A Decline in the Nutritional Value of Crops

There is no doubt we've seen a significant drop off in nutritional value of crops.  We've done some great radio shows on this with renowned soil scientist.

One way of combating this decline is to buy local, organic and real high quality.  Also, there's some great supplement and super-food powders that make it easy to whip up high protein, low-fat smoothies.  

The paramount answer, which will take more time, is to restore the nutritional value of our food supply.

A Decline in the Nutritional Value of Crops

By C. CLAIBORNE RAY

Q. Is today’s food less nutritious than it was in the past because agricultural soil is being depleted of minerals?

A. Several studies of fruits, vegetables and grains have suggested a decline in nutritional value over time, but the reasons may not be as simple as soil depletion. There is considerable evidence that such problems may be related to changes in cultivated varieties, with some high-yielding plants being less nutritious than historical varieties. Several other issues are involved, like changes in farming methods, including the extensive use of chemical fertilizers, as well as food processing and preparation. A 2004 study evaluated Department of Agriculture data for 43 garden crops from 1950 to 1999. The researchers found statistically reliable declines for six nutrients — protein, calcium, potassium, iron and vitamins B2 and C — but no change for seven others.

The researchers suggested that “any real declines are generally most easily explained by changes in cultivated varieties,” like possible trade-offs between yield and nutrient content.

They also pointed out that modern fruits and vegetables were still nutritionally valuable and suggested the remedy was to eat more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and beans and less refined sugars, separated fats and oils and white flour and rice, which they said “have all suffered losses much greater and broader than the potential losses suggested here for garden crops.”

Donald R. Davis, the lead author of the 2004 study, wrote a review of evidence of nutrition loss in fruits and vegetables in 2009. He concluded that the broad evidence of nutritional decline seemed difficult to dismiss, though more study was needed, he said, especially of inverse relationships between yield and nutrient concentration.

 

 

DOE Releases Final Final Report for Hawaii

We think each state should have the same, comprehensive report done to map out their energy future.  Of course, given the unique conditions of their current mix of power, each state will move forward down a slightly different path to, we hope, is 100% renewables.

Hawaii, based on this formula, will have an interesting mix of energy going forward.  More and more we see biomass an integral part of this shift away from petroleum.  Recently we've done many radio shows from Hawaii, and all guests have echoed the sentiments outlined below--Hawaii will move quickly to a very bright and economically beneficial clean-energy future.  Amen.

DOE Releases Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Hawaii

By Jennifer Delony 

                            

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Sept. 10 released a final programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) for Hawaii to provide federal, state and county governments as well as the public and developers with a reference document for project-specific environmental reviews.

DOE said it developed the PEIS as a guidance document to be used in making decisions that support Hawaii’s goal of meeting 70 percent of the state’s energy needs by 2030 through energy efficiency and renewable energy. The PEIS is based on DOE-defined representative projects that allow for the evaluation of the typical affects associated with respective technologies.

With about 85 percent of its energy derived from imported petroleum and petroleum products, Hawaii is the most oil-dependent state in the U.S., according to the PEIS. Roughly equal amounts of petroleum are used for electricity generation, ground transportation and commercial aviation — about 28 percent each — with the rest used for marine transport, military and other uses.

The Hawaii State Energy Office reports on its website that the state currently produces 12 percent of its electricity from renewables — 5 percent wind, 3 percent geothermal, 3 percent biomass and 1 percent hydro.

For the PEIS, DOE identified 31 clean energy technologies and activities associated with potential future actions and grouped them into five clean energy categories. The PEIS analyzed each of the technologies and activities at a programmatic level for the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui and Hawaii.
The five clean energy categories are:

• Energy efficiency
• Distributed renewable energy technologies
• Utility-scale renewable energy technologies
• Alternative transportation fuels and modes
• Electrical transmission and distribution

DOE determined in the PEIS that while the effects from projects would vary by technology, size and location of the projects, some general conclusions could be drawn.

Regarding activities and technologies in the distributed renewables category — biomass, hydroelectric, fuel cells, PV and wind — DOE said potential effects from those technologies are not likely to be significant because the projects typically would be small. In addition, DOE said that implementation of renewable energy projects at the residential scale can exceed the capacity of a local power grid or utility, causing delays in bringing new energy sources to the electrical grid and requiring system upgrades.

DOE said that utility-scale technologies — biomass, geothermal, ocean thermal, solar and wind — had the greatest potential for environmental effects due to the size of project footprints.

