Why Coral Reefs Around The World Are Collapsing

ScienceDaily 29 May 09;

An explosion of knowledge has been made in the last few years about the basic biology of corals, researchers say in a new report, helping to explain why coral reefs around the world are collapsing and what it will take for them to survive a gauntlet of climate change and ocean acidification.

Corals, it appears, have a genetic complexity that rivals that of humans, have sophisticated systems of biological communication that are being stressed by global change, and are only able to survive based on proper function of an intricate symbiotic relationship with algae that live within their bodies.

After being a highly successful life form for 250 million years, disruptions in these biological and communication systems are the underlying cause of the coral bleaching and collapse of coral reef ecosystems around the world, scientists report in the journal Science.

The research was funded in part by the National Science Foundation.

"We've known for some time the general functioning of corals and the problems they are facing from climate change," said Virginia Weis, a professor of zoology at Oregon State University. "But until just recently, much less has been known about their fundamental biology, genome structure and internal communication. Only when we really understand how their physiology works will we know if they can adapt to climate changes, or ways that we might help."

Corals are tiny animals, polyps that exist as genetically identical individuals, and can eat, defend themselves and kill plankton for food. In the process they also secrete calcium carbonate that becomes the basis for an external skeleton on which they sit. These calcified deposits can grow to enormous sizes over long periods of time and form coral reefs – one of the world's most productive ecosystems, which can harbor more than 4,000 species of fish and many other marine life forms.

But corals are not really self sufficient. Within their bodies they harbor highly productive algae – a form of marine plant life – that can "fix" carbon, use the energy of the sun to conduct photosynthesis and produce sugars.

"Some of these algae that live within corals are amazingly productive, and in some cases give 95 percent of the sugars they produce to the coral to use for energy," Weis said. "In return the algae gain nitrogen, a limiting nutrient in the ocean, by feeding off the waste from the coral. It's a finely developed symbiotic relationship."

What scientists are learning, however, is that this relationship is also based on a delicate communication process from the algae to the coral, telling it that the algae belong there, and that everything is fine. Otherwise the corals would treat the algae as a parasite or invader and attempt to kill it.

"Even though the coral depends on the algae for much of its food, it may be largely unaware of its presence," Weis said. "We now believe that this is what's happening when the water warms or something else stresses the coral – the communication from the algae to the coral breaks down, the all-is-well message doesn't get through, the algae essentially comes out of hiding and faces an immune response from the coral."

This internal communication process, Weis said, is not unlike some of the biological processes found in humans and other animals. One of the revelations in recent research, she said, is the enormous complexity of coral biology, and even its similarity to other life forms. A gene that controls skeletal development in humans, for instance, is the identical gene in corals that helps it develop its external skeleton – conserved in the different species over hundreds of millions of years since they parted from a common ancestor on their separate evolutionary paths.

There's still much to learn about this process, researchers said, and tremendous variation in it. For one thing, there are 1,000 species of coral and perhaps thousands of species of algae all mixing and matching in this symbiotic dance. And that variation, experts say, provides at least some hope that combinations will be found which can better adapt to changing conditions of ocean temperature, acidity or other threats.

The problems facing coral reefs are still huge, and increasing. They are being pressured by changes in ocean temperature, pollution, overfishing, sedimentation, acidification, oxidative stress and disease, and the synergistic effect of some of these problems may destroy reefs even when one cause by itself would not. Some estimates have suggested 20 percent of the world's coral reefs are already dead and an additional 24 percent are gravely threatened.

The predicted acidification of the oceans in the next century is expected to decrease coral calcification rates by 50 percent and promote the dissolving of coral skeletons, the researchers noted in their report.

"With some of the new findings about coral symbiosis and calcification, and how it works, coral biologists are now starting to think more outside the box," Weis said. "Maybe there's something we could do to help identify and protect coral species that can survive in different conditions. Perhaps we won't have to just stand by as the coral reefs of the world die and disappear."

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An Inconvenient Truth for Fish

New film The End of the Line tackles the problem of overfishing around the world by pointing the finger at celebrity restaurateurs - and even the ordinary consumer.

Jeni Oppenheimer, The Telegraph 28 May 09;

The End of the Line looks to be the biggest environmental film since An Inconvenient Truth.

Taking the role of Al Gore in explaining a problem that is well known to scientists but has yet to hit the mainstream, Charles Clover, a former Daily Telegraph journalist, outlines the threat to the oceans.

He makes the assertion that if the fishing industry is not regulated, the world will be out of seafood around 2048. This would result in starvation for 1.2 billion people, as fish is a key part of their diet – unless you want to survive on jellyfish burgers.

