Strong quake rattles Indonesia's resort island of Bali

The Jakarta Post

BALI (AP): A strong earthquake rattled Indonesia's resort island of Bali on Friday, where thousands of people were gathering for a U.N. climate change conference. It did not trigger a tsunami warning and there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The underwater tremor had a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 and was centered 250 kilometers southwest of Jember, in East Java province, Indonesia's Meteorological and Geophysics Agency said.

It could be felt in nearby Bali, where more than 10,000 people were attending a two-week conference to discuss rising global temperatures, which scientists say could lead to severe droughts and flooding, melting ice caps and rising seas, and the extinction of animals.

Delegates from nearly 190 nations were represented.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheavals due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Sumatra island, triggering a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, including 160,000 people in Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh.

RI regrets some developed nations` stand on its REDD scheme

Nusa Dua, Bali (ANTARA News) - Indonesia on Friday expressed regret about some developed nations` stand on its newly-launched mechanism to collect funds through the Reduction of Emission from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) scheme.

Germany, Australia, Britain and the World Bank had not explicitly stated their commitment to the scheme, Agus Purnomo, executive chairman of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)`s organizing committee, said here Friday.

"It is like being invited to lunch by the developed nations. They play the perfect host .... But when the waiter present the bill, they say they had left their wallet at home. That is what happens to negotiations at the 13th COP to UNFCCC," he said.

Purnomo, who is also assistant to the Indonesian environment minister said all countries had a proportional role in the Kyoto Protocol whose derivatives include the REDD scheme. Under the protocol, developed nations were committed to providing rain tropical forest countries with funds.

"We deeply regret that the developed nations have yet to meet their commitment. As a matter of fact, developing countries like Indonesia have carried out a number of activities, including pilot projects expected to be funded through the REDD scheme," he said.

Wahyudi Wardoyo, chief of the forestry research and development board at the Forestry Ministry, said a number of developed countries had expressed support for the pilot projects to be carried out from 2008 to 2012 by providing funds.

"Two months ago, Germany, Australia, Britain and the World Bank expressed their commitment. But yesterday (Dec 6) when we launched pilot activities under the REDD scheme, they did not show their concrete support," he said.

The REDD scheme is expected to generate up to US$2 million annually through the sale of carbon stored in the country`s tropical forests.

Indonesian Forestry Minister MS Kaban said on Thursday Indonesia had been following developments around the REDD scheme since it began to be discussed a few years ago.

Under the REDD scheme, developing countries would market tons of carbon stored in their forests to developed countries who have the obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emission.

The Kyoto Protocol, which entered into force in 2005, laid down the practical commitments assumed by states party to implement the Framework Convention`s goal of mitigating global warming.

Indonesia, host of 120.3 million hectares of forest, will designate 37.5 million hectares of its forests for the REDD project. "If for each hectare of forest the payment is US$10 a year, Indonesia will gain US$3.75 billion every year," Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said recently.

Many extreme natural phenomena happens in 2007, WWF

Nusa Dua, Bali (ANTARA News) - The past year saw the occurrence of many extreme or record-breaking natural phenomena such as the thinning of ice layers at the North Pole, some of the worst forest fires and floods on earth, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

"Concrete measures related with climate change need to be taken to deal with these phenomena," WWF`s international`s Program Director for Climate Change Han Verolme said here Monday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bali, Verolme said keeping the increase in the global temperature under two degrees Celsius was the key to avoiding the recurrence of such extreme phenomena.

Heavy rainfall which hit Jakarta last February, for instance, triggered one of the worst-ever floods in the history of Indonesia`s capital city.

The floods left at least 400,000 Jakartans homeless, brought about post-flood diseases and inflicted economic losses of US$450 million.

Meanwhile, WWF Indonesia`s Climate and Energy Program Director Fitrian Ardyansyah said Indonesia was now already being affected by the impact of global warming.

Thus, the government should encourage the UNFCCC in Bali to reach an agreement in favor of the earth in the future, Fitrian said.

Fitrian also said droughts would continue in 2007 in several parts of the world like the Amazon, Australia, Africa and a number of areas in China.

Long droughts had also triggered the worst-ever fires in East Europe and South Europe as well as in the western part of the United States.

Meanwhile, director of the WWF Europe`s Climate Change Program Dr Stephan Siner and Executive Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia Emmy Hafild hoped rich countries would show their serious efforts to stop global warming through their commitment to reducing gas emissions by at least 30 percent in 2020.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd signs paperwork to ratify Kyoto Protocol

The Jakarta Post

CANBERRA (AP): New Prime Minister Kevin Rudd signed the paperwork Monday to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, making good on an election promise to overturn Australia's decade-long opposition to the international global warming pact.

"This is the first official act of the new Australian Government, demonstrating my government's commitment to tackling climate change," Rudd said in a statement issued hours after he was officially sworn in Monday.

The dramatic step just nine days after Rudd was elected looked likely to send Australia's standing soaring at international climate change talks that started Monday in Indonesia, and to intensify pressure on Washington to join the Kyoto framework.

Rudd said he had signed the "instrument of ratification" of the Kyoto Protocol. The document would now be sent to the United Nations, and ratification would come into force 90 days after it was received, Rudd said, predicting Australia would become a full member of the Kyoto Protocol before the end of March 2008.

"Australia's official declaration today that we will become a member of the Kyoto Protocol is a significant step forward in our country's efforts to fight climate change domestically - and with the international community," he said.

Rudd, 50, a Chinese-speaking former diplomat, led the left-leaning Labor Party to a sweeping victory at Nov. 24 elections that ended more than 11 years of conservative rule under former Prime Minister John Howard.

Howard had steadfastly refused to ratify Kyoto, arguing that Australia would not agree to a pact setting greenhouse gas emission targets unless big polluters among developing countries such as China and India were also subject to binding targets.

Rudd said Australia wanted to help fix the problem of global warming.

