A Boeing 727 flies over approach lights with a trail of black-smoke from the engines on April 9, 2018. aviation-images.com / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
With global air travel at a near standstill, the airline industry is looking to rewrite the rules it agreed to tackle global emissions. The Guardian reports that the airline is billing it as a matter of survival, while environmental activists are accusing the industry of trying to dodge their obligations.
<p>The governing body of the airline industry, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has warned that airlines will start to pull out of a plan to offset and reduce carbon emissions if the International Civil Aviation Organization does not amend the rules, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/08/airlines-lobby-to-rewrite-carbon-deal-due-to-coronavirus" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p><p>The issue is that future offsets are determined by a benchmark that averages emissions from 2019 and 2020. The higher the emissions are, the higher the bar will be set and the less the airlines will have to pay. Rather than commit to a low-carbon future, though, the airline-lobbying group is complaining that the global pandemic has reduced emissions so drastically that it will push the average down too much and future carbon targets will be too steep a challenge, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/08/airlines-lobby-to-rewrite-carbon-deal-due-to-coronavirus" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p>
<p>The Green Alliance found that before the coronavirus lockdowns the airlines' plans to reduce emissions would not meet the requirements of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a>.</p><p>As <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/08/airlines-lobby-to-rewrite-carbon-deal-due-to-coronavirus" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported, James Elliott, a Green Alliance policy adviser, said, "Calls to reduce burdens on the [aviation] sector as it recovers are understandable. But the climate emergency also presents an urgent challenge which must be addressed. If the sector cannot find ways to rebuild itself sustainably after the Covid-19 crisis, it will face painful disruption again in the future as its part in the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-emergency">climate emergency</a> has to be addressed."</p><p>A new investigation by <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2020/04/07/coronavirus-airlines-lobby-for-tax-breaks-subsidies-vouchers-passenger-refunds/" target="_blank">Unearthed</a> revealed that the airline industry is coordinating efforts around the world to push governments and airports around the world to roll back environmental taxes. Furthermore, the papers <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2020/04/07/coronavirus-airlines-lobby-for-tax-breaks-subsidies-vouchers-passenger-refunds/" target="_blank">Unearthed</a> found are a strategy to lobby for public money to be poured into funds to restart or maintain air travel and for any planned tax increases to be delayed for up to a year.</p>
<p>Emirates, America's largest international airline, has gone one step further than the IATA recommended and asked the New York Port Authority to defer any tax obligations until 2022, according to a letter from the CEO of Emirates, as reported by <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2020/04/07/coronavirus-airlines-lobby-for-tax-breaks-subsidies-vouchers-passenger-refunds/" target="_blank">Unearthed</a>.</p><p>Jo Dardenne, aviation manager at campaign group Transport and Environment, told <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2020/04/07/coronavirus-airlines-lobby-for-tax-breaks-subsidies-vouchers-passenger-refunds/" target="_blank">Unearthed</a>, "We fear that this list of demands is a way for airlines to reduce charges not only now but also once things go back to 'normal'.</p><p>"Any financial aid to the sector should be conditional on them paying their taxes and committing to governments' plans to regulate the climate impact of the sector. Given the current climate emergency, governments can't afford to be bailing out polluting sectors without strict green conditions."</p><p>IATA's director general, Alexandre de Juniac, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/08/airlines-lobby-to-rewrite-carbon-deal-due-to-coronavirus" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> that the industry was not relinquishing its responsibilities.</p><p>"We haven't given up our environmental goals … After the recovery we will continue to reduce emissions and noise footprints – that hasn't changed," he said. "This crisis is a matter of survival for the industry … We are asking governments for urgent help. Of course we will comply with our environmental obligations. Before that, we have to survive – or there will be no issue with the environment, the industry will have disappeared."</p>
<p>Greenpeace, however, is appalled by what the industry is asking for and takes issue with carbon offsets as responsible environmental stewardship. "At the same time as they're asking for huge government bailouts, airlines are also lobbying furiously to dodge their obligations towards cutting carbon emissions," said John Sauven, Greenpeace UK's executive director, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/08/airlines-lobby-to-rewrite-carbon-deal-due-to-coronavirus" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported. "Offsetting schemes have always been big polluters' favorite excuse to carry on polluting while shifting responsibility for their emissions to someone else. The industry's current proposal would only make the buck-passing easier."</p>
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Greenland Lost 600 Billion Tons of Ice Last Summer, Raising Sea Levels, NASA Study Finds
19 March
Science
Umiamako Glacier enters the ocean in the west of Greenland. E.RIGNOT / NASA
Greenland experienced an unusually warm summer in 2019, which caused the world's largest island to lose 600 billion tons of ice and raised sea levels by 0.2 of an inch, according to a NASA study released yesterday. That amount of ice loss more than doubled Greenland's 2002-2019 annual average.
<p>The data comes from the joint <a href="https://grace.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/grace-fo/" target="_blank">U.S.-German space mission known as Grace-FO</a>, a pair of satellites that circle the globe and sense the variations in mass that correspond to Earth's gravity field, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51954988" target="_blank">according to the BBC</a>. The satellites are particularly adept at sensing tiny changes in the Earth's gravitational field caused by ice gain or loss. They have proven themselves useful in detecting groundwater storage around the globe, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/03/18/greenland-lost-near-record-600-billion-tons-ice-last-summer-raising-sea-levels/" target="_blank">according to the Washington Post</a>.</p>
<p>The study also looked at Antarctica, noting that it continues to lose its ice mass, particularly in the Amundsen Sea Embayment and the Antarctic Peninsula on the western part of the continent, according to <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7618" target="_blank">NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a>. </p>
<p>"We knew this past summer had been particularly warm in Greenland, melting every corner of the ice sheet," lead author Isabella Velicogna, senior project scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a professor at University of California, Irvine, said in a <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7618" target="_blank">statement</a>. "But the numbers really are enormous."</p>
<p>The study was published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2020GL087291" target="_blank">Geophysical Research Letters</a>. It tracked ice loss in Greenland dating back to 2002, using information from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace) satellites, which went out of commission in 2017, and the new Grace-FO satellites, which launched in 2018. The FO stands for Follow On, as The Washington Post reported.</p>
<p>The satellites revealed that from 2002 to 2019, Greenland lost 4,550 billion tons of ice, for an average of 261 billion tons every year, according to The Washington Post. 2012 and 2019 were the two largest melt years in that time frame, the BBC reported.</p>
<p>Velicogna told The Washington Post what made 2019 so different in Greenland was that there was a lot of melting from the glaciers in the north and northeastern glaciers, which is unusual. </p>
<p>"And, so, basically, we have melting all around the ice sheet," she said. </p>
<p>In the coastal town of Ilulissat, not far from where the mighty Jakobshavn Glacier enters the ocean, temperatures reached into the high 20s Celsius this summer. The warm temperatures even reached the ice sheet's interior, which approached above freezing levels, the BBC reported. </p>
<p>"It's significant that we're now seeing melt and mass loss extending to Greenland's northern glaciers. All of Greenland contributed to the big summer melt of last year," Velicogna said, according to the BBC.</p>
<p>Robin Bell, an expert on ice sheet dynamics at Columbia University, to The Washington Post that the satellite data will help researchers improve the accuracy of their future sea-level rise estimates. </p><p>"This is a beautiful update of how we can really see how the ice sheets are changing…from the annual inhale and exhale as snow accumulates in the winter in Greenland and melts in the summer," she said.</p>
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The so-called "Zenith Five" in court. "Zenith Energy Corporation, and the city's inability to shut it down, is the poster child for what is wrong with our system," defendant Margaret Butler said in a statement Thursday. @RickRappaport2020
By Jake Johnson
Environmentalists celebrated a landmark victory in the "fight for a habitable future" after a Portland, Oregon jury on Thursday refused to convict five Extinction Rebellion activists — including valve turner Ken Ward — who presented the climate necessity defense at their trial for blockading a train track used by Zenith Energy to transport crude oil.
