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Barack Obama bans oil and gas drilling in most of Arctic and Atlantic oceans & Chinese cities choked by dangerous smog for fifth day

21.12.16

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Barack Obama bans oil and gas drilling in most of Arctic and Atlantic oceans

Guardian

Barack Obama has permanently banned new oil and gas drilling in most US-owned waters in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, in a final attempt to lock in environmental protections before Trump’s inauguration, the Guardian reports. The US president has used a 1953 law that allows the president to ban leasing of offshore resources indefinitely and makes it difficult for successors to reverse the decision, although it is unprecedented in scale and could be challenged by Trump in court. Canada also committed to similar measures in its own Arctic waters, in a joint announcement with Washington, the BBC writes. In 2015, just 0.1% of US federal offshore crude production came from the Arctic, and a Department of Interior analysis shows that, at current oil prices, significant production in the Arctic will not occur. “That’s why looking forward, we must continue to focus on economic empowerment for Arctic communities beyond this one sector”, Obama said in a statement. During his election campaign Donald Trump said he would take advantage of existing US oil reserves, but he will have difficulty accessing those protected under the ban, says Friends of the Earth: “No president has ever rescinded a previous president’s permanent withdrawal of offshore areas from oil and gas development…If Donald Trump tries to reverse President Obama’s withdrawals, he will find himself in court.” Reuters, Grist, ThinkProgress, the Hill, Time Magazine, DeSmogBlog and CNN also have the story.

Chinese cities choked by dangerous smog for fifth day; factories, schools closed

Reuters

Northern China has been cloaked in near-record pollution for the fifth day today, prompting the cancellation of 351 flights because of limited visibility. More than 20 cities including Beijing have issued red alert warnings, prompting cities to restrict vehicle usage or limit industrial production. “The scale of the red alert measures show that the Chinese government is taking air pollution seriously…However, the ongoing ‘airpocalypse’ is further evidence that China must implement far stricter limitations on coal consumption”, said Dong Liansai, a campaigner for Greenpeace East Asia. Bloomberg also has the story.

High Court backs fracking in Yorkshire

BusinessGreen

Fracking will go ahead at a North Yorkshire site after campaigners and local residents lost a legal challenge yesterday. Frack Free Ryedale and Friends of the Earth were hoping to overturn the decision of North Yorkshire County Council, by arguing that the council had failed to consider the environmental impact of burning gas on climate change. The decision marks the first approval for shale gas fracking since a moratorium was lifted in 2012. The Guardian, the Times and Reuters also have the story.

Trump team asks State Dept. what it spends on international environmental efforts

Washington Post

US president-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has asked State Department officials to disclose how much money it provides each year to international environmental groups, and “that can’t be good”, writes Grist. As part of the Paris Agreement the US pledged $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund, which will aid poor nations in adapting to climate change and developing renewable energy, but in early November Trump said that he would Nov. 1, Trump said he would “cancel billions of dollars in global warming payments to the United Nations” and devote that money instead to green infrastructure projects. The move is the latest in a round of climate-related inquiry “despite significant backlash”, following a leaked memo sent to the Department of Energy asking for names of staffers who had worked on key climate policies, ThinkProgress reports, which prompted a call for a Congressional investigation.

El Nino-linked cyclones to increase in Pacific with global warming: research

Reuters

Small Pacific island states could be hit by more tropical cyclones during future El Nino events as the result of climate change, finds new research in the journal Nature Climate Change. Between 2070 and the end of the century islands like Hawaii, Fiji and the Marshall Islands could face an increase in storm frequency of up to 40%, as cyclones are exacerbated by rising sea levels, Reuters reports.

Laurence Tubiana to head European Climate Foundation

Climate Home

The former French climate envoy Laurence Tubiana has been appointed head of the European Climate Foundation (ECF), Climate Home reports. Tubiana, who played a major role in the Paris Agreement negotiations, will succeed Dr Johannes Meier, who has resigned after six years as chief executive. ECF a philanthropic fund that supports multiple green NGOs and thinktanks, including Carbon Brief. BusinessGreen also has the story.

Arthur Neslen, Guardian Sustainable Business

Trump’s potentially toxic effect on the solar industry

Guardian Sustainable Business

The US solar industry is a “bigger employer than oil and gas extraction”, but following Donald Trump’s appointment of climate sceptics and damning rhetoric on the Clean Power Plan and Paris Agreement, it “fears disruption” under the next US president, Arthur Neslen writes, in a piece gaging the mood of the US solar industry. Although “few analysts foresee a contraction of the US solar industry…many expect growth to slow”, he says.

Science

Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project (ISMIP6) contribution to CMIP6

Geoscientific Model Development

Quantifying uncertainty in ice sheet melt and future sea level rise will play an important role in the next generation of climate models, the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project – phase 6 (CMIP6). A new paper introduces the ice sheet component, known as the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project for CMIP6 (ISMIP6), and describes the advances in modelling capability compared to previous rounds, such as including both coupled and standalone ice sheet models for the first time.

The exceptionally warm winter of 2015-16 in Alaska

Journal of Climate

Climate change played a role in the record-setting warmth experienced in Alaska during the cold season (October- April) in 2015/2016, according to new research. Using climate models and observed temperatures, the authors found the warming signal forced by greenhouse gases accounted for about 1C of the of the anomalous warmth, and suggest warmth of this magnitude will become the norm by the 2050s if greenhouse gas emissions follow their present scenario.

Impact of El Niño Southern Oscillation on infectious disease hospitalization risk in the United States

PNAS

A new study examining the impact of El Niño on infectious diseases in the US has found the high temperatures and rainfall during the phenomenon increase the risk of vector-borne diseases in western regions, but decrease the risk of enteric diseases. The prevalence of enteric disease rises during El Niño outside of the western region, however. The authors suggest the repeating nature of El Niño makes it a useful tool for studying the impact of climatic shifts on infectious disease risk.