EU commits €4 billion more to climate vulnerables, calls on the US to step up
Ursula Von der Leyen called out the US for failing to deliver its fair share of climate cash - an issue poor nations say is critical to success at Cop26
Leftwing victory in Norway election puts oil exit at the heart of coalition talks
A leftist party calling for a ban on new oil licences could be the kingmaker in negotiations to form a government, calling into question the industry's future
Conservationists set out ‘nature positive’ vision for global biodiversity deal
The IUCN Congress has come up with a blueprint for a "transformative" deal to protect plants and wildlife, which members hope governments will embrace in Kunming
To close the climate ambition gap, we must look beyond national targets
Rapid advances in clean steelmaking are an example of the kind of sectoral progress that needs to be captured by the UN's global stocktake of climate action
New York floods show subway systems must be prepared for climate change
After hurricane Ida swamped the city, experts set out how to increase the resilience of public transport infrastructure as flash-flooding events become more frequent
New Coal Plants Dwindle Amid Wave of Cancelled Projects
Some 1,175 gigawatts of new coal projects have been cancelled since 2015, an amount greater than the current coal capacity of China, according to a new report from climate think tank E3G.
Why Saving World’s Peatlands Can Help Stabilize the Climate
Peatlands make up 3 percent of the earth’s landscape, yet absorb large amounts of carbon and harbor surprising biodiversity. Although peat bogs and fens are under increasing environmental threat, efforts to protect and restore these ecosystems are gathering momentum.
They Knew: How the U.S. Government Helped Cause the Climate Crisis
James Gustave Speth has been calling for action on climate since serving in the White House in the 1970s. In an e360 interview, he talks about his new book, which chronicles how U.S. administrations repeatedly failed to act in response to scientists’ increasingly dire warnings.
Young People Are Experiencing Widespread Anxiety About Climate Inaction, Study Finds
Young people around the globe are profoundly worried about climate change, according to a new study, which found that those who feel governments are doing too little to address the crisis are most prone to climate anxiety.
More Than 200 Environmental Activists Murdered in 2020, the Most Ever
Some 227 land and environmental activists were killed in 2020, the highest number ever recorded, according to a new report from Global Witness, an international human rights organization.
Indigenous People Gain Voice at Biodiversity Conference, Push to Conserve Amazon
Indigenous voices on the environment are finally being heard as Marseille hosts a global biodiversity summit, with a call to protect 80 percent of the Amazon, as well as a “counter conference” highlighting the conservation movement’s historic violation of people’s rights.
Turning Hog Waste into Biogas: Green Solution or Greenwashing?
North Carolina’s industrial-scale hog farms have long been a major source of pollution. Smithfield Foods now plans to turn some hog waste into biogas, but critics say the project does nothing about the larger problem of waste being stored in lagoons and sprayed on fields.
As the Planet Has Warmed, Weather Disasters Have Grown Fivefold, Analysis Shows
Weather disasters have become five times more common since 1970, due in large part to climate change, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
In Australia, Murdoch-Owned News Outlets Vow to Back Away From Climate Denial
Though long hostile toward climate science, News Corp Australia is planning an editorial campaign calling for a zero-carbon economy,The Sydney Morning Herald reported. In mid-October, News Corp Australia, owned by conservative media magnate Rupert Murdoch, will launch a two-week campaign advocating for a target of net-zero emissions by 2050. The campaign will be supported by Sky News and will run in metropolitan tabloids. The News Corp-owned national newspaper, The Australian, will not take part, thought it is expected to moderate its historically dismissive stance on climate change.
Scientists See Link Between Arctic Warming and Texas Cold Snap
Severe winter storms and unusual cold snaps, like the one that hit Texas in February, are, paradoxically, becoming more frequent as temperatures rise, and are linked to rapid warming in the Arctic, according to a new study. For more than a decade, scientists have warned that a warming Arctic and the rapid loss of Arctic sea ice are weakening the polar vortex — a band of powerful, high-altitude winds encircling the North Pole — allowing frigid air to reach further south.
How Adding Rock Dust to Soil Can Help Get Carbon into the Ground
Researchers are finding that when pulverized rock is applied to agricultural fields, the soil pulls far more carbon from the air and crop yields increase. More studies are underway, but some scientists say this method shows significant benefits for farmers and the climate.
Beyond Extinction: A New Emphasis on Species Recovery
Scientists have long drawn up a Red List to alert officials about wildlife and plant species threatened with extinction. Now some say it’s time to flip the script and create a “green status” category that identifies how to bring these species back to sustainable levels.
Wind Energy Accounted for 42 Percent of New U.S. Power in 2020
Wind energy accounted for the bulk of new power-generating capacity in the United States last year, according to a trio of new reports from the Department of Energy. In total, wind supplied 42 percent of new U.S. capacity in 2020, while solar supplied 38 percent and natural gas the remaining 20 percent.
Climate Change Producing More "Fire Weather" as Far East as Oklahoma
Climate change is setting the stage for wildfires beyond California and Oregon, fueling hotter, drier conditions in places such as Oklahoma and Nebraska not historically prone to large wildfires, according to a new analysis from Climate Central.
