Climate Change: Are we passing some key 'tipping points'?
News
Climate Change: Are we passing some key ‘tipping points’?
There is growing evidence that “irreversible climatic changes could be triggered within a few decades”, BBC News reports, according to a new commentary article in the scientific journal Nature. (The commentary is headlined: “Climate tipping points – too risky to bet against,” and says: “the evidence from tipping points alone suggests that we are in a state of planetary emergency”.) BBC News quotes Prof Richard Betts of the Met Office saying that the risks rise with the level of warming and adding: “[I]f we want to keep the risks to a minimum, it is logical that global heating should also be kept to a minimum.” Coverage in the Guardian reports that the world “may already have crossed a series of climate tipping points”, quoting the commentary authors saying this risks ““an existential threat to civilisation”. (The commentary says: “If damaging tipping cascades can occur and a global tipping point cannot be ruled out, then this is an existential threat to civilisation.”) The Guardian reproduces a graphic from the commentary, showing the potential tipping points including ice sheet melt, Atlantic circulation changes, permafrost thaw, Amazon rainforest drought and coral reef die-offs. The Sydney Morning Herald explains that these tipping points, once passed, could “trigger further warming”, leading to a “climate cascade”. It quotes the commentary saying some of the tipping points in the cryosphere may be “dangerously close” to being crossed. The commentary is also picked up by ITV News, Wired, the Daily Mail, MailOnline, National Geographic, ABC News, MIT Technology Review, the Deutsche Presse-Agentur via the Straits Times, InsideClimate News, Newsweek and the Australian.
New EU chief vows to fight climate threat, boost growth
Ursula von der Leyen has been granted final approval as European Commission president and will take up the reins on 1 December, Reuters reports. It says she used a speech to the European Parliament to promise to “step up the fight against climate change while expanding economic growth”. It quotes von der Leyen saying: “We don’t have a moment to waste any more on fighting climate change…It will need massive investment.” An earlier Reuters piece quotes her comment that climate change poses “existential” risks. (The Guardian notes that the Green Party “has been unconvinced by the radicalism of von der Leyen’s approach” and abstained in the European Parliament vote approving her appointment.) EurActiv says von der Leyen flagged climate policy as Europe’s “new growth strategy”. Politico says that von der Leyen will “kick off her term with [a] trip to [the] UN climate conference” in Madrid next Monday, her first working day in office. It quotes her saying: “I feel it’s very important that the European Commission is represented in Madrid with the European Green Deal, which gets started now.” A second Politico article reports von der Leyen’s comment that innovation investment should rise to prevent the EU falling behind competitors such as the US and China, while EurActiv picks up a European Investment Bank report finding that the EU continues to lag the US and China in green investment.
In related news, Reuters covers a Chinese government report that criticises von der Leyen’s proposal for a carbon border tax on goods entering the EU. China says the plan would damage global efforts to tackle climate change, the newswire reports, and urges instead a “pushback against climate ‘protectionism’”. Reuters quotes Zhao Yingmin, China’s vice environment minister, telling a briefing: “We need to prevent unilateralism and protectionism from hurting global growth expectations and the will of countries to combat climate change together.”
Separately, the Financial Times reports that view of incoming European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde that climate change should be part of a strategic review of the institution’s purpose. Finally, another Financial Times piece reports that a series of large European companies have called for EU support for the production of zero-carbon trucks.
Leaders to take part in first TV election debate on climate change
Press Association via Evening Express
Several publications preview the UK’s first-ever TV election debate devoted to climate change, due to be broadcast on Thursday evening on Channel 4 News. Press Association says: “Climate change is taking centre stage in the election as party leaders face questions about how they will tackle the issue.” It continues: “Leaders are likely to face questions over the level of ambition and feasibility in their plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the UK to zero overall, and the date they have pledged to achieve it by.” The newswire adds: “But prime minister Boris Johnson and the Brexit Party’s Nigel Farage look set to snub the hour-long Emergency On Planet Earth debate.” Ahead of the debate, the Financial Times assesses the parties’ policy promises on climate change, quoting former government special adviser Guy Newey saying there is an “arms race going on over climate and environment policies”. BBC News also compares the parties’ green pledges, saying it is “by far the greenest campaign in UK election history”. The Independent reports: “Brexit Party and Tories worst for climate change policies, Greenpeace analysis shows.” (Last week Carbon Brief published a breakdown of the parties’ pledges on climate change and energy in a detailed grid, which will continue to be updated as further manifestos are published.)
Meanwhile the Guardian and Press Association report on a new Labour pledge to plant 2bn trees over the next 20 years, as part of its plans to tackle warming. Separately, BusinessGreen covers a report from centre-right thinktank Onward, which offers a series of policies that it says can deliver net-zero emissions by 2050 using an approach “rooted in centre-right beliefs in open markets, prudence, pragmatism, and investment in innovation – to avoid UK competitiveness, hard pressed consumers or taxpayers being excessively hit”.
Finally, the Guardian carries a piece by columnist George Monbiot arguing that “a vote for the planet means a vote for Labour or the Greens”, while the Independent asks if “outrage at the climate crisis [can] be channelled into the general election”.
