No. 4, December 2009

Illustration: Lars-Erik Håkansson

In this issue

EU weakening fuel efficiency standards

On 28 October the European Commission proposed legislation to reduce the average CO₂ emissions of light commercial vehicles (vans) to 175 grams per kilometre. The proposal will be phased in from 2014 to 2016, and contains a long-term emission reduction target of 135 g/km by 2020.

New US ship emission rules ban high-sulphur fuel

The US EPA has drafted rules that would prohibit the production and sale of high-sulphur marine fuel. Shipping interests have negotiated exemptions for some old steamers.

Ship emissions impact on Danish air quality

A revised Gothenburg protocol is expected to include new national emission ceilings for 2020.

Make ships pay for their NOx emissions

A differentiated en-route charge would be an efficient method to bring down NOx emissions from shipping in the Baltic, a new AirClim report claims.

Shipping emissions up - land-based slightly down

Air pollutant emissions from land-based sources in Europe are continuing to fall slightly, but considerably slower than in the 1990s. Some of the reductions on land are also countered by rising emissions from international shipping.

Climate change impacts coming faster and sooner

The speed and scope of climate change is now surpassing even the most sobering predictions of the last report of the IPCC.

“The most destructive project on earth”

The extraction of oil from the second largest reserves in the world has merely begun, but the environmental costs are already skyrocketing. Canadian NGOs claim tar sand development is the most destructive project on earth.

Boreal forest dieback may cause runaway warming

The boreal forests, one of the largest carbon stocks on earth, will not be able to respond to global warming by migrating northwards. Massive forest dieback, causing runaway warming, is a more likely scenario.

Reducing air pollution mitigates climate change

Measures aiming at reducing air pollutants like ozone and particulate matter (PM) will help reduce global warming, a recent conference concluded.

One in two EU states will miss emission limits

Only fourteen member states expect to comply with their emission limits for all four air pollutants set by the EU national emission ceilings directive.

Tracking down the worst polluters in Europe

The dirtiest power plants in Europe still emit enormous amounts of air pollutants. The sulphur emissions from one plant match those of ten EU countries combined.

Welcome to the world at +4°C

A new map published by the British government presents the likely effects of global warming above the +2°C goal - a future that seems impossible to cope with.

Editorial: Checklist for Copenhagen

As reported in this issue, the latest research emphasizes the necessity to make drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions as quickly and as soon as possible if we are to avoid disastrous climate change.