The film opens with sweeping shots of boats on the water before cutting dramatically to scenes of 1,000s of silvery bodies being landed and people shoving tuna into their mouths – quite possibly in a celebrity restaurant.

As Mr Clover says, fish is no longer a guilt-free meal: "Trolling (using drag nets along the bottom of the ocean) is like ploughing a field seven times a year."

He aims to show the viewer why we should all be thinking twice before ordering fish and chips.

One shocking statistic used in the film claims: "The global long-lining industry sets 1.4 billion hooks per year; if you wrapped the lines used around the earth, they could wrap 550 times."

Mr Clover brings it closer to home when he states: "Fifty per cent of the cod caught in the North Sea was caught illegally, so every other fish on your plate was stolen – stolen from you."

Even celebrities are guilty. The film targets restaurant Nobu, part-owned by Robert de Niro and frequented by Brad Pitt and Kate Moss, that is still serving bluefin tuna despite the fact the fish is in danger of extinction.

But it is not just about what we eat. The film makes the points out that without fish, we would face severe problems in all aspects of our society. For example fishermen could become refugees, forced to move due to a lack of employment, starvation, and a problem in the overall balance of our ecosystem.

There is a positive message however. Overfishing could be prevented by regulating the industry and protecting areas in order to conserve our natural resources. Also consumers can help by being more conscious of where fish comes from and whether if it is endangered – although fish farming is not the answer as 40 per cent of those fish get ground up to feed more fish.

One thing is certain, after seeing the fish in this film; viewers will never look at a fish finger the same way ever again.

The End of the Line http://endoftheline.com/

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E-waste trade is the unacceptable face of recycling

Computer manufacturers must take responsibility for dealing with electronic waste to ensure toxic trash doesn't fall into the wrong hands

Fred Pearce, guardian.co.uk 28 May 09;

Dell, the world's second largest PC manufacturer, announced earlier this month that it is imposing a ban on the export of used equipment bearing its name to developing countries – unless the equipment is in full working order and intended for legitimate use.

The idea is to undermine the huge trade in e-waste, too much of which ends up in giant trash piles in Africa, India and China, from where it is dismantled, burned, treated with corrosive chemicals and otherwise persuaded to give up tiny amounts of chemicals that can be sold on. The big question is why all the other manufacturers don't have a similar policy.

I've seen these toxic waste operations in action. They call it recycling, but it's extremely damaging. In an industrial wasteland outside New Delhi in India, I watched as children as young as eight dunked bare circuit boards in acid to create a residue of copper for sale to a local works. Child labour? You bet. Health and safety? You have to be joking.

A family of migrant boys from Bihar, India's poorest state, told me they got used to the acrid fumes that had them coughing and giddy within minutes of coming on the job. "At the end of the day we have a strong drink and we are OK," one laughed. It's an evil trade. But how do you stop it?

Dell admits that it cannot wave a magic wand and ban its used products from export. But it has a worldwide policy of accepting back without charge all used Dell equipment. It requires all its contractors to accept the used equipment, to follow the new rules – and to act as whistleblowers on rivals who do not.

"This is a very significant announcement," Barbara Kyle of the Electronics Takeback Coalition in the US told Associated Press earlier this month.

The e-waste trade is the unacceptable face of recycling. Greenpeace reckons that as much as 80% of the electronic waste sent for recycling in the US ends up being "recycled" using dangerous low-tech methods in foreign countries. And, despite Europe's tougher laws, a lot gets through the net there, too.

Just a few months ago, Computer Aid International, a charity that gives old computers a new life in schools and other places in developing countries, criticised Britain's Environment Agency for failing to conduct an investigation after British e-waste turned up in the hands of child dismantlers in west Africa.

"What are the other manufacturers doing to ensure a responsible outcome for the equipment?" asked Tony Roberts, of Computer Aid International. "All manufacturers should be held accountable for the disposal of any product manufacturer by them."

Many other companies offer take-back services. But that is very different from imposing rules on their supply chains. And on closer examination, the take-back services often seem half-hearted at best.

The printer maker Lexmark is currently covering Britain with posters advertising its environmental credentials and encouraging users of its printers to print less. Good for them. But what about the e-waste?

In the US, if you want to safely recycle an old Lexmark printer, you have to pay the bill for shipping your printer back to its offices in Tennessee.

A study by Greenpeace this month of the environmental record of electronics companies did not give Dell a great record because it had been slow to eliminate some toxic ingredients from its products. But at least it is now taking a strong stand about making sure those toxins don't get into the wrong hands and it should rise up the Greenpeace chart.