<p>The activists emphasized that the win was only partial because the criminal trespassing case ended in a mistrial rather than a full acquittal. Just <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/02/case-against-5-who-built-garden-on-train-tracks-to-block-oil-train-ends-in-mistrial.html" target="_blank">one of six jurors voted</a> to convict the activists while the five others voted to acquit.<em></em></p>
<p>But Ward said the jury's refusal to convict even when presented with video evidence of the trespassing "is a vindication of our call for climate activists to use a climate necessity defense," which states that it is at times justified to break the law to combat the planetary crisis.</p><p>"When citizens are told the truth about the climate crisis—which is the first of Extinction Rebellion's demands—they take appropriate and responsible action, as our jury did, and we thank them," said Ward.</p><p>The five activists were arrested last April for <a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/portland-protesters-arrested-zenith-energy-oil-terminal-railroad/" target="_blank">building a garden on the tracks</a> of Houston-based Zenith Energy's railroad terminal in Portland to protest expansion of the fossil fuel infrastructure.</p>
<p>"The activists had been protesting the expansion of the oil terminal at a time when they say we should be dismantling fossil fuel infrastructure, not creating more," the local radio station KOPB-FM <a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/portland-protesters-arrested-zenith-energy-oil-terminal-railroad/" target="_blank">reported</a> at the time. "A few small mounds of soil extend onto the rail line—not much, but apparently enough to make it unusable. Activists also sat on the tracks."</p>
<div id="8efed" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="E32P211583175469"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1120033462470074368" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">There’s a group of, at this point, 25 or so people on NW Front, at a “Victory Garden” protest blocking part of rail… https://t.co/QQfGri8C1S</div> — Kristi Turnquist (@Kristi Turnquist)<a href="https://twitter.com/Kristiturnquist/statuses/1120033462470074368">1555871761.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"Zenith Energy Corporation, and the city's inability to shut it down, is the poster child for what is wrong with our system," defendant Margaret Butler said in a statement Thursday. "We need to take note of the lessons learned by the labor movement—mass civil disobedience works. The climate crisis is a workers issue, we need to unite to shut down business as usual. Right now."</p><p>Lauren Regan, lead attorney for the group of activists, said it is now up to the Multnomah County district attorney's office to decide whether to re-prosecute the climate campaigners.</p><p>"The jury's inability to convict the activists," said Regan, "reflects the prevailing community consciousness which is unlikely to punish climate defenders for acts of nonviolent resistance."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/28/landmark-win-fight-habitable-future-jury-refuses-convict-climate-activists-who?fbclid=IwAR370aZjTqEzywKvY6jF_oDkKQq_SKyoljLL1OltkV3gtuASyNLnmw2OGbE" rel="noopener noreferrer">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Demonstrators hold up placards outside the Australian Open venue during a climate protest rally in Melbourne on Jan.y 24. MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP / Getty Images
The climate crisis has now stretched Australia's summers twice as long as its winters, a new report has found.
<p>The report, published by <a href="https://www.tai.org.au/content/australian-summer-now-over-one-month-longer" target="_blank">The Australian Institute Monday</a>, comes after the country experienced its warmest and driest year on record, as well as a devastating <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires" target="_self">wildfire</a> season that killed 33 people and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/australia-wildfire-deaths-2644394434.html" target="_self">more than one billion animals</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-51697803" target="_blank">BBC News pointed out</a>.</p><p>"Following the hottest Summer on record, it commonplace to hear older Australians claim Summers aren't what they use to be. And they are right," Australia Institute Climate & Energy Program Director Richie Merzian said in a press release. "Our findings are not a projection of what we may see in the future. It's happening right now."</p>
<div id="31146" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="HQQBJG1583161512"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1234367170001244167" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">“Our findings are not a projection of what we may see in the future. It's happening right now. Summers have grown l… https://t.co/ZoEvD1WByk</div> — Australia Institute (@Australia Institute)<a href="https://twitter.com/TheAusInstitute/statuses/1234367170001244167">1583131041.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The researchers looked at Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) temperature data from 70 weather stations across Australia, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/02/climate-crisis-cutting-short-australias-winters-and-extending-summers" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. First, they compared temperature data from 1999 to 2018 with data from 1950 to 1969. They found that, between the two periods, summers had gotten 31 days longer while winters had gotten 23 days shorter. Then, they looked at data for the last five years and found that summers from 2014 to 2018 were around twice as long as winters.</p><p>This has major implications for the health and wellbeing of Australians. Extreme heat waves are the deadliest extreme weather events in the country, responsible for more deaths than all other hazards combined, Merzian said. Shorter winters also mean there is less time to implement strategies for managing bushfires during the off season.</p><p>One region that suffered during the most recent wave of wildfires has also seen its summers extend significantly: Port Macquarie in New South Wales, where the Lindfield Park Road fire burned for almost seven months starting in July 2019, is now seeing 48 more days of summer, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-02/australian-summers-getting-longer-winters-shorter/12013978" target="_blank">ABC News pointed out</a>. Fires in Port Macquarie also <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/koala-habitat-fire-port-macquarie-2641163216.html" target="_self">devastated koala habitats</a>.</p>
<p>"[T]he catastrophic 2019 fires near Port Macquarie occurred before summer as defined by the calendar, but well within the new summer as caused by climate change," the report said, according to ABC News.</p><p>The report predicted that these hotter conditions would likely continue unless greenhouse gas emissions were reduced and ultimately zeroed out, according to The Guardian. Australia has seen one degree Celsius of warming so far, but is on track for three to four degrees of warming based on its current emissions targets.</p><p>Prime Minister Scott Morrison has faced criticism for failing to act on the climate crisis, BBC News reported. Australia is one of the highest carbon dioxide emitting countries per capita because of its reliance on coal.</p><p>"According to numerous modelling exercises, including those commissioned by the federal government, it is in Australia's national interest and economic interest to put in place a strong policy to reduce emissions," Merzian said. "The Australian Government's current policies only serve to further fuel the climate crisis."</p>
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The Bunda cliff face along the Great Australian Bight near the South Australian-Western Australian border. Robbie Goodall / Moment / Getty Images
By Andy Rowel
For those fighting the oil industry, the good news keeps on coming this week.
