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Government of Québec unveils $2.7B climate change action plan; 63% of spending targeting transport

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The Premier of Québec, Jean Charest; the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, Pierre Arcand; and the Minister of Transport Pierre Moreau unveiled the Canadian province’s 2013-2020 Action Plan on Climate Change (PACC 2020). GHG emissions in Québec reached their historic peak in 2003 to 6.8%

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Study estimates California’s GHG reductions since 2003 could be wiped out by 2020 wildfires

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In an open-access report in the journal Environmental Pollution , researchers from UCLA and the University of Chicago estimate that California’s wildfire carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2 e) emissions from 2020 (~127 mmt CO 2 e ) are approximately two times higher than California’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions since 2003.

2003 447
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Study measures the effect of regional change in clouds caused by ships’ emissions; masking GHG warming

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In climate models, if you simulate the world with sulfur emissions from shipping, and you simulate the world without these emissions, there is a sizable cooling effect from changes in the model clouds due to shipping. F), a change that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects would have significant societal impacts.

Emissions 223
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European Parliament votes to cap crop-derived biofuels at 7% of transport energy consumption by 2020

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Current legislation requires EU member states to ensure that renewable energy accounts for at least 10% of energy consumption in transport by 2020. The new law says that first-generation biofuels (from crops grown on agricultural land) should account for no more than 7% of energy consumption in transport by 2020. Background.

2020 150
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New study finds GHG emissions from palm oil production significantly underestimated; palm oil biofuels could be more climate-damaging than oil sands fuels

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‘Business-as-usual’ projections of future conversion rates, based on historical rates over the past two decades, indicate that 6–9 Mha of peatland in insular Southeast Asia may be converted to plantations by the year 2020, unless land use planning policies or markets for products change. —Miettinen et al.

Oil-Sands 314
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Potent GHG SF6 rapidly accumulating in atmosphere, driven by demand for SF6-insulated switchgear in developing countries

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Sales compiled from 1996–2003 by producers in Europe, Japan, USA, and South Africa (not including China and Russia) showed that, on an annual average basis, 80% of the SF 6 produced during this period was consumed by electric utilities and equipment manufacturers for electric power systems. -K., Rennick, C., Steele, L. Mitrevski, B.,

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Waste Management adds 1,000th truck to natural gas fleet

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Waste Management was the first solid waste company to join the California Climate Action Registry. In 2003, the company committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through increased recycling, the use of alternative transportation fuels, and the beneficial use of landfill gas.

Waste 259