Its rivals will have to do a lot better to keep up. Greenpeace singled out the largest computer manufacturer Hewlett Packard on its handling of e-waste. HP claims to have been "an industry leader in reducing its impact on the environment ... for 50 years", but Greenpeace didn't agree. It criticised HPs weak scheme for voluntary take-back of its equipment amongst other things.

Also criticised for failing to handle e-waste were Acer and Lenovo, whose "commitment to social responsibility" does not highlight e-waste.

These companies need to quit the greenwash and get real about ending this bogus recycling business.

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Refugees Join List of Climate-Change Issues

Neil MacFarquhar, The New York Times 29 May 09;

UNITED NATIONS — With their boundless vistas of turquoise water framed by swaying coconut palms, the Carteret Islands northeast of the Papua New Guinea mainland might seem the idyllic spot to be a castaway.

But sea levels have risen so much that during the annual king tide season, November to March, the roiling ocean blocks the view from one island to the next, and residents stash their possessions in fishing nets strung between the palm trees.

“It gives you the scary feeling that you don’t know what is going to happen to you, that any minute you will be floating,” Ursula Rakova, the head of a program to relocate residents, said by telephone. The chain could well be uninhabitable by 2015, locals believe, but two previous attempts to abandon it ended badly, when residents were chased back after clashing with their new neighbors on larger islands.

This dark situation underlies the thorny debate over the world’s responsibilities to the millions of people likely to be displaced by climate change.

There could be 200 million of these climate refugees by 2050, according to a new policy paper by the International Organization for Migration, depending on the degree of climate disturbances. Aside from the South Pacific, low-lying areas likely to be battered first include Bangladesh and nations in the Indian Ocean, where the leader of the Maldives has begun seeking a safe haven for his 300,000 people. Landlocked areas may also be affected; some experts call the Darfur region of Sudan, where nomads battle villagers in a war over shrinking natural resources, the first significant conflict linked to climate change.

In the coming days, the United Nations General Assembly is expected to adopt the first resolution linking climate change to international peace and security. The hard-fought resolution, brought by 12 Pacific island states, says that climate change warrants greater attention from the United Nations as a possible source of upheaval worldwide and calls for more intense efforts to combat it. While all Pacific island states are expected to lose land, some made up entirely of atolls, like Tuvalu and Kiribati, face possible extinction.

“For the first time in history, you could actually lose countries off the face of the globe,” said Stuart Beck, the permanent representative for Palau at the United Nations. “It is a security threat to them and their populations, which will have to be relocated, which is the security threat to the places where they go, among other consequences.”

The issue has inspired intense wrangling, with some nations accusing the islanders of both exaggerating the still murky consequences of climate change and trying to expand the mandate of the Security Council by asking it to take action.

“We don’t consider climate change is an issue of security that properly belongs in the Security Council; rather, it is a development issue that has some security aspects,” said Maged A. Abdelaziz, the Egyptian ambassador. “It is an issue of how to prevent certain lands, or certain countries, from being flooded.”

The island states are seeking a response akin to the effort against terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks. “The whole system bent itself to the task, and that is what we want,” Mr. Beck said, adding that the Council should even impose sanctions on countries that fail to act. “If you really buy into the notion that the Suburban you are driving is causing these islands to go under, there ought to be a cop.”

As it is, the compromise resolution does not mention such specific steps, one of the reasons it is expected to pass. Britain, which introduced climate change as a Security Council discussion topic two years ago, supports it along with most of Europe, while other permanent Council members — namely, the United States, China and Russia — generally backed the measure once it no longer explicitly demanded Council action.

Scientific studies distributed by the United Nations or affiliated agencies generally paint rising seas as a threat. A 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, detailing shifts expected in the South Pacific, said rising seas would worsen flooding and erosion and threaten towns as well as infrastructure. Some fresh water will turn salty, and fishing and agriculture will wither, it said.

The small island states are not alone in considering the looming threat already on the doorstep. A policy paper released this month by Australia’s Defense Ministry suggests possible violent outcomes in the Pacific. While Australia should try to mitigate the humanitarian suffering caused by global warming, if that failed and conflict erupted, the country should use its military “as an instrument to deal with any threats,” said the paper.

Australia’s previous prime minister, John Howard, was generally dismissive of the problem, saying his country was plagued with “doomsayers.” But a policy paper called “Our Drowning Neighbors,” by the now governing Labor Party, said Australia should help meld an international coalition to address it. Political debates have erupted there and in New Zealand over the idea of immigration quotas for climate refugees. New Zealand established a “Pacific Access Category” with guidelines that mirror the rules for any émigré, opening its borders to a limited annual quota of some 400 able-bodied adults between the ages of 18 and 45 who have no criminal records.