<p>The Norwegian company, Equinor, has announced it is abandoning plans to drill for oil in the highly ecologically sensitive, Great Australian Bight, which has been a battleground between conservationists and the industry for years.<em></em></p>
<p>Off the country's southern coast, the area is a marine park home to one of the largest breeding populations of endangered southern right whales in the world. It is seen as a marine treasure.</p><p>Despite this, Equinor, which is two-thirds owned by the Norwegian Government, had been granted environmental approval back in December to drill about 400 kilometers off the South Australian coast. This was despite the fact that <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2016/10/11/victory-bp-abandons-drilling-in-the-great-australian-bight/" target="_blank">BP had abandoned plans</a> to drill there in 2016, and Chevron in 2017.</p><p>When these companies pulled out it was seen as a significant victory, so the decision by Equinor to press ahead was "met with an outcry from Traditional Owners and environmental activists," according to the Australian <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2020/02/25/weve-finally-won-mirning-elder-welcomes-equinors-withdrawal-bight?fbclid=IwAR3NlmNe3QjoVkGoIqgoyOt-hOfyRI0efy1FxbLeyjsj6KX3wV9cwIag8IY" target="_blank">NITV</a> news.</p><p>The news this week that Equinor was abandoning drilling due to it not being "commercially competitive" was met with joy by opponents of the plan.</p>
<p>The Great <a href="https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-25/equinor-abandons-plan-to-drill-for-oil-in-great-australian-bight/11997910?pfmredir=sm&fbclid=IwAR25n-3kvr74cCjtrO73BYttJahqcV8oquCQcAw_S8Ua8Kps6QsIleyWFCA" target="_blank">Australian Bight Alliance</a>, a coalition of environmental organizations along with the Mirning Indigenous people, had previously accused Equinor of refusing to formally consult with "key Indigenous groups and local governments."</p><p>Once the news broke, they were ecstatic.</p><p>Mirning Elder, Bunna Lawrie told <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2020/02/25/weve-finally-won-mirning-elder-welcomes-equinors-withdrawal-bight?fbclid=IwAR3NlmNe3QjoVkGoIqgoyOt-hOfyRI0efy1FxbLeyjsj6KX3wV9cwIag8IY" target="_blank">NITV news</a>, "It was just fantastic news to hear. To hear that news, it's going to be a collective future for all to enjoy and for our Mirning Elders and our people to continue to celebrate and to practice our culture and traditions and song and dance and our connection to that country."</p><p>The Wilderness Society's Peter Owen also told <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2020/02/25/weve-finally-won-mirning-elder-welcomes-equinors-withdrawal-bight?fbclid=IwAR3NlmNe3QjoVkGoIqgoyOt-hOfyRI0efy1FxbLeyjsj6KX3wV9cwIag8IY" target="_blank">NITV news</a> the decision was "fantastic," adding that "the Australian people have opposed drilling in the bight over a number of years. It's inappropriate to be expanding the fossil fuel industry when we're in the middle of a climate emergency and we should be transitioning away from fossil fuels."</p><p>Sarah Hanson-Young, the green Senator for South Australia, tweeted:</p>
<div id="1daf0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="J7PIMY1582923912"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1232084168642723843" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Breaking!! Oil giant Equinor has scrapped plans to drill in South Australia’s gorgeous Great Australian Bight.
This… https://t.co/SRBFQ9qHV1</div> — Sarah Hanson-Young💚 (@Sarah Hanson-Young💚)<a href="https://twitter.com/sarahinthesen8/statuses/1232084168642723843">1582586731.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The fight is not over yet, though, as other smaller companies still have plans to drill in the Bight.</p><p>And despite the unprecedented bush fires that have ravaged parts of Australia, the Government is still determined to press ahead with drilling, if at all possible, too.</p><p>According to <a href="https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-25/equinor-abandons-plan-to-drill-for-oil-in-great-australian-bight/11997910?pfmredir=sm&fbclid=IwAR25n-3kvr74cCjtrO73BYttJahqcV8oquCQcAw_S8Ua8Kps6QsIleyWFCA" target="_blank">ABC,</a> the Federal Resources Minister, Keith Pitt, said the company's decision to withdraw was "disappointing" but "expressed support for future exploration in the Bight."</p><p>He added: "The Bight Basin remains one of Australia's frontier basins and any proposals for new oil and gas fields in this area will be assessed fairly and independently."</p><p>Amazingly, the Federal Government remains in denial.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2020/02/26/another-huge-win-as-equinor-pulls-out-of-drilling-the-australian-bight/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Oil Change International</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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42 Nobel Laureates Urge Trudeau to Act With 'Moral Clarity' and Stop Climate-Wrecking Teck Frontier Mine
23 February
Popular
Greenpeace activists unfurl banners after building a wood and card 'oil pipeline' outside the Canadian High Commission, Canada House, to protest against the Trudeau government's plans to build an oil pipeline in British Colombia on April 18, 2018 in London. Chris J Ratcliffe / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
In an open letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, 42 Nobel laureates implored the federal government to "act with the moral clarity required" to tackle the global climate crisis and stop Teck Resources' proposed Frontier tar sands mine.
