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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 11, NUMBER 10, OCTOBER 1998

NEWS...
Emission Reductions

Item #d98oct45

According to Dow Jones Newswires (Oct. 16), Royal Dutch/Shell intends to cut the emission of greenhouse gases from its global operations to at least 10% less than 1990 levels by the year 2002. It also intends to exceed the emission- reduction targets set in the Kyoto agreement until the year 2010. Shell expects to reach these targets by not only reducing its own emissions but also helping its customers to reduce theirs. It will also develop and promote its low- carbon-intensity gas businesses, renewable-energy initiatives, and explore and exploit alternative fuel technologies.

Canada Newswire reported Oct. 15 that Petro-Canada reduced its greenhouse-gas emissions by 2.8% in 1997 and has documented that achievement to the Voluntary Challenge and Registry. In the same year that the company increased production of oil, natural gas, and refined products, it eliminated 79,800 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from ongoing operations, and the measures of energy efficiency and carbon intensity per unit of production continue to improve. Petro-Canada achieved these lower emissions by upgrading its equipment and improving its operating practices. It plans further reductions in the years ahead and is looking beyond oil and gas to alternative fuels and processes, such as the production of ethanol from biomass with very low greenhouse-gas emissions. A report of the company’s accomplishments can be found at http://www.petro-canada.ca.

In Japan, the Nikkei news service reported Oct. 14, 1998, that the Federation of Electric Power Companies has modified its November 1996 environmental action plan to address the goals set by the Kyoto Protocol. The new plan calls for trading of greenhouse-gas emission quotas, setting a target of a 20% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions below 1990 emissions, reducing emissions of other greenhouse gases, and setting a target of 70% recycling of coal ash by 2010.

On the automotive front in Japan, Reuters reported on Oct. 15 (see http://www.planetark.org/new/news/15109802.html) that national energy efficiency targets would next April require Japanese automakers to improve gasoline-powered cars’ fuel efficiency by 21% from 1995 levels by 2010. The same plan called for the energy efficiency of television sets to improve by 17.2% and videocassette recorders by 61.2% by 2003. Manufacturers that failed to meet the standards would face admonition and disclosure of their names.

In the United States, according to ABC News on Oct. 28, several major corporations, including General Motors and Monsanto, have pledged to voluntarily reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. United Technologies, which manufactures aircraft engines, air conditioners, and heating systems, plans to cut energy use by 25% during the next decade. In addition, 18 corporations, including Boeing, Weyerhaeuser, and American Electric Power, have joined with the Pew Center to develop programs addressing climate change.

In a press release dated Oct. 8 (http://www.peugeot.com/hub_peugeot/en/html/presse.htm), Peugeot announced that it will create a carbon sink in Mato Grosso State in Brazil by recreating ecosystems that can absorb large amounts of excess CO₂ from the atmosphere, complementing measures that mitigate the greenhouse effect by reducing emissions. To accomplish its goal, Peugeot will team up with Office National des Forêts, which is one of the world’s leading managers of public forests, and with Pro-Natura International, which has experience in promoting forest management systems. The carbon sink will cover 12,000 hectares and have a carbon storage capacity of 50,000 metric tons per year. The operation and its results will be independently audited. Peugeot and its partners will plant 10,000,000 trees in this first large-scale forestation program designed to create a carbon sink.