Ask a Scientist: What Should the Biden Administration and Congress Do to Address the Climate Crisis?
18 January
Climate
A damaged home and flooding are seen in Creole, Louisiana, following Hurricane Laura's landfall on August 27, 2020. Joe Raedle / Getty Images
By Elliott Negin
What a difference an election makes. Thanks to the Biden-Harris victory in November, the next administration is poised to make a 180-degree turn to again address the climate crisis.
<p>President Trump famously called climate change a "hoax," appointed <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/14/climate/fossil-fuel-industry-environmental-policy.html" target="_blank">fossil fuel industry lobbyists</a> to key positions in his administration, rolled back the Obama-era rule that would have curbed power plant carbon emissions, and weakened Obama-era limits on vehicle carbon emissions. Just a day after last fall's election, he pulled the United States out of the international Paris climate agreement.</p><p>By contrast, President-elect Biden has endorsed a $2 trillion climate plan, and pledged to issue at least <a href="https://s2.washingtonpost.com/2da6eed/5fdb55659d2fda0efb8b5293/596c46649bbc0f208657f096/11/67/5fdb55659d2fda0efb8b5293" target="_blank">10 executive orders</a> to protect the climate and rejoin the <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1340427943051284480" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Paris climate accord</a> on Day One of his administration. He also has appointed an impressive and diverse climate change team to take key administration positions, including New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland, who co-sponsored the Green New Deal, to run the Interior Department; North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality head Michael Regan to lead the Environmental Protection Agency; former Environmental Protection Agency chief Gina McCarthy as national climate advisor; and former Secretary of State John Kerry, who helped negotiate the Paris climate agreement, to serve as his international climate envoy.</p><p>That's a welcome relief, because the world is running out of time. In 2020 alone, wildfires burned millions of acres in Australia and California to a crisp; heat waves scorched Europe, Asia and the Arctic; floods inundated the U.S. Midwest as well as nations in Africa and Asia; and a record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season battered the coasts of Central America, Caribbean islands and the United States.</p><p>But for all the promises President-elect Biden has made, some nagging questions remain: Given the constraints of a closely divided Congress, how much will the Biden administration truly be able to accomplish? And even with the United States rejoining the Paris accord, will countries live up to its promise to keep the Earth's temperature in check?</p><p>For some answers, I turned to <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/about/people/rachel-cleetus" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Climate and Energy Program Policy Director Rachel Cleetus</a>, who I last <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/elliott-negin/what-do-you-see-as-the-most-important-elements-of-a-post-pandemic-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">interviewed in May</a> about what a post-pandemic economy should look like. The questions I posed to her this time around are a logical extension of the conversation we had then.</p>
<p><strong>EN: Before we dig into what we can expect from the incoming Biden administration, let's talk about what Congress included in the pandemic relief package it passed just before Christmas. I don't know about you, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it included some good climate-related provisions. Does this suggest that the next Congress will take climate change seriously?</strong></p><p>RC: The omnibus pandemic relief bill Congress just passed was long overdue and desperately needed, given the fact that millions of people are in increasingly dire economic straits. It also included a provision to dramatically reduce the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), extremely potent heat-trapping gases used in air conditioners and refrigerators; an extension of renewable electricity production and investment tax credits, which will help boost clean energy and create jobs; support for energy storage technology research and development; and increased funding for ARPA-E, the Department of Energy's technology innovation program. The bill also included a one-year extension of the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, a welcome but inadequate provision as black lung disease hits record levels in coal country.</p><p>The <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/shana-udvardy/congress-continues-to-affirm-that-climate-security-is-national-security" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Defense Authorization Act</a>, which Congress just passed with an overwhelming bipartisan override of President Trump's veto, also includes provisions recognizing the impact of climate change on the military and the need to invest in resilience measures.</p><p>These provisions demonstrate that Congress can act in a bipartisan manner on clean energy and climate change issues. But much more will be needed in the months and years ahead to make steep cuts in global warming emissions and achieve comprehensive, bold and just climate policies that benefit everyone. Congress has yet to demonstrate the will to act commensurately with the scale of the challenges we face, which is why we will need to continue to pressure policymakers to do the right thing after the new Congress and administration take office.</p>
<p><strong>EN: Notwithstanding the fact that leading Republicans supported the climate-related elements of the pandemic relief package, how much will the incoming Biden administration have to rely on executive orders to advance initiatives to combat climate change? After all, the oil and gas industry still has a great deal of influence over Congress.</strong></p><p>RC: President Biden should send a clear and strong signal, early on, that he is committed to using his full powers to advance climate action through executive authorities and regulations. Here are some of the <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/rachel-cleetus/biden-climate-priorities" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">most important actions on climate</a> that he should take, many of which could be done within the first 100 days and some which should happen via a Day One executive order on climate change:</p><ul><li>Set science-informed climate goals and commit the United States to reaching net-zero carbon emissions economywide no later than 2050, and at least 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.</li><li>Direct all federal agencies to incorporate climate science into their actions and develop updated climate action plans.</li><li>Initiate administrative and regulatory actions to sharply curtail heat-trapping emissions economywide and advance climate resilience, prioritizing investments in historically marginalized communities.</li><li>Rejoin the Paris agreement, with an ambitious commitment to cut heat-trapping emissions and provide climate funding for developing countries, in line with the US fair share contribution to global climate goals.</li><li>Reverse the Trump administration's egregious executive orders that have halted, undermined, and reversed climate action.</li><li>Create White House-level offices focused on environmental justice and economic transition to elevate and mainstream these priorities.</li></ul><p>As you note, opposition from the fossil fuel companies is not going away any time soon. They may continue to try to slow down or stop climate action, or at best support incremental policy changes that preserve their profits—even as they <a href="https://ucsusa.org/about/news/exxonmobils-five-year-emissions-reduction-plan-too-lievettle-too-late" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">claim to endorse</a> the Paris agreement's net-zero goal.</p><p>UCS and its coalition partners will continue to engage in sharp and strategic corporate campaigns to expose their disingenuous actions, <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/kathy-mulvey/bankrolling-climate-disaster-stop-the-money-pipeline-to-fossil-fuel-companies" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">curtail their Wall Street financing</a>, and prod them to align their business models with what the science demonstrates is necessary. We will continue to push for companies to <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/nicole-pinko/climate-risk-disclosure-act-is-good-for-your-investments" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">disclose their climate risks</a>, and for <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/about/news/trading-commission-report-sends-clear-signal-climate-change-risks-us-economy-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">financial regulators</a> to require this. And we support the rights of affected parties to seek legal accountability for climate damages caused by fossil fuel companies.</p>
<p><strong>EN: OK. So what can a narrowly divided Congress accomplish?</strong></p><p>RC: Congress also will have to step up to play its part. We are coming off a year of record-breaking climate related disasters—including wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and heatwaves—which intersected cruelly with the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting ongoing economic crisis. People across the country need Congress to do its job. Securing robust, comprehensive, durable climate and clean energy policy will require legislation.</p><p>President Biden should immediately begin working with the new Congress to advance a suite of policies that ramp up clean energy, drive down carbon emissions economywide, and build climate resilience, while also addressing longstanding environmental injustices that have disproportionately affected low-income communities and communities of color and ensuring a fair transition for coal communities. Breaking through the long-standing political logjam won't be easy, but the needs are urgent and the economic, health and climate benefits of a low-carbon climate-resilient economy are clear.</p><p>Many of these policy priorities were highlighted in the <a href="https://joebiden.com/joes-vision/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Biden-Harris campaign platform</a>. The incoming administration must do all it can to prod Congress to pass legislation addressing them. Here's just a partial list of what we need:</p><p><em><strong>Additional pandemic relief and economic recovery packages</strong></em>. More funding for public health priorities and economic relief is desperately needed at the national, state and local level. Congress should include a robust "green" economic recovery package to jumpstart and foster a just and equitable economic recovery, with job creation driven by investments in clean energy and climate resilient infrastructure. Forty percent of these investments should directly benefit historically marginalized communities.</p><p><em><strong>Fair transition for workers and communities</strong></em>. Congress should pass a comprehensive, well-funded transition package for displaced workers and communities hurt by the country's ongoing transition away from coal.</p><p><em><strong>Environmental justice</strong></em>. Congress should strengthen public health safeguards, tighten enforcement, and invest in cleaning up the cumulative toxic burden of pollution in fence-line and frontline communities, which are disproportionately low-income communities and communities of color.</p><p><em><strong>Recognition of climate change's financial and economic risks</strong></em>. Congress should pass legislation to ensure that financial regulators require corporations to disclose their climate risk to ensure they—and the market more broadly—are appropriately accounting for such risks and taking steps to mitigate it.</p><p><em><strong>Guaranteed community access to the courts</strong></em>. As a mounting number of cities, counties and states seek to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate damages and fraud, here's one thing Congress should not do: pass laws attempting to limit or eliminate communities' access to the courts to seek redress.</p>
