International Actor CPs
International Actor CPs
International Actor CPs
Theory
what students learn in the classroom. In the classroom, students learn from their
teacher. At conferences, students learn from each other. The conference does not
replace the classroom the conference complements the classroom. Students have
to internalize what they learn in class and deliver that information through
speeches, caucusing, and resolutions. The role of the teacher in Model UN is to
guide this student-led learning by ensuring information quality (e.g. proper
research, position papers) and giving students the tools to teach one another (e.g.
public speaking, resolution writing). Model UN teaches students about the world. In
this era of globalization, learning about the world is more important than ever. No
matter what field or profession students enter, they will interact with people from
different countries and diverse backgrounds. Problems taking place halfway around
the globe impact our lives, our country, and our communities. Students learn about
the world as they prepare for Model UN conferences, represent countries other than
their own, and present possible solutions to global problems in committee. Students
also learn by meeting people from other countries and travel to places theyve
never been before. Model UN builds confidence and leadership skills. I know so
many students who were so scared to speak at their first conference that went on to
become active participants in committee and in the classroom. In his speech on
What Model UN Means to Me, KFC shares his story of how he went from a scared
high school delegate to Secretary-General of GCIMUN delivering the opening speech
at the UN to over 3,000 people, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon: Students
develop confidence and leadership skills through experience. Model UN conferences
are opportunities to practice research, public speaking, teamwork, negotiation, and
writing skills in a safe and structured environment. What many people dont realize
is that Model UN also teaches business skills running a conference is like running a
small business that involves finding customers (delegates), developing a
product (the conference), and managing peers. It also serves as a fundraiser, with
many high school conferences raising thousands of dollars at a time when schools
are slashing budgets and cutting programs. Model UN helps students get into
college. Model UN provides students with the learning and leadership experiences
that admissions officers look for. The depth of these experiences serves as possible
material for personal essays and interviews. Model UN is also an extensive network
of alumni at top colleges.
The international experiences are among the most profound and defining influences
on our sense of self and our view of the world. There are many ways for higher
educationofficials to internationalize a campus. On the one hand, most faculties
seek to acquirenew professional skills related to the management, leadership,
development,implementation, on the other, delivering of international educational
programs. Whenfaculty get involved in the planning of an international experience,
there are numberlessof new professional skills in the field of international
development and education thatwould help strengthen the international dimension
in research, teaching and service;facilitate future development and design
internationally oriented programs; help set uplinkages with schools and universities
outside the U.S; assist on obtaining externalfunding needed for internationalizing an
institution; train on recruitment strategies particularly for minorities; increase
advising skills for international students; strengthennegotiation skills on institutional
partnerships and exchange programs; prepare on facilitymanagement and budget
for international affairs; and finally coach on how to disseminateknowledge of
international resources to interested constituencies. Background Information After
9/11, the face of the internationalization of higher education institutions in the
USAand the rest of the world was transformed. The joys of new learning and the
acquisitionof new skills and knowledge on international affairs and exchanges
became a slow anduncomfortable process. The federal regulations based on the
safety and security on allliving aspects of the national territory demanded from all
educational institutions drasticchanges in the way of conducting business with
overseas institutions. Those stipulationsrequired the creation of new areas of
learning, as for example utilization of masses of information, new regulations for
obtaining visas, acquisition of interculturalcompetencies, attainment of innovative
technical skills, proficiency on untraditionallanguages, reframing of conventional
exchange programs, and adoption of new professional language among others. In
order to comply with the Department of 1 Homeland Security, higher education
institutions changed and restructured the facade of international offices. Many of
them renamed the units in charge of internationaleducation and exchanges (i.e.,
Office of International Programs, The InternationalEducation Office, The Office of
International Affairs, Center for International Studies,International Outreach, etc).
Regardless of the name change, they preserved theinternationalization as the
process of integrating an international/intercultural dimensioninto the teaching,
research and service, fundamental university missions.For the purpose of this study,
the term International Program is used. It isoperationalized asthe unit,
department, and or division of a higher learning institutionthat deals with the
management, leadership, development, implementation and deliveringof programs
which meet international educational demand and standards as well asinternational
aspirations of U.S faculty and students. Based on the enforced federalchanges and
the characteristics of institution which is classified as a Hispanic ServingInstitution,
the researcher proposed a sabbatical plan related to the academicallyacceptable
category of acquiring new professional skills with the solely purpose of becoming
knowledgeable and skillful on the daily operations of international
programdepartments that would help ensure that any minority institution is
effectively competingon an international stage for the best students and faculty and
for resources in support of internationalizing their academic programming, global
partnerships, and any other initiatives on campus and around the world.The
acquisition of new professional skills is broadly supported by many on the field of
organizational development. For instance, Gary Benjamin (2006) mentions three
reasonsorganizations are prepared to sacrifice time by endorsing the acquisition of
new skills andknowledge: (1) keeping employees interested in the job, (2) having
employees with skillsthat are up to date and (3) cutting back expenses and time on
learning new skills than it isto train an employee replacement. In the global era, and
in particular times of financialconstraints, educational institutions also seek radical
methods of retaining andencouraging experienced faculty by providing innovative
opportunities that would notonly ensure their enduring and long-term residency, but
gaining different demonstratedskills. The schools of higher learning are attentive to
new societal demands, changes indemographic, rapid technological advances and
use them as indicators for faculty renewalof knowledge and skills. The literature
revealed different approaches and strategies thatwould be used by an experienced
faculty to learn fresh skills (Bachner, 1993; Benjamin,2006; Dwan, 2003; Stier,
2003): joining an academic team and learn from others; using personal time to
study for on-the-job training, and using established relationships.
EU = Good CP
Learning about international organizations like the EU is key to
education
European Commission 14, European Commission, February 2014, the
European Commission is a section of the EU that focuses on education in world
affairs, Working with young people: the value of youth work in the European
Union, http://ec.europa.eu/youth/library/study/youth-work-report_en.pdf, NN
The history of providing youth work for young people varies depending on the
Member State, but youth work is not a new concept in the EU and the landscape of
youth work continues to evolve. Although youth work has greater recognition and
visibility today in comparison to the past, there is still much to be done as there is a
need to recognise youth work for the contribution and value it has in the lives of
young people. In consideration of the fact that sources of data on youth work are
currently scarce, this study strives to bring together existing evidence in order to
facilitate the understanding and appreciation of youth work. It draws on literature in
the area, a mapping of national contexts, consultation amongst stakeholders and an
analysis of successful practice. The latter was conducted during the course of the
study in order to gain a deeper understanding of youth work in the EU and the
contribution that it makes for young people of the EU. The report highlights the
diversity of youth work practice, the variety of actors involved, the observable
trends in the sector, features of successful youth work and the range of outcomes
associated with that success. Furthermore, it presents a comparative overview of
the frameworks which support youth work at the national level across the EU. Whilst
youth work practice will take place regardless of whether countries provide a policy
framework of support for the sector or not, EU and national level policies and
funding provisions have the potential to frame and shape the practice of youth
work. These should be designed so as to further strengthen the capacity of the
sector to provide meaningful activities for young people in their leisure time that
lead to identifiable successful outcomes for youth in the EU.
When it comes to the international effort to address climate change, there is little
doubt that a transatlantic bridge is needed. The question remains, however, to what
end? I think that a quick review of the good, the bad, and the ugly of the current
transatlantic relationship will show that, among other things, the old bridge has had
structural flaws in how politics, political culture, and political systems in the U.S. and
EU structured their negotiations with one another. That has contributed to how the
sides have viewed the challenge, and viewed one another. As a result, a new bridge
that is, a new climate regimeis in order that takes into account those different
political cultures and systems. Starting with the EU, its easy to start with the good.
All students of institutions will tell you that a long-lasting institution requires a
mission and a founder. With apologies to Al Gore, the EUs moral mission and their
founding spirit has been driving force in building a global climate regime. That was
the case before Kyoto, and it certainly has been the case during the Bush
Administration. This extends from establishing the soundness of climate science to
showing the way in policy action. Importantly, Europe took on an ambitious policy
target at Kyoto, and appears close to meeting that target. Why? One key factor in
this success story is that the European political system allowed this to happen by
empowering minority parties. In a parliamentary system, if a minority party such as
the Greens captures 10% of the vote and then joins with a winning coalition, they
will then make up 20% of the coalitions votes. That will usually win them a cabinet
position or two, and an ability to make a priority of their signature issue. This is
exactly what happened in climate change, where Green parties throughout the
continentespecially here in Germany, but also in the Low Countries, Scandinavia,
and elsewherehave prioritized this issue, coordinated amongst themselves and
with other countries, and have scored major successes. In the United States, 10% of
the vote would be a laughable also-ran. In Europe, 10% is a mandate to change the
world. Political systems dont account for all the difference between the United
States and Europe. European private citizens, NGOs, and corporations also have
moved the needle. These Europeans have not viewed climate change as a
If the United States needs to work with the EU, it needs an effective EU with which to work. Jean-Marie Soutou,
former secretary general of the Quai d'Orsay, rightly observed that "Europe tends to get the U.S. partner that it
superpower needs global partners for it to heed the limits of superpowerdom and to appreciate the advantages of
global governance. By raising its ambitions and reaching out on its own terms to other regional actors, the EU is
arguably better placed than any other international player to facilitate the emergence of the United States that it
and the world needs: a strong U.S. partner in a multilateral world order
to translate its material resources into influence. This difficulty can in part be attributed to the EU's unique
characteristics its status as an intergovernmental actor and the challenges this presents for truly acting as
a Union and highlights how its leadership efforts are enabled and constrained by its complex agencystructure dynamics. As others have demonstrated, the EU's leadership impact has not been commensurate
that induced Russia to ratify the Protocol, which paved the way for Kyoto to
enter into force (Vogler, 2005). An EURussian energy deal that would nearly
double the price of Russian natural gas by 2010 was also a vital sweetener. As
President Putin noted at the time: The European Union has made concessions on
some points during the negotiations on the WTO. This will inevitably have an
impact on our positive attitude to the Kyoto process. We will speed up Russia's
movement towards ratifying the Kyoto Protocol.1 In the run-up to the 2009 Copenhagen
conference, the EU once again displayed a willingness to exercise its structural leadership. On the
inducement side, it promised funding to developing countries for actions to mitigate and adapt to climate
change if a satisfactory post-2012 agreement was reached (Council, 2008b, pp. 67). Conversely, the
spectre of imposing border tax adjustments on goods from countries with less stringent climate regulations
has been raised by the French as well as Commission President Barroso (BBC News, 2008a). The Union's
power resources also play a role in the second and historically most important leadership mode: directional
leadership or leading by example. The EU, drawing on its capacity and potential to act, has attempted to
demonstrate its commitment to fighting climate change by adopting a number of binding measures to
reduce its emissions without corresponding reductions in other countries .
EU also committed to
increasing its share of renewable energy to 20 per cent and improving its
energy efficiency by 20 per cent by 2020. In January 2008 the Commission
released a blueprint for implementing and achieving these goals. Eleven
months later the work carried out under the co-decision procedure produced a
first-reading agreement on an energy and climate package. The EU has also
developed and, in 2005, launched the EU-ETS. This established the world's
largest company-level market for trading CO2 emissions. The EU, which sees
itself as the world leader in this emerging market wants the EU-ETS to serve as
the pillar of a global carbon trading network (Commission, 2007, p. 2). It
further envisions a future framework that enables comparable emission
trading arrangements in different regions to be linked together. The EU, which sees
the ETS as a vital tool for developed countries to reach GHG reductions in a cost-effective manner, believes
the efficacy of the ETS will be further enhanced by the revisions enacted by the 2008 climate package. The
revised ETS directive, which will apply from 2013 to 2020, brings new industries into the ETS, covers two
additional GHGs, reduces the Community-wide quantity of allowances issued each year, introduces full
auctioning from 2013 in the power sector and will phase in auctioning for the
manufacturing sector (with exceptions for sectors at risk of carbon leakage).
The EU's promotion of the revised ETS as a model that is fit to go global and
serve as the nucleus for building a global carbon market (Commission, 2008)
provides a good example of how the EU's directional leadership dovetails with
its policy entrepreneurship activities. Although the idea for emissions trading was originally a
US idea initially resisted by the Europeans, the EU has now fully embraced the concept and
repackaged it as its own. In fact, the ETS has become a political pet that the
EU has aggressively implemented and promoted . The EU's directional leadership in this
area has already had an impact as the positive and negative lessons of the EU-ETS have been studied by
provide research and administrative services to the Federal Government. His own
research is on scientometrics and science policy, The US-EU Race for Leadership of
Science and Technology:Qualitative and Quantitative Indicators
http://itri2.org/s/USEU/paper.pdf]
Table I summarizes the most important output qualitative indicators, including the sources and dates of the
data. Each row will be discussed in turn. The indicator that shows the most dramatic shift from the U.S. to
the EU is the number of technical publications in the world's leading journals (Row 1). As late as 1991, the
U.S. led in 17 of 20 fields of science as measured by its success in placing its papers in the some 2500 of the
world's leading journals in the ISI database. The EU then led only in three fields, but by 2001 their positions
had reversed. The EU now leads in 1 fields, while the U.S. leads in only seven. (The Asia Pacific Region leads
in one field.) Extrapolations of trends (and addition of ten more EU countries) predict that the EU will take
the lead away from the U.S. in at least three more fields by 2004. An analysis of the causes of this sharp
decline in the U.S. position was made in (NSB, 2001, pp 5-39), but the conclusion was, "The reasons for this
development remain unknown." On the other hand, the U.S. led the EU as a whole in relative impacts (Row
2). These normalized citation counts are a rough measure of the quality of technical papers. Compared to
others, U.S. researchers have an extraordinary propensity to cite mostly papers from their own country,
which may distort this measure substantially. Even so, some individual EU members led the U.S. in up to
eight of 20 technical fields in the ISI database. Incidentally, non-member Switzerland has led the world in
Triadic patents (Row 3) are inventions that are patented in all three locations: the U.S., EU, and Japan, thus
reducing the home country bias for patenting, among these three anyway. The U.S. has only a small lead
over the EU in this indicator. In recent years it has increased this lead slightly, but it would not take much for
the EU to take the lead. Policies that merely encourage researchers to file more patent applications could
make the difference.
colleagues (2003) have recently examined various ways of tabulating the counts. For example for the whole
20th Century (1901-2001), the countries of the EU would lead the U.S., even counting nationality by
residence at award time. Selling innovative products in the international market place is one bottom line of
gaining in one more sector (aerospace), but the most dramatic phenomenon is the sharp loss of Japanese
which is thought to be an export powerhouse. It also has an $82 billion trade surplus with the U.S. Space
does not permit trend graphs of all these indicators, but a couple of the more interesting ones are included
here. Fig. 1 shows the percent share of papers published in the world's leading journals as compiled by ISI
(2002). The surge of the EU is quite remarkable, while the decline in U.S. "market share" of these slots in
refereed journals is puzzling. Fig. 2 shows the EU well ahead of the U. S. in production of PhDs in science and
engineering, and again we see the U.S. declining. Other trend graphs are posted at http://itri2.org/s/USEU/. In
some cases the U.S. leads, but EU position in output indicators is strong and getting stronger. III. Qualitative
Indicators Qualitative assessments also raise questions about whether the U.S. or EU leads in S&T. While
relatively few fields have been analyzed by this comprehensive, but expensive approach, expert review of
the main competitors frequently finds European centers of excellence that equal or lead the best work in the
U.S. Two U.S. So who is leading the world in S&T: the U.S. or the EU? While no single nation rivals the U.S. for
EU Counterplan
Sample Text
Counterplan: The European Union should implement <insert
plan here> and share all relevant data with the United States
Aquaculture
EU Can solve for aquaculture new developments
European Commission 14, European Commission, 5/13/14, the European
Commission is an organization that reports on news coming out of the EU,
Aquaculture, http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/aquaculture/index_en.htm, NN
Farming finfish, shellfish and aquatic plants is one of the world's fastest growing
food sectors, it already provides the planet with about half of all the fish we eat. A
fifth of EU fish production by volume comes from aquaculture. Lionel Flageul In
Europe, aquaculture accounts for about 20% of fish production and directly employs
some 80 000 people. EU aquaculture is renowned for its high quality, sustainability
and consumer protection standards. EU overall output has been more or less
constant in volume since 2000 whereas global production has been growing at
nearly 7% per year. The Commission intends to boost aquaculture through the
Common Fisheries Policy reform, and has published Strategic Guidelines presenting
common priorities and general objectives at EU level. Four priority areas have been
identified in consultation with all relevant stakeholders: reducing administrative
burdens improving access to space and water increasing competitiveness exploiting
competitive advantages due to high quality, health and environmental standards.
On the basis of the guidelines, the Commission and EU countries will collaborate to
help increasing the sector's production and competitiveness. EU countries are asked
to set up multiannual plans to promote aquaculture. The Commission will help with
the coordination and exchange of best practices.
The project has published the first in a series of booklets aimed at a general public
audience, which will outline AQUAEXCEL's key achievements. The first booklet,
AQUAEXCEL Key Achievements 2011 - 2013, is available in hard copy format and is
downloadable from www.aquaexcel.eu. "As consumers become more concerned
about where their food comes from, the European aquaculture sector faces complex
challenges. AQUAEXCEL is actively working to address these challenges through our
transnational access activities, which enable scientists and researchers to freely
access aquaculture research not available in their own countries; through our
networking activities, which foster a culture of cooperation between AQUAEXCEL
and other scientific communities; and through our joint research activities, which
aim to improve the quality and quantity of services provided by aquaculture
research infrastructures," explained Marc Vandeputte.
of the local fleet, indexed against a base year of 1994. Includes only Belgium,
France, Greece, Netherlands and United Kingdom as all required data were only
available for these. 1999 data point should be approached with caution as not all
data are available for all countries. Sources: Anon, 2000 and 2001b; FAO, 2002;
OECD, 2001; Eurostat New Cronos database, 2002; Pacific Exchange Rate Service,
no date; Anon, 2001b; World Bank, 2001 Number of members Possible membership
Membership Figure 2.5.1. European membership of international fisheries
organisations with a European area of operation 2002 Notes: EIFAC: European Inland
Fisheries Advisory Commission. ICCAT: International Convention for the Conservation
of Atlantic Tuna. GFCM: General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean
(responsible for the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and connecting waters). Georgia,
the Russian Federation and Ukraine are not members of GFCM, but experts
participate at GFCM meetings concerning the Black Sea. NEAFC: North East Atlantic
Fisheries Commission. NASCO: North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization.
IBSFC: International Baltic Sea Fishery Commission. Possible membership: the
number of countries with fisheries relevant to the international fisheries
organisations area of operation. Membership: the number of countries that are
members of the international organisation. Some EU countries are not represented
on international organisations individually but by the European Union. Countries
represented by the EU are included in the number of countries counted as being
members. Some countries are also members of other international fisheries
organisations, which have a remit for fisheries in other areas of the world, e.g. the
North West Atlantic, the Antarctic. Sources: EIFAC, GFCM, IBSFC, NEAFC, NASCO,
ICCAT 2.5.2. Fisheries 2.5.2.1. Economic drivers and pressures Most of the fisheries
in Europe are overexploited and declining catches have not reduced fishing
pressures. In some cases, the profitability of fisheries has decreased and those with
significant committed investment have had little choice but to fish harder to pay off
their investment. This type of influence is represented in the fisheries economic
production index shown in Figure 2.5.2, which suggests that income has declined in
recent years following a peak in the mid- 1990s. This may elicit a variety of
responses from fishermen: to fish harder in order to maintain income; to circumvent
legal constraints on fishing activity; to leave the industry if suitable alternatives
exist; or to shift to other fisheries, such as shellfisheries. Subsidies, and especially
capital subsidies, have exacerbated the problem. On a more positive note, technical
advances and improved labour productivity have, to some extent, compensated for
declining catches. Further, rising prices associated with declining catches have
tended to stabilise earnings, but these same factors can also facilitate and
encourage substantial increases in effort and levels of exploitation. Profitability,
tradition and, in some places, lack of alternatives remain the main incentives to
invest in fishing enterprises and continue fishing.
Countries such as spain put the EU ahead in terms of aquaculture technology
Murias 14,
figures released by the official, who is also president of the Spanish Aquaculture
Observatory Foundation (OESA), in 2012 the country produced more than 265,000
tonnes of aquaculture resources. In socioeconomic terms, aquaculture provides
direct employment in the country to more than 20,000 workers in 5,130
establishments. Dominguez made these statements at the opening of the exhibition
'Aquaculture? Discover it,' organized by OESA with collaboration of the Secretariat
of Culture, Education and University Planning and the Department for Rural and
Marine Affairs of Xunta de Galicia. "Many expectations depend on aquaculture to
meet the growing demand for fish protein," he stressed. The Fisheries Secretary also
recalled that in the last 50 years the consumption of fishery products worldwide
doubled, being 19 kilograms per capita per year in 2012. And he said it was possible
thanks to the experienced aquaculture activity, which changed from producing 1.6
million tonnes in 1960 to 66.6 million tonnes in 2012. According to Dominguez, in
the last two years, the Fisheries General Secretariat, with the autonomous
communities, laid the foundation for developing aquaculture. "We have provided
this activity with instruments and tools that allow us, in the area of our expertise, to
strengthen its competitiveness through the Strategic Innovation and Technological
Development in Fisheries and Aquaculture," he added. Furthermore, he indicated
that the Secretariat is working to strengthen and consolidate the control and
supervision mechanisms, and consumer information; and to enhance the activity of
the industry organizations. It is about "contributing to sustainable and sustained
Spanish aquaculture growth," he explained. The 2014-2020 Multiannual Strategic
Plan of the Spanish Aquaculture gathers the strategic lines and acts to be
implemented in that period, setting targets for future development, linked to joint
funding from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). This Plan shall be
approved by the National Marine and Continental Aquaculture Advisory Boards in
the coming weeks, and will be submitted to the European Commission (EC),
together with the Operational Programme of the European Maritime and Fisheries
Fund in October. EMFF Regulation establishes five major support lines to the
aquaculture sector, "which will foster a competitive, sustainable, innovative, jobcreating and efficient aquaculture in the use of resources," stated the Secretary of
Fisheries. "We must respond to the real needs of businesses, understanding that
they should be the companies themselves, with the collaboration of the
investigators, who identify future priorities," he concluded.
Aquaculture has been the fastest growing food production sector globally during the
last two decades. In opposite to the global trend, aquaculture production in the
eastern Baltic Sea region has stagnated. A new Interreg/EU-project involving
partners from eight countries hopes to change that - with a strong focus on
sustainable practices and technologies. "Fish farming is an industry that holds
considerable development and export potential - provided that it is conducted in an
environmentally friendly manner using the latest green technology and know-how,
and that is what this project is all about," says Danish project leader and senior
Biodiversity
Europe solves ecosystem management academic,
government, industry partnerships
ESF 2014
Dramatic changes, largely attributed to anthropogenic activity, have taken place in the Arctic in recent decades.
These changes include melting of glaciers and sea ice, altered oceanic current patterns, movement and
accumulation of contaminants and range shifts in many species. As a result of these changes the Arctic region is
being transformed, with wide-ranging impacts and opportunities including the potential for ice-free shipping routes
in the future, increased activity in oil and gas exploration, changes to Arctic fisheries and biodiversity, and impacts
on residents livelihoods. At present we are unprepared for the environmental and societal implications of
increased human access to the Arctic that will come with the receding ice explains Professor Peter Haugan from
the University of Bergen and vice-Chair of the European Marine Board. We
panel discussion on the roles of industry and science in achieving sustainable management of the Arctic Ocean.
tariff barriers. More ON THIS TOPIC Green goods trade talks set to start France hits
out at dollars dominance US warns China over tech trade deal S Koreas rice
farmers fear trade move IN GLOBAL ECONOMY UK manufacturing output falls
sharply ECB pressed to tackle crazy euro China takes senior role in trade talks
Argentina bond investors challenge ruling For that reason, say senior officials on
both sides of the Atlantic, negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership (TTIP), as it is officially known, are likely to be incredibly complicated.
But equally complex may be selling the benefits of a deal and managing the
opposition of consumer and environmental groups in Europe who have started to
mobilise since the negotiations were launched this summer. Before what last week
would have been the first set of talks to be held in Brussels were called off, the
green group Friends of the Earth had planned to greet negotiators with a threemetre high Trojan horse representing the putative deal. From the horse, according
to the group, they planned to unload toxic contents such as genetically modified
organisms, tar sands, hazardous chemicals and hormone-injected foods. That sort
of street theatre has greeted trade negotiations around the world for decades and
EU and US officials are also bracing for the inevitable protests from French farmers
and other groups with a history of battling against the lowering of trade barriers.
But the angst over the potential impact of an EU trade agreement is also coming
from mainstream European groups with a traditionally less knee-jerk approach to
trade agreements. We are not against TTIP as a consumer organisation, says
Monique Goyens, the director-general of the European Consumer Organisation,
which represents some 40 different national groups in Europe. But she adds: I
would really not see the interest of US business in entering this agreement if there
is not a lowering of some of the [European] standards. That, she argues, could in
some cases put the very health of European consumers at risk. Ms Goyens, who is
among those due to testify at a hearing into the impact of TTIP in the European
Parliament on Monday, cites food safety in particular as an issue of concern, along
with the risk to European producers of an EU-US trade deal opening the door to
cheaper US products manufactured to what she calls lower American regulatory
standards a charge that US officials dispute. Given its legal and technical
complexity, trade policy tends to suffer from a communications gap with the
general public. Its often insular community of practitioners is often wary of even
trying to translate for the outside world.
Clean Tech
EU Success in Clean Tech uniquely key to solve warming, U.S
doesnt have the legitimacy to encourage global action to
solve
Parker 10 [August 12 2010, Charles F Parker is a faculty member of
theDepartment of Government at Uppsala University,
Climate Change and the European Union's Leadership Moment: An Inconvenient
Truth? http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-5965.2010.02080.x/full]
The EU's goal, as it states in its own words, is nothing short of [l]eading global action
against climate change to 2020 and beyond with the aim of limiting climate
change to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (Council, 2007, pp. 1011).
The Union, in its quest to play a leading role in international climate protection,
has provided high-profile support for the Kyoto Protocol and is now vigorously
throwing its diplomatic weight behind the effort to successfully negotiate a
comprehensive successor arrangement. In the late 1980s, the US began to
disengage from international environmental governance and under George W.
Bush's administration the US completely abdicated its leadership role ,
particularly in the area of climate change. The EU has stepped into this void and has
attempted to shoulder the mantle of leadership. How exactly has the EU attempted to lead the global efforts
to translate its material resources into influence. This difficulty can in part be attributed to the EU's unique
characteristics its status as an intergovernmental actor and the challenges this presents for truly acting as
a Union and highlights how its leadership efforts are enabled and constrained by its complex agencystructure dynamics. As others have demonstrated, the EU's leadership impact has not been commensurate
impact on our positive attitude to the Kyoto process. We will speed up Russia's
movement towards ratifying the Kyoto Protocol.1 In the run-up to the 2009 Copenhagen
conference, the EU once again displayed a willingness to exercise its structural leadership. On the
inducement side, it promised funding to developing countries for actions to mitigate and adapt to climate
change if a satisfactory post-2012 agreement was reached (Council, 2008b, pp. 67). Conversely, the
spectre of imposing border tax adjustments on goods from countries with less stringent climate regulations
has been raised by the French as well as Commission President Barroso (BBC News, 2008a). The Union's
power resources also play a role in the second and historically most important leadership mode: directional
leadership or leading by example. The EU, drawing on its capacity and potential to act, has attempted to
demonstrate its commitment to fighting climate change by adopting a number of binding measures to
reduce its emissions without corresponding reductions in other countries .
EU also committed to
increasing its share of renewable energy to 20 per cent and improving its
energy efficiency by 20 per cent by 2020. In January 2008 the Commission
released a blueprint for implementing and achieving these goals. Eleven
months later the work carried out under the co-decision procedure produced a
first-reading agreement on an energy and climate package. The EU has also
developed and, in 2005, launched the EU-ETS. This established the world's
largest company-level market for trading CO2 emissions . The EU, which sees
itself as the world leader in this emerging market wants the EU-ETS to serve as
the pillar of a global carbon trading network (Commission, 2007, p. 2). It
further envisions a future framework that enables comparable emission
trading arrangements in different regions to be linked together. The EU, which sees
the ETS as a vital tool for developed countries to reach GHG reductions in a cost-effective manner, believes
the efficacy of the ETS will be further enhanced by the revisions enacted by the 2008 climate package. The
revised ETS directive, which will apply from 2013 to 2020, brings new industries into the ETS, covers two
additional GHGs, reduces the Community-wide quantity of allowances issued each year, introduces full
auctioning from 2013 in the power sector and will phase in auctioning for the
manufacturing sector (with exceptions for sectors at risk of carbon leakage).
The EU's promotion of the revised ETS as a model that is fit to go global and
serve as the nucleus for building a global carbon market (Commission, 2008)
provides a good example of how the EU's directional leadership dovetails with
its policy entrepreneurship activities. Although the idea for emissions trading was originally a
US idea initially resisted by the Europeans, the EU has now fully embraced the concept and
repackaged it as its own. In fact, the ETS has become a political pet that the
EU has aggressively implemented and promoted . The EU's directional leadership in this
area has already had an impact as the positive and negative lessons of the EU-ETS have been studied by
idea-based leadership. The Union has been an active policy entrepreneur for
climate protection. It worked hard to make its voice heard on problem
definition, agenda setting, goal setting and promoting policy solutions
regarding the climate threat. The Union has embraced the scientific
conclusions from the IPCC; already in 1996 the European Council endorsed the
goal that global warming must be limited to no more than 2 degrees Celsius
above the pre-industrial level. In addition to defining the nature of the problem, the EU has
conducted its own analysis and put forward its own proposals for what must be done (Council, 2008a).
According to the EU Commission's analysis, GHG emissions must be stabilized by 2020 and then reduced to
50 per cent of 1990 levels by 2050 if the world is to avert a 2 degrees temperature rise. The Union has also
laid out its vision for meeting these goals and how the burden should be shared among the developed and
developing countries. The Union argues that the developed countries must shoulder the lion's share of the
burden over the coming decades. The Union has called for the EU and other developed countries to enter
into a new international agreement requiring collective emission cuts of at least 30 per cent below the 1990
level by 2020. According to the EU, the developed countries should aim for cuts of 60 to 80 per cent by 2050
(Council of the European Union, 2007, p. 12). The Union wants these goals and commitments to be
enshrined in a post-2012 international agreement containing binding rules with well-developed monitoring
and enforcement mechanisms. The Union also has a timeline in mind and it attempted to get the
EU has Clean Tech and Low Carbon leadership now, but U.S
compete for funding
EC 11 [January 2011, European commission leads research and analysis for the European Union,
Cleantech investment: a key component for Europes sustainable future,
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap/about-eco-innovation/business-fundings/eu/624_en.htm]
In a report published in December 2010, the EVCA identified the critical role of
venture capital in delivering Europes low-carbon goals and supporting the
creation of new jobs. It also outlined the additional support required for
entrepreneurial cleantech small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Europe
has been at the cutting edge on the international stage. From electric vehicles
to software applications for environmental-quality monitoring, Europe is a
leading investor in cleantech. However, maintaining this high level of
leadership requires even greater commitment, given the increasing
performance of other players, such as in the USA and China. This is where
venture capital can provide support to commercialise technologies and create
jobs in high-tech growth industries . The EU has set ambitious targets to reduce
carbon emissions, increase use of renewable energy and improve energy
efficiency. Meeting these targets requires new businesses and technologies,
and intelligent use of capital. Indeed, venture capital is already investing in
innovative technologies, services and support infrastructure. In 2009 alone,
venture and growth capital investments in Europe totalled more than 1 billion
in over 300 European cleantech companies. Moreover, as the EVCA points out,
approximately 85% of the capital required to provide Europe with low-carbon
growth came from the private sector. Europe would benefit even more from an
effective policy framework allowing for increased and accelerated investment
across the full cleantech spectrum. The EVCA report highlights the following
priorities: Use of public-sector finance to launch a multi-annual programme for
economic recession and diminishing governmental financial support in the US and Europe is taking a toll on
financial results. Yet business leaders in a number of the cleantech verticals are coming to the seemingly
contrarian conclusion that now is the time to develop a roadmap to the end of subsidies rather than ask for
more. They recognize that success depends on driving the efficiencies, innovations and business models
needed to compete head-on with traditional technologies. Then, there is greater competition in the sector
25), the resulting fall in prices for renewable generating equipment is hastening installations and
to promote wind and biofuels to meet its burgeoning eneokrgy needs, enhance energy security and provide
economic development (see p. 41). Corporations, too, are increasingly treating their energy strategy as a
competitive differentiator. As we highlight in the findings of our global survey of corporate energy executives
(see p. 1), the energy mix has become a strategic issue at the C-suite level of billion-dollar corporations,
especially given that a considerable and growing share of operating costs is spent on energy. Energy
efficiency measures and the use of renewable energy by corporations are set to rise significantly over the
next five years. In this context, only those corporations with a bcomprehensive and diverse energy strategy
While
the failures sometimes garner more attention than the successes in times like
will be able to create a competitive advantage in a more resource-efficient and low-carbon economy.
Europe is debating its new post-2020 climate and energy policy package. Many clean tech businesses and
NGOs agree the EU must secure ambitious energy and climate policies for 2030 to reap the economic
rewards of a low carbon economy.
Climate Monitoring
The EU is taking initiative in monitoring climate issues
surpassing the US
UWN 14, University World News, 4/16/2014, UWN is a news source that obtains
information about issues that may concern graduate level students, European
Union leads with action on climate, http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?
story=20140512163649412, NN
Preventing dangerous climate change is a strategic priority for the European Union.
Europe is working hard to cut its greenhouse gas emissions substantially while
encouraging other nations and regions to do likewise. In parallel, the European
Commission and some member states have developed adaptation strategies to help
strengthen Europe's resilience to the inevitable impacts of climate change. Reining
in climate change carries a cost, but doing nothing would be far more expensive in
the long run. Moreover, investing in the green technologies that cut emissions will
also boost the economy, create jobs and strengthen Europes competitiveness. To
prevent the most severe impacts of climate change, the international community
has agreed that global warming should be kept below 2C compared to the
temperature in pre-industrial times. That means a temperature increase of no more
than 1.2C above today's level. To stay within this ceiling, the scientific evidence
shows that the world must stop the growth in global greenhouse gas emissions by
2020 at the latest, reduce them by at least half of 1990 levels by the middle of this
century and continue cutting them thereafter. Targets up to 2050 European Union
leaders have committed to transforming Europe into a highly energy-efficient, low
carbon economy. The EU has set itself targets for reducing its greenhouse gas
emissions progressively up to 2050 and is working successfully towards meeting
them. Under the Kyoto Protocol, the 15 countries that were EU members before
2004 committed to reducing their collective emissions to 8% below 1990 levels by
the years 2008-12. Emissions monitoring and projections show that the EU-15 overachieved on this target. Most member states that have joined the EU since 2004
also had Kyoto reduction targets of 6% or 8% or 5% in Croatia's case which they
were on course to achieve. For 2020, the EU has committed to cutting its emissions
to 20% below 1990 levels. This commitment is one of the headline targets of the
Europe 2020 growth strategy and is being implemented through a package of
binding legislation. The EU has offered to increase its emissions reduction to 30% by
2020 if other major emitting countries in the developed and developing worlds
commit to undertake their fair share of a global emissions reduction effort. In the
climate and energy policy framework for 2030, the European Commission proposes
that the EU set itself a target of reducing emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by
2030. But for 2050, EU leaders have endorsed the objective of reducing Europe's
greenhouse gas emissions by 80% to 95% compared to 1990 levels as part of
efforts by developed countries as a group to reduce their emissions by a similar
degree. The European Commission has published a roadmap for building the lowcarbon economy that this will require. Taking the initiative EU initiatives to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions include: The European climate change programme,
which has led to the implementation of dozens of new policies and measures. The
EU emissions trading system, which has become the EU's key tool for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions from industry most cost-effectively. Adopting legislation
to raise the share of energy consumption produced by renewable energy sources,
such as wind, solar and biomass, to 20% by 2020. Setting a target to increase
Europe's energy efficiency by 20% by 2020 by improving the energy efficiency of
buildings and of a wide array of equipment and household appliances. Binding
targets to reduce CO2. Supporting the development of carbon capture and storage
technologies to trap and store CO2 emitted by power stations and other major
industrial installations. Mainstreaming climate into other policies The fight against
climate change concerns is increasingly being reflected in other policy areas. To
further advance this mainstreaming process, the EU has agreed that at least 20%
of its 960 billion (US$1.32 trillion) budget for the 2014-20 period should be spent
on climate change-related action. The EU has long been a driving force in
international negotiations on climate change and was instrumental in the
development of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto
Protocol. Thanks to pressure from the EU and other progressive countries, UN
negotiations are under way to draw up a new global climate agreement covering all
countries and to achieve greater cuts in global emissions over the rest of this
decade. The aim is to keep global warming below 2C compared to the temperature
that prevailed in pre-industrial times. The new framework is to be finalised by 2015
and implemented from 2020. Europe is pressing for an agreement that is ambitious,
comprehensive and legally binding. As part of the transition to the future global
climate regime the EU is taking part in a second phase of the Kyoto Protocol running
from 2013 to 2020. As the world's leading development aid donor, the EU also
provides substantial funding to help developing countries tackle climate change,
including the provision of just over 7.3 billion in fast start financing over the
2010-12 period. * This statement is drawn from Climate Action, a European
Commission website describing the EUs action plans to tackle climate change.
The February 2007 science report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC)1 shows that the world has warmed by an average of 0.76 Celsius
since pre-industrial times and the temperature rise is accelerating. Sea levels rose
almost twice as fast between 1993 and 2003 as during the previous three decades.
Man-made emissions of greenhouse gases are causing these changes. The IPPC
projects that, without action to limit emissions, the global average temperature is
likely to increase further by 1.8 to 4C this century. We cannot allow this to happen.
The European Union considers it vital to prevent global warming of more than 2C
above the pre-industrial level. There is considerable scientific evidence that, beyond
this threshold, irreversible and potentially catastrophic changes could occur. In
March 2007 EU Heads of State and Government endorsed an integrated climate
change and energy strategy put forward by the European Commission which
outlines the EUs proposals for a global and comprehensive agreement to combat
climate change after 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol targets will expire. The
Commissions analysis shows that for the world to have a fair chance of keeping the
average temperature rise to no more than 2C, global emissions of greenhouse
gases will have to be stabilised by around 2020 and then reduced by up to 50% of
1990 levels by 2050. This ambitious goal is both technically feasible and
economically affordable if major emitters act urgently. The benefits of doing so will
far outweigh the limited economic costs. Climate change is a global challenge that
can be addressed effectively only through a global effort. This brochure presents
and explains the EUs proposals for global action as well as the measures the EU is
taking itself.
Drilling
The EU is looking to regain leadership of the oil drilling
industry under new leading reforms
Pinsent Masons 13, Outlaw: Pinsent Masons, 6/12/13, Pinsent Masons is a
The agreement was welcomed by the UK Government and oil and gas industry, both
of which had lobbied against the European Commission's original proposals to
legislate using a directly-applicable regulation. Member states will be able to decide
for themselves how best to implement the minimum requirements of the new
Offshore Safety Directive (120-page / 371KB PDF) into their national laws. "Safety
and environmental protection are essential to the success of the oil and gas
industry and as Europe's leading oil producer, the UK has been at the cutting edge
of lobbying and drafting this new piece of legislation," said Energy Secretary Ed
Davey. "We particularly welcome the fact that the EU has chosen a directive to
implement this legislation. From the outset we have strongly argued that forcing the
UK to rip up decades' worth of legislation and guidance would have been
counterproductive to the EU's objectives," he said. The new rules were also
welcomed by industry body Oil and Gas UK, which said that the new directive
complemented "the world-leading health, safety and environmental standards
already in place in the North Sea that were developed from the lessons the industry
learned" as a result of the 1988 Piper Alpha explosion. The European Commission
proposed the creation of a unified offshore safety regime following the Deepwater
Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. However, control of installations
varies widely across the EU, with almost half of the nearly 1,000 offshore oil and gas
installations in operation located in UK-controlled waters. Italy, the Netherlands and
Denmark operate a number of facilities, while nine other states have either a
minimal offshore drilling presence or have been awarded licences to do so. The
Offshore Safety Directive establishes minimum conditions for safe offshore
exploration and exploitation of oil and gas, and provides for improved response
mechanisms in the event of a major accident. It also intends to reduce the impact of
an accident on the environment by requiring companies to provide evidence that
"adequate provision" has been made to cover their potential liabilities as a
precondition to having a licence for an offshore installation granted. Under the
directive, only operators appointed by licensing authorities or license holders will be
able to conduct offshore oil and gas operations. Licensing authorities must be
independent, with a clear separation between regulatory oversight of economic
development and that of offshore safety and environment. Drilling companies will
have to provide national authorities with a copy of their major accident prevention
policy before beginning works, and outline potential major hazards for that
particular installation and what special measures they are adopting to protect
workers. National authorities will also have to prepare external emergency response
plans covering all offshore drilling installations within their jurisdiction. Transparency
and cooperation provisions contained in the new rules will allow for the sharing of
emergency response plans between member states. The directive will take effect 20
days after it is published in the Official Journal of the EU. Member states with
offshore waters will have two years to implement the provisions, while landlocked
countries will only have to do so once a relevant company registers there and
conducts operations outside the EU. Only a limited number of the directive's
provisions will apply to landlocked states, and those with offshore waters that have
no offshore activities.
