FtF News #183 – 28th June 2023
Summer storms, the waning relevance of COP and taxing the rich to pay for the poor
I’m always a fan of a good visualisation, even more so when it pertains to the climate! These NASA ones are excellent, showing how different sources of CO2 add to the atmosphere and mix across the globe over the year. What’s immediately apparent is not only the outsize role of fossil fuels, but also of the Global North. Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words, and these animations demonstrate what numbers often fail to show about the scale of our emissions, as well as who is largely responsible.
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
Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall across the border of India and Pakistan, with ports closed and nearly 150,000 people evacuated across the two countries.
The Atlantic has seen two named storms in June simultaneously – the first time this has occurred in recorded history.
At least 96 people have died from heat-aggravated conditions in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar as India deals with a massive heatwave ahead of the monsoon. The country is struggling to adapt to the growing issue of extreme heat, and with few national plans, it’s often down to individual cities to come up with strategies and approaches.
The UK is suffering an ‘unheard of’ marine heatwave, with temperatures in some areas 5°C above normal, which if sustained could trigger a mass die-off of marine life.
It’s Science!
The latest from in climate research and analysis
The area burned by wildfires in California has increased five-fold from 1971 to 2021, largely driven by climate change, and is likely to increase another 50% by 2050.
Using a gas stove can raise indoor concentrations of benzine (a known carcinogen) higher than secondhand smoking or being next to an oil and gas facility.
Re-wetting half of England’s lowland peat would deliver ⅕ of the emissions savings needed from agriculture by 2030, as well as securing a major biodiversity boost.
Party Political Broadcast
Climate politics are a special creature indeed
Nearly half of countries’ recent climate pledges include plans to maintain or increase production of fossil fuels, with just a fraction committing to eliminating them.
EU advisors are recommending that the bloc targets a 95% reduction in emissions by 2040 as a way of more rapidly and effectively reaching net zero by 2050.
Voters in Switzerland have backed a key climate bill that aims to cut fossil fuel use and reach net zero by 2050.
Preparatory talks for COP28 left many disillusioned, with no concrete decisions reached, and the UAE failing to set any defining objectives for COP28 itself.
Meanwhile, COP28 organisers have announced a ‘game changing’ plan to involve big oil companies more in the discussions. In light of this, many are wondering how the relevance the flagship climate talks are any more.
France has seen violent protests over major groundwater basin plans, which many say risk wrecking key groundwater reserves. The French government has also moved to ban a key activist group involved in the protests under anti-terrorism laws.
Turkmenistan is finally taking steps to curb its huge methane emissions, launching a methane roadmap that covers improved legislation and cooperation with foreign partners and UN organisations.
The UK has failed to adjust its wildfire strategies despite a record fire year in 2022, with the country also losing 21% of its firefighters in the past ten years.
Money makes the world go around
The machinations of climate finance
A climate conference in Paris saw Mia Mottley of Barbados once again trying to persuade the world to adopt the Bridgetown Agenda, a plan to unlock trillions to help developing nations adapt to the climate crisis.
The IEA has warned that investment in clean energy in developing countries needs to rise seven-fold by 2030 – a tricky prospect given that the cost of capital is often 2-3x that in developed nations.
Haha, Business!
Climate happenings in the corporate world
Delta Airlines is being sued over its claim of being carbon neutral (via the use of offsets) – the latest in a series of similar claims from airlines.
Shell has dropped its targets to cut oil production, and will invest $40bn in oil and gas production between 2023-35, versus $10-15bn in ‘low carbon’ products. The move has angered many, and the Church of England has sold its stake in the company as a result.
3M has agreed to a $10.3bn settlement over its pollution of US drinking water with PFAS, with other PFAS manufacturers also facing hefty settlement fees.
Microsoft, despite having made strong progress on its own emissions, is largely failing to bring down its supply chain impact, despite that dominating its footprint.
The Future is Electric
EVs and all things electrification
BNEF have published their annual EV Outlook, suggesting EVs will make up 30% of new vehicle sales globally by 2026 – more than doubling today’s levels.
Nissan is working on rebuilding and reusing EV batteries, though because it is slower and more manual, it’s not clear if it will win out over battery recycling.
A planned truck charging depot in Oakland gives an indication of what will be needed on the infrastructure front to truly shift trucking to electric.
Clean Green Energy Machine
Renewables versus coal – a look at the changing energy system
Fossil fuels now make up less than half of China’s installed power capacity thanks to huge renewables build-out – a target the country has hit 2 years ahead of schedule. However, fossil fuels still dominate actual power consumption.
The UK’s grid bottlenecks mean enough wind energy to power 1m homes is wasted each year, mostly due to lack of links between Scotland and England.
The US BLM is proposing changes to its policies to cut the fees paid by renewables projects on public lands by as much as 80% to help increase roll-out of clean energy.
Breakthroughs
New inventions to inspire hope
NASA has announced a new X-plane concept with Boeing, trialling a truss-braced wing design that could be up to 30% more fuel-efficient than current airliners.
Solar developers in the US are discovering that sheep and solar panels work well together, offering benefits to both and saving money to boot.
Climate Inequity
A hard look at the inequities of the climate crisis
A group of leading economists has urged for a tax on extreme wealth to pay for climate damage in developing nations. A 2% tax on the richest would yield around $2.5 trillion a year.
A similar report in the UK found that a 0.5% tax on wealth over £1m would be enough to cover the UK’s fair share of the planned climate loss and damage fund – raising £15bn per year by 2030.
Speaking truths
Efforts in activism and awareness
Greta Thunberg has held her last school strike for climate, as she has now graduated school. However, she plans to continue her activism and climate strikes, as ‘the fight has only just begun’.
Climate disaster planning often fails to account for the 1 in 6 people globally with disabilities, often stranding many people who are already marginalised, highly exposed to climate impacts.
Long Reads
Interesting deep-dives into climate-related topics
Fossil fuels are so deeply embedded into our everyday lives that the impacts of infrastructure like filling stations often goes unseen, despite the enormous amounts of leaks and pollution they are responsible for.
The fossil fuel industry’s impact on the media is also subtle, but thanks to lobbying efforts, the sector shifted narratives and heavily discouraged deep investigation of their behaviour.
The circular economy is a great concept, but implementing it is far from simple, coming up against entrenched industry behaviour, consumer habits and much more.
Finally, something a little different – an interview with backpacking drag queen Pattie Gonia, and her efforts to connect marginalised queer folks with nature.