But its position has attracted criticism for leaving out the young and the old, who have the least ability to relocate. Australia’s policy, by contrast, is to try to mitigate the circumstances for the victims where they are, rather than serving as their lifeboat.

The sentiment among Pacific Islanders suggests that they do not want to abandon their homelands or be absorbed into cultures where indigenous people already struggle for acceptance.

“It is about much more than just finding food and shelter,” said Tarita Holm, an analyst with the Palauan Ministry of Resources and Development. “It is about your identity.”

Ms. Rakova, on the Carteret Islands, echoes that sentiment. A year ago, her proposed relocation effort attracted just three families out of a population of around 2,000 people. But after last season’s king tides — the highest of the year — she is scrounging for about $1.5 million to help some 750 people relocate before the tides come again.

Jennifer Redfearn, a documentary maker, has been filming the gradual disappearance of the Carterets for a work called “Sun Come Up.” One clan chief told her he would rather sink with the islands than leave. It now takes only about 15 minutes to walk the length of the largest island, with food and water supplies shrinking all the time.

“It destroys our food gardens, it uproots coconut trees, it even washes over the sea walls that we have built,” Ms. Rakova says on the film. “Most of our culture will have to live in memory.”

Read more!

Carbon trading and cash values on forests cannot curb carbon emissions

Climate change solutions cannot be created by unfettered markets, despite what business leaders think

Oscar Reyes, guardian.co.uk 28 May 09;

When Sir Crispin Tickell had the temerity to suggest that "the business community needs to re-examine the fundamentals of economics" at the recent World Business Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen, his discordant tone was drowned out by a chorus of more than 800 delegates singing the praises of unfettered markets as a means to tackle climate change.

The commitment to carry on with business as usual took an almost surreal form at times. Indra Nooyi, the chief executive officer of PepsiCo, proudly proclaimed: "The fact that I flew here for 1 1/2 hours to sit on a panel them I'm flying straight back to the US is an example of our commitment to environmental sustainability."

More worryingly, plans for low-carbon technology give the expansion of high-carbon coal power pride of place. The promotional rhetoric is of Carbon Capture and Storage [CCS background guide], yet those from the power sector are blunt about its shortcomings. "One of the plants we are building is CCS ready, although to be quite frank no one really knows what that is at the moment," claimed Steve Lennon, managing director of South Africa's Eskom.

The underlying problem is that business adjusts the problem of climate change to neoliberal economics, which judges value according to financial cost rather than environmental sustainability or social justice. This manifests itself in a promise to massively expand carbon markets [emissions trading background guide]. The idea is that governments give out a limited number of permits to pollute; the scarcity of these permits should encourage their price to rise; and the resulting additional cost to industry and power producers should encourage them to pollute less.

Jos Delbeke, deputy director-general for the environment at the European commission, was in Copenhagen claiming that this is how the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is now working. Yet his department's own data for 2008 shows more international "offset" credits circulating than the level of claimed reductions, while lobbying pressure has resulted in a twin-track system from which every business wins.

On one side, heavy industry like the steel sector has more credits than would be needed to reduce its emissions, so it sells them. Delbeke shared a panel on carbon markets with a representative of ArcelorMittal, which alone gained an estimated subsidy of more than €1bn between 2005 and 2008 by this means.

On the other side, power companies pay less for pollution permits than the cost they pass on to consumers, generating windfall profits that could reach up to around €70bn by 2012. The circulation of these permits does nothing to help new investment in renewables.

Other measures to avoid business obligations displace the problem of tackling climate change on to developing countries. The Summit's final Copenhagen Call talks of a crucial role for forest protection in developing countries, and that such measures should represent around half of the action needed to limit climate change by 2020.

These figures are taken directly from Project Catalyst, an initiative bringing together "climate negotiatiors, senior government officials... and business executives", whose presentation (marked confidential) more straightforwardly emphasises the "the size of the prize for business". It also speaks of the opportunities for "companies in forest management, pulp and paper, or construction" to access a "€20-30bn value chain" in developing countries.

Strikingly similar assumptions have found their way into negotiating texts on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), which will be discussed when UN climate negotiations resume in Bonn next week. Yet the whole idea that deforestation can be stopped by simply putting a price on forests is flawed, with forest communities and indigenous peoples warning that it will encourage further land grabs by large companies. They point to evidence that the real drivers of deforestation are the major construction, mining, logging and plantation developments whose owners stand to be rewarded by REDD funds.

These are the voices that the world should be listening to as it seeks to tackle climate change. Even the self-proclaimed "progressives" of big business seem to be putting profit margins above environmental need. Without a more fundamental re-examination, to paraphrase one panellist, they look set to remain on the back end of a horse that is galloping in the wrong direction.