While the most common potential long-term effects associated with utility-scale technologies would include changes to land and submerged land use and scenic and visual resources, DOE said that those effects could be minimized or eliminated through the use of location-specific best management practices.

SUPERMARKETS TAKE A BITE OUT OF HIGH ENERGY COSTS BY GOING SOLAR

Another great example of the business side of green:  solving a high operating expense by investing in clean energy.  Such an investment fixes their costs and puts them in control over their electricity expense.

That brings benefit to the community--a cleaner environment- and local jobs--and shoppers who will see more consistent pricing, perhaps even some lower costs.  The building becomes more valuable with lower operating costs.  And, we use natural sources for power and continue a massive shift away from fossil fuel.  

Given supermarkets high utility bills, more of them should jump on the renewables and move away from unsteady market conditions around traditional fuels.

SUPERMARKETS TAKE A BITE OUT OF HIGH ENERGY COSTS BY GOING SOLAR

By: Daryl Zeis

One of the biggest challenges facing supermarket proprietors is managing and controlling operational costs. Although labor makes up the biggest portion of those costs, energy use is the next largest expense item. According to an Xcel Energy report, energy accounts for 15% of a supermarket’s operating budget. Refrigeration and lighting consume the most electricity in supermarkets, with air and water heating, ventilation, and air conditioning also adding a significant amount to the monthly bill.

Increasingly, supermarkets and other large, energy-intensive retailers are turning to solar to cut their electricity costs as well as reduce their carbon footprint and strengthen their sustainability programs.

The “Solar Means Business 2014” report published by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) reveals a growing number of U.S. commercial operations adding solar systems to their property, plant and equipment assets. Listed among the leading solar adopters are some of the most recognizable names in the supermarket sector, including Whole Foods, Safeway, and Stop and Shop, as well as many big-box retailers with embedded grocery stores, such as Walmart, Target, and Costco. Other market chains that have cut their energy costs by going solar at retail outlets and logistics centers include Albertsons and Fresh and Easy. 

“This growing adoption of solar by the commercial sector is predominantly the result of consistent price declines,” the SEIA report notes. “The average price of a completed commercial photovoltaic (PV) project in Q2 2014 has dropped by 14 percent year over year and more than 45 percent since 2012. As solar prices continue to fall, more businesses in more states turn to solar to cut operating costs.” Since those statistics were issued, the average price of completed commercial PV installations in the United States has continued to decline each quarter.

In addition to the decreasing costs of PV equipment, innovations in financing—from solar power purchase agreements (solar PPAs) to solar leases to commercial solar PACE loans—provide an additional incentive for supermarkets to switch to solar. Full-service solar installation companies like REC Solar now offer these types of financing programs—in addition to accepting cash purchase plans--that help make it possible for supermarkets to take a bite out of their utility bills from day one of their PV system’s operational lifetime.

A sample supermarket case study reveals that if a 300-kilowatt (KW) rooftop solar system were installed on a market in Anytown, California, the PV power plant would generate approximately 500,000 kilowatt-hours (KWh) of clean electricity per year, offsetting about 80% of the store’s energy needs.

Keep in mind that this quote is an example. The ultimate costs and savings for a specific supermarket project will differ based on many factors, such as utility rates (including peak demand charges), hours of operation, shading, and type of financing. 

The entire process—from site evaluation to financial qualification to permitting to the actual construction of the PV array and interconnection to the grid—typically takes 4-6 months. As an experienced commercial solar installer, REC Solar has built more than 65 supermarket and grocery store PV systems in multiple states over the past decade.

The example above includes calculations based on the use of the 30% federal solar investment tax credit (ITC). As of this writing, the 30% ITC is set to step down to 10% for commercial solar installations in January 2017. While solar industry advocates continue to work with Congress to extend the program, passage is far from certain.

We addressed the ITC situation in a November 2014 blog post. As we explained, while the 30% credit for installing solar expires at the end of 2016, the tax code requires that the solar installation be fully operational by the deadline to qualify for the entire credit. Consequently, the window of opportunity to commence and complete ITC-qualified projects is quickly narrowing.

Whether you run a grocery store with multiple locations or are the proprietor of a local organic green grocer, now is the time to get a free solar evaluation from an experienced commercial solar installer.

By working with REC Solar, you’re able to compare flexible financing options to identify the best approach to meet your financial and sustainability goals with solar energy.

Six-Month Study

Geothermal is a great source of heating, cooling even, as we saw on a large-scale in New Mexico, KW production.  British Columbia is one of the most beautiful areas on Earth. They are blessed with amazing natural resources.  This would be a wonderful spot to use utility-grade geothermal energy to power their smart growth.

