FtF News #113 – 3rd August 2021
The death toll due to emissions, more climate funding in the UK and US, and Toyota’s hidden lobbying against fossil fuels behind the scenes
Hello, and welcome to Forge the Future, your weekly rundown of the latest climate news.
I often find myself lost in the weeds as I put together each week’s newsletter. There are so many stories, so many ups and downs in such a wide-ranging problem as climate change that it can be hard to keep perspective. Policy announcements and disasters alike ebb and flow from week to week, and even stepping back it can be hard to figure out if we’re doing enough, or even what ‘enough’ even means. After all, the true outcomes won’t be known for decades.
Ultimately, though, does it even matter if we’re doing enough? We’re in for the long haul with this one, we just have to keep on truckin’ – it’s a marathon, not a sprint! For each negative, remember that it can always be worse, but conversely, for each positive, there’s always more to do. Balance, as in all things. Have a great week!
State of the world
Climate research and findings, weather events and studies
A new study released this week revised ‘social cost of carbon’ calculations to produce projections of how many people would be killed by emissions. The numbers are alarming – 1 person will die from heat-related causes by 2100 for every 4,434 tonnes of CO2 emitted. Though that amount of CO2 sounds large, to put it in perspective, it’s equivalent to the lifetime emissions of 3.5 Americans. A typical coal-fired power plant will emit enough to cause over 900 deaths in just a single year.
Lowering air pollution has been linked to a reduced risk of dementia for the first time. The research builds on previous work that established a link between air pollution and Alzheimer’s, but this study shows that a reduction in pollution, particularly fine particulate matter such as PM2.5 is associated with a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s. More reasons to cut air pollution are always a good thing, and the body of evidence supporting cleaner air grows stronger by the week.
Extreme weather continues to wreak havoc across the globe, with fires and floods in Turkey, floods and landslides in eastern Afghanistan killing over 100, and snowfall causing chaos in Brazil (and meaning coffee prices are through the roof). Floods in Bangladesh have struck Rohingya refugee camps, leaving thousands without shelter. Meanwhile, carbon offset forests are going up in smoke in the US, leaving some to question their long-term viability. I covered floods in Lagos a week or two back, but CNN dove deeper into the causes this week – a potent combination of sea-level rise and uncontrolled development leaving Africa’s most populous city ever more vulnerable.
Planet positives
Moving towards a greener and more equitable world
(Some) Climate funding passed
The UK has announced a £5.2bn sum to be spent on flood prevention over the next six years. The money is focused on a number of regions hit hard by floods in recent years, and should help shore up flood defences sorely struggling under the ever increasing rate of flooding. The measures also will tighten up guidance around building in flood-prone regions, in an effort to mitigate at least some future impacts. The announcement comes as scientists announced that 2020 was the third warmest, fifth wettest and eighth sunniest year on record in the UK – the first year to reach the top ten in all three areas.
The US has finally come to an agreement on the long-awaited infrastructure bill, cut down from trillions to a still substantial $550bn. The cuts are vast, and completely remove spending on R&D, houses, schools and buildings, home and community care and clean energy tax credits – many of the key elements in President Biden’s electoral campaign: racial justice, health care and climate change. Some climate measures did make it through, including pollution remediation and electric vehicle support, as well as sorely-needed water infrastructure improvements in the Western US. The linked article has some excellent visuals breaking down exactly which areas were axed and which survived the intense negotiations.
Adverse circumstances
Events that move the needle in the wrong direction
Minimal Progress as COP26 Approaches
One of the first face-to-face climate meetings took place this week over two days as a warm-up to COP26. The meeting was hosted by Alok Sharma, the president of COP26, and was intended to bridge last week’s G-20 climate summit to a wider group of 51 countries. Unfortunately, that previous meeting’s lack of resolution carried over, with no major agreements, barring a vague consensus on limiting warming to 1.5°C. India decided not to turn up at all, the only country to do so, in a major snub to the proceedings.
This week also saw the (extended) deadline for updated emissions targets to the UN for the Paris Agreement. The targets were due to be submitted last year, but the deadline was pushed back due to the general chaos induced by COVID-19. 110 countries have submitted updated targets, but 85 did not – over 40% of the signatories, including both China and India. China has made a public commitment to reach net-zero by 2060, but has yet to formally submit this to the UN, whilst India has yet to commit to such a goal.
From Leader to Laggard
Toyota has long been associated with a climate conscious image, jumping early onto the hybrid bandwagon with the now ubiquitous Prius. However, it picked the wrong horse, electing to focus efforts on developing hydrogen fuel cell cars, which have proved complex and expensive. As EVs have become more dominant, Toyota, rather than admitting defeat, has instead turned to lobbying, actively fighting emissions rules in the US, the UK, the EU and elsewhere in an effort to delay electrification long enough for its hydrogen research to bear fruit. However, with China now forcing manufacturers to produce some battery electric vehicles, Toyota may finally have to back down from its isolated position, though it likely won’t do so without a fight.
Long Reads
Interesting deep-dives into climate-related topics
Wet-bulb temperature is a term that crops up increasingly frequently in stories about our warming world. This week saw the Washington Post dive into why high wet-bulb temperatures are so dangerous for people, who and where’s most at risk and the best ways we can cool down when the temperature becomes too hot to survive.
Onto a different publication, and a different climate threat – the NYT took a look at how flooding impacts subway systems, following inundations in Zhengzhou, London and New York recently. Water management is already a big concern for subway systems, and preventative measures are growing increasingly sophisticated. However, further improvements are needed, and they’re pricey. Ultimately, they need to be considered as part of wider measures to improve how cities cope with extreme rain and floods, which are only going to become more frequent.
It’s been a while since the role of advertising cropped up here, but this week, HEATED looked again at the bias present in advertising platforms when it comes to climate. The deep pockets of fossil fuel companies have helped shift the narrative when it comes to climate, but now climate groups looking to play them at their own game are finding that a number of advertising platforms simply refuse to run climate ads, preferring to turn down business over risking their relationship with Big Oil.
Quick Headlines
Some quick climate news nuggets to sate your appetite
EDF is proposing to use excess electricity from the upcoming Sizewell C nuclear plant in the UK to generate clean hydrogen – the first such scheme in Europe.
President Biden is seeking voluntary pledges from car manufacturers for 40% of US sales to be electric vehicles by 2030.
The UK is to spend £2m on a pilot scheme for electric trucks powered by overhead cables, as part of a wider scheme to decarbonise heavy transport.