Climate Home

5/14/21, Spain to end fossil fuel production by 2042 under new climate law

5/14/21, Women and youth are leading Kenya’s coral reef revival

5/14/21, The Cop to end coal – Climate Weekly

5/13/21, UK calls on countries to ‘consign coal to history’ at Cop26

5/13/21, Southern Madagascar at risk of famine amid worst drought in 40 years

5/11/21, Carbon removal experts support splitting “net zero” into twin targets

5/11/21, Indonesian utility pledges to stop building coal plants beyond existing pipeline

5/11/21, Youth activists prank Standard Chartered in critique of coal lending policy

5/10/21, Tar sands executive named as Canadian ‘climate champion’ ahead of Cop26

5/7/21, Merkel ‘wasted opportunity’ to show international solidarity at climate summit

5/7/21, California is the biggest producer in the world planning to go beyond oil

5/7/21, Asian Development Bank plans exit from coal finance

5/7/21, Covid aid is critical to climate action – Climate Weekly

5/6/21, Meet the Indian climate experts desperately trying to save lives from Covid-19

5/5/21, Germany raises ambition to net zero by 2045 after landmark court ruling

4/30/21, How youth climate court cases became a global trend

4/30/21, In defence of net zero – Climate Weekly

4/30/21, Top court rules German climate law falls short, in ‘historic’ victory for youth

4/29/21, UK aid cuts hit developing cities’ plans to protect against floods and fires

4/27/21, Putin sounds methane alarm, under satellite surveillance and EU pressure

Yale Environment 360

5/13/21, Soaring Greenhouse Gas Emissions Are Shrinking the Stratosphere, Study Shows

5/13/21, As the Climate Warms, Could the U.S. Face Another Dust Bowl?

5/11/21, Species Solidarity: Rediscovering Our Connection to the Web of Life

5/6/21, New Approach to Blue Carbon Projects Underway in Colombia

5/6/21, Amid Danger Signs, A Global Energy Leader Finds Reason for Hope

5/4/21, A Leading US Utility Stealthily Fights the Electrification of Heating Systems

5/3/21, In Colombia, Indigenous Lands Are Ground Zero for a Wind Energy Boom

4/28/21, The World’s Largest Tidal Power Device Will Soon Begin Testing Off Scotland

4/27/21, Species or Ecosystems: How Best to Restore the Natural World?

4/22/21, Texas Will Soon Rival California In Utility-Scale Solar Power

4/22/21, A Big Oil Project in Africa Threatens Fragile Okavango Region

4/20/21, Global CO2 Emissions Set to Surge in 2021 in Post-Covid Economic Rebound

4/20/21, Cities Confront Climate Challenge: How to Move from Gas to Electricity?

4/15/21, Most Global Food Brands Continue to Have a Dismal Record on Beef and Deforestation

4/15/21, Entries Invited for the Eighth Annual Yale Environment 360 Video Contest

4/14/21, France Will Ban Short Flights That Could Be Replaced By a Train Trip

4/13/21, Why the Market for ‘Blue Carbon’ Credits May Be Poised to Take Off

4/8/21, Are Huge Tree Planting Projects More Hype than Solution?

4/5/21, Births Among Endangered Right Whales Show an Encouraging Rebound

4/1/21, In Europe, a Backlash Is Growing Over Incinerating Garbage

U.S. Global Change Research Program

1/25/21, Updates on NCA5

1/25/21, NASA/JPL Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Satellite Launched November 21, 2020

1/25/21, National Council for Science and the Environment Drawdown 2021 Conference

1/25/21, American Meteorological Society 101st Annual Meeting

1/25/21, North American Carbon Program 7th Open Science Meeting

1/25/21, American Geophysical Union 2020 Fall Meeting

8/7/20, Remembering Dr. Mike Freilich

11/22/19, USGCRP at the AGU 2019 Fall Meeting

8/9/19, Remembering Tony Janetos

11/20/18, On the release of NCA4 Volume II and SOCCR2: A letter from the Acting Chair of the Subcommittee on Global Change Research and our Executive Director

