Insurers count cost of Harvey and growing risk from climate change
News
Insurers count cost of Harvey and growing risk from climate change
Damages from Hurricane Harvey are expected to be “well below” those from Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, reports Reuters, citing “insurance executives”. The newswire quotes Ernst Rauch, head of the corporate climate centre at the world’s largest reinsurer Munich Re, saying climate change is likely to result in more intense storms in future. Rauch says: “There are more thunder storms in parts of Europe and the United States than in past decades…They are more severe. We will not necessarily see an increase in frequency, but we can see an increase in intensity.” The insurance and energy industries are struggling to assess the damage from what could be one of the 10 costliest storms in US history, reports the Financial Times, which notes that “thousands of victims whose homes were damaged or destroyed could lack adequate cover”, with flooding typically excluded from residential insurance policies. The fallout from the storm has left 2m barrels of oil refining capacity offline, reports another Financial Times article. The Times says petrol prices hit a two-year high in the US in the wake of the storm, adding that nearly 300,000 homes were without power. The Hill also has the story. The New York Times asks scientists how Hurricane Harvey became so destructive. The storm “dumped more than 20 inches [50cm] of rain in some areas…worsened by a lethal confluence of meteorological events: warm water in the Gulf of Mexico that intensified the rainfall…[and a] storm surge [that] elevated Galveston Bay, blocking drainage of the rain”. Rains are expected to continue for another two or three days, the paper notes. Scientific American also explores why Harvey became so extreme.
Electricity demand in southern Europe to soar with air con – scientists
Demand for electricity in western and southern Europe is likely to rise as climate change takes hold, a new study says, as more people turn on the air conditioning during summer. By contrast, electricity demand is expected to drop in northern countries, such as Norway and Sweden. The effect is likely to mean an increasingly polarised pattern for peak electricity demand across the continent, the researchers say, a situation that bolsters the case for greater integration of electricity supplies across Europe.
Tillerson moves to eliminate special envoy posts at State Dept.: report
US secretary of state Rex Tillerson could eliminate or downgrade the position of special envoy on climate change, among several changes, says the Hill, picking up reporting from CNN. Tillerson plans to eliminate roles “that have accomplished or outlived their original purpose”. Roles on the block include envoys dealing with Syria, Sudan, the Arctic and climate change, the Hill notes.
UK coal power peters out to lowest in 135 years
In July, the UK’s remaining coal-fired power stations made their lowest ever contribution to Britain’s electricity grid in 135 years, reports the Telegraph, adding that this could fall further through August. Coal supplied an average of 2% of generation through July, the papers says, picking up figures from analysts at Aurora Energy Research.
Climate change seen as cause for mudslide in Switzerland
Switzerland’s environmental protection office says the effects of climate change are partially to blame for last week’s mudslide, that left eight people missing, reports the Associated Press. The BBC also explores the causes of the rockslide, noting it was “not a complete surprise”. Communities in the Alps have been preparing for such natural hazards for years, the BBC says: “But the size of [last week’s] slide was a shock, and some scientists are now warning that the alpine regions can expect more events like this in the future”. Permafrost-stabilised rock formations are being weakened due to warming, it reports.
EU ban on powerful vacuum cleaners in UK to spark sales rush
A ban on inefficient vacuum cleaners, coming into force on Friday, could lead to a rush of sales, say the Daily Express and the Mirror, echoing near-identicalheadlines from 2014, when an earlier ban entered force. Both papers quote climate sceptic lobby group the Global Warming Policy Foundation. The Mirror quotes the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy saying it “support[s] measures that will save money on energy bills”. Energy Live News picks up new analysis, from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, suggesting any post-Brexit move to scrap EU energy efficiency rules for household appliances “could drive up electricity bills by £90 a year”. According to consumer group Which?, the average cleaning performance of vacuum cleaners increased after the initial 2014 EU ban. It says: “Despite what you might read elsewhere, the reduction in power is no cause for panic. We have tested thousands of vacuum cleaners over the years and found that more power doesn’t necessarily mean better cleaning.”
Comment
Climate change did not “cause” Harvey, but it’s a huge part of the story
Articles on what can be said about Hurricane Harvey and climate change “are all saying too little”, writes David Roberts at Vox. Harvey is “not centrally about climate change”, he writes, noting the human suffering it is causing right now. But he adds that the question of whether climate change “caused” recent events is “malformed”. Instead, warming has increased the risk of storms and their severity, he says. Time picks up a similar line saying “scientists [now] have a better answer” on the attribution of extreme events. The science of extreme weather attribution – covered in a recent in-depth Carbon Brief article – can evaluate how climate change has affected the odds of a given event. In the Guardian, climate scientists Mike Mann says “It’s a fact: climate change made Hurricane Harvey more deadly”.
Coal’s US comeback fuelled by rival
Production and exports of US coal have increased on the back of higher gas prices, writes Financial Times US energy editor Ed Crooks. Yet the outlook for miners is “still cloudy”, he says, despite president Trump’s promise to “bring back coal”. One coal executive tells Crooks: “There is a secular decline in the US thermal coal industry, there is no doubt about that”. Another says the future of coal depends on gas prices. “Not a single new commercial coal-fired plant is planned in the US,” Crooks writes, adding that most of the existing plants are old and unlikely to attract investment for repairs.
Science
Threats to North American forests from southern pine beetle with warming winters
A warmer climate could be helping the southern pine beetle, a pest to North American pine forests, to expand its range northwards, new research suggests. The insect’s recent expansion into New Jersey, New York and Connecticut appears to be linked to warmer winter temperatures, the research finds, and modelling suggests that moderate to severe climate change will allow the pests to thrive in previously unaffected parts of northeastern America and southeastern Canada. ‘This scenario would pose a significant economic and ecological risk to the affected regions, including disruption of local ecosystem services, shifts in forest structure, and threats to native biodiversity,’ the researchers warn.
Other stories
- Smart meter roll-out in question as only a fraction of households sign up (The Telegraph)
- How climate change is a ‘death sentence’ in Afghanistan’s highlands (The Guardian)
- China approves merger of state-owned energy groups (Financial Times)
- EPA cancels sponsorship of awards for climate leadership (The Hill)
- Energy Dept. Asks Scientists to Remove ‘Climate Change’ from Grant Proposal (Inside Climate News)
- Australian leader hints at a clean energy target by year’s end (Reuters)
- Renewable energy generates enough power to run 70% of Australian homes (The Guardian)
- Study: Katharine Hayhoe is successfully convincing doubtful evangelicals about climate change (The Guardian)
- Fracking case goes to appeal court (The Times)