Americans Moving to Disaster-Prone Areas, Despite Climate Change
Despite the mounting risk of climate change, U.S. counties that are most prone to weather disasters are seeing an influx of new residents, while those that are least vulnerable to extreme weather are seeing an exodus, according to a new analysis by the real estate firm Redfin.
The Dream of Carbon Air Capture Edges Toward Reality
Next month, an industrial facility in Iceland will join a growing number of projects to remove CO2 from the air and put it underground. But major hurdles, including high costs, remain before this technology can be widely deployed and play a key role in tackling climate change.
Solar Briefly Overtakes Coal for the First Time in Australia
For a few minutes on Sunday, solar energy supplied more than half of Australia's power generation, marking the first time that solar has outstripped coal in a country long dependent on fossil fuels to produce electricity, The Guardian reported.
Push to Electrify Federal Fleet Could Yield Billions in Savings by 2030
Shortly after taking office in January, President Joe Biden directed federal agencies to procure "clean, zero-emission vehicles," but work toward that goal has been slow — just 10 percent of new mail trucks ordered by the United States Postal Service are expected to be all-electric. If the federal government were to accelerate its EV push, it could save taxpayers billions of dollars, according to a new report from Atlas Public Policy released by the Electrification Coalition.
Montreal Protocol Averted an Additional 2.5 Degrees C of Warming, Study Says
The Montreal Protocol, which phased out the use of ozone-depleting chemicals, not only saved the ozone layer, but also staved off an additional 2.5 degrees C (4.5 degrees F) of warming by the end of this century, according to a new study.
In Northeast India, Cement Plants Disrupt Forest and a Way of Life
“The Story of Lumshnong” — the winner of the 2021 Yale Environment 360 Video Contest — examines how government officials allowed cement companies to pour into a forest in northeast India, polluting the air and water and destroying an ecosystem on which local villagers depend.
Work on the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) is underway. The Congressionally mandated report is the U.S. Government’s premier assessment of the science of climate change and its impacts on the Nation. It is written by hundreds of experts from around the country, who help ensure that the findings are accessible and useful to the widest...
The U.S. Global Change Research Program is pleased to announce that Allison Crimmins will serve as Director of the FIfth National Climate Assessment (NCA5). She is detailed to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Air and Radiation. As Director, Allison will oversee...
On May 19, 2021, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced that Dr. Mike Kuperberg is returning to USGCRP as Executive Director. This is his second stint in USGCRP leadership, having served previously as Executive Director from 2015 through November 2020. He is detailed from the Department of Energy’s Office of...
NASA, on behalf of USGCRP, issued a Federal Register Notice (FRN) seeking author nominations and scientific/technical inputs for the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5). The FRN, which opened October 15, 2020 and closed the following month on November 14, also served as a notice of planned public engagement opportunities. Prospective authors...
Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, the latest in a series of spacecraft designed to monitor our oceans, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California on Saturday, November 21, 2020. The satellite will be followed in 2025 by its twin, Sentinel-6B. Together, the pair is tasked with extending our nearly 30-year-long record of global sea...
The U.S. Global Change Research Program extends our condolences to the family and friends of Dr. Mike Freilich, a widely respected geoscientist and former director of NASA’s Earth Science Division, and shares the loss of a longtime member of the USGCRP family.
Dr. Anthony Janetos, a longstanding member of the USGCRP community and Director of Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, passed away on Tuesday, August 6, 2019. He was 64 years old. Dr. Janetos dedicated his career to interdisciplinary, policy-relevant global change science. Prior to the Pardee...
The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is pleased to announce the release of Volume II of the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) and the 2nd State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR2). NCA4 Vol II NCA4 Vol II, Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States , assesses a range of potential climate change-related impacts, with an...
The Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) Vol. II remains on track for a December delivery in fulfillment of the Congressional mandate. NCA4 Vol. I, the Climate Science Special Report, is available at science2017.globalchange.gov. Final agency review and comment. Authors have been revising chapters and responding to comments submitted in the...
It’s been a while since our last update, but rest assured that we’ve been hard at work on Volume II of the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4 Vol. II) in the meantime. Here’s a brief rundown of the goings-on: Public review and comment. This winter (November 3, 2017 through January 31, 2018), the public had the chance to weigh in on the draft...
The August contiguous U.S. average temperature was 73.99 degress Fahrenheit, 1.89 degress Fahrenheit above the 20th century average. The precipitation total was 3.09 inches, 0.47 inches above average.
The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for August was 0.9 degrees C (1.62 degress Fahrenheit) above the 20th century average of 15.5 degrees C (59.9 degress Fahrenheit).
The Atlantic Hurricane activity in August was above normal by all metrics including six named storms, three of which became hurricanes, and two of those became major hurricanes. The season through August has also been above normal.
According to data from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, during August, there were 119 preliminary tornado reports. This is above the 1991-2010 average of 83 tornadoes for the month of August. Even though the month had an above average number of tornadoes this activity was dispersed throughout the month, as there were only three days with 10 or more tornadoes. These days with the highest count of tornadoes and their impacts are noted below in chronological order.