NOAA State of the Climate updates

5/12/21, April 2021 National Climate Report

5/12/21, April 2021 Tornadoes

5/12/21, April 2021 Synoptic Discussion

5/12/21, April 2021 Drought

5/12/21, April 2021 Wildfires

5/12/21, March 2021 Global Climate Report

5/12/21, March 2021 Regional Analysis

5/12/21, March 2021 National Snow and Ice

5/12/21, March 2021 Tropical Cyclones

5/12/21, March 2021 Global Snow and Ice

The Guardian

5/14/21, Bill Heal obituary

5/14/21, Third of global food production at risk from climate crisis

5/12/21, Boris Johnson’s advisers may push for a virtual Cop26. He should ignore them | Fiona Harvey

5/11/21, Melting away: understanding the impact of disappearing glaciers – podcast

5/8/21, Are there too many people? All bets are off

5/6/21, From God to glaciers: ‘doom’ was not always about gloom

5/6/21, How has our thinking on the climate crisis changed? – podcast

5/6/21, How to spot the difference between a real climate policy and greenwashing guff | Damian Carrington

5/6/21, We can’t stop rising sea levels, but we still have a chance to slow them down | Tamsin Edwards

Despite pandemic-enforced isolation, scientists from around the world have produced a vital climate change forecast

Sea levels are going to rise, no matter what. This is certain. But new
research I helped produce shows how much we could limit the damage: sea level rise from the melting of ice could be halved this century if we meet the Paris agreement target of keeping global warming to 1.5C.

The aim of our research was to provide a coherent picture of the future of the world’s land ice using hundreds of simulations. But now, as I look back on the two years it took us to put the study together, what stands out is the theme of connection running through it all – despite the world being more disconnected than ever.

Connecting digitally: our study brought together 84 people working at 62 institutes in 15 countries (nine in Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and China). I led the study but haven’t met many of my co-authors. Even if we had planned to meet, over half the 120 days I spent on the study have been since the first UK lockdown.

Connecting parts of the world: the world’s land ice is made up of global glaciers in 19 regions, and the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets at each pole. Our methods allow us to use exactly the same predictions of global warming for each. This may sound obvious, but is actually unusual, perhaps unique at this scale. Each part of the world is simulated separately, by different groups of people, using different climate models to provide the warming levels. We realigned all these predictions to make them consistent.

Connecting the data: at its heart, this study is a join-the-dots picture. Our 38 groups of modellers created nearly 900 simulations of glaciers and ice sheets. Each one is a data point about its contribution to future sea level rise. Here, we connected the points with lines, using a statistical method called “emulation”. Imagine clusters of stars in the sky: drawing the constellations allow us to visualise the full picture more easily – not just a few points of light, but each detail of Orion’s torso, limbs, belt and bow.

Our process of joining the dots meant we could make a more complete prediction of the full range of possible futures – mapping out our uncertainties in the levels of the rising seas. For instance, if we reduce emissions from current pledges to meet the Paris agreement targets, which would reduce warming from more than 3C to 1.5C, the median predictions for sea level rise from melting ice reduce by half, from 25cm to 13cm, by 2100. For the upper end, there is a 95% chance the level would be less than 28cm if we limit warming to 1.5C, compared with 40cm under current pledges.

Connecting to each other: some of the initial conversations for the study were in person. Most memorable and important among them were visiting the ice sheet project lead, Sophie Nowicki, at Nasa to analyse their data in June 2019, and long walks discussing the statistical methods with my mentor and friend Jonty Rougier in Hastings. But even when we went digital, many of us kept a personal, sometimes emotional, connection under the pressures of work and family life amid the pandemic, and with a number of people involved in the research living in California close to the huge wildfires last summer.

Dr Tamsin Edwards is a senior lecturer in physical geography at King’s College London

5/5/21, UK companies must commit to green pensions | Letter

5/4/21, What is carbon offsetting and how does it work?