<p>"The importance of leadership in the coming few years cannot be understated," reads the letter, published Friday in the Guardian's opinion section. "Governments are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/21/the-governments-sudden-passion-for-climate-technology-is-newfound-and-insincere" style="" target="_blank">lagging scandalously behind</a> what science demands, and what a growing and powerful people-powered movement knows is necessary."</p><p>"There is enough carbon embedded in already operating oil, gas, and coalfields and mines to take us beyond 2°C, let alone 1.5°C," the letter continues, referencing key temperature targets of the 2015 Paris climate accord. "The implications of this are clear: there is no room for expansion of the fossil fuel sector. There is no room for the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/05/when-it-comes-to-climate-hypocrisy-canadas-leaders-have-reached-a-new-low" target="_blank">Teck Frontier tar sands mine</a>."</p>
<div id="3c0df" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9SDIWF1582463719"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1230889418786885632" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Projects that enable fossil-fuel growth at this moment in time are an affront to our state of climate emergency, an… https://t.co/RFmem6gGr4</div> — 350 Canada (@350 Canada)<a href="https://twitter.com/350Canada/statuses/1230889418786885632">1582301880.0</a></blockquote></div><p>According to the letter:</p><blockquote>Projects that enable fossil fuel growth at this moment in time are an affront to our state of climate emergency, and the mere fact that they warrant debate in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/canada" target="_blank">Canada</a> should be seen as a disgrace. They are wholly incompatible with your government's recent commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. And with clear infringements on First Nations rights, such projects fly in the face of rhetoric and purported efforts towards reconciliation.<br><br>The response to the climate crisis will define and destroy legacies in the coming years, and the qualifications for being on the right side of history are clear: an immediate end to fossil fuel financing and expansion along with an ambitious and just transition away from oil and gas production towards zero carbon well before mid-century.<br></blockquote><p>Signatories to the letter are from all around the world and have received Nobel prizes in chemistry, economics, literature, medicine, peace, and physics dating back to 1973. They include Canadian author Alice Munro, awarded a literature prize in 2013, and Canadian biologist Jack W. Szostak, awarded a medicine prize in 2009.</p><p>The tar sands project, first proposed in 2011, has pitted environmentalists in Canada and across the globe against conservatives in Alberta, where the mine could create thousands of jobs while <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2020/01/20/bc-and-alberta-indigenous-leaders-demonstrate-against-major-oilsands-project.html" target="_blank">producing</a> about 260,000 barrels of oil daily and four million tons of climate-heating emissions annually. Trudeau's cabinet is expected to weigh in sometime this month.</p>
<div id="7b286" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="EVWE711582463719"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1230840271111360513" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The world is watching @JustinTrudeau and @CAFreeland! Over 40 @NobelPrize Laureates are calling on you to… https://t.co/qRuz0ictbR</div> — Oil Change International (@Oil Change International)<a href="https://twitter.com/PriceofOil/statuses/1230840271111360513">1582290163.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"Teck still hasn't committed to building Frontier if it's approved," Bloomberg <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/markets/trudeau-e2-80-99s-in-a-bind-over-an-oil-sands-mine-that-might-never-get-built/ar-BBZVdot" target="_blank">reported</a> last week. "The Vancouver-based company's current focus is on advancing the project through the regulatory process, and further decisions will depend on the outcome of that process, market conditions, and other considerations, said Chris Stannell, a Teck spokesman."</p><p>Although Trudeau often presents himself as <a href="https://apnews.com/e294259c977f412cb5ebf24dfc961bbe" target="_blank">committed </a>to addressing the climate crisis, the Liberal prime minister and his government have been criticized for decisions that conflict with scientists' warnings that the world must rapidly move to 100 percent renewable energy to avert climate catastrophe. One such decision was the Trudeau government <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/29/immense-moral-cowardice-trudeau-trashed-government-purchase-climate-killing-kinder" target="_blank">buying</a> the Trans Mountain pipeline and long-delayed expansion project in 2018, which Indigenous people and climate activists <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/05/we-will-continue-fight-protesters-vow-after-canadian-court-dismisses-indigenous" target="_blank">continue</a> to challenge in court.</p><p>Among those <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/rival-rallies-teck-frontier-mine-approval-ottawa-oilsands-calgary-protests-1.5436228" target="_blank">opposed</a> to the Frontier mine are leaders and members of Extinction Rebellion, Indigenous Climate Action, the Tiny House Warriors and the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, who have <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2020/01/20/bc-and-alberta-indigenous-leaders-demonstrate-against-major-oilsands-project.html" target="_blank">held</a> protests aimed at pressuring the Canadian government to block the contested project.</p>
<div id="4ab0f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="RWGZPT1582463719"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1230931456471523329" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Over 40 Nobel Laureates call on @JustinTrudeau and @cafreeland to reject the largest tar sands mine proposal EVER.… https://t.co/lLOx1kmojK</div> — Global Witness (@Global Witness)<a href="https://twitter.com/Global_Witness/statuses/1230931456471523329">1582311903.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"Ultimately, this mine will be so devastating to the climate, and we're in a climate crisis," Extinction Rebellion member Sarah Flynn <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/rival-rallies-teck-frontier-mine-approval-ottawa-oilsands-calgary-protests-1.5436228" target="_blank">told</a> CBC News in January, "so the short-term advantages of the jobs and the income that this mine will offer will be far outweighed by the climate devastation that the whole world will experience."</p><p>Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2020/01/20/bc-and-alberta-indigenous-leaders-demonstrate-against-major-oilsands-project.html" target="_blank">told</a> the Toronto Star last month that Trudeau should "walk the walk" of transitioning to a green economy. Phillip noted that "there were commitments made during the last election that the Trudeau government would make decisive moves toward renewable energy and this is an opportunity to follow through on those promises."</p><p>In an op-ed for the Guardian earlier this month, author and activist Bill McKibben <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/05/when-it-comes-to-climate-hypocrisy-canadas-leaders-have-reached-a-new-low" target="_blank">wrote</a> that "it's disturbing in a different way to watch leaders pretend to care — a kind of gaslighting that can reduce you to numb nihilism. Trudeau, for all his charms, doesn't get to have it both ways: if you can't bring yourself to stop a brand-new tar sands mine then you're not a climate leader."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/21/42-nobel-laureates-urge-trudeau-act-moral-clarity-and-stop-climate-wrecking-teck" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>. </em><em></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Oil rigs seen at sunset off the southern California coast. Neil Nissing / The Image Bank / Getty Images
By Daisy Dunne
Deadly "day-night hot extremes" are increasing across the northern hemisphere due to climate change, a new study finds.
