A U.S. national weather analysis has confirmed a fact that is all too obvious to many people sweltering through this stifling summer.  Thus far, 2010 is the world’s hottest year on record, taking over the top spot from 1998.

Abnormally high temperatures have been recorded in Canada, Africa, tropical oceans and regions of the Middle East, with nations such as Britain, Thailand and Israel suffering severe droughts.

A La Nina weather pattern expected later this year could bring cooler weather globally, however it often translates into hotter and drier weather in the U.S. Midwestern farm belt, which could be detrimental to corn and soy bean crops.

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A new report from the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), a body affiliated with the United Nations and the International Energy Agency (IEA), says renewable energy accounts for over half of all new electricity capacity added in the United States and Europe during 2009.

The REN21 report highlights the shift in manufacturing and deployment of these new energy technologies from developed nations to growing ecnomies like China, Brazil and India.

In 2009, China produced 40% of global solar PV and 30% of all wind turbines; a massive increase from 10% in 2007.

However, despite its advances in implementing green power, China’s carbon dioxide emissions also increased in 2009.  It has overtaken the United States and now claims the title of highest emitting nation in the world.

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After 85 days, BP has finally succeeded in containing the gushing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico waters.  After closing valves and vents on the containment cap during a test on Thursday, the well has stayed in place for two full days.

Although this is a very positive sign, both BP and the White House have warned that the containment cap does not represent a permanent fix – there is still much more work to do to seal the well shut for good, and to clean up the hundreds of millions of spilled oil.  “We’re encouraged by this development, but this isn’t over,” said the U.S. government’s lead contact in the region, retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen.

BP will likely release the flow of oil again, siphoning it up to ships on the surface as it continues to drill a relief well to permanently shut the well with mud and cement.  The well is expected to be ready in early August.

Investors welcomed news of the containment caps success, sending BP shares higher in trading today.  However, since the rig explosion in April nearly $65 billion has been knocked off BP’s market value.

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Last week, President Obama offered a strong show of support for domestic solar power with the offer of $2 billion in loan guarantees for large scale solar projects in the Western United States.

Abengoa Solar is the recipient of the first offer, $1.45 billion to help finance the construction and start-up of a concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Arizona.  Once operational, the “Solana” plant would add 250MW of electric capacity to the grid, enough to power 70,000 homes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 475,000 tons.

A loan of $400 million was also offered to Abound Solar Manufacturing to for the manufacture of thin-film cadmium telluride solar panels, the first time such manufacturing will be deployed anywhere in the world.  When completed in 2013, the manufacturing plant will be capable of producing enough panels to support up to 840MW of new solar every year.

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Thanks to the implementation of an industry-friendly feed-in-tariff in 2007, the Italian solar PV market has taken off at a furious pace.

Data from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) shows that Italy installed more photovoltaic systems than the entire United States in 2009.  What’s more, by the end of the year, Italy will have installed over 2,500 MW of solar PV power, more than one and one-half times the U.S. total.

Italy is now the world’s second largest solar PV market after Germany.  Unlike Spain, Italy is not planning to remove its feed-in-tariff anytime soon.  It has set a new target of 3,000MW for the next time period of 2011-2013, but will trim the tariffs 18% by Q3 of 2011.  Italy reached its 2010 target of 1,200MW earlier this year.  Most of these new installations are on rooftops or in distributed applications, and according to the Gestore dei Servizi Energetici, almost 1/4 are relatively small (20kW or less).

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Many of the world’s largest developed nations experienced a drop in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in 2009.  China and India, however, saw their own domestic emissions levels rise significantly.  Has this growth in effect “canceled out” the reductions made in developed nations?  According to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, the answer is yes.

Global emissions levels remained relatively unchanged in 2009 largely because of Chinese and Indian contributions, despite predictions from groups such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) which thought the global economic meltdown and decrease in manufacturing would assuredly reduce emissions worldwide.