"To be part of the climate change solution we've got to be part and parcel of the negotiating process ... and you can't do that properly until you've ratified Kyoto," Rudd told a television interviewer on Monday before attending the swearing-in ceremony.

But he said striking a new international agreement on the problem was not going to be easy.

"It'll take a lot of time, a lot of horse trading, a lot of negotiation, it's going to be a tough process," he said on Nine Network television.

Australia's overall contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions are small, but it is one of the largest polluters per capita and its stance on Kyoto is powerfully symbolic.

Ratifying Kyoto will leave the United States isolated among wealthy countries in shunning the agreement.

In a sign of the significance of Australia's policy shift, delegates and scientists at the world's largest climate change conference, being held in Bali, Indonesia, erupted in applause Monday when Australia's delegate, Howard Bamsey, told the plenary that Canberra was coming on board the Kyoto process.

Rudd was the first of 30 ministers to take the oath of office before Governor General Michael Jeffery on Monday, formalizing the handover of government.

Among his Cabinet are Australia's first female deputy prime minister, Julia Gillard, who as acting prime minister will become the first woman to formally take charge of the country when Rudd goes to Indonesia.

Also in the Cabinet are ex-rock star Peter Garrett and Australia's first Asian-born woman in Parliament, Penny Wong, who share responsibilities for Australia's environment and climate change.

Both ministers will accompany Rudd to Bali.

Rudd conceded Monday that fighting climate change would have its costs. He said figures indicated Australia would exceed the emission targets spelled out in the Kyoto pact by about 1 percent, and would likely face penalties as a result.

And he warned that food and energy prices could be expected to rise because of measures implemented to deal with climate change.

"We've just got to be realistic about this," Rudd told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

He renewed his government's goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent by 2050, switching Australia's coal-dominated power generation industry to 20 percent renewable energy by 2020, and creating a national emissions trading scheme by 2010.

Bali meeting should agree on post-Kyoto timetable: Merkel

Berlin (ANTARA News) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged the European Union and Group of Eight (G8) club of rich industrial nations Saturday to live up to their promises on climate change.

The EU and the G8 summit in Germany earlier this year "took international decisions to do more for climate protection," the chancellor was quoted by DPA as saying in her weekly podcast.

"In particular we need a successor agreement to the Kyoto protocol that expires in 2012," she said.

She said the UN Climate Conference starting in Bali on Monday needed to agree on a timetable so that negotiations on a follow-up agreement to Kyoto could be completed by the end of 2009.

The Kyoto protocol that went into effect in 2005, requires industrial countries to reduce their carbon emissions by 2012, but the world's two top CO2 polluters, the United States and China, are not bound to fixed reductions under the pact.

Although the US signed the Kyoto protocol, it never ratified it.

China's case is different: as a developing country, it was not bound by the protocol's emissions cap.

The aim of the Bali meeting, which runs until December 14, is to gain consensus on a formal framework for reaching a new emissions-reduction pact over the next two years.

"Every country has to decide for itself, Merkel said. "Germany is ready to set an example."

On Wednesday, the German cabinet is due to agree on a package of measures designed to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

"Time is running out," she said. "The International Climate Control Panel has warned that we have only until the middle of the century to reduce CO2 emissions by half."

A hot issue at Bali will be whether the US will join a new global treaty on climate change even if emerging economies like China and India continue to resist making cuts.

Although developed industrialized countries are blamed for 70 per cent of the CO2 currently in the atmosphere, developing countries are expected to bear the brunt of suffering from the extreme weather conditions linked to global warming.

Dutch horticulture, traffic, key to green future

Monstersandcritics.com, Dec 1, 2007, 12:19 GMT

Amsterdam - If the people of Venlo have their way, new buildings in this busy nexus of the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium will generate more energy than they use.

This ambitious target has been gaining momentum in the province of Limburg, southern Netherlands, since the airing of a television documentary about the revolutionary concept of 'cradle-to-cradle' living that produces zero garbage and zero pollution yet allows maximum economic activity.

The idea would to be have things up and running by the time the once-a-decade mammoth flower show - Floriade - starts drawing world tourists to the region in 2012.

In fact, the horticulture industry and Floriade are lynchpins in the recycling concept of the Planet Prosperity Foundation (PPF), the group launching the project. A meeting in early November drew 650 producers, entrepreneurs, environmentalists and local politicians to discuss the way forward.

As world governments head to Bali, Indonesia, in December to discuss what happens after the two-year-old Kyoto Protocol on climate change - imposing mandatory cuts on industrial nations' emissions - expires in 2012, projects like this one are sure to attract attention.

Carbon dioxide is key to the Venlo concept. Plans call for trucks to collect carbon dioxide emissions in on-board storage tanks and deliver the gas to hot houses, where bacteria and algae will turn the CO2 into fuel. There's no shortage of carbon dioxide in the region, with five highways headed to Germany alone from Venlo, a major transport hub on Europe's InterCity train line.

New industrial parks are to make wide use of ecological roofs of moss and solar panels. The Floriade will be powered by solar and biofuels, and materials used in construction will be biodegradable or reusable.

The region was inspired by the 2006 Dutch public television documentary 'Afval = Voedsel,' or Garbage equals Food, which spotlighted the work of the dynamic German-American eco team, Michael Braungart and William McDonough.

Braungart, a chemist and German university professor in Lower Saxony, and McDonough, an architect, have made their name brainstorming award-winning designs - like an eco-friendly production facility for Ford motors in the United States. In 2002, they wrote a book, 'Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.'

The two believe that everything humanity needs can be made of environmentally friendly, 100-per-cent sustainable material. Moss, used on the Ford factory, is a key element because it guarantees maximum insulation and, not coincidentally, also absorbs carbon dioxide.

Within months of the programme's airing, local politicians in tiny Venlo, a city of 92,000, decided to become the pioneering ground for the cradle-to-cradle theory.