‘Lightning rod issue’: Leaked documents reveal US refusal to discuss climate change in trade talks
Leaked documents show that the US is refusing to include any mention of climate change or greenhouse gas emissions in a future trade agreement with the UK, reports BusinessGreen. In his blog, BusinessGreen editor James Murray says the documents show the UK “faces some tough choices post-Brexit”. He explains: “On one hand, yesterday’s documents suggest the US will refuse to even mention climate change, let alone include climate-related safeguards. At the same time the White House will also push for the UK to accept demonstrably lower environmental standards for imported goods. On the other hand, the EU has made it absolutely clear that any future trade deal with the UK is contingent on continued close alignment on environmental standards and climate goals.” Unearthed also covers the leaked documents’ mentions of climate change and environmental issues.
Comment
China wrestles with international role as it vows to take lead in realising climate change accord
Echo Xie, South China Morning Post
The South China Morning Post previews China’s role at the upcoming UN climate talks at COP25 in Madrid next week. It says the country pledged yesterday to “take the lead in ensuring a key global climate change accord can be put into practice”. But it cites “experts” noting that China’s role as the largest emitter, largest developing country and second largest economy “complicated Beijing’s leadership in the multilateral negotiations”. According to the article, vice environment minister Zhao Yingmin says that “the biggest problem in multilateral efforts to tackle climate change was the lack of political willingness among developed countries to provide support…to help the developing world address climate change and other related issues”. The article adds: “Another key issue at COP25 is finalising the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement to make the accord operational…among these unresolved issues include how a global trading system for greenhouse gas emission quotas should work.” (Carbon Brief will shortly be publishing a detailed Q&A on this matter, the “Article 6” rules for carbon markets and other forms of international cooperation.) Meanwhile, an article for the Hill reports that China says it has already met its 2020 target for cutting the CO2 emissions associated with each unit of economic growth.
We can do this
David Leonhardt, The New York Times
Responding to UN climate report on the lack of ambition in current climate plans, self-described as “bleak”, New York Times columnist David Leonhardt writes: “I know that bleakness can often lead to a sense of hopelessness. So I want to emphasise that the situation is far from hopeless. In the last few years, some places have begun to show what a transition to a clean-energy economy would look like. The main message from those places: We can do this.” He notes that 65 countries have begun moving towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and explains what that looks like: “It starts with transforming the electricity sector, which has already begun…Beyond electricity, getting to net-zero emissions requires changes to transportation, manufacturing, agriculture and more.” Leonhardt concludes: “All of these changes have the potential to create well-paying jobs, in addition to avoiding widespread global destruction. I’m not arguing for blind optimism here: We’re not doing nearly enough right now…But creating a clean economy is within our power.”
Science
Navigating transformation of biodiversity and climate
The journal Science Advances has published the final group of papers in a special collection on the scientific community’s increased understanding of biodiversity and climate change. In this editorial, the authors explain that the collection “provides comprehensive review articles and original research by leading authorities on recent advances in the study of interactions between biodiversity and climate”. These articles include research into integrating climate adaptation and biodiversity conservation in the global ocean, the global warming threat to “New Guinea’s biocultural heritage”, and how “climate change and human land use are now disproportionately impacting rare [plant] species”. It also includes reviews on environmental change and biological responses in Antarctica, and climate change impacts on plant-soil feedbacks.
Towards a more integrated role for early career researchers in the IPCC process
Early career researchers (ECRs) “have great potential to actively contribute to the IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] process for the continuity of the IPCC as well as to climate science in general”, a new study says. A global survey of ECRs and interviews with “key experts of the IPCC process” reveal “ECRs are highly motivated to become actively involved in the IPCC process but face a number of barriers to contribute”. The authors outline “mutually beneficial ways forward on how ECRs could contribute” and make recommendations for both the IPCC and ECRs.
Escaping the perfect storm of simultaneous climate change impacts on agriculture and marine fisheries
New research assesses the risk of a “perfect storm” of climate change hitting both land-based farming and marine fisheries. Under a high emissions scenario in the absence of climate policies, global warming could see around 90% of the world’s population “exposed to losses of food production in both sectors” by 2100, the researchers say. However, they add: “Under a strong mitigation scenario comparable to achieving the Paris Agreement, most countries – including the most vulnerable and many of the largest CO2 producers – would experience concomitant net gains in agriculture and fisheries production.”
Other stories
- South Korea to shut a quarter of its coal-fired plants over winter to cut pollution (The Guardian)
- French insurer AXA to exit coal investments in OECD states by 2030 (Reuters)
- Houston, you have a problem: climate change (Financial Times)
- Miami Republicans at odds with Trump on climate change (Financial Times)
- Federal government failing climate readiness, watching says (E&E News)
- UK government defies court order to release secret fracking report (Unearthed)
- Jeremy Clarkson claims Greta Thunberg has killed motor shows by making young people hate cars (The Sun)
- Youth protesters plan Black Friday climate strike (The Hill)
- Charges dropped against XR protesters detained under ‘unlawful’ police order (Press Association via Belfast Telegraph)
- Climate Change: Plan to cut carbon emissions from concerts (BBC News)
- GM could help cut livestock methane emissions, say scientists (The Guardian)
- Meat is crucial for feeding the planet, and going vegan is not more green, say scientists (The Daily Telegraph)