CC9C. Staying Current-What Are Governments Doing About Climate Change?
Articles from 2024–2025 (most recent articles)
Stay current index page for Chapter 9
2024-12-26. New York to fine fossil fuel companies $75 billion under new climate law. By Jonathan Allen, Reuters. Excerpt: New York state will fine fossil fuel companies a total of $75 billion over the next 25 years to pay for damage caused to the climate under a bill Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law on Thursday. The law is intended to shift some of the recovery and adaptation costs of climate change from individual taxpayers to oil, gas and coal companies that the law says are liable. The money raised will be spent on mitigating the impacts of climate change, including adapting roads, transit, water and sewage systems, buildings and other infrastructure. …Fossil fuel companies will be fined based on the amount of greenhouse gases they released into the atmosphere between 2000 and 2018, to be paid into a Climate Superfund beginning in 2028. It will apply to any company that the New York Department of Environmental Conservation determines is responsible for more than 1 billion tons of global greenhouse gas emissions. …New York becomes the second state to pass such a law after Vermont passed its own version this summer. The laws are modeled after existing state and federal superfund laws that require polluters to pay to clean up toxic waste. Repairing damage and adapting for extreme weather caused by climate change will cost New York more than $500 billion by 2050, Krueger said in her statement. Major oil companies made more than $1 trillion in profits since January 2021…. Full article at https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/new-york-fine-fossil-fuel-companies-75-billion-under-new-climate-law-2024-12-26/. See also New York Times, Hochul Signs Law That Penalizes Companies for Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
2024-12-18. Montana supreme court upholds right to ‘stable climate system’ for youngsters. By The Guardian. Excerpt: Montana’s top court on Wednesday held that the state’s constitution guaranteed a right to a stable climate system and invalidated a law barring regulators from considering the effects of greenhouse gas emissions when permitting new fossil fuel projects. The Montana supreme court upheld a landmark trial court decision last August in favor of 16 young people who said their health and futures were being jeopardized by climate change, which the state aggravates through its permitting of energy projects. The 6-1 decision, the first of its kind by a US state supreme court, came in the first lawsuit to go to trial nationwide by young environmental activists challenging state and federal policies they say are exacerbating climate change. …In a case that made headlines across the US and internationally, the 16 plaintiffs, aged five to 22, had alleged the state government’s pro-fossil fuel policies contributed to climate change. In trial hearings in June last year, they testified that these policies therefore violated provisions in the state constitution that guarantee a “clean and healthful environment”, among other constitutional protections. The following month district court judge Kathy Seeley ruled in favor of the plaintiffs…. Full article at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/18/montana-supreme-court-climate.
2024-11-25. Is the COP29 climate deal a historic breakthrough or letdown? Researchers react. By Ehsan Masood, Nature. Excerpt: An eleventh-hour deal that rescued the COP29 climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, is a “fragile consensus”, researchers who study climate finance have told Nature. Visibly relieved COP delegates representing rich countries applauded in the early hours of 24 November, following a last-minute pledge in which rich countries will ‘take the lead’ in increasing climate finance for poor countries to at least US$300 billion annually by 2035. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), notably China, will also be expected to contribute to international climate funds, a first for a COP agreement. But delegates from some of the largest LMICs, including India, Indonesia and Nigeria, were furious. Some alleged that they had been pressured into a deal, so that the COP meeting did not end in failure. The delegates also did not agree on how much of the $300 billion will be in grants versus loans, nor how much will come from private or public-sector sources. Current climate finance from rich to poor countries is more than $100 billion and projected to reach nearly $200 billion by 2030 under a business-as-usual scenario, according to an analysis by ODI Global, a think tank in London…. Full article at https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03875-4. For GSS Climate Change chapter 9.
[COPs are meetings convened under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) treaty adopted in 1992. COP stands for Conference of the Parties (governments). They assess global efforts to advance the key 2016 Paris Agreement aim of limiting global warming to as close as possible to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. Greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest and decline 43% by 2030. (https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement and https://unfccc.int/)]
2024-11-22. How will China impact the future of climate change? You might be surprised. By Julia Simon, NPR. Excerpt: The U.S. is preparing for a second presidential term for Donald Trump, who has called climate change a hoax and federal investments in climate solutions a “green new scam“. In China, it’s a different story. China has made it clear it plans to be at the forefront of manufacturing climate solutions–and selling them around the globe. China is the world’s largest producer of renewable energy, now constructing almost two thirds of all large-scale wind and solar power, according to nonprofit Global Energy Monitor. And China is spreading climate solution technologies across the developing world. Walk into an electric vehicle showroom in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, or Kenya these days, and the car on offer is likely made in China. “They’ve set up a situation where it’s good for them to sell clean energy technologies to the world,” says Alex Wang, a professor of law at UCLA focused on Chinese climate policy. “It’s very good economically, and it’s good reputationally, and it’s good environmentally.” But while China is now the largest producer and distributor of climate solutions technologies — a key moneymaker for its troubled economy — the country still gets more than half its power from coal. “Which happens to also be the dirtiest fossil fuel,” says Li Shuo, director of the China climate hub at the Asia Society, a nonprofit…. Full article at https://www.opb.org/article/2024/11/22/why-china-is-a-climate-technology-leader-even-with-coal-plants/.