Braungart emphasized at the November conference that Venlo and the surrounding region are an ideal testing ground.

The region is Western Europe's largest horticulture centre, serving some 30 million consumers within a 150 kilometre radius stretching from the Netherlands to Germany's industrial Ruhr heartland. It is an important centre of industrial production. And trucks criss-cross the region with products, goods and services, with the logistics sector engaging some 30,000 people in Venlo alone.

To get the ball rolling, Harry Loozen and Dick Thesingh, director and marketing manager of the Chamber of Commerce of the Dutch province of Limburg-Noord, contacted the province of Limburg, the Floriade, and several other public and private partners.

Together, they founded the Planet Prosperity Foundation (PPF), whose director, Roger Cox, is an enthusiastic promoter.

'All cities cope with sustainability problems. They all need to comply with the Kyoto Protocol. That's why we advocate the implementation of the cradle-to-cradle on the regional level,' he said.

Braungart was impressed with the turnout.

'The enormous number of participants at this conference and their enthusiasm demonstrates that there is a strong public interest in pushing forward with cradle-to-cradle,' he said.

He also encouraged each sector to pursue change 'without fearing to make mistakes. Just do it.'

The meeting drew a large number of architects and designers, established banks such as ABN Amro and ING Bank, and international producers such as printing company Oce Technologies.

One of the world's largest carpet manufacturers, Shaw Floors, of Dalton, Georgia, US, described how its production costs dropped dramatically after it had implemented the cradle-to-cradle theory in its production process. Its 23-billion-kilogramme annual garbage output had dropped drastically.

The 21 workshops even had some immediate results. A snack producer decided to switch to recycled packaging, and several companies pledged to buy only new furniture made of reusable fabric.

G-77 agrees on funding plan

Abdul Khalik and Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

Senior officials from the developing countries grouped under the G-77 have agreed to propose the establishment of an adaptation fund mechanism that is transparent, accountable and easy to access, officials said Friday.

The agreement was reached during a meeting of senior officials ahead of the opening of the UN Bali climate conference here Friday.

The officials also agreed on the principles of the fund mechanism and the formation of a two-layer management system, which comprises a governing body and a day-to-day management body.

Both proposals will be submitted to the 13th UN Conference of Parties (COP) to the Kyoto Protocol, which will be opened by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday. At least five heads of state and governments, plus Australian prime minister-elect Kevin Rudd, have confirmed their presence at the meeting, which will last until Dec. 14.

Adaptation is one of the core issues to be discussed at the conference, besides mitigation, transfer of technology from developed to developing countries, and a financing scheme to curb the impacts of climate change.

The conference, which will be attended by more than 10,000 officials, representatives of non-government organizations and the media, is also expected to create a roadmap to establish a new commitment to the Kyoto agreement, the first phase of which will expire in 2012.

"Indonesia insists that whoever governs and manages the adaptation fund, we and other developing countries must have easy access to it, and the management of fund must be transparent," Sulistyowati, an Indonesian delegate at the meeting, told The Jakarta Post.

Aree Wattana Tummakiri of Thailand said the flexibility and accountability of the institution as well access to the fund for developing countries were all that the G-77 members are demanding in the fund's management.

"We will establish a governing body, which consist of parties to the protocol, because we want to have a pro-developing countries institution to manage the fund. Currently, we have difficulties accessing the money and an explanation on how the fund is managed," she told the Post.

The Kyoto Protocol has ruled that the adaptation fund will be raised from a 2 percent levy deducted from carbon credits given to the private sector both in developing and developed countries through clean development mechanism (CDM) projects. The current size of the fund is estimated at US$100 million per year, but is expected to reach billions as the value of CDM projects increases.

According to the Climate Action Network, a group of international NGOs, developing countries need at least $50 billion per year to adapt to the impact of climate change.

Currently, the fund is managed by GEF, a multilateral environmental financing mechanism set up under a 1994 international agreement, which is currently the only institution handling financial matters for the UNFCCC and other environmental agreements.

The organization is handling around $1 billion for climate change projects during the 2007 to 2010 period.

GEF projects are implemented by the World Bank, UN agencies, regional development banks, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Most developed countries, including members of the European Union, have expressed support for the GEF to handle the adaptation funds, saying the organization already has the experience, infrastructure and expertise.

But most developing and least-developed countries have rejected the GEF, saying in the past it has been difficult for these countries to get money under GEF management. They also accuse the GEF of not being transparent in its operations.

Apart from discussing the adaptation fund, the officials also talked about the choice of technology developed countries can transfer to the developing countries to help the latter cope with climate change. They also discussed a fairer mechanism of carbon trading.

"We want a more transparent executive board for the carbon trading regime so that we know why our projects don't qualify for carbon credits and how to select consultants who will verify certain carbon projects," Upik Sitti Aslia Kamil, an Indonesian delegate at the talks, told the Post.

Religious, traditional wisdom urged for green protection

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Religious and ethnic leaders expressed concern Thursday over global warming, asserting no spiritual teachings or traditional beliefs allowed the unchecked exploitation of nature.

Environmental damage caused by human activities is against all spiritual and traditional values, which teach people to preserve and live in harmony with nature, Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin said during a discussion here.

The event was organized by Muhammadiyah, one of Indonesia's most influential Muslim organizations, to seek a common ground among different groups prior to the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali from Dec. 3 to 14.

World representatives will convene at the UN conference to negotiate a global treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

Religious and ethnic leaders will also be involved in the negotiations aimed at pushing developed countries to reduce carbon emissions produced by industrial activities and to shoulder the responsibility for any failure to meet reduction targets.

Present during Thursday's meeting were representatives of Indonesia's five biggest religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism and Hinduism.

Ethnic tribal leaders from Banten, Sumatra, Papua, Madura and Borneo also were in attendance.

Buddhist priest Tadisa Paramita said human greed was behind the environmental degradation that has translated into natural disasters such as floods and drought.

