News from the Center for Clean Air Policy: February 2008
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February 2008 Newsletter

Featured:
1. President's Letter
2. International Update
3. Domestic Update
4. CCAP Calendar

President's Letter

More than two months into 2008, climate change continues to be at the center of the U.S. Congressional debate, at the core of international policy debate in both developed and key developing countries, on the agendas of major corporations, non-profits and universities, and in the 2008 Presidential campaigns.

Because of the election year and a restricted schedule, the 110th Congress will not likely pass comprehensive climate change legislation this year. However, 2008 will be vital for informing both international and U.S. policymakers. It will be a key year for positioning the issue for stakeholders for the 2009 climate debate. There will be a new U.S. Administration and a new Congress -- and the U.S. will play a vital role in the United Nations process that is seeking to adopt a concrete international climate change treaty as the successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

CCAP remains at the forefront of this process, most recently through its significant work on reducing emissions from deforestation and sector-based approaches in developing countries -- developed through its Future Actions Dialogue, which met in Tokyo, Japan earlier this month --and domestically, touting the significance of transportation provisions and smart growth for U.S. climate and energy policy.

Mitigation is not the only solution to preventing and curbing the effects of global climate change. With the impacts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to remain with us for at least 100 years, it is critical that local, regional and national governments and private entities make efforts -- in addition to mitigation efforts -- to develop and implement climate change adaptation measures. Integrating these adaptation measures climate policy will be a primary focus in the U.S. climate debate for 2008 and beyond.

With new funding from the Rockefeller Foundation for its Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative, CCAP is launching new innovative adaptation projects with the program's partner cities and counties, and remains a key player at the head of the U.S. and international adaptation processes.

It's likely that if you are reading this, you are aware that the window of opportunity to establish meaningful climate mitigation and adaptation is open wide. CCAP looks forward to continuing to work in every policy arena to tackle the global climate challenge.

Sincerely,
Ned Helme, President

International Update

New European Commission Climate Strategy Parallels CCAP European Dialogue Policy Recommendations
On Jan. 23, the European Commission proposed to the European Council of Ministers a detailed strategy for tackling climate change that boldly aims to unilaterally cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the European Union post-2012. Many points of this strategy coincide with specific policy recommendations CCAP and the Institut du Développement Durable et Des Relations Internationales (IDDRI)'s European Dialogue on Climate and Energy made to the European Commission in a vision paper released at the Bali climate talks in Dec. 2007.

The European Commission's strategy intends to unilaterally cut emissions to 20 percent of their 1990 levels by 2020, and to 30 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 if a global climate agreement is reached. The plan includes proposals for how the EU will meet overall emissions reduction GHG targets (including the overall national targets for each Member State), the future targets for the sectors covered by the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), and the procedures for allocating and auctioning allowances to the sectors covered under the EU ETS.

For more information, please view the CCAP press release.

Future Actions Dialogue: Senior Climate Negotiators Discuss Details of Implementing the Bali Roadmap
At the first meeting of CCAP's Future Actions Dialogue since the international agreement reached in Bali to launch the negotiations of the post-2012 treaty, senior climate negotiators came together in Tokyo, Japan on Feb. 11-13 from more than 30 countries to discuss key elements of the Bali Roadmap.

The participants discussed developed countries' further efforts and assessing what is "comparable effort", along with the developing country mitigation actions package and how to implement the "measurable, reportable, and verifiable" agreement decided upon in the Bali Roadmap; financing mechanisms -- including using the value of allowances or auction revenues for technology, forestry, and adaptation in developing countries. The group also decided upon options for addressing forestry emissions reduction efforts and post-2012 strategies for addressing adaptation.

For more information, please view the presentations from this dialogue.

CCAP President Presents at Sixth Informal Meeting on Further Actions against Climate Change
On Feb. 14 in Tokyo, Japan, President Ned Helme spoke at a meeting of the Japan -- Brazil Dialogue. This session brought together negotiators from more than 20 countries met for the first time since the UNFCCC meeting in Bali in Dec. 2007. Helme discussed implementing the Bali Roadmap through options developed through CCAP's recent Future Actions Dialogue. The CCAP Developing Country Package includes building unilateral actions taken by developing countries taking unilateral actions to reduce emissions, establishing more aggressive "no lose" sector--based targets, providing a technology financing and assistance package to encourage those tougher targets. The Package mirrors the language of the Bali Roadmap.

CCAP Discusses Importance of Developing Countries' and U.S. Roles in Int'l Climate Process on E&E TV
The second session of the 110th Congress is underway, and expectations remain high for the climate change policy debate both in the U.S. and internationally. During E&E TV OnPoint on Jan. 14, Jake Schmidt, director of CCAP international programs, previewed the U.S major economies meeting and this year's Congressional climate discussions. He also examined the role developing nations will play as the international process unfolds, and commented on the impact of the EPA's California tailpipe emissions waiver decision on the push for a U.S. cap on emissions.