• Oscar Reyes is a researcher with Carbon Trade Watch, a project of the Transnational Institute, and environment editor of Red Pepper magazine.

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Forest Carbon Offers Cheaper Way To Curb Warming

Deborah Zabarenko, PlanetArk 29 May 09;

WASHINGTON - Counting the climate-warming carbon dioxide locked up in forests could offer a cheaper way to curb the greenhouse gas than by considering only emissions from industry and fossil fuels, according to a new study.

Factories, power plants and petroleum-powered vehicles are likely to emit some 500 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere this century, according to the study released on Thursday in the journal Science.

By contrast, the world's forests hold some 2 trillion tons of carbon. As long as the forests stand, that huge amount of greenhouse gas stays out of the atmosphere, but if some of these woodlands are cleared for farming -- including biofuel crops like ethanol -- they start releasing carbon into the air, where it can add to the problem of climate change.

So even "green" fuels can have a carbon cost, said study co-author James Edmonds, an economist at the Energy Department's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Joint Global Change Research Institute in Maryland.

Right now, the carbon stored in forests has no calculated economic value, Edmonds said in a telephone interview.

But if the carbon emissions from chopped-down forests are factored into the overall cost of capping atmospheric carbon this century, the price is much less than if only industrial and fossil fuel emissions are considered, Edmonds said.

"The results in management of the landscape are dramatically different and starkly contrasted," he said.

To keep atmospheric carbon concentrations at 450 parts per million -- the level advised by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to avoid the worst impacts of global warming -- the model that factored in forest carbon had a carbon price of about $1,300 a ton by the year 2095.

The model that considered only industrial and fossil fuel emissions had a carbon price of $3,500 a ton by century's end.

Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is currently between 380 and 385 parts per million, compared with a pre-industrial level of about 280 parts per million.

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Carbon capture technology tested in UK coal-fired power station

BBC News 29 May 09;

New carbon capture technology is being tested for the first time in the UK on a working coal-fired power station.

A 30-tonne test unit will process 1,000 cubic metres of exhaust gas per hour from Longannet power station in Fife.

Carbon dioxide will be removed using chemicals and turned into a liquid, ready for storage underground.

Energy company ScottishPower wants to test technology which could lead to a full scale carbon capture plant becoming operational by 2014.

The UK government recently gave the go-ahead for a new generation of coal-fired power stations provided they were able to limit their CO2 emissions.

The scientists have focussed on the post-combustion method of carbon capture and storage (CCS) which aims to trap greenhouse emissions after fossil fuels have been burnt.

The plant, developed by Aker Clean Carbon, will enable them to assess the effectiveness of chemicals, known as amines, at removing CO2.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh will join the project, testing three different types of amine solution over the next three months.

ScottishPower chief executive Nick Horler said: "This is the first time that CCS technology has been switched on and working at an operational coal-fired power station in the UK.

"It's a major step forward in delivering the reality of carbon-free fossil fuel electricity generation."

Research centre

ScottishPower's parent company Iberdrola said the UK would be its global centre of excellence for CCS development, bringing together academics, industry experts and engineers.

A professorship of CCS will be based at Edinburgh University, but other academic institutions will also be involved including Imperial College, London.

Iberdrola Chairman Ignacio Galan said: "We believe that the UK can lead the world with CCS technology, creating new skills, jobs and opportunities for growth.

"There is the potential to create an industry on the same scale as North Sea Oil, and we will invest in Scotland and the UK to help to realise this potential."

The Longannet power station opened in 1969 and is the second largest in the UK.

The station chimney is 183m tall, the second highest free-standing structure in Scotland.

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World Bank To Bolster Sustainable Energy Role

Wojciech Moskwa, PlanetArk 29 May 09;

BERGEN - The World Bank seeks to play a bigger role in sustainable energy projects around the globe including experimental carbon capture and storage (CCS) research, Vice President Katherine Sierra said on Thursday.

Sierra, who is the head of sustainable development at the Washington-based lender funded by countries around the world, said developing states it serves were increasingly looking for low-carbon solutions for their energy problems.

"Clients are first and foremost interested in getting the energy they need to grow in an affordable way ... (but) they are also increasingly aware of the need for sustainable energy," Sierra told Reuters on the sidelines of a carbon conference.

She said wind technology was "penetrating" the energy mix in developing markets and solar energy was picking up despite high costs compared to fossil fuel-based electricity generation which creates the heat-trapping gasses blamed for global warming.

Sierra said still-experimental CCS technology, which siphons carbon dioxide (CO2) from power plant or industrial exhausts and buries it below ground, may be an option for some developing countries which rely heavily on dirtier coal-based power.

