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Cloud analysis suggests global warming may be worse than thought, cutting food and carbon waste-lines, & more

08.04.16

News

Global warming may be far worse than thought, cloud analysis suggests

The Guardian

Climate change projections underestimate the role that clouds play, meaning future warming could be larger than is currently projected, a new study suggests. Analysing satellite data, researchers found that “mixed-phase” clouds have more liquid in them, rather than ice, than has been assumed. Clouds with ice crystals reflect more sunlight than those with liquid in them, stopping it reaching and heating the Earth’s surface. Based on its analysis of one model of climate change, this could mean an additional 1.3C of warming than expected, reports the New York Times. The study will help scientists pin down how sensitive the Earth’s climate is to rising CO2 emissions, Dr Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told the Washington Post: “This is one extra ingredient that needs to go into the hopper.”. The Associated Press, MailOnline and Climate Central also have the story.

Cutting food and carbon waste-lines for healthy climate

BBC News

Reducing food waste and changing the way people consume calories will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a new study suggests. With global demand for food potentially doubling by mid-century, the study considered what steps need to be taken to tackle food production’s contribution to climate change. Up to 14% of emissions from agriculture in 2050 could be avoided by managing food use and distribution better, reports Reuters. Cutting food waste could help several challenges at once, the researchers say, “reducing environmental impacts of agriculture, saving resources used in food production, and enhance local, regional, and global food security.” The Washington Post also covers the research.

Global renewables grew at fastest rate on record in 2015: research

Reuters

Renewable energy generation capacity expanded by 8.3% last year to 1,985 gigawatts globally, the fastest annual rate on record, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Both wind and solar had a record year, reports BusinessGreen, with global wind power up by 63GW to 432GW, a 17% increase on 2014, and solar power capacity climbing 47GW to 227GW, a 37% increase. “Falling costs for renewable energy technologies, and a host of economic, social and environmental drivers are favouring renewables over conventional power sources,” said IRENA’s director general Adnan Amin.

Emerging powers to sign Paris climate deal on 22 April

Climate Home

Brazil and South Africa became the latest countries to signal their intent to sign the Paris Agreement later this month in New York. In a joint statement with India and China, the so-called “BASIC” group said they “look forward” to signing the landmark pact struck by 195 countries last year to curb emissions. Also on Climate Home, Nick Chan from the Centre for International Studies at the University of Oxford argues that “what ultimately matters for entry into force of the Paris Agreement is ratifications, not signatures.”

Scientists find fracking contaminated Wyoming water after EPA halted study

The Guardian

Scientists have highlighted dangerous water contamination from a fracking operation in Wyoming, three years after the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) abandoned its investigation into the matter. The report found levels of benzine, a flammable liquid used in fuel, were 50 times above the allowable limit in the water supply used by the 230 residents of Pavillion, a small town in central Wyoming. The scientists say the EPA ended its study in 2010 due to “cold feet” when the Obama administration was promoting the expansion of natural gas as a way to lower the US’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Has Tata Steel made money overall from EU climate policies?

BBC News

Tata Steel is refusing to comment on claims it made windfall profits from EU climate policies, reports the BBC’s Roger Harrabin. The firm made around £700m by selling excess free carbon allowances, analysts say. In addition, Tata is likely to have earned money by raising its prices to cover part of its CO2 costs, even though it was receiving free allowances. Carbon Brief has looked at earnings from EU climate policies in detail, concluding that Tata Steel Europe netted around £1.4bn between 2008 and 2014, including more than £300m at Port Talbot.

World Bank to spend 28% of investments on climate change projects

The Guardian

The World Bank has made a “fundamental shift” in its role of alleviating global poverty, by refocusing its financing efforts towards tackling climate change, the group announced yesterday. The world’s biggest provider of public finance to developing countries said it would spend 28% of its investments directly on climate change projects, and that all of its future spending would take account of global warming. As part of the bank’s new strategy, it will help to fund construction of renewable energy to power 150m homes in developing countries, and build early warning systems of climate-related disasters for 100 million people.

EU referendum: UK risks losing energy and climate policy influence

BusinessGreen

Leaving the European Union could affect the UK’s efforts to tackle climate change, according to a briefing paper from two green think tanks. The paper by Green Alliance and E3G warns that leaving the EU could limit access to cheaper power available via interconnectors with the continent, push up the cost of capital for domestic energy projects, and hamper the UK’s expanding clean technology sector. The two think tanks and the UK government “appear convinced a vote to leave the EU would deal a major blow to the UK’s climate policy influence and its green economy prospects,” writes Murray.

Comment

We’re out of time on climate change. And Hillary Clinton helped get us here

Naomi Klein, The Guardian

Author and filmmaker Naomi Klein discusses whether donations from fossil fuel companies to Hillary Clinton’s political campaigns and charity foundation could influence the decisions she makes in office. “Clinton’s campaign platform includes some very good climate policies that surely do not please these donors,” says Klein, but have her financiers “shaped Clinton’s current (and dangerous) view that fracking can be made safe?” There is no proof it has, Klein says, but “the whole funding mess stinks, and it seems to get worse by the day.” On Wednesday, Clinton “laughed off concerns from an anti-fracking activist who asked her to reject future donations from the hydraulic fracturing industry,” reports the Hill.

We are making the wrong energy choices for future generations

Andrew Simms, The Guardian

In the most recent article of Andrew Simms’s “100 months to save the world” series, he says “our children’s children will not thank us for investing so heavily in technologies like nuclear at the expense of safer, low-carbon options.” Simms sets out a set of “intergenerational design criteria to aid intelligent, future energy planning,” which include: how much value to the broader economy does investment in different technologies bring? And: how efficiently does an investment lower carbon emissions?

Science

Observational constraints on mixed-phase clouds imply higher climate sensitivity

Science

New analysis of clouds from satellite data suggest that they may have more of a warming effect on the Earth than expected. The study finds that “mixed-phase” clouds have less ice and more water in them than scientists previously thought. Applying this finding to one climate model, the researchers calculated that the Earth’s equilibrium temperature response to a doubling of atmospheric CO2 could be up to 1.3C higher than previous estimates.