Oil reforms prove the EU is ready to take the lead in oil drilling
Reuters 13, Reuters News Agency, 2/21/13, Reuters is an international news
agency known for its incredibly factual information, Europe to get its first EUwide offshore oil and gas law, http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/21/us-oil-drillingsafety-eu-idUSBRE91K0X720130221, NN
Conservative members of the European Parliament said they had headed off EU
proposals that could have lowered standards in the North Sea. "Instead of leveling
safety standards down, we will be encouraging the rest of Europe to match Britain's
high standards," said British Conservative Vicky Ford. ($1 = 0.6535 British pounds)
Exploration/Arctic
The EU is looking to lead new arctic exploration all thats
needed is implementation measures
sthagen 12, Andreas sthagen, 9/13/12, sthagen is currently working as a
The European Commissions new outline for an EU Arctic policy, released at the end
of June, goes a long way in showing how the EU wishes to be perceived as a serious
and balanced Arctic actor. Other parts of the EU-system, however, have taken a
different approach throughout the summer months. Using the kind of simplified
Arctic-rhetoric that has caused many problems for the EU in the past, some
Members of the European Parliament have yet again called for an Arctic drilling
moratorium and questioned the regions governance structures. The ongoing oil and
gas debate in the European Parliament highlights how the EU is not, at least yet, a
coherent actor on this issue, and is still in the early stages of developing its own
comprehensive Arctic Policy. In a summer when Shell started drilling in the Chukchi
Sea, Greenpeace activists hijacked a rig in Russia, and a shifting oil rig in the
Barents Sea caused alarm in Norway, Arctic oil and gas has most definitely been on
the agenda, both in and outside of the Arctic [1]. Certain members of the European
Parliament have consequently used the Commissions proposal on new safety rules
for offshore oil and gas as an opportunity to address issues concerning such
activities. As before, however, some of the proposals in the Parliament highlight a
greater desire to be seen doing something about the Arctic rather than actually
understanding the matter at hand. An Improved Outline for an EU Arctic Policy After
a long wait (the European Commissions first and only Arctic communication came
in 2008) and numerous delays (the follow-up was initially due in June 2011), the
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and the European Commission jointly
published its Arctic Policy 2.0 in late June this year. As already outlined in a
previous article by Andreas Raspotnik and Kathrin Keil, the communication sets out
multiple goals for EU-participation in the region, while also reinforcing its objective
to take part in regional cooperation (read Arctic Council) [2]. The communication
itself is a balanced and concrete statement, making headway towards a policy that
comprises more than just overarching concepts and ideals. In many of the
paragraphs, the Commission actually points to specific contributions that the EU is
already making, or could possibly make in the future, as the Arctic continues to
become a region of global interest. Especially interregional cooperation and
research in the European parts of the Arctic stands out. It therefore makes a
significant contribution to addressing the outspoken negativity towards the EU from
some of the Arctic littoral states, although a lot of progress still remains to be done.
As Raspotnik and Keil highlight, the Communication clearly shows the EUs
unwillingness to step on the toes of any of the Arctic states by remaining largely
unspecific, pushing back against the perception of the EU as a super-regulator
and concentrating on environmental, climate change and research issues,
supporting any effort to ensure the effective stewardship of the Arctic
environment. [3] In parallel to the publication of this Arctic policy statement, the
European Parliament and the Council of Ministers have been addressing the
Commissioner for Energy Gnther Oettingers proposal to create a mandatory, EUwide set of rules for offshore oil and gas safety [4]. The Commissions proposal,
developed as a consequence of the 2010 Macondo accident, sets out a grandiose
plan in the form of a regulation that would basically replace national legislation on
the matter. Given that only a handful of EU-member states actually produce
offshore oil and gas, EU-countries like the United Kingdom, Denmark and EEAmember Norway have been critical of the idea that EU-wide regulation is needed.
Before Norway decided that this proposal would not be relevant for its economic
agreement with the EU, it had proposed that the regulation became a directive such
that countries would have more leeway in interpretation, in accordance with
national legislation [5]. The Commission has also included some brief paragraphs
about the Arctic, although this is by no means the main focus of the proposal. Given
the EUs dependence on gas imports from the Arctic part of Russia and the
probability that petroleum activities in other parts of the Arctic will increase, the
Commission has stated that: The serious environmental concerns relating to the
Arctic waters, a neighbouring marine environment of particular importance for the
Community, require special attention to ensure the environmental protection of the
Arctic in relation to any offshore activities, including exploration [6]. and The
Commission shall promote high safety standards for offshore oil and gas operations
at international level at appropriate global and regional fora, including those related
to Arctic waters [7]. These points, in the context of a comprehensive and detailed
proposal, are neither shocking nor particularly new to the EU-Arctic debate; rather,
they reflect that the Commission acknowledges the debate concerning Arctic
drilling, while also trying to strike a balance between preservation and exploitation.
The proposal from the Commission seems to have triggered Arctic action amongst
some Members of the European Parliament. Taking the proposals stated above,
some MEPs in the environment committee suggested calling for a moratorium on
Arctic drilling and developing stronger international governance regimes for the
region. This was proposed during the summer months, as the committee started its
work on the matter and produced amendments to the Commissions original
proposal. Another amendment put forward was that Member states should not
issue drilling licenses for these waters [8]. Seeing that no EU member state has
any jurisdiction over Arctic waters, this might be a tricky one to fulfil. Altogether,
many of the amendments proposed by the environment committee seem to be
aimed at doing something about the Arctic, instead of considering the factual
realities of the situation and devising appropriate solutions. As drilling commences
in more southern Arctic waters, differentiation between the various parts of the
Arctic might be of value to the European debate, especially since many EU member
states receive much of their gas from the Arctic territories. Talking about what
governance regimes are lacking, and how to amend it, might be another useful
contribution. The final vote on these amendments is scheduled for the 19th of
September in the environment committee, before the industry and energy
committee adopts the final version and passes it over to the full plenary in
Strasbourg. In the end, the Council of Ministers will throw in their recommendations,
and it is then up to the Commission to draw up a revised version acceptable to all
parties. The amendments concerning an Arctic moratorium will most likely shed
away long before that stage. They do, however, highlight a lack of cohesion in the
EU with regards to the Arctic, and that the EU still has a long way to go before a
comprehensive Arctic policy is in place.
which member states can choose how to enforce according to their regional
standards. "Questions have been raised about the significant revocation and
amendments of existing equivalent national legislation and guidance [a regulation]
might entail," said the parliamentary rapporteur, Ivo Belet (European People's
Party). "Such redrafting would divert scarce resources from the safety assessments
and inspections on the field," he added. British oil industry representatives used
similar arguments, according to minutes of a stakeholder peer review meeting at
the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. "Implementing the Regulation
would tie-up considerable resources in both industry and regulators taking them
away from the 'front line' where the hazards are," representatives of Oil and Gas UK
said. After that meeting, the head of the European Commission's coal and oil unit,
Jan Panek, invited the Oil and Gas UK representatives to a separate bilateral
meeting on the legal instrument and requirements in the regulation, which took
place in April 2012. Tip of the iceberg Environmentalists suspect that this was the
tip of a lobby iceberg. "This vote had the fingerprints of oil lobby all over it,"
Greenpeace spokesman Joris den Blanken told EurActiv. Amid intense industry
lobbying, EurActiv has learned that the oil giant Chevron offered MEPs on the
committee a free trip to its offshore Alba platform on 12-14 July, involving two
nights stay in an Aberdeen hotel, helicopter trips to the platform, and several
briefings. But a Chevron representative informed EurActiv that the trip had not in
fact gone ahead, due to "organisational reasons" on which she declined to
elaborate. Ivo Belet's office said that he had "had the intention" of going on the
package, but instead visited a platform in the Netherlands on a paid-for trip to GDF
Suez's K12B gas-producing platform which utilises carbon capture and storage
techniques. In March 2011, another shadow rapporteur on the committee, Vicky
Ford (European Conservatives and Reformists), who tabled more than half of the
642 amendments on the report, visited a rig off the coast of Aberdeen paid for by
the oil company ConocoPhillips. Such trips are considered necessary and
educational for legislators, and may not be luxurious, but environmentalists are
wary of undue influence when MEPs adopt positions close to the industry's interests.
A spokesperson at Ford's office said that she had registered her trip on her
European Parliament online declaration of interests but it was not mentioned there
at the time of writing. Camel operations in the Sahara Oil producing countries such
as Norway also pushed hard for the proposed regulation to be transmuted into a
directive, because of the "massive administrative burden" and "complicated legal
questions" it could raise, according to a Norwegian position paper, seen by EurActiv.
Norway's deputy oil and energy minister, Per Rune Henriksen, went further, arguing
that for the EU to claim jurisdiction over the Arctic by banning drills there "would
almost be like us commenting on a camel operations in the Sahara." The EU sees
itself as an actor in the Arctic because three EU countries have territory in the Arctic
Denmark, Finland and Sweden while Iceland is an EU candidate. The EU has in
return applied for an enhanced observer seat on the Arctic Council, partly because
climate change is a transboundary issue, affecting European weather patterns and
fish stocks alike. Gustaf Lind, the Arctic Council's current chair, told EurActiv that "of
course, as we have EU members, we can all say that we're positive, very positive
[towards the EU's application] but we try to avoid reviewing specific applications in
the media." Arctic resource race The EU's application comes as the continent's ice
has melted to its lowest level ever, carving the pristine region open for a resource
race. The US Geological Survey says that the region could be home to 13% of the
world's undiscovered oil reserves and 30% of its undiscovered gases, and gold and
diamond mining companies also view its prospects with relish. Arctic nations often
bemoan a perceived southern hypocrisy that would prevent them from enjoying the
same economic benefits from fossil fuel production that others have done. Oil
extracted from the Arctic emits no more greenhouse gas than that produced
anywhere else but the region's remote and hostile terrain could make rescue
operations treacherous in the event of an accident. Arctic futures Gunnar Wiegand,
a director at the EU's External Affairs Action Service, told an Arctic Futures
Symposium in Brussels on 4 October that he hoped EU legislation could inspire
Arctic nations to firmer environmental legislation. "The acquis [accumulated
legislation] in the Arctic Council doesn't go as far as any of the environmental
legislation of the EU," he said. Maria Damanaki, the EU's maritime commissioner,
told the same conference that as the continent's ice thawed, new opportunities
could arise. "Offshore drilling in the Arctic now becomes a viable option for big oil
companies," she said. "Arctic reserves could hold enough oil and gas to meet global
demand for several years. This is a need the world economy has." "Though we may
be greening the world economy, oil and gas remain vital for us and will do for some
years," she added. Scientists are more concerned that the Arctic ice melt could raise
sea levels, accelerate global warming by reducing the region's ice reflectivity of
solar heat, and change Gulf Stream currents. If the Arctic's summer ice melts
completely, some scientists fear that methane hydrates currently frozen on the
seabed could be released, causing a runaway and unstoppable greenhouse effect.
ripple through Europe: "climate changes in the Arctic will have a major impact on
coastal regions globally, including coastal regions in the European Union, and on
climate-dependent sectors in Europe such as agriculture and fisheries, energy,
reindeer herding, hunting, tourism and transport." The Arctic is warming faster than
anywhere in the world due to climate change. In fact, according to a recent paper in
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society the region is warming eight
times faster than the rest of the planet, leading to vast ecological upheaval. Still,
according to Greenpeace, the establishment of an Arctic Sanctuary is likely to be
opposed by a number of Arctic nations, such as Canada, Russia, Denmark, and
Norway. At least one Arctic country, Finland, officially approves the idea, however.
"[The resolution] is a direct challenge to the small group of countries who are
rushing to open up the fragile Arctic for oil drilling and industrial fishing. The status
quo is starting to crack, and this now demands a real response from those who see
the melting Arctic simply as a new source of profit," said Greenpeace activist Sini
Saarela of Finland. Saarela was one of the "Arctic 30," a group of activists and
journalists who were arrested by Russian military while protesting oil exploitation in
the region. After being detained for two months, the activists were granted amnesty
by Russian President, Vladimir Putin.
CALGARY GDF Suez UK, Europes biggest importer of liquefied natural gas, is
assessing plans for a possible export terminal on Canadas West Coast, the Financial
Post has learned. Sinopec talks show Petronas LNG project in B.C. attracting
increasing interest Asian buyers of liquefied natural gas are gravitating to a
proposed Canadian export plant led by Malaysias Petronas as competition
intensifies among proponents of the massive projects. Continue reading GDF told
Canadian regulators this week it is examining the feasibility of a natural gas-export
project on British Columbias northern coast, joining more than a dozen companies
studying the region as a potential staging ground for shipments of the liquid fuel to
higher-priced markets overseas. GDF is talking to multiple companies as it
evaluates a possible entry point in Western Canada, said Irina George, whose
LinkedIn profile describes her as vice-president, business development LNG at the
company. Ms. George, who is identified in a regulatory filing, declined to describe
her role with the company when reached by phone Wednesday. Representatives
with GDFs U.K. unit did not respond to several requests for comment. Separately, a
GDF spokeswoman in Houston said the companys Canadian affiliate is looking at
opportunities to power the massive coastal plants, either directly or through BC
Hydro, to bolster its portfolio of generation projects in Canada. Those plans are at a
very preliminary stage, Julie Vitek said in an interview. The companys Canadian
unit operates wind and solar projects in several provinces, as well as a 112megawatt gas-fired power plant in Windsor, Ont.
The Challenge: Securing Markets for Qatar's Production and Supplying Europe The
liquefied natural gas, or LNG, industry transports natural gas by ship. Free of the
geographical and geopolitical constraints of gas pipelines, it can match resources
and local demand that are often located at great distances from one another.
Liquefied for easy shipment, LNG has to be regasified at a facility close to consumer
markets so that it can fed into the transmission network for delivery to end users.
The South Hook regasification terminal is a key component of the world's first fully
integrated LNG project, Qatargas 2, which includes: Natural gas liquefaction plants
in Qatar. Purpose-designed LNG carriers to ship the LNG to the United Kingdom. The
South Hook regasification terminal in Milford Haven, Wales to store, regasify and
then distribute the gas to end consumers. South Hook guarantees both secure
markets for Qatar's production and a secure natural gas supply for Europe, at a time
when the North Sea gas reserves are beginning to dwindle. Technology: An
Impressive Storage Capacity Built between 2004 and 2010, the South Hook terminal
has a jetty and two berths large enough to accommodate the world's biggest LNG
carriers (260,000 cubic meters). Able to regasify nearly 15.6 million tons of LNG and
distribute 21 billion cubic meters of gas a year, South Hook is the biggest terminal
in Europe. It has five storage tanks 40 meters high and 100 meters in diameter,
each with a capacity of 155,000 cubic meters. Insulated by a double concrete
containment, they are kept at a temperature of -160 C to maintain the gas in a
liquid state. In addition, 15 regasifiers reheat the LNG to return it to a gas, so that it
can be piped to customers via the national transmission system. Uncompromising
Safety and Environmental Standards The South Hook terminal's operator does
everything possible to meet the highest safety standards and limit impacts on the
environment and neighboring communities: Regulatory compliance. Application of
and strict compliance with safety and environmental standards. Uncompromising
implementation of safety procedures. Regular training in safety and environmental
protection for employees. Selection and use of the most efficient equipment during
the terminal's design and construction phases, per design and building codes. A
large section of the land over 100 acres to the west of the terminal is allocated
as a conservation area that forms part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
Numerous marine life surveys have been conducted on and around the site and
stringent measures have been taken to prevent spills. Working with the Local
Community The South Hook terminal has created a hundred permanent jobs and
acts as a catalyst for other businesses in the Pembrokeshire region to develop. It
aims to develop and support the local community by investing in projects and
initiatives that promote areas of safety, environment, education and wellbeing. In
2011, South Hook lent its support to over 170 local organizations from the local
community. Partners: Total 8.35%; Qatar Petroleum 67.5%; ExxonMobil 24.15%.
Volumes: 100 deliveries unloaded (10.4 million metric tons of LNG) and 157
terawatt-hours of gas distributed (about 13% of demand in the United Kingdom) in
2011. The South Hook terminal meets 20% of the demand for gas in the United
Kingdom. Project cost: 1.097 billion.
The European gas industry has traditionally been characterised by international gas
trade based on long-term (pipeline) import contracts. Nevertheless, with the first
unload of an LNG cargo about 25 years ago the upcoming LNG technology has
opened a new opportunity in terms of supply diversification and flexibility as well as
potential gap filler for the continuously dwindling indigenous gas production.
However, indigenous production remained still the largest gas source for EU27 with
about one third of the total net gas supplies in 2012. Besides pipeline supply from
outside the EU (particularly from Russia, Norway and Algeria) about ten countries
delivered the balance of more than 10% as LNG. In 2012 Qatar has been by far the
largest source of LNG for Europe (mainly via long-term contracts into UK).
Substantial LNG supply has also arrived from African as well as South-American
countries and Norways Snovhit field, too (see Graph 2). More than one fifth of the
total global LNG regasification capacity is located on 21 sites in Europe. Spain and
UK are the most important LNG players in Europe with a combined share of almost
60% of Europes total LNG regasification capacity (see Graph 1).1 After the second
consecutive year of European gas demand destruction (down 10% from 2010 to
2012), the regions future gas demand prospects seems to remain more unreliable
than ever. In any case the need for gas imports will increase more strongly due to
broadly falling production across the continent (e.g. the IEA expects the EUs gas
import requirement to increase by about 140 bcm until 2035).2 LNG imports are
expected to reduce the EUs dependence on pipeline imports, diversify the sources
of its gas supplies and provide furthermore (arbitrage) opportunities from switching
between LNG and pipe supplies. By all means Europes current import capacity is
largely sufficient to meet growing midterm import needs as non-OECD Europe had a
total import capacity of 550 bcm per year (thereof about one third can be attributed
to regasification terminals). According to the IEA the global LNG trade has slightly
declined in 2012 for the first time since 2008. Indeed Europes LNG imports are in a
downward trend since the second quarter of 2011: they went down by a third from
2011 to 2012 and even the first four months of 2013 saw a drop of another third
relative to the same period in 2012 (Graph 2).3 The absolute LNG import volumes
went down by more than half compared to the peak in early 2011 (and fall even
below the 2009 level). UKs LNG importers have lost more than two thirds of their
LNG import volumes since the peak in 2011. As of 2012, the worlds average
utilisation rate of regasification terminals was as low as 36%.4 Confronted with
lower import volumes numerous European LNG players are more and more
economically pressured while the utilisation rate is dropping further on: by about
half since 2011 and almost down to poor 20% in mid 2013, with Spain and UK being
actually even below the European average (see Graph 3).5 On the one hand the
sluggish European LNG imports can be partly attributed to the (contractual and
logistical) opportunity to optimize procurement depending on the relative pricing
terms of either LNG or pipe gas. On the other hand a rising number of European
LNG importers are actively seeking to take advantage of emerging arbitrage
opportunities by turning their LNG facilities in a newly experienced export mode due
to the drastic demand drop and constantly higher priced Asian LNG markets at the
same time. However, due to contractual obligations they cannot advantageously
divert the cargos directly towards new harbours but have to unload the LNG carriers
at the originally planned destination harbour before re-exporting them. Data from
IEA show that re-export volumes from Belgium and Spain have more than tripled
between 2011 and 2012.6 Data for 2013 confirm this trend, e.g. Belgium has
reloaded about the half of its imports this year so far. In total almost half of all
working LNG terminals have been involved in re-exporting so far, which sums up to
about 10% of EU gross LNG imports volumes (6% in 2012).7
Ice Breakers
EU Can solve for ice-breakers new funding in places like
Finland prove
YLE 14, YLE, 1/25/15, YLE is a very large Finnish news network and
A new directive aimed at curbing shipping industry sulphur emissions could open up
new opportunities for Finnish icebreakers. The directive, which comes into force in
2015, will reduce the power of freight vessels, making it more difficult for them to
move through ice-packed waters. The shipping industry was the most ardent critic
of the European Union directive aimed at restricting the sulphur content used in
shipping industry fuels. It pointed out that the measure would require vessels to be
fitted with costly scrubbers to remove sulphur from emissions before they enter
the atmosphere. However the state-owned icebreaker company Arctia Shipping is
planning new fleet acquisitions in anticipation of greater demand for its icebreaking
services. At the moment our fleet comprises seven icebreakers, but in the future
this could reach the double-digits, purely based on the needs of the Baltic, said
Arctia Shipping chief executive Tero Vauraste. Greater need in the Baltic The Baltic
Sea is classified as a Sulphur Emission Control Area under the directive, which
means stricter limits than for waters in southern Europe. The new limit for the Baltic
Sea, set at a tenth of current levels, will come into force in 2015. In EU waters
outside the Sulphur Emission Control Areas, a limit of 0.5 percent will apply from
2020. Vauraste could not yet say with any certainty when new vessels would be
acquired, but believes they will be needed. In the future freight vessels will have
lower engine power than today, and because of this more icebreaking equipment
will be required as the need for assistance grows, he added. The icebreaker CEO
noted that Arctia Shipping is debt free and has the funds needed to invest in new
fleet purchases.
Government and private icebreakers are a key resource in the development of the
Arctic. Generally, icebreakers are able to carry out the following roles: maintenance
of shipping tracks in ice-covered waters, close escort of shipping in ice, provision of
ice information, sovereignty support/representation, search and rescue,
environmental response, command platform for emergency response, medical
evacuation in remote areas, harbor breakout, electrical power supply, science
platform, constabulary function (maritime security), transporting cargo (northern resupply and logistic support) and fisheries conservation and protection. There are
some 50 icebreakers in the world fleet. The Russian fleet is by far the largest and
most powerful, counting icebreakers powered by nuclear power plants, with five of
75,000 shaft horsepower (shp). The Russian Federation recently announced the
allocation of some 15 billion rubles to build another 75,000 shp icebreaker. The next
largest fleet of Arctic-class icebreakers is that of the Canadian Coast Guard. The
Canadian Government recently announced an investment of $C720 million to
provide an Arctic-class replacement for the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent. Most other
countries that operate icebreakers own one or two, other countries such as
Denmark and Norway have small fleets of ice-strengthened vessels generally
intended for fisheries patrol and interdiction. The worlds icebreaker fleets are aging
and will require significant investment during the coming years to maintain their
effectiveness and capability. For instance, Canadian icebreakers are on the average
30-plus years old, while those of the U.S. are 30 years old, with the exception of the
USCGC Healy, which was built in 2000. Of note is the recently issued report, Polar
Icebreakers in a Changing World, which is a needs analysis of U.S. icebreaking
requirements in the coming years. In addition, it is also known that a number of
other countries are either building or planning construction of new icebreakers
primarily intended for science research, namely the European Union and South
Korea. Icebreaker construction is very specialized and very expensive. Steel is
thicker and stronger than that required for normal cargo ship construction. In
addition, there are other necessary specific features, such as horizontal and vertical
construction members that are deeper and stronger, reinforced icebelts and
redundant features. These details are specified in a number of national regulations
governing construction of ice-class ships, namely those of the Russian Federation,
Canada, Finland and Sweden; as well as classification societies such as the
American Bureau of Shipping, Det Norske Veritas, Germanischer Lloyd and Lloyds
Register. Recently, the International Association of Classification Societies approved
their Polar Class construction standard as one of a number of Unified
Requirements. Classification societies have one year to enter the new requirement
in their respective rules. Classification societies have the new requirements in their
respective rules, and some are expected to keep their existing rules.
IOOS
The European Union is the leading force in Ocean Observation
satellites US interference will just get in the way
ESA 14, ESA, 4/3/14, ESA is a European science research network, Europe lofts
first Copernicus environmental satellite,
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel1/Europe_lofts_first_Copernicus_environmental_satellite, NN
The ability of European citizens, policymakers and service providers to access key
environmental data on a routine basis will take a major step forward following the
launch today of ESAs Sentinel-1A satellite. The 2.3 tonne satellite lifted off on a
Soyuz rocket from Europes Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at 21:02 GMT
(23:02 CEST). The first stage separated 118 sec later, followed by the fairing (209
sec), stage 2 (287 sec) and the upper assembly (526 sec). After a 617 sec burn, the
Fregat upper stage delivered Sentinel into a Sun-synchronous orbit at 693 km
altitude. The satellite separated from the upper stage 23 min 24 sec after liftoff.
Sentinel-1A opens a new page in the implementation of Copernicus, the second EU
flagship space initiative, after the Galileo positioning system, said Jean-Jacques
Dordain, Director General of ESA. The Copernicus programme will provide
European citizens with the most ambitious space-based services in the world for
environmental and security applications. The cooperation between the EU and ESA
Member States in the funding of the space infrastructure, the combination of
competences and expertise between the European Commission and ESA, and the
capabilities of European industry, are putting Europe at the forefront of utilisation of
space to benefit citizens, policymakers and the economy. Sentinel-1 launch on a
Soyuz Access the video The mission is the first of six families of dedicated missions
that will make up the core of Europes Copernicus environmental monitoring
network. Copernicus will provide operational information on the worlds land
surfaces, oceans and atmosphere to support environmental and security
policymaking and the needs of individual citizens and service providers. Designed
as a two-satellite constellation Sentinel-1A and -1B the C -band radar mission will
provide all-weather day-and-night imagery of land and ocean surfaces of Europe,
Canada and the polar regions in near -real time. Equipped with a powerful synthetic
aperture radar, it will ensure continuity with the European Envisat satellite, which
stopped working in 2012 after 10 years of service. The technology is based on a
long heritage of radar satellites, starting with ERS-1 23 years ago. The launch of
the first Sentinel-1 satellite marks a change in philosophy for our Earth observation
programmes, said Volker Liebig, ESAs Director of Earth Observation Programmes.
In meteorology, satellites have been providing reliable data for weather forecasts
for over 35 years. With the Copernicus programme, we will now have a similar
information source for environmental services as well as for applications in the
security and disaster management domain. In addition to transmitting data to a
number of ground stations around the world for rapid dissemination, Sentinel-1 is
also equipped with a laser terminal to transmit data via European Data Relay
System satellites in geostationary orbit for continual data delivery. Radar vision The
satellites solar panels and antenna are now being deployed in a complex sequence
expected to take around 11 hours. The completion of deployment will be announced
at www.esa.int/sentinel-1 and via Twitter @ESA_EO After the initial launch and early
orbit phase, the satellite will go into the commissioning phase, when all
marine observations, data to knowledge cycle, activities and tools are needed to create added value products for
specific stakeholders, including the wider public, such as the European Atlas of the Seas which allows professionals,
students and anyone interested to explore Europes seas and coasts, their environment, related human activities
and European policies. At the same time, it is critical to evaluate whether we are monitoring/observing what we
actually need. Regional assessments such as performed by the newly established EMODnet sea-basin checkpoints
could provide relevant information, among others to advise Member States about requirements for essential and
optimal observation capability.
LNG
The EU is transitioning to LNG leading the industry
Mufson 14, Steven Mufson, 3/28/14, Mufson is a scientific researcher and staff
writer for the Washington Post, Can Europe wean itself from Russian natural
gas? http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/03/28/can-europe-weenitself-from-russian-natural-gas/, NN
One of the companies most entwined in the natural gas business in Europe is the
Italian oil giant ENI and that has put it smack in the middle of the crisis between
Russia and western nations. ENI is the biggest seller of natural gas in Europe,
providing 22 percent of the market. It is also the biggest customer of the Russian
gas monopoly Gazprom, worth about 10 billion euros a year, and it might join with
Gazprom to build a new pipeline under the Black Sea. It has a deal with Russias
biggest oil company, Rosneft, to explore in the Barents Sea. It also has rights to look
for shale gas in Ukraine and plans to propose reworking some old neglected oil and
gas fields there to boost output. And it is the largest natural gas producer in Libya, a
key source of natural gas for Europe. Altogether, ENI operates in about 90 countries.
On Thursday ENIs chief executive, Paolo Scaroni, was in Washington to meet with
Obama administration officials at the State Department and National Security
Council to discuss natural gas, Russia and Ukraine. Scaroni was visiting on the heels
of hearings in Congress where lawmakers were calling on the administration to
approve more liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals so that LNG from
abundant domestic shale gas reserves could ease European dependence on Russia.
But the committees didnt get to hear from anyone with Scaronis background and
distinctive points of view. The CEO took an hour to talk with The Post. Here are some
excerpts from the conversation. On Europe's need for Russian oil: This Ukrainian
crisis showed finally that the king is naked, that Europe is not independent -because if youre not independent on energy youre not independent. People say
Russia needs Europe, as well. But we need energy every day, and they can skip a
year. Its a different level of urgency and dependency. What is relevant is that this
dependency is going to go up and not down because domestic European production
[including North Africa] is going down. Norwegian production is not going up.
Algerian production is going up, but Algerian domestic consumption is going up, too.
And Libya is Libya. We are the persons in the world who know Libya best, and we
know nothing. I was in Libya last Sunday. We have 3,000 people there and still we
dont know much. Scaroni takes a dim view of American LNG as a means to liberate
Europe from Russian gas, in part because he says that transporting LNG from the
United States to Europe is expensive, Russian gas production costs are very low and
Russia could always decide to undercut American LNG prices.
This region of the world is dominated by LNG regasification terminals. The first LNG
liquefaction terminal, Snohvit LNG, has recently begun operating. This facility is
located in the Kingdom of Norway, above the Arctic Circle. According to recent
media reports, StatoilHydro, the Norwegian offshore oil and gas producer, began
geological carbon sequestration at the Snohvit field. This greenhouse gas emission
reduction technology is also being considered at LNG liquefaction terminals in the
Republic Trinidad and Tobago and the Commonwealth of Australia. In an effort to
reduce Western Europe's reliance on the Russian Federation's Gazprom, several LNG
regasification terminals have been constructed, are under construction or have
been proposed. There are sixteen existing LNG regasification terminals spread
across Portugal (also known as the Portuguese Republic), Kingdom of Spain, France
(also known as the French Republic), Kingdom of Belgium, the United Kingdom, Italy
(also known as the Italian Republic), Greece (also known as the Hellenic Republic)
and the Republic of Turkey. map of Western Europe showing LNG terminals with link
to download PDF file of map Fifty two additional LNG regasification terminal projects
are either under consideration or have commenced construction throughout this
region, specifically in the Republic of Albania, the Republic of Croatia, Republic of
Cyprus, the Federal Republic of Germany, Republic of Ireland, Kingdom of the
Netherlands, Republic of Poland, Romania, and Ukraine. Further consideration is
being given to LNG by the Republic of Lithuania and in a joint project between the
Republics of Estonia and Finland. One controversial proposed LNG regasification
terminal in Italy, Offshore LNG Toscana, would be located in a whale sanctuary,
Cetaceans Sanctuary of the Mediterranean. The project was approved under the
previous Prime Minister's term, but is being opposed by local government and
environmental groups. In addition to this, the Italian government recently
suspended the building permit for the proposed Brindisi LNG regasification terminal.
Currently, Italy only has one operating LNG regasification terminal, Panigaglia LNG.
However, the current Industry minister foresees the need of possibly four additional
new regasification terminals by the close of 2010.
The weaners seem to have the impression that this is yet another case in which the
United States has to come to the rescue of those weak Europeans. After all, while
we were drilling everywhere, the Europeans were fiddling around with wind and
solar energy, all the while making themselves vulnerable to Russian President
Vladimir Putins machinations. Reality-based fans of arithmetic see matters
differently. The reality is that Europe, especially Germany, has done a huge amount
over the last two decades to reduce its consumption of fossil fuels, including natural
gas, from Russia. The reduction in fossil fuel use swamps the impact of the drilleverywhere strategy in the United States. If Europe had not been aggressively
pushing to reduce its energy use, there is no way that gas from Russia could be
replaced by domestically fracked gas or imports from elsewhere. In addition,
Europes efforts to reduce fuel consumption have the advantage of slowing global
warming. According to the Energy Information Agency, Germanys conservation
measures have had the effect of reducing its energy intensity of production (the
amount of energy used per dollar of GDP) by roughly 30 percent over the last two
decades. While the United States has seen a comparable percentage reduction in its
energy intensity, its energy intensity of production is still far higher than Germanys.
In fact, the current level of energy intensity in the United States is higher than the
Methane Hydrates
Europe is increasing its methane hydrate infrastructure
further investment is key to leadership
FCCJ 14, Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan, 4/1/14, FCCJ is an organization
that focuses on international relations based primarily on Japan, Drilling the
Deep: In Search of a New Energy Source, http://www.fccj.or.jp/number-1shimbun/item/329-drilling-the-deep-in-search-of-a-new-energy-source/329-drilling-the-deepin-search-of-a-new-energy-source.html, NN
Marine scientists are fascinated by methane hydrate, too, but as a part of their
basic research into the oceans to discover how its exploration would affect the
ecosystem of the deep sea. Environmentalists, however, criticize the lack of
sustainability and point out possible negative effects on the environment. It looks
like a McShake, jokes Yuji Morita, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Energy
Economics (IEE) in Tokyo and member of the government commission for methane
hydrate, when hes asked to explain what Japans energy dreams are made of.
Methane hydrate only forms at low temperatures of 4 degrees Celsius or less, and
between 20 and 40 bar pressure. Under such circumstances the gas is trapped
inside a cage of water molecules that surround the gas-filled core and form an icelike structure. Its the reason why 80 to 90 percent of worldwide methane hydrate
reservoirs can only be found in the stability zone between 500 and 2,000 meters
under the mud layer of the seabed, and a little closer to the surface in the polar sea.
The rest is thought to be located in the permafrost in polar regions. To be able to
use its energy potential, though, the gas has to be extracted on site from its icy
shell. Hot water, gas or even methanol, an antifreeze agent, can be used to melt the
crystal cages. However, the most promising method appears to be the one applied
in the Japanese trial, lowering the pressure so that it becomes unstable, thereby
setting free the natural gas inside. How much of the reserves can be reached is a
different kettle of fish. Methane, a colorless and odorless gas, is created through the
degradation process of organic material like plankton that has sunk to the seabed.
As the gas is very light, it usually rises up from between the sediments deep
beneath the ocean floor until it gets trapped in the stability zone. Fishermen are
sometimes surprised to find their nets floating towards the ocean surface after
accidentally releasing methane hydrate from its cool grave. Due to its elusive
nature, methane hydrate remained undiscovered for a long time; in fact, research
has only intensified since the turn of the millennium. Scientists use data from
drillings and numerical models based on decay rates of plankton, but are divided
about how much might be hidden under the ocean floor: Professor Klaus Wallmann
of the German GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel thinks that
between 1000 to 5000 gigatons of organic carbon might lie in gas hydrate layers,
others estimate 500,000 gigatons. Even conservative estimates are much higher
than the reserves of coal, natural gas and oil put together. How much of that can be
reached is a different kettle of fish. chikyu_copy.jpg The Japanese drill ship Chikyu,
which took part in the trial extractions of gas from methane hydrates. Excitement
about the potential new energy source is high in Japan, China, Taiwan, Vietnam,
India and South Korea, and all have invested a lot of money in its research. India is
thought to possess its biggest reserves though, according to Bohrmann, the icy
mass might not be homogenous and concentrated enough. After figuratively and
literally digging through murky mud for a long time, researchers have found that
sandy sediment consisting of sand of a certain pore size is particularly suited for
extraction. Luckily for Japan, there are many such reservoirs nearby. The
governmental energy organization Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation
(JOGMEC) thinks that about one-tenth of the methane hydrate around Japan is
located near Cape Omaezaki alone. Though European countries are relying on
Russian gas fields for the coming decades, they also have intensified their methane
hydrate research. Marum researcher Bohrmann explains: 70 percent of the surface
of our globe consists of ocean, and there is so much we still need to know about it.
Basic researchers like him are trying to find out how the exploration of methane
hydrate, as well as oil, affects the ecosystem of the deep sea. They also want to
prove what most scientists believe, but have yet to confirm: that methane hydrate
stabilizes the continental slopes that form the border between the shelves and the
deep sea. Research is also being conducted on the effects of global warming on
methane hydrate reservoirs and the stability of continental slopes. If too much of
the methane hydrate layer dissolves, it could lead to mudslides and even tsunami.
And while scientists consider this scenario unlikely, it is not altogether impossible. In
the Storegga Slide 8000 years ago, underwater landslides near the Norwegian
coast triggered megawaves that wreaked havoc across Northern Europe. To reduce
such risks, scientists recommend that, prior to any exploration, geotechnical tests
be conducted and explorations be done only in marginally inclined areas.
Mineral Mining
The EU is increasing deep mineral mining more funding and
better tech
SPC 14, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, 5/9/14, SPC is an organization
that studies the implications of mineral mining; both good and bad, Deep Sea
Minerals Finance Workshop: Making sure the Pacific Islands are not left shortchanged, http://www.sopac.org/dsm/index.php/news, NN
Deep sea minerals have the potential to be a game changer for the Pacific. Whether
they will bring a change for the good or the bad will be determined by the financial
management of governments and their ability to adopt and enforce sensible
environmental safeguards. If revenue is managed transparently and prudently while
protecting the environment, deep sea minerals could greatly improve the
economies and livelihoods of the Pacific Islands countries. To address these issues,
the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) is holding a regional workshop, the
fifth in its technical training series. This workshop will be held in Cook Islands on 13
16 May and will centre on the Financial Aspects of the upcoming deep sea minerals
industry. The workshop will bring together more than 60 Pacific Island government
minerals and finance officials and experts from around the globe for the first
regional event of its kind on managing the potential wealth generated from the
extraction of deep sea minerals. Although deep sea mining is yet to occur worldwide, there is much commercial interest in mineral formations, such as nodules,
crusts and seafloor massive sulphides that have been discovered on the seabed,
thousands of metres below sea-level, particularly in the Pacific Ocean. The event is
organised by SPCs European Union-funded Deep Sea Minerals (DSM) Project,
working with the Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre (PFTAC) a subsidiary
of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A wide range of interested stakeholders
will attend the workshop, from as far afield as South Sudan, Norway, and Mauritius
as well as Timor Leste, with the aim of sharing their experiences and professional
expertise. The workshop will discuss how to turn those minerals sitting on the deep
ocean floor into new revenue for Pacific Island countries to expand their economies.
The workshop will focus on how countries that choose to proceed to mining can
capture a fair deal, through good governance of revenue received, and learn from
past lessons, both elsewhere and closer to home. This is where the SPC-EU DSM
Project regional training events play an important role. The workshops are designed
to prepare Pacific Island countries for all aspects of regulating their deep sea
minerals. Previous workshops covered other subjects, including environmental,
legal, social and geological aspects of DSM. The deep sea minerals industry has the
potential to make a positive impact on the lives of Pacific people; however, there
are issues, risks and uncertainties that need to be addressed. The DSM Project
stresses the importance of engagement and participation among a wide variety of
stakeholders, from local communities all the way up to regional non-governmental
organisations, to enable Pacific countries to make well informed decisions for their
economies, their people, and their islands.
Deep sea minerals research and exploration in the Pacific Islands region have been
ongoing for the last 40 years that led to the discovery of a number of seabed
mineral deposits within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of many Pacific Islands
Countries (PICs). Many of these surveys were conducted in collaboration with
national agencies and multinational consortia of which the twenty one year (1985
2005) JapanSOPAC cooperative study program was notably the most extensive
survey in the region. With renewed interests in deep sea minerals exploration in the
region in recent years, some countries have sought external assistance hence
SOPAC was approached to provide appropriate advice and support. Subsequently,
with the endorsement of member countries, SOPAC prepared and submitted a
project proposal entitled Deep Sea Minerals in the Pacific Islands Region: a Legal
and Fiscal Framework for Sustainable Resource Management to the European
Union (EU). The proposal was accepted by the EU who agreed to provide financial
support under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF10) for the
implementation of the Deep Sea Minerals (DSM) Project in fifteen Pacific ACP States.
The DSM Project is currently being implemented by the new Applied Geoscience and
Technology Division (SOPAC) of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). The
overall objective of the DSM Project is to expand the economic resource base of
Pacific ACP States by developing a viable and sustainable marine minerals industry.
The Project is tasked to deliver against these four Key Result Areas: (1)
Development of Regional Legislative and Regulatory Framework(s) (RLRF) for
offshore minerals exploration and mining; (2) Formulation of National policy,
legislation and regulations; (3) Building national capacities supporting active
participation of PICs nationals in the offshore mining industry; and (4) Effective
management and monitoring of offshore exploration and mining operations. In June
2011, the DSM Project inception meeting was held in Nadi Fiji with a broad range of
stakeholders within and beyond the region in attendance. This high level meeting
provided the opportunity to have an interactive dialogue about deep sea mineral
issues, and through the DSM Project and other initiatives move forward together to
better understand the challenges and opportunities and ultimately contribute to
improving the livelihoods of Pacific Communities. Some of the key environment
related outcomes of the workshop are: a regional approach to regulate the DSM
sector, marine scientific research and exploration to be encouraged and promoted,
the application of the precautionary approach concept for environmental protection,
and consider ESHIA [Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessments] in
addition to EIA. Under Ker Result Area 4, the DSM Project shall contribute to
addressing the environmental management needs for deep sea mineral exploration
and exploitation through the following initiatives: (i) Develop a regional
environmental management guidelines; (ii) Identify and engage suitable local and
regional candidates to participate in environmental monitoring of offshore
exploration and mining sites; (iii) Disseminate relevant data and information to key
stakeholders; (iv) Encourage and support local community participation in the
environmental monitoring process; and (v) Conduct a Cost Benefit Analysis (BCA)
for deep sea mining in the region.