The primary circulation drivers during August were a ridge over the Gulf of Alaska and another near the Canadian Maritimes. These ridges were associated with temperatures that were much above normal near the California Coast and record heat in portions of the Northeast. The Pacific ridge also inhibited precipitation along the West Coast. This combination of dry and hot conditions exacerbated the ongoing wildfires over the western U.S.
As of August 31st, 46.63% of the Contiguous U.S. was experiencing drought conditions, 36.6% was in severe drought, 24.49% extreme, and 7.92% exceptional.
For August, 5,239 fires (2nd least since 2000) burned 1,904,506 acres (11th least on record), which is 363.5 acres burned/fire (3rd most on record). For June - August, 18,054 fires (4th least since 2000) burned 4,207,030 acres (11th most on record), which is 233.0 acres burned/fire (6th most on record). For January - August, 42,889 fires (6th least since 2000) burned 4,887,466 acres (10th least on record), which is 114.0 acres burned/fire (9th most on record).
Labor and climate groups haven’t always been natural allies. These advocates are changing that
In places like Texas and West Virginia, unions are having some tough conversations about the future of fossil fuels – and finding new ways to support workers transitioning from oil and coal to cleaner jobs
In the beginning of this summer, the US state of Connecticut passed legislation to guarantee prevailing wage and benefits are provided to workers on clean energy projects.
The law was a product of labor unions and environmental groups working together to educate workers about the climate crisis and develop solutions, with a focus on creating good-paying, unionized jobs and opportunities to combat economic inequities.
California wildfires: weather conditions worsen threat to giant sequoia trees
Hot and dry weather extends threat of rapid spread as firefighters seek to protect celebrated trees
Hot and dry weather on Sunday added to the challenges facing California firefighters battling to keep flames from driving further into a grove of ancient sequoias, where the base of the world’s tallest tree has been wrapped in protective foil.
Fire officials warned that stronger winds were contributing to “critical fire conditions” in the area of the KNP Complex, two lightning-sparked fires that merged on the western side of Sequoia national park in the Sierra Nevada.
Ed Miliband: honour promises on jabs to poor countries to save Cop26 deal
Labour’s shadow business secretary says the government must ‘rebuild trust’ after a series of missteps on way to climate summit
Boris Johnson should set out plans to provide Covid-19 vaccinations to all developing countries to achieve a global climate deal, Labour’s shadow business secretary, Ed Miliband, has urged.
Only 2% of the population of developing countries have been inoculated, despite promises by rich nations. Ensuring the rest have access to vaccines would build trust with the poor world which is lacking, Miliband said, ahead of the vital UN Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow in November.
World’s largest tree wrapped in fire-resistant blanket as California blaze creeps closer
Efforts underway to protect General Sherman and other giant trees from wildfires threatening Sequoia national park
As flames crept closer to California’s cherished sequoia trees firefighters took an unusual step to protect them, wrapping the giant bases in fire-resistant blankets.
The shiny material that helps quell flames, commonly used to protect structures, is rarely applied to natural features, but crews fighting the KNP Complex fire in the Sequoia national park said they are doing everything possible to protect the iconic trees.
US and EU pledge 30% cut in methane emissions to limit global heating
Major commitment with deadline of 2030 is big advance towards reaching 1.5C goal set out in Paris agreement
The US and the EU made a joint pledge on Friday to cut global methane emissions by almost a third in the next decade, in what climate experts hailed as one of the most significant steps yet towards fulfilling the Paris climate agreement.
The pledge came as the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, warned of a “high risk of failure” at the vital UN climate talks, Cop26, set for Glasgow this November.
‘Truly peculiar’: loggerhead turtles born in most northern spot ever recorded
Nine sea turtles hatch on beach in Jesolo, Veneto, in what scientists describe as ‘exceptional’ event
Eggs that were laid on a sandy beach in northern Italy by a loggerhead sea turtle, or Caretta Caretta, have hatched in what scientists describe as an “exceptional” event possibly brought on by global heating. It was the first time that the hatching of Caretta Caretta sea turtle eggs had been recorded along the northern Adriatic coast.
Nine sea turtles were born on Wednesday night on the beach in Jesolo, a popular seaside resort close to Venice where their mother had deposited 82 eggs, about 25 metres from the sea, overnight on 9 July.
Prince William’s Earthshot prize finalists include a schoolgirl and a city
Fifteen finalists chosen for providing innovative solutions to environmental challenges facing the planet
The first finalists in the Duke of Cambridge’s ambitious £50m global Earthshot prize to help repair the planet over the next 10 years have been announced and include a schoolgirl, a city and a country.
The prestigious global environment prize is designed to encourage solutions on climate change. The 15 inaugural finalists – three in each of the prize’s five categories – were chosen by experts and the prize council members.
Wildfires in California threaten world's biggest tree – video
Firefighters have wrapped the base of the world’s largest tree in a fire-resistant blanket as they tried to save a famous grove of gigantic old-growth sequoias from wildfires burning in California. The colossal General Sherman tree in Sequoia national park’s giant forest is among the trees to be wrapped in aluminium as wildfires close in on the Giant Forest
Facebook steps up fight against climate misinformation – but critics say effort falls short
New efforts will let vast amounts of false material slip through the cracks, according to climate advocates
Facebook has announced new efforts to combat climate crisis misinformation on its platform, including by expanding its climate science center to provide more reliable information, investing in organizations that fight misinformation, and launching a video series to highlight young climate advocates on Facebook and Instagram.