<p><strong>EN: President-elect Biden recently <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1340427943051284480" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">proclaimed</a> that he will "put America back in the business of leading the world on climate change." What should that mean in concrete terms? As the country responsible for the largest share of cumulative carbon emissions to date, what does the United States have to do regain international respect and provide leadership?</strong></p><p>RC: To be perfectly frank, the Biden administration will have to do a lot more than trot out tired rhetoric about US leadership on climate action.</p><p>What the country and the rest of the world need is for the United States to take its place at the table, alongside and in cooperation with nations large and small, and do its part responsibly, fairly and consistently. The Biden administration and Congress need to enact strong national climate policies and make an ambitious, credible emissions reduction commitment ahead of the next international climate talks. They also must commit to scaled-up climate finance for developing countries. Finally, they have to work together with states, cities, tribal governments, businesses, and local stakeholders, many of whom have contributed to significant climate progress despite the absence of national leadership in the last four years. It's time—well past time, actually—for meaningful federal action.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/elliott-negin/what-should-the-new-administration-and-congress-do-to-address-the-climate-crisis" target="_blank">Union of Concerned Scientists</a>.</em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2650012800#/" target="_self"></a></p>From Your Site Articles
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Commuters make their way through a flooded street after heavy monsoon rains in Dhaka, Bangladesh on July 21, 2020. Munir Uz Zaman / Getty Images
By Ajit Niranjan
World leaders and businesses are not putting enough money into adapting to dangerous changes in the climate and must "urgently step up action," according to a report published Thursday by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
<p>Last year was the joint-hottest year on record and disasters struck every continent. Smoke-belching wildfires burned through communities from Australia to the Arctic. <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/climate-storms-cyclones-hurricanes-typhoons-explained/a-55521226" target="_blank">Extreme storms</a> battered coastal cities from the Philippines to Nicaragua, while floods put a third of Bangladesh underwater and covered entire villages in Nigeria.</p><p>Extreme weather and climate-related disasters have killed more than 410,000 people in the past 10 years, almost all of them in poorer countries, according to the <a href="https://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/20201116_WorldDisasters_Full.pdf" target="_blank">International Federation of the Red Cross and Crescent.</a></p><p>"The hard truth is that climate change is upon us," said UNEP Executive Director <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-we-are-close-to-the-point-of-no-return/a-56122609" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Inger Andersen</a>, in the foreword to the report. "Its impacts will intensify, even if we limit global warming. We cannot afford to lose the race to adaptation."</p>
Adaptation Has a Long Way to Go
<p>The Adaptation Gap Report, now in its 5th year, finds "huge gaps" between what world leaders agreed to do under the 2015 <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/5-years-paris-climate-agreement/a-55901139" target="_blank">Paris Agreement</a> and what they need to do to keep their citizens safe from climate change.</p><p>A review by the Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative of almost 1,700 examples of climate adaptation found that a third were in the early stages of implementation — and only 3% had reached the point of reducing risks.</p><p>Disasters like storms and droughts have grown stronger than they should be because people have warmed the planet by burning fossil fuels and chopping down rainforests. The world has heated by more than 1.1 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution and is on track to warm by about 3°C by the end of the century.</p><p>If world leaders <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/climate-change-performance-index-how-far-have-we-come/a-55846406" target="_blank">deliver on recent pledges</a> to bring emissions to <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/joe-bidens-climate-pledges-are-they-realistic/a-56173821" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">net-zero</a> by the middle of the century, they could almost limit warming to 2°C. The target of the Paris Agreement, however, is to reach a target well below that — ideally 1.5°C. </p><p>There are two ways, scientists say, to lessen the pain that warming will bring: mitigating climate change by cutting carbon pollution and adapting to the hotter, less stable world it brings.</p>The Cost of Climate Adaptation
<p>About three-quarters of the world's countries have national plans to adapt to climate change, according to the report, but most lack the regulations, incentives and funding to make them work.</p><p>More than a decade ago, rich countries most responsible for climate change pledged to mobilize $100 billion a year by 2020 in climate finance for poorer countries. UNEP says it is "impossible to answer" whether that goal has been met, while an OECD study published in November found that between 2013 and 2018, the target sum had not once been achieved. Even in 2018, which recorded the highest level of contributions, rich countries were still $20 billion short.</p><p>The yearly adaptation costs for developing countries alone are estimated at $70 billion. This figure is expected to at least double by the end of the decade as temperatures rise, and will hit $280-500 billion by 2050, according to the report.</p><p>But failing to adapt is even more expensive.</p><p>When powerful storms like cyclones Fani and Bulbul struck South Asia, early-warning systems allowed governments to move millions of people out of danger at short notice. Storms of similar strength that have hit East Africa, like <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/zimbabwe-after-cyclone-idai-building-climate-friendly-practices/a-54251885" target="_blank">cyclones Idai</a> and Kenneth, have proved more deadly because fewer people were evacuated before disaster struck.</p><p>The Global Commission on Adaptation estimated in 2019 that a $1.8 trillion investment in early warning systems, buildings, agriculture, mangroves and water resources could reap $7.1 trillion in benefits from economic activity and avoided costs when disasters strike.</p>Exploring Nature-Based Solutions
<p>The report also highlights how restoring nature can protect people from climate change while benefiting local communities and ecology.</p><p><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/climate-fires-risk-climate-change-bushfires-australia-california-extreme-weather-firefighters/a-54817927" target="_blank">Wildfires</a>, for instance, could be made less punishing by restoring grasslands and regularly burning the land in controlled settings. Indigenous communities from Australia to Canada have done this for millennia in a way that encourages plant growth while reducing the risk of uncontrolled wildfires. Reforestation, meanwhile, can stop soil erosion and flooding during heavy rainfall while trapping carbon and protecting wildlife.</p><p>In countries like Brazil and Malaysia, governments could better protect coastal homes from floods and storms by restoring <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/mudflats-mangroves-and-marshes-the-great-coastal-protectors/a-50628747" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mangroves</a> — tangled trees that grow in tropical swamps. As well as anchoring sediments and absorbing the crash of waves, mangroves can store carbon, help fish populations grow and boost local economies through tourism. </p><p>While nature-based solutions are often cheaper than building hard infrastructure, their funding makes up a "tiny fraction" of adaptation finance, the report authors wrote. An analysis of four global climate funds that spent $94 billion on adaptation projects found that just $12 billion went to nature-based solutions and little of this was spent implementing projects on the ground.</p><p>But little is known about their long-term effectiveness. At higher temperatures, the effects of climate change may be so great that they overwhelm natural defenses like mangroves.</p><p>By 2050, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/rising-sea-levels-should-we-let-the-ocean-in-a-50704953/a-50704953" target="_blank">coastal floods</a> that used to hit once a century will strike many cities every year, according to a 2019 report on oceans by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the gold standard on climate science. This could force dense cities on low-lying coasts to build higher sea walls, like in Indonesia and South Korea, or evacuate entire communities from sinking islands, like in Fiji.</p><p>It's not a case of replacing infrastructure, said Matthias Garschagen, a geographer at Ludwig Maximilian University in Germany and IPCC author, who was not involved in the UNEP report. "The case for nature-based solutions is often misinterpreted as a battle... but they're part of a toolkit that we've ignored for too long."</p>From Your Site Articles
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Like many other plant-based foods and products, CBD oil is one dietary supplement where "organic" labels are very important to consumers. However, there are little to no regulations within the hemp industry when it comes to deeming a product as organic, which makes it increasingly difficult for shoppers to find the best CBD oil products available on the market.