MH370
The EU can find the plane new UK submarines committed to
the cause prove that it is willing and able
BBC 14, BBC, 4/1/14, the BBC is a very large news source in the UK and if you
dont know that please dont read this card, MH370: UK submarine joins search
for missing plane, http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-26845118, NN
British submarine HMS Tireless has joined the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines
flight MH370. The Ministry of Defence said the Trafalgar class submarine had arrived
in the southern Indian Ocean and would help search for the plane's black box
recorder. It will soon be joined by Royal Navy coastal survey ship HMS Echo. The
aircraft disappeared with 239 people on board on 8 March while en route from Kuala
Lumpur to Beijing. Earlier on Tuesday, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston - the man
co-ordinating the search from Australia - said the hunt was the "most challenging"
ever seen and could take weeks. Several floating objects have been found in recent
days, but none is believed to belong to the missing plane. Search for debris Nuclearpowered submarine HMS Tireless was launched on 17 March 1984 and holds a crew
of 130, plus 18 officers. HMS Echo HMS Echo will help search for debris from the
plane on the water surface An MoD source told the BBC the vessel had "advanced
underwater search capabilities, but the task in hand remains a tall order and the
search area immense". "Her deployment is being co-ordinated closely with our
Australian and US colleagues." The submarine will listen for ultrasonic "pings" from
the plane's black box, which continue to be broadcast for about 30 days after takeoff. The MoD source said the submarine was ordered to move from an operational
tasking to the search area about a week ago and arrived on Monday. Defence
Secretary Philip Hammond informed his Malaysian counterpart of the additional
British contribution during a phone call on Tuesday evening. Continue reading the
main story HMS TIRELESS launched on 17 March 1984 holds a crew of 130, and 18
officers top speed of 32 knots or 36.8 mph in 2000, a fault was discovered on board
which forced 12 UK nuclear submarines to undergo intensive inspections. Tireless
became stranded in Gibraltar in May of the same year due to leaking pipe work in
2003, the vessel collided with an object at sea prompting an MoD inquiry in 2007,
two mechanics died on board when a self-contained oxygen generator exploded
while the vessel was at the North Pole in 2012, HMS Tireless returned to Plymouth
after a leak in its nuclear reactor HMS Echo is expected to begin its work on
Wednesday, and the MoD said it would "play an important role in the search for
debris on the sea's surface and her advanced environmental assessment capability
will help to optimise search operations". Four RAF personnel on secondment to the
Royal Australian Air Force and Royal New Zealand Air Force are also actively
involved in the search. Meanwhile the personal jet of Oscar-winning film director
Peter Jackson has been reported by Radio New Zealand to have joined the search
for the missing Malaysian airliner. Radio New Zealand said that Sir Peter, the
director of the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies, personally approved the
use of his Gulfstream G650 in the search. On Monday, Malaysian acting Transport
Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the search area was 254,000 sq km (98,000 sq
miles), according to the Australian authorities. Malaysian authorities have released
the full transcript of communications between flight MH370 and Kuala Lumpur's air
traffic control. They said there was no indication of anything abnormal in the
transcript, although the last words received by ground controllers are different from
those previously stated. Theories They were "good night Malaysian three seven
zero", but authorities had previously said that they were "all right, good night". It is
not clear why the account has changed. Officials say that based on satellite data
they have concluded that flight MH370 crashed into the southern Indian Ocean, but
many relatives of those on board have demanded proof and expressed anger at
what they perceive as a lack of information. Various theories about what went
wrong have been suggested - including the captain hijacking his own plane. The
speculation was fuelled by reports that files had been deleted on the pilot's home
flight simulator
They were going in search of a better life. Two young Iranian men, one wearing a
short-sleeved blue T shirt, the other dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt, have
been identified as the mystery travellers who boarded Malaysia Airlines flight
MH370 using stolen passports. The authorities say there is no evidence they were
linked to any terror groups; rather they were apparently travelling to Europe to try
and secure work. As the search for the missing aircraft completed its fourth day with
still no trace of the missing aircraft, officials revealed the identities of the two
passengers as 29-year-old Delavar Seyed Mohammadreza and Pouria Nour
Mohammad Mehrdad, who was aged either 18 or 19. At a press conference in Lyons,
France, Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said investigators were increasingly
of the belief that the disappearance of the Boeing 777 and its 239 passengers and
crew was not linked to a terrorist incident. The more information we get, the more
we are inclined to conclude it is not a terrorist incident, said Mr Noble. By doing
this, eventually, with more and more evidence, well able to exclude that they were
involved in conduct that might have involved the plane to disappear and focus on
eliminating the human trafficking ring that allowed them to travel. As officials in
Malaysia announced they were again extending the area they were scouring and
the countrys military suggested the missing plane may have actually veered west
across the Strait of Malacca, a partial picture emerged of the journey being
undertaken by the two men who until now have been the focus of much of the work
being conducted by Malaysian and foreign intelligence investigators. It appears the
two men boarded a flight in Doha, Qatar, using their Iranian passports and flew to
Kuala Lumpur. There, they were able to pick up two European passports, one
belonging to Austrian Christian Kozel and the other to Luigi Maraldi of Italy. The
passports had been stolen in Thailand in 2012 and 2013 respectively and had been
entered into Interpols database. We know that once these individuals arrived in
Kuala Lumpur on the 28th of February they boarded flight 370 using different
identities, a stolen Austrian and a stolen Italian passport, said Mr Noble.
Ocean Observation
EU has the tech and infrastructure available to monitor
environmental problems with the oceans
EMSA 14, European Maritime Safety Agency, nearest date given is 2014, the
EMSA is the developer of satellites used by the European Union for the purpose of
environmental observation, Earth Observation Services,
http://emsa.europa.eu/operations/cleanseanet.html, NN
Offshore Wind
The EU solves best for offshore wind best experts and
existing support systems
EUR-Lex 14, European Union Law, August 2014, EUR-Lex is an official database
used by the European Union to post official laws and other important documents,
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE
COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE
COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Blue Energy Action needed to deliver on the
potential of ocean energy in European seas and oceans by 2020 and beyond,
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?
qid=1396419828231&uri=CELEX:52014DC0008, NN
An Ocean Energy Forum will be set up, bringing together stakeholders in a series of
workshops in order to develop a shared understanding of the problems at hand and
to collectively devise workable solutions. It will be instrumental in building capacity
and critical mass as well as fostering cooperation through the involvement of a wide
range of stakeholders. The forum will also explore the synergies with other marine
industries, particularly offshore wind, in matters relating to supply chains, grid
connection, operations and maintenance, logistics and spatial planning.
Representatives from relevant industries could be invited to participate as
appropriate depending on the issues discussed. The Commission will play a
facilitating and coordinating role in the forum. The forum will be organised into
three workstreams: a) Technology and Resource Workstream The commercialisation
of the ocean energy sector will require additional technological advancement as
well as further improvements in grid connections and other offshore supply chain
infrastructure. Improving the affordability, reliability, survivability, operability and
stability of ocean energy devices[18] is essential. There is already some consensus
on the priority areas of technology research including, for example, the need for
better mooring systems or new materials. Possibilities for collaborative working
could also be identified in order to use resources more efficiently and to facilitate
technological convergence. A clear timeframe, including key technological
milestones will be set out. This workstream will include a detailed assessment of
ocean energy resources and offshore infrastructures such as ports and vessels, as
improvements in these areas would help to optimise the management of ocean
energy devices and thus trigger corresponding cost reductions. This workstream
would also seek to trigger further improvements in the integration of offshore
renewables into the energy system. The industry would have the opportunity to
voice its needs on issues such as the research and development needs related to
grid technology, energy output forecasting and storage technologies could also be
explored. The outcomes will then be transmitted to relevant actors such as
regulatory authorities, transmission system operators and relevant fora such the
North Seas Countries Offshore Grid Initiative. b) Administrative Issues and Finance
Workstream Long lead times caused by lengthy permitting and licensing procedures
and difficulty of access to finance have been identified as pressing challenges. The
aim of this workstream will be to examine the administrative procedures relevant to
ocean energy installations in Member States and the effects that ocean energy
installations may have on shipping. These administrative and safety issues need to
be reviewed collaboratively between Member State authorities and industry in this
workshop, in order to lead to a common understanding of the challenges faced on
all sides, and how to tackle them. The information gathered in the discussions will
be used to compile a catalogue of best practice, complemented with case studies.
The issues relating to finance will also be examined. Given the novelty and the
complexity of the technologies, investors may be unaware of the opportunities that
this industry offers. This workstream should involve national authorities,
development banks, private financiers and project developers to discuss how best
to trigger the necessary investment. The suitability of different risk-sharing
mechanisms such as soft-loans, co-investment and public guarantees will also be
assessed. The funding opportunities available within EU research and innovation
programmes such as Horizon 2020, the NER300 programme and the European
Investment Bank's renewable energy funding programme will be specifically
highlighted. c) Environment Workstream Environmental Impact Assessments are key
to ensure the sustainable development of this emerging industry. Collecting
baseline environmental data, however, places a major burden on individual project
developers relative to the size of single projects. This workstream will encourage
collaborative working on the monitoring of the environmental impacts of existing
and planned installations and on innovative ways of mitigating the impact of ocean
energy on the marine environment. The data on environmental impacts and
monitoring need to be fed into national authorities as a matter of routine, under the
Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy Framework Directives purposes. A
comprehensive framework of EU legislation covering nature conservation,
environmental impact assessment and renewable energy already exists,
complemented by the Commission's proposal for a Directive on Maritime Spatial
Planning (MSP). However, this workstream should assess the need for sector-specific
implementation guidelines, similar to those already developed for wind energy, to
complement the Habitats and Birds Directives, Article 13 of the Renewable Energy
Directive and a possible future Directive on MSP. ii. Ocean Energy Strategic
Roadmap Based on the outcomes of the Ocean Energy Forum, a Strategic Roadmap
will be developed setting out clear targets for the industrial development of the
sector as well as a timeframe for their achievement. In setting technology priorities,
it will take into account the key principles and developments announced by the
Communication on Energy Technologies and Innovation[19] and will provide input
and become part of the "Integrated Roadmap".[20] This roadmap will be elaborated
jointly by industry, Member States, interested regional authorities, NGOs and other
relevant stakeholders through a structured and participative process, as outlined
above. The roadmap will bring together findings from all areas relevant to the
development of the industry and provide an agreed blueprint for action in order to
help the ocean energy sector move towards industrialisation.
Europe's offshore wind potential is enormous and able to meet Europe's demand
seven times over, as estimated by the European Environment Agency's (EEA). The
European Commission anticipated, in its 2008 Communication on offshore wind
energy (EC, 2008) that "offshore wind can and must make a substantial contribution
to meeting the EU's energy policy objectives through a very significant increase - in
the order of 30-40 times by 2020 and 100 times by 2030 - in installed capacity
compared to today." Key numbers: 5 GW installed end 2012 10% of Europe's annual
wind energy installations 40 GW installed capacity by 2020, equivalent to 4% of EU
electricity demand or 148 TWh production 150 GW by 2030, meeting 14% of EU
electricity demand or 562 TWh. The offshore wind sector brings considerable
economic opportunities. The offshore industry contributes to Europe's
competitiveness and leadership in wind energy, provides employment in the EU,
reduces Europe's import dependence and reinforces its security of supply. Key
numbers: Around 3.4bn to 4.6bn annual investment (2012) 58,000 FTE (2012)
191,000 FTE in 2020 and 318,000 FTE in 2030 (60% of wind employment) Key texts:
EC Communication (2012): Blue Growth - opportunities for marine and maritime
sustainable EWEA (2012) The European offshore wind industry - key trends and
statistics 2012 EWEA (2011) The European offshore wind industry - key trends and
statistics 2011 EWEA (2011) Wind in our Sails - The coming of Europe's offshore
wind energy industry 2011 EWEA (2011) European Offshore Wind Energy Map 2011
EWEA (2011) Pure Power EEA (2009) Europe's onshore and offshore wind energy
potential EWEA (2009) Oceans of opportunity EC Communication (2008) Offshore
Wind Energy: Action needed to deliver on the Energy Policy Objectives for 2020 and
beyond The offshore grid Europe's offshore grid should be built to integrate the
expected 40GW of offshore wind power by 2020 and 150 GW by 2030. EWEA's
proposed offshore grid builds on the 11 offshore grids currently operating and 21
offshore grids currently being considered by the grid operators in the Baltic and
North Seas to give Europe a truly pan-European electricity super highway. A
European transnational offshore grid will: Provide grid access to offshore wind farms
Smooth the variability of their output on the markets Contribute to the development
of a single European electricity market Ensure Europe's energy security Key texts:
European Commission (2011) - Guideline for trans-European energy infrastructure Proposals for a regulation IEE Project (2011) OffshoreGrid: Offshore Electricity
Infrastructure in Europe The North Seas Countries' Offshore Grid Initiative Memorandum of Understanding - (2010) EWEA (2009) - 20 Year Offshore Network
Development Master Plan Stockholm Declaration (2009) Maritime spatial planning
Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) is key to enhancing offshore wind development. It
provides stability and clarity for the investors and can bring down the costs of wind
energy through an optimum integration of the wind farms into the marine
environment. EWEA strongly supports the development of an integrated and
coordinated Maritime Spatial Planning policy across Europe.
OTEC
The European Union solves best for OTEC current
infrastructure and large-scale funding prove
EU Energy 13, EU Energy Commission, 8/19/13, the EU Energy Commission is a
subdivision of the European Union, OCEAN ENERGY,
http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/eu/index_en.cfm?pg=research-ocean, NN
The ocean is an enormous source of energy. It is estimated that 0.1% of the energy
in ocean waves could be capable of supplying the entire world's energy
requirements five times over. Currently, a number of technologies aimed at
harnessing this potential have been investigated and are at different stages of
development including tidal and marine energy, wave energy, difference of
temperature and salinity energy. A description of these technologies can be found
at the website of European Ocean Energy Association (EU-OEA). Conversion of tidal
energy into electricity has been widely investigated and can be compared to the
technology used in hydroelectric power plants. In fact, electricity is generated by
water flowing into and out of gates and turbines installed along a dam or barrage
built across a tidal bay or estuary. More recently, technologies for exploiting wave
and currents energy have been developed and tested on small-scale and, for a
limited number of cases, on a large scale. On the other hand, technologies related
with the difference of temperature and of salinity are at an early stage of
development. With Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), the difference of
temperature between cold, deep seawaters and warm, shallow waters creates a
thermodynamic cycle, which can be used for producing electricity. In the case of
salinity gradients, the difference in salinity between seawater and fresh water
creates a pressure difference which can be exploited to extract energy. Due to the
urgent demand for clean renewable energy and given the enormous potential of this
source, the European Commission has supported ocean energy research and
development for many years through funding research projects and promoting
cooperation between stakeholders.
For the past 20 years these two countries maintained some momentum in the
research for technical solutions and economical options to render OTEC more and
more attractive. They have optimised the characteristics of components: heat
exchangers and turbines, conforted the reliability of the marine components especially for the construction and the deployement of Cold Water Pipes, and
developed the concept of "multi-products OTEC plants up to some tens of MW. This
"multi-products" concept aims to optimizing other usages of Deep Ocean Water
(DOW) : for desalinated water and aquaculture products, and for other products
matching the demand from small isolated communities located close from the
resource. Also they have studied extrapolation to large size plants up to several
hundreds MW for the offshore production of liquid synthetic fuels (hydrogen,
ammoniac and methanol) to be transported by tankers and satisfying the demand
of industrialized countries located in region far from the resource. At last, data
acquired during the two past decades by running experimental plants enabled
better evaluation of negative and positive environmental impacts caused by the still
cold and nutrient rich Deep Ocean Water effluent. During the same period of time
developed the idea that clean and renewable energy will become more and more
necessary for lessening the vulnerability of traditional fuels supply caused by
political embargo or resource depletion, and also for mitigating as much as possible
the severe and durable negative effects their usage causes to our environment . To
these reasons one should add that of the change - in course - of the balance of the
energy demands between rich and poor countries. From the beginning of the
Industrial era the richest have been both the most important consumers and the
greatest polluters. Tomorrow the poorest will come first because their demographic
growth and their increasing demand for improving their life standard. Well, note
these countries from the South are also those where the OTEC resource is the
most easily accessible. Future Energy Prospects : estimating the demand for OTEC.
The 1999 OCDE report : " Energy, the Next Fifty years " established several
scenarios for the evolution of the World primary energy demand, starting from 1990
data with population of 5,26 billions and a consumption of primary energy of 8,98
Gtoe, namely 1,7 toe per inhabitant. In the most pessimistic business-as-usual
scenario, the power consumption of primary energy was predicted at 24 Gtoe in
2050, for a population of 10 billions. In the " ecological " (Green) scenario, in
agreement with the Kyoto protocole, the figure for primary energy raises to 14 Gtoe
for a population of 10 billions. This " Green " scenario was also the cheapest with a
capital investment of 24 billion US dollars over fifty years. It was based on the
assumption of increasing fourfold the renewable energy production: from a 1,6 Gtoe
(in 1990) to 5 Gtoe (in 2050), with an intermediary step of 2,3 Gtoe in 2020.
Supplying 5 to 10% of these needs thanks to OTEC could be the aim for an
European Union R&D program.
The European Union is on the road to be leading in OTEC technology
EREC 12,
The ocean is an enormous source of renewable energy with the potential to satisfy
an important percentage of the European electricity supply. Conversion of the wave
energy resource alone could supply a substantial part of the electricity demand of
several European countries, in particular Ireland, the UK, Denmark, Portugal, Spain
and Norway, especially on islands and in remote areas. The best ocean energy
resources within the EU Member States are wave energy and marine currents, which
have seen the most technological development. Salinity gradient systems are being
developed in Norway and the Netherlands. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
(OTEC) technologies are not yet available in Europe but can be harvested at
latitudes closer to the Equator with technologies developed by European
companies. The technologies used to exploit the different ocean resources (waves,
tidal range, tidal stream/marine currents, salinity gradients and ocean thermal
energy conversion) are quite diverse. They can be categorised according to their
basic principles of conversion. The different concepts for wave energy conversion
can be onshore, near-shore and offshore and rely on several working principles (e.g.
oscillating water columns OWC). Tidal barrage technologies are similar to large
hydropower dams, but adapted to ebb and flood tides. Marine current devices are
less diversified than wave energy devices. They could use a range of working
principles and they can either be rigidly mounted in the seabed, piled mounted,
semi-submersible with moorings or attached to a floating structure. The technology
to harness salinity gradient power uses the osmotic pressure differences between
salt and fresh water or between water bodies of different salinity. OTEC relies on
using the temperature differences between shallow and deep sea to drive a
turbines. Over the past few years, dedicated infrastructure for wave and tidal sea
trials have been created in several European countries. They facilitate deployment
of technologies from prototype to commercial phase by making cable connection
available and / or simplifying the licensing procedure. At present, several grid
connected test areas are under development, scheduled to be operational with the
coming 1 to 3 years.
Renewables
The EUs development of the ocean is specifically key to future
renewable infrastructure
EUR-Lex 14, European Union Law, August 2014, EUR-Lex is an official database
used by the European Union to post official laws and other important documents,
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE
COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE
COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Blue Energy Action needed to deliver on the
potential of ocean energy in European seas and oceans by 2020 and beyond,
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?
qid=1396419828231&uri=CELEX:52014DC0008, NN
global ocean energy market is currently strong. This is evidenced by the fact that
most of the technology developers are based in Europe. Growing competition from
China, Canada and other industrialised nations is, however, expected. The UK's
Carbon Trust estimated that the global wave and tidal energy market could be worth
up to 535 billion between 2010 and 2050[8]. Creating the conditions under which
the sector could prosper now would enable the EU to capture a sizable share of the
market in the future. Innovation through research and development can allow the
EU to generate export opportunities for both technology and expertise. It is critical,
therefore, to ensure that the EU can maintain its global industrial leadership.
Ocean energy has the potential to create new, high-quality jobs in project
development, component manufacturing and operations. Indicative job estimates
from the impact assessment show that 10,500-26,500 permanent jobs and up to
14,000 temporary jobs could be created by 2035. Other, more optimistic sources
estimate 20,000 jobs by 2035 in UK alone[9] and 18,000 in France by 2020[10]. A
substantial proportion of these employment opportunities will arise in the Atlantic
coastal areas, which currently suffer from high unemployment. Scaling up the
deployment of ocean energy could contribute to Europe's decarbonisation goals.
Developing all sources of low-carbon energy in a cost-effective manner will be
important to deliver on the EU's commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas
emissions by 80-95% by 2050. Ocean energy electricity output is different to that
derived from other renewable energy sources. This means that ocean energy could
help to balance out the output of other renewable energy sources such as wind
energy and solar energy to ensure a steady aggregate supply of renewable energy
to the grid. Ocean energy would therefore be a valuable asset in the EU's energy
portfolio. Ocean energy devices tend to be entirely or partially submerged and
therefore have a low visual impact. As the scope for expansion of land-based
renewable energy generation becomes constrained, the marine space offers a
potential solution to public acceptance issues related to visual impac t, which may
hinder renewable energy developments on land.
Europes wave and tidal sector will need action from the EU and its member states to help
get pilot array projects in the water , according to the SI Ocean project. The report Market Deployment
Strategy, produced by RenewableUK and Ocean Energy Europe and published today, states that completing
these early projects in the short-term is crucial if Europe is to maintain its frontrunner advantage
and capture a new industrial market in the next decade. Researchers present the benefits a strong wave and tidal
sector would create for Europes economies and societies while identifying the main barriers to industrialisation.
The document also includes recommendations for policy makers on how to address those barriers, which are placed
under four categories; finance, technology, environmental regulation and grid access. Ocean Energy Europe chief
executive and chair of the SI Ocean advisory board Sian George (pictured) said: SI Ocean has clearly identified the
importance of getting several pilot arrays plugged in and operational in the near future. It is also clear that the se
Space Elevators
The EU solves best for space elevators most funding being
provided
EUSPEC 14, European Space Elevator Challenge, nearest date given is 2014,
EUSPEC is an organization that has provided a challenge for who can create the
most efficient, effective, and cheap method for establishing a space elevator,
Background Information, http://euspec.warr.de/background?lang=en, NN
The fundamental idea of the space elevator goes back to 1895, when the scientist
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky considered building a tower from the surface of the Earth and
reaching into the geostationary orbit of space. The Artsutanov paper 1960
proposed a way to build a tensile structure to the geostationary orbit of space. The
aim was and still is, among other objectives, to deliver payload for example
equipment, items, satellites etc. - to space in an economically viable way. This idea
could be an alternative solution to the expansive use of rockets. The actual concept
of the space elevator system includes a tether reaching from the surface of the
Earth to the geostationary orbit. To keep the tether taut by means of gravitational
and rotational forces, the center of mass of the space elevator has to be kept above
this orbit. A climber is attached to the tether, which carries the payload up to the
space station or to the satellite. The energy supply is planned to be realized by
power beaming (such as laser), as well as using solar cells. European Space
Elevator Challenge The challenge is to establish a climber structure in compliance
with predetermined requirements (see General Rules and Requirements). Our focus
is on: the efficiency of the climber the technical implementation of the climber
(especially payload systems) aspects which directly impact the development of the
real space elevator system Our main aims of the European Space Elevator
Challenge are: to inspire young engineers and scientists with the idea of the space
elevator system and moreover to establish a larger European space elevator
community to increase our understanding of the space elevator system by
exchanging experiences, -also utilizing these experiences for the development of a
real space elevator system to introduce the space elevator concept to the public
These aims are considered as long-term goals and cannot be accomplished with one
competition. Hence, our goal is to organize the European Space Elevator Challenge
annually. The European challenge offers participants the opportunity to participate
in two while later competitions will have up to four levels (see also section 3
General Rules and Requirements). The Organizers Space Elevator Team The
European Space Elevator Challenge is organized by WARR, the Scientific Workgroup
for Rocketry and Spaceflight of the Technische Universitt Mnchen (TUM). The
members are mostly enrolled and alumni students from different institutes of the
TUM. WARR was founded in 1962 and is the oldest scientific workgroup of the TUM.
The aim of WARR is to provide its members with the opportunity to accomplish
scientific work as an addition to their studies.
The EU is leading space elevator development most funding and infrastructure
Hollingham 12,
The Russians dont do countdowns. For the final few seconds before launch those of
us watching just hold our breath and stand well back. I find several thousand
Tidal Power
The EU is establishing more infrastructure for tidal power
that solves
EurActiv 14, EurActiv, 4/2/14, EurActiv is a British news source that primarily
writes about energy concerns, Ocean energy chief: Wave and tidal power can
boost European industry, http://www.euractiv.com/sections/energy/ocean-energy-chiefwave-and-tidal-power-can-boost-european-industry-301314, NN
" On top of that there is a 5% tidal stream figure, and with future
technological development that is likely to be an underestimate in my
view ," he said. The massive Severn estuary tidal barrage scheme had been
rejected by the coalition government because of its environmental impact, but
ministers have indicated they are open to review the idea. Despite his faith in the
idea of barrages, Dr Yates, who carried out the research with colleagues at the
University of Liverpool, says he is against building one across the Severn. "I think
it's unfortunate that attention for tidal range has tended to focus on the Severn, it's
the wrong place to start, it's too big," he said. "Start small, it's what the Danes did
with wind - start small, learn quick and build up.". Developing power from offshore
tidal streams is fraught with difficulty, as the BBC discovered when reporting on the
emerging industry in Scotland last year. Better than wind But according to the
authors of the latest research, 2013 could see a big breakthrough in tidal stream
power. A company called MeyGen is planning to deploy tidal stream technology in
the Pentland Firth that will initially generate up to 40MW of electricity, enough to
power about 38,000 homes. "This is a crucial milestone for us, it will be the first
array of tidal stream turbines," observed report co-author Professor AbuBakr Bahaj
from the University of Southampton. "It will be a viable proposition for us in
energetic areas of the sea - it will be give us another element in the energy mix
that's more reliable than wind." Another key element that researchers have looked
at in this research is the quality of the power produced by tidal sources. The SeaGen
project in Northern Ireland is the largest grid connected tidal turbine in the world.
Analysts have been looking to see if the power produced suffered from flicker,
caused by loads that vary. It's an established problem with older wind energy
turbines and something that causes consumers great annoyance when it happens
to their lights. "In general, the results were very good, the flicker levels were quite
low," said Joseph MacEnri from ESB International who assessed SeaGen. "Overall
this device behaves like a modern, well-behaved wind turbine." While the report
paints a positive future for tidal power, a critical element is money. In the past
month ,the EU has announced funding in the region of 30m for two UK tidal
projects. Investors in tidal technology are currently rewarded with a payment of 40
per megawatt hour for energy generated from renewables, but this scheme will end
in 2017. According to Prof Bahaj, this could have serious implications for the
nascent industry. "It depends on the subsidy. Without it, it wouldn't stack up
financially."
Warming
EU Success in Clean Tech uniquely key to solve warming, U.S
doesnt have the legitimacy to encourage global action to
solve
Parker 10 [August 12 2010, Charles F Parker is a faculty member of
theDepartment of Government at Uppsala University,
Climate Change and the European Union's Leadership Moment: An Inconvenient
Truth? http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-5965.2010.02080.x/full]
The EU's goal, as it states in its own words, is nothing short of [l]eading global action
against climate change to 2020 and beyond with the aim of limiting climate
change to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (Council, 2007, pp. 1011).
The Union, in its quest to play a leading role in international climate protection,
has provided high-profile support for the Kyoto Protocol and is now vigorously
throwing its diplomatic weight behind the effort to successfully negotiate a
comprehensive successor arrangement. In the late 1980s, the US began to
disengage from international environmental governance and under George W.
Bush's administration the US completely abdicated its leadership role,
particularly in the area of climate change . The EU has stepped into this void and has
attempted to shoulder the mantle of leadership. How exactly has the EU attempted to lead the global efforts
to translate its material resources into influence. This difficulty can in part be attributed to the EU's unique
characteristics its status as an intergovernmental actor and the challenges this presents for truly acting as
a Union and highlights how its leadership efforts are enabled and constrained by its complex agencystructure dynamics. As others have demonstrated, the EU's leadership impact has not been commensurate
impact on our positive attitude to the Kyoto process. We will speed up Russia's
movement towards ratifying the Kyoto Protocol.1 In the run-up to the 2009 Copenhagen
conference, the EU once again displayed a willingness to exercise its structural leadership. On the
inducement side, it promised funding to developing countries for actions to mitigate and adapt to climate
change if a satisfactory post-2012 agreement was reached (Council, 2008b, pp. 67). Conversely, the
spectre of imposing border tax adjustments on goods from countries with less stringent climate regulations
has been raised by the French as well as Commission President Barroso (BBC News, 2008a). The Union's
power resources also play a role in the second and historically most important leadership mode: directional
leadership or leading by example. The EU, drawing on its capacity and potential to act, has attempted to
demonstrate its commitment to fighting climate change by adopting a number of binding measures to
reduce its emissions without corresponding reductions in other countries .
EU also committed to
increasing its share of renewable energy to 20 per cent and improving its
energy efficiency by 20 per cent by 2020. In January 2008 the Commission
released a blueprint for implementing and achieving these goals. Eleven
months later the work carried out under the co-decision procedure produced a
first-reading agreement on an energy and climate package. The EU has also
developed and, in 2005, launched the EU-ETS. This established the world's
largest company-level market for trading CO2 emissions . The EU, which sees
itself as the world leader in this emerging market wants the EU-ETS to serve as
the pillar of a global carbon trading network (Commission, 2007, p. 2). It
further envisions a future framework that enables comparable emission
trading arrangements in different regions to be linked together. The EU, which sees
the ETS as a vital tool for developed countries to reach GHG reductions in a cost-effective manner, believes
the efficacy of the ETS will be further enhanced by the revisions enacted by the 2008 climate package. The
revised ETS directive, which will apply from 2013 to 2020, brings new industries into the ETS, covers two
additional GHGs, reduces the Community-wide quantity of allowances issued each year, introduces full
auctioning from 2013 in the power sector and will phase in auctioning for the
manufacturing sector (with exceptions for sectors at risk of carbon leakage).
The EU's promotion of the revised ETS as a model that is fit to go global and
serve as the nucleus for building a global carbon market (Commission, 2008)
provides a good example of how the EU's directional leadership dovetails with
its policy entrepreneurship activities. Although the idea for emissions trading was originally a
US idea initially resisted by the Europeans, the EU has now fully embraced the concept and
repackaged it as its own. In fact, the ETS has become a political pet that the
EU has aggressively implemented and promoted . The EU's directional leadership in this
area has already had an impact as the positive and negative lessons of the EU-ETS have been studied by
idea-based leadership. The Union has been an active policy entrepreneur for
climate protection. It worked hard to make its voice heard on problem
definition, agenda setting, goal setting and promoting policy solutions
regarding the climate threat. The Union has embraced the scientific
conclusions from the IPCC; already in 1996 the European Council endorsed the
goal that global warming must be limited to no more than 2 degrees Celsius
above the pre-industrial level. In addition to defining the nature of the problem, the EU has
conducted its own analysis and put forward its own proposals for what must be done (Council, 2008a).
According to the EU Commission's analysis, GHG emissions must be stabilized by 2020 and then reduced to
50 per cent of 1990 levels by 2050 if the world is to avert a 2 degrees temperature rise. The Union has also
laid out its vision for meeting these goals and how the burden should be shared among the developed and
developing countries. The Union argues that the developed countries must shoulder the lion's share of the
burden over the coming decades. The Union has called for the EU and other developed countries to enter
into a new international agreement requiring collective emission cuts of at least 30 per cent below the 1990
level by 2020. According to the EU, the developed countries should aim for cuts of 60 to 80 per cent by 2050
(Council of the European Union, 2007, p. 12). The Union wants these goals and commitments to be
enshrined in a post-2012 international agreement containing binding rules with well-developed monitoring
and enforcement mechanisms. The Union also has a timeline in mind and it attempted to get the
Whales
The EU is the leading force in preventing whaling across the
globe sonar systems prove
EC 14, European Commission, 6/3/14, the European Commission is an
environmental agency that works close with the EU, Underwater Noise: Cetacean
disturbance by sonar activities,
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/species/whales_dolphins/index_en.htm
, NN
The Commission is aware of the current concerns about the impact of sonar on
marine mammals. The claim has been that emission of intense, low and medium
frequency tone bursts has a disturbing effect on cetaceans. Information has also
been forwarded that these sonar sounds might also have an impact on fish and fish
behaviour. European legislation (mainly provisions of Directive 92/43/CEE
Habitats) requires Member States of the European Union to take requisite
measures to establish a system of strict protection for all cetaceans in European
waters. However, in the absence of a comprehensive and authoritative review of the
available information concerning the impact of sonar, it is extremely difficult to
develop a clear position on this issue. dolphinThis question was raised by the
Commission in the Habitats Committee meeting of 20 November 2002. The
information obtained thereafter on this complex issue, coming from Member States
and regional Marine environmental organisations, has to be completed with more
scientific studies. Therefore, on 25 September 2003, the Commission has requested
an independent scientific organisation, namely the International Council for the
Exploration of the Sea (ICES, Demark), to undertake a scientific review and
evaluation of all relevant information concerning the impact of sonar on cetaceans
and fish, to identify the gaps in our current understanding and to make
recommendations for future investigations/research. The Commission would also be
interested in advice about possible mitigation measures to reduce or minimise the
impact of sonar on cetaceans and fish. It is only on the basis of sound scientific
information that it will be possible to determine what actions are needed to avoid
cetacean disturbance by sonar activities in a consistent and co-operative manner at
EU level, ensuring compliance with the Habitats Directive provisions. However,
scientific uncertainties about effects must not justify a failure to take action to
address this matter. Given its potential impact on the marine environment, the
Commission considers that this type of technology should be used with extreme
prudence, and ideally be subject to a prior assessment of its possible effects. The
Commission is aware of possible effects of military activities on the Environment,
but it is not possible to undertake further Community action to regulate the
development of new military technologies, due to lack of EU competencies in this
field. This statement has been made by the European Commission to the European
Parliament in March 2004. The output of the Study is expected by early 2005. In the
meanwhile some EU countries (Spain) have taken action in peace time, restricting
the use of these sonar technologies during military manoeuvres (previous impact
assessment studies )
The Member States of the European Union must act in unison to protect whales. The
European Commission calls on EU Member States to agree on a common position on
the protection of whales before the next meeting of the International Whaling
Commission in June 2008 as proposed by the Commission in December 2007. Such
a common position would reinforce greatly the European Union's efforts to protect
whales. Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: "The graphic images on our
television screens bring home the reality of whale hunting. This shows that more
than ever the EU needs to be united in opposing whaling. I call on Member States to
reach a common position to reinforce the efforts to protect whales." Commission
Borg added: "Whales are protected by the International Whaling Commission and
European Union law. Scientific research must not be used as a cover for continued
whaling." Japan continues to undermine efforts to protect whales In November 2007
(IP/07/1736) the European Commission expressed its concern over Japanese plans
to kill up to 1000 minke, fin and humpback whales in the South Pacific. It is now
clear to the world that Japan continues to undermine international efforts to
conserve and protect whales despite the International Whaling Commission (IWC)
repeatedly urging Japan to refrain from hunting whales. The fin and humpback
whales are classified as "endangered" and "vulnerable" species by the World
Conservation Union (IUCN). There is a serious risk that Japanese whaling will
undermine the long-term viability of these species. The European Commission urges
Japan - once again - to reconsider its decision and stop the hunt. The International
Community must find a comprehensive solution to whaling. The Commission calls
on the members of the International Whaling Commission to fully adhere to the
1986 whaling moratorium. The Commission emphasises that there is no need to use
lethal means to obtain scientific information about whales, and that adequate data
for management purposes can be obtained using non-lethal techniques. A unified
EU position The European Commission is working to coordinate European efforts to
protect whales, but as the European Union is not yet a party to the IWC the
European Commission cannot negotiate on behalf of EU Member States. European
Union law on whaling is very clear. It is not allowed in EU waters. Under EU
environmental law all whale species are protected from deliberate disturbance,
capture or killing within EU waters and all Member States in the European Union are
obliged to observe these laws. The EU is not opposed to aboriginal peoples whaling
for their subsistence - as allowed under the IWC Convention - provided it falls within
the confines of catch limits based on scientific advice. This is the case for the
aboriginal peoples of Greenland which are allowed to hunt fin and minke whales.
But the Commission condemns whaling disguised as scientific research as carried
out by Japan. Whales are highly migratory species. If whaling is only banned in EU
waters but not everywhere else in the world then such a ban can have only a limited
effect on the well-being of whale species. This is why the international ban on
commercial whaling must stay and why all EU Member States party to the IWC must
oppose any move seeking to lift it. We need to move towards more international
protection of whales rather than less. Background In December 2007 the
Commission presented a Communication designed to establish an effective
international regulatory framework on the hunting of whales which would also cover
scientific whaling. Accordingly, the Communication states that the moratorium
remains of central importance but stresses the need to take a comprehensive
approach to address other aspects such as scientific whaling. With this
Communication the Commission intends to underline the urgent need for the EU to
act as a united major player in international whaling policy. The European Union has
not yet been able to use its political weight within the IWC because of the lack of a
coordinated and agreed EU position. Together with the Communication the
Commission also presented a proposal for a Council Decision in support of
continuing the moratorium and to encourage the collection of scientific data on
whales using non lethal methods.
European Maritime Day is celebrated annually across the European Union (EU) on
20 May. This is relevant to the Caribbean as large parts of the EU and of course the
entire Caribbean have a very close relationship with the ocean and secondly, the
ocean is an enormous source of energy. It is estimated that 0.1% of the energy in
ocean waves could be capable of supplying the entire world's energy requirements
five times over. The EU has established a trinity of energy policy goals, energy
supplies must be: i) secure; ii) sustainable and iii) underpin the EUs global
competitiveness. The energy challenges facing the Caribbean are remarkably
similar. The development of this emerging sector would not only help us to achieve
our mutual renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets, but could fuel
economic growth through innovation and create new, high-quality jobs. Also for
these reasons, renewable energy is a key component of the EU's most recent policy
document on development cooperation; the 2011 "Agenda for Change". So, the
potential is significant and, for now, the EU position is very strong, and we are
working very hard to consolidate our position as a global leader and expand our
efforts. Today, ocean energy covers around 0.02% of EU energy needs and it is
primarily used for electricity production. The target is for 15% of EU electricity to be
provided from ocean energy by 2050. This is a massive task, but one which the EU
must deliver on. In the following, I will briefly outline how the EU intends to achieve
this goal. This may inspire a similar process in the Caribbean or ignite desires for
collaboration on specific areas. As in many areas, the EU has started at the policy
level. Important "Communications" from the European Commission, e.g. on "Blue
Energy" (2012), demonstrate how the EU views a possible development of marine
energy. These policy documents are complemented by a wide array of documents,
statements etc from the EU private sector, academia, civil society groups and
governments. The Action Plan for ocean energy in the EU comprises two phases. A
first phase from 2014 2016, which is seeing the establishment of an EU-wide
Ocean Energy Forum and the formulation of an Ocean Energy Strategic Roadmap.
From 2017-2020, Phase 2 should see the implementation of a European Industrial
Initiative, similar to a previous very successful development relating to wind energy,
and the adoption of sector specific guidelines/legislation. Over the past seven years
EUR 600 million private sector investments have been made in the sector and this
amount has been complemented by substantial public funding for research either
from the EU wide level or from individual Member States. Thus, today the EU has
developed several devices of 1Mega Watt (MW) and more and deployed these in our
waters. The goal is to deliver reliable and cost-effective electricity from larger-scale
projects of up to 50MW by 2020 in preparation for wholesale market roll-out from
2025. An EU development of particular interest for the Caribbean is the
development of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC). Some of the Outermost
Regions of the EU are small island societies, very similar to the many Small Island
Developing States of the Caribbean. With OTEC, the difference of temperature
between cold, deep seawaters and warm, shallow waters creates a thermodynamic
cycle, which can be used for producing electricity. For many Caribbean islands, the
conditions for this type of technology could be ideal. Indeed a prototype has already
been launched in the French island of La Reunion in the Indian Ocean. Here in the
Caribbean, developments are already underway to explore the technology in Aruba
and Martinique. With quite a remarkable level of foresight the European Marine
Energy Centre (EMEC), based in the UK, was established ten (10) years and is now a
world leader for real time testing and development of marine energy standards.
Here in the Caribbean, the UK/Antigua company Seatricity has designed, developed
and patented what appears to be a viable, practical and reliable wave energy plant
with prototypes having been tested in the Caribbean Sea. Testing has now moved
on to EMEC in northern Europe. My hope is that the EU can establish strong research
bonds with the Caribbean on marine energy, ideally building on the already
impressive results of our EU-CARINET collaboration. This is an exciting time for
energy in the Caribbean. A CARICOM energy policy was adopted in 2013, and the
very strong contours of a road map to implement this policy are emerging. Key
stakeholders with strong track records in the region, such as the Caribbean
Development Bank, the University of the West Indies, and the Caribbean Export
Development Agency are also increasingly focusing on renewable energy. Also the
private sector is in a state of renewable energy flux. Critically, civil society
organisations, such as Barbados Renewable Energy Association (BREA) in Barbados,
are emerging too. In short the environment seems to be ripe for collaboration and
technology transfer. Indeed in partnership with the Inter-American Development
Bank and the Barbados Government, important initial scoping studies are due to
take place very soon in Barbados. Funding facilities from the EU for the sector could
be considerable there is a wide array of EU level and EU Member States funding
opportunities. A significant first step towards EU-Caribbean collaboration was taken
when the UK hosted a Caribbean Marine Energy Seminar in Barbados in early 2014.
