet the Kyoto targets.
But those working on the issue expect the numbers to pick up dramatically in the coming years. More than 100 mayors have found the reforms so painless that they've set far more ambitious targets than those laid out in Kyoto , according to Michelle Wyman, executive director of ICLEI, a nonprofit working with local governments on climate change.
Governors, too, are joining the effort. At least 20 states, including California , have laws requiring a certain percentage of electrical power to come from solar, wind and other renewable sources. Just last week, former Vice President Al Gore announced a grass-roots campaign to encourage communities to hold emissions of greenhouse gases at their current levels rather than let them rise year after year as energy consumption increases.
Here in Boulder , even a skeptical Chamber of Commerce decided to back the climate tax, reasoning it would give the city's image a boost and attract progressive businesses. The tax, which will cost the average homeowner less than $2 a month, won approval in November from 59% of voters. City officials will use the money for conservation education, including subsidized energy audits.
On a recent morning, Kathie Joyner opened her modest bungalow to just such an audit. Inspector Michael Broussard prowled every cranny, looking for drafts, leaks and wasted energy.
Broussard, who runs a private company that contracts with a local nonprofit for the audits, urged Joyner to add weather stripping here and caulking there, to insulate her water pipes and consider a fiberglass front door instead of wood. He even suggested she trade in her desktop computer for a more energy-efficient laptop.
If Joyner implements every suggestion — which could cost her $4,000 — Broussard said her utility bills should drop by at least a third and she would reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 9,000 pounds a year.
Taking careful notes, Joyner promised to get to work. "I used to think it would be a drop in the bucket; what could it possibly mean?" she said. "But there are lots of local governments taking steps to make a difference. It pushes the country along."

1.2. Kyoto Gets a Slap in the Face from Canada
9 December 2006 , Tierramérica
Much to the surprise of most Canadians and the world community, Canada is reneging on its international commitments under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which could weaken an international agreement to fight climate change after Kyoto expires in 2012.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, elected early this year, and the new environment minister, Rona Ambrose, have dismissed Canada 's Kyoto commitments for reducing greenhouse gases as impossible to achieve.
They have also cancelled a five-million-dollar pledge to help least developed countries adapt to the impacts of climate change and have withdrawn Canada 's participation and funding of the Kyoto Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
"That's totally irresponsible... It's a slap in the face to the people of small island states and Inuit people of the North," said Enele Sopoaga, permanent representative of Tuvalu to the United Nations. His small island country in the South Pacific is experiencing flooding due to rising sea levels.
"I am extremely frustrated by the double standards of industrialised nations. Canada criticises other countries about their human rights policies or about the death penalty while they are playing with the lives of island people and the Inuit," Sopoaga said in a Tierramérica interview.
In an unusual move, Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme chastised Canada in the news media.
Appealing to the Canadian business sector, Steiner said that backing away from Kyoto would harm the country's economy, and business would be left out of the international greenhouse gas emissions trading system that may be worth 100 billion dollars by 2016.
Ironically, Canada had been a champion of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to reduce emissions that contribute to the atmospheric greenhouse effect. Under Kyoto , 35 industrialised nations, including Canada , are obligated to reduce their emissions by 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-2012.
But Canada 's emissions have risen 30 percent since 1990, mainly due to a booming oil and natural gas sector. By comparison, U.S. emissions rose 16 percent in the same period.
At the recent XII UN Conference on Climate Change, in Nairobi , Environment Minister Rona Ambrose publicly blamed the previous Canadian government for inaction on the matter.
Ambrose was widely criticised for that statement. Sopoaga says such attitudes undermine the basis for international cooperation: "You can't have a group of cowards come into power and say we're not going to keep international commitments made by a previous government."
Canadians widely support the Kyoto Protocol and want action on climate change. A public opinion poll taken Nov. 10-16 by Ipsos Reid found that Canadians place climate change as a top issue of concern, more important than jobs, the economy or healthcare.
"The climate change issue could bring down the government, (which) is not listening to the people," Johanna Whitmore, of the Pembina Institute, a Canadian environmental group, told Tierramérica.
In fact, most Canadians did not vote for Harper. Canada 's multi-party system allowed the Conservative Party to win with just 36 percent of the popular vote. As a result, the Harper administration needs the cooperation of at least one other party to stay in power.
Canada 's oil, coal and gas sector is making the country rich. That sector is responsible for much of the increase in emissions, and the previous and current governments are reluctant to do anything that might slow the energy boom.
As an alternative to Kyoto , the Harper government's "Made-in-Canada climate plan", announced last month, set a goal of cutting emissions of greenhouse gases 45 to 65 percent below 2003 levels by 2050. Such a long-term goal allows the current government to postpone action on climate change indefinitely, says Whitmore.
Unfortunately the Kyoto agreement doesn't have any financial penalties for failing to meet the emissions reduction target. All that happens is that countries have to make up for their shortfall plus an additional 1.3 percent penalty in the next reduction commitment period of 2013 to 2018.
In fact, the Harper government has cut funding for environmental programmes designed to reduce Canada 's greenhouse gas emissions.
"By its actions, Canada 's government shows that it doesn't think climate change is a real issue," Whitmore said.
Canada 's Inuit people, who live in the far north and Arctic areas, know it's a real issue.
"We see signs every day up here. It's quite obvious," said Duane Smith, president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council - Canada , from Inuvik , a small town 200 km north of the Arctic Circle .
"Winter starts later and leaves sooner, there are changes in the sea and river ice, we get more snow -- and its affecting all the wildlife," Smith told Tierramérica.
Scientists have also documented a wide range of changes due to climate change. Neither Harper nor Ambrose have visited Canada 's far north to see the impacts first hand, according to Smith.
"I believe very strongly that Canadians want more aggressive action on the issue," he added.