<p>Here you can learn about the importance of organic hemp oil, why it's better for the environment, and which CBD companies actually make trustworthy products with sustainable farming processes. origins which weigh heavily on many consumers who want to buy a product that's produced in the best way possible for not only themselves to ingest, but for the environment as well through sustainable farming methods. </p><h2>What Is CBD Oil?</h2><p>First things first, CBD stands for cannabidiol, and it's a cannabinoid found within cannabis sativa plants. This plant compound is believed to have many potential benefits, and it is primarily derived from hemp plants via a CO2 extraction process. </p><p>Since CBD is extracted from industrial hemp, which contains only trace amounts of THC (the psychoactive component in cannabis plants), this means that CBD won't make you feel high like marijuana, which has much higher levels of THC that causes psychoactive effects. Instead, the effects of CBD are much more subtle and promote a general sense of calm and relaxation in most users.</p><h2>What Makes a CBD Oil Organic?</h2><p>In terms of organic labels, perhaps the most important (and prominent) certification comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This government organization has been labeling foods as "organic" for many years, but what exactly does this certification entail? Essentially, a label indicating that a product is "USDA Organic" or "Certified Organic" means that at least 95% of the ingredients are obtained from organic sources.</p><p>For a crop to be considered organic by the USDA, it must be grown without the use of industrial solvents, irradiation, genetic engineering (GMOs), synthetic pesticides, or chemical fertilizer. Instead, farmers rely on natural substances and <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mechanical, physical, or biologically based farming</a> techniques to cultivate healthy and organic crops.</p><p>Before the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, no hemp-derived products could be dubbed as "certified organic" since the hemp plant and its extracts were still categorized as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. However, it's still difficult for CBD companies to obtain a USDA certified organic label for their products due to the legal grey area that still surrounds CBD extracts. </p><p>Because of these challenges, and due to the fact that industrial hemp has only recently become an agricultural crop, very few CBD oils are USDA certified organic. Rather, many CBD products contain hemp extracts from plants that were grown in organic conditions but may not be federally certified.</p><h2>What are the Best Organic CBD Oil Brands?</h2><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p><em><br></em>
<h2>Why Organic Hemp Oil Matters</h2><p>Hemp is a unique plant, not only for its rich cannabinoid content, but also for its ability to absorb a wide variety of components in soil. But this trait poses great risks when it comes to the creation of CBD products derived from hemp.</p><p>Because hemp has a high capacity for compound uptake, this means that the plants can retain <a href="https://www.remedyreview.com/industry/lab-test-results/" target="_blank">harmful chemicals like pesticides</a>, heavy metals, and other residual solvents. This is especially true when it comes to synthetic chemicals that are more toxic to humans, and difficult to remove once they have been absorbed by the hemp plant.</p><p>Organic farming practices help reduce the risk of hemp crops absorbing harsh chemicals that may later end up in CBD oil after extraction. When you're taking CBD as a wellness supplement to help alleviate your symptoms or improve your overall well-being, the last thing you want is to ingest compounds that might negatively outweigh the benefits of CBD. This is an important reason to look for third party lab test results when shopping for CBD products since these certificates of analysis can show the full cannabinoid and terpene profile of a hemp extract, as well as test results that search for the presence of any residual solvents.</p><p>In addition to creating a better end product, organic farming practices are also better for the environment. Sustainable and organic farming methods may <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy</a>. The use of natural pest deterrents as opposed to chemical pesticides is also better for nearby animal populations and ecosystems.</p><h3>Organic vs. Natural</h3><p>While there are only a select few companies offering certified organic ingredients in their products, almost every brand in the CBD market creates "natural" products. The term "all-natural" or "plant-based" does not mean that a product is organic, and since hemp oil is a natural derivative of hemp plants, these products are often referred to as all-natural. However, there are some synthetic CBD oils that should be avoided because they are chemically constructed and may produce unwanted side effects that are not caused by naturally derived CBD extracts.</p><h2>What are the Benefits of Organic CBD Oil?</h2><p>There's a long list of potential CBD oil health benefits, and some of the most common wellness advantages include:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503660/" target="_blank">Chronic pain relief</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604171/" target="_blank">Anti-anxiety effects</a></li><li>Better sleep</li><li><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inner-source/201901/cbd-oil-mental-health-should-you-take-it-too" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Improvements in mood</a></li><li>Internal balance and regulation</li></ul><p>When dealing with pain, inflammation, sleep issues, and mental health struggles, it can be hard to find sufficient treatment options. The use of certain prescriptions can cause unwanted side effects, yet they are often the only solution for patients with these medical conditions. In search of other therapies, people have started to flock towards CBD oil as an alternative remedy for a variety of conditions. However, it should be noted that CBD products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and you should seek your doctor's advice before using CBD if you have a serious medical condition.</p><h2>Look at the Labels Before You Buy CBD Oil</h2><p>When you go online to buy CBD oil, you'll quickly realize there is an overwhelming number of brands that are saturating the market. It can be difficult to determine which products are truly as good as they make themselves out to be. Always look for up-to-date third-party lab tests so you know you are getting a great product, and don't hesitate to contact the brand if you have any additional questions. And if you're intent on purchasing 100% organic CBD oil, it's best to look for certified products or brands that are held to strict regulatory standards.</p><p><strong>Melena Gurganus </strong>is the Reviews Editor at EcoWatch. She is passionate health and wellness and her writing aims to help others find products they can trust. Her work has been featured in publications such as Health, Shape, Huffington Post, Cannabis Business Times, and Bustle.<br></p>
Spruce
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$89
CBDistillery
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FAB CBD
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$39
NuLeaf Naturals
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzExNTgyMX0.D6qMGYllKTsVhEkQ-L_GzpDHVu60a-tJKcio7M1Ssmc/img.jpg?width=980" id="94e4a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3609a52479675730893a45a82a03c71d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="nuleaf naturals organic cbd oil" data-width="600" data-height="600" /><p>As an industry-leading brand, it comes as no surprise that NuLeaf Naturals sources its CBD extract from organic hemp plants grown on licensed farms in Colorado. The comany's CBD oils only contain two ingredients: USDA certified organic hemp seed oil and full spectrum hemp extract.</p><p>NuLeaf Naturals uses one proprietary CBD oil formula for all of its products, so you will get the same CBD potency in each tincture (60mg per mL), but can purchase different bottle sizes depending on how much you intend to use.</p>
$38.50
Charlotte's Web
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjk3NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQ0NjM4N30.SaQ85SK10-MWjN3PwHo2RqpiUBdjhD0IRnHKTqKaU7Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="84700" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a2174067dcc0c4094be25b3472ce08c8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="charlottes web cbd oil" data-width="1244" data-height="1244" /><p>Perhaps one of the most well-known brands in the CBD landscape, Charlotte's Web has been growing sustainable hemp plants for several years. The company is currently in the process of achieving official USDA Organic Certification, but it already practices organic and sustainable cultivation techniques to enhance the overall health of the soil and the hemp plants themselves, which creates some of the highest quality CBD extracts. Charlotte's Web offers CBD oils in a range of different concentration options, and some even come in a few flavor options such as chocolate mint, orange blossom, and lemon twist.</p>
$60
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Youth Climate Movement Demands Immediate Action After 'Empty Promises,' Announces Next Global Strike
14 January
Climate
A participates in a Fridays for Future climate strike on Oct. 9, 2020 in Turin, Italy. Stefano Guidi / Getty Images
By Jon Queally
Fridays for Future, the youth-led global group inspired by Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, announced Wednesday that its next international day of climate strikes will occur on March 19 of this year with a demand for "immediate, concrete, and ambitious action" directed at world leaders who have in recent years talked seriously about the urgent need to address the planetary emergency but stalled dangerously by failing to make those words a reality.
<p>"No more empty promises," said the group in its <a href="https://fridaysforfuture.org/march19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announcement</a> for global strikes that will take place on every continent, led by students and their allies who believe that the rapidly heating world is an existential threat to life as humanity has come to know it and the insufficient and voluntary emission reduction targets like the ones at the center of the Paris agreement — which nations are not even on track to meet — are worthless unless here-and-now policies are put into action immediately to bring carbon and other greenhouse gas pollution under control.</p><p>"If we don't act now, we won't even have the chance to deliver on those 2030, 2050 targets that world leaders keep on talking about," said Mitzi Jonelle Tan from the Philippines, one of the group's organizers. "What we need now are not empty promises, but annual binding carbon targets and immediate cuts in emissions in all sectors of our economy."</p>
<div id="9d143" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e21eff594da0e231773abd4706d8d944"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1348921010859470848" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">In 2010 our leaders signed "ambitious goals to protect wildlife and ecosystems”. By 2021 they'd failed on every sin… https://t.co/yaxJYELfib</div> — Greta Thunberg (@Greta Thunberg)<a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/statuses/1348921010859470848">1610442805.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>As part of the organizing effort, the group has posted a <a href="https://fridaysforfuture.org/action-map/map/" target="_blank">worldwide map of planned actions</a> and a <a href="https://fridaysforfuture.org/action-map/register-report-strikes/" target="_blank">sign-up form</a> for those wishing to register or create an event.</p>
<div id="2ac11" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0fe5ea2986d40834d0acd1e7b0ac16b9"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1349310129716383746" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">📣📣New year starts with a new strike!
