Climate change risk to 'one in six species'
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Climate change risk to ‘one in sixspecies’
One in six species on the planet could face extinction ifnothing is done to tackle climate change, analysis suggests. Ifcarbon emissions continue on their current path, 16% of animals andplants will be lost, according to a review of evidence. Thesespecies “will be on the train towards extinction, but we don’t knowwhen it will arrive,” says the study’s author in The Independent, who ran the story ontheir front page. While The Guardianreports that creaturesin Australia, New Zealand and South America will be hit much harderthan North American and Europe, due to a high number of species notfound anywhere else. “We urgently need to adopt strategies thatlimit further climate change if we are to avoid an acceleration ofglobal extinction,” the author tells The Telegraph. The Mirror, The Washington Post, RTCC, The New York Times, Reuters, Climate Central, The Conversation, and Timeall have similarcoverage. The Guardianalso brings you animaland plants species most at risk in pictures, and you can readCarbon Brief’s take on the research here.
Climate and energy news
Church of England to sell fossil fuelinvestments
The Church of England is adopting a new climate changepolicy and will sell off investments worth £12m in firms where morethan 10% of revenue comes from thermal coal or tar sands. TheChurch said it had a “moral responsibility” to act on environmentalissues to protect the poor, who were the most vulnerable to climatechange. The Financial Timesdescribes themove as a “a striking victory for campaigners seeking to makefossil fuels as unpopular as tobacco”. The church will remain aninvestor in BP and Shell to try to influence them to reduceemissions, reports The Times. Of its £9 billion investmentfund, the church has about £101m invested in Shell and £91.9m inBP, says The Guardian. ReutersandRTCCalso have the story.
England faces major rise in record hot years dueto climate change – scientists
Record-breaking hot years in England have become at least 13times more likely because of manmade climate change, scientistshave discovered. The new study suggests England faces a”significant and substantial increase” of years similar to 2014,which was the warmest in England since records began more thanthree and a half centuries ago. The researchers say they have “90per cent confidence” of humans’ influence on annual temperatures,reports The Times. The BBCand The Independentalso have thestory.
Europe calls for tougher limits on supergreenhouse gases
The European Commission has called for a tougher limits toemissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that have a powerfulgreenhouse effect. The European Union has already introduced itsown law to curb HFCs, used in fridges and air conditioners, but isasking industrialised nations to commit to an ambitious reductionschedule beginning in 2019 and ending in 2034. Earlier thisweek, Carbon Briefreported on rising HFCemissions.
US and Japan miss deadline on cash for UN greenclimate fund | Reuters
The United States and Japan have missed a UN deadline tofirm up promises to provide billions of dollars for a new UN fundintended to help developing nations tackle global warming. TheGreen Climate Fund (GCF) says donors had signed deals of almost $4billion, 42 percent of a total promised in late 2014, but thisfalls short of the 50% needed for the GCF to start operating. In aninterview, also inReuters, the GCF’s executive director,Héla Cheikhrouho, said she did not know how much cash the fundwould have in its coffers by the time of the UN climatenegotiations in Paris. Business Greenalso cover thestory.
Cheaper oil hits Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobilprofits
Lower oil prices have hit quarterly profits at both RoyalDutch Shell and Exxon Mobil, though results were not as bad asexpected, says the BBC. Underlying first-quarter profits at Shellfell 56% from a year earlier to $3.2bn (£2.1bn), but analysts hadexpected profits of about $2.5bn. Exxon Mobil reported afirst-quarter profit of $4.9bn, down from $9.1bn last year, butthis also beat forecasts. Shell has warned that further jobs andinvestment are at risk in the North Sea and has cut annual globalspending by a further $2bn, reports The Guardian. While The Financial Timessays the lowoil price has driven American shale oil and gas operations intolosses.
Eco-battery to slash home energybills
A household battery pack that could slash electricity billsis expected to be launched today by Tesla Motors, the American carmanufacturer. The battery pack can store energy from solar panelsand other renewable sources and extract electricity from the gridovernight to be used in peak daytime hours. Tesla has been testingits batteries in secret in homes around California, says The Times.
Extinction ‘hotspots’ map shows Earth’s oceanswhere marine life is most atrisk
Marine animals near North America, Antarctica and NewZealand are most at risk of extinction, according to a new study.Researchers looked at fossils to examine which marine life wasunder the greatest threat, based on previous rates of extinction.By combining this ‘natural’ extinction risk with threats fromhumans and climate change, they created a global map of futurehotspots of extinction. The study also find that whales anddolphins are at greatest risk of extinction, reportsThe Times.
Japan outlines 2030 carbon target ahead of Parisclimate summit
Japan is proposing to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by26% by 2030 as its contribution to a global summit on climatechange in Paris later in the year. Media reports earlier this monthsaid the country was looking at a 25% percent cut from 2013 levels,up from an earlier target of about 20%. Japan is the world’s fifthbiggest emitter of greenhouse gases.
Vote who, go green? Parties diverge on how to savethe planet
Damian Carrington takes a look at the green credentials ofthe main parties ahead of the election. The environment has beenneglected since Cameron’s ‘vote blue, go green’ slogan, he says,but energy problems will be back in the spotlight in the next fiveyears.
Climate and energy comment
Pope Francis has given the climate movement justwhat it needed – faith
Chris Mooney, The WashingtonPost
After the Vatican’s statement on the ‘scientific reality’ ofclimate change this week, Chris Mooney in the Washington Post saysthere seems to be a growing realisation in green circles about theimportance of an alliance with the world of faith. Making climatechange a moral issue, rather than just a scientific, rational one,is politically powerful, he says. There seems to be a deepconnection between caring about other humans and then extendingthat to nature, he says.
New climate science
An increase in the rate of global mean sea levelrise since 2010
A new study using a combination of satellite data andobservations from the ARGO network of floating buoys finds thatglobally, sea level has been rising at an accelerated rate of 4.4 ±0.5 mm/yr for more than three years. This is after accounting forland water storage and ENSO-related fluctuations. The 2010/12 LaNiña temporarily masked the real rise in sea level, the paperexplains.
Spread of Model Climate Sensitivity Linked toDouble-Intertropical Convergence ZoneBias
Two problems that plague climate models may be linked,according to a new study. Models that exhibit a strongdouble-intertropical convergence zone give low values for climatesensitivity, around 2.2C. Based on models that best represent whatthe ICTZ does in the real world, climate sensitivity might be inthe higher end of its range (~4.0°C) and most models might haveunderestimated it, say the authors.
Attribution of the record high Central Englandtemperature of 2014 to anthropogenicinfluences
A new attribution study finds greenhouse gases from humanactivity have increased the odds of record warm years in CentralEngland by at least 13-times, and possibly as much as 22 times. In2014, the region experienced its warmest year since the longrunning record began in 1659.
Other stories
- Obama signs energy efficiency bill intolaw (The Hill)
- Shell pushes on with Arctic exploration as itawaits U.S. permit (Reuters)
- El Nino to send price of coffeesoaring (The Sun)
- Chile’s Calbuco volcano erupts for thirdtime (BBC News)
- EU carbon talks next week could clinch reformdeal (Reuters)
- Top Republican spars with EPA chief on Obamaclimate agenda (Responding to Climate Change)
- Glencore takes a stand on its fossil fuelreserves (The Financial Times)
- Overlooked evidence – global warming may proceedfaster than expected (The Guardian)