He said humans had benefited from industrial activities at the expense of the environment, ignoring nature's protests sent through a number of disasters.

"Nature responds according to what humans do. We believe that nothing comes as a coincidence ... people reap what they sow."

Father Ismartono of the Indonesian Bishops Conference said: "Humans are not the owners of this earth and have no right to exploit nature the way they do. God is the creator of this earth and humans are the steward."

Indonesia has seen some of the worst environmental damage in the world, with some 50 million hectares of forest throughout the country heavily exploited.

The country has been cited for its rapid rate of deforestation, and has been called one of the main contributors to global warming.

Al Azhar, representing the Riau Malay tribe from Sumatra, told the audience how forests in his region were exploited by timber companies despite protests from indigenous people.

"Indigenous people will plant one tree if they cut down one tree ... but the companies come and take everything from the forest without any effort to replace it."

Leonard Imbiri from Papua said the forests in Papua had been devastated.

"People know of Papua as having amazing and wild forests ... but you can come and see now, the forests and nature there have been badly damaged. Gone are the indigenous people's efforts to preserve them," he said. (lln)

Lampung finds community solution to forest conservation

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Lampung

Lampung administration has developed a forest conservation area which involves residents.

Since 2000, 6,537 households near Rigil hill and Tangkit Tebak forest in West Lampung municipality have taken part in the "Forest Community" program, regreening the 12-hectare forest which was damaged by illegal logging.

As an incentive, the villagers -- who work in groups -- are allowed to cultivate a part of the damaged forest for a five year term.

Now, not only do they enjoy the harvests from their crops, but also benefit from the restored forest.

"We're glad we have land to work on ... so that we can support ourselves, while protecting the environment," a farmer, Erfan, said.

The team responsible for the program consists of the village chief, officials from the environmental management board and forest conservation supervision unit, environmentalists and farmer organizations.

The team supervises farmers in groups of 50 and manages land use, distribution, planning and licensing, which is required by people wishing to cultivate land in the area. The team also evaluates the performance of farmer groups each year.

"Groups who are successful in operating under the program would be given permission to cultivate the forest land for 25 years, as recently instructed by West Lampung Mayor Erwin Nizar," a team member and environmentalist from Keluarga Pecinta Lingkungan (Environmentalist Family), Rama Zakaria, said.

Farmers are not allowed to build houses or even shacks in the forest near their crops or to sell the land, or they will lose permission to use the land in the coming year.

Rama said community-based forest management was the best way to prevent the forest from being damaged.

"Farmers until now ... witness forest destruction but can do nothing. Now, with the forest management based in the community they can participate to protect it, and even bust the illegal loggers."

Rama said even though the Forest Community pilot project has gone well, there were still many obstacles in repairing damaged forests in other parts of the province, particularly in two national parks and one protected forest.

He said Lampung faces rampant illegal logging activities which have damaged 60 percent of the 125,000-ha Way Kambas national park in East Lampung, 40 percent of the 365,000-ha Bukit Barisan Selatan national park and 40 percent of the 22,000-ha Wan Abdur Rahman protected forest in Bandar Lampung.

According to environment management board data cited by Rama, 1.4 of 3.3 million ha of Lampung is forested, but 65 percent of it is now damaged.

"At first, the administration was reluctant to allow residents to manage and cultivate crops in forest areas, but after they saw how it is managed, (they) cooperated," Rama said.

World Bank data from 2007 shows Indonesia became the world's third biggest carbon dioxide emitter because of uncontrolled forest degradation.

"It is embarrassing to find the world pointing at Indonesia as one of the main contributors to global warming when once we were so proud of our forests," Rama said.

Google Plans to Develop Cheaper Solar, Wind Power

By Ari Levy

Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc., whose corporate motto is ``don't be evil,'' created a research group aimed at developing cheaper renewable energy sources, focusing on solar, wind and other alternative forms of power.

Google, owner of the most-used Internet search engine, is hiring engineers and energy experts to lead a development process that may cost hundreds of millions of dollars, the Mountain View, California-based company said today in a statement.

The project, called Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal, follows initiatives earlier this year to develop hybrid and electric cars and to maximize the efficiency of its data centers, which account for most of the energy Mountain View, California- based Google consumes.

``We want to apply the same creativity and innovation to the challenge of generating renewable electricity at globally significant scale and produce it cheaper than from coal,'' Larry Page, Google's co-founder, said in the statement.

The goal is to create enough renewable energy to power a city the size of San Francisco for less than it would cost using coal, in ``years, not in decades,'' Page said. Coal accounts for more than 50 percent of all U.S. power and is one of the biggest sources of carbon emissions.

Google rose $5.24 to $671.24 at 11:38 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares had gained 45 percent this year before today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ari Levy in San Francisco at levy5@bloomberg.net

Commonwealth issues climate plan

BBC News

Leaders of Commonwealth states have drawn up an "action plan" to tackle climate change that falls short of any binding agreement.

The text, released after the second day of their summit in Uganda, is designed as a strong statement ahead of next month's UN climate talks.

But the 53-member group could not reach a consensus on binding emission cuts.

Meanwhile, India's Kamalesh Sharma has been appointed secretary general. He replaces New Zealand's Don McKinnon.

Mr McKinnon is stepping down at the end of his four-year term.

On Saturday, the Commonwealth leaders are working at a retreat on Lake Victoria, away from media attention.

Officials had said the summit would try to iron out differences between member states on climate change.

Divisions

Many Commonwealth nations, led by Britain, wanted an influential statement before next month's UN talks in Bali, which will discuss a new agreement to replace the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012.

But Canada had insisted that any statement should refer to the need for contributions from the world's major polluters, including the United States, which has so far resisted any binding targets.

Australia is also a major CO2 emitter. Like the US, its outgoing government has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol.

"There are clearly some (Commonwealth leaders) who are clearly not ready to use the term binding at this stage," Mr McKinnon said following Saturday's talks.