Six-Month Study to Outline Geothermal Opportunities for 10 BC Communities 

By Jennifer Delony                                        

Geoscience BC is launching a six-month study that will provide 10 communities in British Columbia with detailed information about direct-use geothermal energy opportunities, a spokesperson for the nonprofit said.

The project, which will be led by Catherine Hickson, principal of Tuya Terra Geo Corporation, will deliver a geothermal direct-use road map based on the compilation of public geoscience data and a survey of communities that identifies their needs, development choices and economic development goals.

"This project is the first step toward giving [British Columbia] communities and businesses an understanding of what geothermal resources are available and how they may use them," Hickson said in a statement.

Geoscience BC plans to review the community and technical information gathered for about 25 sites and create a priority list of the top 10 sites based on a combination of community desire, geothermal potential and economic opportunities, the spokesperson said. The final direct-use road map will be created using the information collected from the top-10 communities, she added.

Gerald Huttrer, president of Geothermal Management Company, will be the science co-leader for the project.

The spokesperson said that the road map will provide general guidelines for what kinds of financial commitments different proponents would need to make for a potential project, including, for example, what an exploration company and the community would need to commit.

“There would be ideas for those commitments, but not actual numbers,” she said.

Geoscience BC is funded by the Province of British Columbia.

Stems, Sticks Seen Driving Biofuel’s

Sometimes we forget that biofuels will be, and are, part of the solution in replacing oil and gas and cleaning the air.  There's been a big shift by the industry away from using corn and other food supply plants.  We've seen them grow specific plants in their areas to compliment other growing seasons and open up new revenue sources for farmers.

This should be a large industry producing lots of local revenue and creating many jobs.  2020 is not far away.  Let's hope this predicted wave of new projects become operating plants and we increase ethanol in cars.

Stems, Sticks Seen Driving Biofuel’s Next Expansion After 2020    

By Anna Hirtenstein                                   

                    

The next generation of biofuels that don’t use food crops as a raw material are starting to take hold, with a big expansion of the industry coming after 2020, one of the industry’s key suppliers said.

Novozymes A/S CEO Peder Holk Nielsen said the industry is shifting slowly toward using more cellulosic material – the woody bits of plants – instead of food crops, such as corn and sugar beets.

Novozymes is the biggest maker of enzymes used in the chemical process to make biofuels.

“There are seven demonstration plants in the world that are producing at a commercial scale” for next-generation biofuels, Holk Nielsen said in an interview in London. “We are expecting a larger second wave of projects after 2020.”

For now, ethanol brewed mainly from food crops remains the dominant biofuel, with advanced formulas accounting for less than 2 percent of the industry. Novozymes and the companies it supports are anxious to bolster the cellulosic fuels as an alternative that won’t hamper the food supply.

The industry still faces challenges, such as the need for new technologies for harvesting the plants and finding better ways to break down tough fibers in plants so that the fuel conversion process works more easily, he said. The executive added that the oil price slump may benefit biofuel makers, since cheaper energy will lower the cost of processing.

Cleaner Fuel
Ethanol is cleaner than conventional fuels, emitting 50 percent to 72 percent less carbon dioxide, according to a presentation by Novozymes, which is based in Bagsvaerd, Denmark.

Inedible biofuels, also known as second generation, are less controversial than their edible counterparts because there is public opposition to growing food crops to burn rather than eat.

However, they are more difficult to refine as they generally have tougher cellulose than softer food plants.

“The cellulosic biofuel industry is certainly reaching a commercial level, but most plants are not producing at anywhere near their full capacity and are also struggling to sell the fuel for the premiums they require to make the plants profitable,” Claire Curry, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said. “So we are still a way off from it being a viable industry.”

She estimates that there are 145 million gallons of second-generation biofuels operating now, compared with 49 billion gallons of biofuels made from edible crops.

Mandate Desired
Novozymes is urging governments to set a mandate for biofuels, forcing oil companies to offer them to consumers. It sees such rules as a necessary step for the products to gain a market foothold.

Brazil will provide some of the strongest growth for the industry, since it has a strong domestic market and cheap sources of raw materials. Other key markets are China and the European Union.

 The U.S. is likely to remain focused on corn-based ethanol and will not be a significant producer of second-generation biofuels, Holk Nielsen said.

Enzymes made by Novozymes also are used in detergents, food, beverages and animal feed. They are used in the refining process for second-generation biofuels.

