Greenpeace Wins! Planktos Global Warming Research Blocked

Controversial global warming research firm Planktos just announced that their efforts to begin their first research cruise has been effectively stopped.

According to their press release, their boat was prevented from landing in the Canary islands, where they were due to meet a group of scientists who they were going to partner with.

I emailed one of the Planktos team and got the following explanation:

"The original plan was to do the first test near Equador, but as you may know, the Equadorian government expressed concerns. So the decision was made to go over to the Canary Islands to do joint research with the University of Las Palmas. The marine scientists at Las Palmas have been studying plankton growth for many years and had some extraordinarily valuable data and top quality people. We thought it could be a very fruitful and productive relationship that would make a significant contribution to the science of this field. Also the Spanish government is an active participant in the Kyoto process and could therefore help with regulatory oversight and so on. Unfortunately something happened. As we understand it, some folks in the environmental movement, who were opposed to our research, contacted the Spanish government and press and managed to get them to block our ship from entering port. "

When I aked "were you planning to carry out any iron fertilization experiments right away?" the answer was.

"No, we didn't even have all the equipment installed yet, and no iron fertilizer aboard. Keep in mind, this is a research vessel. Our first goal was to get a good working relationship with the other scientists, to do the appropriate planning with them. "

"It's ironic. On the same days that world leaders were meeting in Bali, Indonesia to try to grapple with global warming, our ship, which has been steaming across the Atlantic on a mission to prove that iron fertilization could be a safe, effective solution to global warming, was stopped dead in the water."

Wow! What a story!

Iron Fertilization Takes Another Step Forward...Climos Methodology Announced

We just received a press announcement that Climos is in development on a methodology for iron fertilization. In Kyoto-speak, a "methodology" is essentially a scientific protocol or analysis tool that carbon sequestration projects use to prove they have actually removed a certain quantity of CO2 from the air. Having such a methology is mandatory for iron fertilization to be certified, so that the carbon credits generated can be sold as CERs (certified emission reductions) instead of VERs. This is crucial to the iron fertilization market for two reasons, first, it improves the salability of the product, and second, it help scientists and policymakers to take iron fertilization more seriously.

This is a great step forward and we applaud Climos.

Text shown below:

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FINAL RELEASE AT THE BEGINNING OF COP 13. FOR WIDE DISTRIBUTION.

Climos Receives First Methodology for Ocean Iron Fertilization from EcoSecurities, Signs with DNV for Validation.

SAN FRANCISCO, California (December 3, 2007) -- Climos, a company dedicated to removing carbon from the atmosphere, today announced that EcoSecurities has prepared a draft version of a methodology for Ocean Iron Fertilization, based on precedent established by the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism. This methodology has been delivered to DNV (Det Norske Veritas) for review, in preparation for its implementation at a specific project site. Climos and DNV recently signed a contract for project validation services.

Research and drafting of the methodology was led by Kevin Whilden, Climos Director of Market Strategy, together with Dr. Margaret Leinen, Climos Chief Science Officer; Dr. Anthony Michaels, Director of the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Southern California; and Jessica Wade-Murphy of EcoSecurities’ Global Consulting Services practice.

“We are pleased to announce the completion of a key step in the development of the first methodology for Ocean Iron Fertilization,” said Dan Whaley, Climos CEO. “Climos is committed to working with the best partners in the industry to bring a robust and verifiable approach for this new technology to market."

"Rigorously defined methods and comprehensive verification procedures are absolutely critical to the success of carbon sequestration methodologies and markets." said Dr. Michaels, an oceanographer specializing in biogeochemistry, nitrogen and carbon cycling. He continued "I applaud Climos in both the quality of this method and their willingness to involve independent scientific experts from major research universities in both the creation of the method and in its assessment. We all agree that we must set a very high bar for quality so that we know that carbon has been safely sequestered and we can balance these benefits with any potential costs and risks."

Dr. Mark Trexler, Director of Global Consulting Services for EcoSecurities said, “EcoSecurities is committed to innovating leading edge methodologies for carbon reduction sectors and technologies that can help set the stage for the greater emissions reductions needs of future carbon markets.”

The elements of the methodology together with an overview of science and policy considerations will be presented Tuesday at 10am in a panel session cosponsored by IETA (International Emissions Trading Association) at this year’s Conference of the Parties (COP 13) beginning in Bali this week

About Climos

Climos is a company dedicated to removing carbon from the atmosphere. Founded in California's Silicon Valley by entrepreneurs Dan Whaley and Richard Whilden, Climos’ scientific research is overseen by Dr. Margaret Leinen, former Assistant Director of Geosciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF). Climos is guided by a Scientific Advisory Board that includes some of the world's experts in ocean, earth and climate science.

About EcoSecurities

EcoSecurities is one of the world’s leading companies in the business of originating, developing and trading carbon credits. EcoSecurities structures and guides greenhouse gas emission reduction projects through the Kyoto Protocol, working with both project developers and buyers of carbon credits. EcoSecurities has experience with projects in the areas of renewable energy, agriculture and urban waste management, industrial efficiency, and forestry. With a network of offices and representatives in over 20 countries on five continents, EcoSecurities has amassed one of the industry’s largest and most diversified portfolios of carbon projects. Today, the company is working on more than 400 projects in 36 countries using 18 different technologies, with the potential to generate more than 150 million carbon credits. EcoSecurities Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM (ticker ECO.L).

About Ocean Iron Fertilization

Ocean Iron Fertilization involves the application of iron at trace concentrations in iron-limited regions of the ocean to accelerate the growth of phytoplankton. This process is intended to remove large quantities of carbon from the atmosphere as an approach to mitigating the effects of global warming. It has been demonstrated experimentally in 12 publicly funded open ocean experiments since 1993. A natural part of Earth’s carbon cycle, phytoplankton production sequesters over 3 billion tons of CO2 from the surface ocean to deep water every year in a process referred to by oceanographers as the “Biological Pump”. Over the last billion years, this mechanism has been primarily responsible for the concentration of over 80% of Earth’s mobile carbon in the deep ocean. Oceanographers first confirmed in 1988 that iron is a limiting factor on phytoplankton productivity in many of the world’s oceans.