5/4/21, We’ve had information campaigns on Brexit and Covid. What about the climate? | George Marshall

5/2/21, Glacial lakes threaten millions with flooding as planet heats up

5/1/21, Dare we hope? Here’s my cautious case for climate optimism | Rebecca Solnit

4/29/21, Visualised: glaciers then and now

4/28/21, The big cut – new climate goals : inside the 30 April Guardian Weekly

4/27/21, ‘Time to shake things up’: music industry confronts climate crisis as gigs resume

4/27/21, Can we create a climate-resistant coffee in time? – podcast

4/27/21, How a hi-tech search for Genghis Khan is helping polar bears

4/26/21, School climate strikers urge boycott of Science Museum show over Shell deal

Inside Climate News

5/14/21, Biden’s Pipeline Dilemma: How to Build a Clean Energy Future While Shoring Up the Present’s Carbon-Intensive Infrastructure

5/13/21, Today's Climate - EPA Report, Delayed by Trump, Now Warns of United States Entering Unprecedented Climate Territory

Today's Climate - EPA Report, Delayed by Trump, Now Warns of United States Entering Unprecedented Climate Territory

Forward | Web Version | Update preferences | Unsubscribe

Updates from

Today’s Climate – Inside Climate News

05/13/2021

EPA Report, Delayed by Trump, Now Warns of United States Entering Unprecedented Climate Territory

The Environmental Protection Agency released a report Wednesday that had been delayed by the Trump administration for years detailing the harsh and widespread consequences climate change wrought on the United States during President Trump’s tenure, the Washington Post reports. The consequences include destruction of permafrost, loss of winter ice and spikes in summer heat.

(The Washington Post)

Federal Reserve Privately Presses Big Banks on Risks From Climate Change

The U.S. Federal Reserve has asked lenders to start providing information on the measures they are taking to mitigate climate change-related risks to their balance sheets, Reuters reports. The move highlights how U.S. watchdogs are moving to execute President Biden’s climate agenda, with potentially major ramifications for Wall Street.

(Reuters)

Inside Clean Energy: Arizona’s Energy Plan Unravels

Six months ago, Arizona looked like a model for bipartisan legislation. Democrats and Republicans had come together to craft a plan to get the state to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050, and a bipartisan commission seemed set to pass it. So why did that same group vote down the measure last week? That and more in the latest Inside Clean Energy by Dan Gearino.

(Inside Climate News)

Canadian Company Continues Operating Oil Pipeline Through Michigan Despite Governor’s Order to Halt

Enbridge, a Canadian energy company, is continuing to operate an oil and gas pipeline through Michigan despite Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order to shut it down, The Hill reports. Whitmer on Tuesday ordered the shut down of Line 5 by May 12, saying that an underwater section of the pipeline is too risky to keep operating. Enbridge contests that it operates the federally regulated line legally.

(The Hill)

Pipeline Hack Points to Growing Cybersecurity Risk for Energy System

The audacious ransomware attack that shut down the Colonial Pipeline and sent Americans scrambling for gasoline in the Southeast this week could become increasingly common and highlights the issues facing America’s aging and vulnerable energy infrastructure, the New York Times reports. The energy industry was the third most targeted sector for such attacks in 2020, a recent report found.

(The New York Times)

Brazil’s Lower House Passes Bill to Ease Environmental Permits

Brazil’s lower house of Congress has approved a bill to loosen licensing requirements for infrastructure, mining, agriculture and other projects, despite its being fiercely contested by environmental groups, Reuters reports. The move drew criticism from conservation groups at a time when Brazil’s environmental record is under intense scrutiny as deforestation in the Amazon rainforest soars.

(Reuters)

5/13/21, Inside Clean Energy: Arizona’s Energy Plan Unravels

5/13/21, Arizona’s Energy Plan Unravels

Arizona’s Energy Plan Unravels

Clean energy stories behind the headlines reported by Dan Gearino

Thanks for reading and forwarding this newsletter. Sign up.

