Existing climate efforts expected to keep US goals on track, Record amounts of green energy added to global grid in 2016, & more
News
Existing climate efforts expected to keep US goals on track
The affordability of clean fuels and the momentum of climate change efforts will keep the US moving towards its emissions reduction goals, despite the current administration’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, business and government leaders said in a growing alliance yesterday. An open letter organised by former New York Mayor and climate advocate Michael Bloomberg, was sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, outlining the group’s intention to cut US carbon emissions under a ‘Societal Nationally Determined Contribution’, BusinessGreen writes. Signatories include nine US states, the leaders of 125 cities and counties, 183 universities and colleges, and over 900 major businesses and investors including Facebook, Apple and Google. “The United States can, and will, meet its commitment under the Paris Agreement.”, Bloomberg said. The states, mostly led by Democrats, represent 38% of US GDP. Meanwhile US airlines have affirmed their support for a plan to curb aviation emissions, Reuters reports. Scientific American also has the story
Record amounts of green energy added to global grid in 2016
A record 161GW of new renewables capacity was added to power grid last year, despite a 23% fall in global investment, according to a new figures published by UN-based non-profit REN21. The new wind, solar and other renewables projects bumped up global capacity by 9% compared to 2015 figures. This largest ever annual increase in installed capacity was mainly driven by renewables becoming more cost-competitive with oil, coal and gas in many markets and an increase in supportive government policies, the report says. “The renewables train is barrelling down the tracks, but it’s running on 20th century infrastructure – a system based on outdated thinking where conventional baseload is generated by fossil fuels and nuclear power,” said Arthouros Zervos, chair of REN21. Reuters and the Guardian also have the story.
World’s energy system not on track to meet climate goals: IEA
Barely one tenth of of renewable technology is ready to meet long-term climate change goals as national governments have failed to adequately support large-scale deployment, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency released on Tuesday. Nearly 200 countries agreed last year to reduce emissions to limit global temperature rise to “well below” 2C. The IEA tracked 26 technologies that will need to be adopted widely to achieve this, but only three – electric vehicles, energy storage and mature variable renewables (solar PV and onshore wind) – are on track to meet help meet this target. The IEA said the world’s power sector could reach net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2060 to limit future temperature increase to 1.75 degrees C by 2100, if technology innovations are “pushed to the limit”. “But to do so would require an unprecedented level of policy action and effort from all stakeholders,” the report added. Inside Climate News also carries the story.
Obama: Paris climate pact still has a chance
Former US president Barack Obama has further criticised Trump’s decision to exit the Paris agreement on climate change. “Obviously I’m disappointed with the current American administration decision to pull out of Paris” Obama said during a speech at the Montreal Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday. Yet Obama expressed optimism about states, cities and corporations carrying on with the Paris commitments despite the “temporary absence of American leadership.” He also maintained that: “for all those jobs that were lost in coal, many multiples of jobs were gained in the solar industry but those didn’t get advertised.”
China and California sign deal to work on climate change without Trump
Associated Press via The Guardian
California’s governor Jerry Brown has signed an agreement with China to work together on reducing emissions, just days after Trump pulled the US out of the Paris climate deal. The deal, which is non-binding, aims to promote cooperation between China and California on renewable energy, zero-emission vehicles and low-carbon urban development. A joint working group of Chinese and Californian officials to come up with ways to work and invest together. Speaking at an international clean energy conference in Beijing, Brown warned that “disaster still looms” without urgent action on climate change. California’s economy is the largest of any US state, and the sixth largest in the world. The Hill also has the story.
Data: What Labour and the Tories are saying about climate in their Facebook ads
An analysis of nearly 900 Facebook ads suggests that Britain’s major political parties haven’t been talking much about climate change in their campaigning on social media, EnergyDesk reports. Neither Labour nor the Conservatives have mentioned climate change, while the Liberal Democrats have launched 22 climate-centric Facebook ads since April 28. The SNP, Greens and UKIP were not included in the analysis. See what the manifestos says in Carbon Brief’s election grid.
