FtF News #182 – 14th June 2023
Climate finance, night trains and New York goes Blade Runner
The news this week definitely makes it feel like summer has arrived, with headlines ranging from wildfires to temperature records across the globe. With the UK currently riding out a heatwave, I can’t help but agree!
On an unrelated note, I had to travel across Europe for business last week, so this Bloomberg article discussing low-carbon travel in the region felt apt! I’ve managed to stick to trains for my travel for the past few years, and whilst there can definitely be some scheduling shenanigans, especially if you cross borders, as a low-stress (and low carbon) way to travel, I’m very much a fan. I’m very much hoping that EU plans for a unified rail network comes to pass, as it would open up so many potential destinations to the plane-free traveller!
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.
Wild Weather
Mother nature’s reactions to the ever-warming world
Massive wildfires in Canada have caused record air pollution levels, and thanks to atmospheric conditions, plunged New York into a dystopian orange in scenes reminiscent of Blade Runner.
The fires in Canada have already burned 10x the average area seen in the past decade, with 2.7m hectares going up in smoke so far this year.
Last month was the second hottest May globally in 30 years, with Antarctic sea ice reaching a new record low – 17% below the historic average.
China is seeing record temperatures already, with Shanghai breaking a 150 year record for hottest May temperature, and Beijing reaching 37°C.
Puerto Rico has seen sweltering heat, with the heat index in the north reaching 114°F, thanks to high heat and high humidity.
With sea surface temperatures in the Pacific rising by 0.5°C above normal, the US has declared an El Niño officially in effect, with conditions only expected to strengthen.
London has gone without rain for 22 days – close to a record set just last year, which looks likely to fall this week.
It’s Science!
The latest from in climate research and analysis
The Arctic may be melting faster than previously thought, with a new study suggesting the region could be ice-free in summer as soon as the 2030s.
New analysis suggests that massive deep ocean currents driven by Antarctica may be slowing, which could impact ocean ecosystems across the planet.
New research suggests that tiger protection in India has also led to up to 1m tonnes of avoided emissions through preventing widespread deforestation.
Party Political Broadcast
Climate politics are a special creature indeed
The COP28 administration is coming under fire once again, with an investigation discovering that the UAE state oil company, Adnoc, has been able to read all emails sent to and from the COP28 summit office, and was consulted on media enquiries.
Sultan Al Jaber’s media team have also been caught editing various Wikipedia entries to greenwash the COP28 chair’s role in the oil company.
Money makes the world go around
The machinations of climate finance
Much has been made of the $100bn climate finance goal, but a Reuters investigation has found that large amounts of the money reported under the UN-backed pledge has been spent on things as diverse as chocolate shops, films and even coal plants.
A new study put a number on possible climate reparations for the first time, estimating that developed nations owe $170tn by 2050 for their role in over-emitting versus their fair share. The US of course dominates, owing an estimated $80tn under the calculations.
Haha, Business!
Climate happenings in the corporate world
The US Senate has launched an investigation into insurance companies that have withdrawn insurance coverage due to climate risks whilst still covering and investing in fossil fuel projects.
Newly revealed documents suggest the chemicals industry was well aware of the health impacts of PFAS decades before the public found out.
Switzerland’s advertising regulator has ruled that FIFA cannot call the 2022 World Cup carbon neutral, after receiving multiple complaints.
The UK advertising watchdog has banned ads from Shell and other major oil companies, citing their misleading impression of the companies’ low-carbon business, amongst other factors.
The British Museum in London has ended its sponsorship by BP after 27 years – the last but one major UK arts institution to be sponsored by the oil company.
Clean Green Energy Machine
Renewables versus coal – a look at the changing energy system
The IEA predicts that renewables capacity is likely to jump by a third this year – the largest absolute increase ever, primarily driven by growth in solar power.
Guangdong province is opening bidding on 23GW of offshore wind – more than the entire world currently builds in a year.
The UK’s onshore wind approval process is so slow that it would take 4,700 years to reach targets at the current rate, thanks to a def-facto ban in 2015.
More than 80% of UK households with a heat pump reported that they were satisfied, and the tech is also expanding to use in industrial and district heating setups as well.
Ukraine has found that wind power is not only greener than fossil fuels, it’s also much harder for Russia to take down, increasing energy security in a very literal sense.
Climate Inequity
A hard look at the inequities of the climate crisis
Developing nations are facing a climate-related financial debt trap, as climate impacts raise risks on the loans they’ve taken out (often to tackle climate-related issues), causing interest rates to sky-rocket.
‘It is a horrible twist of irony that our climate vulnerability makes us risky, and because we are risky, we can’t borrow the money needed to protect us from climate change’
Aminath Shauna, the Maldives’ Minister for Environment
Speaking truths
Efforts in activism and awareness
16 young people are suing the state of Montana over its support of fossil fuels, claiming that this violates their constitutional rights. This is but one of many such cases in the US, but looks to be the first to reach the courtroom.
A study has found that fossil fuel companies’ share prices fall after climate litigation.
Long Reads
Interesting deep-dives into climate-related topics
The first new European sleeper train in decades ran recently, and this is a lovely exploration both of that and the surrounding dynamics around the resurgence of night trains on the continent.
India has a complex relationship with coal and heat, with the country ever more exposed to the brutal effects of heat, but remaining reliant one of the world’s dirtiest fuels to keep the power on and the A/C running.
Louisiana is in the unique position of being heavily impacted by climate change, but also having huge sums to tackle it. However, even so it is finding that money can’t hold back the tides forever, but managed retreat is a painful process.
Construction is responsible for nearly a quarter of all emissions, but remains resolutely difficult to decarbonise. However, city planners in Oslo are pushing to electrify in an attempt to change that.
E-waste is another complex recycling and waste system that remains largely invisible to most of us but which spans the globe, from sophisticated Californian facilities to the informal e-waste economy in Ghana.
Airports are probably one of the least hospitable places for wildlife, with most taking drastic efforts to avoid overlap between animals and planes, yet many are proving a haven of last resort for species that can survive nowhere else.