"The objective was to make a very strong political statement without getting caught up in too many technicalities ahead of Bali," he said, according to the AFP news agency.

A Commonwealth statement announced a shared goal "to achieve a comprehensive post-2012 global agreement that strengthens, broadens, and deepens current arrangements", AFP reported.

"This should include a long-term aspirational goal for emissions reduction to which all countries would contribute," the statement said.

The first day of the summit was marred by clashes between protesters and police in Uganda's capital, Kampala.

Protesters denounced Britain's Queen Elizabeth for meeting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who they say abuses rights.

The three-day summit on Friday suspended Pakistan for civil rights violations under its emergency rule.

Brown optimism

A new global trade agreement is also on the summit's agenda.

It is one of the most divisive issues for the Commonwealth, which includes some of the world's wealthiest nations as well as some of the poorest.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Saturday expressed optimism that a new deal could be reached in the next few weeks.

The talks have repeatedly stalled since their inception in Qatar's capital, Doha, in 2001.

How Dutch tackle waste charging

BBC News

A group representing councils in England and Wales has set out three "pay-as-you-throw" schemes which it believes would be effective in reducing waste and increasing recycling.

The Local Government Association says such schemes have been successful elsewhere in Europe, including in the Netherlands:

SACK-BASED SYSTEM

This involves households buying different sized pre-paid sacks or special tags to go on ordinary bin bags for general household waste.

Maastricht is a Dutch city with 57,450 households, 60% of which are houses and 40% flats.

It introduced a sack-based system of waste charging in 2000. Households can purchase 25/50 litre sacks, priced at 0.69/1.04 euros (47p/71p), which are collected weekly/fortnightly.

Following the introduction of the system, the total amount of household waste fell and the recycling rate increased from 45% to 65% (compared to a national target of 53%).

WEIGHT-BASED SYSTEM

In this system, wheelie bins are fitted with chips to allow bins to be weighed when they are loaded onto refuse trucks - a system currently used for trade waste in the UK.

Households are sent a bill (quarterly or annually) for the amount of non-recyclable waste they throw out.

In the south eastern authority of Sittard, where just 25% of homes are apartments, they introduced a weight-based system for houses in 2002.

As a result, general waste is down 41% and dry recyclables up 23%. The council estimates the system has resulted in savings of 1.1million euros (£748,000) per year.

VOLUME-BASED SYSTEM

Households choose from a range of wheelie bin sizes according to the amount of waste they think they will generate, and are charged accordingly.

The city of Haarlemmermeer, near Amsterdam, operates a fortnightly volume-based collection system, where residents can purchase bins ranging from 80 litres (142 euros/£97) to 240 litres (215 euros/£146).

Residents are fined for setting out extra waste. Recycling in the area has increased and the scheme is saving the council money, as it is cheaper to operate than incineration.

*Figures supplied by the Local Government Association

Govt prepares to plant 79 million trees

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government is very optimistic that its effort to present a gift to the world by planting 79 million trees next week will make a significant contribution toward curbing global warming.

The planting, to take place on Nov. 28, has been designed a national event in which people at around 79,000 locations all over Indonesia will plant trees at exactly the same time.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will kick off the action from Jonggol, West Java, at 9 a.m., while people in the middle and eastern parts of Indonesia will carry out the planting at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., respectively.

Forestry Minister M.S. Ka'ban said the campaign related to Indonesia's role as the host of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) talks in December.

During the Bali meetings, Indonesia will propose a scheme called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries (REDD). The scheme is expected to provide an opportunity for countries willing to conserve their forests be compensated financially for each ton of carbon gas the forests absorb.

"Over the next three years, the trees can be expected to grow to around two meters high and start effectively absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2). One hectare of land packed with six-year-old trees can absorb around 200 tons of CO2 per year," Ka'ban said during a press conference at the Forestry Ministry on Friday.

He hoped the world would see the effort as a strong signal that Indonesia was serious about the REDD proposal. He added that it would be unfair if Indonesia had to bear the responsibility of preserving its forests, losing its right to benefit from them, while other countries enjoy the outcome for free.

"At least Rp 216 trillion is needed for replanting all of Indonesia's forests that have been damaged," he said.

He explained that the total cost for the 79-million-tree planting campaign would be around Rp 1.28 trillion (US$136.7 million). "The fund was generated from forestry businessmen all over Indonesia, while almost all of the seedlings come from the Forestry Ministry stockpiles."

The committee chairman for the campaign, Soetino Wibowo, explained that the target number of 79 million trees was based on the total number of state institutions throughout Indonesia that would participate.

"We have around 79,000 state institutions, the national, provincial, regental, district and sub-district and municipal levels, as well as the police and military branches. Every institution will plant at least 1,000 trees. However, we are sure that they can do more," Soetino said.

He also said that the planting campaign would be followed up by efforts to care for the trees over the next three years. "The first three years are the most critical period of growth," he said. (uwi)

Japan pledges $1.8 bln for green projects in Asia

Wed Nov 21, 2007 10:53am EST

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda pledged 200 billion yen ($1.83 billion) in loans over the next five years for environmental projects in Asia, officials said on Wednesday.

The projects include sewage disposal and sulfur dioxide scrubbing from power plant smoke stacks.

Tokyo also said it was ready to provide up to $10 million for a World Bank fund aimed at preserving forests, an issue Indonesia will push for at a U.N. meeting in Bali next month to try to find a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

Japan also plans to launch a satellite by the end of March 2009 that would monitor greenhouse gas emissions and share the data with Asian nations.

Experts say dealing with the effects of climate change will be a major problem for Asia, where greater extremes of weather are expected to cause more intense storms and droughts, while melting of Himalayan glaciers could lead to summer water shortages for tens of millions.

China is expected to overtake the United States as the world's top carbon dioxide polluter and Indonesia might have risen to the No.3 emitter because of deforestation and massive forest fires. India's emissions are also rising quickly.

