Environment Report 20 Jan 2003 to 26 Jan 2003

TABLE OF CONTENTS

S/N	Title	Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy and Regulation
1	EU Parliament Bans Two Flame Retardants; Ministers Set To Sign Legislation Into Law	The European Parliament has approved a ban on two polybrominated diphenyl ethers, chemicals used as flame retardants in furniture and electrical appliances.
2	EU Hopes For Energy Tax Deal In February	European Union finance ministers aim to reach a deal in February on planned common rules for the taxation of energy products.
3	New Canadian Emissions Regulations Largely Harmonize With US Standards	Environment Canada issued final regulations for on-road vehicles and engine emissions to reduce smog-related vehicle emissions and make Canadian standards more comparable with those imposed in the US.
II. Subject Area: Waste Management and Energy
4	Company Awarded Grant To Raise Recycling Rates Of Demolition Debris	The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection awarded a grant to greenGoat (a provider of resource conservation strategies for construction companies) to quantify the financial benefits of recycling construction and demolition debris and raise the recycling rates of such debris.
5	Britain Offers Incentives For Renewable Energies At The Community Level	The British government has launched a £10 million campaign to encourage the installation of renewable energy systems.
III. Subject Area: Climate Change
6	Greenhouse Gases Give Rise To Exchange-Traded Status In US	The Chicago Climate Exchange announced that its pilot internet-based market for greenhouse gases would commence trading in spring 2003.
7	Rabo Intermediary In Dutch Greenhouse Gas Projects	Rabo, a private financial institution, has signed an agreement with the Dutch government to become a financial intermediary for projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
IV. Subject Area: General Environmental News
8	US Deploys Monitor System For Germ Attacks	US would start a national environmental monitoring system for anthrax, smallpox and other deadly germs that could be released into the air.

SUMMARY REPORT

Period Covered: 20 Jan 2003 to 26 Jan 2003

Item 1	EU Parliament Bans Two Flame Retardants; Ministers Set to Sign Legislation into Law
Summary	The European Parliament has approved a ban on penta-bromodiphenyl ether (penta-BDE) and octa-bromodiphenyl ether (octa-BDE), chemicals used as flame retardants in furniture and electrical appliances. The Council of Ministers would be signing the final draft into law to prohibit the marketing and use of the two polybrominated diphenyl ethers. The directive would enter into force on the day of its official publication and concentrations of not more than 0.1 percent by mass would be allowed in the preparations and flame-retardant treatment of articles. The original directive drafted by the executive European Commission applied only to penta-BDE. Octa-BDE and products containing one or both of these substances were later included in the draft, based on the findings of the EU Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity, and the Environment on the carcinogenicity of octa-BDE.
Reference	International Environment Reporter, Vol. 26, No.1, Pages 12-13

Item 2	EU Hopes for Energy Tax Deal in February
Summary	European Union finance ministers aim to reach a deal in February on planned common rules for the taxation of energy products. The EU has debated for years the merits and drawbacks of setting minimum tax levels for energy products but has never agreed on the matter which requires unanimity among the 15 member states. Currently, the EU has minimum energy tax levels on mineral oils. The new rules would impose tax floors for a range of other energy products. Environmentalists see energy tax as an essential policy to spur companies and individuals to use energy frugally and reduce the pollution caused by fossil fuels and nuclear power.
Reference	http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/19531
Item 3	New Canadian Emissions Regulations Largely Harmonize with US Standards
Summary	Environment Canada has issued final regulations for on-road vehicles and engine emissions to reduce smog-related vehicle emissions by up to 95 percent and these make Canadian standards more comparable with those currently imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Scheduled to take effect in 2004, the regulations include some of the following features to take into account Canada's smaller vehicle market: Fleet average NOx emission standard is lowered to be in line with those of the U.S. but companies can exclude U.S.- certified vehicles that are sold concurrently in both countries from the mandatory fleet average standard; Companies can exclude vehicles not subject to a fleet average standard if the total number of equivalent vehicles sold in Canada exceeds the total sold in the U.S.; Companies may generate emission credits in a model year if the average NOx value for their entire Canadian fleet is lower than the applicable fleet average emission standard. A new national emissions mark symbol to be used on 2004 model year vehicles was also included in the regulations.
Reference	International Environment Reporter, Vol. 26, No.2, Pages 98-99

Item 4	Company Awarded Grant to Raise Recycling Rates of Demolition Debris
Summary	The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has awarded a grant to greenGoat (a provider of resource conservation strategies for construction companies) to quantify the financial benefits of recycling construction and demolition debris (C&D) in six industrial development projects and raise the recycling rates of C&D debris. The project would use analytical tools to demonstrate that companies could save money by recycling C&D waste in 'deconstruction' (construction in reverse) instead of using virgin materials. Generic deconstruction specifications, a cost benefit calculator for resource management decisions and details on the specific benefits of recycling would be produced for the land development industry to encourage deconstruction. DEP has proposed a phased ban of specific building materials such as asphalt, brick, concrete, wood and metal from disposal and to divert these materials back into other structures and products, with a target of 88 percent reduction of non-municipal solid waste by 2010.
Reference	http://www.gnet.org/news/newsdetail.cfm?NewsID=23660&image1=2

Item 5	Britain Offers Incentives for Renewable Energies at the Community Level
Summary	The British government has launched a £10 million campaign to encourage the installation of renewable energy systems in local communities. Eligible projects include solar thermal water heaters for homes, small-scale hydropower projects in schools, wind turbines at hospitals or the use of energy crops to provide heat for farms. The capital grants would be supplemented with measures to increase the uptake of renewable energy technologies and an understanding of their benefits. The campaign was a vital component of the government's strategy to capture the imagination of individuals and community groups that want to help the renewable energy revolution.
Reference	http://www.re-focus.net/latestnews_main.html

Item 6	Greenhouse Gases Give Rise to Exchange-Traded Status in US
Summary	The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) has announced that its pilot internet-based market for greenhouse gases would commence trading in spring 2003. The four-year pilot program is the first emissions exchange in the US and it is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 60 million tons by 2006. Companies on the CCX would have to commit to a 4 percent mandatory reduction of their emissions based on 1998-2001 levels. The plan allows companies that cut emissions more than what they initially pledge to sell credits to firms unable to meet the required reductions. In addition, they could earn credits for emission reduction programmes such as reforestation projects.
Reference	http://www.planetark.org/avantgo/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=19479

Item 7	Rabo Intermediary in Dutch Greenhouse Gas Projects
Summary	Rabo, a private financial institution, has signed an agreement with the Dutch government to become a financial intermediary for projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 10 million tonnes. Over the next two years, Rabo would close contracts in the developing countries on behalf of the Dutch government for sustainable energy projects. Rabo would use its international network to trace the so-called Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects such as wind parks, biomass powered energy plants and solar energy projects in developing countries. Buying emission reductions in these countries would not only be beneficial to the global environment but would also boost local technological know-how and economic developments.
Reference	http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/19530

Item 8	US Deploys Monitor System for Germ Attacks
Summary	US would be implementing a national environmental monitoring system for anthrax, smallpox and other deadly germs that could be released into the air. US officials reported that the system would use the US Environmental Protection Agency's air quality monitoring stations to register unusual quantities of a range of pathogens that cause diseases that can incapacitate and kill. Although the system would not by itself protect the Americans against a germ attack, an early detection of such a strike would give the government more time to mobilize medical resources that could save lives. The first environmental monitoring stations in the new system, called Bio-Watch, are already in operation in New York.
Reference	http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/19545

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