JULY 2010 NEWSLETTER
Comprehensive U.S. Energy and Climate Legislation Off Table for Now  On July 22nd, U.S. Senate leaders acknowledged that comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation would not be discussed on the Senate floor in the immediate future.
In a statement released by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the Senator proclaimed that "We have a responsibility – both to our constituents and our children – to take on America's energy challenge. Many of us want to do that through a comprehensive bill that creates jobs, breaks our addiction to oil and curbs pollution.
Unfortunately, at this time not one Republican wants to join us in achieving this goal. That isn't just disappointing. It's dangerous."
Instead, Senator Reid has offered up an oil spill response bill with some scaled back energy and job creation provisions. This four-part bill includes provisions to: hold BP accountable for the oil spill and clean up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, create jobs through energy efficiency programs, invest in natural gas powered vehicles, and support for programs to promote land and water conservation.
STATEMENT OF FORMER VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE
July 22, 2010
 Nashville, TN - The need to solve the climate crisis and transition to clean energy has never been more clear. The oil is still washing up on the shores of the Gulf Coast and we've just experienced the hottest six months on record. Our troops are fighting and dying in the Middle East and our economy is still struggling to produce jobs. I continue to urge the President to provide leadership on this issue and urge the Senate to make this issue a priority for the remainder of this Congress.
Ultimately—and sooner rather than later--these issues simply must be dealt with.
Our national security, our economic recovery and the future of the United States of America—and indeed the future of human civilization on this Earth—depends on our country taking leadership. And that, in turn, depends on the United States Senate acting. The truth about the climate crisis—inconvenient as ever—must be faced.
Statement by Alliance For Climate Protection President and CEO Maggie L. Fox on Senate Comprehensive Climate Legislation
July 22, 2010
 Washington, D.C. – The Alliance for Climate Protection President and CEO Maggie L. Fox today issued the following statement on the announcement by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that the Senate will not consider a comprehensive climate bill in the immediate future:
"It is wrong that hundreds of millions of lobbying and advertising dollars from big oil and dirty coal, along with obstruction by the Republican leadership in the Senate, have blocked debate and action on comprehensive climate and energy legislation.
These policies will create millions of jobs, rebuild our economy, strengthen our national security and help solve the climate crisis. This opposition to action is
in sharp contrast to the overwhelming support of the American people for a clean energy economy.
Now President Obama and the U.S. Congress must recommit to utilizing every opportunity to reduce carbon pollution, invest in clean energy sources that are made in America, and support to protect the health and welfare of the American people."
CRU and Michael Mann Absolved
 Two new reports have cleared the so-called "Climategate" scientists of wrongdoing, confirming the results of other investigations.
In November 2009, over 1,000 emails from climate scientists were made public after hackers broke into a server at the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU) in the U.K. Taken out of context, some emails suggested the scientists were disrespectful and defensive at best, and had fabricated data at worst. The incident prompted intense scrutiny of the scientists, their methods and their funding sources.
A report by a Penn State University panel, released July 1, was the second half of an investigation into Dr. Michael Mann. Dr. Mann is most famous for the "hockey stick" graph, a reconstruction of global temperatures that shows a rapid increase in the 20th century. The five-member panel concluded unanimously that Dr. Mann "did not engage in, nor did he participate in, directly or indirectly, any actions that seriously deviated from accepted practices within the academic community for proposing, conducting or reporting research."
"We consider this issue closed," said university spokeswoman Lisa Powers.
A few days after the Penn State report, a review team chaired by Sir Muir Russell issued a more lengthy investigation on the "honesty, rigour and openness" of CRU scientists whose emails had been hacked. Although the team concluded that the CRU scientists did not consistently meet high standards of openness and needed to better communicate their work in the age of blogging, they "did not find any evidence of behaviour that might undermine the conclusions of the IPCC assessments."
Dr. Mann was pleased to be cleared of the allegations, but was skeptical that climate change deniers would move on. "They will continue to attack the science and the scientists," he said, adding that deniers have "delayed action to the point where necessary work to mitigate the effects is more expensive."