1.3. Recent Global Stabilisation of Atmospheric Methane
7 December 2006 , Science for Environment Policy
Methane (CH4) is a greenhouse gas, and therefore contributes to the phenomenon of global warming. A lesser known aspect of methane is that it also contributes to the growth of global background levels of tropospheric ozone (O3), another greenhouse gas and air pollutant.
Atmospheric methane levels have more than doubled since the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s. About two-thirds of methane emissions can be associated with human activities, such as fossil-fuel extraction, rice paddies, landfills, and cattle farming.
A recent American study presents the most recent global atmospheric levels of methane, obtained between 1978 and 2005. The scientists used canisters to collect sea-level air in locations in the Pacific Rim , from northern Alaska to southern New Zealand . They then measured the amount of methane in each canister and calculated a global average. Furthermore, in order to better understand the evolution of methane levels over time and the influencing factors, the scientists also quantified levels of other gases, including ethane (C2H6), a by-product of petroleum refining that is also formed during biomass burning, and perchloroethylene (C2Cl4), a chlorinated solvent often used in the dry-cleaning process.
The results show that, from 1978 to 1987, the amount of methane in the global troposphere increased by 11 percent, a more than one percent increase each year. By the late 1980s, the growth rate slowed to between 0.3 percent and 0.6 percent per year. It continued to decline into the 1990s, but with a few fluctuations, which scientists have linked to non-cyclical events such as the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 and Indonesian and boreal wildfires in 1997 and 1998. Then, from December 1998 to December 2005, the samples showed a near-zero growth of methane, ranging from an annual 0.2 percent decrease to a 0.3 percent gain.
Reasons for the slowdown in the growth of methane concentration are not yet clear. They may include the reduction of fossil fuel leakage through, for example, leak-preventing repairs to oil and gas pipelines and storage facilities, which can release methane into the atmosphere.
Moreover, the researchers found that methane level fluctuations followed over time those of ethane, a gas emitted during fires. Perchloroethylene, one of the other studied gases, showed a different pattern. This finding provides further evidence that methane is formed during biomass burning and confirms the influence of this activity on large scale methane fluctuations. Consequently, large-scale fires, like those in Indonesia in 1997 and Russia in 1998, can also be a major source of atmospheric methane.
The authors highlight that methane levels may increase as a result of increased natural gas and energy use, for example, and therefore it is not possible to assume that methane growth will remain at near-zero levels in the future. Nevertheless, previous projections that methane will increase by 2010 and 2020 appear unlikely with the results presented in this study. Furthermore, the findings suggest that if emission control measures are introduced, the concentration of methane in the atmosphere could begin to decrease, in which case methane may not be such a large contributor to global warming in the future as it was in the past.
Source: Simpson, I. J., F. S.Rowland, S. Meinardi, and D. R. Blake (2006)« Influence of biomass burning during recent fluctuations in the slow growth of global tropospheric methane» , Geophys. Res. Lett., 33.
Contact: isimpson@uci.edu