Inside Clean Energy is made possible by financial contributions from readers.

If our journalism is important to you, will you make a tax-deductible contribution today? We can't do this without your support.

Yes, I support your work!

Give today

Six months ago, Arizona showed the country how Democrats and Republicans could work together to come up with a 100 percent carbon-free electricity plan.

Last week, the state showed how such a proposal, even when it seems like a done deal, can fall apart.

The turnabout was heartbreaking for Bob Burns, a Republican who was a leading promoter of the idea that clean energy should not be a partisan issue. He had shepherded the energy plan to its apparent passage last fall in his final months as chairman of the Arizona Corporation Commission, capping a decades-long career in elected office. But he wasn’t that surprised.

The commission had approved the plan 4-1 in November. But it needed to go through a public comment period and then a second vote by the commission.

Last week, in the second vote, the plan failed 3-2.

“I was disappointed,” said Burns, who watched a livestream of the proceedings from his home. “I wanted to call some people some names, and I did.”

He had tried in November to secure not only a majority in the first vote, but also one for the second vote, by coming up with a plan that could get the support it needed from the newly-elected members who would take office in January.

Arizona elects the commission members statewide. Three open seats were on the ballot in November, along with high-profile races like those for president and U.S. senator. Burns, who did not run for re-election, thought the energy plan was poised to pass 3-2 on the second vote, based on his knowledge of the two new members of the commission and the three returning members.

But then some intense partisanship intervened.

Arizona Republicans control the governor’s office and have narrow majorities in both houses of the Legislature. Some Republican lawmakers didn’t like the idea of the state setting a mandate to get to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050, and they didn’t like that the Corporation Commission was the body that was passing such a far-reaching policy.

Arizona’s constitution gives the Corporation Commission special powers, treating it almost like its own branch of government. Republican lawmakers introduced bills to reduce the commission’s powers, with some supporters of the bills citing the clean energy proposal as the main reason. Opponents of clean energy legislation cited familiar arguments about renewable energy being unreliable and much of the support for clean energy coming from activists from California.

Those bills haven’t passed so far in the current legislative session, but the message was clear: The Corporation Commission was on notice that its actions were being closely scrutinized, and it should be careful.

Last week, when it was time for the commission to debate and vote on the clean energy plan, the swing vote turned out to be the new chairwoman, Lea Márquez Peterson, a Republican, who had voted to support the proposal in November.

During hours of debate, an opponent of the policy, Commissioner Justin Olson, a Republican, proposed an amendment that, among other things, would turn the clean energy mandates into goals, taking the teeth out of the proposal. His amendment passed 3-2 in a party-line vote that included Márquez Peterson, which turned out to be the key vote.

The switch from mandates to goals meant that the panel’s two Democrats no longer supported the plan, so it didn’t have enough votes to pass.

“It was a disappointing ending to many years of meetings and discussion,” said Márquez Peterson in a statement. “I fully stand with my vote to change the ‘mandate’ to a ‘goal’ and continue to support the goal to achieve 100 percent clean and zero carbon energy by Arizona.”

Commissioner Sandra Kennedy, one of the two Democrats, said this week that she would like to reopen debate on the policy and plans to offer a motion to reconsider. She wants to see if it’s possible to have a debate and vote on a version of the plan that doesn’t have Olson’s amendment. It’s not yet clear whether this will lead to a new debate.

Clean energy advocates said the discussion right before the vote last week was heavy on unsubstantiated claims about the costs of clean energy, and light on verifiable facts.

“This was a chance to strengthen and modernize utility regulation to the benefit of all Arizona ratepayers,” said a statement from Shelby Stultz, Arizona policy lead for Advanced Energy Economy, a clean energy business group. “That chance has been lost.”

Burns was saddened by what he saw. He thinks the biggest obstacle to progress is toxic partisanship, which, as he views it, has infected both parties.