2024-11-14. A Big Climate Goal Is Getting Farther Out of Reach. By Brad Plumer and Mira Rojanasakul, The New York Times. Excerpt: Countries have made scant progress in curbing their greenhouse gas emissions over the past year, keeping the planet on track for dangerous levels of warming this century, according to a new report published Thursday. The report by the Climate Action Tracker, a research group, estimates that the climate and energy policies currently pursued by governments around the world would cause global temperatures to rise roughly 2.7 degrees Celsius, or 4.9 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels by 2100. That estimate of future warming has barely budged for three years now, the group said. …The study was issued during the United Nations climate summit [COP29] in Baku, Azerbaijan…. Full article at https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/14/climate/climate-action-tracker-temperatures-emissions.html.
2024-11-12. ‘Fossil Fuels Are Still Winning’: Global Emissions Head for a Record. By Brad Plumer, The New York Times. Excerpt: One year after world leaders made a splashy promise to shift away from fossil fuels, countries are burning more oil, natural gas and coal than ever before, researchers said this week. Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels are on track to reach …a 0.8 percent increase over 2023 levels, according to new data from the Global Carbon Project. It’s a trend that puts countries farther from their goal of stopping global warming. …Emissions will most likely decline this year in the United States and Europe, and fossil fuel use in China slowed. Yet that was offset by a surge in carbon dioxide from India and the rest of the world. …The findings were made public early on Wednesday at the United Nations climate change summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, where diplomats and world leaders have gathered to discuss how to raise trillions of dollars to cope with rising global temperatures…. Full article at https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/12/climate/fossil-fuel-emissions-2024-record.html.
2024-11-11. California tightens clean transportation standards. By Julie Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle. Excerpt: California air quality regulators on Friday tightened a key environmental program credited with reducing the amount of pollution churned out by cars and trucks but criticized for raising the state’s already high gasoline prices. The California Air Resources Board voted 12-2 on Friday to strengthen the Low Carbon Fuels Standard, which creates financial incentives for oil and gas companies that slash emissions from transportation fuels and adds costs to companies that don’t. …The air board said the hallmark program, established in 2011, has doubled the volume of low carbon fuels such as renewable diesel on the market, slashed regular diesel consumption in half and generated $4 billion oil and gas industry investments in cleaner fuels and technology. …The standard works by rewarding oil and gas companies for lowering the carbon intensity of fuels, which encompasses the greenhouse gas emissions produced throughout their life cycle, from refining, transportation, gas stations and tail pipes…. Full article at https://www.sfchronicle.com/climate/article/california-fuel-standard-19894150.php.
2024-10-30. Ordinary Policies Achieve Extraordinary Climate Adaptation. By Kimberly M. S. Cartier, Eos/AGU. Excerpt: Consistently implementing zoning, permitting, and building regulations, all commonplace municipal tools, helped most New Jersey towns avoid floodplain development. New Jersey is one of the most flood-prone U.S. states, and climate change is increasing the hazard by raising sea levels and supercharging severe storms like Hurricane Sandy. The state also faces pressure to develop new housing and infrastructure, often in low-lying inland and coastal areas that are the most vulnerable to flooding. Despite this pressure, a recent analysis of new floodplain development found that 85% of New Jersey towns built relatively little in floodplains over the past 2 decades. Towns achieved this by applying routine land use management tools consistently over time, a slow but steady approach to climate adaptation. …The most effective way to avoid flood damage to homes and infrastructure is to avoid building in a floodplain. …Instead, recent research [A Nationwide Analysis of Community-Level Floodplain Development Outcomes and Key Influences, by Armen Agopian et al] has shown that most U.S. communities limit floodplain development more than expected given how much developable land they have in a floodplain. Even some communities that sit mostly or entirely within floodplains built most of their new structures on non-flood-prone land…. Full article at https://eos.org/articles/ordinary-policies-achieve-extraordinary-climate-adaptation.