This was a major success and we are exploring avenues to follow up. This should be
the first of many EU-Caribbean exchanges on the subject and indeed I think we
can learn quite a lot from each other.
after September 11, 2001 the usa proceeded to damage its reputation as a
benevolent hegemon. Charles Kupchan (2003), adviser to the Clinton government on European
politics, and Jeremy Rifkin (2004) underline, in contrast, that in many parts of the world Europe
enjoys trust which could serve as a foundation for more effective international
initiatives on the part of the eu but also of the West in general . The eu
therefore possesses moral capital which could be of the highest importance in
the translation of economic, political or even military potential into legitimate
global action. Third, the eu is often reproached with making only marginal
contributions to stability and security in the international system. The eus
engagement in the successor states of the Soviet Union, as well as in
particular the process of eastern enlargement of the Union, have contributed
substantially to the largely peaceful transformation process in the former
socialist countries. In this context the eu has made major political and financial
investments in Europes stability and security and so also that of the
international system, although this strategy has been controversial in many member states. Th e eu
should capitalize on these successes both internally and externally to make its
mark as an effective player in international politics. Fourthly, the eu itself
constitutes a kind of regional laboratory for global governance. Multilevel
politics between national states and the Union, the far-reaching juridification of
its international cooperation ipg 1/2007 Messner, EU as Protagonist of
Multilateralism 13 (European jurisdiction), the bundling of shared sovereignties, the
continuous development of common interests between the member states, as
well as the division of labor between national states, the quasi-supranational
eu Commission and the eu Parliament that is, the complicated but
unavoidable governing beyond nation states has been practiced in the eu for a number
of decades. The experiences obtained in this way and the political habits handed down and internalized in
this process represent for both the eu and the member states a political competitive advantage which is not
to be undervalued when it comes to helping effectively to shape the development of the global-governance
The eu is both the most advanced and at the same time the most
ambitious project of regional cooperation in the world and in principle an
appropriate answer to the challenges of globalization, which is increasingly
giving rise to transnational sets of problems and necessitating cross-border
governance
architecture.
absent, blocking or destructive. (ibid.) Not only was the U.S. no longer a leader,
but it was involved in a progressive distancing from active involvement in
climate-change management, culminating in the March 2001 formal denunciation of the Kyoto
Protocol. U.S. withdrawal from the negotiations prompted the observation by the
president of the sixth UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (CoP 6), Jan Pronk,
that the EU had become the only game in town (Earth Negotiations Bulletin 2001:13). It
is possible, however, that the period between the end of the Cold War and the
attacks of 9/11 2001 was singularly propitious for EU actorness . Despite demands
that the EU should assert or increase its influence on the world stage, and in particular should strive for an
identity and roles that sharply distinguish its stance from that of the U.S.A., the contemporary period is
threats dominate the agenda of international politics, the EU may encounter a diminution in opportunity to
develop a distinctive postureand, more specifically, to maintain a leadership role in climate-change
U.S.
rejection of the Kyoto Protocol has undoubtedly provided the EU with a unique
opportunity to capitalize on its economic and environmental presence and to
assume a leadership role in the climate-change regime. While EU
representatives have enthusiastically claimed this role, it remains to consider
the extent to which the EU possesses the capacity to achieve and sustain it.
diplomacy. Nevertheless, while the Iraq crisis demonstrated the limitations of a common foreign policy,
Orleans College of Law, Winter 2011, Redefining the European Union's Position in
the Emerging Multipolar World: Strong Global Leadership Potential, Restrained by
Asymmetry of Power and Dissonant Voices, Tulane Journal of International and
Comparative Law, 20 Tul. J. Int'l & Comp. L. 145, p. lexis
The unprecedented pace of change unfolding in today's multipolar world is producing a new global order in which all
participants are forced to redefine their economic and political positions. n2 As many emerging
economies promote growing nationalism across the globe, traditional Western powers - including
both the United States and the European Union - must face the reality of a world in which the West is no longer
solely ascendant. n3 As the Treaty on European Union (TEU) twenty years ago marked a bold redefinition of the European integration project,
so the recent Treaty of Lisbon has reformed institutions, streamlined processes, and elevated the European Union (EU) on the global stage n4 as it again
faces existential opportunities and internal and external conflict. The EU itself is in motion within a global order that is also in motion. This atomic
relationship is more radically multipolar than is readily apparent: "Few in the West have grasped the full implications of the two most salient features of
together could be larger than the G6 in US dollar terms." n7 Other experts observe the significant economic growth of additional countries - such as
Indonesia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and others - as dynamic centers of economic growth. n8 But the coming power structure is broader than
with crises of legitimacy; sovereign city-states holding wealth and driving innovation; and private mercenary armies, religious radicals and humanitarian
bodies playing by their own rules as they compete for hearts, minds and wallets. It sounds familiar today. But it was just as true slightly less than a
distort power, depending on the markets and the climate. n11 Currency manipulation by numerous governments
[*148] contributes to instability as governments react to economic and political pressures. n12 Also, many countries in the EU are in
political and economic turmoil as national budgets - in response to fiscal woes - are reducing resources available for jobs and services to citizens, which
has altered the generous social contract of the previous fifty years in Europe. n13 Due to the extreme financial positions in Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and
Spain, governments are pressured to enact hugely unpopular legislation, further destabilizing their ability to govern. n14 With national elections on the
horizon in some Member States, the political rhetoric becomes acerbic. n15 Massive "irregular" immigration from the Arab world rouses populist
nationalism as well. n16 For example, in the traditionally tolerant Netherlands, a law banning religious slaughter was recently proposed, causing alarm in
Muslim and Jewish communities. n17 Many Jews and Muslims see the ban as part of a growing European hostility to immigration and diversity. Geert
Wilders, the far-right Dutch politician, has called for the Netherlands to ban the burka after France curbed the public wearing of the Islamic face veil;
politicians including Britain's David Cameron have proclaimed the failure of multiculturalism; and anti-immigration parties such as Finland's True Finns
have been increasingly successful at the polls. n18 With the French presidential election nearing in 2012, President Sarkozy is likely to continue a
discourse focused on immigration, fear, and xenophobia. n19 Such negative, insensitive rhetoric does not promote stability in the EU or promote
acceptance in the Islamic world. Finally, change can be found in the fundamental ethos of the EU itself. The original reasons justifying incremental pooling
of aspects of [*149] sovereignty for the original supranational Communities - the need for internal peace and economic rebuilding mixed with fear of
external military aggression n20 - are now mainly obsolescent. A unitary core motivation is less apparent in today's European citizen and politician. B.
What Form of Polity Will the EU Assume in the Next Twenty Years? What Relative Position in the World? What Leadership Will It Exercise? The EU's famous
common market will continue, and the Union - especially if it can further deepen its integration - could grow to much more. The single market remains the
EU's "biggest competitive advantage": n21 Five hundred million relatively prosperous inhabitants make any such trading bloc significant. n22 Every
Member State's "commercial interests are force-multiplied by 27 member states' weight." n23 The EU and the United States have the largest bilateral
trading and investment relationships, and their transactions together account for nearly forty percent of world trade. n24 Significant to political and legal
the EU will continue to present the most distinctly advanced model of peaceful
cross-border cooperation of any type, n25 the elements of which include: supranational authority, n26 post-Lisbon "legal
science,
personality," n27 reasonably effective democratic institutions, high standards of human rights, and rule-of-law [*150] enforcement. n28 Moreover, as
discussed infra, recent events and EU decision making have further advanced the depth of European integration, yielding a more complex, flexible, and
integrated quasi-federal polity. Further,
thereby
is generally unencumbered by the past half-century of international interventions or domestic suppressions that have so pointedly discredited, in many
minds, the United States, China, and Russia. Thus,
position of all nations or regional/international organizations for principled leadership today. Viewed
from another perspective, EU leadership is essential to preventing this new
multipolar world from degenerating into another contentious bipolar
world , possibly with the Western democracies opposing the autocracies of
Russia and China , or perhaps with the traditionally Western cultures opposing
Islam. n29 The EU may be the most important player in determining this future
character of the world's power structure because China, Russia, and the United
States all are "capable of both multilateral and unilateral behaviour." n30 The specific
areas in which the EU enjoys advantageous leadership potential are several and
could yield hugely significant results if the EU is able to exercise that
leadership - for example, Europe's unique position as the world's foremost advocate of
human rights protection, especially following the Treaty of Lisbon's amendments to the TEU's article 6. This
article authorizes the EU to give legal effect to the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights and more significantly
mandates that the Union accede to the Council of Europe's monolithic Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. n31 The EU's windward tacking toward authentic human rights protection at last
nears its destination. n32 [*151] In 1992, the TEU substantiated the principle developed by the European Court of
Justice by confirming in article F that the "Union shall respect fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ... and as they result from the
constitutional traditions common to the Member States as general principles of Community law." n33 The European
Council decision at Cologne in 1999 authorized the "expansive, innovative provisions" n34 of the Charter of
Fundamental Rights. n35 The EU required the Charter to broaden overall protection because the European
Convention on Human Rights spoke mainly to civil and political rights and did not address social and economic
rights. n36 In spite of many criticisms that the Charter was unenforceable, it became enforceable with the Treaty of
Lisbon. n37 That treaty crowned the long procession by commanding the EU to accede to the European Convention
on Human Rights, n38 with enforcement authorized by two prestigious organizations, the EU and the Council of
the
EU's accomplishments in promoting environmental protection, including its 20-20-20 energy
and climate package, n40 give the EU special standing to campaign for international
Europe. n39 Europe today stands in the most prestigious pulpit of global human rights leadership. Moreover,
both international
climate
change cooperation and greener, more secure energy policies. n41 A collateral
benefit of these initiatives would potentially encourage further integration of energy-rich
Russia into mainstream Europe in areas ranging from economic and energy markets to improved
cooperation in [*152] human rights. n42 The EU's Third Energy Package will also help reduce Russia's current
leverage over EU energy supplies by making it harder for a company, such as the Russian Gazprom, to be both a
the EU
could forge a breakthrough with improved migration and immigration policies, as well as the
advancement of development and humanitarian aid, but only if it can reach consensus on its
supplier and transit provider. n43 Due to its geography, history, and present urgent circumstances,
approach. n44 In spite of diverging national perspectives, the EU (and other countries and international and
regional organizations) should rush to aid and stabilize exploding North African and Middle Eastern countries with an
expanded Mediterranean policy. n45 Italy's Foreign Affairs Minister, Franco Frattini, called for a new level of EU
cooperation and "an ambitious new development and stability pact" that includes: more money for the
Mediterranean project, development to build jobs and strengthen the ineffective Union for the Mediterranean, and
the creation of a Marshall Plan for the Mediterranean. n46 "What if the Arab spring turns to winter?" n47 Likewise,
the EU's development policy, focused on these and other parts of Africa, contributes to stability
of the regions and addresses dire human needs while advancing the EU's existing commitment to
the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. n48 " Europe has vast [*153] experience, having
developed aid programmes at EU and national levels, and having created institutions such as
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to put central and eastern Europe on the
path to democracy and a market economy." n49 The EU remains the largest aid donor
in the world. n50
Thus, the answer to the first question set out at the beginning of this section, whether economic integration and
economic crises are linked, seems reasonably well-established. Substantial recent scholarship indicates a positive
a
correlation between economic crises and armed conflict ? The impacts at an individual level
association between interdependence and economic crises. What then about the second question? Is there
and on a state level are intuitive and well-documented (see. e.g., Richards & Gelleny, 2006). Rodrik (1997a, 1997b),
science literature has contributed a moderate degree of attention to the impact of economic decline and the
security and defence behaviour of interdependent stales. Research in this vein has been considered at systemic,
dyadic and national levels. Several notable contributions follow. / First, on the systemic level, Pollins (2008)
rhythms in the
global economy are associated with the rise and fall of a pre-eminent power and the
often bloody transition from one pre-eminent leader to the next. As such, exogenous shocks such as
economic crises could usher in a redistribution of relative power (see also Gilpin, 1981)
that leads to uncertainty about power balances , increasing the risk of miscalculation (Fearon.
advances Modelski and Thompson's (1996) work on leadership cycle theory, finding that
1995). Alternatively, even a relatively certain redistribution of power could lead to a permissive environment for
conflict as a rising power may seek to challenge a declining power (Werner. 1999). Separately, Pollins (1996) also
global economic cycles combined with parallel leadership cycles impact the
likelihood of conflict among major, medium and small power s, although he suggests that the
shows that
causes and connections between global economic conditions and security conditions remain unknown. / Second, on
a dyadic level, Copelands (1996. 2000) theory of trade expectations suggests that future expectation of trade is
a significant variable in understanding economic conditions and security behaviour of states. He argues that
interdependent states are likely to gain pacific benefits from trade so long as they have an optimistic view of future
trade relations. However,
Rettman 13,
We Europeans must understand that soft power alone is really no power at all.
Without hard capabilities to back up its diplomacy, Europe will lack credibility and
influence," he told MEPs on the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee in
Brussels on Monday (6 May). "If European nations do not make a firm commitment
to invest in security and defence, then all talk about a strengthened European
defence and security policy will just be hot air," he added. Twenty one out of the 27
EU countries are also Nato members. Rasmussen said they lack "transport planes,
air-to-air refuelling and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets." He
noted that, given the financial crisis, it is "too expensive for any individual [EU]
country" to buy the hardware that Nato needs Europe to have. He also indicated
that European countries are too dove-ish in their approach to foreign crises. "We
must also have the political will to use them [military means]. To deal with security
challenges on Europe's doorstep. To help manage crises further away that might
affect us here at home," he said. Rasmussen spoke in the run-up to an EU summit
on defence in December - the first one since the financial crisis erupted in 2008. His
remarks on EU foreign policy prompted questions on whether he is interested in
taking EU foreign service chief Catherine Ashton's job when she departs next year.
"I haven't started thinking about the next step," he said, referring to his own career.
He envisaged EU-level security co-operation with Nato as a mixture of police
missions and diplomacy. Taking the Western Balkans as an example, he said: "Nato
has shown its capacity to act quickly and in high intensity crises, while the European
Union is able to deploy a wide range of civilian and military expertise to help rebuild
nations." He commended Ashton on her recent diplomatic breakthrough in helping
Belgrade and Pristina to end a frozen conflict in north Kosovo. But he added: "Both
parties wanted assurance that Nato would guarantee the security to implement the
agreement." MEPs also quizzed Rasmussen about Syria. The civil war saw two new
developments in recent days. Over the weekend, Israeli jets struck several Syrian
targets, including a military complex near Damascus. Reports say they killed more
than 40 soldiers and that they did it to stop Syrian weapons getting into the hands
of Israel's fiercest enemy, the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. A UN investigator, Carla
Del Ponte, also told Swiss TV on Sunday "there are strong, concrete suspicions" that
Syrian rebels have used Sarin gas, a banned chemical weapon. The developments
saw the Russian foreign ministry ring the alarm on Monday. "We are seriously
concerned about the signs that global public opinion is being prepared for a possible
armed intervention in the Syrian conflict," its foreign ministry spokesman told
Russian media. For his part, Rasmussen in Brussels repeated the long-standing Nato
line on Syria. He told MEPs there will be no Nato intervention because there is no UN
mandate and because the conflict is too "complex." He also said the only way out is
a "political solution." He declined to comment on the Israeli strikes and he claimed
he knows no more than what he reads in the papers about chemical weapons. Nato
has deployed US, German and Dutch "Patriot" anti-missile defence systems on Nato
member Turkey's border with Syria.
by the non-hegemonic actor, or its compliance with certain states of affairs, does
not necessarily mean consensus. Successful framing by the stronger party of the
common good (soft power), however, can result in power differences going
uncontested and countries signing treaties that bring highly differential benefits.
Unqualified calls for and claims to transboundary cooperation of any sort, no matter
how slight (UNDP 2006) are therefore as wrongheaded as are alarms over water
wars. Policy and programs promoting unqualified cooperation were criticised on
the grounds that negative forms of cooperation need reform or resolution, not
management or encouragement.
for The Guardian, Water wars between countries could be just around the corner,
Davey warns, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/mar/22/water-warscountries-davey-warns, NN
Water wars could be a real prospect in coming years as states struggle with the
effects of climate change, growing demand for water and declining resources, the
secretary of state for energy and climate change warned on Thursday. Ed Davey
told a conference of high-ranking politicians and diplomats from around the world
that although water had not been a direct cause of wars in the past, growing
pressure on the resource if climate change is allowed to take hold, together with the
pressure on food and other resources, could lead to new sources of conflict and the
worsening of existing conflicts. "Countries have not tended to go to war over water,
but I have a fear for the world that climate instability drives political instability," he
said. "The pressure of that makes conflict more likely." Even a small temperature
rise far less than the 4C that scientists predict will result from a continuation of
business as usual could lead to lower agricultural yields, he warned, at a time
when population growth means that demand for food was likely to be up by 70% by
2060. By the same time, he noted, the number of people living in conditions of
serious water stress would have reached 1.8 billion, according to estimates.
"Climate change intensifies pressures on states, and between states," he told the
conference, gathered to discuss whether climate change and natural resources
should be regarded as a national security issue. "[Its effects] can lead to internal
unrest and exacerbate existing tensions. We have to plan for a world where
climate change makes difficult problems even worse." But Davey recalled previous
global catastrophes that had been averted, including the threat of nuclear
armageddon during the cold war, and successes such as the elimination of
smallpox. He urged governments to work on adapting to climate change as a matter
of urgency, as well as striving for an international agreement to cut greenhouse gas
emissions. His call was echoed by Ali Bongo Ondimba, president of the Gabonese
Republic. He told the conference that Africa was the most vulnerable part of the
world to climate change, but that African people had been responding to a changing
climate for thousands of years his own Bantu people had been forced, centuries
ago, to move around Africa as areas dried out and food became scarcer. Gabon had
already started to take action to protect the 88% of its land that is covered by
rainforest, and to reduce carbon emissions by its industries, with a view to a
"transformation" by 2025. He warned that seeking to lift people out of poverty could
not be achieved at the expense of degrading natural resources. He warned that
policies for economic growth across the continent must reflect this immediately:
"The impact [of degradation] cannot be reversed by policies conceived too late."
If we do not destroy ourselves with the A-bomb and the H-bomb, then we may
destroy ourselves with the C-bomb, the Change Bomb. And in a world as interlinked
as ours, one explosion may lead to the other. Already in the Middle East, from North
Africa to the Persian Gulf and from the Nile to the Euphrates, tensions over
dwindling water supplies and rising populations are reaching what many experts
describe as a flashpoint. A climate shift in the single battle-scarred nexus might
trigger international tensions that will unleash some of the 60,000 nuclear warheads
the world has stockpiled since Trinity.
"pseudo-NGOs" inside Russia and among the post-Soviet neighbors that receive
resources from Western governments and institutions, viewing this as a form of
subversion. In reality, the Kremlin is envious that Western values are often more
appealing to educated and ambitious segments of the population than traditional
Russian values. The global human rights agenda is berated by Putin as a Western
plot, because the US and other Western states allegedly politicize human rights and
use them as a means for exerting pressure on Russia and its neighbors. Human
rights campaigns are depicted as a powerful form of soft power diplomacy
intended to discredit governments that are more easily influenced by Moscow.
Russia supposedly offers a legitimate political alternative to these countries - a
quasi- authoritarian sovereign democracy and a statist-capitalist form of economic
development. Sovereign democracy is presented as a viable option to the alleged
Western export of democratic revolutions. Russias support for strong-arm
governments is intended to entice these countries under its political and security
umbrella and delegitimize the West for its criticisms of autocratic politics.
MOSCOWS SOFT POWER INSTRUMENTS In Putins version of soft power," an
assortment of tools can be deployed to achieve strategic goals. These include
culture, education, media, language, minority protection, Christian Orthodoxy, panSlavism, and Russo-focused assimilation. All these elements can supplement
institutional instruments, economic incentives, energy dependence, military threats,
and the political pressures applied by the Kremlin. In a landmark article on 23
January 2012 in Nezavisimaya Gazeta (The Independent Newspaper) Putin
promoted his plan for uniting Russias multi-ethnic society and stressed the central
importance of Russian culture for all former Soviet states. In sum, for Eastern Slavs
Russia is supposed to be the model older brother, while for non-Slavs it is
evidently the enlightened father figure. The stress is on uniting various ethnic
communities in the Russian Federation and former USSR under the banner of
Russian culture and values. Putin criticizes multiculturalism as a destabilizing force
and instead supports integration through assimilation, a veiled term for
Russification. According to Putin, Russian people and culture are the binding fabric
of this unique civilization. He extolls the virtues of "cultural dominance," where
Russia is depicted as a poly-ethnic civilization held together by a Russian cultural
core. The President notes with satisfaction that many former citizens of the Soviet
Union, who found themselves abroad, are calling themselves Russian, regardless of
their ethnicity. Russian people are evidently nation-forming as the great mission
of Russians is to unite and bind civilization through language and culture.
According to such ethno-racist thinking, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Georgians, and
other nationalities simply do not match the historical importance of the Great
Russian nation. For Putin, the Russian state has a key role to play in forming a
worldview that binds the nation. He has called for enhancing education, language
use, and national history to buttress Russias tradition of cultural dominance and
lists numerous tools for promoting Russian culture, including television, cinema, the
Internet, social media, and popular culture. All these outlets must evidently shape
public opinion and set behavioral norms.
humanity: the danger of nuclear war. Since the end of the Cold War, many have acted as though the danger of
nuclear war has ended. It has not. There remain in the world more than 20,000 nuclear weapons. Alarmingly,
more than 2,000 of these weapons in the U.S. and Russian arsenals remain on ready-alert
status, commonly known as hair-trigger alert. They can be fired within five minutes and reach targets in the
other country 30 minutes later. Just one of these weapons can destroy a city. A war involving a
substantial number would cause devastation on a scale unprecedented in human history. A study
conducted by Physicians for Social Responsibility in 2002 showed that if only 500 of the Russian weapons on high
alert exploded over our cities, 100 million Americans would die in the first 30 minutes. An attack of
this magnitude also would destroy the entire economic, communications and transportation infrastructure on
which we all depend. Those who survived the initial attack would inhabit a nightmare landscape with
huge swaths of the country blanketed with radioactive fallout and epidemic diseases rampant. They
would have no food, no fuel, no electricity, no medicine, and certainly no organized health care. In the following
months it is likely the vast majority of the U.S. population would die. Recent studies by the eminent climatologists
Toon and Robock have shown that such a war would have a huge and immediate impact on climate world
wide. If all of the warheads in the U.S. and Russian strategic arsenals were drawn into the
conflict, the firestorms they caused would loft 180 million tons of soot and debris into the upper
atmosphere blotting out the sun. Temperatures across the globe would fall an average of 18
degrees Fahrenheit to levels not seen on earth since the depth of the last ice age, 18,000 years ago.
Agriculture would stop, eco-systems would collapse, and many species, including perhaps our
own, would become extinct. It is common to discuss nuclear war as a low-probabillity event. But is this true? We
know of five occcasions during the last 30 years when either the U.S. or Russia believed it was
under attack and prepared a counter-attack. The most recent of these near misses occurred after the end of the
Cold War on Jan. 25, 1995, when the Russians mistook a U.S. weather rocket launched from Norway for a possible attack. Jan. 25,
1995, was an ordinary day with no major crisis involving the U.S. and Russia. But, unknown to almost every inhabitant on the planet,
a misunderstanding led to the potential for a nuclear war. The ready alert status of nuclear weapons that existed in 1995 remains in
place today.
face of a US credibility crisis, some look to Europe to take the initiative and fill the vacuum.
Can 2007 be
a European moment? Critics will contend that the EU is in no shape to lead, as it continues to grapple with its constitutional crisis, its
inability to provide clear foreign policy guidance and its lack of military power. But on three critical global issues nuclear nonproliferation , Middle East peace , and climate change it is better placed than anyone else . Opening nuclear negotiations
with Teheran was a European idea in 2004, initially given a lukewarm reception by Washington. More recently, as the EU3Britain, France and Germany-approach began to be seen as the only game in town, Washington has offered more active support, but so far
continuing to stop short of speaking to Teheran directly on the nuclear issue. Bringing Russia and China on board was, again, a European
initiative. If a solution emerges, it is likely to be European-brokered. There is much greater cohesion
among Europeans on Iran than there was on Iraq five years ago: On Iran, the EU will not be split. When it comes to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, barely any progress has been made over the past six years. The adoption of the road map and the creation of the quartet
EU, Russia, the UN, the United States were born of European ideas. They were formally endorsed by Washington, but never seriously
pursued and later quasi-abandoned. This year, a major effort by the current EU presidency has led to the quartet's revival and more
diplomatic activity. Many in the region doubt, however, whether Washington will have the determination necessary for a breakthrough in the
peace process without even more active input from Europe. The European willingness to take more responsibility in the region and to play a
role in ending the Lebanon War in 2006, including the deployment of military forces to the country, was an eye-opener for many in the
region and beyond. On climate change, the critical question is who can and will lead the international debate about a post-Kyoto regime. If a
deal can be hammered out in 2007, and if it has any chance of endorsement in the United States, China and India, it will most likely be the
result of the EU's ongoing efforts to move ahead with ambitious goals on carbon dioxide emissions and energy saving. But would a European
moment in 2007 not be interpreted as a challenge to the global leadership role of the US? Let's not get carried away. Without active US
support, both political and military, none of these major challenges can be resolved. Europeans should beware the hubris of challenging the
United States. But the European moment could actually enhance the transatlantic relationship by offering,
at a crucial juncture, elements that the United States currently lacks: legitimacy and credibility. That is
why our American friends should encourage European initiatives, embrace a European willingness to
lead, and welcome the European moment.
These days the media is filled with speculation about whether we are heading for
policies of revenge or policies of reconciliation between Turks and Kurds in the
borderlands between Mesopotamia and Anatolia. Much is at stake here - and there
can be no doubt what we Europeans must strive to contribute towards. Indeed, it is
to a large extent the process of European modernisation of Turkey that has opened
up the present prospect of these policies of reconciliation. As Turkey moves away
from some of the traumas of its modern birth, and eyes a new European future, it is
also increasingly able to handle the complex issues associated with the Kurdish
question. Prime Minister Erdogan has famously stated that it is "more democracy"
that is the true solution to this issue. And it might well be that it is the feared
success of these policies that has triggered the recent wave of terrorist attacks and
activities. We strongly condemn the acts of terrorism we have seen, and we strongly
salute the efforts aimed at political solutions that we are now seeing. They simply
have to succeed. These tragic and dramatic events have again demonstrated that if
we are interested in the stability of the wider region, we have a profound interest in
anchoring Turkey in our common efforts at promoting peace, prosperity and
reconciliation in the area. Strategic drift in this region could easily be the recipe for
strategic disaster. From Israel through Iraq to Iran there is no lack of challenges in
the months and years ahead. And for us Europeans this is our immediate
neighbourhood. That's clear to everyone in Athens. But it is nowadays equally clear
in Stockholm. In the small town of Sdertlje just outside Stockholm we already
have more refugees from Iraq than there are in the entire United States. In many
ways, our Europe extends into the Middle East - and in many ways the Middle East
extends into our Europe. There may now be a possibility of moving towards a
comprehensive peace between Israel and Palestine. We must give this process however difficult - all the support we can. I believe the policies of the European
Union will be critical to success in these efforts. We all know that the position of the
United States is of critical importance as we approach the crucial meetings now
ahead of us, and we should salute the determination demonstrated by Secretary
Rice in the last few months. She has rightly said that what is needed is a Palestine
state not in the distant and uncertain future, but more or less right now. But when it
comes to actually contributing to that building of a state in Palestine that will also
be the key to the security of Israel, I am convinced that the efforts and contributions
of the European Union will be as critical as they have been in state-building in the
Balkans. Again and again, we see how the soft power of Europe - the inspiration of
our model of integration and shared sovereignty, the magnetism of our process of
integration and of building increasingly close relations with our neighbours, the
transformational capacity of our experiences in conflict resolution and state-building
in complex areas - is becoming increasingly relevant in the world in which we are
living. Our Union is today far more than the regional player it was when first Greece
and then Sweden - to mention just these two countries - joined. You joined a
community of just nine and we a union of just twelve. Today, our Union
encompasses 27 countries with half a billion citizens living in a Europe that has
never been as free, never been as secure and never been as prosperous. We are the
world's largest integrated economy. We are by far the world's largest trading entity.
We are a bigger exporter than the number two and number three taken together,
and we are the largest market for more than 130 nations around the world. We are
by far the world's largest donor of development assistance. And if there is one thing
that has impressed me during the year I have served as one of the foreign ministers
in the Union, it is the demand that exists across the globe for an ever stronger role
and an even stronger political presence of our Union. If we look at the big issues
confronting our world in the years ahead - climate change, proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction, economic growth through trade and reforms, international
terrorism, energy security, building bridges between civilisations, trying to lift the
bottom billion of our world out of despair - it is very difficult to see them being
moved towards some sort of solution without more active engagement on the part
of the European Union. I would say that an active role for the European Union is a
precondition for moving all of these issues in the direction we all seek - although it
is obviously not enough. We must reinforce our cooperation across the Atlantic with
the United States - our traditional and firm partner - but we must also intensify our
efforts at building truly strategic relationships with the rising and responsible
powers of - to name just a few - India, China and Brazil. With the Reform Treaty now
agreed, we are creating new possibilities for our Europe to live up to its
responsibilities as well as its opportunities in these important areas.
first time ever used a hot line for this purpose. After the USS Liberty was attacked by Israeli
forces, which later claimed the attack was a case of mistaken identity, U.S. President Lyndon
Johnson immediately notified Kosygin that the movement of the U.S. Navy in the Mediterranean
Sea was only intended to help the crew of the attacked ship and to investigate the incident. The
situation repeated itself during the hostilities of October 1973. Russian publications of those
years argued that it was the Soviet Union that prevented U.S. military involvement in those
events. In contrast, many U.S. authors claimed that a U.S. reaction thwarted Soviet plans to
send troops to the Middle East. Neither statement is true. The atmosphere was really quite
tense. Sentiments both in Washington and Moscow were in favor of interference, yet both
capitals were far from taking real action. When U.S. troops were put on high alert, Henry
Kissinger assured Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin that this was done largely for domestic
considerations and should not be seen by Moscow as a hostile act. In a private conversation
with Dobrynin, President Richard Nixon said the same, adding that he might have overreacted
but that this had been done amidst a hostile campaign against him over Watergate. Meanwhile,
Kosygin and Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko at a Politburo meeting in Moscow strongly
rejected a proposal by Defense Minister Marshal Andrei Grechko to demonstrate Soviet
military presence in Egypt in response to Israels refusal to comply with a UN Security Council
resolution. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev took the side of Kosygin and Gromyko, saying that he
was against any Soviet involvement in the conflict. The above suggests an unequivocal
conclusion that control by the superpowers in the bipolar world did not allow the Middle East
conflict to escalate into a global confrontation. After the end of the Cold War, some scholars and
political observers concluded that a real threat of the Arab-Israeli conflict going beyond regional
frameworks ceased to exist. However, in the 21st century this conclusion no longer conforms to
the reality. The U.S. military operation in Iraq has changed the balance of forces in the Middle
East. The disappearance of the Iraqi counterbalance has brought Iran to the fore as a regional
power claiming a direct role in various Middle East processes. I do not belong to those who
believe that the Iranian leadership has already made a political decision to create nuclear
weapons of its own. Yet Tehran seems to have set itself the goal of achieving a technological
level that would let it make such a decision (the Japanese model) under unfavorable
circumstances. Israel already possesses nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles. In such
circumstances, the absence of a Middle East settlement opens a dangerous prospect of a
nuclear collision in the region, which would have catastrophic consequences for the whole
world. The transition to a multipolar world has objectively strengthened the role of states and
organizations that are directly involved in regional conflicts, which increases the latters danger
and reduces the possibility of controlling them. This refers, above all, to the Middle East conflict.
The coming of Barack Obama to the presidency has allayed fears that the United States could
deliver a preventive strike against Iran (under George W. Bush, it was one of the most
discussed topics in the United States). However, fears have increased that such a strike can be
launched Yevgeny Primakov 1 3 2 RUSSIA IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS VOL. 7 No. 3 JULY
SEPTEMBER 2009 by Israel, which would have unpredictable consequences for the region
and beyond. It seems that President Obamas position does not completely rule out such a
possibility.
diplomatic activity: if the Iranians send escort vessels for the next round of Turkish ships,
which they have apparently decided not to do in favor of land operations, it could have
presented a casus belli. [cause for war] Syria, too, has been playing a dangerous game, with
both missile deployment and rearming Hezbollah. According to most public accounts,
Hezbollah is sitting on 40,000 long-, medium- and short-range missiles, and Syrian territory
has been serving as a conduit for military materiel from Iran since the end of the 2006
Lebanon War. Should Syria move its own scuds to Lebanon or deploy its troops as
reinforcement for Hezbollah, a wider regional war with Israel could not be contained. In the
backdrop is an Iran, with sufficient fissionable material to produce a couple of nuclear
weapons. It will take some time to weaponize the missiles, but the road to that goal is
synchronized in green lights since neither diplomacy nor diluted sanctions can convince Iran
to change course. From Qatar to Afghanistan all political eyes are on Iran, poised to be "the
hegemon" in the Middle East; it is increasingly considered the "strong horse" as American
forces incrementally retreat from the region. Even Iraq, ironically, may depend on Iranian ties
in order to maintain internal stability. For Sunni nations like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, regional
strategic vision is a combination of deal-making to offset the Iranian Shia advantage, and
attempting to buy or develop nuclear weapons as a counterweight to Iranian ambition.
However, both of these governments are in a precarious state; should either fall, all bets are
off in the Middle East neighborhood. It has long been said that the Sunni "tent" must stand on
two legs: if one, falls, the tent collapses. Should this tent collapse, and should Iran take
advantage of that calamity, it could incite a Sunni-Shia war. Or feeling empowered, and no
longer dissuaded by an escalation scenario, Iran, with nuclear weapons in tow, might decide
that a war against Israel is a distinct possibility. However implausible it may seem at the
moment, the possible annihilation of Israel and the prospect of a second holocaust could
lead to a nuclear exchange.
at the EUISS between August 2002 and August 2007. At the Institute, he dealt with
the regions of the Mediterranean and the Middle East and the use of force in
international relations, Multilateralism in the Middle East
http://www.iss.europa.eu/publications/detail/article/multilateralism-in-the-middleeast/]
This summer, war swept across the parched lands of the Middle East. Once more, and with a terrible feeling
of dj vu, we were contemplating a fully-fledged, conventional war in Israel and Lebanon. And then, almost
unexpectedly, war gave way to a ceasefire and to a fragile peace. This rapid shift a sign of our hasty times
was the product of several causes: Hezbollahs resistance, Israels hesitant tactics, and international
pressure linked to profound disapproval of the war in international public opinion. But let us leave the
assessment of last months events and the exact combination of causes that led to a sudden peace to future
For us Europeans, what really matter are the lessons we can draw from
the crisis. Without any doubt, UNSC Resolution 1701 and its subsequent
implementation represent a triumph of multilateralism. As Javier Solana said on
13 August, by definition, a resolution seeking to solve a conflict cannot be
perfect but it is important to find formulations that are accepted by the
parties. The resolution was the result of multilateral negotiations. An effective
ceasefire and further stabilisation required a robust peacekeeping operation,
which could only be mounted with key European contributions . Confronted with a
historians.
serious internation-al crisis, the Europeans stood ready to help to ensure the security of both Israel and
Lebanon. The parties and the international community welcom-ed Europes determination .
In short,
multilateralism, responsibility and commitment prevailed over unilateral quick
fixes. Now the question is whether and to what extent multilateralism can be
applied to other Middle Eastern crises. In the last couple of years, it has become increasingly
obvious that the Iranian challenge cannot be tackled through unilateral action.
Irans nuclear ambitions must be curbed but, at the same time, Iran should be
given a place in the international community. The Chatham House report Iran, its
neighbours and the regional crises, published in August, clearly shows how important the strategic position
parties abandoned the Road Map and, before this summers war, it seemed that Israeli unilateralism was the
only way out, something which was fatalistically accepted by the Quartet. Today Israel has at least five
options: (a) maintaining the status quo, with continued military action in Gaza and the West Bank; (b) the
Sharon plan plus, which would include permanent withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank; (c)
bilateral negotiations with the Palestinians; (d) renewed contacts in the Quartet or any other analogous
Both
political circumstances within Israel and American one-sided views of the
conflict do not leave much room for multilateral initiatives. Nevertheless, the
Europeans should insist that multilateralism is the only way forward for a
durable peace. Finally, putting Iraq and multilateralism in the same sentence
is like trying to mix oil and water. Since May 2003 the US administration has
led state-building in Iraq in an almost unilateral manner. However, despite the
USs endeavours, the situation there is extremely worrying. As Kofi Annan put it after
multilateral framework; or (e) wait for the next crisis and the drafting of a new 1701-type resolution.
his diplomatic visit to the region, in a way, the US has found itself in a position where it cannot stay and it
cannot leave. Sooner or later, the Americans will have to realise that their efforts to stabilise and rebuild
Iraq will not bear any significant fruit unless all political forces inside Iraq as well as all neighbours and the
contrary to the widespread belief in various countries, including Russia not only refrained from supporting
its allies but insistently pressed along with the Soviet Union for the cessation of the armed action.
Washington feared that the tripartite aggression would undermine the positions of the West in the Arab
world and would result in a direct clash with the Soviet Union. Fears that hostilities in the Middle East might
acquire a global dimension could materialize also during the Six-Day War of 1967. On its eve, Moscow and
Washington urged each other to cool down their clients. When the war began, both superpowers assured
each other that they did not intend to get involved in the crisis militarily and that that they would make
efforts at the United Nations to negotiate terms for a ceasefire. On July 5, the Chairman of the Soviet
Government, Alexei Kosygin, who was authorized by the Politburo to conduct negotiations on behalf of the
Soviet leadership, for the first time ever used a hot line for this purpose. After the USS Liberty was attacked
by Israeli forces, which later claimed the attack was a case of mistaken identity, U.S. President Lyndon
Johnson immediately notified Kosygin that the movement of the U.S. Navy in the Mediterranean Sea was
only intended to help the crew of the attacked ship and to investigate the incident. The situation repeated
itself during the hostilities of October 1973. Russian publications of those years argued that it was the Soviet
Union that prevented U.S. military involvement in those events. In contrast, many U.S. authors claimed that
a U.S. reaction thwarted Soviet plans to send troops to the Middle East. Neither statement is true. The
atmosphere was really quite tense. Sentiments both in Washington and Moscow were in favor of
interference, yet both capitals were far from taking real action. When U.S. troops were put on high alert,
Henry Kissinger assured Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin that this was done largely for domestic
considerations and should not be seen by Moscow as a hostile act. In a private conversation with Dobrynin,
President Richard Nixon said the same, adding that he might have overreacted but that this had been done
amidst a hostile campaign against him over Watergate. Meanwhile, Kosygin and Foreign Minister Andrei
Gromyko at a Politburo meeting in Moscow strongly rejected a proposal by Defense Minister Marshal Andrei
Grechko to demonstrate Soviet military presence in Egypt in response to Israels refusal to comply with a
UN Security Council resolution. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev took the side of Kosygin and Gromyko, saying
that he was against any Soviet involvement in the conflict. The above suggests an unequivocal conclusion
that control by the superpowers in the bipolar world did not allow the Middle East conflict to escalate into a
After the end of the Cold War, some scholars and political
observers concluded that a real threat of the Arab-Israeli conflict going beyond
regional frameworks ceased to exist. However, in the 21st century this
conclusion no longer conforms to the reality. The U.S. military operation in Iraq
has changed the balance of forces in the Middle East . The disappearance of the Iraqi
global confrontation.
counterbalance has brought Iran to the fore as a regional power claiming a direct role in various Middle East
do not belong to those who believe that the Iranian leadership has
already made a political decision to create nuclear weapons of its own. Yet
Tehran seems to have set itself the goal of achieving a technological level that
would let it make such a decision (the Japanese model) under unfavorable
circumstances. Israel already possesses nuclear weapons and delivery
vehicles. In such circumstances, the absence of a Middle East settlement
opens a dangerous prospect of a nuclear collision in the region, which would
have catastrophic consequences for the whole world. The transition to a
multipolar world has objectively strengthened the role of states and
organizations that are directly involved in regional conflicts, which increases
the latters danger and reduces the possibility of controlling them. This refers,
above all, to the Middle East conflict. The coming of Barack Obama to the presidency has
processes. I
allayed fears that the United States could deliver a preventive strike against Iran (under George W. Bush, it
was one of the most discussed topics in the United States). However, fears have increased that such a strike
can be launched by Israel, which would have unpredictable consequences for the region and beyond. It
seems that President Obamas position does not completely rule out such a possibility.
and Soft Power: An Iron Fist Behind the Velvet Glove, http://www.stwr.org/imf-worldbank-trade/the-eu-and-soft-power-an-iron-fist-behind-the-velvet-glove.html, NN
even further for vulnerable developing countries that have ratified and introduced
what the EU esteems to be critical international conventions on issues such as good
governance, human rights, environmental protection and labour rights. Arguably the
greatest attraction of the EU for other States is the prospect of preferential access
to the largest single global market. The EU has thus made ample use of trade
agreements to promote its foreign policy objectives. The Union enjoys trade
agreements with virtually every State worldwide and has considerable persuasive
power as to their final formulation, given the carrots of preferential access to its
internal market, inclusion in a free trade area or even potential membership of the
EU, it can dangle at the negotiating table. These trade agreements have therefore
become a formidable weapon in the EUs foreign policy armoury. The efficacy of this
approach, in promoting EU policy goals, is clear from even a cursory examination of
the Stabilisation and Association Agreements that were entered into with countries
in South-Eastern Europe (SEE). By inserting a range of conditions in these
agreements, in return for certain economic inducements, the EU was in a position to
exercise influence over the policy-making processes of SEE States. In this respect,
the 2000 Cotonou Agreement between the EU and the African, Caribbean and
Pacific (ACP) State countries is perhaps the most illuminating. Set up to replace the
Lom Agreements, which had been in force since 1976, Cotonou now includes 79
ACP countries and the 27 EU Member States. Under the four Lom Agreements, the
ACP were granted trading preferences with the EU that they did not have to
reciprocate. However, the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in
1995 led to calls for the Lom Agreement to be revised to conform with WTO
policies, primarily driven by the principle of reciprocity. At the same time, the
demand to remove non-reciprocal preferential EU market access from the ACP
coincided with the EUs own foreign policy objectives, in particular the promotion of
free trade and greater market access. In effect, the EU has used Cotonou to
introduce trade liberalisation amongst the ACP faster and deeper than that required
by the WTO. For the ACP, whose economies are comparatively fragile and thence
less able to compete on the international stage, the introduction of Cotonou has
been far less favourably received.
to improve their lives. Many of the current protesters on Maidan Square in Kiev are
owners of small businesses that cannot develop because of institutionalized
corruption. Russia's current development model holds no attraction for them.
Opposition leaders speak confidently of being able to take the protests east to
regions traditionally supportive of close ties with Russia and consolidate support for
Ukraine's gravitation toward European norms and values rather than the
governance model based on "brotherly" relations with Russia. While it is difficult to
tell to what extent this confidence is justified, Moscow's strong-arm tactics to
prevent Kiev from signing the Association Agreement have undoubtedly alienated
some of its key constituencies in the country. This is the behavior of a bullying
neighbor rather than a strategic partner. From an EU perspective, these are
encouraging trends for the longer term. Unlike Russia, the EU is not a geopolitical
actor and does not think like one. This makes the" protests particularly striking since
they have shown that the EU's soft power remains impressively strong in Ukraine as
it also does in Georgia and Moldova. And this despite Europe's current economic
woes and the introspection of its leaders. Yet if EU countries want to see Ukraine
begin to reform itself and avoid the risk of divisions within the country deepening
and becoming unmanageable, they cannot rely on passive soft power alone to pull
Ukraine in the right direction. They need to play a smarter game to maximize the
EU's soft power advantage. The key to achieve this is better communication with
Ukrainian society. The EU has so far failed to give clear explanations about the
nature and benefits of the Association Agreement, including the establishment of a
Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, or DCFTA. A full-scale campaign is
required to build understanding in society of what the EU is offering and to address
disinformation about the effects of the DCFTA on economic relations with Russia.
