MAY 1999

AIR QUALITY


ACID RAIN STILL DAMAGING UK ENVIRONMENT.
The Environment Minister, Michael Meacher, has launched a new information booklet on UK Acidification. Meacher commented that although many people see acid rain as a problem of the past, in fact acid rain continues to threaten Sites of Special Scientific Interest and other habitats in the UK.

The UK is committed to reducing sulphur dioxide emissions by 80% by 2010, using 1980 levels as a baseline. Mr. Meacher described these commitments as realistic and ambitious and said that government and industry both had a role to play in reducing pollution emissions. However, Mr. Meacher also stressed that individuals can also help by doing their bit. (The phrase Are you doing your bit? is part of the Government environmental awareness campaign).

The booklet Acidification in the UK highlights that whilst sulphur deposition has reduced significantly throughout Europe over the last decade, oxides of nitrogen and ammonia emissions have not reduced by the same extent. Recovery processes in soil and freshwater are generally slow but major decreases in acidification damage are expected by 2010. However, further emission cuts are likely to be required to protect the most sensitive areas.

The booklet (Ref: 99EP0039) is available from DETR Free Literature, PO Box 236, Wetherby LS23 7NB (Tel: 0870 1226 236, Fax: 0870 1226 237).

Sources: DETR News Release, 12 April 1999; Acidification in the UK, DETR, April 1999.


POLLUTERS PAY TOO LITTLE
The 1999 Hall of Shame list of polluters, published by the Environment Agency, names ICI as the worst offender with a total of £382 500 in fines for 1998. The Agency's chief executive expressed concern that tough action by the Environment Agency was not being matched by tough enough penalties being imposed by courts. The average fine for 1998 was less than £3,000.

The largest fine was £300,000 for ICI for accidentally releasing 150 tonnes of chloroform into groundwater and the atmosphere around Runcorn, Cheshire.

Sources: Environment Action, April / May 1999; Environment Agency website http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/files/shame.htm


NEW DIESEL CATALYST
The US manufacturer Engelhard is to market a new diesel exhaust after treatment device in the UK. The device reduces particulates and other pollutants and is likely to bring strong competition for Eminox, the main competitor on the market. The Engelhard DPX catalysts will cost £3,000, compared to a cost of £3500+ for the Eminox CRT (a similar device that requires the use of ultra low sulphur diesel).

The DPX catalysed soot filter uses an active catalyst surface deposited on a ceramic particulate filter. This combines a particulate filter with the function of an oxidation catalyst. 95% of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons can be oxidised by the DPX filters and 90% of particulate matter is removed.

The Vehicle Certification Agency has approved the product, and says it will allow commercial vehicle users to qualify for the £1,000 per year excise duty rebate for green vehicles.

Source: Air Quality Management, April 1999.


AIR QUALITY GRANTS FOR aric & NSCA
The British government has handed out a total of £4m Environmental Action Fund grants to 120 environmental and community organisations. The Atmospheric Research and Information Centre (ARIC) will receive £26,000 for the Atmospheric, Climate and Environment Information Programme, whilst the National Society of Clean Air and Environmental Protection (NSCA) will receive £30,000 toward work on air pollution, sustainable information and a noise pollution education pack.

The aim of the Environmental Action Fund is to try and achieve a positive change in the long-term health of the environment. This can be achieved by making people more aware of environmental problems and encouraging them to take action towards a brighter future.

Source: Air Quality Management, April 1999.


CLIMATE CHANGE


SIGNING THE KYOTO PROTOCOL
In 1997 countries around the world drew up the Kyoto Protocol, an extension of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in all countries that ratify it. As of 15th March, a year after the Protocol opened for signature, 84 countries have signed the agreement. The Protocol, however, only becomes legally binding once at least 55 countries, including industrial nations accounting for 55% of global carbon dioxide emissions, have ratified it. To date, only 7 countries, all of them small island or low-lying countries threatened by sea level rise have ratified the Protocol.

Source: Global Environmental Change Report, 11(6), 26th March.


NEW UK CLIMATE CHANGE TAX TO BE LAUNCHED IN 2001
From April 2001, the UK government plans to introduce a tax on the business use of energy. The new tax is set to deliver about a quarter of the greenhouse gas reduction targets for Britain. The tax will apply to coal, natural gas and electricity used by businesses, the public sector and agriculture. It will not apply to electricity producers or the transport sector. It is expected that £1.75 billion will be generated by the tax in the first year and carbon emissions are expected to reduce by 1.5 million metric tonnes a year by 2010.

The government has promised to make the new tax fiscally neutral by putting money back into companies through energy efficiency programs, support for the use of renewables and cuts in employers' national insurance contributions.