Comment
After Trump’s Withdrawal from Paris, Nukes Are More Crucial Than Ever
James Hansen and Michael Shellenberger, Scientific American
Energy storage technology has not advanced enough to allow wind and solar to replace fossil fuels. This means that nuclear power is an essential part of the fight against climate change, argue James Hansen and Michael Shellenberger. “Governors who are outspoken advocates for climate action must act to protect nuclear plants which, once closed, cannot be started back up”, they say.
Donald Trump’s bad judgment on the Paris accord
US president Donald Trump’s withdrawal from a shared commitment to protect our planet “has disturbing echoes”, says Martin Wolf, the Financial Times’ chief economics commentator. He notes that “In the 1920s, the US repudiated the League of Nations. That led to the collapse of Europe’s post-first world war settlement”. He concludes: “The US cannot be made ‘great’ by rejecting global responsibility and embracing coal. That is atavistic. Mr Trump’s appeal to irrationality, xenophobia and resentment is frightening.”
While nations play politics, cities and states are taking up the climate challenge
Michael Mintrom, The Conversation
The withdrawal of the US from the Paris Accord, while “appalling”, “does not foreshadow the unravelling of multilateral resolve for addressing climate change’ argues Michael Mintrom, professor of public sector management, at Monash University. Localised collective action is instead fulfilling its potential: “Energetic policy entrepreneurs are mobilising. Grounded in their communities, they are acting to protect the planet for today’s young people, and for those not yet born. That too, is global leadership.”
Caring about climate change: it’s time to build a bridge between data and emotion
Ketan Joshi, a consultant in the renewable energy industry, explores why the “dire warnings and precipitous graphics” of climate science fail to inspire widespread preventative action, and how adding the span of our descendant’s lives to climate projections can help reduce apathy. “Connecting numbers to feelings is the antidote to the curse of temporal distance feeding the climate communication paradox”, he argues.
Science
Does climate variability influence the demography of wild primates? Evidence from long-term life-history data in seven species
New research finds evidence for how climate change could affect the fates of wild primates – by affecting their fertility. The scientists examined life-history data for natural populations of seven primate species that have been studied for 29–52 years, finding “strong climate signals” in the fertility rates of three species. Survival is more strongly affected by population growth and shows little response to climate variability, however.
Slowdown of global surface air temperature increase and acceleration of ice melting
At the beginning of the 21st century, surface temperatures rose less quickly than in previous decades. A new study suggests the majority of the heat may have been redistributed from the atmosphere into the world’s ice cover. The paper finds that the increase in ice melt between 1992-2001 and 2002-2011 amounts to 316 Gt/yr, which is equivalent to 57-71% of the energy left by the slowdown. This suggests the heat required to melt the ice is of the same order as the energy needed to warm the atmosphere during the decade 2002–2011 as much as during the previous one, say the authors.
Other stories
- Paris Climate Deal Needs New Rules and Clarity, Scientists Say (Bloomberg )
- Sea-Level Rise Poses a Rising Risk to U.S. Shores (Scientific American )
- EPA delays Obama air pollution rule by one year (The Hill )
- Power-generating paving adds to urban green energy mix (Financial Times )
- European leaders urged to scale up efforts to tackle climate change (The Guardian )
- Climate change is real. So why won’t the right admit it? (The Guardian )
- US attaché in China resigns over Paris accord withdrawal (Financial Times )
- 85 percent of the top science jobs in Trump’s government don’t even have a nominee (Washington Post )
- A climate chain reaction: Major Greenland melting could devastate crops in Africa (Washington Post )
- Poll: Most want ‘aggressive action’ on climate change (The Hill )
- Retired military brass urge U.S. to lead world on clean energy (Reuters )
- Fact-Check: What Scott Pruitt Gets Wrong About Climate Change, Paris and Coal (Inside Climate News )
- Energy security is possible without nuclear power or fracked gas (New Scientist )
- Trump’s new vision: Cover the border wall with solar panels (Grist )
- Trump Names BP Oil Spill Lawyer, Climate Policy Foe as Top DOJ Environment Attorney (Inside Climate News )
- Australians want government to focus on renewables even if it costs more: poll (The Guardian )
- The Greens would ditch Hinkley Point C nuclear power plan (The Guardian )