Join us in the fight for climate justice this March 19. Coming back more uni… https://t.co/kCrOjWEAd8</div> — Fridays For Future (@Fridays For Future)<a href="https://twitter.com/Fridays4future/statuses/1349310129716383746">1610535578.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>As part of the organizing effort, the group has posted a <a href="https://fridaysforfuture.org/action-map/map/" target="_blank">worldwide map of planned actions</a> and a <a href="https://fridaysforfuture.org/action-map/register-report-strikes/" target="_blank">sign-up form</a> for those wishing to register or create an event.</p><p>João Duccini, an organizer from Brazil, said that the climate crisis — with <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/08/climate-emergency-persists-2020-ties-earths-hottest-year-record" target="_blank">2020 tying the record for the hottest year on record</a> — "is not a far-off catastrophe" but something people in his country and around the world are already experiencing. "Heat waves, droughts, floods, hurricanes, landslides, deforestation, fires, loss of housing and spread of diseases," he said, "this is what the most affected people and areas are dealing with more and more frequency today. Our lives depend on immediate action."</p><p>According to the group's announcement for the strike:</p><blockquote>Those in power continue to only deliver vague and empty promises for far off dates that are much too late. What we need are not meaningless goals for 2050 or net-zero targets full of loopholes, but concrete and immediate action in-line with science. Our carbon budget is running out. The climate crisis is already here and will only get worse, so if we are to avoid the worst case scenarios, annual, short-term climate binding targets that factor in justice and equity have to be prioritized by the people in charge.</blockquote><p>"When your house is on fire," said Thunberg on Wednesday, "you don't wait for 10, 20 years before you call the fire department; you act as soon and as much as you possibly can."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/13/demanding-immediate-action-over-empty-promises-youth-climate-movement-announces-next">Common Dreams</a>.</em><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/13/demanding-immediate-action-over-empty-promises-youth-climate-movement-announces-next"></a><br/></p>From Your Site Articles
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Trending
Researchers estimate that a likely total of 2.3 degrees Celsius of warming is now locked in. DuKai photographer / Getty Images
Existing greenhouse gases will eventually push the climate into more than two degrees of warming, according to a study published in Nature Climate Change on Monday.
<p>That number puts the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" target="_self">Paris agreement</a> goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels out of reach, says Andrew Dessler, study coauthor and Texas A&M University climate scientist. Still, he warned against "climate doomers," <a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-climate-change-pollution-3f226aed9c58e36c69e7342b104d48bf" target="_blank">The Associated Press</a> reported.</p><p>"While I would not categorize this as good news, it is not game over for the climate," Dessler said in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV9aCiyui18&feature=youtu.be" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">video</a> explaining the paper.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7d28297ed74f240c8518e748ab6d83b3"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LV9aCiyui18?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<p>So what exactly does the study say?</p><p>Dessler worked with colleagues at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) and Nanjing University in China to analyze what is called "committed warming," or the amount of warming that would occur if atmospheric greenhouse gases were paused at their current concentrations.</p><p>Previous estimates had put committed warming at around 1.4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, Dessler said in the video. But those estimates were based on faulty assumptions about Earth's climate system, the paper authors argued.</p><p>"Typically, committed warming is estimated assuming that changes in the future will pretty much follow changes in the past," Mark Zelinka, coauthor and LLNL atmospheric scientist, said in a <a href="https://www.llnl.gov/news/paying-emissions-weve-already-released" target="_blank">press release</a>. "But we now know that this is a bad assumption."</p>
<p>Specifically, the researchers pointed to the regions of the planet that have not yet warmed, such as the Southern Ocean. The temperatures of these regions cause clouds to form that reflect sunlight and further cool the planet. But eventually those regions will warm too, dispersing the clouds and further raising temperatures.</p><p>"After accounting for this effect, the estimated future warming based on the historical record would be much higher than previous estimates," lead author Chen Zhou of Nanjing University said in the press release.</p><p>The researchers estimated that a likely total of 2.3 degrees Celsius of warming is now locked in, about a full degree above the previous estimate.</p><p>The good news is that this warming could take centuries to occur, provided the world acts now to reduce emissions.</p>
<p>"If we continue to emit greenhouse gases at the rate we currently are, then we will blow through the 1.5 and two degree Celsius limits possibly within a few decades," Dessler said in the video. "This means that our work is consistent with the conclusion that we need to reduce emissions as quickly as possible."</p><p>Climate scientist Zeke Hausfather, who was not involved with the research, called the study fascinating on <a href="https://twitter.com/hausfath/status/1346160314924974081" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</p><p>"I don't think this paper fundamentally changes our understanding of committed warming, and pattern effects are still an area of active research. But it should make us a bit cautious about being too confident in predictions of zero warming after emissions reach net-zero," he concluded.</p>
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Joe Biden and Donald Trump at the final presidential debate at Belmont University on Oct. 22, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
By Brett Wilkins
A report published Tuesday by the eco-advocacy group Environment America urges President-elect Joe Biden to immediately restore critical environmental protections gutted by Trump administration regulatory rollbacks.
<p><br/></p>
<p>The report, <a href="https://uspirgedfund.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/First%20Things%20to%20Fix%20Design%20Final_0.pdf" target="_blank"><em>First Things to Fix</em></a>, notes that President Donald Trump has overseen the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html" target="_blank">reversal or weakening </a>of around 100 environmental regulations during his nearly four years in office.</p><p>"His administration has steadily loosened oversight of polluting industries, eroded protections for endangered wildlife, and stymied efforts to address our most daunting environmental threat: climate change," the report states. "These rollbacks have and will continue to significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions and lead to thousands of premature deaths due to poor air quality every year."</p><p>"By undoing the Trump administration's rollbacks of environmental protections, the Biden administration will be able to protect our natural landscapes and give Americans cleaner air, cleaner water, and a more livable climate," the report continues.</p>
<div id="e7035" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5da1fd4251ba813b9a67acbfbb8f32f0"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1343951158826725376" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Here’s our recommendations for the first actions President-elect Biden can take to protect the environment. 5 thing… https://t.co/yRSojPMrJh</div> — Environment America (@Environment America)<a href="https://twitter.com/EnvAm/statuses/1343951158826725376">1609257900.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"Many of the rollbacks have been carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency," the report notes. "Others by the departments of Transportation, Energy, and Interior. A lot of them can be undone through swift administrative action in the early days of a Biden administration."</p><p>The report says that Biden's actions could and should include:</p><ul><li>Rejoining the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/04/28/epas-dirty-water-new-rule-discards-science-ignores-importance-wetlands-and" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Paris climate agreement</a>;</li><li>Repealing the so-called "<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/04/28/epas-dirty-water-new-rule-discards-science-ignores-importance-wetlands-and" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dirty Water Rule</a>";</li><li>Raising <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/30/trump-kneecap-obama-era-fuel-efficiency-standards-hurtling-nation-toward-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">federal fuel economy and emissions standards</a> for vehicles and reaffirming <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/09/24/days-after-attacking-californias-efforts-reduce-emissions-trump-epa-threatens-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">California's authority</a> to set stronger vehicle emissions standards;</li><li>Withdrawing the Trump <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/01/06/trumps-offshore-drilling-plan-flouts-law-ignoring-governors-wishes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">draft five-year plan</a> on offshore drilling; and</li><li>Restoring smart <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/08/10/groups-will-sue-unless-doe-updates-26-overdue-energy-efficiency-standards" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">energy efficiency</a> policies.</li></ul>
<p>Additionally, the report recommends 15 policies and actions the incoming administration should consider during its first 100 days, including ending oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, protecting endangered species, and reducing methane emissions.</p><p>Earlier this year, nine other environmental groups <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-worst-president-environment-2645034831.html?rebelltitem=4#rebelltitem4" target="_self">declared</a> Trump "the worst president for our environment in history," citing his administration's "unprecedented assault on our environment and the health of our communities" and policies that "threaten our climate, air, water, public lands, wildlife, and oceans."</p><p>Matt Casale, lead author of the new report and environmental campaigns director for the U.S. Public Interest Resource Group Education Fund, said that "air pollution has been on the rise and many of our bodies of water are at risk of pollution."</p>
<p>"As greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, so have the impacts of global warming — from increased wildfires and hurricanes to heat-related illness," he noted.</p><p>"There's a lot to do," added Casale, "but so much of the policy damage from the past four years can quickly be fixed through swift administrative action in the early days of the Biden administration."</p><p>"Biden has the opportunity to use the first 100 days to put us on a path toward a cleaner, healthier future for ourselves, our children, and grandchildren," said Casale. "He cannot pass up that opportunity. We don't have any time to waste."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/29/report-urges-biden-reverse-trump-environmental-rollbacks-and-set-us-path-cleaner" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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'Disappointing' Decision From Norway's Supreme Court in Climate Lawsuit Challenging Arctic Offshore Oil Licenses
23 December 2020
Energy
Plaintiffs in the Norwegian climate lawsuit assemble following a press conference on the Supreme Court's decision on Dec. 22, 2020. Ric Francis / Greenpeace
By Dana Drugmand
Norway's Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled not to overturn the Norwegian government's approval of new licenses for offshore oil drilling in the fragile Arctic region.