But critics say the new push, announced on Thursday, falls short and will allow vast amounts of climate misinformation to slip through the cracks.
Exxon helped cause the climate crisis. It’s time they owned up | Mark Hertsgaard
The Cop26 climate summit will be an opportunity to put fossil fuel companies on trial through the court of public opinion
Fossil fuel companies bear as much responsibility as governments do for humanity’s climate predicament – and for finding a way out. Our planetary house is on fire, and these companies have literally supplied the fuel. Worse, they lied about it for decades to blunt public awareness and policy reform.
There’s no better time for ExxonMobil and other petroleum giants to be held accountable than at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in November. The Glasgow summit is more than just another international meeting. It is the last chance for world leaders to limit future temperature rise to an amount that civilization can survive. Doing so, scientists say, will require a rapid, global decline in oil, gas and coal burning.
Fashion faces a stark choice: stop flogging cheap clothes or go out of style | Jess Cartner-Morley
Unless the industry starts taking sustainability seriously, it risks becoming the thing it most dreads – uncool
Fashion has become a dirty word – and believe me, it hurts. Not long ago, fashion was the VIP room of popular culture and movie stars and politicians flocked to the front row. Now it has come to symbolise everything that is wrong with the modern world – from carbon emissions to global inequality and from crass materialism to unrealistic beauty standards. Fashion is not the only polluting industry, or the only morally dubious one. But even if you love fashion, as I do, it’s hard to deny that it tracks in the 99th percentile for pretty much all of the most problematic contemporary issues.
Everyone in fashion knows that they need to get back on the right side of history, and fast. Sustainability is a baseline responsibility that every self-respecting brand must be seen to engage with. The New York brand Collina Strada last week staged one of the first live shows of the first back-to-real-life catwalk season on the rooftop of Brooklyn Grange, an organic city farm that donates 30% of its produce to community members with limited means. Much of the collection was made out of “deadstock” – fabric and product that already exists, rather than being newly produced. Clothes made in 2020, which had been stuck in lockdown and never shipped or sold, were cut up and repurposed into something new. “Old birthday presents” were taken apart and reassembled into beaded bags and rhinestone jewellery, said the designer Hillary Taymour. Taymour was rewarded with a benediction in the form of Ella Emhoff, stepdaughter of the vice-president, Kamala Harris, applauding from the front row.
The new international trade secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, has been accused of rejecting the science behind the climate emergency after a series of tweets came to light showing her dismissing those who believe in global heating as “fanatics”.
Labour has condemned the appointment of Trevelyan, who was elevated from junior business minister, which took in the brief of promoting clean growth, to replace Liz Truss, the new foreign secretary, as part of Boris Johnson’s reshuffle on Wednesday.
Your gas stove is polluting your own home. Go electric | Brady Seals
Gas stoves can produce air pollution levels indoors that would be illegal outside
I traveled around the developing world for more than a decade seeing and studying first-hand the damage that wood and charcoal do to the lungs of people – mostly women and children – who use it for cooking. Nearly half the world’s population cooks with solid fuels, and I was proud of my work to bring cleaner options and help prevent pneumonia, lung disease and other effects of breathing in smoke on a daily basis.
And when I got home from these trips, I would turn on my gas stove to cook meals – never once guessing that the invisible gas piped into my house, and its similarly invisible emissions, were also harmful.
Brady Seals is a manager in the Rocky Mountain Institute’s carbon-free buildings program
Whitehaven Coal’s Vickery mine given green light by environment minister
Sussan Ley’s decision denounced as a ‘betrayal of young people’ and follows a federal court ruling that she has a duty of care to protect young people from the climate crisis
The federal environment minister, Sussan Ley, has approved Whitehaven Coal’s Vickery mine extension in northern New South Wales in a decision environmental advocates have described as a betrayal of Australian children.
Ley’s decision to approve the mine comes six weeks before world leaders are due to meet for the United Nations Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow where Australia is under pressure to announce tougher national emissions reduction targets.
‘Larger than usual’: this year’s ozone layer hole bigger than Antarctica
Scientists say ozone hole is unusually large for this stage in season and growing quickly
The hole in the ozone layer that develops annually is “rather larger than usual” and is currently bigger than Antartica, say the scientists responsible for monitoring it.
Researchers from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service say that this year’s hole is growing quickly and is larger than 75% of ozone holes at this stage in the season since 1979.
Grasslands have key role to play in saving the planet | Letter
They are essential for trapping carbon, and world leaders must commit to protecting them, write a group of conservationists
News that the perilous plight of endangered grasslands is not fully recognised in a EU draft anti-deforestation law (Leaked EU anti-deforestation law omits fragile grasslands and wetlands, 14 September) brings into sharp focus the dangerous underappreciation of a global habitat that has a crucial role in the fight against climate change. Grasslands aren’t just crucibles of biodiversity, playing home to a wealth of wild plants, fungi, butterflies and bees, they also possess an as-yet underreported ability to lock down carbon. Given that up to 30% of the Earth’s land carbon is stored in grassland, these sites are every bit as important as other ecosystems in the fight against greenhouse gases.