Federal land management to blame

We found this article a while ago, but held it as we looked at other related stories.  It comes on the heals of EPA's disastrous handling of the closed mine in CO that has contaminated multiple rivers and states natural resources.

Should we trust, here in the US, the Feds to manage some of our most important ecological assets?  Certainly, we applaud their effort in preserving land and keeping the parcels out of developers hands.  Perhaps, though, managing such a portfolio is too big and complex for an agency like Forrest Service.  We know some of this land could be put back into the economy by allowing clean energy sites to share the terrain.  Would that bring more local ownership--through leases--and stewardship?  

Massive fires will be on the rise.  Our droughts are intensifying.  That is a dangerous combination if we let raw land become a fuel for those fires, further raising the risk and lost of property.  It is time to take a much more proactive approach to safe guarding these wild lands.

Federal land management to blame for out-of-control fires, say critics

by Hollie McKay

Wildfires are continuing to plague drought-stricken California and federal funding to fight them has dried up like parched El Dorado County farmland, leading critics to say the real problem lies nearly 3,000 miles away, in Washington.

For the year, more than 6 million acres -- an area the size of New Jersey -- have been burned, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. For the first time, the U.S. Forest Service will spend more than half its budget, some $1.2 billion, on fighting fires on the vast acreage it manages from the nation’s capital.

There is a better way, according to some experts, who believe more private ownership of land would divert the responsibility and cost from taxpayers.

“The federal government has shown itself to be a poor steward of its massive land holdings,” said Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at public policy think tank the CATO Institute. “The issues with Western lands are far too complex and sensitive for far-away politicians and bureaucrats in Washington to be able to solve.”

"If private owners fail they go bankrupt. If Forest Service managers fail, at worst they are transferred to another forest.”
- Robert Smith, Competitive Enterprise Institute

With 190 million acres of land under its control, the Forest Service is ill-equipped to manage land to prevent fires or protect property once blazes break out, said Robert Smith, distinguished fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment.

“Private owners cannot afford to let their forests die of disease, insect infestations or wildfire,” Smith said. “They are on the job 24 hours a day, unlike 9-5 government bureaucrats. If private owners fail they go bankrupt. If Forest Service managers fail, at worst they are transferred to another forest.”

In total, the U.S. government owns about 640 million acres of land, predominantly in the drought-riddled western states. Some 85 percent of Nevada; 70 percent of Alaska and roughly half of Arizona, California and Utah are federal lands.

While the drought is having a damaging effect on much of the land, it is the Forest Service’s national forests and grasslands that are most affected by wildfires.

Firefighters in California are fighting several blazes, the worst of which are in the northern part of the state. (AP)

Smith in part blames the influence of radical environmentalists for blocking the Forest Service from managing woodlands by removing old or dead trees most vulnerable to fire. Critics also say the government’s refusal to open up roadways through forestland makes fighting fires unnecessarily difficult.

Environmentalists groups and the government claim the increase in fires is due to global warming, caused by the use of fossil fuels. The Forest Service contends that the threat has made the average wildfire season is now 78 days longer than it was four decades ago.

But whether it is global warming or the sum total of decades of mismanagement, all experts seem to agree forest fires are getting worse – and costing more.

“We can’t avoid wildfires and wildfire has always been part of the western landscape,” Ray Rasker, executive director of Headwaters Economics, a nonpartisan development and land management research group focused on the West, told FoxNews.com. “Right now, the Forest Service spends so much money fighting wildfires – with 90 percent of it going to defend homes – it has to borrow from other accounts. And every year, it gets worse.”

Twenty years ago, firefighting made up just 16 percent of the U.S. Forest Service’s annual budget. This past fiscal year, an unprecedented 52 percent of funds went to fighting fires and, if left unchecked, the figure will rise to two-thirds by 2025.

The agency says it has no choice but to take funds from other programs and services, such as forest restoration and management, which would actually help prevent fires as well as aid protection and recovery from them. While other disasters -- such as tornadoes and hurricanes -- can leverage emergency funding, the Forest Service must stay within current budget allocations and take money from elsewhere in the agency to fund firefighting.

“[The Forest Service is] not in a position to do the restoration and resiliency work that’s important and necessary, not just to keep our forests healthy, but also to reduce the risk of these intense, enormous fires that we are now fighting,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, whose department oversees the Forest Service.