CCS is struggling to gain private backers. Governments of rich countries have been paying for most of the initial projects aimed at proving the technology and bringing down costs, leaving room for potential financing by international lenders.

SHARING GREEN TECHNOLOGY

Sierra said the World Bank has traditionally not funded "pre-commercialized technology" such as CCS but rather focused on transferring proven green technology to developing states.

But she said the bank could help fund some CCS projects or studies, including geological surveys, as well as provide clients with know-how on creating renewable energy policies.

"We are having discussions with a few countries to learn what they are doing (with CCS). If there is a request from countries for us to help pull together a financing package we could certainly be interested in discussing it," she said.

How quickly CCS comes to developing markets like China, which relies heavily on coal, could hinge on whether this year's global climate talks in Copenhagen include carbon capture in schemes for sharing green technology with poorer countries.

"Ultimately, we would like to see ambitious targets set by developed countries which translate into a price of carbon which motivates needed changes," she said of the Copenhagen talks.

"Another hope is that there is some type of agreement in terms of technology transfer and a financing mechanism that will fill the gap between what we have now ... and what we will eventually have in place when we have a robust carbon market."

Asked what price was needed to bolster the carbon market, Sierra referred to analyst reports of carbon at 40-50 euros ($55-$69) per metric ton, adding "We will not get there anytime soon."

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World's leading scientists warn climate change is as great a threat as nuclear warfare

The threat of climate change is as severe as nuclear warfare, according to an emergency summit of the world's Nobel Laureates.

Louise Gray, The Telegraph 29 May 09;

The group of Nobel winners, together with Prince Charles, issued a memorandum which declared the best chance of stopping catastrophic climate change is to keep the predicted temperature rise at or below 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F).

Without action, they envisaged three times that temperature rise, which would mean global warming would cause a huge rise in sea levels, and swamp the cities of London, Paris and Copenhagen.

The communique is likely to influence world leaders at the forthcoming international conference on climate change in Copenhagen at the end of this year.

More than 20 Nobel Laureates, including President Obama's Energy Secretary Steven Chu, gathered at the meeting in London to discuss the threat of global warming.

After three days the St James's Palace Nobel Laureate Symposium concluded that climate change posed a danger of similar proportions to "the threat posed to civilisation by the advent of thermonuclear weapons".

The memorandum read: "The St James's Palace Memorandum calls for a global deal on climate change that matches the scale and urgency of the human, ecological and economic crises facing the world today.

"It urges governments at all levels, as well as the scientific community, to join with business and civil society to seize hold of this historic opportunity to transform our carbon-intensive economies into sustainable and equitable systems. We must recognise the fierce urgency of now.

"We know what needs to be done. We cannot wait until it is too late. We cannot wait until what we value most is lost."

The eminent group unveiled a number of ambitious targets on cutting carbon emissions that go far beyond anything the world has so far managed to achieve during the Kyoto Protocol or any previous international summit on climate change.

They said global greenhouse gases will have to peak by 2015, meaning the current growth in carbon dioxide caused by the rapid development of China and India will have to stop in the next six years.

Developed countries would have to cut reduce greenhouse gas emissions by between 25 to 40 per cent. This means the UK would have to increase its current target of 34 per cent by 2020 and the US would have to commit to any targets for the first time.

The whole world will have to cut emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2050 meaning developing countries will also have to make cuts despite growing demand for energy intensive goods and cars.

The memorandum recommended forcing polluters to pay extra for emitting carbon across large parts of the global economy and massive investment in new technologies such as renewables in order to cut emissions.

There was also a call for emergency funding to stop deforestation, that causes a fifth of carbon emissions every year, by paying poorer countries not to chop down trees.

The paper has been compared to the Einstein-Russell manifesto in 1955 when Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell brought together scientists from around the world to speak out against the threat posed by the H-bomb.

Speaking after the agreement had been signed, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, which organised the summit, said the consequences of not acting were comparable to a nuclear fall out.

"It is comparable in magnitude [to nuclear warfare]. With business as usual we will have another five or six degrees Celsius [9 to 10.8F] – that could not sustain civilisation as we know it, which is quite comparable to a nuclear shoot-out. It would mean 80 metres rise in sea level – London, Paris and Copenhagen would disappear. This could not sustain nine billion people [the predicted population of the world.]"

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Best of our wild blogs: 28 May 09

Chek Jawa intertidal dates for Jul-Sep 09 now online
and registration only by internet from 1 Jun, more on the wild shores of singapore blog

Cyrene Reef
on the teamseagrass blog and wild shores of singapore blog and the psychedelic nature blog

Back to froggy Sekudu
on the wonderful creations blog and Dollars and stars of Sekudu and the discovery blog

Strange behaviour of a pair of Asian Glossy Starlings
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Killing the Ocean
on the Pulau Hantu blog

The Sharing Solution
on the Story of Stuff

Read more!