<p>The ruling – a culmination of four years of high-profile <a href="http://climatecasechart.com/non-us-case/greenpeace-nordic-assn-and-nature-youth-v-norway-ministry-of-petroleum-and-energy/" target="_blank">litigation</a> in a <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2020/11/13/norway-supreme-court-climate-lawsuit-arctic-oil-drilling" target="_blank">case challenging continued fossil fuel production on climate change grounds</a> — came as a big disappointment, and even <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/46140/outrage-after-judgement-in-favour-of-the-norwegian-oil-state/" target="_blank">outrage</a>, for environmental and climate activists in Norway and internationally.</p><p>"We are outraged with this judgment, which leaves youth and future generations without Constitutional protection. The Supreme Court chooses loyalty to Norwegian oil over our rights to a liveable future," Therese Hugstmyr Woie, head of a youth-led environmental organization called Young Friends of the Earth Norway, said in a <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/46140/outrage-after-judgement-in-favour-of-the-norwegian-oil-state/" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p><p>"I am disappointed and outraged by the fact that the Norwegian constitution doesn't provide me and my peers with judicial protection from politicians stealing our future," Andreas Randøy, deputy head of Young Friends of the Earth Norway, told DeSmog in an emailed statement. "I wasn't old enough to vote out the politicians who opened up for new oil drilling in the arctic, further north than ever before. Yet I am a part of the generation who has to deal with its consequences. I really thought the Supreme Court would value that to a greater extent."</p>
<div id="869bd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="15054b5f2bac2fa9ba010d1fad83c649"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1341374908690034688" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Today we are disappointed and worried: The Supreme Court of Norway has chosen to back oil over our rights to a live… https://t.co/ZLWPL6Lvsu</div> — Greenpeace (@Greenpeace)<a href="https://twitter.com/Greenpeace/statuses/1341374908690034688">1608643674.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Young Friends of the Earth Norway and Greenpeace Norway sued the Norwegian government in 2016 over the government's granting of new offshore oil licenses in the Barents Sea. The environmental organizations argued permitting new oil drilling is incompatible with the Paris Agreement goal to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and constitutes a violation of <a href="https://www.stortinget.no/globalassets/pdf/english/constitutionenglish.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">section 112 of Norway's constitution</a> that outlines a right to a healthy environment.<br><br>The lawsuit sought a court order to invalidate the oil licenses based on this constitutional provision, and considering that climate science dictates that the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/07/much-worlds-fossil-fuel-reserve-must-stay-buried-prevent-climate-change-study-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vast majority of fossil fuels be left in the ground</a> to avoid the most catastrophic levels of warming. The United Nations <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/Issues/environment/SRenvironment/Pages/SRenvironmentIndex.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment</a> David Boyd <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Environment/SREnvironment/Norwegian_climate_change_case.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">supported</a> the lawsuit and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/12/norway-flaunts-green-credentials-drilling-more-oils-wells" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">warned</a> that Norway's continued oil production during a time of climate emergency amounts to a violation of human rights</p><p>The Norwegian courts ultimately disagreed that rights had been violated. The Oslo District Court initially determined in January 2018 that there was no constitutional violation stemming from the government's grant of new oil licenses. On appeal, a Norwegian appeals court upheld this ruling in January this year, though the appeals court did decide that the Norwegian government should be responsible for the carbon emissions tied to its petroleum exports.</p><p>The Supreme Court of Norway took up the case this year on another appeal, with hearings held in <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2020/11/13/norway-supreme-court-climate-lawsuit-arctic-oil-drilling" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">November</a>. The court <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/norway/nyheter/8128/dom-i-klimasoksmalet-klimaet-rettslost-i-norge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued its decision</a> on December 22, ruling 11-4 in favor of the government and against the environmental organizations. The four dissenting judges found the government had made procedural errors in its oil licensing decision, <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/norway/nyheter/8128/dom-i-klimasoksmalet-klimaet-rettslost-i-norge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to Greenpeace Norway</a>.</p><p>The leader of Greenpeace Norway, one of the organizational plaintiffs in this case, said the Supreme Court ruling is disappointing and that the plaintiffs are looking at other avenues to continue making their case.</p><p>"It is absurd that our right to a liveable environment cannot be used to stop Norway's most harmful activities for our climate and environment," <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/46140/outrage-after-judgement-in-favour-of-the-norwegian-oil-state/" target="_blank">said</a> Frode Pleym, head of Greenpeace Norway. "We will now consider all possibilities to stop this harmful industry, including an application to the European Court of Human Rights."</p>
<h3>'This Should Be a Warning to the Oil Industry'</h3><p>Although the Norwegian Supreme Court declined to overturn the grant of oil licenses in this instance, the ruling did acknowledge that Norwegian authorities may have a duty to deny oil companies' permits to actually produce the oil given the constitutional right to a healthy environment.</p><p>In other words, as <a href="https://www.ciel.org/about-us/ciel-staff/carroll-muffett-president-and-ceo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Carroll Muffett</a>, president of the Center for International Environmental Law explained to DeSmog, the court concluded there is a distinction between oil exploration and oil production.</p><p>"Here's the part that is the worst possible news for oil companies. The court actually emphasized that simply finding oil under authority of an exploration license doesn't give any company any guarantee that they'll be permitted to produce the oil," Muffett said.</p><p>"There's a real missed opportunity on the part of the court in moving the law of human rights and the rights of future generations forward in this decision," he added. "And at the same time when you look at the practical impacts of this decision, what the decision says for industry is you're welcome to go and invest massive amounts of money in exploring for new oil if you want, but the critical question government is going to have to ask is can you produce it if it is contributing to climate change?"</p>
<div id="baab0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8cfed11862ef8b4e94de2fad12b896a9"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1341391986054619136" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Norway's Sup Ct failed to invalidate licenses to explore for Arctic oil, but made clear that finding oil is no guar… https://t.co/9rtGn6SJS6</div> — Carroll Muffett (@Carroll Muffett)<a href="https://twitter.com/cmuffett1/statuses/1341391986054619136">1608647745.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Muffett said the ruling will also increase pressure for Norway's political leadership to listen to their citizens and consider following Denmark's lead in halting new oil and gas exploration and production. A <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-norway-stateless/54faddf5-greenpeace_climate-lawsuit_report_eng.pdf" target="_blank">recent opinion poll in Norway</a> found that a majority of Norwegian citizens agree that oil exploration in the Arctic should be stopped for climate and environmental reasons.</p><p>"The Court has let the government off the hook at this time, but leaves the door open for an assessment on climate impacts, including emissions after export, at the later production stage," <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/46140/outrage-after-judgement-in-favour-of-the-norwegian-oil-state/" target="_blank">said</a> Greenpeace Norway's Frode Pleym. "This should be a warning to the oil industry. At this moment in history, no oil producing country holds a credible position on climate without ending exploration for new oil and setting a plan for retiring the industry."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2020/12/22/disappointing-decision-norway-s-supreme-court-climate-lawsuit-challenging-arctic-offshore-oil-licenses" target="_blank">DeSmog</a>.</em></p>Related Articles Around the Web
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The ExxonMobil refinery in Baytown, Texas, seen across the Houston Ship Channel from Lynchburg Landing. Roy Luck / CC BY 2.0
By Andrea Germanos
ExxonMobil's Monday announcement of new targets for addressing greenhouse gas emissions was met with derision by climate advocates who called the plan "too little, too late."