The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency notes that carbon dioxide emissions per person in China are now 6.1 tons, roughly equal to France which clocked in at 6.0 tons in 2009.  This figure represents a major increase for China, which in 1990 emitted only 2.2 tons per capita.    Interestingly, this increase comes Chinese wind and solar energy capacity has doubled for the fifth year in a row.

Because of its use of nuclear energy, French emissions are actually on the lower end of the scale in comparison to other developed nations.  Per capita emissions in other EU member nations were 7.9 tons in 2009, down from 9.1 tons in 1990, while per capita emissions in the United Sates fell to 17.2 tons in 2009, decreasing from 19.5 tons in 1990.

All in all, the Dutch agency now reports that 53% of 2009 global emissions came from developing nations, with 44% coming from the developed world.  International air and sea transportation accounts for the remaining 3%.

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U.S. crude prices have fallen 9.7% since March, finishing the quarter down $8.13, the first quarterly price decrease since Q4 2008.  This has triggered worries over the state of global demand in the wake of continued strain in global financial markets and sluggish job growth.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports growth in gasoline stocks and distillates inventories, disproving forecasts which predicted a fall.  On the other hand, crude stocks dropped by 2.01 million barrels; twice the expected rate.

The onset of Hurricane Alex actually helped to stem the price fall by forcing a stop in 26.3% of oil production and 14.4% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico region.

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It appears that between the Gulf Oil spill, climate change uncertainty, rising energy costs and the availability of future supplies has finally shaken American consumers out of their comfort zone.

Long accustomed to cheap and easy access to energy, American consumers have been notoriously resistant to changing their ways to use less energy.  However, according to a recent study by GE, 79% of U.S. consumers would be willing to make short term changes in order to achieve long-term energy benefits.

A full 88% of those polled would start to use devices like smart meters to help them use energy more efficiently, and of this group, 82% say that smart meters and related devices will be “vital technologies” for the future.

Perhaps the most striking result is the 72% of respondents who agree that America’s energy use and consumption habits, if left unaltered, could stifle future economic growth.  This result, GE says, proves that “consumers are ready to think differently about how they use energy.”

“There are some things that are essential to achieving a desired quality of life,” says Bob Gilligan, VP of Digital Energy for GE Energy Services, “and Americans overwhelmingly agree that investing in our nation’s energy future is one of them.”

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In the wake of the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Obama administration moved last week to ban all offshore drilling operations in the Gulf region for six months until further investigation into the cause of the BP gusher, which has been spilling oil into the ocean since April.

However, a judge in New Orleans struck down the ruling, calling it “rash and heavy-handed.”  The Obama administration appealed immediately, saying that continued drilling poses a danger to oil workers and to the environment that “the president does not believe we can afford.”

It is a contentious issue that has even brought in Abdalla Salem El Badri, the Secretary General of OPEC.  After meeting with European ministers in Brussels, Mr. El-Badri urged the United States to reconsider its ban on offshore drilling, warning that a six month hiatus would hold back oil supplies.  “We should not really ban it and we should not jump to conclusions,” he told reporters.

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A recent survey confirms that African nations are home to the world’s most vulnerable water supplies, and face substantial risks from climate change and population growth.

British consultancy group Maplecroft crafted a “water security risk index” of 165 nations around the world based on criteria such as access to drinking water, per capita demand and dependence on water from rivers which first travel through other neighboring nations.

The survey showed primarily African and Asian nations had the most vulnerable supplies, with Somalia, Mauritania, Sudan, Niger and Iraq leading the list of “riskiest nations.”

However, poor countries are not the only ones facing increased water risk, noted Anna Moss, an author of the study.  Regions of the United States and Australia are also at high risk levels., as are European countries like Bulgaria, Belgium and Spain.

On the other end of the spectrum, the most secure water supplies can be found in Iceland, Norway and New Zealand.

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A recent well explosion in Pennsylvania which blew contaminated gas and water 75 ft in the air has renewed awareness, and in some cases anxiety, over the highly productive yet controversial natural gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.”

