Massachusetts AG (+ 6 other states) Suing EPA
Arguing that the Bush Administration is jeopardizing the health of its residents and violating the clean-air laws by failing to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, attorneys general from Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Washington and now New York have announced that they are suing the Environmental Protection Agency. In a letter to EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, the attorneys general argued that the agency is legally obliged to add carbon dioxide to its list of regulated air pollutants. (See page B1 of Boston Globe on 1/31/03 for original story by David Abel).

UNFCCC Expects 200 CDM Proposal Submissions in 2003
During a recent meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's (UNFCCC) Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Executive Board, Secretary Christine Zumkeller reported that the Board anticipates receiving more 200 proposals for CDM projects (developing world only), that will earn GHG emission Credits, this year. UNFCCC said that CDM is a "key instrument" of the Kyoto Protocol that allows industrialized countries to earn "GHG emission Credits" by investing in "sustainable development projects" in developing countries, with the Credits applied to the industrialized nations greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets under the treaty. (see UNFCCC email CDM-INFO@UNFCCC.INT).

US - China Meet to Discuss Global Warming
Officials from the US and China recntly met in Beijing as part of a working group established by Presidents Bush and Jiang Zemin to discuss "common approaches" to curbing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The two countries have agreed to cooperate on a broad range of climate change activities. Although the Bush Administration has backed away from ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, the Chinese government has ratified the Treaty. (see Agence France Presse: 1/22/03).

DAtF Notes CO2 Savings of Nuclear Energy
The German Atomic Forum (DAtF) recently reported that the use of nuclear power can help prevent approximately 165 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions or the total amount of emissions generated by german traffic (cars, trucks, buses, etc.) per year.The group noted that Germany's ability to reduce its CO)2 emissions 21 % below 1990 levels by 20112, in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol could not possibly be met, if the government's 1999 agreement to phase out the use of nuclear energy is upheld. (see Reuters: 1/28/03)