<p>And the number of people exposed to such events, also known as "compound hot extremes," is likely to increase "several-fold" as temperatures continue to climb in the coming decades, the study authors tell Carbon Brief.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/climate-change-driving-surge-in-day-night-hot-extremes-in-northern-hemisphere" target="_blank">Carbon Brief</a>.</em></p>
<p>If global temperatures reach 2 C — the upper limit set by countries in the <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/interactive-the-paris-agreement-on-climate-change" target="_blank">Paris agreement</a> — the frequency of compound hot extremes could more than double across the northern hemisphere, when compared to 2012, the research finds.</p><p>However, if greenhouse gas emissions are not curbed, compound hot extremes could become eight times more frequent by the end of the century.<br></p><p>The study sets out "clear evidence" that human-caused climate change is leaving its mark on extreme heat events, another scientist tells Carbon Brief.</p>
Day and Night
<p>The new study, published in <a href="https://nature.com/articles/s41467-019-14233-8" target="_blank">Nature Communications</a>, looks specifically at "compound hot extremes" — a 24-hour period in summer where hot daytime temperatures are followed by similar nightime temperatures. (Temperatures are considered "hot" if they are in the top 10% of temperatures experienced by a region from 1960-2012.)</p><p>These kinds of events pose a particularly high danger to human health, explain study authors <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/people/yang-chen/" target="_blank">Dr Yang Chen</a>, a climate extremes scientist from the <a href="http://www.cma.gov.cn/en2014/aboutcma/organizational/InstitutionsunderCMA/201409/t20140915_261139.html" target="_blank">Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences</a>, and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jun_Wang272" target="_blank">Dr Jun Wang</a>, a climate and meteorological scientist from the <a href="http://english.iap.cas.cn/" target="_blank">Institute of Atmospheric Physics</a> in China. In a joint interview, they tell Carbon Brief:</p><blockquote>Simply put, compound hot extremes deprive humans of the valuable chance of relief, which could have been provided by the 'cooling-off' effects of a nighttime low.<br></blockquote><p>Such conditions occurred during the <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/study-links-heatwave-deaths-london-paris-climate-change" target="_blank">2003 summer heatwave</a> in Europe, which saw <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1631069107003770" target="_blank">70,000 deaths</a> across 16 countries, the authors say. Another example is the <a href="https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/July-2015/1995-Chicago-heat-wave/" target="_blank">1995 Chicago heatwave</a>, which led to more than 700 heat-related deaths in just five days.<br></p><p>The study is the first to present "a complete storyline on compound hot extremes" — investigating how they have changed, the role of climate change in this and how they might increase in the future, the authors say.<br></p><p>The results show that compound hot extremes "are significantly increasing and will continue to increase in frequency and intensity" across the northern hemisphere, say Chen and Wang:</p><blockquote>These increases in heat hazards will translate into several-fold increases in population exposure to them. The rise of anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gas emissions is to blame for these increases.<br></blockquote>Burning Up
<p>For the first part of their study, the authors analysed the "fingerprint" of human-caused climate change on compound hot extremes to date. To do this, they conducted an "<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/category/science/extreme-weather/attribution" target="_blank">attribution</a>" analysis.<br></p><p>This involves using <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-how-do-climate-models-work" target="_blank">climate models</a> to produce two sets of simulations: one including <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-why-scientists-think-100-of-global-warming-is-due-to-humans" target="_blank">all the factors that affect the climate</a>, including human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, volcanic eruptions and solar variability, and one including all of these factors except for greenhouse gas emissions.</p><p>The researchers then compared the frequency and intensity of compound hot extremes in both of these scenarios.</p><p>They found that only the scenario including human-caused greenhouse gas emissions could closely reproduce the pattern of compound hot extremes observed from 1960 to 2012. In their research paper, the authors write:</p><blockquote>We find that the summer-mean warming over 1960-2012 largely dictates the past increases in frequency and intensity of compound hot extremes during that period in both observations and simulations.<br></blockquote><p>The maps below show observed changes in summertime compound hot extreme frequency (left) and intensity (right) across the northern hemisphere from 1960-2012.</p><p>The left-hand map shows changes in the number of compound hot extreme days per decade (yellow to red for increases; light to dark blue for decreases), while the right-hand map shows changes in the average temperature of compound hot extremes per decade (same color scale).</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjY3ODQ5MC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MzcyNzMxNn0.3Qy08rehvqYym0vPHFEYOOlXygOkrz_ALOQUiWKL8y8/img.png?width=980" id="57a44" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="48ac462dca461f1cc5a9ff87f7c67427" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Contributions from changing temperature mean and variability. Wang et al. (2020)
<p>The map shows that increases in the frequency and intensity of compound hot extremes are widespread across the northern hemisphere, with parts of continental Europe and China particularly affected.</p><p>(Gaps in the data prevented the researchers from analysing changes in the most southern parts of the northern hemisphere, the authors say in their research paper.)</p><p>While the global pattern of increases is best explained by human-caused global warming, it is possible that some regional differences may be explained by other factors, the authors say.</p><p>For example, the drying of soils could help to explain local variation of heat extremes, the authors say in their research paper.</p><p>This is because dry soils accumulate heat during the day and release it at night, Wang and Chen say, making night hot extremes and, therefore, compound hot extremes, more likely.</p>Furnace Forecast
<p>The authors also used climate models to project possible future changes to compound hot extremes until 2100. They investigated two scenarios: one "<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-011-0148-z" target="_blank">intermediate mitigation</a>" pathway with moderately high greenhouse gas emissions ("<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-011-0151-4" target="_blank">RCP4.5</a>") and one with very high greenhouse gas emissions ("<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-the-high-emissions-rcp8-5-global-warming-scenario" target="_blank">RCP8.5</a>").</p><p>Within each emissions scenario, they also looked at the changes to compound hot extremes expected if the world reaches 1.5 C and 2 C of global warming, which are the temperature limits set by the <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/interactive-the-paris-agreement-on-climate-change" target="_blank">Paris agreement</a>.</p><p>The charts below show the average expected change in the number of summertime compound hot extreme days (purple line), as well as independent hot days (blue line) and independent hot nights (turquoise line) across the northern hemisphere under RCP4.5 (top) and RCP8.5 (bottom) until 2100. (Compound extremes are where a hot day is followed by a hot night, whereas an "independent hot day" is when a hot day is not followed by a hot night.)</p><p>On the charts, red circles point out when the temperature limits of 1.5 C and 2 C will be breached in each scenario. The bottom chart also highlights when 4C could be breached. The various data points represent results from different climate models.</p><p>(It is worth noting that events are considered to be compound or independent. So, a 24-hour period where a hot day is followed by a hot night would be considered a compound extreme, but not an independent hot day or hot night.)</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjY3ODQ5My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwODcyNzk3Mn0.C2pCow5E2GKET9tRcrpw_BszacBruAs5y9kDGFg4AD4/img.png?width=980" id="31a0d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5a2361782343ec141a8d14863900d80f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Constrained projections of summertime hot extremes. Wang et al. (2020)
