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Daily Briefing |

TODAY'S CLIMATE AND ENERGY HEADLINES

Briefing date 26.09.2016
Landmark deal to curb airline emissions expected in Montreal, countries back ‘ambitious’ phaseout of globe-warming refrigerant, & more

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News.

Landmark deal to curb airline emissions expected in Montreal
Reuters Read Article

The world’s first deal to curb CO2 emissions from international air travel is expected at UN-led talks starting in Montreal this week, reports Reuters. It adds that a draft deal has the backing of the US, China and United Arab Emirates, and that European officials fear it will be too weak. TheFinancial Times reports that EU officials pushed for less stringent technical requirements than their US counterparts. Some 55 countries say they would voluntarily join the first phase of the deal. TheNew York Times says the two-week International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) meeting in Montreal represents aviation’s “Paris moment”. The paper adds that Russia and India have yet to signal their support for the proposed aviation CO2 offsetting scheme, citing the economic burden on developing countries. However, the current draft would exempt many small and developing nations, the New York Times notes. Separately, ITV News reports that six out of 10 people surveyed by WWF would be prepared to fly less in the coming year to help fight climate change. In the Conversation, two Australian academics asks if the world is “finally” about to get a global agreement on aviation emissions. However, they note that the current draft would only become mandatory in 2027.

Countries back ‘ambitious’ phaseout of globe-warming refrigerant
The Hill Read Article

More than 100 countries are backing an Obama administration push to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the refrigerants that are also strong greenhouse gases. The proposed amendment to the Montreal Protocol on ozone-depleting substances could avoid up to 0.5C of warming this century, the 100 countries say. The HFC phaseout is needed to meet the Paris Agreement, reports ClimateWire. The Economist also has the story, along with details of the proposed HFC phase-out schedule. The amendment will be debated at a meeting of the Montreal Protocol parties in Rwanda next month. A group of large companies is lobbying for the HFC phase-out to go ahead, reports BusinessGreen.

India to ratify Paris Agreement on climate change on Oct. 2
The Hindu Read Article

Prime minister Narendra Modi has announced that India will ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, reports the Hindu. The announcement came at the national council meeting of Modi’s ruling BJP on Sunday. In June, India had said only that it would work towards joining the agreement this year, notes Reuters. India’s 4.5% share of global emissions would bring the Paris pact close to the 55% threshold for entering force. Separately Poland has started the process of ratifying Paris, reports Reuters. The move helps clear the way for the EU to ratify Paris ahead of the next global climate talks in November. EU environment ministers will discuss the move at a 30 September meeting. It would need sign-off from the European Parliament and member states.

Obama climate rule faces critical test in court
The Hill Read Article

President Obama’s Clean Power Plan is going to court on Tuesday, reports the Hill. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will hear oral arguments over whether the rule should be overturned. The legal fate of the plan is widely expected to ultimately rest with the US Supreme Court, says the New York Times. Yet the decision could rest on “a clerical error in an obscure provision of a 26-year-old law”, it explains, whereby conflicting amendments were left in the Clean Air Act.

Dutch parliament votes to close down country's coal industry
The Guardian Read Article

A narrow non-binding majority vote of the Dutch parliament is calling for the country to close its five remaining coal-fired power stations, including three that only started to operate in 2015. Five Dutch coal plants closed last year, the Guardian says. The Dutch government is preparing a package of climate policies for November, partly in response to a court ruling last year that called for strengthened emissions targets.

Fracking: No shale gas wells to be drilled in UK this year
The Guardian Read Article

The fracking industry has confirmed that no UK shale gas wells will be drilled this year, reports the Guardian, ahead of a government decision on whether to accept an appeal against Lancashire county council’s refusal of plans for two sites last year. Cuadrilla, the firm behind the plans, says the earliest it could drill the wells would be April next year. Ineos, the chemical firm which last year promised to “move quickly” on a “shale gas revolution” has yet to submit a single planning application, the Guardian adds, while another firm, Third Energy, faces a delayed legal challenge over its plans to drill in Yorkshire. In a front-page article, the Times reports on a draft Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruling finding against anti-fracking claims made in a Friends of the Earth leaflet. The draft ruling has yet to be approved by the ASA council.

UK climate pledge faces stiff test amid carbon tax drive
Financial Times Read Article

The UK’s carbon floor price should be maintained until at least 2025, say a group of energy firms including SSE and Drax in a letter to chancellor Philip Hammond. The previous chancellor George Osborne had said the levy would continue until 2020, and had promised to set out its future in his 23 November autumn statement. Other groups, including manufacturers’ organisation EEF, are lobbying for the carbon price floor to be scrapped.

Comment.

US energy – does it matter who is president?
Nick Butler, Financial Times Read Article

In the Financial Times, Nick Butler looks at the energy policies of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, concluding that, for the energy sector, it doesn’t really matter which becomes president.

Where ice once crushed ships, open water beckons
Andrew Revkin, New York Times Read Article

The luxury cruise ship Crystal Serenity is the largest liner ever to complete the Northwest Passage, says Andy Revkin in an opinion piece for the New York Times that notes how global warming has opened up the route and left the cruise searching for ice to show its passengers. Revkin recalls the recent discovery of the Terror, a British ship that vanished along the same route some 170 years ago. In an accompanying Dot Earth blog, Revkin quotes extensively from a “fascinating Carbon Brief post” on how scientists are reconstructing the history of Arctic ice records. You can read the full post over at Carbon Brief.

Science.

Effects of rainfall on vehicle crashes in six U.S. states
Weather Climate and Society Read Article

A new study investigates the impact of rainfall on the number of car crashes and associated injuries across six states of the US (Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota and Ohio) between 1996 and 2010. The researchers find a statistically significant increase in crash and injury rates during rainfall days of 10% and 8%, respectively. This translates into an additional 28,000 crashes and 12,000 injuries in the 1 May–30 September period each year, relative to what would be expected if those days were dry, the researchers say. For days with more than 50mm of rainfall, crash and injury rates are 51% and 38% higher, respectively, than dry days.

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