2024-10-24. The U.N.’s Verdict on Climate Progress Over the Past Year: There Was None. By Brad Plumer, The New York Times. Excerpt: One year after world leaders made a landmark promise to move away from fossil fuels, countries have essentially made no progress in cutting emissions and tackling global warming, according to a United Nations report issued on Thursday…. Full article at https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/24/climate/un-climate-change-global-emissions-report.html.
2024-10-18. Years in the Making, New Satellite Offers Breakthrough in Global Methane Emissions Tracking. By Gwyneth K. Shaw and Judith Katz, Berkeley Law News. Excerpt: A satellite launched in August by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has close ties to Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) from the project’s origin to groundbreaking methane emissions research for years to come. The Tanager-1 satellite is part of the broader Carbon Mapper initiative, which aims to detect and quantify methane emissions with unprecedented accuracy. In tandem with MethaneSAT, launched by the Environmental Defense Fund, it can detect both large area methane emissions and leaks within a few meters of their source. …Methane — a powerful greenhouse gas responsible for about a third of global warming — has been difficult to track. …Importantly, Carbon Mapper and the Environmental Defense Fund will make the methane data publicly available, allowing nongovernmental organizations, governments, and the general public to access the information — ideally enhancing accountability and encouraging action from companies and jurisdictions to reduce their emissions…. Full article at https://www.law.berkeley.edu/article/center-for-law-energy-and-the-environment-tanager-1-satellite-global-methane-emission-tracking/.
2024-07-10. As Climate Toll Grows, FEMA Imposes Limits on Building in Flood Plains. By Christopher Flavelle, The New York Times. Excerpt: The Federal Emergency Management Agency will take new steps to ensure that the structures it funds — including schools, hospitals, police stations, libraries, sewage treatment plants and bridges — are protected from flooding. The agency said Wednesday that projects constructed with FEMA money must be built in a way that prevents flood damage, whether by elevating them above the expected height of a flood or, if that’s not feasible, by building in a safer location. The rule also makes it clear that building decisions must reflect risks now and also in the future, as climate change makes flooding more frequent and severe…. Full article at https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/10/climate/fema-flooding-construction-rules.html.
2024-06-28. Supreme Court ruling may threaten role of science in U.S. rulemaking. By JEFFREY MERVIS, Science. Excerpt: In a much-anticipated decision that many scientific groups had feared, the U.S. Supreme Court today overturned a 40-year-old doctrine that gave federal agencies considerable leeway in interpreting laws passed by Congress. The 6-to-3 ruling means judges should no longer defer to the scientific expertise of those agencies on a vast range of technical questions and, instead, should make such decisions themselves. “Agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities. Courts do,” Chief Justice John Roberts said in the majority opinion in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, a case involving environmental regulations affecting herring boats. …But in a stinging dissent, Justice Elena Kagan …gave several examples of technical questions that she feels judges are ill-equipped to answer. The Food and Drug Administration must decide what qualifies as a protein in regulating biological products, she notes. And the Fish and Wildlife Service is required to determine what constitutes “distinct population segments” of imperiled plants or animals to enforce the Endangered Species Act. “That is what a typical Chevron question looks like,” she wrote, and scientists at those agencies have the knowledge and experience to answer them. “It is a role this Court has now claimed for itself, as well as for other judges,” she asserted…. Full article at https://www.science.org/content/article/supreme-court-ruling-may-threaten-role-science-u-s-rulemaking.
2024-06-06. UN Secretary-General Calls for Ban on Fossil Fuel Advertising, Says Next 18 Months Are Critical for Climate Action. By Keerti Gopal, Inside Climate News. Excerpt: In a special address, António Guterres called out fossil fuel industry greenwashing and highlighted a new report showing the world will likely pass the 1.5 degree Celsius warming threshold within five years. …“Climate change is the mother of all stealth taxes paid by everyday people and vulnerable countries and communities,” Guterres said in his address, delivered on the United Nations’ World Environment Day at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. “Meanwhile, the godfathers of climate chaos—the fossil fuel industry—rake in record profits and feast off trillions in taxpayer-funded subsidies.” Comparing the fossil fuel industry to the tobacco industry, Guterres also called on public relations and advertising firms to “stop acting as enablers to planetary destruction,” by dropping fossil fuel clients from their rosters. …Pointing out that the oil and gas industry invested just 2.5 percent of its total capital spending in renewable energy, he also called on fossil fuel companies to use their “massive profits” to lead the clean energy transition…. Full article at https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04062024/massachusetts-geothermal-heating-cooling-system/.
