EU Carbon Plummets as Panel Rejects Market Fix recommendation
News
EU Carbon Plummets as Panel Rejects Market FixRecommendation
European Union carbon credits fell by as much as 8 per centyesterday after the European Parliament’s industry committee failedto agree a position on planned reforms, reports Bloomberg. Thefailure puts the reforms in doubt, says Business Green. But the committee’sfailure increases the chances of political backing for earlyreforms seen as crucial by the likes of Germany and theUK, reportsReuters. The Guardian alsohas an optimistic takeon the prospect forambitious, early reforms following the industry committee vote.RTCC also has the story.
Climate and energy news
New Saudi king seen holding line on OPEC policy tokeep oil output high
Saudi Arabia’s new king is expected to stick to an OPECpolicy of keeping oil output steady, even as the energy marketsface some of the biggest shifts in decades, in fight to protecttheir market share from rival producers. The price of oilhas jumpedsince King Abdullah’s deathearlier today added to uncertainty in energy markets.
Fossil fuel firms accused of renewable lobbytakeover to push gas
Energy firms including Total and EOn have secured a majorityposition on the board of Europe’s wind energy and solar tradeassociations, the Guardian reports. The firms’ presence has seenthe renewable trade groups shift away from promoting a 100 per centrenewable energy future, the article says, towards a more pro-gasstance. It adds that the shift may have influenced the outcome ofthe EU’s 2030 targets for climate and energy.
The oceans are warming so fast, they keep breakingscientists’ charts
The amount of heat stored in the world’s oceans rose torecord levels in 2014, Guardian blogger John Abraham reports,pointing to new data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric.There was more heat in the top 2,000 metres of ocean in 2014 thanin recorded history, Abraham says, with the figure so much higherthan previous years that NOAA had to remake its graphs.
Ban fracking, says former Tory environmentsecretary Caroline Spelman
The former environment secretary, Conservative MP CarolineSpelman, has said there should be a moratorium on fracking in theUK, the Guardian reports. Spelman is a member of Parliament’sEnvironmental Audit Committee, which is due to publish a report onfracking safety on Monday. The Guardian says the report is expectedto conclude that fracking could “derail efforts to tackle climatechange”. Spelman’s successor Owen Paterson was strongly in favourfracking, but has himself been replaced by Liz Truss. The Telegraphalso has the story.
Climate change and nuclear bombs set ‘doomsdayclock’ on verge of midnight
Climate change inaction and nuclear proliferation have pushedhumanity closer to apocalypse than it has been for 25 years,according to the ‘doomsday clock’ created in 1947 as a symbol ofthe threat of cold war. The clock, maintained by the US Bulletin ofAtomic Scientists, was moved to three minutes to midnightyesterday.
Head of UN climate talks: ‘the pain in the shoe isnot great enough’
Businesses must do more to tackle climate change, says UNclimate chief Christiana Figueres, but they don’t yet feelimmediately threatened by the situation. They have a “fundamental”role to play in securing a global climate deal this year, she says.But they have mostly failed to engage with their use of fossilfuels. Figueres’ comments at the World Economic Forum in Davosyesterday were reported by the Guardian. Climate is still seen as afringe issue at Davos, according to an articlefor RTCC. AnotherRTCC articlereports that oil firmleaders met at Davos to discuss their response to any globalclimate deal.
Climate and energy comment
Thoughts on 2014 and ongoing temperaturetrends
NASA’s Gavin Schmidt offers his thoughts on the temperaturerecord for 2014, recently announced by his organisation and anotherUS agency. He reflects on media interest in records versus thegreater significance of longer term trends.
Low oil price threat and opportunity forrenewables: U.N. climate chief
The current low oil price is both good and bad for therenewable energy sector, said United Nations Chief ChristianaFigueres, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos yesterday.Tar sands and exploration in the Arctic have become lessattractive, while well-established renewable sectors, such as windand solar, are likely to weather the storm.
The U.S. has caused more global warming than anyother country. Here’s how the Earth will get itsrevenge
The US would be more badly affected by a collapse of the WestAntarctic ice sheet than other parts of the world, says theWashington Post’s Chris Mooney. It would see an expected 14 feet ofsea level rise over coming centuries, against 11 feet elsewhere.This would be “geophysical karma”, Mooney says, as the US is thenation most responsible for global warming.
Wood Pellets: Green Energy or New Source of CO2Emissions?
Concerns are growing in the US about exports of wood biomassto the EU for use in power stations such as the UK’s Drax plant.The use of biomass counts towards renewable energy targets and issupposed to cut emissions, but scientists and green groups fear theimpacts of logging and the carbon released during combustion,reports Yale Environment 360.
New climate science
Forecasted coral reef decline in marinebiodiversity hotspots under climatechange
Under the RCP8.5 emissions scenario, the total area suitablefor coral reefs may increase up to 16 per cent by 2100, mostly dueto water getting warmer at higher latitudes. In contrast, thesuitability of current habitat may decrease up to 46 per cent by2100, posing a difficult challenge for conservation efforts.
How Climate Change Affects Extremes in Maize andWheat Yield in Two CroppingRegions
Temperatures during the Iowa maize growing season areprojected to increase by more than five degrees Celsius, causingyields to drop by 18 per cent, according to new research. InSouthern Australia, 15 per cent less rainfall and temperatures 2.8to 4.5 degrees warmer will see wheat yields decline by 70 per cent.This will pose serious challenges to staple grain production, saythe researchers.
An approach to estimate the freshwatercontribution from glacial melt and precipitation in East Greenlandshelf waters using colored dissolved organic matter(CDOM)
Journal of GeophysicalResearch: Oceans
Cold, fresh water entering the Arctic Ocean can alter oceancirculation patterns. But how do scientists know how muchfreshwater is coming in, and whether it originates from rainwateror melting ice? A new paper investigates, using organic material totrace and compare the different sources of freshwater to the ArcticOcean.