“I don’t know if I have a friend left in the Republican caucus of the legislature, and I was president of the Senate,” he said.

However, he is pleased to see that Arizona’s energy economy is swiftly moving toward clean energy, even without clear guidance from the commission. The state’s largest utility, Arizona Public Service, said early last year that it was committing to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. This was a big change from before, when the company was one of the most strident opponents of a move toward clean energy.

In November, I wrote about the commission’s vote, and said the state “is showing the rest of the country how to set the terms for a transition to clean energy that is substantial and nonpartisan.”

While it was true that the November vote did those things, the ultimate lesson may be that policy victories for clean energy can be fleeting, and any action by a regulatory or legislative body can be undone.

This is not a new lesson for Burns, who said he has been hardened by decades of failures punctuated by successes. And he knows that the debate never really ends.

“Don’t give up,” he said. “You need to continue to move forward.”

Other stories about the energy transition to take note of this week:

Vineyard Wind Gets the Go-Ahead: After years of delays and frustration, the developers of the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind energy project have gained approval to move forward from the federal government. Vineyard Wind 1, with 800 megawatts of capacity, would be the first super-sized offshore wind farm in the United States. The Biden Administration has said it wants to accelerate development of offshore wind, so it was not a surprise to see the project approved on Tuesday, after years of delays under the Trump Administration, as Jon Chesto reports for The Boston Globe. For more on the economic promise of offshore wind, Nick Kusnetz of Inside Climate News writes about how offshore wind could help bring jobs and opportunities to a Brooklyn neighborhood.

California Officials Decide Against Gas Ban: The California Energy Commission released a draft version of an update to the state’s building energy code. Many environmental advocates had hoped that the code update would include a requirement that new housing be all-electric, but the commission instead decided to strongly favor heat pumps for heating, without banning the use of natural gas, as I wrote in a story posted on Saturday. I was surprised to hear Andrew McAllister, a commission member, say he doesn’t think the panel has the power to ban gas even if it wanted to. His view is at odds with that of environmental groups that have been calling for the commission to lead the way in a move to minimize the use of fossil fuels in building.

Texas Crisis Leads to Profit for Minnesota Utilities: Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy, both of which serve territories that include parts of Minnesota, have reported strong earnings for the first quarter, while their customers are facing high bills because of the Texas energy crisis in February. The companies are doing well because they are two of many utilities that pass through their wholesale gas costs to consumers, as Mike Hughlett reports for the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. Some of the companies’ profits were tied to the energy crisis, like Xcel’s ability to sell electricity into the regional market at a time of high prices. The situation in Minnesota is one of many examples of how utilities are able to pass along the risks of volatile commodity prices to consumers, while the companies have relatively low risks.

Renewable Energy Surged in 2020: Last year was a very good year for the global growth of renewable energy. The International Energy Agency reported that global renewable energy capacity grew by 45 percent last year, largely due to incentive programs, but that it is poised to stay about the same this year and next, as Will Mathis reports for Bloomberg Green. China was responsible for nearly half the world’s renewable capacity growth last year, but much of the development was tied to a government subsidy that has now ended. “Renewables currently are expanding rapidly, but it should be faster,” said Heymi Bahar, an IEA renewable energy analyst. “If your target is net-zero, it has to be faster.”

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.

Go Deeper

Air Pollution From Raising Livestock Accounts for Most of the 16,000 US Deaths Each Year Tied to Food Production, Study Finds

A Just Transition? On Brooklyn’s Waterfront, Oil Companies and Community Activists Join Together to Create an Offshore Wind Project—and Jobs

California Proposal Embraces All-Electric Buildings But Stops Short of Gas Ban

5/12/21, Proud to announce

Proud to announce ICN reporters have been honored with national awards.

View this email in your browser

Dear ICN Reader,

Today I’m proud to announce that Inside Climate News reporters have won National Headliner Awards, honoring the best journalism in the United States in 2020.

