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Walrus leaves Arctic comfort zone for snooze on Dutch submarine
Unclear if ‘Freya’ is conducting protest lie-in or just waylaid, though Dutch navy note her choice of ‘Walrus-class submarine’
The disruption from the climate emergency being experienced by marine wildlife reached a new high in the first week of Cop26, when a female walrus was discovered sleeping on a submarine in a naval base in North Holland.
Walruses normally live in the polar regions – several hundred miles north. This particular animal is one of at least two of the species that have been seen far from their Arctic habitat. Another wandering walrus, seen off the Scilly Islands, France, Spain and West Cork, Ireland, has since been sighted back in Icelandic waters.
Continue reading...Australia's refusal to sign a global methane pledge exposes flaws in the term 'net-zero'
Global pollution price could cut greenhouse gases by 12%, says report
World Economic Forum says taxing carbon emitters would cost less than economic fallout from climate crisis
Creating an international price for carbon emissions could reduce global greenhouse gases by 12% at a cost of less than 1% of global GDP, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) and PwC.
The report found that if global governments agreed together to set a price for pollution to help cut carbon emissions the cost would be less than the economic losses triggered by the fallout of a runaway climate crisis.
Continue reading...Radioactive material and pesticides among new contaminants found in US tap water
Analysis identifies 56 new chemicals in water supplies – including some linked to critical diseases
Water utilities and regulators in the US have identified 56 new contaminants in drinking water over the past two years, a list that includes dangerous substances linked to a range of health problems such as cancer, reproductive disruption, liver disease and much more.
The revelation is part of an analysis of the nation’s water utilities’ contamination records by the Environmental Working Group, a clean water advocate that has now updated its database for the first time since 2019.
Continue reading...NZ's government plans to switch to a circular economy to cut waste and emissions, but it's going around in the wrong circles
Australia finally wakes up to solar opportunity – “world’s cheapest clean electricity”
Australia unveils 30-30-30 plan, designed to help deliver ultra low cost solar to power new green industries and emission cuts.
The post Australia finally wakes up to solar opportunity – “world’s cheapest clean electricity” appeared first on RenewEconomy.
COP26: global deforestation deal will fail if countries like Australia don't lift their game on land clearing
Morrison leaves Glasgow with Australia’s global reputation in a state of crisis
Scott Morrison had a chance to reset Australia's position on global climate action, instead he leaves Glasgow with Australia's reputation in crisis.
The post Morrison leaves Glasgow with Australia’s global reputation in a state of crisis appeared first on RenewEconomy.
More clean energy will insulate against rising coal, oil and gas prices
Economic recovery should be fuelled by renewables, not fossil fuels.
The post More clean energy will insulate against rising coal, oil and gas prices appeared first on RenewEconomy.
CP Daily: Tuesday November 2 , 2021
Australia can’t reach net zero unless it helps people on low incomes transition to clean energy | Cassandra Goldie
The Morrison government’s technology and market-driven response will not drive down emissions in a fast and fair way
- Scott Morrison unveils $500m in international climate finance
- ‘We are digging our own graves’: world leaders’ powerful words
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For more than 30 years, scientists and communities most at risk of life-threatening global warming have pleaded with political leaders and polluting industries to take concrete action to cut carbon emissions, protect people and forge a sustainable future for the planet.
Instead, for over 30 years, we have had political leaders and industry “debate” whether climate change is real, hold “conversations” about what to do about it, and embark on “journeys”, not concrete plans.
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Continue reading...Europe’s record summer ‘impossible’ without global heating
Cop26 countries must take action to stop record heat becoming an annual event, say experts
The heatwaves and wildfires that caused devastation in Europe this summer would not have happened without global heating, new analysis shows.
The summer of 2021 was the hottest on record in the continent, with average temperatures about 1C above normal. The elevated heat caused wildfires and premature deaths.