The Grasslands+ campaign, supported by some of Britain’s leading conservation charities including Plantlife, Butterfly Conservation and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, is calling for international protections for our planet’s grasslands, savannas, plains, heaths, steppes and meadows to help mitigate the impact of climate change and increase biodiversity. The UK government, the EU and other world leaders must commit to restoring, enhancing and protecting these habitats at Cop26 in Glasgow. Ian Dunn CEO, Plantlife; Gill Perkins CEO, Bumblebee Conservation Trust; Julie Williams CEO, Butterfly Conservation
The prime minister’s puerile remarks on penal policy (PM condemned for joke about UK becoming ‘Saudi Arabia of penal policy’, 14 September) plumb new depths in what passes for debate on the subject in this country. Short of conscription, the decision to imprison represents probably the most extreme manifestation of the state’s authority over individuals. Deciding how we exercise that power deserves better than a second-rate stand-up routine. Peter Dawson Director, Prison Reform Trust
• I was wondering if the reluctance on the Conservative government benches to wear face coverings in the House of Commons was because it was making it impossible for them to be a bunch of barefaced liars (The politics sketch, 14 September). Derek Anderson Broughton, Hampshire
Governments falling woefully short of Paris climate pledges, study finds
As Cop26 meeting approaches, analysis shows world is on track for 3C temperature increase if present trends continue
Every one of the world’s leading economies, including all the countries that make up the G20, is failing to meet commitments made in the landmark Paris agreement in order to stave off climate catastrophe, a damning new analysis has found.
Less than two months before crucial United Nations climate talks take place in Scotland, none of the largest greenhouse gas emitting countries have made sufficient plans to lower pollution to meet what they agreed to in the 2015 Paris climate accord.
Australia should brace for flooding this storm season with the Bureau of Meteorology (Bom) predicting there is double the chance of a La Niña forming.
La Niña events increase the chances of above-average rainfall for northern and eastern Australia during spring and summer. Bom climatologist Tamika Tihema says the bureau has predicted there is double the chance of La Niña forming after updates to its current modelling.
Muscles and methane: how protein became the food industry’s biggest craze
Protein has gone from a niche bodybuilding supplement to a mainstream obsession – and is now added to a huge range of food and drink products. What led to the sudden growth of this multimillion-dollar industry?
At the Protein Pick and Mix store in Tunbridge Wells, you can have any snack you like, as long as it comes with extra protein. Protein pancakes, protein burger buns, protein muffins, protein nachos, protein croissants. Protein bars, of course, in every conceivable flavour: caramel millionaire’s shortbread, New York cheesecake, mint chocolate chip, double chocolate fudge, lemon drizzle, cinnamon swirl. White chocolate chip cookies that incorporate something called a “high protein lean matrix”.
I am being shown around the store and warehouse by the founder, Anthony Rodgers, 36, who has the well-defined musculature of a man who regularly eats three protein bars a day. He started the business, originally as an online shop, in 2013, after observing the trend for exotically flavoured protein bars in the US. “At the time I was an avid gym-goer,” he says, “and protein bars were just starting to be a little more creative, a little more exciting. People were putting actual effort into the flavours, and it started to transcend the boring, functional: ‘we’re just going to ram some protein in you.’”
Climate change and environmental destruction have inspired court cases around the country—and the globe—aimed at protecting the natural world.
By Katie Surma
For Chuck O’Neal, a lifelong outdoorsman and environmentalist, the moment of truth came on election night 2020, as results rolled in from perhaps the most partisan campaign season in American history.
Climate action advocates are in a race against both the forces of nature and the political calendar. Still, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) wants to stall legislation that contains the policies that most Democratic senators see as the best hope left to make the deep cuts in greenhouse gases necessary to curb devastating planetary warming. With a key round of international climate talks scheduled for November in Glasgow—the first since the United States rejoined the Paris accord—Congressional action now would demonstrate the nation’s commitment to President Joe Biden’s ambitious pledge to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent by 2030. And with the Democrats’ slim majority in both the House and Senate in jeopardy in next year’s midterm elections, the budget package may mark the last opportunity to act.
Plus, an unprecedented 937 manatees have died in Florida in 2021, more than double the five-year annual average only nine months into the year. The staggering loss represents 10 percent of the animal’s population in the state. The calamity comes four years after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service effectively declared the manatee on the way toward recovery and downlisted the animal from endangered to threatened, a decision that generated widespread opposition. Now some experts say the downlisting not only was premature but neglected scientifically documented warning signs at the time that manatees were in trouble, leaving the animals vulnerable to the latest in a series of mortality events.
A column highlighting climate-related studies, innovations, books, cultural events and other developments from the global warming frontier.
By Katelyn Weisbrod
“Climate change” was mentioned once for every 22 times the word “dog” was spoken on British television stations, according to a new analysis—about as often as the word “furlough,” and a little less often than the word “Shakespeare.”
