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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 3, NUMBER 3, MARCH 1990

REPORTS...
GENERAL AND POLICY

Item #d90mar34

Our Changing Planet: The FY 1991 U.S. Global Change Research Program, Committee on Earth Sciences, 60 pp., Jan. 1990. Request from CES c/o U.S. Geol. Survey, 104 National Ctr., Reston VA 22092 (703-648-4450).

Outlines the President's $1.034 billion budget request for global change research for fiscal year 1991; this represents a 57% increase over the 1990 level. Ground-based research emphasizes the role of clouds in controlling climate, fluxes of greenhouse gases, resource responses, past changes in the Earth system, and the role of human activities. Funds to initiate the development of the NASA Earth Observing System are included. (See NEWS, this Global Climate Change Digest issue--Mar. 1990.)

Item #d90mar35

Global Warming: Administration Approach Cautious Pending Validation of Threat, 44 pp., Jan. 1990. Available (no charge) from U.S. General Accounting Office, POB 6015, Gaithersburg MD 20877 (202-275-6241).

Requested by the Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversights and Investigations (John Dingell), this GAO analysis finds that the Administration has not yet established a national policy, defined agency roles, or provided adequate guidance to agencies to effectively address the global warming problem. Although the United States has placed itself in a strong position to assert international leadership, in light of considerable scientific uncertainty it has focused on scientific research and the formulation of policy responses, while deferring specific new commitments.

Item #d90mar36

A Compendium of Options for Government Policy to Encourage Private Sector Responses to Potential Climate Change, R.A. Bradley, E.R. Williams, Eds., Jan. 1990. Prepared by Oak Ridge National Lab. for Office of Environmental Analysis, U.S. Dept. Energy. In two vols. (each over 200 pp.), with executive summary (94 pp.). Available (no charge) from Richard Bradley, U.S. DOE, 1000 Independence Ave. SW, Rm. 4G-036, Washington DC 20585 (202-586-4759).

This report to Congress, requested by the Senate Committee on Appropriations, identifies four broad policy approaches for private-sector responses: regulation, fiscal incentives, information, and research, development and demonstration. While fiscal instruments are probably most efficient, reasonably efficient regulatory options exist which are more politically acceptable. Specific policies are evaluated for five private sectors: utilities, transportation, manufacturing, agriculture and forestry.

Item #d90mar37

The Greenhouse Effect: Negotiating Targets, M. Grubb, Dec. 1989. Royal Inst. of International Affairs, U.K. (tel: +44-1-930-2233); £10.

Targets for CO₂ emission reductions, similar to provisions of the Montreal Protocol, would not work because of wide economic and political differences among nations; agreements to cut by a fixed proportion would favor energy-inefficient countries such as the United States at the expense of efficient countries like Japan. Proposed are national permits for fossil fuel consumption proportional to population, which could be traded among countries and possibly multi-national companies. (See Chem. & Industry, p. 811, Dec. 18, 1989; World Clim. Change Rep., p. 16, Jan. 1990; an interview with the report author in Global Environ. Change Rep., pp. 1-3, Jan. 12, 1990.)

Item #d90mar38

Energy and the Environment: A Policy Overview, 222 pp., Feb. 1990. International Energy Agency (IEA), Organiz. Econ. Coop. Devel. (OECD). Available from OECD Pubs., 2001 L St. NW, S. 700, Washington DC 20036 (202-785-6323), $40; or 2 rue Andre-Pascal, 75775 Paris CEDEX 16, France (130 francs).

This is the first IEA report dealing directly with climate change, and contains some of the agency's input to the February 1990 IPCC meeting in Washington. Among the major economic and technical options identified for reducing greenhouse gas production is a switch from fossil electric utility plants to nuclear and cleaner fuels such as natural gas; taxes on fossil fuels are also suggested. (See related articles in World Clim. Change Rep., pp. 25-27, Jan. 1990; Science News, p. 95, Feb. 10, 1990.)

Item #d90mar39

Environmental Policy and 1992, N. Haigh, D. Baldock, Dec. 1989. Commissioned by the U.K. Dept. of Environment through the Inst. for European Environ. Policy (IEEP), 3 Endsleigh St., London WC2H 0DD, UK; $5.

One effect of the 1992 European Community single-market initiative in Britain could be the imposition of a value added tax on electricity and gas bills under the tax harmonization program; a next step could be a Community-wide energy tax to curb greenhouse emissions. (See NEWS, this Global Climate Change Digest issue--Mar. 1990; World Clim. Change Rep., p. 19, Jan. 1990.)

Item #d90mar40

Adaptive Options and Policy Implications of Sea Level Rise and Other Coastal Impacts of Global Climate Change, 50 pp., Jan. 1990. (Workshop report of the Coastal Zone Management Subgroup, Work Group III (Response Strategies), IPCC. Sponsored by U.S. NOAA, EPA and Army Corps. Engin. Available (no charge) from Dynamac Corp. (Attn: Roberta Wedge), DYNAMAC Bldg., 11140 Rockville Pike, Rockville MD 20852 (301-468-2500).

This workshop (Miami, Fla., Nov. 1989) considered the Americas, Europe, the Mediterranean and western Africa; a second (Perth, Australia, Feb. 1990) will cover other areas. Participants unanimously felt that the world urgently must begin identifying, analyzing, evaluating and planning adaptive responses, and that international cooperation is important. Nine general, high-priority tasks are discussed, as well as numerous specific adaptive options (technical, engineering, structural, biological and policy). Social, legal, cultural, environmental and economic implications were considered.

Item #d90mar41

CO₂ and SO2: Consistent Policy Making in the Greenhouse, D.J. Dudek, A.M. LeBlanc, P. Miller, 31 pp., Jan. 1990. Environmental Defense Fund, 257 Park Ave. S, New York NY 10010 (212-505-2100); $15 ($7.50 members).

Based on data from the U.S EPA, industry and elsewhere; argues that market-based controls of acid rain pollutants, currently in some proposals for the Clean Air Act, could reduce the growth in emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in addition to accomplishing efficient acid rain control. The approach would lead to improved energy efficiency, cogeneration and fuel switching. By contrast, mandated control technologies such as scrubbers could increase CO₂ emissions.

Item #d90mar42

State of the World--1990, L.R. Brown et al., 253 pp., Feb. 1990. Worldwatch Inst., 1776 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington DC 20036 (202-452-1999); $18.95 hbk./$9.95 pbk., volume discounts.

Also available in 11 other major languages, this seventh edition of a widely recognized series gives statistics on world resources and environmental conditions. Several chapters cover policy responses to global warming, sea level rise, water in the greenhouse world, energy strategies, and reducing air pollution.

Item #d90mar43

Global Climate Change: Separating Science from Politics, J. Cohen et al. (Nat. Assoc. Manufacturers), 4 pp., June 1989. Available (no charge) from NAM, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, S. 1500N, Washington DC 20004 (202-637-3000). Articulates the NAM's position opposing drastic, unilateral policy responses on the part of the United States, and describes its own initiatives on the problem.