<p><br/></p>
<p>The targets cover the next five years, include "input from shareholders," and — according to the fossil fuel company — are in line with the goals of the Paris climate accord.</p><p>While some aspects of the plan, like a reduction in "<a href="https://westernvaluesproject.org/report-methane-pollution-from-venting-and-flaring-on-public-lands-up-51/" target="_blank">flaring</a>" of natural gas, were <a href="https://www.axios.com/exxon-new-emissions-curbs-a0045a5b-c3bf-471b-ab5d-64cba2277a27.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">welcomed</a>, others, like Exxon's goal of reducing emissions intensity — not absolute emissions — came in for sharp scrutiny.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/exxon-mobil-carbon/update-4-exxon-mobil-under-pressure-on-climate-aims-to-cut-emissions-intensity-by-2025-idUSL4N2IU31O" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According to</a> Reuters<em>,</em></p><blockquote>Exxon said it would start reporting so-called Scope 3 emissions in 2021, a large category of greenhouse gases emitted from fuels and products it sells to customers, such as jet fuel and gasoline.<br>By 2025, Exxon would reduce the intensity of its oilfield greenhouse gas emissions by 15% to 20% from 2016 levels. It did not set an overall emissions target, however, and reducing intensity means that emissions still could rise if oil and gas output grows.<br>The reduction would be supported by a 40%-50% decrease in methane intensity and a 35%-45% decrease in flaring intensity across Exxon's global operations, with routine natural gas flaring eliminated within a decade, the company said.<br></blockquote><p>Youth-led climate group Sunrise Movement declared the targets "grossly insufficient" and took the company to task for not announcing an end to "exploration or extraction" or "lobbying against climate action."</p>
<div id="bafdb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e4a0abb8aa2bd6be6c7f8c4eb8c5a060"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1338565025305403392" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Oil company executives (this you, @exxonmobil?) say they want to be a part of the solution.
Just not if doing so r… https://t.co/TqmUUtH4ZM</div> — Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@Sunrise Movement 🌅)<a href="https://twitter.com/sunrisemvmt/statuses/1338565025305403392">1607973746.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"ExxonMobil's newly announced five-year plan is too little, too late," <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/about/news/exxonmobils-five-year-emissions-reduction-plan-too-little-too-late" target="_blank">said</a> Kathy Mulvey, accountability director in the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.</p><p>Rejecting Exxon's description, Mulvey said the pledges "fall far short of what is needed to meet the principal goal of the Paris agreement." She further accused the company dodging "its responsibility for heat-trapping emissions resulting from the burning of its oil and gas products."</p><p>"ExxonMobil now says it will disclose these emissions, which make up the lion's share — roughly 80 to 90 percent — of company emissions," she continued. "However, in the same breath ExxonMobil attempts to shift their responsibility to the consumers using its products exactly as the company intends them to be used."</p><p>Mulvey further pointed to Exxon being "the fourth leading contributor of global carbon dioxide and methane emissions from fossil fuel and cement industries over the last 50 years, during which time the company undeniably knew about its products' harmful climate impacts. This bait-and-switch, along with ExxonMobil's decades-long record of lying to consumers about the climate risks of its products, are reminiscent of the tobacco industry's tactics."</p><p>"Any company that fails to keep pace with what science demands," Mulvey continued, "threatens its future while endangering the rest of us with escalating climate impacts and systemic risks to the global economy."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/14/grossly-insufficient-exxonmobil-lambasted-over-emissions-reduction-plan-pledges-no" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Gina McCarthy, EPA administrator in the Obama administration, speaks during the Climate Action 2016 Summit on May 6, 2016 in Washington, DC, two weeks after the signing ceremony of the Paris agreement. Mark Wilson / Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden is currently considering the former head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under former President Barack Obama to be the domestic "climate czar," Reuters reported.
<p>The appointment of Gina McCarthy would put her in charge of federal policy on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate</a> across agencies. Biden has made the climate crisis a main focus for his upcoming administration, tapping former Obama secretary of state <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/23/politics/john-kerry-biden-climate-envoy/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">John Kerry</a> to be its special presidential envoy on climate, as a cabinet-level official who will sit on the National Security Council.</p>
<p>McCarthy currently serves as the president of the Natural Resources Defense Counsel, an environmental advocacy organization with broad reach. She would be Kerry's counterpart, where she would run domestic policy, with Kerry in charge of international diplomacy with regard to climate.</p><p>In an interview with <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/11/14/934920666/joe-bidens-options-to-combat-climate-change" target="_blank">NPR</a> in November, McCarthy said Biden's climate strategy consisted of re-entering the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/paris-climate-agreement-biden-2648649350.html">Paris agreement</a> immediately, and moving to clean energy by 2035. She mentioned how under President Trump the administration was stacked with fossil fuel executives, which stalled policy on clean energy to move forward. It also stalled on the job front, as clean energy jobs are more likely to produce more employment through creating infrastructure.</p>
<p>She said in the interview that if people who may be skeptical about climate change, or rely on the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuel</a> industry for employment understood the potential of the job market in <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/10/22167938/governors-us-climate-change-alliance-clean-energy-jobs" target="_blank">renewable energy</a> — and the jobs would be more secure — then it could be massive step forward in combating climate change in the U.S.</p><p>And Michael Regan, the current secretary of North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality, is a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-14/biden-team-considering-north-carolina-official-to-lead-u-s-epa" target="_blank">top contender</a> to head the upcoming administration's EPA office, according to Bloomberg News. One of his largest achievements while in office was in January, where he held Duke Energy Corp accountable for its pollution production, forcing the company to agree to the largest <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a> cleanup in the U.S.</p>
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The coal-fired Belchatow Power Station is seen on November 29, 2018 in Rogowiec, Poland. Sean Gallup / Getty Images
European Union leaders reached an eleventh-hour agreement Friday to reduce the bloc's collective greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent of 1990 levels by 2030.
<p>The deal, hashed out over a negotiation all-nighter, managed to reconcile differences between wealthier Western European countries and Eastern European countries such as Poland that are still heavily dependent on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal" target="_self">coal</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/11/world/europe/eu-climate-emissions.html#:~:text=E.U.-,Agrees%20to%20Slash%20Carbon%20Emissions%20by%202030,substantial%20reduction%20than%20previously%20proposed" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>.</p><p>"Europe is the leader in the fight against <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate change</a>," European Council President Charles Michel tweeted Friday morning, <a href="https://twitter.com/eucopresident/status/1337296150580383744" target="_blank">announcing the news</a>.</p>
<div id="9cdc2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="97b83cd67a1260727f1519ae627fa752"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1337296150580383744" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Europe is the leader in the fight against climate change. We decided to cut our greenhouse gas emissions of at lea… https://t.co/65Pq9FHyn1</div> — Charles Michel (@Charles Michel)<a href="https://twitter.com/eucopresident/statuses/1337296150580383744">1607671222.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The deal comes after the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/greta-thunberg-eu-climate-law-2645391457.html?rebelltitem=1" target="_self">drafted a law</a> in March that would make the 27-country bloc carbon neutral by 2050. Activists like Greta Thunberg criticized the plan for setting a benchmark so far in the future. While Thunberg also thought 2030 was too far of a target, analysts told The New York Times that Friday's deal makes the EU's 2050 target more credible.</p><p>European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen championed the new deal.</p><p>"Today's agreement puts us on a clear path to climate neutrality in 2050," The Guardian reported her saying. The agreement was also reached in time for von der Leyen to announce it at a virtual <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/virtual-climate-summit-2020-2649465278.html" target="_self">UN climate meeting Saturday</a>, The New York Times reported.</p><p>The deal came after the bloc failed to agree to a less-ambitious 40 percent emissions reduction target in October. Two key factors bridged the gap between coal-dependent members and the rest.</p>
<ol><li>The deal was reached after the EU agreed on a $2.2 trillion budget Thursday evening that includes funds for transitioning away from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuels</a>.</li><li>The negotiators agreed to make the target a collective one so that each country will not be held to the same standards, and countries with more diverse energy sources can compensate for slower transitions from coal-dependent states.</li></ol><p>"We have an agreement which on the one hand allows us to realize the E.U. target, and on the other creates conditions for a just transition of the Polish economy and the energy sector," Polish minister of climate and environment Michal Kurtyka told The New York Times.</p><p>The deal will also focus on accelerating the transition to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/electric-vehicle" target="_self">electric vehicles</a> and mandate an investment of $420 billion a year this decade for decarbonizing the energy sector, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/eu-summit-climate/eu-leaders-clinch-deal-on-tougher-2030-climate-goal-idUSKBN28L0N3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>.</p>
<p>The deal will now need to be approved by the European Parliament, which supports a more ambitious emissions reduction of 60 percent by 2030.</p><p>"It is important not to be fooled into thinking that a net target of 55 percent is sufficient," Jytte Guteland, the parliament member taking the lead on climate legislation, <a href="https://twitter.com/JytteGuteland/status/1337317060376932352" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweeted Friday</a>. "I have a strong mandate from the elected representatives in the European Parliament to push for more climate ambition. I intend to do that when we meet and negotiate."</p><p>The Guardian reported that the new commitment means that the EU now has one of the leading climate plans of any major economy. Still, several activists agreed with Guteland that the deal did not go far enough.</p><p>"Governments will no doubt call it historic, but the evidence shows this deal is only a small improvement on the emissions cuts the EU is already expected to achieve. It shows that political convenience takes precedence over climate science, and that most politicians are still afraid to take on big polluters," <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Greenpeace EU</a> policy advisor Sebastian Mang told The Guardian.</p><p>Colin Roche, <a href="https://www.foeeurope.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Friends of the Earth Europe</a> climate justice coordinator, also said the EU should be more ambitious in its goals in order to meet its commitments under the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" target="_self">Paris agreement</a>.</p><p>"Our leaders must go further to deliver Europe's fair share of global action to cut carbon and live up to the agreement they made in Paris five years ago," Roche told <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/11/eu-leaders-agree-on-55percent-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reduction-target.html" target="_blank">CNBC</a>. "Meanwhile if this new target is to be meaningful, planned new EU infrastructure spending must cut out all fossil fuels now."</p>
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UN Urges World Leaders to Declare 'Climate Emergency' at Virtual Climate Summit
13 December 2020
Climate
Secretary-General António Guterres delivers a speech at the United Nations Climate Ambition Summit 2020 taking place virtually with world leaders invited to make pre-recorded statements outlining their new and ambitious commitments. UN Photo / Mark Garten
World leaders should declare a "climate emergency" in their countries to spur action to avoid catastrophic global warming, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in opening remarks at a climate summit on Saturday.
