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TODAY'S CLIMATE AND ENERGY HEADLINES

Briefing date 25.10.2016
CO2 levels mark ‘new era’ in the world’s changing climate, company climate change plans too weak to meet Paris goals, & more

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News.

CO2 levels mark 'new era' in the world's changing climate
BBC News Read Article

Levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have passed 400 parts per million (ppm) and may not dip below it for “many generations”, says the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Global atmospheric CO2 broke through the symbolic threshold for the first time on record in 2015, says the WMO’s annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, and 2016 will likely be the first full year above this level. The growth spurt in CO2 levels between 2014 and 2015 was fuelled by the El Niño event in the Pacific Ocean, notes the MailOnline. “The year 2015 has ushered in a new era of optimism and climate action with the Paris climate change agreement”, said WMO secretary-general, Petteri Taalas, and reported by the Guardian, “but it will also make history as marking a new era of climate change reality with record high greenhouse gas concentrations.” Reuters reports further comments from Taalas at a press conference in Geneva: “The key issue here is to go from this kind of political will to concrete action. So far we haven’t seen a major change in the behaviour. The Hill, TIME andClimate Home also cover the story.

Company climate change plans too weak to meet Paris goals - survey
Reuters Read Article

Plans by big companies to cut greenhouse gas emissions are just a quarter of those needed to limit global temperature rise to “well below” 2C, a new study says. Researchers at CDP – formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project – surveyed 1,089 major companies, of which 85% said they have set goals for lowering greenhouse gas emissions. If achieved, the company targets would cut their collective emissions by the equivalent of 1bn tonnes of CO2 below current levels by 2030, or a quarter of the estimated 4bn tonnes needed to get on track for 2C. A few companies, such as Dell, Enel, Toyota, Nestle, IKEA and Walmart had strong enough policies to limit emissions by 2030, the report says.

Pope's climate message failed to sway Catholic conservatives: study
The Hill Read Article

Pope Francis’s landmark encyclical on climate change last year failed to sway conservative American Catholics, according to a new study. Before the encyclical was published, 62% Catholic Democrats said they believed in human-caused climate change, while only 24% of Catholic Republicans held that opinion. After Francis issued his encyclical in June 2015, those positions were simply more stark, says lead author Nan Li: “[c]onservative Catholics and non-Catholics…not only resisted the message but defended their pre-existing beliefs by devaluing the pope’s credibility on climate change.” The Guardian also covers the story.

More coal plants will deepen - not cut - poverty, researchers warn
Thomson Reuters Foundation Read Article

Building just a third of planned new coal-fired power plants around the world would push hundreds of millions of people into poverty as it drives climate change past 2C of warming, a new report warns. Responding to the claim that coal is the cheapest and most reliable way to bring power to developing countries, the research by a group of development organisations suggests that falling prices for solar and wind power mean renewable energy would be quicker and cheaper. Whereas the emissions from just a third of the 2,400 new coal power plants planned around the world would be enough to push global warming over 2C, the report says. Elsewhere, the Guardian reports on comments from Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that coal will be part of Australia’s energy mix for “many, many, many decades to come”.

Britain risks 'sleepwalking into blackouts' under Ofgem reforms, Sir Ed Davey warns
Telegraph Read Article

Britain risks “sleepwalking into brownouts and blackouts” because of a proposed overhaul of energy regulations that could lead to the closure of many small power plants, former energy secretary Sir Ed Davey has warned. Ofgem is currently considering curbing or scrapping extra revenues that small, “embedded” generators receive. But this would jeopardise Britain’s supply, says Davey: “This rushed change will hit exactly the flexible plant such as biomass, CHP [combined heat and power] and energy-from-waste that the Government says they want.” Davey cited a new report from consultants Cornwall Energy, which says many small plants currently depend on extra payments, which account for up to half of their revenues.

Climate change could spark the world’s next financial crisis, former Bank of England executive warns
Independent Read Article

Climate change is potentially “a systemic risk” that could spark the world’s next financial crisis, says Paul Fisher, former deputy head of the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority. Speaking in an interview in Sydney last week, Fisher pointed to the renewed fall in sterling following the Government’s timetable for leaving the European Union as an example of the way that prices can shift suddenly: “That is exactly the sort of event you might get with climate change.” A sudden repricing of assets as a result of climate change “could be the trigger for the next financial crisis,” he added.

Gordon Hamilton, Climate Scientist, Dies at 50 in Antarctica Accident
New York Times Read Article

Gordon Hamilton, a prominent climate scientist who studied glaciers and their impact on sea levels, died on Saturday in a snowmobile accident in Antarctica. Dr Hamilton was undertaking research on the stability of the ice shelves near McMurdo Station on Ross Island, 2,500 miles south of New Zealand, says the Washington Post. Dr Hamilton was born in Scotland and held degrees from the University of Aberdeen and the University of Cambridge. Since 2005, he has been an associate professor at the University of Maine. Hamilton’s glaciology research was “second to none,” said university President Susan Hunter in a statement: “He leaves a legacy as an outstanding scientist, and a caring mentor and well-known teacher to undergraduate and graduate students.” “The loss to science from Dr. Hamilton’s death will be immense,” says Justin Gillis in a tribute in the New York Times: “If the worst of the danger [from climate change] is ultimately averted, it will be because of the brave efforts of people like Gordon Hamilton.” Dr Hamilton is survived by his wife and their two adult sons, says the MailOnline. Carbon Brief sends our deepest condolences to Gordon’s family and friends.

Comment.

Why the ‘major hurricane drought’ is the most overblown statistic in meteorology
Jason Samenow, Washington Post Read Article

A Category 3 or stronger hurricane hasn’t made landfall on the US coast for 11 years – the longest period on record without a major hurricane strike. “But the criteria for what makes a major hurricane is impossibly restrictive,” argues Samenow: “It is tied to a single hazard – wind – and ignores impacts from water, which causes the lion’s share of fatalities and damage in most hurricanes.” The classification overlooks Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and Hurricane Ike in 2008 – two of the three most costly storms in US history, he says. In fact, nine of the last 11 Atlantic hurricane seasons have produced more storms than normal, Samenow points out: “It’s just that those with the strongest winds have remained over the ocean — something researchers have ascribed to dumb luck.”

Science.

Cross-pressuring conservative Catholics? Effects of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the U.S. public opinion on climate change
Climatic Change Read Article

The Pope’s encyclical in 2015 had the effect of polarising views about climate change among Catholics in the US, according to a new survey. The study found encyclical-aware liberals expressed higher concern about climate change while conservatives expressed lower levels. Faced with the disparity between their religious leader’s views on tackling climate change as a moral imperative and those of their political allies, conservative Catholics seemed to favour the latter.

Experience of extreme weather affects climate change mitigation and adaptation responses
Climatic Change Read Article

Direct experience of flooding leads to increased salience of climate change and greater perception of personal risk, says a new study looking at the impact of severe flooding in the UK during the winter of 2013/14. Beyond the individual level, the paper presents what it says is the first evidence that direct flooding experience can enhance support for mitigation policy and climate adaptation.

Persistent shift of the Arctic polar vortex towards the Eurasian continent in recent decades
Nature Climate Change Read Article

The wintertime Arctic polar vortex has experienced a shift during February over the past three decades, away from North America and towards the Eurasian continent. A new paper suggests the shift, attributable in part to Arctic sea ice loss, has triggered cooling over some parts of the Eurasian continent and North America, partly offsetting human-caused warming of the troposphere.

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