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TODAY'S CLIMATE AND ENERGY HEADLINES

Briefing date 10.04.2019
Antarctica team to search world’s oldest ice for climate change clues

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News.

Antarctica team to search world's oldest ice for climate change clues
New Scientist Read Article

A €13m European expedition will head to East Antarctica later this year, reports New Scientist, in the hopes of finding ice dating back 1.5m years. So far, the the oldest ice to have been drilled is a core dating back 800,000 years. The scientists are aiming to shed light on what New Scientist describes as “a dramatic tipping point in the world’s climate 900,000 years ago”, known as the mid-Pleistocene transition, that saw a shift from a rhythm of switching between warm and cold phases every 40,000 years, to a cycle every 100,000 years. Barbara Stenni of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice tells New Scientist: “We need to understand why we have this change 900,000 years ago, and why we live in a 100,000-year [cycle] world. Without [doing] that we cannot say we really understand our current climate systems”. Details of the “Beyond EPICA” project were announced at the European Geosciences Union Conference currently taking place in Vienna. BBC News and MailOnline also have the story. BBC News also recorded an interview with Dr Rob Mulvaney, from the British Antarctic Survey, about the project, and has a video of a radar map of the chosen drilling site.

Climate crisis: today’s children face lives with tiny carbon footprints
The Guardian Read Article

“Children born today will have to live their lives with drastically smaller carbon footprints than their grandparents if climate change is to be controlled”, says the Guardian, reporting on analysis by Carbon Brief. “The new generation will have lifetime carbon budgets almost 90% lower than someone born in 1950”, the article continues. The piece includes reaction from Jake Woodier of the UK Student Climate Network, which is supporting the school climate strikes: “Those in positions of power – from politicians to business leaders – that have benefited from a much higher lifetime carbon budget have a duty to act to ensure a liveable planet for current and future generations”. The idea for the analysis originally came from Ben Caldecott, at the University of Oxford’s Sustainable Finance Programme. He tells the Guardian: “The purpose is not to fan the flames of rising intergenerational angst, but rather to provide some objective analysis to support dialogue between generations within countries and across them so we can tackle climate change.”

Almost all Alpine glaciers could disappear by 2100 as global warming melts the vast bodies of ice
MailOnline Read Article

Over 95% of ice found in the Alps could melt away by the end of the century, according to new research picked up by MailOnline. Scientists in Switzerland produced detailed simulations to show the likely future of the mountain chain’s 4,000 glaciers. Cuts to greenhouse gas emissions could help mitigate the loss, the researchers note, but half of the ice will be gone by 2050 due to global warming already baked in by past emissions, the Guardian reports. The Guardian continues: “After that, even if carbon emissions have plummeted to zero, two-thirds of the ice will still have melted by 2100.” Daniel Farinotti, one of the study’s authors, tells the paper: “Glaciers in the European Alps and their recent evolution are some of the clearest indicators of the ongoing changes in climate”. The IndependentNew Scientist, and the Sun also have the story.

Elsewhere, Bloomberg reports that climate change is “picking up pace” in Europe, according to new photos from the Copernicus satellite showing Swedish forest fires, retreating glaciers and arid cropland.

John Kerry: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez shown 'more leadership in one day' than Trump in 'his lifetime' on climate change
USA Today Read Article

Former secretary of state John Kerry “blasted Republicans and president Donald Trump”, says USA Today, during congressional testimony yesterday when asked about funding for the green new deal, a climate change proposal brought forward by Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Kerry pointed out there are a variety of ideas on how to combat climate change but added: “I don’t know that any of them are coming from your party or your side of the aisle. Do you have a plan to deal with climate change?” CNN reports that the hearing, which was intended to examine the impact of climate change on national security, including military bases damaged by extreme weather events, “devolved into partisan sniping, personal attacks and efforts to deny climate change represents a threat”. The Hill also carries the story.

In other US news, Reuters reports that Trump will issue two executive orders today “seeking to speed gas, coal and oil projects delayed by coastal states”. Trump will ask the US Environmental Protection Agency to change a part of the US clean water law that has allowed states, on the basis of environmental reasons, to delay projects such as pipelines, Reuters explains. Axios and the Washington Post have taken a look at Trump’s new energy plan.

Cheap renewables shave $10tn off cost to curb warming
Bloomberg Read Article

Bloomberg reports that the cost of reaching global climate goals is “falling rapidly as wind and solar prices plummet” and policy makers push electrification as the main tool to cut pollution, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). IRENA has revised down its estimates for the global investment needed in clean energy to meet the Paris Agreement goals, Bloomberg notes: it now says $115tn is needed, down from $125tn a year ago. IRENA’s director-general Francesco La Camera tells Bloomberg that the significant investments needed “will more than pay off in curbing emissions and in health and environmental benefits”. Axios also has a piece on the falling cost of renewables, examining figures from the International Monetary Fund’s annual World Economic Outlook.

Comment.

Trump mocks climate change. That’s a key to defeating him.
Thomas L Friedman, The New York Times Read Article

President Trump has been urging Republicans “not to kill the Democrats’ green new deal proposal…because he wants to run against it in 2020”, begins an opinion piece by New York Times op-ed columnist Thomas L Friedman. But Friedman thinks a ‘green real deal’ – proposed by Ernie Moniz, Barack Obama’s energy secretary, and Andy Karsner, George W Bush’s assistant energy secretary for renewable energy – will put the president on the defensive in the next election: “If Democrats approach this right — with a barrage of political ads paired with a focused green strategy, like the ‘green real deal’… they can win on this issue in 2020 and make Trump the laughingstock.”

Despite good progress, 100% low-carbon energy is still a long way off for the UK
Andrew Crossland and Jon Gluyas, The Conversation Read Article

Andrew Crossland and Jon Gluyas, two academics from Durham University, review the UK’s “huge progress” on decarbonising its energy mix. “Progress has been so quick that a fully low-carbon power sector in Britain has transformed from a faint pipedream into a real possibility”, they write, “but staying at 100% [low-carbon electricity] throughout the year will be much more difficult to achieve”. They add: “Concerted and sustained effort from both government and individuals is required if the UK is to achieve a low-carbon nirvana in heat, transport and power.”

Science.

Background mortality drivers of European tree species: climate change matters
Proceedings of the Royal Society B Read Article

A study looks at at how climate change could be influencing the “background mortality” – deaths outside of extreme events or disturbances – of 43 tree species in France. The results show that, from 2009-15, 6% of tree deaths had a “climate change signal”, the authors say. “We evidenced greater mortality with increasing temperature or decreasing rainfall.”

Projecting changes in expected annual damages from riverine flooding in the United States
Earth's Future Read Article

Damages from river flooding in the US could double if global warming reaches 3C above pre-industrial levels, research finds. The modelling study also finds warming of 1C above pre-industrial levels could cause annual damages from flooding to increase by 25-30%. “Adaptations that protect against today’s ‘100‐year’ flood will have increasing benefits in a warmer climate by also protecting against more frequent, smaller events,” the authors say.

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