Tiempo Climate Newswatch

After heavy criticism at the United Nations Climate Change Conference 07, held in Bali, Indonesia, Japan is to reverse its opposition to numerical targets for greenhouse gas emissions controls. The decision will be announced at the Davos economic summit later this month. Japan will host a climate change summit before the Group of Eight (G8) leaders meet in Toyako, Japan, in July 2008, where new targets will be proposed.

The Japanese and Chinese governments have agreed a carbon-credit deal that will see Japan investing in emission mitigation in China and buying the resulting carbon credits. Japan will also provide training to Chinese researchers in the technology to limit climate change. Japan is currently looking for additional means of meeting its Kyoto Protocol target. The government announced plans for further action last year, including voluntary measures by industry and energy conservation. While holding the G8 presidency this year, "Japan hopes to lead the worldwide discussions in order to hand over clean skies to our children," said Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.

The Orangutan Conservation Strategy and Action Plan will not only protect the endangered primate but should also limit climate change. "Protecting orangutan habitat, especially in the peat swamp forests which contain significant carbon sinks, means both a secure future for the orangutan, and avoiding carbon emissions from the forest," said Susan Lieberman of WWF’s Global Species Programme. The development of the Action Plan has been led by the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry. The Plan aims to stabilize orangutan populations and habitat by the year 2017.

The new market for carbon credits could swing forestry economics in favour of conservation, according to a new study sponsored by the Partnership for Tropical Forest Margins (ASB). "What we discovered is that returns for deforestation are generally so paltry that if farmers and other land users were rewarded for the carbon stored in their trees and forests, it is highly likely that a large amount of deforestation and carbon emissions would be prevented," reported Brent Swallow, ASB global coordinator. The researchers found that, in most areas, deforestation rarely generated more than US$5 for every ton of carbon released. A ton of carbon is currently valued at around US$35 on the European market.

Production of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells rose to 3,800 megawatts worldwide in 2007, up an estimated 50 per cent over 2006, according to the annual review by the Earth Policy Institute. PV production has been doubling every two years since 2002. China tripled PV production in 2006 and has doubled output in 2007.

The latest development is thin-film technology, which could bring down the price of solar electricity to a level comparable with coal-fired production. Because of its flexibility, the technology can be used in far more situations than conventional PV panels. Nanosolar has recently started production of thin-film solar cells at its factory in California. The first panels will be used in a solar power station in Germany. "We are aiming to make solar power stations up to 10 megawatts in size. They can be up and running in six to nine months compared to 10 years or more for coal-powered stations and 15 years for nuclear plants. Solar can be deployed very quickly," said Erik Oldekop from Nanosolar.