Tiempo Climate Newswatch

In his 2007 State of the Union Address, United States President George W Bush committed the nation to reducing gasoline use by 20 per cent over the next ten years. Although the primary imperative is to limit dependence on imported oil, Bush acknowledged that meeting this goal would "help us confront the serious challenge of global climate change." Technology, Bush believes, will provide the means to reduce oil dependency. "We must continue changing the way America generates electric power by even greater use of clean coal technology... solar and wind energy... and clean, safe nuclear power," he said. "We need to press on with battery research for plug-in and hybrid vehicles, and expand the use of clean diesel vehicles and biodiesel fuel. We must continue investing in new methods of producing ethanol - using everything from wood chips, to grasses to agricultural wastes."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed what he saw as "positive" signs on climate change in the State of the Union address. He believes that "the possibilities of [reaching a binding international agreement] are actually more positive, more optimistic than they've been for several years." Yvo de Boer, head of the Climate Change Secretariat, found Bush's words "very encouraging". The plans were, however, greeted with concern by the automobile industry and scepticism from environmentalists. General Motors wants to be sure "that any fuel economy increases are technically achievable." "The speech was very disappointing," said Sunita Narain, of the Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi, India. "When the whole world is talking about the importance of climate change and the critical impact it will have, I would have expected more from him," she continued. John Passacantando, executive director of Greenpeace USA, reckons that the alternative fuels proposal put forward by Bush could actually increase global warming pollution and the fuel efficiency programme for automobiles lacks any real targets. "Instead of creating a real national plan to combat global warming and increase energy security, the President has ensured his legacy of failure," he said.

Ethanol producers in Brazil welcomed the new commitment from United States President George W Bush to cut gasoline use by 20 per cent over the next decade. "We've never had such a great opportunity to substitute petroleum," said Luiz Carlos Correa Carvalho of Canaplan consultancy in Piracicaba, Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo is a major production centre for sugar cane, the source of Brazilian ethanol. At present, the nation does not export much ethanol as a result of high domestic demand. New technology could boost the yield of ethanol from sugar cane. "One tonne of cane yields 85 litres of ethanol. When cellulose hydrolysis technology is developed we could get up to 160 litres... before processing cane waste and straw," reckons Eduardo Pereira de Carvalho, head of the Sugar Cane Industry Union (Unica).

Meanwhile, in Europe, plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles have been delayed. Anticipating failure to meet voluntary targets, the European Union (EU) is considering imposing mandatory limits, a proposal favoured by environment commissioner Stavros Dimas but opposed by industry commissioner Günter Verheugen. The proposed limit would require European, Japanese and Korean manufacturers to restrict emissions from new passenger vehicles to 120 grams per kilometre travelled, on average, from the year 2012. The current average is 160 grams per kilometre. The voluntary target is a reduction to 140 grams per kilometre by 2009 but, according to the EU, progress towards this goal has not been satisfactory. EU President José Manuel Barroso is striving for consensus with a view to presenting plans for legislation to enforce the 120 gram target "very soon."

A new report from Wetlands International warns that almost half of the world's waterbird species are in decline and that numbers have fallen across all five continents. Habitat destruction and global warming are the principal contributors to wetlands loss. According to Simon Delany, co-author of the report, "it is still early days when assessing the effects of climate change but droughts are a clear example of where we could be heading. In Africa, central Asia and even recently in Australia, where some areas haven't seen rain for three years, droughts have significantly reduced wetland coverage." Moreover, rising sea levels have covered vital mud flats and sand banks used by waterbirds.

The most serious trends have occurred in Asia, where 60 per cent of waterbird populations have declined or been lost, and in Africa where there has been a 48 per cent decline. As an example of what could be done, Delany cites the European Commission's Birds Directive, which requires members to set aside areas for bird conservation. "These kinds of policies are in their infancy in Asia and Africa," he said. "The protection of really important wetlands needs to be strengthened... to find a balance between the needs of local people and biodiversity conservation," concludes Mike Crosby of Birdlife International.