1.4. Germany Aims to Cap Airline's CO2 Emissions
6 December 2006 , Planet Ark Reuters
Germany wants to cap carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from airlines flying into its territory and to make them join the EU emissions trading scheme, a minister was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
"We want to put into practice the plans by the EU Commission to extend the emissions trading scheme to aviation," Germany 's Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee was quoted as saying in the Handelsblatt business daily.
Tiefensee said the government planned to get all EU member states to agree to a EU proposal on the issue during Germany 's EU presidency in the first half of 2007.
Along with domestic flights, airlines from third countries would be required to participate in the mandatory EU trading scheme if they landed or took off in the EU, he said.
The trade scheme is the main tool of the EU to comply with Kyoto Protocol targets to bring down greenhouse gases emissions, linked to global warming.
It sets incentives on reducing CO2 emissions and so far covers big polluters such as power plants and oil refineries but excludes airlines, a major and growing source of pollution.
An EU Commission draft proposal last month suggested setting caps on pollution permits for airlines from 2011, based on their CO2 emissions between 2004 and 2006.
Under the trading scheme, permits are issued to polluters. If they emit less than their quotas allow, they can sell surplus permits but if they overshoot them, they must buy extra credits.
A spokesman for the Berlin environment ministry said there was not yet a concrete date for the move as the Commission had to send its proposals first, expected by the end of this year.
Airlines complain that Europe is going off in its own direction as the bloc has no jurisdiction over non-EU states, thus the legislation could be opposed and delayed.
Consumers fear that travel costs will go up.
An environmental expert at Dresdner Bank in Frankfurt said it had only ever been a question of time before the carbon trading scheme was widened to other industries.
"But the EU should also look to CO2-cutting solutions outside the bloc, namely involve the US ," said Dresdner's Armin Sandhoevel at a briefing hosted by the bank.

1.5. Four States Set to Join EU Carbon Market
7 December 2006 , Reuters
Iceland , Liechtenstein , Norway and Switzerland have agreed in principle to join the European Union's carbon trading scheme, Britain 's Finance Minister Gordon Brown said in his pre-budget report on Wednesday.
"At the meeting of EU Finance Ministers in November 2006 the countries of the European Free Trade Area... agreed in principle to the creation of a pan-European trading scheme," the report said.
The EU market sets an overall cap on emissions by heavy industry of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) while allowing affected businesses to trade emissions permits, and is the EU's key policy to combat climate change.
Britain was also working with the Government of New Zealand to share advice on emissions trading, the pre-budget report said, and Britain is in talks with California which plans its own carbon market from 2012.
Last month Austrialia and Canada said they were investigating their own nationwide carbon markets, which could link up the with the European scheme.
A globally linked-up carbon market would allow businesses to shop around for the cheapest emissions permits, and so cut the cost of the dramatic emissions cuts which some scientists and policymakers say are needed to avoid dangerous climate change.