2024-05-24. New Dutch right-wing coalition to cut research, innovation, and environmental protections. By MARTIN ENSERINK, Science. Excerpt: The far right’s stunning victory in the Netherlands’s parliamentary elections last fall will upset far more than the country’s immigration policies. An agreement by the four parties aiming to form a new government, presented on 16 May and debated in the House of Representatives on 22 May, also calls for cuts in science and innovation funding, rollbacks of environment and climate policies, and restrictions on the influx of foreign students. …[Geert] Wilders, who ardently denies climate science, called in his election platform for putting all climate policies and agreements “through the shredder,” but he conceded in Parliament that won’t happen. The governing agreement leaves most climate “nonsense” in place, he said. A proposed carbon dioxide tax for industry and a plan to speed up the introduction of heat pumps in homes have both been abandoned, however…. Full article at https://www.science.org/content/article/new-dutch-right-wing-coalition-cut-research-innovation-and-environmental-protections.
2024-05-17. Clean Energy Is Driving ‘a New Era in American Manufacturing’ Across the Midwest. By Kristoffer Tigue, Inside Climate News. Excerpt: The Midwest is emerging as a major manufacturing hub for the clean energy transition as federal incentives and falling prices for renewables spur companies to invest tens of billions of dollars into new factory operations across the country. In August 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides generous tax credits for projects and purchases related to clean energy. Since then, Midwestern states have received about $30 billion dollars in private investments to boost domestic production of electric vehicles, batteries and equipment for solar and wind farms, according to a monthly tally of funding announcements kept by energy think tank E2. Michigan, Indiana and Ohio have received $11.6 billion, $7.8 billion and $7 billion respectively, the E2 analysis said, placing them among the top 10 states nationwide to receive the most private investments for clean energy projects between August 2022 and April of this year…. Full article at https://insideclimatenews.org/news/17052024/midwest-clean-energy-manufacturing/.
2024-05-15. As sea levels rise, DeSantis signs bill deleting climate change mentions from Florida state law. By Ella Nilsen, CNN. Excerpt: As Florida copes with rising seas and record temperatures, lawmakers are going to exceptional lengths to delete many mentions of climate change from state laws in a new bill that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law on Wednesday, according to his official X account. The wide-ranging law makes several changes to the state’s energy policy – in some cases deleting entire sections of state law that talk about the importance of cutting planet-warming pollution. The bill would also give preferential treatment to natural gas and ban offshore wind energy…. The bill deletes the phrase ‘climate’ eight times – often in reference to reducing the impacts of global climate change …or directing state agencies to buy ‘climate friendly’ products when they are cost-effective and available. The bill also gets rid of a requirement that state-purchased vehicles should be fuel efficient. …DeSantis and state lawmakers have poured over $1.1 billion into increasing community resilience to flooding and storms…. Florida has also accepted millions of dollars in federal funding to help reconstruct a state highway in Miami Beach – elevating the pavement and installing new pump stations to help clear the road of water during flooding events. When it comes to other federal climate and clean energy funding, however, the state hasn’t been eager to accept. DeSantis vetoed over $29 million dollars in federal energy rebates and energy efficiency grants from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Florida was one of five states that declined to compete for $4.6 billion in federal climate grants…. Full article at https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/15/politics/desantis-bill-climate-change-florida/index.html.
2024-05-02. Court strikes down youth climate lawsuit on Biden administration request. By Dharna Noor, The Guardian. Excerpt: The lawsuit, Juliana v United States, was filed by 21 young people from Oregon who alleged the federal government’s role in fueling the climate crisis violates their constitutional rights. The Wednesday order from a panel of three Trump-appointed judges on the ninth circuit court of appeals will require a US district court judge to dismiss the case for lack of standing, with no opening to amend the complaint. …[said Julia Olson, attorney and founder of Our Children’s Trust, the non-profit law firm that brought the suit] “…the full ninth circuit can correct this mistake.”…. Full article at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/02/youth-climate-lawsuit-juliana-appeals-court.