Japan is among the world's top-five greenhouse gas emitters.

(Reporting by George Nishiyama, writing by Neil Chatterjee, editing by David Fogarty)

Clinton advances renewable energy ideas

Yahoo News

By Martin Griffith, Associated Press Writer Sat Nov 17, 7:47 AM ET

FERNLEY, Nev. - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton turned the spotlight on a key Western issue, saying the resource-rich region can help lead the U.S. in the development of renewable energy.

In remarks Friday night to about 1,200 people in a heavily Republican town about 30 miles east of Reno, Clinton said alternative energy would cut down on greenhouse gases, create American jobs and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

"We are now more dependent on foreign oil than we were on 9/11," Clinton said. "We are basically at the mercy of all these oil-producing regimes ... that all too often use that money against us.

"We have all this empty federal land in Nevada. It should be packed with wind turbines and solar panels," she said.

Her remarks at the town hall meeting came a day after she and other Democratic presidential hopefuls barely touched on Western issues — like water, grazing and mining — at a debate in Las Vegas.

Nevada, a state rich in geothermal, solar and wind power, has moved its Democratic presidential caucus to Jan. 19, following Iowa on Jan. 3 and most likely the New Hampshire primary several days later.

Clinton did not mention her Democratic challengers in Fernley. Instead, she outlined her platform to help the middle class, including her health insurance, education and energy proposals.

She also pledged efforts to restore fiscal responsibility to Washington and criticized President Bush.

"Anybody who tells you that the Republicans know how to manage the budget and balance the books, you tell them you don't know where they've been living the last 6 1/2 years because that is not the facts," Clinton said.

"It gets me a little agitated to think that 6 1/2 years ago we had a balanced budget and surplus in America and it's all been squandered. We now have a $9 trillion deficit."

She also expressed disappointment over Congress's inability to pass legislation to bring the troops home from Iraq.

Their latest defeat came Friday when Senate Republicans blocked a $50 billion bill that would have paid for several months of combat but also would have ordered troop withdrawals to begin within 30 days. The measure, narrowly passed this week by the House, also would have set a goal of ending combat in December 2008.

"We don't have enough Republicans who will vote with us yet. We need more," she said. "But the facts are pretty clear. Our young men and women in uniform have done everything they were asked to do. I do not want them remaining as referees of an Iraqi civil war any longer."

Afterward, Clinton met with about 80 volunteers during a visit to her Reno campaign headquarters. She then flew to Las Vegas, where she's scheduled to campaign Saturday.

Asian leaders promote green region, nuclear power

Singapore (ANTARA News) - Asian leaders from 16 countries will pledge to increase the region's forest cover by 2020 and promote the use of nuclear energy during their annual summit here next week.

A draft statement obtained by Agence France-Presse on Saturday said the leaders will also throw their support behind a UN plan as the "core mechanism" for tackling global warming.

Leaders from 10 Southeast Asian nations, along with their counterparts from Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, are to release the statement when they meet Wednesday for the East Asia summit.

In the draft, the leaders pledge to work towards an "aspirational goal of increasing cumulative forest cover in the region by at least 15 million hectares (37 million acres) of all types of forests by 2020".

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders, in a separate statement to be issued after their summit on Tuesday, will pledge to increase forest cover by at least 10 million hectares within the same timeframe.

The United Nations warned earlier this year that illegal logging by foreign firms could lead to a 98 percent loss of Southeast Asia's tropical rain forests by 2022, threatening endangered wildlife and the livelihoods of local peoples.

The 16 Asian leaders will on Wednesday also agree to cooperate on the "development and the use of civilian nuclear power," amid concerns soaring oil prices could hurt regional economic growth, according to the draft., Asea

But they will stress that the use of atomic energy will be carried out in a "manner ensuring nuclear safety, security and non-proliferation" by adopting safeguards within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Environmental groups have voiced concerns over the disposal of nuclear waste and the danger that plutonium -- a key ingredient for making atomic weapons -- could fall into the wrong hands.

A key focus of concern is Southeast Asian extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah, blamed for a series of attacks in the region including the 2002 Bali bombings.

The leaders will affirm their commitment to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change as the "core mechanism" to deal with global warming, according to the draft.

ASEAN member Indonesia is hosting a UN-backed climate change conference on the resort island of Bali next month, at which delegates will try to thrash out a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol, which is set to expire in 2012.

The leaders will pledge to increasingly use cleaner alternative energy sources but stress any new commitments by developing nations on cutting greenhouse gas emissions should take their level of development into account.

Empty rhetoric?

Rafael Senga, the Asia-Pacific energy coordinator for the World Wildlife Fund, described the draft statement as "empty rhetoric," saying it lacks firm commitments.

"Rhetoric must be scaled down," he told AFP.

"We want to see a more pro-active stance from both ASEAN and the East Asia Summit. It has been a practice that after making statements at the summits, nothing happens after that."

The East Asia leaders' statement says the region's rapid economic growth, while helping to ease poverty, will lead to higher energy demand and thus the need to ensure affordable and sustainable energy supplies.

An expected doubling of Asia's current urban population of 1.7 billion people by 2030 will also pose environmental challenges, the leaders say.

U.N. Chief Seeks More Climate Change Leadership

The panel’s report is the first to acknowledge that the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, from higher temperatures could result in a big sea-level rise over centuries rather than millennia.

By Elissabeth Rosenthal, The New York Times, Published: November 18, 2007

VALENCIA, Spain, Nov. 17 — Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, describing climate change as “the defining challenge of our age,” released the final report of a United Nations panel on climate change here on Saturday and called on the United States and China to play “a more constructive role.”

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described climate change as “the defining challenge of our age.”

His challenge to the world’s two greatest greenhouse gas emitters came just two weeks before the world’s energy ministers meet in Bali, Indonesia, to begin talks on creating a global climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

The United States and China are signatories to Kyoto, but Washington has not ratified the treaty, and China, along with other developing countries, is not bound by its mandatory emissions caps.