<p>The results show that the average number of compound hot extreme days across the northern hemisphere in summer would more than double if temperatures reach 2 C, when compared to 2012.</p><p>Keeping temperatures at 1.5 C could see five fewer compound hot extreme days across the northern hemisphere, on average, when compared to 2 C, the research adds.</p><p>If greenhouse gas emissions are extremely high (RCP8.5), the number of summertime compound hot extremes could increase eight-fold by 2100, when compared to 2012, the results show.</p><p>The charts also show that compound hot events are expected to increase at a much more rapid rate than independent hot day or hot night events.</p><p>This is chiefly because <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/07/11/climate/summer-nights-warming-faster-than-days-dangerous.html" target="_blank">climate change is known</a> to have a larger effect on nightime temperatures than daytime temperatures, the authors say.</p><p>Therefore, as the chances of hot nights become higher, the chances of compound hot events also increase — and, so, the chances of a hot day or night occurring independently decreases, explain Chen and Wang.</p>‘Clear Evidence’
<p>The findings reinforce "the urgency in reducing emission of greenhouse gases" for policymakers, say Chen and Wang:</p><blockquote>We should keep the point in mind that as the globe warms, future summers are increasingly dominated by compound hot extremes and become more uncomfortable. Namely, a hot day accompanied by a hot night without a relief window for humans might become a 'new norm'. As a result, vigilance against excess heat should be kept through day and night.<br></blockquote><p>The study is "impressively comprehensive," says <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/geography/people/eunice-t-lo/overview.html" target="_blank">Dr Eunice Lo</a>, a research associate in climate extremes from the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank">University of Bristol</a>, who was not involved in the research. She tells Carbon Brief:</p><blockquote>I think the main take home message from this study is that we should use consecutive day-night hot extremes as a major heat-health indicator for policymaking, as compound hot extremes are projected to have larger future increases in frequency and intensity then hot days or nights.<br></blockquote><p>The findings produce "clear evidence" that human-caused climate change is leaving its mark on extreme heat events, says <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/people/peter-stott" target="_blank">Prof Peter Stott</a>, who leads on climate monitoring and attribution at the <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/climate-change/organisations-and-reports/met-office-hadley-centre" target="_blank">Met Office Hadley Centre</a>. Stott, who was also not involved in the research, tells Carbon Brief:</p><blockquote>I don't find the conclusions of the study very surprising, but I do like the way the authors have comprehensively set out the implications – the clear evidence that the changes to date are driven by human emissions and the clear evidence that future changes will result in significant increases in the frequency and intensity of these compound extremes worldwide.<br></blockquote>From Your Site Articles
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6 Changes in Society Could Rapidly Pave the Way to a Sustainable Future, Study Finds
05 February
Climate
People taking a break in German park landscape on top of modern office complex (composite image). EschCollection / Stone / Getty Images
By Johnny Wood
- Despite efforts to achieve net-zero by 2050, global emissions are still rising.
- A new study suggests ways to fast-track efforts to decarbonize the planet.
- Building a business case for sustainable energy could drive the transition.
It's not too late to stop climate change. According to new research, decarbonizing fast enough to stabilize the climate and fast-track the planet to net-zero rests on all of us changing how we think and act — and doing it fast.
<p>The report, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (PNAS), identifies six "<a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/01/14/1900577117" target="_blank">tipping dynamics</a>," or interventions, that could act as catalysts to bring about rapid societal and technological change towards a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sustainability" rel="noopener noreferrer">sustainable</a> future.</p><p>The study highlights the importance of intervening to make <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</a> less economically — and morally — attractive. A step-change of this kind could bring about tipping points that divert investment and consumer demand away from fossil fuels towards more sustainable <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/energy-news/" rel="noopener noreferrer">energy</a> sources. </p><p>It says this can be done by:</p><ul><li>Removing fossil-fuel subsidies and boosting incentives to move to decentralized energy systems and make clean energy production and storage systems more economically competitive.</li><li>Encouraging financial markets to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/divest">divest</a> of assets linked to fossil fuels, to divert investment towards less-polluting technologies, leaving investors keen to avoid the prospect of holding 'stranded assets' tied to fossil fuels.</li><li>Building sustainable cities powered by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" rel="noopener noreferrer">renewable energy</a>.</li><li>Revealing the "moral implications" of fossil fuels.</li><li>Disclosing greenhouse gas emissions information.</li><li>Strengthening climate education and engagement.</li></ul><p>While awareness of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-emergency" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate emergency</a> is growing, global efforts to reduce carbon emissions are not moving fast enough to avoid irreversible damage to the planet.</p><p>Moving from the fossil fuels that drive global warming to cleaner energy sources, such as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wind">wind</a> or <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/solar" rel="noopener noreferrer">solar</a> power, is at the heart of global efforts to decarbonize. Yet emissions from power generation continue to increase.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjY1ODY5NS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODc0MDYxOH0.cxnno4YBzQ7rSr6jeerXx9IdphcmEIdcLBaoSngtysU/img.png?width=980" id="6886f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2e4f3a6df3b0c4b02d627b7f69baea7c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions worldwide (in gigatonnes). CC
<p>Carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector have more than doubled since the 1970s and remain on an upward trajectory.<br></p><p>Once we reach a point where sustainable energy generates higher financial returns than coal and oil, the world should reach the critical mass needed to halt increasing CO2 emissions levels, and begin to reverse the trend.<br></p>Think Again
<p>But building a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/business/" rel="noopener noreferrer">business</a> case for clean energy is only one part of the challenge. The study also identifies the importance of changing social values and behavior.<br><br>Progress in combating climate change rests on converting awareness of the problem into action, so the transition to a carbon-free lifestyle is made easy for the global population to achieve.<br><br>For this to happen, a new world view is needed that embraces a climate-friendly and sustainable stance, which demands a fundamental overhaul of existing social, political and economic norms. And this new perception needs to be contagious so it is adopted globally.<br><br>The paper's authors suggest greater transparency could produce tipping points that change what's considered normal or acceptable, by revealing the moral implications of fossil fuels and disclosing greenhouse gas emissions information. At the same time strengthening climate education and engagement among the global population.</p><p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-action" rel="noopener noreferrer">Climate action</a> was a key theme at the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2020/themes/how-to-save-the-planet" target="_blank">World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020</a> in Davos. Klaus Schwab, the Forum's Founder and Executive Chairman, and the heads of Bank of America and Royal DSM, <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/davos-ceos-to-set-net-zero-target-2050-climate/" target="_blank">sent a letter to all summit participants</a> asking companies and investors to make a commitment to act on climate change, which is more urgently needed than ever before. The Forum's ongoing work on climate change includes <a href="https://www.weforum.org/mission-possible" target="_blank">Mission Possible</a>, a platform to help industries make the transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.<br><br>The climate challenges facing the planet transcend national boundaries, requiring urgent action from policy-makers, businesses, organizations and communities to speed up the transition to a net-zero future.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/tackling-climate-change-actions-report/" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Trending