1.6. World Future Council votes for international climate change campaign
28 November 2006
To close action gaps in order to ensure a sustainable and peaceful future for mankind is the aim of the World Future Council (WFC) that was initiated by Jakob von Uexkull. During the first executive committee meeting in Hamburg, where the general WFC secretariat started work on November 1st, committee member Bianca Jagger expressed her disappointment with the results of the UN climate summit in Nairobi: Jagger said: "There is no longer a debate among the scientific community that climate change could indeed threaten the survival of human civilisation. World leaders and decision makers have the moral imperative to take urgent action to confront the most dangerous crisis we have ever faced. I have joined the World Future Council because I feel a great sense of urgency in today's world. We are confronting a great challenge and I believe that together we can develop a shared sense of moral purpose to face up to it".
The committee decided unanimously that the first international campaign of the WFC will concentrate on climate change and renewable energies. The expert commission dealing with these topics will be located in Hamburg and wants to work closely with the University of Hamburg and the Technical University of Harburg. WFC programme planner Herbert Girardet said: "We thank the Hamburg senate, Dr. Michael Otto and other donors for being able to work on this task under such excellent conditions".
A further important result of the committee meeting: The group of 50 founding councillors is now complete. On Saturday, the four present committee members Bianca Jagger, Beate Weber, Frances Moore Lappé and Manfred Max-Neef elected 28 further internationally respected personalities into the council, among them Rafia Ghubash, President of the Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain, Ashok Koshla, former director of the United Nations Programme and Count Sponeck, former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations. They accepted the election immediately when contacted.
Jakob von Uexkull explained the aims of the founding of the council, which started with the election of 22 councillors on May, 22nd 2006 in Geneva , at a press conference as thus: "We can inspire, we can motivate, we can prepare international agreements and create model laws. Via the e-parliament, a virtual network of democratically elected parliamentarians, we will promote these model laws in national parliaments worldwide."
The constituting assembly of the World Future Council will be held on May 10th 2007 in the town hall of Hamburg .
About the WFC: The WFC, an initiative by Jakob von Uexkull (founder of the alternative nobel prize) and Herbert Girardet (author, environment expert and filmmaker), has the aim to further a sustainable development for the benefit of future generations. The global organisation, which has its seat in Hamburg , will involve democratically elected parliamentarians as well as 6000 NGOs, the media and the public in its work. Among the 22 founding councillors are three Germans: Hans-Peter Dürr (Physicist), Beate Weber (mayor of Heidelberg ) and MdB Hermann Scheer. Also among the founding councillors: Club-of-Rome President Prince Hassan Bin Talal, Nicholas Dunlop, founder of the e-parliament, human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger and Anita Roddick who founded Body Shop. Beate Weber and Bianca Jagger are part of the executive committee that is completed by Chilean economist Manfred Max-Neef, US-author Frances Moore Lappé ("Diet for a Small Planet") and Indian environmental activist Vandana Shiva.

1.7. NY Plans to Auction 100 Percent of CO2 Permits
6 December 2006 , Reuters
New York state plans to auction all of its permits to emit greenhouse gas emissions under a developing regional market in order to avoid the European Union's mistake of giving away carbon permits, according to a source familiar with the market.
New York is a leading member of the seven-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which seeks to freeze and then cut emissions of the main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, from power plants. Emissions at the plants would be reduced by 10 percent by 2019.
Dale Bryk, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council, who is advising the RGGI, said New York organizations representing consumers, the Attorney General's office and the New York Electricity Consumers Council, have weighed in favor of a 100 percent auction of the allocations.
Last year, the European Union gave away all of its permits that businesses needed, which sent carbon prices crashing.
Carbon markets work by forcing businesses to emit under set limits. Companies that chose not to meet that limit can buy credits for their emissions from businesses that meet the cap.
It is hoped that in an auction only the dirtiest power plants that are genuinely short on permits would be the strongest money in the market, and prevent already-clean plants from receiving and hoarding an overabundance of credits, Bryk said. The latter is what caused a drop in the EU's market.
New York state officials could not be immediately reached.
Five of the other RGGI states -- Maine , New Hampshire , Connecticut , New Jersey and Delaware -- are still debating how to disperse their carbon permits. "We think New York 's proposal will have an enormous influence on what the other states decide to do with their allowances," Bryk said in an e-mail.
Vermont plans to auction its permits, but it has only limited power generation in the state.
Business groups including the Independent Power Producers of New York have said that an auction of carbon credits could raise the price of emitting the gas, shut down generators and lead to reliability problems.
Outgoing New York Gov. George Pataki, a Republican, initiated the RGGI years ago in the absence of mandatory federal limits on emissions of greenhouse gas.

CONFERENCES

2.1. "Tackling climate change – An appraisal of the Kyoto Protocol and options for the future"
Conference will take place at the T.M.C. Asser Institute, The Hague , Netherlands , on 30-31 March 2007.
The Conference will focus on the legal and institutional aspects of the Kyoto Protocol implementation and the post-2012 phase, bringing together the most qualified experts worldwide on the subject.
The conference programme, the registration form and all relevant information on the event, are available at: http://www.eel.nl/events/EventShowPublished.asp?event_id=263.