Our series, Hot Molecules: Low Hanging Greenhouse Gases, written by Phil McKenna, Lili Pike, Katrina Northrop and Feng Hao, won second place in the category “Online investigative reporting for digital-only website and BEST IN SHOW.”

Hot Molecules examines potent climate “super-pollutants” – emissions like methane and nitrous oxide that are much more potent at warming the planet than carbon dioxide – and shines a light on their biggest sources.

The series previously earned honorable mention in the 2020 Best in Business Awards from the Association for Business Journalists, and is a finalist in the 2021 Deadline Club Awards contest. Winners will be announced soon.

READ HOT MOLECULES

The second Headliner Award this year goes to Superfund Super Threats: Climate Vulnerable Toxic Sites Near You, a collaborative series from the staff of Inside Climate News, NBC News, and The Texas Observer

The series examines toxic Superfund sites across the country and the heightened threat faced by vulnerable communities living near these industrial wastelands.

Super Threats won second place for “Online investigative reporting for digital partnerships with other news outlets.”

READ SUPER THREATS

Inside Climate News is committed to bringing you the highest-quality climate journalism. Thank you for reading and supporting our work.

Vernon Loeb
Executive Editor

Forward

Want to change how you receive these emails?
Update your preferences or unsubscribe.

5/12/21, Today's Climate - Climate Emissions Shrinking the Stratosphere, Scientists Reveal

Today's Climate - Climate Emissions Shrinking the Stratosphere, Scientists Reveal

Forward | Web Version | Update preferences | Unsubscribe

Updates from

Today’s Climate – Inside Climate News

05/12/2021

Climate Emissions Shrinking the Stratosphere, Scientists Reveal

The thickness of the second-lowest layer of the atmosphere has contracted by over 1,300 feet since the 1980s due to warming temperatures in the troposphere, where humans live, which has expanded to squeeze the stratosphere, while increased CO2 actually cools the stratosphere, causing it to contract. This could affect satellites, radios and GPS navigation.

(The Guardian)

A U.S. Virgin Islands Oil Refinery Had Yet Another Accident. Residents Are Demanding Answers

Amid an ongoing EPA investigation, a U.S. Virgin Islands oil refinery had another accident that disrupted schools for the second time in less than a month. At a community town hall set for Thursday, worried residents hope to get some clear answers.

(Inside Climate News)

Cities Aren’t Making Climate Investments Where They Matter Most

Less than half of more than 800 cities surveyed have a plan to tackle climate change, according to the nonprofit CDP. Cities are responsible for three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions and consume about two-thirds of the world’s energy supplies, Bloomberg reports, making them vital in the fight against global warming.

(Bloomberg)

Hurricane Zeta Was a Category 3 storm—Not a Cat 2—When it Hit New Orleans, New NHC Report Says

The 27th of the 30 named storms that formed in the Atlantic last hurricane season was actually a Category 3 storm, not the previously reported Category 2, because its winds briefly topped 115 mph as it made landfall. The new designation results in one new record and one tied record being added to the long list of firsts for the season, NOLA.com reports.

(NOLA.com)

Scientists Say This Bacteria Won’t Make You Sick and Could Be Good for the Planet

A team of scientists have created a possible alternative to plastic called “aquaplastic,” which uses E. coli, the bacteria responsible for some foodborne illnesses. The substitute plastic degrades in just 45 days and can be used as a plastic film or a bendable mold.

(The Washington Post)

Chemical Giants Hid Dangers of ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Food Packaging

DuPont and Daikin knew that the PFAS compound used in packaging like pizza boxes and fast food wrappers were connected to kidney disease, cancer and other adverse health effects, but did not alert the public or the FDA, the Guardian reports. The companies withheld data a decade ago showing the “forever chemicals” were connected with health problems.

