SOIL CARBON AND CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS

From Kansas State University's:

Consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases

(CASMGS)

http://soilcarboncenter.k-state.edu

Charles W. Rice, K-State Department of Agronomy, National CASMGS Director

(785) 532-7217 cwrice@ksu.edu

Scott Staggenborg, K-State Department of Agronomy (785) 532-7214 sstaggen@ksu.edu

Steve Watson, CASMGS Communications (785) 532-7105 swatson@oznet.ksu.edu

October 22, 2004

No. 38

National:

* USDA Greenhouse Gas Symposium, March 21-24, 2005 In Baltimore Warming

International:

* Russian Parliament Ratifies Kyoto Pact

* Live Over-the-Counter Price Screen For European Union CO2 Market

**********

USDA GREEnhouse gas Symposium,

march 21-24, 2005 in baltimore

Mark your calendars now for March 21-24, 2005 in Baltimore, Maryland! Those are the dates for the upcoming USDA Symposium, “Greenhouse Gases and Carbon Sequestration in Agriculture and Forestry.”

The Symposium involves a comprehensive examination of the latest research on sources and sinks of the three primary greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane) related to cropland, forests, rangeland, and wetlands. Scientists from around the world are invited to submit papers for oral or poster presentations.

Preliminary Symposium details are outlined in the brochure, at: http://soilcarboncenter.k-state.edu/conference/Carbon%20conf%20brochure.pdf

For the latest updates and online registration for the Symposium, see: http://soilcarboncenter.k-state.edu/conference

The Symposium will be held at the Wyndham Baltimore - Inner Harbor Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. It will begin the evening of Monday, March 21 with a reception. The Symposium will adjourn on Thursday, March 24.

The preregistration fee is $295, which covers coffee and pastries each morning, all morning and afternoon breaks, lunch on March 22, a banquet on March 23, and a CD-ROM containing the abstracts of all papers being presented.

The Symposium is sponsored and organized by USDA, CASMGS, the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) and Kansas State University. SSSA is handling the conference registration and logistics. CASMGS (Consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases) is a coalition of scientists from nine U.S. universities and a national laboratory.

Previous USDA Symposiums on Greenhouse Gas Emissions were held in 2000 and 2002. This will be the third symposium.

For more information, contact Keith Schlesinger, SSSA, at kschlesinger@soils.org or Chuck Rice, Kansas State University CASMGS, at cwrice@ksu.edu

Hope to see you in Baltimore on March 21-24!

-- Steve Watson swatson@oznet.ksu.edu

**********

Russian parliament

ratifies Kyoto pact

Russia's parliament ratified the Kyoto Protocol in a historic vote meaning that the UN global warming pact is now virtually guaranteed to enter into force.

The State Duma, the lower house of parliament, approved the pact by a vote of 334 to 73, with two abstentions, paving the way for endorsement by the upper chamber and signature by President Vladimir Putin, expected to be formalities.

Russia held the key to whether the landmark 1997 draft agreement became a working international treaty.

Friday's vote resuscitated a pact that until recently was considered all but dead after President George W. Bush announced in 2001 the United States wanted no further part of it.

Approval in the upper house, the Federation Council, and signature by Putin were regarded as virtually assured after the government recommended that Russia approve Kyoto after years of Moscow ambiguity.

-- Agence France Presse (AFP) news service, October 22, 2004

**********

Live over-the-counter price screen for

European Union CO2 Market

In cooperation with four brokerages, Point Carbon this week launched a live over-the-counter (OTC) price screen for the EU emissions trading market. The screen is accessible at: http://www.pointcarbon.com

Everyone can have access to the price screen without charge. It shows realtime prices in the market.

The brokerages contributing prices to the screen are:

* CO2e.com

* GreenStream Network

* GT/SKM Global Environmental Partners

* Natsource Europe

Prices displayed on the screen are firm, but the screen on Point Carbon’s web site is not executable. Anyone wanting to trade on the numbers on the screen should contact the brokerage in question. Full contact details for each brokerage are displayed.

The functionality of the online screen is supervised by an Advisory Board, consisting of emissions traders from twelve large companies active in the EU emissions market.

The prices are quoted in euros per allowance, the tradable commodity in the EU emissions trading scheme. An allowance represents one metric tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2). The prices are quoted for forward contracts with delivery in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

-- Point Carbon, Oct. 14, 2004

**********

UPCOMING CONFERENCES

March 1-3, 2005

Carbon Market Insights 2005

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

For more information, see: http://www.pointcarbon.com/article.php?articleID=3838&categoryID=141

March 21-24, 2005

USDA Greenhouse Gas Symposium

Baltimore, MD

For more information, contact Chuck Rice cwrice@ksu.edu

See:

http://soilcarboncenter.k-state.edu/conference

**********

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