In some cases, fighting fires may be not only futile, but unwise, according to Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology. He said some fires serve a valid purpose and should be left to burn.
“We need to be stopping fires from spreading toward human assets like homes, and steering fires into backcountry wild lands that we want to burn in order to reduce fuel loads or restore fire-dependent species habitat,” he said. “Most of the small fires that we are able to put out are ones that we need to work with.”

Some critics say government ownership of land is part of the problem. (AP)

But Ingalsbee is dubious of claims that turning land over to the private sector would result in better management.

“Much more aggressive fire suppression occurs on public lands, in fact, to prevent wildfires from spreading onto private lands which are unprepared and unsustainable given wildfire,” he said.
Janine Blaeloch, director of the Seattle-based Western Land Project, which seeks to protect the environment the interest of the public in land ownership, agrees.

“Private ownership is always going to lead to maximum exploitation of resources for profit,” she said. “If you value preservation of functioning ecosystems and wildlife habitat, only public land will provide that in any significant way.”

U.S.-China Announcement is the Most Significant Milestone to Date for Battling Global Climate Change

We've spent some time holding this story--the announcement was last month--as we watched what steps took place over the last 30 days to put the pieces in place around this historic accord.

It excites us to see China and US setting the largest carbon market.  We believe the trading of credits is key to full buy in from large multi-internationals.  This will give new life to the global economy while pushing huge investments in efficiency and renewables.

We also love seeing electricity markets get competitive.  Too long utilities have enjoyed monopoly status.  Many have abused their single domination of a market.  They have stood in the way of our flight to a clean energy economy.  Let's rein them in with renewed competition.  Open up these power-provider markets and let new players come change the playing field.

This is a great agreement.  Let's put the pieces in place quickly to meet its lofty goals.

Today’s joint announcement by President Obama and President Xi represents the second time in two years the leaders have met to make significant climate commitments. Last year’s meeting focused on setting aggressive goals that reflect each country’s unique situation. This year’s meeting moved decisively to implementation commitments intended to deliver these results. The message is clear: the time for talking about climate is over. The two largest economies and emitters must lead in action.

The commitments by the countries are sweeping and perhaps the greatest cause for hope yet in international attempts to address global warming—especially looking forward to COP21 in Paris this upcoming December. Among the outcomes are the creation of the world’s largest carbon market, market reforms within China that will help support accelerated renewables development, redoubled support of the Clean Power Plan initiatives to reduce carbon intensity of the U.S. electricity grid, codes and regulations to improve energy efficiency in buildings and transportation in both countries, and a commitment by both countries to control other important greenhouse gases including methane and HFCs.

Importantly, both countries also committed to ongoing research on necessary global warming solutions, as well as the promise of more than $6 billion in financing to support developing countries in their adoption of similar solutions.

China’s strategy for delivery is an audacious combination of top-level reforms and bottom-up implementation. Specific highlights from the announcement include:

• Creation of the world’s largest carbon market: China has committed to use a national cap-and-trade system to efficiently limit and price carbon pollution starting in 2017. The system will cover all the largest emitting sectors in China, including power generation, iron and steel, non-ferrous metals, chemicals, cement, and pulp and paper. This market will build heavily upon the experiences learned from its seven city-level carbon market pilots. Given its expansive scope, this market will likely cover approximately 60 percent of China’s energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, which were roughly 10 billion metric tons last year.
   
• Moving toward a competitive electricity market: China has announced it will implement an "environmental dispatch" system for its electricity sector. Historically, China has had dispatch quotas on fossil generation, often leading to curtailment of renewables and the running of inefficient coal plants. In the first half of 2015 this has led to curtailment of 15 percent of wind and 10 percent of solar generation. In this announcement, China has committed to embrace competitive power dispatch that prioritizes the emissions-free, near-zero marginal dispatch cost of renewables. Our research suggests making this shift nationally should result in an immediate reduction of 200 million metric tons of carbon emissions per year, but more importantly, supports the economic expansion of renewables over time as investors gain enhanced certainty of the market rules governing their investments.
   
• Greening new buildings: Half of all new urban buildings in China will meet green building standards by 2020. Buildings-sector energy demand drives roughly one-quarter of the carbon emissions in China, and is a fast-growing segment. Our estimates suggest nearly three-quarters of the economic opportunity to save energy and carbon in buildings through 2050 lies in buildings yet to be constructed. Furthermore, due to construction and material quality issues, the average lifetime of buildings in China is about thirty years, less than half the lifetime typical in Western economies. By improving efficiency and material quality standards for new buildings, China can reduce the emissions of these buildings as well as those from the steel mills and cement kilns proving raw materials. Some of the most-efficient green buildings in China, such as passive multi-family structures in Qinhuangdao, reduce total energy consumption by 65 percent against typical standards. Focusing on ensuring at least half of all new buildings meet green construction standards stands as a strategic and significant lever to reduce Chinese national emissions.
   