On the fifth anniversary of the 2015 Paris Agreement, more than 70 world leaders are due to address the one-day virtual meeting in the hope of galvanizing countries into stricter actions on global warming emissions.
<p>Guterres said that current commitments across the globe did not go "far from enough" to limit temperature rises.</p><p>"Can anybody still deny that we are facing a dramatic emergency?" Guterres said. "That is why today, I call on all leaders worldwide to declare a State of Climate Emergency in their countries until carbon neutrality is reached."</p>
Fossil Fuel Investment 'Unacceptable'
<p><span style="background-color: initial; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(90, 88, 88);">The UN chief said economic recovery packages launched in the wake of </span><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-endng-covid-new-dawn-for-climate/a-55807185" target="_blank" style="background-color: initial; font-size: 14px;">the coronavirus pandemic</a><span style="background-color: initial; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(90, 88, 88);"> represented an opportunity to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future — but warned so much more needs to be done to ward off catastrophic consequences.</span><br></p><div id="2be5e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="92e2a543e89ed7c59a62c0080ea6ba48"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1337760413426003969" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Watch live: Global leaders meet virtually at the Climate Ambition Summit to commit to renewed and increased… https://t.co/NYQyo4wYKB</div> — United Nations (@United Nations)<a href="https://twitter.com/UN/statuses/1337760413426003969">1607781911.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"So far, the members of the G20 are spending 50% more in their stimulus and rescue packages on sectors linked to fossil fuel production and consumption, than on low-carbon energy," Guterres said.</p><p>"This is unacceptable. The trillions of dollars needed for COVID recovery is money that we are borrowing from future generations," he said. "We cannot use these resources to lock in policies that burden future generations with a mountain of debt on a broken planet," he added.</p>
China and India Promises
<p>China and India vowed to advance their commitment to lower carbon pollution at the summit.</p><p>President Xi Jinping was one of the first leaders to address the virtual conference and he said China will boost its installed capacity of wind and solar power to more than 1,200 gigawatts over the next decade. Xi also said China will increase its share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 25% during the same period.</p><p>And "China always honors its commitments," Xi promised.</p><p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India was ramping up its use of clean energy sources and was on target to achieve the emissions norms set under the 2015 Paris agreement.</p><p>India, the second-most populous nation on Earth and the world's fourth-largest greenhouse gas emitter, is eyeing 450 gigawatt of renewable energy capacity by 2030, Modi said.</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/un-urges-world-leaders-to-declare-climate-emergency/a-55918020" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2649465278#/" target="_self"></a></p>From Your Site Articles
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Greta Thunberg Warns Humanity 'Still Speeding in Wrong Direction' on Climate
11 December 2020
Climate
Youth activist Greta Thunberg speaks at the Climate Action Summit at the United Nations on September 23, 2019 in New York City. Stephanie Keith / Getty Images
By Andrea Germanos
Teen climate leader Greta Thunberg on Thursday reiterated her demand that humanity end its inaction on the planetary emergency as she warned—five years after the Paris agreement was signed—the world is "speeding in the wrong direction" in terms of emission reductions.
<p>With nothing less than a total "system change" needed, the 17-year-old Swede told viewers in a new video that she's "inviting you to be part of the solution."</p><p>Thunberg shared the 3-minute video on Twitter Thursday—two days before the Paris climate agreement's five-year <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/12/12/historic-climate-deal-reached-campaigners-say-work-just-beginning" target="_blank">anniversary</a>.</p>
<div id="55a74" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="00cadf04f5611b6d1e8acbdac77c10f5"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1337091285182803968" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">My name is Greta Thunberg and I am inviting you to be a part of the solution. As #ParisAgreement turns 5, our lead… https://t.co/kBVPEYilco</div> — Greta Thunberg (@Greta Thunberg)<a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/statuses/1337091285182803968">1607622378.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>While "a lot has happened" since the accord was finalized December 12, 2015 to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and pursue a goal of a 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature threshold, "the action needed is still nowhere in sight," said Thunberg.</p><p>In fact, she warned, "We are still speeding in the wrong direction."</p><p>Thunberg denounced global leaders' "hypothetical targets" for emissions reductions and "big speeches," because "when it comes to the immediate action we need, we are still in a state of complete denial."</p><p>She further stressed that the "climate and ecological crisis cannot be solved without system change. That's no longer an opinion. That's a fact."</p>
<p>"For too long," Thunberg continued, "we have been distancing ourselves from nature, mistreating the planet—our only home—living as if there was no tomorrow," and are now poised to blow past the 1.5 warming threshold "within 7 years, long before we will even have a chance to deliver on our 2030 or 2050 targets."</p><p>Despite that projection, Thunberg said that "there is hope because the people have not yet been made aware."</p><p>"We cannot solve a crisis without treating it as a crisis. Nor can we treat something like a crisis unless we understand the emergency. So let's make this our main priority. Let's unite and spread awareness," she said.</p><p>"Once we become aware, then we can act," Thunberg continued. "Then change will come."</p><p>"This is the solution," she said. "We are the hope. We, the people."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/10/must-watch-video-greta-thunberg-warns-humanity-still-speeding-wrong-direction" target="_blank">Common Dreams.</a></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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5 Years After Paris: How Countries’ Climate Policies Match up to Their Promises
10 December 2020
Climate
Environmental activists protest during the UN Climate Action Summit, aimed at reinvigorating the faltering Paris agreement, on Sept. 23, 2019 in Washington, DC. MANDEL NGAN / AFP via Getty Images
By Morgan Bazilian and Dolf Gielen
This month marks the fifth anniversary of the Paris climate agreement – the commitment by almost every country to try to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius.
It's an ambitious goal, and the clock is ticking.
