🌎The Week In Climate 2nd -8th Dec🌍
From #COP25Madrid to new climate forecasting models being analysed, as well as lots in the realm of politics, we have a lot of ground to cover.
Let's start with ...
From #COP25Madrid to new climate forecasting models being analysed, as well as lots in the realm of politics, we have a lot of ground to cover.
Let's start with ...
🏢THE SOCIETY🏡
1 - @GretaThunberg & other activists have had an overwhelming presence at #COP25Madrid. Also, African countries - lowest historical emissions, but most vulnerable to climate change - have sent 4 of the largest 10 delegations
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
1 - @GretaThunberg & other activists have had an overwhelming presence at #COP25Madrid. Also, African countries - lowest historical emissions, but most vulnerable to climate change - have sent 4 of the largest 10 delegations
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
3 - And also a video of the impressive crowd. Having (by chance) attended the huge feminist protests in Madrid back in March, I have to say the energy at these events is incredible
4 - Meanwhile, a #cop25 island nation is already feeling the effects of climate change after "freak waves" inundated the capital city of Majuro
bbc.com/news/science-e…
bbc.com/news/science-e…
5 - Here's a great piece by @MichaelEMann arguing that while individual action to tackle climate change is great, what we need is a fast and decisive change at a corporate & systemic level
eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/…
eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/…
6 - Finally, an interesting piece examining the reasons behind mean behaviour by some people towards climate scientists
forbes.com/sites/marshall…
forbes.com/sites/marshall…
👩🔬THE SCIENCE 👨🔬
Lots to cover on the Science front ...
7 - Great piece by @hausfath examining the new standards of climate models that will come with the 6th @IPCC_CH assessment report in 2021 - these will be referenced a lot in upcoming assessments
carbonbrief.org/cmip6-the-next…
Lots to cover on the Science front ...
7 - Great piece by @hausfath examining the new standards of climate models that will come with the 6th @IPCC_CH assessment report in 2021 - these will be referenced a lot in upcoming assessments
carbonbrief.org/cmip6-the-next…
8 - Speaking about climate models, the latest systematic review of models from the past 5 decades show that they have been remarkably accurate
vox.com/energy-and-env…
vox.com/energy-and-env…
9 - In a week full of revelations, @davelevitan examines a 1965 report presented to US President Lyndon Johnson on atmospheric carbon dioxide levels & their impact on the environment
10 - And when it comes to fossil fuel companies, it doesn't get better than internal documents suggesting high carbon tax levels (higher than the current ones) would be required to stabilise CO2 emissions ... back in 1991.
11 - Quick reminder that we're at the absolute All-Time High when it comes to atmospheric CO2 concentrations
12 - At a time when our emissions should start decreasing fast, they are still growing on a year-on-year basis.
13 - Here are our remaining carbon budgets for a *probabilistic chance* of keeping the world under 1.5C and 2C of warming. Bear in mind that in 2019 we emitted ~43GtCO₂.
14 - Kevin Anderson's take on what's needed to stay under 2C warming, an outcome that seems less likely the more we keep performing business as usual.
15 - If you're looking for an interactive (yet depressing) tool to simulate climate change prevention, this was shared with me by @JamesCrowley. Have a play with the parameters and see what you end up with :)
en-roads.climateinteractive.org/scenario.html?…
en-roads.climateinteractive.org/scenario.html?…
16 - But hey! Here's some good news - maybe we can have solar panels on water so that we don't use up so much land?
grist.org/article/no-lan…
grist.org/article/no-lan…
17 - We've covered this before, but yet another report shows that EVs' CO2 emissions are actually 2-3 times less than anticipated in certain studies back in 2017.
🤝THE POLITICS 🤝
18 - Last week we learned that @JohnKerry was starting a climate coalition. As always, @emorwee delivered an awesome newsletter piece actually interviewing him & not shying away from asking tough questions
heated.world/p/a-conversati…
18 - Last week we learned that @JohnKerry was starting a climate coalition. As always, @emorwee delivered an awesome newsletter piece actually interviewing him & not shying away from asking tough questions
heated.world/p/a-conversati…
19 - After the EU's rumoured #GreenNewDeal-type legislation last week, criticisms are already popping up since it's still fixated on GDP growth that is not in line with our planet's ecological limits
newstatesman.com/politics/envir…
newstatesman.com/politics/envir…
20 - Speaking of a #GreenNewDeal, shout out to 1991 @BernieSanders who was showing more urgency to tackle climate change back then than most politicians in power do now
21 - Back in the EU 🇪🇺, a new set of rules governing financial products will clearly determine which can be called "green" and "sustainable"
reuters.com/article/us-eu-…
reuters.com/article/us-eu-…
22 - Denmark's Parliament 🇩🇰 adopts a new climate *law* to cut emissions 70% by 2030. The law includes a "robust monitoring system" with new *legally-binding* targets being set every 5 years.
climatechangenews.com/2019/12/06/den…
climatechangenews.com/2019/12/06/den…
23 - The above is good news since @jasonhickel points out that despite being an example for human development & life satisfaction, Scandinavian countries are also some of the largest polluters
aljazeera.com/indepth/opinio…
aljazeera.com/indepth/opinio…
Finally, let's proceed to ...
🤑THE BUSINESS 💰
24 - A Dutch company specialising in off-grid solar is planning to light up over 1 million homes in Nigeria by 2025
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
🤑THE BUSINESS 💰
24 - A Dutch company specialising in off-grid solar is planning to light up over 1 million homes in Nigeria by 2025
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
25 - US Insurance companies join their European counterparts in taking action against coal by refusing to cover such projects.
theguardian.com/environment/20…
theguardian.com/environment/20…
26 - Spain's 🇪🇸 Repsol becomes first (giant) oil company to announce a net-zero emissions target by 2050 which includes a $5.3 billion asset write-down
greentechmedia.com/articles/read/…
greentechmedia.com/articles/read/…
27 - And another Spanish 🇪🇸 power firm will decommission its last 2 coal plants and become coal-free in 2020.
28 - Blackrock raises $1Bn for clean power (solar, wind), however, the figure looks less impressive when taking into account the size of their Balance Sheet
29 - Finally, saving the best news for last, extremely bullish projections show that battery costs will continue to go down, potentially by another 30-35% in the next 4 years.
about.bnef.com/blog/battery-p…
about.bnef.com/blog/battery-p…
That's it for this week, thanks for reading! See you again next week :)
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