Conventional gas drilling processes use approximately 80,000 gallons of water per well.  However,  the new method of horizontal drilling combined with “fracking” uses millions of gallons of water that has been laced with a cocktail of sometimes toxic chemicals.  These new techniques have opened up gas resources in many previously inaccessible areas, and dramatically increased U.S. natural gas production.

However, environmental pollution concerns have steadily increased in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, across which spans the giant Marcellus Shale formation.  New York has already limited drilling in certain areas because of fears of possible groundwater contamination in watershed regions.   It is likely that similar regulations will soon be put in place to ensure protection of the environment as fracking drilling expands.

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According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, global emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions decreased for the first time since 1998, dropping 1.1% to 31.13 billion tons after 2008′s peak of 31.55 billion tons.

However, despite this overall reduction, China’s greenhouse gas emissions have grown sharply as the nation rapidly industrializes and continues to construct new coal-fired power plants.  China is now the world’s leading emitter, having overtaken the United States in 2008.  This past year, China ‘s fossil fuel combustion released 7.5 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.

China is not the only developing nation whose emissions have grown sharply.  India also saw an increase of 7%, and it has now overtaken Russia as the world’s third largest emitter.  In aggregate, the developing world now accounts for half of all global emissions.

United States emissions, on the other hand, fell by 6.5% to 5.9 billion tons in 2009, the lowest level since 1995.  However, “although the share of emerging markets is growing, the industrialized countries remain the preponderant source of historical greenhouse gases,” reminds Nick Robins, head of HSBC’s Climate Change Center of Excellence.

The United States and China, as well as the world’s other top emitters, now find themselves under tremendous pressure to either extend the Kyoto Protocol or formulate a successor to the climate treaty, which is set to expire in 2012.  Nations are also attempting to come up with domestic emissions reductions plans of their own.  “In terms of future emissions targets, China is ahead of the U.S. because it has set itself commitments to reduce carbon intensity, while the U.S. is struggling to get climate legislation through Congress,” remarks Robins.

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The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico – which has become the largest environmental disaster in United States history – has also re-ignited public awareness of the climate and energy bill awaiting approval in the Senate.

President Obama has vowed to acquire all the remaining votes needed to pass this legislation, saying in the wake of this catastrophe, the United States must re-address its energy policies.

“If we refuse to take into account the full cost of our fossil fuel addiction – if we don’t factor in the environmental costs and national security costs and true economic costs – we will have missed our best change to seize a clean energy future,” said the President.  He also noted that America “consumes more than 20% of the world’s oil, but has less than 2% of the world’s oil reserves.”

Speaking of the bill, Mr. Obama says “the votes may not be there right now, but I intend to find them in the coming months.”

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Deforestation is a worldwide problem which contributes mightily to global greenhouse emissions.  It is estimated that one-fifth of all carbon dioxide emissions result from chopping down forestland, especially in tropical zones.

Land preservationists and climate change advocates want to end this environmentally harmful practice, saying doing so will benefit not only the atmosphere, but the U.S. farming economy.

A recent study by the National Farmers Union and Avoided Deforestation Partners estimates if global deforestation were stopped, the U.S. agricultural sector could boost its revenues from $190 billion to $270 billion through 2030.

U.S. crops  have long been undercut by unfairly cheap commodities harvested on “slash-and-burn” cleared land.  Stemming this practice would slow the spread of these artificially cheap commodities into the global marketplace.  The report says U.S. timber, soybean, oilseed and beef industries stand to enjoy particular gains.

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BEIJING, May 27 (UPI) — China and the United States signed eight green energy deals Wednesday in Beijing but financial details were not disclosed, Chinese media reported.

The deals, designed to increase cooperation in the sector, cover areas such as aviation biofuel, distributed energy systems using natural gas as fuel, smart meters and cellulosic ethanol, the China Daily reported. A number of Chinese and U.S. companies would be involved in the eight deals.

The report quoted analysts that the agreements between the world’s two largest energy users would encourage global collaboration in increasing energy efficiency and protecting the environment.

The agreements came at the conclusion of the two-day China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogues in Beijing.