• Accelerating truck efficiency improvements: Two-thirds of China’s transportation energy is consumed by medium- and heavy-duty trucks moving construction materials and commerce within the country and to its ports. China has committed to improve fuel efficiency standards on these vehicles and implement them by 2019. We see economic technologies such as aerodynamics modifications, improved tires and pressure monitoring, engine energy-recovery systems, hybridization, and electrified auxiliaries as key ways that could allow China to reduce fuel consumption by up to 50 percent over time. This new efficiency standard can help dramatically shrink the sector's roughly 600 million metric tons of annual carbon emissions.
   
• Pioneering cities taking the lead: As front-runners on the pathway to low-carbon development, last week at a U.S.-China Climate Leaders Summit in Los Angeles, China announced its Alliance for Peaking Pioneer Cities as a primary implementation vehicle for its national policy. This group of 11 cities and provinces from China committed to peaking carbon emissions before 2030.  The cities assembled represented roughly 1.2 billion metric tons of collective emissions annually (on par with Brazil or Japan), and based on our estimates could contribute 500 million metric tons of annual emissions reductions by 2030 through successfully championing the ideas above in the industry, electricity, buildings, and transportation sectors.

The United States’ commitments are equally ambitious, and highly complementary, including:

• Strengthening the Clean Power Plan: The recently finalized Clean Power Plan will cut U.S. carbon emissions from the power sector by 32 percent below 2005 levels and will reduce particle pollution, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide by more than 25 percent. The plan will avoid up 6,600 premature deaths, up to 150,000 asthma attacks in children, and up to 490,000 missed work or school days—providing up to $93 billion in climate and public health benefits. It also aims to shrink electricity bills roughly 8 percent by increasing energy efficiency and reducing demand. States that choose not to act on their own implementation plans will be subject to federally determined carbon emissions standards for power plants beginning in 2016.
   
• Improving fuel efficiency standards of trucks: The U.S. (along with China) has agreed to finalize fuel efficiency standards for new heavy-duty vehicles and to implement them in 2019. According to research from Rocky Mountain Institute and Carbon War Room, the North American trucking industry can cost effectively save $40 billion per year on fuel and reduce CO2 and other pollutants by 20 percent.
   
• Efficiency standards for appliances and equipment: By the end of 2016 the U.S. will finalize over 20 efficiency standards for appliances and equipment. This step will contribute to the U.S. goal of avoiding 3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions through efficiency improvements by 2030.
  
• Controlling methane and HFC emissions: The U.S. announced two new standards to limit methane emissions from landfills. This announcement builds upon a January 2015 commitment to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40 to 45 percent of 2012 levels by 2025. Both standards will be implemented in 2016. These actions are critical, as the effects of methane on climate change are 25 times greater than those of CO2 over a 100-year period. Additionally, the U.S. EPA recently announced that it will prohibit some of the most-damaging forms of HFCs from several end-uses in 2016. China has matched this commitment with plan to reduce HFCs that includes steps to reduce HFC-23 emissions before 2020.

Jointly, the countries have also committed to extending research collaboration efforts on energy and water issues, and strengthening bilateral collaboration at the national and city levels to help accelerate clean energy solutions.

These agreements represent a significant step forward for both countries, and they also simultaneously propel global progress. In support, the two countries have pledged $6 billion in additional funding to support similar low-carbon solutions in the developing world. But beyond that, the collaboration moves the global dialogue beyond national commitments and target setting to practical actions aligned with arresting climate change below the 2 degree Celsius threshold. This results-orientation cannot help but influence the upcoming climate talks in Paris, and the two presidents are clearly aligned on the importance of this event in securing national commitments, strategic delivery plans, and a focus of achieving a complete, low-carbon, global transformation by the end of this century.

Today’s announcement is a sign of great leaders taking great initiative toward a common goal, and should be a cause for inspiration for us all in our progress toward addressing the critical issue of global warming.

Rocky Mountain Institute has been working together with China’s Energy Research Institute (an energy think tank under the National Development and Reform Commission), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Energy Foundation China on an extensive research project over the past several years to understand the role of energy efficiency and clean energy in transforming China’s energy economy. Some of this research has been used to inform the above discussion, though all calculations have been independently performed by RMI.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.