Russia has been using hard and soft tools to undermine support among Ukraine's
leaders and broader society for gravitation toward Europe. Last summer, Moscow
arbitrarily imposed trade restrictions on different sets of Ukrainian exports from
metals to chocolates, as a taster of the measures it could enforce if Ukraine
implemented the DCFTA. At the same time, it conducted its own accompanying
public relations effort to dissuade Ukraine's elites from building closer ties with the
EU. The message was that the provisions of the DCFTA were unaffordable for
Ukraine since the EU would not provide financial support, and that they would have
a negative effect on Russia by displacing Ukrainian goods into the Russian market
as a result of Ukraine's free trade agreement with Russia. This, in turn, would
require a response from Russia to defend its economic interests. The EU was
conspicuously silent. Not a single EU leader challenged the Russian arguments by
delivering the obvious messages: the DCFTA offers Ukraine excellent opportunities
to expand its markets in the EU and attract investment that will modernize industry,
raise productivity and help make the Ukrainian economy competitive over the long
term. Russian capital does not offer the same opportunities. Mexico has a free-trade
agreement with the EU and is a member of the North American Free Trade
Agreement, or NAFTA, so there is no reason why Ukraine cannot have a free trade
agreement with the EU and trade successfully at the same time with Russia.. The EU
has powerful messages to differentiate its offering to Ukraine from Russia's:
Integration is a voluntary process. The EU has an excellent track record of
supporting institutional reforms that allow countries to function better and raise
living standards. The DCFTA will stimulate growth and make Ukraine more
competitive in international markets. Ukraine's citizens will benefit from better
products and improved services. Ukrainians know that in contrast, Russia is
ensuring that our researchers, innovators and businesses have access to knowledge, including the
knowledge produced outside our own borders. At the same time, strengthening our collaborations opens up
mutual market access for our companies. For all these reasons ,
international cooperation
remains a crucial part of our research and innovation policy at European level,
and it is a vital component of our new programme for Research and Innovation,
Horizon 2020. The strategy were adopting under Horizon 2020 builds on the
achievements of the 7th Framework Programme - or FP7 - that comes to an end this
December. For example, FP7 has been supporting the European and
Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, in which 14 EU Member States,
Norway and Switzerland, cooperate with sub-Saharan countries in the battle
against HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis. Researchers from 80 different countries have
participated in the immensely successful Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions, while the European Research
Council funds scientists from anywhere in the world to conduct their research in Europe. ITER is another
Together with China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the
United States, we are attempting to demonstrate the viability of nuclear fusion
as an energy source. Rare diseases research is a prime example of the
advantages of international cooperation, which can maximise scarce
resources, share data and coordinate research efforts that might not be viable
on a smaller scale. The International Rare Diseases Research Consortium
(IRDiRC) was launched in April 2011 to foster international collaboration in
diagnosing rare diseases and developing new therapies . The Joint Research
Centre also provides dozens of good examples of international cooperation,
such as in the fields of nuclear safety and the prevention and mitigation of
natural disasters. The level of cooperation is such that around 20% of the
projects funded by FP7 include at least one international partner in its
flagship project.
consortium. Around 5.4% of all FP7 participants come from third countries,
with the top five sources being Russia, the USA, China, India and South Africa.
While we have done a lot to foster international cooperation, were not resting on our laurels . We have
much more to do. That is why last September the Commission adopted a new strategy for
international cooperation in research and innovation. The strategy lays down three key objectives: First:
Strengthening excellence in research and innovation by facilitating access to
knowledge, people and markets across the globe. Second: Tackling global
challenges. We need to cooperate internationally to tackle the major societal
challenges that I mentioned earlier. Third: Supporting external policies. Many of
the international commitments that the EU has signed up to, such as the Millennium Development Goals, are
invested so strongly in their research and innovation base that they are now able to cooperate on an equal
footing. In addition, there will be targeted cooperation actions. It will be up to policymakers to decide upfront
both the area and the partner for cooperation. The targeted actions will be selected on the basis of common
interest and mutual benefit, and in some cases will be developed from the ongoing dialogues with our global
partners. In terms of the countries and regions with whom to cooperate, the Strategy identifies three
groupings: Enlargement and neighbourhood countries and EFTA (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and
Liechtenstein). The focus is on fostering these countries' integration into, or alignment with, the European
Research Area, including through their possible association to Horizon 2020. Industrialised countries and
emerging economies, where the focus is strongly on competitiveness, access to knowledge and markets;
and, Developing countries, where the accent is on enhancing the research and innovation capacities of these
countries to assist them in their socio-economic development and in tackling the challenges most relevant to
them. The resulting targeted actions will be clearly laid out in a set of multi-annual roadmaps that will
specify for each country and region the topics on which we wish to cooperate. The roadmaps will
subsequently be implemented through a range of instruments including collaborative projects, networking
between projects or joint initiatives between the EU and third countries, such as coordinated calls. In
addition to these funding actions, a specific point of attention of the new strategy will be to promote
intellectual property will be particularly important as we move to Horizon 2020 and its increased support for
innovation activities. This strategy also represents the further development of the international dimension of
the European Research Area, and in this respect it is essential to deepen our work with Member States on
international cooperation. In this respect, important progress has been made through the Strategic Forum for
International Science and Technology Cooperation, where important steps have been taken to move forward
common strategic research and innovation agendas, for instance with India. Launching this strategy has only
been the first step. Making it work will require the full and visible integration of international cooperation into
Horizon 2020 and a sound governance structure. As part of this governance and to ensure that we stay on
track, the Commission will produce a report every two years to measure progress and assess impact. The
first report, planned for early 2014, will also contain the first multi-annual roadmaps. Ladies and gentlemen,
research and innovation are vital elements of the Union's future. They are also essential ingredients of any
approach that seeks to address today's global challenges. Europe is reaching out to the world to join forces
in addressing those challenges. I wish you all an interesting conference and fruitful discussions. Thank you.
The Syrian war has been going on for two and a half years now, and has turned into
a humanitarian disaster. Despite all the goodwill and humanitarian aid, Europe
hasnt been capable of changing the course of this conflict... Yes, but it is a shared
responsibility of the United Nations and of others. Now, of course, we havent been
able to solve this crisis. But the EU is playing its part with all its diplomatic contacts.
And we are trying to improve humanitarian access as much as we can. The EU has
responded to each of the UNs calls for aid donations, whenever possible, and weve
received appraisal from the UN on this. On the issue of chemical weapons
inspections and the elimination of the chemical weapons in Syria, we are going to
bring some contributions to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW) and to the UN. So were working on all of this. Looking at the
developments in Syria over the past weeks, would you agree that Europe is simply
not a power broker, and it can only play a role when backed by global powers in
international community notably the US? No, I think it is more complicated than
that. Each situation has to be looked at on its own. Syria is not Mali; Mali is not
Libya; Egypt is very different altogether. In each case, we have tried to do whatever
we can. Syria itself is an example in which the whole international community had
failed at first. The first actual success only happened last week, with the new
Security Council resolution [on the dismantling of Syrias chemical weapons] and
the decision by the OPCW in The Hague. But Europe was hardly involved in initiating
these actions... Well, no, youre right. The issue of chemical weapons became more
prominent and therefore the Americans put pressure [on Syria], threatening with
military strikes. That this came about was a good thing. Europe wasnt there for the
initiative itself but we have been as helpful as possible ever since. Again, Im not
saying that what we have done was going to solve the crisis that is certainly not
the case. You mentioned Egypt earlier, a country that has always been closely
connected to EU member states. Is the EU getting its point across: and does it have
an actual impact on what is happening domestically? It is a very difficult issue, we
all agree. But one thing that frustrates me from time to time is that people argue
that Europe is absent in Egypt; that were not visible. Egypt is the perfect example
where Europe is in fact clearly involved. [EEAS High Representative] Catherine
Ashton currently is back there [in Egypt] again. The EU is the only player that is able
to discuss with everyone. We have invested a lot of effort, including visits from the
high representative [for foreign and security policy, Ashton], with special
representative for the Southern Mediterranean region Bernardino Leon. Were there,
trying to push for a solution. We havent succeeded in bringing two sides together, I
agree. The hardliners in Egypt have been the ones that have prevailed so far. But
we are doing all we can and are the only ones is involved at the moment. And we
are working in a way that is, I feel, the right attitude: not lecturing, not patronising,
but listening and trying to work out a solution that is supported by the Egyptians
themselves. The amount of diplomatic effort put into this by the EU is also
considerable. Catherine Ashton is closely involved in person. Bernardino Len is one
of the EUs top international diplomats. What if the EU invested an equal amount of
resources into other conflicts, and in Syria for that matter? Well, we are involved
everywhere in some cases more visible than in others. Take Tunisia, for example,
where we have been discussing the present political deadlock with everyone. We
are present in Libya, in Yemen... We are trying to be as active as we can, at least in
our neighbourhood. I dont pretend that we are succeeding as much as wed like.
But were trying. It seems there has been a lot of interest on Egypt, and perhaps
high representative Ashtons visit contributed to our visibility there.
Our counterplan text fiats that the EU would share all relevant
information with the US solves all their offense
The recovery is broadening. GDP growth in the EU, which has turned positive in the
second quarter of last year, is increasingly driven by domestic demand. This year,
domestic consumption and investment are set to expand further, reducing the
dependency of the recovery on the external sector. Growth has also returned in
many of the vulnerable Member States, and growth differentials across EU Member
States are expected to narrow. At the same time as we are observing more
balanced growth prospects across the EU, the global economy is becoming more
differentiated. Among advanced economies, the US has displayed a strong
resilience to domestic fiscal shocks and the related uncertainty. Assessing the
upswing there as sufficiently robust, the Federal Reserve has initiated the gradual
shift towards a less expansionary monetary stance. In turn, the prospect of a
gradual normalisation of benchmark interest rates and global liquidity has led
international investors to discriminate more strongly among emerging market
economies, and capital flows to countries with sizeable external imbalances and
domestic weaknesses have dried up. This reallocation of capital flows has led to
financial market tensions in mid-2013 and again in early 2014. They are a reminder
that the global economy remains vulnerable, even as growth and trade are
accelerating. Within the EU economy, welcome recent improvements point to a path
towards gradual normalisation. However, the consequences of the crisis are still
holding back growth and job creation and could do so for some time. On the one
hand, there are positive developments on several fronts. After years of necessary
front-loaded fiscal consolidation, the aggregate fiscal stance is now close to neutral,
although efforts are still required in a number of Member States. The ECB's
comprehensive assessment of the banking sector provides an opportunity to finalise
the overdue repair of bank balance sheets that is a precondition for overcoming
financial fragmentation in the euro area and for getting credit to support the real
economy. There are first signs that recent reforms in a number of Member States
start bearing fruit as they facilitate internal and external adjustment and, crucially,
improve the prospects for employment growth. On the other hand, as long as debt
in several sectors of the economy remains too high, unemployment is at record
levels and the adjustment of previous imbalances is incomplete, there is a serious
risk of growth remaining stuck in low gear. Indeed, should the impetus for reforms
at EU and Member State level falter, we would squander the opportunity to put the
EU economy back on a higher growth trajectory. The present very low inflation - well
below the ECB definition of price stability - could exacerbate the risk of protracted
lacklustre growth if it becomes entrenched. Disinflation may have the positive effect
of improving real incomes and supporting demand. However, it also makes the
competitiveness adjustment in vulnerable Member States more challenging, as the
required negative inflation differential to the rest of the euro area could adversely
affect debt dynamics. Going forward, much depends on the stability of inflation
expectations for the medium term. Should they shift lower, the corresponding
increase of real interest rates and the debt burden would make it harder for growth
to accelerate. Making 2014 the first year of a sustained recovery therefore requires
continued and determined policy efforts: bold structural reforms in both vulnerable
and core countries to tackle slow growth and facilitate rebalancing via demand
rotation; full and effective implementation of the Banking Union to overcome
financial fragmentation, sever sovereign-bank links and unlock credit in support of
the recovery; improvement in the quality of public finances to boost investment and
favour job creation. It can be done, provided that policy makers at national and EU
level do not mistake the recent signs of improvement as definite normalisation.
There is still some sailing to do before we reach harbour.
China CP Solvency
Exploration
China is revamping its ocean explorationnew deep sea
vessels and commitment to ocean tech and science
Marlow 13 [Jeffery, a graduate student in Geological and Planetary Sciences at
explains, there are relatively few sudden interests in Chinese politics. The broader
set of research areas tend to be methodical in the development process its been
true for outer space and its true for inner space too.
development has also caused some speculation about the possible military and
security implications in Indian Ocean region. The Jioalong manned submersible,
which is said to be for civilian exploitation, could be used for dual purposes too. The
submersible has the capability to intercept undersea communication cables,
retrieve foreign weaponry on the ocean floor and repair or rescue submarines. It
may also be used for clandestine military tasks and special operations. Taking the
dual use connotation also into account, it is considered that the success of this
comprehensive maritime research capability will substantively contribute in
realisation of the Chinese aspiration of becoming a great maritime power.
Mineral Mining
Chinese companies are investing in new robotics that will be
able to develop and mine for REEperm fails--US and China
have competing interests
OConnor 11 [Patrick, Journalist with the World Socialist Web Site, mainly
covering Australian, East Timorese, and South Pacific politics, Rival powers
scramble for seabed mineral rights in South Pacific, 6/29/11,
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2011/06/seab-j29.html] alla
Chinese companies are reportedly keen to begin exploration in the region. China
last year filed the first application to the International Seabed Authority (ISA) for a
deep sea mining project in international waters, in the Indian Ocean. The Chinese
government recently boosted funding for deep sea technologies, including robotics
and special submersibles, in part to bolster its position in the contested waters of
the South China Sea. Minmetals, Chinas largest metals trader, announced in April
that it was accelerating its research into deep seabed mining. Minmetals President
Zhou Zhongshu told the China Daily: China relies heavily on costly raw-material
imports, and this will push the country to go for deep-sea mining to explore metals,
including copper, nickel, silver and gold. Japan is promoting its industry, with the
state Natural Resources and Energy Agency directing mining companies to
hydrothermal deposits off the Okinawa Islands and the Iza-Ogasawara Island chain
south of Tokyo, areas reportedly containing rich deposits of gold, silver and rare
earth minerals. China currently produces 95 percent of the worlds rare earth
minerals, which are used in many high-tech devices, such as fibre optics, computer
disk drives and memory chips, and high-temperature superconductors. When
Beijing announced an embargo on rare earth exports last year, prices spiked. US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared the incident a wake-up call on the
urgent need to find new sources. The potential for huge profits from deep seabed
mining adds further fuel to the growing rivalry for economic and political influence
in the South Pacific between US imperialism and its Australian and New Zealand
allies, on the one hand, and the rising power, China, on the other.
depths and scope of oceanic research and improve our understanding of the ocean,
with special focuses on the polar regions and deep sea environments, Liu Cigui,
head of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), told a meeting on oceanic
technology here. The move has raised concerns in India with the Directorate of
Naval Intelligence (DNI) informing the Indian government that the contract would
provide an excuse for China to operate its warships besides compiling data on the
vast mineral resources in Indias backyard. Chinese released a guideline on the
oceanic science and technology development between 2011 and 2015, vowing to
invest more to boost the countrys maritime economy. Liu said more efforts will be
made to boost innovation and strive for breakthroughs in key technology in order to
stimulate the development of emerging oceanic industries but did not mention the
amount money China will be investing. The announcement followed Chinas bid for
exploring the international seabed region of southwest Indian Ocean for polymetallic
sulphide deposit was approved by ISA, last month much to the surprise+ of India.
deep-sea activities and protect the ocean, according to the China Institute for
Marine Affairs, a think tank for the State Oceanic Administration.
Icebreakers
China is making investments in new icebreaking techChina
has better icebreakers than the US
New York Times 10 [NYT is an American daily newspaper, founded and
continuously published in New York City since September 18, 1851. It has won 112
Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other news organization, Chinas Arctic Ambitions,
5/24/10, http://ideas.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/chinas-arctic-ambitions/?
_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0] alla
The United States, Russia, Canada and other countries near the Arctic have claim
upon it, but China? Whether it does or not, Paul McLeary writes in World Politics
Review, its making its move. The notable holdout on climate-emissions cutbacks
has been expanding its navy and its quest for resources and land from Latin
America to Africa to the Middle East. Now this: Its not what China has done so
far, but instead what it appears to be planning to do, that has raised eyebrows
among members of the Arctic Council [the federation of Arctic powers]. Specifically,
not only does the Beijing government operate the worlds largest non-nuclear
icebreaker the Xuelong (Snow Dragon), purchased from Ukraine in 1993 but in
October 2009, Chinas State Council declared that that Xuelong needed brothers
and sisters, approving construction of a $300 million Chinese-built icebreaker
expected to be operational in 2013. Between the two ships, China will have larger
and more modern icebreakers than either the United States or Canada. While the
new vessel is smaller than the Xuelong, with a displacement of 8,000 tons to the
Xuelongs 21,000 tons, its construction is a bold statement from a country that
would benefit from the seasonal shipping lanes many expect to open up over the
next several decades, as well as from the possibility of future oil and gas extraction
in the unclaimed far north. China- and Arctic-watchers have also noted that the new
Chinese Embassy in Reykjavk, Iceland, will be the largest in the capital, and that
the Chinese have been making investment overtures in the country since the island
nations economy collapsed in 2008. The Chinese, as usual, have been circumspect
about all of this activity.
1.5 meters thick, about 0.4 meters more than the Xuelong can handle. The design
contract, which cost more than $613 million, was signed with Aker Arctic Technology
of Finland in 2012, and it will be built by a Chinese shipyard, the Chinese Arctic and
Antarctic Administration said. According to the preliminary design, the vessel will be
100 to 120 meters long and about 24 meters wide, and it will displace 8,000 metric
tons. The ship, which will have a crew of 90, will have a cruising radius of 37,000
km, and it will be fitted with twin propeller drives. One icebreaker cannot meet
China's increasing demand for polar expeditions, scientists and experts said.
MH370
Chinese deep sea vessels can find the missing plane
China Daily 14 [China Daily is an English-language daily newspaper published
in the People's Republic of China, 4/8/14, Jiaolong 'up to MH370 salvage task,
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2014planemissing/201404/08/content_17415083.htm] alla
China's deep-sea manned submersible Jiaolong is capable of salvaging the black
box flight recorders from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, according to an official.
Liu Feng, director of the National Deep Sea Center, a government-funded
organization in charge of the submersible's management and maintenance, said
Jiaolong is ready for the salvage operation. Chinese patrol ship Haixun 01 picked
up electronic pulse signals in the Indian Ocean on Friday and Saturday. Liu said that
after the black boxes from flight MH370 are located Jiaolong can play an important
role in salvage work and in evaluating deep-sea conditions. Xiangyanghong 09, the
mother ship of Jiaolong, will start a 40-day scheduled mission to the northwest
Pacific in May or June before going to the southwestern Indian Ocean in November.
Tidal Power
Chinese companies are creating new offshore wind farms
small company collaboration solves
MEC Intelligence 14 [MEC Intelligence is a focused market insight company
supporting growth by providing high quality actionable insights for the maritime,
energy and cleantech sectors, Chinese build-up in offshore wind gains momentum
paving way for a global supply chain, 2/14/14,
http://www.mecintelligence.com/uploads/Press%20Release-Offshore%20Wind
%20China%20-An%20Insight.pdf] alla
*WTG=Wind Turbine Generator
Interest in developing the industry remains high. Onshore wind developers such as
China Longyuan Power Group, China Datang Renewables, Huaneng New Energy;
renewable energy subsidiaries of nuclear generation company China Guangdong
nuclear and hydro power developer China Three Gorges see this as an opportunity
for growth. Oil extraction company CNOOC - has plans to utilize its offshore
installation experience into offshore wind and has announced its plan to develop
offshore wind. Experience and supply chain is required The increased optimism
of the opportunity must be balanced with the relative nascent stage of the local
industry. Developers, turbines component suppliers, foundation suppliers, and
installation equipment manufacturers either currently under-estimate the
challenges and timelines or are currently researching new equipment compatible
with local and international requirements. This creates an opportunity for
experienced international players to chalk out a measured strategy and develop
co-operative business models along with the right timing to maximise the
opportunity offered by the offshore wind market in China. Similar need leads to
global opportunity The European WTGs have been able to develop 5-6 MW capacity
turbines, which are considered superior in technology to their Chinese
counterparts. However, the Chinese WTGs operate on a cost-effective model. In
China smaller players such as Shanghai Electric, Dongfang, CSIC Haizhuang &
XEMC have developed and currently testing turbines of 5-6 MW. Top four Chinese
suppliers Sinovel, Goldwind, United Power and Ming Yang have also developed 56.5 MW turbines and shown their intent to aggressive research by announcing
involvement in R&D of 10-12 MW capacity. Although, the market is likely to be
controlled by local players the main opportunity for foreign WTGs and component
manufacturers to invest in the Chinese market lies in production and supply of
downstream products such as control systems, power converters and bearings.
Similarly, in foundations, the needs of the Chinese offshore industry will converge
with European foundation technologies. Most projects so far have come up in the
regions closer to shore that require multi-pile foundations (due to muddy seabed)
compared to projects in Europe where mono-pile foundations are typically used for
shallow-water establishments. However, new developments in China are going to
push offshore development in deeper waters creating potential for joint
collaboration on jacket and tripod collaboration designs. Two biggest players China
Longyuan Power Group (Developer) and ZPMC (ship construction company) have
joined hands to provide overall offshore wind farm construction equipment and
services including foundation and logistics.
Arctic
China solves Arctic explorationrecent ascension to Arctic
Council
Blank 13 [Dr. Stephen, is a professor at the Strategic Studies Institute of the US
Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, PA. , Exploring China's Arctic icebreaker,
7/17/13, http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/CHIN-02-170713.html] alla
The recent decision of the Arctic Council to admit China and several other Asian
states to observer status there represents an epochal decision for both Arctic and
Asian affairs. China, Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore, and Italy all won observer
status - the inclusion of so many observers from Asia highlighting the importance of
these markets. This decision also means that Asian voices will be heard for the first
time in decisions regulating Arctic use and commercial exploitation as that ocean
becomes more accessible due to climate change. Indeed, a Chinese shipping
company is planning China's first commercial voyage through the Arctic later in
2013. China's growing interest in the Arctic has long since been a matter of
record. [1] In 2012, the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long (Snow Dragon) became the
first Chinese vessel to navigate the Northern Sea Route into the Barents Sea going
from Iceland to the Bering Strait via the North Pole. This trip encouraged Chinese
officials to think seriously about commercial exploitation of the Arctic in the belief
that, by 2020, 5%-15% of China's international trade - mainly container traffic would use the route, amounting to anywhere between 125,000 to 375,000 tons.
China, however, is not alone in seeking to maximize the economic, trade and
commercial benefits it stands to gain by being in the council. Even Singapore's
"Arctic diplomacy" is driven primarily by an ambition to exploit an emerging market
niche in which it sees itself as a technological and expertise leader. For the other
Asian states now on the council, that commercial and trade also clearly means
access to energy riches. China is again not alone it its ambitions. In January this
year, Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid stated that India's energy
requirements were growing at a "terrifying pace". "He further observed that if India
continued to grow at its current rate of 8%-9%, its energy import dependence would
also increase dramatically. Khurshid projected that India would be importing up to
57% of its coal, 94% of its oil, and 57% of its gas within the next two decades,
compared to 15% for coal, 80% for oil, and 15%-18% for gas currently. India now
imports 70% of its oil and 80% of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Middle
East. But given recent instability in that region, there is a sense of urgency in India
abut pursuing more diverse sourcing options. This will include supplies from the
Russian Arctic and Far East and the Pacific coast of North America as well as fields in
the South China Sea itself. All of these sources will depend on freedom of navigation
on the high seas. To secure that freedom, India will require greater coordination with
Japan as well as some kind of understanding with China." (World Politics Review,
February 11) Consequently, India is discussing a potential US$5 billion investment
by an Indian consortium of hydrocarbon companies in the northern Alberta oil sands
deposit being developed by Conoco Phillips as well as other Arctic and North
American locations and the acquisition of a stake in Russia's Trebs and Titov fields in
northwest Russia as part of the Pechora region's fields and also possibly deposits on
the Arctic Yamal peninsula. India also is a potential destination for liquefied natural
gas (LNG) shipped from Canadian liquefaction terminals in British Columbia. Indeed,
India's government recently announced that it refuses to lay down a quota for
importing oil (and presumably gas) from any country, including Iran. India will buy
oil (and again presumably gas) from wherever "it gets the best deal". India's
interest in the Arctic and North Pacific is not just an outgrowth of its energy
partnerships with Russia on Sakhalin. Indian media commentary states that if India
is to be seen as a viable contender for membership in the UN Security Council it
must become much more active diplomatically in regard to the "behind the scenes
exercises to shape the future of the Arctic". A second reason for upgrading its
diplomacy concerning the Arctic is to check China's interest in grabbing access to
energy holdings lest India be left out. of this race. Other commentators have given
additional reasons for India's need to expand its energy perspectives into the North
Pacific and the Arctic. They decried India's frosty relations with Denmark-one of
Arctic Council member states - and also warned that if India does not develop an
Arctic policy and try to restrain China , it is "heading for near diplomatic disaster".
Thus, apart from purely commercial considerations of trade and access to energy
sources, classic geopolitical strategic rivalries and identity politics also play no small
role in driving the policies of states interested in the Arctic. [2] All these motives enhanced commercial opportunity, access to energy sources in the Arctic, increased
international status as a member of the council, etcetera - pertain to China. Given
the extent of China's pre-existing interest and claims in the Arctic, Beijing gains
perhaps even more form inclusion as an observer to the Arctic Council. An article in
Beijing Review claimed that other actors were trying to exclude China but by dint of
enormous exertions and large expenditures of funds to finance energy infrastructure
in Russia and Canada as well as its own scientific program of Arctic research "China
has ultimately managed to reshuffle the Arctic balance of power in record time."
More crassly, one might suggest China paid dearly for its newfound status.
Nevertheless China will not only gain real access to state of the art Icelandic clean
energy technologies, it also will gain leverage and influence in Iceland itself and
that influence, once Iceland joins the Council, will redound again to China's benefit.
Beyond these considerations China gains even more legitimate access to the Arctic
beyond bilateral deals with individual states like Russia. Even before the Council
decision, Rosneft and Gazprom were competing to offer China access to the Arctic.
Moreover, during the recent visit by Xia Jinping, new deals between Rosneft and
China to explore the Arctic were signed. Similarly, even before the Council decision,
China's commercial perspective on the Arctic was already growing and this decision
will only allow it to consolidate those gains. Recent Taiwanese reports suggest by
2020 China is expected to be shipping 15% of its exports through this route using
Chinese rather than Russian icebreakers, further reducing Russia's alleged
advantages as an East-West transit and trade corridor between Europe and Asia.
China also has sought permanent observer status on the Arctic Council as part of its
commercial drive here. China also is clearly very interested in exploring the mining
riches of other states in and around the Arctic, eg Greenland's copper and iron ore
and in using Iceland as a future transport hub for Arctic shipping. Beijing also will
gain a voice in the important Arctic fishing industry and fishing is a very big
business for China. Beyond even these considerable commercial and energy,
investment and trade access gains, China also gains strategically. Beijing now has
access to a body that can and will probably have to take serious decisions about
climate change that already are affecting China seriously and has done so in the
past. China also will have a secure footing from which it can defend what it will
claim to be its "legitimate rights" in the Arctic. It is quite conceivable that China will
use that foothold to demand a voice in the resolution of Arctic territorial boundaries
that are being negotiated. In 2009-10, Beijing had claimed that no state had
sovereignty in the Arctic, a clear slap at Russian claims. Now, to join the Council, it
had to repudiate that position and state that it respected the sovereignty of all the
states claiming territory in the Arctic but accept that the decision will be made in
the future-a sharp contrast to its rigid insistence on its "core interests" and
sovereignty in the Senkakus and the South China Sea. Indeed, given those claims,
Beijing had no choice but to do so. Nonetheless, it now calls itself a "near-Arctic
state" and an "Arctic stakeholder". In this context a paper by Tang Guoquiang for
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs-administered China Institute of International Studies
claims that unnamed "military experts" believe "that to dominate the Arctic is to
control the commanding point in the world military affairs". [3] If that perspective
accurately characterizes Chinese strategic thinking, the opportunity to participate in
demarcating Arctic maritime and land boundaries is of considerable value to Beijing.
The possibility for intensified strategic rivalries in the Arctic where China will either
participate in the disputes or have to participate in attempting to adjudicate or
resolve them should not be taken lightly. On February 27, Russian President
Vladimir Putin told an expanded session of the Ministry of Defense Collegium the
following: We see how instability and conflict are spreading around the world today.
Armed conflict continues in the Middle East and Asia, and the danger of 'export' of
radicalism and chaos continues to grow in our neighboring regions. At the same
time, we see methodical attempts to undermine the strategic balance in various
ways and forms. The United States has essentially launched now the second phase
in its global missile defense system. There are attempts to sound out possibilities
for expanding NATO [the North Atlantic Treaty Organization] further eastward, and
there is also the danger of militarization in the Arctic. All of these challenges - and
they are just a few of the many we face - are of direct concern to our national
interests and therefore also determine our priorities. Putin singled out the Arctic
here presumably because of its huge mineral and energy endowment. Russia,
however, has embarked on a steady course of militarization in the Arctic that has
forced European and NATO counties as well as Canada and potentially the United
States to follow suit. At least in Europe if not in Asia (and observers should not
forget the very tense maritime disputes now roiling Asia), there is clearly a race
between militarization, irrational commercial exploitation and a more considered,
international approach to the use of the Arctic. China along with four other Asian
states now have been invited formally into that race, and China has already been
participating in it and will continue doing so with gusto. Which way will the Arctic
and China's policies go? That answer, unfortunately, remains to be seen.
sixth trip to the region since 1999. "Exploring the Arctic Ocean is vital to
understanding the link between climate change in the Arctic and increasing extreme
weather events in China," said Wang Yong, head of the division of science programs
of the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration. As the planet and Arctic
temperatures get increasingly warmer, scientists from around the globe are trying
to unravel the Arctic's role in global climate change. Many scientists agree that the
summer melting of the Arctic ice has serious consequences for Earth's climate. Li
Yuefeng, climate expert from the National Climate Center, said precipitation in China
may be affected by the summer climate in the Arctic. "Only when we collect more
atmosphere and ocean data about the region can scientists further explore how the
Arctic climate is affecting China," Wang said. In addition to studying the region's
impact on climate change, there has been a surge of interest in the Arctic because
of its rich natural resources. The US Geological Survey has estimated that the Arctic
contains up to 30 percent of the world's undiscovered gas deposits and 13 percent
of its undiscovered oil resources. There also is the possibility of a shorter
commercial sea route during the summer. Russia and other countries with an Arctic
coastline are laying claims to the region's seafloor, which is said to contain onefourth of the world's mineral resources. The untapped riches become more
accessible because of the summer ice melt. "Like other countries, China is also
interested in the resources and the Northern Sea Route," Wang said, referring to the
shipping lane from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean along the Russian Arctic
coast. Wang added that the route can help Chinese shipping companies reduce
their transit times between China and Europe. Zhai Jiugang, deputy head of the
Ministry of Transport's Maritime Safety Administration, said the route can save
Chinese cargo ships 5,186 kilometers and nine days from the traditional voyage to
Europe. During the expedition, Chinese scientists will collect information on climate
change, consider future uses of the Northern Sea Route and explore the region's
resources, Wang said. An ongoing research project backed by the US Department of
Energy has predicted that the Arctic could lose its summer sea ice cover by as early
as 2016, 84 years ahead of conventional models' projections. "As a latecomer,
China is accelerating its pace in exploring the Arctic," said Wang, who added that a
new icebreaker will be built as part of the coming 13th Five Year Plan (2016-20) to
enhance the country's polar expedition capacity. "Once the ship is built, the Arctic
expedition can be conducted every year," he said.
Antarctic
China can build Antarctic stations and does research about the
Southern Ocean close to the Antarctic
China Daily 14 [China Daily is an English-language daily newspaper published
in the People's Republic of China, 4/16/14, China to establish fifth research station
in the Antarctic, http://english.people.com.cn/202936/8599218.html] alla
A groundbreaking ceremony for China's fifth station in the Antarctic is expected to
take place during the next South Pole expedition planned for November. "It will take
at least three years to build the fifth Antarctic research station because of the short
annual construction period and our limited transportation capacity in Antarctica,"
Qu Tanzhou, director of the State Oceanic Administration's Chinese Arctic and
Antarctic Administration, told China Daily on Sunday. Summer at the South Pole
lasts from November to February with temperatures struggling to get above -20 C,
according to the research center British Antarctic Survey. China's icebreaker,
Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, returned to Shanghai on Tuesday, finishing the 30th
Antarctic expedition. Besides tough weather conditions, Qu said that because the
new station will be permanent, it requires the approval of other Antarctic
consultative states before construction. China has finished and submitted the
environmental assessment report, which will be discussed at an international
meeting in Brazil later this year, Qu said. "The area of the new station, less than 5
square kilometers, will be located in Terra Nova Bay in the Ross Sea region, which
can help scientists study the Southern Ocean in Antarctica," Qu said. The station
will be designed to house up to 80 people in summer and 30 in winter, People's
Daily reported. Zha Enlai, a researcher at China Geological Survey's Center of
Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology who went to the Ross Sea base this year,
said the geological conditions, which are mainly granite, are good for construction.
He said the main building will be about 6,000 square meters and a wind farm will
help power the station. The Ross Sea region is one of the most important areas of
Antarctica and a leading gateway to the continent. The region has unique biological
and geological features, including various specimens, active volcanoes and the
largest ice shelf on Earth. China plans to purchase its first fixed-wing aircraft for
polar expedition this year. The country expects to build a new icebreaker in 2016,
which will be designed mainly for field research, according to the State Oceanic
Administration. The country's polar exploration will enter a period of fast
development, Qu said. China has built four Antarctic research bases Great Wall,
Zhongshan, Kunlun and Taishan. The main building of the latest Taishan summer
field camp was completed within 45 days from late December to February.
Ocean Medicine
China can utilize deep sea data for medical uses
Xinhua 3 [Xinhua is the state press agency of the People's Republic of China,
China Develops Ocean Medicine, 10/27/2003,
http://www.china.org.cn/english/scitech/78419.htm] alla
China has succeeded in sending a man into space, but Chinese scientists are also
looking down, into the ocean depths, to tap resources for medicine. A state-level
research program is underway to discover how microbes survive in extreme
conditions in the ocean, as part of the 863 High-Tech Program (initiated in March
1986), the nation's priority science development plan. The research, being carried
out by Zhejiang University, in the coastal province of Zhejiang, aims to find natural
bio-active substances in marine life that live in extreme environments in deep
water. Many micro-organisms thrive around thermal areas, where the
temperature is well above boiling, and survive tremendous water pressure
thousands of meters below the surface and huge amounts of heavy metals. The
research on the microbe's life systems and the medical benefits would produce
large and profound changes in the bio-medicine industry, Yang Weijun, a marine life
expert, said at the 21st Century Free Forum of Life Science in Zhejiang. The
importance of ocean resources, and medicines made from them, is coming under
increasing international scrutiny. Oceans contain 80 percent of the earth's
resources, and can provide a wide diversity of materials for medical use. Moreover,
extreme deep sea conditions accommodate a lot of marine life with many
pharmaceutical usages. In China, many enterprises are taking part in the research
and development of ocean medicine. Hundreds of natural products from the seas
have been studied and have entered into clinical use.
OTEC
Companies are investing in and developing OTEC plants along
the Chinese coastChina is getting ahead in the OTEC race
Lockheed Martin 13 [Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company
that employs about 120,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the
research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of
advanced technology systems, products and services, 4/16/13, Lockheed Martin
and Reignwood Group to Develop Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Power Plant,
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2013/april/lockheed-martinand-reignwood-group-to-develop-ocean-thermal-ene.html] alla
BALTIMORE, April 16, 2013 Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has announced that it is
working with Reignwood Group to develop an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
(OTEC) pilot power plant off the coast of southern China. A memorandum of
agreement between the two companies was signed in Beijing on Saturday. Following
the ceremony, both companies met with United States Secretary of State John Kerry
during his first official state visit to the Peoples Republic of China. The 10megawatt offshore plant, to be designed by Lockheed Martin, will be the largest
OTEC project developed to date, supplying 100 percent of the power needed for a
green resort to be built by Reignwood Group. In addition, the agreement could lay
the foundation for the development of several additional OTEC power plants ranging
in size from 10 to 100 megawatts, for a potential multi-billion dollar value. The
benefits to generating power with OTEC are immense, and Lockheed Martin has
been leading the way in advancing this technology for decades, said Dan Heller,
vice president of new ventures for Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training.
Constructing a sea-based, multi-megawatt pilot OTEC power plant for Reignwood
Group is the final step in making it an economic option to meet growing needs for
clean, reliable energy. OTEC takes the natural temperature difference found in the
ocean in tropical regions and uses it to create power. This technology is well-suited
to island and coastal communities where energy transportation costs typically make
other sources of power very expensive. The process provides a native power source
to areas, and, like other renewable energy technologies, OTEC plants will be clean,
sustainable and powered by free fuel. Unlike other renewable energy technologies,
this power is also base load, meaning it can be produced consistently 24 hours a
day, 365 days a year. A commercial-scale OTEC plant will have the capability to
power a small city. The energy can also be used for the cultivation of other crucial
resources such as clean drinking water and hydrogen for applications such as
electric vehicles. In addition to several other green energy-related projects across
a variety of industries, Reignwood Group is currently developing two large scale lowcarbon resort communities, with others planned in key locations in China. Using
Lockheed Martins OTEC technology to power a new resort will help the company to
develop its first net-zero community. Our mission at Reignwood Group is to invest
in low-carbon applications and solutions, integrating these new green technologies
into a plan to promote sustainable development practices, said Colin Liu, senior
vice president of Reignwood Group. Lockheed Martins OTEC technology offers a
ground-breaking solution that will help us to achieve this mission. Once the
proposed plant is developed and operational, the two companies plan to use the
knowledge gained to improve the design of the additional commercial-scale plants,
to be built over the next 10 years. Each 100-megawatt OTEC facility could produce
the same amount of energy in a year as 1.3 million barrels of oil, decrease carbon
emissions by half a million tons and provide a domestic energy source that is
sustainable, reliable and secure. With oil trading near $100 a barrel, the fuel-savings
from one plant could top $130 million per year.
Offshore Wind
China excels at offshore windwill become the leading
producer of offshore wind energy by 2020 and has surpassed
other major OSW producers
Wind Power Offshore 14 [Windpower Offshore is a dedicated news and
intelligence service offering unparalleled access to information and data on the
global offshore wind power industry, China aims for the global top spot, 5/30/14,
http://www.windpoweroffshore.com/article/1296027/china-aims-global-top-spot] alla
Offshore wind in China is not entirely new, having started in 2007 with a 1.5MW
direct-drive Goldwind turbine installed by the China National Offshore Oil
Corporation at the Suizhong oilfield in northern China's Bohia Sea. In June 2010 the
102MW Shanghai Donghai Bridge demonstration project was inaugurated and
connected to the grid. A second demonstration project, the 182MW inter-tidal wind
farm at Rudong in Jiangsu province, was commissioned in 2012. Both projects were
largely experimental in nature, used as proving grounds for different turbines and
foundation designs. The first round of state-sponsored tendering for development of
four offshore projects with franchised rights was launched on 10 September 2010.
Totalling 1GW in capacity, all were sited off the coast of Jiangsu province in the east
of the country, near Yancheng city. A second round of tendering for a total capacity
of 1.5-2GW was announced for June 2011 but never took place, and the National
Energy Administration's (NEA) final approval of three of the four projects tendered in
the first round only came through in August 2013. Development delay The delay
was caused by a number of factors, of which maritime re-zoning was a major
reason. Offshore wind projects were, in general, required to choose sites further
from shore and their plans had to be endorsed by several government departments,
such as the State Oceanic Administration. The demanding nature of offshore wind
technology, combined with the high cost of building and operation, also plays a role.
The lack of clear government policy with no pricing structure for offshore wind made
potential investors hesitate. As a result, cumulative offshore installations by the end
of 2013 stood at merely 428MW, accounting for barely 0.5% of the country's total
wind installations. The three offshore projects given NEA approval last August are:
Datang New Energy's Jiangsu Binhai (300MW); Longyan Electric Jiangsu Dafeng
(200MW); and Luneng's Jiangsu Dongtai (200MW). But, according to the organising
committee of July's 2014 offshore wind and operation-and-maintenance conference
in Shanghai, installation work has been, or will be, launched this year for seven
offshore projects with a combined capacity of nearly 1.5GW. And another 13
projects totalling more than 3.5GW are expected to be launched in 2015. "The year
2014 will be a new era, a real start for China's offshore wind development," said Liu
Qi, deputy general manager of Shanghai Electric, at a press conference earlier this
year. The government's wind-power development planning for the 12th five-year
plan period (2010-2015) stated that, based on preliminary results of demo projects,
scaled-up offshore wind development will be promoted. Priority will be given to sites
in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Hebei and Shandong. And planning and building will be
quickened for areas in other costal provinces, such as Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong,
Guangxi, Hainan and Liaoning. The current five-year period is considered by many
industry watchers as critical for China's offshore wind. The building of a host of
offshore wind farms to achieve technology maturity, management standardisation
and policy adequacy will lay a solid foundation for further development. The
country's first offshore wind benchmark pricing system is widely expected to be
released this year. Partnership Having accommodated the nation's first large-scale
offshore wind project, the city of Shanghai is keen to continue its lead in the sector.
In partnership with Siemens, Shanghai Electric has accelerated investment.
"Siemens' innovative technology has been incorporated into Shanghai Electric's
offshore wind strategy. Our goal is to become the country's number-one offshore
player," said Liu Qi. Statistics compiled by the China Wind Energy Association show
that by the end of 2013 the supply of offshore turbines sat at:, Sinovel (39.7%),
Goldwind (25/5%), Siemens (11.7%), United Power (9.1%), CSIC Haizhuang (3.3%)
and Shanghai Electric (3.2%). China aims to overtake Europe and have 100GW of
wind power capacity installed by the end of 2015, of which around 5GW is expected
to be offshore. The overall target can comfortably be met, but the goal for offshore
wind will be more difficult to accomplish, admitted Shi Lishan, deputy chief of NEA
renewable energy division, earlier this year. The government's targets for 2020 call
for a total of 200GW of wind power capacity, with 30GW of it offshore. That looks
like a tall order, but even if China were to achieve half that figure it would almost
certainly finish the decade as the world's leading producer of offshore wind energy.
development of the whole sector, according to analysts. The NEA and the pricing
department of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) have
been in ongoing discussions concerning the tariff rates for offshore wind farms and
expect to issue the rates within this year. An industry expert at NDRC indicated that
the combined capacity of approved offshore wind farms in China, including intertidal
projects, has exceeded 4,000 MW. The combined capacity of offshore wind projects
scheduled to start construction by 2015 will exceed 300 MW, according to data from
CNREC. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said in early May that it will allocate
up to $141 million to three pioneering offshore wind demonstration projects over
the next four years to help speed up the deployment of more efficient offshore wind
power technologies. Benefiting from the support for offshore wind projects in the
U.S., Fishermen's Energy's 25MW offshore windmill backed by Xiangtan Electric
Manufacturing, a China-based electrical equipment manufacturer, won a US$4
million grant from the DOE, subject to regulatory approvals.