PUBLICATIONS

3.1. Nairobi talks made progress on forest conservation for global warming emissions credits
Article discussing recent developments regarding the issue of reducing emission from deforestation (REDD). The publication also provides estimates for the potential market value of an international mitigation scheme and for potential incomes of individual countries.
The article is available at: www.mongabay.com, http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1204-avoided_deforestation.html (stable URL).
It builds on a collaborative research effort by the Environmental Change Institute ( University of Oxford ) and EcoSecurities. The full report - “Tropical Deforestation and Climate Change. Towards an International Mitigation Strategy” - can be downloaded at: http://www.ecosecurities.com/ecows.nsf/vd/6%20Publications,
http://www.ecosecurities.com/ecows.nsf/pr/6/$File/AvoidedDeforestation.pdf?OpenElement (direct link).
The research paper analyses key implications of different international policy approaches for the environmental effectiveness of an agreement on REDD, as well as for its economic and political attractiveness to different stakeholders. It also addresses potential co-benefits of carbon trading solutions for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, suggests ways to maximise synergies, and considers solutions to several unresolved negotiation issues.

3.2. Offstting in context – new report from the Carbon Trust
The Carbon Trust, an independent company set up by the UK government to help business and the public sector to cut carbon emissions and develop commercial low carbon technologies, has just published a report on the emerging issue of offsetting.
The report places offsetting in the context of a wider carbon management strategy and helps organisations navigate this complex market. It highlights the three key steps to implement a robust offsetting strategy: first, focus on reducing direct emissions; secondly, look at opportunities to reduce indirect emissions, and then, consider the option of offsetting. The report also provides guidance on what constitutes good quality offsets and highlights the main issues that buyers might face in this market.
Copies of the report are available from http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/carbon/

3.3. Citizens' Guide to European Complaint Mechanisms
Developed by CEE Bankwatch Network in cooperation with a number of European NGOs. The guide is now available on the Bankwatch website at: http://www.bankwatch.org/guide/complaint_mechanisms.
The aim of the Guide is to assist and stimulate individuals and NGOs, especially in the CEE region, to more often and more effectively use institutional mechanisms at the European and international level. The Guide is built on the existing experience of civil society in involving international bodies in ensuring the protection of the environment and the effective use of public funds on the national level. Pressure from outside can be fundamental for cases where local citizens are fighting for their right to a sustainable and healthy future against multinational companies and financial institutions. The guide also seeks to promote quality involvement by the complaint mechanisms.
The guide is planned as a living document and will be regularly updated, based on comments and new cases submitted by citizens and NGOs. You can directly submit comments through the html-version at: http://www.bankwatch.org/guide/complaint_mechanisms.
The guide is also available to download in pdf at: http://www.bankwatch.org/guide/complaint_mechanisms.pdf.

3.4. Deforestation and the Crisis of Global Governance
By David Humphreys
Destined to become a classic. A must-have text for all forestry professionals and students in forest policy, environmental politics and international relations.
“Through detailed scrutiny of the very grey literature about forests, and interviews with some of the key actors, David Humphreys exposes the political and economic interests blocking forestry reform. Anyone involved in global policy making about forests ignores this book at their peril." Marcus Colchester, Director, Forest Peoples Programme
For more info: http://shop.earthscan.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/707/.

3.5. Forestry landscape restoration handbook
Edited by Jenny Rietbergen-McCracken, Stewart Maginnis & Alastair Sarre
An indispensable, easy-to-read handbook for practitioners, planners, policy-makers and students in all aspects of forestry and natural resource management.
The first practical hands-on guide to repairing the damage done by irresponsible forest activity, explaining how to increase the resilience of landscapes and the communities they support.
Click here for more info: http://shop.earthscan.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/731.

3.6. Factor X and the EU: How to make Europe the most resource and energy efficient Economy in the World
A Guidebook to Policies and Legislative Initiatives within the European Union - October 2006 - 2nd completely updated and revised edition.
Authors: K. Schlegelmilch, St. Giljum, M. Rocholl
Download from (163 pages): http://www.aachener-stiftung.de/downloads/factorx_2nd.pdf.
Order printed versions (free of charge) from: Aachen Foundation, Schmiedstr. 3, D-52062 Aachen , Germany , Tel.: +49-241-40929-0, Fax. +49-241-40929-20, E-mail: info@aachener-stiftung.de.
www.aachenfoundation.org
Energy and resource efficiency by now finds support across the political spectrum. However, very little is done to create the necessary political and economic framework for the urgently needed efficiency revolution. The publication describes, what should be and could be done. I hope that it might be of help for your political work.