(The Guardian)

5/12/21, A U.S. Virgin Islands Oil Refinery Had Yet Another Accident. Residents Are Demanding Answers

5/11/21, Today's Climate - Air Pollution From Raising Livestock Accounts for Most of the 16,000 US Deaths Each Year Tied to Food Production, Study Finds

Today's Climate - Air Pollution From Raising Livestock Accounts for Most of the 16,000 US Deaths Each Year Tied to Food Production, Study Finds

Forward | Web Version | Update preferences | Unsubscribe

Updates from

Today’s Climate – Inside Climate News

05/11/2021

Air Pollution From Raising Livestock Accounts for Most of the 16,000 US Deaths Each Year Tied to Food Production, Study Finds

Food production, primarily the raising of livestock, causes poor air quality that is responsible for about 16,000 deaths a year in the United States, new research found. That’s roughly the same number from other sources of air pollution, including the transportation and electricity generation sectors, the report says. It’s the first study ever to look at the air quality impacts of the agriculture industry.

(Inside Climate News)

Final Approval Expected for Nation’s First Major Offshore Wind Farm

The Biden administration on Tuesday will announce its final approval of the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, a major step toward President Biden’s goal of expanding renewable energy production across the United States, the New York Times reports. The Vineyard Wind project, to be built off the coast of Massachusetts, will generate about 800 megawatts of electricity.

(The New York Times)

California Governor Declares Drought Emergency in 41 Counties

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday issued an expanded “drought emergency proclamation” for 41 of the state’s 58 counties, citing above-average temperatures and dry conditions for April and May. The move directed the state’s water board to consider modifying requirements for reservoir releases and take other conservation measures.

(Reuters)

The EPA Proposes a Ban on HFC-23, the Most Potent Greenhouse Gas Among Hydrofluorocarbons, by October 2022

A proposed rule by the Environmental Protection Agency would require the chemical manufacturer Chemours to follow through on a recent voluntary commitment to eliminate emissions of a climate super-pollutant from its Louisville Works chemical plant. The company pledged in March to eliminate 99 percent or more of its emissions of hydrofluorocarbon-23, a powerful greenhouse gas.

(Inside Climate News)

New White House Panel Aims to Separate Science, Politics

Eager to turn the page on the Trump years, this week the Biden White House is launching a new 46-person federal scientific integrity task force that aims to address past problems with the politicization of science within government agencies, the Associated Press reports. The task force will meet for the first time on Friday.

(Associated Press)

German Climate Goals Need ‘Massive’ Cut in Industry CO2 by 2030

German industry will need to swiftly implement a “massive” reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to conform with the country’s new climate protection law, Bloomberg reports. A draft of the law shows that the industry will need to cut annual CO2 emissions to 118 million tons by 2030, from 186 million tons last year, as Germany seeks to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.

(Bloomberg)

5/11/21, The EPA Proposes a Ban on HFC-23, the Most Potent Greenhouse Gas Among Hydrofluorocarbons, by October 2022

5/10/21, Today's Climate - Colonial Pipeline Cyberattack Could Cause Gasoline Shortages in Southeast

Today's Climate - Colonial Pipeline Cyberattack Could Cause Gasoline Shortages in Southeast

Forward | Web Version | Update preferences | Unsubscribe

Updates from

Today’s Climate – Inside Climate News

05/10/2021

Colonial Pipeline Cyberattack Could Cause Gasoline Shortages in Southeast

A ransomware attack on one of the country’s largest pipelines is threatening to leave some gas stations in the Southeast without fuel, USA Today reports. The Colonial Pipeline, which delivers about 45 percent of the fuel for the East Coast, was hobbled by a cyberattack Friday, sending fuel prices up and worrying analysts that the stations that rely on the line could soon run out of gasoline to sell.

(USA Today)

E-Commerce Mega-Warehouses, a Smog Source, Face New Pollution Rule

Officials for a southern California air quality district adopted a landmark rule Friday that will force about 3,000 of the largest warehouses in the area used by Amazon and other retailers, to slash emissions from the trucks that serve the site or take other measures to improve air quality, the New York Times reports. The move could spur similar measures nationwide and speed up electrification efforts for freight trucks.