Aquaculture
China has been a world leader in aquaculturegovernment
support and investment in technology
NBSO 10 [Netherlands Business Support Office, A worldwide network that
provides Dutch entrepreneurs with services and support for doing international
business, An overview of China's aquaculture,
http://china.nlambassade.org/binaries/content/assets/postenweb/c/china/zakendoen-in-china/import/kansen_en_sectoren/agrofood/rapporten_over_agro_food/anoverview-of-chinas-aquaculture] alla
China has a long history in aquaculture dating back more than 2500 years. It
actually all started with the pond farming of carps. Fingerlings were caught in the
Yangtze River and subsequently transferred to earthen ponds for farming. From
that moment onwards, the farming of freshwater species steadily expanded
throughout China. The expansion slowed down in early 20th century as the
demand for fish seed exceed what could be supplied from the wild. This triggered
the government to play a more active role in further developing aquaculture.
The stimulating role the government played in the development of aquaculture
ranged from providing fish seeds through artificial spawning, researching and
developing, introducting new species, developing marine aquaculture and passing
on new culture techniques to the small farmers in rural areas engaged in
aquaculture. After the opening-up policy was taken in place in 1978, the
development of aquaculture further continued in terms of new species, new
techniques and the start of bigger and better integrated companies in the field of
aquatic products, also the establishment of business forms other than a
cooperative or a state owned enterprise became possible (e.g. corporations,
individual, joint ventures, ventures with foreign companies) (Hishamunda &
Subashinge, 2003). The government remains an important key facilitator when it
comes to aquaculture. In fact, as aquaculture further developed; the bureaucratic
system within the government to further facilitate its development also
expanded. Below an impression of how this system looks like: The above figure
shows that the role of the government exerts on 3 levels. Level 1 concerns the
relevant ministries and local governments. Their role is to set out the objectives
stated in the five year plans and to provide for a good infrastructure for aquaculture
development. Level 2 are the research institutes for further scientific R&D and
training. The Chinese Academy of Fishery Science and the National Fisheries
Research Institutions are the key R&D and training centers, whereas the local
research and educational institutions are there to train on a local level and to
adapt the R&D from the national centers into workable solutions taken into account
the local conditions. Finally is Level 3, there are the Technology Extensions
Centers. These centers provide assistance to companies and local farmers when it
comes to implementing new technologies and know how coming from the
research institutes.
pond can be acquired. This can help the government to set proper policy and
allocate water resource in a more sustainable way.
Methane Hydrates
China has untapped Methane Hydrate reserves in the South
China Seadrilling and surveying have already begun
Chen 13 [Aizhu, Energy Writer at Reuters, China Finds Major Gas Hydrate Reserve
in South China Sea, 19/12/13,
http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/130730/China_Finds_Major_Gas_Hydrate_Res
erve_in_South_China_Sea] alla
BEIJING, Dec 19 (Reuters) - China said it has identified a major gas hydrate reserve
in the northern part of the South China Sea, joining a small group of nations in the
world seeking to tap a potentially vaste future source of energy. There is currently
no technology to commercially unlock the energy also known as "flammable ice",
gas frozen in ice-like crystals buried deep under the oceans and experts say
commercial, scaled development could be beyond 2030. China's Ministry of Land
and Resources (MLR) announced on Tuesday it had found a gas hydrate reserve that
spans 55 square kms (34 square miles) in the Pearl River Mouth basin with
controlled reserve equivalent to 100-150 billion cubic metres (bcm) natural gas,
according to a report carried on the ministry's website (www.mlr.gov.cn). That would
be the size of a major conventional natural gas field, like in China's top gas province
Sichuan. Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey Bureau, an MLR unit, collected
samples of "high purity" gas hydrates over nearly four months of surveys and
drilling of 23 wells in the waters off south China's Guangdong province. Two gas
hydrate layers with a thickness of 15-30 metres were found just below the seabed,
which was at a depth of 600 to 1,000 metres. "It marks a breakthrough in
investigating the resource and proves that the Pearl River Mouth basin is rich in gas
hydrate," the report said, adding China becomes the fourth country in the world to
have collected sample of the methane hydrate after the U.S., Japan and India
also seeks to reduce its dependence on energy imports. China relies on imports for
nearly 60% of its crude oil needs, making it the world's No. 2 importer by volume,
after the U.S. For natural gas, the share of imports rose past 30% for the first time in
2013. Methane hydrate is also expected to aid China's efforts to shift to natural gas
from coal, which accounts for nearly 70% of its primary-energy consumption. As
China widens its search for methane hydrate in the South China Sea, it may create
more frictions with such countries as the Philippines and Vietnam, with which it is
embroiled in territorial disputes there.
Remote Sensing
China has been collecting oceanic data by satellite for over a
decade and is able to collect data that is used to analyze and
understand the composition of Chinas waters
Yan 11/1/2002[Jihui, Workshop Secretariat at the National Marine Environment
Forecasting Center at Chinas State Oceanic Administration, Ocean Remote Sensing
and its Application in China,
http://ivy3.epa.gov.tw/OMISAR/Data/OMISAR/wksp.mtg/WOM9/01-1030Yan.htm] alla
ABSTRACT With the advancement of space technology and the development of ocean
science, satellite remote sensing has become an important tool for marine research
as well as for marine environment observation and prediction . Over the past decade, China
has exerted great effort to apply satellite data for both ocean research and
operational purposes. Furthermore, China has successfully launched her first ocean
satellite this year, which is an ocean color satellite designed to detect some of the marine environmental
parameters in the Chinese sea waters, including chlorophyll concentration, suspended sediment concentration,
dissolved organic matter, and sea surface temperature. In this paper, a brief introduction of the ocean application of
remote sensing data in China is presented, and a description of the new ocean satellite program is given.
INTRODUCTION China is a coastal country with a lengthy coastline of around 18,000 kilometers along the mainland
and a vast sea area under its jurisdiction. The coastal area of China is densely populated and economically
developed. The coastal area only accounts for 13.4% of the nations land area, but supports 40.2% of the nations
resources, China, like many other coastal states, has to embark on new programs for harnessing ocean resources.
ocean will play an ever-increasing role in Chinas future development . Within this
ocean satellite will be one of the focuses in Chinas future ocean technology
development agenda. APPLICATION OF SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING In the late 1970's,
measurements from satellites demonstrated that ocean color remote sensing is a
powerful tool for understanding oceanic biological and physical process. In 1978,
Nimbus-7 coastal zone color scanner CZCS started to operate, providing observations of ocean color from
the space. This provides oceanographers with good opportunity to observe the variable
patterns of global biological productivity. Following that, the Chinese satellites FY-1A and FY-1B were
The
context,
launched to orbits respectively in 1987 and 1989. In 1996, Japans ADEOS Ocean Color and Temperature Sensor
OCTS provided ocean color data for about ten months. And in August 1997, one special ocean color satellite
SeaStar -- was successfully launched. The sea-viewing wide field-of-view sensor, SeaWiFS, installed on SeaStar,
brought to oceanographers a large volume of quality ocean color remote sensing data. Since the late 1980s, a
number of institutions in China have been studying the application of data from satellites to oceanographic research
and operation. Since 1994, the Second Institute of Oceanography (SIO) of SOA, together with other institutes, has
authorized by NASA of USA to receive SeaWiFS data. Since September 1997, the station has been normally
Bohai Sea and in the northern part of the Yellow Sea. There are even sea ice disasters in these areas. Therefore,
special attention has been paid to sea ice monitoring and forecasting in China . Since
1970s, research has been conducted on the application of remote sensing to sea ice monitoring
and forecasting in China. At the beginning, study and experiment was carried out only in aerial remote
sensing. In 1980s, research was directed to satellite remote sensing. Scientists in the National Marine Environment
forecasting Center carried out sea ice remote sensing research, which promoted the application of satellite remote
sensing data to sea ice monitoring and forecasting. In 1990s, a study was conducted on multi-source data fusion for
satellite HY-1, a three-axis stabilized small satellite, is designed to operate in orbit for about 2 years. In order to
obtain a short repeat period, orbit transfer is made, making the satellite move and operate in a near sun-
the first
ocean satellite is designed to monitor marine environmental variation in the coastal
and ocean areas off China, including: marine primary productivity, dynamics of meso-scale eddies, etc. It is
synchronous and near-polar orbit at the altitude of 798 km. Tasks of the satellite The mission of
also aimed at monitoring the variations of the coastal zone, obtaining experiences for developing space observation
of the ocean, and promoting the development of small satellite platform. Sensors Chinas first ocean satellite is
equipped with two sensors: the 10-babd Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner (COCTS) and the 4-band CCD
coastal zone imager (CZI), designed and manufactured by Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of the Chinese
Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Space Technology. The COCTS is an optical radiometer to detect
ocean color and surface temperature. The COCTS has a function to detect chlorophyll concentration and dissolved
substances in the water, as well as temperature distribution. The data from OCTS will be used to get information on
ocean conditions for fishery and environment monitoring purposes. It has a repeat period of 3 days, and 8-channel
visible and near-infrared bands and 2-channel thermal infrared band with a spatial resolution of 1.1km.
The mission of NSOAS is to initiate and prepare national programs for the
development of ocean satellite series and related application research , and is
responsible for the development and management of the ground application system
for Chinese ocean satellites. At present, two ocean color satellites have been
successfully launched (HY-1A, HY-1B). The ocean dynamics satellite, Haiyang-2 (HY-2), is scheduled to
launch in 2011. Meanwhile, NSOAS now has a completed ocean satellite system for ocean
satellite research, operation and applications, including three ground receiving
stations located in Beijing, Sanya and Mudanjiang , a data processing center in
Beijing, an open lab for ocean remote sensing and applications in Beijing. NSOAS
thus plays a central role in China 's ocean satellite program . Research Fields As an
operational institution for ocean satellites, aimed at the requirements of Chinese ocean remote sensing
development, the research fields of NSOAS include development and management
of ocean resources, monitoring and protection of ocean environment, monitoring
Remote
Sensing Calibration and Validation", "Open Ocean Fishery Environment Information
Retrieval and Applications", "Oil Spill Monitoring Automation and Applications",
"Data Processing Technique for Microwave Ocean Dynamics Environment Satellite".
The research and its applications are recognized by many ocean remote sensing
related communities. Especially, the National 863 Program "Open Ocean Fishery Environment Information
Retrieval and Applications", was awarded the second prize in the National Science and Technology Progress Award,
a prestigious award of science and technology in China. With the advance of research programs in NSOAS, many
research results have been applied into operational systems and played important roles in sea ice monitoring, algae
bloom monitoring, oil spill monitoring, and sea surface temperature products. Staff As a research based institution,
a team of high-level researchers were educated and actively involved in remote sensing research in NSOAS. Among
the 90 staff in NSOAS, 41 persons have graduate-school background, 26 persons are senior professionals and
technical personnel, 3 experts with special government allowances of the State Council, one national candidates of
the New Century Talents Program, and the average age of all staff is 36. These young scientists are playing an
Facilities NSOAS is
equipped with a completed system for data receiving, processing, archiving and
data distribution, as well as capacity of receiving some international ocean satellite
data. NSOAS also has state-of-the-art calibration equipment for ocean remote
sensing, which is fundamentally important for quantitative studies . Now, NSOAS has
successfully established operational system for oil spill monitoring and prediction,
as well as for green tide monitoring and prediction.
important role in the long term development of ocean satellite program. Equipment and
supporting studies of the global climate change , he said. Haiyang-2 will work in
collaboration with Haiyang-1, the first Chinese oceanic surveying satellite already in
orbit, according to the official. "This will greatly improve the surveying and monitoring
capacities of China's earth observation satellites, and end the monopoly of Western
countries in the collection of remote sensing data involving the dynamic
environment of oceans," Jiang said.
SMR
China solves SMR techinvestment two new types of SMRs
now
WNA 14 [World Nuclear Association is the international organization that
promotes nuclear power and supports the many companies that comprise the global
nuclear industry, Nuclear Power in China, July 2014, http://www.worldnuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Countries-A-F/China--Nuclear-Power/] alla
ACP100 Small modular PWR A key project on the 12th Five-Year Plan is CNNCs
multi-purpose small modular reactor, the ACP100. Preliminary design should be
finished in 2014 ready for construction start in 2015. This is based on the larger ACP
(and CNP) units, or AP1000, has passive safety features and will be installed
underground. It has 57 fuel assemblies 2.15m tall and integral steam generators
(287C), so that the whole steam supply system is produced and shipped a single
reactor module. Its 310 MWt produces about 100 MWe, and power plants
comprising two to six of these are envisaged, with 60-year design life and 24-month
refueling. Or each module can supply 1000 GJ/hr, giving 12,000 m3/day desalination
(with MED). Industrial and district heat uses are also envisaged. Capacity up to 150
MWe is possible. CNNC China New Energy Corporation (CNNC-CNEC), a joint venture
of CNNC (51%) and China Guodian Corp, is planning to build two ACP100 units in
Putian county, Zhangzhou city, at the south of Fujian province, near Xiamen and not
far from Fuqing, as a demonstration plant. This will be the CNY 5 billion ($788
million) phase 1 of a larger project. Construction time is expected to be 36-40
months, starting 2015 for the two Putian units. CNNC is seeking NDRC approval in
2014. It involves a joint venture of three companies for the pilot plant: CNNC as
owner and operator, the Nuclear Power Institute of China (NPIC) as the reactor
designer and China Nuclear Engineering Group being responsible for plant
construction. CNNC-CNEC signed a second ACP100 agreement with Hengfeng
county, Shangrao city in Jiangxi province, and a third with Ningdu county, Ganzhou
city in Jiangxi province in July 2013 for another ACP100 project costing CNY 16
billion. Further inland units are planned in Hunan and possibly Jilin provinces. Export
potential is considered high. CNNC-CNEC will construct major parts of the reactors in
Bashan, Jilin province. CAP150 Small modular PWR This is an integral PWR, with
SNPTC provenance, being developed from the CAP1000 in parallel with CAP1400 by
SNERDI, using proven fuel and core design. It is 450 MWt/ 150 MWe and has 8
integral steam generators (295C), and claims a more simplified system and more
safety than current third generation reactors. It is pitched for remote electricity
supply and district heating, with three-year refueling and design life of 80 years. It
has both active and passive cooling and in an accident scenario, no operator
intervention required for seven days. Seismic design basis 300 Gal. In mid 2013
SNPTC quoted approx. $5000/kW capital cost and 9 c/kWh, so significantly more
than the CAP1400.
Westinghouse (with its AP1000 reactor), Areva (with the EPR) and Atomstroyexport
(VVER1000 model V392). Technology transfer was made a key condition in the
evaluation criteria for the bids. After a process which lasted several years, the
formal decision was announced in December 2006, selecting the AP1000 reactor
on the grounds of its passive safety systems, cost and the level of technology
transfer offered.160 The Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design
Institute (SNERDI) was appointed as the main research institute to receive and
adopt the technology. Westinghouse accepted stringent conditions regarding
technology transfer, which required it to cooperate with the State Nuclear Power
Technology Corporation (SNPTC) in building the first four AP1000 reactors, in order
to ensure that SNPTC could build following units by itself. Following the first four
reactors at Sanmen and Haiyang, there are another 4 reactors planned and at least
30 proposed, all using the AP1000 design. Moreover, it was agreed that if the
Chinese parties were able to upgrade the capacity of the reactor design to 1350
MW or more, they would own the intellectual property rights for the enhanced
design.161 Hence, this has become the major objective of the Chinese nuclear
engineering programme led by SNERDI.162 The desired reactor has already
received the name CAP1400, as a shorthand for Chinese AP1400 reactor
Despite Westinghouse having won the major tender, also AREVA supplier of
Chinas original first nuclear power technology at Daya Bay, by means of its
predecessor Framatom was awarded another couple of reactors. The China
Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation (CGNPC) agreed on a deal with Areva in
November 2007 to purchase two 1700 MW EPR reactors for the site at Taishan,
including contracts for the supply of fuel and other related services. An engineering
joint venture was set up between Areva and CGNPC as a vehicle for technology
transfer and the possible development of more EPR reactors in China and abroad. In
this joint venture CGNPC and other Chinese parties together hold a 55 percent
stake, against 45 percent held by Areva.163 The variety of different types of
nuclear power plants that are being used in China has been criticized by some
Chinese analysts. Earlier, still other reactor types were bought and installed, such
as the Canadiandesigned CANDU6 heavywater reactor and Russian VVER AES
91.164 The decision to purchase these reactors appears to have sometimes been
motivated by politics and the desire to create goodwill in international relations,
rather than stemming from a well thoughtout nuclear power development
strategy.165 Opponents of these decisions argue that this practice is hampering
standardization, which is one key factor in bringing down construction and
operating costs, as it has been in France. On the other hand, those in favour of
diversification argue that in this way China is hedging its bets and functioning as a
testing ground for different nuclear reactor designs, being able to gain experience
with all of them. Concerning domestically designed reactors, the CPR1000 is
being deployed in large numbers alongside the new standard of the AP1000. This
CPR1000 reactor is based on the French M310 technology used in the Daya Bay
reactors. In the current expansion plans this CPR1000 reactor also takes a
prominent role; 20 of the 27 reactors under construction as of November 2011 are
of this type. Of all the reactors that are either under construction or planned, the
CPR1000 accounts for almost half (34 reactors out of a total of 78) while another
30 are AP1000 reactors. The development of the CAP1400 reactor is progressing,
and China is also improving its capacity in building some of the core reactor
components for the AP1000, such as the primary reactor coolant pipes.166
Research has also started on a second, even larger version of the reactor,
designated CAP1700 with an intended capacity of 1700 MW.167 Still further away
from commercialization but indicative of Chinas push to become a world leader in
advanced nuclear power technology are the efforts to develop alternative nuclear
power technologies such as fast breeder reactors and high temperature gascooled
pebblebed reactors. Fast neutron breeder reactors can be used to breed
plutonium from fissile materials and thus prolong the effective use of nuclear fuel
supplies. The technology has been identified by the Chinese government as a
longerterm objective, as it would allow China to continue its nuclear expansion
without dramatically increasing its need for imported uranium.168 A first
experimental fast neutron reactor with a thermal capacity of 65 MW (and 20 MW of
electric power output) was successfully connected to the grid in July 2011, partly
using Russian imported technology.169 Finally, China is researching modular
hightemperature gascooled pebbledbed reactors, which operate using nuclear
fissile material shaped in pellets, coated and encapsulated inside a ceramic
material. The key feature of this design is that it has very strong passive safety
characteristics, since the pebbles and ceramic material are designed in such a
way that a total lack of cooling would not cause the overall structure to
disintegrate. Moreover, it can be used to build small reactors at a modular
design basis , which can be easily expanded. The technology was originally
developed in South Africa but not further pursued there. A first small 10 MW
experimental reactor was developed by Tsinghua University in the context of the
863 Program for national research and reached criticality in 2003. Construction of a
larger demonstration project with two reactor modules driving a 210 MW steam
turbine was begun at the Rongcheng Shidaowan site in Shandong province in 2009
and is scheduled for completion in 2013. Regarding this Chinese effort, the report
Chinas Program for Science and Technology Modernization: Implications for
American Competitiveness prepared for the USChina Economic and Security Review
Commission in 2011 remarks: Scientists predict that if the PRC program to make a
commerciallyviable pebble bed reactor is successful, it will represent a revolution
in reactor technologyperhaps the largest advance in a quarter of a century.170
China DA Links
Chinese and US interests are a zero-sum game in the South
China Sea and Pacific Oceanmilitary interests, resources, and
diplomatic influence
Wallis 12 [Dr. Joanne, is a lecturer in the Strategic and Defense Studies Centre at
the Australian National University, where she convenes the Bachelor of Asia-Pacific
program. She researches politics and security in the South Pacific, 9/19/12,
http://www.e-ir.info/2012/09/19/the-south-pacific-microcosm-of-future-us-chinacompetition/] alla
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clintons decision to attend the Pacific
Islands Forum meeting in late August 2012 suggests that the South Pacifics
strategic importance in the broader Asia-Pacific region is increasing. Indeed, the
South Pacific may become a microcosm of how the Asia-Pacifics changing power
structure could develop, as it provides a small-scale and relatively low-risk testingground where the United States and China can explore their capacity to project
power, judge each others responses, and potentially develop mechanisms for
cooperation, rather than competition. The theme of the 2012 Pacific Islands Forum
meeting was Large Ocean Island States the Pacific Challenge,[1] which
highlighted that the islands of the South Pacific between them hold sovereignty over
20 million square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean. These islands lie across vital sea
lines of communication between the United States, Australia, New Zealand and
Southeast Asia. Therefore, they could offer strategically-important locations for
military and naval access. The South Pacific consists of three broad geographic and
cultural areas: Melanesia, which comprises the arc of islands to the immediate north
and east of Australia; Polynesia, which comprises the triangle of states above New
Zealand and stretching up to Hawaii; and Micronesia, the band of islands to the
north of Melanesia. The United States focus in the region is in Micronesia, where it
controls Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. It also has
Compacts of Free Association with the Marshall Islands, Palau and the Federated
States of Micronesia, according to which it is obliged to provide public services,
security and defence support. In Polynesia the United States also controls American
Samoa. Most significantly, the United States has the Anderson Air Force Base on
Guam, and the Ronald Reagan Missile Defence test site at its base on Kwajalein Atoll
in the Marshall Islands. During the Cold War the United States engaged in strategic
competition with the Soviet Union for influence in the South Pacific. However, after
the end of that war the United States largely withdrew its presence in the region.
Consequently, it reduced its aid program, halved the number of Peace Corps
volunteers and closed aid and diplomatic posts.[2] In contrast, China has been
increasingly active in the South Pacific in the last few decades. Chinas interest was
initially driven by its competition with Taiwan for diplomatic recognition. Although a
truce (of sorts) has held since 2008, this competition has seen China and Taiwan
engage in chequebook diplomacy to win the favour of South Pacific states, and has
resulted in China becoming the third-largest aid donor in the region, behind
Australia and the United States.[3] Chinas more recent interest may be due to its
desire to access the South Pacifics natural resources, which include fisheries,
timber, mineral and hydrocarbon deposits. And, regardless of their small size, each
independent South Pacific state has a vote in international organisations, which
China can seek to persuade them to use in pursuit of its interests. China also
appears to have strategic interests in demonstrating its ability to project power in
the region, and in potentially obtaining military and naval access as part of its
island chain defence strategy.[4] Although China will remain militarily inferior to
the United States long into the future, there are claims that in the event of conflict
China could use locations in the South Pacific to approach the United States
asymmetrically, perhaps as part of a sea denial strategy.[5] The region also offers
opportunities for signals intelligence monitoring, and China has already constructed
a satellite tracking station in Kiribati (although it later had to be dismantled after
Kiribati switched diplomatic recognition to Taiwan), which it is alleged to have used
to monitor missile defence system tests in the Marshall Islands.[6] Chinas Vice
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cui Tiankai, declared at the recent Pacific Islands Forum
meeting that China is here in this region not to seek any particular influence, still
less dominance.[7] Despite this, China has invested heavily in diplomacy, and is
now said to have the highest number of diplomats in the region.[8] High-level
Chinese officials have also undertaken a number of visits to the region, which have
been reciprocated by South Pacific politicians and officials. China has also used tools
like language training, student exchanges and tourism to build links. It also engages
in military assistance and capacity-building programs.[9] China also seized the
opportunity created by Australias and New Zealands attempts to isolate the
military regime in Fiji by building links with the Melanesian Spearhead Group, in
which Fiji is an active memb.er Clinton has admitted United States concern about
Chinas increasing presence. For example, in her testimony before the Senate
Committee on Foreign Relations in March 2011 she stated: lets just talk straight
Realpolitik We are in a competition with China. Take Papua New Guinea, huge
energy find ExxonMobil is producing it. China is there every day in every way
trying to figure out how its going to come in behind us, come in under us.[10] At
the 2012 Pacific Islands Forum meeting Clinton was more circumspect, and in
response to questions concerning Chinas presence in the region, declared that the
Pacific is big enough for all of us.[11] However, the fact that Clinton attended the
Forum meeting highlights Washingtons increased sensitivity to growing Chinese
influence in the South Pacific. Consequently, the United States has resumed a more
active role in the region. Senior officials have conducted tours, the United States
has bolstered its diplomatic presence and it has opened a USAID office in Papua
New Guinea. It has also increased its military presence, with the relocation of
marines from Okinawa to Guam, and via the expansion of its shiprider program,
under which ships and aircraft from the United States Coast Guard (and now Navy),
host law enforcement officers from South Pacific states and patrol their sovereign
waters.[12] Given the United States and Chinas increasing focus on the South
Pacific, the region might become a microcosm of broader emerging strategic rivalry
between the two powers. Pessimistic analyses would predict that China and the
United States (and its ally Australia) will engage in a zero-sum competition for
regional influence, as occurred during the Cold War. Robert Kaplan has argued
that it is not hard to imagine a replay of the decades-long Cold War, with the
center of gravity not in the heart of Europe but, rather, among Pacific atolls.[13] If
this competition took on a military dimension it could come to a head if there is a
clash between Chinas island chain strategy and the United States presence in
Micronesia. Military bases in the region might also mean that South Pacific states
could be dragged into a conflict elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific, such as in the South
China Sea.
Russia CP Solvency
Arctic
Russia is moving ahead with Arctic drilling projectsmore oil
and natural gas fields than the USperm fails disagreements
about standards
Kramer and Krauss 11 [Andrew E. Kramer is the Moscow correspondent for
The New York Times and Clifford Krauss is the New York Times energy correspondent
, Russia Embraces Offshore Arctic Drilling, 2/19/11,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/business/global/16arctic.html?pagewanted=all]
alla
MOSCOW The Arctic Ocean is a forbidding place for oil drillers. But that is not
stopping Russia from jumping in or Western oil companies from eagerly following.
Russia, where onshore oil reserves are slowly dwindling, last month signed an
Arctic exploration deal with the British petroleum giant BP, whose offshore
drilling prospects in the United States were dimmed by the Gulf of Mexico disaster
last year. Other Western oil companies, recognizing Moscows openness to new
ocean drilling, are now having similar discussions with Russia. New oil from Russia
could prove vital to world supplies in coming decades, now that it has surpassed
Saudi Arabia as the worlds biggest oil producer, and as long as global demand for
oil continues to rise. But as the offshore Russian efforts proceed, the oil companies
will be venturing where other big countries ringing the Arctic Ocean most notably
the United States and Canada have been wary of letting oil field development
proceed, for both safety and environmental reasons. After the BP accident in the
gulf last year highlighted the consequences of a catastrophic ocean spill, American
and Canadian regulators focused on the special challenges in the Arctic. The ice
pack and icebergs pose various threats to drilling rigs and crews. And if oil were
spilled in the winter, cleanup would take place in the total darkness that engulfs the
region during those months. Earlier this month, Royal Dutch Shell postponed plans
for drilling off Alaskas Arctic coast, as the company continued to face hurdles
from wary Washington regulators. The Russians, who control far more
prospective drilling area in the Arctic Ocean than the United States and
Canada combined, take a far different view. As its Siberian oil fields mature,
daily output in Russia, without new development, could be reduced by nearly a
million barrels by the year 2035, according to the International Energy Agency. With
its economy dependent on oil and gas, which make up about 60 percent of all
exports, Russia sees little choice but to go offshore using foreign partners to
provide expertise and share the billions of dollars in development costs. And if
anything, the gulf disaster encouraged Russia to push ahead with BP as its first
partner. In the view of Russias prime minister, Vladimir V. Putin, BP is the safest
company to hire for offshore work today, having learned its lesson in the gulf. One
beaten man is worth two unbeaten men, Mr. Putin said, citing a Russian proverb,
after BP signed its Arctic deal with Rosneft, the Russian state-owned oil company.
The joint venture calls for the companies to explore three sections in the Kara Sea,
an icebound coastal backwater north of central Russia. The BP agreement touched
off little public reaction in Russia, in part because the environmental movement is
weak but also because opposition politicians have no way to block or hinder the
process. The Arctic holds one-fifth of the worlds undiscovered, recoverable oil and
natural gas, the United States Geological Survey estimates. According to a 2009
report by the Energy Department, 43 of the 61 significant Arctic oil and gas fields
are in Russia. The Russian side of the Arctic is particularly rich in natural gas, while
the North American side is richer in oil. While the United States and Canada balk,
other countries are clearing Arctic space for the industry. Norway, which last year
settled a territorial dispute with Russia, is preparing to open new Arctic areas for
drilling. Last year Greenland, which became semi-autonomous from Denmark in
2009, allowed Cairn Energy to do some preliminary drilling. Cairn, a Scottish
company, is planning four more wells this year, while Exxon Mobil, Chevron and
Shell are also expected to drill in the area over the next few years. But of the five
countries with Arctic Ocean coastline, Russia has the most at stake in exploring and
developing the region. Russia is one of the fundamental building blocks in world
oil supply, said Daniel Yergin, the oil historian and chairman of IHS Cambridge
Energy Research Associates. It has a critical role in the global energy balance. The
Arctic will be one of the critical factors in determining how much oil Russia is
producing in 15 years and exporting to the rest of the world. Following the
template of the BP deal, Rosneft is negotiating joint venture agreements with other
major oil companies shut out of North America and intent on exploring the Arctic
continental shelf off Russias northern coast. That includes Shell, its chief executive
said last month. Rosnefts chief executive, Eduard Y. Khudainatov, said other foreign
oil company representatives were lining up outside his office these days. Artur N.
Chilingarov, a polar explorer, has embodied Moscows sweeping Arctic ambitions
ever since he rode in a minisubmarine and placed a Russian flag on the bottom of
the ocean under the North Pole, claiming it for Russia, in a 2007 expedition. The
future is on the shelf, Mr. Chilingarov, a member of Russias Parliament, the Duma,
said in an interview. We already pumped the land dry. Russia has been a
dominant Arctic oil power since the Soviet Union began making important
discoveries in the land-based Tazovskoye field on the shore of the Ob Bay in Siberia
in 1962. The United States was not far behind with the discovery of the shallowwater Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska five years later. What is new is the move
offshore. The waters of the Arctic are particularly perilous for drilling because of the
extreme cold, long periods of darkness, dense fogs and hurricane-strength winds.
Pervasive ice cover for eight to nine months out of the year can block relief ships in
case of a blowout. And, as environmentalists note, whales, polar bears and other
species depend on the regions fragile habitats. Such concerns have blocked new
drilling in Alaskas Arctic waters since 2003, despite a steep decline in oil production
in the state and intensive lobbying by oil companies. In Canada, Arctic offshore
drilling is delayed as the National Energy Board is reviewing its regulations after the
gulf spill. But Russia is pressing ahead. The central decision opening the Russian
Arctic easily passed Parliament in 2008, as an amendment to a law on subsoil
resources. It allowed the ministry of natural resources to transfer offshore blocks to
state-controlled oil companies in a no-bid process that does not involve detailed
environmental reviews.
Russia has announced its first shipment of Arctic offshore oil . Russian
President Vladimir Putin watched oil loading from the Prirazlomnoye drilling platform
onto a tanker Friday via video link, according to state-run ITAR-TASS, and celebrated
the shipment as the beginning of a bigger Russian presence on world energy
markets. The 70,000 metric ton load (roughly 490,000 gallons) is, as far as we
know, the world's first market-sized shipment of oil extracted from the floor of any
marine body above the Arctic Circle. Offshore oil extraction has only become
commercially viable in recent years, as advances in petroleum technologies have
combined with warming temperatures to ease, slightly, the physical and financial
challenges of drilling in the harsh Arctic environment. Greenpeace and others have
charged that the potential for an oil spill is too risky in the easily damaged Arctic
environment, which includes important fisheries in the Barents Sea. They also argue
that untapped supplies of fossil fuels should be left underground, in favor of
developing energy sources that won't create greenhouse gas pollution and further
destabilize the climate. The Prirazlomnoye field is located about 38 miles off
Russia's northwestern coast, in the Pechora Sea, the southeastern section of the
Barents Sea. It holds an estimated 72 million metric tons of recoverable oil. The oil
company Gazprom Neft operates the field, and has partnered with Shell on its
overall Arctic offshore oil development. Russia already produces more than 10
million barrels (420 million gallons) of oil daily, but intends for Arctic offshore strikes
to maintain this level of production as its Western Siberian oil fields run dry, reports
Reuters. The Prirazlomnoye platform was the site of an anti-drilling protest last
September, which ended when masked Russian paratroopers boarded the
Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise and arrested all 30 crew and activists. The
demonstrators were ultimately released without criminal prosecution thanks to a
parliamentary amnesty. But Russia has not given up the ship, which remains in
Murmansk. President Putin's apparent satisfaction about this offshore Arctic oil
shipment seems particularly newsworthy set against his nation's recent, retrofuturistic geopolitical relations with Ukraine, which feature the seizure of Ukraine's
Crimea peninsula in March, and subsequent threats to cut off natural gas shipments
to Ukraine and the rest of Europe. (Russia is the major supplier of fossil fuels to
Europe, according to the European Commission.) The former Soviet republic
yesterday hosted a a renewable energy conference at its embassy in Washington,
D.C.
Los Angeles (UCLA). She received her MPhil (with Distinction) in Polar Studies from
the University of Cambridge's Scott Polar Research Institute, where she was a Gates
Scholar, Russia looks to step up Arctic offshore drilling to reclaim oil-production
throne, 5/27/12, http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/russia-looks-step-arcticoffshore-drilling-reclaim-oil-production-throne] alla
According to data from the Joint Organization Data Initiative, Saudi Arabia has
surpassed Russia as the worlds largest oil producer, a position which the latter
country held for six years. The Middle Eastern kingdoms oil production rose to a
31-year high last year, while Russias dropped. As Matthew Hulbert writes in his
analysis for Forbes, If we wanted any further evidence why the Arctic really
matters for Russia, we just got it. Declining production in Western Siberia can only
be replaced by drilling for offshore oil, in Russias Arctic . Whereas Saudi
Arabia has spare capacity, allowing it to ramp up production, Russia is already
producing to the fullest extent possible.A drop in production is a scary thing to
contemplate for President Vladimir Putin, who began his third presidential term
earlier this month. He has succeeded in large part by placating the middle class
with economic growth and stability. Since oil and gas compose two-thirds of Russias
exports, both the price of oil and volume of oil the country exports are crucial to
maintaining his power. The price of oil has held steady lately at over $100 per
barrel. But what has changed in recent years are two things. First, Putin keeps
promising more and more, requiring a higher cost per barrel of oil to make ends
meet. With increases to pensions and a 33 percent hike in the defense budget, the
Economist reports that the country will need oil to sit at $130 a barrel to balance its
budget, which is funded about 60 percent by oil and gas taxes. Second, the
discovery of new sources of oil has slowed down, and offshore oil production will not
begin in earnest until 2020. The Kremlin reports that Russian oil production has has
remained near the highs reached after the fall of the USSR, but latest figures show
that not only has production slowed, it has actually decreased. As you can see from
the chart above, the difference between Saudi and Russian oil production is
minimal. However, the recent drop in Russian oil production is quite large, at 5
percent between December 2011 and January 2012 -- a decline of 500,000 barrels,
which Mark Adomanis of Forbes says is the equivalent of the total production of a
country like Argentina or Ecuador disappearing overnight. He questions whether
the data is accurate, since there were no reports of problems within the Russian oil
industry that would cause such a dramatic drop. Regardless of whether production
has fallen off that much and that quickly, Putin knows that new sources of oil need
to be exploited. He has announced that exports from new offshore fields will enjoy
business-friendly tax rules for at least the next 15 years, and he is even considering
allowing private companies to receive licenses to drill. This would be a big change
for a country in which the oil and gas industries are controlled by state-owned
companies Rosneft and Gazprom. The new tax rules, which will tax exports less the
more difficult the oil is to extract, are designed to foster $500 million in investment
in offshore oil. Production will be ranked according to four different categories, with
the most challenging areas being the Laptev Sea, East Siberia, Bering Sea, the
northern part of the Kara Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk, and the second most difficult
areas in parts of the Arctic such as the Barents Sea, Pechora, and the southern part
of the Kara and Okhotsk seas, including the continental shelf of Sakhalin. In recent
weeks, Rosneft has announced that it will team with Exxon Mobil in the Kara Sea
and the Italian oil company Eni in the Barents Sea. Tax breaks will also probably
encourage Statoil and Total to resuscitate the Shtokman natural gas project, in
which they have stakes. It had been put on hold due to uncertainty with regard to
tax regulations. All of this could bode well for Russian offshore oil and gas
production, but if the government lowers taxes, the countrys budget will not get as
big a boost as it otherwise would have from such development. Putin will have to
strike a balance between inviting investors to help exploit resources on the
continental shelf -- which Russia does not have the know-how to do alone -- and
balancing the budget.
In mid-March, around the same time that Russia annexed Crimea, Russian officials
announced another territorial coup: 52,000 square kilometers in the Sea of Okhotsk,
a splotch of Pacific Ocean known as the "Peanut Hole" and believed to be rich in oil
and gas. A UN commission had recognized the maritime territory as part of Russia's
continental shelf, Russia's minister of natural resources and environment proudly
announced, and the decision would only advance the territorial claims in the Arctic
that Russia had pending before the same committee. After a decade and a half of
painstaking petitioning, the Peanut Hole was Russia's. Russian officials were getting
a bit ahead of themselves. Technically, the UN commission had approved Russia's
recommendations on the outer limits of its continental shelfand only when Russia
acts on these suggestions is its control of the Sea of Okhotsk "final and binding."
Still, these technicalities shouldn't obscure the larger point: Russia isn't only
pursuing its territorial ambitions in Ukraine and other former Soviet states. It's
particularly active in the Arctic Circle, and, until recently, these efforts engendered
international cooperation, not conflict. But the Crimean crisis has complicated
matters. Take Hillary Clinton's call last week for Canada and the United States to
form a "united front" in response to Russia "aggressively reopening military bases
in the Arctic. Or the difficulties U.S. officials are having in designing sanctions
against Russia that won't harm Western oil companies like Exxon Mobil, which are
engaged in oil-and-gas exploration with their Russian counterparts in parts of the
Russian Arctic. In a dispatch from "beneath the Arctic ocean" this week, The Wall
Street Journal reported on a U.S. navy exercise, scheduled before the crisis in
Ukraine, that included a simulated attack on a Russian submarine. The U.S. has now
canceled a joint naval exercise with Russia in the region and put various other
partnerships there on hold. This week, the Council on Foreign Relations published a
very helpful guide on the jostling among countries to capitalize on the shipping
routes and energy resources that could be unlocked as the Arctic melts. The main
players are the countries with Arctic Ocean coastlines: Canada, Denmark
(Greenland), Norway, Russia, the United States (Alaska)and, to a lesser extent,
Finland, Iceland, and Sweden. These nations have generally agreed to work together
to resolve territorial and environmental issues. But some sovereignty disputes
persist, including American opposition to Russia's claims to parts of the Northern
Sea Route above Siberia. Here's CFR's infographic on where the Arctic's shipping
and natural-resource potential is, and where the "Arctic Five" are most at odds with
each other (you can even layer summer sea ice onto the map!): "Few countries
have been as keen to invest in the Arctic as Russia, whose economy and federal
budget rely heavily on hydrocarbons," CFR writes. "Of the nearly sixty large oil and
natural-gas fields discovered in the Arctic, there are forty-three in Russia, eleven
in Canada, six in Alaska, and one in Norway, according to a 2009 U.S. Department
of Energy report." "Russia, the only non-NATO littoral Arctic state, has made a
military buildup in the Arctic a strategic priority, restoring Soviet-era airfields and
ports and marshaling naval assets," the guide adds. "In late 2013, President
Vladimir Putin instructed his military leadership to pay particular attention to the
Arctic, saying Russia needed 'every lever for the protection of its security and
national interests there.' He also ordered the creation of a new strategic military
command in the Russian Arctic by the end of 2014."
Arctic would be carried out by vessels under our jurisdiction, he stressed. The
discovery of large hydrocarbon deposits in the Arctic has sparked
international competition over the regions resources . Regional powers are
quickly filing claims for the sea shelf, with Russia preparing to preparing to file a bid
for 1.2 million square kilometers of Arctic waters to the UN later this year. The
melting Arctic ice cap has opened shipping routes and made the exploration for
resources at the bottom of the worlds smallest ocean a real prospect. The North
Pole icecap has decreased by 40 percent since 1979, opening up two shipping
routes, the North Sea route and the Northwest Passage, with extremely high
economic potential. Approximately 30 percent of the worlds undiscovered natural
gas and 15 percent of its oil lie in the Arctic. But an estimated 84 percent of the
Arctics 90 billion barrels of oil and 47.3 trillion cubic meters of gas remain offshore.
According to the UNs sea convention, countries have sovereign rights to resources
within 200 nautical miles of its territorial waterways. There are five countries with
territories near the Arctic: Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the US. Russia
has been seeking to secure and reinforce its military presence in the Arctic for some
time now, after other nations started to express interest in the regions vast
resources. The Basic Concept of State Policy in the Arctic, approved in 2009,
outlined the creation of a dedicated military force as a primary objective.
Aquaculture
Russia is working to improve domestic aquaculturenew
plants and more laws promoting the growth of the industry
World Fishing 13 [World Fishing is dedicated to all aspects of commercial
fishing. It provides readers with the latest news and product launches, alongside
country profile features, interviews and regular columns from fishery experts,
Russias largest aquaculture plant, 8/7/13,
http://www.worldfishing.net/news101/fish-farming/russias-largest-aquaculture-plant]
alla
Russian Salmon Company, one of Russias largest fish producers, has announced
plans to establish a large-scale aquaculture complex in the Murmansk region of
Russia, which will specialise on the production of juvenile Atlantic salmon and trout,
reports Eugene Gerden. According to Andrew Laskov, general director of Russian
Salmon, the new plant will be built on a 12ha site in the Little Volokovaya Bay.
Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2014 and the first phase of the plant is
expected to be launched in spring 2016. The volume of production during the first
phase will be 10 million juveniles and is expected to be increased up to 30 million
during the second stage. The volume of investment in the project has not been
disclosed, however, according to sources close to the company, it could be up to
RUB8bn (USD$240m). Russian analysts believe that the establishment of such a
complex will help to partially reduce Russias current dependence on the supplies of
Atlantic salmon from Norway and to stimulate domestic production. According to
Dennis Bezruchko, a senior analyst of St. Petersburg Fisherman Club, at present the
annual volume of supplies of Norway Atlantic salmon to Russia is about 135,000
tonnes, which is a large figure for Russia. The implementation of the project will help
to solve this problem. However, he also warned that the company may face serious
problems during the implementation of the project - in particular high mortality rate
of juveniles, as well as a longer period of implementation of the project, as the
growth of fish in Murmansk takes significantly longer than in Norway, due to colder
conditions. At the same time analysts believe that implementation of the project
will be very important for Russia, as the level of development of the countrys
aquaculture leaves much to be desired. According to the Federal Agency for
Fisheries and the Ministry of Agriculture, the share of Russia in global aquaculture
production is currently estimated at only 0.2%. The recently approved federal law
On aquaculture, aims to create more favourable conditions for the development of
aquaculture in Russia and to significantly increase the level of production. In the
meantime, Russian Salmon is not the only Russian company, which plans to become
a prominent player in the domestic salmon market in the coming years. Russian
Sea, Russias leading fish producer and processor, is also involved in production of
Atlantic salmon in the Barents Sea. Several weeks ago the company commissioned
the second phase of its aquaculture plant in the Murmansk region and plans to
continue to build its aquaculture business in the future.
Mining
Russia has mining claims in many parts of the World Ocean
the UN approved and Russia is getting ready to develop its
area
Voice of Russia 11 [The Voice of Russia is the Russian government's
international radio broadcasting service, UN approves Russias request to explore
Atlantic for copper, gold, 8/5/11, http://voiceofrussia.com/2011/08/05/54250558/]
alla
The International Seabed Authority, a U.N. body that oversees mining in
international waters, has approved Russias request to explore one of the world's
largest untapped copper and gold deposits on the Atlantic Ocean bed. The
International Seabed Authority, a U.N. body that oversees mining in international
waters, has approved Russias request to explore one of the world's largest
untapped copper and gold deposits on the Atlantic Ocean bed. This is the first time
when the UNs Seabed authority allows explorations in the area of the World Ocean
which does not belong to any states economic zone. Earlier the UN approved
Chinas request to explore the western part of the Indian Ocean in search for
polymetallic sulphides, which contain base metals that include copper, lead and
zinc, as well as gold and silver. Together with the Russian request the agency
granted licenses for explorations to two island states in the Pacific Ocean - Nauru
and Nonga. Russia began to show interest in the mineral deposits of the Atlantic
Ocean 20 years ago. Scientific expeditions had worked there for many years taking
samples of water and sea-bed ground. But the international rights of sea-bed
explorations changed and it became obligatory for a country to file a request to the
UNs authority. Russia also had to go through this procedure and finally the
permission has been received. The license is valid for 15 years and can be
prolonged for five more years. After that the development stage should begin. Now
it is already known that the concentration of gold and copper underwater is 5-10
times higher than onshore, Georgy Cherksahov, the Deputy director of the Institute
of the World Oceans geological and mineral recourses, says. "Our data show that
underwater ground contains high concentrations of zinc, lead, cooper, gold and
other metals. Their concentration on the sea-bed is much higher than on the
continent. Moreover they can be found in the upper layers of the sea-bed and it is
not necessary to remove layers above them." Of course, everything is not that
simple. Firstly, it will be necessary to develop special equipment for such a
production. At present neither Russia nor any other country has it. It will be also
necessary to work out an environmental program and to prepare specialists who will
work in the ocean in 15 years. By the way, experts in higher education are
confident that the preparation of sea geologists and engineers is one of the most
promising directions in modern higher education. Considering Russias claims on the
deposits of the Arctic region and Pacific Ocean such specialists wont stay
unemployed in the coming decades.
Russian Icebreakers
Russia is the only country with nuclear icebreaker experience
new icebreakers on the wayArctic exploration now
RT 13 [RT is an international multilingual Russian-based television network,
Arctic Exploration
Russian companies like Rosneft have the most data on the
Arcticnew sensors solve Arctic mapping
PortNews 14 [PortNews is a leading and widely read source of maritime and
Ocean Satellites
Russia solves ocean satellites
RIA 11 [RIA Novosti is one of the largest news agencies in Russia, Russia to
launch ocean satellite in March, 1/12/11,
http://en.ria.ru/science/20110112/162115755.html] alla
Russia will launch an oceanography satellite in March to keep track of a vast amount
of data that will help improve weather, climate and ocean forecasts, a Russian
scientist said on Wednesday. "It will be a kind of an orbital 'radio receiver' listening
to Earth," said Viktor Savorsky, acting laboratory head at the Institute of Radio and
Electronic Technology affiliated with the Russian Academy of Sciences, which
developed the satellite equipment. It will provide data, among other things, about
oceanic temperature and salinity, as well as moisture levels and temperature on
land, which are essential to meteorologists, climatologists and oceanographers, he
added. The satellite will use a frequency of 21 centimeters, which ensures the
complete "transparency" of the earth's atmosphere, enabling the probe to receive
data around the clock regardless of weather conditions. Information from the
mission will improve knowledge of changes on the global and regional level and
ensure more accurate weather, ocean and climate forecasts.
Russia SMR
Russia is developing the most advanced SMR technew
commercialization projects and 10 times more funding than
the US
Deign 13 [Jason, writer at Nuclear Energy Insider, which is a leading provider of
business intelligence to the nuclear energy community, Floating SMR: Russias
answer to flexible low maintenance nuclear power?, 12/4/13,
http://analysis.nuclearenergyinsider.com/small-modular-reactors/floating-smr-russia
%E2%80%99s-answer-flexible-low-maintenance-nuclear-power] alla
While the US remains the most promising market for SMR development and
installation, Russia is making waves with its barge-based technology. It might just
be the added-value proposition of low maintenance and no decommissioning that is
the clincher. Russia is quite literally pushing the boat out with small
modular reactor (SMR) technology. Earlier this year, World Nuclear News
reported on how Rosenergoatom, Russias state-owned manufacturer, had
put two reactors onto a barge in Saint Petersburg after four years of
testing. The barge-based plant is intended to set sail for northeast
Russias Chukotka Peninsula, in the East Siberian Sea, to serve mining
interests close to the Arctic, according to reports. But Russia, which is
working on a number of SMR variants, clearly expects to be able to
commercialise its floating designs abroad, too . The Russian business model,
as I understand it, is that they will simply tow in a 40MWe unit, connect it to your
drop line, and provide you with power for up to three years, says Jay Harris, an SMR
consultant based in Canada. They will either charge you a flat rate to provide the
capacity and availability for the power, or use a per-kilowatt-hour fixed price model.
When the unit requires service or refuelling, they tow in a new unit and disconnect
the old one. Old reactors will return to a centralised service yard in Russia, he
adds, so as well as having no upfront cost the electricity customer does not have to
deal with spent fuel issues or even outages. No decommissioning Costs are fixed
and availability is known, says Harris. You dont have to worry about finding
financing, cost overruns, delays or finding labour. They do everything. You just pay
them for the power you use, or the power available. Also, no decommissioning.
They just tow the unit back. This plug-and-play, pay-as-you-go simplicity contrasts
sharply with the situation in the worlds biggest SMR development market, the USA.
There, plenty of companies are working on SMR technologies, but few are finding
the path towards commercialisation easy. In September, for example, General
Atomics presented plans for a so-called Energy Multiplier Module the size of a school
bus, using depleted uranium with helium cooling to operate for 30 years without
refuelling. General Atomics claims the module, which is designed to be placed
underground in sealed containment, has a 53% efficiency, twice that of current light
water SMR designs. SMR development in the US took a step forward in 2012 when
the Department of Energy (DoE) agreed to pick up half the five-year cost of
designing, licensing and commercialising a design. Babcock & Wilcox won the race
to pick up the DoEs Licensing Technical Support Program, to the chagrin of
competitors such as Westinghouse, NuScale Power, Gen4 Energy and SMR. Funding
opportunity However, all these developers will get another bite of the cherry with a
second, USD$452m DoE funding opportunity that is due to close by year-end. While
such moves would appear to put the US in good stead as far as SMR development is
concerned, US vendors face a challenge because they are essentially trying to
commercialise new technologies. In contrast, the Russians are hawking a tried-andtested technology, according to Harris. These units are based on existing naval
reactors, and have many millions of hours of operating experience between their
navy and their icebreaking vessels. It is an existing reactor, not a paper one. That
said, there are also a number of drawbacks with the Russian design. One is its size.
The Russian KLT-40S product currently being commercialised, for example, yields
35MWe, making it primarily suitable for off-grid applications. The mPower reactor
being designed by Babcock & Wilcox in association with Bechtel and Tennessee
Valley Authority, meanwhile, weighs in at between 125 and 180MWe, giving it major
grid potential. Westinghouse is looking at a 225MWe design. Another challenge for
Russias SMRs is that they are water-cooled reactors and so require active cooling,
potentially increasing the chances of a failure. In a post-Fukushima world, it is also
uncertain how barge-mounted reactors could cope with beyond design-basis
accidents such as aircraft crashes. Radiation releases Theoretically, if a barge sinks
the reactor would be passively cooled by the surrounding water, although this is
unlikely to be of much comfort to communities that might be affected by waterborne radiation releases. I think some of the old Soviet-influenced zones might be
interested for installations on their sea coasts, says Harris. I highly doubt any
mainland European nations would tolerate such a unit just because of it being a
Russian reactor. This is an opinion and does not necessarily portray what could
someday form into an internationally regarded and regulated product in emerging
markets. Notably, nothing has yet to prevent US SMR advocates from being
frustrated by Russias carefree progress towards commercialisation. Mark Lewis,
an energy consultant for the state administration in Arizona, says: It is annoying to
me that the Russians are pouring major research and development into this noncarbon power source and the US is spending one tenth of others research and
development budgets.
floating power plant is a vessel with a displacement of 21,500 tons and a crew of 69
people. Its non-self-propelled and therefore has to be towed to the desired
destination. Each ship will have two modified KLT-40 naval propulsion reactors
together providing up to 70 MW of electricity or 300 MW of heat, which is enough
for a city with a population of 200,000 people. The floating nuclear power plants
are expected to be used in remote regions of Russias high north and Far East, which
currently see economic growth suffering from a lack of energy. For export
purposes, the floating power plant can also be modified as a desalination plant able
to produce 240,000 cubic meters of fresh water on a daily basis. 15 countries,
including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Algeria, Namibia, Cape Verde and Argentina,
have previously expressed interest in acquiring such power stations. The
manufacturer stresses that the process of fuel enrichment on the vessels complies
with the regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) dealing with
nonproliferation of nuclear arms. Like every atomic station the floating power plant
is designed with a safety margin, exceeding any possible threats, which makes the
reactors invulnerable to tsunami waves or crashes with other ships or on-land
structures. The power-generating unit is to be replaced by a new one after 40
years, with the used reactor returned to a specialized facility for re-utilization. The
vessels are said to be safe for the environment as they dont release any hazardous
substances during operation. The construction of the maiden floating nuclear
power station, Akademik Lomonosov, began in 2007 at the Sevmash SubmarineBuilding Plant in Severodvinsk. A year later it was transferred to the Baltic Plant,
but was stalled for the last two years due to a lack of financing. The new deal to
finalize the construction of a floating power unit for the floating nuclear power plant
was signed between the Baltic plant and the Russiam state Rosenergoatom
company in December 2012.
uranium that conform to the International Atomic Energy Commission rules aimed at
preventing fuel from being stolen and diverted for use in nuclear weapons. The
ships owner has also said that the reactors would be resilient in a disaster,
though they dont cite what these disasters would be. The floating power station
would provide power and heat to isolated consumers in remote areas that do not
have centralized power supply. In Russia, there are many large population centers
and ports in the Arctic and the Far East coast, not to mention mineral deposits and
military bases that would benefit from the energy.
Baikal, the worlds oldest and deepest body of fresh water. Just like the Russian
space station with which they share their name, the marvelous Mir submersibles are
valuable tools for exploring the unknown.
The Mir submersibles can withstand the depth and cold of the
North Poles watersRussian tech solves deep ocean
observation
Broad 8 [William J., is a science journalist and senior writer at The New York
Times. He shared two Pulitzer Prizes with his colleagues, as well as an Emmy Award
and a DuPont Award, Russian Scientists Honored for Exploration of Arctic Seabed,
3/18/08, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/science/18pola.html?_r=0] alla
Move over, polar bears. The standard view of Arctic life is changing after a team led
by Russian scientists plunged through pack ice around the North Pole last August
and descended more than two miles through pitch darkness to the ocean bottom.
They accomplished the historic first in twin submersibles. Hovering above the ooze,
lights blazing, the explorers found a previously hidden world of Arctic life, including
wiggling fish with long tails, fields of burrowing sea anemones and shrimp-like
crustaceans that danced beneath the bright lights. A world that had forever lain in
complete darkness is how the team described the eerie panorama. The team
recently submitted an 18-page report on the dive to the Explorers Club, which
honored the expeditions chief scientist on Saturday night in New York. The findings
help discredit the old view of the deep ocean as a biological desert. Instead, though
dark and frigid, it turns out to seethe with life, even miles beneath the poles frozen
wastelands. The team dived in Moscows twin submersibles. The size of small
trucks, both are named Mir, Russian for peace. Each Mir has a superstrong
personnel sphere that protects a pilot and two observers, and each sphere has tiny
portholes designed to withstand the crushing pressures of the deep sea so
occupants can peer out. Typically, a dive into the abyss is an all-day affair, requiring
hours to and from the bottom.
AT: RT=Biased
AT : RT=Biased
Abbruzzese 14 [Jason, is a Business Reporter at Mashable, Mashable is a
British-American news website, technology and social media blog, Russia's EnglishLanguage TV Channel: We're Biased and So Are You, 3/5/14,
http://mashable.com/2014/03/05/rt-russian-english-tv/] alla
RT, the Russian government-funded English-language television channel, presents
its countrys view of the world. So, it claims, does every other broadcaster. RT is
just honest enough to admit it. Media outlets do not exist in a vacuum. Can you
really expect any American corporate-owned news network to report a story in a
way that goes against the U.S. national interest? Or Euronews to not advocate
[European Commission] positions? said Margarita Simonyan, who has led the
editorial side of RT since its inception in 2004 as Russia Today. The Ukranian conflict
has put RT in the spotlight like never before in its nine-year history. RT portrays its
coverage as reflective of the Russian perspective on this topic. Some U.S. news
media outlets charge RT is merely disseminating propaganda and oddball stories
like action star Steven Seagals recent media critique. BuzzFeed noted other
examples including a report that labeled Russian military a stabilizing force for
Ukraine" and supposed Ukranian appeals to a Chechen terrorist. The attention was
compounded earlier this week when Abby Martin, an RT anchor, delivered a
Network-like rant against Russia's role in the conflict. Russia was wrong, said
Martin, from RT's Washington bureau headquarters. Martin's tirade was followed by
an emotional on-air resignation by another RT anchor, Liz Wahl. Wahl said she
couldn't stand "whitewashing" Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions anymore.
RT issued a statement about Wahl's resignation to Mashable, published below, that
read in part: "When a journalist disagrees with the editorial position of his or her
organization, the usual course of action is to address those grievances with the
editor, and, if they cannot be resolved, to quit like a professional. But when
someone makes a big public show of a personal decision, it is nothing more than a
self-promotional stunt." Though there are rare parallels in U.S. journalism of highprofile journalists questioning their government like Walter Cronkite's 1968
advocacy of a Vietnam pullout such sentiment is highly unusual for any anchor,
much less one from a state-owned media company. George Galloway, a British
minister of parliament who also hosts a show on RT, said media watchers shouldn't
be shocked that RT has a different way of looking at the world than most Americans
and even its own American anchors. Every television station has its own bias.
You are talking to me from the land of Fox News , so most of this kind of criticism is
completely hollow as far as Im concerned, said Galloway. Every state broadcaster
like the BBC supports the prevailing view, the prevailing orthodoxy of its state. RT is
no different in that regard. If RT's goal is to disperse propaganda, it's doing so
under the pretext of a mainstream news outlet. Even amidst the latest sturm and
drang over Ukraine, RT comes across in most ways like a straightforward news
outlet, albeit one that leans more to the left than most when it comes to U.S.
topics. Originally called Russia Today, the company rebranded to RT in 2009.
Simoyan said the move was an attempt to broaden the channel's audience and not
meant to hide its Russian origins. While the homepage is particularly heavy on
Ukraine news right now, it also features stories on Facebooks drone efforts, an air
race world championship and Brazil celebrating the first day of Carnival in Brazil.
Unlike stereotypical Soviet-era media like TASS or Pravda, RT coverage has earned
somewhat of a reputation for journalistic integrity. It's been nominated for various
awards including an International Emmy for its Occupy Wall Street Coverage. The
channel also recently inked a deal to feature Larry Kings online talk shows. In
addition, RT has massive reach, beaming to some 644 million people in more than
100 countries. It has also found some success with its YouTube channel, which hit 1
billion views in June. In comparison, CNNs channel sits just below 350 million. It has
a headcount of around 2,000 globally with about 100 in its Washington D.C. bureau.
Funding for the channel comes from the Russian government. That's a fairly unusual
arrangement in the U.S., but not abroad, where other outlets, including the BBC,
have been government funded and editorially independent, Simonyan said.
Russia DA Link
Plan encroaches on Russias Influence in the Arcticincreased
competition over resources and military buildup
Mitchell 14 [Jon, is an independent writer working to cultivate experience in
weapons companies were ready to supply such arms to the Defense Ministry.[14]
The Arctic infrastructure that Rogozin refers to will include Navy and Border Guard
Service bases.[15] These bases are part of Putins aim to strengthen Russian energy
companies and military positions in the Arctic region. In 2013, a formerly closed
down base was reopened in the Novosibirsk Islands and is now home to 10 military
ships and four icebreakers a move that Reuters called a demonstration of
force. [16] The Defense Ministry is also planning on bringing seven airstrips in the
Arctic back to life.[17] Russias militarization in the Arctic region is only a part of its
increasing activity throughout the globe. Vice Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said,
Its crucially important for us to set goals for our national interests in this region. If
we dont do that, we will lose the battle for resources which means well also lose in
a big battle for the right to have sovereignty and independence.[18] On the
contrary, Aleksandr Gorban, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry is
quoted saying that a war for resources[19] in the Arctic will never happen. But
what was once a more hands-off region of the world that provided international
cooperation and stability is now turning into a race for sovereignty and resources
claims as evidenced not only by Russias increasing military presence, but also
Canada and the United States. Canada is now allocating part of its defense budget
towards armed ships that will patrol its part of the Arctic Circle,[20] while the United
States has planned a strategy of its own. In addition to conducting military exercises
with other Arctic nation members, the U.S. Navy has proposed a strategy titled The
United States Navy Arctic Roadmap for 2014 to 2030 that was released in February
2014. The 2013 National Strategy for the Arctic Region, cited in the Arctic Roadmap,
provides the Navys two specific objectives for the Arctic: 1) advance United States
security interests; and 2) strengthen international cooperation.[21] According to the
strategy, the Navys role will primarily be in support of search and rescue, law
enforcement, and civil support operations.[22] However, this may grow to a more
militarized strategy depending on the U.S. governments view of Russias increased
military activity in the Arctic region over the next few years. In either case, the U.S.
is falling behind in Arctic preparation. It has very few operational icebreakers for the
Arctic region where its only primary presence is seen through nuclear submarines
and unmanned aerial vehicles, according to an RT article.[23] Until 2020, the Navy
will primarily use its submarines and limited air assets in the Arctic, while its midterm and far-term strategy emphasizes personnel, surface ships, submarines, and
air assets that will be prepared for Arctic conditions and operations.[24] Despite its
mid and long-term strategy, the U.S. will already be lagging in establishing a
military presence to compete with Russias, who already has strategies in motion
until 2020 and later. Last month, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for
a united Canadian-U.S. counterbalance to Russias Arctic presence, pointing out
they have been aggressively reopening military bases.[25] While the U.S. cannot
legitimately criticize Putin for opening military bases and simultaneously avoid
blatant hypocrisy, it is worth noting that Russia is developing a strong military
presence in a potentially competitive region . Russias plans to reopen bases and
create an Arctic military command fosters the conclusion that Russia wants to be
the first established dominant force in a new region that will host economic
competition and primary shipping lanes, albeit in a harsh environment that makes it
difficult to extract resources. Nicholas Cunningham aptly stated both Russia and
the West fear losing out to the other in the far north, despite what appears to be a
small prize.[26] Although the Arctic holds a mass of the worlds oil and gas
deposits, the extreme environment and remote location makes it difficult to produce
energy quickly and efficiently. Despite this, the Russian Federation is focused on
developing disputed hydrocarbon areas that it claims are part of the countrys
continental shelf. In addition, Russia is allocating funds and forces to the Arctic to
protect its interests. While the U.S. is currently lacking in natural resource
development and exploitation in the Arctic Circle, it desires to display a show of
strength in the cold region to compete with potential Russian domination and
influence. But because the Defense Department faces constant budget cuts,
preparing an Arctic naval force will be slow and difficult. For now, the United States
can only show strength through nuclear submarines and drone technology. Putin
and the Russian Federation are laying disputed claims to territories both inside and
outside the Arctic while creating the foundation for a potential military buildup in
the Arctic provided that the U.S. and Canada can even allocate sufficient budgets
for Arctic military expansion. One thing is sure: if the Arctic region continues to melt
and open up vital shipping lanes, there must be international cooperation to provide
security and rescue elements for commercial shipping. Since Russia has significant
territorial claims and the most coastlines in the Arctic Circle, it would be natural for
the Russian Federation to have a wide security presence in the region, but this must
be coupled with international cooperation in commercial shipping lanes and by
providing support elements, such as search and rescue. The United States will not
be able to fully compete with a country that is heavily investing in the Arctic region
particularly due to budget constraints and lack of Arctic-prepared vessels. If the
U.S. desires to limit Russian influence and territorial claims, it must do so by
partnering with other members of the Arctic council not by entering into a military
buildup simply to dominate Russia in the Arctic.
Canada CP Solvency
Generic development
Canadian firms solve ocean development - superior technology
and firms
DFO 14 [fisheries and oceans Canada has the lead federal role in managing
Canadas fisheries and safeguarding its waters. The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), a
Special Operating Agency within DFO, is responsible for services and programs that
contribute to the safety, security, and accessibility of Canadas waterways. oceans
action plan http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/publications/oap-pao/page05eng.asp] (sakin)
Canadian firms have established themselves as world leaders in oceans technology
niches. To fully employ Canadian ingenuity and to secure markets, which will allow
this industry to prosper, the Government needs to provide a supportive environment
for the development and commercialization of oceans technology . There is a tremendous
opportunity to turn the governments need for technology solutions that arise from the other three pillars of the
Oceans Action Plan into business and commercial opportunities, especially for coastal communities. The Marine and
The
Roadmap outlines actions to develop technology and emphasizes sustainability. The
ocean technology industry comprises many small and medium-sized firms as well as
regionally-based research and development organizations . The marketplace is moving toward
Ocean Industry Technology Roadmap provides a vision for development of technologies that will help address .
integrated technology-based solutions, and Canadian firms will need partnerships with each other to increase their
capacity to respond. [PHOTO: Deep Worker L Deep Rover R(b)]There is a need to network with coastal communities
to achieve economic development, ensure economy of scale for small-to-medium size firms, and capitalize on the
demonstration are critical to research and development and commercialization. Working relationships with firms
The
government, as a main user and purchaser of oceans technologies, can also foster
and support the commercialization of new technologies . The Oceans Action Plan
supports the development and implementation of a technology demonstration
platform to facilitate wireless transmission of key oceanographic information for
integrated management and for modeling systems . The regional economic
development agencies Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Western Economic
Diversification, and Canada Economic Development for Quebec, as well as Industry
Canada, the National Research Council, granting councils, and other technology
development programs can also support the Oceans Action Plan and facilitate the
development of the oceans industry sector . The Industry Portfolio has been actively working to
and research institutes are needed to establish needs, define applications and demonstrate new technologies.
encourage small and medium sized business innovation. With increased focus and coordination, more can be done
to position Canadian companies to create next generation technologies aimed at an expanding international oceans
market.
Generic Exploration
Canada has best Ocean exploration tech in the world
Victoria. Thanks to the vision and dedication of a talented team of scientists and engineers, and ongoing
investments by governments and funding partners, we now have unprecedented access to the deep ocean .
Every year for the next 25 years, NEPTUNE Canada will amass more than 60
terabytes of scientific dataequivalent to the text in about 60 million bookson
biological, physical, chemical and geological processes in the Pacific Ocean. The
data will have policy applications in the areas of climate change, hazard mitigation
(earthquakes and tsunamis), ocean pollution, port security and shipping, resource
development, sovereignty and security, and ocean management . The observatorys
cutting-edge technologies are already generating commercialization and job
creation opportunities, and are attracting considerable attention from other
countries building or planning similar facilitie s. One small click of a mouseone giant leap toward
ocean discoveries that will benefit the entire world, says Iain Black, Minister of Small Business, Technology and
Economic Development, who officially turned on the data flow at the event. From creating jobs for British
Columbians and protecting the environment to exploring resources under the ocean floor, NEPTUNE Canada is an
example of our province leading through innovation. It is a matter of national pride that the worlds largest
undersea observatory has been built in Canadian seas for Canadian researchers, and CANARIE is honoured to be
supporting this important initiative, says Guy Bujold, president of CANARIE. Ou r
advanced technology
and tools will help enhance NEPTUNE Canadas success on the research,
educational and environmental fronts. A curious rattail fish, or grenadier,
supervises the installation of a seismometer more than 2.6 km below the surface.
The science community is driving a new era of ocean exploration and discovery ,
says NEPTUNE Canada project director Dr. Chris Barnes. Were overjoyed to bring online the worlds first regional
cabled ocean observatory. The fire hose of real-time data will increase as we add more instruments next summer.
The Government of Canada, through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI),
recently committed $24 million over the next two years to support the operating
requirements of NEPTUNE Canada and its sister observatory, VENUS. The development of NEPTUNE
Canada has been funded by more than $100 million from the Government of Canada through CFI, the Natural
Sciences and Engineering Research Council and CANARIE, and the Government of British Columbia through the
British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund.
Tidal energy
Canada has the beast geography and currents for tidal energy.
MPAs
Canada Marine Protected Areas are sufficient
DFO 14 [fisheries and oceans Canada has the lead federal role in managing
Canadas fisheries and safeguarding its waters. The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), a
Special Operating Agency within DFO, is responsible for services and programs that
contribute to the safety, security, and accessibility of Canadas waterways. oceans
action plan http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/publications/oap-pao/page05eng.asp] (sakin)
Marine Protected Areas Fisheries and Oceans Canada contributes to the Network
through the establishment of MPAs under the Oceans Act. DFO also focuses on
areas of interest that are at various stages of progress towards designation . These
areas are ecologically significant, with species and/or properties that require special
consideration. Fisheries and Oceans Canada designates marine protected areas
under the Oceans Act in order to protect and conserve : commercial and non-commercial fishery
resources and their habitats; endangered marine species and their habitats; unique habitats; marine areas of high
biodiversity or biological productivity; and any other marine resource or habitat necessary to fulfill the Ministers
mandate. MPA
This approach of nesting MPAs within broader planning initiatives helps maintain the
integrity and long-term viability of the MPA and maximize the conservation
effectiveness of all MPA planning processes.
Nat gas
Canada natural gas mining solves. Canada has a ton of it
CPP 14 [Canadian Petroleum Producers natural
gashttp://www.capp.ca/canadaIndustry/naturalGas/Pages/default.aspx]
Methane
Canada has enormous potential to develop Methane Hydrates
CBC 13 [ CBC news Canada drops out of race to tap methane hydrates
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/canada-drops-out-of-race-to-tap-methanehydrates-1.1358966]
Canada has confirmed reserves of methane hydrates in the Mackenzie River Delta,
the Arctic Archipelago and along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts . According to a 2012 study
from the University of Alberta and the Geological Survey of Canada, the total amount of methane gas
in Canada is measured in trillions of cubic metres. Estimates put methane hydrates
at anywhere from two to 30 times the amount of conventional natural gas present
in the country. In spite of that potential volume, the recent technological
breakthrough permitting deposits to be tapped, and a successful research record,
Canada has lost interest in commercializing this vast source of energy . Paul Duchesne,
manager of media relationships for Natural Resources Canada, told CBC News in an email that growing interest in
shale gas and low prices for conventional sources of natural gas make energy from methane hydrates noncompetitive.
Desalination
Canada has the best desalination technologies and the new
energy efficient forward osmosis methods
Hamilton 13 [Tyler Hamilton, author of Mad Like Tesla, writes weekly about green
energy and clean technologiesTyler Hamilton, author of Mad Like Tesla, writes
weekly about green energy and clean technologies New approach to water
desalination holds great potential: Hamilton
http://www.thestar.com/business/2013/01/18/new_approach_to_water_desalination_
holds_great_potential_hamilton.html
Canada, the land of abundant fresh water, has little need for desalination technologies to quench the thirst of its
through a partially permeable membrane from a low concentration to a high concentration until a balance is
reached on both sides. This natural movement is called osmotic pressure. One of the most popular approaches to
water desalination today is reserve-osmosis, which is designed to work against osmotic pressure. Seawater is
pumped through a salt-blocking membrane to produce purified water on the other side. This uses a lot of energy
because it requires high pressure. The membranes also tend to get fouled up with contaminants, boosting
Forward osmosis, on the other hand, goes with the flow by taking
advantage of osmotic pressure. Instead of using electricity to force water through a
membrane, a draw solution with much higher salt concentrations than seawater is
used to pull the pure water through the membrane.
maintenance costs.
Japan CP Solvency
Methane hydrates
Japan solves methane hydrates. They have the tech
Demetriou 14 [writer for the telegraph, a UK news agency Is 'burning ice' the
solution to Japan's energy crisis?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/10646210/Japan
-methane-hydrate.html]
Japanese company is planning to extract methane hydrate from the seabed with
the goal of creating a new domestic energy source for resources-poor Japan . Mitsui
Engineering and Shipbuilding Co. (MES) hopes to become a pioneer in the field of extracting
methane hydrate, also known as burning ice, a compound believed to exist in
abundance beneath seas around Japan. The company, which has previously
developed offshore oilfields, has set up a new department devoted to tapping into
the nations underwater energy extraction potential. It has also designed an
underwater robot capable of diving to depths of nearly 23,000 ft to assist the testmining of mineral ores, with manufacturing discussions reportedly underway with an undisclosed North
A
European company. Although a timescale has not yet been made public in relation to when they will start the
extraction process, Masatoshi Inui, a spokesman at MES, told the Telegraph: Its true that the company plans to
explore and extract seabed resources, including methane hydrate and rare metals
experimental production of methane gas by injecting hot water into a borehole in the Mackenzie Delta in the arctic
Committee for National Methane Hydrates Exploitation Program under METI, JOGMEC
Plans for test production of gas from the methane hydrates in the Nankai Trough will depend
on the results.
analyst at IHS CERA. "If you look at what a dramatic shift the North American gas industry has gone through, could
Successful
development of methane hydrates could throw a wrench into liquefied-natural-gas
you afford to bet against something similar happening in methane hydrate?" Mr. Rajan said.
megaprojects such as Australia's $50 billion Gorgon development led by Chevron Corp. CVX -0.44% , experts say. "It
would make me have pause about investing billions of dollars in an LNG export terminal," said Christopher Knittel,
Ocean in 2006, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, a part of the U.S. Department of Interior that conducts
scientific research. In the U.S., scientists explored the northern Gulf of Mexico in May to map some of the 6.7
quadrillion cubic feet of methane-hydrate clusters believed to be underwater there. The Consortium for Ocean
Leadership, a nonprofit group of researchers, is now trying to convince the Department of Energy to lend it a
research drilling ship to do more tests. "There
OTEC
Japan has the tech and will export the energy to the US
Find MH 370
Japan can help efforts to find the plan, specific aircrafts and s
satellite technology
Tiezzi 14 [Shannon Tiezzi is an Associate Editor at The Diplomat.Her main focus is
on China, and she writes on Chinas foreign relations, domestic politics, and
economy. Japan Joins Search for Malaysia Airlines Flight
370http://thediplomat.com/2014/03/japan-joins-search-for-malaysia-airlines-flight370/]
On Tuesday, Japan officially joined in the search efforts for missing Malaysia Airlines
Flight 370. A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the
government was sending a Japan Disaster Relief Team to Kuala Lumpur to assist in
rescue operations. The eight-person team will include officials from the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense, Japan Coast Guard, and Japan International
Cooperation Agency. Japan also announced that it is sending aircraft to assist in the
search, beginning with a C-130H Transport Aircraft (photos of which were posted to
the Japanese Ministry of Defenses Website). Reuters reported that Japan also plans
to send three other aircraft, including two P3C surveillance planes. As my colleague
Ankit wrote earlier this week, the search for Flight 370 has provided a rare
opportunity for cooperation among Southeast and East Asian nations, many of
whom are involved in territorial disputes. In addition to Japan, India and Brunei are
also new additions to the search efforts. They join Australia, China, Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the U.S., and Vietnam in the search,
bringing the total number of countries involved to 12. The search efforts, being
spearheaded by Malaysia, have been a rare example of cooperation in the South
China Sea, an area that recently seems to have become synonymous with territorial
disputes. However acrimonious the disputes in the South China Sea have been,
though, they pale in comparison to the level of tensions between China and Japan.
Even the rough relationship between China and the Philippines, who have
competing claims to several islands and shoals in the South China Sea, looks almost
friendly compared to the constant diplomatic barbs flying between Beijing and
Tokyo
The Korea Times, Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI) President Kang Jung-keuk said
the ocean for survival in line with the rapid depletion of easily exploited resources
and intensifying competition across the globe to secure food and energy on land . The
ocean is our next frontier and our future depends on it,'' Kang said. He said the institute has been
playing a key role in promoting the importance of the sea to Korea's future through
a wide array of oceanographic research, ranging from studies of the nation's seas
and open oceans, and investigations on preservation, control and restoration of
marine environments, to the development of marine energy resources . KORDI is located
in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, and operates three branch institutes across the country. It also maintains two
oceanic factors to better understand changes in the global environment and protect human lives and properties
against tidal waves, typhoons and other natural disasters. `` Temperatures
in coastal waters
surrounding the Korean Peninsula have been increasing at a faster pace than in
other parts of the globe, severely affecting the marine environment here . We will
continue to strengthen monitoring and studies of changes in the surrounding seas in a bid to better understand
what is really going on. So, we can help policymakers make better informed decisions to preserve the marine ecosystem in a more sustainable state,'' the oceanographer said Additionally, the institute has recently bolstered
studies on the marine environment surrounding the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo. `` We
set up a
center exclusively dedicated to studying the islets in 2005. It surveys the ecoenvironment surrounding the island, gathers various data, and publishes findings in
international academic journals. All these activities have and will help us boost our
sovereignty over Dokdo,'' the KORDI head said. However, he said Korea still lags far behind advanced countries
in marine science and technology. ``Our competitiveness in this field is only half that of the United States, Japan
and other advanced economies. Additionally, only 2.5 percent of state research and development (R&D) funds are
allocated to the marine science and technology fields.'' But Kang expressed an optimistic outlook for Korea's marine
science and industry, saying the government and private companies are increasingly paying greater attention to
the sector for potentially lucrative business opportunities. `` The
research institutes, Kang said it will soon come out with a blueprint outlining major areas designed to transform the
nation into a marine-based economy. ``The United States and Japan have already named ocean development as
one of their main national growth strategies. China has also announced its intent to explore natural resources in the
ocean. We should place top policy priority on developing a wide range of marine science and technologies to foster
Methane hydrates
South Korea icebreakers solve for methane Hydrates
Indian Ocean
Japan is expanding their influence into the Indian Ocean.
Solves with high tech industries
FDI 12 [Future Direction International Future Directions International (FDI) is an
independent, not-for-profit Research Institute. It was established in 2000, by Major
General the Honourable Michael Jeffery (former Governor General of Australia)
together with a small group of leading Australians, to conduct comprehensive
research of important medium to long-term issues facing Australia. South Korea:
National Involvement in the Indian Ocean Region
http://www.futuredirections.org.au/publications/indian-ocean/373-south-koreanational-involvement-in-the-indian-ocean-region.html]
South Korea (officially, the Republic of Korea) has commenced a process of
enlarging its strategic reach, which includes the Indian Ocean region. As a net
importer of energy resources, South Korea has a growing appreciation of the
security environment and stability required in the Indian Ocean. With many rapidly
growing economies, the Indian Ocean region is capable of providing South Korea
with significant markets for its goods and high technology industries, as well as
providing the natural resources to maintain South Koreas own economic and
strategic position. South Korea is becoming more ambitious in the use of its defence
forces in multilateral operations beyond its own immediate region, signalling a
willingness to take a greater responsibility for its own strategic future. South Korea
has embarked upon a process of increasing its global presence and strategic reach,
with a focus on the increasingly important Indian Ocean region. South Korea, as a
net energy importer, is necessarily committed to maintaining the supply of the
energy resources that are crucial to its economy. To facilitate the continued supply
of energy and resources, South Korea has been actively increasing its level of
diplomatic and economic activity with many of the states in the Indian Ocean
region. South Korea has adopted a proactive role in the security of the Indian Ocean
and the sea lines of communication (SLOCs) which cross it. Seoul has increased its
naval capabilities and become more active in multilateral military operations, such
as those in Iraq and Afghanistan. The increased activity has assisted South Korea in
lifting its profile and to solidify its status as a middle power.
Aquaculture
South Korea solves Aquaculture, eased regulations and new
large companies
Kim 12 [writer for MK business news Large companies to enter S. Korea`s
aquaculture industryhttp://news.mk.co.kr/english/newsRead.php?
rss=Y&sc=30800011&year=2012&no=50981]
Large companies will be allowed to enter the aquaculture sector for select items as
the South Korean government plans to ease regulations barring conglomerate entry.
"We need large-scale capital to nurture the fisheries sector ," said Minister Seo Gyu-yong of the
Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MIFAFF) in an interview with the Maeil Business News last
"We are planning to abolish the current ban on large company entry into the
aquaculture industry," he said. Current regulations disqualify companies with more
than 1,000 full time employees and capital asset over 500 billion won ($443.6
million) from obtaining fisheries licenses. This law has prevented large company entry into marine
farming, shellfish farming, and fish farming that could have benefited from large capital inflow. "Large
companies will still be barred from seaweed farming and other sectors where the
competition could devastate the livelihood and survival of small time fishers and
small companies. Conglomerate entry will thus be limited to large fish farms such as
tuna and abalone farms," Seo continued. Seo also explained that this amendment was driven by
Thursday.
government hopes of driving up fisheries exports. "We won't be placing a ban on conglomerate entry into the
year's agriculture and fisheries exports hit a record high at $7.28 billion, but conditions will become tougher this
year as the global economy slows," Seo said, while promising to chair monthly meetings to make sure Korea
reaches $10 billion in exports this year.
Affirmative Answers
EU CP Answers
Perm
Perm solves best EU and US cooperation over climate issues
is key
LowCVP 14, LowCVP, 3/14/14, LowCVP is an organization that works towards
Leal-Arcas 13,
The days of mutual distrust between the trade and climate agendas are long gone
(Leal-Arcas, 2013). Today, numerous areas of symbiosis between the two agendas
have been recognized, including emissions trading schemes, border carbon
measures and labelling schemes, to name but a few (ICTSD, 2011). Both trade and
climate have irrefutable links to sustainable development, making it a logical step to
explore the potential for mutual cooperation and factor this into response measures.
Moreover, both regimes can offer a system of carrots and sticks. Given this context,
climate response measures should aim at minimizing trade impacts; response
Saxon 14,
Clare Saxon, 3/26/14, Saxon is a staff writer for The Climate Group,
EU AND US JOIN FORCES TO AGREE CLIMATE DEAL IN PARIS,
http://www.theclimategroup.org/what-we-do/news-and-blogs/eu-and-us-join-forces-to-agreeclimate-deal/, NN
LONDON: Today the European Union and the US committed to work together on
agreeing a new global climate deal at COP21 in Paris next year, a promising sign of
the power international collaboration could have in tackling climate change and
securing a low carbon future. US President Barack Obama and Jos Manuel Duro
Barroso, President of the European Commission, met in Brussels earlier today,
where they pledged joint commitment to a global climate agreement at COP21 in a
public statement. The statement reinforces the regions previous signals that they
would enforce "strong determination" towards a deal at Paris. It says: Sustainable
economic growth will only be possible if we tackle climate change, which is also a
risk to global security. [...] The 2015 agreement must be consistent with science
and with the goal of limiting the global temperature increase to below 2C, and
should therefore include ambitious mitigation contributions, notably from the
worlds major economies and other significant emitters. Underscoring that they will
implement existing pledges as well as prepare new mitigation contributions in early
2015, the EU and US leaders have committed to work together on: accelerating
mainstream adoption of sustainable and renewable energy improving energy
security in Europe phasing out fossil fuel subsidies promoting energy efficiency
slowing down the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and
limiting their use under the Montreal Protocol. GLOBAL ACTION The joint pledge
comes in the middle of an important week when the worlds top scientists, the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), are meeting in Japan to release
the AR5 Working Group II report this coming Monday. Leaks of the report contain
stark evidence of the impacts runaway climate change will have on businesses and
communities, which should spur urgent action from leaders. Ahead of the IPCC
release, several separate reports have bolstered a sense of urgency, including the
World Health Organizations analysis which attributes 7 million deaths to pollution
last year, and a UN report that reveals 2013 was the sixth warmest year on record.