From the 1st June, excise duties for large cars and light goods vehicles will increase, whilst duties for smaller cleaner cars will be cut. Next year, a shift in the tax system based on CO2 emissions will take place and duties on gasoline will rise by 6% to favour the use of low-sulphur diesel. More tax measures will follow in the future to promote the use of non-car commuting.

Source: Global Environmental Change Report, 12th March 1999; DETR News Release, 29th March 1999


1998 - THE WARMEST YEAR OF THE MILLENIUM
1998 was recorded as the warmest year to date in the observational record of surface temperatures. According to a report in the 15th March issue of Geophysical Research Letters (vol. 26, pp. 1759-1762), 1998 may also be the warmest year of the past 1000 years. Extending previous research that showed the 20th century was the warmest of the past six centuries, Michael Mann of the University of Massachusetts and colleagues analysed tree ring and ice core back to AD 1000. The analysis showed that there was a cooling in surface temperature until around 1900 of 0.2°C per century, followed by a dramatic temperature rise.

The warmest decade prior to the 1990s is said to be 1166-1175 and the 1990s are seen to be significantly warmer than this time. 1998 is seen to be significantly warmer than 1249, the warmest year prior to the 1990s. This supports the researchers' conclusion that "both the past decades and past years are likely to be the warmest for the Northern Hemisphere this millennium".

Source: Global Environmental Change Report, 12th March 1999


SOLAR VARIATION ALONE COULD NOT PRODUCE CURRENT GLOBAL WARMING
The past few decades have seen a rapid warming in the temperatures at the Earth's surface. According to a report in the 27 January issue of Journal of Geophysical Research, solar variation alone could not have been responsible for this warming. Researchers David Rind, Judith Lean and R. Healy of Goddard Space Flight Centre (USA) used computer models to discover what impact solar variations had on global temperatures. They concluded that changes in solar output on their own would not be sufficient to produce the rapid warming during the last few decades. According to the researchers, changes in energy output from the Sun account for a temperature increase of approximately 0.2°C over the past century, or about one third of the observed temperature increase, and a 0.45°C increase since 1600.

Source: Global Environmental Change Report, 12th March 1999


IS URBAN WARMING RESPONSIBLE FOR BIASING GLOBAL TEMPERATURE TRENDS?
Thomas Peterson of the National Climatic Data Center (Ashville, North Caroliner, USA) and colleagues have used data from the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) to show that global warming is not biased by urban warming. Many temperature-recording stations are based in urban areas and hence skeptics have suggested that urban warming has skewed overall temperature trends.

The researchers used two different methods to classify the 7280 stations in the GHCN network as urban or rural. Then they performed an analysis of global temperatures using only the stations that qualified as rural under both classifications. They compared the result trends to those seen in the complete data set and found no significant difference in trends between the two data sets. The researchers concluded that "the global land surface air temperature signal is robust and not affected by urban warming".

Source: Global Environmental Change Report, 12th March 1999


SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT


DETR ANNOUNCES NEW RESEARCH PROGRAMME FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
In March, the UK Department of the Environment, Transport and The Regions (DETR) announced a new programme of research to protect and enhance the environment. The new research programme for 1999-2000 includes a further £1.5 million on top of last year, in addition to research funded by the Environment Agency. The DETR is inviting expressions of research interest in the fields of global atmosphere, air and environment quality, and noise. In particular, greater emphasis is being placed on research which supports the ongoing development of the National Air Quality Strategy.


ROUND TABLE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHES 4TH ANNUAL REPORT
In March the UK Round Table on Sustainable Development published its 4th annual report. The UK Round Table on Sustainable Development was established by the Government in 1995. It aims to encourage discussion on major sustainable development issues. Its members are drawn from business, environmental organisations, local government and other sectors of the community. Its latest annual report, available from the Department of the Environment, Transport and The Regions (Zone 4/D10) or on the Internet at: http://www.open.gov.uk/roundtbl/hometb.htm covers a range of topics including biodiversity, agriculture and rural policy, involvement of stakeholders and regional issues.

Sources: DETR News Release, 31st March 1999


ENERGY


BLOWING HOT AND COLD ON WIND POWER
Whilst Greenpeace have unveiled a report produced by BTM Consult Aps suggesting that 10% of global electricity consumption by 2017 could be generated by wind power, plans for a large windfarm in the Yorkshire Dales (UK) have been rejected following a public inquiry. Consisting of 25 wind turbines, each over 50 metres in height, the development proposal was deemed to be "unacceptable" by the National Park planners because of the visual impact it would have on the landscape.

At the same time, the proposed development of 17 new windfarms in Wales has alarmed the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales, who argue that the relatively small amount of clean electricity which windfarms produce does not compensate for the impact they have on the local countryside. Meanwhile, Germany continues lead the way in Europe for wind power, with a record capacity of wind turbines installed during 1998.

Source: Network 21, Issue 10, Spring 1999, Conservation Foundation.