Paris climate pledges 'will only delay dangerous warming by two years'
News
Factcheck: Is climate change ‘helping
Africa’?
A recent study pointed to increased rainfall in the Sahel,
prompting a flurry of articles in the mainstream media claiming
that climate change is “helping Africa”. Experts tell Carbon Brief
that the reality is not so simple, with rising temperatures still
expected to have severe impacts across the continent.
Analysis: DECC budget details show limited scope
for cuts
Carbon Brief digs deep into the budget of the Department of
Energy and Climate Change. Our analysis shows that only around 13%
of DECC’s spending could be targeted for cuts, amounting to just
0.07% of total government spending.
Climate and energy news
Paris climate pledges ‘will only delay dangerous
warming by two years’
New research by Climate Action Tracker has shown that
emissions reduction pledges submitted to the UN are inadequate to
keep temperature rise below 2C. Contributions delivered by 36
nations so far would only push back the year in which this
threshold is crossed from 2036 to 2038, says the report. And if
every country came forward with the level of ambition shown by
Russia and Canada, temperatures would rise between 3-4C.
Ikea vows to spend 1bn on climate change
measures
Swedish furniture company IKEA has said it will spend 1bn
on tackling climate change, including 500m on wind power and about
100m on solar energy over the next five years. This will be topped
up with another 400m from its charitable arm, the IKEA Foundation,
to help people in regions most affected by climate change. The sum
“dwarfs” what some countries are doing to tackle their emissions,
says the FT.
Judge Paris on participation, not emission cuts,
says Polish minister
Former president of the UN climate talks, Marcin Korolec,
says the success of the Paris conference this December should not
be defined by whether it manages to get a deal that avoids 2C, but
by how many countries participate. Involvement by everyone means
that ambition can then be ratcheted up in the years afterwards, he
tells RTCC in an interview. He also expresses his “pessimism” about
the future of the EU’s emissions trading system.
Santorum: Pope Francis should stay out of climate
change debate
Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum has criticised
Pope Francis for getting involved in climate change. A devout
Catholic himself, Santorum says he is a “huge fan” of the Pope, but
that the Church should stick to “theology and morality”. Francis is
due to deliver an encyclical on climate change, which is rumoured
to be released on 16 June.
Glencore attacks anti-coal
lobby
Glencore, the world’s biggest supplier of seaborne thermal
coal, has accused world leaders of adopting “populist” policies
that do not recognise the role of cole in the global energy mix,
which will continue to increase, according to Peter Freyberg, head
of Glencore Coal. The FT points out, however, that coal prices are
down 60% since their peak in 2011, while China’s imports of coal
fell 11% in 2014.
Japan’s emissions target, relying on nuclear, seen
as unrealistic
Japan is expected to present a new target to reduce
emissions by 26% by 2030 on 2013 levels at the G7 summit this
weekend. But not only is this unambitious, it is unrealistic,
critics are saying. This is because it relies on using nuclear
energy for between 20-22% of its power generation – a goal that
“looks unlikely in view of public opposition,” according to
Mutsuyoshi Nishimura, a former climate ambassador for Japan.
Greenpeace called the nuclear target a “fantasy”.
UN weighs up climate threat in new development
goals
The UN has released the so-called “zero draft” of its new
sustainable development goals, which will guide international
development up to 2030. Building on previous drafts, the new
document retains a reference to the need to tackle climate change.
The 17 goals are set to be finalised in New York this September.
Climate and energy comment
The Maldives cannot represent climate leadership
with an autocrat at the helm
The Maldives, which lead the small island developing states
in the UN climate talks, can no longer be regarded as a moral voice
since their step backwards into corruption and autocracy after a
2012 coup. This poses a problem for the world’s most vulnerable
group of nations, and raises questions about where the money raised
to tackle climate change should be spent first, argues Mark Lynas
in the Guardian.
Climate talks in Bonn and Paris, Australia in
spotlight
Australia will face questioning from its international
counterparts today at the latest round of the UN climate talks in
Bonn. The enquiries submitted by China, Brazil, the US, the EU and
others may be couched in diplomatic language, but they raise doubts
over whether Australia’s climate targets up to 2020 are credible,
says Erwin Jackson, deputy head of The Climate Institute. “If we
are not prepared to be upfront with the international community,
how can we expect China, Brazil and other emerging economies to do
the same?” he writes. Separately, RTCCreports that former Australian
prime minister Kevin Rudd said in a speech that the G20 countries
have the primary responsibility for tackling climate change.
New climate science
Attribution of extreme weather events in Africa: a
preliminary exploration of the science and policy
implications
A new study document the methods, and implications, of
different approaches to attributing extreme weather events in
Africa to climate change. The research shows that different ways of
framing attribution questions can lead to very different
assessments of changing risk. The study has the potential to be
useful for climate change adaptation in developing countries in
tropical areas, the researchers say.
Greenland supraglacial lake drainages triggered by
hydrologically induced basal
slip
Researchers have gathered new evidence of what triggers the
sudden draining of lakes that form atop the Greenland ice sheet
during summer. The researchers found that water draining to the
bottom of the ice sheet makes it bulge upwards, creating huge
cracks in the ice that cause entire lakes to drain within hours.
The drained water lubricates the ice sheet and allows it to slide
more quickly towards the coast, the researchers say.
Other stories
- Scientists finally have an explanation for why
huge lakes atop Greenland are
vanishing (The Washington Post) - Coal miners union to sue over Obama power plant
rules (The Hill) - Scotland ‘frozen out of green energy decisions’
says Fergus Ewing (BBC) - California passes ambitious laws on emissions and
energy efficiency (The Guardian) - Oil majors’ climate call exposes U.S.-Europe rift
on carbon pricing (Reuters) - BP chief expects low oil prices until at least
2016 (The Financial Times) - Climate Deal Badly Needs a Big
Stick (The New York Times) - ()