Continue reading...World’s biggest banks to play a role in limiting greenhouse gas emissions
Pledge by over 450 financial institutions in 45 countries billed as one of the successes of Cop26 summit
Hundreds of the world’s biggest banks and pension funds with assets worth $130tn have committed themselves to a key goal in limiting greenhouse gas emissions, the UK government will announce on Wednesday.
The pledge by more than 450 financial institutions in 45 countries is intended to be one of the top achievements by the UK hosts of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, and comes as some of the other aims of the summit – chiefly, setting the world on a path to limit global heating to 1.5C – are looking hard to reach.
UK prime minister Boris Johnson said he was “cautiously optimistic” about reaching a deal to keep the 1.5C target on track. Returning to a football analogy in which he had said the world was the equivalent of 5-1 down, he declared on Monday evening that the score was now “more like 5-2 or 5-3”.
US president Joe Biden announced a plan by 90 countries to control methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Under the agreement, which does not include major emitters Russia and China, emissions of methane would fall 30% by the end of the decade.
In another multinational deal, more than 40 countries including the UK, US, EU, India, China and Australia signed up to a plan to coordinate the introduction of clean technologies around the world. By collaborating on things like hydrogen production and electric vehicles, the members of the Breakthrough Alliance hope to bring forward the “tipping point” at which green technology is more affordable than fossil-fuel technology.
The group of countries with the most ambitious climate targets, known as the High Ambition Coalition, were boosted by the announcement that the US would be rejoining their ranks after withdrawing from the Paris agreement entirely under former president Donald Trump. Observers said the move would strengthen efforts to stay on track for the target of 1.5C of heating.
Continue reading...COP26: UK firms forced to plan for low-carbon future
Australia puts fossil fuel company front and centre at Cop26
Criticism of Santos pavilion display comes as Coalition confirms it will not join global pledge to cut methane
- When Charles met Scott: prince and the PM come face to face
- Australia considering more than 100 fossil fuel projects that could produce 5% of global industrial emissions
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The Australian government has been criticised for prominently hosting a fossil fuel company at its pavilion at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow.
The condemnation came as the Morrison government confirmed it would not join about 90 countries in backing the official launch of a global pledge to reduce emissions of methane – a potent greenhouse gas leaked during gas and coal extraction and released by livestock – by 30% by 2030.
Continue reading...With “net zero 2050” and 1.5°C in same breath, Glasgow reeks of cognitive dissonance
Glasgow will not get close to pledges to halve emissions by 2030, and any reputable climate scientist will say that means warming will shoot past 2°C.
The post With “net zero 2050” and 1.5°C in same breath, Glasgow reeks of cognitive dissonance appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Big finance is signed up to the 1.5C goal – but will that mean big money for the green economy?
Rishi Sunak should temper his hopes of a huge pool of business cash to fund the net zero transition
Add up the assets of 450 of the biggest financial companies spread across 45 countries and what do you get? A very big number for Rishi Sunak to boast about, that’s what. About $130tn (£95tn) to be precise.
The chancellor, who is kicking off tomorrow’s finance day at the Cop26 conference, will say that 40% of the world’s financial assets is now owned by institutions aligned with the Paris 2015 goal of limiting the increase in global temperature to no more than 1.5C of pre-industrial levels.
Continue reading...Joe Biden lambasts China for Xi’s absence from climate summit
‘It is a gigantic issue and they just walked away,’ says US president, who also criticises Russia’s failure to attend Cop26
Joe Biden launched a stinging attack on China on Tuesday for the failure of the country’s president, Xi Jinping, to show up to the Cop26 UN climate summit, and failing to show leadership on the climate crisis.
The US president said it was a “big mistake” that his Chinese counterpart had chosen not to attend the summit, where more than 120 world leaders have spent the last two days discussing ways to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C.
Continue reading...Massachusetts GWSA emissions decline in Q3, but trend still points to surplus draw
ART programme approves Colombia for jurisdictional REDD+ concept
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