3.7. Land accounts for Europe 1990-2000
EEA Report No 11/2006, published at: http://reports.eea.europa.eu/eea_report_2006_11.
Abstract: Changes in land cover in Europe reflect modifications in the uses of land, which often compete for the same resource: development of artificial surfaces for housing, transport and economic activities; intensification or extensification of agriculture practices; conversion of natural land to agriculture or farmland abandonment; afforestation or deforestation. Accounting for land cover change in a consistent way at the European scale has been made possible because of the Corine land cover inventory by satellite images carried out in 1990 and 2000 (and planned to be repeated for 2006). Based on spatial information, the land accounts produced by the EEA provide assessments of the magnitude of the various types of change and, at the same time, of their distribution over the European territory. Built up using the methodology of the integrated system of economic environmental accounting (SEEA2003) of the United Nations, land cover accounts are connected to other sets of tables which describe the use of the natural resources by the economy. Land cover accounts can serve as well as a platform to account for ecosystem integrity and goods and services provided to societies by these ecosystems.
Land cover accounts 1990-2000 have been produced for 24 European countries. The report analyses the main results for these countries and presents the methodology used for that purpose. The complete database is available at the EEA via its website, and its access is supported by powerful as well as user friendly extraction tools which make it possible to produce accounts for various types of geographical breakdowns.

3.8. Achieving GHG Emission reductions in Developing Countries Through Energy Efficient Lighting Projects in the CDM
The paper can be downloaded from the World Bank Carbon Finance website: http://carbonfinance.org/Router.cfm?Page=DocLib&CatalogID=30255.
This is a short paper prepared with the aim of helping bridge the CDM and the Energy Efficiency communities. It is hoped that it can contribute to building confidence in energy efficiency projects undertaken under the CDM. The paper addresses the opportunity to use the financial leverage of the CDM (by taking advantage of the window offered by the COP/MOP 1 decision on Programs of Activities) to facilitate demand side energy efficiency projects, on the one hand; and highlights how established efficient lighting methodologies and practices can be used to address the critical CDM methodological issues associated with the measurement of the energy savings and the associated GHG reductions(i.e. no need to reinvent the wheel), on the other.

ANNOUNCEMENT

4.1. Invitation for comments – 2 JI projects in Turkey - correction
The Certification Body "climate and energy " of TÜV SÜD Industrie Service GmbH realizes 2 VER-project:
1. VER - Karakurt 10.8 MW Wind Farm: Emission reductions from grid connected renewable electricity generation, Turkey
Short description: DENIZ ELEKTRIK ÜRETIM LTD. STI plans to install a wind power plant in the area of Karakurt – Ilyaslar – Çakaltepe in Turkey . The purpose of the project is to generate carbonneutral electricity and to feed it into the public grid.
Project documents: http://www.netinform.net/KE/Wegweiser/Guide2.aspx?ID=2340&Ebene1_ID=26&Ebene2_ID=697&mode=0 .
2. VER - Sebenoba 30 MW Wind Farm: Emission reductions from grid connected renewable electricity generation, Turkey
Short description: DENIZ ELEKTRIK ÜRETIM LTD. STI plans to install a wind power plant in the district of Samandag – Yayladagi (west part of the wind park is located in Samandag Distrinct, east part is in Yayladagi Distrinct) in Turkey. The purpose of the project is to generate carbon neutral electricity and to feed it into the public grid.
Project documents: http://www.netinform.net/KE/Wegweiser/Guide2.aspx?ID=2342&Ebene1_ID=26&Ebene2_ID=698&mode=0 .
All parties, stakeholders and observers are invited to comment on the project on the webpage: http://www.netinform.net/KE/Wegweiser/Ebene1_Projekte.aspx?Ebene1_ID=26&mode=0.
These projects will be open for comments within the next 30 days - from November 28 to December 27, 2006 .


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