By John Parnell
– The day’s top climate change stories as chosen by RTCC
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– Updated from 0830-1700 BST (GMT+1)
Latest news: Tuesday 25 September
Last updated: 1700 BST
US: The US Navy is experimenting with new technology that would allow aircraft carriers to make jet fuel from sea water. The end product would have the same emissions as regular jet fuel, but would at least save the delievry costs and carbon, both of which can be quite high if you’re an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific. (TreeHugger)
Brazil: A new study claims that Brazil has lost 80% of its coral reefs in the last 50 years with pollution, extraction for lime, warming waters and overfishing blamed. (Times of India)
Oceans: A new study from the NOAA has warned that sharks, loggerhead turtles and blue whales stand to lose large areas of suitable habitat as seas warm. (UT San Diego)
EU: Oil giant Shell has said new biofuel technologies will need massive investment following the EU’s decision to halve the permitted contribution of biofuels from food crops, to its renewable energy targets. The bloc wants to promote the use of other sources for biofuels to prevent competition with food. (Reuters)
Kenya: Urbanisation is impacting coral off the coast of Kenya, according to a new report. Human activity increases the amount of bacteria and other microbes flowing into the sea, which in turn causes faster erosion of corals. (SciDev)
EU: WWF climate policy expert Kat Watts tweets with news of continued ‘lack of ambition’ from the EU – although with the current Eurozone crisis still hitting the continent it’s amazing they have any money to spend at all.
Monday: EU ‘general affairs’ ministers failed to commit to spend 20% of the next EU budget on climate-related measures (>25% is needed!).
— Kat Watts (@watts_kat) September 25, 2012
Thailand: Thailand plans to launch a voluntary emissions trading market in October 2014, and will soon begin consultations with business to build support for the scheme (PointCarbon-subscription required)
US: The Atlantic coast of the US has the offshore wind potential to fulfil the energy needs of the entire Eastern Seaboard according to a new report by Stanford University. (Triple Pundit)
France: The French foreign affairs Minister has said he wants a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) in place by the end of the year. France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Greece, Poland and Italy reportedly support the idea of a small levy on transactions, which has been mooted as a possible source of international climate finance. (EurActiv)
Vietnam: The latest country to join China, Australia and the EU in using carbon markets to cut emissions could be Vietnam. The nation is setting an 8-10% carbon intensity reduction target for 2020, compared to 2010, according to a government official. A carbon market could be in place by 2018 to support these efforts. (PointCarbon-subscription required)
UK: The future of Champagne may well lie just south of London. Increasingly warmer average temperatures mean that large parts of Kent and East Sussex have the same climate and geology as the Champagne region in France. The French need not worry just yet as their friends in England still won’t be allowed to use the hallowed name, they’ll have to settle instead for ‘English sparkling wine’. (The Atlantic)
US: Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has called on business, citizens and smaller organisations to lead a “bottom up” charge on climate change rather than waiting for international treaties to be signed. Speaking at the launch of Climate Week New York Blair said: “It may well be that in the end, it’s not governments but a bottom-up revolution of businesses, states, cities and consumers, a clean revolution is going to drive forward a solution to climate change.” (TreeHugger)
Worldwide: Climate change could accelerate existing paths of migration rather than sparking mass movements, according to a group of experts gathered in London yesterday. The group also concluded that migration could be a successful climate adaptation technique. (Reuters AlertNet)
US: Earlier this week it was said that 7% of US voters are undecided and their choices are likely to settle November’s presidential election. A national survey has revealed that the overwhelming majority of that 7% believe humans are a major cause of climate change and want to see firm action to tackle it. (China Daily)
EU: An EU official has said that a Mitt Romney win in the US election would create a “totally new way of thinking about climate change” and that negotiations on a treaty for a global solution would “become much harder again”. (EurActiv)