Economic Strategies Committee set up to study long-term growth strategies for Singapore

Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia 27 May 09;

SINGAPORE: The government will set up an Economic Strategies Committee to study the long-term economic transformation of Singapore. It will be headed by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

Singapore has taken decisive measures to tackle the economic crisis, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. But even as Singapore's approach to economic development remains valid, Mr Lee said there is a need to review specific strategies to develop different sectors.

He said: "We have to let the resources shift from the businesses which are shrinking to the businesses which are growing, and gear up for the changed new world, rather than wait in vain for old business to come back."

So the prime minister has tasked the Economic Strategies Committee, which includes members from the public and private sector, to look into growth opportunities abroad.

These include developing new markets in emerging economies such as the Gulf; seeking out niche opportunities - such as manufacturing aerospace components - in developed countries; and exporting Singapore's unique expertise - like its urban planning capabilities - to other Asian cities.

With regard to strengthening local corporate capabilities, Mr Lee said the country can work to attract the next tier of global companies that are smaller than the Fortune 500 multinationals but still large by Singapore standards.

Examples include the Mittelstand sector from Germany, and Berg Propulsion, a leading Swedish manufacturer of marine propellers and thrusters, which is already located here.

He said the Republic can also be the base for Asian MNCs to internationalise because the country is familiar with these Asian companies and at the same time operates by Western business norms.

For example Focus Media, China's leading providing of advertising platforms, has chosen to locate here.

More will also be done to grow local companies. Mr Lee added: "We are trying many ways to do this and we are willing to do more.

"There is no simple answer to this question and I do not believe this can be done by the government simply pouring money in, or one of the favourite quick proposals, setting up 'Temasek II'. The critical factor is not availability of money or capital.

"The critical thing is that you need to build up the entire enterprise ecosystem - the whole environment where you can attract talent, develop entrepreneurship, which means people with bright ideas, the passion, the drive, and the organisational ability to take a spark to a brainwave, to a start up, to a company, to an IPO, and then we hope, a Fortune, and a roaring success.

"They need professional management, they need to invest in technology, they need to develop distinctive brands. It's not an easy thing to do, but it's something which we will work at."

Other priorities attracting top talent from the world are studying resource efficiency and gearing up for climate change. So for example, the government will study the use of underground space to overcome land limitations.

It will also encourage energy conservation, so Singapore can grow more sustainably and be less affected by high prices.

The committee will develop the main recommendations in time for next year's Budget, which usually takes place in February.

According to the Finance Ministry, the list of Economic Strategies Committee members and further details will be released in two weeks. - CNA/vm

Full transcript of the Prime Minister's speech.

5 economic strategies
Straits Times 28 May 09;

PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong outlined five strategies in his speech yesterday to give an idea of the issues that an Economic Strategies Committee will study.

1 SEIZING GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES

Singapore could make its mark by pursuing more niche business opportunities, such as making aerospace components, in developed nations,

'It's very high technology, precision, needs absolute reliability, quality assurance and cost is less of a consideration,' said Mr Lee, adding that aerospace companies would find Singapore a good place to establish themselves in Asia.

The emerging economies, which are still expanding, are another bright spot in the global crisis. Singapore has a number of projects in the Gulf, which is still investing in infrastructure. Given its growing track record, it can aim for more. It could also exploit its strengths in urban planning and development, which are in demand in fast-growing Asian cities. He cited two latest projects in China: the Singapore-Nanjing Eco High-Tech Island and the Suzhou-Nantong High Tech Park.

Closer to home, it could maximise 'win-win cooperation' with its neighbours. The Iskandar Malaysia economic corridor project in Johor is an example.

2 STRENGTHENING CORPORATE CAPABILITIES

Having wooed top global firms such as Shell and Motorola here, Singapore is eyeing the next tier - those 'after the Fortune 500' companies.

They may be smaller than the international corporate giants, but are large by Singapore standards. These companies want to expand in Asia, but are unfamiliar with the region.

Mr Lee said Singapore has been courting Germany's small and medium-sized enterprises sector for many years, with some success. Also here are European firms like Berg Propulsion, a Swedish manufacturer of marine propellers and thrusters. Asian multinational companies are another target, he said, citing Focus Media, China's leading provider of advertising platforms, whose global headquarters is based here.

The Government will also study how to help Singapore firms go global, a concern raised by many MPs. But Mr Lee said there is no simple answer.