For more information, please view the E&E TV video segment.

CCAP Welcomes New International Climate Policy Expert Iliriana Mushkolaj
Iliriana Mushkolaj joins CCAP as an International Senior Policy Analyst and Program Manager, working primarily on CCAP's Developing Country Project and its research and analyses on sector-based approaches. She comes to CCAP from ICF International where she focused on advising governments, multilateral institutions, and the private sector on the challenges associated with strategies to manage and implement environmental policies.

Domestic Update
CCAP Presents Climate Policy Initiative Recommendations to Industry Representatives in Arizona
CCAP Domestic Programs Manager Stacey Davis gave a presentation on "CCAP's Climate Policy Initiative (CPI): Finding the Climate Policy "Sweet Spot," on Jan. 28 to more than 200 electric utility representatives and consultants at the Electric Utilities Environmental Conference in Tucson, Arizona. This presentation highlighted CCAP's views on the overarching structure of climate policy and development of a detailed approach to allowance allocation and revenue recycling.

Discussion focused on the importance of establishing a carbon price and supporting its ability to encourage cost-effective actions through establishment of complementary policies and measures that overcome market imperfections and barriers and avoiding cost containment solutions that interfere with this price. CCAP also supported the notion that, in the long-term, allowance value should be used to rebate taxes in order to minimize the adverse impacts of a carbon program on the economy.

CCAP Featured as Key Speaker at New Partners for Smart Growth Conference
At the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference on Feb. 7 and 8 -- hosted by the Local Government Commission -- Transportation Program Director Steve Winkelman discussed the significance of vehicle efficiency, fuel GHGs and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as a "three-legged stool" that supports an overall transportation CO2 emissions reduction strategy.

Winkelman also highlighted CCAP's most recent research and analysis on smart growth and climate change, including -- Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change, a book co-authored with the Urban Land Institute and Smart Growth America, and CCAP's "Green-TEA" proposal for federal transportation policy to reduce the nation's carbon footprint.



For more information, please view the CCAP press release.

Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative Kicks-off with New Funding from Rockefeller Foundation
With a more than $1 million in support from the Rockefeller Foundation , EPA, the SURDNA Foundation and other funders, CCAP's Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative will move quickly to assist nine cities and counties in making effective policy and investment decisions to increase their resiliency to the impacts of climate change and to educate key audiences on adaptation policy. The key goals of the program over the next few years will be to facilitate action by the Urban Leaders Partners, inform national and state adaptation policy and influence action by other communities. In May, King County, Washington will host the next partner meeting.

Legislative Highlight: CCAP Tackles Transportation in Climate Policy at EESI Briefing for Senate Staffers
Trends in carbon emissions from the transportation sector dictate that vehicles, fuels and the increasing amount Americans drive each year — due to sprawling land use patterns and limited transportation options — all need to be addressed in federal legislation to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Transportation Program Director Steve Winkelman explored these issues Jan. 17 at a Senate staff briefing hosted by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.

"Projected growth in driving will cancel out the CO2 savings from the fuel economy and renewable fuel requirements in the energy bill the president just signed," Winkelman said. "This leaves transportation emissions at current levels -- 25 percent above 1990 levels in 2030, entirely off path of the 60-80 percent reduction below the 1990 levels required for long term climate protection."

For more information, please view the CCAP press release and Winkelman's presentation.

President Ned Helme Appointed to Transportation Research Board (TRB) Executive Committee
In January, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) appointed CCAP President Ned Helme to their Executive Committee. TRB is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council, which is jointly administered by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. This prestigious body provides leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective and interdisciplinary. Climate change has been identified as a high priority issue for TRB and will be the spotlight issue for the 2009 annual meeting.

CCAP Presents Options to Environmental Justice Advisory Committee
At the end of January, Suzanne Reed, CCAP California Program Manager, presented CCAP's new environmental justice paper to the state's AB 32 Environmental Justice Advisory Committee. The paper, developed through CCAP's participation as staff to the Governor's Market Advisory Committee, addresses concerns the environmental justice community has with a cap-and-trade approach to GHG reduction. CCAP presented a range of options for mitigating these concerns, as well as information on the effectiveness of other market-based air pollution control programs in the U.S.

For more information, please contact Suzanne Reed at sreed@ccap.org.

CCAP Calendar

• March 14-16 -- Chiba, Japan
G8 dialogue on climate, clean energy and sustainable development and Gleneagles dialogue ministers meeting

• March 31-April 4 -- Bangkok, Thailand
First post-Bali meeting of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.

• April 14-16 -- Paris, France
Third meeting of the Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change

• Mid-May -- King County, Washington
Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative Partners Meeting

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