If temperatures continue to rise, the world is at risk from global sea-level rise, which will flood many coastal cities as seen above in Bangladesh. NurPhoto / Contributor / Getty Images
The mounting climate emergency may spur the next global financial crisis and the world's central banks are woefully ill equipped to handle the consequences, according to a new book-length report by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), as S&P Global reported. Located in Basel, Switzerland, the BIS is an umbrella organization for the world's central banks.
<p>The report, titled<em> The Green Swan</em>, which plays on the idea of a "black swan" even warned that the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate crisis</a> could have a potentially seismic effect on the world's financial system and that central banks do not have the tools to handle it, as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-cenbank-bis/central-banks-cant-save-the-world-from-climate-change-bis-says-idUSKBN1ZJ19E" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. </p>
<p>"Climate change poses unprecedented challenges to human societies, and our community of central banks and supervisors cannot consider itself immune to the risks ahead of us," François Villeroy de Galhau, governor of the Banque de France, said in the report, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/business/climate-change-central-banks.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times reported</a>.</p>
<p>The world's markets are in a bind. To limit global warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius requires leaving a large proportion of fossil fuel reserves in the ground, which creates a potential risk for the value of energy companies and the broader financial system. Yet, extracting those fossil fuels will almost surely push the world past the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold, as <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/coal/012120-climate-change-could-trigger-next-financial-crisis-bis" target="_blank">S&P Global reported</a>. </p>
<p>If temperatures continue to rise, the world is at risk from global <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise" target="_blank">sea-level rise</a>, which will flood many coastal cities, while brutal <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/droughts" rel="noopener noreferrer">droughts</a> will make other parts of the world uninhabitable, as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-cenbank-bis/central-banks-cant-save-the-world-from-climate-change-bis-says-idUSKBN1ZJ19E" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>.</p>
<p>Already, the world has the number of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather" rel="noopener noreferrer">extreme weather</a> events quadruple of the last four decades. The report warns that the financial markets are not protected against climate-induced losses. Only 44 percent of the write-downs caused by extreme weather events are now covered in the U.S. In Asia it's just 8 percent and in Africa only 3 percent, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-cenbank-bis/central-banks-cant-save-the-world-from-climate-change-bis-says-idUSKBN1ZJ19E" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p>
<p>"I think we might be on the brink of observing something that might be behind the next systemic financial crisis," Luiz Awazu Pereira Da Silva, one of the book's main authors, told reporters, as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-cenbank-bis/central-banks-cant-save-the-world-from-climate-change-bis-says-idUSKBN1ZJ19E" target="_blank">Reuters</a> reported. </p>
<p>The report also warned that central banks, which spent the last decade pulling their countries out of a deep financial crisis, may spend the next decade coping with disruptions from the climate crisis, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/business/climate-change-central-banks.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>.</p>
<p>The paper warned that central banks may be called on to bail out many communities that are devastated by climate emergencies.</p>
<p>"In the worst-case scenario, central banks may have to confront a situation where they are called upon by their local constituencies to intervene as climate rescuers of last resort," the <a href="https://www.bis.org/publ/othp31.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> said. "Fundamentally, climate-related risks will remain largely uninsurable or unable to be hedged as long as system-wide action is not taken."</p>
<p>The European Central Bank is starting to grapple with climate-related issues, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/business/climate-change-central-banks.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a>. The new president of the European Central Bank has pledged to put the climate crisis at the forefront of the bank's decisions. </p>
<p>"While we might not be ahead of the curve yet, we are not sitting on our bottoms doing nothing," Ms. Lagarde said during a news conference on Thursday, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/business/climate-change-central-banks.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a>. "It is going to be an important matter that will be debated during the strategy review."</p>
<p>She noted that bank's employee pension fund is shifting investment to companies with lower carbon dioxide emissions.</p><p>Environmental activists who have campaigned to divest from fossil fuels took to <a href="https://twitter.com/billmckibben/status/1220338335828324352" target="_blank">Twitter</a> to highlight the report's findings. Bill McKibben, the founder of <a href="https://350.org/" target="_blank">350.org</a>, rewrote <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/business/climate-change-central-banks.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> headline "Climate Change Could Cause the Next Financial Meltdown." Instead, he edited it to, "Financial Systems Could Cause the Next Financial Meltdown," as <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/23/financial-institutions-grow-concerned-about-economic-impacts-climate-crisis" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a> reported.</p>
<div id="648aa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="T7FQLG1579883748"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1220338335828324352" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Since the banks fund the fossil fuel system, this is really a way of saying 'Financial systems Could Cause the Nex… https://t.co/LcA6ocTV2X</div> — Bill McKibben (@Bill McKibben)<a href="https://twitter.com/billmckibben/statuses/1220338335828324352">1579786306.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"Since the banks fund the fossil fuel system, this is really a way of saying 'Financial systems Could Cause the Next Financial Meltdown.' Unless we <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/stopthemoneypipeline?src=hash" target="_blank">#stopthemoneypipeline</a>," McKibben <a href="https://twitter.com/billmckibben/status/1220338335828324352" target="_blank">tweeted</a>.<br></p><p>The <a href="https://www.bis.org/publ/othp31.pdf" target="_blank">report</a>, to its credit, noted that a new level of global cooperation is required, as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climatechange-cenbank-bis/central-banks-cant-save-the-world-from-climate-change-bis-says-idUSKBN1ZJ19E" target="_blank">Reuters</a> reported.</p><p>"A new global financial crisis triggered by climate change would render central banks and financial supervisors powerless," the BIS said. "We cannot be the only game in town."</p>
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Pakistanis carry a patient who was affected by a heatwave to take her to a hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, on June 25, 2015. Abbas Ali / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
An additional 2,100 deaths from fatal injuries may occur in the U.S. every year from a 2 C rise in temperatures, which could have grave implications for global changes associated with the climate crisis.