'I don't believe this can be done simply by the Government pouring money in, or, one of the favourite quick proposals, setting up Temasek II,' he said, referring to calls for a set-up like Singapore investment company Temasek Holdings. The critical factor is not the availability of money, but an entire 'enterprise ecosystem' that can attract talent and develop entrepreneurship.

3 GROWING HUMAN AND KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL

Singapore must develop the capabilities of its people, said Mr Lee. 'Our future lies in being a leading global city for talent and our own talent as well as top talent from around the world.' But Singapore has to be a first-class location for talent to want to come and take root here. It means encouraging Singaporeans to welcome and help them integrate into society.

'We have to say, ?Foreigners, come'. Singaporeans first, but we are going to make this place prosper with all the help we can get, and then we will have a bright future,' Mr Lee explained.

Also on the cards: a review of the five-year-old billion-dollar research and development programme, which is making progress and yielding results.

4 CREATING HIGH-VALUE JOBS FOR SINGAPOREANS

Growth must translate to good jobs and higher wages for Singaporeans across the board, he said.

The strategy is to attract industries that will need skilled workers and pay them well. Companies must also upgrade workers, and Singaporeans must acquire skills that are in demand through education and by upgrading.

A fourth university by 2011 and the proposed Singapore Institute of Applied Technology will give this step a boost.

5 MAXIMISING RESOURCES

Singapore's land constraints call for creative solutions: Going underground is expensive 'but some of it can make economic sense', he said. Another way is to build upwards. Height limits for buildings due to air traffic could be eased with better air navigation and air traffic control.

Singapore has to find ways to reduce dependence on its one million foreign workers and grow its economy without indefinitely increasing their numbers.

A third limit is energy, which will become more expensive. Singapore must study how it can encourage energy conservation,

diversify energy sources and reduce dependency on piped natural gas from nearby sources.

It must be prepared to play its part too in any global deal on climate change.

GOH CHIN LIAN

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Genting again rocks the boat at Sentosa Integrated Resort

Move to sell 9% stake means more probity checks prior to licence award
Arthur Sim, Business Times 28 May 09;

(SINGAPORE) With only months to go before the casino at Resorts World at Sentosa opens, Genting Singapore seems prepared to gamble with its casino licence again by making the regulatory probity process more complicated.

In a statement released yesterday, Genting Singapore said that existing shareholders of the company had sold about 850 million shares via a private placing agreement representing a significant stake of about 9 per cent worth over $600 million.

The sale sent the share price plummeting almost 18 per cent to 71 cents, down 15.5 cents from the previous day. Reuters also quoted a term sheet it had seen revealing that the shares were sold for between 72-76 cents per share.

Apart from introducing new shareholders to the fold, there has also been speculation that the Lim family, headed by Lim Kok Thay, may be looking to raise capital for a possible acquisition of MGM Grand Macau. But any new significant shareholders in the company here will be scrutinised by regulators.

In response to an SGX query, Genting Singapore said: 'The respective substantial shareholders will in due course be releasing the relevant Notice of Substantial Shareholder's Change in Interests/Cessa- tion of Interests (as the case may be).'

The sale of shares was done through Golden Hope Ltd and Lakewood Sdn Bhd, vehicles that are understood to be controlled by the Lim family which owns Malaysian gaming firm Genting Bhd, the parent of Genting Singapore.

All significant shareholders of Genting Singapore will be expected to undergo strict probity checks before the gaming licence is awarded to the casino operator here by the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA). It is understood that the gaming licence has not been awarded yet.

Speculation on the Macau deal was fuelled when it was revealed on Monday that Genting Group had acquired US$100 million in secured notes from MGM Mirage.

The talk of a divestment of MGM Grand Macau was itself sparked when the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement recommended last week that MGM Mirage sever ties with Pansy Ho, its partner for MGM Grand Macau, adding that the daughter of Chinese gaming magnate Stanley Ho is an unsuitable partner.

Bloomberg had quoted Ang Kok Heng, chief investment officer at Phillip Capital Management in Kuala Lumpur, as saying that the Lim family may be raising funds to finance a possible investment in MGM Mirage's Macau casino. But he also added: 'It's not easy for Genting or Resorts World Bhd to take over MGM Mirage's venture in Macau because of their investment in Singapore. There's a likelihood the Singapore government may not agree, so the family has to come in on their own.'

This is not the first time Genting Singapore has raised eyebrows in Singapore by associating itself - perceived or otherwise - with Stanley Ho.

In 2007, after winning the tender to build one of two casino resorts in Singapore, Genting Singapore said it was looking to sell a stake in Star Cruises - which was then its partner in the Sentosa resort - to Stanley Ho. Genting Singapore later had to backtrack on this and subsequently acquired Star Cruises' entire stake in the resort in an apparent bid to pacify the Singapore government.

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