(The New York Times)

California Proposal Embraces All-Electric Buildings But Stops Short of Gas Ban

California’s proposed building code doesn’t include a ban on natural gas, a big disappointment for some environmental advocates who were hoping the Golden State would become the first in the nation to implement such a ban. The draft code instead relies on heat pumps as the baseline technology for new construction, which will incentivize—but not force—builders to go all-electric.

(Inside Climate News)

In California’s Farm Country, Climate Change Is Likely to Trigger More Pesticide Use, Fouling Waterways

As climate change drives population growth among insects, California’s waterways could face more toxic runoff as farmers opt to spray more pesticides, scientists warn. Temperature strongly influences insect growth, development and reproduction, while carbon dioxide can affect insect feeding behavior. Additionally, more frequent and severe storms help wash the chemicals into rivers and streams.

(Inside Climate News)

A Just Transition? On Brooklyn’s Waterfront, Oil Companies and Community Activists Join Together to Create an Offshore Wind Project—and Jobs

The Biden administration has built its climate agenda on a promise that the country can create millions of high-quality jobs and address environmental injustice, all while driving a rapid transition off of fossil fuels. But this notion of a “just transition” has remained largely conceptual. An offshore wind project in New York could be an early test in spelling out the specifics.

(Inside Climate News)

Warming Trends: Farming for City Dwellers, an Upbeat Climate Podcast and Soil Bacteria That May Outsmart Warming

For $139,000, you could get a fully operational farm delivered in a shipping container. A new podcast flips the script on climate change and highlights the exciting innovators coming up with solutions to the big problems facing our planet. And global warming is ever so slightly shifting Earth’s axis. That and more in the latest Warming Trends.

(Inside Climate News)

Climate Change News

Updates on NCA5

NASA/JPL Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Satellite Launched November 21, 2020

National Council for Science and the Environment Drawdown 2021 Conference

American Meteorological Society 101st Annual Meeting

North American Carbon Program 7th Open Science Meeting

American Geophysical Union 2020 Fall Meeting

Remembering Dr. Mike Freilich

USGCRP at the AGU 2019 Fall Meeting

Remembering Tony Janetos

On the release of NCA4 Volume II and SOCCR2: A letter from the Acting Chair of the Subcommittee on Global Change Research and our Executive Director

Biden’s Pipeline Dilemma: How to Build a Clean Energy Future While Shoring Up the Present’s Carbon-Intensive Infrastructure

From Denial to Ambiguity: A New Study Charts the Trajectory of ExxonMobil’s Climate Messaging

Biden’s Pipeline Dilemma: How to Build a Clean Energy Future While Shoring Up the Present’s Carbon-Intensive Infrastructure

From Denial to Ambiguity: A New Study Charts the Trajectory of ExxonMobil’s Climate Messaging

Today’s Climate – Inside Climate News

Inside Clean Energy: Arizona’s Energy Plan Unravels

Inside Clean Energy: Arizona’s Energy Plan Unravels

Go Deeper

Today’s Climate – Inside Climate News

A U.S. Virgin Islands Oil Refinery Had Yet Another Accident. Residents Are Demanding Answers

A U.S. Virgin Islands Oil Refinery Had Yet Another Accident. Residents Are Demanding Answers

Today’s Climate – Inside Climate News

The EPA Proposes a Ban on HFC-23, the Most Potent Greenhouse Gas Among Hydrofluorocarbons, by October 2022

Air Pollution From Raising Livestock Accounts for Most of the 16,000 US Deaths Each Year Tied to Food Production, Study Finds

The EPA Proposes a Ban on HFC-23, the Most Potent Greenhouse Gas Among Hydrofluorocarbons, by October 2022

Air Pollution From Raising Livestock Accounts for Most of the 16,000 US Deaths Each Year Tied to Food Production, Study Finds

Today’s Climate – Inside Climate News