EU ENERGY INDEPENDENCE In his remarks on EU-US joint action today, Jose Manuel
Barroso, European Commission President spotlighted Europe's energy
independence. He said: "Our teams are going to meet already next week to discuss
some issues in terms of energy cooperation between Europe and the United States.
The topic of Europe's energy security was first raised in the media last week when
the EU Council agreed to postpone further decisions on its 2030 climate and energy
package until October. Although the long-awaited opportunity to raise ambition on
the EU goals was missed, the Council agreed to increase energy independence by
promoting domestic sources such as renewable energy, following events in Ukraine.
EU Fails
The EU cant protect the oceans- current policies prove
Fournier 14, Nicolas Fournier, 5/26/14, Fournier is a staff writer for The
Beacon, EU Seas Are In Bad Shape, http://oceana.org/en/blog/2014/03/eu-seas-are-inbad-shape, NN
In 2008, EU Member States took an ambitious decision to safeguard and restore the
state of European seas by 2020. After years of negotiations, the Marine Strategy
Framework Directive was adopted, which aimed at making sure all human activities
that impact the quality of our marine environment are addressed. Today, five years
since implementation, and with six more years to go, the goal seems more of a
challenge to reach. Two weeks ago, the EU Commission published its first evaluation
of progress, revealing an overall gloomy picture of the state of our seas, and worse,
a general lack of ambition from our governments. As European Environment
Commissioner Janez Potonik summarized: "The message is clear: Europe's seas
and oceans are not in good shape. Most notable was the poor performance of the
northern European countries around the Baltic Sea. This was due to the lack of
coordination between the neighboring countries when defining the goal for 2020.
Simply put, they couldnt agree on common indicators to evaluate what a healthy
sea should look like: How much fish there should be? What is tolerable level of
harmful substances or underwater noise? How contaminated can seafood be? Which
species need protection, and how to go about it? They also couldnt manage to put
together a coherent plan integrating different activities, such as water, agriculture
or nature conservation. The most worrying issue at this point is that the past five
years were meant to lay the foundation for concrete measures that will be adopted
over the next six years. The lack of ambition weve seen so far has thus seriously
undermined the entire aim of the MSFD. But, this dismal half-time report is a
necessary wake-up call, and the good news is that there is no need to reinvent the
wheel; the tools already exist to move in the right direction. Just last week the Baltic
Sea countries celebrated 40 years of successful cooperation in the region under the
HELCOM umbrella. This partnership produced several very useful tools for countries
aiming to contribute to the implementation of marine directive. Unfortunately, the
leadership of these countries is reluctant to use the very same tools they developed
and agreed to use so long ago. Its as though Baltic Sea states are in a dysfunctional
marriage: after 40 years together theyve stopped talking to one another, and when
it comes to making things work, theyd rather do it alone than together.
Unfortunately, these shortcomings and delays are not isolated to the Baltic: we are
seeing Atlantic and Mediterranean countries drag their feet as well.
Yesterday, Oceana released the results of a six-month study on European Union (EU)
subsidies to the fishing sector since 2000, and the results were shocking. Our report
showed that 4.9 billion euros in subsidies were granted in the form of state aid for
the fishing sectors, with most of this 4.9 billion ($6.3 billion) fueling overfishing
and environmentally harmful practices. Our estimates show that of this 4.9 billion,
new to the politics of ocean conservation in the USA. I am usually based in the
in Europe, I have had the ample
displeasure of witnessing first hand how international bodies like the UN, regional
fisheries management organizations, or the European Union go about failing to
protect our oceans and the animals that live in them. Its not like the science is in
dispute. Close to 80 percent of global fish stocks are in a poor state as a direct result of over-fishing. Add to that
pollution, deep-seabed mining, ocean acidification, and climate change it is time to give our oceans a
break. To recover, replenish, build resilience, and ensure bounty from our oceans for
I am
The European Union, or EU, pays 75 percent of the access fees for European vessels
to fish in the waters of developing countries in Africa and the South Pacific,
according to a new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia. Industry
pays the remaining 25 percent, but that represents only about 2 percent of the revenue it receives from selling the
study, supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the UBC researchers analyzed agreements the EU made with
developing countries to access their waters between 1980 and 2012. These agreements include fees that range
from roughly 400,000 to 230 million per year per country (about US$470,000 to US$305 million at today's
exchange rates). The text of the agreements shows that the EU government paid a total of about 5 billion toward
the access fees during this period. To compare the industry's fee to its revenues from fishing, the researchers used
data from the agreements and a database of global fish prices. Such calculations were possible only for agreements
relating to tuna because other agreements did not consistently include the catch level available to EU vessels. The
study found that the fishing industry paid about one-fourth the cost of access. Assuming that ratio holds for all
agreements, this equates to about 1.7 billion over the 33-year period. But revenue from fishing in these waters
totaled about 96 billion, so the fees paid by the industry amounted to only about 2 percent of its revenue (1.5
percent for tuna and 3.2 percent for other species). The EU has the potential to lead the world in sustainable
fisheries, says Daniel Pauly, principal investigator with the Sea Around Us Project and a study co-author. But
as
they stand now, these access agreements are being subsidized in ways that
disadvantage developing countries and contradict the EU's own development goals
by forcing their citizens to essentially pay twice for the fish they're taking off of the
plates of developing countries. The authors recommend that host countries learn from Pacific nations
that recently began to charge higher fees for access to their watersup to 50 percent more than the world average
in the case of the island nation of Kiribati. They also note that a senior representative of the French tuna fleet
recently acknowledged that the fees paid by the industry are low and that it would be reasonable to set them at up
to 7 percent of the value of fish landed.
Europe's urban sprawl increased by an area three times the size of Luxembourg in
the 1990s, highlighting the continent's failure to protect the environment, a report
warned yesterday. Experts at a biodiversity conference in Croatia this week will be
told Europe is performing poorly in eight of nine biodiversity targets set in Kiev in
2003. "It is clear that achieving the 2010 biodiversity target in Europe requires not
only a redoubling of efforts ... but a firm commitment by the parties to act," it says.
The report, by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Council of Europe,
says there are 800,000 hectares (2m acres) of built-up areas on the continent . The
impact of urban areas on the environment is highlighted by the example of London,
whose "ecological footprint" - the standard measure of environmental impact - is
two times the size of Britain. "Humanity continues to use resources at an unsustainable level," the report
says, warning that Europe's failure to protect the environment is threatening wildlife species. The numbers of
Iberian Lynx and British moths are said to be declining at an alarming rate. The protection of species, both those
The
UNEP highlighted a report by Butterfly Conservation yesterday, which showed that
the number of large moths in Britain had decreased by 32% since 1968. The moth
population in Scotland has increased slightly in the same period. Species
traditionally found in Scotland have declined as rapidly as those found in England.
But overall numbers in Scotland have stabilised because English moths have
headed north, probably because of global warming. Sir David Attenborough
described the report as "significant and worrying". "Moths are valuable indicators of
what is happening in our countryside," he said. "Other insects are almost certainly
in decline as well." Michael Williams of the UNEP said the moth report was a perfect
illustration of ecological damage. "Even at the level of moths, species are in trouble. It is pretty
classified as under threat and others selected at random, is one of the targets that Europe is failing to meet.
amazing," he said. He also warned of a threat to Iberian Lynx. A recent UNEP report said only about 1,200 lynx were
left in south and western Spain after the widespread clearance of marquis vegetation in the 1940s and the rapid
economic development of the country over the past 30 years. On the plus side, the report says that 30% of
Europe's land area is still covered by forests, including 17% in 18,000 nature sites. "There has been a significant
increase in coverage of protected areas over the past decade, although efforts are needed to increase protected
area coverage
US Solves Best
US data is critical, provides more than half of global sensor
platforms
Levy 11 (Joel Levy, NOAA Climate Program Office, Climate
Observation Division The Global Ocean Observing Component
of IOOS: Implementation of the Initial Global Ocean Observing
System for Climate and the Path Forward,
http://www.plocan.eu/doc/MTS%20Journal_2011_Vol45-No1.pdf)
The Observational Subsystems of the In Situ Observing System NOAA is the world
leader in im- plementing the in situ elements of the global ocean observing system
for cli- mate. The NOAA Climate Observa- tion Division sponsors the majority of the global
components of the U.S. IOOS.7 The Climate Observation Di- vision manages implementation of the global
ocean observing system as a set of observational networks Of Rlbsystom Each subsystem brings unique strengths
deployed throughout the global ocean, with plans to increase that number to bring the system into com- pliance
Implementation of the U.S. obser- vational networks is accomplished by NOAA laboratories and university- based
cooperative institutes, working in close partnership with each other under funding from the Climate Obser- vation
Division. Satellites also provide critical contributions to global ocean observation , but
operation of the satel- lites does not (all under the mandate of the Climate Observation Division.
The proposal, slated to go into effect later this year after a comment period, could
create the worlds largest marine sanctuary and double the area of ocean globally
that is fully protected. Im going to use my authority to protect some of our
nations most precious marine landscapes, Obama said in a video to participants at
a State Department conference, adding that while the ocean is being degraded, We
cannot afford to let that happen. Thats why the United States is leading the fight to
protect our oceans. The announcement first reported earlier Tuesday by The
Washington Post is part of a broader push on maritime issues by an
administration that has generally favored other environmental priorities. The oceans
effort, led by Secretary of State John F. Kerry and White House counselor John D.
Podesta, is likely to spark a new political battle with Republicans over the scope of
Obamas executive powers. The president will also direct federal agencies to
develop a comprehensive program aimed at combating seafood fraud and the
global black-market fish trade. In addition, the administration finalized a rule last
week allowing the public to nominate new marine sanctuaries off U.S. coasts and in
the Great Lakes. Expanding a marine monument? Obama has used his executive
authority 11 times to safeguard areas on land, but scientists and activists have
been pressing him to do the same for untouched underwater regions. President
George W. Bush holds the record for creating U.S. marine monuments, declaring
four during his second term, including the one that Obama plans to expand. Under
the proposal, according to two independent analyses, the Pacific Remote Islands
Marine National Monument would be expanded from almost 87,000 square miles to
nearly 782,000 square miles all of it adjacent to seven islands and atolls
controlled by the United States. The designation would include waters up to 200
nautical miles offshore from the territories. Its the closest thing Ive seen to the
pristine ocean, said Enric Sala, a National Geographic explorer-in-residence who
has researched the areas reefs and atolls since 2005. Obama has faced criticism
from a variety of groups including cattle ranchers, law enforcement officers and
ATV enthusiasts over his expansion of protections for federal lands. The ocean
area under consideration, by contrast, encompasses uninhabited islands in a remote
region with sparse economic activity. Even so, the designation is expected to face
objections from the U.S. tuna fleet that operates in the region. Fish caught in the
area account for up to 3 percent of the annual U.S. tuna catch in the western and
central Pacific, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts. When Bush created the
monument in 2009, he exempted sport fishing to address industry opposition. Mike
Leonard, ocean resource policy director for the American Sportfishing Association,
said recreational fishing enthusiasts would push to ensure their existing exemption
stays in place if the protected area is expanded. We believe in almost all instances
you can still have marine conservation and marine protection, and still allow for
sustainable recreational fishing activities to take place, Leonard said, adding
theres almost no sportfishing activity in the area because its a heck of a trek out
there. Our concern is obviously with the precedent this might set.
On September 20, 2004, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy fulfilled its mandate
to submit recommendations for a coordinated and comprehensive national ocean
policy to the President and Congress. The Commission's final report, "An Ocean
Blueprint for the 21st Century," contains 212 recommendations addressing all
aspects of ocean and coastal policy. The 16 members of the Commission call on the
President and Congress to take decisive, immediate action to carry out these
recommendations, which will halt the steady decline of our nation's oceans and
coasts. On December 17, 2004, in response to the Commission's findings and
recommendations, the President issued an executive order establishing a
Committee on Ocean Policy as part of the Council on Environmental Quality and
released the U.S. Ocean Action Plan. Following the White House announcement of
these actions, the Commission responded with a preliminary assessment of the
Ocean Action Plan, calling it a promising first step toward the implementation of a
comprehensive national ocean policy. To view the Commission's preliminary
assessment click here. On December 19, 2004, the Commission expired, as
provided under the terms of the Oceans Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-256), as amended.
However, this website will continue to be available as an archive of the
Commission's work. An electronic version of the full-color final report is currently
available on the Documents page of this website. The full-color final report is also
available in hard copy from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) for
$45. The NTIS package includes the final report, a CD-ROM with the seven
supplementary books, a DVD with an 11-minute summary of the Commission's
recommendations, and a 37-minute video recounting the work of the Commission.
To order from NTIS, call 1-800-553-6847 and quote order number PB2005101629KTF. Or order online at www.ntis.gov.
carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur, as well as other less abundant but necessary elements." n858 In a very real and direct sense,
The United
States has traditionally failed to protect marine ecosystems because it was difficult
to detect anthropogenic harm to the oceans, but we now know that such harm is occurring - even though we are not
completely sure about causation or about how to fix every problem. Ecosystems like the NWHI coral reef
ecosystem should inspire lawmakers and policymakers to admit that most of the time we really do not know what we
are doing to the sea and hence should be preserving marine wilderness whenever we can - especially when the United
States has within its territory relatively pristine marine ecosystems that may be
unique in the world. We may not know much about the sea, but we do know this
much: if we kill the ocean we kill ourselves, and we will take most of the biosphere
with us. The Black Sea is almost dead, n863 its once-complex and productive ecosystem almost entirely replaced by a monoculture of comb jellies,
should be a recognition of how little we know about the sea - and about the actual effect of human activities on marine ecosystems.
"starving out fish and dolphins, emptying fishermen's nets, and converting the web of life into brainless, wraith-like blobs of jelly." n864 More importantly,
the Black Sea is not necessarily unique. The Black Sea is a microcosm of what is happening to the ocean systems at large. The stresses piled up:
overfishing, oil spills, industrial discharges, nutrient pollution, wetlands destruction, the introduction of an alien species. The sea weakened, slowly at first,
then collapsed with [*266] shocking suddenness. The lessons of this tragedy should not be lost to the rest of us, because much of what happened here is
being repeated all over the world. The ecological stresses imposed on the Black Sea were not unique to communism. Nor, sadly, was the failure of
governments to respond to the emerging crisis. n865 Oxygen-starved "dead zones" appear with increasing frequency off the coasts of major cities and
Links to NB
The CP links to politics environmental policy in Europe is
incredibly unpopular
Baltruks 14, Dorothea Baltruks, 5/26/14, Baltruks is a staff writer for the
members of the Conservatives goes, the only way to become a sovereign country
again is to leave the EU. While the Prime Minister has continuously voiced his
support for membership, he has attached conditions to it. He wants to reform the
EU, renegotiate the UKs membership, and then hold an In/Out referendum in
2017. Some of the changes he demands are minor, others - especially those that
require Treaty change - far fetched. In an interview a few days ago, for instance,
David Cameron said that he does not want the principle of ever closer union to
apply to Britain anymore - a Treaty change that is highly unlikely to be confirmed by
the other Member States. As is his demand to restrict the free movement of people,
one of the founding principles of the Union. These demands exemplify Camerons
strategy: he says Britain should stay in the EU - in an EU that will give in to his
demands! He is obviously trying to create a win-win situation for himself and his
party. As the EU will not give in to all of his demands, he can remain an advocate of
the principles of the single market, and a critic of the EUs overbearing influence.
If there will be an referendum on EU membership in 2017, Cameron wants to ensure
that he will be the winner - not matter what the result will be. This is a risky strategy
and a weak commitment to the EU. Although Labours leader Ed Miliband said last
year that the previous Labour government got it wrong on immigration when not
imposing transitional arrangements on the free movement of workers from the new
member states, the party seems to have decided now to stand firmly behind
Britains EU membership, yet it has been more reluctant that the other two parties
on the left, the Lib Dems and the Green Party, to speak out for it. The Lib Dems, who
have been stuck on an unpopularity record high since 2010, have come out in the
run-up to the European Election as firmly committed to EU membership. Nick Clegg,
the partys leader, has even taken on Nigel Farage in two TV debates on the issue and was declared the loser. Farage with his bluntness, charisma and well-rehearsed
slogans has become a regular in TV discussions and news programs. Undoubtedly,
the rise of UKIP is a rise of Farage - despite rather than because of the rest of his
party that regularly gets into the news for racist, islamophobic and homophobic
comments that Farage is busy downplaying. Farage is not Marine Le Pen, but some
UKIP candidates seem to be closer to the Front Nationals positions than their leader
makes like them to be. Arguably more helpful for Farage is the support of the
powerful right-wing populist press that spreads his messages across the country on
a daily basis. So, yes, the pressure UKIPs popularity is exerting on the Conservative
Party has been a major contributor to the deepening of the left/right divide on
Europe. Yet, the cleavage appears to be deeper than that. The recession has made
Britain a more insecure country - insecure about its place in the world, about its
identity. The younger generation - which is more likely to lean towards the left-wing
parties - sits more comfortably with the thought of a globalised world order of
interdependent countries that benefit more from transnational cooperation,
especially when it comes to the big issues of our time: climate change, resource
depletion, unreliable financial markets, etc. But this is not just a cleavage between
young and old. It is a cleavage between those who are looking backwards and those
who are looking ahead and accept the reality of a future Britain that is not a global
player in its own right. If Scotland leaves the UK, which would result in a shift of
voting weight towards the right, this preoccupation with the search for Britains
identity may intensify further and in the worst case even push the country out of
the EU - out of insecurity rather than conviction.
UQ
The EU economy is incredibly fragile right now further
spending risks economic collapse
Yoon 14, Sangwon Yoon, 4/14/14, Yoon is a staff writer for Bloomberg, Fragile
Europe Weakens U.S. Push for Russia Sanctions,
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-14/fragile-europe-weakens-u-s-push-for-russiasanctions.html, NN
The U.S. readiness to impose new economic sanctions on Russia over Ukraine is
offset by the European Unions reluctance to introduce stronger measures that could
threaten its already fragile economic recovery. While the Obama administration said
yesterday that its prepared to ramp up sanctions, possibly to target specific sectors
of the Russian economy such as financial services and energy, the EU limited its
decision to expanding an existing list of individuals under asset freezes and travel
bans. U.S. officials concede that squeezing Russias economy is the only realistic
weapon the U.S. and its European allies have to respond to the clashes between
pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian authorities. Without European support,
though, U.S. sanctions will have little effect on Russian President Vladimir Putins
ambitions in Ukraine, said Simon Mandel, vice president for emerging Europe equity
sales at Auerbach Grayson & Co. Full coverage of the Crisis in Ukraine: Ukraine
Deploys Military as Russia Evokes Specter of Civil War Obama Warns Putin on
Ukraine After Deadly Clashes in East Opinion: Putin's Costume Drama in Ukraine
The level of trade between the U.S. and Russia directly is quite limited, Mandel
said in a phone interview. Whatever sanctions the U.S. comes out with, unless the
Chinese government or the EU are willing to support them, they will still have a
minimal impact on the Russian government. Photographer: Genya
Savilov/AFP/Getty Images Po-Russian activists hold shields signed "Obama hands off
Ukraine" and "Down with US... Read More It will have a meaningful impact in terms
of the perception, and that will, I think, come as a detriment to the market
generally, said Mandel, whos based in New York. But in some of the fundamental
impact, I think that would be quite limited. EU Meeting EU foreign ministers agreed
yesterday in Luxembourg to add new names to a list of people facing sanctions
following Putins annexation of Crimea last month. A wider EU blacklist may hit
other entities deemed to be involved in destabilizing Ukraine in addition to
individuals, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore said. EU leaders may meet
next week to decide on new sanctions against Russia, according to French Foreign
Minister Laurent Fabius. A Snapshot of Ukraine's Past and Future The U.S. is
weighing further measures under executive orders signed by U.S. President Barack
Obama to allow for all kinds of different sanctions, White House Press Secretary
Jay Carney told reporters in Washington yesterday before a call between the
American and Russian presidents. Energy, Mining The administration is considering
measures targeting individuals, as well as certain sectors of the Russian economy
such as financial services, energy, metals and mining, engineering and defense,
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said yesterday. Any meaningful
sanctions by the U.S. over the long-term would be lining up the European allies at a
very fragile time for some very significant economic risk of their own, said Sean
Kay, a professor of international relations at Ohio Wesleyan University who
specializes in Europe. They have signaled strongly that they dont want to have to
go down a further road of sanctions, but if Russia were to take overt actions in
Link
Ocean spending perceived as useless-ocean exploration are
massively expensive an dont appeal to the public
Carlyle 13( Ryan, BSChE, Subsea Hydraulics Engineer, 1/31/2013 @ 12:11PM , Forbes, Why Don't We
Spend More On Exploring The Oceans, Rather Than On Space
Exploration?,http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/01/31/why-dont-we-spend-more-on-exploring-the-oceansrather-than-on-space-exploration/)
So as someone whose job deals with exploring the ocean deeps see my answer to Careers: What kinds of problems does a subsea
going on in the oceans. Heres a pretty good public website for a science ROV mission offshore Oregon: 2009 Pacific Northwest
Expedition To reinforce my point about it being boring, hereOCes a blog entry from that team where they talk about how boring the
sea floor is: 2009 Pacific Northwest Expedition What IS really interesting in the deep ocean is the exotic life. You see some crazy
animals that are often not well-known to science. Something floats by the camera 5000 ft down, and you say what the hell was
that? and no one knows. Usually its just some variety of jellyfish, but occasionally we find giant* isopods: Unfortunately, deep-sea
creatures rarely survive the trip to surface. Their bodies are acclimated to the high pressures (hundreds of atmospheres), and the
decompression is usually fatal. Our ability to understand these animals is very limited, and their only connection to the surface
Were
fundamentally quite disconnected from deep ocean l ife. Also, there is no hope of ever
establishing human habitation more than about 1000 ft deep . The pressures are too
great, and no engineering or materials conceivable today would allow us to build
livable-sized spaces on the deep sea floor. The two times humans have reached the deepest part of the
ocean, it required a foot-thick flawless metal sphere with barely enough internal space to sit down. As far as I can tell,
seafloor living is all but impossible a habitable moon base would be vastly easier
to engineer than a seafloor colony . See my answer to International Space Station: Given the actual space station
ISS, would it be cheaper to build the equivalent at 3-4-5 miles deep underwater? Why? To recap: we dont spend more
time/money exploring the ocean because its expensive, difficult, and uninspiring.
We stare up at the stars and dream of reaching them, but few people look off the
side of a boat and wish they could go down there.
biosphere is through a few food chain connections (like sperm whales) that can survive diving to these depths.
2013 NASAs annual exploration budget was roughly $3.8 billion . That same
total funding for everything NOAA doesfishery management, weather and climate forecasting,
ocean research and management, among many other programs was about $5 billion, and NOAAs
Office of Exploration and Research received just $23.7 million . Something is wrong with this
picture. Space travel is certainly expensive. But as Cameron proved with his dive that
cost approximately $8 million, deep-sea exploration is pricey as well. And thats not the only
similarity between space and ocean travel: Both are dark, cold, and completely inhospitable to
In fiscal year
year,
human life. Yet space travel excites Americans imaginations in a way ocean
exploration never has. To put this in terms Cameron may be familiar with, just think of how stories are told
on screens both big and small: Space dominates, with Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers
in the 25th Century, and 2001 A Space Odyssey. Then there are B-movies such as Plan Nine From Outer Space
and everything ever mocked on Mystery Science Theater 2000. There are even parodies: Spaceballs, Galaxy
Quest, and Mars Attacks! And lets not forget Camerons own contributions: Aliens and Avatar. When it comes
to the ocean, we have 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Camerons somewhat
lesser-known film The Abyss. And thats about it. This imbalance in pop culture is illustrative of what plays out in
We rejoiced along with the NASA mission-control room when the Mars rover
landed on the red planet late last year. One particularly exuberant scientist, known as Mohawk Guy
for his audacious hairdo, became a minor celebrity and even fielded his share of spontaneous marriage proposals .
But when Cameron bottomed out in the Challenger Deep more than 36,000 feet
below the surface of the sea, it was met with resounding indifference from all but
the dorkiest of ocean nerds such as myself. Part of this incongruity comes from access. No matter
where we live, we can go outside on a clear night, look up into the sky, and wonder
about whats out there. Were presented with a spectacular vista of stars, planets,
meteorites, and even the occasional comet or aurora. We have all been wishing on stars since
real life.
we were children. Only the lucky few can gaze out at the ocean from their doorstep, and even those who do cannot
see all that lies beneath the waves. As a result, the facts about ocean exploration are pretty bleak. Humans have
laid eyes on less than 5 percent of the ocean, and we have better maps of the surface of Mars than we do of
Americas exclusive economic zonethe undersea territory reaching out 200 miles from our shores. Sure, space is
Scientists estimate
that we still have not discovered 91 percent of the species that live in our oceans.
And some of them look pretty outlandish. Go ahead and Google the deepsea hatchetfish, frill shark,
or Bathynomus giganteus. In a time of shrinking budgets and increased scrutiny on the
return for our investments, we should be taking a long, hard look at how we are
prioritizing our exploration dollars. If the goal of government spending is to spur growth in the private
sexy. But the oceans are too. To those intrigued by the quest for alien life, consider this:
sector, entrepreneurs are far more likely to find inspiration down in the depths of the ocean than up in the heavens.
The ocean already provides us with about half the oxygen we breathe, our single largest source of protein, a wealth
of mineral resources, key ingredients for pharmaceuticals, and marine biotechnology.
United States used to have several submersibles tiny submarines that dive
extraordinarily deep. Alvin is the only one left, and after more than four decades of probing the seas depths it is to be
retired. Its replacement, costing some $50 million, is to go deeper, move faster, stay
down longer, cut the dark better, carry more scientific gear and mayb e just maybe
open a new era of exploration. Its architects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape
Cod describe it as the most capable deep-sea research vehicle in the world. Alvin can
transport a pilot and two scientists down 2.8 miles, providing access to 62 percent of the dark seabed. The new vehicle is
expected to descend more than four miles, opening 99 percent of the ocean floor to
inquiry. But the greater depth means that the vehicles personnel sphere and its many other systems will face added tons of
The
crushing pressure. Technologically, its quite challenging, Robert S. Detrick Jr., a senior scientist and vice president for marine
facilities and operations at Woods Hole, said of forging the new personnel sphere. Its also something that hasnt been done for a
long time in the United States. To better resist the seas pressure, the wall of the new personnel sphere is to be nearly three inches
contracting ran higher than expected. Officials say titanium alone has seen a
fivefold price increase. The National Science Foundation, the federal agency that
sponsors the project, has too many competing needs to meet the new estimated
cost of about $50 million. So officials at Woods Hole came up with a phased approach that promises to lower the
immediate expense. In an Aug. 8 letter, Susan K. Avery, the president of Woods Hole, outlined the plan to Deborah Kelley, a
University of Washington oceanographer and chairwoman of the Deep Submergence Science Committee, a team of researchers that
advises the government on abyssal exploration. The new personnel sphere, she said, might first be fitted onto Alvins body, giving
the old submersible a life extension and a capability boost. Alvin would also get new batteries, new electronics, better lights,
cameras and video systems. But the hybrid would be limited to Alvins depth of 2.8 miles. The second phase, Dr. Avery said, would
The
original schedule of 2004 foresaw the replacement vehicle as ready in 2008. Early
this year, amid growing uncertainty, the keepers of the schedule put the date at
2010. Now, the soonest the upgraded Alvin might hit the water is estimated to be
2011. And the full replacement, according to Woods Hole officials, might not
materialize until 2015. Phase 2 is about finding additional resources, Dr. Detrick said. Its a matter of money.
Officials talk about a $25 million shortfall and hopes that a private donor might
materialize who could close the gap and ensure the speedy debut of the new
submersible and its program of deep inquiry.
build a new submersible body that would let the replacement vehicle dive to the full intended depth of four miles. How soon?
Impact
Best data proves economic collapse causes war
Jedidiah Royal, Director of Cooperative Threat Reduction at the U.S. Department
of Defense, M.Phil. Candidate at the University of New South Wales, 20 10,
Economic Integration, Economic Signalling and the Problem of Economic Crises
Thus, the answer to the first question set out at the beginning of this section, whether economic integration and
economic crises are linked, seems reasonably well-established. Substantial recent scholarship indicates a positive
a
correlation between economic crises and armed conflict ? The impacts at an individual level
association between interdependence and economic crises. What then about the second question? Is there
and on a state level are intuitive and well-documented (see. e.g., Richards & Gelleny, 2006). Rodrik (1997a, 1997b),
science literature has contributed a moderate degree of attention to the impact of economic decline and the
security and defence behaviour of interdependent stales. Research in this vein has been considered at systemic,
dyadic and national levels. Several notable contributions follow. / First, on the systemic level, Pollins (2008)
rhythms in the
global economy are associated with the rise and fall of a pre-eminent power and the
often bloody transition from one pre-eminent leader to the next. As such, exogenous shocks such as
economic crises could usher in a redistribution of relative power (see also Gilpin, 1981)
that leads to uncertainty about power balances , increasing the risk of miscalculation (Fearon.
advances Modelski and Thompson's (1996) work on leadership cycle theory, finding that
1995). Alternatively, even a relatively certain redistribution of power could lead to a permissive environment for
conflict as a rising power may seek to challenge a declining power (Werner. 1999). Separately, Pollins (1996) also
global economic cycles combined with parallel leadership cycles impact the
likelihood of conflict among major, medium and small power s, although he suggests that the
shows that
causes and connections between global economic conditions and security conditions remain unknown. / Second, on
a dyadic level, Copelands (1996. 2000) theory of trade expectations suggests that future expectation of trade is
a significant variable in understanding economic conditions and security behaviour of states. He argues that
interdependent states are likely to gain pacific benefits from trade so long as they have an optimistic view of future
trade relations. However,
Blomberg, Hess, and Thacker (2006) find supporting evidence showing that economic decline and use of force are
at least indirectly correlated. Gelpi (1997), Miller (1999), and Kisangani and Pickering (2009) suggest that the
tendency towards diversionary tactics are greater for democratic states than autocratic states, due to the fact that
democratic leaders are generally more susceptible to being removed from office due to lack of domestic support.
DeRouen (2000) has provided evidence showing that periods of weak economic performance in the United States,
and thus weak Presidential popularity, are statistically linked to an increase in the use of force. / In summary, recent
economic scholarship positively correlates economic integration with an increase in the frequency of economic
crises, whereas political science scholarship links economic decline with external conflict at systemic, dyadic and
national levels.5 This implied connection between
investment will die." Governments could also have a hard time coming up with
the funds to finance alternative energy projects . Moderators at the presidential debates
repeatedly asked both John McCain and Barack Obama what programs they would cut in order to finance the
massive financial-rescue packages the Bush administration has engineered in order to avert further economic
It is
highly likely, however, that costly endeavors of this sort will be scaled back or
postponed once the magnitude of the financial rescue effort becomes apparent . The
distress. Both insisted that their respective energy initiatives would be spared any such belt-tightening.
same is true for Europe and Japan, who have also pledged to undertake ambitious energy initiatives in their drive to
reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Indeed, leaders of some European Union countries are calling for a slowdown in
efforts to curb emissions of greenhouse gases due to the burgeoning economic crisis. Under a plan adopted by the
EU in 2007, member countries pledged to reduce such emissions by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, which is
far more ambitious than the Kyoto Protocol. European leaders are scheduled to implement a detailed plan to
achieve this goal by December of this year. But at a rancorous summit meeting of the EU heads of state in midOctober, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy and the leaders of some Eastern European countries indicated that
due to the current crisis, they were no longer able to finance the high costs of attaining the 2020 goal and so
weren't prepared to adopt a detailed plan. "We don't think this is the moment to push forward on our own like Don
less acute for wealthy states, which can sustain significant investments in innovation and military power with a
discoveries spawn multiple derivative products and improvements. Innovative activity therefore tends to cluster in
[End Page 56] particular places and provide certain countries with significant technological and military advantages.
As Joshua Goldstein has shown, The
actions can alter the behavior of other states. Military superiority can also generate wealth by, for example, making
a country a more secure and attractive place to invest, as well as provide the means to coerce other countries into
making economic concessions. The RAND study found that nuclear weapons were of less importance than
conventional capabilities for national influence. Thus, I do not consider them in the following analyses. The authors
of the RAND study explain: Even though nuclear weapons have become the ultima ratio regum in international
politics, their relative inefficacy in most situations other than those involving national survival implies that their
utility will continue to be significant but highly restricted. The ability to conduct different and sophisticated forms of
conventional warfare will, therefore, remain the critical index of national power because of its undiminished utility,
flexibility, responsiveness and credibility.82
military
Russia
2AC Perm
The US and Russia are increasing cooperation over the Arctic
new bilateral projects and reduction in competing claims
Byers 13 [Michael, holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and
total proven conventional reserves of the US. Frances Total and Norways Statoil
have been brought in to help develop the deposits through joint-venture
agreements although development of Shtokman is on hold for the moment
because of the currently diminished global demand for gas. Russia is the worlds
largest producer of oil. However, falling production levels in Western Siberia have
created an imperative to move northward often in partnership with Western
companies. In April 2013, Russian state-owned Gazprom signed an agreement with
Royal Dutch Shell to cooperatively explore and develop Russias Arctic offshore oil
reserves. The importance of the agreement was underlined by the presence of both
President Putin and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the signing ceremony. In
June 2013, Russian state-owned Rosneft signed a similar agreement with
ExxonMobil. The agreement foresees investments up to US $500 billion should
reserves meet expectations. Getting the oil and gas to markets will require
improved transportation links. Much of the gas from the new fields will be shipped
west through the newly opened Nord Stream pipeline, which runs along the bottom
of the Baltic Sea between Russia and Germany. Much of the oil, for its part, will be
shipped east to Asia via the Northern Sea Route. Russia already uses icebreakers to
escort commercial vessels along its 6,600 kilometre-long Arctic coastline, and
charges fees for the service. (In 2007, it launched the worlds largest nuclear
powered icebreaker, the Fifty Years of Victory, which is able to sail more or less at
speed through 2.5 metres of ice.) The Northern Sea has long been considered
essential to Russias interests. During WW2, some 34 lend-lease vessels owned by
the US and crewed by Soviets carried supplies from North America along the icy
waterway in order to avoid German submarines. Today, the Russian government is
intent on transforming the Northern Sea Route into a commercially viable
alternative to the Suez Canal and the Strait of Malacca. Said Putin in September
2011: The shortest route between Europes largest markets and the Asia-Pacific
region lies across the Arctic. This route is almost a third shorter than the traditional
southern one. I want to stress the importance of the Northern Sea Route as an
international transport artery that will rival traditional trade lanes in service fees,
security and quality. Washington opposes Moscows claim that portions of the
Northern Sea Route constitute Russian internal waters a classification that requires
foreign ships to seek permission to enter. However, the US has never physically
challenged that position. When the US Coastguard icebreaker Northwind
approached the Vilkitskii Strait north of Siberia in 1965, Moscow threatened to go
all the way if the ship continued onward. Washington responded by ordering the
Northwind to turn round, and has kept its ships away ever since. In 2010, a ship
owned by Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel was reported to have completed a
round trip via the Northern Sea Route from Murmansk to Shanghai. The ship
apparently needed only 41 days for the 18,000-kilometre trip, as compared to the
84 days that it would have taken it to complete the 38,000-kilometre journey by
way of the Suez Canal. In 2011, the 280-metre Russian supertanker Vladimir
Tikhonov carried natural gas condensate from Murmansk to Thailand. In so doing, it
became the largest ever vessel to complete the route. It was able to do so because
ice conditions now allow ships to sail north of the New Siberia Islands, thereby
bypassing the shallow waters between those islands and the mainland. In 2012, the
Chinese research icebreaker Xuelong traversed the Northern Sea Route under the
escort of the nuclear-powered Russian icebreaker Vaygach. The presence of the
Vaygach underlined an important point: despite the increase in shipping, Russia
holds fast to its position that the Northern Sea Route passes through internal waters
and is subject to its full control. At the same time, Russias offshore oil and gas
interests have strengthened Moscows commitment to the UN Convention on the
Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This treaty grants each coastal state a 200-nautical mile
(370-kilometre) exclusive economic zone (EEZ), where it has absolute rights over
fish and seabed resources. Beyond 200 nautical miles, a coastal state may also
have exclusive rights to adjacent seabed resources if it can scientifically establish
that the seabed in any particular area is a natural prolongation of its landmass. An
international body of scientific experts the UN Commission on the Limits of the
Continental Shelf exists to review and legitimate such claims. These international
rules accord Russia a massive area of seabed thanks to its immensely long
coastline and the general shallowness of the Arctic Ocean. Indeed, the combined
jurisdictional zones of the five Arctic Ocean coastal states (Russia, Canada, the US,
Denmark and Norway) likely cover all but two small areas of deep ocean floor near
the centre. Just as importantly, smaller overlaps in national claims are proving
surprisingly easy to resolve. In 1990, Russia concluded a boundary treaty with the
US in the Bering Sea. In 2010, it did likewise with Norway in the Barents Sea. Russia
has also limited its seabed claims in the Central Arctic Ocean, filing an initial
submission, in 2001, with the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf that
extended just halfway across the Arctic Ocean. The US, for its part, has also
embraced cooperation, with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telling a 2010
meeting of the Arctic Ocean states that [w]e need all hands on deck because there
is a huge amount to do, and not much time to do it. In the same year, the US
withdrew its longstanding opposition to the creation of a permanent secretariat for
the Arctic Council. It also led the negotiation of an Arctic search-and-rescue treaty
an important contribution given the amount of commercial air traffic traversing the
region. Now the US is advocating for a regional fisheries organization to manage the
biological resources of the Central Arctic Ocean in a science-based manner,
consistent with the UN Agreement on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory
Fish Stocks. The US no longer opposes Russian or potential Canadian and
Danish claims to portions of the Lomonosov Ridge, an underwater mountain
range that runs across the centre of the Arctic Ocean. Nor does the US appear to
show as much appetite today as in the past to challenge the Russian and Canadian
claims that the Northern Sea Route and Northwest Passage constitute internal
waters. (To be sure, this US posture may well change with events and changes in
administration.) The embrace of Arctic cooperation may still credibly be seen, at
least in part, in the context of US President Obamas sporadic efforts to reset the
relationship with Russia an effort that, again, notwithstanding recent MoscowWashington tensions related to Syria, may be said to have resulted in the 2010 New
START Treaty, whereby both countries committed to reduce their stockpiles of
nuclear weapons. Cooperating on the Arctic may well have facilitated
progress on the nuclear issue, as a 2009 cable sent by the US ambassador in
Moscow, and later released by Wikileaks, explained: Our continued support of the
Arctic Council and bilateral engagement on the Arctic [...] can help bolster the
moderates [in the Kremlin] and give incentives to the GOR [Government of Russia]
to continue cooperation. What of Canada in this emerging cooperative Arctic logic?
In Moscow, a map produced by the Canadian Department of Natural Resources has
pride of place in Arctic Ambassador Anton Vasilievs office in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. The choice of wall decor reflects the fact that Canada is manifestly an
important Arctic country. Still, that importance is based almost entirely on
geography: Canada cannot compete militarily with Russia or the US, and has done
little to seriously develop its economic and diplomatic power in the Arctic. It lacks
roads and pipelines connecting southern Canada to the Arctic coast, and has just
one railway line to Churchill (Manitoba), on Hudson Bay. Its only other Arctic port is
a neglected wharf located at an abandoned mine at Nanisivik, on northern Baffin
Island. Canada also has a glaring shortage of adequate Arctic airports, search-andrescue capabilities, and navigation charts while poor social, health and education
conditions have resulted in a largely unemployable local workforce. Although
Canada should be developing itself into an Arctic gateway, it has kept that door
firmly shut. To be sure, Canada was pivotal in the creation of the Arctic Council in
1996. And yet its diplomatic potential on northern matters has in recent years been
hamstrung by inconsistent federal support for a sustained, credible northern push
and strategy, as well as by the manipulation of Arctic projects for populist domestic
ends at the expense of strategic consequence. Unlike Moscow, Ottawa has been
slow to negotiate its Arctic boundary disputes. Indeed, it was not until 2012 that
Ottawa and Copenhagen announced an agreement in principle on the location of
the boundary in the Lincoln Sea. Another relatively large boundary dispute remains
in the Beaufort Sea between Canada and the US a dispute that should, in
principle, be easy to resolve, given that the two countries share a common energy
market under NAFTA (which reduces the stakes). In short, the other Arctic countries
have increasingly bypassed Canada in addressing northern issues. Even
negotiations on sub-strategic matters like search and rescue, shipping safety, oil
spill response, fisheries management, and short-lived climate forcers like black
carbon have been led by the US often in partnership with Russia.
Canada
Methane
Canada fails at Methane Hydrates, theyve dropped out of the
race
CBC 13 [ CBC news Canada drops out of race to tap methane hydrates
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/canada-drops-out-of-race-to-tap-methanehydrates-1.1358966]
Canada is abandoning a 15-year program that was researching ways to tap a
potentially revolutionary energy source, just as Japan is starting to use the results to exploit the new
fossil-fuel frontier: methane hydrates. Methane hydrates are crystals full of methane gas found both offshore and
under the permafrost. Low temperatures and high pressure cause methane and water to crystallize into ice-like
deposits. They represent an unexploited source of energy estimated to be larger than all the world's known coal, oil
and gas reserves combined. 300px-hydrates-seafloor Offshore hydrates can be formed in large white clusters, but it
is more common to find them mixed in sand on the ocean floor. (Courtesy Scientific Party, RV Atlantis/Alvin
Expedition) Methane is considered to be cleaner than other fossil fuels, and if methane is used instead of oil and
coal, significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions could be achieved. Producing gas from hydrates could also
avoid the water pollution issues connected with the extraction of shale gas through "fracking" techniques. The
environmental impact of methane production has yet to be completely assessed, but researchers say they expect
spent around $60 million between 2002 and 2008 to finance production tests in the Canadian Arctic. On March 18
successfully completing a
test to produce methane gas from offshore hydrate formations for the first time,
using extraction techniques pioneered in Canada. Despite the success, Canadian
federal funding from Natural Resources Canada for research into exploiting methane
hydrates was cut as of March 31 just a couple of weeks after the offshore production tests in Japan. The
this year the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. reached a milestone,
AT: MPAs CP
Canadas MPAs fail, one of the worst in the world
South Korea
Fishing
Fishing
South Korean fishing doesnt solve, new boating laws.