A new report by a nonprofit environmental advocacy group cites progress but finds compliance dropping and inspections down from 2010 levels.
By Amy Green
ORLANDO, Fla.—Florida’s oversight of the state’s fragile natural resources has improved under Gov. Ron DeSantis but remains far behind where it was a decade ago, according to a new report by a nonprofit advocacy group supporting current and former government employees involved in environmental protection.
The world’s coral reef systems have declined by about half since the 1950s, along with associated biodiversity and fish catches, heightening concerns about food security, a new study warns. Climate change, overfishing, ocean acidification and pollution are driving the decline, the researchers found, after analyzing one of the most comprehensive global data sets on reefs and fisheries to date.
With the Democrats’ slim majority in both the House and Senate in jeopardy in next year’s midterm elections, the $3.5 trillion budget package currently under negotiations may mark the last opportunity to take meaningful action to slow the climate crisis. A new report estimates that the package could reduce carbon emissions by about 1 billion tons, highlighting what’s at stake if the bill fails.
Minnesota regulators have fined Enbridge Energy $3.32 million, saying the Canadian energy company failed to follow environmental laws during its construction of the nearly complete Line 3 replacement pipeline that will deliver crude oil between Alberta and the Midwest, Reuters reports. Specifically, the company drew water from an unauthorized aquifer, regulators said.
Illinois is the latest in a growing number of states that have passed a law requiring the transition to 100 percent renewable or carbon-free energy by 2050. It’s also the first in the Midwest to do so. But what may set Illinois’ law apart from the others is its focus on social justice. See why the bill’s proponents are calling it the “most equitable” climate law in the country.
Firefighters are struggling to save California’s giant sequoia trees, some of which are thousands of years old, as drought and climate change continue to exacerbate wildfire conditions in the West, the Associated Press reports. Crews are currently watching two blazes in Sequoia National Park that could reach a grove of 2,000 sequoias within days, officials said.
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Canada’s third-largest retirement fund, has set new interim targets to cut the carbon emissions generated by its portfolio, as part of a plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, Reuters reports. The $180 billion fund, the latest to pledge to decarbonize its holdings, aims to cut emissions 45 percent below 2019 levels by 2025 and 67 percent by 2030.
Climate change, overfishing, ocean acidification and pollution are driving reefs’ demise, along with the fisheries communities depend upon for nutrition.
By Bob Berwyn
Gathered together, the world’s coral reef systems would cover an area somewhere between the size of Oregon and Texas. Scattered about the globe like species-rich ocean rainforests, they help nurture about half the world’s marine life, a bounty that sustains millions of reef fishers and their communities in the Global South, in a fishery worth about $6 billion.
The package is imperiled by opposition from Joe Manchin, a coal state Democrat, who is balking at the costs, and advocates fear the chance won’t come again.
By Marianne Lavelle
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia was explaining why he opposed his Democratic colleagues’ $3.5 trillion budget plan, but his words summed up the Congressional response on climate change for the past 30 years.
Los Angeles County’s five-person governing board voted unanimously on Wednesday to end new oil and gas drilling and phase out existing drilling infrastructure, potentially closing nearly 2,000 active and idle oil and gas wells, The Hill reports. The board cited research showing the health hazards associated with living close to the wells and the disproportionate impact on communities of color.
The House Oversight Committee has widened its probe into the oil and gas industry’s role in spreading disinformation about the role of fossil fuels in causing global warming, the New York Times reports. The committee is calling on top executives from Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP and Royal Dutch Shell, along with other key industry players, to testify before Congress next month.
On Wednesday, Illinois signed into law a landmark clean energy bill that sets the state on path to 100 percent carbon-free energy by 2050, with provisions that phase out fossil fuel power plants. But before that happened, lawmakers had a debate that perfectly encapsulated the larger political fight over U.S. energy issues today. That and more in the latest Inside Clean Energy by Dan Gearino.
With the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, which includes major climate provisions, facing opposition among some party moderates, President Biden is stepping up his involvement in the effort to unify support of the package, The Hill reports. On Wednesday, the president met face to face with the bill’s two biggest obstacles: West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
On Friday, President Biden will convene world leaders online in the hopes of raising climate ambitions ahead of a major United Nations conference in November, The Hill reports. While which countries will participate is still unclear, the administration said it would reconvene an Obama-era forum that historically included the European Union, China, India and Australia.
For those who are already feeling the direct impact of global warming and can afford to relocate, climate change migration has begun, CNBC reports. Nearly half of Americans who plan to move in the next year say natural disasters and extreme temperatures factored into their decision to relocate, according to a survey conducted by real estate brokerage firm Redfin.
Before the final vote, Republicans stressed cost while Democrats argued the bill would improve the state for future generations.
By Dan Gearino
If you want to understand the politics of the clean energy transition, I could give you a stack of books to read and a list of experts to consult. Or, you could just watch the debate on the floor of the Illinois Senate on Monday.
If you want to understand the politics of the clean energy transition, I could give you a stack of books to read and a list of experts to consult. Or, you could just watch the debate on the floor of the Illinois Senate on Tuesday.