<p>The planet has already warmed by about 1°C since the start of the industrial era. That might not sound like much, but that first degree is <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/" target="_blank">changing the planet</a> in profound ways, from more extreme heat waves that put human health and crops at risk, to rising sea levels.</p><p>Bold visions for slowing global warming have emerged from all over the world. Less clear is how countries will meet them.</p><p>So far, countries' individual plans for how they will lower their greenhouse gas emissions don't come close to adding up to the Paris agreement's goals. Even if every country meets its current commitments, the world will still be on track to warm by more than 3°C this century, according to the United Nations Environment Program's latest <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/emissions-gap-report-2020" target="_blank"><em>Emissions Gap Report</em></a>, released Dec. 9. And many of those commitments aren't yet backed by government actions.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk0NDk2MS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MjQxNDQ4M30.yp_K4op4iy0C8kVw9C06EQMtbB0ZdF_UIYL-zbg79qA/img.png?width=980" id="556a1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="014a46ced9a02b15969e012191d1ca8f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="790" />
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic's economic slowdown likely reduced global carbon dioxide emissions by <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/emissions-gap-report-2020" target="_blank">about 7% this year</a>, but that temporary dip will have very little effect, the report notes – unless countries prioritize a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/28/eu-green-recovery-package-sets-a-marker-for-the-world" target="_blank">green recovery</a>.</p><p>This fifth anniversary of the Paris agreement was intended to be a progress check, with countries expected to increase their commitments. But because of the pandemic, the meeting and negotiations were postponed to November 2021. A smaller online <a href="https://www.cas2021.com/latest/events/2020/12/12/climate-ambition-summit" target="_blank">Climate Ambitions Summit</a> is planned this year on Dec. 12 instead.</p><p>Despite the delay, some big goals have been announced. In particular, more countries are now committing to reach net zero carbon emissions by midcentury. The U.S. is also expected to rejoin the agreement next year under President-elect Joe Biden.</p><p>But how well-grounded are these climate commitments in actual budgets, policies and regulations? As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=sfI-c0YAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">energy</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DAwwVkwAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">policy experts</a>, we have both been involved in global climate negotiations, technology analysis and policy design for the last two decades, and we have watched the national commitments for signs of progress.</p>
<h2>Ambitious Goals, But Missing Actions</h2><p>The Paris agreement's formal goal is to stay "well below" 2 degrees of warming. That's based on political negotiations and scientific research <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">that models the increasingly harmful effects</a> rising temperatures will have on today's economies, agriculture and environment.</p><p>The sooner the world's emissions trajectory starts downward, the smoother the transition will be.</p><p>The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea each announced goals in recent weeks for reaching net zero carbon emissions by mid-century. But the detailed plans for how they will get there are largely missing.</p><p>Chinese President Xi Jinping drew global praise when he announced in September that his country's emissions – the highest in the world – would <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/24/china-carbon-emissions-420967" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">peak earlier than expected</a>, before 2030, and that China would strive to be carbon neutral by 2060. How and whether that happens will depend heavily on <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-politics-carbon-plan/xis-carbon-neutrality-vow-to-reshape-chinas-five-year-plan-idUSKBN27B08B" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the country's next Five Year Plan</a>, due in March. The leadership's priorities include expanding clean energy, but right now, China is still the world's largest coal user, and coal accounts for three-fifths of its energy supply.</p><p>South Korean President Moon Jae-in offered <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkora-environment-greenewdeal/south-koreas-moon-targets-carbon-neutrality-by-2050-idUSKBN27D1DU" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more detailed goals</a> in November when he ordered government officials to develop a road map for transitioning to cleaner energy and carbon neutrality by 2050. He said his country would invest $7 billion in green projects, launch a carbon tax to encourage companies to reduce their emissions, and stop financing overseas coal plants. But those ideas, too, fall short of carbon neutrality in an economy that relies on energy-intensive industries.</p><p>The European Union is farther ahead. It established a net zero objective some time ago along with scenarios for how to get there. This summer, the EU also put climate-friendly projects at the heart of its <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-summit-climate-change-factbox/factbox-how-green-is-the-eus-recovery-deal-idUSKCN24M19V" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pandemic recovery strategy</a>. EU member states are now expected to develop long-term strategies for 2050 and revise their <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/energy/topics/energy-strategy/national-energy-climate-plans_en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">integrated national energy and climate plans</a> through 2030.</p><p>The UK has announced a new 68% emissions reduction target for 2030. Meeting <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/sixth-carbon-budget/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this target</a> will require the UK to double its efforts compared to the last three decades.</p>
Progress Toward Net Zero
<p>Two countries have achieved net zero emissions, largely due to their tiny populations and thick forests that store more carbon than the country emits. Six countries have net zero carbon targets in law. Five plus the EU have proposed legislation. Several others have targets in policy documents or under discussion.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk0NDk5OC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMDk0ODkxOX0.WCJtg5MvjOM2N4yLisZnwcABEoGXSquVGoXtrQMCjYU/img.png?width=980" id="86d0c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0588bbcc45be451b74466ecedfcb5fab" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1216" data-height="676" />
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk0NDk5OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNzgyMjQyNH0.ZWM2rpj_h7Ep7JjYpDBFktzyQKoRHULfDHm797_eiKQ/img.png?width=980" id="8cc0e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8f20bb4afec5c3e8d4df0cac66faaea8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1216" data-height="666" />
Data as of Dec. 7, 2020. Table: The Conversation / CC-BY-ND. Source: Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit Net Zero Tracker. Get the data
<h2>The Big Picture</h2><p>Overall, the current "nationally determined contributions" – the plans that countries submit to the UN spelling out how they will meet the Paris agreement – fall far short. A <a href="https://climateactiontracker.org/global/cat-emissions-gaps/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">five-fold acceleration in emissions reductions</a> is needed to come close.</p><p>Just days before the Ambitions Summit, <a href="https://climateactiontracker.org/climate-target-update-tracker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">only 13 countries had submitted new targets</a>, and seven had announced they would not update their targets or resubmitted old targets. However, nearly half of high-emitting countries have indicated they will raise their mitigation ambitions by the end of next year.</p><p>Twenty-one states and regions have set <a href="https://www.theclimategroup.org/AnnualDisclosure2020" target="_blank">long-term targets</a> to reduce their emissions by 75%-90%, but how these will be met is not clear, a recent analysis found. Most <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2020/10/22/cities-are-pledging-to-confront-climate-change-but-are-their-actions-working/" target="_blank">pledges by cities</a> are similarly aspirational.</p>
Countries With the Most CO2 Emissions From Fossil Fuels
<p>In 2019, the world's six largest CO2 emitters together accounted for 51% of the global population and 67% of total CO2 emissions from fossil fuels.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk0NTA0MC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMDYyOTUzNX0.5E0QJkVAhSXI56gRcCHYzLAxKu6x7-KBkNngebchYyY/img.png?width=980" id="1c95f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cff1f463d90cea8b32f3cfad1690ddb1" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1206" data-height="418" />
Chart: The Conversation / CC-BY-ND. Source: European Commission. Get the data
<h2>Ramping up Fast</h2><p>Even if established clean technologies like renewable energy are at the core of the transition, the pace of change required to meet the Paris goals remains daunting. Socioeconomic issues will also have to be put front and center.</p><p><a href="https://www.irena.org/publications/2020/Sep/Reaching-Zero-with-Renewables" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Net-zero solutions</a> are technically conceivable for a range of energy-intensive industries, agriculture and transport methods, but the speed and scale at which they would have to ramp up to meet a 2050 deadline is formidable.</p><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2019.01.006" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Our analysis</a> found the deployment of renewable power would need to accelerate two- to three-fold. Global renewable energy use would need to go from around 20% of energy today to 65% by 2050, and from 28% to 85% of the power sector. Electric vehicle use would have to skyrocket, from less than 10 million EVs today to more than 1.5 billion by 2050.</p>
<h2>Filling in the Gaps</h2><p>To finance these transformations, investors need to be confident that the world is committed to a cleaner future. Perceived risk will drive up costs, and uncertain or delayed government action <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-01312-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">are big risks</a>. International financial organizations, along with green banks and development banks, have an important role to play in encouraging private investment.</p><p>Moving from a focus on high-level goals to detailed pathways will help.</p><p>The global climate talks can continue to help by focusing on the specifics of the national commitments, ensuring they are detailed, well-designed and budgeted, and updated regularly.</p><p>The international community will also need to support countries that need assistance. Climate change is not the primary priority for most jurisdictions – though it is an existential crisis for some, including some small island states. That needs to be acknowledged and built in to the goals and planning.</p>
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<em>Morgan Bazilian is a professor of public policy and director of the Payne Institute, Colorado School of Mines.<br/>
</em><em>Dolf Gielen is a Payne Institute fellow, at the Colorado School of Mines.</em>
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<em>Disclosure statements: Dolf Gielen works for IRENA, an Intergovernmental Agency that advises its members on energy transition and climate. Morgan Bazilian does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</em>
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<em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-years-after-paris-how-countries-climate-policies-match-up-to-their-promises-and-whos-aiming-for-net-zero-emissions-151722" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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