2024-04-23. IRA’s Solar for All Program Will Install Nearly 1 Million Systems in US. By Dan Gearino, Inside Climate News. Excerpt: For people who have spent their careers trying to expand access to rooftop solar energy, the announcement on Monday of $7 billion worth of project support from the Biden administration is almost unfathomable in its size and scope. Money from the Solar for All program, which is part of the Inflation Reduction Act, will go to 60 recipients that include state and Tribal governments and nonprofit organizations. Its goal is to help lower-income and otherwise disadvantaged households obtain the financial and environmental benefits of solar. “It’s a good day,” said Erica Mackie, CEO and co-founder of GRID Alternatives, an Oakland, California-based nonprofit that will receive two grants totaling more than $310 million and is involved with a third grant of $62.3 million. …GRID Alternatives started in 2004 with the installation of two solar systems and has grown to about 500 employees who provide job training for solar installers and set up solar systems for qualifying low-income households…. Full article at https://insideclimatenews.org/news/23042024/inflation-reduction-act-solar-for-all/.
2024-04-09. In Landmark Climate Ruling, European Court Faults Switzerland. [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/09/world/europe/climate-human-rights.html] By Isabella Kwai and Emma Bubola, The New York Times. Excerpt: Europe’s top human rights court said on Tuesday that the Swiss government had violated its citizens’ human rights by not doing enough to stop climate change, a landmark ruling that experts said could bolster activists hoping to use human rights law to hold governments to account. In the case, which was brought by a group called KlimaSeniorinnen, or Senior Women for Climate Protection, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, said that Switzerland had failed to meet its target in reducing carbon emissions and must act to address that shortcoming….
2024-04-05. New York is suing the world’s biggest meat company. It might be a tipping point for greenwashing. [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/05/letitia-james-jbs-meat-lawsuit-greenwashing] By Whitney Bauck, The Guardian. Excerpt: When the office of the New York attorney general, Letitia James, announced that it would be suing the world’s largest meat company, JBS, for misleading customers about its climate commitments, it caused a stir far beyond the world of food. That’s because the suit’s impact has the potential to influence the approach all kinds of big businesses take in their advertising about sustainability, according to experts. It’s just one in a string of greenwashing lawsuits being brought against large airline, automobile and fashion companies of late. “It’s been 20 years of companies lying about their environmental and climate justice impacts…,” said Todd Paglia, executive director of environmental non-profit Stand.earth. …Research suggests that citizens are increasingly demanding more sustainably produced goods, and big businesses are taking note. But rather than actually changing their practices, many instead turn to messaging that falsely implies their products are better for the Earth than they actually are in order to keep customers happy. …The legal complaint notes that “the JBS Group has made sweeping representations to consumers about its commitment to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, claiming that it will be ‘Net Zero by 2040.’” But those claims aren’t grounded in reality, the complaint goes on to argue, not only because JBS isn’t taking concrete steps toward those goals, but because as recently as September 2023, the CEO admitted in a public forum that the company didn’t even know how to calculate all of its emissions. It follows that what can’t be measured won’t be mitigated….
2024-04-04. White House Awards $20 Billion to Nation’s First ‘Green Bank’ Network. [https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04042024/biden-administration-green-bank-network-disadvantaged-communities/] By Kristoffer Tigue, Inside Climate News. Excerpt: The Biden administration on Thursday announced it was creating the nation’s first “green bank” network, an historic $20 billion investment aimed at making clean energy affordable to low-income and rural residents. …Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund—also known as the country’s first national green bank—eight community development banks and nonprofit organizations will receive that federal funding to go toward rooftop solar installations, energy efficiency upgrades and other projects that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Inflation Reduction Act created the green bank in 2022 with an initial federal investment of $27 billion. …The groups, which consist of Coalition for Green Capital, Power Forward Communities, Appalachian Community Capital, Climate United, Justice Climate Fund, Opportunity Finance Network, Inclusiv and Native CDFI Network, have committed to spend $7 in private investment for every $1 of government funding. …At least 70 percent of those funds will go to low-income and disadvantaged communities, the administration said, while 20 percent will go to rural communities and more than 5 percent will go to tribal communities….
2024-03-25. US awards record $6 billion to back industrial emissions reduction projects. [https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/us-awards-record-6-bln-back-industrial-emissions-reduction-projects-2024-03-25/] By Andrea Shalal and David Shepardson, Reuters. Excerpt: The U.S. Energy Department on Monday announced $6 billion in federal funding to subsidize 33 industrial projects in 20 states to cut carbon emissions, saying the investment would support well-paying union jobs and boost U.S. competitiveness. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will unveil the awards during a visit to a Cleveland-Cliffs Steel Corp (CLF.N), opens new tab facility in Middletown, Ohio, which will receive up to $500 million to install two new electric arc furnaces and hydrogen-based technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1 million tons. …Together, the projects are expected to eliminate 14 million metric tons of pollution each year, equivalent to taking some 3 million gas-powered vehicles off the road, she said. The Portland Cement Association, an industry group, said the funding “is a welcome acknowledgement from the government that America’s cement manufacturers are taking ambitious and significant steps toward reaching carbon neutrality.” …Production of cement, the main ingredient of concrete, accounted for 7% of global CO2 emissions in 2019, the International Energy Agency estimates. …Granholm said the projects would slash emissions from industries such as iron and steel, cement, concrete, aluminum, chemicals, food and beverages, pulp and paper, which account for about a third of U.S. carbon emissions….