In about 80 minutes, each side laid out its case—replete with emotional pleas, straw men and the occasional joke—providing an encapsulation of how complex issues get translated into bumper sticker arguments.
The debate was over a clean energy and climate bill that senators passed later in the day with a 37 to 17 vote and that was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
The law sets a goal of 100 percent carbon-free energy by 2050, with rules that phase out fossil fuel power plants; provides $694 million in subsidies for nuclear power; expands aid programs for renewable energy; and takes steps to provide jobs and clean up the air in communities of color. It puts Illinois in the company of states with far-reaching energy laws, like California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York and Washington, among others.
There was no suspense about the outcome of Tuesday’s Senate vote: Democrats control both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s office, and the party’s leaders came up with a final version of the bill that the House passed last week. On Tuesday, senators’ speeches were more about framing the way they want the bill to be perceived by the public than about persuading legislators.
Here are four of the major themes:
Taking the Long View: During the debate, Democrats focused on the big picture and the idea that the bill would improve the state for future generations, a much easier task than explaining the details of a bill that runs about 1,000 pages.
The bill is “a historic culmination of a difficult but worthwhile negotiation process where we refused to accept anything but the best for Illinois in terms of a clean energy future,” said Sen. Michael Hastings, a Democrat, who led debate on the bill and is chairman of the Energy and Public Utilities Committee.
Senate President Don Harmon, a Democrat, leaned into the moment.
“We’ve done all this because we understand the pressing dangers to our environment, the very real threat of climate change, and the need to do something now to protect our future,” he said.
“This isn’t a game,” Harmon said. “What we do here affects people’s lives and livelihoods.”
He talked about his 17-year-old daughter who, he said, has been wondering “for far too long if the grown-ups are going to leave her a habitable world.”
As I listened to the debate, I thought of how there was similarly lofty talk before Illinois leaders passed the Future Energy Jobs Act in 2016, when there was a Republican governor and Democrats controlled the House and Senate. That law turned out to have some deep flaws and is now part of a bribery probe, as Brett Chase of the Chicago Sun-Times and I have reported.
I don’t doubt the sincerity of the leaders in talking about their hopes for this bill, but Illinois has the burden of showing that it has learned from its mistakes in implementing a major energy law.
Talk of High Costs: Republicans argued that the bill’s costs far exceed any benefits. They said the official estimate of the initial costs—an average electricity bill increase of $3.55 per household per month—is likely to be less than the true costs. The sponsors offered no estimates of the total cost of the bill, although the parts that have clear price tags add up to more than $1 billion.
“The question will be whether the benefits of this bill will outweigh that sizable cost,” said Sen. Craig Wilcox, a Republican. “Specifically, will the investment in renewables lower our overall carbon footprint, sustain our electricity needs, help our struggling small businesses and families? Or, will we be back here in a few years asking more from the ratepayers because this bill was short-sighted?”
Much of the increase, however, is coming from one of the only parts of the bill that many Republicans support: government aid for nuclear plants.
And any focus on the costs of the energy transition relies on some dubious accounting. It doesn’t include the monumental costs of moving too slowly, and it doesn’t reflect that carbon dioxide emissions have a social cost that is borne by the public but not reflected in utility bills.
Urban Versus Rural: In the debate, Republicans tended to characterize the bill as Chicago-centric and packed with programs to benefit urban communities, with little for rural Illinois.
Sen. Terri Bryant, a Republican, said parts of the bill “are nauseating to me,” and then framed the measure as an intentional marginalization of her part of the state.
“Downstate Illinois was completely forgotten and ignored in this bill, as is often the case here in Springfield,” she said.
Other senators highlighted the bill’s $4,000 rebate for buying an electric vehicle appears to only be available in the Chicago area. The rebate is tied to an existing alternative fuel vehicle program, the financing for which comes from taxpayers in eight Chicago-area counties, and it is not clear that residents outside of those counties would be eligible.
Pritzker’s office has said the governor intends for the rebates to be available statewide and will make that clear in follow-up legislation in the near future.
The pitting of urban versus rural is a common feature of energy debates. The tension is heightened by the fact that most energy consumers live in metro areas, yet most utility-scale solar arrays and wind farms are in rural areas, along with the transmission lines that deliver the electricity.
Renewable energy projects pump money into rural counties, helping to pay for roads, schools and local governments. But many rural residents watch their landscapes change with the construction of clean energy systems and receive no direct financial benefits from that transition.
Opponents of the Illinois energy bill aren’t going to win a debate using this kind of appeal but similar arguments have been effective in parts of the country where rural areas have more political clout.
Accusations of Hypocrisy: Some Republican opponents of the bill said that the state’s desire to move towards clean energy amounts to a mere reshuffling of the deck, with Illinois adding renewable energy that is unreliable and will result in the state needing to import energy produced with fossil fuels from other states. Supporters of the bill, the opponents say, care more about appearing green than actually being green.
