Clinton admits US guilt at gathering of polluters

She placed the gathering of officials from 17 countries, the European Union and the UN on a par with the G20 meeting on the economic crisis earlier this month. Clinton addressed the complaints of developing countries such as India and China that America and the EU, by demanding binding emissions cuts, want to saddle them with the burden of climate change. She said the US recognised industrialised countries bore a responsibility: 'Some countries like mine are responsible for past emissions.' Obama had broken with eight years of denial under George Bush, Clinton said. 'The US is fully engaged and ready to lead and determined to make up for lost time both at home and abroad ... the US is no longer absent without leave.' She saw climate change as the gravest problem facing the international community: 'The facts on the ground are outstripping the worst case scenario models.' Diplomats see the gathering of Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European commission, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, SA, Britain, the US, Denmark and the UN as an important station on the road to Copenhagen. Full report in The Guardian

Climate change is 'an environmental issue, a health issue, an economic issue, an energy issue and a security issue,' she said. 'It is a threat that is global in scope but also local and national in impact. ...no issue we face today has broader long-term consequences or greater potential to alter the world for future generations,' she is quoted as saying in a CNN report. 'The science (of global warming) is unambiguous and the logic that flows from it is inescapable,' Clinton told the gathering, adding 'it is clear and present danger to our world that demands immediate attention' Full CNN report

On the domestic front, the US Congress has opened debate on a 'clean energy' Bill, notes a report on the News24 site. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases pose a health risk, a landmark turnaround that could impact climate change regulation. The move came as Congress examines a draft Bill for clean energy development that aims to cut carbon emissions by 20% from their 2005 levels by 2020, and boost reliance on renewable sources of energy. The Obama administration wants the Bill completed by the end of the year, with the US President planning to travel to Copenhagen for the UN climate change conference in December. The battle looming in Congress promises to be a tough one, with Republicans and some Democrats from coal or oil-producing states warning of potentially catastrophic economic impacts from setting limits on emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. The Democratic majority in the House hopes to secure a vote on the Bill before a congressional recess in August, according to a Democratic source. No dates have been set on the Senate's calendar, the report notes. Full report on the News24 site

Obama administration officials say an ambitious energy and climate-change proposal sponsored by House Democrats could help create jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but stopped short of endorsing it, states a report in The New York Times. The Secretary of Energy, Dr Steven Chu, and Lisa Jackson, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), told a House committee considering the measure that they believed it could help accomplish President Obama's goals of moderating climate change, spurring clean-energy technology and reducing dependence on foreign oil. Yet both said they were still studying the details of the 648-page draft, unveiled late last month by two Democratic lawmakers. In fact, Chu and Jackson said that they had not read the entire draft and that the administration had not given its blessings to the Bill. They said they would work closely with Congress to help fashion acceptable legislation. Full report in The New York Times

Meanwhile, the Institute for Policy Integrity has released its newest report: 'The Road Ahead: EPA's Options and Obligations for Regulating Greenhouse Gases,' notes a report on the Policy Integrity site. This detailed legal analysis provides an in-depth and thorough discussion of greenhouse gas regulation under the Clean Air Act. The main finding of the report is that the Obama Administration has the ability to create a cap-and-trade system entirely through EPA regulation - complete with auctions and the ability to sign an international agreement. Full report on the Policy Integrity site IPI Report Act

In a groundbreaking move, California air regulators have adopted a first-in-the-nation mandate requiring low-carbon fuels, part of the state's wider effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A report in The Washington Post notes that the California Air Resources Board voted 9-1 to approve the standards, which are expected to create a new market for alternative fuels and could serve as a template for a national policy that has been advocated by President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is quoted as saying the rule would 'reward innovation, expand consumer choice and encourage the private investment we need to transform our energy infrastructure,' the report notes. Full report in The Washington Post

Environment Ministers of the world's top polluters have entered a final round of climate change talks with agreement expected on stemming the loss of biodiversity, says a report on the News24 site. The G8-Plus talks bring together the environment ministers from Group of Eight members Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the US and their counterparts from Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, SA and South Korea. The meeting is among several forums on the way to UN talks in Copenhagen in December aimed at sealing an international pact for curbing greenhouse gases beyond 2012. The delegates to the Syracuse talks were set to sign up to new commitments to stopping biodiversity loss even with resources hit hard by the global financial crisis. The 'Syracuse Charter' will spell out ways to reinforce and extend goals for 2010 that were set in 2002, the report notes. Full report on the News24 site See also a report in the Mail & Guardian Online

Dutch scientists are tracking how particles move in and around computer-simulated clouds, hoping to shed light on how clouds influence changing temperatures. A Cape Times report notes that, using powerful computer technology and satellite data, the scientists at Delft hope to gain a more accurate picture of how clouds react to climate change. Moreover, funded by European and Japanese space agencies a EUR350m satellite project, also aimed at demystifying clouds, is to be launched in 2014. The project aims to improve understanding of the role clouds play in the regulation of climate. Known as EarthCARE, the project is being assembled mainly by the Astrium unit of the European aerospace group EADS and combines the technology of existing cloud observation satellites with new instruments for a more accurate picture, the report notes. Full Cape Times report (subscription needed)

A team of European researchers says plants grow better and absorb more carbon dioxide under hazy skies, according to a News24 report. The new findings, published in Nature, show that diffused light reaches more of a plant's surface, leading to an increased absorption of carbon dioxide. 'Surprisingly, the effects of atmospheric pollution seem to have enhanced global plant productivity by as much as a quarter from 1960 to 1999,' said lead author Lina Mercado, of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in Britain. The researchers said that their findings have implications for current efforts to avoid climate change. If efforts to clean up the air succeed, even steeper cuts of carbon dioxide emission will be needed, the scientists said. Full report on the News24 site Study