Zhang Guobo, head of the National Energy Administration, also noted bilateral collaboration in renewable energy development, adding: “The United States has advanced technology, and China has a huge market,” the China Daily reported.

U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman was quoted as saying the two countries will “take every angle” to ensure their cooperation in energy and environment.

Zhang said renewable energy development is important for China to achieve goals of increasing the use of non-fossil energy to 15 percent of primary energy use by 2020, and reducing carbon intensity by 40 percent to 45 percent in 2020 from 2005 levels, China Daily reported.

He said China will continue to focus on the development of hydro, wind, solar, and biomass energy in the renewable sector.

Earlier, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu was quoted as saying improving energy efficiency would both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and boost economic growth.
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Arguing that the public discourse surrounding climate change has deteriorated, a group of 14 “eclectic” academics from Europe, North American and Japan have come together with a host of new ideas, namely shifting global focus away from carbon dioxide mitigation and towards more “quick fix” climate solutions.

The “Hartwell Paper” urges the world to look beyond the UN climate negotiating platform, beyond the disappointing outcome of Copenhagen, and beyond the so-called “ClimateGate” scandal to see the true complexities, and importance, of the issues at hand.  ”Climate change has been represented as a conventional environmental ‘problem’ that is capable of being ‘solved,’” said Mike Hulme, an author of the report.  ”It is neither of these.  Yet this framing has locked the world into a rigid agenda that brought us to the dead end of Kyoto, with no evidence of any discernible acceleration of decarbonization whatsoever.”

Hulme and his fellow authors believe the best way to move forward is by concentrating on ways to curb pollution from “black carbon” – a warming agent which is emitted from the incomplete burning of fossil fuels mainly in diesel engines and wood stoves.  This substance, the scientists say, may be the second most significant human-contributed warming agent after carbon dioxide.

The authors concede that carbon dioxide emissions will have to be reined in if long term warming is to be mitigated.  To do so, they advocate an agreement among developed countries to contribute 0.7% of GDP to support low-carbon technology development and deployment in developing nations, where a carbon tax would be instituted.

This report, however, has been harshly criticized by many other climate scientists who believe it is a mistake to shift global attention away from carbon dioxide.  ”The paper’s focus away from CO2 is misguided, short-sighted and probably wrong,” remarked Bill Hare from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.

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The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is instituting its first-ever strategic plan to deal with “Rare earth metals” – the special group of elements that are essential components of clean energy technologies like electric vehicle batteries, compact flourescent light bulbs and solar panels.

As nations around the world increase development and deployment of clean energy, there is a growing anxiety about China’s clear dominance of these essential supplies.  China currently supplies nearly 95% of global demand  for rare earth metals, and the government is attempting to control all processing of rare earth metals.  Over the past seven years,  China has reduced global exports by 40% and some estimates expect China will begin halting exports of these rare earths within the next two years.

“It goes without saying that diversified sources of supply are important for any strategic material,” said David Sandalow, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Policy & International Affairs.  ”So too are substitutes and strategies for re-use and recycling.  If rare earth metals are going to play an increasing role in our economy, we need to pursue those strategies.”  The DOE is soliciting information from industry, research labs and other related organizations to gain a more complete understanding of cost and supply issues regarding rare earth metals.

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A veritable environmental catastrophe is developing in the Gulf waters around the Louisiana coastline following a fatal explosion on an offshore BP oil rig.

Last week’s incident left eleven workers missing and presumed dead,  and broke open a deep-sea pipe, which is currently leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels a day into the ocean.  Coordinated efforts from the U.S. Coast Guard and BP – which as leaser of the rig is responsible for all clean-up costs – have not succeeded in containing the oil slick.  Today’s reports indicate that strong winds are pushing the oil towards the shoreline, which is home to a variety of sensitive ecosystems and species that would all be in danger if the oil were to reach land.

The consequences of this major spill could spell disaster for President Obama’s proposal to expand offshore drilling in the United States, which he was offering as a way to encourage bipartisan support for a more far-reaching climate bill.  The President has ceased issuing new offshore drilling leases until a deeper investigation into this explosion is conducted.

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