<p>Under the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement" target="_blank">Paris agreement</a>, international leaders have agreed to limit global temperature increases to well below 2 C above pre-industrial levels with a best-case-scenario cap at 1.5 C. An international collaboration of scientists found that each year an excess of 2,135 deaths from injuries would be seen in a 2 C rise in temperatures and 1,601 in a 1.5 C rise.</p><p>"These predictions suggest we should expect to see more deaths from transport accidents, suicides, drownings and violence as temperatures rise," <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/194711/rising-temperatures-cause-over-2000-fatal/" target="_blank">said</a> study author <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/majid.ezzati" target="_blank">Majid Ezzati</a> of Imperial College London. "These new results show how much climate change can affect young people. We need to respond to this threat with better preparedness in terms of emergency services, social support and health warnings."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjUxMDU3Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMjQ1MDU1NH0.OG7wwa5Vo2FZghSVPBFfygLKbjeU5YMpzBFIa___FJI/img.png?width=980" id="b9387" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8cba3abaafaa51bd31cbf832a2b5e4d7" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Number of injury deaths, by type of unintentional (transport, falls, drownings and other) and intentional (assault and suicide) injury, by sex and age group in the contiguous USA for 1980–2017. The top row shows the breakdown by type of injury and age group for males. The bottom row shows the breakdown by type of injury and age group for females. Nature
<p>Researchers calculated the number of deaths from injuries every year in each state, excluding Alaska and Hawaii, between 1980 and 2017 using data from the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/index.htm" target="_blank">National Center for Health Statistics</a>. Deaths were classified into those that were unintentional, such as falls or drowning, and intentional, which includes assault and suicide. They then compared those numbers with temperature anomalies over the 38-year-period to determine how fatal injuries may be influenced by weather anomalies.<br></p><p>Abnormalities in temperature were most noticeable in December and January and the least in August and September, reports <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/13/health/warm-temperatures-injury-deaths-study/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>. Greater disparities were seen in northern and central states when compared to southern and coastal regions. </p><p>Males were disproportionately affected by temperature swings. More than 4.1 million males — a majority of whom were between 15 and 34-years old — and 1.8 million females were found to have died from an injury during this period — a majority of which were caused by accidents, falls, or drownings as well as by assault and suicide. </p><p>The exact mechanisms behind this increase are not fully understood and drawing a link between climate change and injuries has been a "blind spot" in research, notes <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/13/21063690/climate-change-injuries-deaths-weather-violence-drowning-accidents" target="_blank">The Verge</a>. Deaths from injuries vary seasonally and by age group because there are varying physiological and behavioral reasons that someone is more likely to fatally injure themselves during temperature swings. During warmer months, there is an increased risk of dying from drowning or in a transport-related accident simply because more people are swimming, driving and drinking alcohol. The researchers note that it could be that people spend more time outside when the temperatures are higher, which increases risks of confrontation, particularly as people tend to be <a href="https://www.today.com/health/heat-waves-lead-hot-tempers-heres-why-6C10436073" target="_blank">more agitated</a> when it's hot. </p><p>"Our work highlights how deaths from injuries including assaults, suicides, transport and drowning deaths currently rise with warm temperature, and could also worsen by rising temperatures resulting from climate change, unless countered by social and health system infrastructure that mitigate these impacts," said <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/r.parks15" target="_blank">Dr Robbie Parks</a>, lead author from Columbia University's Earth Institute.</p>
<p>A 2018 study found that rising temperatures are linked to increasing rates of suicide, reported <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/23/rising-temperatures-linked-to-increased-suicide-rates" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> at the time. Extreme weather events can affect mental illness, one of the major causes of suffering in the U.S., in a number of ways, according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/effects/mental_health_disorders.htm" target="_blank">CDC</a>. High levels of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder have been reported in survivors of natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, and fires — all events that are expected to be exacerbated by climate change.</p><p>Though every state saw an increase in fatal accidents associated with increasing temperatures, California, Texas and Florida saw a significantly greater increase overall. The following geographic breakdown is under the assumption of a 2 C rise in temperature. The findings are published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-019-0721-y" target="_blank">Nature Medicine</a>. </p>
State
<table><tbody><tr><td><p>Alabama</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arizona</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arkansas</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>California</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Colorado</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Connecticut</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Delaware</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>District of Columbia</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Florida</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Georgia</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Idaho</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Illinois</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Indiana</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Iowa</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Kansas</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Kentucky</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Louisiana</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Maine</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Maryland</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Massachusetts</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Michigan</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Minnesota</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mississippi</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Missouri</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Montana</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nebraska</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nevada</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>New Hampshire</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>New Jersey</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>New Mexico</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>New York</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North Carolina</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North Dakota</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Ohio</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Oklahoma</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Oregon</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pennsylvania</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Rhode Island</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South Carolina</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South Dakota</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tennessee</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Texas</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Utah</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Vermont</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Virginia</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Washington</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West Virginia</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wisconsin</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wyoming</p></td></tr></tbody></table>Additional Deaths
<table><tbody><tr><td><p>55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>230</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>40</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>15</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>160</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>80</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>15</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>75</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>50</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>40</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>50</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>60</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>65</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>75</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>70</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>70</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>50</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>205</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>45</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>40</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>15</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5</p></td></tr></tbody></table>From Your Site Articles
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A kangaroo jumps in a field amidst smoke from a bushfire in Snowy Valley on the outskirts of Cooma on Jan. 4. SAEED KHAN / AFP / Getty Images
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