You can find the Penn State Report, "RA-1O Final Investigation Report Involving Dr. Michael E. Mann," here: http://live.psu.edu/story/47378
The Independent Climate Change Emails Review team report is available here: http://www.cce-review.org/pdf/FINAL%20REPORT.pdf
Climate Change Meeting in Bonn
 During the first two weeks in June, more than 5,500 participants, including government delegates from 185 governments, gathered in Bonn, Germany for latest round of climate change negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The meeting marked the halfway point between Copenhagen and Cancun, and was the last negotiating session presided over by outgoing UNFCCC head Yvo De Boer. The new UNFCCC head, Christiana Figueres — who has been trained as a TCP Presenter — officially took over the post on July 8.
The general tone of the negotiations was much improved from Copenhagen. There was constructive discussion on technology transfer, REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and adaptation.
There was widespread agreement on the need for a new climate fund and some progress was seen on transparency provisions. Still, on a number of issues, such as the future of the Kyoto Protocol, the role of the Copenhagen Accord, and what a "legally-binding" treaty might look like, finding agreement continues to be difficult. Additionally, a "trust deficit" clearly remains between developed and developing countries.
A broad range of substantive discussions took place in Bonn, including:
- Climate Finance: There was widespread agreement that the current system of climate finance isn't working and there is need for a new mechanism. Thus, one of the main finance discussions in Bonn centered on what a new climate finance fund might look like and how it would be governed.
- Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (or MRV) of mitigation actions and financial support:
- Transparency and accountability were key agreements that allowed for an agreement to be realized in Copenhagen (aka the Copenhagen Accord). Bonn II saw the beginning of discussions on how to realize these agreements, particularly with respect to ensuring emission reduction commitments from both developed and developing countries.
- 1.5 Degree Review: Developing countries (led by the small island states) pushed hard for the UNFCCC to prepare a technical paper on costs and benefits of limiting global temperature increases to 1.5°C (the current agreed-upon target is 2°C).
There was near unanimous support for such a paper, but the effort was blocked by Saudi Arabia and a few other oil states. The initiative enjoyed widespread support and thus will likely be revisited in Cancun.
Next steps: Two more UNFCCC negotiating sessions are to occur before COP 16 in Cancun at the end of the year, one to take place August 2-6 in Bonn and another to take place in October under discussion.
Inception Premiere and After Party Benefits Alliance for Climate Protection
 The Los Angeles premiere of Inception, a new film directed by Christopher Nolan and starring an international cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, was held July 13th and benefitted The Alliance for Climate Protection. Former Vice President Gore spoke briefly before the film about the urgency of the climate crisis, noting the urgent need for our leaders to act in light of the Gulf oil disaster and our continued reliance on fossil fuels.
Alliance President and CEO Maggie L. Fox was also in attendance and walked the red carpet alongside the film's stars. Attendees at the screening received information on the Alliance and saw footage of Repower America television ads.
Following the premiere, Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer and guitarist Johnny Marr (The Smiths, Modest Mouse, The Cribs) performed a special concert backed by a 20-piece orchestra. The film was produced by Warner Brothers, whose
President and COO is Alan Horn. Mr. Horn's wife, Cindy and daughter, Cody were trained as TCP Presenters last month in Nashville.
Proceeds from tickets sold to both the Inception film premiere and the after-party event went to the Alliance for Climate Protection.
To watch a video summary of the event go to http://www.ustream.tv/inceptionpremiere.
From Former Vice President Gore's Blog: 2010 Appears to be Setting Records
July 13, 2010
Scientists at NASA-GISS have confirmed that the first six months of 2010 have set a global temperature record.
In the meantime, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, Arctic sea ice continues to decline. They report:
"Average June ice extent was the lowest in the satellite data record, from 1979 to 2010. Arctic air temperatures were higher than normal, and Arctic sea ice continued to decline at a fast pace. June saw the return of the Arctic dipole anomaly, an atmospheric pressure pattern that contributed to the record sea ice loss in 2007." As Bradford Plummer smartly notes in his blog:
"One hot year doesn't, on its own, prove that humans are warming the planet any more than one cold year disproves it. That said, there's a clear upward trend here, and reams of evidence that the planet is heating up. It's not just the thermometer record, either; as a recent EPA report noted, there are dozens of indicators, from the changing length of the growing season to shifting species habitats."
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