“Today the world’s scientists have spoken, clearly and in one voice,” Mr. Ban said of the report, the Synthesis Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “In Bali, I expect the world’s policymakers to do the same.”

He added, “The breakthrough needed in Bali is for a comprehensive climate change deal that all nations can embrace.”

Although Mr. Ban has no power to enforce members of the United Nations to act, his statements on Saturday increased the pressure on the United States and China, participants here said.

Read More ....

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UN calls for joint climate effort

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says a new report on climate change has set the stage for a real breakthrough in tackling the issue.

BBC News

Launching the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, he said it made clear that real and affordable ways to deal with the problem exist.

He called for action at next month's climate change conference in Bali.

The IPCC report states that climate change is "unequivocal" and may bring "abrupt and irreversible" impacts.

After a week of arduous talks in Valencia, Spain, the UN panel of scientists agreed the document which says the planet is being driven toward a warmer age at a quickening pace by human activity.

Rising sea levels

The scientists concluded that carbon dioxide emissions are rising faster than they were a decade ago, prompting the panel's chairman, Rajendra Pachauri, to highlight the need to deal with impacts which are coming whether or not global emissions are curbed.

Even if levels of CO2 in the atmosphere stayed where they are now, he said, research showed sea levels would rise by between 0.4 and 1.4 metres simply because water expands as it warms.

"This is a very important finding, likely to bring major changes to coastlines and inundating low-lying areas, with a great effect in river deltas and low-lying islands.

"If you add to this the melting of some of the ice bodies on Earth, this gives a picture of the kinds of issue we are likely to face," he said after the landmark report was published.

'Abrupt and irreversible' impacts

The report was officially unveiled by UN chief Ban Ki-moon from Valencia.

As he began Mr Ban congratulated the IPCC and the thousands of scientists involved in its work on their recent award of the Nobel Peace Prize.

"I come to you humbled after seeing some of the most precious treasures of our planet threatened by humanity's own hand," said the UN chief, who has just been on a fact-finding trip to Antarctica and South America.

"All humanity must assume responsibility for these treasures."

"Let us recognise that the effects of climate change affect us all, and that they have become so severe and so sweeping that only urgent global action will do. We are all in this together - we must work together," Mr Ban added.

Among the report's top-line conclusions are that climate change is "unequivocal", that humankind's emissions of greenhouse gases are more than 90% likely to be the main cause, and that impacts can be reduced at reasonable cost.

The synthesis summary finalised late on Friday warned that climate change may bring "abrupt and irreversible" impacts.

Such impacts could include the fast melting of glaciers and species extinctions.

"Approximately 20-30% of species assessed so far are likely to be at increased risk of extinction if increases in global average temperature exceed 1.5-2.5C (relative to the 1980-1999 average)," the summary concludes.

Other potential impacts highlighted in the text include:

• between 75m and 250m people projected to have scarcer fresh water supplies than at present
• yields from rain-fed agriculture could be halved
• food security likely to be further compromised in Africa
• widespread impacts on coral reefs

Writing in the International Herald Tribune ahead of the report's release, Mr Ban said the world may be nearing a tipping-point on climate change.

"We all agree. Climate change is real, and we humans are its chief cause. Yet even now, few people fully understand the gravity of the threat, or its immediacy.

IPCC PROJECTIONS

• Probable temperature rise between 1.8C and 4C
• Possible temperature rise between 1.1C and 6.4C
• Sea level most likely to rise by 28-43cm
• Arctic summer sea ice disappears in second half of century
• Increase in heat waves very likely
• Increase in tropical storm intensity likely

"Now I believe we are on the verge of a catastrophe if we do not act."

His comments were endorsed by environmental groups on the fringes of the IPCC gathering.

"Climate change is here, it's impacting our lives and our economies, and we need to do something about it," commented Hans Verolme, director of the climate change programme with the environmental group WWF.

"After this report, there are no politicians left who can argue they don't know what climate change is or they don't know what to do about it."

The IPCC findings will feed into the next round of negotiations on the UN climate convention and Kyoto Protocol, which open in Bali on 3 December.

"Today the world's scientists have spoken clearly and with one voice," Mr Ban said in Valencia. "In Bali I expect the world's policymakers to do the same."

IPCC to warn of 'abrupt' warming

By Richard Black, Environment correspondent, BBC News website, Valencia

Climate change may bring "abrupt and irreversible" impacts, the UN's climate advisory panel is set to announce.

Delegates to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) agreed a summary of its landmark report during overnight negotiations here.

Discussions were said to have been robust, with the US and other delegations keen to moderate language.

The summary will be officially launched by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on Saturday.

It brings together elements of the three reports that the Nobel Prize-winning IPCC has already released this year, on the science of climate change, impacts and adaptation, and options for mitigating the problem.

Among its top-line conclusions are that climate change is "unequivocal", that humankind's emissions of greenhouse gases are more than 90% likely to be the main cause, and that impacts can be reduced at reasonable cost.

IPCC PROJECTIONS

• Probable temperature rise between 1.8C and 4C
• Possible temperature rise between 1.1C and 6.4C
• Sea level most likely to rise by 28-43cm
• Arctic summer sea ice disappears in second half of century
• Increase in heatwaves very likely
• Increase in tropical storm intensity likely
  
  

The synthesis summary being discussed here in Valencia strengthens the language of those earlier reports with a warning that climate change may bring "abrupt and irreversible" impacts.

Such impacts could include the fast melting of glaciers and species extinctions.

"Climate change is here, it's impacting our lives and our economies, and we need to do something about it," commented Hans Verolme, director of the climate change programme with the environmental group WWF.

"After this report, there are no politicians left who can argue they don't know what climate change is or they don't know what to do about it."

Local witnesses

At a news conference, WWF presented testimonies from "climate change witnesses" in various parts of the world.

