A final draft report from the United Nations‘ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says only “rapid and far-reaching” changes in the world economy can keep global warming below the internationally agreed target barrier. “If emissions continue at their present rate, human-induced warming will exceed 1.5°C by around 2040,” the draft states, according to Reuters, which obtained a copy of the report. …
Announcements on the right path to stay within the Paris Agreement
World Resources Institute, May 2018 National announcements on the right path to stay within the Paris Agreement: Bolder Plans to Reach Net-Zero Emissions New Zealand’s new prime minister committed to net zero by 2050 – a target that looks on track to be enshrined in a new national climate law. And in a submission to the UN, the United Kingdom indicated it would …
U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Energy Institute Misleads on Climate Action Costs: 3 Things to Know
World Resources Institute, 31 May 2018, excerpt: All evidence (see further down) suggests that the president was wrong in claiming that adhering to our target would hurt the U.S. economy and destroy jobs. He was also wrong in claiming that the Agreement allowed large developing countries like China to do nothing to cut their emissions until 2030. In reality, China has already …
A window into substantive, material economic weakness and risk
By Gil Friend in GreenBiz, May 2018 “If you extrapolate from these documents and case law and the COP21 agreement, then some 90 percent of the world’s business models must be transformed to net-zero GHG business models by 2050.” First in a two-part series on business risk and strategic duty. My sustainability work over the past several decades has focused …
The major groups of insects responsible for pollination are particularly sensitive to warming, and insects, vital to ecosystems, will lose almost half their habitat under current climate projections
Damian Carrington Environment editor, The Guardian, Thu 17 May 2018, Climate change on track to cause major insect wipeout, scientists warn The famous migration of the North American monarch butterfly is one of the most well-documented examples of an insect species affected by climate change. Photograph: Joel Sartore/NG/Getty Images Global warming is on track to cause a major wipeout of insects, compounding already …
Madrid Moves to Boot Car Traffic Out of Its City Center (one of 30 measures the city is taking)
Central city streets will no longer be through routes for private cars, and no major roads will be exempt. Since 2015, Madrid has restricted car traffic in three residential zones. And last year, Carmena announced plans to make Gran Via, a six-lane highway that runs through the city center, car-free. During a nine-day trial of a Gran Via without cars in 2016, …
Scientists draft another paper on how 100% renewables is possible and affordable
Is it possible for the world to run on 100 percent renewable energy? It’s a noble goal, as the best science tells us we must significantly slash fossil fuel consumption or else the planet faces dangerous climate change. A number of academics believe it’s not only feasible to wean off coal, natural gas and other polluting fuels by transitioning to renewable sources such as solar and wind power, it’s even …
Go as hard and fast as possible, and keep going. Also look at social transitions. What genuine, no-bullshit ambition on climate change would look like.
What genuine, no-bullshit ambition on climate change would look like: New scenarios show how to hit the most stringent targets, with no loopholes. By David Roberts@drvoxdavid@vox.com Updated May 8, 2018 A new dawn of ambition, or something. Shutterstock What would it take to really tackle climate change? No delays, no gimmicks, no loopholes, no shirking of responsibility — the real thing. What would it look like? …
Why our transportation investment choices are critical: we’re just as oil dependent as in 2010 or 1970
Transportation in the US is just as dependent on petroleum as it was in 2010, or 1970. Its energy consumption and carbon emissions are only rising. This has led to a fateful intersection (as Umair Irfan reported this year): In the US, in 2016, for the first time in decades, transportation emissions were higher than electricity emissions. (EIA) This is largely reflective …
Getting serious about decarbonization: zero out carbon as fast as possible, to hold temperature rise as close to 1.5 degrees as possible, and, most significantly, to do so while minimizing the need for negative emissions
Excerpt from a May 2018 article by David Roberts at Vox.com …banking on negative emissions later in the century is, at the very least, an enormous, fateful gamble. It bets the lives and welfare of millions of future people on an industry that, for all intents and purposes, doesn’t yet exist. Plenty of people reasonably conclude that’s a bad idea, but …