Water too warm for cod in US Gulf of Maine & Prince Charles calls for focus on deforestation

30.10.15

News

Water too warm for cod in US Gulf of Maine as stocks near collapse

A new study finds that warming waters off the coast of Maine in the US are having a deleterious effect on cod. Though fishing has reduced, cod numbers have dwindled in the past decade as shifts in the Gulf Stream and natural climate cycles have pushed temperatures up by 0,23C per year. Scientists say the number of cod caught fell to 1,000 tonnes in 2013, down from 6,000 in 2009. InsideClimate News, Press Association, Climate Central, The Washington Post and New York Times all cover the new research.

Prince Charles calls for focus on deforestation ahead of Paris climate talks

Press Association via the Guardian

Tackling deforestation will be central to combating global warming, the heir to the throne told delegates including environment secretary Amber Rudd at a London conference yesterday. Confirming that he will attend next month’s climate talks in Paris, Prince Charles told the gathering of foreign environment ministers, private firms and NGOs that responsibly tackling the issue of forests and sustainable land use would “enormously increase our chances of obtaining a 2C world.” At the same meeting in London, Rudd’s French counterpart Ségolène Royal told delegates that deforestation may have triggered the recent Ebola outbreak in west Africa. The Telegraph and Climate Home have more on the Prince’s words yesterday.

UN weather body: Antarctic ozone hole due to cold

Associated Press

The World Meteorological Association announced yesterday that the hole in the ozone layer grew to had reached 28.2 million square kilometres this month, one of its biggest sizes on record. Unusually cold conditions mean the hole is now the size of Russia and Canada put together, say the scientists. But the WMO is telling people not to panic, reports Reuters and TIME, as the ozone hole experiences changes from one year to the next but remains on a firm track to recovery.

Royal Dutch Shell pushed into loss by charges

BBC Business

More coverage this morning of Shell’s reported losses for the third quarter of the year, after halting major projects such as Arctic oil and gas exploration off the coast of Alaska and Canadian oil sands. Chief executive Ben van Beurden is blaming a lack of infrastructure to transport the oil and low oil prices, calling the decisions “difficult, but impactful”. The Washington Post and BusinessGreen have more on the company’s woes, while the Financial Times says Shell’s earnings may look bad but the cash flow is tidy.

UK population expected to rise by almost 10 million in 25 years

The Guardian

The number of people living in Britain is projected to rise from 64.6 million in mid-2014 to 74.3 million in 2039, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics. With this estimated growth outstripping the rest of Europe, our natural resources will come under strain, says Simon Ross, chief executive of Population Matters, a UK’s charity on population and sustainability issues. He says:”We are all affected adversely by the rapid population growth of recent decades, from pressures on housing and public services to the environment and climate change.”

Buddhists call for strong Paris climate deal to limit warming

BBC News

The Dalai Lama and other senior Buddhists have called on world leaders to agree a new climate change deal in Paris next month to completely phase out fossil fuels and limit global temperature rise to 1.5C. Observers say this is the first time so many leading Buddhists have joined together on a global issue, says the BBC. The statement urges “wisdom and compassion” in tackling climate change, saying: “We are at a crucial crossroads where our survival and that of other species is at stake as a result of our actions.”

Comment

Paris climate conference is a rare opportunity — grab it

Financial Times

US secretary of State, John Kerry, has a comment in the Financial Times urging for a “ambitious, universal and durable climate agreement” in Paris next month to stave off the worst impacts of climate change. Success is not a given and big wins “don’t come often or easily” in climate change, he writes, but the joint announcements between the US, China, Mexico, Brazil and others have generated critical momentum and we now need to seize every opportunity before and after Paris, to make genuine progress.

Science

Geographical imbalances and divides in the scientific production of climate change knowledge

Global Environmental Change

Analysis of more than 15,000 climate change journal articles published between 1999 and 2010 reveals that research is largely divided into separate regions of the world with little knowledge exchange between them. The most vulnerable countries tend to be disconnected from the production and flow of scientific knowledge on climate change, the researchers say, and studies focusing on developing countries often lack a locally-based author. For example, only about one-fifth of the publications concerning Africa have a local first author, while for the developed regions, it rises to two-thirds.

Atmospheric Science Letters

Annual temperatures from 1975 to 2014 on the Svalbard archipelago have increased at four times the rate of the global average, a new study finds. Using data from three weather stations on the island of Spitsbergen, the researchers find no slowdown in temperature rise in recent decades. The study also shows that daily minimum temperatures have been increasing at a faster rate than maximum temperatures.

Large-Scale Range Collapse of Hawaiian Forest Birds under Climate Change and the Need 21st Century Conservation Options

PLOS One

Rising temperatures on the Hawaiian islands could reduce the ranges of remaining forest bird species completely, a new study says. The birds are currently limited to high elevations where conditions are too cool for mosquitoes that spread avian malaria. Under a moderate scenario of global emissions, the expanding range of mosquitoes mean all 10 bird species are expected to lose more than 50% of their range by 2100, with three expected to lose more than 90% and three others expected to lose their entire range.