Speaking by video link, Australian scientists and fishermen spoke of the changes they were seeing on the Great Barrier Reef. And Olav Mathis Eira, a Sami reindeer herder from Norway, said that his communities are seeing weather patterns unprecedented in their oral history.

"Winter is one and a half months later than it used to be," he said. "We observed birds and insects that do not have a name in Sami."

The 20-page IPCC synthesis summary is due to be accompanied by a longer, more detailed document, and discussions on that are continuing here.

The findings will feed into the next round of negotiations on the UN climate convention and Kyoto Protocol, which open in Bali on 3 December.

US, China working on biofuel pact

Yahoo News

By JOE McDONALD, Associated Press Writer

BEIJING - The United States and China are working on a pact to promote use of ethanol and other biofuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and could announce an agreement as early as next month, an American official said Friday.

The agreement would call for cooperation in research, producing crops for fuel and other areas, said Alexander Karsner, an assistant U.S. energy secretary. He was in Beijing for talks with Chinese officials on promoting use of renewable energy sources.

The United States and China are the world's biggest oil consumers and producers of carbon dioxide and other gases that scientists say trap the sun's heat and are raising global temperatures.

Karsner said he and Chinese officials talked about a meeting next month in Indonesia of environment officials from 80 countries to discuss a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol on emissions reductions. He said he did not bring up Washington's insistence that Beijing, a major emissions source, accept binding limits. China has rejected emissions caps but says it will try to curb gas production.

A biofuels agreement could be announced at the Dec. 12 meeting of the Strategic Economic Dialogue, a high-level U.S.-Chinese forum on trade and other issues, Karsner said. He declined to give details, saying they still are being discussed.

It would be Washington's first such pact in Asia, following similar agreements with Brazil and Sweden, Karsner told reporters.

"China is a natural, as would be India, to enhance cooperation on biofuels," he said.

China has promoted wind power and other alternative energy in hopes of reducing environmental damage from heavy use of coal and oil to fuel its booming economy. The communist government also wants to curb reliance on imported energy, which it sees as a strategic weakness.

China already is the third-largest producer of biofuels after the United States and Brazil, which account for 80 percent of global production, according to Karsner.

UNEP applauds Indonesia`s plan to ban CFCs, methyl bromide imports

Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA News) - The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has applauded Indonesia`s plan to ban the importation of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and methyl bromide as of January 1, 2008.

UNEP congratulated Indonesia for its pro-active steps which, it said, should be emulated by other countries in the region, said Atul Bagai, Regional Coordinator for Networking of the Bangkok-based UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific said in Sanur, Bali island, on Saturday.

Indonesia had taken a big step as it would put the country two years ahead of the 2010 schedule for the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances under the Montreal Protocol, Bagai told participants of a UNEP-sponsored meeting dubbed Special Dialogue on Potential Actions for controlling and Monitoring ODS (Ozone Depleting Substance) trade in South Asia and South East Asia in Sanur.

He said Indonesia was one of the first few countries in the region to meet the deadline of the CFC phase out ahead of schedule.

The Special Dialogue on Actions for Controlling and Monitoring ODS trade in South Asia/ South East Asia is being held in parallel with the Sweden-funded first Regional Enforcement Network (REN) Workshop, from November 8 to 10, 2007, and to be followed by the Joint Meeting of South East Asia (SEAP) and South Asia (SA) Networks of ODS Officers organized by the UNEP from November 12 to 14, 2007, also in Sanur, Bali.

The Dialogue was attended by Indonesian ODS importers and traders, representatives of ODS producing and exporting countries such as China, India and Korea, and Montreal Protocol implementing agencies which include UNEP, UNDP, and the World Bank.

Meanwhile, UNEP in its press release quoted Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, as saying "In a few short weeks, nations will gather in Bali, Indonesia, for the UN climate convention meeting. Here countries must urgently and earnestly address the need for a post-2012 greenhouse gas emission regime".

Steiner said that Indonesia`s announcement on its ODS import ban was a further good signal, among many positive signals this year, that governments could move on the climate change challenge.

"The phase-out of CFCs was agreed on in order to protect the ozone layer. But new research has shown that this phase-out has had the double environmental and economic benefit of also helping to combat climate change-CFCs it emerges are also powerful greenhouse gases," he added.

"And there are many other win-wins that can be secured. In September, governments also agreed to an accelerated freeze and phase-out of HCFCs - also controlled under the Montreal Protocol - specifically because of their climate impacts. Perhaps if we use our collective creativities we can pick more low hanging fruit from phasing-out of old, energy inefficient light bulbs to more energy efficient buildings," said Steiner.

Surendra Shrestha, Regional Director of UNEP Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok in the UNEP press statement said that Efforts by countries like Indonesia, not only to comply with agreed upon targets under the treaty, but also to meet them ahead of time, is testimony to their commitment to meet promises made under the Montreal Protocol.

"Much time, effort and work has gone into meeting these obligations, and Indonesia and other countries in this region, who are continuously working to meet this 2010 deadline, should be applauded for this effort," said Surendra Shrestha.

With support provided by the Protocol`s Multilateral Fund, Indonesia reduced consumption of CFCs from 9,000 tons in 1996 to 2000 tons in 2005, used mostly by refrigeration, air conditioning, and automotive sectors.

Consumption of methyl bromide, not under quarantine regulations, has dropped from 140 tons in 1994 to 32 tons in 2005. Methyl bromide is used for soil treatment and fumigation.

"We feel confident that the ban will encourage consumers to switch to ozone-friendly alternatives, although the main challenge to effectively banning CFC is illegal trade. At the same time, we also need to look at alternatives for the use of methyl bromide, which is on the rise in this region", said Masnellyarti Hilman, Deputy Minister for Nature Conservation Enhancement and Environmental Degradation Control of the Indonesian Ministry of Environment.

Growth in consumption of methyl bromide in quarantine applications in the region is more than 10% per annum, according to UNEP.