2024-01-31. Unlikely Allies Want to Bar a Brazilian Beef Giant From U.S. Stock Markets. [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/31/climate/jbs-ipo-nyse.html] By Manuela Andreoni and Dionne Searcey, The New York Times. Excerpt: A giant Brazilian meatpacking company is facing persistent opposition to its plans for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange because of concerns about corruption settlements, accusations of Amazon deforestation and its growing market share in the United States. The proposed listing by JBS, the world’s biggest meatpacker, has brought together American beef producers, environmentalists and politicians from both major parties in a rare common cause. …a dozen British lawmakers urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to reject the share listing to “send a clear message that the United States stands firm in its commitment to combating climate change.” …Research suggests about 80 percent of deforestation in the Amazon is connected to the beef industry. Global meat consumption is expected to grow 14 percent by 2030 as the world’s population grows and incomes generally rise, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, which has called for eating a more plant-based diet to help reduce carbon emissions….
2024-01-24. Trump, Haley Tell Voters: Economic Prosperity Requires Fossil Fuels. [https://eos.org/articles/trump-haley-tell-voters-economic-prosperity-requires-fossil-fuels] By Grace van Deelen, Eos/AGU. Excerpt: Both Republican front-runners promise a better economy via oil and gas production. But crude and natural gas production reached record numbers under the Biden administration, and ties between fossil fuel production and economic prosperity are less clear than the candidates make them seem, said energy policy experts….
2024-01-08. Researchers Develop Mexico’s First Comprehensive Greenhouse Gas Budget. [https://eos.org/research-spotlights/researchers-develop-mexicos-first-comprehensive-greenhouse-gas-budget] By Rachel Fritts, Eos/AGU. Excerpt: Mexico’s greenhouse gas emissions are the second highest among Latin American countries, trailing only Brazil according to the World Bank. But until now, no one had leveraged the full spectrum of available scientific data to make an estimate of sources (such as fossil fuel burning and agriculture) and sinks (such as healthy forests and soils) of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Calculating the country’s greenhouse gas budget could help policymakers develop effective emissions reduction strategies. Murray-Tortarolo et al. calculate Mexico’s first comprehensive greenhouse gas budget based on estimates from multiple data sources of greenhouse gas fluxes in the country between 2000 and 2019. …different sources of data broadly told the same story about anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions from sources including fossil fuel burning and agriculture. However, there were discrepancies when it came to natural emissions sources such as wetlands and natural sinks such as forests and soils. In particular, the researchers found that studies may be overestimating the role that land ecosystems play in removing carbon from the atmosphere….
See updates from {2023}-{2022}-{2021}-{2020}-{2013-2019}-{2008-2012}
Non-chronological resources
National Climate Assessment (NCA), originally required by the Global Change Research Act of 1990 and periodically updated, can be found on the U.S.Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) website. It informs the nation about already observed climate changes, the current status of the climate, and anticipated trends for the future. It integrates scientific information from multiple sources and sectors and provides input to Federal agencies, U.S. citizens, communities, and businesses as they create more sustainable and environmentally sound plans for the nation’s future. Prior and current drafts of the NCA can be found at http://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment.
Carbon Mitigation Initiative – a joint project of Princeton University, BP and the Ford Motor Company to find solutions to the greenhouse and global warming problem. Researchers are developing strategies to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions that will be safe, effective, and affordable.
ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability was founded in 1990 by local governments at the United Nations Headquarters in New York as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). It’s an association of cities, towns, counties, and local government associations ((more than 600 in the U.S.) whose mission is to build and serve a worldwide movement to achieve tangible improvements in global sustainability.
Nature Conservancy pages on Climate Change
NOAA Global Climate Change page
RealClimate –http://www.realclimate.org/
a commentary site (blog) on climatology by climate scientists. Provides quick response to developing stories.
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) – Climate & Energy Publications