FtF News #177 – 5th April 2023
A landmark UN ruling, European heat pump hype, and the UK’s ‘half-baked, half-hearted’ new climate plan
It’s a bit of a quieter one this week. I’m certainly not complaining given the general pace of the news cycle in the past couple of years, and I’m sure the climate news train will be rocketing off again soon enough. In the meantime, take a breather – after all, this is a marathon, not a sprint!
Once again, this week’s issue was ably assisted by Syuan Ruei Chang, who contributed a number of the articles and stories featured this week. If you spot any stories you’d like to share, you can submit them here.
It’s Science!
The latest from in climate research and analysis
Protecting just nine key species could cause massive benefits across ecosystems, and capture nearly 6.5 Gt of CO2 annually, nearly 95% of the amount needed to stay under 1.5°C.
Another study has reconfirmed the exceptional nature of the 2021 heatwave in the PNW, using tree rings to show that summer temperatures that year were unprecedented in the last millennium.
A study in Ghana has found that climate induced unpredictability in rainfall means farmers can’t plan ahead for farming seasons, disrupting traditional shared labour systems.
A study in Australia has found that some forests in the country self-manage better against wildfires when left completely alone.
Party Political Broadcast
Climate politics are a special creature indeed
The UN has adopted a landmark resolution tabled by Vanuatu, calling on the ICJ to rule on whether countries have an obligation to follow through on climate action.
The UK has released its long-awaited climate strategy to mockery by experts who called it half-baked and half-hearted, and well short of what was needed. In an apt development, a seemingly ambitious target on hedgerows was later clarified to be a typo.
The CCC also released a report on the UK’s progress on climate this week, calling the last ten years ‘a lost decade’ for government action, with just 5 of 45 policy areas having credible plans, and none making progress to improve climate resilience.
The European Commission is drafting regulations to clamp down on greenwashing claims on products in the region.
Money makes the world go around
The machinations of climate finance
The Green Climate Fund has committed $253m to AFC Capital Infrastructure Fund, its largest ever equity investment in Africa – the money will back climate resiliency infrastructure.
Haha, Business!
Climate happenings in the corporate world
40 of the top meat and dairy companies could see collective profits fall by almost $24bn by 2030 from 2020 levels, thanks to carbon taxes and climate impacts to feed crops.
The meat industry appears to have successfully lobbied to roll back key language emphasising the need to shift to plant-based diets from the latest UN IPCC report.
Another major seller of carbon offsets, Global South, is coming under fire after an investigation found many of its projects vastly overestimate their benefits. A recent survey of nearly 300 offset projects found shortcomings in every one, with registries consistently failing to stop developers claiming far more credits than they should.
European companies continue to export banned pesticides to countries in the global south, exporting hundreds of tons of chemicals linked to brain damage in children.
The Future is Electric
Renewables, EVs and all things electrification
Heat pump sales have massively ramped up in the past few years across Europe, driven by government support and the energy crisis. In many markets, sales more than doubled in a year. Not so much in the UK, however, where sales were amongst the worst in Europe, some 40x less than in Finland.
Renewables generation surpassed coal for the first time in the US last year, although gas remains the largest electricity generation source, and continues to grow.
UK energy traders have been manipulating the energy market, holding the grid operator to ransom by threatening to turn off key (fossil fuel) power plants just when energy demand peaks.
After reneging on the EU’s deal to phase out fossil fuel cars by 2035, Germany has reached an agreement to clarify the use of ‘e-fuels’ in cars after that date, allowing the deal to finally pass.
Breakthroughs
New inventions to inspire hope
Chinese car maker JAC has revealed a prototype EV using sodium-ion cells, pointing towards a future where EVs are far less dependent on lithium than currently.
Climate Inequity
A hard look at the inequities of the climate crisis
The oft-hyped ‘population bomb’ effect might never happen, with new studies suggesting world population might peak at around 8.8bn before 2050. However, this won’t lower climate impact particularly, as the vast majority of emissions are still caused by a wealthy minority.
Private jet usage in Europe has soared, with a 64% rise last year to a new record of 572,806 flights, with over half under 750 km. However, at least one destination may be off the cards soon – Amsterdam Schiphol airport is to cut night flights and ban private jets entirely in the next 2-3 years to lower noise and cut emissions.
Speaking truths
Efforts in activism and awareness
More than 120 UK lawyers have defied the bar and declared that they won’t prosecute peaceful climate protesters.
Long Reads
Interesting deep-dives into climate-related topics
Paris used to be dominated by cars, but in just two decades has massively transformed itself, placing bikes and mass transit ahead of the automobile, upending rich and poor alike and changing how the city operates.
The cruise industry is a route for many to access remote wildernesses, but the impact of these vast floating hotels is enormous, as this interactive feature explores.