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Daily Briefing |

TODAY'S CLIMATE AND ENERGY HEADLINES

Briefing date 27.11.2015
COP21: On high alert since Paris attacks, French gear up for talks, & who are the climate ‘frenemies’?

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News.

COP21 | On High Alert Since Paris Attacks, French Gear Up for Climate Talks
The New York Times Read Article

With the UN climate talks in Paris kicking off next week, the New York Times looks at how the city is coping with the security implications, following the recent terrorist attacks. The Conference “has made Paris a focus of intense international scrutiny at a time of deep trauma for the city” it says, yet none of the world leaders scheduled to attend have withdrawn. Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said France would deploy nearly 3,000 extra police offices for the talks.

COP21 | Meet the climate frenemies
Politico Read Article

Politico explores the roles of two “frenemies” in the world of climate change: the US and Europe. While the two agree on a number of issues to be discussed at next week’s round of UN climate talks in Paris, the issue of the legal form of the new deal could be a sticking point between the two. The EU is pursuing legally binding targets, while the US is looking for a hybrid approach, which would avoid the need for Congressional approval.

Fracking to start in months as minister fast-tracks decisions
The Times Read Article

Changes to the fracking approvals process could lead to the commencement of drilling within months, reports the Times. Communities secretary Greg Clark has written to lawyers for Cuadrilla saying that he has decided to have the final say in its appeal against Lancashire county council’s rejection of its application. This is the upshot of changes to the rules in August, underlining the government’s efforts to get the controversial technology off the ground. Under the normal process, the decision would have gone to an independent planning inspector, says the Times. The BBC also covers the story.

Canada’s New Leadership Reverses Course on Climate Change
The New York Times Read Article

The New York Times looks at Canada’s stance on climate change under its new prime minister Justin Trudeau. The country has done a “complete about-face” on the issue, which had received scant attention under former prime minister Stephen Harper, the paper says. A new climate plan recently announced in Alberta will help Trudeau along the way, removing a key obstacle to climate action in Canada, it says — although a comment piece in Carbon Pulse suggests that the Alberta plan does not deserve all the praise it received.

Supermodels: The science of climate change
The Economist Read Article

A special report in the Economist provides an overview of some of the key issues in climate science. While scientists still debate the cause of the ‘hiatus’ — and indeed whether there has even been a ‘hiatus’ — other issues are a lot more settled. The remaining uncertainties are a “little larger than green groups generally admit, they are not nearly as big as global-warming sceptics suppose,” it says.

Pope urges world leaders to seal Paris deal
Climate Home Read Article

The Pope has spoken out in support of the UN climate deal during a trip to Kenya. “It would be sad, and I dare say even catastrophic, were particular interests to prevail over the common good,” he said. The Pontiff released an encyclical on the environment earlier this year. The Guardian also covers the story.

Comment.

COP21 | Paris climate conference: Everything you need to know
Tom Bawden, The Independent Read Article

With the UN climate talks starting on Monday, many newspapers have covered what they are and what they mean. The Independent runs through key questions, including what the main sticking points are, and which countries may try to scupper a deal. The Guardian‘s Damian Carrington looks at whether the UK is set to be “the joker in the pack” at the conference, after throwing away “trump card after trump card”, the latest being its £1bn of support for carbon capture and storage, discarded in Wednesday’s spending review. The New Scientist warns that it is necessary to strike a good deal, not just any deal, and that a weak outcome risks instilling complacency.

COP21 | Christiana Figueres: the woman tasked with saving the world from global warming
Fiona Harvey, The Guardian Read Article

The Guardian is the latest to profile Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UNFCCC. This is the woman responsible for steering the talks to a successful conclusion next month in Paris. The article looks at various influences on the diplomat and the talks, including the legacy of Copenhagen and the recent Paris terrorist attacks — but also includes anecdotes that shed light on the character, such as her encounters with the now-extinct golden toad.

India is right to resist the west’s carbon imperialism
Arvind Subramanian, The Financial Times Read Article

Arvind Subramanian, the Indian government’s chief economic advisor, writes in the Financial Times that efforts to phase out fossil fuels, and in particular funding for coal in developing countries like India, is an example of “carbon imperialism”. This approach could hinder India’s development, he writes, and the only effective way for India to meet its needs is to develop ‘clean coal’. “It will, and should, remain the country’s primary energy source because it is the cheapest fuel available,” he writes. On the other side of the coin, the BBC’s South Asian correspondent Justin Rowlatt looks at whether the talks can overcome “the India challenge”. The country has not set a cap on emissions, and that is because economic growth comes first, he says.

Science.

Multidecadal increase in North Atlantic coccolithophores and the potential role of rising CO2
Science Read Article

A microscopic marine algae is thriving in the North Atlantic, a new study finds. The relative abundance of “coccolithophores” has increased tenfold between 1965 and 2010, as the temperature and carbon dioxide content of ocean waters has increased. Scientists might have expected that ocean acidification would suppress these organisms, but it doesn’t appear to be, the researchers say. It remains to be seen whether the rapid growth in the tiny plankton’s population is good or bad news for the planet, the researchers add.

Can Paris pledges avert severe climate change?
Science Read Article

Ahead of the Paris climate summit next week, a new study assesses how the submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) – in which over 150 countries have pledged cuts to carbon emissions – affects the likelihood of climate warming. If implemented and followed by measures of equal or greater ambition, the pledges have the potential to reduce the probability of the highest levels of warming, and increase the chance of limiting global warming to 2C, the study says. However, these outcomes will depend on the level of effort beyond 2030, the researchers say.

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