“This is the biggest fallacy of them all, for people to go out and issue press releases that they’re getting tough on carbon, that we’re going to get rid of coal, get rid of that evil coal,” said Sen. Chapin Rose, a Republican. “But you know what, for those of us who live along the Indiana border, we know exactly what’s going to happen. All those electrons are going to get backfilled from Indiana and Kentucky with carbon. We’re going to trade carbon for carbon, except this time we get the privilege of paying more for it.”
He may be right that sometimes, especially on days with the highest electricity demand, Illinois will be importing electricity generated in neighboring states that have been slower to phase out fossil fuels.
But Illinois residents will not be breathing the air polluted by the plants in Indiana, Kentucky and elsewhere. And those other states are likely to be several steps behind Illinois in the race to attract clean energy companies.
Hastings, speaking near the end of the debate, summed it up this way:
“The question is, do we do something or do we do nothing?”
Photo Credit: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Other stories about the energy transition to take note of this week:
Manchin Puts Up Roadblock to Clean Energy Legislation: Congress is racing to complete the drafting of a $3.5 trillion budget bill that includes potentially transformative spending to encourage renewable energy development. Rather than get into the details, which are being worked out in committees, I’ll highlight the big sticking point, which is that Democrats need unanimous support in the Senate to pass the bill, and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), has made clear that he doesn’t support the plan, as Anthony Adragna reports for Politico.
U.S. Solar Prices Rose in Second Quarter, Reversing Recent Trend: One of the near constants in the U.S. energy economy has been that solar power prices have been on a steady decline. But that changed in the second quarter, with prices increasing across every market segment for the first time in the seven years that the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie have been doing regular reports. Utility-scale solar saw the largest percentage increase in costs, up 6 percent compared to the same period last year. Prices have risen because of a combination of price increases for raw materials and problems in the supply chain that are making it difficult for manufacturers to get timely shipments, as Pippa Stevens reports for CNBC. “This is a critical moment for our climate future but price increases, supply chain disruptions and a series of trade risks are threatening our ability to decarbonize the electric grid,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO.
Massachusetts Offshore Wind Farm Moves Closer to Construction: Vineyard Wind 1, which aims to be the country’s first super-sized offshore wind farm, has obtained the financing it needs to move forward, one of the final steps before construction can begin. The project’s developers said on Wednesday that they have closed on a $2.3 billion loan and would start construction later this year, as Nichola Groom reports for Reuters. Vineyard Wind 1, with 800 megawatts of generating capacity, is now close to becoming reality after years of delays and other obstacles.
Georgia Net Metering Cap Hits Rooftop Solar: Georgia ranks among the top 10 states in solar power capacity, but 40th in rooftop solar installation. And the rooftop solar industry is having a difficult time closing that gap because of a cap that says new projects get less favorable rates for excess electricity that they sell back to the grid, as ICN’s James Bruggers reports. Solar advocates are now leading the “Scrap the Cap” campaign to try to get regulators and the utility Georgia Power to change the rules.
Inside Clean Energy is ICN’s weekly bulletin of news and analysis about the energy transition. Send news tips and questions to dan.gearino@insideclimatenews.org.
Almost no nation is doing enough to cut greenhouse gas emissions, making it likely that global temperatures will rise beyond the tipping point of 1.5 degrees Celsius in coming years, according to a new report from Climate Action Tracker. Scientists say that keeping warming within that threshold is key to staving off the worst impacts of climate change.
James Hansen, a renowned climate scientist who told Congress 33 years ago that humans were heating the planet, is now warning that warming could double in the next 20 years, with devastating results for the planet. But in this case, Hansen said, he thinks that warming is being accelerated by the decline of sulfate aerosol emissions from industrial sources, particularly shipping.
Natural gas could still count as a clean power source under House Democrats’ $150 billion clean electricity proposal, but only with the widespread adoption of technologies like carbon capture and storage, E&E News reports. The Clean Electricity Performance Program, which passed the House on Tuesday, would provide incentives to decarbonize the power sector.
Tropical Storm Nicholas moved slowly through the Gulf Coast on Tuesday, drenching Texas and Louisiana with torrential rain, flooding streets and leaving hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without power, Reuters reports. The damage from Nicholas comes just two weeks after Hurricane Ida killed more than 80 people across at least eight states and devastated coastal communities.
The United States saw a surge in solar energy installations in the first half of 2021, but the growth rate remains below what is needed to reach White House climate targets, according to a new industry report. The country installed a whopping 5.7 gigawatts of solar in the second quarter of the year. But that falls far short of President Biden’s goal to get 40 percent of the nation’s electricity from solar by 2035.
On Tuesday, Vermont became the latest state to sue fossil fuel companies, arguing that the industry knowingly misled the public about how their products would affect the planet’s climate, The Hill reports. The lawsuit targets ExxonMobil, Shell, Suncoco, CITGO and others. Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Rhode Island have filed similar suits in recent years.
Former NASA climate scientist James Hansen urged Congress decades ago to act on climate change. Now he says he expects reduced aerosol pollution to lead to a steep temperature rise.
By Bob Berwyn
James Hansen, a climate scientist who shook Washington when he told Congress 33 years ago that human emissions of greenhouse gases were cooking the planet, is now warning that he expects the rate of global warming to double in the next 20 years.
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