Daily Briefing |Rich nations' emissions fall
News
Rich nations’ greenhouse gas emissions fall in 2012, led byU.S
“Industrialized nations’ greenhouse gas emissions fell by 1.3percent in 2012, led by a U.S. decline to the lowest in almost twodecades with a shift to natural gas from dirtier coal, officialstatistics show.”
Climate and energy news
Some Corals Can Adapt to Warmer Waters
“Warming ocean waters have already devastated many coral reefs.But new research involving a species of coral that is resistant tohigher temperatures suggests that others may be able to adapt,too.”
Legal challenge to £7bn UK nuclear contract
The bidders who lost out on a £7 billion pound contract to takeresponsibility for decommissioning old UK nuclear power stationsare mounting a legal challenge to the decision, which could delaythe start of the process, according to legal experts.
Clean technology holds key to rapid Africandevelopment
Business Green reports that a new study finds low carbontechnology is the fastest route to development for the 70 per centof sub-Saharan Africans without energy access.
Electric cars get access to bus lanes and free parking under Cleggplans
Electric cars could be allowed to use bus lanes and park for free,according to plans announced by Nick Clegg today. Drivers will alsobe able to claim £5000 grants towards the costs of an electric carfor another two years – in part because take-up of the scheme hasbeen slow.
Climate and energy comment
Why Wave Power Has Lagged Far Behind as EnergySource
Extracting energy from the waves has proved more difficult thanhad been hoped. As wind and solar power have seen dramatic costreductions, the wavepower industry has made only halting progress,and remains “decades behind other renewables”.
Kevin Trenberth on El Nino: The Only Question is HowBig
US climate scientist tells climate video maker Peter Sinclair thatthe natural climate cycle ENSO is going to shift into its warmerphase, boosting global temperatures and leading to changes inweather patterns: “We’re going to have an El Nino, the question ishow large it’s going to be and whether we’ll see something asdisruptive as the 1998/9 event.”
Typhoon Haiyan was just the start – prepare for an ever stormierfuture
The Guardian calls Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippineslast year, a ‘defining moment’ for the climate movement. Thisarticle features development experts, who warn that intensifyingstorms will damage the ability of the world to deal with suchextreme weather.
Europe’s renewables could suffer from a knee-jerk reaction toUkraine gas crisis
As the Ukraine crisis continues, balancing the implications forEuropean energy policy is tricky: “the danger is that urgent stepsto reduce dependency on Russian gas will be to the detriment ofother energy policy priorities. An example knee-jerk reaction wouldbe subsidising investment in new coal-fired power stations toreduce reliance on gas; such action would be a major blow againstcost and carbon-reduction targets.”
New climate science
Thinking globally and siting locally – renewable energy andbiodiversity in a rapidly warming world
Some have raised concerns about the impact of renewable energyexpansion on global biodiversity, explains a new paper. But theresearchers argue it’s a risk worth taking because of the fargreater impacts that will come from unmitigated climatechange.
Observed changes in extreme wet and dry spells during the SouthAsian summer monsoon season
Scientists have found a change in South Asian monsoons since 1980- increases in the intensity of wet spells and in the frequency ofdry spells. The South Asian monsoon directly affects the lives ofmore than 1/6th of the world’s population and such changes haveconsequences for water resources, agriculture, disasterpreparedness and infrastructure planning, say theresearchers.
Cattle ranching intensification in Brazil can reduce globalgreenhouse gas emissions by sparing land fromdeforestation
Proceedings of the National Academy ofSciences
Brazil may be able to curb up to 26 percent of global greenhousegas emissions from deforestation by encouraging the intensificationof its cattle production, according to a new study from researchersat the International Institute for Applied SystemsAnalysis.
Climate change mitigation: Deposing global warmingpotentials
Accounting for time-dependent mechanisms in greenhouse gasradiative forcing and evaluating the performance of mitigationtechnologies in the context of climate stabilization targets canbetter inform technology choices today and in thefuture.